“He was afraid you’d tell Stella about him. He had to take care of you,” Lily said.
“Thank God for Stella.”
“Yeah, your sister is badass.”
Steel had to smile. Sounded like Liz was well on her way to settling in here.
He must have made a noise because Lily looked his way. “Don’t worry, creeper, we know you helped get Eric, too.”
Steel sighed. He hoped one day he’d live down that nickname.
“Hold the bag, Liz,” Lily said. “I’ll shovel the sand.”
They got back to work.
Only when the sandbags were piled higher than the water could possibly rise did Stella and the others allow themselves to rest. With so many helpers, a wall stretched right around the hospital, reinforced in places where it seemed like water might get deepest. The volunteers retreated inside when it was clear there wasn’t any more to do. Now all they could do was be with their loved ones and wait to see what happened. It was daylight, but the rain still came down in torrents, meaning the roads wouldn’t be passable out of town for some time.
The hospital staff had readied a few spare rooms where the volunteers could sleep. Lily’s folks had come to take her home, since they lived nearby, and Liz had gone with Mary to watch over Jed and Virginia. Stella and Steel found a narrow steel cot in one corner of the space set up for sleeping and lay down together.
For a while they just rested. Listening to the rain pounding on the roof and Steel’s steady breathing, his arms around her, Stella finally allowed herself to admit how exhausted she was.
She thought Steel had gone to sleep until he said, “I didn’t get a chance to say how amazing you were.” He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at her face. “If you hadn’t done what you did, Liz could be dead and Eric might still be free.” He kissed her. “I’d be proud to work with you as a deputy, you know.”
“I’d be proud to work with you, too.” Stella had barely begun to process what had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and it was only just now sinking in that Steel was, in fact, a sheriff’s deputy. Had been for a very long time. “I’m sorry I doubted you. Sorry I believed what everyone said. It’s not fair you had to live like an outcast in the town you were protecting.”
“If everyone hadn’t thought of me as a bad guy, I wouldn’t have been doing my job right. But I am glad I don’t have to hide anymore. I want to be with you—openly. Do you think that’s possible?”
“Of course.” She considered him. “Will you keep being a deputy?”
He thought it over. “For a long time, I thought when I caught the killer—caught Eric—I’d be done. It’s been hell living like this for so long.”
“You did it for Dale, didn’t you?”
Something shifted in his expression, and she knew she was right.
“I wanted his death to be worth something. My dad wasn’t innocent. He put himself in that prison; it’s no one’s fault but his own. But when your father came knocking with a problem, he jumped right in to help solve it. That’s the way he was.”
“People are complicated,” Stella said. “I keep trying to sort out why my parents behaved like they did. Why was my mother so set on leaving? Why didn’t my father fight for her more? I’m not sure I’ll ever know. I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, anyway. You and me; that’s what matters. The decisions we make from now on. If you’re ready to quit, I’ll stand by you while you figure out what to do next. But if you’re ready to stay on, I’ll be proud to work in the next county over.”
He shifted to his back, thinking it over. “Chance Creek needs a rehab center for teens like you’re trying to build, but it also needs law enforcement officers who understand that young people who use drugs are more victims than criminals. Maybe I will stay on, if I can carve out a niche that lets me help them. Looking forward to helping out more on the ranch, too.”
“That sounds like a really good idea.” She thought a minute. “You could even transfer to Chance Creek.”
“I could, but are you sure you want to get involved with a man like me?”
“With a hero? Bring it on.” Stella poked him with a finger.
“Hero?”
Was he kidding? “Yes, hero, Steel. You saved my sister—and me.”
“You were doing pretty good there yourself,” he put in.
“I nearly got myself shot,” she corrected. “But yes, I did all right, considering. We did good together, don’t you think?”
He nodded. “I do think that.”
“And I think we can do a lot more good in the future, which is why I definitely want to get involved with a man like you.” She lowered her voice. “In fact, I’d get a whole hell of a lot more involved if we weren’t in a room full of people.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
There was no privacy to be had, so they opted for sleep instead. Steel wasn’t sure how many hours passed before they woke and returned to Jed’s room to check on their family members. When they arrived, they found Jed had other visitors.
“Eighty-four years old and he still took a bullet for you,” Cab said from where he stood beside Jed’s bed. “Can you believe it?”
“He’s an example for us all,” Steel
