“What are you going to do?” Allison asked.
“Sam and I are going to take Vic in, then we’re going to arrest a rapist,” Jesse replied.
Chapter 15
“Really, I’m fine,” Allison said for the hundredth time in the last hour. She sat in the hospital waiting room. Next to her sat Shelly, who alternately squeezed her hand and sobbed. “Bumps and bruises—that’s all the doctor found.”
“I just can’t believe I left you alone and this all happened.” Shelly burst into a renewed crying jag.
“You couldn’t know that the man who was supposed to help protect me was the one I had to fear,” Allison replied. “Besides, it all worked out just fine. Jesse caught Casanova and I’m no worse for the wear.”
She pulled the thin, hospital-issue robe more firmly around her, trying not to remember the moments of terror she’d suffered at Vic’s hands.
“I just can’t believe it was Vic all along.” Shelly blew her nose. “I should have seen it. He was obsessed with making the case that Maggie’s assailant was a copycat, not Casanova. One of us should have suspected something.”
“Let it go, Shelly,” Allison said wearily. “It’s over now.” Allison ached in every part of her body, but what ached the deepest, the most profoundly, was her heart. She needed Jesse. She needed to tell him that she’d been a fool to turn her back on what he’d offered her.
Was it too late? Had he changed his mind? The thought of spending the rest of her life without him was almost as terrifying as the ordeal she’d just gone through.
“Poor Vic,” she said suddenly. “He must have been desperate for love.”
“Yeah, it is kind of sad, isn’t it?” Shelly agreed soberly. “He must have been so lonely, so hopeless, he was willing to try a stupid legend to see if it would work. He would have had better luck going to a gypsy and buying a love potion.”
Allison considered her feelings for Jesse. Was she desperate? She wanted to build a life with him, wanted to share dreams with him. She wanted mornings and nights of him lying next to her in bed. Was she desperate? No.
If Jesse didn’t truly love her as she did him, she’d survive. Her heart would hurt, and it might take her a long time before she gambled on love again, but one thing was certain. She would never go back to being the woman she’d been before.
Before John’s and Alicia’s deaths, before her time in Mustang, Allison had consciously avoided relationships, afraid of being too dependent, afraid of giving away pieces of herself.
Mustang, and Jesse, had opened her heart to possibilities. She would never again close herself off to love.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Almost midnight,” Shelly replied. “And here comes Jesse.” She stood and Allison did the same. “Hi, boss. Who did you arrest for Maggie’s rape?”
“First things first,” Jesse said. He stepped in front of Allison and cupped her hand in his palms. “Are you okay? What did the doctor say?”
“He said bed rest and aspirin. I’m just scratched and dented a bit, but fine.” She wanted to lean against him, let him wrap her in his arms and hold her close. But all too quickly he withdrew his hands from her and she sank back into the chair.
“So, who did you arrest?” Shelly asked eagerly.
“Burt Landry,” Jesse replied.
“You’re kidding.” Both Shelly and Allison gasped in surprise.
“He raped her, then he became her comfort, her protector.” Jesse’s voice was laced with disgust. “When Maggie broke up with him, Burt wasn’t a happy camper. The Casanova incidences gave him the idea.”
“A truly sick idea,” Allison said.
“Yeah. Anyway,” Jesse continued, “he raped her, then ran to comfort her, and in her fear and confusion she readily took him back into her life.”
“Did he confess?” Shelly asked.
“Only after Sam and I hinted we had a witness.” Jesse sighed. “As we took him away, he was begging Maggie to forgive him, telling her he’d only done it because he loved her.” Jesse wrapped an arm around Allison’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s get you home. It’s been an incredibly long night.”
They said goodbye to Shelly, who left with Sam, then Jesse and Allison got into his car and headed toward home.
“Jesse, would you do me a favor?” she asked.
“Just name it.”
“Take me back to the kissing tree.”
“Why?” he asked in surprise.
“I just need to go back there.” She sensed his hesitation. “Please, Jesse, for me.”
“Okay,” he agreed.
They drove for a few minutes in silence. “I guess the crime wave in Mustang is over,” she finally said.
“Thanks to you.”
She laughed, then winced as her bruised ribs rebelled. “I didn’t do anything but become a near victim.”
“That’s not true,” he protested. “You positively identified Vic as the person who took you from the bedroom. If you hadn’t been so certain, Vic might not have confessed and things would have been much more complicated than they were.”
“It was his soap,” she said. “Vic always smelled like minty soap, just like the little sculptures he made. When he got close to me, I knew it was him.” She shivered, remembering her horror. “What I didn’t know was if he’d rape me or not.”
“You are the most brave woman I’ve ever known,” Jesse said softly. “It took a lot of guts to run from him, especially not being able to see.”
She smiled. “At the moment it happened, the alternative was less attractive than knocking myself out by running into a tree.” She shifted positions. “The best thing that happened was me falling. I tumbled and rolled away from Vic and he couldn’t find me.
“And I thought I’d never get to you. I could hear your voice, knew you were there. Thank goodness you have a voice that carries.”
The car came to a halt. “We’re at the tree,” Jesse said.
“I want to get out.” Allison reached for her door handle.
“Wait,” Jesse instructed. “I’ll come around for you. I don’t want you to tumble and roll any more tonight.”
She waited while he shut off the engine, then got out of the car and came around to her door. She knew what she intended to do, but she couldn’t guess what the results would be.
“Here we go,” he said as he opened her car door and helped her out.
“Take me to the tree. I want to stand next to it.”
“Okay,” he said, but she could hear the bewilderment in his voice.
He took her by the arm and led her several steps. “Allison, what’s going on?”
“Are we beneath the kissing tree?” she asked. Nerves rattled inside her, and her palms suddenly felt damp with sweat. What if it was too late? What if he’d changed his mind?
“We’re directly beneath the branches, right next to the trunk.”
Allison reached one hand out, her fingers making contact with the rough bark. “Describe the tree to me, Jesse.”
“It’s a big oak tree.”
She smiled and reached a hand up to touch his cheek. “You can do better than that.”
He captured her hand in his and drew it to his chest. “It’s a huge tree, with twisted branches that give it character. The leaves are big, forming a large canopy, and they’re just starting to change colors with the approach of fall.”
“It’s a beautiful tree,” she said softly.
“Yeah, it is. Although tonight it seems sort of tainted by everything.” Jesse sighed and she could feel his heartbeat against her palm. “This was supposed to be a place of young love and romance. The legend was supposed to inspire hope and the promise of love forever.”
“We can’t let it remain something tainted and ugly,” she said softly.
“How can we change it?” he asked.
“We can make the legend come true.” She felt his heartbeat quicken, as did her own.
“The legend is about forever,”
he said. “You kiss a girl beneath the kissing tree and her heart belongs to you forever. What happens if you regain your sight?”
“I might not.” It was the first time she’d admitted the possibility of a lifetime of darkness. “It’s possible I could be blind forever. Could you handle that?”
“Absolutely. In fact, I have an old friend, whose acquaintance I renewed this afternoon. He might be willing to teach you Braille, or anything else you might need to learn to cope.”
“You saw Paul.” She smiled, pleased that he’d found the courage to face his past.
“And seeing Paul made me realize just how much I love you. Allison, my love for you is about you, not about Paul. I want to build a life with you.”
“I don’t want to be a burden,” she confessed painfully.
“My love, the only burden in my life would be if you weren’t in my life. I love you, Allison.”
“And I love you,” she replied, tears of happiness stinging her eyes.
“I want to marry you. I want to live my life with you. I want to—”
“Shut up and kiss me, you fool!” she exclaimed.
His mouth captured hers in a fiery kiss that sent tingles of pleasure up and down her spine. And in the midst of the kiss, she felt the magic of the legend, knew their love would be the forever kind.
Despite the fact that she was blind, she could see all that she needed to see, all that was important. She could see Jesse’s love in his kiss, feel his love in the beating of his heart, knew his love as it wrapped around her.
When the kiss finally ended, Jesse picked her up in his arms. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Home. Yes. She snuggled against him. Home with Jesse. Forever.
Epilogue
Jesse stood next to the preacher and waited impatiently for his bride-to-be to appear. It had been three months since Vic’s and Burt’s arrests, three months since Jesse and Allison had shared the magical kiss beneath the kissing tree.
Now he stood in the community center, with what seemed to be the entire town of Mustang crowded into the folding chairs, waiting for the wedding that would transform him from the elusive bachelor to contented married man.
Millicent Creighton sat in the front row, her face wreathed in a smile that indicated she thought herself personally responsible for the happy occasion.
She has a wedding cake on her head, Jesse realized in astonishment. Her infamous hat sported a three-tier white cake complete with two tiny figu rines at the very top. God bless the quirky people of Mustang, he thought.
Ellen also sat in the front row. At least once a week Jesse and Allison got together with the couple for an evening. The four of them had become good friends, and Paul was helping Allison learn the finer points of being blind.
Jesse straightened as Mindy and Mandy appeared at the end of the aisle. Clad in pale pink dresses, they walked slowly and threw rose petals along the aisle. Immediately behind them was Shelly, who looked radiant as she walked with Sam down the aisle.
And there she was. Allison. His heart. His life. She wore a long, traditional gown of lace, and a veil covered her features. His heart expanded with love as he watched Allison, escorted by Paul, slowly walk down the aisle.
Two people who had made a profound difference in his life. How lucky he was to have them both. As Paul gave him Allison’s hand and Ellen led her husband to his seat, Jesse raised the veil and looked into the face of the woman he loved.
She was radiant, positively glowing. “Thank you for being my eyes,” she said softly.
“Thank you for teaching me how to see,” he replied.
The preacher cleared his throat. “Shall we begin?”
Jesse smiled, as did Allison, and he knew she was thinking the same thing he was. They had already begun. This ceremony was really just a formality. They had pledged their love three months before, beneath the branches of the kissing tree. They were bound—intrinsically, forever—through legend and love.
Allison awoke slowly, smiling even before full consciousness claimed her. Jesse was wrapped around her, his body snuggly warm against hers. They had been married a month, and still she awakened each morning thrilled to find herself in his arms.
She opened her eyes and brightness exploded. She instantly closed them again. Her heartbeat raced. Had she imagined it? She was afraid to try again, afraid not to.
Drawing a deep breath, she opened her eyes once again. Fuzzy…bright…but slowly the fuzz shifted and shapes began to form.
Tears of happiness blurred her new vision, and she reached a hand up to quickly swipe them away. Jesse. She turned her head to get her first view of the man she loved.
He slept on his side, his face mere inches from hers. A beautiful, beloved face. He looked just as he had in her mind. His dark hair was slightly unruly. His eyebrows were thick, his lashes long and full. His nose was straight with the tiniest bump on the bridge. And his lips were soft and sensual in shape. She’d married a hunk.
She’d have loved him if he’d had three eyes and a horn in the center of his forehead. For it was his heart, his soul that had connected with hers. Still, it was nice to know she would never tire of looking at him. Looking at him!
She sat straight up and groaned.
“What—what’s the matter?” Jesse asked.
“Nothing,” she replied.
“Then come back here where you belong,” he murmured, his arm tugging her back against his body.
“I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“I don’t think I can ever sleep in this bedroom again,” she said.
Jesse opened his eyes, rolled over on his back and raked a hand through his hair. “What are you talking about?”
“This is the ugliest wallpaper I’ve ever seen in my life,” she said.
“I warned you it was bad.” Jesse sat up. “The ugliest you’ve ever seen?” he said, his voice a whispered question. “Allison?”
She turned and looked at him. “Yes, it’s so ugly.” Tears once again blurred her vision. “It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.” She jumped up on her knees and cupped his face with her hands. “Jesse Wilder, you are the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“You can see me?”
She laughed deliriously. “Every whisker, you handsome man.”
He grabbed her to him and she sensed a kind of desperation in his embrace. “I’m so glad for you,” he murmured into her hair.
“Jesse.” She broke the embrace and once again touched his face. She saw the joy in his eyes, saw the joy mixed with something else. “My love, I can see you’re happy for me. And I can see that you’re worried.”
“I am happy for you,” he agreed, his forehead wrinkling a bit. “But things will be different now.” He laughed with a touch of uneasiness. “Change is always a little worrisome.”
“Ah, Jesse, even if I were blind, I’d be able to see what’s bothering you.” She snuggled against him. “I’m not running back to Chicago. I love you and this is where I belong. If I’m blind I want to be here, and if I’m not blind, this is where I want to be. Besides—” she focused her attention once again on the wallpaper “—I figure if everyone in Mustang has as bad a taste in decorating as you do, my new business as an interior decorator should boom.”
He laughed and she drank in the vision of his laughter. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he asked.
“Show me,” she said huskily, then grinned. “And keep in mind, I can see every move you make.”
And he did. And she did.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1737-9
IMMINENT DANGER
Copyright © 2000 by Carla Bracale
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permissi
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* The Baker Brood
† Sisters
‡ Mustang, Montana
Table of Contents
Letter to Reader
Books by Carla Cassidy
About the Author
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Copyright
Imminent Danger Page 18
