Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
The creek was only half a mile away and was the dividing line between the properties. Sam could feel his energy draining with each step. He could no longer hide the grimace from his face or prevent the groans from slipping free. He wasn’t going to make it to the neighbor’s house.
“I need to rest,” he said, sliding down the stone wall. His stuff was hidden around there somewhere, but he didn’t have the energy to look. He needed Grace to run, and keep running, until she was safe. “My stuff should be around here somewhere, but we don’t have time to look. You need to go.”
“Don’t you mean we,” she begged. “He could have already come back and realized you’re gone.”
“I can’t.” He lifted his hand and dropped it again. “You go.” He pointed. “His place is a half a mile through the field. Either the doctor or his daughter will probably spot you coming.”
“I can’t leave you,” Grace said, dropping to her knees. She rested her scratched-up palm on his face.
He covered her palm with his. “I bet this wasn’t exactly the vacation you had in mind.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’d say this wedding is one I won’t soon forget, considering you probably knocked me up. I’m sure I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.” She smiled as a tear trickled over her cheek. She was trying to be strong for both of them.
A laugh bubbled free, and he regretted the small movement. His entire body was starting to go lax. The fight in him was dying as the need to close his eyes was close to winning.
“Grace, you need to go.” He turned his face and kissed her palm. “For our future baby’s sake.” He smiled, knowing he’d probably never get the chance to say those words again.
“Look who’s got a sense of humor in the face of death.
” She rose. “I’m going to kill your ex. You won’t have to worry about her marrying your brother.
” She glanced over her shoulder, back in the direction of the barn, and then toward the doctor’s house.
She squatted in front of him. “Don’t die on me. You owe me a real date.”
“Go, Grace.”
She nodded and took off in a jog, going only a few steps before she stopped and ditched the boots on her feet. She glanced back and grinned before she took off at a faster pace toward the doctor’s house.
Sam strained to keep his eyes open until she made it out of sight. Only after knowing she was far enough out of harm’s way did he let his body succumb to the pain and blood loss. He closed his eyes in the silence and let himself slip further into the awaiting darkness.
Grace sat in the chair across the room from where Sam was resting.
Doctor Halloway had performed a miracle, and removed the bullet lodged in Sam’s chest, in his home clinic.
Thank God for small miracles. Sam had an IV in his arm and a bandage across his bare chest. Color had started returning to his cheeks, but he still looked worse than her sisters after a night out on the town.
The sound of the heart rate monitor was her only company in the silence of the room.
Sam had barely had a pulse by the time she’d gotten back to him.
“He’s going to be fine.” Rose, Doc Halloway’s daughter, said from the doorway. “He’ll recover. My dad got to him in time.”
“I know.”
Rose walked into the room and handed Grace a towel, a pile of clothes, and a pair of sneakers. “I thought you might like to take a shower and change.”
“Thank you.” Grace took them but didn’t walk out. “That guy, Steve, is going to come here looking for Sam. How long until he wakes up?”
Rose let out a long sigh. “I’m not sure, but don’t worry about Steve. We have ranch hands; my dad has guns, and we’ve called the law to have Steve arrested.”
Grace smiled. “Excellent. I have a wedding to stop.”
Grace tossed the doors open to the private dining area where the rehearsal dinner was being held. All eyes turned in her direction at the noise. Grace scanned the occupants until she found the woman that was enjoying her last meal as a free woman.
“Thank goodness you made it,” Annalise said as she rose from the table and met Grace in the middle of the room. “Where’s Sam?”
“I’ll get to that,” Grace said, patting Annalise’s hand before moving inside the room.
The table was set up in a U-shape, the bride and groom in the center with the rest of the wedding party on both sides. Sam’s chair next to his brother was empty.
Grace walked over to the table and tossed a neon-colored condom packet onto the bride’s plate and smirked. “Sorry to disappoint your plans.”
Grace glanced at Richard, who looked like a little-lost boy. “She’s pregnant, and the baby isn’t yours. It belongs to your ranch manager, Steve.”
“That’s a lie,” Sarah yelled and rose.
“She put holes in the condom that you gave your brother last night. She wanted you to think that you were the one who got her pregnant.”
Sarah’s mouth parted as the blood drained from her face. “She’s lying.”
“Afraid not.” Grace tossed a metal box onto the table with cash, jewels and Sam’s wallet and phone inside. Where the rest of the jewelry and cash had come from she didn’t have a clue, but she knew exactly who’d stolen it. “She planned to kill you on your one year anniversary, for the money.”
“I would never.” Sarah raised a hand to her chest as if Grace had stabbed her in the heart with a knife. There was still a possibility.
“What did you do?” Richard asked, rising. His voice grew deeper with each syllable.
“It’s worse,” Grace added. “She was with Steve when he shot your brother in the barn. They left him for dead after telling him their plan for Sarah to trick you into marrying her, and how Steve was going to kill you. They didn’t know I was there. I witnessed the entire thing.”
“Oh my God,” Annalise shrieked. “Where’s Sam?”
Grace glanced over her shoulder. “He’s fine. I got us out of the barn and found help. He’s recovering.”
Sarah started inching around the table, as if she was going to run, and the entire wedding party was just watching her make her way to the door when the police stepped into view, stopping her advance.
“Sarah Singletary, you’re under arrest for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. You have the right to remain silent.”
“I’ll kill you,” she shrieked and broke free, making a beeline straight for Grace, but she was stopped short by Annalise, who stepped in front of Sarah and punched her in the nose.
The police grabbed Sarah, and this time, put her in cuffs and led her from the room.
Richard plopped down in his chair and dropped his gaze. His world had crumbled in the blink of an eye. The betrayal wouldn’t be easy to swallow. Seconds ticked by in the silent room. No one spoke; no one dared. Richard raised his gaze to Grace.
“Where’s my brother?”
“Doc Halloway’s house.”
Annalise grabbed Grace’s hand and followed Richard from the room and out of the hotel.
The ride back to the doctor’s home was made in silence.
Two men stood on the porch wearing cowboy hats and brandishing shotguns, as if on a lookout in the Wild West. Grace would have taken a picture for Aunt Betty if the situation hadn’t been so dire.
Doc Halloway walked out onto the porch along with Rose, each carrying weapons aimed at the car. It wasn’t until Annalise, Richard, and Grace stepped out that everyone let down their guard.
Annalise and Richard hurried inside, following behind Rose. Grace stopped in front of the doc.
“Has he woken yet?”
“Yes, about five minutes after you left. He’s been asking for you, and he wasn’t happy when I told him that you’d gone to stop the wedding, until I told him you’d gone to the police station first.”
“Thank you for helping us and for what you did for him.” Grace kissed the old man’s cheek. “I don’t know how I can repay you.”
“I’ve had this property since his grandparents owned the ranch. They’ve helped me more times than I care to admit. They’re good people.”
“I know.”
“Grace,” Annalise said as she poked her head outside the door. “Sam wants to see you.”
“Thanks again, Doc.” Grace squeezed his arm as she passed and followed Sam’s mom into the house. Richard was sitting next to the bed with his head in his hands as Grace entered the room. There weren’t any words that would ever suffice at making things right again after what had happened.
“I’m so sorry,” Richard repeated over and over again.
“You dodged a bullet,” Sam said, cupping the back of Richard’s neck.
“You didn’t,” Richard said, glancing up at his brother with tears in his eyes.
Annalise cleared her throat, and the guys looked in her direction. There was an awkwardness that hadn’t been there before. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Grace was responsible for breaking the news, maybe not. “Richard, let’s give them a minute.”
“We’ll just be outside. I’ll make arrangements to get you airlifted to the hospital and have you checked out.” Richard glanced in her direction. “I can make sure you get back to Florida.”
“No need. I’m a big girl. My jet is at the airport and ready to fly whenever I am, but thank you.” Grace squeezed Richard’s arm in passing before he walked out, shutting the door behind him.
“Hey you.” Grace smiled as she approached the bed.
“I’m the worst date ever.” He grinned.
“Believe it or not, I’ve had worse.” She winked and sat on the bed next to him. She wrapped her hand around his and linked their fingers. “Thanks for not dying on me. That would have really sucked.”
Sam shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. I still would have haunted you. I could have given you dating tips in ghost form.”
Grace chuckled. “Yes, you could have, but you’re forgetting I’m not a client.”
“You’re right. You’re not a client; you’re my hero.”
“That’s me.” Grace smiled. “Able to leap from tall buildings in a single bound, or just fall from second-story barns and not break my neck. Same thing. I just need to get you one of those call signals made that I can see in the night sky.”
“Save your money. I’ll just flash the lights in my office to get your attention.”
“Steve and Sarah have been arrested, and I’ve already given my statement to the police.”
“Good.” Sam rested his hand on her flat stomach. “How’s our baby?”
“Non-existent.” Grace slipped off the bed and kissed his lips. “The condom was a second layer of protection. I’m on the pill, so barring I’m one of the two-percenters…we should be good.”
Richard poked his head into the room, halting their conversation. “The helicopter should be here in five minutes.”
“Thanks,” Sam said and turned his loving gaze to Grace. “Are you going to stay?”
“I’m going to fly home and get out of everyone’s hair. I think this couch potato has had enough excitement. Are you going to be good?”
“I’ll be fine, thanks to you.”
“Yeah. What can I say? I saved you from the bridesmaids and from bleeding out. Where would you be without me?”
“Where indeed?”
“So I guess I’ll see you when I see you.” Grace leaned over and pressed her lips to his for possibly the last time. Her heart clenched at the thought.
“You can count on it.”
The sound of the whipping blades on the chopper outside the window drowned out whatever else Sam was about to say. Grace moved to the window and watched the paramedics in flight suits push a stretcher through the yard. “Looks like your chariot awaits.”
The door opened and the room turned into a frenzy of activity, with the paramedics trying to get Sam onto the stretcher and Sam’s family members trying to help while asking questions.
The entire Stone family left in the helicopter, leaving Grace behind. Not that she minded. They were his family. They needed to be with him.
“Can I give you a lift back to the hotel and to the airport?” Rose asked.
“That would be great.”
The windows were down in the truck. The incoming breeze from the evening wind caressed Grace’s face.
She was alive. They were both alive.
A tear formed behind her eyes. It was the first time since the barn that she allowed herself to feel the impact of what had just happened. She’d found the most incredible man and had nearly lost him forever. Even if they never dated, just knowing he was alive would be enough.
“Don’t worry. Dad said he’ll be fine,” Rose said reassuringly.
“I almost lost him before I even had him. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m not a crier.” Grace rested a hand over her stomach to calm her raging butterflies.
“When we care about someone, we all turn a little crazy. I won’t tell anyone you shed a few tears.”