Page 91 of Valor

“Are they on the way?” She knew they had to be, but hearing it would give her reassurance.

“The dispatcher said Allen and an officer were already close, but an ambulance and Danny are on their way out.” His brow furrowed as he looked at her. “You’re bleeding.”

She held her side, pressing the damp gauze tighter to her body. “I’ll be fine. We just need to watch him. He wants to kill all of us.”

Allen’s father lifted Micha’s head slightly and turned it gently until he could breathe, and his nose wasn’t pressed into the steering wheel. She hoped his neck wasn’t broken. Allen’s father didn’t need a death on his conscience. No one did.

Sirens sounded in the distance, and she finally relaxed a little. Either Allen or an ambulance would be there shortly. She prayed there would be two ambulances so she wouldn’t have to ride with her attacker to the hospital. If they took him into custody, all they had left was to arrest Eric and Aaron, the two who stood to gain the most from all this death and theft.

She let her head roll back against the wall as the car outside ground to a halt and footsteps ran toward the house. “Heather? Dad? Are you in here?”

Randy blessedly answered for her because in the span of a few minutes, all her strength had waned to nothing. “We’re in here. Heather’s hurt. So is the guy in the car.”

She hadn’t told him. Part of her wished she had. This man was a connection to Randy’s past that might open old wounds, but he’d never understand Micha’s murderous intent if he didn’t know.

“He’s Allen’s half-brother,” her voice shook as she mumbled the words.

He kneeled at her side. “Did you say what I think you said?” His grip on her shoulder tightened but didn’t hurt.

Heather nodded her chin slightly as Allen threw debris out of the way to enter his house. “Dad, Heather...” He raced to her side. “Lord, you have to help her.”

* * *

Allen letOfficer Grady take over for a minute until Danny could get there. The officer was capable and checked on Micha first, then looked over Dad. Allen applied pressure to Heather’s wound as they waited for the ambulance to arrive. He should call Rod and find out if they’d caught Eric yet, but at the moment, Heather needed his entire focus.

The ambulance rolled in, and one man went directly to Heather, while the other started on Micha. Allen helped as much as he could, but he was too close to the situation. The EMT got her on a gurney before they determined Micha would need a separate ambulance. He wasn’t as critical as Heather, and since he’d taken her by force, they wouldn’t ride together.

Allen had to watch Heather be taken away from him once again. That same helplessness that had come over him in the hospital hit him again. He couldn’t keep doing this. Losing Heather was too much. Dad gripped his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“I’m not.” And he was man enough to admit it. “I’m falling for that woman. If she dies, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Dad hung his head. “You’ll find a way to cope. Hopefully, better than I did.”

He didn’t want to talk to his dad about his mother right now. There was too much emotion in him, yet when would he get another chance? “Is that why you drink? Because of my mother?”

“I suppose you know.” Dad turned away from him.

Amidst the ruin of his house, he felt the parallel of his own life. Two men standing in a heap, getting by. That’s what they’d done all their lives, but it didn’t have to be that way. “I wish you would’ve let me help you.”

“I didn’t want help. I wanted her. What do you think I’d do to go back and fix this? But I couldn’t support her. I was a handyman. I had no future.”

“Then why did you tell her you could take care of me?” He’d never understood that. His life had been hard, full of lack and need. Maybe the two of them together could’ve made a way better than what he’d had.

“Because she needed a chance. By fighting through life, you learned. You did something important. Nothing was easy, and you took nothing for granted.”

“She’s dying, Dad.” He’d found her on the ride here while Grady had been driving. Her social media account had mentioned cancer and an advanced stage at that.

“I had no idea. I promised her I wouldn’t contact her or ask for help. She made me swear I would raise you as best I could.”

Allen wouldn’t tell the man he’d failed. That wouldn’t be fair. Here he was, a sheriff in a tourist town. By all accounts, he was successful. “I know you did your best. I just wish you’d been able to be there.” Because his addiction had always come first. The bottle had always been a not-so-silent guest in the house.

“I’m done. I’ve been sober for four days. The hardest days I’ve had since I found out I was a father.” Dad rubbed his hands together and looked around at the mess. “I’m sorry for all the things I put you through. I know I was weak, and I couldn’t face my own thoughts, my own failures.”

Grady came in, picking his way through the rubble around the wrecked car. “We just got word that Eric and Aaron are petitioning the court to force the sale of the land, since the owners are no longer living and there was no will.”

“Wouldn’t it still have to go through probate? What about their sons?” Allen tried to think of everything legal that could stop them.

“We never know what the judge will say. If they contact the Goddard boys and neither of them wants it, they might get their request. These cases get pushed through fast because no one likes estate matters.”

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