9 Ways to Fall in Love

by Caroline Clemmons

  Cassie tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. Her father was a murderer. She'd always thought him capable. Now she knew. Her father truly was a cold-blooded killer.

  "So it was Escobar Castellano's watch. Why is that important?" Why hasn't Quin done something? What is everybody waiting for? I can't keep him talking much longer.

  "Yep, it was Escobar Castellano's watch, all right. Baxter finally gave up ogling her boobs.

  "Shut up, Jackass."

  Her father laughed. "Yes, my dear, it was Escobar's watch. A very expensive watch. Priceless."

  "It's just a Rolex. Easily replaced with your dirty money."

  "Oh, no, my dear. You're wrong. That watch is irreplaceable. Those numbers and letters. They hold the true value. Account numbers and pass codes for accounts in the Cayman Islands belonging to our dearly departed comrade. Seven hundred and fifty million dollars."

  "So it all comes down to money?"

  "It's rather a large sum of money, daughter." His voice hardened along with his stare. "My money and I'm tired of waiting to cash in. I earned every cent of those millions and I want it. Now."

  Daniels raised his hand, once again pointing the gun—straight at Jake.

  "Tell me where the watch is or he's a dead man!"

  She had no choice. At least Quin was here and hopefully the cavalry wasn't far behind. "You win. I have it. I never pawned it."

  His arm steady, triumph and madness glittered in his eyes and she knew his intent. "No!"

  Quin rushed through the open doorway, plowing into Baxter from behind, startling Daniels into looking away from his target. Baxter's gun flew from his hand as he landed face first onto the floor. Jake lunged toward her father, grasping his gun hand and pushing Daniels back. The two men stumbled, struggling for control of the gun. Youth and strength were Jake's advantage; her father had rage and madness.

  Grappling for the gun, Jake thrust her father's arm up until it pointed to the ceiling. Cassie grabbed the fireplace poker, rushing toward the two struggling men.

  Everything moved in slow motion, like a tired old reel from a silent movie. Cassie saw Quin with his knee in the small of Baxter's spine, wrapping a leather belt around his hands, taking him out of the fight.

  Jake and her father still battled for his gun. Two handed, as she'd done years ago with the lamp, she held the poker like a baseball pat, prepared to knock her father down. If she had to—kill him. Before she got close enough to deliver the fatal blow, her father gave a wild roar, shifted his weight, swung his left arm around like a club, slamming into Jake. He landed hard against the wooden floor.

  Quin scrambled madly for the Baxter's gun several feet across the room. Cassie knew he'd be too late. Still hold the poker, ready to strike, she read her lover's fate in her father's eyes. Pointing the gun at Jake, his finger squeezed the trigger. Cassie stepped forward, felt the blow of the bullet as it struck, and her world spun away in blackness.

  Chapter 21

  "No!" Jake screamed. "No, no, baby, please." He scrambled forward, crawling on his hands and knees to reach Cassie's prone body. Bright red blood soaked through the flannel shirt covering her fallen body. Jake ignored the men piling into the room, Quin directing and orchestrating them in a choreographed routine as they pinned Daniels to the floor, confiscated his weapon. His evil laughter became a distant murmur when Jake knelt beside Cassie, lifting her to body into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder. Wetness tracked down his cheeks; he didn't care. All that mattered was Cassie.

  Blood seeped over his fingers as he pressed his right hand against her stomach. Red blossomed over each knuckle, trickling in runnels, darkening the plaid flannel into a sticky mess of darkness.

  He rocked her, crooning her name softly over and over. Losing Cassie again would destroy him. Living in a world without her lost all meaning, all purpose. He couldn't let it happen.

  Raising his head, he met Quin's steady gaze boring into him. Quin knew what Jake was about to do, he realized.

  "Please." Jake mouthed the word at Quin. A barely perceptible nod from Quin in response. Within moments the federal agents led Daniels and Baxter from the cabin with Baxter yelling about making a deal. Didn't matter, he didn't care. All that mattered was Cassie.

  Quin talked with the last man still in the cabin, mumbling something about medical training and getting transport up there ASAP. A few more mumbled sentences and the agent pulled a SAT phone from his jacket and walked out the door. Quin pulled the door closed behind him then strode forward, kneeling down beside Cassie.

  "You've only got a couple of minutes. I hope I've bought you enough time. Feds are calling in a chopper to evac her out." Reaching forward, Quin laid his hand atop Jake's blood-stained ones still pressing against Cassie's bleeding stomach.

  "It's been my honor, Mr. Stone." With those quietly uttered words, Quin stood and stepped back several feet, leaving Jake kneeling beside Cassie.

  "Cass," he whispered, leaning closer to her ear. "Forgive me. I should have said it sooner. I love you, sweetheart."

  As gently as he could, Jake lowered Cassie's body against the carpet, now splattered with her life's blood which continued to ooze from the bullet wound. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, centered his focus, drawing on the inner spark he'd carried all his life. So small, so tiny, it was a promise given, an oath sworn to his ancestor so many decades previously but never needed. Until today. Until his love, the other half of his soul needed rebirth.

  Whispering the words taught to him by his grandmother, Jake placed both hands firmly against Cassie's stomach. Pressed down firmly, he applied as much pressure as he dared to stanch the blood flow. From beneath his fingers an aura of blue and yellow lights escaped through the cracks of his slightly overlapped hands, the shafts of light shooting outward. Reds, oranges, and purple lights joined, twisting together, the colors swirling, rainbow bright shimmers of floating orbs escaping like tiny bubbles from a glass of champagne. Brighter and faster the lights spun around his splayed fingertips. Soundless, Quin watched from across the room.

  "All-Father, I willingly make this sacrifice. I ask you honor the pledge of my ancestors. A life saved. A life owed. May the great All-Father accept my heartfelt plea. My life for hers. Exchange the wounds, exchange the pain. I make myself a living sacrifice. Return, restore, revive. Accept this my pledge, fulfillment of the promise made to my family. Exchange my life for hers."

  Finishing the words of the promised blessing, Jake remained motionless on his knees, felt the burning sensation beneath his hands cool as the multicolored lights and flickering orbs faded to emptiness. The heat collected beneath his hands cooled as he'd uttered the final words. He eased his hands gently away from Cassie's body. Her chest didn't rise. Her eyes didn't flicker. No movement—nothing.

  Grandmother, you promised it would work.

  Generation after generation of the Stone family was taught the blessing, though none used it. Until today. And it had failed him—he'd lost Cassie, this time forever.

  Quin walked over to stand beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, looking down at Cassie's prostrate body covered in blood-soaked flannel. So still, so peaceful. If her blood didn't coat his hands, he'd swear she slept and would awaken any moment. Instead she lay within the final sleep of death.

  "Why didn't it work?"

  "I don't know, Jake. If I had the answers . . ."

  Jake rocked backward from beneath Quin's hand on his shoulder, pain lancing through his body. A scream of agony tore from his lips and white-hot pain rocketed through his flesh, straight to his brain. He'd never felt anything like it before. Nausea roiled deep within him and he turned his head, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

  "Check Cassie." Jake muttered through gritted teeth. He slumped forward, curling into a ball, as white hot pokers gored deep inside, over and over.

  "She's breathing. Jake, can you hear me? She's alive."

  Gotta get to Cassie. The mantra repeated over in his br
ain. Get to Cassie. Dragging himself along the floor, he inched his way beside her, stretched out his blood encrusted fingers to lightly brush their tips against her lips. Her eyelids fluttered before slowly opening, a sighing breath escaping between her parted lips and her warm breath danced across his skin. She's alive! Every damn thing was worth it, as long as Cassie was okay.

  # # #

  "What happened?" Cassie sat upright, her hands reaching for her middle. Sticky wetness met her touch. Memories flooded her mind—her taunting her father, getting him to talk about that damn watch. Jake and her father fighting over the gun. Her father—shooting her. Pushing the shirt aside, she stared at her stomach. There were streaks of blood, smeared from the flannel's wiping across it as she'd pulled it back. But nothing else. No bullet wound. No scar. Not even tenderness. Like nothing had happened.

  "My father shot me. I remember it. The bullet slammed into me. I felt it." Her gaze darted up to Quin's, standing over her. It took her a few seconds to realize she wasn't alone on the cabin floor. Jake lay on his side facing her, his eyes quietly searching her face. He smiled, the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen. It lit his whole face, as though he glowed from the inside out.

  "Honey, you're gonna be okay." His hand reached out, grasped hers, squeezing lightly before releasing her fingers. Pain etched his features as he rolled onto his back, looking past her to Quin.

  "Sorry, gotta leave the . . . clean up . . . to you." A groan escaped him, and Cassie scrambled up onto her knees beside him.

  "Jake, what happened, what's wrong with you?" Her hands ran over his face and chest, searching for an injury.

  "My Cassie. Always and forever mine. Remember . . . I love you . . ."

  "Quin, what's happening? Jake, Jake, please don't leave me. I love you. Jake, I love you."

  Chapter 22

  Jake squinted against the bright lights bombarding his eyes. Whiteness surrounded him, enveloping everything. He closed his eyes, blocked out the glare and attempted to raise his hand to wipe at the gritty sensation causing him to tear up. Aches and pains racked him. His body felt like it had played chicken with an eighteen wheeler and lost. The fingers on his right hand moved, curled into a fist, but his arm stayed firmly anchored at his side.

  Steeling himself once again against the brightness, he opened his eyes a bare slit. It was still bright but the overwhelming white aura faded into white walls and acoustic ceiling tiles. A soft breathy sigh sounded to his left and he shifted on the pillow, turning his head until he saw the most beautiful sight in the world. Cassie. His Cassie alive and whole, curled up in what looked to be one of the most uncomfortable, hideous green vinyl chairs he'd ever seen, her cheek resting against her hand as she slept.

  The smell of antiseptic overwhelmed his senses, the scent at once familiar yet foreign. Hospital room. With each passing moment, Jake's memory filled in the missing pieces of the puzzle.

  He remembered Dr. Daniels' showing up at Quin's cabin, he and Sheriff Baxter falling for planted info leading them to Cassie.

  The gunshot.

  The blood.

  So much blood coated his hands—Cassie's blood. Cassie dying even as he recited the All-Father's promise given generations ago to his ancestor.

  Yet here she slept, inches away, breathing . . . alive. Color bloomed in her cheeks. She looked healthy and whole. He'd traded his life for hers.

  Why am I still here? The question repeated itself over and over in his mind. What had gone wrong?

  "Cass?" Talking hurt his throat, his mouth parched and raw. Her eyes flew open at the sound of her name. Bounding from the chair, her hand slid along his shoulder to cup his cheek and he leaned into her touch, her gentle stroke soothing and peaceful. Her beautiful eyes searched his face as her fingers slid up to brush the hair back from his forehead.

  "You're awake! Finally. Oh, honey, I thought I'd lost you." Bending forward, her lips brushed against his, the barest touch but enough so he knew this wasn't a dream.

  "Can I . . . water?"

  "Oh, sorry, of course." She poured water into a glass on the bedside table, added a straw and held it to his lips. "Take it slow. The nurse said not to give you too much when you first woke up."

  Jake tried raising his hand again but it was still immobile by his side. He yanked but it didn't budge.

  "Wait, you might hurt yourself. Let me get the nurse. Don't move." She lifted the call button beside the bed and pressed it.

  "They had to restrain you. You fought everyone, kept pulling out the IV."

  "I don't remember." Jake swallowed, doing a slow blink at the things he could remember.

  "Cassie—you died."

  A sweet smile tugged at her lips. "I know."

  "You know?"

  She nodded brushing her fingertips against his cheek again, rubbing her thumb across his face in a loving caress. It seemed like she couldn't stop touching him.

  He liked it. A lot.

  "My father shot me. I remember pain and blood. The look on your face . . ." Her fingertip traced over his dry lips as her eyes filled with tears.

  "I remember you telling me you loved me."

  Jake couldn't look away, drinking in every soul-stirring inch of her. "I do, Cassie. I never stopped loving you."

  "That's good, because I never stopped loving you either. Not that I didn't try, for years I did my best to block away every single memory of you." Her sweet laugh lessened the starkness of her statement. "I wanted so many times to forget Cougar Hills, my father, everything mom and I left behind. Especially you. Thinking about you hurt too much."

  Cassie stopped talking as a petite black-haired woman in scrubs strolled purposefully into the room, stethoscope draped around her neck. Dark circles beneath her startling blue eyes made her appear tired though her brisk no-nonsense actions were efficient and quick. At first glance he'd guessed her to be in her early forties, but take away the exhaustion written across her face and he subtracted about seven of those years.

  She marched toward him, her eyes immediately going to the beeping monitor beside the bed, evaluating the numbers in an instant. Cassie stepped back and the stranger took her place at his bedside. Pulling a penlight from the breast pocket, she flashed the light into his eyes, moved it back and forth. Jake winced at the brightness but tolerated the intrusive treatment, waiting for answers with restrained impatience.

  "Welcome back, Mr. Stone. I'm Dr. Hannah Lawrence." When she smiled at him it filled her eyes, friendly and confident. As a firefighter and EMT, Jake worked around a lot of medical personnel, learned to read the nuances and body language like a pro. He liked this woman immediately. Beneath the tiredness he felt her compassion and the dedication to healing.

  "You're a very lucky man. It was touch and go when the Medevac helicopter got you here. We lost your pulse and respirations a couple of times before you stabilized. Do you remember what happened?"

  Jake flashed a look at Cassie over the doc's shoulder and she shook her head.

  "I don't remember anything."

  "Uh, huh, right. Everybody connected to this case seems to have amnesia." Dr. Lawrence frowned. "There was a lot of blood on your hands and your clothing but we couldn't find a scratch on you. Other than being unconscious and having coded on arrival, we couldn't find a thing wrong."

  "Blood?" Jake hated lying to her but there was no way he could tell her the truth. They'd take him straight from the medical ward to the psych ward.

  "Anyway," Dr. Lawrence continued, "we've run a whole slew of tests and there's nothing wrong with you, Mr. Stone. You're a walking miracle." Reaching forward, she unhooked the padded restraints from one wrist and then the other.

  "I want you to stay overnight, but if everything still looks good in the morning, you'll be discharged." She patted the wrist she'd just freed. "Maybe you memory of what happened will return and you can share your story with me." Turning to Cassie she gave her a wink before heading for the door.

  "You'd be surprised at some of the things I've
seen, Mr. Stone. I doubt anything you'd tell me would shock or surprise me. Let me know if you change your mind—I'm a good listener and great at keeping secrets." With a laugh she walked out into the hall, pulling the door closed behind her, leaving Jake and Cassie blessedly alone.

  "Come here, honey. Promise me you're alright." Jake patted the side of the bed beside his hip.

  "Jake, you saved me. I don't know how you did it, but you pulled me back. The gun shot—the burning pain, I've never felt anything like it. Everything went dark. No long corridor filled with light, no door waiting for me to open. Just blackness, a darkness so thick you could almost reach out and touch it. It felt like . . . limbo."

  Jake scooted over on the bed, patted the space beside him again. With a quick motion, Cassie lowered the rail and climbed in beside him, lying on her side and resting her head against his shoulder. He ran his fingers lightly through her hair, soothing her and reassuring himself she really was in his arms.

  "There's so much I need to tell you, baby. What I wanted to share with you seven years ago." Brushing a feather-light kiss on her brow, Jake took a deep breath and began the story behind his family's blessing. By the end of the story, Cassie eyes filled with tears.

  "Wolf Who Walks asked a boon from the Great All-Father for Silver Dawn, and thus the family's blessing began. Since she saved a life at great risk to herself and prevented other children in the tribe from suffering the same fate as River, the All-Father granted Wolf Who Walks' plea, bestowing the blessing on Silver Dawn."

  "She was very brave."

  Jake smiled. "She was my great, great grandmother. That blessing passed to each generation but it's never been used—until you, Cass."

  Leaning her head against Jake's shoulder, Cassie snuggled closer to his side in the hospital bed and whispered a silent thanks to Silver Dawn, who'd given her back her life with the man she loved.

  Chapter 23