Head Over Heels (The Bridesmaids Club Book 3) (29 page)

Dylan had been filling half a dozen containers with potting mix and daisies. Sally thought they’d pretty up the front of his home. Todd knew they would, but he’d never been much of a gardener. Which was why Dylan was on landscape duties and Todd was fixing the swing.

Dylan stuck his hands on his hips and watched what Todd was doing. “Anyone would think you’ve got the nesting bug. What is it with the flowers and painting?”

Todd shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve done nothing to the house since I bought the property. It was time I tidied it up.”

“You’re not thinking of selling are you?”

Todd glanced over his shoulder at Dylan. “I’ve thought about it, but no. Moving won’t solve my problems.”

“What will?”

Todd looked back at the swing. “Depends on which one you’re talking about.”

Dylan snorted. “Start at the top and work your way down.”

“I will if you give me a hand to lift the seat off the frame.”

“I always knew there was a multi-tasking brain beneath that cowboy hat.” Dylan wiped his hands on the side of his jeans and stood at one end of the swing. “On three?”

Todd nodded. “Put it on the drop cloth beside me. One…two…three…”

They lifted the swing off the metal frame and frog-marched it across the wooden porch.

“Jeez,” Dylan said as they lowered it to the ground. “It may not be pretty, but man, it weighs a ton.”

“Built to last.” Todd looked critically at the seat. He didn’t know how he was going to get it painted and back on its frame on his own. He might have to make lunch for Dylan more often.

“What’s number one?”

Todd looked blankly at Dylan.

“Your problems. Start at the top.”

“Has anyone told you how annoying you can be?”

Dylan smiled. “All the time. Why do you think I’m in security? Clients don’t tend to argue with me when I’m protecting them.”

“Or shooting the bad guys,” Todd muttered.

“That too. Stop changing the subject.”

Todd picked up a sanding block and kneeled on the porch. “My first problem is me.”

“No kidding.”

“You’re supposed to be helping, not making me feel worse.”

Dylan picked up another sheet of sandpaper and started rubbing the wood. “I get what you’re saying. Self-doubt is a killer. Literally. You want to feel sorry for yourself, go ahead. But give me an idea of how you’re going to fix problem number one.”

Todd looked at the sanding block in his hand and started rubbing the wood. “I’ve already started. I visited Emma and Josh’s graves while I was in Worland.”

“How did that go?”

“I knew it was going to be hard. I hadn’t been out there since their funeral. I took Max. He’s a good listener.”

Dylan glanced across the porch at the browny-gray shape curled against the rails. “Did it help?”

Todd nodded. “More than I realized.”

Dylan finished giving the arms of the chair a light sand. “Are you going to paint or stain the wood?”

“Paint. There’s a photo of the ranch house in the public library. I’ve copied the colors the original owners used.”

Dylan looked around the porch and smiled. “They must have had quite a creative streak. White on white is so…”

“Boring?”

“I was going to say…easy. It’s crisp, clean, and goes with anything.”

Todd sanded a stubborn patch of paint. “You sound like Sally.”

“Is she problem number two?”

Todd shook his head and smiled. “She’s not a problem. She’s an opportunity.”

“Mmm…”

“What?”

“I felt the same about Annie and look where we ended up.” Todd watched Dylan’s face soften. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“You’re lucky.”

“We’re both lucky.”

Todd frowned as his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the caller display. “It’s Detective Munroe.”

Dylan stopped sanding.

Todd put the phone to his ear and wondered why the detective would be calling him. “Hello?”

“Todd? It’s Brian Munroe. I’ve got some news for you. You need to sit down.”

Todd glanced at Dylan. “I’m on my knees already. What’s going on?”

“The FBI arrested two men last night. They were attempting to cross the Canadian border with a shipment of cocaine.”

“What’s that got to do with me?”

Detective Munroe didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “They had information about your wife and son’s murder. Mitch Zambezi wasn’t involved.”

“What?”

“The man behind their murders wasn’t interested in whether you were testifying against Mitch Zambezi or not. It was a mistake. The men who killed your wife and son went to the wrong house. You weren’t their intended target.”

Todd sank to the ground. “Are you sure?”

“The man responsible was their boss. They kept evidence of what he’d been doing.”

He tried to process what Detective Munroe was saying. But all he could think about was the mistake that had cost his wife and son their lives.

“Are you still there, Todd?”

He took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m here.”

Dylan sat beside him, offering his quiet support for something he hadn’t expected to hear.

Todd stared at the porch swing, but didn’t see a thing. He tried to think clearly, to make sense of what Detective Munroe was saying. “If Mitch Zambezi had nothing to do with Emma and Josh’s deaths, why is he following me?”

“You uncovered the child smuggling ring he’d set up. He wanted you dead before you came to us with your evidence.”

Todd rubbed his eyes with his hand. He felt like he’d stepped into a bad nightmare that had just taken a dirty, twisted, turn. “What about Sally? Why did they try to kidnap her?”

“To hurt you.”

Todd didn’t know what to say or think. So he sat perfectly still, lost in four years of grief and despair.

“Todd?” Detective Munroe’s voice sounded worried.

“I’m here.”

“We’ve arrested the man who murdered your family. You’ll need to testify in court, but I don’t expect anyone to come after you. We’ve got enough evidence to put him away for a long time. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, once you’ve had time to let everything I’ve said sink in. Have you got someone with you?”

Todd looked across at Dylan. “Yeah, Dylan’s here.”

“Hand the phone to him.”

Todd passed the phone across to Dylan. He didn’t wait to hear what Detective Munroe had to say. He needed to stand up, walk away, and try to make sense of what he’d just been told.

***

“Are you okay?”

Todd stared into the creek. “No.”

Dylan sat down beside him. “Detective Munroe told me what happened. I’m sorry.”

Todd picked up a round, flat, stone and threw it into the water. “It was all a mistake. They didn’t need to die.”

Dylan bent his knees and rested his hands on them. “No, they didn’t.”

Todd wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. “For four years I thought it was me. I thought I’d killed my family because I’d seen a murder.”

“You couldn’t have done anything to stop what happened.”

Todd didn’t say anything. Dylan was wrong. There were a lot of things he could have done differently. He could have turned a blind eye, pretended he’d never seen the person being murdered in the street. He could have insisted his family join the witness protection program earlier. He could have made sure they’d taken the threat to their life more seriously.

It didn’t matter that his wife and son weren’t supposed to die. If he’d taken better care of them, they would have been gone from their home before the killers arrived.

Todd was lost in so many memories that he felt as though he was drowning.

Dylan found a stone and threw it at the surface of the creek. It skipped along the top, then sank, disappearing from sight. “The FBI are going to call you when they find out when the case is going to court. Until then, there isn’t a lot you can do.”

Todd nodded. They sat on the edge of the creek, throwing stones in the water and watching the current flow downstream.

“Where’s Max?” Dylan asked.

“He ran across to the tree house. He’s probably chewing on the rope ladder.”

“You need to get him some decent doggy toys.”

Todd thought about the type of things Max liked to play with. There weren’t many toys that his giant jaws wouldn’t demolish in a few minutes.

Dylan turned toward the tree house. “He’s on his way here now.”

Todd watched Max gallop across the field. He still couldn’t believe how someone could have abandoned the big Irish wolfhound. Sure, he was the size of a small pony, but he had a lot going for him.

Max skidded to a halt beside Todd. He watched Dylan throw another rock in the creek.

“You know that you’re going to have to find him a stick?” Todd asked Dylan.

At the word ‘stick’, Max’s shaggy eyebrows lifted in anticipation. His back legs started to tremble and he gave an excited bark.

Dylan stood up and started looking on the ground. “I wouldn’t do this for any dog, Max, but you’re special.”

Max looked so happy that Todd was surprised he didn’t start licking Dylan. But Max had more important things to consider. Stick chasing was serious business, and if there was ever a dog who was up for the challenge, it was Max.

With a quick flick of his wrist, Dylan threw a stick toward the pine trees. Max tore across the ground. He leaped over a fallen log, skidded to a halt, then held the stick triumphantly in his jaws.

With a proud tilt to his head, Max came trotting back to Dylan. He dropped the stick on the ground and sat on his bottom, waiting for the next throw.

Dylan smiled and rubbed Max’s head. “Good boy.”

Max looked down at the stick, then back up at Dylan.

“Okay, Max. But this is the last one.”

Max gave a short, sharp, bark, and then he was off, tearing across the ground, pouncing on the stick Dylan had thrown.

Todd pulled a bunch of tissues out of his pocket and blew his nose. Wallowing in self-pity wasn’t going to change what had happened. His wife and son had been killed. Whether it was intentional or not, it made no difference to the outcome.

He had to learn to live with the grief. Learn to live with the pain of knowing it didn’t need to happen.

Max and Dylan were busy playing tug-of-war with the stick. Max was winning. With one fast shake of his head, he pulled the stick out of Dylan’s hands and raced toward the pine trees.

“I think he wants you to follow him,” Todd said quietly.

“He’s out of luck. Are you ready to buy me dinner?”

“I thought you were going to the movies with Annie?”

Dylan shrugged his shoulders. “She’ll drag me along to a chick-flick. You’ll be saving me from two hours of boredom.”

Todd grunted. “You’ll get me into trouble.”

“No more than I normally do. And because you’re paying, how about we have Thai takeout?”

“Are you sure Annie won’t mind?”

Dylan grinned. “I’m sure, but I’d better call her. She’ll probably ask her friends if they want to go with her.”

They walked back to Todd’s home with Max running ahead of them. The sun was getting low, brushing the land in a soft, pink glow. Todd looked around his ranch. He’d made a good life for himself. He had a part-time job, a place that had become his home. For the best part of four years he’d kept to himself, did what he needed to do and ignored everything around him. But he wasn’t doing that anymore.

Max barked, reminding him that a certain Irish wolfhound had become part of his future. And that wasn’t all that had happened. He’d met Sally. She made him feel things that he thought he’d never feel again. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized that the life he was living was only part of who he could be. She made him believe in love again.

Dylan glanced across at him. “Everything will be all right.”

Todd took a deep breath and thought about Sally. “Yeah. I think it will.”

***

Todd knocked on the front door of The Bridesmaids Club. He’d waited all day before calling Sally. He needed to talk to her, tell her what had happened. He hadn’t slept well last night. Flashbacks had filled his dreams, images and sounds of the night his wife and son had died. After a full day working at the veterinary practice, he was exhausted.

“Come in.” Molly’s voice drifted toward him, her Irish accent almost bringing a smile to his face.

He opened the door and walked into the loft. The smell of coffee filled the room. A bowl of half-eaten fruit salad sat on the kitchen counter with a box of doughnuts beside it.

“You’re just in time,” Molly said. She was standing beside the big window overlooking Logan’s front yard, taking photos of someone. The shutter clicked and she smiled. “That’s grand. Turn a little to your right.”