The New Hope Cafe (22 page)

A few minutes later, his phone rang. He recognized the number
as the one Cara had used. He pushed speakerphone and heard crackling, then a
muffled voice. No way she could have called him with her ex sitting beside her,
so it had to be a pocket call. A few seconds later, the call died.

Checking the phone, he almost missed seeing them take the exit.
Whipping across two lanes, and swerving to miss the barrier, he made it,
following them into the parking lot of the Date Shake Ranch, a
road-stand-turned-market. He called Collins, who told him to stay back, that he
was calling in every available officer.

Jonah ignored him and slowly trailed the car across the huge
parking lot. If there were a chance he could rescue them before Warner heard a
siren and pulled his gun, he had to try.

They made the turn to the back of the lot and parked near a
Dumpster. Jonah stayed back, parked his truck and crept his way along the wall.
When he risked a look around the corner, they were all out of the car.

Barrett gripped Beth Ann’s shoulder and had an arm at Cara’s
waist, holding her close. Where was the gun?
There…
a
bulge at his waist.

Jonah braced himself against the wall to wait. His plan was
simple. As soon as they passed him, he would lunge at the guy, grab for the gun
and yell for the girls to run like hell.

He listened to their steps on the gravel. Closer…closer…
now.

When he stepped out, Cara saw him and yelled, “Run,” to Beth
Ann, then ran herself. Warner grabbed his gun.

Jonah swiveled, putting himself in front of the gun. He heard a
pop, felt the burn of a thousand bee stings, then slammed Warner to the ground.
The gun flew across the gravel.

Warner scissored his legs, and twisted in a grappling move
Jonah was in too much agony to counter. Warner then jammed a heel into Jonah’s
ribs. A bone snapped and pain ripped through him. He couldn’t breathe. Punctured
lung, he figured, gasping like a beached fish.

Barrett kicked again and everything went black.

Jonah woke to the sound of Cara’s voice. “Let her go,
Barrett.”

He looked up and saw she’d pointed the gun at Barrett, who held
Beth Ann before him, an arm across her body.

“Give me the gun,” Barrett said, inching closer, hand
outstretched.

The gun wavered in Cara’s hand. “Stay where you are.”

Jonah fought to stand, but his vision grayed, threatening to go
black, so he only made it to his knees. He had to save them.

“What kind of mother points a gun at her daughter?” the man
said, advancing on her. “You’re mentally ill. We’ll get you the help you need.
Just give me the gun.”

Cara stepped backward. She looked uncertain. Then she noticed
Jonah and her expression became determined. She separated her legs, added her
other hand to the gun grip and stiffened her arms. “Stop right there or I
will shoot you,
” she said in a tone indicating she
meant it.

Warner stopped moving. “I can see you’re too far gone now.” He
glanced to his left where the car was parked. “Beth Ann and I will get into the
car and leave. We’ll straighten things out once you’ve gotten the help you
need.”

He backed toward the car, taking Beth Ann with him.

Jonah crawled toward him, stopping when his vision wavered.

“You can’t take her, Barrett. I promised to keep her safe.”
Cara lunged closer.

“You’re the one aiming a gun at her.”

“You promised her Family Night at Carcher’s, didn’t you? You
talked her into leaving the door unlocked.”

Beth Ann sobbed.

“It’s not your fault, Beth Ann,” Cara said. “He tricked you so
he could hurt me. He used you. That was cruel of him.”

“That’s enough!” Barrett snapped.

“I’m not done. You can’t bully me anymore. I’m too strong for
that. So is Beth Ann. You said she’s part of this, so let Beth Ann decide. She
can come to her crazy mother with a gun or she can go with you.”

“You truly have lost your mind,” Barrett said.

“You choose, Beth Ann. Choose who you want to be with and we’ll
respect your decision.”

“Your mother is sick, Bethie,” Barrett said.

“Choose, Beth Ann,” Cara said levelly. “Trust your good heart.
Be your brave self.”

Jonah gathered what was left of his strength to stand, hoping
that when he passed out, his momentum would take him into the guy.

“I want my mom,” Beth Ann said in a steady voice. “Let me
go.”

“You don’t mean that,” Barrett said.

“You said you’d let me choose,” she said, leaning away from
him.

“You did this!” Barrett screamed at Cara. “You made her afraid
of me.”

In the distance, Jonah heard sirens. Barrett heard them, too.
His hesitation was enough for Beth Ann to twist away.

Jonah lunged. The last thing he saw before it all went black
was Beth Ann in her mother’s arms. He passed out smiling.

* * *

C
ARA
HELD
B
ETH
A
NN
’
S
hand as they watched the ambulance
take Jonah to the hospital. The bullet had passed through muscle, according to
the EMT, so there wouldn’t be much nerve damage. His other injuries included a
punctured lung and at least one broken rib, but he would be fine.

She sank down to talk to Beth Ann, praying she could say what
her daughter needed to hear.

“I’m sorry I didn’t keep you safe,” Cara said, her throat
tight. “I know I broke my promise, and—”

“I was greedy,” Beth Ann choked out, tears streaking her
cheeks. “I wanted ice cream. It was my fault. I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “Of course you wanted ice
cream. Your father tricked you because he knew that. It was not you. Never
you.”

Her daughter searched her face, her blue eyes swimming in
tears. “Do you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

Beth Ann burst into tears and threw her arms around Cara’s
neck, nearly knocking her over.

Cara squeezed her eyes shut, tears spilling down her own face.
She had her daughter back to comfort and care for. “We’ll get past this, Beth
Ann. We will. We’ll talk about it until it makes sense and then we’ll talk some
more. Okay?” She leaned back to look at her daughter.

“I let Daddy find us. I lied about Serena. I didn’t warn you
that he was here.”

“It’s okay. I asked a lot of you, taking you away from your
friend and making you keep so many secrets. You made some mistakes, sure, but so
did I.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. And I’m so proud of you for standing up to him. You
were brave and confident.”

“You were, too.”

“I was. I’m proud of us both.”

“Did Grandma Price get tricked, too?”

“She did.” Cara wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive her mother for
her part in this, but she was Beth Ann’s grandmother, so Cara would keep that to
herself.

“Ms. Price?”

She nodded at Deputy Collins, then spoke to Beth Ann. “The
police need to talk to us for a bit. Can you answer some questions?”

Beth Ann nodded. She seemed much calmer now.

“After that, we’ll go see Jonah in the hospital.”

“Then what will we do? We don’t have to move to Phoenix now,
right?”

“No, we don’t. We can live where we want.” Barrett would be in
prison for a very long time. She studied her daughter. “What do you think about
staying with Rosie for a while longer? Maybe even go to school in New Hope.”

“Can Serena visit?”

“She can stay the rest of the summer if she wants. I’ll pay for
her ticket.”

“That’s great.” Beth Ann sighed. “I can be Beth Ann again?”

“Absolutely.”

“Bunny was a dumb name.” She blew out a breath.

“Tell the police everything, Beth Ann. No more secrets.”

Her daughter nodded and Cara knew that she could finally do
what she’d sworn to do three years ago—help her daughter heal.

* * *

T
WO
HOURS
LATER
, Cara and Beth Ann met Rosie and Evan in the hospital reception
area, then rode the elevator to Jonah’s room.

He was propped up in bed, his shoulder bandaged, his arm in a
sling, but he looked so good to her she wanted to throw her arms around him and
cover him with kisses.

Beth Ann ran to Jonah and started to hug him.

He held up a fist. “Fist bump for now, Squirt. Until my ribs
heal.”

Beth Ann gave him a careful tap.

“So cancer wasn’t hair-raising enough, you had to go get
yourself shot?” Rosie said, her voice husky.

“What can I say?” Jonah said. “That’s how I roll.” He smiled
crookedly. The morphine must be affecting him.

“You saved my life,” Cara said.

“I backed your play. You saved yourself.” His eyes shone with
love.

That was what he’d done, she realized. He’d let her take the
lead when Barrett kidnapped them. He hadn’t tried to take over. Cara stood on
her own two feet, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t accept a supportive hand at
her back.

“Which reminds me…grab my jeans out of that bag, would you,
Squirt?” Jonah said. “In the pocket’s something that belongs to your mom.”

Beth Ann did what he asked, holding out the carved bear.

Cara took it. “I missed this,” she said, looking at him. “I
missed you.”

“Me, too,” Jonah said.

“Jeez, it’s getting goopy in here,” Rosie said. “You hungry,
Bunny? Let’s hit the cafeteria.”

“Call me Beth Ann,” she said solemnly. “And can I have ice
cream?”

“Absolutely,” Rosie said. Cara’s heart was full to
bursting.

When they were alone, she moved closer to Jonah, who gave her a
goofy smile. “They give you something for the pain?”

“Oh, yeah. You might have to remind me what we said
afterward.”

“Don’t you dare say you let down the people you love. You took
a bullet for us. Literally. I’d say that’s taking
guardian
of my world
too far. I don’t know what I would have done if you’d
been killed.”

“Better me than either of you,” he said and she knew he meant
it.

Careful not to bump any injured part, she leaned down to kiss
him, breathing him in, welcoming the familiar rush of desire. She never wanted
to lose it. Or this man.

When they broke apart, Jonah said, “When I was chasing after
you, afraid that maniac might hurt you, I realized I couldn’t live without you,
Cara. Wherever you move, I’ll be there. I’ll hook up that Airstream and drive it
all the way to Canada if that’s what it takes for you to feel safe.”

“I’m not running anymore. I know you plan to move to New York,
but—”

“I can work wherever I want. Wherever you are, Cara, that’s
home to me. You and Beth Ann.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I’d like to see Rosie through her
treatments and Beth Ann through a school year. After that, how about we figure
out a life that works for all of us?” Maybe she’d apply for a loan to sell her
good-luck buns. Maybe they would move to Tucson so she could finish her teaching
degree. Maybe they would go to New York. She was free. She could make any choice
she wanted.

“Sounds good.” He grinned crookedly. “Really good.”

“Morphine makes you less grouchy, for sure.”

“That’s all you, Cara. You woke me up, turned on all the
lights. It’s like what Rosie said to you about Eddie, that he loved her like she
was worth it and after a while she felt like she was. You do that for me.”

“That’s how it’s supposed to work, I think.”

“You make me want to be a better man, Cara. You make me think I
can be.” His eyes shone at her, full of compassion and respect and love.

“You do the same for me. I stood up to Barrett. You helped me
see I was strong and smart and—”

“Relentless. Don’t forget relentless.”

“Apparently, you won’t let me.” They grinned at each other,
teasing again like every day in the café.

“Barrett’s out of my head,” Cara said. “He’s gone. So is the
girl I was with him. You’re all I see, Jonah. All I want to see. And I know who
I am and what I want.”

“That’s good. As long as I’m on the list of what you want.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re right up there with fresh-squeezed
lemonade.”

He laughed. “Ow.” He grabbed his side. “No more jokes for a
while.”

“You know how that reporter kept calling us the New Hope Café?
From the minute I walked through the café door, that’s how I’ve felt about
it.”

“Maybe we should change the name. Rosie’s pretty hopeful
herself these days.”

“You’ll have to make a new sign.”

Jonah groaned. “Here we go again.” His eyes searched hers.
“I’ll likely screw up, you know—raise my voice, say the wrong thing, let you
down—but if you’ll stick with me, give me a chance, I’ll do better, I swear.
I’ll do my damnedest to be the man you need me to be.”

“You already are.” Cara leaned down for another breath-stopping
kiss.

“Mmm,” Jonah said in a sexy growl. “How long do you figure we
have till they get back from the cafeteria?”

“Are you crazy? You’re injured.”

“No problem if you stay on top. If I recall, you
do
like to steer.” He gave her a slow smile.

“You’re terrible,” she said with a giddy laugh.

“Those candy hearts clumped for a reason, I guess,” Jonah said.
“Right now, I feel pretty lucky.”

“You should. We got double hearts, you know.” What charm could
she make that would mean
you will live happily ever
after?

Maybe they didn’t need a charm. Maybe they would just make it
happen.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt of
The Road to
Bayou Bridge
by Liz Talley!

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