Divine Charity (22 page)

Justine looked from one to the other and said, “That sounds wonderful. I know I’m only seventeen but I hope that when I’m old enough that’s the kind of love I have. You’ve always looked so happy with the guys, Aunt Grace, and Mom, well…you just seem to glow even more lately. It’s something to aspire to. Oh, and Beau approves of this new development, in case he hasn’t told you that.”

Charity laughed and said, “I got a thumbs-up the day after we got home from our getaway weekend and he seems happy about it, but he hasn’t said anything else. The guys are talking about doing some renovations and enlarging our bedroom and they said he offered to help if they needed him.”

“I was about to say, sis,” Grace said as they got up from the table. “I imagined that you were feeling a little cramped in that tiny bedroom.”

“Just a tad. It was fine for two people, but four? I was relieved when they brought it up for discussion. What do you say we stop by Violet’s and see how Justin’s displays are shaping up?”

“Sounds great,” Grace said as she paused to rub her back.

“You okay?” Charity asked as she watched the way Grace frowned.

“I’ve been sitting too much lately, working on edits. It’s nothing, just Braxton-Hicks contractions. Now that I’ve eaten and gotten something to drink they’ll settle down. Let’s go to Violet’s.”

Charity made a mental note to watch Grace for other signs of discomfort as she started her SUV with the remote so it could cool off a little before she got into it. Grace had been all over town with them that morning and the temperature was on the rise. The fatigue she’d been feeling lately seemed more pronounced than it had been when Grace was pregnant with Rose Marie. She’d noticed earlier that Grace’s hands looked swollen and she wasn’t wearing any of her rings. Charity considered calling Emma and letting her know.

Grace looked over from the passenger and caught Charity’s gaze. “I can hear the gears turning in your head, sis. I’m fine.”

They were waiting for the traffic light at Crockett and Main to change to green, when a flash of movement flickered in Charity’s rearview mirror a split second before a mighty crash shook the SUV. Disoriented, Charity tried to speak as she looked around and realized they’d been flung onto Main Street.

Grace gasped and Charity reached for her. “Are you okay, sis? Justine, are you—”

The ominous screech of braking tires on pavement cut her off as an oncoming automobile plowed into Grace’s side of the vehicle, and a terrific crash came as another vehicle hit the rear portion of the driver’s side. The world spun wildly and went dark.

Ransome stood in the eclectic yet quaint bookstore that Violet ran, talking with her about her plans for the Emporium when Justin’s phone rang and he excused himself to take the call, holding his finger to his ear as the wailing siren of an ambulance or police car raced by out front on Main.

“Have any other vendors or artisans contacted you yet about space in your emporium?” Val asked.

“Beck O’Malley has committed to consign his honey and Bee’s Knees Body Products, which have developed quite a following. The Garner brothers will also be showcasing their custom-made furniture. Customers will be able to lay hands on the pieces, get an idea of their excellent workmanship, and Wes and Evan are happy to have another outlet for sales.”

Ransome was distracted from the conversation when Justin suddenly appeared in the doorway. His normally tan face was ashen. “We have to go. The girls have been in an accident.”

“How serious?” Ransome asked, fear bursting with violent force in his chest.

Val reached in his pocket for the truck keys and asked, “Where are they? Shit, that emergency vehicle must’ve been for them.”

Violet’s eyes went wide. “Is it serious?”

Justin’s voice was shaky as he said, “Hank wasn’t sure. He said go to the hospital but they’re right down the street. Grace was with them.”

“Please be careful!” Violet called as they sprinted through the big building to the back door.

Ransome took a deep, shuddering breath as they piled into the truck and raced up the back street, running two stop signs, and took the corner at Crockett Street at top speed. The accident scene came into view.

“Holy shit,” Val whispered at the sight before them.

Ransome staggered as he ran down the sidewalk, desperate to get to her and Justine but afraid of what he’d discover.

There was a flurry of emergency workers around Charity’s SUV, which was a twisted wreck in the middle of five damaged cars in the intersection on Main Street. The truck behind her vehicle had a bashed in windshield. Steam still rose from the SUV’s crumpled hood and the smell of burned rubber and leaking coolant drifted in the balmy air. Spectators stood on the sidewalk, and the accident scene swarmed with EMTs, firemen, police officers, and sheriff’s deputies. Sheriff Hank Stinson stood in the center giving directions, efficient and unflappable on the surface, but Ransome could see the desolation in his eyes and it made his heart rate triple.

Hank spotted them as they ran up and he beckoned to them.

“Where are they? How are they?” Justin asked, his voice trembling.

Hank put a hand on Justin’s shoulder and pointed to a nearby ambulance. “Charity’s in that ambulance. She was unconscious earlier but she may have come around. Justine is already on the way to the ER. She has a broken arm and she was unconscious. The air bags did their job. If traffic had been moving at higher speeds, the story would’ve been different.”

“And Grace?” Justin asked.

“They’re removing her from the vehicle. Her side took the worst of all the impacts,” Hank said, flipping a thumb at the big diesel pickup truck in the road, firming his lips to keep from showing his emotions. “Jack, Ethan, and Adam are on their way here, too. They don’t follow directions any better than you do,” he added with a wry smile.

“
Grace
!
Justine
! Let me out of this!
Ow
!” Charity’s voice cutting through the commotion flooded Ransom’s heart with relief.

Hank grinned and clapped Justin on the shoulder. “You’d better go see to her. I hope everyone bounces back that quickly.” To Val and Ransome, he said, “If the officers try to stop you or make you wait on the other side of the tape, tell them to talk to me.”

Another ambulance arrived and Hank stalked away to direct the EMTs to the area behind Charity’s SUV.

They rounded the back of the ambulance and found Charity strapped to a back board, trying to convince the EMTs she was okay as they prepared to load her. Justin wrapped his hand around her foot and said, “Pipe down now, woman. Let them do their work.” The relief was evident in his husky voice and the way he took a deep breath as though he’d been holding it. Ransome realized he’d been holding his breath, too, as he and Val exchanged relieved glances.

Charity turned at the sound of his voice and said, “I’m so glad to see you! Where are Justine and Grace? I woke up back here and they can’t tell me anything.” She yelped as one of the EMTs applied a swab to a cut on her forehead.

“Hank said Justine is on her way to the emergency room. They’re helping Grace out of the SUV right now.”

“Guys,” she said, a bleak expression transforming her face. “The accident was all a blur but I’m sure there was a biker behind me when I was waiting at the intersection. I noticed his headlight as he pulled up behind me. I don’t know who it was, but I’m pretty sure we were both rear-ended. Whoever hit him, also hit me hard enough to force my vehicle into the intersection.” Unspoken was the question of what happened to that biker.

“Fuck,” Val whispered under his breath. “I’ll be right back.”

A truck screeched to a halt at the curb and Jack, Ethan, and Adam jumped from the vehicle, all running toward the accident, anxiety and devastation written on their faces. Hank must’ve seen them because he reached them as they ran to the ambulance.

Jack’s hair was standing on end as if he’d been raking his fingers through it on the way there. He asked, “Where is she?” Ethan and Adam echoed his question at the same time. Hank pointed and they ran.

Charity looked at Justin beseechingly. “All I have are bumps and bruises, I’m sure. How about springing me from this thing?”

Seriousness was etched across his face as he said, “Uh-uh. You’re staying put and getting checked out. You haven’t seen your vehicle.”

“Seriously, babe. Listen to him,” Ransome said as he leaned in to kiss the uninjured side of her forehead. “It looks like it was used for demolition derby. You need to get checked out.” He let out a breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds and whispered, “Angel, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

She finally relented and reached up and cupped his cheek. “Me, too, babe. Will you go check on Grace? She wasn’t feeling too hot earlier. See if Val found out anything about that biker?”

“Sure,” He patted her hand and Justin came around to be close to her and kiss her. Ransome dodged the ambulance door and reentered the controlled chaos of the accident scene. Rubber skid marks marred the street, a visible testimony of what had occurred. Charity’s vehicle had been rear-ended and forced into oncoming traffic and been hit from both sides, although the damage to the driver’s side suggested it hadn’t been hit at high speed.

Jack, Ethan, and Adam waited on the other side of the SUV, looking distraught as EMTs, one of which was their friend Eli Wolf, worked at strapping Grace onto a back board. She had a cervical collar fastened around her neck and judging by the tear streaks on her face and the way she moaned she was in a lot of pain.

She reached out with a shaky hand, splaying her fingers protectively over her abdomen. “Eli, please check the baby first thing. Please make sure he’s okay. Please.”

Eli spoke coaxingly to her. “Breathe for me, Grace. We’re going to take good care of you and the baby. I’ll check him for you myself.” She whimpered as they moved her and the sound of her pain made him feel powerless.

Jack and the guys didn’t look like they knew any more than he did yet so he spun to go find Val. Following the sound of his voice, he found him standing next to the truck behind Charity’s vehicle. The bashed-in windshield was explainable, now that he knew about the biker. The impact had been hard enough to flip the biker back into the truck’s windshield. His Harley—what was left of it—was strewn on Crockett Street between the truck’s front bumper and the crushed rear end of Charity’s vehicle. Squinting at the scratched-up remains of the motorcycle’s fuel tank, he thought the blue and red paint job on it looked familiar.

Shit.

An EMT treated a man with a cut on his forehead while a deputy spoke with him next to the truck. The man looked like he was scared to death. On the sidewalk, two EMTs ministered to the biker who had already been loaded onto a gurney. Their backs blocked Ransome from getting a glimpse of his face and he didn’t think he wanted to know. He didn’t want to be right. Looking around, Ransome didn’t spot a helmet—the one thing he’d been praying to see in the rubble.

Val was on the other side of the gurney, on one knee, holding the guy’s limp hand. “Hang in there, buddy. They’re taking good care of you.” He looked up at Ransome and the bleakness in his eyes told him what he really didn’t want to know.

Two city police officers came over, their eyes were bloodshot as they spoke with the EMTs who raised the gurney and moved swiftly to the waiting ambulance. One of the EMTs patted one of the officers on the shoulder as he took out his phone and placed a call.

With an aching heart, Ransome tugged Val’s shirt and they hurried back to the ambulance Charity was in. Knowing it was the right thing to do, Ransome said, “Justin, you ride with her to the hospital. We’ll bring the truck and find out what’s going on with Justine and Grace. I’ll call Beau on the way.”

“Okay,” Justin said as he climbed into the ambulance at the EMT’s nod. “When you see Justine, kiss her for me.” Left unspoken in his husky tone was the hope that when they got to her, she was okay.

“Val! Ransome!” Charity called out, stopping the EMT from closing the door.

“Yeah, angel?” Ransome called.

Charity said, “Justine’s prom dress and all of our shopping from this morning was in the back of the SUV. Please get as much of it out of there as you’re able. Grace had stuff in there, too.” She sounded like she was choked up. “I love you. If you see her, tell her I love her.”

Ransome’s throat closed up on him. Val nodded and said, “You got it, babe.”

The ambulance took off and Ransome couldn’t help the empty feeling that assailed him with their absence. Charity was a vital part of his life and he sent a prayer of thanks heavenward that she was mostly okay, if a little banged up.

They found Ethan talking to Hank while he continued directing the emergency workers as they dealt with the injured people in the other two vehicles and began working on clearing the street. After spotting Ransome and Val, Ethan approached with Adam, while Jack stayed with Grace.

Ethan said, “The driver of the truck was texting when the accident happened. Hank said they found his phone.”

“That explains why he looked so scared earlier.”

“Damn it,” Val growled.

Hank joined them and nodded. “This job is hard on days like today. Dumb-asses think their conversations can’t wait until they get where they’re going. If Patterson dies, that driver’s looking at reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter.”