Confessions (2 page)

damage.

After a quick scan of the surrounding area, Luke

realised he was going to have to stand without anyone’s

help unless he wanted to half-crawl, half-drag himself

across the gravel to the back of one of the buildings.

A noise from the shadowed dumpsters caught his

attention. “Hel o?” he cal ed, hoping for help.

When no one answered and the al ey was quiet once

again, he decided it must’ve been a cat or some vermin he

didn’t want to dwel on. Clenching his teeth, Luke slowly got

to his feet without having to use every dirty word in his

repertoire although he did utter quite a few.

With the majority of his weight shifted to his left leg,

Luke began the slow process of walking down the al ey.

Although there wasn’t anything open at that time of morning,

he knew Kyle was already hard at work in the bakery. If he

could make it to the end of the al ey and across the street

without either col apsing or crying it would be a miracle.

Overhead a light turned on in one of the apartments

that lined the upper floors of the downtown shopping area.

Luke stared up at the welcoming light. “Hel o?” he shouted

towards the apartment window.

Several moments later, Deacon McConnel parted the

white café curtains and stared down into the al ey. Luke

waved his arms over his head while trying to maintain his

balance. He pointed towards his injured knee.

Deacon nodded before letting the curtains fal closed.

It took close to five minutes, but eventual y the back door of

Falling Limbs Creations opened. “Something wrong?” he

asked.

“A hole in the road got the better of my knee. Mind if I

use your phone to cal someone to come get me?” Luke

asked.

With the aid of an intricately carved cane, Deacon

made his way into the al ey. As far as Luke knew, no one in

town had dared ask Deacon how he’d damaged his leg. It

wasn’t that they were afraid of Deacon, but the man

definitely didn’t put out the kind of vibe that welcomed

conversation.

Deacon gestured towards an older model Jeep. “Stay

there and I’l pick you up.”

With the sweat drying on his skin, Luke began to

shiver in the cold morning air. He glanced towards the

dumpster again. Why did he feel like someone was

watching him? He narrowed his eyes and tried to see

through the darkness to what was hidden in the shadows.

The Jeep pul ing up beside him drew his attention

away from the eerie feeling. He opened the door and

careful y hoisted himself into the passenger seat. “You have

a cat?”

“Yeah,” Deacon answered. “Why?”

Luke nodded towards the dumpster. “I heard some

noises. Just wondered what it could be.”

“Tabby’s inside sound asleep in my bed. Must’ve

been someone else’s cat.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

* * * *

Monday morning. He’d spent the remainder of Sunday in

bed and stretched out on the couch, but despite the hours

of rest, he was exhausted. For the first time since

becoming an Emergency Medical Technician, Luke

couldn’t escape an accident scene.

His first stop was Leo Burkowski’s office. With the

assistant chief on the phone, Luke waited patiently just

outside the open door.

“Yes, Ma’am, I completely agree,” Leo replied into the

phone. “I’l send a few of my men over around lunch-time so

they can get a better feel for what you need.”

Luke’s spine stiffened. With his knee functioning at

less than one hundred per cent, he had a bad feeling he’d

be one of the guys sent to the school. The car accident that

had resulted in the death of seventeen-year-old Kati

Hargrove—and the life-threatening injuries of her eighteen-

year-old best friend Clint Stowers—had cast a dark cloud

over the entire town.

Leo hung up the phone before motioning Luke into his

office. His gaze went to the heavy black Velcro brace

around Luke’s knee. “Something you need to tel me?”

Luke took a seat, stretching his right leg out in front of

him. “Hyperextension, but I’m okay to work.”

Leo rubbed his jaw. It was only seven in the morning

and already Leo seemed to have a five o’clock shadow.

“You real y think you can lift a backboard with a patient’s

dead weight on it in your condition?”

“I can do what needs to be done.” Luke knew he

should’ve cal ed in sick, but he needed the concentration

his job required. He stil couldn’t close his eyes without

seeing what was left of Kati’s youthful face.

“Principal Quigley needs help at the school. She’s

cal ed in Dr Pritchard and Dr Singer, but with over four

hundred students, she needs more understanding men and

women to help the children through this recent tragedy,”

Leo explained.

“I’m not the best person for the job, sir.” How could

Luke help children deal with the death of their classmate

when he couldn’t get himself over the accident? Luke could

tel by Leo’s raised eyebrows that he was about to issue an

order, one that Luke would be forced to obey if he wanted

to keep his job. He’d never talked to anyone about his

mother except Kenny.

“I lost my mother in a car accident almost twenty-three

years ago, and I’m stil not over it. Needless to say, I don’t

think I’m the best man to help those kids deal with their

feelings at the moment.”

“Or, maybe you’re the perfect man to help them.

There’s nothing wrong with being sad as long as you can

help them understand that life must go on.”

“Respectful y, sir, I’d real y rather not. How can I look

into their crying eyes knowing first-hand how their friend

died?”

Leo leaned further back in his chair and clasped his

hands behind his head. “Want me to make you an

appointment with Dr Pritchard?”

“I don’t need a shrink. I need a hypnotist.” Luke got to

his feet. “Can I go back to work or are you planning to fire

me if I don’t go to the school?”

Leo gestured to the brace on Luke’s knee. “Take a

sick day. I’l give Aaron a cal and see if he’s had enough

sleep to come in.”

Spending another day on the couch didn’t appeal to

Luke. “I real y can work. I didn’t do any damage. Dr Brown

just thought it would be a good idea to wear the brace for a

few days.”

“You’re a pain in my ass, you know that, Hatcher?”

“I’ve been told that a time or two, sir,” Luke agreed.

“And stop cal ing me sir. It’s irritating.”

“That’s why I do it,” Luke said with a grin, before

leaving Leo’s office. He made his way into the station

lounge and eased into his favourite recliner beside Jakob.

“Wild weekend?” Jakob asked, gesturing to Luke’s

knee.

Wild? Luke snorted. He hadn’t had sex since his

thwarted evening with Priest. “I wish. Nope, I stepped into a

hole while running yesterday morning.”

“Ouch. That sucks, man.” Jakob tapped his fingertips

on the arm of the chair. It was obvious he wanted to talk, but

wasn’t sure what to say. The two of them had worked the

Saturday night shift, so Jakob had witnessed everything

Luke had.

“You know there was nothing you could’ve done,

right?” Jakob asked.

Luke nodded before clearing his throat. Kati had died

by the time they arrived on scene, but it was obvious she

had lived long enough to traumatise her best friend forever.

“What does it say about me that I wish she’d have died on

impact?”

Jakob bumped his fist against Luke’s hand. “I’ve

thought of nothing else since we cut that boy out of the car.”

It was nice to know he wasn’t the only one who

couldn’t get the images of that late night out of his mind.

“Have you cal ed the hospital to check on Clint?” Luke

asked.

“Yeah, but they couldn’t tel me much. Just that he

spent most of yesterday on the operating table.”

“What’re his chances, did they say?”

Jakob shook his head. “Too early to say. I thought I

might take a trip to Sheridan tomorrow to check on him if

you want to go?”

Since taking the job in Cattle Val ey, Luke had

regularly

checked

up

on

victims

he’d

rescued.

Unfortunately, visiting Clint in the ICU wasn’t something he

felt comfortable with. “Sorry, I’ve already got plans, but

definitely cal me and let me know how he’s doing.”

Luke was saved from further explanation by his

ringing cel phone. One look at the display and his mood

lightened. “Excuse me,” he told Jakob as he got to his feet.

He walked across the room towards the kitchen before

answering. “Hey.”

“Hey, buddy,” Kenny greeted. “Just heard you were on

duty Saturday night. Thought I’d cal to see how you’re

doing?”

“Not good,” he admitted. The truth said a lot about his

friendship with Kenny. The two of them had been through a

lot together, and Kenny had never let him down. “I can’t stop

thinking about my mom.”

“I was afraid of that. Are you working today?”

“Yeah. Beats sitting home feeling sorry for myself.

How’re things at the school?” Luke opened the junk cabinet

and withdrew a package of cookies.

“Pretty bad, but I can get away if you need to talk,”

Kenny offered.

“I can’t, but I’m off tomorrow. Maybe Eli would let you

out of his clutches long enough to have a beer.” Luke took a

bite of the generic oatmeal cookie. He liked them best

once they’d gone soft from being opened too long.

“Or you could come over for dinner,” Kenny offered.

“Thanks, but I’d rather you came over for a beer. No

offence, but I’d rather not break down in front of your guy.”

“And is that what you feel like doing?”

Luke shook his head. “What are you some kind of

psychiatrist now?” He tossed the half-eaten cookie into the

trash.

“Nope, just a friend.”

“Yeah.” Luke took a deep calming breath. “Why can’t I

get over this? I deal with this kind of shit every damn day.”

“I can’t answer that because although bits and pieces

have gotten out about how Kati died, I wasn’t there.”

From the kitchen, Luke wandered into the dorm room

lined with twin beds. He sat on his usual bed and tried to

push the memories away. “It’s al too fresh to try and

analyse it.”

After several moments, Kenny final y spoke. “I’m

worried about you.”

“Don’t be. I’ve dealt with this shit for years. It’l slide to

the back burner again in a day or two.”

“Maybe the problem is that you’ve left it on the back

burner for too long. It’s time you deal with this shit once and

for al ,” Kenny tried to argue.

How was he supposed to deal with the face of his

dying mother begging him to save her? “You don’t know

what you’re talking about. Look, I gotta go. A cal just came

in.”

“With no warning buzzer? You’re a damn liar, but I love

you anyway. Meet me at O’Brien’s tomorrow at six.”

“Sure,” Luke mumbled. The best thing about his bond

with Kenny was that his friend never took his temper to

heart.

“If you need to talk before then I’m only a phone cal

away,” Kenny added.

“I know.” Luke took a deep breath. “I love you, too. You

know that right?”

“Goes without saying, buddy,” Kenny said before

hanging up.

Luke stared at his phone for several moments before

slipping it back into his breast pocket. Although he loved

Kenny like a brother, there were times when he needed

more than a friendly hug. Stretch McGee came immediately

to mind. Damn he’d loved that traitor. He didn’t doubt that

part of his current mood had something to do with the

media reports that Stretch was final y separating from his

wife.

How much of a doormat was he that he secretly

hoped Stretch would suddenly show up in town to whisk him

away? I’m such a loser.

James ‘Priest’ Evans stared at the ringing phone. For

three days, headquarters had cal ed him continual y, but

Priest wasn’t ready to answer.

Everywhere he looked, on TV and in the papers, the

details of his greatest sin continued to haunt him. Why

hadn’t he taken the vacation he’d promised himself instead

of accepting the assignment? The answer came to him in a

flash. The million dollar payday.