He heard them before he got a visual of them.
“Just let me go, Samuel,” Nicolette said. “I won’t tell anyone you were here. I’ll sign whatever you want me to sign. Sammy and I were doing fine without your father’s money.”
“You say that now, but that’s because I’ve got the gun and you don’t,” Samuel replied. “I’d say you’d be able to claim a case of signing papers under duress. Now, move away from the car.”
Lucas stepped behind a tree that gave him a perfect vantage point. Nicolette stood by the front of the car as if knowing that if he shot her there the possibility of damage to the engine might occur.
Smart woman, he thought, even as his blood ran cold in his veins. The standoff was seconds from ending, and he could smell Samuel’s frustration.
There were two ways this could end...Samuel could shoot Nicolette and then Lucas would shoot Samuel. That scenario was absolutely unacceptable. The only other way to bring this to an end and ensure Nicolette’s safety was for him to become Samuel’s target.
He had to hope that luck would be on his side, that he could draw Samuel’s attention and get off a shot before the man shot him.
As he thought about Sammy not having his mother, as he thought of the world not having Nicolette in it, he stepped out from behind the tree where he’d been hidden.
“Hey, Samuel,” Lucas yelled.
Samuel swung to face him and Lucas fired his gun. At the same time he heard the sharp bang of Samuel’s weapon and felt a piercing pain in his shoulder.
Nicolette stared in shock as Samuel fell to the ground, clutching his thigh and screaming in agony. She released a sob and quickly kicked Samuel’s gun well out of his reach and then ran to Lucas.
With tears streaming down her face, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held tight. She sobbed, talking incoherently between gasps. “He was going to kill me to get custody of Sammy. He just wants the money. He told me Sammy was in the car. I wasn’t thinking straight when I saw him.”
“It’s all right now,” Lucas said as he held her tight. He breathed in the scent of her hair, felt the warmth of her body even as his own ebbed away. “I kept my promise. You and Sammy are safe now.”
He was vaguely aware of Samuel’s groans of pain, but they seemed to be coming from farther and farther away. He finally disentangled from her, and as she stepped back from him she gasped.
“Oh my God, Lucas, you’re hurt.” Tears began to race down her face again.
“Just a little flesh wound,” he replied, his own voice sounding funny to his ears. It took an enormous amount of effort for him to get his cell phone from his pocket. He held it out to her. “Call Dillon. Tell him we’re in Miller’s Field. I think I need to sit down for a minute.”
He slid to sit on the ground next to his truck and leaned back. Cold. He was so cold. He was grateful that Samuel had gone quiet, and sweet relief rushed through him as he heard Nicolette make the call to Dillon.
Safe. She was safe now. Sammy would be safe now, as well. He’d done his job. He’d kept his promise. This thought comforted him as he slid into a peaceful, embracing darkness.
* * *
Blood. There was so much blood. Lucas’s entire shoulder and chest were soaked in it. Afraid to look at his wound, fearing that even moving his shirt away might do more damage, Nicolette sat beside him and wept as she held his cold, lifeless hand.
“Don’t you die on me, Lucas Taylor,” she cried. “You don’t have to love me, but you can’t die.” Not like this...not for her. He’d sacrificed his own safety by calling out to Samuel, by drawing his attention away from her.
Lucas had shot to wound, but Samuel had shot to kill. She glanced over to where Samuel remained on the ground, obviously unconscious.
He’d tried to steal his son away. He’d intended to kill her, all for the love of money. Even with the trust fund, Samuel would never have had enough.
She squeezed Lucas’s hand as she continued to cry. “Hang on, Lucas. Please hang on.”
Sirens sounded in the distance, indicating help was on the way. Within minutes emergency vehicles were racing toward her. She motioned the ambulance to where Lucas was slumped against his truck.
Dillon rushed to her side as the paramedics bent over Lucas and then began to load him on a gurney. “It was Samuel,” Nicolette said, and pointed to where he remained on the ground.
Dillon shouted for another gurney and sent several deputies to see to Samuel. “Samuel brought me out here to kill me and somehow Lucas found us and he saved me. He shot Samuel and Samuel shot him. Lucas took the bullet that was meant for me.”
She looked at the ambulance where they had loaded Lucas and were now wheeling Samuel on a gurney to also be loaded. “He can’t die.” She grabbed hold of Dillon’s hand. “Please don’t let Lucas die.”
Dillon squeezed her hand reassuringly. “He’s a tough guy. I imagine it will take more than a single bullet from a city slicker to put him down. Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital and we can talk more on the way.”
By that time the ambulance had left with a wail of the siren and swirling lights. Dillon led Nicolette to his car, and while they drove to the hospital he questioned her about everything that had happened that had brought her to the field with Samuel.
She told him everything that Samuel had told her, about initially acting impulsively and just wanting to grab Sammy and then realizing the easiest way to get to the money was to get rid of her.
She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, chilled despite the warmth of the day. Was Lucas still alive? It didn’t matter that he couldn’t give her his love. He’d given her life, but she didn’t want the price of that to be his own.
While he drove, Dillon continued to ask questions and promised to coordinate with the New York detectives to see that Samuel lived a very different kind of lifestyle from what he was accustomed to...one behind bars.
By the time they reached the small Bitterroot hospital, both Lucas and Samuel were in the emergency room and Nicolette was relegated to a chair in the small waiting room.
Dillon eased down next to her. “Could I use your phone?” she asked. “I left mine in my purse at the café and I don’t know where Sammy is.”
“I imagine he’s with Cassie. I sent a deputy to the café after Lucas called me to tell her to gather your things and go home.” Dillon handed her his phone.
Cassie answered on the first ring, and when she heard Nicolette’s voice she burst into tears. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. How’s Sammy?”
“He’s been stuck like glue to Nick’s side since Lucas left. I haven’t told him anything about what happened. I just told him you had some extra errands to run in town and would be home later. Where are you now?”
“I’m at the hospital. Lucas was shot.” Nicolette swallowed against the sob that rose up inside her.
“How did that happen?” Cassie asked with a gasp.
“I’ll explain it all when I get home. I just need to wait here until I know for sure that Lucas is okay.”
“Don’t you worry about things here. Sammy is fine. We’re all fine. You just do what you need to do and we’ll be waiting for you when you get home.”
Nicolette hung up and handed the phone back to Dillon. Now that she knew Sammy was well taken care of, all her thoughts went to the man she loved, the man who had saved her life.
He had to be okay. He’d already overcome so much in his life. She couldn’t stand the thought that she might be responsible for his death.
It felt like forever before a young man in scrubs came out and introduced himself as Dr. Frank Neilson. Both Nicolette and Dillon stood to greet him.
“Is he okay?” Nicolette asked, her heart thumping wildly.
“The bullet shattered his femur bone and so he’s undergoing surgery to put pins and rods in place,” Dr. Neilson said.
Nicolette stared at him in confusion and then realized the doctor had assumed she was askin
g about her ex-husband’s condition. “Not him. I don’t care about him. What about Lucas? Is he okay?”
“The bullet entered and exited the fleshy portion of his upper arm. He lost a lot of blood and has required a transfusion, but other than being sore for a while, he’ll be just fine.”
Nicolette sagged against Dillon with relief. He’ll be just fine. That’s all she’d needed to hear.
“We’re going to keep him here overnight, but he should be ready to go home tomorrow,” Dr. Neilson continued. “As far as Samuel is concerned, he will be our guest for several days.”
“And once he’s on his feet, so to speak, he’ll be my guest for a while,” Dillon said.
“Can I see him?” Nicolette asked.
Dr. Neilson didn’t make the same mistake. He obviously knew exactly whom she wanted to see. “I’ll warn you he’s conscious, but he’s pretty drugged up right now.”
“That’s okay. I just need to see him,” Nicolette replied.
“He’s in room 112.”
She was vaguely aware of Neilson and Dillon continuing to talk together as she left them and hurried down the hallway in the direction of Lucas’s room.
Her heart squeezed at the sight of him in the pristine white bed, his eyes closed and his left shoulder heavily bandaged. So close. If the bullet had struck him an inch or two to the right, she wouldn’t be seeing him right now.
He’d be dead.
She had no intention of bothering him, but as she stood silently in the doorway, his eyes opened and he turned his head toward her.
“I knew it was you. I could smell your perfume.” He sounded as drunk as he’d pretended when he’d first shown up in the field.
“Oh, Lucas, you crazy man, you could have been killed.” She moved from the doorway to sit in the chair next to his bed.
“It was nothing,” he replied, his eyes slightly glazed from the pain medication he’d been given. “What about Samuel?”
“The bullet shattered his femur. He’s in surgery now and once he gets well he’ll go to jail.” She wanted so badly to touch him, to curl up next to him in the bed, to place her hand over his heart to assure herself it beat strong and with life.
“He’s going away for a long time. You and Sammy will never have to worry again.” He gave her another loopy smile. “It’s over, Nicolette. The danger is finally gone.” His eyes slowly drifted closed.
Nicolette sat for several long moments, just gazing at him, just loving him. Finally she stood to leave, but before going she leaned over him and gently swept a strand of his shaggy dark hair away from his forehead.
His eyes opened once again and his gaze held hers. “I couldn’t let him kill you because I love you.” His voice was a mere whisper and then his eyes closed once again.
She stood frozen in place, waiting for him to wake up again, wanting him to repeat what he’d just said to her. But he remained asleep and finally she crept out of the room.
Dillon stood in the waiting room. “I told you he was tough,” he said. “Come on and I’ll take you home.”
I love you. He’d said the words. She hadn’t imagined them, she thought as they left the hospital. But he was drugged and probably wouldn’t even remember he’d spoken the words out loud. He possibly hadn’t even meant them.
Still, they rang in her ears, sweet with promise and bringing a fool’s hope that she knew better than to entertain. The man had been practically unconscious. She’d be crazy to seriously consider anything he’d said to her.
Chapter 18
Lucas was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon. Nick drove in to pick him up, and although Lucas felt weak and his shoulder burned like fire, he was more than ready to leave the hospital behind.
Knowing he wouldn’t be worth anything for a few days, he had Nick take him directly to his bunk. There was no reason for him to go to the main house. The danger had passed and his job as bodyguard was finished.
“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Nick asked as he and Lucas got out of his truck in front of Lucas’s place.
“I’ve got my pain pills and really all I need is some extra sleep and time to rest. I’ll be fine,” Lucas assured his friend.
“If the weather forecast holds true, the takedown of the old shed may be pushed back from Friday. We’re supposed to have some storms in the area tomorrow and Friday.”
“Just keep me posted. I doubt I’ll be much help when it happens, but I’d like to at least be there when the old place comes down.”
“I’ll let you know if and when plans change,” Nick assured him, then with quick goodbyes, Lucas entered his bunk and Nick drove away.
Lucas immediately took two pain pills and then stretched out on his bed. It felt as if it had been forever since he’d been here...here where there was no scent of Nicolette, no scampering footsteps of Sammy.
Isn’t this what he’d wanted? Peace and quiet, without distractions from Nicolette or Sammy? Hadn’t he believed himself more than ready to distance himself from the woman and young boy who had made him think of foolish fantasies he would never embrace?
This was where he belonged, in the room that Cass had assigned him when he’d been seventeen years old and streetwise but life stupid.
He closed his eyes, trying not to think about Nicolette and Sammy. He snoozed off and on, awakened regularly by his fellow cowboys who stopped in to check on him.
They were his family, he reminded himself. All he needed to live a peaceful, fulfilling life was right here on this ranch. He didn’t even want to contemplate the future if Cassie decided to sell the place. For now he was where he belonged.
It was early evening when a soft knock fell on his door. Instinctively he knew it was Nicolette and Sammy. Steeling himself for the emotional stress of seeing them, he yelled for them to come in.
Sammy barreled through the door first, halting in his tracks as he stared at the bandage on Lucas’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, Sammy. I’m fine,” Lucas said as he saw tears welling up in Sammy’s eyes. He patted the edge of the bed, inviting Sammy to sit.
“Mom said you were okay, but I had to see for myself,” Sammy said, his voice trembling slightly as he eased down next to Lucas on the bed.
Lucas looked at Nicolette, who hovered in the doorway. “Come in and close the door,” he said. “We don’t want to let the bugs in.”
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Instantly the room filled with the fragrance that would always evoke memories of her in his mind. “I couldn’t keep him away,” she said.
“Us cowboys got to stick together,” Sammy replied. “Mom told me that you’re a hero. You saved her life.”
“I had to shoot your dad,” Lucas said, hoping that Nicolette had already told Sammy that piece of information.
“He wasn’t a nice man. You’re a good guy and he wasn’t,” Sammy said. “He was going to hurt my mom and you had to stop him. I’m glad you saved my mom and I’m glad you’re okay. But that looks like a big boo-boo.”
“It’s mostly bandage. I’ll be back to work in a day or two.”
“Good, ’cause we have to show Mom how I can ride Candy, and we need to get her up on a horse, too. We’ve got lots of stuff to do when you get better,” Sammy said.
“Sammy, Lucas will be back to his regular work when he gets better,” Nicolette said. “He won’t have time to spend with us anymore.”
Sammy leaned against Lucas’s side and smiled up at him with confidence. “He’ll make time for us, Mom.”
“Come on, let’s leave Lucas to rest. You’ve seen that he’s okay now,” Nicolette said.
Sammy got up from the bed and moved toward the door, where Nicolette stood. “I’ll come and visit you tomorrow, okay Lucas?”
“We’ll see,” Nicolette said before Lucas could reply. And then they were gone, leaving behind the scent of loving little boy and Nicolette’s haunting perfume.
In all his years on earth, Lucas had never felt so alone. How
on earth had a pint-size wannabe cowboy and his city slicker mother managed to get so deeply beneath his skin?
Somehow, someway, he had to pick them out like ticks, pull them off his skin and out of his heart. The problem was he had a feeling they’d already burrowed in too deep.
* * *
True to the weather forecast, it rained Thursday and Friday, postponing the teardown of the shed. Cassie had set the new date for the following Thursday, hoping the ground would be dry enough by then to get in some equipment.
Tuesday morning Nicolette awakened to the sun shining through her bedroom window. She rolled over on her side and stared out, thinking of the past two days.
She hadn’t seen Lucas, although yesterday morning Nick had appeared to take Sammy to visit with him and yesterday evening Dusty had come by to take Sammy to see Lucas again.
Last night she’d told Sammy that they weren’t going to leave Bitterroot, that she intended to find them a nice house so they could stay here forever.
Sammy was over the moon at the news that they weren’t returning to the city. He’d spent the evening drawing different pictures of houses he’d like to live in, of a horse that looked suspiciously like Candy, whom he would keep in a stable that was drawn next to the house.
With the danger to Sammy and herself finally over, Nicolette was more certain than ever of what she wanted her future to look like.
She’d gotten on her computer and contacted the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City to get information about continuing her education beginning in September. Today she intended to take Sammy and do a little house shopping and get an idea of what was available.
Everything was falling into place. Except Lucas. Despite his words of love in the hospital, he’d done nothing in the past couple of days to follow up on them. While he’d visited with Sammy, he hadn’t asked to see or speak to her.
If she’d had any doubts as to whether his dopey words of love had meant anything, the past two days had given her the answer.
Still, she didn’t intend her heartache over Lucas Taylor to put a damper on a day of house hunting with her son. It was going to be a day of future possibilities, of joy and laughter, as she and her best man decided on their future forever home.
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