“Go on without me,” he hissed.
“I’m not going to leave you here!”
“I told you—” he started to say, but Adrianna was already hauling him to his feet. It was a struggle, but he helped her all that he could and was soon standing on one good, but shaky leg. With one of Quinn’s arms around her small shoulders, Adrianna led them toward the door.
They’d only gone a matter of feet before a beam crashed down behind them, shattering a table and a pair of chairs into kindling. It had missed them only by inches.
“Watch out!” Quinn warned.
As cautiously but as quickly as they could manage, they made their way toward the front of the tavern. The heat and thick smoke surrounded them, clinging to their clothing and threatening to pull them under. Adrianna’s head swam with dizziness, coughs racked her body. Still, she steadily moved forward, inching ever closer to the door and the safety beyond.
Out of the smoke, a man appeared and drew Quinn’s injured arm gently over his shoulder.
“Roy, you son of a gun! You came back,” Quinn gasped.
“Course I did. I ain’t never turned tail.” Roy wrapped his arm around Quinn. “Come on, missy, this ain’t the place to be right now, I done do swear!”
Roy helped her with Quinn and led them both out of the building and into the coolness of the night. Behind them, the fire seemed to grow even wilder in intensity; it was as if it had been saving its greatest fury until it knew that the two of them were safe.
All around them, shouts of “Fire!” rang out through the darkness, and the people of Lee’s Point gradually scurried into the street carrying buckets. As the town came alive to fight the blaze, Roy gently laid Quinn down on the grassy verge of the street, and Adrianna knelt to try to staunch his wounds.
“I’m gonna run and fetch the lady doc,” Roy explained. “That there wound looks like it done be more than the two of us can handle.” With that, the older man was off into the dark.
Even as she worked to stop Quinn’s bleeding, Adrianna’s tears began to flow freely. With all that had happened, both here and with Lola, her nerves had been frayed raw. When she was finally able to see Quinn’s face through the tears, she was surprised to see him smiling.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Because you’re safe,” he said simply.
“But look at all the hardship I’ve caused you,” she answered. “Just because you knew me, you’ve been shot and beaten, and you’ve lost the Whipsaw.”
“That’s nothing but an old bar, anyway.”
“But your father built it with his own two hands,” she argued. “And what about Jesse? You’ve been keeping it running so that he’d have something to support himself with when he was older!”
“He doesn’t want it. He told you himself.”
“But—”
“Hush!” he ordered her and she fell silent. He reached out and held her by the chin, keeping her eyes locked on to his own. They were so radiant, so piercing, that she knew she’d be lost in them for the rest of her life. “The only thing that matters to me is you. Not what my father might have wanted, not what anyone might think, and certainly not this bar.”
“Oh, Quinn,” was all she could say.
“I love you, Adrianna Moore,” he said, setting her heart on fire with as much intensity as the blaze that raged behind them. “I love you, and I’ll never let you go.”
“I love you, Quinn,” she answered through tears that flowed with joy.
As the roof of the Whipsaw collapsed in on itself, neither Adrianna nor Quinn looked up; instead they were absorbed in each other, their love the only thing on their minds.
“H
URRY IT UP
, will ya! We’re gonna be late for the opening!”
Taking one last quick glance in the dresser mirror to make sure her hair looked just right, Adrianna lifted a shawl from the back of the rocking chair and hurried down the steps. Jesse stood at the bottom of the staircase, impatiently tapping his cane.
“It took you long enough,” he complained.
“I have to make sure I look presentable today,” she defended herself playfully. “After all, it is an important occasion. Besides, we’ve got plenty of time before it starts.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one that’s got to hobble there with a cane. I know I’m doin’ a lot better, but it’s gonna be a while before I’m dancing a jig.”
Adrianna beamed with pride. In the short space of a couple of months, Jesse had achieved an amazing amount of improvement with his legs. Through hard work, dedication, and even a fair amount of sweat and tears, he’d managed to work his way out of the wheelchair. He had then moved on to a walker and was now using a cane. With such progress, she knew it wouldn’t be long before he was walking unassisted.
“If it’s too far for you to walk, we could take the truck,” she suggested.
“No way!” He smiled boyishly. “Today’s the day for me to show off, too.”
Laughing together, they made their way to the front door where Cowboy bounded up and barked, his heart set on accompanying them on their journey.
“Sorry, boy,” Jesse said, sighing. “You’re gonna have to sit this one out.”
With obvious disappointment, the dog lay down on the floor and placed his head on his front paws.
Out on the street, Adrianna was struck by how beautiful the autumn day was. The sun shone brightly in a clear sky; its pleasant warmth setting her skin tingling. A soft breeze rustled the leaves, their colors turning ever-so-slowly from green to orange, yellow, and red. It was a perfect day.
As they walked, Adrianna realized how much she enjoyed Jesse’s company. He had graduated from high school and would be leaving Lee’s Point. He’d enrolled in the State College at Baton Rouge for the coming term, a decision he’d made with both trepidation and excitement. She’d encouraged him to follow his dream, which he’d finally confessed was to become a writer. In her heart, she knew he’d make that dream come true.
“Sure is quiet around here today,” Jesse commented.
“That’s because everyone’s already there.”
“I hope so”—he nodded—“for Quinn’s sake.”
“For all our sakes.” Adrianna smiled and took Jesse by the arm.
Looking around Lee’s Point, Adrianna saw the same homes, storefronts, and other landmarks that had become familiar to her. Still, in the time that had passed since Lola Oxnard and Richard Pope had tried to destroy their lives, much had changed. After the sheriff had been called, Lola had been charged with attempted murder, as well as a few other offenses, and had been sentenced to spend a long time in prison. For his part in following his mistress’s orders, Reuben had suffered a similar fate.
Richard’s charred remains had been removed from the still-smoking embers of the Whipsaw. There was no way of knowing whether it had been the blow of the beam that had killed him, or if he had been burned alive in the inferno of his own making. The screams that had cut through the flame and smoke that night testified that either way, Richard Pope’s fate had been painful. Regardless of how it had happened, Adrianna knew she would never have to be fearful of noises outside her window again.
“Thank goodness it’s not much farther,” Jesse groused.
“You’re doing great.”
Even with Jesse’s still not fully strengthened legs, they covered the distance to town quickly. Rounding a corner, Adrianna could only smile at the sight that greeted her; there, sitting in front of Delmar’s was her father’s car, now fully repaired, with a “For Sale” sign in the window.
I certainly won’t need that anymore,
she thought to herself.
Down another street, around another corner, and suddenly they were at their destination. Rising before them was the Whipsaw, better than before. New, it certainly was: crisp wood from the lumber mill made up the walls and ceiling, large panes of uncracked glass filled the windows, and a shiny coat of paint covered it all. The inside was even better; all the tables and chairs were new, the long bar was fully stocked with bottle after bottle of liquor, and a brand-new piano sat in the corner.
“Would you look at that,” Jesse whistled, wiping his brow.
“It’s really something, isn’t it?”
“I’ll say! Look at that sign!”
Adrianna followed Jesse’s direction to the large banner that sat atop the tavern’s roof. Bright and clear, it read “WHIPSAW” in tall letters. Nor was the wood warped or the paint chipped. It was perfect!
“Not half bad, if I do say so myself,” a voice called from the front door. They looked up to see Quinn smiling back at them, his face full of pride. As it did every time she saw him, Adrianna’s leaped with love.
“It’s beautiful,” she agreed.
“Hey, kiddo,” Quinn called to his brother. “Why don’t you head inside and see if Gabe can rustle you up a root beer? I think there might be a couple of cold ones around.”
Quinn smiled as he watched Jesse walk, and then he made his way over to where Adrianna stood. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. For a moment they were silent, admiring the new building.
“We can still call it ‘Annie’s Place’ if you’d like,” Quinn teased.
“Over my dead body,” she exclaimed.
“It’s your money.”
“
Our
money,” she corrected.
After the harm that Richard Pope had caused her, Adrianna had to admit that there was
one
thing he had done that had worked out for the best, even if she was certain he hadn’t meant for it to. After he had swindled her father out of his fortune, Richard had drawn up legal documents naming her as the inheritor of
his
estate. He’d meant the document to have taken effect at their marriage, but he had been so certain of their impending nuptials that he’d signed the will and filed it. When he perished in the fire, all that had rightfully belonged to Adrianna was hers again.
When she had discovered that she was wealthy, Adrianna had had no doubt as to what she wished to do with the money. Quinn had tried to talk her out of it, insisting that he hadn’t married her for her money, but she’d patiently explained to him that she wasn’t giving it to him, but sharing; her life was no longer to be found in Shreveport, but in Lee’s Point. With him.
“What does Gabe think of the finished product?” she asked.
“He’s up on a cloud somewhere.” Quinn winked. “Although I can’t be sure if it’s because of the new and improved Whipsaw or if it’s because of what’s going on with him and the doc.”
Shortly after the fire, Gabe had finally summoned the courage to give voice to the feelings that had been roiling inside him from the very first moment he’d laid eyes on Sarah Bordeaux. He had been fearful to hear rejection and was shocked to find that the town’s doctor shared his feelings but had been equally unable to speak them aloud. They’d been inseparable ever since.
“I know exactly how he feels,” Adrianna said, slipping her arms around Quinn’s waist and pulling him close. “Love can make the whole world turn upside down.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.” She smiled. “I love you, Mr. Baxter.”
“And I love you, Mrs. Baxter.”
Two months after that fateful night, Quinn and Adrianna had been married in a simple ceremony in the church on the outskirts of town. The whole town had turned out to wish them well and celebrate their love. Adrianna had only one family member who had been able to attend, her aunt Madeline from Mississippi. In the end, her aunt had come to visit her, instead of the other way around!
Tenderly, Quinn bent down and placed his lips against hers. Reveling in the sweetness of their kiss, Adrianna knew that this was the man she was meant to spend the rest of her life with, enjoying all of the ups and downs with the passing of the years. What had happened in the past was just that—the past. All that mattered was their future . . . together!
“Well ain’t that a sight!”
They broke their kiss to look back at the Whipsaw. There, standing before the door, his arms crossed over his chest, was Roy Long. He smiled his mostly toothless grin.
“What with all this kissin’ and stuff goin’ on, it’s gettin’ so that a fella can’t even get hisself a good drink around here, I done do swear!”
D
OROTHY
G
ARLOCK
is one of America’s—and the world’s—favorite novelists. Her work has appeared on national bestseller lists, including the
New York Times
extended list, and there are over fifteen million copies of her books in print translated into eighteen languages. She has won more than twenty writing awards, including five Silver Pen Awards from
Affaire de Coeur
and three Silver Certificate Awards, and in 1998 she was selected a finalist for the National Writer’s Club Best Long Historical Book Award.
After retiring as a news reporter and bookkeeper in 1978, she began her career as a novelist with the publication of
Love and Cherish
. She lives in Clear Lake, Iowa. You can visit her Web site at
www.dorothygarlock.com
.