Chapter Eighteen #3
Lily felt herself falling backward, and everything jerked to slow motion.
A scream of terror echoed. Hers. The seconds seemed to stand still.
She saw her hand make for a swipe for the banister, then watched as her fingers only grazed the slick, polished surface.
Her pitching weight accelerated by gravity forced her feet to stutter backward.
Down one step, then two. Then her feet no longer touched the steps.
Her mind melded to one effort only—protect her head and neck as she hurtled downward.
Spine-searing panic took control of her brain.
Delia’s wild cackling overhead deafened Lily to the shouts from below and the pounding of feet.
Nothing could stop her backward tumble, and her spine smacked the banister hard.
The momentum of the strike ricocheted her forward to pitch head first toward the lower stairs.
As she watched the closest steps rising swiftly toward her face, she could only duck and use her arms to protect her head and neck.
Down she went and slammed the first step hard with her knee bent.
She somehow twisted to keep her head from striking the banister, to keep her body parallel to the stairs and prevent a deadly headfirst descent.
Her body tumbled down to the next step. She couldn’t use her arms to stop her momentum, she must first protect her head and neck.
Down one more stair. Her shoulder struck first. Then the next stair, her knees struck first this time.
Down one more stair she rolled and into two strong arms that scooped her up against a rock-hard chest. She dragged in a much-needed lungful of oxygen after holding her breath on the plummet, and her senses rioted over the enveloping scent.
Rhett.
“Hold still, Lily,” Rhett ordered, “or you’ll take us both down.
Delia screamed like a banshee at the top of the stairs.
Rhett grappled for a hold on the banister to get Lily’s feet under her.
“No!” Delia shrieked again. “Don’t you save her!”
She tore down the steps straight for Lily who had only just landed both feet on the same step.
Rhett tucked Lily behind him against the banister.
He snagged a tight fistful of Delia’s jumpsuit as the witch tried to crawl over him to get at Lily.
She screamed her bloody head off, and he jerked her hard.
“Stop!” he roared over her screaming. “You’ll knock us all over.”
“She was supposed to be gone!” Delia screeched. “Out of our way!”
Rhett gave her another shack. “Enough!”
Delia suddenly folded like a rag doll and dropped down on the step at Rhett’s feet. He grabbed for her, but she shrank back against the opposite banister and wrapped her arms about her waist, moaning incoherently.
Legs trembling hard enough to give way, Lily started to slid against the banister. Rhett wheeled around and scooped her up, negotiating the steps down carefully. At the bottom, he stopped and crushed Lily tight to him.
“My God, are you hurt?” He buried his face in her hair.
“I don’t th-think so,” she managed, adrenaline making her gulp oxygen and cling to him like a lifeline.
“Dear God in heaven, when I saw you tumble down—” His voice faltered. “I tried to get there—”
“You did,” she whispered against his neck. “You saved me.”
He swallowed hard. “I’m carrying you to the couch and checking you for anything broken.”
Scooping her up again, he strode across the foyer with her body clutched tight to his chest.
“I don’t think anything’s broken,” Lily said. “My knees ache and one shoulder, probably just bruises and scratches.”
As they reached the great room, footsteps pounded down the stairs. When Rhett turned, they watched Delia hotfoot it through the open front door.
“The little fake,” he growled.
“She sabotaged my propane tank.”
“I heard.” His eyes flared black with menace. “Don’t worry, she can’t hide. As soon as I’ve seen to you, I’m calling the police and pressing charges. They’ll find whatever hole she’s scurried to.”
Rhett carried Lily into the great room, laid her on the couch, and methodically checked for broken bones. When he found none, he sat back on his haunches and blew out a sigh of relief. He offered to get Lily ice for her bruises, but she stayed him.
“I’m okay. I ducked, covered my head, and rolled.”
“I noticed that,” he said ruefully. “Smart girl.”
“I was terrified more than anything.”
He gently traced a knuckle across her cheek. “No more terrified than I was.”
The swath of heat trailing his knuckle across her cheek was nothing compared to the hope heating up her heart. Terrified meant he cared, right?
“Really? You were terrified?”
His answer was to gently pull her into his arms and mold her body to him. He nuzzled her neck and her hair. She gloried in his touch and his arms around her, but niggling doubts remained. So much of what Delia spewed held the ring of truth.
Rhett felt her tense up, and he let her go.
“Delia had quite a lot to say,” Lily told him.
“I’m sure she did.” He looked grim. “I only heard part of it.”
He sat silent, waiting for her to say something.
Why didn’t he explain? She stared into his eyes and saw concern and . . . Was it possible? Vulnerability? Did he want her to make the first move?
If so, she would start at the beginning. “Delia said you went for a walk. You were waiting for her to join you.”
He stared for several long moments as though collecting his thoughts.
“Only the first part is true. I didn’t know she was here.” He sighed. “Now you’re frowning. If I carry you, do you feel up to a trip to our beach?”
Our beach?
She held up her arms, and he wrapped them around his neck, then scooped her up. He carried her out across the terrace to the deck, down the steps, and over the dunes. He didn’t speak until he reached the edge of Sea Turtle beach.
He stopped at the edge of the wave-lapped sand and stared down at Lily. “When I tried to get you back the first time, I stayed out here for hours one night plotting how I would go about it.”
The first time?
“I came back this afternoon when I realized I couldn’t let you go. Came back to start my plotting all over again. I was ready to stay a week if need be.”
“Put me down, Rhett. I can stand.”
She hated that she saw a flash of hurt in his eyes, so when he set her down, she folded her arms around him and rested her cheek against his chest. He didn’t move for a long moment, then his arms came around her. She felt his body tremble.
“Give me a chance, Lily. I deserve a chance, because I didn’t do anything wrong. Intentionally anyway. I may have handled this stupidly, but I’m innocent.”
Lily knew she should trust him, but she needed his explanation, needed to hear the words.
“Delia said you ran back to her, that I was too much trouble.”
“Come here.” He took her hand and led her a little way down the beach. He pointed to a spot just above the tidewater line. “Here is where I came and sat after my walk tonight.”
Her gaze followed where he pointed to a depression in the sand. She blinked, then gasped. Next to the depression, a series of coral chunks, small rocks, and scallop shells spelled out a name—Lily.
“Does that look like I was waiting for Delia? Finding the shells and coral on the beach helped me think.” He shrugged. “Hell, it worked the first time.”
She stared up into his eyes and waited. His move to make now.
“You know Delia set up your propane tank or hired someone to do it, so I’m thinking I’m off the hook for the fire.”
She nodded slowly.
“I had no idea Whittenhurst was trying to run you off your land, Lily. I swear it. Whittenhurst had gone out on his own. He told BDC the Jupiter property was off the market. Garrett did some investigating and found Whittenhurst intended to use minority partners to buy your nursery property, then turn around and sell it quick with Whittenhurst and his boys making an egregious profit.”
“Either way I lose.”
“No!” he said and took an angry step forward. “I wouldn’t’ve let that happen.”
She fought the instinctive urge to step back.
“I didn’t know it was your property,” he ground out.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You make it a habit to buy property you haven’t seen?”
“Dammit, Lily! I only worry about short lists—parcels that have make it through the selection process. We buy or flip too much property for me to be aware of each and every parcel. I have teams to make those property selections for me.”
His expression grew pained, and he raked a hand through his hair. “Teams I thought I could trust. Unfortunately, Whittenhurst leads those teams, so I’ll accept blame for your property selection. I stand responsible for the consequences produced by my teams.”
She felt a twinge of sympathy for him. He’d had his own betrayal today, and the circumstances obviously did not sit well with him, yet his integrity pressed him to take responsibility.
“And you knew nothing about the Jupiter parcel on your supposed list?”
“Only that an available Jupiter parcel of one hundred acres on the Intracoastal was prime golf course development property. I’ve wanted to do a development close to home for a long time.”
Aghast, she cried, “You would have turned Bloom & Grow into a golf course?”
“Hell no! I didn’t know,” he argued. “I didn’t check on all this until it was too late.”
His agonized gaze trapped hers, and she wanted to wrap him in her arms and comfort him. But—
“When Whittenhurst decided to cut us out and go for the purchase on his own, Aidan called Garrett and me to tell us our guy Whittenhurst had approached him for a flip sale. Aidan was as furious as we were.”
“But not as furious as me,” Lily said solemnly.
He looked chagrined. “No, not as furious as you. You had every right to be angry too.”
She nodded again slowly.
“I swear I would have stopped Whittenhurst if I had known. I wouldn’t let him do that to you. You have to believe me. I know how much your nursery means to you.”