Miracle Road es-7

by Emily March

  “Whoa, that’s enough,” Lucca said, moving between them, then stepping back to stand beside Hope. “That’s quite enough, Montgomery.”

  “You’re damned right it’s enough.”

  Hope’s heart bled from the wounds his words caused. “I would never try to replace Holly, Mark.”

  “Really? Looks like you’ve made a good start. Looks like you’re working at replacing our whole family. Pretty little house with a dog in a pretty little town. Postcard picturesque. Kids don’t end up on milk cartons here, do they? Well, until now.” He glared at Hope. “Give it time. Hope may need to get her nails done and leave your baby with the stranger next door.”

  Lucca set down his groceries and walked toward Mark. “You need to leave now.”

  “I’ll go when I’m damned good and ready to go. She’s not worth the heartache, you know. You can’t believe a word she says. I’ll bet she told you that she loved you, right? That this baby means everything. That it’s her whole world, right? It’s lies. All lies.”

  Lucca grabbed him by the arm and began to push him toward the door. But even though Lucca was taller, Mark still had an athlete’s build. He planted his feet and pulled away. “Don’t you get it, man? She’s poison. Damaged goods. And I’ll be damned if I let her do it to another child. Even if it isn’t mine. She has no business being a mother. She doesn’t deserve it.”

  “Shut up, Montgomery,” Lucca snapped, his eyes glowing with fury. “I’m sorry about Holly, but you have no right—”

  “I have no right? I have no right? Buddy, you don’t know the first thing about my rights! I had a right to see my little girl grow up. I had a right to see her at dance recitals and playing softball. I had a right to see her in a cap and gown becoming whatever she wanted to be. I, by God, had a right to walk her down the aisle when she got married!”

  “I know, man,” Lucca said. “I’m sorry. But—”

  “That woman … the one you think you’re in love with now … she took all of that from me. All of it. And now she’s got it all back. It’s not fair. It’s just not right!”

  “No,” Hope said, having gone as cold as the Colorado winter inside. “It’s not fair. It’s not right.”

  Mark appeared depleted as he said to Lucca, “I almost feel sorry for you, hooked up to the likes of her.” Turning toward Hope, he added, “You go on and build your new little replacement family, Hope. You just go on and make new babies to replace the one you lost. But think about this. You will never, ever be able to replace my Holly. She was perfect. The only good thing you ever did. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but maybe wherever she is, perhaps it really is better than being with such a sad, sorry excuse for a mother.”

  His words hung in the air, numbing Hope.

  Lucca went at him again, but this time, Mark was finished. He left the house without another word or a look back.

  Shaken, Hope sank into her rocker. Nausea roiled in her stomach. She felt as if she’d been hit by a truck, and she started to tremble. Lucca put a hand on her shoulder, offering her support. He looked worried and upset and angry as he asked, “You okay?”

  “Sure. Just peachy.” Actually, “raw” was probably a better word.

  She shook off Lucca’s hand. She didn’t want him touching her. She didn’t want him to be here. She had maybe ten seconds before she started bawling, and she didn’t want him around to witness it. Not today. Not when she was shaking and hearing Mark’s voice saying “Maybe she’s better off where she is.”

  “I think you’d better leave, too, Lucca.”

  Leave and stay away, the voice inside her head shouted. Poison. Damaged goods.

  “No,” he told her calmly. “I’m not going to do that.”

  Hope didn’t know why his refusal to leave rubbed her the wrong way, but in an instant, her temper flared hot. She rose to her feet. “Yes, you are. I can’t rehash this, Lucca. I can’t take any more. I want to be alone. I need to be alone.”

  “No, you don’t need to be alone.”

  “You don’t know what I need, Lucca Romano.”

  Now his tone sharpened. “Yes, I do. I know you need to not let your ex pull your string.”

  “‘Pull my string’? Really? You think my heartache is a ‘string’? The man I once loved just came into my home and said the most vile things to me. Vile, but true. I did destroy him. Did you see him? Did you see the pain I caused?”

  “Still, he shouldn’t have said—”

  “Why not? It’s true!” she exploded. “It’s all true. Every single word. I did wreck our family. He was out working hard to put food on the table and what did I do? I decided I had to get my hair done. Now I have to live with that every day for the rest of my life.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Hope. You did what a million other women do. You didn’t know. You couldn’t have known. He shouldn’t blame you, and you can’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “It was, Lucca. At the end of the day, I have no one to blame but myself. I did it. I left her. I was the one who left her. No one else is to blame for that”—she started to sob—“that mistake. Just … me.”

  He reached for her, attempting to touch her. “Calm down, Hope. Don’t get overwrought. It’s not good for the baby.”

  It was the absolute worst thing he could have said.

  She jerked away from him. “Of course you need to say that. I need to think about taking care of the baby, right? Because I can’t think to do it on my own. I’m incapable. I don’t have sense enough to know that being an emotional wreck is bad for the baby. But that’s what I do. That’s what Mark warned you about. I destroy children. My daughter is missing, maybe even dead, and now my overwrought emotions will probably give this baby a birth defect. Mark is right. Children are better off without me.”

  Lucca’s chest lifted as he filled his lungs with air. “Dammit, Hope.”

  “I asked you to leave, Lucca. This is my house, not yours.”

  “Fine. I’ll go. You’re obviously not in the right frame of mind to discuss this rationally.”

  He turned and headed for the door, wrenching it open. In the threshold he paused and glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t forget what you learned at the driving lesson, Hope. You lose control, you cede the power. Don’t do that to either one of us.”

  With that, Lucca walked out.

  EIGHTEEN

  Christmas lights twinkled in windows along Spruce Street as Lucca drove his friend James and his brother Tony—a surprise visitor to the day’s game—to Murphy’s Pub to have a beer following the Grizzlies’ win. His mood was such that if any movie people were around casting for a remake of The Grinch, he’d be a shoo-in for the starring role. “What is the matter with females?”

  James and Tony shared an amused look. “Trouble in paradise?” the scout asked. “I sensed a little tension between you and the head coach.”

  “Tension?” Tony drawled. “It was chillier inside the gym than it is outside. What happened?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” Lucca scowled as he pulled into a parking place across the street from the pub. “How can she go from strong and stable to bat-shit crazy in the space of a few minutes?”

  “I thought you didn’t want to talk about it,” Tony said.

  “I don’t.”

  “Then why do you keep asking questions?”

  “I don’t know. Because I’m just as crazy as she is.”

  “Speaking of crazy,” James said. “Who was that woman who stopped you on the way out of the gym? The older one with angel earrings? She sounded like a fortune-teller. What was it she said to you?”

  “Celeste Blessing. She is our local … well … I don’t know how to describe her. Our wise woman, maybe. Our angel. She told me she’d had a dream about me and Hope last night, and that when she woke up, she knew she had to tell me to hold on to my patience and listen to my instincts.”

  “Nothing wrong with that advice,” Tony said as they exited the vehi
cle. “Sounds like something Mom would say. Speaking of, what’s the latest in that realm? Is she still with …?”

  “Yeah, she is.” Despite the completely bizarre topic of his mother’s love life, he was glad for the distraction. “I guess it’s working. He’s a good guy.”

  “He’d better be.”

  James shook his head. “I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around Ms. Maggie having a love life. I remember when I skinned my knees on your driveway and she patched me up on the kitchen counter. The whole thing is weird.”

  “Ya think?” Lucca asked. “Women are weird, period. I’m beginning to think it’s something they’re born with simply to torture the men around them.”

  The trio walked into the bar accompanied by the sound of “Silent Night.” “I don’t recall the last time I heard Christmas carols being played in a bar,” James observed. “At least, ones that had the original lyrics.”

  “This is Eternity Springs,” Lucca responded. “I’m surprised they don’t play them year-round.”

  The men took seats at a table near the Christmas tree set up in one corner. Decorated with ornaments made from beer bottle tops and crowned with a star of cardboard coasters, it was quite the sight. They ordered hamburgers and beer from the bartender, and the talk turned, as usual, to basketball.

  Lucca slowly nursed his beer as they discussed Tony’s team and his expectations for the season. When a waitress delivered their burgers, they broadened the discussion to include a bet on the Final Four teams in March. After that, the conversation finally made its way back to Eternity Springs. James said, “I’m glad you called me. The Mitchell kid is everything you claimed.”

  Lucca sipped his beer. “I know how to evaluate talent.”

  “You always have,” Tony agreed.

  “So, you agree he’ll get some Division I interest?” Lucca asked his friend.

  “I do. From one of the major programs, too.”

  “That’s excellent news.” Lucca smiled his thanks to the bartender when he set a bowl of pretzels on the table. “Knowing the kid, I’ll encourage him to look hard at a smaller school. I think he’ll be a better fit at a place like Kansas State or Oklahoma State rather than the University of Texas.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “I plan on recruiting him,” Tony said. “We need to keep talent like his in state.”

  “I don’t know, Tony. Boulder is a great town, but going to school there might be too big a culture shock for Wade, not to mention his parents.”

  They discussed Wade’s dreams and his stats and the film of him that Lucca had sent James. The Christmas music drifting from overhead speakers shifted from religiousthemed carols to secular favorites such as “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and Robert Earl Keene’s “Merry Christmas from the Family.” They talked about college basketball, and James asked Lucca when he planned to come back. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to come back.” He swirled the beer in his glass as though it were wine. It’s the kind of job that is tough on a family. “Believe it or not, I like coaching in Eternity Springs.”

  Tony sat back hard in his chair. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re in love with the kindergarten teacher.”

  He was. Head over heels, no looking back, fist-in-the-face love. “Right now I’m pissed at her.”

  Tony grinned over the top of his bottle. “But you didn’t deny the L-word. Did he, James?”

  “Not that I heard,” agreed the scout, amusement gleaming in his eyes.

  A cold wind swept into the room when the front door opened and a group of newcomers swept inside. As they removed their coats to hang them on the rack beside the door, the bartender asked about the weather. A man replied, “It’s started spitting some sleet. Might get bad in a little while.”

  The newcomers started for a table, then they caught sight of Lucca’s group. One of them called, “Coach. Great game today. The Grizzlies are the best I’ve ever seen.”

  “Thanks,” Lucca returned. “The team chemistry clicks.”

  “You and Coach Montgomery make a good pair. Those boys like playing for you.” He grinned and added, “You inspire them, and they want to show off in front of Hope. Having a pretty female as a high school coach is a secret weapon.”

  “You’re probably right.” Lucca had noticed the boys’ peacock posturing to Hope on more than one occasion.

  “She’s a good woman,” another man in the group observed. “Sure was nice of her to volunteer to take the Eagles home so they wouldn’t be stuck here until their bus gets fixed.”

  Lucca’s spine straightened. “She what?”

  “You didn’t hear? The visiting team’s bus wouldn’t start after the game. Ms. Montgomery offered to drive them home. They left about ten minutes ago.”

  As Lucca processed the news, his hamburger suddenly felt as heavy as an anvil in his stomach. Today’s opponents had come from Creede. That meant driving over Sinner’s Prayer Pass. The thought of Hope navigating that challenging stretch of road at night was bad enough. The knowledge that she’d be doing it in a bus with a basketball team on board during a sleet storm played into all of his fears.

  Lucca shut his eyes, and when a mental image of Hope’s bus sliding off the side of the mountain flashed across his brain, he shuddered.

  A sense of urgency swelled inside him. She shouldn’t be making this trip by herself. He should go after her, follow along behind her. He needed to see for himself that she made the trip safely.

  Because deep in his heart of hearts, he very much feared that she wouldn’t.

  He wiped his mouth with his napkin, then set it on top of his half-finished meal. “Guys, I’m sorry, but I have to go. Tony, when y’all are through here, if you call Mom, I’m sure she’ll swing by and pick you up so you don’t have to walk to Aspenglow Place in this weather.”

  “What? Wait a minute. What are you going to do, Lucca?” his twin asked.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I have a bad feeling about this. I’m going to follow the bus.”

  Tony nodded. “Okay, I’ll come with you.”

  “Me, too,” James added.

  “There’s no need—”

  “Don’t argue. Let’s pay the tab and go.”

  They departed Murphy’s Pub to the sound of “In the Bleak Midwinter,” and Lucca sent up a silent prayer that he was overreacting. However, Celeste’s earlier caution now peeled in his head like a clarion call.

  Listen to my instincts. He gave his vehicle a little more gas.

  Minutes later, he pulled onto the highway headed south. The tension inside his Range Rover thickened with every mile. Lucca couldn’t say why an overpowering sense of gloom had overtaken him, but it was as real as anything he’d ever experienced. “Tony, just in case, keep an eye on the right side of the road. James, you’ll watch the left?”

  “Sure.”

  Lucca drove, his hands gripping the steering wheel hard. As they started up Sinner’s Prayer Pass, the tension stretched tighter … tighter … tighter … until he expected something to snap. “Talk to me, Tony.”

  “About what?”

  “Anything. Isn’t it about time for you to buy a new ride? You trade every two years. What are you thinking about buying?”

  “You want a distraction? Now?”

  “Please.” He wanted to drown out the noise of sleet pinging against the windows. The road wasn’t bad yet, but by the time Hope attempted a return trip, who knew what it would be like.

  “Okay. I’m thinking about a Ferrari this time around.”

  Tony’s sports car patter provided the background noise that Lucca’s nerves needed to settle somewhat. As they reached the summit of the pass, he gripped the steering wheel hard. The ride down would be the most difficult part of the trip under these conditions. “Y’all watch closely. I’m sure she made it fine, but …”

  Lucca shifted into low gear and took the first switchback. “What color?” he asked his brother.

  “I’m thinki
ng white this time.”

  “Really?” James asked. “Ferraris need to be red.”

  “I drive red now. I’m looking for a change.”

  “How about black? Or silver?”

  “Perhaps.” Tony continued a monologue discussing options and engines and probably making half the stuff up until, finally, they reached level ground. Lucca took his first easy breath. “It’s not sleeting on this side of the mountain. We should be good to go. Sorry I dragged you guys along on this wild goose chase. This whole bad-weather-and-basketball-buses thing preys on my psyche.”

  James said, “Not a problem. I think you needed to pay attention to your angel.”

  Lucca did, too, which was why he increased his speed, hoping to catch up with the school bus. Honestly, he wouldn’t rest easy until he saw Hope step into her house and shut the door.

  He intended to have her leave the bus in Creede and ride home with them. His Range Rover handled the road much better than her bus. They could make the return trip over the pass without trouble as long as they attempted it in the next hour or so before the ice began to stick. Tomorrow, someone from Creede could drive the bus back and deal with their own broken one. The weather report called for sunshine and temperatures above freezing. Plus, the plows would be out. That should work.

  “I see lights up ahead,” Tony said. “Doesn’t look like a car. Might be her.”

  Lucca’s foot grew heavier on the gas, and within moments his headlights illuminated the familiar back end of the yellow school bus. “Thank God.”

  He no sooner exhaled a relieved breath than he saw the lights of an oncoming vehicle and then a shadow cross in front of them. In seconds that seemed to take hours to pass, he watched the oncoming vehicle strike the shadow … and veer into the school bus.

  It happened in an instant. Hope saw the elk, saw the oncoming truck strike the animal. When the truck headed her way, she knew a collision was coming and recognized it as unavoidable.

  Thank God, the district had installed seat belts in this bus. Thank God, she’d made everybody buckle up. Grabbing hold tightly to the wheel, she prepared to put the lessons she’d learned in Texas to use. Thank God for Lucca.