Backfield in Motion (34 page)

Mac didn’t have time to say more as Ruth and
John crossed the street. Bruiser’s face turned hard and formidable.
That muscle jerked in his jaw, and he looked ready to beat the crap
out of someone—a very fat and pompous someone.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Mac hissed as
she held his arm.

“Can I castrate the bastard?”

Mac shook her head, even though she’d love
to give Bruiser the thumbs-up.

Bruiser balled his hands into fists, spread
his legs apart in a fighting stance, and waited for Ruth and John
to walk up the sidewalk. He looked more than intimidating.

“Get in the car, Elliot,” Ruth ordered,
pointing a pudgy finger at Elliot.

“He’s not going with you. I’ll have my
attorney draw up the papers and deliver them next week.” Bruiser’s
deadly quiet voice carried a threatening undercurrent.

John stepped backward a few steps and moved
behind his wife, not hard to do since she was as wide as she was
tall. What a fucking coward.

The big woman puffed out her chest and
snarled at Bruiser. “He’s going with us. I’ll call the police and
report you for kidnapping.” She looked down the street. “Even
better, I’ll go get them right now.”

“I’ll report your husband for child
molestation.” Bruiser countered, his voice as frigid as the waters
of Puget Sound in the winter.

Mac noticed the woman didn’t blink once,
which meant this might not be the first accusation she’d heard of
this nature.

“I never touched that kid,” her husband
insisted.

He hadn’t, according to Elliot, which meant
they may not have a legal leg to stand on.

“You bastard, I’m going to—” Bruiser surged
forward, hands fisted.

Mac dove in front of him, knowing she had no
hope of stopping him if he didn’t want to be stopped. She clutched
at his sleeves, “Please, let me handle this. Trust me.”

Bruiser nodded tersely but stayed on the
balls of his feet like a prizefighter waiting for his opponent to
engage.

Mac smiled sweetly at the Joneses even
though playing nice curdled her stomach. “We all want what’s best
for Elliot. Bruiser has the means to take care of Elliot’s
expensive medical treatments and special needs. He can give Elliot
a loving home surrounded by caring people, which is of the utmost
importance to both of you.”

Ruth relaxed slightly, while her husband
coughed and elbowed his wife in the ribs. “We do our best, but it’s
difficult with the size of our existing family,” she said.

“Bruiser is willing to give your church a
healthy donation. That should ease your stress level.” Bruiser
tensed behind Mac. She lifted one foot, stepped back and planted
her heel strategically on the top of his foot. He grunted but kept
his mouth shut.

“A donation would help,” John spoke from
behind his wife.

Ruth’s fat face pinched together, and her
triple chin became more pronounced. “What would the congregation
think if we allowed Elliot to live with this—this playboy?”

Her husband rubbed his chin and
shrugged.

“You can tell them that those days are over
for Bruiser. He’s getting married, settling down, building a big
house on a farm—a perfect place for a kid to grow up with his
younger brothers and sisters, a stable home in the country with
loving parents, horses, dogs, cats. Your congregation will be
thrilled.”

Ruth nodded, warming to the idea and the
money. “And we’ll be able to afford improvements the church and the
parsonage so badly need.” She turned to her husband, and they held
a subdued conversation.

Bruiser whispered in Mac’s ear, his long
fingers spanning her waist. “And exactly who am I marrying and
creating this Camelot with?”

“Me, of course.” Mac turned her face so that
their lips were mere inches apart.

“Are you proposing to me, Mackenzie
Hernandez?” His eyes sparkled, and one corner of his sexy mouth
tipped upward.

“I believe I am.”

Bruiser grinned like a kid with a new bike
at Christmas and pulled her around to kiss her soundly. He felt so
good she forgot about their audience until Elliot tugged on her
sleeve. Mac pushed on Bruiser’s chest, and he released her, resting
his big hands on her hips.

“We’ll agree to your terms. Have your
attorney call us at her convenience.” Ruth said, her lips puckered
in disgust as their public display of affection. She hauled on her
husband’s arm and dragged him to the car.

Next door, the police emerged from the house
with Ben and Sonja in handcuffs.

Mac realized her father must have fallen
asleep in the easy chair and missed all the drama, but Mac wouldn’t
have missed it for the world.

Elliot threw his arms around her, and she
hugged him back. Bruiser put his arms around both of them and held
tight.

Grinning, Elliot glanced up at both of them.
“So when am I getting a pony?”

* * * * *

Bruiser stood behind Mac as a backhoe rumbled
across the neighbors’ huge backyard toward the garden area. Several
uniforms and plain-clothes policemen swarmed the area now cordoned
off with crime scene tape. Behind them, her father paced back and
forth in a lather. Elliot slept in Mac’s bedroom, exhausted from
his all-night adventure.

“Dad, sit down, you’ll have a heart attack.”
Mac didn’t leave her station in front of the window.

Much to Bruiser’s shock, Craig slumped into
a chair, put his hands up to his face, and started crying, big
silent sobs that shook his shoulders and made him gulp for air. The
man had never cried, not once during this entire ordeal, but he was
now. “It’s over, Mac.”

“I know, Dad, I know.” She patted his
shoulder, while Bruiser stood back, feeling helpless. He hated that
feeling.

“I’ll be all right now. Thank you, Bruiser.”
Craig actually smiled.

Bruiser smiled back. “You know, Craig. I
have a proposition for you. I’ve been thinking about starting a
detective agency to help people find missing family and friends.
Maybe you’d like to work for me. You have tons of experience, and I
don’t have a clue what I’m doing. I’ve already talked to a retired
detective about heading it up. He could train you.”

“Can I think about it?” Craig wiped at his
eyes.

“Sure, take all the time you need.”

“Thank you.” Mac grabbed his hand and
squeezed it. “He needs a purpose in his life.”

Bruiser nodded, he couldn’t agree more.

“What did you have to do to get the
information out of Trudy?”

“Don’t worry. Nothing, really. She thought
she might be next on Ben and Sonja’s hit list.”

Mac almost smiled. “We need to report
Elliot’s uncle. If he pulled that shit with Elliot he’s done it to
other kids.”

“I’ll deal with it as soon as he signs the
guardianship over to us.”

“Then deal with this, too: I love you,
Bruiser Mackey, and I think you love me.” Mac held her breath.

One corner of Bruiser’s mouth lifted up in a
half smile. “You’re damn right, honey. I love you.” He wrapped his
arms around her and pulled her close to him. He kissed her hair and
murmured sweet words in her ear, words only meant for her, words
he’d never said to another woman and the most honest, heartfelt
words he’d ever spoken.

Finally, he lifted his head and laughed.
“How do you feel about being Mac Mackey?”

* * * * *

For the next few days, the detectives sifted
through the soil in the garden next door until they finally found
something. A bone. A human femur. Followed by more bones, then a
pelvis. Finally a skull. Dental records confirmed what they all
knew.

The metal box dug up earlier by Sonja and
Ben held a gun and bullets.

The mystery was finally solved and Mac’s
brother could be put to rest. Relief washed over her along with
deep sadness.

Bruiser stood by her side the entire
time.

Chapter 24

Bruiser and Mac married three weeks later.
Brett was Bruiser’s best man, and Kelsie was Mac’s maid of honor.
Elliot sat in the front row between Zach and Tyler, grinning for
all he was worth. Never much for the details when it came to girlie
stuff, Mac had stood back and let the She-Wolves handle the wedding
planning. They didn’t let her down, and Bruiser happily provided
the blank check.

Just yesterday, the custody agreement had
been signed. Elliot’s uncle had been arrested following a tip from
Bruiser and a police investigation. Sadly, there’d been other
little boys. At least they’d gotten Elliot out of there soon
enough.

The Jacks had won two out of their next
three games, well on their way to a division title.

Where There’s a Will Detective Agency was
opening its doors next month. Craig immersed himself in learning
the business. He and the grumpy retired detective heading the
agency got along great, arguing one minute, best buddies the next.
They hired a second retired detective who’d previously worked on
Will’s case to do part-time legwork.

Mac put her house up for sale. She loved the
place but found herself unable to live that close to her brother’s
murder scene. They found the perfect house on five acres near
Rachel and Derek’s farm. Since it was vacant, they moved in
immediately. Mac went wild purchasing plants and doing the
landscaping.

Elliot started in his new school and
appeared to be doing well. Bruiser had made a point of taking him
to school his first day and enrolling him. The secretaries swooned
and principal asked for his autograph. Kids had gathered around
Bruiser like he was the second coming. Bruiser promised to come
back and speak at an assembly on the importance of looking beneath
the surface. He should know that story better than anyone.

Sonja and Ben were charged with first-degree
murder, at which point Ben sang like a bird and pointed fingers at
Sonja, swearing she was the mastermind, and he’d just been the
cleanup guy. After all this time, Mac hadn’t expected it to hurt as
much as it did, despite her relief to finally know the truth.

At least she had Bruiser to share the pain
as they helped each other heal from similar tragedies.

Mac surrounded herself with friends and
family, learning how to live like a normal person again. Along with
her dad and Elliot, she invited Shanna and Eunice to attend
Bruiser’s games with her, finding out—much to Bruiser’s shock—they
were big fans and could recite Bruiser’s stats from memory. They
critiqued every game, and he tolerated their criticism with as much
grace as he could muster.

Mac didn’t know what the future held, but
she knew Bruiser and Elliot would be in it.

Mac was in love, and Bruiser loved her
back.

That was all that mattered in her book.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I’m a true-crime junkie. For this book, I
finally decided to put all those hours of watching true-crime
television to use. I’ve always been fascinated by the families who
continue to search for their missing loved ones years after they’ve
disappeared. I’ve been torn between applauding them and wanting
them to move on and live their lives. I especially feel sorry for
the brothers, sisters, and children of the missing family members,
as it often seems they’re forgotten while the family strives to
unearth the truth.

I wanted to know how it felt to be a sibling
of a missing person, especially when your parent dedicates his
entire life to finding your sibling and expects you to do the same.
Such is Mac’s story in
Backfield in Motion
.

AUTHOR BIO

An advocate of happy endings, Jami Davenport
writes sexy romantic comedies, sports hero romances, and equestrian
fiction. Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green
Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis
ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an
opinionated Hanoverian mare.

Jami works in information technology for her
day job and is a former high school business teacher and dressage
rider. In her spare time, she maintains her small farm and
socializes whenever the opportunity presents itself. An avid
boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a
common setting in her books. In her opinion, it is the most
beautiful place on earth.

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