Midnight Sacrifice (39 page)

He fell into step beside her. Side by side, they walked toward the house, her hand trailing on the dog’s head. The door wasn’t locked. She opened it, but Bear hesitated at the threshold. The only dog Jed let inside the house was Honey. He’d been adamant the rest were hunting dogs, not pets.

“It’s OK.” She patted her thigh. “Come.”

He trotted in. Mandy left the main door wide-open and closed the screen door. Pine-scented air filtered into the house.

The kitchen, dining area, and living room were one open space. Bear trailed through, sniffing the wood-paneled perimeter. Mandy stood in the center, lost in memories.

Just lost.

Her imagination could place Jed cleaning his guns at the oak table or pulling a beer from the fridge.

She went to his desk and sat down. Mail was stacked on the blotter. Next to it, a shipping box lay open. A black box with a large white button was nestled inside the Styrofoam packaging. She unfolded the packing slip and read the invoice. K-9 rescue phone.

She thumbed through the stacks of mail. A cream envelope had a logo of a dog next to the return address. Mandy slid the letter out. Across the top, S
ERVICE
D
OG
C
ERTIFICATION
R
EQUIREMENTS
was typed in bold print. The application was half-completed in small block letters. She read through the form.

It was no accident Honey knew how to comfort Bill or that she stuck by his side and could find him on command. Jed had been training Honey to be Bill’s service dog.

A fresh current of grief swamped her. She’d thought she was lonely before Jed’s death. Sitting at his desk, with the evidence of his selfless love for her in her hand, sadness swelled until the pressure constricted her heart and lungs.

Someone knocked at the door. She looked at Danny through the screen. Her heart bumped. The door squeaked as he pushed it open and walked in.

He squatted in front of her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left your side last night. You shouldn’t have been at the hospital alone.”

“Mrs. Stone was there. She still is.” Mandy looked down at her clenched hands. “I should have told you. You saved my life in December. I should have trusted you. I was just so afraid.”

“I wouldn’t have taken any chances with Jayne’s life either.” Danny took her hands in his. She was careful not to squeeze the new bandage.

Her conscience sighed in relief, but her heart started crying all over again. She shut it down. Danny’s forgiveness didn’t change the fact that he’d be leaving soon. And she’d be alone again. In fact, letting herself think otherwise just left her open to additional pain when she couldn’t handle one more ounce. She stared at the certification letter in her hand.

Danny put a finger under her chin. She closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against his palm. She was going to miss him.

“What’s that?” He nodded toward the letter.

“Jed was getting Honey certified as Bill’s service dog. That’s what he was doing all winter. He knew how difficult Bill’s anxiety was to manage. He was going to give me his most prized possession to make my life easier.”

“He loved you.”

“I loved him, too.” Tears burned Mandy’s swollen eyes. “Just not the way he needed me to love him.”

Danny didn’t respond with words. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in his arms. “Do you need to do anything else here?”

She shook her head.

“Then let’s go back to the inn.”

“God, the inn. I just let everything go. My guests—”

“Are fine,” Danny assured her. “My brother is holding down the fort.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Danny steered her toward the door. “You won’t have to run the place alone anymore.”

Mandy stopped. “What do you mean?”

“I can run a tavern. An inn can’t be that much different. I thought I’d stick around for a while.”

“You’re staying?”

Danny frowned. “Why wouldn’t I? I don’t know exactly what we have here, but it’s something I’m not just going to walk away from. I have feelings for you I can’t verbalize yet. We need some normal time to sort things out.”

“But no one stays in Huntsville.” She’d spent her whole life wishing she could leave. “Won’t you miss Philadelphia?”

They stepped out onto the porch.

“Sure, but it’s just a place. It’s people who matter. It’s only a day’s drive if I want to see my family.” Danny stopped and turned her to face him. “Unless you want me to go. I’m sorry. I didn’t even ask. I assumed you felt the same—”

“I do.” Huntsville didn’t seem so bad. Philadelphia was only a day’s drive. Maybe someday she could make that trip with Danny.

“Thank God.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. The sun’s heat soaked into her skin, and warmth encompassed her heart.

The dog squeezed his nose between them. Danny lifted his head and laughed. He gave Bear a pat.

Mandy scratched the lab’s head. “Let’s take Bear with us. I think he misses Jed.”

The dog rode shotgun, bowing his head to avoid the ceiling in her little wagon. He would have fit better in Danny’s car, but Mandy needed the company. If it worked for Bill, maybe a little canine therapy would help her work through her grief.

One week later

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“I am.” Mandy leaned over the side of the boat. She dipped a hand in the rippled surface of the lake. The water was cool and refreshing in the humid summer afternoon.

Danny shut off the outboard motor. Peace descended over Lake Walker. At the water’s edge, a heron stood in the shallows. The boat drifted into a patch of vegetation. A handful of ducks burst from the tall reeds nearby. Bear, standing in the bow, cocked his ears and wagged his tail as he watched them fly off.

“Stay,” Danny commanded. Bear sat down, his butt bouncing in excitement.

She smiled. “Well, look at you, Mr. Dog Trainer.”

“I wish I could take responsibility, but Bear was already trained.”

“He was.” On that note, Mandy reached for the urn at her feet. If she hesitated now, her courage would fly off like a spooked mallard. As Jed had instructed, she opened the top and slowly poured the ashes into the water. They swirled and floated, gradually sinking into the calm water. “Bye, Jed.”

“Are you all right?” Danny asked with the same patient tone that wouldn’t let her shut her emotions down over the past week.

“Yeah. I expected to be bowled over by sadness again, but I’m not.” Mandy set the empty urn in the bottom of the boat. “I feel…lighter.”

“I’ll always be grateful to him for what he did.” Danny reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I’ll never forget him, but I’m going to try to focus on the good parts.” She wasn’t letting go of his memory, just the sadness and guilt. Jed would be in her heart forever.

“He would want you to be happy.”

“I know.” Mandy wiped a tear from her face. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to cry.” She’d thought she was out of tears. Danny and Mandy had attended Ashley’s funeral in Boston. A structural defect and the Taser charge had combined to cause the young woman’s heart to arrest. Her asthma hadn’t been the only cause of her shortness of breath. Two days after returning home,
the sadness weighed on Mandy’s heart. No parent should have to bury a child. It was unnatural. So was suffering at a parent’s hands, though. Evan was still in the hospital, his sanity and health precarious after four months of imprisonment, watching his father plan to murder people on his behalf. The fate of Carolyn’s son was also uncertain, but a cousin had driven up from Boston to take the boy home with her. With no one to care for him and his disease turning him more violent by the day, Colonel Fitzgerald was being moved to a nursing facility.

“It’s OK.” Danny shifted a seat closer and took her hands in his. The scar on his left arm reminded her that he knew all about pain and loss and acceptance. “Better to let it out than let it fester.”

“I still can’t believe he left me everything. I have no idea what I’m going to do with all his stuff.” Jed’s will had been both recent and very detailed. Honey belonged to Bill. Everything else, from the cabin to the boat to the dogs, went to Mandy.

“So, you’ll know when you know. No rush.” Danny rowed them back to shore.

A small group of people stood on the bank. Victoria and Samantha hugged each other. Swollen, red eyes attested to their grief. Their parents hovered a few feet behind them. Next to them, Kevin gathered with his entire family. The still-gaunt Hunter was sandwiched between his parents.

But they were standing there, alive.

Mandy’s throat tightened. Even if she could speak, she didn’t have words to express the complicated emotions bottlenecked inside her.

Danny squeezed her shoulder. He got it. “Thank you all for coming. I know this is hard, but Jed would have appreciated you being here.”

“We had to,” Hunter said. “Didn’t we, Dad?”

“You bet.” Kevin choked out. “We owe him—and you both—everything.”

His wife stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Mandy. Hot tears soaked Mandy’s blouse. Hunter’s mother didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. She hugged Danny and stepped aside. Samantha, Victoria, and their parents lined up for tear-filled embraces. When she’d worked her way through the crowd, Mandy was exhausted but oddly grateful.

Jed’s courage had allowed her to stop Nathan, and Danny to rescue everyone from the flames. All these people were alive because of Jed. His death had meant something.

Hunter tugged on her sleeve. “Dad says it’ll take time to not be scared anymore. Are you going to be OK?”

Mandy put her hand on his shoulder. “Hunter, my best friend gave his life for me. The least I can do is live it.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

August, three months later

Danny leaned back on the blanket. Bear snoozed in the grass next to him.

“We should get going.” Mandy buttoned her blouse. “Your family will be here soon.”

“We have time.” Danny tugged her down onto his bare chest. “And it’s
my
birthday. They can wait.”

Mandy laughed. “But I want to give you your present.”

“I thought you just did.” Danny kissed her. Yup. He’d been right all along. Some green grass and a pretty girl was all he needed in life. “Anyway, I have something for you.” He reached for his jeans and dug into the pocket. He pulled out a small velvet box. “Will you marry me, Mandy Brown?”

“Oh, Danny.” She sat up and opened the box. A small diamond ring glittered in the sunlight, like tears glittered in Mandy’s eyes when she put it on her finger. “Yes. Definitely, yes.”

“Geez, don’t cry.” Danny sat up. “I wanted to make you happy.”

“I can’t help it.” She sniffed. “I am happy.”

“Could’ve fooled me, but I’ll take your word for it.” Danny kissed her again. One hand strayed to the top button on her blouse. “Wanna give me another present?”

Mandy batted his hand away playfully. “Put your clothes on. We have to go home.”

“Oh, all right.” Danny tugged on his jeans, T-shirt, and running shoes. “I was thinking. What if I convert the garage into a little house? I love your mom and Bill, and I know you need to stay close to them, but a little privacy would be nice.”

Mandy wiped a fresh tear from her face. “I think that would be perfect.”

“Great. Winter will be here soon. While I’m digging the whole outdoor sex thing, it’s going to be less appealing as the temperature drops.”

They packed up the picnic hamper and blanket and loaded the dog into the used SUV Danny had sold his convertible to buy. Well, that and the ring. Worth every penny. Now that he had Mandy, he had no trouble letting go of his old life and embracing the future.

The drive back to the inn was quiet. Danny held her hand and let her think. In the backseat, Bear pressed his nose to the window. They parked behind the inn. Jayne and Reed’s mammoth SUV dwarfed Danny’s new truck. On the other side of it, Conor’s beat-to-shit Porsche looked a little less like roadkill than it had the last time Danny had seen it.

“Your family’s early.” Mandy flipped down the visor and checked her eyes in the mirror.

“You look beautiful.” Danny opened the back door for the dog. Bear bounded up the back lawn.