"You said Tommy was in the parking lot of Zahn Lawn Mower supply. Any idea what he was doing out there so late?" Dallas asked. Colin had only given his brother essential information.
Tommy had been shot and he was at Bluff General. Richard Rancic was armed and dangerous.
"Good question", There was another one that would follow.
"What were you doing there?" Dallas didn't wait long to hit him with that one. That was an even better question.
Colin was still trying to figure that out. Dallas didn't ask about Melissa,but the questions about her were written in his tense expression.
"She ran away so fast at the Fling", he finally said.
"I parked to the side,trying to decide if I was going to talk to her or not". It wasn't entirely untrue.
"Then I saw her husband pull into the lot and she seem
The scuffle of boots sounded in the hallway and she didn't need to turn around to know that Colin had entered the room . She faced him. "Dallas",she said, startled. In an attempt to recover, she added, "It's good to see you again'. "You,too,Melissa", Dallas stood behind his brother. Melissa hoped he couldn't hear her heart thudding against her ribs at the thought of two O'Briens in the room. If either one of them got a look at her daughter it was over. It wasn't a selfish desire that had her wanting to keep Angelina a secret. Although she had that,too. It was survival. Either of them figured out paternity and Colin would follow her to the ends of the Earth to find her and his child. But then,she hadn't really thought this through because this whole room would be filled with O'Briens soon. &nbs
"He's not going to hurt us", she countered,but there was no life in those words. She might be feeling defeated at the moment,but her determination would kick in soon and she'd recover. She'd get her life back on track. Richard did not get to win."What if you take us to the meet-up point?" She asked.Before she could answer Dallas stepped into the room with a man in uniform behind him. She recognized Deputy Garcia.Angelina had settled on Melissa's shoulder again,and if Colin realized he had a daughter he didn't show it."Deputy Garcia had news that I think you need to hear", Dallas said. After perfunctory greetings,the deputy said, "A US Marshal was found shot on Highway 287. He was pronounced died at the scene".The air whooshed from Melissa's lungs and she was almost knocked back a step. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real.
Being negative and fearing the worst wasn't the energy he wanted to put into the situation. Thoughts were powerful. Colin replaced the image with the two of them fishing together this summer , smiling , drinking a cold brew. Tommy would pull through ,had to pull through. "Make sure he has everything he needs when he wakes from surgery'. Colin nodded towards the hallway, thinking that he needed to stop off at a gas station so that he could pick up a prepaid phone _ one that couldn't be tracked back to him _ so that he could check on Tommy."Will do". Gracia tipped his hat before walking out of the room. "You ready?" He asked Melissa.She nodded. "Angelina's diaper bag is in my car. It has everything I need to get through a couple of days". "I'll put it in the truck if you tell me where you've parked and give me the keys", Dallas said.
All Colin would've needed was a couple hours of sleep and he'd be good to go. He got forty-five minutes before the little angel in the backseat stirred,waking him.He sat up and surveyed his surroundings. The wind was picking up. Other that slight movement in the trees,all seemed quiet. And that's when his brain decided to loop the notion that Angelina looked a lot like him from his own baby pictures.With effort, he pushed aside the image. Didn't need that distraction this morning. Besides, Richard had dark hair and Angelina was his daughter.Melissa was still asleep but Colin needed coffee. There was no way he could wake her even though he suspected the little one would be up soon enough for a feeding.Caffeine would go a long way toward clearing the cobwebs in his head.Colin shook his head to see if that would do any good. Maybe going
Colin walked away, climbed into the cab and started the truck . He didn't move far. He repositioned the truck at one side of the parking lot where he could watch all the vehicles exiting the highway.It made him visible ,too, so he slipped on his cowboy hat and shades even though the skies were starting to cloud up. He'd rather have Melissa and the baby as much out of sight as possible. As he walked toward the convenience Mart, Melissa met him halfway.''Can you sit in the backseat and find her?" He asked. "Yes",she said . Once the baby was settled In with the bottle , Melissa said "Colin".There was something in her voice he couldn't quite pinpoint , maybe a warning , that had him thinking her next words weren't going to be the ones that he wanted to hear. "Yeah", was all he said, resisting the urge to lo
EVERYWHERE MELISSA HAD GONE,Everything she'd done for the past year made her feel like she was the jackrabbit and her husband was the eagle. There was always the thought of him lurking in the back of her mind,ready to swoop down and take Angelina away.Even when he left in business _ and those were trips that had kept her sane _ there was never a feeling that he was ever truly gone. The rest that he'd pop up around every corner had almost driven her beyond the brink. Once the baby had been born, Melissa had kept Angelina within arm's reach at all time.Always aware that Richard could put two and two together at any moment and deliver on his threat to destroy Melissa and everyone she loved if she betrayed him. And now she really was the jackrabbit,seeking shelter,scrambling to get away from the eagle that was circling, ready to pounce the se
How many nights in the past year had she stayed awake,wondering how much he hated het for what she'd done? The mystery was over. It was clear and so hard to see because she never stopped loving him, not even now.Her heart didn't care or seem to want to acknowledge there was no going back. Not with Colin. She'd known that she walked away and yet seeing it written all over his expression and hearing it in his words made it seem so... Final.She'd done what she had to do in order to survive,she reminded herself. Repeating her mantra had gotten her through so many difficult times in her life. Naively, she'd believed that given enough time she'd get over Colin.How young. How silly. Maybe there was one true love in life and if it didn't work out, that was it.She tried not to let the thought deflate her. Besides,Angelina was her
Storm clouds thickened as the day went on. The winds had picked up speed. It was obvious that a storm was brewing.Melissa wondered just how bad it was going to get. Thought of being in a boat during a bad storm weren't exactly warm and fuzzy. Few words passed between Colin and Melissa for the balance of the day. He needed time to think,to process, and she understood that in some level. A bomb had been dropped and he was trying to get his bearings. She'd felt the same way.At first, she'd been shocked. And then, afraid. When it came to Colin, there were worse things he could do besides give her the silent treatment. All things considered,this was good."The cream-colored boat with the blue stripe will work for us", he finally said,motioning toward one of the vessels. The thought of staying on a boat shoot