Nora gripped the steering wheel and drove aimlessly down the gravel road hoping each turn would be the one to bring her back to the highway. Her nerves were frayed, and she fought back the urge to cry.
She thought about the unconscious and bleeding body of Tate Palmer that she had left by the road. What if I hit him too hard? What if he’s dead? I didn’t mean to hurt him…
She was petrified. The tears she had been fighting began to stream unwittingly down her face. She brushed them away angrily.
No time for tears, Nora Buchanan...just drive…
When she saw the highway ahead, she thought back...Tate had turned right to enter the gravel road, so Nora made a left to go back the way they had come. She continued on and was soon at the fork in the road...again she made a left. Now she was in familiar territory and drove more quickly than the law allowed in the direction of the ranch.
* * * * * * *
Bo glanced up from the paper he was reading to view the clock on the mantel...again. The hands had only moved another fifteen minutes. He thought Nora would be back by now. She should be. He was getting worried. She had been gone nearly five hours.
When Maggie returned to the room to collect his lunch dishes, she found him standing by the closet trying to pull on a shirt. The simplest tasks were still painful for him, and he hadn’t had any pain pills all day.
“You going to get a little fresh air, honey?” she asked him. “Here...let me hold that shirt while you slip your arms in…”
“Have you heard anything from Nora? She should be back by now, Maggie. I’m worried about her.”
She tried to soothe him even though she was concerned herself. “Try not to worry, Bo. She hasn’t been to town in a long while. Maybe she did some shopping...”
“While I’m waiting at home for pain medicine? That doesn’t sound like Nora. I’m going to call Carver’s to see what time she was there.”
Bo painfully made his way to the phone in Asa’s office. Maggie could hear his one-sided conversation from the kitchen.
“So, you haven’t seen her at all?! She should have been there by 10:30 this morning!….”
Maggie couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation as Lilli’s voice interrupted, “I ate my samwich. Now can I have a cookie?”
“Yes, Sweetie, here you go,” Maggie said quickly slipping her a cookie and more milk. Then she went to the back patio and shouted for Thomas.
When he came to the door, she whispered, “I need you to drive to town. Miss Nora left hours ago and hasn’t returned. Bo is worried about her. Just go into town and see if you can find Bo’s truck anywhere.”
“Yes, Mama. I’m on my way.” But before Tom could leave, Bo entered the room.
“Tom! I need you to drive me to town…”
“Now Bo, I’m not sure you should…” began Maggie.
“Maggie, I need to find my wife!” Bo shouted. “Thomas, are you going to take me or give me the truck?”
“Yes, Mr. Bo. I’ll take you. Just take it easy.”
“I wanna go, Daddy!” Lilli pleaded as they went out the door.
“Not this time baby,” Bo said, “stay with Miss Maggie.”
Lilli puckered up and leaned her head against the window. Maggie cuddled her close. “Come on, Miss Lilli, we’ll go see the kittens.”
* * * * * * *
Bo grimaced with pain as his body rocked with the motion of the truck, but he kept encouraging Tom to hurry. It wasn’t quite as painful when they got on the main road to town.
After traveling several miles, Bo said, “What’s that up there? Looks like a truck by the side of the road.” And as they got closer, Bo said, “It’s my truck. Pull over.” Tom did as Bo directed and they both got out to investigate.
“Flat tire,” Tom said. “You don’t think she’d try to walk all the way to town?”
“I don’t think so.” Bo looked in and around the truck. “I don’t know which scares me worse...her trying to walk or being picked up by someone.”
As Nora sped down the highway she was torn wondering if she was doing the right thing. Maybe I should have gone straight to the sheriff’s office...or to a house to call the police...or an ambulance...what have I done?...God, what should I have done?
She could see she was almost where she had abandoned the truck. Looking more closely she saw that someone was there. She saw Thomas! It was Thomas looking at the flat tire! Relief flooded her. When she came abreast of the truck, she pulled off the right side of the highway. After resting her head on the steering wheel for a brief moment, she looked up and out her window. Then she saw him. Bo!
Nora opened the door and slipped from the truck seat. Tears of relief were flowing now. She heard Bo shout her name, "Nora!" She glanced both ways and ran quickly across the highway...and into his waiting arms.
* * * * * * *
“Someone needs to go out there and find him! I’m telling you, he’s hurt! I didn’t mean to hurt him...I just reacted in the moment…”
“Mrs. Buchanan, calm yourself,” Sheriff Sprague said. “I sent some officers out. Let us worry about finding the suspect. I just need you to tell me everything that happened...in sequential order...and everything that Mr. Palmer said to you.”
Bo held her hand to reassure her.
Nora took a deep breath and tried to tell the sheriff calmly what happened...from the flat tire to Tate’s offer of a ride...the detour on the gravel road...Tate’s anger and accusations against his brother...his confession about Ellie...and finally, his expectations of her…
“He just wasn’t himself. I’ve never seen Tate Palmer angry like that… He had just finished telling me about Ellie when he started begging me not to leave him… I thought my only option was to get away, so I threw myself out of the truck…he followed me…”
Bo squeezed her hand giving her courage to go on.
“He grabbed me and started pulling me back to the truck...but I fought him...I kicked and screamed until he was down on the ground...he pulled me down with him…that’s when I…” Nora stopped and put her hand to her face.
“When you what, Mrs Buchanan?” asked the Sheriff gently.
Nora drew a deep shuddering breath as she answered, “When I picked up a rock and struck him...in the head. He didn’t move after that…”
“What did you do then, Mrs. Buchanan?”
“I...left him there...and I...took his truck…” She started crying softly, “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone...I just wanted to get away…”
The sheriff’s phone jingled on it’s hook, “Sprague,” he answered. “You did? Good work. His condition? Okay. Get him ready.”
When the sheriff hung up, he leaned back in his chair and looked at Nora. “The officers picked up the suspect. We need you to identify him. You ready to do that, Ma’am?”
“Yes,” Nora nodded. “So...he’s going to be okay?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Unfortunately these types don’t go down too easily. But you didn’t hear me say that…” He shuffled some paperwork on his desk. “I assume you want to press charges, and he will also be booked and charged with the death of Ellie McQuate. Your testimony has helped us solve a cold case. Of course, you know if this goes to trial, we’ll need you to testify…”
“Yes.”
Bo jumped into the conversation. “What about his brother, Chet? According to Tate Palmer, his brother has committed arson and also endangered both my life and that of our daughter by provoking that bull attack...not to mention the allegations that he has been spying through our bedroom windows!”
Sheriff Sprague gave Bo a serious look. “Unfortunately, we have no proof. We have only the word of one jealous brother against another. When your father had the fire investigated, we found no proof of foul play. The incident with the bull...did anyone witness Chet Palmer’s involvement in that? That’s hard to prove...and the peeping Tom allegations...unless someone has seen Chet Palmer there at the…”
Nora interrupted softly, “I have. At least I think I have…”
Both Bo and the sheriff looked at Nora, “Go on.”
“I just can’t be sure. One night when I was closing the window, I saw a figure...a man...running away from the house. But it was dark and raining hard, so I can’t say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was Chet.”
The sheriff shook his head. “I hate to say this, but I can’t lock Chet Palmer up on that testimony alone. I really need substantial evidence. All I have is hearsay.”
Bo shook his head. “So we have to wait until the idiot does something stupid or puts us in danger again before we can do anything about him?!”
“Mr. Buchanan, as far as we know, Chet Palmer hasn’t really done anything. These accusations could all be just the concoctions of a jealous brother…”
“And what if they aren’t?” Bo asked. “What then?”
Sprague tapped his pencil on his desk, thinking. “I can bring him in for questioning hoping he’ll break under pressure, but I hesitate to do that. He could bear up well under the questioning then fear we’re onto him and leave town. I’d rather we just laid low and kept a watch on him in case he tries anything again.”
“Leaving my family at risk…” Bo commented.
“I’ll place an officer on the ranch incognito...as new hired help,” Sprague said. “He will keep an eye on Palmer’s activities. It will be Officer Mason. He’ll start tonight. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Sprague turned to Nora. “Now, let’s get this identification and statement dealt with so that you can go home. Ready, Ma’am?”
“Ready,” Nora replied standing to her feet.
* * * * * * *
Nora turned off the bedside lamp and slid under the cool sheets next to her husband. They lay side by side staring at the darkened ceiling. Bo looked her way.
“How do you feel?” he asked into the darkness.
“Like I rolled out of a truck,” she answered quietly. “How do you feel?”
“Like I got trampled by a bull.”
She turned to face him. Their eyes met in the moonlit room.
“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” she asked, giving him a soft smile. She reached for his hand. “At least we can hold hands…”
“At least,” Bo murmured. But his eyes told her he wanted more. “Come here...closer to me.”
“Bo, we can’t...I’m so sore and you...”
“I know...I just want you close to me, honey. Can you lay on your right side?”
“I think so.” She groaned a little as she adjusted herself to lay in the crook of his arm.
“You okay? What hurts?” he asked as she settled in with her head under his chin.
“My neck, my hips, my arms…”
He caressed her arms and sighed. “He left bruises on you...I could kill him…”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s not talk about it, okay? I’m hoping the worst is over. You and I are going to be alright...it will just take a little time,” she whispered running her hand across his chest. She peered up at his profile from his shoulder and ran a finger along his clenched jaw.
He turned to look at her again. Looking deeply into her dark eyes, he murmured, “God, I love you...you know that? I can’t even imagine my life without you…”
She continued to run her finger along his cheek. “I feel the same way,” she murmured softly. “I had those same thoughts exactly when you had your run in with Samson...when I watched you from this bedside. And I felt the same when I rocked Lilli to sleep after the accident...I can’t imagine our lives without her either. It made me appreciate her more. Rather than begging God for another child, I started thanking Him for the one I have...my Lillikins…” she finished with tears in her eyes.
Bo smiled thinking of his baby. “She’s Daddy’s girl…” he said quietly.
Nora whispered, “You sure about that? I think she’s ‘Mommy’s ‘geerl’…”
Bo glanced back at Nora. She smiled.
“You wanna fight me?” he asked drawing her close with his arm lightening the mood.
“Yeah...I’ll fight you, Mister...and I could probably win too. You can’t move an inch without pain, so don’t make me hurt you.”
“Mmmm...hurt me,” he murmured looking into her eyes. “Please hurt me…”
She chuckled before covering his mouth with her own. Their kisses were moist, hot, and enduring making them both forget their pains for the moment and long for more.
Nora finally pulled back. “Mmmm” she murmured breathlessly, “I think you have regained a portion of your body movement…”
“Yes, I have...and I can’t wait to regain the rest,” he answered giving her another long and lingering kiss.