Her Last Love (Small Town Hearts Trilogy #1) (15 page)

"That's not a bad idea, actually."  

"I have them every now and again."  

Lynn laughed as she sat back up and started to eat her dinner once more. She mulled everything over as she spread the seasoned chicken, bright bell peppers and tangy onions of a fajita over a soft taco shell. Adding a generous dollop of sour cream, she rolled it up and took a bite, watching as Carter did the same.  

"Will you talk to her again?"  

"Sorry?" Carter spoke around his mouthful, wiped his chin with a paper towel as he looked her way. "Talk to Hillary again? About what happened today?" He thought about it while he chewed, swallowed. "I could, if you want me to. Doubt it'll do any good though. I told her before to leave you alone, and the first thing she did was track you down so she could confront you."  

"Yeah, you're right. No sense in you rocking the boat any more than necessary while you are trying to get this divorce through the courts. Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it."  

"You have nothing to apologize for. It's a screwed up situation all around."  

"Yeah, it really is."  

"There is one thing, in all this mess and drama, that I do know."  

"What's that?"  

"I know she's wrong about you in so many ways, but most especially when it comes to the boys." He reached out to gently tuck stray strands of hair behind her ear. "You are a positive influence on them, a point of good in a not-so-good situation. And because of that, the boys really like you. Know what else?"  

"What?"  

"No matter what Hillary does or says, I'll still want to see you. Still want to be with you. Because I know the kind of person you are, what's in your heart. And that's the kind of person I want to be with."  

With a sniff to hold back the threatening tears, Lynn leaned over to lay her head on Carter's shoulder.  

"You're so sweet to me." Another loud sniffle. "Everything you just said to me?"  

"Yeah?"  

"Right back at ya. You're the kind of person I want to be with, too."  

"Good." Carter slid his arm around her shoulder to hold her a little closer. laid his cheek on her head. "Now that we understand that, what do you say we put the rest of today behind us, put a movie in, and pig out on the rest of this food?"  

Lynn pulled back slightly, just enough to be able to mirror his grin. Glad to be done with the drama of the day, Lynn toasted Carter with the remainder of her fajita.   

"I'd say that's the best offer I've had all day."   

9

Life seemed to be coming together for Lynn. She'd been home for two months now, and she felt settled. She had a job she enjoyed, much to her surprise. A house that, though technically not hers, she could claim as her home. A relationship with a man she'd loved half her life, and whose two sons she adored. And friends and family close by, people who were now informed of the entire reason she left the service, thanks to Carter's support. 

Lynn couldn't help but feel content as she drove home from work on a Friday afternoon. She had the radio cranked up and was singing along to Adele, while admiring the holiday decorations that were popping up for Thanksgiving. Still providing backup vocals, she turned onto the road leading to her house, tapping her hands on the wheel with the beat. Her house was almost in sight when she heard her phone ring from inside her purse. She held off on answering until she was in her own driveway, so she let it go to voicemail. Sure enough, moments later the beeping of her phone again told her that the caller had left a message. 

Pulling into her driveway, she let the song finish out before killing the engine and grabbing her purse. When she took the phone out, she saw that the call had been from Bethany, so she dialed into her voicemail. 

"Lynn, it's Bethany." Her friend's voice was tearful as the message started. "You're probably driving home right now and I know you don't answer the phone when you're driving. Something's happened and I need you to call me right away. On my cell or home phone, either one. Call me as soon as you get this." There was a sniffle, and then the call ended. 

Alarmed, Lynn pulled up Bethany's cell number in her phone and hit call. The phone rang once before it was answered. 

"Hello?" 

"Beth, it's Lynn. What's wrong?" 

"It's happened again." Lynn could hear the tears. 

"What happened?" 

"There's been another accident at the mines." 

Lynn sat, silent, as the cold chills covered her body. Prayed it wasn't the mine she feared it was, she spoke again. 

"Which mine?" 

"Three Rivers." 

"Oh, God. No. It can't be." Not where Carter was, not where Shane had lost his life. This couldn't be happening. "Where are you now?" 

"I'm at home." Bethany sniffed. "The girls just got off the bus." 

"Hang tight," Lynn ordered. "I'll be there in five minutes." She turned the engine over again, put the car in reverse and sped down the road. The drive to Bethany’s was a blank, as she'd gone into autopilot, only to realize that she was pulling into her friend's driveway minutes later.  

Rushing to the front door, her purse in one hand and her phone gripped in the other, Lynn let herself into the house. 

"Bethany?" She called out, not sure where her friend would be. "It's Lynn!" 

Bethany appeared from the hallway, her eyes red and puffy, her face streaked with tears. Seeing Lynn standing just inside the front door, she rushed over to give a hug. 

"Thank you for coming. It's silly, but as soon as the news broke, it all came rushing back. It was like it was yesterday when I got the call that Shane was trapped underground. I didn't know what else to do." 

"You did the right thing," Lynn assured her as she hung up her purse and coat. "How are the girls? Are they okay?" 

"For now." Bethany nodded. "It reminds them, but I think they're alright. They're in Harper's room, watching a movie." 

"Good." Lynn and Beth moved to the couch to sit. Lynn reached for Bethany's hand, still gripping her phone in the other. "Are there any details? Anything at all?" 

"No." Bethany shook her head, taking in a ragged breath. "Nothing's been released so far except that there's been some kind of explosion or collapse, and they're in the process of making sure everyone is accounted for." 

Nodding, Lynn looked down at her phone. It hadn't rung since Bethany had called her. She was urging it to ring, telling her Carter was okay. 

"Oh, honey! You haven't heard from Carter?" 

Lynn felt the tears prick her eyes as she shook her head. Bethany scooted closer, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lynn closed her eyes, leaned into her friend, and prayed. 

"Kari's on her way over, so we can all be together. And I've told her to tell any of Shane and Carter’s old friends she sees that they are more than welcome to come and wait out the news here if they want. It's better for everyone to be together than to worry on their own." Bethany leaned back and looked at Lynn. "Let's go into the kitchen and get some coffee." 

Not wanting coffee, but knowing she wouldn't be able to sit in the living room while she waited, worried and panicked, she followed. She was halfway to the kitchen when the front door opened again, this time bringing in Kari, who had a stack of food containers in hand. 

"Hey, are you two doing okay?" Kari slid the food onto an end table, dropped her purse on the floor, and immediately gathered her friends into a group hug. "Any news?" 

"Nothing yet." Bethany replied. 

"Carter?" Kari looked to Lynn. 

"No word," Lynn whispered, looking down at her phone again. 

"Oh, hon." Another squeeze. "I'm sure he's okay. I can feel it." Kari leaned back and rubbed Lynn's upper arms.  

"Thanks, but I'll be better once I hear his voice." 

"Come on," Bethany said, starting towards the kitchen again. "Let's go get that coffee." 

"Right behind you," Kari replied, scooping up the food containers again before looking to Lynn. "It's hard, the waiting. But being with friends makes it a little easier to bear. And we're here for you, okay?" 

Lynn nodded and followed Kari into Bethany's spacious kitchen. She sat at the kitchen table, set her phone down beside the cup of coffee Bethany gave her. All she could do was stare at both. She was numb and getting number by the minute. All the what-ifs were running through her mind. What if Carter had been near the mine as it exploded? What if he was hurt, or worse? 

An hour passed, though for Lynn it felt three times as long. When the ringing of her phone brought her out of her worrying, she snatched up the phone and saw it was Carter calling. She stood up so fast that she almost tipped her chair over as she answered the phone. 

"Carter?" 

"Yeah, baby, it's me." At the sound of his voice, the tears came as Lynn collapsed back onto her chair. 

"Oh, my God Carter, I've been so worried!" She propped her elbow on the table, and her forehead on her hand. "Where are you? Are you okay?" 

"I'm on the road, going by Hillary's so the boys can see I'm fine. I wanted to call you so you'd know too." 

"Oh, thank heavens." She could feel her friends standing beside her, hands on her shoulders, as she talked. "He's fine," she whispered to them. 

"Where are you?" Carter asked. 

"I'm at Bethany's with her and the girls, and Kari." 

"If you will be there for a while, I'll just meet you there, if it's okay." 

"Yes, it's fine. Bethany's opened the house to you and the guys that worked with Shane. So text them and tell them they can come by if they have no place to go. She doesn't want anyone to wait for news alone." 

"Will do. If she can let me use her shower, I can be there in about thirty minutes, instead of stopping home first." 

"Can he use your shower, so he can come straight here?" she asked Bethany. 

"Of course. We have the second bathroom, so it's no problem." Bethany replied, waving her hand to show it was no big deal. Lynn relayed the information to Carter.  

"Tell her thanks for me. I have to get off the phone before I get pulled over. I'm almost to Hillary's anyway." 

"Okay. Be safe. And I'll see you soon." 

"See you soon." The click in her ear told her that he'd disconnected the call. As she set her phone down again, she turned to her friends. 

"He's okay. He's going to Hillary's to see the boys so they can see for themselves, but he's okay." Tears came again as she hugged her friends.  

"I'm so relieved," Bethany breathed. "For him and for you." 

"Amen." Kari added. "Let's go into the living room and turn on the news. Maybe we'll find out more about what's going on." 

"Okay, but first I'm going to go check on the girls, take them a snack." Bethany piled a few cookies on a plate, grabbed a couple juice boxes, and headed down the hall. 

"How are they handling it?" Kari asked Lynn, referring to Bethany's girls. 

"I haven't seen them yet, but Beth said they're doing okay right now. That it's a reminder, but they're handling it well." Lynn  grabbed her coffee cup, and Bethany's, and led the way back into the living room. Kari reached down to grab the remote, and clicked onto the local station where the anchor was talking about the accident.

"It has been confirmed that there are at least two miners missing among the rubble of the collapse at the Three Rivers mine. Families are flooding the gates of the mine, trying to get more information, but the names have not yet been released." 

"Oh, my." Kari murmured. 

"The cause of the collapse is currently undetermined," the anchor continued. "Safety officials say that the cause may be due to pressure build-up in the mine walls, but until all men are accounted for, a rescue mission is their first priority. We'll have more news for you as it becomes available." 

"That's awful," Lynn breathed, as Kari turned the volume down with the remote.  

"What? Did they have any more news?" Bethany asked as she came back into the room. 

"There's at least two men missing inside the collapse, but they can't or won't say who they are." Lynn responded, looking up to see Bethany gasp. 

"Just like before," she whispered. 

"We don't know that yet," Kari told her, as she rubbed her back. 

"Yes, but we know that there are at least two families out there who are wondering if their son or husband, father or brother are alive." Bethany stood up, agitated. "I can't just sit here and wait. I have to do something, keep busy. I'll go make a big pot of soup. If I have all these people possibly coming, they'll need to eat. I can freeze the rest." With that, she dashed to the kitchen. 

"Let's give her a few minutes," Kari said. "I think this is harder on her than any of us realized." 

Lynn nodded, then looked at the clock, wishing time would go by faster so that Carter would come walking through the door. Her phone rang again, but this time the call came from her parents. She needed to reassure her family, and herself, that Carter was all right. 

Forty-five minutes later, Lynn was pacing the floor. Carter should have gotten there already, but he hadn't. She understood his boys needed the reassurances much more than she did, but her worry meter was topping out again. And she knew that until she saw him, and could hold him, she wouldn't be one hundred percent convinced that he was fine. 

She paced back towards the couch again, looked at her phone and considered calling him to make sure everything was fine. Lynn debated with herself as she paced away and back again. Giving in, she swiped the screen of her phone and was preparing to dial when the front door opened. 

And finally, 
finally
, there stood Carter, filthy and tired, but whole. She shoved her phone into her pocket as he closed the door, walked over to him and placed her hands on his face. Tears filled her eyes at the knowledge she could see for herself that he was okay. 

"I'd hug you but I'm dirty," he told her. 

"I don't care." She threw her arms around his neck. He felt her sobbing against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist and just held her.  

"Honey, I'm okay," he whispered. "There's no reason for you to cry now." 

"I know. I'm just so relieved." She pulled back, wiped her face as she sniffled.  "When I found out there was an accident, and then I didn't hear from you, I got so worried." 

"I know. And I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. It took longer than I thought to convince the boys that dad was okay. I pretty much had to peel them off of me, which is understandable, considering. I would have brought them with me, but they have school in the morning and if they were with me, they'd never go to sleep. So I'll call them later to tell them good night, and they'll come over this weekend." 

Lynn nodded as Kari and Bethany both came from the kitchen and, seeing Carter, rushed to give him hugs as well.  

"We're so glad you're okay," Bethany told him. 

"Me too, believe me. I'll be even better once I clean up and sit down for a bit. I've been running on adrenaline for a couple hours now, and it's wearing off." 

"Of course. Use the guest bathroom, there on the left. You have everything you need?" 

"Right here." He retrieved the small black duffle he'd dropped on the floor, held it up. "And thanks for letting me use the shower, Bethany. I appreciate it." 

"It's no problem. Take your time." With that, Carter smiled, kissed Lynn on the cheek, and headed down the hall.