“I’d never let anything happen to you.”
He touched her shoulder and squeezed lightly. Her face was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. Her eyes glowed like blue stars. Her lips were soft and full. He leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the cheek. Instead, he kissed her mouth, and he didn’t want to stop.
“Hey,” his sister interrupted. “I’m having a baby here.”
Pushing himself to his feet, Aiden turned toward the chopper. “I’ll be right back.”
Before he’d gone five paces, Tab was in front of him, blocking his way. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Going back for Jim.” The spark on the instrument panel had grown into a cockpit fire. He could see the orange-red flames through the windows.
“You can’t risk your life to save his.”
“It’s wrong to leave him.” Aiden’s motives weren’t altogether noble. “And he has the only cell phone.”
He heard yelling from the chopper. Aspen Jim had recovered enough to take action for himself. He stood in the doorway, weaving unsteadily—a terrible and dramatic pose. He flung curses at them, swore revenge.
He paused as though he knew what was coming.
The chopper exploded in a fireball, throwing the rotors, the plexiglass windows and jagged pieces from the body and tail into the sky. A wave of heat washed over them, pushing them back. Black smoke darkened the sky. A metallic stench poisoned the air.
Tab looked up at him. “That could have been you.”
He folded her into his embrace. Her slender body molded against him. Though they had spent only one night together, her curves felt familiar and, at the same time, exciting. They were made to be together.
He nestled her close and whispered in her ear. “I never want to be apart from you again.”
“We’re lucky there’s snow on the ground. The explosion shouldn’t turn into a forest fire.”
“Yeah, lucky.”
She tilted her head to look up at him. “I’m sorry about your helicopter.”
“I can always get another. The important thing is that we’re safe.”
“For how long?”
He knew she was talking about Jim’s partner. They were close enough to Jackrabbit Lake that Bert would see the flames from the explosion, and it was entirely possible that he’d come after them. Bert was a tidy man. He wouldn’t like to leave loose ends.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tab’s first concern was making Misty comfortable. After a rapid search of the mountain terrain, they decided on a site beside a tall hunk of granite where they could build a fire. Keeping warm would be an issue tonight.
Working together, she and Aiden built a shelter of branches. Her hands were cold. She hadn’t needed gloves at a lower elevation, but now she wished she had them. Her only tool was the pocket knife she carried in her purse. Still, the shelter came together quickly.
Watching them, Misty commented, “I’m impressed, Tab. How did you learn how to do this?”
“My grandma showed me how to build my own sweat lodge. If we had more time, I’d make this into a cozy little house where we could live.”
“How much time do we have?” Misty asked. Her casual tone didn’t completely mask her nervousness. “My contractions are coming every five minutes.”
“I’d like to give you a precise arrival time, but I can’t. First babies are unpredictable.”
“Do you think the baby is all right? It’s kind of premature.”
Tab left Aiden to handle the building while she went to his sister and held her hand. “You’re only a few weeks short of full term. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Looking up, Misty scanned the skies. The sun had begun to set, and the clouds were tinted with magenta and gold. “A rescue team ought to be looking for us. That was a giant explosion.”
Tab hoped she was right. The flames had already died, but a funnel of black smoke rose in the air. Somebody ought to be searching; there had to be people who lived in this area. If park rangers had been on duty, they would have already responded.
Using the quilt and other blankets she’d grabbed from the chopper, Tab covered the floor inside their makeshift shelter. When Misty was settled inside, another contraction hit. The pain had to be more intense than earlier, but Misty had learned how to breathe and to focus.
“You’re doing well,” Tab said, “really well.”
“I know.” Misty licked her lips and forced a smile. “It’s because you’re a good teacher.”
“You’re doing all the heavy lifting. Stay strong.” Boosting her confidence was important. “I’m going to step outside. There’s something I have to do with Aiden.”
“More kissing?”
“Maybe.”
The kissing was great, but she really wanted to hear Aiden’s conclusions about the serial killer. Not an appropriate conversation to have in front of Misty. She needed to concentrate on having her baby without hearing gory details.
Outside the shelter, she saw Aiden leaning against a tree trunk. In the explosion, he’d lost his hat, and he had the collar on his denim jacket turned up. She swung into his arms. “Tell me what you figured out. Make it fast. And make it quiet.”
He murmured, “I can think of something else that would be fast and quiet.”
Though the low rumble of his voice got her engine revving, she said, “I want to know what you know.”
In a whisper, he sketched the broad picture of two killers with different styles—Aspen Jim and his partner. “Bert,” he said, “is the killer.”
An image of the gas station owner popped into her mind. His gray jumpsuit looked like it had been laundered by a dry cleaner. His thinning hair was neatly combed. And his hands…his hands were spotless. She shuddered. “I knew there was something suspicious about him.”
“Most people wouldn’t. He’s lived in Henley for years and knows everybody. We saw him at Connie’s house with a baby gift.”
She thought of all the young men who worked for him and came under his dark influence. They couldn’t have known the terrible things that Bert had done. “It took another psychopath like Aspen Jim to finally become his partner.”
“We were supposed to meet Bert at Jackrabbit Lake,” Aiden said. “He might come after us.”
“Could be watching us right now.”
Misty called out from the shelter. “Tab, I need you.”
She forced herself to step away from Aiden. “Leave the gun here with me. There’s a collapsible plastic container for water.”
“I know,” he said, “it’s my container, part of my emergency supplies. It holds two and a half gallons.”
“Find a creek and fill it. I only have one bottle of water. We’re going to need more.”
He pressed Aspen Jim’s weapon into her hand. “Be careful.”
“Back at you.”
Inside their shelter, there was only room for Tab and Misty. After the contraction passed, she figured it was time to prepare for the next phase in delivering this baby. “Let’s see how far along you really are. Take off your clothes from the waist down. Leave your socks.”
“When you were babysitting me, did you ever think we’d end up like this?”
Delivering a baby while being stalked by a serial killer? Tab could honestly say that scenario had never occurred to her. “I knew we’d always be friends.”
“Really?” Misty brightened.
“Not the kind of friends who talk every day or send messages on the internet. We have a bond, you and me. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, we’ll always be close.”
“Is that what you have with my brother?”
“We’re bonding, that’s for sure.” And she had a good feeling about what might come next…if they survived this night.
When Misty was undressed, Tab examined her. Without her instruments, she couldn’t state her findings in centimeters, but experience told her that Misty was fully effaced and further along in the birthing process than she’d thought.
She pulled a blanket over Misty’s bare legs. “Are you warm enough?”
“Is it possible to be hot and cold at the same time?”
Misty giggled, and Tab was glad to hear the sound. It meant her spirits were good. “You’re almost ready to have this baby. Very soon, you’re going to have the urge to push.”
“How will I know when that is?”
“You’ll know,” Tab said. “And here’s what you do. Try to hold back until I tell you it’s time.”
She had barely finished talking when the next contraction tensed Misty’s muscles. In spite of her focused breathing, Misty gave a loud yelp.
During labor, Tab encouraged the mothers to do whatever felt natural. To get into whatever position felt right and to scream if they felt like it. The sound Misty made would lead Bert to them, but they didn’t really have anywhere to hide safely from him.
After twenty minutes, Misty was nearly ready to push. Where was Aiden? It shouldn’t have taken him this long. Tab tried not to think of the terrible things that might happen. The gun lay on the ground beside her. If she saw Bert, she’d shoot first and ask questions later.
Aiden poked his head into the shelter. “Do you want the good news or the bad?”
“Just talk,” Misty snapped. “Don’t be cute.”
“I’ve heard about this phase of labor,” he said. “It sounds homicidal.”
“Your news?” Tab prompted.
“I got water.” He plopped the container into the shelter.
“That’s good.”
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to build a fire. The wood is too damp. That’s bad. But here comes the really good news.”
In the dim light of dusk, she could barely see his grin. Drily, she said, “Knock us out.”
He flashed a cell phone. “It’s Aspen Jim’s. I found it near the wreckage, and I put through a call. A rescue team is on the way.”
“Great news,” Tab said. But she doubted the rescuers would get here before the baby arrived.
The next contraction was powerful. Misty tried to breathe through it but gave up. “I’ve got to push. Now. I have to.”
Operating more by touch than sight, Tab knew the baby was in position. “Next time,” she said, “push for all you’re worth.”
She noticed that Aiden had left the shelter and had taken the gun with him. He was standing guard, and that gave her a huge measure of relief as Misty went into the last phase of labor.
The head crowned. With Tab offering calm encouragement, Misty pushed with every fiber of her strength. The baby was coming. No stopping it now. A miracle was on the way.
The head was out, then the shoulders and the torso. A fully formed baby boy slipped into Tab’s waiting hands. He was a good, healthy size, at least six pounds.
Misty gasped. “Is the baby all right?”
The tiny mouth pursed, and the infant let out a yell.
“He’s perfect,” Tab said. She swabbed away the mucus and placed the baby, with the umbilical cord still attached, on his mother’s chest.
Aiden looked in. His head was close to Tab’s, and she could see the wonder in his eyes.
“You did it,” he said to his sister. “I’m proud of you.”
“And your nephew,” she said with a giggle. “I’m going to name him after Dad. Matthew Gabriel.”
He slipped his arm around Tab’s waist. “Thank you.”
“Misty did all the work.”
“You’re brilliant, Tabitha. I admire you.”
His praise delighted her, and she would have liked nothing more than to sit back and let him tell her over and over that she was terrific. But there were other things to do before the rescue team arrived.
* * *
O
UTSIDE THE SHELTER
, Aiden took a position higher on the hill to watch over his girls and the new infant. Powerful emotions churned inside him. He was ready for a baby of his own, ready to settle down, ready to start the next part of his life. And he wanted to share that life with his beautiful Tabitha.
He didn’t usually make huge decisions so quickly, but he’d never been more certain of anything in his life. She was the right woman for him.
He’d put through another call to the rescue team. They’d seen the plume of smoke and knew the location. They needed a chopper. Since Aiden was out of commission, the closest other rescue service was a good forty minutes away. He checked his wristwatch. Less than fifteen minutes were left. Everything had turned out right.
He heard movement behind him and ducked just in time to avoid the knife that slashed through the air. Pivoting, Aiden faced off with Bert Welling. In one gloved hand, he held a knife. In the other, a pistol.
Aiden couldn’t believe he’d let down his guard. His own gun was tucked into the waistband of his jeans, accessible but not in his hand.
“Answer one question for me,” Aiden said. “What made you hook up with a fool like Aspen Jim?”
“The ladies liked him. They trotted along with him like lambs to the slaughter.”
Hoping to buy time, Aiden kept talking. “Did you ever use a different partner? Maybe David?”
“That boy was worthless. After everything I did for him, he was fixing to betray me. Over what? He thought Misty gave a damn about him. The boy was too dumb to live.”
“You know, Bert, if you leave right now, I won’t tell anybody you were here.”
“How about this, Aiden. First, I’m going to kill you. Next, I’ll slice up that pretty Crow girl you’ve been hanging around with. She’ll be my main course. For dessert, I’ll kill Misty and her bastard.”
In the moonlight, Aiden saw Bert’s lip curl into a grin of pure evil. He was enjoying his fantasy. It would be the last thought he ever had.
Diving to the right, Aiden pulled his gun. As soon as he hit the ground, he fired. Not fast enough. Bert had gotten off two shots of his own.
A burning pain paralyzed Aiden’s left arm. He aimed with the right and fired three shots into the center of Bert Welling’s chest. The old man was dead.
Aiden closed his eyes and touched his upper arm where blood was already seeping through his jacket sleeve. When he looked up, he saw Tabitha leaning over him with the baby in her arms.
“Sorry,” he said as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. “I’m going to be okay.”
“Damn right, you are.” Her voice was determined. “I’m not going to let you go. Not ever.”
Epilogue
On Christmas morning, Tab awakened with a jolt. Today would be baby Matthew’s first Christmas, and she still hadn’t figured out how to wrap his rocking horse. Matter of fact, she hadn’t wrapped any presents. Funding for the new women’s clinic had been guaranteed, and Tab had been busy—crazy busy. She never could have handled all the paperwork if it hadn’t been for Misty pitching in to help.