A Memory Worth Dying For (20 page)

THIRTY-SEVEN

MARTI STOOD LISTENING TO THE
crashing of the water on the rocks above her. The falls were always pretty, but something about being surrounded by spring flowers and freshly sprouted ferns made them seem like what heaven would be. She had forgotten what a magical place this was and how much she loved it here.

The sun shadowed one side of the mountain as she sat down beside the lake and listened to the song of the whip-poor-wills. She loved the Texas bluebonnets that were scattered all around the low areas of the valley and the scent of honeysuckle and lavender. The leaves of the cool, green grass felt soft and plush beneath her fingertips. A melancholy sensation came over her when she remembered how close she felt to God up here.

In the last few months before the accident, she had come here to gather strength—strength to fight a family who scorned her new beliefs. This valley had given her strength. She felt God’s love so strong it made her ache. Sadness swamped her, and a strong longing to reach out and talk with God consumed her. Staring into the sky, she thought of the reasons why she’d turned from Him. Her newly found faith in God had taken a beating because of the accident, the loss of her newborn son, and Daniel’s accusations and eventual divorce.

The verse somewhere in Joel came to her mind. God had promised the children of Israel if they repented, He would “restore what the locusts have eaten.” She wondered if He would do the same for her.

She looked up into the clouds and let the vastness of the sky fill her soul with the closeness of the Lord.

“God, I’m sorry for turning away from You. Please forgive me, Lord, and restore what the locusts have eaten of my life. If it’s Your will, please restore my marriage. I know you can’t give me back my baby, but if You will, Lord, restore my marriage and allow us to have more children.”

A feeling of calm and peace flooded her soul and washed away her doubts. No matter what happened now, she knew God was back in control of her life.

She sighed and picked up a pine needle to throw into the water. It swirled around in the rushing stream before settling against a rock along the shore. She sighed and turned back to find Apollo eating the lush green grass.

“You love it here too, don’t you, fella?”

After rubbing his nose, she pulled his mane and led him to the stump of a large tree. She stepped onto the stump then froze. A tingling traveled up and down her arms. That same feeling of being watched crept up her spine, and goose bumps broke out on her arms once more. With an anxious eye, she searched the trees around her. Why had she come out so far from the ranch by herself? It was a foolish mistake.

The chirping of the birds stopped. She felt the silence.

Suddenly, she heard a soft “
fffftt”
near her ear. She turned her head and froze. Buried deep in the tree behind her was the shaft of a red arrow.

She jerked her head around to see where the arrow had come from and searched the woods across the creek fed by the waterfall.

Apollo sensed her fear and began stomping around in circles. She grabbed his mane and tried to pull herself up on his back as the frightened horse pulled away and ran down the path.

One leg on his back and the other hanging limply behind her, she struggled desperately to pull herself up onto the pounding animal. His gait was too fast. She couldn’t find her balance.

She ducked as he ran up against low limbs of trees and made an erratic path through the woods. The horse was running in the direction of the farm house, but the short cut was riddled with briars that tore through her jeans and pulled at the tender skin on her arms.

Trying to hide her face from the punishing limbs and branches, she heard another
ffftt
, and an arrow tore through the sleeve of her shirt. Panic increased the adrenaline in her system, and with all the strength she could muster, she pulled her body up over the back of the stallion and settled onto his back, keeping her head low. With her feet pressed against his stomach, she kicked Apollo into a full run and tried to keep her head down as they turned toward the ranch. Petrified, she hoped whoever was shooting at her would never catch up with the strong horse.

For the next few minutes, she spent more time looking back to see if she was being followed than looking ahead. The next thing she knew, she felt a hard bump on her head, and she was tumbling to the ground.

For a minute, she couldn’t breathe. The fall knocked the wind from her lungs, and she lay on her stomach, struggling to get a breath.

Had she been shot?

Her thoughts were muddled as she finally sucked in a fresh breath of air. When she rolled over, she screamed. Standing over her stood Daniel, staring at her with concern in his eyes.

“Marti? Are you all right?”

Marti gazed into his concerned face. “What happened?”

“Apollo ran you under a low limb. Are you okay?”

Marti slowly sat up, massaging her shoulder. “Yes, but it wasn’t Apollo’s fault. He—”

“Are you crazy? I told you he wasn’t a good mount for a beginner. And bareback? Are you suicidal? You could have killed yourself, not to mention injury to Apollo.” He reached out a hand and helped her stand. Her legs wobbled but held.

“It wasn’t Apollo’s fault . . . it was . . .” Suddenly Marti jerked her head up to stare in his eyes. Doubts crept into her heart. Fear that it was him stalking her the last three years returned, and she stuttered, “I t-thought you were going to see a c-customer.”

Daniel looked confused. “He had to cancel, so I’m out here mending fences. One of the men noticed that a tree fell on the fence line last night.”

She knew he must be telling the truth because his arms glistened with sweat, and he wore nothing but jeans and a pair of work gloves. His shirt dangled from one of the fence posts. She shook her head. “S-someone was ch-chasing me—with a bow and arrow. He shot at me, at least twice.”

Daniel’s brow furrowed and turned toward the woods, searching. When he turned back to her, unbelief flashed in his eyes, not guilt.

“Are you sure you weren’t imagining it when Apollo took off running?”

Marti stared at him. “No! I’ll show you.” She held up her sleeve for him to see. A three-inch tear ripped up one side of the material. “Right here, see?”

Daniel frowned. “Marti, your clothes are full of tears . . . probably from the tree limbs you ran through.”

Marti looked at her clothes. He was right. Tears in the sleeves of her yellow cotton blouse were minor compared to the rips in the legs of her jeans, and her arms were full of scratches.

“Daniel, please listen to me. Someone was chasing me with a bow and arrow. I promise I’m not making it up. Let’s go back to the falls. There’s an arrow in one of the trees there.”

Daniel shook his head. “The falls! You went all the way to the falls?” He walked away, running his hands through his hair. His anger was evident when he turned back to her. “You are not to ride again without our knowledge. Do you understand? I don’t have time for this now. I have to finish this fence before the stallions and mares mingle together.”

Dull pains pounded in Marti’s chest. Daniel still didn’t believe her. Tears filled her eyes. The scenery blurred around her, and she couldn’t stop the sobs that bubbled up inside her.

Daniel let out a strangled sigh before he moved to her and nervously pulled her into a hug. His voice was softer and calm.

“I’m sorry, Marti, but you scared the living daylights out of me.” He patted her gently on the back. “You’re okay now.”

Marti’s tears slowed, but she still could not think clearly. Terror had wiped away her ability to reason. Danger hovered close, and yet the muscled, rock-hard body of the man she was clinging to stood between her and that danger. A sigh trembled through her body, until her emotions began a fast thaw.

Suddenly, the warmth of Daniel’s bare back under her hands brought on an onslaught of memory, and her body trembled for a different reason. She was lost in another world. A world of acceptance, trust, and love.

She knew Daniel felt the change of emotion because his muscles tensed.

The tears in her eyes mingled with the pain in her heart, and in an instant that nonexistent world was turned upside down. Her heart thudded back to the reality of pain and rejection.

Clamping her eyes shut, she slowly pushed back away from him—closing her heart to the memories that threatened to drown her very soul.

Daniel leaned away from her and looked into her eyes. The emotions she saw there were intermingled. Surprise. Shock. Awareness. She could see them all doing battle in his eyes.

His thumb reached up and touched the tears on her face. She stood perfectly still. This had to be Daniel’s move. She would not push him. He caressed her cheek and leaned in close. Their faces were only inches apart. Longing turned his eyes a dark chocolate. Then he pulled back and dropped his hand.

When he stepped back, his face was devoid of emotion. His eyes turned hard and unfeeling. “I have to finish this fence. Veronica and I are going out tonight.”

He turned his back on her and turned toward the broken fence. A throbbing twisted in her heart, and she knew by the agony she felt that part of it had withered.

THIRTY-EIGHT

DANIEL PACED OUTSIDE THE BRICK
building—fuming on the inside. Lately, everything about this wedding irritated him. Impatience with Veronica and all her picky details was building inside him. He supposed it was just wedding jitters, but wasn’t it the bride who was supposed to have second thoughts? Did grooms ever wonder if they were doing the right thing?

Veronica insisted he attend a cake-tasting ceremony with the top caterer in the city. Cake was one of his favorite desserts, but somehow raspberry-almond angel food cake or hazelnut-banana vintage cake topped with something French—he couldn’t quite remember what—seemed a little strange to him. Was it ganak, or ganarce, or ganache? Anyway, it was French, and it tasted funny. It tasted nothing like the chocolate icing Stella made. He didn’t understand why Veronica had to make their wedding so ostentatious. A nice quiet ceremony and a plain old chocolate cake with plain old chocolate icing would be okay with him.

He watched through the glass doors as Veronica glided down the long staircase toward him. She stepped through the opening out into the hot air and frowned at him.

“Daniel. You left before Chef Mikael brought out the last cake option.”

“I know, Nikki. I tasted so many different cakes, now they all taste the same. I’m done. I’m going back to the ranch. You can come over later with your dad.”

“Wait, Daniel, we have one more meeting—with the florist. We simply
have
to keep that appointment. You don’t cancel on Melvin Du Bois. We’ll be the laughing stock of the whole town if we do.”

“No, Veronica. I promised Chris I’d take him on a canoe ride this afternoon, and that’s what I’m doing. You meet with Mr. Du Bois yourself, and pick whatever flowers you want. You’re the one who’s picky about wedding details anyway.”

Veronica’s lips stuck out in a pout, and Daniel rubbed his face to hide a grin at her melodramatic expression.

“A canoe ride.” The way she said it made it sound like a migraine.

Daniel crossed his arms and stood firm.

When she saw he wasn’t backing down, her pout turned into frustration. Anger made her voice tight and clipped. “Very well, Daniel, but don’t blame me if you hate the flowers I choose.”

Veronica huffed off toward the florist downtown and didn’t glance back in his direction. He already knew what kind of flowers she’d want anyway—hand-picked white orchids. Rare, showy, and, of course, expensive.

Lately, she’d talked about nothing but the wedding. As a matter of fact, she was obsessed with it. Cakes, flowers, rings, bridesmaids—it all made his head hurt.

He slid into his pickup and slammed the door. He’d pick up Chris at the Duke ranch and take him out on the lake for a relaxing afternoon. Chris had been begging for weeks, and he’d promised to take him sometime before the Quarter Horse Association picnic. Veronica could fend for herself. Daniel pulled out his cell phone and talked to the maid at the Duke ranch. After making sure the young woman packed Chris another set of clothes, Daniel pulled into the Dukes’ driveway and smiled at Chris waiting on the front porch.

Chris jumped up and down when he saw Daniel’s truck pull into the driveway, and Daniel laughed at his excitement. Chris had been talking about the picnic for days, but now his one-track mind was on a canoe ride.

When Daniel strapped Chris into his car seat, he noticed the straps were getting tight. Maybe he should warn Veronica that Chris was outgrowing his current seat. Chris might weigh enough now to be switched to a booster. Daniel would enjoy being able to watch Chris’s face instead of the back of the car seat.

He waved at the Duke’s maid, and pulled out of the yard.

When they arrived at the Rushing farm, Daniel parked in the grass and helped Chris climb out of the truck. He grabbed his tiny hand and walked with him down to the lake. After pulling a child-sized life jacket out of the canoe, he turned to Chris.

“Now, let’s put this on.”

“What’s that, Unc’l Dan’l?”

“It helps you float if you fall in the water.”

“Can I go swimming?”

“Not in your clothes. Today we’re going riding in the boat.”

“But, I have a thing on to help me swim. Why can’t I jump in?”

“Not today, buddy. Now come on and get in.”

“Why can’t I go swimming, Unc’l Dan’l?”

His whiny voice stopped Daniel in his tracks. “Chris, do you want to go swimming?”

Chris’ little head bobbed up and down. “Yes.”

“Do you want to go ride in the canoe?”

“Yes.” Once again his head bobbed.

Daniel placed his hands on his hips. “Well, buddy, one is in the boat, and one is in the water. You can’t be both places at once. Which one do you want to do?”

Chris put his hand on the side of his face and looked way up into Daniel’s face. “Go in the ’noo.”

“So, you want to go for a ride?”