Inn at Last Chance

by Hope Ramsay

  He obeyed, rolling onto his side, feeling the heat on his injured skin, but knowing that the fire had been small and it was out now. He still wanted to tear the shirt from his body, but he didn’t have time.

  Delilah was coming at him, and she probably had more matches.

  He rolled over and regained his feet just in time to charge at her. He connected with a thud that carried her to the floor.

  He landed hard on top of her, but the floor was carpeted, so the fall didn’t stun her in the least. Instead she fed on the violence. She scratched his face and bit his hand and spit profanity at him.

  “You’re going to burn in hell,” she said. Then she called him a monster and a beast, and he had no doubt that in her twisted mind he was all those things. He’d been hearing this crap for the last eight years.

  Meanwhile the mattress was fully engulfed in fire now, filling the room with noxious fumes that were making it hard to breathe. Thank God the window was already broken out because the smoke might have overcome them both.

  The situation was getting dire and he had no choice, so he pulled back his fist and popped her one right in the face. He hit her so hard that her teeth cut his knuckles. She went limp and the shame hit him.

  He picked her up and carried her from the room, just as the sheriff rolled into the parking lot with the bubblegum lights on his cruiser going at full tilt.

  CHAPTER

  23

  Jenny had just pressed the disconnect button on her phone call with Dr. Polk when the Last Chance Volunteer Fire Department siren began to wail. And since the Cut ’n Curl was only about a block away from the firehouse, the sound was practically deafening.

  “What the heck is that?” Maryanne, a newcomer to town, asked.

  “It’s the signal for the volunteer firefighters to head to the station.” Jenny didn’t tell her that the siren always raised her hackles. She remembered that sound from the night the farmhouse burned. And since the farm was a ways outside of town, the house had been fully engulfed by the time the volunteer firefighters had arrived.

  Now, every time she heard that noise, she prayed for the people who were involved. There wasn’t anything sadder than a fire. It destroyed everything of value.

  Jenny closed her eyes and prayed for the people in danger tonight. And while she was at it, she prayed for Bear. And pretty soon she was praying for Gabe, too.

  She was going to lose Gabe and Bear both. And while it wasn’t entirely her fault, she also shared some of the blame.

  She wondered if maybe she should go down to the Peach Blossom, find Gabe, and apologize for her behavior earlier in the day. How could she blame him for keeping secrets? He was a solitary man. And it seemed like every time he revealed a little piece of himself, someone judged him. And hadn’t she done that earlier in the morning? Jenny didn’t need a marriage license to validate her feelings for Gabe. She loved him. And she had no doubt that he loved her back.

  So what if he was still technically married to someone? If that wife of his was the one who had beaten Bear and pushed Jenny into the river, then he deserved better. And she didn’t care if Reverend Lake and the altar guild kicked her out for being a brazen hussy. She was going to go and get her man.

  “Holy God,” Maryanne shouted. “Jenny come quick.”

  Jenny opened her eyes. The front door was open, letting in a cold draft. Maryanne was out on the landing, probably watching the fire department right down the street.

  “What is it?” Jenny said as she got to her feet.

  Maryanne’s face appeared around the corner of the door. “I think the Peach Blossom Motor Court is on fire. And it’s lighting up the night like fireworks.”

  Someone pressed an oxygen mask to Gabe’s face. He didn’t think he needed it, but he let the EMTs fuss over him. He was shirtless, wrapped in a blanket, and sitting on one of the motel’s rusty metal chairs feeling kind of numb and shaky. The EMTs had seen his medical alert bracelet and checked his glucose levels. They’d given him a sugar tablet. And they’d checked the burns on his arm.

  His injuries weren’t all that bad, considering. But he had ice strapped to his upper arm, and they were debating whether to transport him to the clinic or the hospital in Orangeburg. He wasn’t sure which.

  He didn’t care, either. It was the other kind of hurt that had him stunned.

  He’d lost Bear and Jenny and Luke, and he couldn’t ever get any of them back again.

  Meanwhile, the motel was burning like a collection of matchsticks. Thank goodness all of his fans who’d come for the program last night had checked out this morning. The place was empty, except for himself.

  He had the strange thought that the demise of the Peach Blossom Motor Court would probably mean more business for Jenny. Not that her three rooms would ever be rented out by the hour.

  He also had no idea where Delilah was. The sheriff had taken her out of his arms, and that was the last he’d seen of her. He didn’t care anymore. And he refused to feel any shame for having punched her in the face.

  He flexed his hand. His knuckles were sore.

  “Where is he? Let me through.” The voice pierced the fog that had settled into his head.

  He blinked his stinging eyes and turned his head. And there was Jenny, wearing her old blue sweater and her new, tight jeans. Her shorter hair was up in some kind of clip that left tendrils escaping around her face.

  “Thank God,” she said as she came at him full-tilt. She ended up on her knees in front of him, with her arms around his middle and her head buried in his chest.

  “I saw the light in the sky, and I knew you had checked in here,” she said. “Oh, God, I thought I’d lost you. And that made me mad, because I was just beginning to realize what an idiot I’d been this morning. The truth is, I had an affair once a long time ago, and the guy turned out to be married. He lied to me and broke my heart. And I confused you with him.”

  She looked up at him and then ran her cool hand over his hot face. “But you never lied to me, did you? You told me you had secrets. And I told you there was time for you to tell me all of them. But the thing is, I already know the important things. Like the fact that you sat all day in your car at the vet’s because you’re worried about Bear.

  “So I don’t care if you’re married. I’m perfectly happy to live in blissful sin with you, and if the altar guild has a problem with that, they can get their muffins elsewhere.”

  Pushing Jenny away was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he did it anyway. He put both of his hands on her shoulders and set her back onto her heels. “No, Jenny. It’s not going to work. Delilah will never give us any peace.” He felt used up. He didn’t have the energy to fight this fight anymore.

  “So what? We’ll just put more locks on the door, and we’ll wear flak jackets when we walk the dog. I’m not going to let that woman make you miserable.”

  “Look.” He pointed. “She started that fire.”

  “You saw her do this?”

  He nodded.

  “Well then, that changes everything.” She turned and yelled at Sheriff Rhodes, who stopped talking on his walkie-talkie and strode over to her.

  “You need me?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Jenny said. “Gabe just told me that Delilah started the fire. If that’s true, how many years can we send her away for?”

  “At least thirty,” the sheriff said. “But we’ve got her on several other counts. Starting with two counts of attempted murder, and one count of animal cruelty.” The sheriff looked somber and kind of pissed off that anyone had the temerity to come into his county and cause trouble. “Gabe, I know she’s mentally ill, but I intend to send her away for a long, long time.”

  “But you don’t have evidence.” Gabe’s throat hurt from sucking in too much smoke.

  “Oh, yes, I do. Delilah has a nasty bite on her calf that looks exactly like something a dog would do. Forensics are going to take photos of that bite and if it matches Bear, then he’s going to become our s
tar witness. Besides, Gabe, you survived this fire. And you don’t get to decide whether charges are brought. This was arson, pure and simple, with a little attempted murder on the side. I’m sure the prosecutor will subpoena you as a witness. That’s if it ever actually gets to trial.”

  The sheriff’s radio squawked, and he turned away.

  “You gotta love that guy,” Jenny said as she got up from her knees and sat herself right down in Gabe’s lap. “You’re burned,” she said noticing the ice strapped to his bicep.

  “It’s minor. The EMT said I probably wouldn’t even have a scar. But they want to take me to the clinic or the hospital.”

  “Maybe if I give you a kiss, it will make it all better.” And then she removed his oxygen mask and gave him one of her incredible kisses. And damn if it didn’t actually make everything much, much better.

  It was early on Monday morning, before the sun was up, when Dr. Dave called Gabe’s cell phone. He and Jenny were tangled together in the iron bed that had once belonged to Luke.

  They’d come here after Doc Cooper had released him from the clinic. And they’d talked for hours. And made love. And discussed what should be done about the ghost.

  Gabe came awake slowly and groped for the phone. It was bad news.

  Something of his emotions must have shown on his face because Jenny sat up in bed, a frown on her beautiful face, her eyes unfocused without her glasses. “What is it?” she asked.

  “It’s Bear. Dr. Dave says he’s losing ground. He wants me to give the okay to put him down.” His voice wavered.

  “Maybe it’s best.”

  “He says the rib injury is more serious than he thought. His lungs are compromised. He’s having trouble breathing.” He could barely push the words past the constriction in his throat.

  Jenny wrapped him in her warm arms and held him tight. “Maybe we aren’t being kind to him,” she whispered. She seemed so much stronger than he was. He didn’t want to lose Bear a second time and he knew that was kind of crazy because this wasn’t Luke’s Bear, even if he was a lot like him.

  “We should let him go,” she said. “He’s suffering for no purpose.”

  “I need to be there,” he said. “I don’t want him to be alone.”

  “All right.”

  They got dressed in the dark and took Gabe’s Lexus down to the veterinary hospital. The sky was getting light but it was going to be a cold, gray day. And the cold in the car settled down into his bones.

  The ghost was with them, and he wasn’t happy about what was happening.

  “He doesn’t want us to do this,” Gabe said as he pulled into the parking lot.

  Jenny knew exactly who Gabe was referring to. “I know.”

  “Zeph said that my penance is going to be helping the ghost find homes for strays. Zeph said that, if I didn’t do what the ghost wanted, the ghost would make things difficult. And I’ve seen just how difficult the ghost can be.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s the ghost of a fifteen-year-old boy,” Jenny said. “I’ve been a teacher for decades, and sometimes fifteen-year-old boys need to be disciplined or they go completely out of control.”

  “Jenny, it’s not like that. I don’t think we should put Bear down,” Gabe said. “You know what they say, where there’s life there’s hope?”

  “Yeah, I guess. But if he’s suffering…”

  “Maybe he’s not suffering. The ghost might know better. He’s been through it, you know?”

  They headed inside. Dr. Polk was waiting for them because Dr. Dave had been up all night with Bear and had just left to get some sleep. Charlene ushered them into one of the examining rooms, where poor Bear was lying on the table, clearly struggling to draw breath. He’d been shaved along his backbone. An incision bisected the spot where his spine had been fractured.

  He looked beaten and exhausted, and Gabe couldn’t stanch the flow of tears streaming out of his eyes.

  “He’s suffering, Gabe,” Jenny whispered.

  She was right, but the room was getting colder by degrees. Luke was more than agitated. This freezing temperature had preceded his temper tantrum over the wallpaper in the dining room. God only knew what kind of disaster the ghost could wreak here in a vet’s clinic.

  “Gosh, there must be something wrong with the heat,” Dr. Polk said. “It’s cold in here. I’m sorry. Let me go check the thermostat. In the meantime, you can say your good-byes.”

  She left the room, and Gabe pulled up a rolling stool so he could be right at the dog’s head. “Are you there, Bear?” Gabe petted the dog’s head. “I love you,” he said.

  The dog showed no sign that he was conscious. They probably already had him sedated. So maybe he wasn’t suffering.

  Except that you’d have to be a fool to believe that. Every breath took all of the dog’s effort. It seemed obvious that this couldn’t go on for much longer.

  Gabe looked up at the ceiling, even though he knew Luke wasn’t there. The ghost was behind him, like a shadow. “I love you, too, Luke. And I know you want to save this dog, but maybe it can’t be done. Dr. Dave is one heck of a surgeon, but he’s not God. Maybe God wants something else from Bear.”

  The cold was seeping into Gabe’s fingers and toes, but Jenny stood behind him, too, her warm hands on his shoulders. She gave him a little squeeze as if she understood what he’d decided. As if she already knew and approved. It was kind of strange the way she seemed to be able to know his heart even better than he knew it himself.

  “Luke, listen to me,” he said aloud. “I’ve been carrying around this lonely place inside me for years and years. It’s the hole that was made in me when you left. And I figure maybe you feel it, too, and that’s why you’re still here. Not because you’re mad at me or Zeph and want us to pay some penalty for still being alive when you’re not.

  “But just because you’re lonely. Maybe you miss Bear.

  “I know you loved him more than me, probably. And I don’t know what happened to your dog, Luke. Zeph kept him until he was real old and had to be put down. Maybe you got mad at Zeph for doing that to the first Bear and you missed your opportunity to go on.

  “Maybe you couldn’t go on because I needed to come back and remember what happened and tell you how sorry I am for doing such a stupid thing. But I was just a kid. I was ten. I wish it hadn’t happened, ’cause I miss you. But it feels better, somehow, to know what really happened than to have nightmares about it. I can live with what I did. I guess God will judge me when it’s my time.”

  Jenny gave him another squeeze on the shoulder.

  “So here’s the thing. This Bear is in trouble. He’s a hero, but he’s hurt bad, and he’s not going to get better. He’s going to come and join you soon, whether Doc Polk sends him there or we just wait for God to do it. And I’m going to ask you to take care of him.”

  The temperature in the room was starting to rise.

  “And I’ve got this feeling that if you just let Bear run and follow him, you know, like we used to do when we went hunting with Zeph’s old hound, he might lead you where you need to go.”

  The doctor returned. “I didn’t see anything wrong with the heat. I guess it’s just getting cold outside. They say we might have snow. Can you believe it? The daffodils are almost in bloom.”

  Dr. Polk was obviously trying to put them at ease. She looked from Jenny to Gabe. “So, y’all are ready?”

  Gabe nodded.

  “He’s already asleep, you know,” Dr. Polk said. “We’ve got him sedated. So I’m going to give him something and he’ll just drift off.”

  Gabe stood up and Jenny wrapped her arms around his middle. He closed his eyes and rested his chin on her head. She was warm, and she smelled like flowers.

  The doc gave the injection. And it was over in just a few minutes.

  And then something strange happened. Something let go inside him. Like grace shining down from someplace. Like forgiveness washing over him.

  And he knew. Bear was gone, but he hadn�
��t gone alone. He’d taken Luke with him.

  EPILOGUE

  Jenny stood in the middle of the driveway with her camera on a bright March afternoon, the golden sun pouring down onto a thousand blooming jonquils.

  She had snapped off dozens of photos of the restored house nestled in the woods, and it was just as she had imagined: the beautiful, white house against the backdrop of the dark Carolina woods, gray Spanish moss, and bright yellow daffodils.

  Tonight she’d go through all of the photos and post them on the inn’s webpage.

  And tomorrow, her first guests, a couple who wanted to canoe and fish on the Edisto River, would be checking in.

  Now, if she could just find the dog…

  “Pilot,” she called, and was rewarded by a rustling in the rhododendrons. “Come on, boy. I’ve got food for you. Please. Come on.” She got down on her knees to make sure the dog was in the bushes. He was. He was hiding.

  She sighed. Pilot had been living there for exactly three days. He was a rescue mutt of unknown parentage and breeding who had been abused by his previous owners. He liked to hide in the rhodos.

  “Hey there, sweetie. I’ve got lots of treats and toys for you. Come on, now.”

  “Did you let him off the leash, again?” This question came from Gabe, who sauntered through the front door and onto the porch. He was wearing his usual everyday outfit—a ratty Harvard sweatshirt and a pair of ancient jeans. He was drinking coffee out of one of the new Jonquil House coffee mugs she’d ordered. Somehow he didn’t look right holding a cup with all those flowers on it. She knew right then that Gabe was going to win the great wallpaper debate. She wanted to put up jonquils in the back bedroom, but he’d pretty much said over his dead body. And since she liked him alive and warm (and sleeping in the bed in the back bedroom with her), she was going to have to give in on this.

  “He’s terrified of the leash,” she said. “And it breaks my heart to see the way he cringes and whines when I snap it on. He’s not going to wander away. He’s pretty much scared of his own shadow.” She turned back to look at the dog. “Come on, boy, we love you. It’s fine. I’ve got chew toys for you.”