Josh had woke on the floor of his living room to find himself untied and Grady Summers tied up and lying next to him. Katy had been long gone.
“It’s just too bad his accomplice got away. That entire family has been nothing but trouble for us from day one. First the mother over here catting around my husband.” She sipped her coffee. “It was a good thing I caught that in time and fired the damn woman. Your father had a hard enough time keeping his willie in his pants, he didn’t need any encouragement from the likes of her.”
This was the first Josh had heard of that. And he just didn’t care. It didn’t matter anymore. But he wasn’t going to tell her that. He knew she was just as nervous as he was. And her way was to fill the silence with her own voice.
“It came as no shock that her daughters should turn out to be gold-digging tramps either. The both of them. Elizabeth trying to sink her claws into JD like she did. Getting herself pregnant with a married man’s child. Trashy. Just like her mother.”
“Lizzie didn’t get pregnant all on her own, mother. And I suspect she didn’t hold a gun to my married brother’s head to get him into bed with her.”
“No, I don’t suppose she did. She did worse. She used her body, her feminine wiles on him. She seduced him with the hopes of trapping him. But I put a stop to that.”
Knowing Lizzie, Josh couldn’t see her as a seductress. No, not Lizzie. If he knew better, and he did, he’d bet his last dollar it had been JD who had been doing the seducing. And the lying. But again, he wasn’t going to argue with his mother. His head hurt too much for that shit.
“And finally the youngest sister has to try and finish us off by blackmailing your sister and driving her to try and kill herself.”
Josh loved his little sister, but he knew Julie had created her own hell by having an affair and getting caught by the wrong person. He just wished she would have come to him when Katy had made her demands. Things would have turned out a lot differently.
“I only hope none of this reflects badly upon JD. Next year is an election year, you know. I’d hate for this scandal to cost him votes.”
Of course she would. Everything revolved around her. Risking falling on his ass, Josh stood slowly. “Votes won’t matter if he’s dead, mother.”
She reacted as though he’d struck her. Reeling back, she spilled coffee to the white carpet at her feet. “Don’t you ever say those words in my house again!”
Her shrill voice penetrated his skull and nearly knocked him back to his ass. He wanted to tell her to just shut up then. Just shut up about JD’s career and about how much it meant. Just shut up about all of it because none of it mattered anymore. Instead, he dipped his head and put a hand to it. “Mom, things are going to be different when JD comes back from that shack.” Best to get her warming to the idea now.
“What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously.
“They just will. He has a son he’s going to want to get to know. And Lizzie will be a part of that.”
“That tramp—”
“He still loves her, mother. Isn’t that obvious? He went out looking for her. He chased after her.”
“He does not love that woman.” With her typical coldness, she turned back to the window, effectively shutting him out.
Chapter 34
She’d sent him out with two places to look. One in the barn. The feed storage bins Josh kept a store of oats in had been a bust. He’d damn near ripped the lid off the thing getting into it. Damn near crawled into it flashing the light down into the plywood structure.
Now he was at the back of the house shining the light into the trees looking for… There it was. You had to know it was there to see it for it was camouflaged both by design and by time. He couldn’t believe it was still there. A smile would have touched his lips if fear hadn’t clutched onto his heart. She was laying in there on the floor bleeding while Matt stood over her with a gun pointed at her. Fury laced his fear. He pushed through the snow toward the trees.
Here he and Josh had played countless games of cowboys and Indians. Games of pirates and of soldiers. And here is where they had sat, cross-legged on the wood flooring, dreaming of their futures. Sometimes in the heat of the day, sometimes under the stars at night.
JD carefully climbed the rickety old ladder, which was no more than 2x4s nailed into the trunk of the tree. Falling and breaking a leg now was not an option. At the top – no more than fifteen feet off the ground – he was peering into the bottom of the treehouse, level with the floor. The roof had holes in it now and snow covered spots on the flooring. Slowly he passed the beam of the flashlight through the treehouse, stopping when it landed on something out of place. Something new. A black nylon overnight bag. He let out a breath which plumed in his face. So Lizzie had been right.
Wondering if the floor would support him, JD came the rest of the way into the little structure and belly-crawled across the floor. Wasting no time he snatched the bag in his gloved hand and backed to the hole in the floor and the ladder. As he made his way back down he wondered what he should do, knowing in his heart he had no options. He could not stall and hope Matt would get anxious and come looking for him. He could not overpower him and get the gun. He could not do any of those things because Lizzie was lying on the floor bleeding to death. There was only one thing he could do. He walked to the shack with the damned money in his hand knowing there was a very good chance Matt would put a bullet in him too. And he didn’t care anymore. If Lizzie died… God, if she died thinking he hated her he did not want to live either. It was just that simple.
When he pushed the front door open he found Matt squatting on the floor next to Lizzie, speaking quietly. Telling her he’d only done what he had to.
JD dropped the bag on the floor and shut the door. “Here’s your fucking money, Matt. Now get the hell away from her.”
Matt stood, no longer even bothering to point the gun at anyone. “You put some pressure on that wound and she should make it till help arrives, JD.” He stepped around her and though he knew JD would go right to her to tend her, he stayed clear of him, just the same. The guy was fuming pissed off and just might take a shot at him yet.
JD didn’t care about Matt any longer. He didn’t care about the money. He didn’t care about anything but Lizzie and the life’s blood which he saw slowly leaking from her body. Without one look to Matt he crossed the room and dropped to his knees next to her. A pile of towels lay next to her head, courtesy, he was sure, of the very man who had shot her in the first place.
“I really didn’t want to have to hurt her, JD. But it’s the only way I know I can count on you not following me.” Matt hefted the bag with the money in it and smiled broadly. “The search party will be out by now. A chopper will be out too.”
JD had lifted Lizzie’s shirt to expose the wound in her side. Pressing a folded towel to it hard enough to make her moan in pain he said, “Take your blood money and get the hell out of here, Matt.”
“Good idea, buddy. Catch you later.”
JD felt the cold draft as the door opened. “I hope you fucking choke on it,” he muttered as the door slammed shut at his back.
Though Lizzie’s eyes were closed and he knew she was unconscious, JD leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Lizzie, damnit, don’t you go and die on me.”
Her eyelashes fluttered and a whisper passed her lips.
“I know, baby,” he whispered back to her. “I know. You just hang in there and you can chew my ass all you want later.” He saw her lips twitch just a little bit in an attempted smile. “I’ll deserve every last hit too.”
The truck was parked and idling just where it should be. Matt shifted the duffle bag on his shoulder. A quarter of a million dollars was heavy. He picked up the pace, his eyes on the truck. It would be warm in there. He’d toss the bag on the floor, climb in and shoot Grady Summers in the head. He had no qualms about doing so. The guy was trash.
Breath huffing out in plumes, he reached the truck and yanked o
pen the passenger side door. As he tossed the bag on the floor he climbed in, his eyes on Grady. He couldn’t see his face because he had the big fluffy hood of his coat up. “How’d things go with Katy and Josh? You kill them?” he asked with a grin as he slid his gloves off. “Little bitch had it coming, so don’t get too down on yourself about it.”
A hand raised from between legs. The driver turned. “You should have known better than to send Grady for me, Matt.”
Matt felt his blood go cold. His hand moved for his pocket.
“Don’t you even think about it.” Katy put a gun in his face. “I’ve never killed anyone before, but so help me, I think I could start with you.”
He made himself relax. Made himself smile at her. “Hey, come on now, Katy.” He showed her the palms of his hands.
“You tied to kill me, you bastard. You buried me alive.”
“If it’s any consolation, I didn’t know you were alive when I buried you.”
Her lips twitched. “Get out.”
“Katy—”
“I wanna shoot you real bad, sheriff, so you better get out right now.”
“Katy, we could work together.” He leaned toward her. “We could play together too.” He would have caressed her cheek if the gun wasn’t pointed at his face. “We had some good times. We fit together, if you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean and that could be said for lots of guys.” She looked into his eyes. “I’d never be able to trust you and you’d never be able to trust me.” Her smile flashed. “Of course that could be said for a lot of guys too.”
“You’re a hard-ass bitch, Katy. Nothing like Lizzie.”
Lizzie. She hadn’t wanted to ask him what he’d done. She wanted to leave it be. Let herself believe he’d let her and JD go. “No, I’m nothing like Lizzie.” Her heart ached. Whatever he’d done, good or bad, she could not change. Lizzie was either dead or alive. “Lizzie has a heart. I don’t. Get out.”
“You’ll pay for this, Katy. I’ll hunt you down and I’ll finish what I started.”
“Not if you don’t get out of this truck and get off this mountain.” She made a show of looking at the dash clock. “It’s daylight now, Matt. This hill will be thick with cops. Cops that will be looking for you.”
His eyes flashed. “I’ll kill you bitch,” he promised.
Chapter 35
Sunlight streamed in the window bringing with it both warmth and the promise of things to come. Lizzie sat up in bed staring blindly at the television mounted on the wall across from her. That promise of things to come had her absolutely terrified.
“So, Mrs. Neely said Sean should drop out of school immediately and join the space academy where his services will be much more appreciated by his adoring public.”
Lizzie blinked and looked away from the screen, every other one of Brain’s words penetrating her brain. “What?”
“I knew you weren’t listening to a damn word I said. I told you Sean had been bragging to anyone who will listen about how his mom is a hero.”
“Hardly,” she said. “Shouldn’t he be back by now?” she asked, chewing a nail. “He’s been gone for hours.”
“Will you stop worrying? JD isn’t going to spirit him off to some foreign country. He’s just showing him around the ranch.”
She glared at him. “You aren’t the one he threatened with lawyers.” And he wasn’t the one lying in a hospital bed, helpless. And he wasn’t the one who’d woke and had not seen JD yet. Sure, he’d kept her alive until help had arrived, but that didn’t mean he’d forgiven her. Obviously, he had not.
Brian sighed. “I don’t think he’ll follow through on that, Lizzie. I really don’t. Not after he spends some time with Sean and sees how much the kid loves you.”
But damnit, JD had been right. She had kept the boy from him. “You didn’t see the look in his eyes when he told me he was going to take Sean from me, Brian. He meant every word.” The memory of that look and the conviction she’d heard in his voice still chilled her. “He hasn’t been to see me at all.” Which told her everything she needed to know. He would take her child from her, come hell or high water. “I can’t believe you let him take him today.”
“Lizzie, he deserves to get to know Sean. And like I’ve told you a million times,” he pointed a finger at the television set, “I didn’t want him finding out who his father is that way. JD will keep him distracted until he brings him back this afternoon and we can all sit down together and tell him.”
She supposed it was for the best and she knew Brian was right. But she was still so frightened she could barely think straight.
“Maybe he has to sort things out, Lizzie. I mean, you have to admit, you dropped a bomb on him. With everything else that’s happened he hasn’t had time to get his head on straight. Plus the media is hounding the crap out of him.”
They would, she knew that. He was a senator. This was his home town and his best friend, the sheriff, was at the center of a very ugly little scandal. Along, of course, with his own family. And hers.
Oh, God, Katy. She still could not believe what Katy had done. At least, she told herself, she hadn’t resorted to murder. There was that.
Matt had been picked up on the mountain by the State Police and was currently residing in his own jail. He wasn’t talking to anyone except his lawyer.
And Katy… her eyes settled on the post card lying on the little table by her bed. Palm trees, sand and sun. No return address. No note. But she knew who had sent it. She knew she’d never see her again. It hurt. It was also a relief. Their lives had been tied together for so long. Katy had used those ties for her own selfish needs. And Lizzie had never allowed herself to cut those ties because of guilt.
Brian reached over and wiped her cheek with a thumb. “Hey, she’s okay,” he told her.
She hadn’t realized she’d let a tear fall. “I know she is, Brian. Katy always comes out okay.” It was everyone else who usually wound up paying the price.
JD could barely take his eyes from the boy. His boy. Sean sat on the bench seat on the passenger side of the old pickup truck, his eyes latching onto every single thing they passed, fascinated by it all. And mostly, JD knew, the boy was fascinated by the man sitting next to him driving the truck.
“You knew my mom when she was a kid?” Sean asked now, taking his eyes off the road to study JD some more.
“I did.” He wanted desperately to tell the boy he was his father. But the time wasn’t right for that just yet. Not until Lizzie was up to it. Not until they could tell him together. As it was he was counting himself lucky for getting to be with Sean today. But there had been a reason behind that, and a good one. Though he was sure Brian had explained it to Lizzie he was sure she would still be fretting over it. And she had every right to after the threats he’d issued.
“Did she used to ride horses and stuff too?” he wanted to know.
“She did, every chance she got.”
The boy squinted at him. “I like your cowboy hat. I wonder if my mom will let me get one too.”
“I’m sure we can arrange that.”
“And maybe if she lets me I can visit your brother’s ranch again and ride a horse.” He sat up taller in his seat and lifted his chin.
Like his mother, JD thought.
“My mom got me riding lessons so I can ride real good. I even have my own horse. Well,” he corrected, “he’s really a pony. But he’s a tall pony. She says next year I can start looking for a horse. She’s even been talking about moving somewhere I can keep them at home cuz right now we have to board them.”
“Sounds like she looks out for you.”
Sean shrugged a shoulder. “She does. So does my dad.”
JD felt a stab to his heart.
“Well, Brian’s not my real dad, but he’s cool. He taught me to throw a curve ball and a mean slider. I can even strike him out. Do you play ball? Maybe I could pitch to you sometime.”
“I’ve been known to swing at a baseball,
” he replied thickly.
“Brian says my pitching skills are awesome and I’m gonna kill with ‘em when I’m old enough to get on the junior varsity baseball team.”
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, JD hunted for a space, unable to speak lest his voice give away the gambit of emotions he was feeling.
“My mom says my real dad and her couldn’t be together but that someday I’ll get to meet him. She says I’ll really like him too.”
God, he hoped so. He parked the truck and flipped off his seatbelt. When he turned the boy was staring into his eyes. They were as blue as the deep sea, like his own. “Ready?” he asked. “I’m sure she’s been waiting all day.” And so have I, he thought. I’ve been waiting all day to tell you that I’m your dad. And that I want to be a part of your life from here on out.
Walking into the hospital, JD watched as the boy raced ahead, wanting to make sure he got to punch the buttons for the elevators, hopping foot to foot as he waited impatiently. On the ride to the third floor he poised himself in front of the doors, anxious to see his mother again. She almost died, didn’t she, he’d asked JD in a serious, almost adult way, as they’d made their way through one of the horse barns.
He hadn’t been able to lie to the boy. He thought himself about how close he’d come to losing her again. This time for good.
As soon as the doors opened the boy jumped out, like a colt from the starting gate, nearly running into a young nurse. She might have scolded him if she hadn’t looked up to see JD behind him. Everyone knew who he was. And everyone who’d seen the news knew who the boy was.
With his heart nearly in his throat, JD walked down the hallway after the boy. Nervous to the point of having sweating palms, he followed Sean into a room just in time to hear his line of constant chatter.
Hearts On Fire Page 18
