The Widows of Wichita County (22 page)

He disappeared out the side door with Adam limping at his side.

“Men.” Randi shrugged as she looped her arm over Meredith's shoulder. “You can't fool 'em no matter how hard you try.”

In the oil business, once you hit oil you dropped pipe and the money started rolling in. The early fields of Texas were full of men with “pipe dreams.”

Sunday, December 19
7:25 p.m.
The Breaks

Z
ack turned south toward what everyone in town called “The Breaks.” He knew the dirt roads out there near the river better than the sheriff knew the streets. When he had been a kid, he'd spent thousands of hours riding across them on a dirt bike. If the car held up over the hard snow-packed trails, he knew he could lose Farrington.

His head throbbed as if someone was sitting in the backseat taking a swing at it with a hammer every few minutes. He gripped his side feeling a stabbing pain in his ribs every time he twisted. But, none of it mattered. With pure determination pounding through his veins he had one purpose—Anna. He had to find Anna. Nothing else, not even his life mattered.

The entrance to The Breaks was hidden on one side by an old bait shop covered over by trumpet vines, and the town cemetery on the other. During the summer, you could tell the time of day by the traffic on the old road. Fishermen at dawn, families picnicking in the afternoons,
bikers looking for the back trails and weekend adventures, and lovers who arrived after dark.

When Zack dipped out of sight of the car following him, he turned off his lights and drove more by instinct than with the help of the pale quarter moon. Cottonwoods twisted beside the road, spilling inky shadows over the snow. The old Mustang blended like smoke through the turns, weaving near the river and around brown grass as tall as the roof of the car.

Twenty minutes later, Zack pulled out on the far side of The Breaks and took the back road to his ranch. The car slid off the road several times, running into the pasture, knocking down fence poles until finally he saw the lone light of his house.

Zack let himself take a deep breath for the first time. He'd made it home. Maybe it made no sense. The sheriff would find him eventually. He had sworn never to tell anyone about Anna, and he knew her brother would kill her if she tried to talk. The sheriff left her with one hell of a choice: if she testified she might free Zack, but she would condemn her brother. And Carlo would kill her before he would let that happen.

So Zack figured he would probably go to jail for a few years. But like a homing pigeon, he wanted to come back one last time. He did not blame Anna for remaining silent. Hell, he had had a lifetime of bad luck. Why would he expect it to change just because she came into his life? He just wished he could hold her one more time.

When he pulled into the yard, he saw Crystal Howard at his front door. For a moment he thought of circling his place and heading for parts unknown. The last thing he needed was more trouble.

She yelled at him before he reached the porch. “The hospital called on my cell. Carlo is on his way home. Can
you get Anna back here before Carlo makes it to their place? I figure you got about ten minutes. If you can, we'll get her to safety.”

“You know?” he said, fearing he had said too much by even asking about Anna at the hospital. There was no way she could have learned anything about Anna and him.

“We know little,” Crystal answered, directly, “except that Anna is in danger, and it isn't from you.”

There was no time to talk. He ran to the walkover and crossed the fence. The path to Anna's house was twisted and slippery, but he made it as fast as he dared. He wouldn't be much help to her if he fell and cracked open what was left of his skull. But the drugs for pain made it feel like he was moving through water. His feet would not maneuver as fast as they should.

Zack fought to clear his head. He took in deep gulps of the cold air and concentrated on one thing—Anna.

A few lights were on at her place. Zack felt his way along the patio until he found the sliding doors. The second one he tried opened.

He entered the house, afraid of what he might find. The memory of the fight still hung in the air. He could almost hear the echoes of Carlo shouting and Anna crying. The smell of the fire he and Anna built late that night still lingered, spiced now with the hint of gunpowder. The feeling that he'd die of pleasure, the fear he'd die of pain now blended in the silence of the huge room.

But no sign of the fight or the loving remained. Not even the quilt. Everything was back in order as if the hours had never happened.

“Anna?” Zack whispered her name. Maybe she wasn't even here. Crystal and the others could be worried about nothing. Anna might have gone to stay with friends.

But Zack knew she had no friends except for the widows and Bella…and him.

He flipped on the light in the kitchen. “Anna?” he called.

The sound of a round being chambered clicked in the silence.

“Take another step mister and you're a dead man,”

Bella's voice ordered from the darkness of the great room.

Zack moved into the light so she could see him. “You'll have to kill me to stop me,” he answered. “I've come for Anna.”

Bella smiled and lowered the weapon. “Evening, kid. I didn't expect to see you here tonight. Some guard I am, I must have fallen asleep on the couch.” She met his stare. “I might just be falling back to sleep right now.”

Zack nodded, understanding what she was saying.

Slowly, he crossed from room to room. He remembered seeing Anna being hit, falling, holding the gun. She was hurt, and probably frightened. If she knew Carlo was coming home, she might even be hiding. Time was running out for him to find her.

“Anna?” he called as he stepped into her bedroom.

In the shadows, he saw her, huddled in a corner with her grandmother's quilt wrapped around her.

“Anna.” He couldn't move, afraid of what he might see if he came closer.

“G-go away.” Her voice sounded hoarse as if she'd cried all she could. “I—I almost got you k-killed, Zack. G-go away before I do. Just go away and forget about me.”

She shifted, and he saw her dark eyes. There was a calmness about her as though she had accepted her fate.
She was giving up any chance they might have in the hopes of keeping him alive.

“That I can't do.” He fought the urge to draw closer. “The way I see it, we've got two choices. I can stay here to face Carlo and probably his men, or you can come with me. Crystal's waiting for you at my place. She promised to take you somewhere safe.”

He walked toward her.

“If I leave, he will kill me,” she whispered, “and then he'll kill you.”

Zack knelt in front of her. “If you stay, he'll kill you, Anna. Maybe not tonight, or next month, but eventually.”

“I know. He wants control of the ranch, and the only way he can get that is to control me.”

Zack brushed her dark hair from her eyes. “Come with me. Somehow together we'll work it out.”

When she raised her arms, he lifted her, blanket and all, ignoring the pain in his side and shoulder. She held tightly to him. He walked out of the house the way he came. Bella looked sound asleep on the couch when he passed the old woman, but he noticed a smile on her lips.

They did not say a word to one another as they crossed the darkness between their ranches. He sat her on top of the walkover, climbed it and lifted her once more in his arms. When he turned toward his house, a huge Buick pulled up next to the Mustang he had borrowed.

Or stolen. The way his luck was running, he would be charged for that, too.

Three women climbed from the car, an old woman, a cowgirl and what had to be a schoolteacher. Helena, Randi and Meredith. Anna had told him too much about each
for him not to recognize them, even in the shadows. The widows had assembled.

They all turned and watched as he walked toward them with Anna in his arms.

“Be careful with her,” Helena ordered.

Zack frowned. He wasn't about to drop the only wonder in his life.

“Set her down inside.” Crystal held the door. “I'll get her some tea.”

“Now, don't you worry, girl.” Randi followed Zack into the house. “No one is going to hurt you again.”

“I will not talk to the sheriff,” Anna said over Zack's shoulder.

“You don't have to talk to anyone about what happened at your place if you don't want to,” Randi promised.

They clustered around her, forgetting about Zack. He wanted time with Anna, but he would wait. He was not sure, but he would swear all four of them were talking at once. And Anna…Anna smiled.

Finally, Helena raised her hand and called the meeting to order. “I've got one question, Anna, and I need an answer even though we think we all know the truth.”

Meredith sat on one side of Anna, patting her hand. Randi stood behind her on guard. Crystal offered her tea.

Helena looked straight at Zack. “Did this man hurt you in any way?”

Tears bubbled in Anna's eyes. “No,” she answered without stuttering.

“Good. We didn't think so, but I was prepared to shoot him if we'd guessed wrong.”

Zack looked at Helena, trying to figure out if she was kidding. The woman did not look like the type who would
ever handle a gun. But what he didn't know about women would fill volumes.

He backed into a corner, fighting the pain in his side as he watched them pamper Anna. It felt great to have her here, safe and among friends. He had almost driven himself mad thinking about what might be happening to her. Now, he had a feeling that no matter what happened to him, these women would see Anna through this.

They were somehow connected to each other. He read once that people chose to love one another. These five women had made that choice. The bond was more than friendship. A comradeship he felt honored to be allowed to watch.

Lights blinked like static lightning across his windows, slamming him back into crisis. A line of cars and pickup trucks were coming at full speed directly toward his house.

Zack headed for the old rifle he kept mounted over the fireplace.

“Wait.” Helena stopped him. “Let us deal with them. You stay with Anna.”

Zack shook his head. This was his land, his fight, his problem.

Helena didn't back down. “They're not going to bother us, but they might shoot you on sight.”

Randi shoved his shoulder. “Sit down, cowboy. Tonight's not your rodeo.”

Without another word, Helena, Randi, Crystal and Meredith went outside to the porch. Zack lowered slowly to one knee so he could see Anna's face.

“We know he's in there! Get out of the way!” someone shouted in the frosty air. Car lights shone like footlights in front of the porch.

“Yeah, who's gonna make us, Tucker? You?” Randi
yelled back at the line of men moving toward the house. “Step one foot on this porch and I'll be visiting your wife tomorrow telling her what kind of man you are.”

“There is nothing happening here, gentlemen,” Helena announced. “I suggest you all move on about your business.”

Zack watched Meredith shade her eyes with her hand. “Butch Colwell, what do you think you're doing here frightening us? Put that rifle down.”

A young man in the front lowered his gun. “I was told Larson kidnapped Mrs. Montano. I come to help.”

“Do you think if he kidnapped Mrs. Montano, I'd be out here visiting him?”

“No, ma'am.”

“Well, why don't you take Kirk there with you and go on home? The two of you haven't changed since grade school, still looking for a fight you can get involved in.”

“I will not go home!” Carlo yelled as he slowly climbed from the pickup, his leg in a cast. “That man stole my sister and I will take her back.”

Randi stormed. “She ain't no sack of potatoes Zack drug across the property line. If she wants to be with him, there is nothing you, or anyone else can do about it.”

Zack felt Anna's hand touch his bandaged forehead and he forgot about the circus outside.

“Are you all right?” She brushed his hair away from the cotton.

“I've had better days.” He smiled. “This probably isn't the best time to talk, but I want you to know what happened between us, it was real….” He couldn't think of the right words with people in his front yard shouting they were going to kill him. “It was something that's never happened to me before. It was…”

He heard Crystal ordering all oil workers to leave if they still wanted to have a job come dawn.

“If I thought there was one chance in a million you'd say yes, I'd ask you to marry me.” He wished he hadn't told her his thoughts. She could buy and sell him and everything he owned with pocket change.

Zack looked out the window. Carlo ordered his men to move the women over and go after Anna. But the men weren't moving. Colonel Travis should have had these four ladies at the Alamo.

“There's one chance in a million,” Anna whispered as she leaned and kissed the bandage over his eye.

It took a moment for her words to sink in.

December 19
9:00 p.m.
Larson Ranch

M
eredith stood at the corner of the porch and stared at Granger as he watched from the back of the crowd. His rifle was propped against his shoulder; his finger looked like it was resting on the trigger guard. He had come to bring Larson back but now, he was hesitating. She knew he could have stepped in and handled the crowd, but he was letting them do it.

Thanks to the huge windows of Zack's home, Anna's statement was being played out before everyone's eyes.

About the time Carlo called a charge to save his sister, everyone in the crowd saw Anna push Zack's shirt aside and kiss the bandage covering his broken ribs. It did not look like the kind of thing a woman did to a man who raped her, shot her brother and kidnapped her from her home.

The mob moved back, no longer wanting to follow Carlo. They could see Zack gently holding her, whispering to her as lovers do.

The crowd had no way of knowing that he was promising to stand with her no matter what the storm. He
made his oath for a lifetime, not just for tonight. The men outside might not hear Zack's words, but they could see Anna's face as she smiled up at him.

Granger swung over the rail of the porch, dipping his hat to the widows as though he hadn't seen them in a while. “Nice job,” he commented casually. “Next time I need crowd control, I'll be sure and call you ladies.”

They all looked out over at the pickups and cars. Men were leaving quietly, as though they had been caught eavesdropping.

Carlo was the only one who did not move. “I am not leaving without my sister!” Despite the crutches, he stepped onto the first step on the porch.

Granger glanced at the widows, almost as if he was considering letting them handle the stout man. Any one of them would gladly cut Carlo to pieces. “You've done enough for one night, ladies,” he said. “It's time I earned my pay.” He moved to the step directly above Carlo. “I'm afraid, Mr. Vangetti, that you'll be riding back with me. At least as far as the county lockup.”

“I do not think so.” Carlo seemed to believe that if his voice was louder than anyone else's then he must be right. “I have done nothing, Sheriff, but protect my family.”

Granger watched Carlo carefully. “You see, Mr. Vangetti, it's against the law to file a false report. Zack Larson didn't rape your sister, and he didn't shoot you.”

“You cannot prove that!” Carlo shouted.

“Yes, he can,” Anna whispered from the doorway. She slipped out onto the porch, staying well behind Granger. “You forget, Carlo, I was there.”

“You would send your own brother to jail?” Carlo looked surprised at the possibility. Anger crept into his words. “That would not be a wise thing to do, Anna. Not for your sake, or Zack's.”

Randi stomped toward the edge of the porch, her hands already balled into fists for a fight. Carlo's size and volume didn't frighten her.

Before she issued a death threat that he would have to arrest her for, Granger slid between them and took Carlo by the arm. “How about you come along as a guest of the county tonight? Let your sister have some time to think. Give you a chance to settle down.”

Carlo swore as Zack walked up behind Anna and placed his hand on her shoulder. The Italian took powerful breaths like a bull about to charge.

The sheriff's grip tightened around his solid arm.

Carlo tried to jerk free, but it was hopeless. He might be a fighter, but he was smart enough to know now wasn't the time. With an angry oath, he stopped struggling with Granger. “You must take him in, also.”

With the help of Adam on Carlo's left side, Granger turned Carlo toward the patrol car. “We're not in the habit of arresting a man for loving a woman.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Sorry about the lock up, Larson. No hard feelings.”

Before Zack could answer, Carlo demanded, “You can not leave him here with my sister.”

“He's well chaperoned.” Granger opened the back of his car and gave Carlo a helpful shove as he glanced back at Meredith. “'Course, I suspect they're all criminals, but I'm too outnumbered to haul them in.”

Meredith opened her mouth to say goodbye to Granger. He hadn't spoken to her, but she'd felt him watching her from the time he walked up at the back of the crowd. There was something comforting about knowing he was there.

Before she could think of anything to say, he was gone. She watched his taillights disappear and realized she had probably ruined any chances of them ever even being friends. Eventually, he would figure out that she had told
him the truth, she had set Zack free, and even though it was the right thing to do, she'd broken the law. They lived in different worlds. She believed in doing what was right, he believed in following the law. Once in a while the two views were not parallel.

“Thanks for the loan.” Zack returned the Mustang keys. “If you'll bring it out some weekend, I could work on that engine. Maybe make it run a little smoother for my next getaway.” He lowered his head. “You saved my life tonight as well as Anna's. Thanks.”

Meredith did not know what to say. Before Zack could move, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged.

At first, he didn't react. Women hugging him was not something that happened to him often. Slowly, he put his arms around her and patted her on the back.

Meredith fought tears. She told herself she just needed someone to hold her for a few minutes. She needed her heart to stop pounding. She needed to know it was all over and they were all out of harm's way.

But Zack's arms gave her little comfort. He was not the one she wanted. The man she needed would never offer.

Meredith pulled away and gently embraced Anna. “You're welcome to come home with me,” she volunteered. “Randi and I will try not to keep you up talking.”

Anna shook her head. “I want to stay here tonight.”

The women moved away from Anna and Zack with hugs but few words. They knew what they had done and why they did it. There was no need for thanks.

At Helena's car, Meredith asked, “You want me to follow you home? Or Randi can drive you and I'll follow.” Helena had been a rock during the trouble, but now she looked so pale it frightened Meredith.

“No, dear. I promised J.D. I'd be home by dark and I'm
already late. He'll be worried about me. I'd best hurry.” She climbed in her huge car and pulled away.

Randi moved to Meredith's side. “He's not dead to her, is he?”

Meredith shook her head. “Does it matter?”

They waved goodbye to Crystal and folded into the Mustang.

“I don't suppose I could interest you in stopping off at Frankie's on the way home?” Randi propped her foot up on the dash.

Meredith laughed. “No way.”

“Then, how about the Dairy Queen? I'm starving. A life of crime always makes me hungry.”

“Now, that's a deal. Let's go crazy and order banana splits.”

Randi leaned back and frowned. “I'm living on the wild side now.”

But she laughed all the way through her hamburger and fries. By the time they ordered their banana splits they were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, reliving their night of near death and riotous adventure.

They finally waddled out to the Mustang and drove back to the courthouse to pick up Randi's car.

“I must have left the lights on in the office,” Meredith said as she pulled into the lot. “It won't take me a minute to turn them off, then I'll meet you back at the house.”

“All right.” Randi climbed out. “I'll stop by and pick up something for breakfast on my way. It's the least I can do.”

Meredith started to argue that shopping was not necessary, but in truth she couldn't remember having anything in the house to offer for breakfast. She watched Randi drive away in her newly painted car, thanks to Crystal, then huddled into her coat and ran for the side
door. Maybe ice cream on a night like this had not been such a good idea. She was freezing inside and out.

The hallway of the courthouse was dark, but her lights were all on, as well as one in the sheriff's office. Meredith's shoes tapped along the marble as she tried to remember even going in the county clerk's office earlier. She could have sworn the office was dark when she threw the emergency switch. There had not been time to go into the office. Helena, Randi and she had headed straight to Larson's ranch, knowing Crystal would be waiting.

Meredith flipped the lights off and stepped back out into the hallway.

Granger stood in his office doorway in silhouette. She couldn't see his face, but his stance was official as always.

“I'm sorry. I must have forgotten to close up the office.” She moved toward him, feeling like she was reporting to the hall monitor. “That's not like me to forget something like that.”

“You didn't leave them on.” He stepped out, blocking her path. “I turned them on hoping you'd notice when you came back to pick up Randi's car.”

Meredith stopped walking, confused by his action. She swallowed, telling herself not to be afraid. If he locked her up, he locked her up. She was not going to explain or apologize.

“I thought you'd never get here.” He cut the distance between them in half. “I was worried that you'd managed to find the last icy spot of pavement between Larson's and town.”

“Oh, no. We had no trouble. Randi and I stopped for a hamburger and got to talking.” Meredith wanted to scream “What business is it of yours?” but she rambled instead. “We decided to forget calories and have a…”

Granger put his hands on her shoulders. For a second she thought he was going to shake her.

But he drew her to him and kissed her hard on the mouth.

When he moved an inch away, Meredith continued, “banana split.”

“I know.” She felt his words against her cold face. “I can taste it.” He leaned down and kissed her again, this time softer, longer.

She knew there was probably something she should say. Maybe she should even pull away and run. But all she did was wrap her arms around his neck and lean against him, feeling like this was her first kiss on the porch of her parents' house when she was sixteen.

He moaned against her lips as he slipped his hands inside her coat and pulled her closer. His body warmed the length of her.

When he finally moved away, he whispered against her hair. “I've been wanting to do that all night.”

“I have to go,” she answered, afraid if she stayed any longer she would make a fool of herself. “Randi is waiting for me.”

He took a long breath and let her go. “I heard you tell Helena that Randi is staying with you.”

She closed her eyes trying to remember where she was…who she was. He no longer touched her, but she could still feel his arms, his lips, the warmth of him against her.

“Good night, Granger,” she said as if the kiss had not happened. All she wanted to do was stay and kiss him again. But, Randi waited and now was not the right time.

“Good night. I'll see you tomorrow.”

A stranger might have thought his farewell formal, but Meredith heard the promise in his voice.