The Last Execution (25 page)

“That had to be hard on a young boy.” Her gaze full of compassion searched his face.

He’d known this picnic wasn’t a good idea. And now more than anything, he wanted to drag her into his arms and tell her he was sorry he’d never be the man she’d expect him to be. He fought the urge to reach for her.

“I had my grandmother.” J.T. would’ve preferred Leigh stayed pissed. Anger was much easier to deal with than the expression of sympathy on her face.

“What about your dad?” Her tone softened.

“Living in Macon.” He forced himself to answer. Her questions opened doors he kept locked. “He divorced my mother when I was four. He remarried. They have a son.”

“Leaving no room in his life for the old one,” Leigh said softly. “Is that why you don’t want anyone to get close to you?”

“What?” J.T. regretted starting this line of conversation. Talking about personal shit was not his idea of fun. Leigh’s words hit sore spots and raw nerves. She was way too deep inside his head.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You keep people at arm’s length, protecting yourself from being hurt when they leave.” She sucked in a deep breath and continued. “It’s not your fault your parents left you.”

Bitterness rolled up in the back of his throat. He didn’t want or need her pity. And he didn’t think he was to blame that neither of his parents cared enough to stick around. Did he? The hell he did. This talk was supposed to be for her benefit, not his.

She glanced at Ethan, who waved and kept swinging. “Why did you go to your mother last night?”

“My grandmother asked me to find her and bring her home.” Thank God, she’d changed the subject. “Mission accomplished.”

“You still love your mother. You must.”

With such a tender heart, Leigh obviously couldn’t comprehend that sometimes, shutting down your feelings and emotions was the only way to survive. Coming from a close family, she’d never understand his dysfunctional one. “Love? That’s a stretch. Because she gave birth to me, I guess, maybe so. I have no respect for her. None.”

“Yet you and your grandmother have a great deal of affection for each other. She beamed with pride every time she looked at you today.”

“It was me and her against the world. I owe her a lot.”

“You’re a lot like her. Aren’t you?”

“No. I take after my grandfather and mother.”

“Nonsense.” Leigh’s eyebrows drew together. “I heard Nana talk at lunch. You two deliver phrases the same way. You have the same stubborn jaw line and forest green eyes.” She ran a finger across his chin. “And when she smiled, I saw where your dimple came from.”

“Her looks are the only markers we share. She’s forgiving and trusting. I’m nothing like her.” How much more honest could he be? Leigh’s eyebrows dipped. She wasn’t running scared, and he tamped down the pleasure that gave him.

“Are you
trying
to chase me away?” Hard lines formed around her mouth. “If so, be a big boy and spit it out. Don’t use your family as an excuse.”

He stood, gripped her by the arms, and pulled her to her feet. Truth was, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but there were things he needed to say.

“I’m giving you options. Information you can use to make decisions. The Nobles are a long line of drunks and thieves. My mother’s supposed to be sleeping off her hangover at my grandmother’s. In reality, she’s probably searching for anything valuable she can steal and sell.”

Her gaze never faltered, never darkened as others had when they’d learned about his family. She stood her ground, and his respect grew immeasurably.

“For a guy who doesn’t talk in long sentences, you’re on a roll today. You’ve said a lot. Not enough to make me run into the street shrieking ‘stay away from me.’”

Ethan came charging across the playground at full speed, ending their discussion. Leigh would have to decide whether she’d accept what J.T. had to offer or walk away. Could she settle for a relationship in which there was no future, no permanence? God in heaven, he hoped so.

“I need to go.” Ethan danced from one foot to the other.

“Then I guess we’d better hurry.”

J.T followed along behind as Leigh held Ethan’s hand on the walk to the picnic table where J.T.’s grandmother and Leland sat.

“Where’s Mom?” Leigh asked on the way past.

“Rinsing off a few dishes in the restroom.” Leland’s face filled with concern as he glanced at his watch. “She’s been gone a long time.”

“I’ll help her.” Leigh answered over her shoulder.

J.T. sat on the bench beside his grandmother. Her gaze tracked Leigh as she and Ethan kept walking. Nana patted his knee and beamed up at him.

“She’s a beautiful young woman, your Leigh.”

J.T. stifled a laugh when Leland cocked his head sideways with both eyebrows raised in question.

“Nana, Leigh’s not my woman.”
Sure she is.
You’re just too fucked up to admit it.
“But she is beautiful.”

“Dad, the lights are out and Mom’s not here,” Leigh yelled, breaking the awkward silence.

Leland stood, the color draining from his face. “I’m coming.”

“You have a flashlight in your car?” J.T. asked his grandmother.

“In the glove box.”

J.T. grabbed the light and rushed to Leigh. “Where’s your dad?”

“Around back looking for a main switch. The one inside doesn’t work. If Mom’s in there, she’s not answering, and I can’t go in.” She glanced down at her son, silently explaining why to J.T.

Relief filled her eyes when Nana walked up and took Ethan’s hand.

“We’ll find another restroom.”

J.T. followed Leigh into the darkness, sweeping the beam back and forth across the cement floor. Sara lay crumpled in a heap next to the far wall, still as death.

“Mom.” Leigh dropped to her knees, pushing her mother’s hair off her face. “She’s unconscious.”

“Don’t move her.” The tremor in Leigh’s voice caused his chest to tighten. He squatted next to her, placing two fingers on Sara’s neck. “Her pulse is strong.”

He dialed 9-1-1 then succinctly gave the operator the necessary information. Light flooded the room and shortly Leland ran in wild eyed, full of worry and concern. It hit J.T. how lucky Leigh was to have a loving family.

The room closed in, and he needed air. Felt out of place. He couldn’t forget for a minute he was an outsider.

“I’m stepping out to check on my grandmother.”

Leigh wiped her hand on her shorts. “Go ahead.”

Outside, he scanned the area. No Nana. No Ethan. Sweat popped out on J.T.’s forehead. Nana wasn’t in the best of health, and Ethan could be a handful. Always the agent, J.T.’s gaze swept the area.

“We’re here,” Nana called from across the playground.

The raging fire of panic subsided as relief rushed across his damp skin. He jogged to where she and Ethan played on the swings.

“You scared the crap out of me,” he grumbled, wrapping his arms around her.

“Teddy.” She stood up tall and blistered him with her now-you’ve-done-it look. “Watch your language. We took a potty break. Afterward, our young friend gave me a grand tour of the park. We decided to let you grownups take care of business.”

There was no mistaking the worry lines around her mouth. She’d spoken carefully so as not to upset the boy.

“You always know the right thing to do.”

“What happened? Is Sara okay?” she whispered.

“Don’t know what happened, but she was unconsciousness when I left. Leigh had blood on her hand from the back of her mother’s head.” Distant sirens screamed in the background. “Police and ambulance will be here soon.”

Ethan moved closer, taking in every word. J.T. knelt down and ruffled the boy’s curly hair. He kept his voice low and calm. “Your grandmother bumped her head, and I called the paramedics. Those guys know their stuff. They’ll take good care of her. No worries, okay?”

“Can I see?”

“Probably best if you wait for your mom to decide. Why don’t you hang out with Nana for a while, okay?”

Ethan’s little face scrunched up into a series of wrinkles, his mouth pursed for a second, and then the comical expression vanished. He smiled up at them. “Okay.” He ran off after a grasshopper, unaware of the seriousness of the drama unfolding around him.

“We’re going to swing for a while,” Nana said.

Her easygoing confidence concerned him. With her stubborn streak, she’d do too much. “Nana, if you start getting tired or too warm—”

She silenced him with her hand on his arm. “Go. Come get us when you’re ready.”

J.T. jogged back to Leigh, who hovered over her mother. “How’s she doing?”

“She’s coming around,” Leigh said, looking over her shoulder at him.

Her blue eyes, filled with anguish, ripped his heart out. God, he wanted to take her pain from her. He’d never felt this helpless, never experienced such a feeling of uselessness. He didn’t know how to comfort her.

“Dad, I’ll be right back.” She rose and walked outside. “Ethan?” Her eyes widened while she searched the park.

“Still with my grandmother, I’ll have to take her home. There’s no way Ethan can stay with her. Not as long as my mother’s at Nana’s. And I’ve never kept a kid before.”

Leigh faced him. Her lips tightened, dipping at the corners, and the color drained from her cheeks. Her reaction kicked J.T. in the chest. Had the mention of his mother drawn the negative reaction? Or did she not trust him?

“No. Ethan goes with me.”

J.T.’s flesh burned. He recognized that look all too well. Back when he was a kid people looked at him with pity. No more. He accepted sympathy from no one. Not even Leigh. Especially not Leigh.

He shifted the boulder setting on his heart and stepped out of the way. She went to meet the EMTs and a squad car. J.T. walked to where Nana and Ethan played. Together, they went back to the McBride family.

Sara was awake when they wheeled her out and loaded for a trip to the hospital. She’d remembered a voice whispering, “This is for Leigh.”

That memory would bring a rush of cops to the scene. The stress on Leigh’s face pulled at him. He understood how badly she wanted stay and take part of the investigation, yet she had to leave. She gathered her son and followed the ambulance with her dad.

She didn’t ask you to hang around with the cops.

As suddenly as it began, the flurry of activity was over. The little corner of the park the McBrides and Nobles had filled with laughter was eerily still and quiet. J.T. and his grandmother were alone. Strangely enough, alone felt normal.

Maybe alone was the way he’d always be.

****

Saturday, May 8, 7:00 p.m.

His heart damn near popped like a balloon hit with a pin. He faced the wall, ducking his head. The lady cop walked right past him, talking about her mother who was in the emergency room. He’d stick around, keep his back turned, yet be close enough to listen.

He’d caught a glimpse of goodness in the young woman’s eyes the night of her accident. Something about her struck a chord in him and reminded him of his daughter. The fading bruise on her face, and her frightened blue eyes had upset him. Instinct told him this particular cop was good people. Her situation intrigued him.

A little boy bounded into her arms.

“Mom?” The kid’s eyes were wide as saucers, and a frown marred his face. “Is Mimi gonna die?” His voice shook, and his bottom lip trembled.

“No. The doctors will fix her right up. She’ll be home playing with you in no time.”

She cuddled him close, like he used to hold his daughter. Curiosity moved him closer. A man stood and joined her, sliding his arm protectively around her waist. The way man stood, with his hip turned slightly, always keeping the bulge under his jacket within reach. Another cop?

The little boy wiggled out of his mother’s arms when another woman entered the room.

“Look. Dede’s here.” The boy ran.

“There’s my buddy.” She set him on her hip and bounced her way across to the young cop. “If it’s okay with you, Ethan and I are hitting the snow cone stand. Then he can come help me figure out my new video game. Pick him up whenever.”

The kid favored the older man who the lady cop had referred to as “Dad.”

“Well, I don’t know...” the cop said.

“Can I, Mom?” the boy pleaded.

“I guess so.”

She moved aside to let him push past them. He relaxed when she walked out of the room with the boy and other woman.

Gathering information on the middle-aged woman tended to by the trauma team would be easy. Before he left, he’d learn all about her injuries. A little research was needed.

Fate had put him at the right time and place to learn more about the lady cop. He intended to look into her troubles.

Chapter Eighteen

Monday, May 10, 8:30 a.m.

Jason’s day was about to get a whole lot better. The throwaway in his pocket vibrated again. Leigh should be sporting a few new bruises after the picnic, and Vick would have all the details. Jason waved his secretary out of his office. “Close the door.”

He waited a heartbeat before answering his cell. “How’d your trip to the park go?”