Forever My Hero, page 29
The men were pale. The women were in shock.
“Time’s up,” Dan said, and showed them to the door.
When they were gone, the air in the room felt lighter.
Dan walked back into the living room. “Well, was I scary enough?”
Alice walked into his arms. “Forever my hero.”
When he pulled her close and felt her trembling, he was mad all over again. “The only sincere apology was the last one. Even her little girl seemed sorry. There’s hope for them.”
Alice looked up, saw the flash of want in his eyes, and then lowered her voice. “I’m so glad this is over.”
“So am I,” Dan said. “I knew you were dreading it for Patty, but sweetheart, you were amazing. You nailed them to the wall and called them on their bullshit in the most ladylike manner I’ve ever seen. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you. And I’m giving you fair warning… I have reason to believe you might get lucky tonight.”
Dan’s smile began in his eyes, spread to his lips, and erupted into a laugh of such joy that he couldn’t hold back, and then he kissed her with such passion that she lost her breath.
“I have such a hunger for you,” Dan whispered. “But I’ll settle for pop and cookies now, and you for dessert tonight.”
“Deal,” Alice said.
When they let go of each other, it was with reluctance, but the distant sound of Elliot’s laughter from another room was the punctuation needed to shift their thoughts to the children and what they might be doing that made him laugh.
“Uh-oh,” Alice said. “Time to make an appearance.”
“Whatever it is, it’s funny, and I could use a good laugh,” Dan said. “Let’s go see.”
* * *
At the same time, Elliot was in the kitchen having cookies with the crew, which is how he thought of them, the body of Junior Rankin was discovered floating among flood debris more than eight miles from where he fell in.
While Elliot was dunking his cookie in a glass of milk and thinking about how he would paint the picture of Charlie and his dog, Junior’s body was being put into a body bag and taken to the medical examiner’s office.
Hunt Terrell got the news via cell phone that one of the rescuers had known Junior well enough to tentatively identify the body, but that meant Hunt was now going to have to make that call. He hated death notifications worse than any other part of his job but was thankful cell service had been restored, because it saved him a long drive out to the Rankin farm. He sat down behind his desk, got the phone number from the report they had filed, and made the call.
* * *
Albert was in the kitchen looking for a fresh bottle of water when one of the two cell phones on the sideboard began to ring. He wheeled himself over to answer, surprised that service had been restored, and saw it was his daddy’s phone. But Big Tom was at the barn feeding their surviving calf, so he answered.
“Hello, Albert Rankin speaking.”
“Hello, Albert. This is Deputy Sheriff Terrell. May I speak to your father?”
“Well, sir, he’s down at the barn feeding a calf. It’s the only head of livestock we have left, and he’s a little partial about wanting to save it. Can I take a message?”
“Yes, I can give you the message, but I need your daddy to call me when he can. Your brother’s body was found this morning about eight miles downriver from where he fell in. He was taken to the ME’s office around noon and will be there until after the autopsy. Even though it was a tentative ID made by someone who knew him, we need an official verification by family. I am so sorry for your loss.”
Albert was shaking all over again. “Yes, yes, I’ll tell him, and we’re sure grateful he was found. This will ease my daddy’s heart. I’ll have Daddy call as soon as he gets back to the house.”
“Thank you,” Hunt said. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”
Albert disconnected, then laid the phone down on the kitchen table and rolled himself out to the back porch. He sat there for a few moments to collect himself and his breath, and then let out an ear-piercing whistle.
Within seconds, Big Tom had stepped out of the barn and was looking toward the house. Albert raised his arm and motioned for him to come. Big Tom went into the barn and a couple of minutes later came back out, running toward the house. He arrived wild-eyed and out of breath. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Deputy Terrell just called. They found Junior’s body. Although he’s tentatively been identified, they want family to verify the identification.”
“Oh Lord! Thank you, Lord!” Big Tom said softly, then hugged Albert. “He won’t be lost anymore.”
“That’s right, Daddy. Junior is no longer lost,” Albert said. “Do you want to go now?”
“Yes, but let me go change clothes. I was worried about that little bull calf, but now I think he’s gonna make it. He ate real good, and I’ll feed him a bottle of milk supplement before bedtime.”
Big Tom was still talking about the blessing of finding his boy when he went to change clothes. All Albert could do was cry.
As they drove off to the county seat, the jubilation of having Junior found was slowly turning to the realization of seeing him and the condition he was in.
Their arrival later was even quieter. The deputy had told Big Tom where the ME’s office was and to call him when they got into town and he’d meet them there. So when they drove into town, Albert called.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the outer office of the morgue, waiting for the viewing. After the long trip, and all the calls back and forth to make this happen, they were finally ushered into a small room with one big curtained window in it. A voice came over an intercom, asking Deputy Terrell if they were ready.
He looked at the Rankins, and when they nodded, he said, “Yes, we’re ready.”
The Rankins were watching the window when the curtain was pulled back, and there lay Junior, covered up except for his neck and head. He was almost unrecognizable. If it hadn’t been for his red hair and those big, wide shoulders beneath the sheet…
“Oh Lord,” Big Tom said, and then turned away and burst into hard, ugly sobs.
Albert wheeled himself straight up to the window, pulled himself upright, and stood as close to the glass as he could get, mapping every piece of that face until he knew he would never forget. Never forget that this was what karma could do. No one ever got away with sin. Not really. Then he turned around and looked straight into Hunt Terrell’s eyes.
“Yes, that’s my brother. That’s Junior.”
Hunt nodded. “Thank you. I’m sorry this was necessary. I know it wasn’t easy.”
“No, sir, it wasn’t,” Albert said. “But lots of things in life aren’t easy. If that’s all, we’ll be going now.”
“Reckon your daddy is fit to drive?” Hunt asked.
“It won’t matter. I’m driving home,” Albert said, then patted Tom’s knee. “Daddy, come push me out onto the street. We’re going home now.”
Big Tom did as he was told and was in enough shock that it didn’t even occur to him that Albert shouldn’t drive. He just knew he couldn’t.
* * *
Beulah Gatlin would have been mad as a wet hen at all the lawmen meddling around her place if she hadn’t gone and blown herself up. But if she hadn’t done that, then they wouldn’t be here, so the point was moot.
There were a goodly number of vehicles and even more officers of the law walking all over the mountain where her house used to stand. They were bagging evidence, taking pictures, and every so often glancing over at the Gatlin brothers, who’d parked out by the family cemetery at the edge of the clearing and were sitting on the tailgate, watching the process unfold.
Moses glanced at the cemetery and then back at the blast site. “I don’t suppose they’ll find enough of Mama to bury,” he said.
J. B. ducked his head and wiped his eyes. “That’s hard to think about.”
“I know, Brother. But a fact is a fact. However, if they do, we know where to put her, right beside Marty and his daddy. The spots open on either side of Daddy are for us,” Moses said.
“I don’t want to think about that, either,” J. B. said. “I’m tired of people we love dying. I’m even more tired of talking about it. When all of this is over, let’s leave. I don’t want to rebuild anything up here. There’s nothing here but bad memories.”
Moses put his arm around J. B. and gave him a quick hug. “Maybe we should leave. Maybe you’re right. I’ll think on it some.”
* * *
It was midnight, the witching hour, when Alice slipped out of bed and across the hall into Dan’s bedroom, then stopped, staring into the shadows and trying to find him, because he wasn’t in his bed.
But when the lock suddenly clicked on the door behind her and she felt his hands and then his lips on the back of her neck, she shivered. And when his hands slid around her body and cupped the weight of her breasts, she sighed.
Seconds later, her nightgown was off and she was in his arms and in the bed. When he laid her down, she felt the crisp coolness of the sheets and then the heat of his body as he joined her. He traced the shape of her lower lip with his thumb and then kissed the hollow at the base of her throat.
“You’re in my blood. I hear your voice even when you’re nowhere to be seen. Every time I close my eyes, I see your face. I love you, Alice. I don’t want you to move away from me. I want to know that your clothes are in the closet next to mine. I want to hear the laughter of your children in this house, and I need to know that every night when I go to bed, you are in the bed next to me. You set my clock. You give light to my life. Please don’t leave after the power comes back on.”
Alice’s heart was racing. Some would think this had happened too fast, but she didn’t care what anyone thought or worry if they didn’t understand. His every word was a love song. Every touch of his hands on her body felt so familiar, as if they’d done this countless times through many lifetimes and still hadn’t had enough. And then he said them—the words that made this right.
“Marry me, Alice. Love me as much as I love you.”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, yes, yes, and I already do.”
They made love in the darkness without saying a word, following nothing but the soft gasps and quiet moans to let them know they were in the zone. One minute passed, and then another, and they were moving mindlessly with the heat flowing through their blood when it suddenly turned into that jolt of perfect passion, followed by a downhill slide of lust.
They lay motionless afterward, holding on to each other until their hearts began to beat at a normal rhythm.
Alice put her hand on his chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath her palm. “This all really happened, right? You did say you loved me. You did propose.”
“Yes, yes, and yes,” Dan said.
Her eyes welled, but she was smiling. “Right now, I’m as happy as I’ve ever been, and I can’t believe I have to get dressed and leave you.”
“Hey…that doesn’t matter. You’re mine, no matter where you lay your head.”
Alice glanced at the clock, then jumped out of bed and grabbed her gown, pulling it over her head. “Love you,” she whispered. She unlocked the door, and slipped out of his room and into her bathroom, just as Patty turned over and muttered something in her sleep.
When she came out, she crawled into bed beside her baby and pulled her close. “Miracles happen when you least expect them,” she said softly, and pulled up the covers. Within minutes, they were both asleep.
Across the hall, Dan was lying on his back, thinking about the future and, for the first time since he’d lost his family, looking forward to the years to come.
* * *
Just before daylight the next morning, a half-dozen big trucks from electric companies all over the state rolled into town. The manager of the power plant in Blessings met them in the parking lot of the Piggly Wiggly, discussed what was needed and where to start, and off they went.
The first grid to be restored was at the hospital, and the jubilant shouts that went up when the normal lighting came on were heard all over the building. After that, they moved to restoring power at gas stations and the nursing home, then the businesses up and down Main. By afternoon the trucks had headed into the residential areas. Half of the trucks went to work on one side of the railroad tracks, while the rest of the trucks worked on the other.
Johnny Pine went up to Lovey’s house with his work crew, removed the downed tree, and boarded up the hole in the outer wall until she was well enough to deal with repairs.
* * *
Back at Dan’s house, Alice removed the bandage from her hand to check on the healing, then went through the house looking for Dan. She found him in his office, at his computer paying bills.
“Dan, do you have a minute?” she asked.
He pushed away from the computer and swiveled around. “For you, I have forever. What do you need, sweetheart?”
She held out her hand. “Doesn’t this look well enough to you to remove the stitches?”
He turned her hand palm up and tilted it toward his desk lamp. The edges of the cut had healed, and there wasn’t any puffiness or redness.
“Does this hurt?” he asked as he gently pressed on different places on her hand.
Alice shook her head.
“It looks good to me. Want to make a quick trip up to the ER and get the stitches removed?”
“No, I want you to take them out.”
He grinned. “Then let’s go get the first aid kit, some scissors, and some tweezers.”
By the time he got back with what he needed, he’d brought an audience with him. Elliot saw him getting the first aid kit. Charlie overheard the conversation about stitches coming out, and he brought Patty so he could keep an eye on her.
Alice saw them all coming and laughed. “I should have set up a concession and sold popcorn for the event.”
“We’re having popcorn?” Patty said.
Alice laughed. “No, and I should have known better than to assume you’d let that pass. So, everyone gather ’round. Get the best seats possible, and then please sit still.”
It took Dan a couple of minutes to get set up, and then he paused. “You still sure you want me to do this?”
“I’ve trusted you with far more important and difficult things than this, and you came through with flying colors. Proceed, Dr. Amos. I promise not to cry.”
She laughed, but Dan couldn’t. Being the one to cause her pain wasn’t something he wanted on his conscience, no matter how innocent the act. So he turned her chair just a bit to the right, clipped stitches, and then pulled them out, one by one, with the tweezers. Alice never flinched.
“Done!” he said, and wiped an alcohol-soaked gauze pad all over the palm of her hand.
“What a relief!” Alice said, and then made a fist a couple of times. “Other than a little tender where it was cut, it feels so good to get rid of the stitches and bandages.”
Patty leaned against her mama’s shoulder and patted her leg. “Now you’ll feel all better.”
Alice hugged her. “Yes, I do feel better.”
The generator went silent right in the middle of their celebration, but the lights were still on.
“The power must be back on!” Dan said, and took off to check.
“Oh, what wonderful news!” Elliot said. “I can go home! I can sleep in my own bed tonight! Not that I didn’t appreciate being a guest here, but we all want to go home. I’m going to pack up my stuff and go check on the Martin family. They don’t have a home to go back to. I need to make sure they understand they’re welcome to stay where they are for the time being.”
“You pack. I’ll carry your bags over for you,” Charlie said, and a short while later, he and Dan moved Elliot home.
When they returned, Dan went down the hall to his office and the room suddenly went silent.
Patty got quiet, and Charlie looked everywhere but at his mother.
“Hey! What’s wrong with you two?” Alice asked.
Charlie shrugged. “I guess I got used to having Dan part of us,” he said.
“I don’t want to leave my Dan,” Patty said, and started to cry.
“Oh my goodness,” Alice said. “Come here to me. You, too, Charlie. You’re not too big to hug your mama.” She put her arms around them.
Dan walked in on the tears and sad faces and stopped. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
Patty tore out of her mama’s arms and ran to him, sobbing. As he picked her up, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I don’t want to go home without you,” she said, and hid her face in the curve of his neck.
Dan looked at Alice, who was still comforting Charlie. “Him, too?”
She nodded.
“Then this seems like the time to ask them the same thing I asked you last night. Is it okay?”
She nodded again as her eyes blurred with tears.
He sat down at the table, with Patty in his lap. “Charlie, sit with us for a minute, okay?”
Charlie sat, his shoulders slumped and his gaze focused on the floor.
“So here’s the deal,” Dan said. “Last night I asked your mama to marry me, and she said yes.”
Both kids looked at their mother in shock.
“Mama! The best news ever and you didn’t tell us?” Charlie said.
Patty’s eyes grew wide in wonder. “We’re getting married?” she asked.
“Yes, we are,” Alice said. “I was just waiting for the right time to bring it up.”
Charlie was staring at Dan in disbelief. He leaned forward on the table and then buried his face in his arms. They could tell he was crying, but they didn’t know why.
Dan transferred Patty to her mother’s lap and got up, ready to tackle another problem. “What’s wrong, Bud? If you think I’m trying to take your daddy’s place, then don’t worry. I would never try to—”
