Devil in Texass(79)
ambulance, another EMT attending to her.
“There wasn’t anybody else in the shop, was there?” the fire captain asked.
“Not that we know of,” Ginger said.
“No,” Lydia confirmed as she moved forward, having been standing off to the side.
“I didn’t see anyone in the store. I didn’t know Ginger was in the attic. Or that Liza was with her.”
“What were you doing in my store?” Ginger asked, ignoring the EMT next to her
and getting to her feet.
Lydia’s face flushed. Her gaze shifted from Ginger to Liza, then back. She didn’t
speak for a few moments. When she finally did, however, her attention turned to the
fire captain. “I’m the one who started the fire. It was an accident. Truly it was.”
Jack felt Liza go stiff in his arms as she gasped in surprise.
Lydia rushed on. “I just came in to speak with you,” she said as she returned her
attention to Ginger. “And I saw your window display.” She wrung her hands as she
admitted, “I was just so…shocked. And appalled. I just…I knocked over the candles.
On accident!”
“Oh my God,” Liza said on a sharp breath.
Ginger sank back onto the step of the ambulance. “You set my store on fire?” Her
voice was a mere whisper.
“Not on purpose, Ginger. I swear! Of course, I would never do such a thing!”
198
Devil in Texas
Liza moved in Jack’s arms and he let her. He knew what was on her mind, and he
wasn’t going to stop her from saying it. He held her loosely, keeping her steady as her gaze locked with Lydia’s.
“How dare you,” Liza said, her anger laced with the pain that was no doubt
burning through her from head to toe. “You selfish witch.”
Lydia gasped. Ginger’s head snapped up, her eyes wide.
Liza didn’t stop. “Are you so blinded by the light that you can’t see what you and
your husband and his followers are doing to this town? To the people in it? You’re
destroying their lives, Lydia!”
“No!” Lydia was quick to say. “That’s not true! This was an accident!”
“It’s not just about the fire, Lydia. What about before that? Trying to keep Ginger
from selling her goods? Turning people against her by convincing them it’s a sin to go into her shop, to buy things from her? You destroyed her business long before you set fire to it. Now you’ve destroyed everything she’s worked so hard for. Every penny she’s ever saved was in that store and now it’s gone!”
Lydia turned to Ginger, opening her mouth to speak, but Ginger turned away.
“It’s not just her you’re hurting, Lydia,” Liza continued. “What about the other bar
owners in town who had to close their doors because of the stupid laws being passed
around here? What about their families and their homes and their livelihoods? They
can’t possibly survive here! What about Jack?” she demanded, her argument gaining
strength if the speed of her words and the intensity of her sore voice were any
indication. “A man who’s always been on your side! He’s always been there for you,
and your idea of thanking him for his friendship is to run him out of business?”
“I didn’t know!” she shot back, but it was clear she had some idea of what the
curfews and ban on alcohol were doing to the town. To his business. “I didn’t realize the full extent,” she said to Jack in a softer voice. “Not until this morning, when you told me things were tight. I never thought any of this would impact you.”
“How could it not?” he asked once again.
The reverend’s car drove up at that moment and as he climbed out of the car and
ducked under the police tape—because no one would dare stop him—Liza took that
moment to turn to Jack.
She said, “You running for City Council is the best thing to happen to this town. I
didn’t tell you this before, but back in New York, I was the director of Public Relations for the country’s largest industrial risk insurer.” Her thought got momentarily derailed, however, as she turned to Ginger and asked, “You have insurance, don’t you?”
Ginger nodded. “Of course.” And breathed a sigh of relief for the tiny miracle.
“Thank God.”
Liza turned back to Jack, who still held her in a loose embrace. She said, “I know
more than a thing or two about public campaigns. If George doesn’t take offense, I’d
199
Calista Fox
like to take over management of your campaign. You’re going to win this election, Jack Wade!”
Jack grinned. That meant she was staying. “Darlin’, consider him fired.”
She turned back to Lydia, who’d been joined by Reverend Bain. “If this fire isn’t a
wake-up call, our campaign will be. You can bet your sweet asses on it.”
Jack laughed. He hugged her to him, albeit gently. “You are a breath of fresh air in
this town, sweetheart.”
She smiled up at him.
George appeared by their sides, with Jess in tow. “Time to take the town back,
Jack!” He said.
The reverend and his wife looked sufficiently mortified. Jack didn’t give a rat’s ass.
To the bristling Bains, he said, “Looks like the sinners are taking a stand.” To Liza, he said, “Now let’s get you to the hospital, darlin’.”
“Good idea.”
200
Devil in Texas
Chapter Twenty
“Surprise!”
The word echoed in the cavernous room above the eruption of applause.
Liza pulled up short as she stepped inside Wade’s saloon, staring at fifty or so
people, most of whom she didn’t even know. She gasped, then said, “I’ve ruined
someone’s surprise, haven’t I?”
She turned around to look at the door, wondering if the person this crowd had
really meant to celebrate was about to step into the entryway.
“No, darlin’, you haven’t ruined anything,” Jack said. She turned back to face him
as he stepped away from the crowd, coming toward her. “This party is for you.”
A lump of emotion swelled in her throat. “For me?”
“Yeah,” Jack said as his head dipped and his lips brushed hers. Stealing her breath.
Reminding her of all the clever things that mouth was capable of. All the wonderful
sensations he made her feel. All the incredible things he did to her body.
Unexpectedly, he scooped her up in his strong arms, sweeping her off her feet in
more ways than one.