other was still moving, trying to creep backwards, her shoes slipping all over the wet ground.
Between them, the lion. A
Luke lifted his arm and aimed, squeezing off three shots in rapid succession. Hit mid-air, the lion’s body jerked from the impact. He fell as suddenly as he’d jumped, collapsing on top of the scrambling woman in a clumsy, boneless heap.
Hands shaking, because he’d never shot and killed a living thing before, Luke rushed forward, setting the gun on the ground and kneeling by the slain animal. It was unmoving, unseeing, unbreathing. Dead.
With a powerful heave, he shoved the lion’s body aside. Beneath it was Shay, her blue eyes wide with fright, face covered in blood.
“Oh my God,” he said, gathering her in his arms. She was hurt, maybe badly, but she was alive, and she was hugging him back. He knew he shouldn’t move her, but he was so relieved he couldn’t let her go. “I wasn’t sure it was you under there.”
She pressed her face to his neck and sobbed, clinging to him desperately, her entire body trembling. Or maybe that was his body. After a moment, he lifted his head to examine her, running his hands over her throat, searching for injuries. Her hair was hanging in ropy red strands down her back and her clothes were wet.
“Where did he get you?” he asked, tugging at the neck of her T-shirt.
“Nowhere.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m fine.” Her eyes darted to the other woman, who was clearly not fine.
Letting his emergency training take over, Luke went to Betty, assessing the damage. The wound on her nape was still seeping blood, and he found a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. She was alive.
In the near-distance, a police siren rang out and then quieted. His backup had arrived. Footsteps thundered along the side of the house.
“Holy Christ, what a mess.”
Luke turned to see Clay Trujillo standing at the entrance to the enclosure, flanked by two EMTs. Shay straightened self-consciously, running a trembling hand over her straggly hair. Both of the technicians kneeled next to Betty and started working to save her life. In a few moments, they had her body on a stretcher and were wheeling her away.
“I’m going to call Mike Shepherd,” Clay muttered, shaking his head. “This is the wildest shit I’ve ever seen.”
Luke turned his attention back to Shay, thinking she seemed a little shell-shocked, sitting quiet as a mouse next to the body of the fallen lion. He lifted her in his arms and carried her away from the grisly scene, setting her down on a garden bench near an outdoor light. Garrett was probably hollering in the back of the squad car and Luke had a lot of other responsibilities to attend to, but right now he needed to be with Shay.
“I should check on Fernando’s kids,” she said. “He and Dylan went looking for Angel, and I promised.”
“I’ll send someone over there in a minute,” he said, running his palm over her red-smeared cheek. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“Yes,” she whispered, inspecting her arms and legs. She was soaked in blood and covered with cat hair. “None of this is mine. But I must look a fright.”
He smiled. She was almost unrecognizable, and without a doubt the loveliest woman he’d ever seen. “You look beautiful,” he said, feeling his throat close up.
Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m glad you came.”
“So am I.”
Luke couldn’t bear to think about what would have happened if he’d arrived too late. The idea of losing her was excruciating. He’d finally found what he was looking for: permanence. And he’d figured out where he belonged: with Shay.
In her, and Tenaja Falls, he’d found home.
“I love you,” he said, more sure of that than he’d ever been of anything.
“You-you what?”
“I love you,” he repeated, and nodded to himself. It felt good to be right.
“You can’t love me. We’ve only known each other four days.”
“It seems like forever.”
“You’re overexcited,” she insisted. “Under too much stress. It will pass.”
“I hope not.”
“You want to stay crazy?”
“Why not? Everyone else around here is.”
“In a few weeks, you’ll be bored.”
“Bored,” he repeated with relish. “I can’t wait.”
She smiled at him. Her teeth, and the whites of her eyes, were very bright against her blood-streaked face. “I’ve been feeling a little stressed-out myself.”
“I don’t blame you,” he said, taking a handkerchief from his pocket. Moistening it with water from a fountain behind her, he began to clean the grime off her face.
“I might even be suffering from overexcitement.”
He stilled. “Really?”
“Yes,” she whispered, covering his hand with hers. “But as long as we’re both crazy, I guess I… I love you, too.”
Luke was glad he’d cleared most of the blood from her face. Because, overexcited as he was, he couldn’t help but kiss her. She kissed him back with matching enthusiasm, twining her arms around his neck and threading her fingers through his hair.
He laughed against her mouth, holding her close and savoring her abandon, deliriously happy, crazy in love.
28
After the uproar settled down, and life in Tenaja Falls went back to normal, Luke took her to his father’s neighborhood on the Pala reservation. He paused in front of a small, one-story house with whitewashed adobe walls and a red tile roof. Instead of stopping, he drove on, parking in the shade of an oak tree at the end of the cul-de- sac.
He didn’t say anything, and she couldn’t guess what he was thinking, but the day was hot and Shay wanted to feel the wind on her face. Sighing with contentment, she got out of the truck and stood at the edge of the scenic overlook, watching the sunny yellow grass on the hillside below sway in the breeze.
He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. A warm shiver traveled down her spine as he pressed his lips to the side of her neck and smoothed his hands over her lower abdomen.
At first, she thought he was merely resting his hands in a convenient place. It took her a moment to realize the significance of the position. She turned her head to look at him, reading the question in his eyes.
“Oh,” she said, not sure why she was blushing. “I’m not.”
It had been about three weeks since the night Luke shot Betty’s lion. Betty was still in critical condition, not expected to live much longer. Garrett Snell was in jail awaiting trial, and Lori had filed for divorce.
Angel had also left town. She was staying with her aunt in LA, working at a local coffeehouse and singing there on open mike night. Dylan had been moping since she’d gone, listening to dreary music and finding very little joy in life. Basketball season was over and he already had a new job working for Bull’s replacement on the construction site.
Shay didn’t know if he enjoyed the work, but he always came home exhausted and went straight to bed. He slept so deeply she felt compelled to check on him. He never woke up when she placed her palm over his forehead, making sure he wasn’t feverish, like she’d done so many times when he was a baby.
