Head Over Heels (The Bridesmaids Club Book 3) (21 page)

“It’s not so bad,” Todd said confidently from beside her. “I’ll go first and make sure your feet find the rungs in the ladder.”

Sally inched closer to the edge.

“Pretend you’re only a couple of feet off the ground. You got up here and you can easily get down. Are you ready?”

“Are you sure it will hold both of us?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Todd flattened his stomach against the wooden platform and wiggled backward until his legs were dangling over the edge. “Just follow me. You’ll be fine.” The rope gave an ominous groan as it took his weight.

Sally took a deep breath and watched Todd find the first foothold. “If I don’t make it, I want you to know that I like you. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” A dog yapped from below them. “And what you’ve done for Max.”

“That’s good to know.”

“And I think what you’re doing is brave. You want to make sure no one else gets hurt like your wife and son.”

“Sally?”

“Yes?”

“Stop talking and get down the ladder.”

She scrunched her eyes tight and slowly lowered herself over the edge. “I’m getting too old for stuff like this.”

If she thought the ladder had made a terrible noise when Todd had gotten on, it was nothing compared to the noise when she added her weight. Todd’s hand wrapped around her ankle and placed her foot on the first rung.

“This isn’t good.” She clutched the rope in her hands and held on tight.

“You’re doing great,” Todd said from below her. “Just move slowly and you’ll be fine.”

Sally wasn’t sure she’d ever be fine again. Dangling eighteen feet in the air and praying that she made it to the ground wasn’t how she’d imagined ending the day. But then she never thought someone would try to kidnap her, either.

Todd moved and the ladder swung sideways. She held on tight and tried to think positive thoughts.

This really wasn’t the best day of her life.

CHAPTER NINE

By the time the ER doctor had patched her cuts and grazes, Sally was ready to scream. It was bad enough that Todd was hovering around her, but her parents were at the hospital, too.

“I’m okay, mom. I don’t need to go home with you. I’ve got my own apartment.”

“I think your mom’s right,” Todd said. “It might be difficult walking for a day or two.”

“I’m a grown-up,” she growled. “I can look after myself.”

“Todd’s right,” her dad added. “You need to come home with us.”

“Dad…” Sally tried to find the words to tell him that she’d be okay. Paul Gray had never been very good at letting his only daughter look after herself. “Everything will be fine. By tomorrow morning, most of the swelling will be gone and I’ll be as good as new.”

“Have you seen your face?” her mom asked.

Sally hadn’t, and she didn’t want to. Tess’ wedding was coming up soon. She wanted to look her best in the figure-hugging sheath of a dress she’d chosen, without worrying about bruises and scarring.

“My face doesn’t stop me from being able to look after myself.” Her mom and dad didn’t believe her. She figured it must have had something to do with the swelling under her left eye.

She wanted to yell,
I stabbed a woman in the throat. I can look after myself,
but she didn’t. Her mom would have a fit if she knew how proud Sally was of inflicting serious harm on another person. Her dad would blame himself for not keeping her away from her brothers’ bad influence. And Todd, well Todd would simply throw her in the back of her parents’ truck and tell them to take her home with them.

The curtain around her bed flew back and three of her brothers stood looking at her with their mouths open.

“Man, you look like one of those aliens on TV.” Matthew always did have a warped sense of humor.

“Are you all right?” Nathan, the eldest sibling in the room, took his role of protector very seriously. It was just as well he’d married Amy when he had. Otherwise, Sally would have had another six-foot-plus male telling her how to live her life.

“I’m fine. It’s bruising and minor cuts. Haven’t you got somewhere else you need to be?”

Sean and Matthew looked at each other. Her twin brothers were like chalk and cheese, but when they agreed on something no one could stop them. “We talked about you on the way over here. We think you should move back to mom and dad’s ranch. It’s not safe in town.” They looked at Todd as they were speaking. Sally wanted to hit them over the head with a bedpan.

“I’ve just had this conversation with mom and dad. I’m going home to my place.” She needed to distract her family from focusing on where she was going to live. “What happened after the police arrived at the ranch? Did the wedding guests know what was going on?”

“They did when they tried to leave,” Todd said. “Once the police confirmed that everyone at the wedding was legitimate, they were free to go.”

“Were Carolyn and Wayne upset?” Sally had felt really bad that their wedding had turned into a news item on the local television channel.

Todd shook his head. “Carolyn was excited. She said she felt like a reality TV star.”

Sally wasn’t sure she would have been quite as forgiving, but as long as the bride and groom were happy, that’s all that mattered. She looked at her watch. It was midnight and much too late to be having any type of conversation. “Go home, all of you. Todd will take me back to my apartment.”

Matthew stepped forward and started to say something.

Sean grabbed hold of his twin’s arm and interrupted him. “You’re not going anywhere with Todd. If it wasn’t for him, no one would have tried to kidnap you.”

Sally rolled her eyes at her brothers. “Don’t be crazy. Those people would have kidnapped their own grandmother if there’d been the right incentive.”

“Your brothers are right,” Todd said quietly. “If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be here. You should go home with your parents.”

Sally sat straighter in the bed and stared at her family. “I love you all, but you need to leave me alone. I can look after myself.”

Matthew grabbed the doctor’s clipboard off the end of her bed. Everyone else stayed where they were.

“Is anyone listening to me?”

The curtain opened again, and Sally’s doctor froze. She looked at the faces around her and frowned. Sally had to admit that the men in her cubicle filled the space to overflowing. The Gray men weren’t known for their slim builds and short stature. Her dad and brothers were all over six-foot-five and built like tree trunks.

And then there was Todd.

Samantha Everland, her doctor, looked as though she’d been struck by lightning. “Are you
all
Sally’s family?”

“Not me,” Todd said from the side of the room. He pushed off from the wall and stood closer to Sally.

Matthew and Sean glared at him. Sally’s dad didn’t look much better. Luckily Jenny Gray, Sally’s mom, had more common sense than the men in their family. She poked her husband in the ribs and gave him one of her stares.

Samantha found her voice amongst all of the male testosterone floating in the air. “We can’t have more than two people in here with Sally. If some of you could wait outside in the reception area, I’d appreciate it.

“When will Sally be able to go home?” her mom asked.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer. I overheard you talking about where Sally was going to stay tonight.” All eyes swiveled toward Sally’s doctor. “I might have a solution for you.”

Sean and Matthew looked wearily at Samantha. Sally knew how her brothers’ minds worked. They were only happy with an outcome if it was in their best interests. Having only just met Samantha, they weren’t sure which side of the fence her idea would fall. If she sided with them, they’d be her friend for life. If she didn’t, they’d fight tooth and nail to make everyone agree with them.

Samantha cleared her throat. Sally was fast developing a newfound respect for the five-foot-nothing doctor. “Special Agent McDonald is waiting outside with Sergeant O’Grady from the Bozeman Police Department. They’ll be looking after Sally for the next few days.”

Sean and Matthew glanced at their father, then across at Todd. Some male telepathy was hurtling around the room, and Sally didn’t have a clue what it all meant.

Matthew kissed Sally on the side of her face. The side that wasn’t swollen like a puffer fish. “As long as you’ve got an FBI agent and a police officer looking after you, we’re happy.”

“Yeah,” Sean added with a kiss of his own. “Just don’t go stabbing anyone with your shoe again.”

Sally’s mom frowned. “Stabbing? What are you talking about?”

Sally sent her brothers a ferocious glare. She thought she’d made sure no one in her family heard about the stiletto incident. Someone had spilled the beans, and it hadn’t been her or Todd. “It was nothing, mom. Sean’s exaggerating.”

Sean sent her a sweet as pie smile.

Matthew grabbed his brother's arm and yanked him out the door. “See you tomorrow, scissorhands.”

“You’re showing your age,” Sally yelled after them.

Sally’s mom put her hands on her hips. “Do you want to tell me what Matthew and Sean are talking about?”

“It was nothing, mom.” She looked at Todd, hoping for some moral support. Or at least a little underhand collaboration.

Todd raised his eyebrows, but didn’t look away. “I was going to get a cup of coffee, would you like one?”

She shook her head.

Todd turned to her mom. He smiled so sweetly that Sally wouldn’t have known he had an ulterior motive. “Would you like to come with me, Mrs. Gray? We’ll probably have to use a coffee machine, but it shouldn’t taste too bad.”

“I brought up four sons, Todd. I know when a man’s diverting my attention away from something my daughter doesn’t want me to know.” Jenny glanced at the daughter in question. “I’ll pass on the coffee, but I have to give you credit for looking after Sally. It’s more than her brothers do at times.”

Todd’s hands relaxed against the metal rail on the side of Sally’s bed. “Thank you.”

Sally’s mom turned to her husband. “Let’s go home, Paul. Tomorrow’s soon enough to find out what your daughter’s been up to.”

Sally’s dad smiled. He kissed the side of her face and rubbed her arm. “Bye, honey. We’ll see you in the morning. ” He turned to Todd. “I don’t care how many special agents or police officers take her home. Make sure she gets there in one piece.”

He didn’t have to say,
this time
. Sally could see the message pass between the two men as thick and unwelcome as the first blanket of snow.

Todd didn’t react to the worry on her father’s face. “Yes, sir.”

Sally’s mom picked up her jacket and bag. “If you need anything, we’re only a phone call away.”

“Thanks, mom.” Sally watched her parents leave with a heavy heart. She looked at Todd and sighed. “Do you think they’re going to hate me when they know I stabbed a woman.”

“I think they’d be more worried if you hadn’t defended yourself.”

Sally’s doctor cleared her throat. “Has anyone told you what happened to the lady you stabbed.”

Sally winced at the ‘S’ word. “No, not yet.”

“I’m probably not supposed to say anything, but she’s okay. You didn’t kill her.”

Sally breathed a sigh of relief. “Did she need stitches?”

“A few. The throat is one of the most vulnerable parts of our bodies. She could have been a lot worse than she was.”

“How did the police find her?”

“They didn’t,” Samantha whispered. “She told a couple from the wedding that she’d tripped on a fence post on the ranch. They brought her to the hospital. On the way down the highway, she saw the police cars rushing to the ranch. She called her accomplice and he tried to leave.”

Samantha looked over her shoulder as the curtain opened.

Special Agent Alastair McDonald walked into the cubicle and frowned at Sally’s doctor. “How’s everything going?”

Samantha’s cheeks turned bright red. “Fine. We were just discussing…”

“Something you shouldn’t be?”

“Of course not,” Samantha lied. “Sally can go home, now.”

“I can?” Sally asked.

“As soon as I sign your release, you’re free to go. Just don’t do too much for the next few days. And try not to stab anyone.”

Sally looked down at the hospital gown she’d changed into.

Alastair put a small suitcase on the end of her bed. “Your dad left this with me. He went to your apartment with your mom before they came here.”

“That was so thoughtful.” Sally blinked back the tears in her eyes.

Alastair looked at Todd. “Yeah, I thought so, too.”

Todd picked up his jacket. “I’ll wait for you on the other side of the curtain.”

Sally nodded and watched Todd and Alastair leave.

“You’re lucky to have such a good friend,” Samantha said. “Now let’s get you ready to go home.”

Sally opened the case and looked at what her parents had packed. She
was
lucky to have Todd as a friend. Luckier than she had realized.