Russell's Return (20 page)

CHAPTER
18

“Good morning ma’am. I’m looking for
Jackson Ellis,” a well-dressed, cropped haired man said to the duty nurse. “I’m
his son, Ethan.”

“Good morning sir,” the woman replied. “I’m
sure his nurse will be glad to see you.”

“If my father is being himself, I bet
she is,” he replied with a knowing smile. “I’m surprised they haven’t put him
in a chemically induced coma yet.”

“It’s not medically necessary,” she said
with a sigh. “His friend is a medical doctor and would never stand for it. Your
father is in bed 8B.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Would you be able to
let me know Dr. Mannon’s bed as well?”

“Technically I can’t, but…”

Ethan held up his hand to forestall her answer.
“No. I’ll get Dad to tell me.”

“Fourth room on the right, sir. Have a
nice visit,” she said with a slight smile.

“I doubt it,” he smiled back.

Walking down the hall, Ethan quickly
found the room he was looking for. He took a deep breath as he walked in. His
father’s best friend was lying in one of the two beds and his dad was nowhere
in sight. “Good morning, Uncle Cowboy. Where is the big lug?”

“I was in the head, if you must know,”
Jackson answered as he came out of the restroom. “I only got shot, I didn’t
hurt my back to where I can barely walk like him.”

“I guess it must have hit your head.
It’s the only soft tissue you’ve got,” young Ethan said with a smile. “At least
that’s what Mama always said.”

“She knows me best. It’s good to see
you,” Jack said embracing his son. “I’m sure the old cowboy would give you one
of these too if he could.”

“So how have you been, young man?” the
older Ethan asked. “Obviously better than your father and me.”

“I’m doing well, sir,” Jack’s son
replied. “I’m still deciding what to do now that I’ve retired from the Navy.”

“Damn squid,” Jack muttered. He took a
great deal of pleasure in teasing his son about his choice of a military
career.

“Come on Jackson, leave the boy alone
after all that he has been through,” Ethan quietly chided.

“Yeah…there’s not a scar on him,” Jack
smiled. “I guess he was ugly enough without them.”

Young Ethan smirked at his father then
turned to his honorary uncle. “So, where is this grocery store with the
greatest donuts on earth?”

“
It’s
right downtown,
you can’t miss it,” the older Ethan answered. “Seek out my nephew Logan and say
hi for me.”

“Yes sir. I’ll be back soon with donuts.
Maybe dad won’t be so grumpy if I feed him.”

That brought a chuckle from both
hospital beds.

After young Ethan left, Jack turned to
his friend. “Does he seem all right to you? I worry about him.”

“He’s fine, Jack. He has enough of you
in him to get through anything.”

**********

Russell woke with a start, the sound of
gunshots ringing in his ears. When he was fully awake, he realized the sound he
was hearing wasn’t gunfire, but that it was coming from outside the house. His
mother had made good on her promise to have the barn renovated and made safe
again immediately. Hammers and assorted power tools sounded from the direction
of the old building. And damn it, he had overslept. His plan had been to slip
away at dawn to make things easier on everybody. Now he wasn’t sure what he
would do.

He rolled over to say good morning to
Emily but she wasn’t there. His heart pounded in his chest. After all he had
been through the day before, he needed her close. Without her there, the full
impact of what Vivienne had done gripped his chest and he found it hard to
breathe. Maybe he should see if Emily wanted to go to Vegas with him. They
could pull Miranda out of school for a while.

He jumped out of bed and checked the
bathroom before hurrying down the stairs.

“Ma, have you seen Emily?” he called
barging into the kitchen.

“I thought she was with you,” Evelyn said,
looking up from the newspaper. “Where are your pants, son?”

Russell looked down and sighed. “I’ll be
right back.” As he walked back up the stairs he contemplated where Emily could
have gone. He didn’t like the thought of not knowing where she was. He couldn’t
keep her safe if…Hell, he couldn’t even keep himself safe apparently.

Entering the kitchen again, this time
fully dressed, he grabbed a cup out of the cupboard and walked over to the
coffee pot. “She probably went home to get new clothes.”

“Yeah, she probably did,” Evelyn agreed.
“I think she was planning to take the day off after what happened yesterday. I
recommend you do the same, unless you plan on leaving.”

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do now
Ma. I have to find Emily first.”

“You all should go to Casper and spend
the day having fun,” Evelyn said. “Why don’t you call Emily and see what she
wants to do?”

Russell took his phone out of his pocket
and dialed her number. After eighteen rings, he hung up. “I’ll just walk over
and get her.”

Miranda came into the kitchen as he was
leaving. “I’ll be right back, squirt. You might want to go get dressed.”

Russell jogged down the path to the
cottage and slipped through the gate. There was something on her door. As he
got closer, he could tell it was a piece of paper with his name on it. His
stomach dropped.

Pulling the note off the door, he opened
the folded paper and read.

Russell,

I’m sorry. I can’t believe I brought tragedy on people
I care about again. I swear death and destruction follow me wherever I go, and
truthfully, I’m as scared for my own safety as much here as I was in Seattle.
Not only was there that incident, but after I lived with my grandma that
summer, she died in a car accident after dropping me off at home. And look what
happened to Chuck. He’s a drunk and probably won’t live past forty. Now you and
your family are suffering because of me. I’m not sure what to do or where to go
now, but I know I need to leave for a while at least. I love you Russell and
I’m so very sorry. Goodbye.

Russell’s teeth were clenched and tears
burned at the back of his eyes. His life was suddenly falling apart. He should
be the one running away. This whole moving home thing was a disaster. But now,
all of a sudden he knew he had to stay. He had a family here. What happened
with Vivienne was isolated and had nothing to do with his happiness in Harper’s
Rock. How could he have ever thought of leaving?

All of the flowers, calls and well
wishes that would come once word spread, along with the men working free of
charge to fix the barn, was something he didn’t realize he’d missed. Perhaps
because community wasn’t important to an eighteen-year-old he never knew what
he’d missed. The thought of going back to Vegas suddenly held minimal appeal to
him. It was 20/20 hindsight when he was reading Emily’s letter and realized
that he wanted Miranda to have a childhood like his.

“What am I going to do now?” he mumbled,
walking back to the main house.

“Where’s Emily?” Evelyn asked when he
walked into the kitchen alone.

He handed her the note and slumped onto
a bar stool, resting his head in his hands. “I don’t believe this is
happening,” he groaned.”

“Oh son, I’m so sorry. She’ll come
around. She usually has such a level head on her shoulders.”

“She’s scared though, Ma. She’s not
thinking straight and who knows if she ever will again. I should have known
that Vivienne would succeed in ruining my life somehow.”

“If you love Emily, Russell, then fight
for her. I would start by calling her mother. The number is in my address book
in the desk in the living room.” Evelyn took her coffee cup and headed up the
backstairs.

Russell walked over to the sofa in the
family room and lay down with a sigh. This week was just getting better and
better. It was only Tuesday. He dug the cell phone out of his pocket and opened
Emily’s contact. Would she maybe answer a text instead of a call?

“
Em,
I’m sorry you are so scared. I think we could work through it together. As for
blaming yourself, you shouldn’t. You can’t. NONE of it is your fault. I truly
believe everything that happened would have come about whether you were
involved in it or not. I love you. Please come back.”

Ten minutes later, he was laying there
with his eyes closed when his phone buzzed.

“I
love you too, Russell. I love Miranda like she’s my own. I don’t think I can
come back though. Nothing about Harper’s Rock feels right anymore. Nothing
feels safe. Give Miranda a goodbye hug for me. I’m thinking about heading back
to Seattle in a few days. If I’m never going to be safe again, I might as well
do it anonymously.”

Tears burned his eyes, but he refused to
let them fall. Damn her, didn’t she know the extent of the pain she was
causing? He typed back one last time
. “Well
then, I guess this is goodbye. Did you even think about what this will do to
Miranda? Probably not. It seems like you just run when things get tough.”

Not a full minute later, his phone
buzzed again.

“I’m
sorry Russell. When I get settled I’ll send my number. She can call me
anytime.”

Russell slammed his phone down on the
sofa table and laid back down.

His eyes closed and he drifted into a
dream-filled sleep. Emily was riding a horse across the ranch, her hair flying
behind her and a big smile on her face. She pulled back on the reins and the
horse came to a stop. Dismounting, she walked around to the front of Jasper and
rubbed his nose. Miranda ran over and with Emily’s help, she climbed onto the
old horse’s back. Her body relaxed as Jasper took her around in circles then
back to where they started.

Russell’s eyes came open and he sat up
suddenly. He knew exactly how he was going to get Emily back. The first thing
he needed to do was talk to his mother and then maybe his brothers.

Three hours later, after taking Miranda
for ice cream, he grabbed his phone and sat down on his bed. Once again, he
pulled up Emily’s contact info and messaged her. “
I need to know you’re safe. Are you staying with your mom?”

A few minutes later, the return text
came through
. “Yes, I’m at my mom’s. I’m
safe. Please don’t come here.”

Russell smiled. Everything was perfect.
He sent one last message.
“I love you
Emily Zane.”

Before heading downstairs to talk to his
mother, for the second time, about his plans, he called his brothers to see
what they thought of his idea. When that was over, he met up with Evelyn and
Miranda in the kitchen for a quick lunch. A half hour after that, he was in his
SUV headed into town. His brother’s grocery store was the first stop. He headed
to the floral counter and ordered two dozen red roses, to be delivered to
Emily’s mom’s house. Each rose would be in its own cellophane wrapper. He
remembered how much she had liked the single red rose he gave her, so that is
what she would get…twenty-four of them.

The management office was open when he
got there and Logan was sitting behind the desk holding his friend Jayna’s
baby. It seemed that they had been through their own violent confrontation and
were trying to recover from the day’s events. Russell made his visit quick and
headed off to do the rest of his errands then back to the ranch. Miranda and
Rizzy were outside playing together and Evelyn was on the porch watching them.
“Is everything settled?” she asked.

“Yeah Ma. Now we just wait.” He walked
inside and sat down at the breakfast bar. Waiting would be the hardest thing he
would do. He wanted to drive straight over there and tell her his plan, but he
would wait until after the flowers were delivered and she’d had the night to
sleep on it. Russell wasn’t the best with words, but he hoped the note he’d
included would convey what he wanted it to.

Emily,

Here are twenty four single red roses. I love
you so much and can’t stand the thought of losing you. I have a plan. I can
make Harper’s Rock a home for you. A home for us. I’ll stop by tomorrow so we
can discuss it.

Love Russell.

**********

Emily had tears in her eyes as she read
the note Russell sent her with the twenty-four beautiful flowers. She loved him
too. So very much. But…she just didn’t quite know what she was feeling. As
she’d walked to her cottage to get some fresh clothes that morning she had
suddenly become afraid. The same kind of fear she had felt every time she saw a
young, punk kid in Seattle after the shootings. Was her safe bubble forever
shattered? She somehow didn’t think she would ever feel safe for long. It
probably wasn’t possible.

Russell would be coming to see her but
it wouldn’t help either of them. If she didn’t feel safe, she couldn’t put her
burden on him, or on Miranda. That was the last thing the little girl needed.
Maybe, if she went to Seattle she could just disappear into a crowd and not
worry about anyone else. She would be afraid but at least she could be
anonymous. She wasn’t going to be good for anyone. Her plan was to find a job
at an anonymous clinic, live in an anonymous apartment and lead an anonymous
life. Her fears wouldn’t burden anyone but herself.