by Jodi Thomas
TYLER WRIGHT TOOK THE ASHES OF A MAN WHO’D LIVED to be ninety-three to Tulsa so he could be placed with the remains of his wife in a garden mausoleum. As always, he talked to his passenger in the box beside him.
“You know, Benny, you’ve been away from Juanita for twelve years. You two will have lots to talk about.” Tyler laughed. He’d known Benny and Juanita since he was a kid. They’d always been old. Near as he could tell, Juanita never stopped talking and Benny never started. That might explain why she died first; she just wore out faster with the volume turned up.
People would probably think he was crazy if they ever knew he sometimes talked to his customers. He didn’t do it often, and mostly just to pass the time, but he knew he’d better stop forever when his Kate got home. She wasn’t the type to put up with nonsense.
Tyler smiled. She put up with him. He loved her for a hundred reasons, but most of all he loved her for loving him. He’d always worried that he might be one of those people who’d make it all the way through life without finding someone to love him. He knew the town respected him, cared about him, thought of him as a friend, but no one thought of him as special except his Kate. She’d told him more than once that he was the most adorable man she’d ever met.
He frowned. She’d been gone eighteen days. She’d said she’d be back in two or three weeks, a month at the most. He’d counted, not only the days, but the hours each day. He told himself he could make the three weeks, but he wasn’t sure he could make a month.
Touching his cell, he remembered what she’d said about when she was safe she’d call and let the phone ring once, hang up, and let it ring once more. Tyler knew when he got that call, he’d be able to take a deep breath. He might not know where she was, but he’d know that she was safe.
After he delivered Benny, Tyler headed back home. It was a long drive, and he hated the boredom of the highway between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. If Autumn weren’t already due to deliver her baby, he would have pulled off the main road and wandered through the back towns, but today he needed to get home as fast as possible.
It was a little after dark when he made it in. Autumn had his dinner warming. In her last month of pregnancy she’d been cooking up meals and freezing them as if Tyler might starve the few days while she was in the hospital. In truth, he was looking forward to eating out. Between Autumn and Kate, fast food was almost impossible to sneak in. Once in a while when he met Hank Matheson for breakfast at the diner, Tyler ordered a hamburger and fries from their Round the Clock menu.
Two volunteer firemen were also in his kitchen when he made it home. They’d come so often, Tyler had begun to consider them the world’s largest salt and pepper shakers at his counter.
They were good men. Brandon “Big” Biggs and Willie Davis both stood guard waiting for the stork.
Tyler nodded at them as he passed. If the stork did happen to come, either one of the two would probably frighten him off.
“How are you feeling tonight, Autumn?” Tyler asked.
She gave him that don’t-ask-me-again look. She was ready to deliver. “I’m fine, Mr. Wright, and before you ask, no one has called all afternoon.”
He patted her hand. They were both circling the airport waiting to land, her with a baby and him with Kate.
Tyler ate his soup in his office, then went up to bed, thinking that as soon as he went to sleep, he could wake up and be one day closer to Kate being home. For a moment, in the darkness of his room with only his dog, Little Lady, beside him, he let himself think about what would happen if she didn’t come home.
He’d survive, he decided. He’d go on, but he knew he’d never feel truly alive again.
Chapter 30
SATURDAY
OCTOBER 8
ADDISON SPENT ONE NIGHT AT THE HOSPITAL AND DECIDED she’d be wise to check in at the Winter’s Inn Bed-and-Breakfast before she died of exhaustion. She’d been awakened to assist in emergencies that any one of several nurses could have handled. The staff was used to waking doctors who sometimes worked twelve-hour shifts and were catnapping when times were quiet.
After a day trying to work without enough sleep, she checked into the B and B with only one bag. She’d never really thought about how few clothes she had until she’d packed at the Rogers house. Homeless people with their shopping carts had more stuff than she did.
Martha Q, the owner of Winter’s Inn, asked how long she planned to stay, then raised an eyebrow when Addison said three months.
Addison had her choice of rooms, so she picked the small one at the back. It had a great shower and a small bed. She didn’t even bother to open her suitcase. She just took a shower, put on Tinch’s old shirt, and crawled into bed. The little bed seemed just one more reminder that she wasn’t where she needed to be, but the silence of the old place rocked her to sleep within minutes.
After a good night’s sleep and a huge breakfast, Addison felt like she could face the world again.
There was really no need to go back to the ranch house, even if the law did manage to put Memphis Stone and his gang in jail. Tinch owned her little rented house now, and it would be awkward. Addison couldn’t stand the thought of a hotel or of trying to find another place to rent. The B and B just seemed the best option for the time she had left, and Mrs. Biggs, the cook, put heaven on a plate for breakfast.
The second night she laid out her pajamas but ended up sleeping in the flannel shirt again. Every night she called Jamie to say good night. He’d tell her all about his day and she’d lie and tell him she was too busy to make it out to the ranch tonight. He seemed disappointed, but he didn’t cry.
When the kid passed the phone back to Tinch, he never had much to say to her. All was fine. Nothing had happened. No news from the sheriff. Addison knew the time waiting was hard on Tinch. She also knew he’d never complain.
On the third day, Addison called Alex and asked if they could meet for lunch. The sheriff and the doctor drew a few looks when they sat down together at the Blue Moon Diner near the old downtown square.
“I’m worried about Jamie,” Addison said, seeing no need for small talk.
“He’s fine. We’re building a strong case against Memphis, and we’re doing the best we can to find him. It shouldn’t be long. Harmony isn’t a town where hiding out is easy. If I have to do door to door, I plan to know if he’s still close. Keeping Jamie safe is on all our minds.”
When Addison didn’t smile, the sheriff added, “You could probably go out and check on him.”
Addison shook her head. “I’ll be leaving in a few months. It wouldn’t be fair to the boy for him to get attached to me and then have me be just one more person in his life who disappears.”
The sheriff agreed with a nod and switched topics. “How’s Autumn and the baby watch coming along at the funeral home?”
Addison laughed. “She’s overdue. I offered to induce but she insists that she wants to go all natural as far as she can. If she doesn’t go into labor soon, I’ll have to induce or give Prozac to everyone at the Wright Funeral Home. Tyler came in with her yesterday, and I swear the man didn’t look like he’d slept in a week.”
Both women laughed, drawing the attention of several diners.
As their food arrived, the sheriff asked as casually as if she were just making conversation, “You going to see Tinch again, Doc?”
Addison looked up, surprised by the directness. “I don’t think so,” she answered, just as directly, and the subject was dropped.
Only that night, when Addison was alone in her room at the B and B, she couldn’t stop thinking about him, and she knew she’d have to see him again. If she didn’t, there would always be a sense of unfinished business in a corner of her life.
Chapter 31
MONDAY
OCTOBER 10
BEAU AND BORDER SET UP THEIR EQUIPMENT AND WATCHED the building crowd filling the tables around the dance floor at the Buffalo Bar and Grill. Harley told them he was paying them each a hundred even on t
he practice nights. He might not get as big of a drinking crowd, but folks were packing in, eating supper and listening.
“Look at all of them out there.” Border peeked through the chicken wire. “I don’t think even my brother knows this many people he can bully into coming.”
“Maybe they’re here for the wings?” Beau tied his hair back with the leather strap Martha Q had given him.
“I don’t think so. Harley’s served the same wings for years. I think they’re here to see us practice.”
Beau shook his head. It had taken him an hour a few months ago to talk Harley into letting them practice on Monday night. The only reason he’d let them do it was because no one ever came in on Mondays but the hard drunks, and a cannon going off in the place wouldn’t bother them. Only, each week the crowd seemed to double.
“Ronny Logan is here.” Border pointed at his neighbor. “I’m always asking her to come, but she says she’s too tired after working at the post office. Then, tonight, she just walks over and bangs on our door asking what time we start playing.”
Beau glanced up from his notes. Ronny looked nice tonight. She’d combed her hair and had on a pretty sweater. The longer he knew her, the prettier she seemed to get. There was some kind of glow inside her, like she was just waiting for something wonderful to happen.
“She got a few boxes delivered UPS this morning. I didn’t open them, but it looked like a complete setup for a computer, printer, and the works.”
“Maybe her mother sent them for her birthday?”
Border shook his head. “Old Lady Logan hasn’t spoke to Ronny since she moved in. Word is the old bag tells everyone Ronny’s dead.”
“Nice relative,” Beau said. “She have a fairy godmother, maybe?”
“No. She don’t have no kin that I know about, except a mother who Big says is so mean she wouldn’t spit on a frog on fire.” Border smiled at his own little joke. “I asked who it was from and Ronny said she didn’t know, but from the way she was smiling I think she had an idea.”
“The nurses are here,” Border said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Too bad my brother can’t make it tonight. He’s on duty at the fire station. I think he’s crazy about that tall one. He threatened to murder me if I saw her and didn’t go over and talk to her when we’re on break.”
Beau glanced over at the six nursing students as they sat down. The tall one was there, but all he saw was the cute little blonde with the perfect forehead.
Border must have seen her too. “You going to talk to her tonight?”
The lights went down and the twinkle lights came on like stars above them as Beau answered, “I’m going to hope for fifteen minutes with her. If I can keep that rate up, by Christmas I might be able to ask her out.”
They began to play the first song as folks took the last few seats, and Harley smiled from behind the bar.
With everyone watching the stage, no one except Beau saw the short man in a dark suit slip through the front door and take a seat in the back of the bar. He kept his head low and when he did look around, he never looked at the stage.
Beau watched him, wondering if the man came to listen or to hide out in a dark corner for a while. There was something about the guy that gave Beau the creeps. His dad used to preach about demons who walk among us. Beau decided the little man fit the bill for what he would have guessed the demons looked like.
Chapter 32
IN THE COOL OF THE MIDNIGHT BARN, TINCH WORKED with the new horse Noah had passed along from the Matheson Ranch. Tinch had mentioned his fear of trying to work with the animal with Jamie around to his cousin and lawyer, Liz Leary. Like all the family, she thought she had to get involved. The next thing he knew Liz’s husband, Gabe, and his friend were e-mailing that they’d be over at ten to babysit Jamie so Tinch could work.
When Tinch wrote back that Jamie would be asleep, they added, “Great.”
So two guys who’d served years in Special Forces were watching the house and the boy so Tinch could get a few hours’ work in. Life made little sense these days, but he felt good being able to just work and not be on guard.
When Tinch had time to think, he bounced between worry over Jamie and frustration over Addison. She’d been gone four days and he couldn’t remember what they’d argued about. He knew she was safer away. The last thing he wanted was her getting in the way when trouble found him, but his body didn’t see the reasoning and still ached for her. Every morning he missed talking over breakfast with her, and every night he stared at her side of the bed wishing she were there. The bossy, opinionated, skittish woman had gotten under his skin. All he could think about was the way she treated Jamie and how she made him laugh, and how she felt when she melted in his arms.
But here and now was not the time. He had to think first of Jamie.
Tinch felt like he’d done all he could to be ready for any unwanted company. He’d placed a rifle, well out of Jamie’s reach, in every room of his house and the barn. He and Jamie had made a game out of seeing how fast the boy could disappear if Tinch even whispered, “Red Alert.” They’d cleaned out the space beneath the stairs. A small door opened out and disappeared when closed. Lori Anne had wanted it to hide the vacuum, but it made a perfect secret hiding spot in the center of the house.
The two of them had also built swinging boards, just big enough for a boy, on both sides of the barn. Jamie could be gone in seconds and, before anyone could follow he’d be far enough away in a hiding spot that no one would find him. They saw it as a great game. Tinch prayed they’d never have to put the escape plan into action.
To the boy, it was just an adventure. A Treasure Island escape. But to Tinch, it meant Jamie’s survival.
Leaning against the barn to catch his breath, Tinch pulled out his phone that Addison had programmed for him. One number would bring the sheriff, she’d said. Another would bring the doc running.
He held his finger over the button that dialed her cell. What if he called? He needed her. Would she understand? Would she come?
Tinch shoved the phone back into his pocket. He had work to do. This wasn’t the time to act like some lovesick fool. He couldn’t allow her to mean anything to him. He obviously didn’t mean anything more than a fling to her before she went back to the big city. He didn’t plan on standing like a fool watching her leave with his heart broken.
He brushed the mare he’d been working with, careful not to touch the wound she had received when she’d fallen. An inexperienced rider had taken her too close to the edge of a canyon wall. The clay soil hadn’t held, and it was a wonder both the horse and the rider hadn’t been killed. She wasn’t as unruly as the Matheson horse, but she still needed his attention.
As Tinch turned to toss the brush and pick up a hoof pick, he saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eyes. For a heartbeat he thought trouble had come to call, and then he recognized the tall slender form. Addison. He swore the woman was so pale she glowed in the dark.
She took a step into the circle of light. Her long legs were covered with jeans that showed off every curve, and she wore his old flannel shirt unbuttoned enough that he could see the lace of her bra. The jacket over her shoulders was midnight blue and unzipped. For a moment, he just stared, thinking if this was a vision he wanted to remember every detail before it disappeared.
She took another step toward him.
Tinch moved a few feet away from the mare. “How’d you get here?” His words were colder, harder than he’d meant them.
“I walked over from my … I mean the Rogers place. I told the sheriff I needed to pick up a few of my things, and she texted the huge guys you’ve got babysitting so they’d unlock my gate and turn off the alarm for an hour so the chime wouldn’t wake Jamie and frighten him. Once I parked in front of my house, I walked across the field in the moonlight.”
“It’s not your gate anymore, or your house. You moved into town, remember.” He hadn’t had time to ride over and see if she’d left anything, but ghosts probably
left more clutter than she did. He closed the stall gate and tossed a latch so Jamie couldn’t accidentally open this one. “What did you forget?”
“This,” Addison whispered as she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Surprised, he took a step backward and bumped into the gate. She came right with him.
This time it was Tinch who stood frozen as she pressed her lips to his and leaned her body against his.
When he didn’t react, she pulled away. “This is me attacking you again and, if you don’t want what I’m offering, you’d better start fighting, cowboy, ’cause I didn’t come all this way and tell a half dozen lies not to at least get one last kiss.”
Logic told him if he had any sense left he should push her away. She was a heartbreak gift wrapped in long legs and soft skin.
Only, Tinch knew he couldn’t turn away. Not now. Not like this with her body already against him.
“Convince me, Doc,” he said with a slight smile.
She took the challenge. She kissed him for a long while before whispering, “Hold me like you don’t want to let me go. Hold me so I don’t just fade from your life.” A slight cry escaped as she added, “Hold me, Tinch, so you’ll never fade from my memory.”
His arms wrapped around her and lifted her off the ground as he kissed her. “No chance of that, lady,” he whispered against her lips. He didn’t set her down when he broke the kiss but moved to her ear and added, “I don’t want to let you go. Not ever.”
Holding her off the ground, he crossed into the shadows at the back of the barn. She moved her fingers through his hair, pulling his head down so she could rub her cheek against his, needing the feel of him as dearly as he needed her.
Kissing her softly, he reminded himself to tell her sometime how much he loved it when she attacked him. When she bit his neck, he knew the period for gentle kisses was over.
