Broken: The sequel to THE PREACHER'S SON

by B. D. Anderson

  He closed his eyes hoping that Max wouldn’t turn down his proposal.

  Rogers sat in the Aynor county jail sulking. There was no way that he was going back to prison. He’d made up his mind about that! He knew that he wouldn’t be in Aynor long. More than likely he would be transferred to a more secure facility very shortly so he knew that he had to make a move quickly. He glanced out through the bars as he began to make plans. He was waiting patiently for his chance.

  This hick town wasn’t big enough to hold him, and these country bumpkins didn’t know who they were dealing with! He told himself that over and over again. He was smarter than they were and he was going to use his smarts to make his escape! He had to do something before the Feds showed up.

  The sheriff watched him closely and he lay back in his cell like a compliant prisoner. The deputy, however, was a young fellow named Smithfield and Rogers could tell that he was a bit green. If the chance of escape presented itself, then he knew that it had to be through the deputy. The fool wouldn’t know what hit him by the time he’d fooled him!

  He made himself lie on the cot quietly. The sheriff still eyed him suspiciously; however he gave him no reason to believe that he was anything but a model prisoner. He gave him a weak smile and then looked away. He’d overheard the sheriff say earlier that he would be leaving shortly.

  The sheriff left for the day and two deputies were there on duty. Now was his chance. He had to get one of them to come into the cell. Smithfield was the young green one and Ellerson was an older deputy, but he was a small man. Rogers knew that he could overpower him if he caught the man off guard.

  The young deputy named Smithfield came back to check on him and bring him his dinner. Rogers lay on the cot and began to moan softly with his eyes closed.

  “What’s wrong with you Rogers?” Smithfield asked peering into the cell holding the plate of food.

  Rogers didn’t respond but kept his eyes closed.

  Smithfield left and returned with the other deputy, Ellerson. They both looked at Rogers lying on the cot with his eyes closed moaning. Rogers kept his eyes closed; his head turned toward the wall and began to moan louder.

  “What do you think we should do?” Smithfield asked.

  “He could be sick,” Ellerson replied. “Maybe we should call somebody.”

  Smithfield opened the cell and walked over to Rogers, peering down at him with one hand on his gun. Ellerson locked the cell behind him and stood there and watched.

  “Rogers! What’s your problem?” Smithfield tried to turn Rogers over to face him.

  Rogers quickly sat up and tried to grab the deputy’s gun. Rogers punched the smaller man in his face and then put him in a chokehold.

  “Let him go, or I’ll shoot you dead, Rogers!” Ellerson yelled from the other side of the jail cell. “Let him go!”

  Rogers had somehow gotten the deputy’s gun from him and held it to Smithfield’s head.

  “I don’t think so,” Rogers growled. “Drop your gun, or I’ll shoot him dead! Unlock this cell right now!”

  “You’ll never get out of here!” Smithfield said, struggling against Rogers.

  “I have nothing to lose. He’s a dead man if you don’t open this cell door,” Rogers told Ellerson as he nodded at the deputy he was holding in his grasp.

  Ellerson didn’t back down. “Drop the gun, Rogers. You’re not getting out of here alive. You need a key to get out of this area, and I’m not opening it.”

  “So be it!” Rogers said. “But I’m taking him with me.” He cocked the gun. “I’ll shoot him dead, and then you’ll have to explain to his family why you let him die. That is, if you make it. I could get lucky and get a shot off to kill you too. I overheard you two talking. Doesn’t he have a baby due any day now? Are you going to be able to look in his wife’s face and tell her that you let him die?”

  Ellerson began to sweat as he watched Rogers press the gun to his friend’s neck. “What do you want?”

  “Don’t listen to him” Smithfield hissed. “Shoot him!”

  “Let me out of here.”

  “You’ll never make it out of the county, Rogers! You’re just making matters worse!” Ellerson said.

  “Shut up! And open this cell, or he’ll never lay eyes on his baby!”

  “No!” Ellerson said still pointing the gun at Rogers.

  “Do it now!” Rogers demanded, having dragged the deputy he was holding to the door of the cell. “I’ll shoot him dead!” He put the gun to Smithfield’s head.

  Ellerson looked at Smithfield whose eyes were bulging. He looked at Rogers.

  “OK, Rogers, you win” he said, lowering his gun.

  Rogers grinned at him. “I always win.” He eased the gun off of Smithfield’s neck a bit, and Ellerson quickly fired his pistol at Roger’s head, hitting him dead on. Rogers fell backwards, his body hitting the floor hard.

  Matt turned on the television and was shocked to see that there had been an escape attempt at the Aynor jail.

  He listened to the news as the deputy was being interviewed. He was being commended for being a hero. Rogers had been shot during the escape attempt, but was no word on his condition at that point.

  Matthew wondered if Max had heard about the escape attempt and picked up the phone to call her.

  Max cut off the television and thought about what Matthew had asked her. He wanted to marry her. She couldn’t believe it. Maybe it was the sedatives talking. But he had never appeared more serious than he had at that moment.

  He wanted a July wedding! She was crazy to even entertain such an idea and yet a part of her was happy that someone wanted to spend the rest of their life with her. Matthew wanted her!

  She got in the car and headed back to the hospital. She wondered if Matthew had heard about Rogers escape attempt. When would this nightmare end?

  A part of her felt as if she wanted to accept his proposal. After all, what other man would put up with her issues? At least Matthew would be going into marriage with his eyes wide open. She thought about Nadine and Eric. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before they’d want their own place and where would that leave her? She’d be all alone with no one. Thinking about that fact made Matthew’s proposal sound better by the minute.

  He loved her. He told her that and she knew that he meant it. Max never would have imagined that any man could love her and now she had an opportunity for some happiness and felt that she’d be a fool to dismiss Matthew’s proposal.

  Of course her family would most likely be against it, but this was her life and her decision. The more she thought about it, the better the proposal sounded to her. She deserved some happiness didn’t she? She thought about Dr. Nelson. She knew that the doctor would try to talk her out of it or call the proposal crazy, but she didn’t care. Matthew Ferguson wanted her to become his wife, and while she still hadn’t made a final decision, she felt that it was something she wanted very much.

  Matthew watched the television as the news announced that Rogers had died from a gunshot wound received during the escape attempt. He was glad that the nightmare for Max was over.

  Now he wondered if she feared him after Rogers had forced her on him. Even though she told him that she was glad that it was him instead of Rogers, he felt that somehow she still was traumatized by the event. Maybe marriage was the wrong thing for her right now. Maybe she couldn’t see herself being with him. He didn’t want to think about that. He knew that she was still dealing with what had happened even though she pretended that she was fine. Matthew could see that she was agitated and was on edge.

  He wasn’t going to kid himself. More than likely she would not like sex very much if they married. It would remind her of what Rogers had done to her. Could he live with that? He wasn’t so sure. A part of him wanted to get married regardless, but then the sensible part of his brain was telling him to wait. Maybe Max needed to talk to that doctor of hers some more and tell her how this confrontation with Rogers had affected her.

  H
e pressed the button for the pain medication. Maybe he wasn’t thinking straight himself. Perhaps the future he wanted for them wasn’t a realistic one for them, at least right now. He knew that Max needed to work through this latest trauma before they married.

  He stared out of the window. He was beginning to feel sleepy. Most likely it was the medication. He knew that his proposal must have sounded outrageous to her. However this incident made him realize that he didn’t want to waste any more time. His whole outlook on life had changed since he had been shot.

  What did Max want out of life? He wasn’t so sure. He planned to talk to her some more about it when she returned. Right now he just wanted to sleep.

  CHAPTER 25

  And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

  Max returned to the hospital and found Matthew fast asleep. She sat there for a while and just stared at him sleeping. She couldn’t help thinking about the proposal.

  She had made an appointment with Dr. Nelson and would go there right after she left the hospital. So much had happened in such a short period of time. She was still trying to sort everything out in her head. She hadn’t been sleeping well, but she didn’t tell Dr. Rogers or Matthew. She didn’t want them to know that she was having episodes especially now since Matthew wanted to marry her.

  Matthew stirred and opened his eyes looking at her. She watched as he smiled at her and she felt a sense of relief knowing that he wasn’t mad at her.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey, yourself.”

  She pulled her chair closer to the bed and took his hand in hers. She stared at the IV that was stuck on the back of his hand and tried to be careful.

  “I’m going to talk to Dr. Nelson,” she said, looking at him. “I need to talk to her about what happened and also about the proposal.”

  “Look, I want to apologize to you. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. I can’t expect you to feel what I feel. You didn’t have a near death experience so I can see how it looks like I’m moving way to fast. Don’t worry about giving me an answer right now unless you want to. In fact, I take back my proposal. Let’s just start over.” He looked at her his eyes sad but serious.

  Max looked at him surprised. She wasn’t expecting this from him. Had he changed his mind? Was he having second thoughts realizing that she was a woman with a lot of issues? Could he tell that things were different since the incident with Rogers? Well, she wasn’t going to let him off that easily!

  “How can you take back a proposal, Matthew? You didn’t even wait to hear my answer,” she asked offended. “That’s not right! You asked me; therefore you need to wait for my answer!”

  “I just realized that maybe I was out of line, that I may have been rushing things.” Matthew replied. “I realize now that I was pressuring you and that perhaps I should back off a bit.”

  “You really mean that you’re having second thoughts!” She snapped. “Maybe you realized that you don’t love me after all!”

  “I do love you, Max” Matthew insisted. “I don’t want to pressure you and I think that’s what I was doing before. I’ve thought about it and realized that I was being somewhat selfish about the whole thing.”

  She stared at him a moment. He still looked pale and tired and she knew that she should drop it, but she couldn’t let it go.

  “So you’ve changed your mind? You don’t want to marry me, is that what you’re saying?” she asked sitting back in the chair. She felt herself began to panic a bit and tried to fight the feeling as her insecurities were rising up trying to overtake her. A little voice in her head kept saying, ‘You’re broken! You’re broken!’

  Matthew looked away and sighed. “That’s not what I’m saying at all, Max. I’m giving you an out. Why are you so defensive? I thought you’d be happy about me giving you more time.”

  “I don’t need you to give me an out Matthew. Do you want to marry me or don’t you?” she asked trying to control the level of her voice. Dread filled her as her insecurities battled to take control.

  “Of course I want to marry you. I meant what I said, Max.” He looked at her and sighed.

  “I don’t want to fight with you, Max. I still want to marry you. You are the one who’s unsure, not me!” he insisted. “Why are you picking a fight with me?”

  “I’m not picking a fight,” She lied. She quickly stood with her hands clenched at her side.

  “Yes you are and you need to figure out why you’re doing it.”

  Max knew that he was right, but she couldn’t let it go or tell him how she was feeling. She wondered if she could continue to hide the truth from him. Now it seemed to her that he’d changed his mind about marrying her. Would he next change his mind about being in a relationship with her?

  “I think you just changed your mind because you know that I have so many issues. You’re thinking about what Rogers did to me and the fact that intimacy is hard for me. You’re scared that you’ll be saddled with a frigid, uptight mess for a wife,” She accused, wanted to hear him deny it. She needed him to reassure her that he wanted her despite what happened to her. She needed to hear it so that she could get through the episode that she was now battling against.

  Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes, but she willed herself not to cry. She stared at him waiting for him to respond. She was shaking a little and resisted the urge to wrap her arms around herself knowing that he would pick up on it.

  Matthew did not answer right away, which fueled her insecurities even more. Maybe he didn’t want her anymore!

  Matthew’s voice was calm. “I think it’s more of your problem than mine, Max. I think it’s good that you have an appointment with that doctor. Perhaps you should go on and see her as soon as possible and then we’ll talk, OK? Right now, I’m going to rest for a while.”

  He turned over on his side away from her and she stared at his back for a moment. Max felt that he was giving up on her! She waited for him to say more, but silence filled the room. Why couldn’t she be normal like other women? Could he possibly know that she was having more episodes since Roger’s attack? She quickly berated herself. Of course he didn’t because she hadn’t told him! She realized that she had to get a grip on herself because if she spun out of control, she was going to lose him for sure!

  “You’re a man of experience who’s been with lots of women! I know that you probably won’t have patience with me with all my issues!”

  She waited for him to deny it, to reassure her but there was only silence for a moment.

  “Matthew—”

  Matthew did not turn over. “Max, I love you. I know that this is hard for you to accept but I do love you warts and all, but you need to work through some things so we won’t discuss marriage anymore until you’ve met with your doctor. You’re acting out and I’m not up to it right now. Go and see your doctor and talk to her. Now I’m tired and need to rest.”

  Max stared at his back another moment realizing that she had been dismissed and then got up and left the room.

  Eric walked into Matthew’s hospital room and found his mother sitting there with Matthew.

  “So how much longer you’re going to be laid up in this place,” he asked Matthew after greeting his brother.

  Matthew pushed the button and sat up in the bed. He had to admit that he felt a lot better.

  “Hopefully I will be able to go home soon,” he replied.

  He thought about Max who hadn’t been back to visit him in the last couple of days. He knew that she was most likely still working through whatever feelings she was dealing with and he hoped that her appointment with the doctor had gone well. He’d tried to call her, but she hadn’t called him back. He knew that she was probably mad for the way he’d dismissed her, but he’d been too tired to deal with whatever she had going on.

  Eric stood by the bed. “I came as soon as I read your text. You said you want to talk to me. What’s up?”

&
nbsp; Matthew looked at his mother. “I wanted to tell both of you that I asked Max to marry me.”

  His mother looked surprised. “You did what?”

  “What did she say?” Eric asked, ignoring his mother’s outburst.

  “She didn’t, so I took it back and now she’s mad,” He replied dryly. “I haven’t heard from her for a couple of days.”

  “Son, how can you take back a proposal? Did you change your mind? This is rather sudden.” His mother shook her head in disbelief!

  Matthew sipped his water. “I didn’t change my mind. I just realized that she is not ready to marry me. She’s been more on edge since the incident. She admitted to me that she still has a lot of things to work out, but she still got mad anyway.”

  Rachel stood up and looked at Eric. “You just need to give her time, Matthew. That’s a lot to throw on her knowing that she’s still dealing with the attack and the fact that horrible man is dead.”

  “I know that Ma,” he said, lying back and closing his eyes. “After I thought about it, I realized that the timing was off. I called myself taking the pressure off of her, and she was just pissy about the whole thing.”

  His mother eyed him suspiciously. “Is there a reason for a rush? When did you want to marry her or had you discussed that?”

  “I wanted to get married,” he replied. “I suggested July 4th weekend.”

  “What? You’re kidding right?” Eric said, laughing. “Boy, have you changed! I thought you said it would be years before you married anyone! Now you and Max have been together, how long?”

  “Thanksgiving.”

  “Yeah, since Thanksgiving, that’s a little over four months ago and now you’re talking marriage. You’re the man who said that he wouldn’t get married until he made millions!”

  “I know what I said,” Matt replied eying his brother. “I’ve said a lot of things I really didn’t mean.”

  “What’s the hurry Matthew? Is there something you and Max need to tell us?” his mother asked. She came closer standing over him.