For a split second I thought about running to the front door, but I couldn’t, not before I knew whether Gran was still alive or not. I raced to the bedroom, slammed the door, and locked it. I dropped down in front of her, gripping her body in my hands. I shook her, but there was no movement, and her eyes remained closed.
“Gran? Gran! Can you hear me? Please! We don’t have much time.”
Outside Logan kicked at the door, but it was old and thick, made of solid wood. He wouldn’t get in easily. I guided my shaky hand toward Gran’s neck, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but it was weak.
Enraged, Logan doubled his efforts, kicking at the door and shooting at it with his gun at the same time. He was almost inside. I searched the room for a weapon, any weapon, anything I could use to protect myself. My options were limited to a vase on the dresser. I snatched it, stood behind the door, and waited.
Chunks of wood spit into the room as Logan forged a hole in the door big enough to shove his hand through. He reached his hand inside, and I smashed it with my foot. He pulled his hand back, howling in pain. Undeterred, he grabbed for the door handle again, and this time he got it unlocked.
“You’re a dead woman, Sloane,” he taunted.
I steadied the vase in my hand, hoping it wasn’t the end.
My end.
A familiar voice thundered down the hallway, a voice that had never brought me as much happiness as it did in that moment.
“Put the gun down, Logan,” Coop said.
“Not a chance.”
Two shots rang out, nearly simultaneously. I yanked the door open, finding Coop on the other side, curled over Logan, smiling.
Coop glanced at me, nodded, and then looked at Logan and said, “Enjoy hell, you son of a bitch.”
CHAPTER 44
Several months later, I watched the physical therapist offer positive reinforcement as he worked through Cade’s daily two-hour routine. What started as him learning to walk again by pushing a shopping cart from one side of the room to the other had evolved into Cade walking the same distance on his own with nothing more than a slight limp. He wasn’t fast, but he was resolute, bouncing back in a way his doctors considered a miracle.
He had almost no recollection of the day of the shooting, or of the funeral, or of the first two weeks he’d spent at the hospital before being transferred to a specialist in Utah. I suppose it was a bit of a blessing in disguise, to erase the bad and replace it with good. He was alive, and he was thriving.
One event I couldn’t erase was Cade’s memory of what had happened to Shelby. Explaining why it happened proved more difficult than I’d ever imagined, and because he was still recovering, his doctor was worried he’d have a setback and advised me to hold off at first. But waiting wasn’t an option when it came to Cade. He’d always been a straight shooter, and one night as we had just sat down to dinner, he’d placed a hand over mine and said, “I need you to tell me, no matter how hard it is.”
It was the defining moment in our relationship, and I had convinced myself that once I told him the truth, we would be over. After all, how could any man be expected to stay with the person responsible for the death of his only child?
“It’s my fault,” I’d said. “Shelby died because of me.”
He’d taken a sip of beer, leaned back in the chair, and squinted at me. “I don’t see how that’s true, but go on.”
I hadn’t wanted to go on, but I did, keeping my eye on him as I spoke about my son and Logan, and the rage that drove Logan to do what he did. Jaw clenched, and eyes filled with a mixture of anger and sorrow, he’d sat quiet and still, until the silence became more than I could bear.
“If you don’t want to be with me anymore, I understand,” I had said. “I don’t know what I’d do if the same thing happened to—”
“Sloane.”
“Yeah?”
“Stop beatin’ yourself up. I’m still here, sittin’ right in front of you.”
“Things aren’t the same now though, Cade. I don’t see how they ever will be. I feel like you’ll always look at me and be reminded of what you lost.”
“You’re right. They’re not the same, and I’m not gonna lie and say they ever will be, but the only way we’ll get through this now is together. No runnin’ away this time. You hear me?”
I looked at him solidly in that moment and nodded, feeling undeserving of such an understanding, tolerant man. I had always remained by his side, and though our life had been forever altered, over the ensuing months, we would learn how to bond over the tragedy and to lean on each other for support during the tough days ahead.
Things were good now—different, but good.
The physical therapist finished up for the day and said goodbye. Cade reached out, running a hand through my hair.
“Hey, you went away for a minute,” he said. “What were you thinkin’ about?”
“Nothing much,” I said. “What would you like to do today?”
“I was thinkin’ we should invite Maddie and Cordelia to visit. You’ve been so busy takin’ care of me all these months, you haven’t had time for anyone else.”
I shrugged. “I can give them a call, see when they have time to drive over for a couple days.”
Maddie’s head popped out from behind the corner. “No need. We’re already here!”
Gran and Maddie walked toward me.
“When did you get here?” I asked.
“This morning,” Gran said. “Cade stowed us away for a bit, so we could surprise you.”
“I can’t believe it,” I said. “How long are you staying?”
Maddie thumbed toward Cade. “Ahh ... maybe you should ask him.”
When I turned back around, the ring box was extended for a second time.
“Let’s try this again,” Cade said. “What do you say?”
I could tell he’d planned to go on, but there was nothing more he needed to say that hadn’t already been said. I dropped to my knees, clasped his hands in mine and said, “Yes, Cade. I say yes.”
THE END
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ABOUT CHERYL BRADSHAW
Cheryl Bradshaw is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She currently has two series: Sloane Monroe mystery/thriller series and the Addison Lockhart paranormal suspense series. Stranger in Town (Sloane Monroe series #4) was a 2013 Shamus Award finalist for Best PI Novel of the Year, and I Have a Secret (Sloane Monroe series #3) was a 2013 eFestival of Words winner for best thriller novel. To learn more:
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BOOKS BY CHERYL BRADSHAW
Sloane Monroe Series
Black Diamond Death
Murder in Mind
I Have a Secret
Stranger in Town
Bed of Bones
Flirting With Danger (Novella)
Hush Now Baby
Dead of Night (Novella)
Gone Daddy Gone
Addison Lockhart Series
Grayson Manor Haunting
Rosecliff Manor Haunting
Maisie Fezziwig Series
Hic
kory Dickory Dead
Till Death do us Part Short Story Series
Whispers of Murder
Echoes of Murder
Stand-Alone Novels
Eye for Revenge
The Devil Died at Midnight
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
About Cheryl Bradshaw
Enjoy the Story?
Books by Cheryl Bradshaw
Gone Daddy Gone (Sloane Monroe Book 7) Page 16
