Chapter 13
Tessa jumped out of the tub, taking the towel Rance quickly wrapped around her, followed by Sam. “What the fuck happened? Where is he? How bad is it?”
“He’s in the barn. Ambulance is on the way along with Lucas. The bullet grazed his shoulder, but when he fell off the horse he hit his head on a rock. There was a lot of blood, it knocked him out, and he hasn’t come to yet. Danny’s with him. He’s an EMT so I didn’t feel bad about leaving him to come get you. I tried calling your cell phones. I see now why you didn’t answer.”
Tessa pulled on the clothes she had taken off earlier and slid her feet into the sandals, not caring about anything else but getting to Mitch. This was her fault. He warned her and she didn’t listen. If Mitch died she would never forgive herself for putting all of them in danger. Rance and Sam were right behind her as she ran down the front steps and stopped long enough to ask Rance which barn he was in. “He’s in three, come on, we’ll take my truck, then we can follow him to the hospital.”
All three of them climbed into the truck quickly as they heard the sirens from the ambulance and Lucas come up the driveway. Rance waved them to follow as they quickly drove down the road. As soon as the truck stopped, Tessa pushed Sam out of the way and ran inside the barn. Danny was sitting with Mitch along with Tim and a couple of the other ranch hands Tessa had met earlier that day. Mitch was covered in blood, his eyes closed and not moving. “Oh no!” Tessa said as she started to cry. She dropped to her knees, placing her hand against his cheek. “Mitch, wake up, baby. I love you so much. I’m so sorry.”
Rance placed his arms on Tessa’s, moving her away from Mitch so the paramedics could get to him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as she cried. “He’s tough, baby. He’ll be fine.”
“This is all my fault. I should have listened. I never should have come here.”
“This isn’t your fault, Tessa, do you hear me? You didn’t pull the trigger.”
Tessa interrupted him. “I pulled the trigger when I didn’t heed his warnings. Don’t you see? This all could have been avoided if I would have just listened.”
“Rance, tell me what you know,” Lucas asked as the paramedics continued to work on Mitch, starting an IV.
“After Mitch called you about the cut fence and the bear traps, we rode out to take a look for ourselves. Tim and Danny were already there, loading up the traps, and I helped them with the rest. Mitch rode down the fence line to see if he could find anything. He was about a hundred yards away from us when we heard the shot and saw him fall off his horse. The sun was just going down but we heard the sound of a dirt bike as it started up and took off. He used the access road that wraps around the back of the property and must have been waiting in the cluster of trees on the other side of the creek. Not many people know about that road or how to find it. The entrance is on the other side of town about fifteen miles out. Whoever this is knows his way around.”
Mitch was loaded onto a stretcher and the paramedics strapped him down when Lucas asked them, “How serious is it?”
Steve McKenzie, one of the paramedics who had graduated a year after Tessa, tuned to Lucas. “He’s stable. We’ve got the bleeding stopped. He will need stitches for the wound to the head as well as where the bullet went through his arm. It’s a clear entry and exit. We’re concerned that he hasn’t woken up yet. I’m sure that they’ll do a CAT scan and an MRI once we get him to the hospital in Casper.”
“Let me ask you this. Is it a possibility that you guys could leave here without the sirens on and without speeding? I’m guessing whoever did this might be waiting somewhere to see if he succeeded in his attempt to kill Mitch. I want him to think he did. I have a feeling that if he thinks he got Mitch he’s gonna get cocky and slip up. Once you get outside the city limits you could speed up. He’s close by watching, I just know it, and he’s probably close enough to watch for your reaction, Tessa, so make it a good one when the boys walk you back to the house.” Then he looked at Rance. “I want you to wait forty-five minutes or so before you leave for the hospital. Watch for a tail and call me before you leave. As far as anyone knows, Mitch didn’t make it. I suggest you call the twins and Della, let them know what’s going on along with Brad and Ally.”
Tessa walked over to Mitch and kissed the space on his face that wasn’t covered by a bandage. “I love you, darlin’, hold on.” They watched as Mitch was loaded into the back of the ambulance and it slowly pulled away.
Tessa lost it. There wouldn’t have to be any acting involved. She crumpled to the ground and sobbed. Rance picked her up and carried her to his truck. Sam turned to Tim and the ranch hands that were in the barn. “You heard the sheriff, as far as y’all know, Mitch died.” Sam jumped in the truck and pulled Tessa onto his lap as they drove back to the house. “He’s gonna be fine, Tessa,” he told her as he rubbed her back and softly kissed the top of her head. Rance pulled up to the front of the house and walked around to the passenger side of the truck, taking Tessa from Sam. He carried her into the house and up to her room, laying her on the bed.
“Rest for a while, baby. We’ll let you know when it’s time to leave.”
Tessa got quickly off the bed and went into the closet, grabbing her suitcase and opening it on the floor by her dresser.
“What are you doing, sugar?” Sam asked as he put his hand on her arm to stop her from opening the drawer.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m leaving, Sam. It’s only a matter of time before he tries to hurt you and Rance and I can’t let that happen. When we drive to Casper to see Mitch, I’ll go see my dad and explain to him that I can’t stay here any longer. His customers will just have to get their prescriptions filled over in Elation. It’s only a twenty minute drive. It’s not like they have to go all the way to Casper. Then I’m going to the airport and getting on the first flight back to Seattle.”
“Tessa, calm down. We can’t protect you if you go back to Seattle,” Rance told her.
“And I can’t protect you here! Don’t you get it? He isn’t going to stop until he hurts everyone I love. I can’t do this anymore. You really don’t want me anyhow so I don’t know why you of all people are trying to stop me.”
“What the hell are you talking about that I don’t want you? I love you, Tessa, and I’ve never said that to another woman.”
“If you really loved me, Rance, then you would make love to me, just you and me, but you won’t. You’re just going along with what your brothers want to make them happy.” Tessa was yelling now, getting right in his face and pushing her finger into his chest.
“I’ve told you I just can’t do it. It has nothing to do with you.”
“And I can’t live that way. This wasn’t going to work out anyhow, so it’s better that we end it now.”
“If you’re going back to Seattle, I’m coming with you,” Sam told her.
“No, Sam. If he follows me, he’ll hurt you. Besides, you can’t leave your brothers, especially now with Mitch hurt. You need to be here for your family. I’m glad we had the opportunity to spend time together but it was just a dream and trust me, dreams don’t come true and they don’t last. Reality is, we can’t be together.”
“I’m not letting you go.”
“You don’t have a choice.” Tessa filled her suitcase, then grabbed a few items from the bathroom. “Let’s go.”
“Tessa, don’t do this, please,” Sam tried, holding her face and looking into her eyes.
“I can’t. I’m sorry. I love you all so much. I just can’t take the chance of anyone else being hurt.”
Tessa tried to pick up her suitcase, but Rance took it from her. She could feel the wall he had put up between them and even though it broke her heart it was for the best. Sam called Lucas and told them they were leaving town, and then he called the twins and Della on the way to the hospital.
* * * *
When they arrived at the hospital, it was nearly midnight. They went to the emergency ro
om, inquiring about Mitch. The nurse showed them back to the room and introduced them to Dr. Miller, who was handling Mitch’s case. “Your brother suffered a concussion, but all the tests we’ve run show he won’t have any permanent damage. He had twenty-five stitches in his head and fourteen in his arm. He should make a full recovery and be able to go home tomorrow. He woke up about twenty minutes ago. You wouldn’t by chance be Tessa, would you? He’s been asking for you.”
“Thank you, Dr. Miller,” Tessa told him as she walked around the curtain to see Mitch peacefully sleeping. She walked over and picked up his hand, bringing it to her mouth as the tears slid down her face.
Mitch slowly opened his eyes, seeing his angel sitting next him. “Hey, darlin’, what’s with the tears?”
“The doctor said you’re going to be just fine. I’m so sorry, Mitch.”
“What are you sorry for, darlin’?”
“If I would have just listened to his warnings, if I wouldn’t have gotten involved with you, this never would have happened. I’ve come to tell you good-bye, Mitch. I’m going back to Seattle. I’m so sorry for what he has done to you and I can’t take the chance that he’ll hurt anyone else I love.” The tears were flowing down Tessa’s face and Mitch touched her cheek trying to wipe them away.
“He’s getting careless, Tessa. Lucas is going to catch him soon. Don’t let him tear apart what we’ve been building, that’s what he wants. Don’t let him win, don’t run away from us.”
“But don’t you see, Mitch, he has won. I won’t let anyone else be hurt. Besides, this wasn’t going to work anyhow. Rance can’t love me the way I need him to. I’m not sure he really wants me at all. I’ll always love you, Mitch. I know that one day you’ll find someone that all three of you can love and be happy with.”
“Tessa, you are the woman we want. Don’t leave, darlin’. We can work this out. Rance loves you. He just needs time.”
“I have to go, Mitch. Time’s run out. I’m sorry. I will always love you,” Tessa told him as she softly kissed him one last time then ran out of the room.
Mitch tried to get up to go after her, but Rance stopped him. “Lie back down, Mitch, Sam went after her.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you go after her and tell her you love her and that you’ll try?”
“I’m broken, Mitch. I can’t give her what she wants.”
“God dammit, Rance. You better fucking stop her. I love that woman. We love that woman! She is ours. Don’t let her go.”
Sam walked back in the room. “She’s gone.”
Chapter 14
Tessa was able to slip around the corner into the ladies’ room without Sam seeing her. She waited about fifteen minutes, washing her face and pulling herself together. Then she took the elevator up to her dad’s room. Visiting hours were over, and he would be asleep, but she had to explain to him why she was leaving. To her surprise, her dad was sitting in a chair, wide awake. “Come here, babe. Brad called me.”
Tessa crawled onto his lap as his arms came around her. She needed to feel all the comfort, security, and safety that her dad could give her. She held him as she cried, letting go everything inside of her. “I have to leave, Daddy. I can’t stay here and take the chance of anyone else getting hurt.”
“This isn’t your fault, babe. I wish you would believe that. I don’t want you to leave. I don’t think you will be safe in Seattle and you’ll be by yourself.”
“At least if I’m there, he can only hurt me, not everyone I love.”
“How do you think we will feel if anything happens to you? Don’t you think those men of yours are going to go crazy if they can’t protect you? I thought you were building a relationship with them. I was hoping you were home to stay.”
“I thought I was, too, Daddy, but please understand, I can’t stay. I’m sorry to leave like this, leave you with no one to run the pharmacy. That will give Mom one more reason to hate me.”
“Your mother doesn’t hate you, Tessa. She loves you very much.”
“It sure doesn’t seem like it half the time. Daddy, I’ve got to go. I love you so much. I hope that someday soon I can come back and visit.” Tessa kissed her dad’s cheek as she stood up and wiped the tears from her face.
“Tessa Rose, don’t do this, don’t leave.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy, I don’t have any other choice now, I have to. I love you.” Tessa could hear her dad telling her he loved her and to come back and talk with him, but she needed to go before he talked her into staying. Leaving him was the second hardest thing she had to do within the last hour.
* * * *
“Visiting hours are over, young man. You can’t come in here this late.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we need to see Grant Walker now. It’s an emergency,” Rance told the nurse as he and Sam appeared in Grant’s door.
“It’s fine. I’m awake. I need to speak to these young men.”
“Keep it down, other patients are sleeping,” the nurse told them as she left scowling at them.
“She’s gone. She left about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Why didn’t you stop her? Now she’s out there on her own. She’s not safe.”
“I tried to stop her, but Tessa is very headstrong and independent. She’s afraid this lunatic is going to hurt someone else and she’s the cause. I’ll give Lucas a call and have him get in touch with the authorities in Seattle and let them know what’s going on here. I’ll also call her friend Heather. I have her numbers for an emergency contact. I was hoping that you boys would have been able to persuade her to stay.”
“We want her, Grant. We’ll bring her home.”
“You can’t force her. She has to come home on her own,” Grant told them.
“I’ve always loved her. I can’t lose her now. We’ll do everything possible to make sure she’s safe. I want to go to Seattle right now, but Lucas wants us to stay put. It’s killing us not to follow her,” Sam told him.
“I agree with Lucas. You need to listen to him so they can catch this guy. If you follow her he’ll think you are still together. He needs to think your relationship is done. Plus, you need to give her some time.”
“I can’t just sit here. Wonder if that son of a bitch does follow her? She’s a sitting duck, Grant.”
“I’ll make some phone calls and have someone watch over her. I’m not going to let anything happen to my daughter. How is Mitch? Brad said he was shot.”
“He’s fine. The bullet went clean through, didn’t cause any damage. He fell off his horse and hit his head on a rock which was worse than the gunshot. He has a concussion and stitches, but he’ll make a full recovery. Lucas doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s alive. He thinks this asshole that’s doing this will slip up faster if he thinks he has succeeded in taking one of us out.”
“I don’t think he’ll go after any of you now that Tessa is gone. It wouldn’t surprise me though that he knows exactly where she lives.”
“We thought about that. Don’t worry about calling anyone to watch her. We’ve got a couple buddies that do security work who I called just a little while ago. They are going to fly up to Seattle and keep an eye on Tessa, follow her around, and watch her apartment until we can go. If we have to play make-believe and grieve so that son of a bitch thinks Mitch is really dead then we have to have someone we trust to watch out for her. I don’t like this plan Lucas got us involved in, but if it works and Tessa’s safe, that’s all that matters.”
“You boys keep me informed on what’s going on. I’ll be home Tuesday.”
“We will, Grant. We are really sorry about this,” Rance told him.
“This isn’t your fault any more than it is Tessa’s. Just watch your backs.”
“We will.” They left the hospital, headed for the airport. The twins and Della were on their way home and would be arriving soon.”
* * * *
Tessa pulled her keys out of her purse and unlocked her door. Her phone was ringing, but she ignored it. Sh
e could tell it was Sam from the ringtone. They had been calling her phone constantly. The only peace she had was when she turned it off on the plane. She had turned it back on just in case her dad needed to get in touch with her. She wasn’t ready to talk to anyone else. Her apartment smelled musty from being sealed up for so long. She knew Heather had stopped by and picked up her mail and watered her plants, but that wasn’t enough to air the place out. It felt weird being back in her apartment. She felt more alone now than before. She came home with nothing, having left her suitcase in Rance’s truck. She sat down on her old couch, thinking about what she needed to do, but it was too hard to concentrate or make decisions. One thing for sure, she was going to take a few more days off before she let her boss know she was home and ready to go back to work. She had so much going on inside her head between the stalker and her men. Well, they really weren’t hers anymore, not sure Rance ever was. She was scared and alone which was why she nearly screamed when there was a knock on the door. Then it opened and Heather walked in.
“Hey, you,” Heather told her as she opened her arms and Tessa went to her, grateful for her love and support. She held her while she cried, surprised she had any tears left.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Your dad called me. He told me what happened. God, Tessa, I’m so sorry. Your dad said Mitch is going to be fine. Why aren’t you there taking care of him?”
“I wouldn’t have to take care of him if I would have stayed away from him to begin with. He was shot because of me, because I so selfishly thought I could have a real relationship with the three of them. Everything is such a mess. I yelled at Rance and Sam, left Mitch to take care of himself, and let my dad down because now he’s going to have to close the pharmacy until he can go back to work.”
“Your dad’s not worried about the pharmacy, Tessa, he told me so. He’s worried about you. He doesn’t think you are safe here, that you were safer with Mitch, Rance, and Sam and yeah, I know Mitch was shot but now you have no one to look out for you. What if this guy shows up here, Tessa? I want you to come and stay with me.”
Welcome Home, Tessa [Allure, Wyoming] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 32
