by Sharon Sala
Lonnie’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, ma’am, Mike arrived at the right time for sure. It appears you’re gonna have yourself a black eye, but I’m giving this round to you. Lachlan’s missing a piece of an ear, parts of his face, and I’m betting you fractured his skull with that vase.”
“Who’s up?” the EMT asked, as they rolled a second gurney into the house.
“Take this one,” Lonnie said, pointing to Mike. “He’s recently out of surgery. I want to make sure we don’t have some internal bleeding here.”
LilyAnn suddenly realized Mike was on the floor for a reason. She bolted to her feet.
“Oh my God! Are you saying he hurt Mike?”
Before they knew it, she was swinging a fist at Lachlan’s head as they were trying to lift him onto the gurney.
Lonnie caught her before she connected and pulled her back.
“Leave something for the law,” he chided.
Mike crawled to his feet and put himself on the other gurney.
“You’re next, little lady,” the medic said.
“I’m fine,” she argued.
“Ma’am, if you could see yourself, you wouldn’t say that.” He gently pushed her down onto the last gurney and rolled her out.
“Lonnie, lock my door,” she called back.
“Don’t worry about your house, LilyAnn. Once everyone hears what you did to Lachlan, there isn’t a crook within a hundred miles who would take you on again.”
***
Before nightfall, the news of the attack on LilyAnn, and Mike’s heroic rescue on her behalf, had spread throughout Blessings, putting something of a damper on the holiday festivities.
When Rachel Goodhope heard what had happened, she shut herself in the bathroom and cried until her throat was raw. The guilt of not reporting her rape would weigh heavily on her soul. If she had reported it, there was every reason to assume this would never have happened to LilyAnn.
Mike was back in the hospital under observation, as was Lily, in a room down the hall. The last she’d heard, T. J. Lachlan was under guard and handcuffed to his hospital bed on the floor below.
He had a skull fracture and his ear had been repaired to seal the wound, but there were no immediate plans to address the wounds on his face. The theory was that if he survived, it wouldn’t matter how pretty he was in prison.
The photographer who’d taken pictures of LilyAnn at the Salvation Army dinner only hours earlier was on his way out of the hospital with a follow-up shot of her in a wheelchair.
By morning, LilyAnn Bronte would, once again, be the topic of conversation in Blessings, just as she had been when she won the title of the Peachy-Keen Queen and when she’d lost her almost-fiancé in the war. But notoriety was no longer on her radar. All she wanted was to find Mike.
She waited until the nurse who’d been checking her vitals left her room, and then she slipped out of bed, wincing from the amount of growing aches and bruises, and headed for the door.
With nothing on under her gown and the opening in the back a little too airy for public viewing, she snagged another hospital gown from inside the bathroom and put it on like a shirt, tying it in the front beneath her chin. It wasn’t much of a bathrobe, but it covered her bare backside, which was all that mattered. She already knew Mike’s room number, so she waited until the hall was clear and made a run for it.
She burst in Mike’s room with long legs flying, and her bare feet making little slapping noises on the tiles. Her eye was already several shades of purple, her bottom lip was swollen and puffy, and Mike thought she was beautiful.
“Do they know where you are?” he asked.
“Not yet they don’t.”
She wanted to crawl in bed with him. Instead, she fiddled with the ties on the hospital gown and tried to pretend she wasn’t naked beneath it.
“What did the doctor tell you?” she asked.
“That I’m bruised, but nothing broken or pulled loose.”
She kept looking at him, remembering what a relief she’d felt when she’d seen him in her yard. Instead of saying what was on her heart, she addressed food.
“I didn’t get to make you eggs.”
He leaned back against his pillows and patted the side of his bed.
“Come sit by me.”
She scooted up onto the side of the mattress as Mike reached for her hand.
“We’ve had a rough couple of weeks, haven’t we?”
She nodded.
“This feels like high school. Misunderstandings that could easily be explained but weren’t because two people acted like dumb-ass teenagers.” Her pulse was racing. She wanted to hear him say he cared.
“So you said you wanted to talk to me. What did you want to say?”
His fingers tightened. The lump in his throat was so big that he felt like he would choke if he opened his mouth, but he’d waited eleven long years to say this.
All of a sudden the door flew open. A nurse peeked in, then turned around and yelled down the hall.
“I found her!”
She crooked her finger at LilyAnn and frowned.
“You said I could move around,” LilyAnn said.
The nurse arched an eyebrow. “I did not mean in his bed.”
Mike grinned at LilyAnn.
“Busted.”
Lily frowned at the nurse. “I needed to talk to him.”
He gave her fingers another squeeze. “We have lived next door to each other all our lives. I’m not going anywhere.”
LilyAnn sighed. “Thank you for saving me.”
“Just repaying the favor, honey.”
She slid off the bed and went out the door with the nurse right behind her.
He felt as frustrated as she looked, but it was still better than how he’d felt last night, even with a sore belly.
After the doctor made rounds later, he left orders at the nurses’ station that, if they stayed stable through the night, Lily and Mike were to be released the next morning.
Lily went back to her room in dejection. She couldn’t talk to Mike, but she still had to call her mama. Grace needed to hear what happened from LilyAnn’s lips before she heard what happened through the Blessings grapevine.
She made the call, waiting for someone to pick up, and knowing the news was going to put a huge damper on her mother and Eddie’s holiday spirit. Still, it would be far better news than if Lonnie was calling to tell them she was dead.
Then she heard her mama’s voice.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mama.”
Lily could hear the delight in her mother’s voice.
“LilyAnn, hi, honey. Did you have a good day at the Salvation Army dinner?”
“Yes, the whole event was great. I had a lot of fun, and Mike was the Santa Claus.”
There was a little silence. “Uh… so are you saying you two aren’t fighting anymore?”
“We’re not fighting, Mama, but that’s not why I called. Something happened after I got home, and I wanted to tell you before you heard it from someone else.”
Grace’s voice tensed. “What happened, baby? Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m in the hospital, but—”
“Oh dear God! Lily! What happened? Wait! I need to get Eddie! Eddie! Get on the other phone.”
LilyAnn pinched the bridge of her nose to keep from crying as she waited for her stepfather’s voice.
“I’m here, sugar! What happened?”
“T. J. Lachlan has been stalking me.”
“Oh dear God!” Grace cried.
“Hear me out, Mama. I already told you I’m okay.”
Grace was crying. Lily could hear her, but she had to get it said or she would cry, too.
“When I came home this evening, he was hiding in the house. He attacked me, and I fought back. The house is a bloody mess. Mike arrived in the nick of time and saved me, okay? I have no injuries other than some sore muscles, bruises, and a black eye. Mike is here under observation, mostly because of his rec
ent surgery and the fight.”
“What about Lachlan?” Eddie asked. “Please tell me he is in jail.”
“Ummm, not yet. He’s actually in critical condition here in the hospital, but he’s handcuffed to the bed and under guard.”
“Good. Mike must have really clobbered him. What did he do?” Grace asked.
“Lachlan had a knife when Mike took him down. I called 911 as they were fighting, and then I grabbed Grandma’s lead crystal vase and swung it like a bat at T. J.’s head.”
“Ooh shit,” Eddie said, and then chuckled. “So he’s got a concussion. Way to go, honey.”
Grace knew her daughter better than Eddie. She could tell LilyAnn was skirting around the whole truth.
“Just spit it out, girl. What else?” Grace asked.
“I bit off a piece of his ear, dug tracks down the front of his face with my fingernails deep enough to plant corn, sent his testicles into orbit, and then fractured his skull with Grandma’s vase.”
Eddie gasped.
Grace groaned and then chuckled.
“Sweet Jesus, daughter. You’ve got more of Delia Bronte in you than any of us knew.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lily said. “And I have to say, it felt good. The sorry bastard.”
“LilyAnn!”
“Mama. Seriously! He tried to kill me, and he is a bastard.”
“I’m sure he is, but that is so not ladylike.”
Lily laughed. “Neither was what I did to him, Mama. For God’s sake! Cut me some slack here.”
Eddie chuckled. “It’s easier for your mama to scold you for cursing than it is to admit her baby nearly died tonight. You call the asshole anything you want and say it’s from me. I’m proud of you, girl.”
Lily could remember when she thought she didn’t like Eddie. Now, she was beginning to wonder if it was herself she really hadn’t liked, and she’d just blamed it on him.
“Eddie’s right, LilyAnn. What you just told us is a parent’s worst nightmare, and I thank God and Michael that you are still with us.”
“I know, Mama.”
“I can be there by tomorrow.”
“No, Mama. There’s no need. Really.”
“You don’t need us?”
“Not at all. We’ll both be released tomorrow, and I’ll be back at work the day after. Mike will take care of me, and I’ll take care of him.”
Grace sighed. “That’s how it’s supposed to be, baby. Has Mike called Don and Carol?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I’m going to. She’d be angry with me if I didn’t.”
“Just make sure she knows Mike is fine. I’m sure he’ll call.”
“I will, and just so you know it, God was with you tonight.”
“I know that, Mama. And it’s all good. Merry Christmas.”
The connection ended, and LilyAnn leaned against her pillows and closed her eyes. It might be a little late to ask, but all she wanted for Christmas was her life back.
Down the hall, Mike was in a similar mode.
He’d called home, only to learn his mom was at his sister’s house, and wound up talking to his dad, which was just as well.
Don Dalton wasn’t the kind to panic. Once he found out Mike and LilyAnn were fine and the intruder was under arrest, in his mind, the situation was resolved.
And then Mike told him what LilyAnn had done, and Don whistled softly beneath his breath.
“Damn, son. I have a question. Are you two still at odds?”
“No, we’re good,” Mike said.
“Then I have one piece of advice. Whatever you do, don’t make her mad.”
Mike grinned. “Oh, I already knew that a long time ago. When we were in the fourth grade, she laid Bobby Gene Pettit out cold because he said she wasn’t a lady.”
Don laughed. “Yeah, yeah, she did do that. I’d forgotten. So, at least you’re not flying blind in this.”
Mike sighed. “No, Dad. I’ve known where I was going with her for what seems like forever.”
“Then Godspeed,” Don said.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Mike hung up, satisfied and exhausted. He rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes, and when he woke up, it was morning.
***
Ruby Dye opened up The Curl Up and Dye bright and early Wednesday morning. Christmas might be over, but their holiday business was still in full swing. Office parties and family get-togethers were still happening all the way through New Year’s Eve, which meant the need for fancy hairdos and manicures was still in force. She appreciated the vanity of women because it kept her shop in the black.
The town was still reeling over the news about what had happened to LilyAnn, and the stories about what she’d done to Bissell’s nephew continued to grow.
Some versions had her biting the nose off his face, while others claimed she’d taken away his knife and castrated him with his pants still on. Ruby knew it was bullshit, but that’s how gossip went in small Southern towns.
When the Conklin twins came in to work, they were carrying a plate of decorated sugar cookies and both talking at once.
“Sister, can you believe what—”
“Oooh, did you hear that T. J. Lachlan even—”
“Vera said… and to think we—”
Vesta rolled her eyes. “When he was in here, I knew—”
Vera fired back. “Vesta even flirted—”
“And Vera cut his hair.” Then they both giggled as Vesta ended the conversation.
“She should have cut off his balls instead and saved LilyAnn the trouble.”
Ruby frowned. “It just proves a pretty face means nothing.”
“Well, Lachlan won’t have to worry about that misunderstanding ever happening again. I hear his face looks like a wildcat got hold of him, so that face isn’t so pretty anymore.”
“No more than he deserves,” Ruby muttered.
Mabel Jean came in the back door with a Tupperware bowl of leftover fudge.
“Happy day after Christmas!” she said.
“Oh Lord, not more sweets,” Vesta groaned.
Vera giggled. “Vesta busted a zipper in her good blue pants this morning.”
Vesta frowned. “Well, thanks for blabbing my shame all over the place.”
“Time to get to work,” Ruby said. “Let’s just hope there’s no more excitement in Blessings for a while.”
Chapter 16
Mike and LilyAnn held hands in the taxi all the way home from the hospital. Despite what they felt for each other, the gesture was purely moral support. The silence between them was telling. But for timing and the grace of God, LilyAnn would be dead.
She was wearing hospital scrubs, and Mike had turned his sweatshirt wrong side out to hide the blood. Out of deference for their lack of winter clothing, the cabbie, Melvin Wells, had turned the heater up for their comfort.
He spent most of his day driving people around Blessings while conversing with them from the rearview mirror, and these two were no exception.
“Are you warm enough, ma’am?” Melvin asked, eyeing the pretty blond with the black eye.
Lily smiled. “Yes, thank you.”
He nodded. Everyone knew about what she’d done and that Mike Dalton had saved her life.
“So, Mike, after your recent surgery, I hope you didn’t hurt yourself fighting that scumbag.”
“Nothing injured, Melvin. I’m just a little sore. We’re both fine, and thank you for asking,” Mike said, rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand.
Melvin nodded. He was satisfied with the conversation. Now he had firsthand info from the victims.
“Here we are,” he said, as he pulled in the driveway at LilyAnn’s house.
Mike handed him a ten-dollar bill to cover the five-dollar ride, but Melvin waved it off.
“No, no charge. I’m happy you two are okay. Merry Christmas.”
Mike smiled. “Thanks, Melvin, we appreciate it.”
“Yes, thank you very much
, Melvin.”
They got out of the cab and then, despite the cold, stopped in the front yard of her house.
“I don’t know if I can face this,” LilyAnn said.
Mike frowned. “Face what?”
“Blood everywhere, the hole in the wall, all the broken stuff.”
She shuddered.
Mike frowned. “It’s your home, damn it. What you’re talking about is superficial. Looks don’t matter, LilyAnn. It is always what’s beneath that matters, and you’re not facing it alone.”
LilyAnn sighed. The fact that he’d just said that explained why he had loved her when she hadn’t loved herself.
She nodded. “You’re right. So let’s get this over with.”
They were starting toward the house when their neighbor, Thomas Thane, called out to them from his porch.
“Hey, wait a minute. I have your house key,” he said, and came running. He was breathless and patting his belly when he reached them. “Too much turkey yesterday. I’m supposed to tell you that Officer Pittman locked up and here’s your key.”
“Thank you,” LilyAnn said.
Thomas grinned sheepishly. “I hope you aren’t mad, but the Ladies Aide from your church contacted the police last night, who put them in touch with me. I think they went in and cleaned up for you. They were there until almost dawn.”
LilyAnn was stunned. “Oh my. That’s wonderful. I was dreading going back to face all that mess.”
“I think you’ll be surprised,” he said. “Really good to see the both of you upright and smiling. Now get in out of the cold.”
He ran back across the street as they headed for the porch. When they opened the door, they were met by the smell of pine-scented cleanser, lemon oil, and fresh paint.
The house was sparkling. Every piece of furniture was in place, the hole in the wall had been patched and painted, the broken glass all swept up. When she went into her bedroom, there was no sign whatsoever that T. J. Lachlan had ever been inside. The only thing missing from before was the lead-crystal vase.
LilyAnn’s vision blurred. The Christmas spirit had been alive and well last night.
“I love this town.”
Mike took a deep breath. This was it.
He slipped his arms around her, tilting her chin until she had to meet his gaze.
