Heart of the Hunter

by Chance Carter

  “Please do.”

  “I do break the law from time to time.”

  “No kidding.”

  “But I don’t hurt people.”

  “I’m sure,” she said.

  “And I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “I see.”

  “But I am asking you for your help. I got shot tonight, by a man who’s engaged to get married.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a situation in which you’d usually get shot.”

  “Well, he’s engaged to my girl. The woman I’m supposed to marry. Do you understand that? She’s the love of my life, she’s the air I breathe, and she was going to marry him. She’s my girl. I swear it.”

  “Does she know that?”

  “I think she does.”

  “Then why is she engaged to the other guy?”

  “Because I’ve been a fool. I hesitated when I should have made a move. I’ve been in love with her my entire life, but I didn’t have the balls to tell her when I should have.”

  “That’s pretty stupid.”

  “Yes, it is, but I’m fixing it now,” I said. “Step one was to tell her fiancé he couldn’t have her.”

  “And he didn’t like that?”

  “He put this bullet in my arm,” I said, “if that answers your question.”

  “But how am I supposed to know that you’re the one she’s supposed to be with, and not the other guy?” the nurse said.

  “I’ll tell you why,” I said. “Because I’m truly in love with her. I’ve been in love with her since the moment I set eyes on her, and that was a very long time ago. I’m thirty-eight years old, but I first met her when I was twenty-one. Her father took me in, trained me in my trade, and we both grew up in the same house.”

  “So that’s why you never told her you loved her?”

  “Yes, because we were supposed to be a family. But in my heart, she was always the one. I just couldn’t see it. I didn’t allow myself to see it. And I let her go from man to man, always selling herself short. None of the guys she was with were ever good to her. When I confronted her fiancé tonight, he was with another woman. His secretary.”

  “He was cheating on her?”

  “Yes.”

  “And they aren’t even married yet?”

  “That’s the God’s honest truth,” I said.

  “And what are you going to do about it?”

  I thought for a second. “Well, for a start, I’m going to tell her what a fool I’ve been. Then I’m going to make it up to her for everything that I’ve done wrong in the past seventeen years. Then I’m going to give her the life she deserves.”

  “That’s a lot.”

  “But I can’t do it while I’m losing half a quart of blood per hour,” I said, raising my arm.

  She looked at my shoulder, then at my face. She sighed. “All right,” she said, “but you can’t ever tell anyone about this. My boss would lose his license if it got out.”

  “I won’t be telling anyone,” I said. “Is your boss here?”

  “No, he only comes in if there’s an emergency. I can take out the bullet and patch you up.”

  “All right,” I said.

  I followed her back to the operating room. There was a sedated dog on the bed, asleep.

  “What’s wrong with him?” I said.

  “He stepped on a piece of glass. Someone was inconsiderate enough to leave broken glass where a dog might step on it.”

  I removed my jacket and shirt and lay back on the table next to the dog. I gritted my teeth, clenched my fists, and twenty minutes later the bullet was out of my shoulder and the hole was stitched up.

  “I still recommend you see a real doctor,” the girl said.

  “I’ll be fine.” I reached into my bag and pulled out ten hundred-dollar bills and handed them to her.

  “This is too much.”

  “It’s the least I can do,” I said.

  As I made my way for the door she called after me. “Don’t you want to stay for a few hours and rest? That was a deep wound.”

  “You know I’ve got a girl to see,” I said. “I’ve waited seventeen years. I can’t waste another minute.”

  On the ride home, I felt more alive than I had in a long time. The pain in my shoulder burned at first but as I got used to it, it grew easier to bear. I thought about Rob, and what I’d learned from him. I hadn’t been kidding. He really did show me what a fool I’d been, refusing to step up and tell Lacey I wanted her to be my woman. There wasn’t a man alive who could love her the way I did. I knew it in my bones. It just wasn’t possible. If every woman is given one man by God to be their soulmate, then I was Lacey’s. Waiting another second to tell her that would be a crime.

  I pulled into a gas station off the highway and used the payphone.

  “Is this Lombardi?” I asked, when it answered.

  “Yes. Who the fuck is this?”

  “This is the guy who just robbed your San Francisco branch.”

  Lombardi started laughing, a hoarse, throaty laugh. “You dumb fuck. I’m going to kill you for this.”

  “Hold your horses,” I said. “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “Listen carefully, because I’m only going to say this once. The bad news is that I’m going to rip off every single one of your other branches, all across the country, when you least expect it.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “The good news is that you can stop me.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. “How?” he said at last.

  “You can forgive the debt of Rob Crawford. I owe the guy. If you forgive his debt, I’ll turn my attentions elsewhere.”

  I hung up the phone. I didn’t know if the guy was going to accept the offer or not. To be honest, I didn’t really care. I’d done my part. I’d gained something from Rob Crawford. He was a douche, but he taught me a lesson I needed to learn. If the loan sharks wanted to cut him some slack because of it, so be it.

  I rode on, toward Lacey.

  Chapter 37

  Lacey

  CALL ME AN IDIOT, but I was all over the Internet looking at baby things. I know, I had a lot more important things to be doing than picking out a crib, but I couldn’t help myself. If you’ve ever been pregnant, you’ll understand. The baby was all I could think about. I should have been figuring out a way to break the news to Rob, or even to Grant who was the actual father, but instead, I was looking at picture after picture of every product you could possibly buy for a new baby. They also had maternity wear, vitamins and supplements to help the baby grow, even music you could play to your belly so that the baby was born with a head full of Mozart and Beethoven.

  I was about to place an order for a couple of books for expectant mothers when my cell phone rang.

  “This is Lacey,” I said, for some reason hoping it was Grant calling.

  It wasn’t. It was Rob.

  “Oh,” I said, “hi, honey. Did the jewelry store call you about the engagement ring yet?”

  I’d been nervous ever since choosing it. I’d been in a funny mood at the time, and now I had no idea how he’d react when he got the news that I’d selected such an expensive diamond.

  “That’s the thing I wanted to talk to you about, Lacey.”

  “Is it the price? I can choose something cheaper. That was a pretty extravagant ring.”

  “It’s not the price. It’s something else.”

  “Well, what is it, Rob?” I said, starting to worry. “Has something happened?”

  “No, nothing’s happened, it’s just … .”

  “Just what?”

  There was a long pause. “It’s just, I have to call off the wedding, Lacey.”

  “What?” I said, as if he’d just slapped me in the face.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “You’re afraid so? You only just asked me to marry you. I’ve told all my friends.”

  �
�I’m sorry about that.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  There was another pause, as if he was thinking of what to say. All the worst possible thoughts flashed through my mind. I’d been rejected before by men, but I would never get used to it. It hurt more than anything else. I knew what was coming next. He was going to say it was because I wasn’t beautiful enough. I didn’t measure up to the women at his work, like Cassie. I could picture her, her perfect body, her perfect breasts, her perfect face. That’s what he wanted. He was going to tell me he was already cheating on me with her, or someone just like her. He was going to break my heart, and then stamp all over the pieces, leaving them in tattered ruins so that I’d never be able to open my heart to another man again.

  “It’s just too sudden,” he said.

  “Too sudden?”

  “I asked you to marry me so quickly, without thinking, because I was so attracted to you, Lacey.”

  “I never even felt like you were that attracted to me. You’ve hardly touched me. We haven’t even, you know, had sex.”

  “That’s because I was too intimidated by you.”

  “Intimidated?”

  “Yes, you’re the most beautiful girl I ever went out with. That’s why I proposed.”

  “Really? I thought I didn’t measure up to the hot women at your clinic.”

  “Not at all, Lacey. You’re way more beautiful than all of them. It’s just, I proposed to you without giving proper consideration to my position in life. I’ve got a lot of things going on at work. I don’t think I can commit to our relationship, and our marriage, and give it the attention it deserves right now. It wouldn’t be fair of me to hold you to the proposal.”

  “So you’re calling off the wedding because you want to focus on your career?”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “Not because you don’t think I’m good enough?”

  “Not at all. If anything, you’re too good.”

  My heart was pounding in my chest. This was the best breakup I’d ever had in my life. I was used to guys breaking up with me so that they could screw other women. It was a completely new experience to hear this, even if it still carried all the heartbreak of a breakup. The thing was, I wasn’t heartbroken. If I was honest, my heart wasn’t in the relationship with Rob either. It was something that had just happened. There wasn’t any passion in it for either of us.

  Plus, it meant I wouldn’t have to think of a way to tell him I was pregnant with Grant’s baby. I supposed that was a relief of sorts.

  “So it wasn’t the quarter of a million dollar engagement ring?” I asked.

  Rob laughed. There was stress in his voice, but I think he was genuinely relieved that he didn’t have to deal with that ring.

  “About that,” he said. “The jewelers called me. They said you’d selected a ring, but then they said that it had been sold to someone else.”

  “What?”

  “Yes, someone else bought it for his fiancée. I wouldn’t have been able to give it to you.”

  “Someone else bought it?”

  “Yes, and they called the very day you were in their shop, so whoever bought it, bought it the same day you looked at it.”

  “Damn,” I said. “I’d have thought the lady at the store would have held it for me for a while at least. She knew I wanted it.”

  “I guess at that price, they take the sale when they can get it.”

  “Wow. That’s one lucky girl,” I said. “That ring was a one in a million.”

  “Tell me about it,” Rob said.

  “I only chose it because I was upset with you for not coming with me.”

  Rob laughed again, but it was a pretty weak laugh. We wished each other well and hung up. All in all, I’d say it was the gentlest, most lighthearted breakup I’d ever been through. Which was a surprise given the fact that we’d been engaged to be married.

  I put down the phone and let out a long sigh. I was relieved. I didn’t want to spend my life alone, not by a long shot, but deep down, I always knew Rob wasn’t the man for me. Plus, it meant I’d no longer have to wear the crazy make up and clothing he’d insisted on. I’d keep some of it, I liked looking good, but only the things I genuinely liked.

  I also thought about that diamond ring. What man in his right mind would pick that for his sweetheart? I supposed true love did really exist out there, somewhere.

  Chapter 38

  Lacey

  I FELT STRANGE AFTER ROB’S CALL. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. It was almost as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I went outside and turned on the pool lights. The water glowed an azure blue. It was a clear night, absolutely cloudless. There were so many stars in the sky they reminded me of the sparkles I’d seen in the diamonds at the jewelry store.

  I turned on the hot tub with the intention of sitting in it for a while with a glass of wine, but then I remembered I couldn’t drink wine. I had a baby to think of. I decided I might call Faith later and tell her what had happened.

  I went inside, up to my bedroom, and changed into my bathing suit. I wrapped myself in my warm robe and then went to the kitchen and made some tea.

  When I went back outside, the hot tub was ready. I was about to get in, when I looked over at the barn. That night with Grant flashed through my mind. It would be with me forever. Not just because it was seared into my memory, but because it had made me pregnant. There was no undoing it, not ever. That’s what Grant had said he’d wanted, too.

  He’d said, “we’re going to risk it, Lacey. We’re going to let God decide. If something happens, it happens.” I shook my head at the boldness of it. Had he somehow planned all of this? I knew it was impossible, but somehow, I felt that if anyone could pull off the impossible, it was Grant.

  I walked toward the barn, which felt strange in my bathing suit and robe, and opened the door. I checked on the horses. They were all fine. Jackson had been working with them during the day.

  Then I looked over at the ladder that led up to the loft. Without thinking, I went to it and started climbing.

  That’s where it happened. That’s where it all began. Grant and I had merged our bodies right there on that hay. My heart fluttered just thinking about it. It had been ecstasy. It had been perfect.

  Then I looked up at the beam above me. I wanted to check if Grant still had those photos of me. I reached up and found the flask of whiskey. It was almost empty. I put it back up on the beam, then I reached around for the envelope.

  I found it and took out the contents. Sure enough, my pictures were still there. The young Lacey that Grant had secretly fallen in love with. It was still hard to believe he’d had such a strong crush on me all those years ago. There was also a letter. I remembered there’d been a letter the last time I opened the envelope. I’d never actually read it. I’d been so swept off my feet by Grant’s passion to even think about a letter. Now I could read it.

  I unfolded the pages and realized there were two letters there. The older one from all those years ago, and a much newer one.

  I read the older one first.

  Lacey,

  You barely know me, but please listen to me. I know this sounds crazy, and that there’s no way I could possibly know this yet, but I’m the man for you. God made one man for you, one man in all the world, and that man is me. I’m your one and only. It’s the truth. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do. The first night I got here, I saw you coming down the stairs and it was like I was looking at an angel coming down from heaven. I always knew I’d meet an angel some day. The priest said, when my parents died, that an angel watched over us all. I didn’t believe him at the time, but when I saw you, his words finally made sense to me. You’re my angel Lacey, and I’m going to make you mine. I swear it. I’m going to take you, like a swooping eagle takes a fish from a mountain lake. There’s nothing you can do about it. You’ve always been mine, and you always will be, no matter what.

  Forever yours,

  Gran
t Lucas

  Tears were falling down my eyes as I read those words. I clutched the paper to my chest. What might have happened if Grant had given me that letter all those years ago? How much different might our lives have been? Would we be married now, with a family, with children? Would we be happy? Would my father have consented to our marriage? Those were all questions to which there would never be an answer. It was impossible to know how differently things might have been.

  I opened the second letter, the newer one, not knowing what to expect.

  Lacey,

  I should have said these words to you years ago. I’ve been a fool. I know it. Please forgive me. I’ve always loved you. It wasn’t just a crush back then, all those years ago, it was the real thing, and it’s still the real thing. The night we were together at Faith and Jackson’s wedding was the best night of my life. I can’t describe what I feel about it. It felt so right, like our destiny. I know we’re meant to be together, and I’m not going to let anything get in the way, anymore.

  Be mine, Lacey. Forget everything else, forget all the mistakes I’ve made, forget what an idiot I’ve been, and give yourself, body and soul, to me. I promise I’ll take care of you and honor you.

  Let me make you my wife. Let me make you the mother of my children. I beg you. I want everything you have to offer, Lacey. All the joy and love in your heart, I want it to be mine and no one else’s.

  Be my bride, and the mother of my children, and I’ll never be so stupid as to let you out of my grasp again.

  Forever yours,

  Grant Lucas

  I almost fainted. It was as if someone had reached into the deepest depths of my soul and grabbed my most ardent, heartfelt, desires. All I wanted was for the contents of that letter to become reality. When had Grant written it? It was since the wedding. Had he planned on giving it to me and then found out about my engagement to Rob? Would he still want to give it to me when he found out I was finished with Rob? My heart was racing. My mind was racing. I breathed deep gulps of air. I was too overcome to even think straight. Two letters, written seventeen years apart, and they both said almost exactly the same thing. It was uncanny, surreal. It was destiny.