Bright Eyes (30 page)

She gripped the steering wheel in both hands and focused completely on taking the curve at high speed. The tires of the old Chevy screamed as they grabbed the pavement.

“Mom?” Chad said.

“Our brakes are gone,” Natalie replied in as calm a voice as she could muster. “Keep your belts on and lie sideways on the seat.”

“But—”

“Just
do
it!” Natalie ordered.

After that there was no more time for talking. As they came out of the curve, they came upon a slow-moving cattle truck. Natalie had mere seconds to react. From the darkest reaches of her mind, a memory of Pop’s voice came to her.
If your brakes ever fail when you’re driving an automatic, gear down and grab the emergency brake.
Using all her strength, Natalie jerked downward on the gearshift. The transmission of the Chevy grinded down, metal groaning as gear teeth caught and tried to hold.
Not enough.
She leaned sharply forward to grasp the emergency brake lever, a prayer on her lips as she pulled back on it and the tires locked up. At the sudden deceleration, the rear end of the Chevy fishtailed, sending the car into a sideways skid. It took all Natalie’s skill as a driver to regain control of the car.

In that instant, the world around her seemed to vanish. All she could see was the back of that truck coming at them with horrifying speed. She sensed rather than saw Chad still sitting up behind her.

“Lie down!” she shrieked. “Now, Chad! Drop!”

Zeke dialed Natalie’s home number. When Naomi answered, he said, “Hi, Naomi, this is Zeke. My brothers and I are about finished up here at the club for today. They both have families and, this being Sunday, they want to lay off early. Natalie said she planned to stop by, but she still hasn’t come. Before I locked up, I thought I’d call to see if she still plans to show.”

“Oh, Zeke.”

The tremulous note in Naomi’s voice told Zeke that something was horribly wrong. “What?” he said.

“Natalie and the kids were in an accident.”

Zeke’s stomach dropped. “Oh, God. How bad?”

“Bad,” Naomi said shakily. “Hit the back end of a cattle truck and rolled into a ditch. The car’s totaled.”

Zeke didn’t give a shit about the damned car. “How are Natalie and the kids?”

“They’re at the hospital. That’s all I know. Pete already left for there. Valerie and I were just leaving when you phoned.”

Zeke didn’t even tell Naomi good-bye. As he raced from the supper club, he tossed the door and alarm keys to Jake. “Natalie and the kids have been in a wreck!”

Once inside his truck, Zeke was shaking so badly that he couldn’t get the key into the ignition.
Natalie and the kids.
Oh, God. He didn’t know when he’d come to love the three of them so much, but the thought of losing one of them made his heart feel as if it were being ripped from his chest.

Waiting.
Zeke had never been particularly good at it, but now it was sheer torture. Mindlessly counting specks on the gray-green floor tile, he sat on a green vinyl chair in the ER lounge beside Pete and Naomi. A nurse had come out to see them a few minutes ago. There was a strong possibility that Rosie had a concussion, and Chad had been taken to X ray to see if he had broken ribs. By some miracle, Natalie had escaped with only a few scrapes and bruises, the worst of them on her chest where the steering wheel had struck her breastbone.

Valerie paced back and forth in front of Zeke, biting her nails.

“I
hate
this,” she complained. “Why can’t we just go in and be with them?”

“The cubicles are small. They need room to work,” Naomi replied calmly. “Natalie will update us the moment she knows more.”

“Well, this totally sucks,” Valerie cried. “Why don’t they have someone who comes out to tell the family something on a more regular basis?”

“Stop chewing those acrylic overlays,” Naomi said. “If you tear them off, you’ll ruin your natural nails.”

“Like I care?”

Zeke lost his train of thought and had to start over counting dots. Madness. He didn’t know why he’d started counting the damned things in the first place, but now he couldn’t make himself stop.
Three, four—please, God—five, six—let them be all right.
He’d never been a praying man, but he was praying now. Rosie was so tiny. Zeke cringed every time he thought about her fragile little skull hitting something hard enough to give her a concussion. And Chad. Broken ribs were not only painful but also dangerous sometimes. As a boy, Zeke had seen a man almost drown in his own blood from a broken rib that had punctured his lung.

“We can thank our lucky stars,” Pete said for about the hundredth time. “I saw the car on the way into town. I’m telling you, Zeke, it’s a miracle they weren’t killed.”

Zeke only nodded. He couldn’t speak. He wished he could see Natalie—that he could be with her and hold her hand. But that wasn’t possible. Only a member of the immediate family could invade the inner sanctum, and he was only a friend.

Never again,
he vowed to himself. He was marrying that lady before her bruises faded. He’d never again sit in a waiting room while Rosie and Chad lay on gurneys in the ER. What if Rosie slipped off to sleep and never woke up? Or what if she developed a blood clot on the brain? Zeke had heard of that happening after a severe blow to the skull.

He kept remembering the evening he’d first seen Rosie—how she had invaded his kitchen, all big brown eyes and curly black hair, chattering like a little magpie. He remembered thinking then that he could do without kid drawings on his fridge. Now he would happily wallpaper his whole house with them.

And Chad. The boy had been through so much over the last few months. He didn’t need a physical injury on top of everything else. He’d just lost his father, for God’s sake.

Zeke wondered yet again how the accident had happened. According to Pete, Natalie had said something about the brakes going out.
Damned old rattletrap.
From now on, she’d have a decent vehicle. He’d make sure of it.

Just when Zeke thought he could bear the waiting no longer, he heard the shuffle of boots at the ER entrance. He glanced up to see Jake and Hank coming through the glass revolving door. Behind them were his parents.

Zeke pushed to his feet.
His family.
Just seeing their faces made him feel calmer and more centered.

“How are they?” Jake asked as he entered the lounge. “On the way over, I called to check, but the gal at the desk wouldn’t tell me much.”

“Natalie will be fine,” Zeke replied, hugging each of his brothers in turn. “The jury’s still out on the kids. Rosie may have a concussion, and they think Chad could have some broken ribs.”

“Ah, dear heart,” Zeke’s mother crooned as she went up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “We came the moment we heard. Thank God they aren’t seriously hurt.”

After hugging his mom, Zeke hooked an arm around his father’s shoulders. “Thanks for coming, you guys.”

“Of course we came,” Mary exclaimed in a scolding voice. “Surely you didn’t think we’d let you go through this alone.”

In truth, Zeke had assumed exactly that. He hadn’t gotten around to taking Natalie over to meet his folks yet. Jake and Hank had met her only by chance.

Remembering his manners, Zeke introduced his parents and brothers to Natalie’s family. Within seconds, Naomi and Valerie were off in a corner with Zeke’s mother Mary, the three of them chatting like old friends about broken ribs, concussions, and car accidents. As upset as Zeke was, he couldn’t help but smile. Mary Coulter and Naomi Westfield were as different as night from day. Zeke’s mom was a short, buxom little lady with merry blue eyes and an angelic smile who spent all her time crocheting stuff for her grandbabies. Naomi was flashy by comparison with a well-preserved figure and a flare for style.

When Zeke turned his attention back to the men, he heard his father say, “Pete Westfield, huh. Have we met? Can’t think where or when it was, but the face and name ring a bell.”

“We’ve never actually met,” Pete replied. “But we’ve rubbed elbows a few times at meetings and the like. I have a farm out on Old Mill Road.”

From there, the two older men fell into a discussion about the similarities between ranching and farming. Hank and Jake joined Zeke across the room, asking questions about the accident that Zeke couldn’t readily answer.

“Natalie said something about the brakes going out. According to her dad, she plowed into the back of a cattle truck and rolled the car into a ditch.”

Jake winced.

“Luckily,” Zeke went on, “the truck held steady on the road. If it had jackknifed, it could have been much worse.”

Hank laid a hand on Zeke’s shoulder. “They’re alive. That’s the important thing.”

Zeke expressed his concerns about Rosie’s possible concussion and Chad’s injured ribs. Jake shook his head. “You’re letting fear do your thinking, Zeke. If they aren’t even sure the little girl has a concussion, a blood clot on the brain is probably unlikely. I think there’d be some unmistakable symptoms with something that serious.”

Zeke released a tight breath. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. You’re just scared and imagining worst-case scenarios. The rib thing, for instance. They’ll keep the boy’s torso immobilized until they know what they’re dealing with. If he didn’t come in with a punctured lung, he isn’t likely to get one now.”

More of the tension eased from Zeke’s body. “God, I’m glad you’re here. You’re right, absolutely right. I’m blowing this way out of proportion.”

Hank lifted one foot to rest a boot on his knee. “Damn straight. Relax, big brother. Next time Natalie comes out, she’ll bring good news. Your kids’ll be fine.”

Pete overheard Hank’s comment and looked at Zeke. “Your kids, huh?”

Zeke met his future father-in-law’s gaze straight on. “Yes, sir. Do you have a problem with that?”

Pete smiled and shook his head. “Nope, no problem at all.”

By the time Natalie emerged from the ER, Zeke’s whole family had arrived at the hospital. The small waiting room was packed with people, and the noise level was almost deafening. Zeke leaped to his feet and quickly closed the distance to the doorway.

Chapter Sixteen

N
atalie swayed on her feet and clutched Zeke’s shirtsleeve for balance.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?”

“Fine. Just a little light-headed.”

Zeke smoothed her hair back from her face. “Are you hurting anywhere?”

“A little achy.” She leaned her shoulder against his chest. “I’m fine, otherwise, I think. The doctor says I’ll be right as rain in a couple of days.”

Zeke wasn’t so sure. “How are the kids?” he finally found the courage to ask.

The room around them went suddenly silent. Zeke followed Natalie’s bewildered gaze as she took in all the curious eyes that had been trained on them. “Who are all these people?” she asked softly.

“My family,” he replied. “Jake and Hank were with me when I heard about the wreck. Everyone else came as soon as they heard.”

She nodded, but her expression remained confused. “Most of them don’t even know me.”

Mary Coulter smiled from her chair in the corner. “Don’t mind us, honey. I know I speak for everyone in the family when I say we don’t expect you to stand on ceremony. We’ll save the introductions for another time.”

“Oh, God, that’s your mom, isn’t it?” Natalie squeaked.

Zeke bent to whisper, “Forget my family. Just pretend they aren’t here. How are the kids? That’s the important thing.”

She passed a tremulous hand over her eyes. “The doctor says the kids can go home. We should watch Rosie tonight and wake her up every couple of hours. He still hasn’t ruled out a slight concussion. He was pretty worried about Chad’s ribs, too, but it turned out that they’re only bruised.”

Zeke almost whooped with relief. “Did you hear that?” He glanced around the lounge, flashing a happy grin. “Both the kids are going home!”

The noise level in the waiting room went up again, with members of both families expressing relief. “Thank God!” “What fabulous news!” “Bless their little hearts.”

“They wrapped Chad’s ribs to ease the pain,” Natalie went on. “And the doctor’s going to give me a prescription to keep him comfortable over the next couple of days.” She frowned and pressed a fingertip to her temple. “I’ll need to stop somewhere to get the prescription filled, I guess.”

Gazing down at her drawn face, Zeke’s concern for her increased. To hell with the ER rules. She’d been through enough and needed to lie down herself.

Zeke sent Pete a look rife with meaning. Natalie’s father hurried over to take his daughter by the arm. “Come sit down, honey,” Pete said softly.

“I can’t, Pop. I need to—”

“Your mother and Zeke will take care of the kids now.” Pete’s voice grew sterner. “You need to sit, no arguments. Let them handle it now. You’ve done enough.”

Natalie allowed her father to lead her to a chair. Zeke motioned to Naomi. Seconds later, they invaded the ER together. A short, redheaded nurse spotted Zeke almost instantly and came out from behind the station. “May I help you?”

“We’re here with the Patterson children,” Zeke said. “Their mother was in the accident with them, and she’s about to collapse. We’re taking it from here.”

“Are you a relative, sir?”

Zeke held the woman’s gaze with unwavering intensity. “I’m their stepfather.” He gestured to Naomi. “She’s their maternal grandmother.”

The nurse seemed satisfied with that response and smiled. “They’re in five and six. We’ve drawn the curtain back between their beds.” As she led the way to the cubicles, she went on to say, “The doctor will be in soon with home-care instructions.” She pulled back a blue curtain. “I’ll get another chair. Just a second.”

Zeke saw the kids, and moved between the hospital beds. Rosie had a nasty bruise on her forehead, but she was smiling. Chad’s face was ghostly pale, and Zeke could tell by the way he lay that he was in pain, but he looked all right otherwise. Zeke kissed Rosie and gave her a careful hug. Then he handed the little girl over to Naomi while he concentrated on Chad.

“Hey, partner. I’ve been pretty worried about you.”

Chad tried to smile, but the result was more a grimace. “I’m okay. The doctor says I’m just bruised up real bad.”

“Hurts like hell, though, doesn’t it?” Zeke took the boy’s hand and gave it a hard squeeze. “Been there. For the next week, I promise not to make you laugh, and I won’t allow any pepper on your food. The last thing you want is to sneeze.”

Chad’s second attempt at a smile was more successful. Zeke knew the boy would be all right when he said, “My shorts and jeans are in a sack under the bed. Will you help me put them on, Zeke? I don’t want that nurse to see me naked.”

A cow was sitting on her chest. Natalie put the flats of her hands on its rump and pushed with all her might, but the stupid bovine refused to budge. It was hard for her to breathe. Expanding her lungs hurt. She pushed at the cow again, wanting it off of her.

“Natalie, sweetheart? Honey, wake up. It’s time for your pain medication.”

Natalie blinked awake and saw Zeke leaning over her. When she realized that she’d been pushing at his shoulders, she said, “Oh. I thought you were a cow.”

He chuckled and lifted one of her hands to place a soft kiss on her palm. Then he sat back and curled her fingers around it. “Hold tight to that. It’s the only kind of kiss you’re going to get for a few days, I’m afraid.”

It hurt to breathe, even now that she was awake. Natalie swallowed hard. “My chest.”

“According to the doctor, that steering wheel rammed you pretty hard. You’re going to be really sore for a while.” He reached for a glass on the nightstand. “He prescribed some pain reliever. The shot he gave you in the ER is wearing off now. That’s probably why you’re uncomfortable.” He slipped a hand under her head. “Don’t try to sit up. Let me do the work. All right?”

Natalie nodded weakly and swallowed the pills he gave her. Her skin was moist with sweat by the time he settled her back against the pillows. “Where are the kids? Are they—?”

“They’re just fine. Your mom and dad and sister are taking great care of them.”

Natalie’s stomach clenched with worry. “Are they waking Rosie every two hours?”

Zeke chuckled. She loved the sound of his laugh, a deep, rich sound that rumbled up from his broad chest. “Rosie has yet to close her eyes. Valerie rented her movies,
George in the Jungle,
or something like that, and another one about a horse. She’s ensconced on the sofa like a little princess with her royal subjects running at her beck and call.”

Natalie stifled a yawn and smiled. “And Chad?”

“Valerie got him the new Harry Potter book. He’s too doped up to read by himself, so she’s in his room, reading it aloud to him.”

Natalie closed her eyes. “She couldn’t afford to buy that book. What’ll I do with her?”

“Just love her and lend her money when her car insurance comes due.”

Natalie wanted to laugh, but her chest hurt too much. She lifted her lashes and settled for smiling again. “You’re pretty special. You know that?”

“So are you. Did you know that?” He trailed a fingertip along her cheek. She loved the warm rasp of his skin against hers. “I nearly died when your mom told me you’d been in a wreck. Until that moment, I knew I loved you, but I didn’t realize how much I loved your kids.”

A stinging sensation washed over Natalie’s eyes. “Oh, Zeke.”

“Seriously. I was so scared I couldn’t shove the damned key in my truck ignition, and it’s a damned miracle I made it to the hospital without having a wreck myself.” He moved his fingertip to her mouth. “I’ve decided that you have to marry me. No long engagement, no messing around. I want it done yesterday. They wouldn’t let me in the ER until I lied and said I was the kids’ stepfather.”

Natalie felt her lashes drooping. She blinked and tried her best to wake up. “I’m sorry. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just say yes.”

She couldn’t quite remember the question. “Yes,” she whispered, and slipped back into her dreams, lovely ones this time about a dark-faced man with eyes the color of a summer sky.

Zeke lay beside Natalie atop the covers. He’d left the bedroom door ajar but had turned out the light so it wouldn’t disturb her rest. Occasionally Naomi came in to check on her daughter. Zeke’s response to her questions had been the same each time. Natalie seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

It was going on midnight now. Zeke listened to the night sounds drifting in through the open window. Frogs, crickets, and the occasional low of a cow out in the barn. He closed his eyes and thanked God that Natalie and her kids were okay—that he could lie here now, at peace and happily contemplating a future with them. Pete’s descriptions of Natalie’s car were frightening. It had been a close call, a very close call. In the blink of an eye, Zeke could have lost her and the kids. Just the thought made his guts clench.

Brake failure. Zeke kept coming back to that, not quite able to believe her brakes could go out like that without any prior warning. Most times, when the fluid got low or the shoes started to wear, there were signs of trouble long before the brakes completely failed. Pete thought it was strange, too. He claimed that he’d put the Chevy on a rack and given it a thorough going-over before Natalie bought it last winter. The brakes had been like new then.

Zeke sighed and closed his eyes, growing drowsy from the sound of Natalie’s slow, even breathing. He’d almost drifted off when Chester honked somewhere outside. The sound jerked Zeke back awake. He listened for a moment. The gander raised no further alarm, an indication that the initial honk had meant nothing. Even so, Zeke swung to his feet to approach the window. Gazing out into the shifting shadows of darkness, he recalled Natalie’s story of a midnight prowler last night. Someone out around the cars, she’d said, a man or teenage boy, judging by his size.

An awful suspicion slithered into Zeke’s mind. It was so preposterous that he quickly shoved it away. Robert’s death was playing with his mind, he decided. Who would have it in for Natalie? And if someone did, why would he tamper with the brakes of her car? Anyone with half a brain would realize that such an act might endanger her children or other passengers.

Zeke raked a hand through his hair and returned to the bed. He tried to stretch out and snooze for a while, but the suspicion wouldn’t leave him alone. Sudden brake failure. Robert had been killed only a few days ago. Natalie had been in his home at or around the time of the murder. What if she’d seen something that could incriminate the killer—something she hadn’t realized was significant at the time?

If someone killed once, he could kill again—especially if a certain pretty lady had seen something that could put a noose around that person’s neck.

Zeke swung off the bed again. This time, he bypassed the window and went downstairs to discuss his suspicions with Pete.

“Do you think I’m whacked?” Zeke asked Pete a few minutes later.

Pete poured each of them another measure of bourbon, a private stash he kept in his bedroom closet. Gramps, it seemed, enjoyed having a nightly tipple, and Pete didn’t want the old man to develop a taste for the hard stuff.

“It is strange that the brakes failed that way,” Pete acknowledged. His blue eyes darkened with worry. “The truth? I don’t want to believe someone tampered with her car. It scares the livin’ hell out of me. But, having said that, I can’t rule out the possibility. When brakes fail suddenly like Natalie described, something’s usually gone haywire with the brake lines.”

“Which occasionally happens under completely ordinary circumstances. But it’s not common.” Zeke downed his whiskey in one gulp and set his glass back on the table. “Here’s my train of thought. I think we should visit the wrecking yard and have a look at her car.”

Pete inclined his head. “I’m game. No harm in looking. If we find nothing peculiar, then we can both rest easy in our minds.”

By nine thirty the following morning, Zeke was lying on his back under Natalie’s demolished Chevy. He’d checked the brakes on the other side of the vehicle and found nothing out of the ordinary. As he started to check the right rear side, he called out to Pete.

“Well, it looks like I was whacked, after all. Nothing’s wrong, as far as I can see. The damned brakes must have just failed on their own.”

“Don’t apologize.” Pete was hunkered down next to the tire. “I’d just as soon be on a wild-goose chase as to find out someone tried to kill her.”

Zeke was about to slide back out from under the car when he remembered to check the bleeder valve. “Son of a
bitch
!”

“What?” Pete went down on his knees to peer under the car. “You find something?”

“Sure as shit. Someone loosened this bleeder valve.”

“What?”

“The bleeder valve is open,” Zeke repeated. “Every time she touched the brake, the fluid in the rear lines was bleeding out. There are a lot of curves along Old Mill Road. By the time she reached that sharp one, all the fluid in her rear lines would have been gone.”

Pete swore under his breath. Zeke pushed out from under the car and went to check the front brake on that side. He found the same thing. “Jesus. I wasn’t whacked, Pete. Somebody messed with her brakes.”

Thirty minutes later, Zeke and Pete were standing in front of Detective Monroe’s desk. The detective had leaned as far back in his chair as possible.

“Let’s calm down, gentlemen,” he said.

“Bullshit! I’m not about to calm down.” Zeke planted his hands on the blotter and leaned forward to get nose to nose with the detective. “Someone tried to kill Natalie Patterson. Send one of your men out to inspect the brakes on her car. The bleeder valves, front and rear, were open. Every time she so much as touched that brake pedal, she lost fluid. Whoever did it meant for her to die in that accident, Monroe. The speed limit out there is fifty-five except for in the curves. You ever been going that fast on a narrow road, come to a curve, and lost your brakes?”

“No, I can’t say I have.” Monroe ran a hand over his balding head. “Listen, I can understand your being upset. It was a serious accident, and children were involved. But even you must admit that this story is a little far-fetched. A gander chases a midnight prowler off the property. The next morning, Mrs. Patterson’s brakes fail. You’re making assumptions and tying the incidents to the Patterson murder. In my line of work, you learn early on not to join the dots unless the picture makes sense, and this one makes no sense.”