Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart (The Cedar River Series) (17 page)

We all climbed into the waiting vehicles and drove back to town. With Ana cradled in my arms, I allowed the tears to fall freely down my face and into her hair. All was well with my world.

Chapter Thirty-Two-Bowie

The next three days were hell. The bobcat family was doing remarkably well. Sylvester Williams had showed up at the community center. He apparently had taken off into the woods to escape. Families who had lost their homes where moving into homes of those who still had houses standing. We had pumas living with wolves, bears with dragons, and foxes with birds of prey. I was so proud of our community.

My parents were in my house here in town. The twins had moved in with Brady. Ana was alive, but her body was in shock from the drugs they had given her. I left my deputies in charge as I sat at Ana’s bedside all day and night. The doctors reassured me that she would wake up when she was ready. I wanted to shake her and tell her that I was ready for her to wake up, but I refrained.

Mr. Garnett came to visit Ana. He apologized for his daughter’s hand in this. After assessing the damage to our town, he’d handed Arthur Smythe a sizable check to help with the beginning of the rebuild. He promised that there would be more when it was needed. Come spring, he would be sending his construction crews out to help, too. Now, if only Ana would wake up.

It was just before sunrise on the fourth day since she’d been admitted to the hospital. I was watching the sunrise from her window when I heard, “Bowie?” in a raspy voice. I turned and tripped over my own feet to get to her bedside.

“Tell me I’m not dreaming. Tell me you’re really here.” She raised her hand to my face and began crying.

“I’m here, kitten. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.” I brushed my lips over hers.

“I love you,” she said before she fell back to sleep.

I left her side once I was sure she was asleep. The humans involved had disappeared into the woods; a form of backwoods justice, if you will. The Dragon Council was meeting to hand down Meredith Garnett’s sentence. In the front row sat Mr. Garnett and an older woman I assumed was his wife.

Dad was not allowed to rule on the judgment due to his relationship with Anastasia. He and Mama sat in the back row with Brady, Colin and Callum. I sat down beside them and listened to Arthur Smythe hand down the sentence.

“Meredith Garnett Rush, you have violated every form of shifter law. You have shown no remorse for the crimes you have committed. From kidnapping, rape and murder, your charges are many. You will be shown no mercy. It is the decision of the Dragon Council of Cedar River that for your crimes, you will be put to death.” Arthur nodded at Mr. Garnett who walked to his daughter’s side. He kissed her cheek and told her that he loved her. Then in true dragon style, he put his hand into her chest and pulled out her heart. He fell to his knees and sobbed. His daughter’s heart lay on the floor at her feet.

Mrs. Garnett knelt beside her husband and cried with him. Members of the council offered words of comfort to them. They had only one request of the council and that was that they be allowed to take their daughter’s body back to Boston. The council had granted that one request.

We walked outside and Mama hugged me tight, “How is she?”

“She woke up for a bit before I came over. I think she’s going to be alright.”

I walked the streets of our town and looked at what was left. People were cleaning up, preparing their property for spring when they could re-build their homes. The Simpsons had re-opened the supermarket complete with charge accounts for every family. The store had been relatively unharmed. Apartment buildings on the outskirts of town were offering the unrented apartments to any family in need for free. As proud as I was, I felt guilty for allowing Ana to be taken and abused. She had bruises all over her body where she’d been beaten. It made my heart happy to know that she had fought back, but she shouldn’t have had to fight at all. If only I hadn’t left her.

Chapter Thirty-Three-Ana

I hadn’t seen Bowie for two days, but I figured he was busy with the townspeople. Colin told me that the town was destroyed, though a few buildings survived. The sheriff’s station, the supermarket, the drugstore, the bank and community center suffered very little damage. Apartment buildings on the outskirts of town  were also untouched.

Mama and Papa brought me food when they came to see me.

“Where’s Bowie?” I asked Mama the first day.

“Oh, baby girl, he’s so busy. He’ll probably be up later today.” He never showed up. Nor did he show the next day. My heart hurt. Dr. Goodman came in to check me over.

“Ana, as much as I hate to send you home, I need your bed. If you can get to the woods for a shift, your wounds will heal. Just take it easy for the next few days.” He stepped out of the room and turned back, “Happy New Year, Ana!”

I looked out the window. I had missed New Year’s Day. But this was a brand-new year and, I hoped, a brand-new start. Callum came to pick me up, “Mama and Papa are at Bowie’s preparing a party for you. Act surprised when you get there, okay? We’ve missed you, Annie.”

He helped me pull on the clothes he’d found for me, a pair of Bowie’s sweatpants and one of his sweatshirts. I breathed his scent in as deep as I could.

“Is Bowie home?”

Callum looked at the floor, “Uhm, no. He’s out helping the wolf packs sift through the wreckage.”

“Oh, okay,” I answered sadly. Why didn’t he want to see me? Oh, gods. He was mad at me for getting taken, wasn’t he? That was the only thing it could be.

Papa had set up a pine tree in Bowie’s living room. Mama had strung popcorn and cranberries around it. Brady and Colin has brought the presents that they had saved from the house.

Callum hugged me tight to his side, “Happy Yule, Ana!”

I began to sob uncontrollably. Papa scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the sofa.

“How are you feeling, my angel?”

I just sat and cried. I must have cried myself to sleep because it was a few hours later when Brady woke me up. “You want to go to the woods?”

 I nodded because I didn’t trust myself to speak.

My heart felt heavy as Brady pulled into the driveway. Instead of the huge two story house standing there to meet us, a blackened shell and rubble stood in its place. Tears fell.

Brady crushed my hand in his, “I know how you feel, kitten. It breaks my heart to see this. We’re going to build another come spring. I’ve talked to Dad and I think I’m going to build out here, too. Put us all back on the same compound again.”

Off to the left of the house stood the workshop and storage shed, unharmed. Brady parked beside the shed and helped me out.

“Let’s walk for a little bit.” He took my hand and we walked through the familiar woods.

The earth welcomed me with open arms as the sun hit the pine needles on the snow. My energy level rose with each step I took. Mother Earth was recharging my batteries. The snow crunched beneath my feet. As we walked, I realized where we were going…the cabin.

“I know you wanted to go here Christmas Eve and you didn’t get to. Bowie asked that I bring you here as soon as I could.”

My anger and frustration burst through the thin shell I had maintained. I rounded on Brady, “Why the hell didn’t he do it himself? Is he that ashamed of me? I ran like he told me to. I shifted and ran as fast as I could. I didn’t know the black-hearted bitch would be waiting for me. Look at me, Brady. I fought with everything I had to keep from being taken. Where is that bitch? I’ll show you where I took a chunk of her flesh from her.”

Brady leaned against the oak tree where I was supposed to have gone that night. He didn’t say a word, but he stood there with a smile on his face.

“Fuck you, Brady!” I said as I walked away.

“Your fight isn’t with me, kitten. He’s not mad at you. He’s mad at himself.”

I turned around and looked at Brady, “What the fuck for?”

Brady chuckled softly, “He promised to keep you safe always, and he feels like he let you down. He feels as if you’d be better off without him.”

I looked up at the trees. “What a fucking load of bullshit! That sonofabitch! When the hell did he get to make decisions about what is right for me? I am a godsdamn grown ass woman!”

Of course, Brady just stood there and listened to my tirade. I was done with tears, now I was fighting mad, and I knew who I needed to unleash my fury on, but the damn coward wouldn’t face me.

I walked to the cabin and looked at the mess that still stood there. I looked at Brady, “Can you help me tear this down? I think I want to build another cabin here. This is my property right?”

 “As far as I know it is. Are you sure you want to tear it down?”

“I’m ready to let go of the past. It looks as if that bastard brother of yours can’t figure out what he wants so I’ll make a future with or without him.”

Brady nodded, “I’ll bring the twins out to help tear it down.”

“I’m going to help, too, Brady. This is going to be
my
home.”

I stripped down and shifted to puma. The lake shore beckoned me so I ran to the place where sand met forest. I sat on a fallen log and looked out over the water. Brady silently sat beside me.

“He loves you, kitten. Colin and Callum have been all over him the last few days. I punched him. I haven’t fought with Bowie since we were teenagers. But I don’t think anyone is as pissed at him as he is pissed at himself.” I leaned my cat head against his shoulder. “Take it easy on him, kitten.”

I leapt off the log and ran back to the cabin. I shifted and waited for Brady. We walked back to the truck. The drive back to town was silent.

Chapter Thirty-Four-Bowie

Mama wanted me to come home for dinner, but I couldn’t face Ana. I had broken my vow to her. I had promised to keep her safe and I had failed. The bruises that covered her body made me sick. They were probably gone by now since Brady took her to the woods today. I still couldn’t look at her. I didn’t want to see the accusation in her eyes. I had let my family down and I’d allowed my mate to be injured.

I went home to change my clothes. Ana was curled up on the couch when I got there. Mama and Papa were in the kitchen fixing dinner.

 “Bowie!” Mama said when I kissed her cheek. “You’re staying for dinner, right?”

“No, Mama, I can’t. I’m trying to get some paperwork straightened out. I’m meeting Dan, the sheriff in Pine Bluff, to go over some things. Insurance stuff so that everyone can get their claims in to their companies.”

Mama turned back to peeling potatoes, sadness showing on her face. “We are celebrating the fact that our family is intact. That we have been blessed to have one more day with those we love.” Tears fell down my mom’s face. My mother threw her knife into the sink and walked away.

Dad just looked at me, “I don’t know what demons are chasing you, son, but you’d better get them fought. You can’t keep running away from them. That woman sitting there on that couch isn’t going to disappear. You love her and she loves you. Right now, she needs to feel that.”

“I can’t, Dad. I just can’t. I’m going to stay with Dan tonight so let Ana have my bed.” I packed a bag from the clothes in the laundry room so I didn’t even have to see her.

“Tell everyone I will see them later,” I said as I stepped out into the night.

Chapter Thirty-Five-Ana

I heard Bowie come home, but he never even said ‘hello’ to me. Plus he made Mama cry. That was a huge no-no to me. I was royally pissed off.

I went out to help Papa finish dinner. He hugged me tight, “He’s got to work out some issues, Ana.”

I shrugged, “I asked Brady to help me tear down what’s left of the cabin. I want to build another cabin there.”

Papa looked at me, “You will always have a home with us, you know that.”

I smiled sadly, “I know, but it can’t be uncomfortable for Bowie to come visit you and Mama. I’ll still be close. I just won’t be putting you in the middle of this mess.”

“We’ll go out and start tearing it down tomorrow. My boys and I will build you a beautiful little cabin.”

Colin, Callum and Brady came for dinner. Mama came out of the guest room, her eyes red-rimmed from crying. We sat down at the dining room table and flashes of the last time I was in this kitchen entered my mind. I couldn’t sit there anymore. I left my plate on the table and went outside.

Colin followed me out, “You okay?”

 I nodded. “I’ll be fine. Will you tell Mama I’m sorry? I’m going to take a walk. I’ll be back in a little while.”

I walked the familiar streets of Cedar River. It was depressing on one level, but reassuring on another. People were working together to help clean up. I stopped to talk to Pete who was carrying debris out of his restaurant. I got hugs from several people. Lance saw me walk by the station and he called out to me as I passed. “Doc let you out, huh?”

 “Yeah, bed space is limited. He figured after a shift or two I’d be fine.”

Lance studied me, “You look good, Ana. A lot better than when Bowie carried you out.”

“Yeah, Brady and I went to the woods today.”

Lance took my hand, “Listen, Ana. Are you and Bowie okay? He’s hardly ever here and when he is…well, ask Callum. He’s just one helluva cranky dragon.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “I don’t know anymore, Lance. I’m moving forward as best as I can. If he wants to move forward, too, then he knows where to find me.”

Lance snickered, “Adam tossed Bowie and Brady in jail the other night for fighting. Luckily, we have two cells. Brady was trying to kill Bowie.” I was astonished. Brady was the most Zen guy I knew. He just rolled with the punches, he didn’t throw them.

“Hey, Lance. Where did that redheaded bitch end up? Did you guys get her?”

 Lance’s expression became very serious, “No one told you? Bowie and I went in to pull everyone out of the house. He held a knife to her throat until she told him where you were. Her father flew in from Boston to be here when the sentence came down. Dad and the Council sentenced her to death, and her father killed her right then and there. Bowie buried her heart under where the fountain will be when it’s repaired. Her folks took her body back to Boston with them.”