Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sarah paced back and forth in the waiting room as she counted out the minutes since Lawson had arrived. She wasn’t sure exactly how much longer it was going to take him to get patched up, but she felt as though she was going crazy while she waited.
He had arrived at the hospital nearly two hours ago with a woman she assumed was Lainey. They’d both been surrounded by medical personnel and taken back to the treatment area as soon as the staff got a look at them.
Sarah had already been looked at and patched up. Her hands had been tended to and disinfected, but she couldn’t go anywhere until she knew that Lawson was okay. She kept watching the doors they’d disappeared behind, willing Lawson to walk out.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Hannah tried to reassure her. She was sitting on one of the hard plastic chairs that lined the wall, leaning into Xavier’s side.
“Yeah, I’m sure most of his injuries are superficial,” Xavier agreed. “You know he’d want you to go back to the lodge and get some rest.”
She shook her head. “I can’t go yet,” she replied firmly. “I need to know he’s okay.”
“Who’s okay?” a rough voice behind her asked.
Sarah’s head snapped around when she heard Lawson’s voice. She breathed a long sigh of relief when she saw him standing there and went over to wrap her arms around him.
“Oh, my God.” She sighed, leaning against his chest. “You’re okay?”
“Pretty much,” he replied, but she could hear the wince in his voice.
She sprang back from him at once. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t even think,” she blurted out, scanning him for injuries. “What’s the damage?”
He reached out a hand to Sarah and drew her back to his side. “A couple of cracked ribs,” he responded. “Throat contusion, some cuts and bruises, and a broken finger.”
He lifted his hand, to show the splint on his finger. His face had been cleaned up and patched, and it looked a lot better now that it wasn’t smeared in blood.
“Really. That’s all?” she asked. She had been so scared he’d end up with serious damage after his fight with Granger. She was so relieved all his injuries seemed mostly minor. His neck, though… She shuddered at the swift memory of Granger with his hands wrapped around Lawson’s throat.
“Hey, that’s nothing to sniff at.” He tried to laugh, wincing again, and raised his injured hand to his neck.
“I’m sorry. I mean, I’m just glad it’s not worse,” she replied, taking his good hand and giving it a squeeze. “What happens now?”
Lawson and Xavier exchanged a look. “Well, I gave my statement to the FBI while I was being fixed up. They’re still back there talking to Lainey. They’ll be contacting the rest of you to get statements in the next few days. I told them they’d find us all at the lodge.”
“How’s Lainey,” Xavier asked. “Did she mention how she ended up at the old dairy farm?”
“Apparently, Donner grabbed her after he escaped and was leaving town. Just dumb luck he ran into her and recognized her from a photo Granger had been passing around. She’ll need some time to heal, but she’ll be fine,” Lawson replied with a smile.
“Once she’s released, the FBI will see she gets back home to her family. ”
“Speaking of family,” Xavier interjected. “We should get back to the lodge and see the damage. There’s a lot that needs to be done.”
“Yeah, the others are back already,” Hannah added, rising to her feet. Xavier draped an arm around her protectively.
“There’s going to be a lot in the way of repairs and cleanup. Again.” Lawson sighed.
“You need to rest,” Sarah protested, but he just smiled at her.
“I’m okay,” he replied. “I want to know what we’re going to be dealing with. Then I’ll be able to relax.”
“The sheriff has a couple of his guys ready to run us back to the lodge,” Xavier explained. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
ON THE WAY back to the lodge, the sun had begun to rise. Sarah sat plastered to Lawson’s side in the back of the police car, not leaving any room between them. Not that either of them minded. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.
It was a new start, a new opportunity for them to turn the lodge into the safe space it was always meant to be. With Victor Granger gone, it felt like the way was finally clear for Sarah and Lawson to be together, like they had wanted to be for so long.
Arriving back on the property, Sarah was surprised to see that there were already a few cars scattered around, parked in the driveway. She frowned, worried.
“What’s all this?” she muttered as they climbed out of the car. Bailey waved to her from the porch, grinning as a few people walked past her into the building.
“What’s going on here?” Lawson asked, sounding confused.
“When we got back from the hospital we noticed the bodies had been removed, and the FBI were packing up their evidence, ready to leave,” Aaron replied. “Told us we could start cleanup whenever we were ready.”
“And apparently, while the guests were in town, word got around that the lodge had been attacked,” Cade called back to Lawson as he emerged from inside. “After the FBI cleared out, people started showing up with supplies. Seems like we have a lot more friends than we thought.”
Sarah’s lips parted with surprise. “They came to help?” she asked.
“Excuse me!” someone called behind her, and she turned to see a man heading toward them with a large pane of glass under one arm. She stepped aside for him to walk past her, staring after him until he disappeared through the entrance.
“Yeah, Sheriff Willis also called in some help from the officers,” Bailey told them as she headed down from the porch.
“And a few other people from town also wanted to give us a hand, when they found out what happened and that we’d helped stop the criminal organization that had been terrorizing the roads around here.
This place is going to be back on its feet in no time. ”
“That’s amazing news,” Sarah replied, a rush of emotion rising through her chest. This was so kind of people who were basically strangers to come up and help put the place back in order. It was such a great feeling, knowing people cared enough to help get the lodge back up and running again.
“You want some coffee?” River asked as she popped her head through the front door. “I just got a pot on. I figured it’s going to be too noisy to get any sleep, at least anytime soon.”
“Sounds good to me,” Hannah replied, tugging on Xavier’s hand to lead him inside. Sarah followed behind them, and smiled when she saw the industrious hard work taking place around her. It was seriously incredible; she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Several hours ago, this place had been a complete disaster. And although it still had a long way to go, it already looked better.
They all walked through to the kitchen, where River and Cade were passing out coffees.
Sarah wrapped her hands around hers gratefully, inhaling the scent.
She was tired, sure, but too full of excitement to go to bed yet.
And the feel of Lawson’s strong arm around her shoulders was enough to ground her and give her all the peace she needed.
Bailey and Aaron laughed about something at the far end of the counter, both of them practically giddy with relief.
“Where do we even start?” Xavier asked.
Cade shook his head. “I think they’re determined to take care of everything for us,” he replied, gesturing around them. “I mean, we’ll probably still be picking bullet fragments out of the main building for the next year…”
“But the hardest part is already dealt with,” River insisted. She looked so relaxed, and it made Sarah so happy to see her unwinding after the stressful few weeks they’d had. Stressful months, if she was being honest.
“Yeah, and then we’ll have to think about putting Victor Granger and his sons behind bars,” Bailey added as she joined the group.
“We can handle that when we have to. The FBI has it under control,” Aaron replied, shaking his head. “For now, I think we deserve to celebrate. Right?”
“Well, I don’t know if coffee has quite the same ring to it that champagne does.” Hannah giggled. “But how about a toast? To the lodge?”
“To the lodge,” Lawson agreed, and he lifted his mug. Around him, everyone repeated the sentiment, tapping their mugs against the others and then taking a long sip.
Afterward, the couples drifted off to see where they could help out, and Sarah finished up her coffee and sighed.
“I guess I should find some way to make myself useful, huh?” she remarked, smiling up at Lawson.
He gazed down at her for a moment, and then pressed a kiss against her forehead. “I’m so proud of the way you handled yourself last night,” he murmured to her.
“What do you mean?” she asked, slightly confused. She had succeeded in getting herself kidnapped by Granger. She didn’t see how that was anything to be proud of.
“I mean, you were willing to sacrifice yourself to keep the rest of the women safe,” he replied. “Not many people would have the nerve to do that. You’re the bravest woman I know.”
She leaned into him for a moment, and then he cocked his head at her with a playful smile on his face.
“By the way,” he remarked. “Was that a towel you attacked Granger with?”
She let out a slightly shaky laugh. “It might have been.”
He laughed. “You’re crazy, woman,” he replied. “And I love you.”
Those words hung there between them. For a second, Sarah froze. There’s no way he just said what she thought he did, right? She locked her gaze with his.
“You…?” She couldn’t get any other words out.
“I love you,” he repeated, not wavering for a second as he gazed at her. “I love you for your strength, your bravery and your kindness. How you keep surprising me. And because you were willing to wait for me, even though I took my damn time getting my head out of my ass. I love you, Sarah.”
She giggled, the sound light and magical to his ears, and cupped her hand gently around his cheek.
She leaned in slowly to plant a kiss on his lips, not breaking eye contact. “I love you, too, Lawson,” she replied.
Before she could say another word, he moved into her and deepened the kiss.
All at once, the chaos surrounding them seemed to fall away, leaving nothing but the two of them, in their embrace.
She wanted to stay there forever.