Page 1 of Saving Salem
CHAPTER ONE
“You are comingto the Big House for supper, right?”
Jack Sutton glanced up from the report he’d been reading. Rafe Boudreau’s question hung in the air, and Jack finally nodded. Who was he to turn down a home cooked meal, especially one prepared by his favorite lady, Patricia Boudreau?
“Your mother already texted me, making sure I’d be there. Appreciate the invite.”
Rafe chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “I bet you do. If you’re lucky, she’ll have some new gossip about Salem.”
Trust Rafe to rub salt in the wound. Why couldn’t he leave well enough alone, dang it? If only he’d hidden his interest in the pretty redhead on the night they rescued her, he might have avoided all the ribbing he’d gotten from his friend.
“When are you going to drop it, dude? I haven’t seen the woman in a year. Barely even talked to her. No reason to make a big deal out of—”
“Outta the fact you couldn’t stop talking about her, asked about her for months? Needed to know about her daughter, make sure they both settled into New Orleans without incident. Your excuse that you wanted to close the case in your head is a load of baloney and we both know it. Seems to me you’ve got a serious case of the hots for our Salem.”
“She’s a beautiful woman who lived through a nightmare. Your momma was right; the timing for me to even consider asking her out when she was here a year ago would have been awful. After everything she suffered at the hands of Tarik Amir, I get it. She needed time to heal, time to have her baby, and settle into some kind of normal life.”
Rafe nodded. “Salem needed a break and space away from the trauma, to heal physically and emotionally. Heck, she needed to get her head on straight after going through her own private hell at the hands of a monster. I mean, think about it. The man she escaped from, who held her against her will for months, traumatized and stalked her, was killed in front of her. Add in the fact at the time she was seven months pregnant with Amir’s kid. Anybody would need to take a step back, try to regroup, and figure out what their life was going to be like now they were free.”
Jack leaned back in his chair, papers scattered in front of him on the conference room table forgotten. “She was something else that night, wasn’t she? Pretending to go into labor in the middle of a gully washer of a thunderstorm was brilliant. Bought her and Nica enough time for us to get there and take out Amir.”
“I remember.” Rafe leaned forward in his chair, his gaze focused in like a laser. Jack recognized that expression, the one where his best friend was getting ready to give him some unsolicited advice. And he had a pretty good idea what he was going to say. That it was better for him to let go of any thought of getting with Salem. That she was happy, content with the life she’d built for herself and Chloe, her precious daughter.
“It’s okay, my brother, you don’t have to say anything. I have no intention of getting in touch with Salem Hudson now or in the future.” Didn’t mean he had to like it, but psychologically Jack got it. Too bad he still wanted to hop in his car and drive to New Orleans just to see her again.
“Wasn’t what I was gonna say, jackass, stop putting words in my mouth. I think you should talk to Momma. Ask her how Salem’s doing, and whether she thinks Salem’s ready to consider risking her heart in another relationship. I promise Momma will give you good advice, won’t steer you wrong. You know she’s kept in touch with Salem ever since the whole fiasco. She’s mighty fond of the woman. I know they’ve talked and emailed a lot over the past year.”
Jack burst out laughing at the thought of going to Ms. Patti and asking if it was okay to ask Salem out on a date. He could picture it, that loving yet headstrong woman who ran the Boudreau clan with an iron fist and a loving touch. Small but fierce, he’d never met anybody like her. She’d probably sit him down and explain all the reasons why it wasn’t a good idea. Heck, even he knew it wasn’t a good idea. He’d seen Salem exactly twice—once on the night they rescued her, and once when he’d stopped by the Boudreau ranch a couple weeks later. Salem had been loading her bags into the trunk of one of the Boudreau’s cars. He seemed to remember it being Jean-Luc, Rafe’s cousin, who’d come all the way from New Orleans to drive Salem back to the bosom of her family. Jealousy had reared its ugly head until he found out Jean-Luc was happily married and had no expectations from Salem. Plus, his sister, Gabi, was Salem’s best friend.
“Rafe, let it go. I need to head home in a day or two anyway, as soon as I finish going through these reports. I want to talk to the witnesses again.” He tapped the files on the table. “I probably could’ve done all this from Austin, but I couldn’t resist seeing your ugly mug.”
“You are such a—”
“Watch your language or I’ll tell your momma.”
Rafe laughed and stood. “I’ll tell Momma you’ll be there for supper. Seven o’clock. Want me to pick you up?”
He shook his head. “No, thanks. I’ll drive. It’ll give me time to think about things.”
“Things like Salem and Chloe?”
Jack tossed a binder clip at Rafe’s head and watched him snatch it out of midair. “No. I need to finish up this case and get back to my regular duties. Appreciate you letting me help with the Willard case. We always made a good team, didn’t we?”
“That’s the truth. I’m glad your boss didn’t mind you taking the time to help with these damned drug smugglers. Thinking they can run that crap through my county? Hopefully, the message will get passed back down the pipeline to avoid Shiloh Springs in the future.”
“I’m sure it will, though how much good that’ll do remains to be seen. There’s way too much money to be made with smuggling fentanyl across the border. Nobody seems to care that it’s killing hundreds of people. All they care about is how many U.S. dollars they can funnel back into their pockets.”
Rafe scrubbed a hand across his face. “It makes me sick. We lost two teens this month to fentanyl overdoses. Doesn’t seem to matter how many times we try and educate them, tell them how dangerous it is, the draw, the excitement, the high is too much to resist. They think it won’t happen to them, that they’ll be the lucky ones who never get hurt. Instead, we had two funerals for kids barely old enough to drive. Makes me sick to my stomach, and angry as hell at the dealers and suppliers.”
“Only thing harder is having to tell their parents.” Jack placed a hand on Rafe’s shoulder. “At least we plugged this hole. Best we can do for now.”
Rafe straightened to his full height, and Jack understood. Sometimes it was easier to pull the pieces together around you, like a suit of armor to protect yourself from the emotions and the anguish. The terror that everything you did was too little, too late. All good cops felt it, until they couldn’t deal with the fallout anymore. Then they either quit, put a bullet in their brain, or went to work for the other side. Hell of a thing.
“Sorry for all the ribbing about Salem. Honestly though, I think you should go for it. From what Gabi’s told me, Salem has healed a lot physically and emotionally since last year. I can’t guarantee she won’t shut you down the minute you open your mouth, but what have you got to lose? You deserve to be happy, Jack, and if you think Salem is someone who might make that happen, go for it. I have never regretted for a single second going after Tessa. The woman makes me happier than I ever imagined possible. You deserve to find somebody who can stand by your side, help keep the nightmares at bay.”
Jack refused to meet Rafe’s gaze. Poor bastard didn’t know half of what Jack had been through, what he’d seen over the last few years. He’d imagined when he became a Texas Ranger he would be able to do some good. Help people. Why did it always feel like nothing he did mattered, that people didn’t care anymore?
“Nope, you were right the first time. It’s best I stay out of her life, let her and her little girl enjoy the freedom and happiness they’ve found since Tarik Amir is out of the picture.”
