There was so much blood.
And she wasn’t good with blood.
Meagan pressed a fist to her mouth and fought back nausea. Joe had eased Hunter to the floor and was working on getting him stabilized until the ambulance could arrive. The best thing she could do for him was to stay out of Joe’s way.
Her eyes shifted to Gary, then to Steve, another Cedar Key officer. They had just stepped around Hunter and Joe and were putting handcuffs on Edmund.
She dropped her hand from her mouth and crossed her arms. She was dripping wet and starting to shiver. “Did you guys find Darci?”
Gary’s eyes widened. “Is she missing?”
“She came home but never made it inside. Edmund got to her first.”
The concern that flashed across Gary’s face put a solid knot of fear in her gut. God, please let her be okay.
And please let Hunter be okay. If he lost too much blood, or if his arm was damaged beyond repair... It was his dominant arm. He could be permanently injured. And it would be her fault. She had left California to escape danger, and instead had brought it with her.
Gary dashed out the door and down the hall, where he met Blake coming in from the living room. They almost collided.
Blake held up a hand. “You got the lockout kit?”
Gary cocked a brow. “Sure do. Why?”
“We’ve got someone who needs it. I heard noise coming from the trunk of the Corolla, like someone was inside. I knocked and hollered, and no one answered, but the thumps got louder and faster. As tiny as that trunk is, I’m guessing it’s Darci in there. You couldn’t fit someone like me or you in that suitcase-sized space.”
Instead of following them, Meagan continued to the dining room. When she flipped on the light and approached Jayden, fear filled his eyes. She pushed her still dripping hair away from her face and dropped to her knees in front of him. He shrank away from her, kicking his feet.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Miss Meagan won’t hurt you. Miss Meagan is going to rescue you. We’re not going to play this game anymore.”
She reached for the tape. Okay, this would hurt. “I’m going to take the tape off your face. It’s going to sting when I do, but not for long. Then I’m going to untie you and take you to Mommy.” Once she knew for sure that Mommy was okay.
Meagan grasped a corner of the tape and pulled, wincing in sympathy as she did. Jayden squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a deep breath. Then he let out an ear-piercing, bone-jarring scream. It wasn’t the scream of frustration so common among autistic children. It was a scream of pure terror.
As she untied the ropes, she tried to soothe him. But nothing she said penetrated. He alternated between sobbing and screaming, until her own frayed nerves were ready to snap. Before she could get the rope untied from his wrists, he squirmed out of her grasp and ran down the hall and into the master suite.
Where Hunter was lying unconscious and bleeding. And where Edmund lay facedown on the floor, also unconscious and likely with a bloody nose.
She ran after him. He didn’t need any more trauma tonight. She caught up to him in the doorway of the bathroom and scooped him up, gasping when her cold, wet T-shirt molded against her stomach. As she hurried down the hall toward the front of the house, he put up as much of a fight as his little body could muster, all the while continuing to scream and sob.
By now, Gary would have Darci’s car open. The Cedar Key Police Department had a lockout kit and regularly helped tourists and residents who locked their keys in their cars. According to Hunter, they hadn’t found a car yet that they couldn’t get into. An older Toyota Corolla would be a piece of cake.
When she stepped onto the front porch, Gary was standing at Darci’s open driver’s door, bent at the waist, as if looking for the trunk release. Apparently he found it, because it suddenly exploded open. Blake stood at the back, ready to assist.
Meagan sprinted down the porch steps and hit the driveway at a run. Judging by the force with which Darci had kicked that trunk open, she wasn’t incapacitated. And Jayden needed his mother.
When Meagan reached the car, Darci was sitting up, but her mouth was taped and her hands were tied behind her back. Her ankles were bound, too. Blake pulled the tape from her face.
Jayden’s screams immediately stopped, but the sobs intensified. He leaned so far to the side, arms outstretched toward his mother, that Meagan was afraid she would drop him.
“It’s okay, baby.” Darci’s voice cracked. “Mommy’s okay. And you’re okay.”
As soon as Blake untied her hands and feet, Darci sprang out of the trunk and grasped her son. For several moments she crooned in his ear, rocking back and forth, until his sobs became nothing more than jagged breaths. Finally, he rested against her shoulder, and she looked at them past his little blond head.
“It was Edmund, wasn’t it? I didn’t even see him. I had just gotten out of my car. Before I could close the door, someone grabbed me from behind, wrapped his arm around my neck and squeezed.”
She put a hand to her throat and shook her head. “He wasn’t strangling me. I could still breathe. But within a few seconds everything went black.”
Blake frowned. “I think you experienced a wrestler’s choke hold.”
“Whatever it was, the next thing I remember is waking up in the dark, bound and gagged. It took me a few minutes to figure out where I was.” Creases settled between her brows, and her eyes locked with Meagan’s. “I was sure Edmund was the one who attacked me, and all I could think about was that you and Jayden were inside with him.”
Two ambulances arrived, and first Hunter, then Edmund were brought out. Hunter was now conscious. Edmund wasn’t. Meagan had put more strength behind that blow than she’d realized.
She moved to the gurney carrying Hunter. His tanned face was blanched and lined with pain. Guilt stabbed through her. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.”
He reached for her hand as she walked beside him. “I know I’m a little out of it, but I thought it was Edmund who did this.”
Warmth filled her chest, accompanied by longing. Despite everything that had happened tonight, he could still tease her.
But she wasn’t letting herself off the hook that easily. “If I had gone ahead and left when I was planning to, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
The paramedics stopped at the open doors of the ambulance, but Hunter didn’t release her hand. “If you remember, I’m the one who brought you back. So if my getting hurt is anyone’s fault other than Edmund’s, it would have to be mine.”
She gave him a weak smile. “You saved my life. Thank you.”
“And you saved mine. So we’re even.” He tried to return her smile, but his was more of a grimace. “You’re pretty dangerous with a vase. Remind me to never make you mad.”
He dropped her hand and the paramedics loaded him into the back of the ambulance.
“I’m getting a ride to the hospital.” She hollered the words just before the doors closed, then stepped back and crossed her arms. She was even colder than before. Now her teeth were chattering. Whether from being soaking wet, or in a delayed reaction to almost dying tonight, she wasn’t sure. But she was chilled all the way to the core.
She needed to get into some dry clothes. Then maybe she could get Blake to take her to the hospital. The doctors likely wouldn’t let her see Hunter for some time. He would probably have to have surgery, at least to have the bullet removed. He might even have to have reconstructive surgery on the arm, a pin inserted if there was damage to the bone.
Whatever would have to be done, she would be there when he awoke. Because regardless of what he said, his injury was her fault.
But more than anything, she would be there for him because she loved him.
Once he recovered, she would have decisions to make. Such as whether to remain in Cedar Key, seeing Hunter on a regular basis, hoping that he would somehow come to feel the same way about her that she felt about him. Or accepting the fact that she and Hunter were destined to be nothing more than good friends. Or giving up on life in Cedar Key altogether and moving back to California.
Those were the decisions she would have to face eventually.
But not tonight. Tonight she would remember the kiss on his boat and how cherished she had felt in those moments. And how he often looked at her with emotion swimming in his blue eyes.
She clasped her hands and brought them to her chest. Yes, tonight she would hold on to that warmth.
And cling to her impossible dreams.
* * *
Moody.
That was how Meagan would describe Hunter over these past two weeks. And uncomfortable. At least around her.
The problem was, he knew how she felt about him. At least he had to have a strong suspicion. She never was that good at hiding her emotions. And now that she had become part of his inner circle—Blake, Allison, Sydney, Wade and Darci—he couldn’t avoid her.
But he didn’t have anything to worry about. She wasn’t stalker material. She wouldn’t try to force someone to feel something for her that wasn’t there, no matter how much she cared for him. She would just quietly walk away.
And that was exactly what she was doing.
She sighed and placed the small stack of folded clothes into one side of the duffel bag. She was leaving with all the items she’d come with, plus some art supplies, her camera and a few extra changes of clothes.
But, she had traded the fear and uncertainty for an overwhelming sense of loss. Which was ridiculous. She couldn’t lose something she’d never had.
Last night at church, she had said goodbye to everyone. There had been lots of hugs and more than a few tears. Even Jayden had given her a tentative wave. She hadn’t been able to coax a hug from him. But that was okay. Since his ordeal, he had been exceptionally clingy, only turning loose of Darci to go to her mother. Hopefully, in time, he would forget. He was only two.
Amidst all the goodbyes, though, Hunter had stood silently to the side, his blue eyes impossible to read. She had hoped he would try to talk her into staying. It wouldn’t have taken much.
But he hadn’t. She shouldn’t have expected anything different. It wasn’t just losing his fiancée. It was the fact that Hunter had impossibly high standards. And she didn’t meet them.
She stuffed the last of her belongings into her bag, then laid the house key on the counter and went to wait on the porch. The cab would arrive any minute to take her to the bus station. But there was one person who deserved a special final goodbye on her way out.
When Meagan walked into Darci’s Collectibles and Gifts, her throat tightened. Darci had been so much more than an employer.
“I couldn’t leave without saying bye one more time. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Darci came out from behind the counter and wrapped her in a crushing hug that belied her small size. “I wish you didn’t have to go. But I understand why. Your mom and sister are going to be happy to have you home.”
Yes, they would be. At the time they came to visit, she hadn’t yet decided whether she would stay. And not knowing when they would see each other again, they had all cried when they’d parted at the bus station.
Darci frowned. “I had really hoped that you and Hunter would get together. He cares about you. A lot. In the four years I’ve known him, this is the first time anyone has gotten past his barriers.”
“A lot of good it’s done. I believe his mind understands that I was left with no choice, but his heart can’t get past the fact that I lied to him. He’ll never fully trust me. Even if he did decide to give a relationship a try, I can’t live like that.”
“I don’t blame you. I couldn’t, either.” Darci stepped forward and gave her another hug. When she released her, there were tears in her eyes. “You’re going to find a church when you get home, right?”
“Definitely. And I’m going to stay in touch. Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll find my way back to Cedar Key, at least for a vacation.”
As Meagan walked out the door and got into the cab, she was fighting back tears herself. In a little over four months, Darci had become closer to her than any of her childhood friends. And she hadn’t just grown to love Darci and Hunter and the others. She had grown to love Cedar Key itself—the quaintness, the tranquility, the Old Florida charm. The thought of going away left her with a big hole in her heart.
The cabdriver turned into the parking lot of the bus station and eased to a stop. After paying the fare, Meagan removed her items from the car—her purse, backpack and duffel bag, all her worldly possessions. Now that she was going to be able to put down deep roots, she could start acquiring some comforts of life rather than just the bare necessities.
As she approached the ticket counter, the clerk looked up, and her eyes lit with recognition, followed by disappointment. “I guess it didn’t work out.”
“No, I’m afraid it didn’t.”
“Sorry to hear that. He seemed like a nice young man.”
Yeah, too nice.
“So where to?”
“Napa, California.”
Meagan paid for the ticket, then settled onto a chair to read. The bus wouldn’t leave for another three hours. She glanced at the door. No, Hunter wasn’t going to show up this time. He’d come after her the first time because he had a case to solve. Now everything was neatly wrapped up. And he was ready to go back to his ordered life. No, today no one would stop her.
She pulled a paperback book out of her duffel and frowned at the cover. It was a romantic suspense. She had lived enough suspense during the past few months to last a lifetime. And romance? Well, she just wasn’t in the mood.
Instead, she chose the book of poetry that had belonged to Charlie. Maybe it would help keep her mind off Hunter. Soon she would be on her way, each minute carrying her closer to the life she had left four and a half months ago, a life she’d never thought she would see again.
She had her family. She had her career. The future looked bright. Once she crossed the Florida border, she would feel that she had left Cedar Key and its memories behind. Then she would be ready to embrace the future.
A future without Hunter.
* * *
Hunter eased to a stop on Dock Street, his boat trailing behind the Tundra. A family of tourists crossed in front of him. After a slow September, the cooler October weather was bringing more activity to Cedar Key, which helped everybody, including Darci.
The small group stepped up onto the sidewalk and headed toward the Island Trader gift shop. Hunter pressed the gas and sighed. The omelet he’d had for breakfast sat like a rock in his gut.
Meagan was gone. He’d seen her leave. At least, he’d seen a cab stop at the curb in front of Darci’s store and had watched her climb in. She didn’t notice him. He was sitting at a stop sign a block away, waiting to cross Second. Even though traffic was clear, he didn’t budge. He sat for several seconds staring at her, trying to imprint her image on his mind, until a horn had sounded behind him.
By now she would be at the bus station, ready to head back to her life in California. It was for the best. He really didn’t know what he wanted. And she had her own issues. She needed time to heal.
He reached the end of Dock Street and followed the curve around to the left, headed toward the city boat ramp. As he drew closer, he spotted Blake sitting on a bench looking his way, his right leg extended and his cane propped against the seat next to him. What was he doing there? He had a boat of his own, a really nice one. So sitting at the city ramp watching boaters come and go wasn’t a usual pastime for him.
Hunter backed his boat down the ramp, and by the time he stepped out of the truck, Blake had made his way onto the dock. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the metal railing.
“I figured you’d show up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Any time something’s bothering you and you need to clear your head, you take the boat out.”
Hunter stepped into the water to unhook the winch cable from the boat. “What makes you think something’s bothering me? I can’t work right now. I figured I’d go fishing.”
“Uh-huh. So where is Meagan?”
“I assume she’s at the bus station.”
“You let her leave.” It was a statement, not a question, but it was filled with disbelief. And a good dose of disgust.
“Of course I let her leave. What was I supposed to do, arrest her?” He stepped onto the dock, holding the bow line. He had to do everything left-handed, because his right was pretty much useless. A cast ran from his shoulder to below his elbow, and inside, a pin and screws held the bone together. And Blake seemed more prepared to harass than help.
“No, but you could have told her you wanted her to stay.”
Hunter guided the boat off the trailer, then squatted to tie the line to a cleat. “What if I don’t want her to stay?”
“That question doesn’t even deserve a response.”
Blake was right. It didn’t. He wanted Meagan to stay as much as he had ever wanted anything. But to ask her would involve making promises he wasn’t sure he could keep. Maybe not in so many words, but the implications would be there.
He had thought about it and prayed about it and agonized over the decision until it had almost driven him crazy.
He moved up the dock and got into his truck. “It doesn’t matter whether I want her to stay. She has a life in California. Now that Edmund is going to be put away for a long time, she has no reason not to go back. What she does with her life is none of my concern.”
“If Meagan’s staying or leaving wasn’t a big deal to you, you wouldn’t have been so grouchy the past two weeks.”
“I haven’t been grouchy.” He closed the door and stepped on the gas to pull the trailer up the ramp. After parking the truck, he returned to the dock.
Blake nailed him with a judgmental glare. “You want to know what your problem is?”
Hunter stepped onto the boat and moved to the back to start the motor. “No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me, anyway.”
“You’re in love with her, but you’re too thickheaded and proud to see it.”
“Pride doesn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Yes, it does. You’ve spent your whole life wrapped up in always being the good son, nothing like your brother.”
Hunter scowled at Blake. He was the only one in Cedar Key who knew about Howard, and he was using it against him.
His friend obviously wasn’t finished. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but someone needs to tell you. You’re so concerned about your squeaky-clean reputation, not one woman in a thousand is going to be perfect enough to meet your standards.”
“Look, I’m not just thinking of me. I’m thinking of her, too.”
“How?”
“Now that Edmund is no longer a threat, she’ll ditch the alias and go back to her real name. How do you think the people of Cedar Key will take to being deceived for the past several months?” Everything she had presented them with had been a lie. How would they ever trust her? How could he ever trust her?
“The people of Cedar Key will be reasonable enough to see that she had no choice. And they’ll admire her courage and strength and ingenuity.”
“Maybe that’s true. But I’m responsible for setting an example for my kids.” He had drilled it into them how important integrity was. To always tell the truth, even when it was hard. He had standards to maintain, both as a mentor to young people and an officer of the law.
He untied the dock line, then kicked the motor into reverse. Even though he was moving away, Blake’s words still reached him.
“Someone was trying to kill her, so she changed her name, just like they do in witness protection. Now she’s changing it back. It’s not a big deal.”
Hunter backed away from the dock, then shifted to forward. Blake managed one more comment.
“Face it. You’re the only one with a problem.”
He gunned it and sped away from the ramp. Maybe he was. But his problem wasn’t pride. It was trust. Being repeatedly lied to had a tendency to make one leery of believing what others said.
He had never set out to be “the good son.” He had ended up with the title by default. Almost from the time they could walk, Howard had seemed bent on destruction. And had caused their parents countless hours of grief.
Hunter had always tried to be as good as his brother was bad. Praise was a great motivator. So, unlike Howard, he towed the line, always took the right path and never got into trouble.
And he was mighty proud of it.
He pulled back on the throttle as realization broadsided him. Was that what Blake was talking about? Was he really proud? And was that pride making him so judgmental of others that he didn’t consider Meagan good enough for him?
Or was he, as Blake said, so concerned about his great reputation that he didn’t want to consider hooking up with someone who might have a few blemishes on theirs?
With Denise, it hadn’t been an issue. She was a pastor’s daughter, raised in the church, well thought of in the community, known for her transparency.
Since her death, he hadn’t been willing to love again. But now, for the first time in four years, he was ready. Something had happened over the past few weeks, so gradual he hadn’t noticed the change. Healing had begun.
Was Meagan the one? He didn’t know.
But one thing was certain. If he let her go back to California, he would never find out.
* * *
Time moved at a snail’s pace.
Meagan sighed and dropped her gaze from the clock on the wall to the book of poetry lying open in her lap. Voices buzzed around her, and across the room, a mother tried to quiet a crying baby.
The door opened, but she refused to lift her head. She had spent the past hour and a half looking up in anticipation every time someone opened the bus station door, then drowning in disappointment when it turned out to be yet another stranger.
No more. It was time to face the stark truth. Hunter wasn’t coming.
She turned the page, to “Twenty Years Hence,” by Walter Savage Landor.
A figure stepped into her peripheral vision and drew closer. Probably another passenger waiting for his departure time.
Twenty years hence my eyes may grow,
If not quite dim, yet rather so...
It was a man wearing shorts and tennis shoes. She could tell that much without her eyes leaving the page. He approached and sat immediately to her right. With all the empty chairs in the place, he had to choose the one right next to her?
Yet yours from others they shall know,
Twenty years hence.
A familiar scent wafted toward her, the faintest hint of evergreen, tipped with spice. Her thoughts tumbled over one another.
“Mind if I interrupt your reading?” The voice close to her ear was liquid smooth, sending goose bumps cascading over her.
She squelched the unexpected urge to throw herself into his arms, and instead rested her hands on the book, fingers entwined. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to ask you to stay.”
“I’ve already bought my ticket.”
“You can turn it in.”
She shifted in her chair to angle herself toward him. Ever since she had decided to leave, she had wanted nothing more than for Hunter to ask her to stay. Now that he was doing just that, she was no longer sure. He had given her no indication that he felt anything deeper than friendship for her. If it was all going to lead to a dead end, she would be better off leaving now.
“Why? Why do you want me to stay?”
He glanced around him, and she followed his gaze. No one seemed interested in their business. No one except the clerk. She was the same one who had been at the ticket counter the last time. She currently had no customers and sat staring at them, one ear cocked. She wasn’t even trying to be inconspicuous.
Hunter shifted in his chair. “Can we talk outside?”
She shrugged. “Whatever you have to say, I don’t see any reason why it can’t be said right here.”
He looked around again. They had garnered the attention of a couple other people. “Come on, Meagan, let’s go outside.”
“You’re way too concerned about what everyone thinks of you. You want me to stay? Prove it.”
He heaved a sigh, full of resignation, and his eyes locked with hers. “Yes, I want you to stay. I want you to stay, because if you leave, I’m afraid I’ll never see you again. And I don’t know that I could live with that.”
“And if I stay?”
“I don’t know.” His gaze shifted to the opposite wall. For several long moments he was silent, the struggle inside evident on his face.
And she waited. He didn’t have to commit to forever. She wasn’t ready to commit to forever. But he had to at least be willing to give it a shot. She wasn’t going to stay in Cedar Key to be just another one of Hunter’s friends. She had friends at home.
Finally, he turned toward her and reached for her hand. His right hand rested in his lap, his arm still in the cast.
“I was happy with my life. I had my friends, my job, my church activities and my volunteer work. I stayed busy, and life was satisfying. Until you came. The more I got to know you, the more I began to see that something was missing. Something I had convinced myself that I didn’t need. I was wrong.”
He leaned toward her, tenderness in his eyes. If he was aware of the audience they now had, he apparently didn’t care. “Remember when you asked me to show you what it’s like to feel loved and cherished? I kissed you. And it shook me to the core. You know why? Because I meant it. Every bit of it.”
Meagan released a breathy sigh. The audience was no longer forefront in her mind, either. Hunter had just in so many words told her he loved her. Her heart stuttered, and her stomach settled into a quivery lump.
He squeezed her hand. “I love you, Meagan. And if you’re ready to give this thing a try, I am, too. Please come back to Cedar Key with me.”
She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. Hunter had come for her. He was asking her to return with him. And he had just told her he loved her. In front of a dozen strangers. But there was one more thing she needed. Without it, she wouldn’t go back.
“What about trust? You have mine. You’ve had it almost from the start. But if I don’t have yours, it’ll never work.”
He drew in a deep breath. “I trust you, sweetheart. I see your integrity, your honesty and your selflessness. Lying goes against everything inside of you. I couldn’t see that before. My pride got in the way. But now I know. You’re beautiful, inside and out.” His gaze locked with hers and held. “Please come back with me.”
Joy flooded her. Hunter had just given her everything she desired. “Yes, I’ll come back.”
Applause broke out, started by the clerk, reminding Meagan that they did in fact have an audience. Hunter stood and pulled her to her feet.
“Let’s get that ticket cashed in.”
When they reached the counter, the clerk already had the money counted out. “Good luck to you kids. I hope you find happiness.” Her eyes locked with Meagan’s as she tilted her head toward Hunter. “Honey, you need to get some help for that temper of yours.”
“What?” She looked at Hunter. Then realization dawned, and she shook her head. “Oh, no, that wasn’t me. He got shot. I didn’t—”
Hunter began to laugh. With a hand on the small of her back, he guided her toward the door, still laughing. They stepped out into the October sunshine, and her own laughter mixed with his. Giddiness swept through her, an odd sense of weightlessness.
She had come to Cedar Key to escape. To live out her life alone, in safe obscurity.
Instead she had found love.
Hunter walked her to the truck, and she leaned against it, waiting for him to open the door. When he stepped closer and planted a hand next to her, her head swam. He didn’t exactly have her pinned. His right arm was at his side, still in the cast. But even if he had had her totally caged in, she wouldn’t have wanted to get away. His gaze was warm, everything he was feeling shimmering in those gorgeous blue eyes. This time she wasn’t going to have to ask.
He leaned closer. The clerk was probably watching through the window. Several other people likely were, too. But the moment his lips met hers, all other distractions faded into nothingness. There was only Hunter and his love and prospects for a bright and happy future.
Yes, she had walked away from everything.
And found so much more.