Escaping the Past (Wester Farms) (35 page)

Brody and John heard the screams and walked close to Lou. Brody slowly took the gun in his own hand and pried her fingers from it. He passed it to John and said, “Hold this.”

John took the gun and aimed it at Jerry’s form, which lay on the ground. Brody walked slowly over and felt for a pulse.

“He’s still alive but he took one hell of a beating,” Brody stated, wincing as pain shot through his own shoulder.

Just then, the grounds came alive with the sound of police cars and ambulances.
Wes
walked closer toward them.

“How did you…
?
” Brody started.

Wes
patted his chest and said absently, “Bullet
-
proof vest.”

Swarms of uniformed officers walked closer and a gurney was brought for Jerry.

Lou, barely able to stand on her feet, felt Brody’s arm slide around her waist, holding her up. She clasped her arms around his neck but
he tensed beneath her hands
.

“Oh, my God! You were shot!”

“Yeah, but it went all the way through.” Brody stated, brushing her hands away as she touched his shoulder.

She laid her head on his other shoulder and took a deep breath. “Is it over?” she asked.

“Looks like it,” Brody said quietly before kissing her on the nose. Then he let himself be led away by paramedics.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lou rode along with Brody in the ambulance to the hospital. It took hours for them to get x-rays, clean the wound and give him some IV fluids and start antibiotics.
Wes
came and went, updating them on Jerry’s health through the night. He suffered from a concussion, several broken ribs
,
and a broken femur, but he would survive.

“At least he can do his time in prison,” Lou sighed. Then she narrowed her eyes and looked at
Wes
. “He will go to prison, right?”

Wes
nodded. “We have him on attempted murder, murder, theft
,
and a number of other crimes. I can guarantee he’ll never live another day outside of prison in this lifetime.”

Lou sighed and sat down on the side of Brody’s bed. “Thank God it’s over,” she said, taking his hand in hers.
Wes
walked out of the room.

Brody rubbed the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“Much better than you, it seems,” she responded, smiling at him. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

He puffed out his chest and grinned, “Happy to be of service.”

She leaned forward and kissed him quickly on the lips just as John walked into the room.

“Oh, man. Would you two cut that out?” he joked, covering his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Lou asked, turning toward John.

“I thought you guys could use a ride home,” John shrugged. “Besides, I didn’t have anything to do after they cleaned up all the mess at home.”

“Everyone gone?” Brody asked as he sat up.

“Yep. They all cleared out. I called Jeb and Sadie
. T
hey
’
re coming home tomorrow.”

Lou smiled. “I can’t wait. I just want things to be back to normal.”

“What’s normal?” Brody asked, joking.

“Who knows,” Lou shrugged. “But I want some of it.”

The doctor came in a few minutes later and discharged Brody. They went home and, when they walked into the kitchen, John hung his hat on the peg by the door and turned to Lou. He kissed her gently on the forehead.

“When did you get to be so grown up?” Lou asked playfully as she reached up to hug him.

“Same time you did, I reckon,” he shrugged and smiled.

“You saved the day today, John,” Brody said, clasping his hand.

“Aw, shucks,” John replied. “Weren’t nothing you wouldn’t have done for me.”

“You better believe it,” Brody said.

John turned to walk down the hallway to his own bedroom. “Night, all,” he threw back over his shoulder as he did so.

Lou turned to Brody and took in the sling holding his arm in place and the pained look on his face. “I am so sorry you got caught up in all this,” she said.

“I’m not,” he replied.

“You’re not?” she asked.

“Nope. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” he said, sliding one arm around her waist and drawing her close for a kiss.

“Ready for bed?” he asked.

Lou helped him undress, gently removing his shirt and then replacing the sling for the night. He slid between the sheets naked
,
and she crawled in with him, fitting her head against his neck
. T
hey fell asleep instantly, his breath blowing against her nose and hers tickling the hair on his chest.

****

Brody and Lou slept late the next morning and, after she helped him shower and dress, they shared a box of Lucky Charms in silence. She stood quickly when she heard tires crunch in the driveway and ran out onto the porch. Sarah jumped from the truck and flung herself in her mother’s arms, talking animatedly about the trip she had just taken. Lou hugged Jeb and Sadie and then John took Sarah to play so Brody and Lou could fill them in on what happened.

They sat quietly discussing the past few days at the kitchen table when they heard a short, crisp knock on the door. Lou opened the door to find a small, wiry little man wearing thick glasses. He extended his hand to Lou and said, “Nice to meet you. I have an appointment with Dr. Wester today.”

She stepped aside and let him walk past her into the room. Brody rose from the table and extended his good hand to shake with the small man. “We have an appointment to read your mother’s will today, sir,” he gently reminded Brody.

Brody turned and introduced him to the group as “my mother’s attorney.”

“Let’s go to the study where we can have some privacy, shall we?” Brody said, walking toward the hallway.

The small man stuttered, “Actually, Dr. Wester, I need to assemble a group of people. I need to see Jeb, Sadie, John, Sarah, Lou
,
and you
,
all together.” He walked over to the kitchen table and laid his briefcase down, flipping the locks. He removed a file full of papers and looked expectantly at the group. “Is young John in residence?” he asked hesitantly.

Lou went to the door and called John and Sarah inside. When everyone was assembled at the kitchen table, the attorney started to speak.

“Dr. Wester, your mother left explicit instructions on how her estate is to be divided. It is quite a large estate. Your mother has invested heavily in the past years and those investments have always paid off.” He took a deep breath. “To Dr. Wester, she has left the home and the grounds on which the home sits. This includes the contents of the home on the date of her death and the all possessions herein. To each person seated at this table, Margaret Wester has bequeathed an equal sum of $500,000 per person. That includes the child.”

Lou took a deep breath and looked over to see tears rolling down Sadie’s cheeks. Jeb reached over and took Sadie’s hand.

“The business known as Western Skies is now jointly owned by each of you. Jeb and Sadie receive twenty-five percent, which they will share. Brody, Lou
,
and John each receive twenty-five percent as well. If any one person does not want to be a part of Western Skies, they can sell their share to the other three. They cannot sell outside of this group. Dr. Wester, you living at Western Skies is not mandatory. Your mother made specific instructions as to this fact.”

Brody nodded tightly.

“The business is currently valued at ten million dollars. Much of this is tied up in racing stock. But enough is liquid that it can provide generous salaries for all who participate in the running of the business.”

The attorney closed the file. “There are other clauses and bequests to various charities and paperwork that need to be completed
,
but they can be done at a later date. This takes care of the biggest portion of the will. We will be in touch in the coming weeks and finalize all the details.” The man slid the file back into his briefcase, flipped the locks and walked out the door as quickly as he had arrived.

Everyone at the table sat quietly for minutes on end. Finally, Lou spoke, though it broke her heart to do so. “At least your mother made no conditions about you having to live here,” she said.

He raised his head and looked at her. “I hate to have my choices taken away. If she had done that, I would have walked away from it all.” He smiled softly. “She knew me so well.” He took a breath. “She also knew each of you and put the business in perfect hands. I look forward to working with you all.”

Jeb and Sadie left the table to go and soak up the information while John did the same. Lou turned to Brody and steeled herself. “What’s your plan?”

He shrugged. “I have to go home. I have things to do there.”

She wilted
. He reached over and bumped her chin with his index finger, forcing her to look at him. “But I won’t be a stranger. That’s for sure.” He kissed her swiftly and got up, walking toward the study.

He sat down behind the desk and picked up the phone. He pulled his credit card out of his wallet and laid it on the desk in front of him. As Lou listened at the doorway, he made flight reservations to go home that night. She walked down the hallway, not stopping to listen to the rest of his phone calls. He spent the afternoon packing and left his bags by the back door.

Lou avoided him for the rest of the day, unable to bear the thought of him leaving.
I could tell him about the baby, and maybe he would want to stay. But if I take his choices away, he’ll hate me. Better to let him figure it out on his own
.

Lou decided it would be less painful to leave home for a while than to face the fact he was leaving. She whispered to Sadie that she would be home soon
,
and she and Sarah went to the park. Better to be oblivious than deal with the pain.

****

Brody paced back and forth through the kitchen.

“What’s got you so worked up?” John asked.

“I have a flight in a few minutes and Lou’s not back yet,” he snarled.

“Well, hell, I can take you to the airport.”

“I can’t exactly kiss you goodbye, can I?” Brody said sarcastically.

“I think that was what she was trying to avoid,” John mumbled.

“What do you mean?” Brody asked.

“To be so smart, you sure are stupid,” John said around a mouth full of Sadie’s pound cake.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he growled.

“She loves you, dumbass,” John growled back.

“Well, I love her, too,” Brody said, dumbfounded.

John grinned wildly. “You haven’t told her that, yet, have you?”

“No. I’m going to surprise her when I come back. I quit my job back home and I’m just flying back to get a U-Haul to bring my furniture and stuff. I got a job at the hospital here.” He still looked unhappy. “I took my mother’s ring to be cleaned last week so I could ask her to marry me and put it on her finger.”

“You picked it up yet?” John asked.

“No. Why?” Brody wanted to know.

John grabbed his hat off the hat rack and slammed it on his head. “You ain’t flying nowhere. Your apartment can wait a few days. Hell, I’ll pay your rent, if I have to. I’m rich now.” He guffawed. “Let’s go get that ring. I know where Lou is.”

Brody steeled himself by grabbing the back of the chair in front of him. His doubtful eyes met John’s. “You think she’ll have me?”

“Only one way to find out,” Jeb said from the hallway as he and Sadie walked into the kitchen, both smiling.

Brody and John walked out to the car and Brody took the keys. “I’m still not riding with you, even with a bad arm.” He slid into the seat but dropped the keys when he went to put them in the switch. He reached down and slid his hand along the carpet. His fingers brushed a bag beneath the seat and he pulled it out. His eyebrows drew together as he opened it, and then his eyes grew wide.

“Hey, that’s Lou’s girly stuff she bought the other day.”

“This is Lou’s?” Brody croaked before a huge
grin tugged at his lips
.

“Yeah,” John replied hesitantly. “I never would have thought a box of tampons
would
make a man so happy,” John mumbled.

“You have no idea, John,” Brody said, flying out of the driveway.