Sunflower Lane Read online

  A moment later Wes was on him, pinning him down, landing blow after blow. The big man slumped unconscious beneath him.

  “Don’t . . . kill him, Wes,” she gasped, clutching the kitchen table, her voice shaking.

  He was back on his feet in an instant, racing to her side, enfolding her in his arms. “Sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” he said thickly, holding her tight.

  “You got here just in . . . time. . . .”

  “Nah, you had this. Good work, sweetheart. You could teach me some moves.”

  He squeezed her gently, then let her go, his gaze cold as he trained it on the two men. “Call Hodge, Annabelle. Tell him to get out here right now, okay? Got any duct tape, honey?”

  The old man was still coughing, on his knees now, his eyes red and inflamed, his face convulsing with pain. Wes unbuckled his belt and Annabelle ran to the storeroom, grabbing a roll of duct tape from Ron’s old toolbox.

  “They . . . destroyed my cell phone,” she managed as she returned with the tape.

  “Sorry about that, sweetheart. I knew something was wrong. I kept trying to call you. Ethan and Jimmy are safe. They’re on their way to be checked out at the clinic.”

  “Thank God!” Her eyes filled with grateful tears as he handed her his phone, and she quickly called the sheriff’s office.

  Wes first strapped the big man’s arms behind his back, then duct-taped the old man to the legs of the kitchen table.

  “It’s over, Annabelle. It’s all over, sweetheart.” He came to her again and wrapped his arms around her gently. She was shivering, damn it.

  He pressed a soothing kiss to her forehead, his eyes dark with regret. “I’m so sorry, baby. This was my fault. I brought this scum here. I’d give anything if you hadn’t got caught up in it. I should have left town sooner—”

  “No.” She threw her arms around his neck. “Don’t say that, Wes. It’s their fault. Not yours. You saved my life.”

  “It never should have been endangered.” He felt shaken and sick just thinking what would have happened if he hadn’t come back when he did. And if Annabelle hadn’t fought back, hadn’t known how to protect herself.

  “Sweetheart, if anything ever happened to you—” His gaze locked on hers as it struck him that he might have lost her for good.

  Something turned upside down and inside out within him. He stood frozen, his heart slowing in his chest.

  “It didn’t,” she murmured, touching his face. “Because of you.”

  As he stroked a hand through her curls, he wondered how in hell he was going to leave this woman. This exquisite, brave, loving woman, who was looking at him with such softness and trust in her eyes. This woman who’d made him feel a kind of peace he’d never known.

  But before he could find an answer, sirens sounded far off, quickly drawing closer.

  The big man stirred and groaned on the floor.

  Reluctantly Wes let her go and pivoted back to keep an eye on his prisoners.

  “Soon as Hodge gets this scum out of here, we’ll go to the clinic and fetch Ethan. Where are the girls?”

  “Charlotte’s. Oh, God, I need to call them. They’ve been so worried.”

  “We’ll pick them up, too. Do you want to get checked out at the clinic? Did they hurt you at all?”

  She laughed shakily. “They only scared me half to death.”

  “They never will again. No one will ever lay a hand on you again. I swear it.”

  Wes had never felt such a strong surge of emotion—relief, tenderness, love.

  Love?

  To his surprise, the word didn’t scare him. Though he felt something he’d never thought would touch him, claim him, he recognized it as right and good and impossible to deny. He loved Annabelle Harper.

  Leaning down, he caught her lips in his as sirens roared through the night, and came to a screeching halt right on Sunflower Lane.

  They held each other, and the danger and the panic and the fear all faded.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  The annual Fourth of July parade turned out better than its organizers could ever have hoped.

  The sun shone all day in the huge blue Montana sky, glazing the lavender mountains with sheer light as crowds of people, kids, dogs, and babies lined the sidewalks of Lonesome Way.

  Colorful floats and trucks painted red, white, and blue cruised down Main Street. People cheered almost nonstop. Those riding the floats waved American flags, singing “This Land Is Your Land,” accompanied by the Lonesome Way High School Marching Band.

  The mayor and his wife were dressed as George and Martha Washington on their float sailing down Main Street. Then Madison Hodge, the sheriff’s granddaughter and an up-and-coming singer/songwriter, strummed her guitar on another gaily decorated float and sang “America the Beautiful,” while everyone in the crowd joined in.

  Children walked and skipped in the parade and some rode bicycles decorated with red, white, and blue ribbons. The bake sale table at the very end of the parade route did fantastic business with not only apple and peach pies for sale, but cookies, brownies, peanut butter cups, and Fourth of July sheet cakes—as well as huge blue-and-white-frosted cupcakes with cherries on top.

  Dogs walked in the parade, too—even Treasure, who wore a red leash with blue and white ribbons tied to his collar as a grinning Ethan led him along the parade route.

  When all the floats had passed by, the entertainment portion of the celebration began. Annabelle’s tap class performed at exactly one P.M. The parents and onlookers cheered and applauded after the girls finished their routine, and then a jazz group rushed into the square to perform “It’s a Grand Old Flag.”

  Annabelle rounded up Megan and Michelle, then spotted Ethan and Treasure in the park—Jimmy was there, too, his crutches beside him. She paused a moment to silently say a prayer of thanks. Thanks that the boys were safe, that the men who’d threatened her and Wes were in custody—and that the only place those monsters were headed after their trial was a very long, cold stint in prison.

  Life was good. Sweeter than she’d ever imagined it could be. The only thing troubling her was tomorrow.

  Of course, she didn’t know whether Wes was leaving exactly tomorrow—he’d promised his grandmother he’d stay until after the Fourth of July—and Ava had just gotten her cast removed from her wrist yesterday. But if not tomorrow, then most likely he’d be saying his good-byes the next day or the day after that.

  She didn’t want to think of what would happen after he drove away, out of her life. An emptiness swamped her even when her thoughts wandered forward, trying to imagine that moment. She was trying to enjoy today. The parade, the celebration, everyone in her family safe and healthy, and the cabin ready to be occupied by a paying tenant.

  She had much to be thankful for. But . . . crap. She blinked away the threat of tears burning behind her eyelids as she walked over to the park.

  Today, focus on today, she ordered herself fiercely.

  “Penny for your thoughts.” Wes appeared suddenly beside her and handed her an ice cream cone. He looked hotter than the July sun with his long legs encased in faded jeans, and a white T-shirt that had a small American flag emblazoned in the center of his muscular chest.

  “Whoa, what’s wrong?” The grin faded abruptly and his expression turned to one of concern.

  “Nothing. I’m just thankful. For the way everything turned out.”

  “Yeah, me, too.” He kissed her, a kiss that lingered on her lips and made her melt into him, but he drew back as Megan and Michelle suddenly raced up to join them.

  Annabelle took a lick of her ice cream.

  “Can we stay in town and watch the fireworks tonight?” Megan asked eagerly.

  “Please,” Michelle pleaded. They were both smiling from ear to ear, still wearing their sparkly patriotic cos
tumes, and Annabelle knew how they felt.

  Beautiful, special.

  That was how she’d felt when she’d danced and performed.

  “Sounds like a great idea to me,” Wes answered, then glanced at Annabelle for confirmation. “How about I take you all to dinner at the Double Cross; then we’ll come back and sit on the grass in the park, watch the fireworks. What do you say?” he asked Annabelle over the girls’ screeches of delight.

  Despite the heaviness in her heart, she couldn’t help but smile. “I say yes.” She wanted this to be a special day for all of them. The girls and Ethan would miss Wes, too.

  Treasure barked suddenly, and broke away from Ethan, who was loosely holding his leash.

  “Treasure, come back,” the boy shouted, but the dog dashed over to Michelle, who threw her arms around him. When she plopped down on the grass, he sat beside her and licked her face again and again.

  Megan was staring at her sister and the dog. An intent stare. There was fear in her face, but something else, too. Excitement, eagerness, along with wariness.

  “Megan . . . honey, are you okay?” Annabelle knelt beside her niece as all around them, music swelled. The marching band was playing “Party in the USA.”

  “I want to pet him,” Megan said so quietly that Annabelle thought she must have heard incorrectly.

  “You . . . what?”

  “I . . . want to try to pet Treasure.” The little girl looked up at her, with her lips set in determination.

  “Well, then, why don’t you call him over to you, honey?” Annabelle stayed beside her, hope rising in her heart. “He’ll come to you. I bet he’ll even lick you.”

  Megan drew in a breath. “T-Treasure, come!”

  The dog leaped toward her, his tail wagging at a speed that would make a state trooper switch on his siren.

  But Megan suddenly screamed as the dog bounded within touching distance.

  Fortunately, Treasure froze immediately, scared by her cry. He stood just within arm’s reach, looking uncertain as she gasped and grabbed onto Annabelle’s arm.

  “It’s okay. Why don’t you try going over to him, Megan? Nice and slow.”

  Her niece seemed to steel herself for something very difficult and dangerous.

  But then, before she could move, Treasure leaped again, landing in front of her. His tongue shot out, licking her cheek. Megan yelped at the sudden appearance of the dog right in her face, but the cry quickly turned into a laugh as he rolled over onto his back, his front paws waving in the air.

  As her laughter faded, the little girl in the sparkly costume knelt down and tentatively began to rub his belly.

  The dog writhed, rolling back and forth in ecstasy.

  “Wow. Miracles do happen,” Annabelle breathed, as a small, pleased laugh escaped her niece.

  Wes wrapped his arms around her waist. “Don’t I know it. I’m standing beside one right now.”

  She felt warm and flushed all over as he lifted her long hair and kissed her neck. Heat tingled through her. If only there weren’t three hundred people roaming around, including Ethan and the twins, she’d pull him down onto the grass and jump his bones right now.

  Here they stood in the center of town, looking like a couple, a happy couple, and all the while she knew it was a false impression. Why was he bothering? Wes cared about her—yes. She knew that.

  He liked making love to her, yes, he did . . . almost as much as she loved making love to him.

  But it didn’t mean anything to him beyond the moment. Tomorrow or the next day he was moving on. She wondered whether he’d take Treasure with him, or if now that Megan seemed to be conquering her fear, he’d leave the dog with them.

  She swallowed hard and steeled herself to accept the inevitable.

  One way or another, he was going away. Any day now.

  And that will be that.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  By the time Annabelle tucked the kids into bed that night, the last of the fireworks had long disappeared from the sky.

  The night was very dark and very silent, no stars visible and only a sliver of moon. It cast a pale, silvery gleam over her gardens and Wes’s black truck parked in the driveway.

  She paused a moment outside the twins’ room and gazed at Treasure, curled up at the foot of Megan’s bed. The girls had argued for ten minutes over who got to sleep with him this first night that he stayed in their house, and in the end, Annabelle had flipped a coin.

  Megan won.

  Wes poured her a cup of coffee as she sailed into the kitchen.

  “You’re a genius, do you know that? Treasure’s sleeping in Megan’s bed!”

  “Nothing genius about it.” He grinned. “Did a little reading, that’s all.”

  “Don’t be modest, cowboy; it doesn’t suit you.” With a smile, she walked right into his arms and kissed him on the mouth.

  Unfortunately, their long, deep kiss was interrupted by the chirp of her cell phone. It was Charlotte, stressed out about wedding plans. Her wedding was at the end of the month and the bridesmaids’ dresses still hadn’t come in for fittings.

  And, Charlotte told Annabelle, Tess thought white roses were more elegant and romantic than pink, but Charlotte had read that white flowers were unlucky in a wedding bouquet. What did Annabelle think?

  It was difficult to think at all because Wes had led her into the living room, set her coffee cup on an end table, and pulled her down atop him on the sofa. His hands roved over her, his mouth was tasting the sensitive skin at her throat, and what he was doing to her blocked out all thoughts of flowers, colors, and bridesmaids’ dresses.

  “Annabelle, are you listening to me?” Charlotte demanded suspiciously, when she heard a soft moan on the line.

  “Not really, Char. S-sorry. Can I call you back tomorrow?”

  “Oh, no. Yes, I mean, yes, call me tomorrow. Sorry; far be it from me to interrupt young love. Go for it, girl.” Charlotte laughed, apparently forgetting to be stressed for a moment. “Make some fireworks,” she ordered, and then clicked off.

  “We should go upstairs and lock the door,” Annabelle managed to whisper a few moments later. “One of the kids might wake up and come downstairs for a glass of water.”

  “Shit. You’re right.” Grinning, Wes stopped unzipping her jeans and sat up.

  “What time is it? Oh . . . too early for bed, I guess. Let’s grab our coffees, sit outside on the porch for a while first. The night’s young.”

  She glanced at him in surprise.

  “There might be more fireworks,” he explained with a grin.

  “Not in Lonesome Way. Once the fireworks are done, they’re done. Usually by nine o’clock they shut it all down.”

  “Yeah, well, let’s sit outside anyway. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

  Her stomach rolled. Here it came. She suddenly didn’t want coffee.

  She didn’t want anything but the strength to hold back tears when he told her he was leaving first thing in the morning.

  Uneasily she sat down on the porch step and took a gulp of coffee, tightly gripping her mug. When Wes settled close beside her, she tried to swallow past the lump in her throat.

  “Nice night,” he said.

  “Yes, a little dark, but—”

  “A good night for fireworks.”

  “Except I told you, the fireworks are over.” Managing a smile, she set her cup down on the step beside her and took a deep breath. “Don’t make small talk, Wes. I know what you’re going to say. It’s okay. I won’t go to pieces on you.”

  “Go to pieces? What do you mean?” A frown crossed his face. He set down his cup, too, and glanced at his watch.

  Was he already counting the minutes until he could leave?

  “I know you’re heading out tomorrow morning. Or the next day . . .
or . . . are you going tonight?” she asked suddenly, her throat going dry.

  “Annabelle, you’ve got this all—”

  “I won’t cry—you can tell me,” she interrupted him. Two tears squeezed out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Mortified, she brushed them away with the back of her hand. “I’ll . . . m-miss you, but I’m a big girl and I knew how this would end—”

  “Annabelle, baby.” Standing suddenly, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up, too, then took her in his arms and held her close.

  “Stop, honey. I love you. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You . . . what?”

  He bent and kissed her lips, a quick, hot kiss that made fireworks go off in her heart. “I love you more than anything in this world. And I love those kids. And maybe even your dog—”

  “He’s your dog,” she said quickly, stupidly, confused by the words she thought she’d heard.

  “Our dog,” he said firmly. “If you say yes.”

  She couldn’t believe what he seemed to be saying. She stared at him. “Yes to . . . what?” she asked cautiously.

  “To the question I’m going to ask you. I’ve done a helluva lot of things in my life, but I’ve never done this before. I love you, Annabelle. More than anything or anyone. I didn’t even believe in love, not for me. And then you came into my life.”

  “You came into mine.” Her heart began to beat faster and a smile spread across her face, lighting her eyes with hope.

  “Now you’re getting the idea.” Smiling, he stroked a strong finger gently along her cheek. “You’ve changed everything. I never thought this would happen to me, not love . . . or you . . . or anything I feel when I’m with you.”

  He caught her hands in his, holding them gently. “I’m calling my buddy Scott in Wyoming tomorrow and telling him I’m opening the business right here in Lonesome Way. If he wants to invest or to move here and be partners, or to work something else out, that’s fine, but you’re here and those kids are here and that dog is here and—you get the idea. You guys come first. We come first. I’m staying. And not in that cabin, either. Right here with you. If you want me, that is. Uh, damn. Hold on.”