His son nodded and Lizzie handed him the plaque to carry.
The elderly honor guard took their places. Flags in hand, guns shouldered, they began the solemn walk to the driveway’s curve.
When they got to the curve they veered left, toward a small copse of trees. There was no casket flag to fold. There were no ashes to scatter. But as they set the flags into newly installed flag holders, the freshly landscaped site took on a new meaning.
It wasn’t the patch of flowers the women had tucked in front of a few trees.
It wasn’t the two rustic benches inviting quiet repose.
With the flags in place, and a single bagpiper standing by while seven old fellows stood at attention, Heath began to see new possibilities out of old realities.
Reverend Sparks was there to lead them in prayer, but he’d asked Heath to say a few words in remembrance, enough to remind people who Sean was. What he meant to him, Ben, Aldo and Harve. To Jace and Wick. To so many.
He shifted slightly to the right and faced the crowd. “I’m keeping this short, like Sean liked,” he promised. That garnered a few smiles. “But also to the point, because Sean respected that, too.
“Sean Fitzgerald was a good man. He took care of his own, and he reached out to find the best folks to do the job to make his dream come true. When you look around Pine Ridge, you can see he did exactly that. But he wanted more,” Heath told the people. He met a few looks of surprise, then adjusted his meaning. “Not for himself. For the town. The people in it. He ran out of time, and he’d be the first to admit he might have back-burnered it too long. Today, I’d like to see that change.” He met the eyes of Eric Carrington and two other wealthy landowners who were rarely seen around town. “Big spreads are nice, but if we don’t work together to save this town, our town—” he stressed the words gently “—we could regret it. I think most of us have had enough regrets in our lives. Something to think on, anyway, while we pray together.”
He linked hands with Lizzie on one side and Zeke on the other, and when the aged pastor led them in prayer, a flicker of hope began within him. Not a big, burning flame. Nothing so grandiose. Just enough to recall Lizzie’s words, how everything had to begin somewhere.
Three old soldiers stepped forward. Aiming high, they shot seven volleys into the clear blue sky, marking the moment.
He hadn’t had a lot of time to mourn when Anna died. There was too much to do, and Zeke did enough crying for both of them.
And he’d held back tears during Sean’s final days and his passing because Sean had entrusted him with a huge job. Tears had no place at such moments. He didn’t want his dear friend and mentor to spend his last earthly moments worrying about the ranch.
But today, tears slipped down his cheeks.
Not too many, and he dashed them away, but enough to know that maybe he’d grown a bigger, better heart somewhere along the way.
Lizzie hadn’t known Sean, but she clutched a wad of tissues to swipe tears away as she watched the solemn military salute.
And then one lone bagpiper stepped forward to play “Amazing Grace.”
The poignant notes of the familiar tune...with the row of aged men standing at attention, their love for God and country so obvious...
His throat choked up all over again.
Then Lizzie left him no choice. She leaned her head against his arm. He put his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, then leaned down to kiss her forehead.
He didn’t care if people saw.
He didn’t care what some might think.
He thought of what she’d missed all her life, the love and care of parents who cherished her.
Could she be happy here?
She lifted watery eyes to his and the moment she did, he knew his answer.
Yes.
She could love him again. Would love him again. It was written in her heartfelt gaze, through the sheen of sorrow.
Zeke tugged on his sleeve. He looked down into a little face lined with worry. Zeke reached up and Heath scooped him into his arms.
He held him in one arm and Lizzie in the other, and for the first time in a long time, Heath was pretty sure everything was going to be all right.
* * *
Lizzie had just finished up in the stables when Heath came her way a few hours later. “Has everyone gone home?”
He nodded. “Even the few old timers that hung around, just wanting to chat. Wick drove the last couple home. And, Lizzie...” He moved closer, and his look...
Lizzie was pretty sure she could get lost in that look if they shared all three blessings. Faith, hope and love.
“I wanted to thank you.”
He laid strong hands on her shoulders in a gentle grip and held her gaze. “You saw what needed to be done and you did it. You reached out and people responded. Having this service today made a difference. It brought people together that I haven’t seen in years.”
“Let’s not get carried away,” she began, but he paused her with a finger to her mouth.
“Why not?”
Her heart began to beat harder. Faster.
He stepped closer. “Maybe just a little carried away.” He smiled down at her as his eyes went from her eyes to her lips...and back again. “Like this.” He leaned down and paused just shy of her mouth, waiting for her to close the distance.
Lizzie didn’t make him wait. She rose up on tiptoe to touch her mouth to his, and when he gathered her into his arms, a rush of sweet emotion grabbed hold.
She’d loved him once. Probably never stopped. And now...
“Liz.” He pressed kisses to her cheek, her ear, her hair. “You’ve made a difference, Lizzie. Not just to me, but to my son, to this ranch, and maybe to the town.” He stopped talking long enough to kiss her again. Then he paused and dropped his forehead to hers. “I can’t let you go again, Liz. Not now, not ever. I want you to stay here, with me. With Zeke. I want us to be a family, Liz. I want to court you like I should have done years ago.”
She started to speak but stopped when a long, drawn-out whine pierced the air.
They both paused, listening.
The whine came again, fainter this time.
“The dog.” Lizzie pulled back and raced for the door. Heath followed.
She didn’t burst through the back door. She opened it carefully, not wanting to scare the animal. She crept out, with Heath behind her, and searched the pasture with her eyes.
The yowl came again, long and slow as if begging for help.
And then the dog appeared at the edge of the shed. She started their way, then paused, panting.
They navigated over the split rail fence and ran toward the dog. Normally it would have ducked away into hiding.
Not this time. This time the roughed-up pooch stayed right there, waiting.
Lizzie moved right in. Heath caught her arm. “An animal in pain might bite. Let me get her.”
Lizzie pulled off the hoodie she’d had tied around her waist. “Wrap her in this. She’s shaking, Heath.”
He bent over the dog, wrapped her in the soft jacket and lifted her into his arms as if he carried something precious and beautiful. Not a sad, dirty, matted canine. “Let’s get her up to the house.”
“Not the barn?”
He shook his head quickly. “I think she’s going to need some warmth and TLC, Lizzie. She’s very pregnant and seems to be going into labor.”
“She’s having puppies?”
He nodded, grim. “Let’s see if we can get her cleaned up some. There might not be time for that, though.”
She moved up the steps ahead of him as his phone alarm went off. The dog jumped in his arms, frightened by the sudden noise. He held her close while Lizzie drew a bath in the laundry room sink.
His phone buzzed again. He frowned, hit Decline, and helped hold the
weak dog as Lizzie sluiced warm water through the nasty fur. When the dog let out a yelp, Lizzie put the hand sprayer down. “Let’s let her rest now. We got the worst of it. Are there flea meds in the barn?”
“Yes. Good thought. Cookie would not approve of fleas in his work area. I’ll have one of the men bring them in.” He held up his phone in apology. “The meeting that Carrington scheduled is today. It’s in fifteen minutes. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but I know he’s got an early flight back to the East Coast.” He looked from her to the dog and back. “I don’t want to leave you with this, but I don’t want to miss this chance to talk with these guys, either.”
“Strike while the iron’s hot,” she told him. “You go and figure out what can be done to help the town and—”
The back screen door slapped shut and Zeke barreled their way. He skidded to a stop and plugged his nose. “Something is really smelly around here.” He looked from his father to Lizzie, then spotted the wet dog. He moved closer, intrigued, but didn’t let go of his nose. “That is a weird dog, my Lizzie.”
“A sick dog,” said Heath. He bent low. “I don’t want you to go near her, okay? We think she’s going to have babies.”
“Puppies?” His voice pitched up. His eyebrows did, too. “In the house? We never have puppies in the house. I can’t even believe that we’re going to have puppies in the house.”
Cookie had followed him through the door and when he cleared his throat with meaning, Lizzie was pretty sure he couldn’t believe it, either. She put a finger to her lips and indicated the worn-out dog with a look.
Zeke clapped a hand over his mouth. “I forgot to use my inside voice.” He made a face of regret. “Maybe we should just whisper around the doggie, right? Like this.” He whispered so softly that Lizzie didn’t have a clue what he was saying.
“I think just a soft voice works. We want her to get used to our voices, so she’s not afraid to come into the house.”
“Can we keep the puppies? Like here, with us and we can have a dog just for me?” Hopeful, he peered up at his father, but Heath shook his head.
“Zeke, I can’t answer that right now. I don’t know how this will all turn out. She’s not healthy. She’s been neglected a long time, so things might not go okay with the puppies. Let’s wait and see, okay?”
Zeke’s lower lip stuck out. “’Cept when you say wait and see it means no, Dad. It always just means no.” He folded his arms and stood stubborn as a mule in a stare-down with his father. “I don’t know why I can’t have one animal for me when you have like a gazillion all over the place.”
Heath’s phone buzzed once more. He made a wry face and put the phone away. “On that note...” He bent and kissed Zeke’s forehead. “Be good. We’ll discuss this later. I’ve got a meeting to go to. If it’s all right with Lizzie, you can help with the dog, but you’ve got to keep your voice soft, okay? This dog isn’t used to people and she sure isn’t accustomed to busy little boys.” He aimed a look at Lizzie, over Zeke’s head. “I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
“Corrie’s on her way back from Rosie’s place. Her calm head in a crazy storm mentality is just what we need right now.” She dropped her gaze to Zeke and Heath seemed to catch her meaning.
He nodded and left quickly.
“Can I pet her?”
Lizzie shook her head. “Not just yet. She might get nippy. But there is one very important, maybe most important thing you can do, Zeke.”
His frown had deepened substantially as she spoke, but it disappeared when she said, “You can name this dog. How can we take care of a little mama dog with no name?”
He grinned, elated with this new assignment. “I don’t even know what names to think of!” He kept his voice toned down and his smile in place, but he’d had a long day already and Lizzie knew that could change.
“Well, it’s a girl, so we need a girl’s name.”
“Not Clifford.”
She shook her head, because reading about the big red dog’s antics was one of Zeke’s favorite pastimes. “Definitely a boy’s name. Let’s go through the alphabet,” she suggested. “Addie. Abby. Bria. Belle. Betsy.”
“That’s it!” Zeke whispered up to her, excited. “Betsy! I think it’s the best name ever for a dog that’s not so big, right? A name all her own.”
Oh, Zeke...
So precious.
So sweet.
And needing a mother to love him. To laugh with him. Challenge him. The thought of that shared kiss didn’t just sweep over her. It enveloped her, like a warm blanket on a chilled night.
Zeke yawned once, then yawned again. “I really wish I could just have a dog all my own. I would share him with you.” He looked up at Lizzie. “I wouldn’t hog him all by myself. But I could play with him a lot. He would be my friend.”
Lizzie knew what he meant. The farm had several working dogs, but they weren’t allowed to follow a little guy around and go on boy adventures, and there were no children around to play with. “I didn’t have a dog, either. We’ll talk to your dad later, okay? First, we have to make sure the puppies arrive and that they’re all right.”
“He’ll say no. He says no to everything.” Zeke stood, scowled and yawned again, clearly worn with the busy day. And when he got tired, he got grumpy.
“Why don’t you take a rest,” she suggested softly. “If the puppies start arriving, I’ll come get you, okay?”
“I’m not even a little bit tired.” He yawned again, punctuating the declaration.
She hid a smile. “You don’t have to sleep, darling. Maybe just a rest and a cookie.”
“All my favorite cookies are gone.” He sighed as if the world had just crumbled around him. “Maybe I’ll get one anyway.”
“Okay.”
She heard him in the kitchen, then the nearby bathroom. She stroked the dog’s head, murmuring sweet words of comfort, right up until she heard the scream followed by a solid thud.
Her heart stopped, but the adrenaline punch pumped it right into high gear. As she burst through the door onto the side porch, her heart ground to a halt again because there was Zeke, the beloved boy, lying on the ground.
And he wasn’t moving.
Chapter Fourteen
While one volunteer EMT cared for Zeke, a second one addressed the gathered crew of Pine Ridge Ranch. “We’ve called for the chopper,” he explained. “We want him at a level-one trauma hospital, just in case he needs additional services.”
“Additional services?” Lizzie gripped his arm. “What does that mean?”
“It’s concussion protocol. Some are worse than others and having skilled hands and equipment on hand is clutch. I hear it coming.” He pointed south as the sound of the chopper grew. “Let’s get him transported and they’ll take it from there. With a head trauma like this, we don’t want to waste time.”
Head trauma.
Zeke.
Lizzie’s hands shook. Her fingertips buzzed.
“How far up the tree was he?” the medic asked, and Lizzie had to shake her head.
“I don’t know. I was inside and he was going to take a rest. I heard the scream as he fell. I—”
Her voice was lost in the growing noise as the chopper descended into the fresh-cut hayfield nearby. Medics hurried their way, lugging necessary equipment at a dead run.
How had this happened in the space of a few short minutes?
“Zeke.” Heath sank to the ground on the other side of the inert child. Anguish darkened his face while worry clouded his eyes.
She hadn’t heard him arrive. The sound of his Jeep had been shrouded by the chopper noise.
The first EMT made way for the new arrivals. She approached Heath. “We’ve got concussion symptoms, Heath. Possibly a broken wrist. They’re going to fly him to Boise.”
“Am I going to lose him?”
<
br /> Heath’s voice held more than fear. It held the stark reality of life and death. Guilt and sorrow fought for dominance within Lizzie.
“Kids get concussions all the time,” she told him. “But he needs care and observation, all of which they can give him. There’s so little up here to work with.”
They’d immobilized Zeke’s little body on some kind of a board.
The sight of the child, lying still and quiet against the hard surface, shattered Lizzie’s heart again. He should be kicking and screaming at the thought of being trussed up, but he wasn’t.
He couldn’t because she’d been too distracted to watch him properly.
“You’ll have to drive to the hospital, Heath. There’s no room in the chopper. I already checked. Are you okay to drive?”
Of course he wasn’t.
Tears filled his eyes. Worry darkened his face. The guy was totally over the top and it was one hundred percent her fault.
“I can drive.” She reached for his keys, determined. She’d messed up. It was her job to see it through.
“I’ll drive myself.”
Lizzie started to protest, but Heath was already moving away. She chased after him. “Let me drive. You’re in no condition to—”
Her Cowboy Reunion Page 15
