Harlequin Superromance September 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: This Good ManPromises Under the Peach TreeHusband by Choice

by Janice Kay Johnson

  Caleb, and now Anna. Her inclusion on a short list that was new to him might scare the shit out of him later, but not yet.

  Finally, she murmured to the Lunds, then came to him. “Shall we go?”

  He searched her face and found, not peace, but an easing of pain. He crooked his elbow, waited until she laid her hand on it, and walked her down the very long aisle and out of the church.

  Outside, she turned to him. “You don’t need to go to the reception with me if you’d rather not. I mean, you didn’t know Corinna.”

  “But I know you.”

  “Oh, damn it,” she mumbled, then clapped a hand over her mouth before casting a wild look around. “Did anyone hear me?” she whispered.

  He chuckled, low and quiet. “I don’t think so. Could have been worse. At least you didn’t take the name of the Lord in vain.”

  “You’re going to make me cry again.”

  “The last thing I want to do.” He laid his free hand over hers, still resting on his arm. “Would you rather I not come, Anna?”

  She stared up at him, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy. “I’m capable of doing something like this on my own.”

  This determination to do something that would normally repel him had come out of nowhere. All he knew was she’d given him more than she’d guessed, and he wanted to give back.

  “Today, you don’t have to,” he said.

  She bit her lip, nodded and sniffed. “Thank you.”

  As they walked across the parking lot to the enormous hall, where the church housed a preschool as well as meetings and celebrations, he had the passing thought there wasn’t anywhere else he would want to be.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  THE RUSH OF WIND cold on his face, Caleb pedaled hard on his bike. No way was he going to let TJ pass him or Diego pull too far ahead. So far, the three were staying in a line, all listening for any traffic coming up behind them. The curves and lack of a shoulder made 253rd a dangerous road for walking or bike riding. As if they had any choice; it was the only way to get anywhere, and none of them could drive.

  Caleb hadn’t set foot off the grounds of the old resort in at least a month, so even though he was weirded out that TJ had come with them, Caleb felt exhilarated. Dad was back in Spokane. The relief he’d felt when Reid told him had been huge. At least now it was safe for him to go out, do something different.

  Damon, who’d been out earlier, said the county park on Bear Creek had opened after having been closed all winter and that some girls’ sports team was having their end-of-season deal there. He’d shrugged when Diego asked what kind of sport. Ski team? Basketball? “Who cares?” was what he’d said. There were girls their own age.

  They’d built a big fire and were roasting hot dogs, and Damon had seen boxes of graham crackers on the picnic tables along with a row of trophies, so he guessed there’d be s’mores, too. They’d let him have a hot dog, and he was mad because he’d had to come home because he was on the schedule for tutoring with Isaac—and Paula had zero tolerance for anyone being late for a special tutoring session. Sunday was a day of rest, but not Saturday. This late in the afternoon, though, Caleb, Diego and TJ were all done with their schoolwork. Dinner was still a couple of hours away.

  Diego had grabbed Damon’s mountain bike and grinned at Caleb. “Man, let’s go!” His gaze fell on someone behind Caleb. “You want to come, too?”

  Caleb was still surprised TJ had agreed. He wasn’t very friendly with any of the other guys. But he was older than Caleb, who still hadn’t made a serious move on any girl and hated the fact there weren’t any around to at least look at. TJ might have even had a girlfriend before he came here. He’d looked surprised to be asked, but said, “Yeah, sure.” They’d left word with Apollo and within minutes were on their way.

  Visions of a roaring bonfire, a hot dog with the skin splitting open and a pretty girl smiling shyly at him were dancing in Caleb’s head like sugarplum fairies when he heard the deep-throated rumble of an SUV or a truck coming up behind them. They’d just gone around a curve, and when he looked over his shoulder, he couldn’t see the vehicle. He hesitated, not sure whether to pedal faster or stop or what. TJ was glancing back, too. Looking ahead again, Caleb saw Diego was still pedaling, so he did, too, trying to speed up. It would be better if they reached a straight stretch.

  The sound of the engine grew louder, and then he heard TJ yell. Even though it probably wasn’t safe, Caleb looked back again. A big silver grille and a monster black vehicle coming fast were all he could see except TJ, who’d swerved off the road and whose bike was skidding in the gravel. Still holding the handlebars, TJ was diving toward the ditch.

  Beyond a shocked awareness that the truck wasn’t even slowing down, Caleb didn’t have time to react. He saw the face through the windshield. There was more yelling—TJ and maybe Diego, too.

  And then the bumper hit him and he thought I’m flying and It’s gonna hurt.

  * * *

  REID READ WITH dismay what he’d gleaned about Truong. That poor damn kid. No, it wasn’t any worse than his own history, or Caleb’s, for that matter, but that didn’t make it any better. He swore out loud. How could police and family-court judges be so blind? And if they saw—how did they live with themselves after making the decisions they did?

  After all their foot-dragging about giving up the last names of the boys they sheltered, Roger and Paula had finally seen the necessity. In turn, Reid had asked permission to bring in someone else. His goal was to make sure that police inquiries didn’t lay a trail of crumbs straight to Angel Butte. Again, they agreed after he promised not to explain who the boys were or the reason for his investigation.

  His closest friend in Southern California worked Computer Crimes for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Detective Phil Perez had listened in silence to Reid’s request a couple of days ago when he’d called. Accepting the fact he was to be kept in the dark, he had agreed to find out what he could about the nine boys. Telling himself trust had to go two ways, Reid left his brother’s name off the list. If anyone could confuse the issue of who was asking the questions, it would be Phil. Reid mentioned his interest in the parents and guardians, too, especially their current whereabouts.

  The information was already pouring in. Reid hadn’t expected Phil to make his request a top priority, but clearly he had.

  After he left Anna’s bed last night, Reid had driven to the resort. He’d alternated patrols with hour-long naps. Fortunately, nothing had happened.

  And today, once he and Anna had escaped the reception following the funeral, they’d parted ways. Anna had planned to drive the Lunds home and stay long enough to make sure they were okay, which left him on his own. Tempted though he was to go home and hit the sack, he’d decided to go into the station to check his email. Worry was driving him. It was the weekend again.

  He was still scrolling through the information Phil had unearthed on Truong when his cell phone rang. Preoccupied, he glanced to see that the number was the Hales’. Oh, damn. He’d started dreading their calls. And this was Saturday. They were due for the next incident. Picking up the phone, Reid told himself that so far, everything had happened during the night, and he knew nothing had occurred last night. This might be something trivial or even Caleb could be calling because he’d thought of something Reid should know.

  “Reid here.”

  “It’s bad news.” Roger sounded distraught.

  Reid’s heart thudded.

  “Three of the boys decided to ride their bikes down to the county park because Damon found out there were teenage girls there,” Roger continued. “TJ leaped on his bike and made it back. A pickup truck or SUV ran two of them down. TJ was at the back. He says he swerved and fell off the bike into the ditch or else he’d have been the first hit.” Roger hesitated. “The truck didn’t even slow down. It hit C
aleb and Diego. Caleb is unconscious, Reid.” His voice got heavy. “I’m out here waiting for an aid car. It doesn’t look good. Diego’s got some broken bones. A leg and collarbone for sure. He yelled for TJ to go.”

  “The driver didn’t stop?” Reid sounded eerily calm to his own ears.

  “No. TJ swears it was deliberate. He didn’t get a look at the driver. From the way the bikes are mangled, there might be some minor damage to the vehicle. I don’t know. A car stopped, but he didn’t see the accident, just came on the boys lying on the road.”

  “Jesus,” Reid breathed.

  A faint wail of a siren came through the phone. “Listen, I’ve got to go—”

  Reid was already on his feet. “I’ll meet the ambulance at the hospital.”

  “How are you going to explain that?”

  It took a few seconds for that to penetrate. “You’re not claiming the boys,” he said, momentarily shocked.

  “If I have to, I will, but you know what I’d be jeopardizing.”

  Reid understood even as he was suddenly, blazingly angry. All he could think of was Anna and what she’d say. No, that wasn’t all; he heard himself swearing to her that Caleb was safe.

  The anger transmuted into something more violent than Reid had ever felt before. If his own father had run down his son, Reid wanted to kill him. Slowly, painfully.

  “I’ll think of something,” he repeated and ended the call. Moving fast, he was grateful that it was Saturday and the assistant wasn’t at her desk, so he didn’t have to bother with an explanation. He was half running when he left the elevator on the ground floor.

  * * *

  “CAPTAIN SAWYER.” EVEN in the act of lowering a gurney from the back of the aid car, one of the EMTs threw Reid a wild look. “Somebody must’ve called you. Hit-and-run. I don’t know if this kid is going to make it.”

  Caleb.

  They were moving so fast, he didn’t get a look at his brother’s face before the gurney was whisked inside the emergency room entrance. Hospital workers were helping pull the second gurney from the back. Diego lay on it, his face contorted with pain. His dark eyes met Reid’s, desperation in them, but he didn’t say anything.

  Reid laid a hand on his shoulder and walked in with them. “Did you get a license number? See the driver?” he asked.

  Diego shook his head. “No.”

  And then he, too, was hustled through another set of doors and Reid was left standing in the emergency room.

  The woman behind the counter said, “May I help you, sir?”

  He showed her his badge. “I’m told this was a hit-and-run.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know anything yet.”

  He was barely keeping it together. “I need to go back, find out how the boys are and what they know.”

  “Officer, you have to let the doctors work.” Her tone suggested she’d said this so many times, it came by rote. “I’ll call back and let them know you’re waiting.”

  At the sound of the outside doors sliding open, Reid spun on his heel. Roger ran in, his hair disheveled, his expression frenzied. “Do you know anything?”

  Reid gripped his arm and drew him away from the receptionist’s curious gaze. They walked down a wide corridor that led to the rest of the hospital.

  “Diego pretended not to recognize me, but he’s conscious. He said he didn’t see the driver. No license plate.” A lump formed in his throat. Forcing words past it, he said, “I didn’t get a look at Caleb. They were moving too fast.”

  “God.” Roger sagged.

  Reid put an arm out to hold him up. “You okay?”

  “No.” He braced both hands on the wall and bent over, panting for breath. “I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry.”

  Reid gritted his teeth, trying not to say, What the hell were you thinking to let them go? The only thing stopping him was his own memories of how many times he’d biked or jogged along that same road to get to town, or just away from the shelter and the claustrophobia he sometimes felt.

  In the kind of foster home Anna supervised, the boys would have been riding a bus every day to school. Roger could be openly picking them up from after-school activities. He and Reid wouldn’t have to be standing here now, terrified and yet having to pretend they didn’t know either of those boys.

  “Will Diego tell them?” The question was torn from him.

  “The first thing he said was that he wouldn’t. That’s why he told TJ to go. He didn’t want him to get pulled in.”

  Reid nodded. He’d seen enough already about Theodore James Haveman’s background to know he didn’t want the boy’s father to get his hands on him again.

  But maybe there was another way. The words whispered to him. And he knew: he’d been wrong to send Caleb to the Hales. He should have stood up to their father. Stood up for his brother, given him a home. Found a way to keep him and his mother safe, if she could be located and Caleb preferred to live with her.

  A man who hadn’t bargained with God since he was a boy and found out it didn’t do any good, he begged now for a deal as he paced the hall, waiting. I will do anything. Give him a chance. Please. God, please.

  He ached to call Anna, but how could he? Anybody looking at him right now would wonder why he was so upset. For the sake of the other boys at the Hales’, he needed to hide his personal fear.

  Cover. That was what Anna called it. When had it quit being automatic for him?

  “Um...sir?” It was the woman’s voice.

  He swung around to see her hovering at the head of the hall. “There’s another officer here.”

  He nodded, took a couple of deep breaths, then started after her. He paused long enough to grip Roger’s shoulder and squeeze. “I’ll come back out once I know something.”

  The responding officer had arrived. The sight of Reid startled the county deputy. “Captain Sawyer?”

  Oh, hell. The accident had happened outside the city limits. It would have occurred to Reid if his head wasn’t clouded with fear.

  “I know Roger Hale, the guy who called 911.” Reid nodded toward Roger, who had turned to stare. “Listen. Any chance you can get Sergeant Renner here?”

  “Uh...I can try.” He made a phone call, and Reid could tell he’d reached the sergeant. He looked at Reid as he talked, telling him what had happened. Then he said, “Yeah, Captain Sawyer is here. He asked for you.” Pause. “Okay. Sure. I’ll tell him. Yes, sir.” He ended the call. “The sergeant says he’s on his way.”

  “Thank you.” Reid heard how ragged he sounded. Would Renner be willing to keep the Hales’ secret once he knew who the boys were? Or should Reid even tell him?

  Maybe, he thought, this was a secret that shouldn’t be kept anymore.

  The deputy was talking. “No skid marks at all.” His voice was flat, but anger seeped through. “The boy who is conscious said he didn’t think the driver even braked, and I’d have to agree. One of the bikes flew off the road. It’s all twisted. The other one is flattened. The son of a bitch just kept going.”

  “Did you get names?” Reid asked.

  “First name only. Diego.”

  “So we can’t call parents.”

  The door opened and a nurse in pink scrubs stuck her head out. She was looking at the deputy when she said, “The doctor says you can ask some quick questions now.”

  Reid cut him off. “I’ll do that if you wait for Renner out here.” He followed her, leaving the poor deputy flat-footed. He was lucky the nurse accepted his presence without realizing he had no jurisdiction.

  The nurse led him to Diego, and Reid realized they must have given the boy some pain meds, because his gaze was bleary. A young woman doctor turned to Reid when he stopped at the foot of the bed.

  “He has a mild concussion and a number of broken bones and abrasion
s.” She gave details. “He’s already had X-rays. Next step is casting his leg and arm, but I thought under the circumstances this might be a good moment for you to get some information. Right now we’re operating without parental permission, which we’re not crazy about.”

  “The other boy? Do you know how he is?”

  “I’ll go find out,” she promised and left the two of them alone.

  When Reid moved to Diego’s side, the boy’s hand shot out to grab him. “They’ll call my dad, won’t they?”

  “We’ll have to, but I’ll make damn sure he’s not allowed to take you.”

  “But you don’t know anything.”

  “I do. I’ve been looking into all your backgrounds.”

  “Because of the fires.”

  He nodded.

  “You swear?” Diego begged.

  Reid took his hand and held it, praying he could keep his word. “Yes.”

  “Okay,” he whispered, his eyes drifting closed.

  “Wait!” Reid got his attention again, but learned next to nothing. Diego thought the vehicle that hit them was a pickup with a canopy rather than an SUV, but he wasn’t positive. It all happened so fast, he said, sounding ashamed. Black. Yes, he was positive about that much. Maybe TJ saw more.

  Reid shook his head. “TJ was rolling in the ditch when the two of you got hit. Roger says he’s scraped up pretty bad. TJ also said the vehicle was black, but that everything happened so fast. He saw Caleb in the air, and the way he landed—” Reid couldn’t finish. Couldn’t say the dreaded words. He thought Caleb was dead.

  Diego did. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

  “No!”

  Reid didn’t realize he’d yelled until he saw the kid shrink away from him. He passed a shaking hand over his face. “I’m sorry.”

  The glass door slid open and the doctor reappeared. “The other boy is hanging in there. Do you have a name for him?”