Long Way Home (5 page)

         “My
dad said she filed a restraining order against your dad this morning.”

         Tessa
nodded. “For all the good it will do.”

         Shane
reached out and took her hand, playing with her fingers.

         “I’m
sorry you had to live like that for so long.  I wish I would have
known.  Maybe I’d have gotten over myself and we could have been friends
before this year.”

         “Maybe
so, but I’m glad you didn’t know.  It’s all been embarrassing enough.”

         “You
have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

         “I
know, but still.  Can’t help how I feel.”

         The
rest of the night went smoothly.  They talked non-stop through dinner,
decided on a comedy movie and walked hand-in-hand through the park afterward,
conversation just as full and lively as before.

         “We’d
better be heading back home,” he said when they made the complete circuit of
the park.  “I don’t want your mom to get mad at me because I kept you out
too late.”

         “I
don’t think we have to worry too much about
my
mom,” she said, though
she was smiling.

         “Probably
not but I don’t want to give her any reason to get mad,” he said, tucking a
lock of her hair behind her ear, just for an excuse to touch her.

         “This
has been fun.  I’m glad you didn’t take me home.”

         “Me,
too.  Got plans for tomorrow?”

         Her
smile brightened.  “I’m helping set up a wedding.  That will tie me
up from 8:00 am until noon, then tear down is around 5:00, but it shouldn’t
take too long.”

         “It
takes up your whole day like that?”

         “Decorations
don’t put themselves up.”

         “Guess
not...can I help? I want to spend time with you.”

         “I’m
sure we can find something for you to do, but are you sure?  Wedding
stuff?”

         “Why
not?”

         “Well...OK. 
When we get to my house I’ll ask Mama if she can use you.”

         “Cool,”
he offered her his arm to head back to his truck.

         She
held on to him with both hands, holding his arm so close to her that he felt
her breast touch the back of his arm every few steps.  He opened the door
for her and helped her inside then went around to his side.  When he got
in she reached out to take his hand.  He liked the feel of her hand in
his, and he liked having her next to him in his truck.

         She
was quiet on the drive home and that was fine with him.  He enjoyed
stealing glances at her.

         “Let
me run in and see what she says about tomorrow,” she said when he pulled into
her driveway.

         “Want
me to come with you?”

         “Just
wait here in case she’s already in bed.”

         He
nodded but knew she wouldn’t be.  Mom’s tended to stay up until their kids
were home.  She’d barely been inside five minutes before she came back out
and got back in his truck.

         “She
said she’d love to have you.  First Baptist at 8 am.”

         “I’ll
be there.”

         “Good! 
Now I’m excited!” she said on a giggle.

         “It’ll
be fun.”

         “OK
then.  Thank you, again, for tonight.  It was -”

         He
stopped her with a kiss.  It was brief contact, over before she could
fully process it.

         “I’ve
been wanting to do that all night,” he confessed.

         “Really?”
she asked, a smug smile on her face, “because I’ve been wanting to do this.”

         She
put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him until
all coherent thought flew from his brain.  When she finally pulled back he
knew he was doing good to remember his own name.

         “See
you in the morning, McCanton,” she said, leaving him breathless and alone in
his truck.

         He
watched her walk up to her house and wave to him when she got to the door.

         “Oh,
yeah, I’m a goner,” he said to himself.

         The
next morning, Shane got up early, trying to be quiet and not wake anyone else. When
he went downstairs, though, his mother was already up, sitting at the breakfast
nook with her morning coffee.

         “You’re
up early,” she said.

         “I’m
going to help Tessa and her mom set up for a wedding at the church.”

         Susie
sat her mug down.  “I really wish you wouldn’t,” she said, though without
much conviction.

         “I’ll
probably be gone most of the day.  Gotta help with take down, too.”

         She
drew a deep breath and released it slowly.  “Honey, just...keep in mind
that you’re going to be going off to college soon.”

         “I
know that,” he said, grabbing an apple from the fridge.  “Gotta go.”

         He
left before she could protest further.  Her words hadn’t been completely
lost on him, however.  He understood that it was probably foolish on his
part to start a relationship with Tessa right now.  He was going to be
four hours away in Austin.

         Pulling
up to the church he pushed the thought of school aside for now.  He’d had
a good time last night and he intended to enjoy today.

         “Well,
he’s on time at least,” Mary said to Tessa as she pulled her van up to the
church.

         “Yes,
he is,” Tessa agreed.  And, she added to herself, he was looking
particularly gorgeous and adorable in his faded jeans, Texas Rangers T-Shirt
and scarred work boots. 

         “Good
morning, ladies,” he greeted them when they got out.

         “Good
morning,” Mary echoed.  “Ready to get to work?”

         “Yes,
ma’am,” he replied with a smile and a wink.

         “Good. 
You can start by bringing in the pieces to the arch and then I’ll show you how
to put it together.”

         “Yes,
ma’am,” he repeated, going to the back of the van.

         Tessa
met him at the rear doors while her mother went to make sure the church was
open.

         “Good
morning,” she said, standing on her toes to give him a quick kiss.  “I’m
glad you’re here.”

         “Me,
too,” he replied, sneaking another quick kiss.

         She
watched him gather the first two pieces of the white arch, test their weight,
then gathered the rest of the pieces.  What normally took her and her
mother two trips each, he easily handled all in one trip.

         “You
sure you got that?” she asked, watching his muscles bunch.

         “Yeah,
I’m good.  Take this to the sanctuary?”

         “Um,
yeah, up on the stage.”

         She
watched him go up the steps to the front doors that her mother had propped
open, admiring his butt as he went.  Giving herself a mental shake, she
set about collecting pew bows and flowers.

         “With
Shane helping we may finish ahead of schedule,” Mary stated when she came back
outside.  “He’s already got the arch in and started putting it together.”

         “Wouldn’t
that be...”

         “Looks
like you lost your police escort,” Harrison Kelly said from behind them.

         Tessa
and Mary both jumped, startled.  Neither had even heard him approach.

         “You
go on now,” Tessa said to him.  Her mother might be afraid of him but she
wasn’t.  “The Restraining Order says you can’t come near us.”

         Harrison
backhanded her, sending her sprawling without even sparing her a glance.

         “Stop
it, Harrison!” Mary screamed.  “Tessa, go call 911,” she ordered even as
Harrison grabbed her.

         “You
think some piece of paper is going to keep me from you?  I
own
you! 
Both
of you!  And you’re going to pay!”

         He
drew back his hand to strike Mary but before he could he was violently tackled,
his head cracking against the concrete and a fist landed against his
nose.  Shane landed two more blows to the lowlife’s face before Harrison
finally managed to get his bearings and clocked Shane on the jaw.  To
Tessa’s amazement, the shot barely shook Shane and after they both landed a few
more blows, Shane, being younger and faster managed to flip Harrison face down
on the pavement, and in a move reflective of a veteran cop, pinned Harrison’s
arms behind his back, holding his wrists down with a knee.

         “Get
me something to tie his wrists,” he said to Tessa.

         “Get
off me!  I’ll kill you!!”

         “You’re
welcome to try,” Shane bit out.

         Tessa
brought a roll of floral tape.  Shane wasn’t crazy about it but figured it
would hold until his dad or his deputies got there.  After he was
satisfied the tape was secure, he looked over at Tessa and her mother. 
Mary looked shaken, but fine.  Tessa had a darkening bruise forming on her
cheek and right eye.  Apparently, Kelly had gotten at least one blow in
before Shane made it outside.

         “You
OK?” he asked Tessa.

         “Yes. Are
you?”

         “Yeah,”
he said, looking toward the street when he heard siren’s approaching.  His
dad’s truck screeched to a halt just behind Mary’s van where Shane still held
Kelly pinned to the ground.

         Luke
took in his son’s battered face and the fact that he had secured the SOB
responsible, then looked to Mary and her daughter.

         “Did
your father hit you, Tessa?” he asked.

         She
nodded.  “Before Shane came outside.”

         “Are
you all right?” She nodded again.  Luke shifted his gaze to his son, his
eyes again roaming over his son’s facial injuries.  “Good job, son,” he
said, laying a hand on Shane’s shoulder and giving him a squeeze.  “Let me
have him now, OK?”

          “You
can have him, but you gotta help me up.  I busted my knee pretty hard when
I took him down.  I don’t think I can stand on it.”

         Tessa
gasped when she shifted her gaze to his knee as Luke helped him to stand. 
His jeans were soaked with blood and even she could see that it had begun to
swell.

         “Let
me cut the jeans away from his knee,” Mary said, reaching in her van for a pair
of scissors.  Luke helped Shane to sit on the back of the van while Mary
split his pant leg up to his knee.  “This is bad, Luke. He needs to go to
the hospital.”

         In
the background, Harrison was spitting out insults as Scott and another deputy
arrived to take him into custody.  Tessa barely spared him a glance, her
concern on Shane.  Her cheek was throbbing now that the adrenaline was wearing
off.  She could only imagine how he was feeling. 

         Luke
walked over to speak to his deputies while they loaded Harrison into their
squad car, then came back to Shane. 

         “We
need to have them both checked out, just to be safe,” he said to Mary.  “You
can both ride with us,” he said as he scooped Shane into his arms to carry him
to his truck. 

         Tessa
didn’t wait for her mother to respond. She climbed into the backseat once Luke
settled Shane back there, so her mother followed wordlessly.  On the short
drive from the church to Doctor Curtis’ office, Luke radioed for dispatch to
call his wife and let her know what happened, that he was taking Shane to be
checked out and to bring Shane a change of clothes.

         Tessa
watched Shane’s profile as he turned to look out the window.  She knew he
was worried about his mother’s reaction since she hadn’t wanted him associating
with Tessa in the first place, because of her father.  At this point,
Tessa couldn’t blame her.  Shane had been hurt because of her.

         At
the clinic, she winced when Shane groaned as his dad helped him from the
truck.  His knee was swollen to nearly twice its normal size and there
were bits of gravel embedded in his skin, making her feel even worse.  If
his knee was messed up he wouldn’t be able to play baseball, which she knew he
loved.

         They
were taken immediately to an examination room.  Nurses took their
vitals.  Concussion was ruled out for both of them.  Tessa was given
an ice pack for her face while Dr. Curtis and the nurses got to work on
Shane.  A cut under his eye required stitches and his nose was broken but
the knee was of the most concern. 

         “Ladies,
we need you to wait in the lobby, now. His jeans have to come off,” Dr. Curtis
told them.

         Tessa
caught Shane’s eye briefly before she left; knew he was in pain. A lump sat
tight in her throat, robbing her of breath.  As soon as they were safely
out of the room, she let her tears fall free.

         “Oh,
baby,” Mary cried, embracing her.  “I’m so sorry.”

         “He
was hurt because of me,” she whispered.

         “Don’t
think about it, sweetie.”

         “His
knee...”

         “What
about his knee?” Susie McCanton asked, her harsh voice interrupting them.

         “He’s
in room four,” Mary told her.  “Dr. Curtis was just beginning to look at
it.”

         Susie
puffed up as if she was about to say something but thought better of it and
rushed past them.  Tessa held her breath until Susie was out of sight then
released it slowly, wiping tears from her cheeks.

         “What
are we going to do about the wedding?” she asked her mother, in an effort to take
her mind off of Shane.

         “I’m
going to call Linda and see if she will come get me and help me finish and see
if Lauren will take you home.”

         Tessa
shook her head.  “No, I’m fine and four of us will get done faster.”

         Shane
looked up when his mother came in, bracing himself for her reaction. 
Thankfully, though there were tears in her eyes, she merely kissed his brow and
stepped back to let Dr. Curtis continue cleansing his knees.  He knew she
had to have passed Tessa and her mother on the way in, he just hoped she hadn’t
said anything to them.

         “The
left one needs stitching and I want to get an x-ray and an MRI to make sure
nothing is fractured.  Give me just a minute to get everything set up.”

         “Thanks,
Doc,” Luke said, shaking his hand.

         “All-in-all,
I’d say Shane’s an extremely lucky young man, considering.”

         When
they were alone, Luke again squeezed Shane’s shoulder.

         “I’m
proud of you, boy,” Luke told him.

         “Thanks,”
Shane murmured, but he didn’t feel proud.  He was angry...and ashamed,
because he kept seeing that bastard hit Tessa and he wanted to kill him.

         “Are
you hurting?” Susie asked, lightly stroking his hair.

         “The
doc gave me a shot of...something.  I’m not feeling much right now.”

         “Doc
said it would make him groggy,” Luke told her.

         “What
happened?” she asked.

         “I
was inside the church and they were getting supplies from the van.  I’d
just finished putting the arch together so I went out to see what they wanted
me to do next.  I was in the vestibule when he hit Tessa.  He had
hold of Mary and was about to punch her when I tackled him.  We fought for
a few minutes and then I subdued him, taped his wrists.  Bet that hurt
like he...heck to get off,” he chuckled.

         “You
probably saved their lives, son,” Luke told him.

         Shane
closed his eyes knowing his dad was likely right but still not happy about all
that happened.

         “This
is exactly why I didn’t want him associating with that girl,” Susie said to
Luke, thinking he was asleep.

         “Now,
Susie, they couldn’t have known that Harrison would violate the restraining
order, but beyond that, what Shane did today is exactly what he will do when he
becomes a cop.  You know this...and he’s damn good at it already.”

         “But
he isn’t a cop yet, Luke.  He’s just a boy.”

         “He
is eighteen, Susie.  The US Government says he is old enough to vote and
go to war.  He is an adult now.”

         “He’s
my child!” she cried.

         “I’m
right here, Mom,” Shane said sleepily.

         She
wiped tears from her eyes.  “I’m sorry, honey.”

         Dr.
Curtis came back in with a nurse and they wheeled him down to an x-ray
room.  He was asleep before they got there but not before he caught a
glimpse of Tessa and her mother in the hallway.

         Thirty
minutes after they took Shane in to be x-rayed, his dad came out to talk to
them.

         “Dr.
Curtis wants to transport Shane to the hospital.  He says his knee is
going to need surgery.  He apparently twisted it at some point, tore the
cartilage pretty good.”