“Appears so,” Harlan said. “How’s the girl?”
Shane’s hold tightened as he wrapped her in an embrace he had feared might never be possible again. “She’s wonderful,” he said. “Absolutely wonderful.”
When Jamie raised her face to his, he proved his seriousness by kissing her. Soundly.
* * *
She was seated at the rear of an ambulance, wrapped in a scratchy gray blanket, when a stretcher left the old house bearing a body bag. So, Randall was really gone. It was hard to feel sorry for him, given his actions, yet she did. And for his daughter. The dire consequences of some sins never went away, did they?
A gloved EMT had been extracting wood slivers from her knees and palms. “That’s all I can do out here,” the young man said. “You’ll need to see a doctor for the rest. Can I get you something to calm your nerves?”
“It’s a tad late for that,” she said with a slight smile.
She didn’t want coddling, she wanted Shane. Desperately. They had been separated to be individually interviewed as soon as they’d left the old house. She hadn’t seen him since. Given the horrendous evening they’d both had, she needed him near.
That thought broadened her smile. Very, very near, as in inseparable. The kind of closeness that she had never shared with anyone before. The kind reserved for one special person. The kind that lasted a lifetime.
Of course, there was no guarantee Shane loved her enough to set aside the prejudice created by his father’s death, or to take a second chance on marriage, but she could hope. And pray. Just because the elements that had brought them together were not the usual boy-meets-girl events, that didn’t mean their relationship was doomed.
Speaking of praying, she thought, closing her eyes and turning her thoughts heavenward. There had been plenty of opportunities to call out to God recently and she found that the more she prayed, the easier it got. The Lord had not changed, of course. She had.
As cars came and went she withdrew into herself, content to talk to God and quietly listen. It wasn’t as if she heard celestial voices; it was more an overall peace and sense of comfort that had descended to blanket her.
A soft word spoken close by brought her back to reality. “How are you?” Logan Malloy asked.
Jamie Lynn was almost as glad to see him as she would have been if Shane had returned. “I’m okay. Judge Randall is dead. So is poor Max. He was trying to tell us about his son and the other kids when he was shot.”
“I heard. I’m sorry. If I’d thought there was any danger I wouldn’t have intervened.”
“If I had known others might die I would have gone about this differently, too,” Jamie told him. “I’d still have tried to clear my brother, though.”
“Perfectly understandable.” He hesitated and she glimpsed pathos in his gaze. “Is Shane around?”
“Yes. The sheriff took him away to get an official statement. Randall apparently lost his mind at the end. He was totally irrational.”
“Everybody else is okay? You? Marsha? Kyle?”
Jamie nodded. “We’re fine. We may have trouble convincing Kyle that he’s not a superhero, though. In order to get him to cooperate and not pout, I told him it was his job to rescue his grandmother. He did such a good job he may want to make it a regular practice.”
“All in good time,” Logan said. “He can tell his class about it on Sunday and I’ll have the teacher read the Bible story of David and Goliath.”
“Just so Kyle doesn’t have a sling for throwing rocks,” she teased. “We don’t want him demonstrating.”
The pastor chuckled. “An excellent point. We could use somebody like you to help teach our kids. You understand the way they think.” Pausing, he grinned at her. “Any chance you may change your mind and decide to stay on in Serenity?”
Gazing over his shoulder to where the officers had taken Shane, she shrugged. “I don’t know yet. A lot will depend on how long it takes to get my brother a new trial.”
“And on what Shane Colton thinks of your relocation?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Logan’s grin widened. “You didn’t have to. This is a great place to live and raise a family—most of the time. Don’t let past disappointments influence your current choices. We’d love to have you stay.”
Warmth crept up Jamie’s neck to color her cheeks more. “Tell you what, Pastor. If Shane happens to ask, feel free to tell him how much I care about him and his son.”
“Oh, no. That’s going to be up to you.”
“What if he rejects me?”