Lost & Found Love (22 page)

Beep.

“Pastor—It’s John Gatewood again. The church council called an emergency meeting for Sunday evening. We’ll need you there.”

Joe hit the pause button. This was worse and worse. What had happened to the peace and unity he and Reverend Calloway from the Presbyterian Church had helped foster at Christmas? Was it all evaporating simply because he had fallen in love with Tabitha MacVie? He’d marry her tomorrow to make it all go away, but there were other considerations.

Like finding her father…and brother, giving her a chance to get to know her family before they formed their own.

He had a feeling both Stoner and Tabby would want to change her name to Richardson before he asked her to change it to Taylor. Joe wouldn’t deny them that opportunity no matter how long he had to delay their marriage for it to happen. She deserved a chance to have a real daddy and a last name that didn’t belong to someone who’d abused her, and Stoner deserved a chance to enjoy a daughter who was so obviously a kindred spirit.

Joe hit the play button again to hear the same disguised voice. “God has seen fit to punish that jezebel. Beware his wrath before it turns on you!”

This time anger stirred. Joe was tempted to erase her messages, but decided to leave them. They were disturbing, but he was still vaguely hopeful they were simply a childish prank. If not, someone sick was out there.

“Pastor.” It was his final message, and he was relieved to hear Holly Allred’s voice. “Jake told Tyler and me about Tabby’s accident. Ty is beside himself. If you can…that is if you’re up to it…if you could call and reassure him, I know he’d appreciate it.”

Joe looked at his watch. It was nine, not all that late for a Friday evening, and the walk might clear his head. He’d visit instead of call. His eyes went to Tabby’s portrait of him. Now he understood why she’d left it on his porch. She had to have done it this morning after she was put on leave. He remembered the last time she had been upset and moved the painting to keep it safe. He glanced at her house again. He would look later. For now, he’d check on Tyler.

While he knew she would never deliberately try to hurt herself—and never involve anyone else—he wondered if everything she’d had to face on her own today had distracted her. Joe’s mouth thinned. If only he’d been here… But he couldn’t live his life on if onlys. No one could.

* * * *

Surely the sky had fallen, Evan thought. He could scarcely believe Jenny had extended an invitation to his father. Her discomfort in leading Stoner and Catherine into their home was more than obvious. As they stood awkwardly in the front hall, her smile was just a bit off as she said, “I’m sure you would both like to freshen up. The guest room is upstairs on the right. There’s a bathroom attached to it. Fresh towels are there and a robe on the back of the door.” She looked at Catherine. “I’m afraid that’s all I have to offer in the way of clothing because of our height difference. Stoner, Evan should be able to loan you whatever you need, and Catherine, we can launder yours.”

His mother waved her hand. “Not to worry. I called Peterson while you were settling Peter into his car seat. He should be here shortly with bags for Stoner and me as well as sandwiches and potato salad.”

Evan wondered if Jenny would feel affronted at Catherine taking charge, but from the tension leaving her expression, all she apparently felt was relief and gratitude. She had to be dog-tired. “Thank you. That’s marvelous.”

“It’s the least we can do,” Stoner mumbled. “You saved Tabby’s life, and you’ve opened your home to us…to me.”

Jenny held up her hand. “I—I’m too tired for this. Can we… Can we keep it impersonal? I’m not ready for anything else.”

Catherine smiled. “We’ll go up.”

Evan moved forward. “I’ll get you some pants, Dad.”

Jenny carried Peter into the living room and stretched out on the couch to nurse. When Evan came down a few minutes later dressed in jeans and a lightweight cotton sweater, she had fallen asleep with the baby at her breast. He saw Peter was dozing, so he picked the infant up and burped him. He knelt next to Jenny and gently shifted her. “You need to switch sides, honey.”

“Mm. You do it, Ev…” she mumbled. He smiled at her tenderly and deftly rearranged things before helping the baby latch onto the opposite side. When he was sure they were both secure, he turned to pour himself a bourbon. Stoner stood in the doorway.

“You’re a good man, Evan. A good husband and a good father.”

“Thanks. Jenny makes it easy. Would you like a drink?”

“Hell, yes. At this point, you could just hand me the decanter.”

Evan splashed the whisky into a heavy glass and handed it to his father, eyeing the older man with the feeling he’d never seen him before. “You know, I don’t know that I could have done what you did today. How did you know?”

Stoner shrugged his broad shoulders. “A short tour of duty in Vietnam. I saw a lot worse, but none that hit me as hard as what I saw today.” He closed his eyes at the memory. “That damn truck tossed her like a rag doll, and I couldn’t get the pressure in the right spot. Blood spurted like a damn hose. When I reached for the artery, all that idiot truck driver could do was stand behind me puking up his guts.” He paused to clear his throat, carried the whisky to his lips with a shaky hand, and swallowed. “Thank God your mother arrived. Katie was cool as a cucumber. She called 911, then knelt right there with me, holding Tabby when she came to for a moment and tried to move. I couldn’t have saved Tabby without her.”

Catherine, dressed in a terry cloth robe, slipped her arm through her husband’s, smiled at Evan, then Stoner. “Some people are worth the fight.”

The doorknocker rapped at that moment. Stoner smiled. “That will be Peterson. No one else would rap exactly two times with such precision. I’ll get it, Evan. You keep an eye on that wife and baby of yours.”

* * * *

A few minutes later, just next door, Joe rubbed the back of his neck before ringing the bell on Jake and Holly’s house. She opened the door, her face bursting into a big smile when she saw him standing there.

“Oh, Pastor Joe, come in. You must be tired. You could have called. How is Tabby? How are you? Someone phoned Jake and told him Jenny had performed surgery. Is it true Senator Richardson saved Tabby’s life?”

Joe held up his hands. “Whoa!”

Holly laughed as she shut the door. “Sorry. You know how I get. Jake says he could use me in interrogations because I could make a wall talk. Come to the kitchen. We have some leftover pot roast I could heat up. Would you like some?”

Joe nodded, thinking of the small sandwich he’d eaten. “You have no idea how wonderful that sounds.”

She grinned before calling up the steps, “Tyler! Pastor Joe is here. Tell Jake.” She turned back to Joe. “Jake’s giving Noelle her bath. She already has him wrapped around her little finger.”

While she fixed a plate to heat for him, Holly asked about his vacation, shared an amusing story about trying to fish with Jake over the summer—they had both fallen in the lake—and managed to weasel out of him the fact that the church council was apparently ready to jump down his throat about Tabby. Joe looked at her in admiration. He once heard Evan describe her as a tornado of happiness, but she was the perfect foil for Jake.

“Hey, Pastor.” Tyler skidded into the room and slid into the chair next to him. “How’s Miss MacVie? Alex said his cousin told him blood was spurting out, and it was everywhere! Oh, sorry. You’re eating. Is she going to be okay?”

Joe decided that between Holly and Tyler he was caught in a hurricane. Jake walked in at that moment with a sleepy Noelle nestled against his big chest. Though he and Jake were of a similar height, Jake was built more like a bear than a mountain lion. “Slow down, Ty. The man’s had a tryin’ day.”

Just his presence seemed to settle the other two. Holly set coffee down in front of Jake and him before pouring a glass of tea for Tyler. He swallowed a bite of the melt-in-your-mouth pot roast and grinned. “If you would invite me to dinner once a week, I would sing your praises. I have the feeling I’m about to become a vegetarian when I finally convince Tabby to marry me. She eats cheese, but nothing else.” Joe set the knife and fork down.

“Now, to answer some of your questions. We left Tabby sleeping at the hospital about an hour ago. She lost a lot of blood, even as quickly as the senator was there to help her.”

Jake nodded. “I lost a buddy from just such an injury. It doesn’t take long with an artery that big. That he would know what to do—and do it—now that surprises me.”

Joe smiled. “Then you’re in for a lot more surprises in the next few minutes. Tabby struck up a friendship with him after she fell off her bike at the end of his driveway a few weeks ago. He was outside and saw the whole thing happen today. The delivery truck was leaving Richardson Homestead, the guy made the turn too wide, and never even saw her. Stoner ran all the way down there. When he couldn’t stop the bleeding with pressure, he cut her shorts off, reached in, and grabbed the artery.”

Horrified, Holly put a hand to her face, and Tyler interrupted, “It’s big enough to do that?”

“Second largest artery in the body, Tyler,” Jake said. “Lucky the wound was big enough. Guess it must have been too high for a tourniquet.”

Joe nodded. “I got there right after the ambulance by sheer coincidence, and ran up to see if I could help, not knowing it was Tabby.” Joe closed his eyes for a minute. Holly covered his trembling hand with hers. “There was blood everywhere. Stoner was covered with it, and Catherine had a fair amount on her as well, just from holding Tabby still.” Joe shook his head. “Bill Brewster was the paramedic. Tony was assisting.”

Jake nodded. “Lucky. Bill’s the best.”

“Anyway, as we prepared to move her, he mentioned she had a rare blood type, which it turned out was the same as Stoner’s.” Joe could see Jake, at least, already understood the significance. Joe looked at Holly. “It’s also Evan’s blood type.”

“Oh,” she said with dawning comprehension. “So did they give blood?”

Joe nodded. “Jenny had them take two pints from each of them.”

Jake shifted. “They had to transfuse four pints? That’s…Jesus, Joe! Oops, sorry. That’s a lot,” he finished, his gaze darting to Tyler, as though Jake knew exactly how touchy saving Tabby had been.

“They nearly lost her once on the operating table,” Joe said. “I’ve never prayed so hard in my life, and I do a lot of praying.” Holly patted his hand. “But she made it. Jenny fixed the arterial damage and restored circulation. They flew an orthopedic surgeon in rather than move Tabby, and he fixed everything else. No broken bones, but between the leg and the dislocated shoulder, she’ll take a while to heal.”

Joe looked at Tyler. “She will be all right, Tyler, but you should get ready for a few changes. I suspect within the next week, she and the Richardsons will be asking the court to change Tabby’s last name from MacVie to Richardson.”

“Why?” Tyler asked.

Joe smiled. “As it turns out, Tabby is Senator Richardson’s daughter.”

Tyler frowned. “But I thought she was Jenny’s sister.”

Joe laughed now. “Think of Tabby as a bridge between Evan and Jenny. Stoner is Evan and Tabby’s dad, but Tabby’s mom was also Jenny’s mom.”

“So, she’s like a half sister to both of them?” Tyler asked.

“That’s exactly right.” Joe smiled.

Jake sipped his coffee, then leaned back in his chair, his hazel eyes thoughtful. “I suspect she may be a bridge in more ways than that.”

Joe smiled. He admired Jake immensely. The man was quiet, but he saw and understood more than people thought. Then, in his quiet way, he set about fixing things. It was one of the things that had him shaping up into an excellent police chief.

“She already is. Evan was at Stoner’s throat when they both arrived at the hospital. Literally. Both Sam Barnes and I couldn’t get him off. Now Catherine and Stoner are guests next door.”

“What!” Jake leaned forward. “Jenny and Evan have his parents staying under their roof? What about Stoner’s house arrest?”

Joe shrugged. “Evan told Sam he’d be responsible for his custody until Tabby can go home with Stoner and Catherine.”

“Tyler,” Jake said in a deadpan voice, “look out the back and see if any pigs are flying.”

Holly and Joe laughed. Tyler said, “Huh? Is this some weird adult thing again?”

“Tabby’s going to stay at the Homestead?” Holly asked.

Joe nodded, feeling a little glum. “Yes. She’s going to need a lot of help. I—I can’t do it until we’re married. It seems some folks in town are already prepared to stone her as a harlot and run me out of town. Stoner and Catherine have the room, and as Stoner points out, it’s not like he has anywhere else to go. But more than that, he wants some time with her. He knows I want to marry her. I think he’s all right with that, though I plan to talk to him about it, but I think he needs to be there for her to try to make up for the past.”

Jake frowned, shaking his head. “What you describe doesn’t fit the Stoner Richardson I know.”

“We all saw a man today who doesn’t fit anyone’s picture of Stoner Richardson. I think Evan kept picking fights with him because he was so uncomfortable with his father crying.”

“Crying?” Jake arched his brows in disbelief. “Stoner?”

Joe shook his head. “I’m telling you. Tabby got to him in a way no one else has, and it happened even before he knew she was his daughter. Even Catherine admits that. It’s made such a difference she was more than happy to take Tabby into their home.”

Holly smiled and looked at Jake. “Loving parents don’t always have to be related by blood. Jake’s loved Noelle from the moment he delivered her, even though she isn’t his biological daughter.”

“She’s mine in every way that matters,” Jake finished. “I’m relieved to hear Tabby will recover. It will be interesting to see how Jenny and Evan’s relationship with Stoner changes.” Jake cleared his throat. “On a different topic, Joe, did you get my message?”

“Yes. I also had a message from John Gatewood. The church council has called a meeting Sunday evening, and they want me there.” Joe sighed. “I don’t want to lose my job. It’s more than a paycheck. You both know that.”