Page 24 of Lone Star Country Protector
“Not right now,” Blakely said. “But I promise we’ll have more fun later.”
Chase brushed himself off and ran into his aunt’s arms.
“I have something to tell you,” Blakely said. The sight of the two of them was enough to melt the coldest glacier.
“Are we playing another game?” Chase asked, hope in his big eyes.
“No,” Blakely hedged. “This is serious, but I want you to know that everything is going to be okay.”
Chase’s smile faded.
“Your mommy has been in an accident,” Blakely said before quickly adding, “She’s going to the hospital, where doctors will take good care of her. I don’t want you to worry one bit. Okay?” To an adult, those words would be a sign of just how bad the situation was. To a kid, they offered reassurance.
“What happened to Mommy?”
“She got hurt and started bleeding,” Blakely explained interms a child could understand. She was good with Chase. For a split second, Dalton saw her with their kids.
Hold on there, dude. Getting ahead of yourself. You have never wanted children.
What the hell was up with the vision?
It had to be the thought of losing his grandparents weighing on his mind more than he wanted to admit. Dalton reassured himself daily that they were strong and would pull through this. With each passing day, his resolve faded a little more. Facing losing them wasn’t something Dalton was ready to do. Was this his brain’s way to force him to face facts?
His grandparents might not make it, which brought up a whole host of feelings.
Cell in hand, he searched for good news from the home front. While he was wishing, he hoped the officers outside would catch the perp. More than anything, he wanted to be able to tell Blakely that she was safe. Chase had already burrowed himself deep inside Dalton’s chest. He wanted to deliver the good news that the little boy was out of danger too. As well as Bethany.
Instead, his world was collapsing around him.
* * *
Disappointment and shameshrouded Blakely at the fact she hadn’t been able to keep her sister safe. At least Chase was safe.For now.She hated those two words.
“Can we go see Mommy?” Chase asked.
At a loss for words, Blakely stuttered. “I—um—”
“Think it might be best to let her get some rest so she’ll be good and awake when we stop by later,” Dalton said, saving the day.
Blakely wasn’t normally at a loss for words. She appreciated the save and shot a quick thank-you with her eyes.
The smile he gave her in return caused her stomach to perform a somersault routine. Dalton had a surprisingly calming effect on her despite the electricity charging the air between them. Their chemistry was undeniable.
But chemistry wasn’t everything. Bethany and Greg’s had been obvious when they were in school. But she hadn’t witnessed it for a long time, now that she really thought about it. They’d shifted into parent and business-owner roles, and all the heat was sucked out of their relationship. The thoughts were random at a time like this, but the brain had ideas of its own, bouncing around to different topics. It seemed to be she’d find solutions when she least thought about a situation. Always, the back of her mind was fitting together information bits to explain things she didn’t immediately understand.
“Okay,” Chase said, his spindly arms wrapped around Blakely’s neck as he held on. She patted his back.
“What do you think about going somewhere else to play for a little while?” Dalton asked.
“Where?” A little of Chase’s normal spunk laced the question.
“How about we pretend to be policemen?” Dalton said. She saw where he was going with this. They would have to go to the substation to make reports. Plus, it was probably best to get Chase out of the house before he saw the blood on the carpet. Her window was in need of repair before anyone could stay here again.
The thought of someone targeting her…her home…sat heavy in her thoughts. The perp wanted to take her out pretty badly if he was willing to come back so soon. Or did he have places set up in and around her home in case the attack didn’t go as planned out front? Less than twenty-fourhours had passed since the attack in her driveway. The perp had been clear about what he wanted:“You!”
Blakely involuntarily shivered at the thought someone could hate her so much they wanted her dead. Facing facts, she realized that being a judge meant locking criminals behind bars. She presided over jury cases. Technically, a jury made the call. However, she was responsible for sentencing. Figuring out who she upset to this degree was her first priority. Could Dalton take her to her chambers so she could look at case history?
The perp must have recently been released. His voice didn’t ring any bells, but maybe if her memory was jogged, her brain might be able to fit those pieces together and give her a name. If she was going to die by someone’s hands, she deserved to know who the bastard determined to kill her was.
