Part 40 (1/2)

They had a sarsaparilla in a mock saloon, and joined the other tourists to watch the drama.

She flinched as one of the bad guys fell, and her stomach suddenly revolted.

For a moment she was back....

She turned away.

”Mommy?”

Harry's face was confused. Uncertain.

She straightened up. 'This is make-believe'!

”I'm okay,” she said.

He stared at her for a moment, then seemed to relax and turned back to the action.

She glanced around at the other tourists. Families. Children. All enjoying the fictional recreation of an American legend. Did any of the others have cold, clammy hands?

'This is for Harry.'

She forced herself to stand through the rest of the performance. The sound of gunfire. Blanks. She knew they were blanks, but...

Someone reached out and she found herself jerking away.

”Are you all right?” someone asked.

An older woman with a kind face and an elderly gentleman stood there with three children.

”Yes, thank you. The heat...” It wasn't heat at all. A flashback. It wasn't the first time.

They insisted that she and Harry accompany them into a restaurant, where she ordered iced tea for herself and Harry a root beer. She held her hands in her lap so no one would see them shake.

Mr. and Mrs. Dan Weston were taking a two-week trip with their grandchildren. They chattered about their adventures as she finally managed to steady the fingers of one hand enough to bring a gla.s.s to her lips without dropping it. Harry eyed the western hats the grandchildren wore with envy but thankfully he was unusually silent, awed probably by the older boys.

Thirty minutes later, they were going their separate ways.

She went into a souvenir shop and purchased a cowboy hat and sheriff's badge for him.

”Now I'm just like Sher'f Doug,” he said, his small chest puffing out.

”Yes, indeed, you are.”

”I wanna be a sher'f.”

”A fine ambition.” But her heart pounded a little louder. How would he feel if he ever discovered his mother was a fugitive? That some day she might even be charged with murder? She shuddered inwardly at the idea.

”I think we had better go home and see Caesar,” she said. ”He's going to miss us.”

”I miss him, too,” he said, putting his little hand in hers.

She looked down at him. He was bursting with excitement. He loved his blue jeans and his T-s.h.i.+rt that said ”Little cowhand.” And now he beamed from under the new hat.

She was glad for her son's sake that they had come here today.

But she hadn't realized how much it would affect her, how it would be a vivid reminder of something she wanted to forget. She knew now that she never could.

She felt a sudden relief from the sun and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were moving in, one eclipsing the sun.

A s.h.i.+ver ran through her body even though the air was still hot.

A sense of foreboding filled her.

Because of the mock battle she'd just witnessed?

Or something else?

*Chapter Twenty-one*

'NEW ORLEANS'.

Meredith put her pain pills in the medicine cabinet and took several aspirin instead. After all that had happened, she didn't want to sleep too soundly.

Just before she went to bed, she tried to call Gage, but his cell phone was apparently off.

She left a message. ”Thank you.” If it hadn't been for him, she probably wouldn't be alive tonight.

She took the phone off the hook to avoid reporters who had been calling. Her friends could still reach her on her cell phone. Then she made sure her revolver was next to her. She invited Nicky up on her bed; she needed the comforting presence of the dog.

Gage's face was the last thing she remembered until the first light of dawn woke her. The moment she moved, Nicky started to lick her. He obviously wanted to go outside.

Meredith groaned as she moved and hit her wounded arm against the side of the bed. Then Nicky's tongue reached out and licked her again.

”Okay,” she said reluctantly. She looked at the clock. Six A.M.

Then everything flooded back. Her father's death. Mrs. Starnes. The funeral. Rick Fuller pointing a pistol at her. The crack of gunfire.

For a moment, she wanted to sink back into bed and close her eyes. But she had things to do today.

First, she had to see her mother and make sure that the private duty nurses knew their services were to continue despite her father's death. She wanted to make sure someone was with her mother every second.

Then she would see Gage. She knew he would be exonerated from any fault but she also knew that suspension wouldn't be his biggest problem. She would never forget that look of anguish on his face when he almost willed Fuller to breathe again.

She rose, carefully protecting her arm. She looked outside and saw a car in front. Someone was sitting in it. Whoever it was wasn't trying to hide.

Meredith ran a brush through her hair, then pulled on a pair of jeans. She decided to forego a bra for the moment and put on a loose s.h.i.+rt. She went down to the front door, taking Nicky's leash and snapping it on his collar.