How to Rope a McCoy (Hell Yeah!) (40 page)

And
then it went dark.

*  *  *

An
hour and a half later, Heath and his family were doing everything they could
think to do.
Arness’s
home, business and all of his
holdings were in the process of being searched. The same with Cato’s—Tennessee
had driven up to her little house to make sure she wasn’t there. The police
were searching. All of the McCoy cousins were searching. The only problem was,
they didn’t know what to do next.

“Think,
think,” Heath yelled at himself. “What would I do?” He paced. “Hell, it’s hard to
think like that stinking conniving bastard.”

“You
have to.” Jimmy encouraged. Wherever Heath was, Jimmy was never far behind. He
always knew he could count on his friend.

“Hell,
he’d leave. He’d get out of town. I think
Arness
is
going to run.”

Zane
nodded. “I bet you’re right. But where would he run and how would he leave?”

Heath
and Jimmy looked at one another and shouted at the same time. “His plane!”

“I’ll
let everyone know,” Zane shouted.

“We’re
going on. We’ve got to stop him.” Running outside, Heath again insisted on
taking his truck.

“But
my Aston is faster,” Jimmy protested.

“Red
can move.”

As
they drove, Heath thought of everything Cato had been through. “You know, I
wouldn’t blame her if she never spoke to me again.”

“You
love her,” Jimmy stated plainly.

“Yea,
I do. She is unselfish, kind and sexy as hell. I want her in my life.” Heath
gripped the steering wheel. “Just the thought of that bastard hurting her
nearly kills me.”

 “We’ll
get to her in time.”

“We
have to,” Heath whispered. “I don’t think I can live without her.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Racing
like a mad-man toward the airport, Heath barely listened as Jimmy tried to keep
him calm. “I’ve called the control tower. They’re giving him some line about
delaying take-off till a ground crew arrives.”

“Good,
thank you.”

“The
police are on their way.”

“Good,
thank you.”

“Everything
is going to be okay, Heath.”

He
looked at Jimmy. “I know. I have to believe that.”

When
they turned off the highway and onto the airport proper, Jimmy pointed at
Arness’s
plane. “There it is!”

“Damn,
he’s taxiing down the runway. We’ve got to stop him!”

“He’s
getting away!” Jimmy shouted.

“No,
he isn’t.”

“What
are you going to do?”

“We’re
going to stop him!” Heath took his beloved red truck and he got on the runway,
the same runway the Lear was headed down, facing him.

“Are
you crazy?” Jimmy cried.

“Probably.”

“We’re
going to die!”

“No,
we’re not.”

“You’re
going to wreck your truck!”

“Probably,
but the sacrifice will be worth it.” Heath aimed at the moving plane and gunned
the truck toward it. “That bastard isn’t going to take off, that’s all I know.”

Jimmy
began to pray. He started out with a line from a Christian prayer, then
switched to a Jewish one, then to a Muslim, ending with a line from a Buddhist
chant.

“I
thought you were an atheist.”

“I’m
covering my bases,” Jimmy yelled.

The
faster the plane came, the faster Heath drove toward it. They were playing a
deadly game of chicken.

“He’s
not going to stop!”

“I’m
counting on it,” Heath said calmly.

Up
until the last second, it appeared the two would crash in to one another, but
just before the inevitable, the plane swerved and bumped off the runway, coming
to a grinding halt, one wing in a hole and the nose on the ground.

“Let’s
get him!” Heath called as he drove up behind him, flung the door open and ran
to the plane.

Jimmy
was right behind him, but Heath needed no help. Pure fury and adrenaline fueled
him. “You bastard!” He opened the door and pulled
Arness
out. “Where is she?”

“Dead!”
Arness
shouted back and Heath felt his heart explode.

“She’d
better not be or I’ll kill you myself.”

“She’s
where you’ll never find her. She’s dropped off the face of the Earth.”

“Tell
me!”

“I’ll
find out.” Jimmy took off toward
Arness’s
truck.

“How?”
Heath yelled as his best friend ran back toward the hangar.

“I’ll
just look at his GPS history.”

Heath
sent up a silent prayer of thanks. Sometimes having a smart nerdy friend just
paid off.

“It’s
too late,”
Arness
hissed. “I did away with her, just
like I tried to do away with your brother.”

“Why?”
Heath shook him, demanding answers.

“Because
I hate you, I hate your whole family. Your grandfather stole my legacy and I
want you to pay!”

“It’s
just land, man, just a goddamn piece of land.”

“No,
it’s not,”
Arness
spat. “There’s more silver in that
cave that there is gold in Fort Knox.”

“I
don’t give a damn. Cato is the only treasure I’m interested in.”

“Well,
then you’re a fool.” 

“If
you’ve hurt her, I swear you’ll rue the day you were born.” Heath shook him,
then threw him to the ground as the police walked up.

“He
killed Dalton Smith and abducted my fiancée.” Okay, maybe he was being
optimistic with the fiancée, part, but he had to be. Heath wanted her alive and
well and in his arms more than he wanted to see tomorrow.  

As
he turned, Jimmy was running toward him—his face was bleak.

“What
did you find out?”

“He
put her in Dead Man’s Hole.”

*  *  *

Cato
didn’t move. She was so scared. Scared of the darkness, scared of the snake,
scared that she was going to die here. But most of all she was scared that
she’d never see Heath again. Closing her eyes, she tried to be still—so still.
Not being able to hear the snake rattle or coil, she just lay there waiting to
feel it strike, bite or crawl over her. This was pure torture. Trying to make
her mind a blank, she attempted to conjure up a better place, but she couldn’t.
Being unable to hear or see a thing in the dark made the silence was more
deafening than any sound could ever be. As the stillness grew, Cato became
smaller and smaller and soon she would disappear. Desolation and hopelessness
pinched her heart until she thought the life would go out of her…all she could
do was call out to Heath in her heart and hope he could hear.

He
did.  

Just
a few miles away, Heath had Old Red pushing ninety.

“Don’t
you think you need to slow down?” Jimmy asked. Behind them three others drove
in a caravan. Tennessee, a cop and an ambulance.

“The
bastard said she’d just dropped off the face of the Earth. Can you imagine how
scared she is?”

“I
just hope she’s alive.”

“She
is,” Heath growled. “Don’t say hope—she is, I have to believe that.”

When
they skidded to a stop at Dead Man’s Hole, Heath jumped out. Behind him, the
other cars parked and the police and Tennessee brought ropes, a crow-bar,
pulleys and ladders, things to work with to save Cato.

“Miss
Vincent!” the policeman shouted.

Heath
shook his head, he knew the man didn’t know, but it still irritated him. “She’s
deaf.”  

“Oh,
sorry.”

He
ran down the incline and knelt over the hole. Tennessee and Jimmy were there
with him and together they lifted the heavy grate out of the way and Heath
slung it to one side. “Give me a flashlight.” A policeman shone light down in
the hole. “Oh, God, there’s my baby.” Heath stared down and when she moved,
when she lifted her head, he almost cried.

“Look
at that snake!” Jimmy yelled.

The
movement had irritated the rattler below and it was coiling.

“Give
me a gun!” He held out his hand to the policeman, who handed him a
Glock
45. Heath took it and aimed, shooting the snake to
smithereens.

Cato
jerked and sprang back. “God, she’s going to fall off that ledge,” Jimmy
screamed.

“Hold
on, baby, hold on.” Heath begged as he watched her scramble around. She
teetered on the edge and he groaned, his heart in his throat. He was about
ready to just jump down there with her, but
him
falling wouldn’t help anything. 

“Give
me a rope,” he yelled at the police and others standing around. While they were
readying a make-shift lift to bring Cato up on, Heath was talking to her, he
didn’t know how well she could see him, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “I’m
coming down there and get you, sweetheart. Just hold on. And when I get you
come up here and in my arms, I’m never letting you go.”

He
was here, he was here,
Heath
had come to save her!
Cato was crying. She had been so scared, thinking she was about to die. When
she’d seen that snake ready to bite her, Cato almost lost it. But he was here!
She stared up at him, reading his lips as best she could. It looked like he was
calling her sweetheart and saying he was never going to let her go. But it was
getting late and the light was dim—she couldn’t be sure. It might just be
wishful thinking. 

“I
love you, Cato.” Heath looked down, straight at her and signed.

Okay,
she hadn’t misread that. If she didn’t have that gag in her mouth, she would
have shouted her love to the heavens.

“All
right, Heath, try this.” Jimmy and Tennessee held the ropes steady as Heath
began to lower himself down.

“There’s
another guy down here.”

“Another
snake?” Jimmy asked. He didn’t like snakes.

“No,
bones.”

When
his feet touched the ledge, he jerked out of the harness and gathered her in
his arms. Kissing her face, he pulled the gag from her mouth.

“Heath!”
she cried. “You came!”    

“I
will come after you every time. Every time.” He kissed her again. “Don’t ever
doubt it. I protect what’s mine.”

True
to his word, Heath didn’t let go of her. He helped her on the lift, then held
her till his brother and the others had pulled them to safety. The EMT checked
her out and doctored the cuts and bruises. “You’re lucky, miss,” was their
summation.

“We
need you to go back to the station to make a statement,” the cop informed her.

“Okay,
but she rides with me,” Heath declared. Jimmy left with Tennessee and Cato
climbed into Old Red. It was almost dark, so Heath turned on the interior light
so she wouldn’t have any trouble speaking with him. 

Heath
started up the truck, but he didn’t start out immediately. He let the others go
on ahead, he just sat there looking at her. Cato didn’t know what to say, so
she just spoke from the heart. “I never thought I would see you again. I was
scared.”

“Oh,
baby.” Heath reached over and picked her up.

“I’m
dirty.”

“You’re
the sweetest smelling, most precious thing in the world to me,” he assured her as
he peppered small kisses all over her face.

“I
don’t understand what happened…” She stared at his beautiful face. “I thought
you—”

He
knew what she was about to say. “Listen, let me explain something to you. What
I said to Jimmy, I didn’t mean. He was always razzing me about women and I
always responded the same way. I’ve never told a bigger lie in the world than
when I said what we have meant nothing.” Heath cupped the side of her neck,
holding her still. “It means everything. You mean everything to me.”

“How
about my speech?” Cato tensed.

Heath
pushed her hair from her forehead, gazing at her with tenderness. “I love the
way you speak. It’s music to my ears. I didn’t tell Amy that you embarrassed
me, I threw her comment back at her as a question. I told her you might speak
funny to some people, but I thought it was adorable and that you were perfect
for me. Plus, I risked Old Red for you, I drove straight at his plane, forced
him off the runway. That’s got to mean something.”

“Oh,
Heath!” She threw her arms around his neck. “It does! I don’t want to have a
fling with you.”

“You
don’t?”

“I
want you forever. I want to be with you, I want to love you,
I
want to marry you.”

Heath
squeezed her, kissed her neck,
then
drew her back so
she could read his lips. “Are you propositioning me again?”

“I
sure am. I don’t want four months or four years, or even forty, I want a
lifetime.”

“Then,
I accept your proposal. I want to marry you more than anything in the world.
You’re my love, my life, my best friend. I don’t want to spend another moment
away from you.”

“You
won’t have to.” She cuddled into his side.

“Let’s
go home.” He put the truck into gear.

“I
am home.” She took his hand. “Home is where you are.”    
    

*  *  *

The
next few hours were a blur. Heath went with her to the police station where
Cato made a statement. She testified against
Arness
,
who was arrested for the murder of Dalton Smith and for her own attempted
murder.

“How
could he do something like that?” she asked Heath, still not grasping what could
motivate a man to commit murder and try to destroy others.

“Cesar
was raised to hate. When that’s all you hear from the time you’re small, you
become programmed to think you can get away with anything.”

“I
can understand that, I guess. My mother molded me into what I am.”

“No,
baby.” Heath ran his hands down her arms. “You are strong. You’re mother tried
to hold you back, she tried to take away your confidence, but from the moment we
met, you were full of life, hope and more love than anyone I’ve ever seen.
We’ll find your father, I promise you. I’m sure he’s a good man.”

“Heath.”
Tennessee came to him, leading him away from Cato a step or two. “We just got a
call from Aron. Joseph’s wife went into labor and they lost their little boy.
The little girl is fine, but the family’s hurting.”

“Tell
them we’ll be right there.” Heath turned back pulled Cato close. “We’ve got to
go to the hospital. Cady lost one of her babies. The other one is alive, but we
need to go.”

Cato
began to cry. “Oh, no. She told me she had a bad feeling that something was
wrong.”

On
the way to the hospital, Cato vacillated between joy and sorrow. Joy for what
she had and for Philip’s release, sorrow for what Cady had lost. “Life is
unpredictable, isn’t it?” she asked Heath.

“Yea,
it is.” He thought about his mother, the storm, Amy, finding Cato. “But somehow
it all works together to bring us to the place we need to
be.”           

“Like
where we are.” Cato rubbed her face on his shoulder, just needing to feel
close.

“Yea,
we’re together,” Heath promised. “Forever.”