Bomb! Neither of them said it even though both of them were thinking it. “Just get here,” Jackson snapped as he cut off the call.

He ran faster than he’d ever run in his life, his long legs eating up the distance. He practically flew through the orchards, past row upon row of apple trees, his feet thudding heavily against the parched ground. If Emerald were dead… He couldn’t even finish the thought. His chest felt hollow, his legs like rubber, but he ran.

He broke from the fields and sped across the yard, taking the stairs in one leap. Smoke billowed out the back door, thick and oily. Ignoring it, he yanked aside what was left of the back door and plunged into the kitchen. Coughing, he tried to see, but the smoke obscured his vision. “Emerald!” He called her name again and again as he felt his way around the room.

He ducked into her room, but it was empty. Stepping into her small bathroom, he grabbed a towel and plunged it in the sink as he turned the cold water tap on full. When the towel was soaking wet, he held it over his head and mouth and hurried back into the kitchen.

Jackson dropped to the floor and began to search. He heard the crackle of fire but ignored it. Nothing mattered but finding Emerald. His hand hit the doorway leading to the stairs. Maybe she’d made it upstairs. “Emerald!” he yelled and then went into a spasm of coughing.

He continued to move forward, sweeping his hand out around him as he went. He paused when he thought he heard something. “Emerald!” he called again and then listened. There it was again, a soft moan off to his right.

Scrambling as fast as he could, he made his way to the front door. Lying halfway in and out of the house was Emerald. Blood covered her back, making him sick to his stomach.

“Emerald? Sweetheart?” He tossed away the almost dry towel as he rolled her over, wincing as he saw the smeared blood on her face and forehead. He knew it was dangerous to move her, but he didn’t really have any choice. He had no idea how bad the fire was, but the smoke itself was a hazard.

Picking her up, he stumbled into the grass as Nathan swerved into the yard and came to a screeching halt. His brother jumped out and hurried toward him. “Is she all right?”

Jackson shook his head and coughed. “I’m not sure, but I couldn’t leave her in there.” He sank down into the dirt with Emerald still clutched tight in his arms.

A multitude of sirens filled the air and within minutes the entire yard was filled with fire trucks, police cars, an ambulance and the vehicles from every volunteer firefighter in the area.

Jackson didn’t care about the fire. The only thing he cared about was the woman being gently loaded onto a stretcher. He held her hand tight, refusing to let it go. Harry Flynn, the paramedic on board, didn’t even try to stop him from going with them, but just told him to stay out of his way. Jackson hunched down on the bench across from her as Harry worked on her back. It seemed that the cuts on her face were superficial and most of the blood was from her nose. Jackson winced as he imagined the force with which she must have hit the floor.

Emerald moaned and he squeezed her hand tighter. “It’s okay, Emerald. I’m here.”

She moved her lips and he leaned closer to hear her. She licked her dry, chapped lips and tried again. His name was more of a breath than a spoken word, but he heard it, felt it, right in the center of his chest.

“I’m here,” he told her again. Reaching out, he brushed her hair out of her face. She was lying on her stomach so he could only see part of her face. What he could see was battered and smoky, but to him she was still beautiful. All that mattered was that she was alive and that she would recover.


Two hours later he was sitting in a corner of the waiting room with his head bowed and his arms resting on his legs. His hands were clasped and he was doing something he hadn’t done much of in years—he was praying.

He’d had way too much time to think in the last two hours and he’d faced some pretty hard truths. He loved Emerald. There was no two ways about it. He didn’t care if the house burned to the ground as long as she was okay. He’d have rather died in there today with her than to live without her. He released the death grip he had on his hands and rubbed one of them over the back of his neck. Man, he had it bad.

He also loved her enough to protect her and then set her free. Whatever it took to make her happy was what he wanted. It was enough. It had to be because it was the only choice he had.

He looked up when footsteps approached, but it wasn’t the doctor. It was his family. He wasn’t surprised to see them all here and stood as they approached. Nathan and Abel looked grim and concern was written all over Erin’s expressive face.

“How is she?” Erin threw herself into his arms and he automatically closed them around her, drawing strength from her nearness.

“I don’t know. No one has told me anything yet. I guess they’re still working on her.”

Nathan glanced his way and then headed for the nurses’ station. As a police officer and part of the official investigation, he might be able to find out something. Jackson sure hoped so, because he was quietly going crazy waiting for news.

Erin drew back and stared up at him, her blue eyes cloudy with distress. “How are you?”

He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Erin looked as if she might argue the point, but thankfully let it drop. “The house is surprisingly okay. There wasn’t as much fire damage as we thought. Mostly smoke. The kitchen table and floor are a write-off and the room will need to be painted from top to bottom. Some of the kitchen cabinets may have to be replaced. I’m not sure about that. Other than that, a good cleaning will go a long way to setting the place back to rights.”

He gave her a quick squeeze before releasing her. “Thanks for sticking around until the fire was out.”

She patted him on the arm. “The police and the fire marshal are out there investigating, but there’s little doubt that the package contained some kind of bomb.”

They all paused when Nathan came striding back. “The nurse said that the doctor would be out in a minute.”

Jackson nodded as he raked his fingers through his hair. He hated not being able to do anything. Emerald was somewhere behind the large swinging doors at the end of the hallway, and she was alone. He needed to be with her.

“Why don’t you sit down?”

His sister’s voice penetrated his thoughts and he gave her a soft smile. “Don’t worry about me, honey. Other than smelling a bit smoky, I’m fine.”

“Did the doctor check you for smoke inhalation?” Abel stepped up beside his wife, wrapping his thick arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah.” Jackson realized that his voice was slightly hoarse. That, coupled with the fact that he was covered in soot, was making him appear much worse than he was. “I’ll be back to normal in a day or two.”

Erin looked relieved and even the tight set of Nathan’s shoulders eased slightly. Jackson felt anything but relaxed or relieved. That wouldn’t happen until he knew what was going on with Emerald. As if his thoughts had finally summoned him, the doctor pushed through the door and headed toward the waiting room. Jackson met him halfway.

“How are you holding up, Jackson?” He’d known Dr. Williams his entire life, but right now he wanted to shake the man to get him to hurry.

“I’m fine. How’s Emerald?”

“She’s a lucky lady. Whatever device set off the explosion, it wasn’t all that powerful, but she’s still fortunate that she wasn’t standing right next to it when it went off. The fact that her back was turned means that it took the brunt. We removed some flying pieces of debris, mostly shards of wood from the kitchen table. She hit her face when she fell forward, but her nose isn’t broken. Mostly, she’s bruised and shaken. There are some minor burns on her back as well, but they’ll heal with little problem.” He clapped his hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “She’ll be hoarse for a few days because of the smoke, but physically she’ll be as good as new in a week or two.”

Jackson cleared his throat, almost overwhelmed by the news. “Can I see her?”

“Sure. She’s been asking for you. After you see her, we’ll get her cleaned up and moved to a room.”

Nathan stepped forward. “Is someone with her now?”

Dr. Williams nodded. “The officer you sent showed up about the same time I started working on her. He’s posted right outside her door.”

Jackson stared at his brother, thankful for the precaution. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Emerald might be in danger here at the hospital, but it should have. “Have you contacted Hatcher?” It was important that Emerald’s investigator in New York know about this latest development.

“Yeah. I talked to him and the detective in charge of the case back in New York. We’ll be sending them all the information on the bombing as soon as we get a report together. In the meantime, he knows what’s going on.” Nathan hesitated. “I talked to her sister’s bodyguard as well. He answered the phone when I called, so I explained the situation to him. You should probably call them later.”

“I will.” He rubbed his hands over his soot-covered jeans and glanced at the doctor.

“Follow me.” The doctor gave them all a nod and headed back toward the heavy closed door of the emergency room.

“Don’t worry about a thing with the house,” Erin said. “We’ll take care of everything.” He turned and gave Erin a grateful smile as he stepped inside the doors. They swung shut behind him, shutting his family on the other side. He followed the doctor to a room at the end of the hall. A uniformed officer nodded as they passed. That was one of the benefits of living in a small town—a stranger would stand out like a sore thumb.