Eli heard the second gunshot and fear for Holly grabbed his heart.
Joel was already at the cabin, climbing out of his car. Eli’s window was down and Joel approached him, frowning. “I still can’t get the sheriff on the line.”
“I think Alex is the one behind all this. Don’t let the man catch you off guard.” Eli jumped out of the car, his gun in hand, ignoring Joel’s shocked stare. Then he stopped, turned back. “I mean it, Joel, I have proof.”
Joel’s jaw clenched, he hesitated then nodded.
The door to the cabin stood open and Eli approached it with care. The shot had come from his left, but he had to check the interior of the building first.
Stepping in, he saw Jarrod Parker leaning over Holly’s mother, who sat on the edge of the couch, rubbing her eyes.
“Freeze, Parker. Where’s Holly?”
The man spun around and raised his hands when he saw Eli’s gun. “I didn’t know what he was going to do. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
Joel stepped forward. “We’ll figure that out later. Where’s Alex and Holly?”
“I don’t know. Holly sicced her dog on Alex and then ran out the door.” The man’s throat bobbed and sweat poured from his brow. “I didn’t know what he was doing, I swear I didn’t. I…I think he’s going to kill her.”
Eli bolted from the cabin yelling behind him, “I’m going after Holly. Get a doctor out here for Mrs. Maddox.”
Not bothering to wait and see if his orders were followed, Eli took off, his feet pounding the hard earth. Absently, he registered the snow that had started to fall while he’d been in the cabin. Wind whipped around him, digging under his collar and stinging his neck. His eyes searched the ground and saw the scuffed earth heading in the direction of the trees.
Where would she go?
Distant barking reached his ears as did the sound of the rushing waterfall. Duster?
Gun held in front of him, Eli headed for the waterfall. A siren sounded behind him and when he looked back, he could see two other cruisers pulling up to the house.
Joel had Jarrod Parker cuffed.
Eli resumed his run toward the waterfall. Duster’s barking increased in volume.
“Duster? Holly?” he yelled, not really expecting Holly to hear him.
Duster crashed from around a tree and yipped at him then took off back toward the falls.
Eli noted the dog’s wet fur and spurred his feet to move faster over the uneven ground. He tripped once, caught himself and kept going.
Fear flooded him. Was Holly even still alive? He had to believe that. His heart wouldn’t let him think otherwise. Had she fallen in the water?
Eyes roving, Eli took in everything, noting the freshly crunched path his feet now trod. Thankfully, the snow hadn’t started earlier. Their trail would be completely covered in about thirty minutes.
They’d gone to the left. No doubt Holly trying to take cover in the woods. Hurrying, he made his way forward, to the sound of the river greeting his ears. The crashing falls were just up ahead.
And so were Holly and Alex.
Bursting into the clearing beside the water, he saw the two locked together in a struggle in the middle of the waist-deep river. Holly looked ready to lose at any moment.
Fortunately, the water didn’t flow so fast that one couldn’t stand up in it, but it was frigid cold and that meant almost more danger than possible drowning.
Forging a path in that direction, Eli yelled, “Let her go, Alex!”
The man either didn’t hear him or ignored him.
Alex swung Holly to the side and shoved her under.
And held her.
Eli’s heart dropped into his toes. “Alex!” The scream ripped from him and he trained his gun on the man’s heart. Alex finally looked up and spotted Eli.
Fury and desperation flashed across his features and his grip must have loosened as Holly managed to get her head above water. Then Alex went down.
Holly had pulled his legs out from under him.
Good girl, Holly, keep fighting, honey. God, help me out here, please!
Eli hit the water running. The cold sucked the breath from him and nearly knocked him off his feet. But he had to get to Holly.
The water churned as it shoved Holly and Alex closer to the edge of the waterfall.
“Holly!”
She heard him and whirled. Her feet went out from under her again and for a few heart-stopping moments, Eli couldn’t spot her. Then he saw Alex with a grip on her jacket. She slid out of it before he could get a better grip and slogged her way toward him. He could see her teeth chattering and her lips were blue. He had to get her out of the water now.
“Come on, Holly, you can do it.”
Duster now stood on the banks of the river, barking nonstop.
“Eli!” she called and held her hands out toward him.
“Come on!”
Making his way toward her as fast as he could, he saw her strength ebbing.
And Alex’s furious strides rapidly closed the distance between them.
* * *
Everything in her said to give up. She could hear Alex cursing behind her, the falls rushing just ahead and Eli shouting at her to come on.
Exhaustion pulled at her. She wanted to sink into it, let the water take her wherever it would.
But she couldn’t. Her mother needed her. She wanted a future with Eli.
And she wanted justice.
She had to make it to Eli.
Please, God, help me.
Her legs gave out and she went down on one knee. The current tugged at her.
She let it swing her around to see Alex standing on a rock in the middle of the river, his gun aimed in her direction. Stupidly, she wondered if it would work after being submerged in the water.
Then she heard the crack.
Waited for the slam of the bullet.
Only it never came.
As though in slow motion, she watched Alex tumble from his rock and hit the water.
Then someone had her by the arms and her head bounced against a hard chest.
Nearly numb, she just wanted to sleep. Vaguely she wondered why she didn’t feel cold anymore.
Just numb. She wanted to ask about her mother, but couldn’t form the words.
Cold lips pressed against her forehead then everything faded to black.
* * *
Eli pulled Holly from the water. Worried about hypothermia, he knew they had to get her warmed up. He ignored the fact that he was shivering uncontrollably.
“Eli!”
Joel. The one who’d shot Alex. Keeping Holly next to him, he shouted, “I’m coming.”
“Ambulance is here. I called it for Holly’s mom, but managed to drag Alex’s hide out of the water and they’ve got him, too. I’ve got another one on the way. By the time we get her back to the house, it should be here.”
“We’ve got to get her warmed up. She’s not even shivering anymore and her breathing seems shallow.”
Eli felt his own legs tremble as he carried her, her beautiful black and red outfit now weighted down, dripping.
But he’d get her to the ambulance.
Fighting the fatigue and ignoring the chills racking him, he finally made it to the cabin.
Joel met him outside and said, “Mr. Parker made a full confession in hopes for a lighter sentence. Harlan took him on in. How’s Holly?”
“Cold.”
Mrs. Maddox, looking groggy but aware, got one look at her daughter and gave a small cry. “Holly.”
“Can you get her in a warm shower?” he asked her mother.
She nodded, but before they could act, the third ambulance pulled in and Eli let the emergency personnel take over. Soon, they had Holly in the back of the vehicle wrapped in warm blankets, doing their best to get her body temperature up. Eli climbed in after her. Mrs. Maddox said she felt well enough to ride up front.
A paramedic started an IV of warm fluids. At Eli’s raised brow, the female technician smiled. “When Joel called for another ambulance, he said something about being near the waterfall. We came prepared.”
“Good job.”
“Here.” She opened a bin behind her and pulled out another blanket. “It’s warm.”
Eli took it and wrapped it around himself, but didn’t think it was going to do much good. He was soaking wet and cold but much more concerned about the unconscious woman in front of him.
“How’s her heart rate?”
Often people suffering from hypothermia went into cardiac arrest.
The paramedic listened. “Strong and steady. She’s breathing better, too. Temp’s creeping back up.”
Eli felt relief flood him.
Thirty minutes later, they pulled into the hospital. Holly opened her eyes when the ambulance came to a stop.
“Eli? Mom?” Terror shot across her face. “Alex?”
He grabbed her hand. “Hey, your mom’s fine. Alex is…in custody. And everything’s going to be all right.”
There was no more time to say anything as Holly was lowered from the ambulance and rushed into the emergency room.
Eli watched the door shut behind her, then he closed his eyes and breathed a prayer of thanks.
* * *
When Holly opened her eyes, she squinted against the brightness. “Turn the light off,” she mumbled.
The bed shifted. Someone sat beside her. She sniffed. Eli. Her stomach flipped at his familiar scent. A scent she’d come to love.
“How’s my mom?” she whispered.
Eli’s deep voice rumbled to her. “The doctor said she was okay. You can see her a little later.”
“And Alex?” She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
Eli dropped his gaze. “He died in the ambulance.”
She sucked in a deep breath, feeling sadness for such a wasted life. “Oh.”
Her eyelids felt so heavy. She closed them.
Eli spoke again. “Are you still with me?”
“Yeah. Just tired.”
“Alex’s dad was behind the whole mess involving you.”
“The break-in at my store?”
He nodded. “Alex hired some punk from a neighboring town to throw a scare into you. Joel tracked him down. The kid didn’t know who told him to do it, but phone records trace back to the pay phone near the sheriff’s office so it’s a pretty good bet it was Alex that made the call.”
“And the men in the black car?”
“Already taken care of. Alex’s dad hired them when he realized his son wasn’t making any progress with you. One of them shot Sassy, too.”
She grimaced. “He wanted my land. Alex said I should have just married him and none of this would have ever happened. On the one hand, he was doing everything he could to get me to fall in love with him. On the other, he was trying to scare me into running to him. That was him at my house, wasn’t it? And in the car at the church?”
His hand rubbed her arm. It felt good. He said, “Yes. We think so. Apparently, Mr. Harwood, Sr. gave Alex an ultimatum. Get your land one way or another or get lost.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “What? He did?”
“Yes. So Alex had to step up the incidents. He was trying to get you to run to him for protection.”
“I ran to you instead.”
Eli leaned over to kiss her lips. She reveled in the feeling until she remembered. She pushed him back. “The auction!”
“All taken care of. Mary and the rest of the committee stepped in and took over like champs.”
Holly wilted back against the bed, lips still tingling from his kiss. Lifting a hand, she caressed his cheek. He needed to shave. “I’m so glad you came home when you did, that you were here for me during this horrid time.”
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here before.”
“It’s all right. You’re here now. And you kept Valentine’s Day from being quite a deadly day. I don’t suppose I’ll ever look at February foureenth the same again.” She shivered and closed her eyes. Felt him lean in for another kiss.
“I love you, Holly Maddox. I’ve loved you for a long time, but now I know how to love you. Like Christ loves us. Unselfishly and unconditionally.”
Tears flooded her eyes. “I love you, too, Eli. But you’ve got a new job, you’re leaving again,” she whispered.
He brushed the tears from her cheeks. “No, I’m not. You ran out before I had a chance to tell you that, yes, I had applied for the position some months ago, but then after my partner died and Dad got hurt and I came home…” He shrugged. “My priorities had changed. I forgot about the job. In fact, I just assumed they’d already filled it since it had been so long since the interview. But I don’t want it. And I don’t want to spend the rest of my life without you. I turned it down and accepted the job as interim sheriff of Rose Mountain, North Carolina. I plan to stay and help Dad at the farm and run for election in the next race for sheriff.”
Speechless, Holly could only stare at him. “For real?”
He placed his lips on hers and her stomach flipped and quivered and she shivered all over again.
This time it didn’t have anything at all to do with being cold.
She was very, very warm.
He smiled against her lips. “Yeah. For real. Happy Valentine’s Day, darling.”
She decided it wasn’t such a bad day after all.
* * * * *