“Yes, okay,” Dylan said. “But I’ll be the one coming back every day to check on him. He might remember more as he becomes more alert, and I’ll be there to hear it and pass it on.”
Asher looked up and grinned. “Good thinking, Dylan. You would have made a good cop, too.”
“Oh hell, no,” Dylan said. “I’ll stick with hammers andnails, not the bad guys and guns. Besides, I’ve got Angie to go home to. She makes my world go ’round.”
“Okay then. Check-out time at the hotel and then home,” Asher said.
“I’ll keep my room just in case,” Dylan said. “The weather is iffy this time of year, and the roads might become impassable for a time. I’d rather be snowed in with Dad, instead of knowing he was on his own.”
“Then when we get back to Crossroads, you keep the SUV to drive back and forth,” Gunner said. “We’ve got Dad’s truck to use if we need wheels.”
“Finish up eating,” Asher said, pointing to their food. “I have some people to talk to here first, and then we’re gone. I want in that bar. I need to see where it happened.”
* * *
A short while later Asher and Gunner had checked out, leaving Dylan’s room active. They loaded up their bags and headed home.
“It’s going to be weird going home without Dad there,” Dylan said.
“And we have some housecleaning to do before it’s safe to bring him home,” Asher added.
Dylan’s phone rang, ending their conversation. It was Angie, needing verification on a decision she was about to make, so Asher took the opportunity to text Nora.
Dad woke up. He’s continuing to improve. We have new info and we’re all on the way home. Hope you had a good night’s sleep. Wish I could be with you and help you finish up at your house, but we have some serious issues to solve here before my life is my own again. Call or text me any time. I will be at yourdoorstep if you need me.
We’re keeping Dad’s progress under wraps for now. It has to do with keeping him safe. If the shooter thinks Dad has yet to wake up, he won’t be inclined to try and finish the job.
* * *
Nora was in the hardware store, picking up some small hinge screws. Fixing loose hinges and recaulking windowpanes weren’t part of her skill set, but she was getting there. Her phone signaled a text as she was heading to the checkout counter. When she saw it was from Ash, she went ahead and checked out, then got into the car before she stopped to read it.
Finding out that they were coming home was both exciting and worrisome. From the tone of the message and their previous conversation, she understood what wasn’t being said. They were going to begin a serious investigation into the attempted murder, which may or may not become risky to them, as well. But just knowing they were going to be residing only a few blocks apart made her heart skip. She sent back a response, and then headed home.
Best news ever! Understand the seriousness of what comes next. My lips are sealed. Looking forward to random visits. You know where to find me.
Asher smiled when he got her response, but said nothing. Discussing her with his brothers wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t want their input, and he didn’t want the teasing that would ensue. They were grown-ass men until they got together, and somehow, they always reverted tothe old childhood ranking of him in charge and being the referee for them.
* * *
Nora went home with her purchases, unloaded them on the counter and quickly replaced the screws in the cabinet doors she’d found missing, then went outside to reapply caulking to the window she’d heard rattling. She had just finished and was turning around, when she tripped on the edge of a brick border around an old flower bed long devoid of flowers.
The tube of caulking went flying, and there was nothing to grab hold of to break the fall. She hit knees first, then hands down to keep from face-planting.
Within a heartbeat of impact, she felt a sharp, burning pain in the palm of her left hand and screamed as she jerked it back. Even as she was scrambling to her feet, she saw the piece of glass embedded in her palm, and the blood oozing out around it and groaned.
“Oh. My. God. What next?”
She started to pull out the shard and then guessed it would exacerbate the bleeding. So, she made a run for the back door, then into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of kitchen towels and lightly wrapped them around her hand. “Purse, I need my purse,” she mumbled, then ran to get her purse and car keys. She didn’t stop to lock the door, and she didn’t even have her phone. She just got in the car and headed for the ER, driving as fast as she dared.
By the time she arrived, she was in tears. The shock of the accident was passing, but this felt like the last volley from a long-fought war. She grabbed her purse and ran inside, but the towels were as blood-soaked as her clothes, which startled the ER nurses to come running.
“Nora! What happened?” Peggy asked.
“Tripped in the back yard and fell. When I got up, this was in my hand.”
“Dr. Sherrod is on-site today. Let’s get you back in an exam room and clean this up,” Joan added.
As they were walking her down the hall to an exam room, Nora began seeing spots before her eyes and felt her legs getting weak. “I think I’m going to pass out.”
