A Promise to Protect (Logan Point Book #2): A Novel (9 page)

“Are you sure?” Ben asked.

Sarah nodded. “I’ve been thinking it was gasoline, but the smell wasn’t quite right. Now I think it was coal oil.”

Ben frowned. “Coal oil?”

“I think younger folks call it kerosene.”

Blood drained from Leigh’s face and an icy chill shook her body. No. Sarah had to be wrong. Lightning had struck the house. She clenched her hands. It had to be lightning.

Because if it wasn’t, her insistence on staying in the house, on handling things on her own, could have cost TJ his life.

T
he muscles in Ben’s shoulders tensed. “Are you certain you smelled kerosene?”

“Not 100 percent . . .” Sarah’s voice trailed off. “But I smelled something.”

If Sarah was right, it meant Billy Wayne Gresham had not acted alone. It meant Ben had made a mistake. It meant three people could’ve died tonight.

Headlights swung into the drive, and Ben recognized his mother’s old Cadillac. How had she found out about the fire so quick?

Marisa Logan slammed the Cadillac door and marched toward them with the look of a drill sergeant. When she was within ten feet of him, she nodded. “You can wipe that surprised look off your face. I heard about the fire over the scanner. The reverend and his wife are with your dad.” Then she took Leigh by the hands. “You and TJ are staying with us. Sarah too.”

He shouldn’t be surprised to see his mom. But, he was glad she was here because he’d already decided the safest place for Leigh and TJ tonight was at his parents’ house.

“No.” Leigh hugged the stuffed bear to her chest. “I can’t impose.”

“Dear, you don’t have a choice. You don’t have a place to stay, and we have plenty of room. You’ll need some things, of course, but we can stop at Walmart.”

His mother’s voice was gentle but firm. There’d be no opposing her. He ought to know. He’d butted his head against her iron will more than once and lost.

“I’ll pick up whatever they need,” Ben said.

“Wait a minute. I’m not staying with your family. I’ll stay at Sarah’s hotel.”

“I can’t protect you in a hotel.” He shifted his weight, digging in. “If I have to make it official and put you in protective custody, I will.”

“But you don’t know if the fire was set. I—”

Sarah laid her hand on Leigh’s arm. “Honey, you don’t know it wasn’t. Do you want to risk TJ’s life? I don’t see that you have much choice.”

Leigh opened her mouth. And closed it. She took a few steps toward the ambulance, and he followed her gaze. TJ, with a Braves baseball cap on his head, had stripped off his T-shirt and had the medic’s stethoscope pressed to his thin chest, listening to his heartbeat. He shifted back to Leigh. Worry lines pulled her brows together, and something akin to panic rode in her eyes.

Ben wanted to take her in his arms and hold her until she could smile again. “It’s going to be all right.”

At first he thought she hadn’t heard him, but then she turned and stared at him, her green eyes dark. He knew what she was thinking—that he had let her down.

“Nothing will ever be all right again,” she replied just as softly.

Leigh couldn’t think with Sarah and Marisa pressuring her. She walked toward her car, the teddy bear hugged to her chest. Sarah meant well, she acknowledged that, but there had to be another way besides going to the Logan house.

“Leigh, what’s so bad about accepting help?”

Ben had followed her.

She whirled around. “I’ve taken care of TJ for nine years by myself.”

Yeah, and look at the mess she’d made. She was certain that was what Ben was thinking. Stupid, stupid mistake, thinking she could handle this on her own. That she could keep TJ safe after Tony was killed. That she didn’t need anyone’s help, especially Ben’s.

“You and TJ aren’t the first my parents have taken in, and you probably won’t be the last.”

“Your dad doesn’t like me. With the stroke, he doesn’t need someone in his house that will agitate him.”

“I don’t know why you keep saying that. But, if it’d make you feel better, tomorrow you can move into my house, and I’ll stay with them. Leigh, I just want to keep you and your son safe. Why is it so hard to accept the offer?”

If only she could tell him.

“I’ve been handling things on my own since Mom died.” She rubbed her finger down the seam in Bear’s chest. “Even before that really, because Mom was so busy grieving for Dad . . .”

Ben stuck his hands in his back pockets. “You had your grandmother.”

“Yeah, and she only had one grandchild. Tony. Not that I cared. I loved my big brother.” Thinking back, she realized her dad was the only person who ever treated Leigh like she was special, but even he hadn’t given up time in his clinic to be with her, had instead brought her there to help him. His little nurse, he’d always called her. Did he ever in his heart think she might become a doctor? She doubted it somehow.

She shrugged. “It’s hard to relinquish control, and that’s what you do when you accept help. Good example—I accepted a loan from the Rural Physicians’ fund and ended up back in Logan Point for a year.”

“What’s so bad about that?”

Leigh stood a little straighter. “Do you know where I
could
be practicing? Johns Hopkins.”

Ben whistled. “Wow.”

“Yeah, wow. And as soon as I repay my scholarship, I’ll apply again.” It’d always been her dad’s dream to work in a teaching hospital like Johns Hopkins. And now it was hers.

“Look, I’m sorry all this has happened.” He nodded toward the house.

“It’s not your fault. You tried to warn me. I just thought with Billy Wayne dead . . . But why would someone want to kill me in the first place?” She took in a deep breath. “Is it because they don’t want me in town?”

“What?” Ben caught her arm. “What did you say?”

She blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe Tony’s death isn’t linked to these attempts on your life.” He took out a pad. “You’ve been here a month. Has anything happened at the hospital that could cause someone to have a grudge against you? Maybe someone died and a friend or a family member blames you?”

People died all the time in the ER, but Leigh could see Ben’s point. She racked her brain, trying to remember a specific case where someone could point the finger of blame on her. She’d lost six patients since coming to the hospital. She knew each case by heart and ticked them off in her mind . . . the ATV accident, a ruptured appendix, three car accidents, and a drug overdose. In each case, she’d done everything humanly possible, but in the end, it hadn’t been enough.

“Maybe,” Ben said, “it wasn’t even a death.”

Another case popped into her mind. “Wait a minute. There was an abuse case I reported to the state. A two-year-old boy had cigarette burns on his arms and legs. The mother’s boyfriend was arrested.” She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “I can’t remember the boyfriend’s name. The little boy’s name was Derek . . . Wilson.”

“I’ll check with Logan Point PD. They would have made the arrest at the hospital.”

“Mom!” TJ raced toward her. “I listened to my heart!”

Leigh looked past him at the medic also approaching. “Thanks for keeping him occupied, Mike.”

“No problem, Doc. He’s a good kid.”

She’d check his lungs again when she got home. Leigh caught herself. They didn’t have a home, and she had a decision to make. Which was more important? Keeping TJ safe or doing it her way? She turned to Ben, but he had joined his mom and Sarah over by the Cadillac while she’d talked to the medic. She walked toward them, feeling like a convict walking the last mile. TJ ran ahead of her, gliding to a stop on the retractable wheels in his tennis shoes in front of Ben. Yeah, he definitely was okay.

“Whoa, boy! What do you have in your shoes?”

“Wheelies. Mom wouldn’t buy them, so Tony did.” Pain winced across TJ’s face, and his shoulders drooped.

Ben tapped the brim of the cap. “They’re cool.”

Marisa turned to her. “You’ll come, won’t you?”

Leigh licked her dry lips. “Just until Ben can find us a safe house.”

“Oh, good!” Marisa turned to her son. “Why don’t you take TJ to the house in your official sheriff truck?”

Wide-eyed pleasure lit up the boy’s face. “Really? Can I ride with you? Can I do the siren?”

Leigh’s insides squirmed.

“Sure, kid.” Ben didn’t sound any happier than she was with his mother’s suggestion. He eyed Leigh. “Is that okay with you?”

Leigh swallowed hard and nodded. As TJ ran ahead of Ben, her heart thudded in her chest. What if the freight train of her lie derailed, and Ben found out the truth? But that would be impossible. Now that Tony was dead, only two people in the world knew the truth. Leigh wasn’t telling, and there was no way Sarah would betray her.

She had nothing to worry about.

Staying with the Logans will not be permanent
. Leigh kept repeating the words to herself. If only she could have gone with Sarah to the hotel, but she understood why Ben hadn’t wanted her to do that. Finding a safe place that he would approve might be difficult, but she would do it. The longer they stayed with Ben’s parents, the greater the chance someone would notice that TJ had a few of Ben’s mannerisms. Like the tendency to plant his feet when challenged and dig in.

A groan almost escaped her lips. This was not a good idea, but what other choice did she have? Their smoldering house was proof she couldn’t protect herself, much less TJ.
It will not be permanent.

Leigh held on to the thought as the old Cadillac cocooned her in its stout body. She’d let Ben talk her into riding with his mother after he promised to take her back to the house for her car early in the morning. Gradually, she let herself relax into the soft leather. Beside her in the driver’s seat, Marisa Logan softly hummed. She seemed to have a knack for knowing when to talk. And when not to.

Marisa embodied other Southern women Leigh had known, women who wove gentleness and grit together, forming a steel core that endured anything. She longed to be that strong. But if anyone looked inside her right now, they’d find a quivering marshmallow center and very little else. If only her mind could quit playing what-if.

She cast a sidelong glance at Marisa. Sarah was right. Ben did favor his mom with the same olive skin and black hair of her Italian ancestors. And the almost black eyes. But not her size. Marisa looked to be a perfect six petite. His height had come from his father. Leigh swung slightly as the car turned into the Logan drive behind Ben and stopped long enough for him to key in a code at the gated entrance. He hadn’t been joking that it was like a fortress.

Marisa pulled the Cadillac to a stop in front of the white two-story frame house. “We’re home.”

Leigh gathered her courage and got out of the car. She helped
Marisa with the Walmart purchases piled in the backseat as TJ spilled from Ben’s truck and ran up the walk to the front door. At least he was embracing the adventure. “Timothy Jackson! Come back here and grab a few of these bags.”

“So that’s what TJ stands for,” Ben said.

“After my daddy.”

“I’ll get the bags.” He scooped up the remaining bags as TJ dragged himself back to the car.

She’d spent a small fortune at Walmart. “I hope Tony kept the insurance up to date on the house,” Leigh said. If he hadn’t, her bank account would soon be in the red.

“I’m sure he did. Do you know who your agent is?”

Leigh almost stumbled. She hadn’t thought beyond getting through the next minute. “Not a clue.”

“Do you know where Tony kept that type of information?”

“I think so.” Leigh remembered a file cabinet in the smaller bedroom. “Do you think the fire reached the bedrooms?”

“Probably only smoke damage,” Ben said.

“Good.” She handed her son two packages to carry. “TJ, when we go in, you need to be quiet. No running, yelling, anything like that. Ben’s dad, Sheriff Logan, doesn’t feel well.”

“But I thought Ben was the sheriff.”

He tapped TJ’s cap again. “I am now, but my dad was sheriff first.”

Leigh cringed at how stiffly Ben interacted with TJ.
This is not a good idea
.
For the hundredth time, the thought flew through her mind.