Page 59 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
Multiple bruises decorated his arms, with one in a sling. Lacerations on his poor face had been treated with bandages keeping the skin closed. Purple coloring highlighted every space that spoke of sore, tender wounds he couldn’t downplay.
As if he sensed her there, his wonderful eyes looking up to see her holding onto the doorway instantly filled with longing. They shot blue sparks of absolute adoration. He couldn’t hide how much he cared for her. It was all there in the look of joy flashing before he hid his emotions behind narrowed eyes that turned away.
But she’d seen, knew his secret, understood that he loved her. Sadly, he didn’t seem to want to. Her heart shattered.
The doc held him from getting off the bed and had to use considerable force. “Chief Driver said you were to stay here until they questioned you. You’re not going anywhere my lad.”
Angie, who’d rushed to his side, taken his offered hand and sat quietly gazing at her friend, finally spoke up. “You want me to tie you to this bed, brat? Are you hearing what the doc says? You’ll stay the night, and we’ll come and get you in the morning. Then, you’re staying at my house.”
Jack turned to her with his head already shaking a negative response.
Interrupting before he could speak, Angie raged, “I have it on good authority that until the election is over, you’re to be under guard. Can’t you see you’re in danger, Jack? That scoundrel bastard, Lowborn is willing to go as far as necessary to stop you from being able to take this position away from him. We know he’s behind all this craziness and it has to stop.”
Jack’s mulishness appeared. “The papers will be full of this incident and might put folks off from coming to vote. We need to let them know I’m fine; see for themselves.”
Mark stepped forward, his voice loud enough to get attention. “Okay, good idea, Jack. Look, Matt is holding a press conference in the morning. I think we should show up unexpectedly so everyone can see you for themselves. The cameras will focus on you, and the reporters will go crazy, especially if I put out the word that we have a surprise for them.”
Brightening, his expression lighter, Jack responded, “That’s a great idea, Mark. But I’m still not willing to put you guys in any danger. If you insist, I’ll stay at a hotel until the election is over, and that’s my only compromise.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Early the next morning, Jack arrived at the house, driven there by an inflexible Brian. No one had paid any attention to Jack’s arguments, especially Angie. She’d had Brian help Mark pack up and move a lot of his stuff over to the main house, and before breakfast was served in the hospital, he was ensconced in Mia’s old room.
It worked well since Mia and Maisie had switched to their new place in the casita. Complaints ignored, he found himself at the breakfast table having coffee and eating cinnamon rolls with Angie.
“You eat that sucker,” she pointed to the largest of the icing-covered cinnamon rolls he loved. “Maybe it’ll sweeten your sour disposition.”
Finally letting go of his moodiness, Jack nabbed the one she pointed at and took a large greedy bite.
Just the two of them alone, Angie questioned him further. “What did Chief Driver have to say about your brakes?”
“They couldn’t prove they’d been tampered with. He questioned the repair shop who did the work on the truck from the last accident. They assured him that all was fine before it left their garage.”
“What? There’s something you’re not telling me.” Angie saw the shifting of his eyes away from her.
“Jesus, Angie, let it go.”
“Not gonna happen. Tell me.”
“It could be nothing.”
“I’ll be the one to decide if it is or it ain’t. What?”
Jack couldn’t stop the chuckle. But he did share. “They had a strange situation the night before I came to pick the truck up. They thought they might have been broken into but didn’t lodge a complaint because nothing was vandalized or stolen.”
“Does the chief figure someone got to the vehicle then? It makes sense.”
“Yep. But there’s no tape of the incident. The alarm had been turned off and the video put out of commission.”
“Well wasn’t that a clue in itself?”
“Maybe, but the garage had been having a lot of trouble with their security system previously cutting in and out, and so they don’t know for certain.” Jack held his hands out, using them to deflect her question. “It might have been a fault left over from the last incident.”
“Oh, give your head a shake, dude. That truck is almost new. It’s built like a brick poop-house and can withstand a lot of punishment. It’s not feasible to think a few minor bashes to the side and back would affect the brake line.”
Grinning at her colorful vocabulary and her indignant attitude, Jack nodded. “Between you, me, and the fencepost, I agree.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
