Long Way Home (25 page)

         “But,
Shane, it’s...you were on the path to make Ranger.”

         He
shrugged.  “I stopped caring the day you left.  I couldn’t go back
and work with Pete and Joe.  Right or wrong, I knew I couldn’t work with
them every day and not think about what had happened to you.  I don’t know
what I would have done if I had been in the control room that day and lost contact
with you.  I’d like to think that I’d have pulled the plug on it all weeks
before, but I just don’t know.”

         “I’ve
talked to Pete and Joe since it all ended.  I even talked to Crownover,
who is not my biggest fan right now, let me tell you.”

         A
dimple appeared in his cheek.  “Crownover is very protective of me.”

         “Obviously. 
Do you know his first name?”

         He
laughed.  “Yeah, actually, I do.”

         She
smiled.  “So do I...now.”

         He
looked stunned.  “What?  How do you know?”

         “He
told me.”

         “He
did not,” he countered.

         She
nodded.  “Really, he did.  He came to see me in the hospital. 
He didn’t know I was awake and he leaned down and said, ‘if it will help you
get better any faster, my first name is Bartholomew.’  It took everything
I had not to open my eyes and gape at him.”

         Shane
busted out laughing.  She narrowed her eyes at him.

         “What?”

         “His
name is Harry.”

         “What?!”

         He
wiped a tear from his eye.  “He must have known you were awake and was
yanking your chain.  His name is Harry Crownover, Jr.”

         “Is
his middle name Bartholomew?”

         “Nope. 
Edward.”

         “That
jerk!  I’m gonna get him next time I see him.  Why would he do that?”

         “He
has always hated his name.  He didn’t get along with his father at all.”

         “Yeah,
but why tell me...oh well, doesn’t matter.  I’ll get him.”

         Shane
laughed and reached out tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, watching her
closely to make sure she didn’t flinch or move from his touch.   To
his surprise, she reached up and captured his hand, turning her head to press a
kiss to his palm.  His eyes closed briefly, then he stepped closer to her.

         “Tessa?”

         “Yes?”

         “May
I kiss you?”

         She
smiled and his heart soared. 

         “Please
do,” she said.

         He
leaned down and kissed her brow, then her left cheek, then a lingering kiss on
her right cheek where she now had a metal plate inserted, then placed a kiss to
the corner of her mouth before gently pressing his lips to hers.  It was
sweet, gentle contact, but when he moved to pull away, she slid her hand to the
back of his neck and licked at his lips until he deepened the kiss and folded
her fully into his arms.

         A
tear slipped down her cheek and she tightened her hold on him.  All these
months, this was where she wanted to be but was terrified to find out if she
could ever handle it again.  She should have known, though, that she would
never have cause to fear this; this was Shane, her rock, her home.

         “Don’t
cry, Tess,” he said against her lips.

         “These
are happy tears,” she told him, stroking her hand over his face in a light
caress. 

         He
kissed each cheek, kissing her tears away.

         “No
more tears, Tess.  Promise me.  Not one more tear.  I can’t
handle your tears.”

         A
little half laugh escaped her.  “I’ll do my best, but no guarantees. 
I’m a girl, after all.”

         He
kissed her once more, then took a step back.

         “How
about we order a pizza and see if the Rangers are playing, or watch a movie.”

         She
looked up into his bright blue eyes and smiled.  “Sounds like Heaven to
me.”

         Opportunities
presented themselves to those who knew where to look.  Nathaniel Helton had
made a successful career out of spotting prime opportunities and exploiting
them for all they were worth.  Upon arriving at the incarceration
facilities, he quickly learned he could charm the guards and learned which ones
would be most susceptible to bribery.  It wasn’t long before he was moved
to a cell adjoining Paul’s and not long after, they were able to hatch a good
escape plan.  All it took was charming the right people, bribing the
others and one day, when attention was conveniently turned away from them, they
were able to slip right out the door and right out the front gate.

         Madelyn
Parker, aka Special Agent Tessa Kelly.  She was his focus now, along with
her lover, Sheriff Shane McCanton.  They would pay and pay dearly; he and
Paul would ensure that.

         Just
as requested, a loyal follower picked him and Paul up just a mile past the
woods outside the penitentiary.  It wouldn’t be long before that whore got
what was coming to her now.  All he had to do was wait...

         It
had been a week since the night Shane and Tessa worked out their
differences.  They’d stayed quiet during that time, choosing to keep their
relationship private for as long as they could manage it; which they both knew
wouldn’t be long.  Tessa’s mother and Gib knew, and Shane’s father but
that was it, as far as they knew.  Keeping their relationship a secret in
this town, though, wasn’t going to work and they both knew it was only a matter
of time before folks began to put two and two together.  As much as Tessa
really didn’t want to, she knew it was time for them to let his mother in on
what was going on before she heard about it from someone else.

         “You’re
right,” Shane admitted when she told him as much when they sat together on his
back porch, listening to the sounds of the waterfall.

         “Do
you think your mother will be upset again?”

         He
was idly stroking her hair, her head resting on his shoulder.  “I honestly
don’t know.  Her attitude about your mother has changed a lot since Gib is
in the picture.   She may not care so much now.”

         “One
of the times Mama and Gib came to Cabo, I asked her about your dad, about how
she really felt about him all those years.  She said what I pretty much
always knew, that he was her first love and she always held a special place for
him and when things went bad with Harrison, she knew she could always count on
Luke to keep her safe but she said at that point, what she felt for him was
just friendship.  She’d loved Harrison until that accident when we were
kids changed him.  She said, though, that having met Gib, she knew that
what she felt for both Luke and Harrison was never the real thing like she has
with Gib.  Gib was married before, but his wife died of cancer.  He
buried himself in his work, never remarried and never really had a relationship
until now.  He didn’t have kids of his own, either, which is kinda sad,
because I think he would make a great father.”

         Shane
kissed her brow.  “What are you talking about?  He’s been your father
essentially for the last eleven or twelve years.”

         She
smiled.  “I know.  I really lucked out, drawing the assignment to his
office when I was fresh out of Basics.  He looked out for me and taught me
a lot.  I’m really not surprised he and Mama hit it off.  I talked
about them both to each other all the time...So, what are you thinking about
your mom and sisters?”

         He
drew in a deep breath and released it slowly.  “I’m not worried about my
sisters.  Once I tell Mom, she’ll give them an earful so by the time I
talk to them, the shock will have worn off.  And besides, they both have
always liked you so there really isn’t anything to worry about there.”

         Tessa
laced her fingers with his and stroked her other hand over the back of the one
she held, trying to calm her racing heart.

         “Do
you think your mother will be OK?  Was it just the fact that I was Mary’s
daughter she didn’t like, or did she really not like me?”

         “It
had nothing to do with you, baby.  She may be a little frosty at first,
but she’ll come around.”

         “I
hope so,” Tessa sighed.

         The
next day, Shane asked his parents if he could come over for lunch.  Susie
had immediately agreed and so he found himself pulling into their drive, his
heart hammering. 

         “I’m
so glad you called,” she said to him after they’d eaten, “I wanted to talk to you. 
I saw Wendy yesterday.  She looked just plain awful and she said y’all
were no longer seeing each other.  What happened?  I thought things
were going well for you two.”

         He
sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.  “It was.  Wendy is the first
person I’ve had any interest in dating in a long time...since Tessa.”

         He
watched her be taken back by Tessa’s name.  “Tessa?  But you dated a
few women since high school.”

         “Yeah,
but, see...Tessa came back into my life nearly two years ago.  We worked a
case together.  An investigation that nearly got her killed.  That
did get her severely beaten...and during that time, we got engaged.”

         Susie
gasped.  “Engaged?  And you’re just now telling me?!”

         “I
didn’t tell anyone.  Things were...well, we only had a short amount of
time to be together before she was sent in undercover...deep undercover for
months.  And then Dad’s accident happened and I left and the investigation
took a nasty turn.  That was why I had to leave as abruptly as I did when
Dad was still in the hospital and why I was so wrecked when I came back. 
Tessa was...they broke her...and trying to protect me, she cut me loose, and so
when I came back here, I was just...”

         “I
know how you were,” she replied softly.

         “Yeah,
well...when I met Wendy, I thought I could move on with her.  And she did
help me...but, she wasn’t Tessa.”

         Susie
sighed.  “And now Tessa is back.”

         He
nodded.  “And now Tessa is back.”

         She
stood and began clearing the table.  Shane met his dad’s gaze and shook
his head.  Neither of them was quite sure how she was taking it, but
neither wanted to be the one to push her on it.

         “How
is Tessa doing?” Luke asked, his voice low.  “How bad were her injuries?”

         Shane
knew his dad already knew the answers but was asking for his mom’s benefit.

         “She
has a metal plate in her face, pins in her shoulder;  she’s got whip scars
on her back, even though she’s had several skin grafts to reduce the scarring,
surgical scars on her lower abdomen and a gunshot scar...that she got because I
shot her.”

         Susie
froze in clearing the table and looked at him, alarm on her face.  “You
shot Tessa?”

         “She
was being held as a shield.  Was the only way to get her free.”

         Her
eyes widened, horrified.  “So you shot her?!?  Shane Gabriel!”

         “I
knew what I was doing.  Dad taught me to shoot well, and I’m pretty good
at it.  I knew I wouldn’t hit anything vital on her.”

         She
was quiet a moment, sinking back down into her chair.  

         “Are
you back together with her now?”

         He
met her direct gaze.  “I’m hoping to be.  We talked some things out
at Steve’s last weekend, and I brought her to see the house.  Look, Ma, I
know you haven’t ever really approved of Tessa...”

         She
cut him off.  “It wasn’t Tessa.  It was that she was Mary Kelly’s
daughter, you know that.  Right or wrong, it was how I felt.”

         “I
gotta know if you still feel that way, because...I want Tessa in my life.”

         She
closed her eyes a moment, then looked back into his.  “And Wendy?”

         “I
talked to her that night we had dinner at Miss Nettie’s when Cordy was in
town.  Of course, she isn’t happy, but she said she understands.”

         Susie
sighed.  “Yes, she would.  Wendy is a very nice girl.”

         “So
is Tessa,” he countered.  “You just never gave her a chance.”

         Susie
wiped a tear from her cheek.  “It hurts to know you had a whole
relationship going with her, long enough that you were engaged, and you couldn’t
tell me.  I know it is because of how I treated you when you were kids.”

         “I didn’t
want to keep it from you...things were...intense.  We only had a couple of
months together before the investigation heated up and she was sent in
undercover.  Then she was under for three months, in the hospital for six
weeks, and then she spent the last year in Cabo San Lucas at Gib’s condo on the
beach, healing, as much as she could.  She was tortured, and she was
raped.”  Susie gasped, more tears falling down her cheeks.  “She’d
had an injury when she was in the Army, shrapnel from an IED attack pierced her
uterus.  The rapes further injured her uterus and now the doctors think
she will never be able to carry a pregnancy to term.  That is why she sent
me away.  She didn’t want me to give up my chance at a family.”

         Susie
looked to Luke, reaching for his hand.  Luke cupped her neck in his hand
and placed a gentle kiss to her brow.

         “I
don’t want you to miss your chance at a family of your own, either,” she
admitted, “but if you love her, if you truly love her, I don’t see how you
could walk away from her because of that.”

         Shane
sighed and swallowed hard at the lump that had formed in his throat.  “I
do love her.  And I can’t just walk away.  It almost killed me to not
be with her this last year.  She’s back and she’s willing to take me back
and try to make a go of it.  And I want it to work, Mom...I love her so
damn much.”

         Susie
nodded, reaching out to lay her hand on her son’s cheek.  “I can see that
you do.  Why don’t you bring her over for dinner Friday night?  She
and I need to talk.”

         He
closed his eyes briefly, and then pulled his mother into a tight embrace. 
“Thank you, Mom...that means...everything to me.”

         She
returned his embrace, holding him just as tight.  “I’m sorry you felt you
couldn’t talk to me about it, baby.  I love you.  I only want what
will make you happy.”

         That
Friday night, Shane picked Tessa up and drove her, Mary and Gib out to his
parents’ house.  Tessa and Mary were both nervous.  The approval of
Susie McCanton was something they both had sought at one time or another. 
Mary had only ever wanted her friendship, but had always done her best to steer
clear of her because of her past relationship with Luke.  Tessa had never
really cared much about Susie’s lack of approval, until that night she’d seen
Wendy sitting at the table at Miss Nettie’s as an accepted member of the
family.  She had to admit, that bothered her. 

         Now,
she only cared for her approval in so far as she knew it was what Shane wanted
and needed.  For herself, she only needed Shane, and whatever would make
him happy.

         “So,
Shane’s father was your first boyfriend, huh?” Gib teased Mary as they turned
down the road toward the McCanton’s ranch.  “Should I be worried, here?”

         Mary
laughed.  “Of course not.  Luke and I have been friends ever since he
came back to town after he and Susie married.  I’ve told you that.”

         “Just
trying to lighten the mood here,” he teased, “relax, ladies.  It will all
be all right.”

         “I
just want it all to go smooth for Tessa,” Mary confessed.

         Tessa
turned slightly in her seat and offered her mother a smile.  “I took on
the entire Naturalists’ hierarchy, I think I can handle Susie McCanton.”

         Shane
glanced at her.  “She’s my mother, not Attila the Hun,” he teased. “And
besides, she feels bad for how she treated you before.”

         Tessa
shrugged.  “She really didn’t treat me any way at all...she just ignored
me.  It was how she treated you about me that was upsetting.  But
that was a long time ago.”

         “What
about Cordy and Gracie?” Mary asked.

         “Cordy
and Gracie have always liked Tessa.  No worries there.”

         “But
they liked Wendy, too,” Tessa offered.

         He
took her hand and kissed her knuckles when he turned into his parents
drive.  “Cordy and Gracie like everyone.  Relax.”

         Tessa
smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek when they parked.  “I’m fine,
Shane, don’t worry about me.”

         When
they got out, Susie and Luke were waiting for them on the front porch. 
Susie watched Shane slide his arm around Tessa’s waist as they walked up the
steps.  She took in Tessa’s smile at her son and noted that they looked
right together, and that for the first time in a long time, Shane’s eyes looked
settled.  Tessa was the piece that had been missing from his life ever
since he’d come home, and as much as she still felt a little pang of jealousy
that it was Mary Kelly’s daughter who made her son happy, she decided in that
moment that his happiness was all that mattered.

         “Tessa,”
Susie said, stepping up to her and holding both hands out to take Tessa’s in
hers.  “You look absolutely beautiful,” she complimented her, squeezing
Tessa’s hands when she placed them in hers.  “I’m so glad you’re home.”

         Tessa
shot a surprised look over her shoulder to Shane and her mother before
returning Susie’s greeting.

         “Thank
you, Mrs. McCanton.  It’s good to be home.”

         “Please,
call me Susie.  Mary, Mr. Gibson, thank you for coming out.”

         “Call
me Gib,” he said, shaking her hand and then Luke’s.  “Thanks for inviting
us.”

         Mary
smiled at Susie and the women embraced, and just like that, Tessa and Mary were
welcomed into the McCanton fold.    Tessa smiled at Gib, knowing
that whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had a big part in this, just by
virtue of loving her mother.