On his own he could outrun Watling but Tom’s conscience wouldn’t let him abandon Pete. The boy might be dumb but didn’t deserve to be murdered in cold blood. He forced himself to ignore Pete’s whimpers and faced the other man. ‘I’ll do you a deal.’
‘You’ll give me a deal?’
‘You escape from here on your own and I’ll take care of Pete,’ Tom offered. ‘Why did you bother with this useless kid in the first place?’
‘He knows the area.’
Tom snorted. ‘Have you any idea how many times this dipshit got caught doing stuff around here growing up? He’s a goddamn liability. Got the brains of a peanut.’
‘You’ll set the cops on me.’ Watling’s eyes turned to ice.
‘There’s no cell phone coverage here. I’d have to drive into Pine Ridge and that’ll give you a forty-five minute head start before anyone can get back here.’ Out of the corner of his eye Tom saw Pete move. The kid grabbed his partner’s ankle with his good arm and Watling stumbled, lashing out with the knife and barely missing Pete’s neck. Tom hurled himself forward but the man suddenly crumpled to his knees with a loud yell.
‘Don’t move,’ Fee hissed. With one knee pressed into Watling’s back she reached her right hand around his neck to rest a curved knife against the man’s throat.
Tom stared at her in shock. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
Chapter Eighteen
‘I don’t like sandwich thieves,’ Fee declared and Tom’s raised eyebrows said she was one crazy woman.
‘Where the devil did you spring from?’ He crouched down to check on the younger man who was clutching his injured hand and throwing wild-eyed stares at them both.
‘Do you mind if we discuss this later?’ Fee asked. The man wedged underneath her foot wriggled and she pressed her knee harder into his back. She exerted enough force on the knife to scratch the surface of his skin. ‘Don’t mess with me. I’ve sliced a man to pieces with this before today.’ He didn’t need to know she’d never even used it to peel an apple. The sight of a thin line of blood trickling down his neck made her stomach churn. ‘Can you please find something to tie this idiot up with?’
‘Will you be okay if I go back down to the canoe shed for some rope?’
Hopefully the disparaging glance she tossed his way made her answer clear.
‘Right. I won’t be long.’ He smiled for the first time since she’d turned all Warrior Princess on him. ‘You’re quite a woman,’ Tom said with a shake of his head before he hurried away.
Fee inwardly sagged with relief when Tom reappeared with an armful of stout ropes. He made a swift job of tying the struggling man’s arms and legs together before wrapping another rope around a nearby tree and linking the two. After a few fruitless attempts to stand Watling admitted defeat and slumped to the ground. Tom took a roll of bandages from a first aid kit and began to tend to Pete Kemp’s wrist. A sudden wave of nausea swept through Fee as she realised she’d come close to losing him.
‘You’ll be okay. I’ll take care of you later.’ Tom’s voice thickened with emotion.
‘I know,’ Fee whispered.
‘You’ll have to walk, Pete.’ He helped the boy up. ‘Fee, my truck’s down by the canoe shed so I’ll take Pete with me and we’ll drive back to my cabin. Once I get on the radio, Pop will send backup. This one won’t give you any trouble. Between my Boy Scout knots and your … knife skills he’s not goin’ anywhere.’ Watling threw them both a filthy look.
The next hour disappeared in a fog as Tom’s father and several local deputies arrived ready to take away the two prisoners. Hank collected the basic details of what had gone on and told Tom to bring Fee down to his office in the morning for them to make an official statement. The instant they were alone Fee wrapped her arms around Tom and clung on tight.
‘It’s alright, honey.’ He eased her down to sit with him on the porch and tucked her into his lap. Tom’s gentleness freed her tears and Fee sobbed into his warm, solid chest. ‘So, woman, have you got dinner fixed yet? It’s seven o’clock and I’m starving.’
Fee lifted her head and met his beautiful, laughing eyes. She leaned in and kissed him.
‘That’ll do for an appetiser,’ Tom joked. ‘I guess we’d better go inside and I’ll get us fed.’
Tom stirred the soup pot as if his life depended on it, knowing it’d be a damn sight easier talking to Fee if he didn’t look directly at her.
‘Do you want me to start?’
Her straight-to-the-point question cut through his indecision and he glanced back over his shoulder. ‘I’m being a wimp, aren’t I?’
‘No. You’re a normal man. Most males would rather be forced into a silk dress and high heels than talk about their feelings.’ Tom hated being lumped in with the rest of the male sex but she was completely justified. ‘Why don’t you dish up our soup before you stir it to death?’ Fee suggested. ‘I’m starving.’
‘Get two spoons out of the drawer and let’s eat.’ Tom gestured towards the nearby cupboard. He carefully shared out the soup between a couple of pretty blue and white pottery bowls. ‘How about some bread or crackers?’
‘No, thanks, but don’t let me stop you.’
‘You won’t,’ he joked. Tom carried the brimming bowls over to the table. ‘There you go. Home-made chicken noodle soup. The cure for every known ill.’
‘Home-made? Another of your many talents?’
‘I can’t lie, honey, it’s my mother’s specialty. She doles out gallons for us all to keep in our freezers for sickness and emergencies. I reckoned today counted.’
‘Can’t imagine why.’
‘Me neither. Pretty run of the mill I’d say.’ Tom broke off a hunk of crusty bread and slathered it with butter. ‘I assume you make a habit of threatening convicted murderers with lethal knives?’
‘Certainly not,’ Fee insisted. ‘It was the first time … and the last, I hope.’
‘You scared Watling shitless.’
She laid down her spoon. ‘And you?’
‘I was terrified he’d turn on you and I wouldn’t be able to …’ Tom’s voice cracked. ‘You about killed me,’ he whispered. ‘I failed to protect Gina and I was damn sure I’d screwed up again today.’
‘Oh, Tom.’ Fee sighed and leaned closer to rest her head on his shoulder.
‘Remember, I didn’t know you were Superwoman reincarnated.’ He struggled to crack a joke.
She must put this to rest before he tore himself to pieces. ‘I took an extensive self-defence course before I went to Afghanistan the first time. I’m an expert marksman and my defensive driving skills are up there with James Bond.’ A little exaggeration wouldn’t hurt. He needed to know she could take care of herself. ‘Another time no fretting.’
‘Another time? You promised …’
She stopped him with another kiss. ‘I’m joking, okay?’
‘Sorry if I don’t have much of a sense of humour when people I love are in danger,’ Tom muttered. ‘Aw hell, probably shouldn’t have said that, should I?’
‘Did you mean it?’ Fee could have kicked herself for asking. ‘I mean, um …’
‘Hey, don’t panic.’ A quiet smile crept across his face. ‘There are many kinds of love. I’m thinkin’ we got one figured out last night. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to find a different kind one day.’ Tom cradled her hands. ‘Are you willing to give it a chance?’
Was she?
‘Think about it,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure how I’m doin’ with the idea either if that’s any consolation?’
‘It helps.’
‘Fair enough. Now, eat your soup before you fade away,’ he insisted.
‘You like bossing people around, don’t you?’
‘And you enjoy arguing.’
‘I’ll eat if it’ll shut you up.’ Fee picked up her spoon again and shovelled a big spoonful into her mouth. ‘That’s wonderful.’
‘Yep, my mama sure knows how to cook.’ Tom chuckled
. ‘I expect she could even teach you.’
Fee pinched his arm. ‘Don’t push your luck.’
‘This’ll make you smile. Poor Mary-Jo is tearing her hair out because she sewed an awesome butterfly costume for Lulu but the little minx has changed her mind. Two days until Halloween and she’s insisting on being Little Red Riding Hood instead.’
‘And being a good mother she’ll make it happen.’ Fee hoped she didn’t sound bitter. Every time she thought she’d made it past her resentment over her mother’s indifference she was pulled up short.
‘Yep I expect so. Anyway how did you get on in Knoxville?’
Fee happily launched into every detail of the new camera she’d been tempted to buy.
‘I hung around Market Square for a while to try it out and got some great shots of the older buildings. I stopped and listened to a fiddle player and he let me take his picture. His whole life was written in his face and that set me off thinking about a new project.’ A level of enthusiasm she hadn’t experienced in a very long time took hold of Fee and she tripped over her words. ‘I took a few candid shots in the cafe the other day. Everything about your Aunt Ina’s outward appearance says what a capable, strong woman she is and yet she had tears in her eyes because Lulu wrote her own name for the first time.’
‘Some of the best work I’ve seen of yours is close-ups of people.’ Tom’s quiet praise touched her.
‘The problem is how to find a new angle – pun intended.’ She chuckled. ‘Seeing a community or a country through people’s faces isn’t a unique idea. I’ll have to give it some thought.’ Fee picked up her bowl. ‘Let’s get all this cleared up.’
‘How about you take a long, hot bath while I do the dishes? Isn’t it what all women crave after a tough day?’
She struggled not to laugh at his desperate efforts to please her. ‘I’m not all women, Tom. I hate baths. I’m a brisk shower sort of girl which comes from the distinct lack of hot water in most of the places I’ve lived. I never wear make-up, have manicures or fuss over what to wear. I’d break my neck if I tried to walk in high heels and if you’re looking for a girly sort of woman I’m not your type.’
His intense, sweeping gaze heated every inch of her skin. ‘I’m a plain man, Fee Winter. I’ve never been one for fuss of any sort.’
‘What about Gina? I get the impression she was …’ Her voice trailed away and she wished she’d never mentioned the other woman’s name.
He stroked her cheek and rested his fingers on her lips. ‘You’re two very different women that’s for sure. But I’m not the same man either, Fee.’
‘Fair enough.’ She’d leave it there for now. One day she suspected she’d want to know more, but not today. ‘Do you know what I think?’ Fee kissed him and sighed with pleasure as he pulled her to him. ‘The dishes can wait.’
The instant flare of desire in Tom’s eyes told her all she needed to know. With a huge contented smile she led him back to the bedroom.
This was all he needed from life. Tom drank in the sight of Fee, in sleep as warm and soft as she was cool and controlled when awake. Before drifting off in his arms she’d admitted that before coming to Black Cherry she relied on sleeping tablets to get through the night but didn’t need them any more. He’d agreed with her theory about the improvement being caused by the fresh, clean air and relaxed lifestyle here while silently hoping he had more than a little to do with her recovery.
An unwanted memory of yesterday’s horror slammed through him and Tom struggled to keep breathing. He could have so easily lost her. From experience he knew it didn’t take long.
‘I’m fine,’ Fee whispered. ‘You’re worrying again, aren’t you?’
Maybe one day he’d be able to put into words the awful sense of helplessness he’d experienced when he lost Gina. He’d never wanted to feel that way again but came close to it yesterday.
‘Sorry,’ Tom apologised. He tucked the duvet in around them and rested his head next to hers on the pillow.
‘What time are we supposed to meet your father?’
He glanced over at the clock and groaned. ‘He said around ten and it’s nine-thirty already. I’ll give him a heads-up on the radio to let him know we’ll be late.’
‘I’d better go back to my cabin to shower and change. I’ll be as fast as I can.’ Fee got up and pulled on her abandoned clothes.
‘We’ll grab something to eat at the cafe on our way. Pop won’t mind.’
‘See you soon.’ She laughed and ran off out of the bedroom.
For a few seconds he didn’t move. He’d always been a man to plan things out but since the day Fee breezed into his life she’d turned everything upside down. Not having a clue where they were headed disturbed him. Her contrasting philosophy, honed by an unsettled childhood and years of having to be adaptable in her job, was to take things as they came. Tom sighed and hoped he could work out a way to keep Fee around for a very long time. Like forever. How she’d take that idea he didn’t know but he guessed he’d find out.
Chapter Nineteen
Fee exhaled a long, deep breath as they emerged from the sheriff’s office. He’d asked them every possible question, filled in enough paperwork to destroy a forest of trees and warned them they’d be needed as witnesses when Kemp and Watling were brought to court.
‘Your father doesn’t stand any nonsense,’ she observed with a wry smile.
‘Never has done. Imagine being one of his children.’
Tom’s laconic comment made her smile but underneath she was envious. She couldn’t imagine how different her life might have turned out if she’d had a real father instead of whatever figment of imagination her mother dreamed up that particular week. Or if she’d accepted Allain Dupre’s proposal?
‘You’ve no idea how lucky you are,’ she blurted out. Tom stopped walking and turned to face her.
‘Oh, trust me, I know,’ he murmured and cradled her face with his large hands, leaning in to rest his forehead against hers. ‘I might not be alive today if it wasn’t for Pop.’
This was hardly the place for serious conversation but if Tom was willing to open up she would seize the moment. ‘What do you mean?’
He pulled away and shifted from one foot to the other, kicking at a stray stone with the toe of his boot. ‘After Gina died I fell apart.’ Tom held up two fingers an inch away from each other. ‘Came this close to ending it all. I couldn’t see the point in anything.’
Fee couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of this strong man considering such a terrible solution to his problems.
‘It’s the truth.’
‘I never said it wasn’t,’ she protested.
‘Pop knew the memories around here wouldn’t leave me alone so he got me a job with a security firm in Iraq. I managed to hack it for a couple of years and by the time I came back …’ He hesitated and Fee wished she could make this easier on him. ‘He knew I couldn’t be a cop anymore and gave me the idea of renovating the derelict cabins on our old family land. They’d fallen into disrepair and we only ever went there to fish in the lake and have the occasional picnic.’
‘He’s a smart man.’
‘Yeah. I wish I could be half as shrewd.’
You are. Fee held the thought in her head. ‘How about we get some breakfast? Or is it lunchtime by now?’ They’d wanted to get the interview over with so hadn’t bothered to eat when they arrived.
‘Who cares? Aunt Ina will feed us anyway.’ Tom laughed. ‘Have you thought anymore about contacting your father?’
The sudden question took her by surprise and for a moment Fee held back. She’d never discussed her absent father with anyone before.
‘Plenty.’
Tom slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. Glancing over his shoulder she saw Mary-Jo staring at them from across the street with her mouth gaped open in shock. ‘Oops, we’ve been outed.’
‘What’re you talkin’ about?’
‘Don’t look now but your dear c
ousin is watching us with her eyes out on stalks. Any second now she’ll go into the cafe and tell your Aunt Ina and anyone else who’s in earshot. I’m guessing your mother will get a phone call in the next five minutes.’
A slow, sexy grin spread across Tom’s face. He lowered his mouth to hers and drew them into a long, knee-buckling kiss and when he pulled away his smile held a distinct tinge of satisfaction. ‘Might as well give her something exciting to report.’
Fee tried to pull away but he clutched her tighter.
‘Do you honestly care?’
Put on the spot she refused to lie. That was no basis for any honest relationship. ‘No, I don’t.’
‘Good, neither do I. We’re both over the age of consent unless you’ve been lying to me.’
Tom’s cheeky comment gave her the nerve to kiss him back. ‘There. That should establish the fact it’s mutual.’ She smoothed back a rogue strand of auburn hair from his forehead. ‘I do believe we’re both in need of food. Let’s eat.’
‘You didn’t answer my question about your father.’
‘Later. When we’re on our own.’ Tom never let her get away with anything. ‘I wish I could put off deciding forever.’ Fee gave in to a heavy sigh.
‘Always better to face things head on.’
‘Rather like your cousin?’
‘Exactly.’ Tom popped another kiss on her mouth. ‘Come on, into the frying pan.’ Taking Fee’s hand he steered them across the street.
‘This is so not funny,’ Mary-Jo protested as they reached her. ‘Why am I the last to know you two have something going on?’
‘Hold your horses, kid, you’re not,’ Tom insisted. ‘You’re almost the first.’
‘I thought you were my friend?’ She turned on Fee who didn’t know what to say.
‘Don’t pick on her.’
Mary-Jo burst out laughing. ‘Oh, boy, you’ve got it bad. Sticking up for her already. How far have the mighty fallen.’
‘Is it alright if we go and get somethin’ to eat?’ he asked sarcastically.
Christmas at Black Cherry Retreat Page 11
