Chapter 11 The Wake #3
Halle allowed her head to loll back and forth against the seat cushion, mirroring the movement of the vehicle. However, she was constantly peeking at James through partially closed eyelashes.
“Almost past the lake,” he crooned beneath his breath.
She knew it meant he would be driving past the Lonestar Security building in the next few seconds.
After that would be a five-to-ten-minute stretch through the downtown district, depending on which route he took and how much traffic he ran into.
The wake in Town Square might draw a big enough crowd to slow him down, but she wasn’t holding her breath.
If she didn’t escape in the next few minutes, she might never see her family again. However, she needed to make sure there were witnesses to what she was about to do. Without them, her plan would surely fail.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Without warning, James slammed on the brakes, throwing Halle forward in her seat.
There was no way they’d reached the downtown area yet, but it felt like one of those now-or-never moments.
She used the momentum to her advantage, unclasping her seatbelt with lightning speed.
While James was distracted, she slid into the seat directly behind him while grabbing the slack in the cord with both hands.
She flipped it over his head. By some miracle, she got it over his Stetson on the first try.
Then she slammed herself back in her seat, bracing her feet against the driver’s seat to hold the position.
Choking for air and grabbing at the cord, James lost control of the vehicle. They careened into a black-and-orange striped ROAD CLOSED - DETOUR sign and skidded into the ditch, tipping in slow motion.
Halle kept her body braced between the two seats—the only thing preventing her from being bounced around like a rag doll. By the time the vehicle came to a stop, her limbs were shaking uncontrollably. As hard as she tried to hold her position, she sagged to the upside-down ceiling of the vehicle.
No sound came from the front seat. Was James unconscious? Was he dead?
Sirens blared, and voices shouted. Seconds later, something battered the windows, shattering them.
“Don’t move,” a man shouted. “You’re under arrest!” A shadowy head popped into view, then another one.
The second guy hollered, “We’re gonna need a stretcher!”
Halle felt the cord connected to her wrist jiggle.
“And some wire cutters!”
The next few minutes passed in a blur of men shouting back and forth.
One of them cut the cord from her wrist, and powerful arms pulled her out of the back seat.
She recognized them, although she shouldn’t have.
“Owen?” She shuddered out his name, wondering if she was dreaming.
Maybe she hadn’t survived the accident after all, because the only way she could be in her husband’s embrace was if…
“Halle!” His hoarse cry filled her ears as he hauled her closer, so close she could barely breathe. “I’ve got you, babe.” He was laughing and weeping at the same time as he carried her out of the ditch and sat with her in the grass on the side of the road.
“Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” She reached up dizzily, cupping his face between her hands.
“Nope! We lied about that. Sorry.” He dipped his head closer, nuzzling her lips.
Hot tears dripped down her cheeks. She couldn’t tell if they were his, hers, or both of theirs. “I-I don’t understand.” Shock, joy, or some combination of both made her tremble.
“I’m alive. You’re alive.” He touched his hard mouth tenderly to hers. “The twins are alive. Jen is alive. Rex and the Carters are alive. Want me to keep going?”
“Ryder and Cooper are alive?” Her voice shook so hard that she could barely get the words out.
“Very much alive and demanding to know when their mom is coming home.” He kissed her again, joyfully reclaiming what was his.
This was real. He was real. What he was telling her was real. “Oh, Owen!” All she could do was cling to him.
“We made up the story about the wake and funeral,” he explained, “hoping to bring James out of hiding. We didn’t know if it would work, but it did!
” A chuckle rumbled through him. “Granted, it might not have worked as well without your help. After seeing what you did to him, remind me to never make you angry.”
“Not funny,” she grumbled against his lips.
He chuckled. “Too soon?”
“Way too soon.” She kissed him for all she was worth, and he kissed her silly in return.
They didn’t stop until someone started clapping—several someones—a growing audience of policemen and Owen’s coworkers.
“That was some kiss,” one of them yelled.
“Agreed,” her husband said huskily against her ear. “No complaints here.”
To their friends, he hollered. “Don’t expect an apology because you aren’t getting one.”
Laughter erupted.
Luke Hawling approached them, tapping a finger against his watch. “Not to throw a damper on things, but we still have a wake to attend. If we head to Town Square now, we might still make it on time.”
A hysterical laugh slid out of Halle. “We’re attending our own wake?”
The sheriff shrugged. “We need to set the record straight with our families, friends, and neighbors; and I can’t think of a better way to do it.”
He was right. It was time to unravel the story about the fake wake and put an end to the town-wide mourning.
While Owen carried Halle to one of the awaiting police cruisers, she glimpsed James being loaded into the back of an ambulance. He was handcuffed to a stretcher with an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose.
Despite the horrific wrongs he’d done to her and her family, she was thankful he hadn’t perished at her hands.
His death wasn’t something she wanted on her conscience.
Knowing him the way she did, he would crumble pretty quickly while in custody, and his testimony would help keep his crooked family behind bars.
During the short drive to Town Square, Owen called his sister. “It’s over. Bring the boys. I have the woman in my arms they’ve been begging to see.”
After ending the call, he carried Halle up the sidewalk to Town Square. “Nice dress.”
“Don’t ask.” She rolled her eyes.
“I wasn’t going to…yet.” He winked at her. “Whatever the story is behind it, it’s still a nice dress.” He was wearing a black shirt tucked into black cargo pants—the standard Lonestar Security gear, complete with black combat boots.
He looked seriously hot. “My guy,” she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck again. She never wanted to let him go, but the arrival of an armored SUV changed her mind. When two red-headed boys erupted from the backseat, she couldn’t scramble down from Owen’s arms fast enough.
“Ryder! Coop!” She slid to her knees in the soft grass, holding her arms out to them.
“Mom!” They shouted her name, sprinting her way.
Jen followed them at a slower pace, her hand securely clasped in Rex’s.
The number of local citizens gathered at Town Square was truly mind-boggling.
Photos of the deceased had been placed around the gazebo in the center of the square, creating a massive shrine.
A mountain of flowers was scattered around the photographs.
Dozens upon dozens of people were holding candles, keeping vigil.
It was one of the most moving things Halle had ever seen.
At first, Ryder and Cooper’s happy shrieks were met with scolding looks and orders to shush, but the somber tone of the wake quickly changed.
“It’s them,” someone gasped.
“Ghosts,” someone else breathed.
“No, they’re alive,” another person corrected in a louder voice.
Sheriff Luke Hawling mounted the stairs of the gazebo, picked up a microphone, and shared the complete story. When he finished, there were few dry eyes in the audience.
People whipped out their checkbooks, and a rebuilding fund for Garrett Farm was born. Word spread around the square as quickly as tongues could wag, which was pretty rapid in their small town. More donations flooded in.
“Let’s go home.” Owen gathered his family close.
Halle’s smile wobbled, afraid there wasn’t anything left to go home to. “I’m not sure that’s possible, unless we want to spend the night in one of the chicken coops.”
The twins’ eyes glowed like candles. “Oh, can we, Dad? Can we? Please, please, pu-leeeeease?”
“As fun as that would be,” he mock-glared at them, “I’m more in favor of a sleepover at the spare cottage. The Carters are there now getting it ready for us.”
The boys liked the sound of a sleepover almost as much as the prospect of bunking in a chicken coop. They turned a few cartwheels to prove it.
Halle chuckled as she watched their antics. “How about a hotdog and s’more roast for dinner?” She would happily make-do in the cottage for as long as it took to rebuild. She just wanted to be home.