Danger on the Mountain (10 page)

She led him into the den and said, “Reese Kirkpatrick, meet my former sister-in-law, Shannon Bennett.”

The two shook hands. Maggie thought Shannon allowed her grip to linger a bit longer than necessary and was surprised by the little dart of jealousy she felt. Shannon was a beautiful woman. Would Reese...

He turned to Maggie and she could see conflict on his face. Before he had a chance to say anything, Maggie said, “Shannon, you’re welcome to stay here if you like.”

“Oh, no. I’ll just get checked in to my room at the
B and B and see you later.” She frowned and bit her lip, looking uncertain. A very un-Shannon-like look. “Will you call me tomorrow?”

“Sure. I have your number from when you called me last week.”

“Okay, thanks. Y’all have fun.” And then she was gone, leaving Maggie blinking at her sudden perfume-laden departure.

“Wow,” Reese said.

“Exactly.”

“I don’t think Rose Mountain is prepared for her.”

“I don’t think it’s possible to prepare for Shannon. I think all you can do is hang on and hope you don’t get tossed off the life raft when the waves start crashing in.”

Reese laughed, but Maggie wasn’t so sure she meant her statement to be funny. She had enough chaos in her life right now. Adding Shannon into the mix was enough to twist her stomach in knots and set her nerves on edge.

* * *

Maggie hung up the phone after checking on Belle, and Reese wondered if she would stay deep in thought the whole night or just during the ride to Bryson City. “Anything you want to talk about?”

Maggie started. “Oh, sorry. Just thinking.”

“About?”

She let out a sigh. “Everything.” Then seemed to shake it off. “But tonight’s supposed to be fun. I don’t want to talk about worries and troubles. Belle is in good hands, and I’m going to dinner for the first time since she’s been born without her on my hip. It feels good.” She smiled at him and his heart lightened. He really liked this woman.

A lot.

But he wanted to tell her about his baby girl and how she’d died. He needed to explain why he was so uncomfortable around Belle. Although, he had to admit, he was getting better the more he was around her.

But Maggie said she didn’t want to talk about worries and troubles. He reached over to grasp her hand. “Okay, I have one thing we need to talk about and then we can put all serious stuff aside and just focus on enjoying ourselves. You want to talk about it now or at the end of the da—er, dinner?”

She turned slightly in her seat to face him and squeezed his hand. “We can talk about anything you want.”

“Okay.” He pulled in a deep breath and prayed he could get the words out without tearing up. Clearing his throat, he said, “You know my wife died about eighteen months ago.”

“Yes.”

“Well, what I didn’t tell you was that she died in childbirth.”

A gasp whispered from her lips and her hand tightened even more around his. “Oh, Reese, I’m so sorry.”

“She had an aneurysm. The baby, a little girl we’d named Emma, died, too.” He cleared his throat again, hoping to dislodge the knot that always formed there when he talked or thought about his baby.

When Maggie didn’t say anything, he looked over at her to see tears standing in her eyes. He quickly looked back at the road. Taking the longer route on the back roads to Bryson City had seemed like a good idea at the time. He’d gotten off I-74 and turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. His purpose had been to keep her in the car with him as long as possible in order to give him plenty of time to get the words out. Now they were out and he wished he’d taken the shorter route. At least in the restaurant, there wouldn’t be the silence surrounding him.

He finally heard Maggie draw in a deep breath. “Well, that explains a lot.”

“Like what?”

“Like why you’re so reluctant to hold Belle and be around her.”

“Oh. You noticed that, huh?”

She flashed him a watery smile. “It’s kind of hard not to.”

“I’m sorry, Maggie. Belle is a beautiful child. It’s just hard sometimes because when I’m around babies, the memories seem to crash in with more force. The memories, the emotions, the...loss, it just all seems magnified.”

“I’m sure.”

He drove in silence for the next few miles then asked, “Have I ruined our evening by telling you this?”

For a moment, she didn’t answer, then she gave his hand another squeeze and said, “No way. We both need this. I’m glad you told me.” More silence, then, “So how’s living in the boathouse working for you?”

He gave a surprised laugh at the change of subject. “It’s fine for the next couple of weeks until my house is put back together.”

Reese caught sight of headlights coming up fast behind him. Keeping his eye on the rearview mirror, he sped up. The person following him jammed the gas, and before Reese could do the same. The impact slammed him forward against the seat belt.

TEN

M
aggie screamed as the seat belt cut into her right shoulder and jerked her back against the seat. Reese’s truck swerved to the right then back into the lane as he fought for control. “Get your phone and call Eli!”

Maggie bent and grabbed her purse from the floor, slipped her fingers into the side pocket and pulled out her phone. She didn’t know if she’d be able to hear over the pounding of her heart and the squealing tires.

“Here he comes again,” Reese warned, his voice tight, knuckles white on the wheel.

Maggie felt her muscles brace for the next impact and sent up a desperate prayer. Metal crunched metal as she kept a tight grip on the phone. She slammed forward then back, her elbow hitting the door. Pain raced up her arm and she ignored it as Reese jerked the car to the left, pressed the gas pedal and zoomed forward.

Her fingers found the touch pad of the phone and it lit up. “What’s Eli’s number?” she gasped.

He told her and she punched it in then held the phone to her ear. “No, call 911. Eli’s too far away.”

She hung up and hit the three digits that would bring help. She hoped. Her heart beat fast, adrenaline made her fingers tremble.

The car swerved left, then right. She didn’t even want to know where they were on the mountain. She was almost glad for the dark. At least she couldn’t see how far she had to fall if the car shot through the guardrail.

The phone rang. Then cut off. “No cell signal, Reese.”

“That’s why he waited until this moment to attack. I’m an idiot. I should have stuck with the highway.”

A car whizzed by on the left and Reese muttered, “We’ve got to stop this guy or someone’s going to get killed.”

Trembling, she tried the phone again. “911. What’s your emergency?”

“Someone’s trying to run us off the road. We’re on the Blue Ridge Parkway about...”

“A mile from Highway 19!” Reese hollered.

He swerved around the next bend then jerked the wheel to the left to hit the next curve. The car behind them closed the distance and Reese slammed on the brakes as he rounded the curve on two wheels. Maggie squelched a scream and simply held on as she prayed.

Sparks flew from the car behind them as it ran along the guardrail. It fell back a few feet and Reese raced to make the turn onto the highway.

“Look!” She gestured to the blue lights heading their way.

“Thank God.”

Reese approached the intersection of Highway 19 and slowed. Maggie kept an eye on the car behind them. It raced up and Reese jerked to the left at the last minute into the oncoming-traffic lane.

Their attacker roared past and squealed around the corner onto Highway 19, barely missing an oncoming car. Horns blared and the Bryson City police cruiser took up the chase.

Reese braked to a stop on the side of the road. Maggie leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, offering a hearty thank-you prayer that they were still alive.

“That was scary.” Reese’s rumble filled the car.

“I can’t believe you didn’t go over the side.”

“I was number one in my class when it came to defensive driving.”

“That’s good. You did good.”

The inane conversation helped to calm her. Reese finally opened the door and flashed his badge at the approaching officers. Maggie climbed out the passenger side and almost hit the ground as her knees buckled. She sank back into the seat to marshal her strength and wait for the shaking to stop.

When she finally gathered herself together enough to get out of the car, she shivered. Pulling the edges of her coat more tightly around her, she watched Reese talk with the officers. As she approached them, his eye caught hers. Frustration glinted in them. Her heart dropped. “He got away?”

“Yeah. He lost them on a curve.”

Maggie didn’t have enough energy to be upset. She felt drained, wiped out, empty. An effect of the ebbing of the adrenaline rush, she felt sure.

Reese caught her fingers in his. “Come on. Let’s let them worry about this guy for a while. Eli’s going to fax over another copy of the bank robber’s picture. They’ll be watching for him. As for us, we have a dinner to eat.”

She stared up at him. “You still want to go?”

“Absolutely.” The firm set of his jaw said he wasn’t going to let the harrowing mountain ride ruin the evening. Some of her energy began to seep back in.

* * *

Reese hung up the phone, pulled into the restaurant parking lot and cut the engine. He’d called Eli to fill him in about the accident. Once Eli was satisfied no one was hurt, he’d given Reese an update on the robbery investigation. Reese planned to give Maggie the details, but first asked, “You okay?”

Maggie drew in a deep breath. “I think so. You?”

He nodded. “Come on. Let’s get a table and I’ll tell you what Eli said.”

They headed toward the entrance and Maggie breathed in the night air. “It’ll be Thanksgiving soon,” she said.

“I know. Next week.”

They stepped inside and Reese gave his name to the hostess, who led them to a table for two at the back of the restaurant. Maggie smiled and he thought he caught sight of a small dimple in her right cheek. “This is nice,” she said as she took in the log cabin atmosphere.

“They have amazing steaks. Eli brought me out here about a year ago. I’d just recovered from a gunshot wound and—”

“You were shot?” Shock rippled across her face.

“Yeah. It’s a long story, but my sister-in-law, Abby, was in trouble, and I was trying to warn her. By the time I got out here, trouble had already found her and he shot me for good measure.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

“I know. So anyway, after I recovered, before I went back to Washington, Eli brought me here. Told me I needed to slow down and move to a small town.”

Maggie lifted a brow as the waitress filled their water glasses. After several minutes studying their menus, Maggie asked, “What did you say to that?”

“I laughed at him.”

“And yet here you are.”

Reese gave a rueful chuckle as he remembered that day. “I think Eli and God had a conversation that I wasn’t privy to at the time.”

Maggie was quiet for a moment as she studied the table. Then looked up at him. “How do you feel about God after everything you’ve been through?”

Reese was glad for the brief interruption as the waitress took their order. After she left, he said, “At first I was really angry with God. Blamed Him, blamed Abby, blamed everyone I thought had a part in Keira and Emma’s deaths.” He sighed. “I was so sure I had a right to seek revenge, but through that whole process of blaming Abby I found I didn’t like myself very much. Anger was eating me up inside. Fortunately, I recognized what it was doing to me and was able to find forgiveness and peace.”

She looked shocked at his confession. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“It wasn’t me.” He frowned and sighed. “It’s difficult to explain, but in my quest for answers, God showed me that wasn’t what He had planned for me. He showed me that I was designed for more than that. That I had a purpose, a reason for being here. And one of those reasons was to help save Abby. Once I was able to focus on that, my heart changed.”

He saw her swallow hard and wondered if he should have bared so much of his soul. Would it send her running? He tensed as he gave her time to process everything. Then she gave him a gentle smile, the empathy and concern shining in her eyes making him relax. She said, “That’s quite a testimony.”

“It’s just what happened.” He took a sip of water. “I’d rather hear about you. Will you tell me what happened with you and your husband?”

She studied him for a moment and he wondered if she’d let him change the subject. Then she shrugged. “At first, I was just dumbfounded that he’d turned out to be an abuser. I couldn’t believe he’d managed to hide that part of himself the entire time we dated and were engaged. That I hadn’t seen something to set off warning bells in my head. But there was nothing. Even now, looking back at that time, I can’t think of anything he might done that I should have noticed as...off.” She twisted her fingers and placed her elbows on the table. Settling her chin in her palms, she sighed. “Of course, I realized at some point that he was pushing the relationship along at a pretty fast clip, but...” She shook her head, the confusion on her face snagging his heart and giving it a twist. “But I have to say, I just went along with him. I couldn’t believe someone like Kent was interested in me. And—” she swallowed hard “—I was lonely. I let him sweep me off my feet.” She gave a grimace.

“So how do you feel about finding someone else? Trusting again?” He tensed, waiting for her answer.

A flush crept into her cheeks. “I think the right man could convince me to try again.” Then the flush faded and she said, “I made a really bad choice the first time. I won’t do that again.” She stared into his eyes. “The right man would have to be patient, take things slow and prove himself.” A shrug lifted her shoulders. “I hate that I feel that way, but I guess I just don’t know that I trust myself. My judgment. If I could be so wrong before, where do I find the discernment to know that I won’t make the same kind of mistake again?”

Reese gave a slow nod. “I guess I can understand why you would feel that way.”

“You can?” She seemed surprised.

“Sure. People do it all the time. Not just in relationships like a marriage, but any kind of situation where you’re required to make a judgment call or a decision. When you make the wrong one, it’s hard to trust that you’ll make the right one next time you’re faced with the same choice. And now it’s not just you who’ll be affected by your decision. You have Belle to think of, too.”

Maggie dropped her eyes to the plate that the waitress set in front of her, and he could almost see her mind spinning.

For the next several minutes after Reese said the blessing, they ate in comfortable silence.

Then Maggie said, “You haven’t filled me in on what Eli had to say about the robbery.”

Reese nodded. “They caught the owner of the getaway vehicle.”

“Really? Did he tell them the name of the man you shot?”

“Not yet. They caught him in Asheville, but they’re bringing him to Bryson City and we’re going to play him and Berkley off against each other.”

“What do you mean?”

Reese smiled at her as anticipation threaded through him. “Just a little cop game that usually nets some pretty good results. We let them ‘accidentally’ see each other in the station and then let them know that each of them is being questioned individually. At some point, we usually have enough info on one that we can ‘let it slip’ to the other that his partner is squealing on him and if he wants to make a deal, now’s the time to spill it.”

She smiled at him, the admiration in her gaze making him feel ten feet tall. She nodded. “Clever.”

“One of the oldest tricks in the book, but it still works when it’s done right.”

She frowned and Reese could see her mind working. “But that means that it wasn’t him who tried to run us off the parkway.”

“No, I’m guessing it was his buddy—the one I shot.”

“Wounded, but not hurt badly enough to need time to recover.”

Reese lifted a brow. “Exactly.”

“So he’s alone and out for revenge—or he simply wants to shut us up so we don’t testify when his partners go to trial.”

“Right.”

He glanced out the window behind Maggie—a window he made sure was far enough to her left that no one outside could see her sitting at the table—and saw the Rose Mountain cruiser sitting in the parking lot. Probably Mitchell or the new guy, Jason. He smiled. Eli was making sure he had backup should anything else happen on the way home.

His smile slipped into a frown. Maybe this had been a bad idea. From a safety standpoint. Then he looked at the woman across from him, her soft blond hair falling over her shoulders, her delicate lashes fanning her cheeks, and he couldn’t regret the time alone with her.

When they’d finished their dinner, Reese felt that he had a better grasp of Maggie and what made her tick. He didn’t think he had the whole picture, but at least he had one that wasn’t so blurry.

She wanted to trust him, trust her judgment that he was a good guy, but she was still unsure, still hesitant to take that leap of faith yet. And he didn’t blame her. He would have his work cut out for him to prove he wasn’t like her dead husband. And while he was proving that, he had to find a way to make sure he kept her safe.

He drew in a deep breath. “What do you think about moving to a safe house until we catch this guy?”