Nora frowned. “And yet I have managed to survive the cold, ugly world all on my own for years and years without a keeper.” She held up her bandaged hand. “This is just an awkward thing I did to myself. It hurts now, but it will heal a lot faster than the injuries I incurred from a stalker.”
All the expression on Ash’s face disappeared. “You were stalked?”
She nodded. “Right after I moved to Fort Worth. It was a man where I worked. He thought he was going to scare me into submission. Left threatening messages beneath my door after I turned him down, sent pictures of me walking down the streets to let me know he was following me. So, I hired a private investigator to follow my stalker who was following me…and take pictures of him while he was doing it.”
Asher was in shock, imagining all she’d gone through alone, but it was Gunner who asked.
“So, what happened? Did you turn him in to the police?”
“Of course I did. Nothing happened, because he hadn’t physically harmed me, and my boss looked at me like it was my fault. So, I got a protective order against him and bought a Taser. He thought he’d skated home free, cornered me in a covered parking lot and hit me in the face with his fist. That hurt way worse than this cut on my hand. He busted my lip and broke a bone in my cheek, and didn’t expect me to fight back. But he got the message when I Tasered himin the crotch and put him on the ground. Then I called the police again.”
Gunner’s face was flushed in anger. “You better be telling me they jailed him this time.”
Nora nodded. “Oh, yes. He’s in prison somewhere now. I sued the company I worked for over their refusal to respond to the danger I was in which created a dangerous workplace environment, and I won. Then I took myself to a different company, rented a nice apartment in my ivory tower with the expectation of living happily ever after, and you both know that didn’t go as planned.”
There were tears running down Ash’s face, but he didn’t know it. He wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.
Nora saw his shock and reached for his hand across the table.
“Don’t, Ash. I didn’t tell this for sympathy, or to make anyone feel bad. It’s just a part of what happened to me after I left Crossroads. You weren’t responsible for me. You weren’t my designated bodyguard. You were the boy from home who I loved, and clearly, still love.”
Gunner stood up and walked out. They needed to talk, and he wanted to check on Dylan and make sure he got back to Amarillo okay, so he sat down in the living room, turned on the TV to drown out their conversation, then made the call.
* * *
Dylan drove straight to the hospital, arriving in time to get an update on his dad’s condition before he went in to visit, and was relieved to learn he was continuing to improve. There was a nurse checking Jacob’s vitals and the drip in his IV when he walked up to his bed.
“How’s he doing?” Dylan asked.
Jacob opened his eyes. “He’s still ticking,” he said.
Dylan smiled. “And making jokes, thank the Lord.”
The nurse smiled. “Jacob is a good patient. We’re going to miss him when they move him into a regular room.”
“Really? When is that happening?” Dylan asked.
“Doctor will make that decision tomorrow after rounds,” she said. “I’ll leave you to visit. Ten minutes go fast.”
Dylan reached for his dad’s hand. “You scared the hell out of us, Dad.”
“Scared myself pretty good, too,” Jacob said. “Did I dream it, or were your brothers here, too?”
“Yes. You talked to them. Do you remember what you said?” Dylan asked.
“Did I mention the two men who wanted to buy the bar?”
Dylan nodded. “You also told us two men broke into the bar right after you’d closed. That one of them took you down, told you that you should have sold the bar, and then another one shot you. Is that still how you remember it?”
“Yes. Did you tell me it was Pearl who saved me?”
“Yes, we did. She was sleeping with her bedroom window open. The gunshot woke her. She tried to call you, and when you didn’t answer, she got dressed, grabbed that shotgun of hers, and took off running toward the bar. She found you bleeding out behind the bar, called 911 and then applied pressure bandages until help came.”
A tear rolled down the side of Jacob’s face and onto the pillow.
“I owe her, big-time,” he said.
Dylan nodded. “When we told you that the first time, you made a rather surprising comment. You said that you should have married her, instead.”
