Dark Hearts

by Sharon Sala

  “Yes.”

  “Then, I’d suggest you up your calcium by at least five hundred milligrams, get some weight back on you and no more midnight meetings with a panther.”

  “No more,” she said. “Do I have to wear casts on my ankle and wrist?”

  “I’m not going to cast them, but I’m sending you home with a soft boot to stabilize the ankle, and I want you to go back to your GP in a couple of weeks to see how it’s healing. We’ll wrap your wrist, too, and don’t do any heavy lifting.”

  “Deal,” she said.

  The doctor glanced at Sam. “Are you related to Chief Jakes?”

  “Yes, I’m his brother. Why?” Sam asked.

  “No reason. You just look like him, so I was curious.”

  “I’m the eldest. I live in Atlanta.”

  “Nice family. I’m very sorry about your mother.”

  “Thank you,” Sam said. “So can I take Lainey home now?”

  “Yes, just make sure she takes it easy for a while.”

  “I’ll monitor her every move,” Sam said.

  Lainey looked up at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. She could tell he was up to something.

  Fifteen

  Lainey was in the car and still shivering as Sam pulled a blanket from the back of his SUV and tucked it around her.

  She pulled the blanket closer and snuggled down in the seat.

  “Are you comfortable, honey?” Sam asked.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He got in the car and turned the heat up as he drove away, but instead of leaving town he headed for his motel.

  “Where are we going?” Lainey asked.

  “To get my stuff. I’m staying with you. If it scares the shit out of you to sleep with me, I’ll pick another bed and be fine.”

  She started to cry.

  “Are you upset with me?” Sam asked.

  She wiped the tears off her cheeks. “Have you ever had a dream come true?”

  Sam took a deep breath and reached for her hand.

  “Together, Lainey. You and me. This is part of what that means to me. And when this nightmare is over, will you come to Atlanta with me?”

  Tears were rolling again.

  “Oh, honey...” Sam said.

  “Just another one of those come-true moments,” she said and used her blanket to wipe away her tears. “Go check out of your motel. It’s check-in time at the Pickett Inn.”

  He accelerated into the parking lot, then drove to his room.

  “I’m going to leave the car running so you’ll be warm. It won’t take me more than five minutes to pack. I’ll check out as we leave.”

  She watched as he got out of the car. When he paused a few moments to scan the parking lot, she frowned, wondering what had caught his attention. Then when he turned and went into his room without further concern, it dawned on her that this was most likely normal behavior. The soldier had learned to scan the landscape before moving away from cover. If it reassured him to do that, then it worked for her.

  She leaned her head against the window and tried not to think of how afraid Dandy must have been. She tried to get it out of her mind, but the horror of such an ignoble death for such a wonderful companion hurt her heart.

  A few moments later she saw the motel door open again, with Sam silhouetted against the light behind him.

  Before his return she’d almost forgotten the exact curve of his lips and the strong jut of his chin. She’d forgotten what it felt like to hold his hand, and how protected she’d always felt within his embrace. He’d gone away from her a young man and returned as a battle-scarred warrior. As much as she missed who he’d been, she was beginning to think she liked this Sam better.

  Then the lights went out and he walked into full view in the headlights before he kept moving and dumped his things in the back of the SUV. A cold blast of wind swirled through the interior and then disappeared just as quickly when he shut the hatch.

  “One more stop, and then we’re going home,” he said as he got in and circled the motel. He stopped at the office and gave Lainey’s arm a brief pat. “Are you still with me?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “It won’t take long to settle up,” he said, and once again she watched him walk away.

  When he came out the second time, Lainey was sound asleep. As he got in and closed the door, she barely reacted. He put the car in gear and drove away.

  Going back down the same road he’d been on hours earlier felt weird—almost like letting air out of a balloon. The band of muscles across his chest was so tight it was hard to breathe, and he was struggling to maintain composure. It felt like he was on autopilot as they covered the miles, but when he topped that last hill and saw the security light in the backyard and the porch light shining to show him the way home, the pain in his chest finally eased. Sanctuary awaited.

  * * *

  Lainey woke up as the car turned onto the gravel. She sat up, and then laid a hand on Sam’s arm, but she didn’t say anything.

  Sam glanced at her. “What, honey?”

  “Nothing...just centering my world.”

  He swallowed past the lump in his throat as he parked. “I’m going to open the front door first, then I’ll come back for you.”

  Too weary to argue, she quietly waited for his return.

  The air was cold when he opened the door, but he picked her up, blanket and all, and carried her indoors. The warmth and familiarity of the old farmhouse welcomed her home.

  “Tonight was awful,” Lainey said as Sam carried her to her room. “But you know what my mother would have said? She would have reminded me that this too shall pass. It’s what I held on to tonight. It’s what I thought after you saved me. I still have to bury Dandy, but it will be done, and then this will all be a memory.”

  He sat her down on the side of her bed, and then cupped the back of her head with a shaking hand and kissed her.

  “For a few seconds tonight I thought I had lost you. It was the worst feeling in the world. I get what I did to you by staying away. Just know I never intended to hurt you, and that I grieved not being with you, too.”

  “I know, Sam. In a way, we became collateral damage. Now we’re two new people finding our way through the chaos of our situations, and I can’t wait for our future to unfold.”

  “Me, too,” he said, then leaned forward and kissed her. “Are you hungry?”

  “Not really.”

  “How about hot chocolate?”

  “I only have packets of the instant stuff. Maybe it would warm me up,” she said.

  “Can you manage to undress on your own?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then, I’ll go make the hot chocolate and bring you some.”

  “Thank you, Sam. I don’t know what—”

  “Don’t say it,” he said. “It’s over, okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  She could hear him in the kitchen banging cabinet doors as he looked for what he needed and smiled as she began to undress. By the time she got into her nightgown and slid into bed, he was back.

  “Thank God for microwaves and instant mixes,” he said.

  She smiled as he handed her the mug of cocoa.

  “It smells wonderful,” she said and took a careful sip to make sure it wasn’t too hot, then she curled her hands around the warm mug and sipped while watching Sam get ready for bed. By the time she had finished the hot chocolate, he was turning out the overhead light.

  “Are you hurting a lot?” he asked as he sat down on the side of the bed.

  “No, the pain meds they gave me at the hospital are enough.”

  Sam helped her ease down beneath the covers. “Do you need a pillow under your foot? I think
it would help.”

  “Maybe,” she said.

  He pushed a pillow beneath her ankle, then slid into the bed beside her, turned over onto his side and put his arm over her waist.

  “Do you think you can sleep okay?”

  “I think I could sleep anywhere as long as I have you,” he said and closed his eyes.

  Then he proved himself right by sleeping all through the night without a moment of panic or one bad dream.

  * * *

  It was barely daylight when Sam heard a tractor out on the road. When it turned and came down the driveway he got up and looked out. The tractor was an old John Deere with a big box blade on the front end. It was hard to tell, because the driver was bundled up against the cold, but he thought he recognized her neighbor Larry, the one who’d run through her fence. When the man passed the house and then the barn and drove into the pasture, Sam knew what he was about to do.

  He’d come to bury Dandy for her.

  Sam glanced back at Lainey, but she was still asleep, curled up on her side. He grabbed his clothes and got dressed in the living room, then headed out the door, got in his car and followed the tractor to the pasture.

  The old man had found the horse soon enough and was out checking to see where the best place to bury him would be. When he saw Sam drive up, he stopped and waved.

  Sam walked up with his hand out. “Larry, it’s been a long time,” he said and shook his hand.

  Larry pumped Sam’s hand with a smile on his face.

  “I’ll be damned. If it ain’t Sam Jakes! Boy, it’s good to see you again.” Then he motioned toward the horse. “I heard what happened. I knowed how much Lainey loved this old fella and wanted to get him buried before he got scattered all over.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you,” Sam said.

  “Well, I tore up her fence some the other day, so I thought this might even us up. I was thinking of pushing out some dirt right here, and then dragging the carcass into the hole and covering it back over. I brought a rope to tow it. Now I see there’s a panther to bury, too. I really don’t need no help unless you want to stay,” Larry said.

  “No, I won’t stay. She got hurt some last night, and I don’t know how sore she’s going to be today.”

  “Is she gonna be okay?” Larry asked.

  “Yes. She’ll heal. So I’ll go back to the house if you’re sure you don’t need me.”

  Larry waved him off. “I’ve buried many a cow like this. One horse and one panther can’t be no different.”

  “Thanks again,” Sam said and drove away, leaving Larry to finish what he’d come to do.

  By the time Sam got back to the house, Lainey was in the kitchen with the soft boot on her injured ankle and a slipper on the other. She was wearing her bathrobe and making coffee.

  There were tears in her eyes when Sam walked in, but she smiled. “Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”

  He wrapped her up in a big hug and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, I slept well. You must be the magic that was missing in my life. Did you see Larry?”

  She nodded.

  “He was worried about you. He heard what happened and wanted to do this for you because of the mess he made with your fence.”

  “I appreciate it,” she said, and then kissed him good morning. “What would you like for breakfast?”

  “I would like for you to go get dressed in something warm while I make breakfast. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No buts. I can make eggs and bacon.”

  She smiled.

  “Then, I would like mine scrambled,” she said.

  “Good, because it’s the only kind I make that turns out right.”

  She stroked the side of his face. “I love you,” she said softly.

  “I love you most,” he whispered and brushed a kiss across her mouth.

  She was still smiling as she went to get dressed.

  * * *

  Trey arrived at the precinct with a plate full of blueberry muffins and set it in the break room before going into his office.

  Earl Redd came in the back door, smelled the muffins and snagged one before heading to the chief’s office. He was chewing and licking his fingers when he walked in.

  “Man, these are good, Chief. I’m gonna assume they’re from Dallas, so tell her thank you from me.”

  Trey smiled.

  “You know I didn’t make them. She’ll be pleased you enjoyed them. So what’s going on this morning?” he asked.

  “It’s a slow Sunday. Everyone will probably get ready for church later, but right now Charlie’s is humming about what y’all pulled out of the mine.”

  Trey frowned. “How so?”

  “Word has gotten around that we’ve been looking for Donny Collins, and there’s a lot of talk that it might be him.”

  Trey thought of the Harper women. He should have known they would talk about Sam’s visit. And Will Porter could have mentioned it in passing.

  “Then the 1980 graduates start talking about their meeting with you and that you were trying to find every graduate, and how he was the only one still unaccounted for when the meeting was over.”

  Trey sighed. “Well, Earl, this could work for us. Maybe this will shock someone into coming forward.”

  “Maybe so,” Earl said, and finished off the muffin while waiting for Trey’s orders.

  “Maintain your usual patrol route,” Trey said. “Radio in if you need assistance. There’s another cold front coming in tonight, so there’ll probably be a lot of business around the grocery store after church. We don’t need any more traffic deaths.”

  Earl frowned. “That was really rough,” he said. “I feel so bad for the whole Powell family.”

  “We all do,” Trey said.

  “See you later, Chief,” Earl said. He took another muffin with him as he left the building.

  While Trey was getting a cold drink from his minifridge he heard his fax machine kick on. He took a quick sip, and then set the can aside as he went to get the papers the machine was spitting out. One quick glance and his heart sank.

  It was from the coroner’s office. He read the name Betsy Jakes, and his hand started to shake. When he first took this job, he never imagined he would be reading an autopsy of his mother’s body.

  As expected, there were no surprises. She’d died from a gunshot wound to the head. Hell, he’d known that when he found her body. Now the reality was official, though. He filed the fax and walked out of the office.

  * * *

  Larry buried the horse and the panther. When he drove out of the pasture and started back up the driveway to go home, Lainey was standing on the back porch. She waved and blew him a kiss.

  He saw the wrap on her arm and the soft boot on her leg, and felt so bad at what had happened to her. He tipped his hat and kept driving. Just one neighbor helping another.

  When she went back inside, Sam was waiting for her with a blanket and a kiss.

  She put her arms around his neck and leaned into his embrace. Something bad had happened, and now it was over. Life went on, and so would they.

  “Are you getting ready to go into Mystic now?” she asked.

  “If I do, will you promise me that you won’t go outside and start some project, no matter what, and that you’ll call me if you need help? The doctor said no lifting, and I’m saying stay off your ankle.”

  “Yes, I swear.”

  “Okay, then yes, I’m going into Mystic now. So do you want to go lie back down in bed or on the living room sofa?”

  “The living room, please. I’ll watch TV until I get sleepy, and I’ll be careful and call if I need to.”

  He walked with her into the living room, and then settled her on the sofa.
He handed her the remote and propped her foot up with a pillow, then left her with a last kiss.”

  “I’ll be back with lunch at noon,” he said. “And if I’m going to be late, I’ll call. I’m really anxious to check on Trina and see if she’s showing any signs of regaining consciousness.”

  “Let me know.”

  “I will. Love you, Lainey.”

  She smiled. “Love you, too.”

  He locked the door behind him as he left.

  * * *

  Marcus Silver was drinking whiskey before breakfast.

  Will Porter was at his wife’s side, watching her take her last breaths.

  Greg Standish was debating the wisdom of going to church. He guessed Gloria had told her friends that she was leaving him before she left town, but he was pretty sure she hadn’t said why, because that would have made her look bad. The fact that she’d taken their daughter out of school so suddenly had left him looking like the bad guy. He was frustrated by the gossip he knew had to be circulating but was determined to hold his head up and go on about his business. He’d given up too much to quit now, and he needed to maintain propriety in order to keep his job. And because he was in too deep to crawl into a hole and hide, he made himself get dressed. Church was the perfect place for a man to relieve himself of his burdens, and the Good Lord knew he had plenty to shed.

  * * *

  Beth Powell felt as if she’d aged ten years overnight. The grief of learning her only grandson was dead had nearly killed her. If it hadn’t been for staying strong for her son and daughter-in-law, she didn’t know what she would have done.

  Randy was distraught to the point of having to be medicated.

  Clarice had cried for hours, and when she stopped, she also stopped talking. Now she just walked around like a zombie.

  Beth didn’t know what was going to happen to her family in the coming months, but today they had to go to the funeral home and pick out a casket for Jack, and she was the only one composed enough to be behind the wheel.

  She left her house with a heavy heart and picked them up just after 10:00 a.m., and they drove all the way into town without a single word passing between them.

  They arrived at the funeral home without incident, but as soon as they walked into the lobby, Clarice moaned and then sank to the floor on her knees. It took both Beth and Randy to get her on her feet and seated on a sofa. Randy looked at his mother with tears running down his face, and she could do nothing to help but hug him.