You're Busting My Nuptials (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 2) (17 page)

The sound of rain pounded against the metal so loud, they had to shout to hear each other. The words ‘cold death’ echoed in Tizzy’s head. She ran to the truck, dropped the tailgate, and climbed into the back.

Thunder cracked the sky and rain came harder. Tizzy rushed to the box and attempted to pull on the boards. Muffled sounds came from inside. She screamed. “RIDGE! RIDGE! HURRY, JINX! HE’S HERE! GET THE CROWBAR!”

Within a few seconds, Jinx returned with the bar. He wedged it under a plank of wood and pried the board loose, then another, and another. As quickly as he loosened them, Tizzy and Synola grabbed the pieces and threw them to the ground.

Crumpled inside they found Ridge bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Jinx grabbed him by his arms and pulled him up. Tizzy helped lay him in the bed of the truck. Synola began to untie him.

Tizzy removed his blindfold. Once she got rid of the gag, she planted kisses over his face. “Oh, Ridge, thank God, I found you.” She focused on his head. Blood caked around a wound. She helped him sit up. “You’re hurt.” She licked her finger and wiped at the gash, and tried to determine the damage.

“I’m okay. Now that you’re here, I’m okay,” he whispered.

Tizzy cradled his head in her lap. “Back the van up to the door, Jinx, and we’ll load him. I don’t want to wait for an ambulance. Synola! Call Captain Reynolds and tell him we found Ridge.”

The steady beep of the heart monitor filled the room. Now that Ridge was cleaned up, he didn
’t look half bad. Mostly cuts and bruises. Broken wrist. Dehydration. Hearing those words from the doctor were welcomed and for the first time since her wedding day Tizzy breathed without her lungs burning.

She sat in a standard hospital chrome chair and rested her head on the bed next to Ridge
’s legs. Sleep had been sporadic. Every bone in her body ached from the positions she’d contorted. First, she folded her legs underneath and then stretched them out. Looking for a new pose, she curled up in the seat and leaned her upper torso over the arm. She didn’t dare complain. She was thankful to finally feel something after days of being numb with fear.

According to the doctor, if all went well, Ridge could go home in a couple of days. Tizzy lifted her head and studied his face. Eyes almost swollen shut. Lips parched and cracked. Ten stitches. Six above his left eyebrow and four high on his cheek bone.

Light swept across the room when the door opened and Jinx stepped in. Tizzy stood and stretched. “Hey.”

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and
gave her a hug. “I bring food.” He dangled a bag in front of her.

She opened the sack and discovered a homemade chicken salad sandwich with a side of potato chips and a pickle. “This looks yummy. Let me guess. Sugarpie?”

“Yeah, she and your mom gave me strict instructions to make you eat. So sit. Eat. I do not want those two mad at me. If I don’t give them a good report, I’ll never get another dessert as long as I live.”

Tizzy focused on Ridge again. “He doesn’t look too bad, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t. After you eat, how ‘bout you go home and sleep in your own bed. You’ve been here for hours. I know you’re worn out.”

Tizzy pinched off a bite of sandwich and stuck it in her mouth. “No, I don’t want to leave him.” She chewed slowly. The mixture of fruit, chicken and whipping cream was one of her favorites.

Jinx eyed her. “Has he said anything?”

“Not much. He knows I’m
here. He’s just not sure where ‘here’ is. He had some fight left in him, so they’re keeping him sedated. He kept trying to pull out the IV. He must think he’s still tied up.” Tizzy took another bite and chased it with some pickle. For the first time in days, food tasted good.

“The doctor said once he’s re-hydrated, probably by tomorrow, he’ll come to his senses. Four days without food and water took their toll.” She shoved a couple of potato chips in her mouth and let the salt settle on her tongue.

“Thank God for cold weather. If it’d been August, the doctor said he wouldn’t be alive. I hope when he can talk, he’ll be able to tell us who did this and why.”

“All the more reason for you to go home and let me stay. Come back tomorrow when he’s awake. Right now, you can’t do anything but watch him
, and the nurses will do that. Did you call his mom and sister?”

“I asked Momma to call them in the morning. I’m not up to dealing with Hazel tonight.”

“Well, the Rangers are all over the case now.”

“Yeah, Ted Mitchell came first thing and processed Ridge. They may be able to get some DNA from under his nails or fibers from his clothes.”

“You should see the Discount Storage. Cops, Rangers, FBI agents are swarming the place. If there’s a shred of evidence, they’ll find it.”

“Well, our little band did a pretty damn good job of finding him without any help from them. I think we could finish this up if we wanted.”

“C’mon, Tizzy. Let’s leave the case to the professionals. It’s a miracle all three of you girls are still alive. Trying to keep y’all safe is a full time job.”

“It wasn’t
that
bad.”

“Are you kidding me? Over the last few days, y’all took up pole dancing, and got in a gun fight with a bunch of clowns. I’m not even taking into account the fiasco with the gnomes.”

“True, but we’re good at this. I don’t care what anybody says. The other night, Synola, Rayann and I were talking.”

Jinx shook his head. “I do not like where this conversation is headed.”

“Oh, come on, you liked working with us, if you want to admit it or not, especially the closet investigation.”

Jinx jutted his jaw out and scratched behind his ear. “Yeah, I did like that part.”

“I have an idea.”

“Oh, brother, here it comes.”

“You should open a PI firm.”

He took the remaining chair, spun it around and straddled it. “I came home to buy the bar from your dad, not investigate people.”

“I know. How perfect is that? A bar and a PI business. They go hand and hand.”

He let out a deep sigh. “I suppose you girls would want to work for me.”

Tizzy shook her head. “Hey, I’m a mom first, plus I work a day job. I wouldn’t mind working a case every now and then. You know, a juicy one. But, you and Synola make a great team and I think you’d like working with her.”

“That is a good selling point. You’ve got me interested enough, I’ll think about it.”

She threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, thank you!”

He pulled away from her. “Don’t get too excited. I said
I’d think about it. I’m not making any promises.”

“That’s good enough for me,” she said and finished off the sandwich.

“What do you think about the name Strictly Confidential or you could go totally whimsical with Monroe’s Meddlers.”

“Oh brother,” he said, and raised his eyes toward heaven.

~~*~~

Tizzy woke from the first sound sleep she’d had in almost a week. Ridge’s face came into focus and she fixed her eyes on him as if trying to compel him to open his. As she started to drift back to sleep, he spoke. “Tizzy.”

Her eyes popped open. “Oh, thank God! You’re awake!” She jumped from the chair and crossed the room to the bed. She threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead. “How do you feel?”

His eyes were half open. “Much better. What day is this?”

“Wednesday.”

“Wednesday,” he repeated. “It’s been six days since I touched you. Crawl up here and get in my arms.”

“I don’t think I should. You have a cast on one and an IV in the other. I’ll sit right here.” She plopped down on the bed next to him.

“Not good enough. I need to hold you, or maybe I need you to hold me. Either way, c’mon.”

She leaned over, removed her shoes and climbed in next to him.

He propped his casted arm
on the pillow above his head, wrapped the other one around her and pulled her close. “Damn, you feel good.”

“I’ve missed you,” she said, and then without warning, all the anger, hurt and fear, rose from the deepest pit of her heart and exploded in her chest. She buried her face in the hollow of his neck and sobbed uncontrollably.

He held her tighter and kissed the top of her head. “I know. I was scared too.”

Tizzy wanted to speak. She wanted to tell him how miserable she’d been without him. How scared she’d been. How she would have searched for him until her dying day, but the tears wouldn’t let her. She fought for breath and just when she thought she couldn’t cry anymore, she did.

Ridge trailed his fingers across her cheek and wiped the tears away. “Get ’em out, Darlin’. Get ’em all out. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

He held her and she wept until the pillow and part of his gown were soaked. When she was all cried out, she wiped her nose on her sleeve and sniffed. Ridge tilted her face up to his, planted a kiss sweet and tender, and she started to cry again.

“Aw, Baby, please don’t cry anymore. You’re going to make yourself sick,” he said, and wiped her tears again.

“Were you really afraid?”

“Of course. I thought I was going to die without ever being your husband or Gracie’s daddy.”

Tizzy wiped her face. “I haven’t cried. Not the whole time—until now. Who took you, Ridge? Who did this to us?”

“I don’t know. I’ve had plenty of time in the last five days to figure the whole thing out, and I still don’t have an answer. My brain hurts from thinking about all the possibilities. Right now, I want you to talk about everything except my situation.”

“Like what?”

“Gracie, Sweet Thangs, anything. I need to hear the comfort of your voice.”

She sniffed and giggled. “I’ve never thought of my twang as comforting.”

“Darlin’, you have no idea. You can recite the ABC’s for all I care. I want to hold you and hear you. I need you.”

She took a deep breath and fought back more tears. “The wedding was beautiful. The flowers, the church, the cake . . . Gracie.”

“I’m sorry I ruined our day.”

There was sadness in his eyes. The last thing she wanted was to make him feel bad about the ceremony. Considering everything he’d been through, the wedding didn’t amount to a hill of beans. “Don’t be silly, it wasn’t your fault.”

“When I’m better, we’ll reschedule. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“I don’t want another one.”

Ridge lifted his head. “What? You don’t want to get married anymore?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Next time, I don’t want a big wedding.”

“Damn, you scared me. I thought you’d changed your mind about marrying me.”

“That’s never going to happen,” she said, sliding her hand across his chest.

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “What else happened while I was detained?”

“Well, let’s see. Gracie looks like she’s grown an inch. Nana is determined to name her business
Doggie Style. Synola and Jinx have something going on between them. Your mother and sister are here and I’m never going to speak to Dan again.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do. He’s been a butt. He wouldn’t help me find you and then there’s the pre-nup—wait, you understand I had nothing to do with that, right?”

“Yeah, but honestly, I think it’s a good idea. I want to sign it.”

She sat up straight. “Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, it’s in my purse and I’d like for us to tear the thing up together.”

“You’ve been carrying it in your purse?”

“Yes, along with our marriage license and wedding rings.”

Ridge pulled her back down. “Hear me out. I’ve thought about the situation. Dan can’t be the only person who thinks I’m marrying you for your money. If I sign the agreement, no one can ever say I married you for any other reason than I’m crazy in love with you. Because I am,” he said, and angled his leg between hers.

Tizzy lowered her head and widened her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Six days, Tizzy. That’s a hell of a long time. I may be injured, but I’m not dead.”

“Ridge, we need to talk about who took you.”

“I don’t want to think about that right now. As soon as word gets out I’m awake and talking, this room will be full of lawmen. I want to make the most of what little time we have together, before they show up.” He ran his hand under her shirt and caressed her breast.

“Stop, you’re going to pull your IV out, besides, we can’t do this here.”

“We’re not doin
g anything. At least, not yet.”

“I have bad news about your truck.”

“What?”

“They pulled it out of the lake and it’s totaled. I’m sorry.”

“Damn! I loved that truck. What the hell?”

“There was a dead girl inside.” Tizzy shifted her body against him. She didn’t want to encourage him, but it felt so good being close to him, she couldn’t help herself.