Текст книги "Cold Hearted"

Автор книги: Beverly Barton

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Текущая страница: 21 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

He dialed Steve Corbett’s private number.

“I can’t get Tammy to tell me who took Jordan,” Roselynne said. “She says it’s a special secret and she can’t tell anybody because we would try to stop Jordan from being with Robby Joe. She said that Jordan is going to wear her wedding dress and become Robby Joe’s bride forever and ever, just like in a fairy tale.”

“Good God!”

“What?” The voice on the phone asked. “Carson, is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Rick said. “Look, Corbett, we’ve got a bad situation here. Jordan’s missing. Someone put Tammy up to tricking us. Jordan went into the Harris cottage alone to talk to a hysterical Tammy, but she never came back out the front door. Someone’s taken her.”

“Damn! Any idea who?”

“Nix Elliott is checking the house as we speak and he’s alerting the front gate, but I’m pretty sure they left by the back entrance. I need you to get some men out here to do a search, but from what little we could get Tammy to tell us, I think whoever kidnapped Jordan is taking her to the funeral home in Jernigan Crossroads.”

“I’ll get some deputies out there to search the grounds at Price Manor and I’ll send a couple of guys to the funeral home.”

“How long will it take to get deputies to the funeral home?”

“I can’t say for sure. I don’t know if we’ve got anybody patrolling in the area tonight. If not, it’ll take a good forty-five minutes or longer,” Steve said.

“Put the word out that I’ll be driving a black Jeep Wrangler, Knox County tag.” He rattled off his license plate number. “I’ll be breaking every speed limit. I’m not stopping for anyone or anything.”

“Why are you doing this?” Jordan glanced in the rear-view mirror of her Navigator and caught a glimpse of the two figures in the dark backseat.

“Because I love you and I know now what I should have done years ago. I didn’t realize what I had to do until we brought Robby Joe back to us.”

“I don’t understand,” Jordan said. “Why do you want us to go to Jernigan Crossroads tonight? We could wait until tomorrow—”

“No! It has to be tonight.”

Jordan glanced into the rearview mirror again and saw the sheer terror in Rene’s eyes.

Dear God, she’d been such a fool. She should have listened to Rick and not rushed into the cottage to help Tammy. But then again, how could she or anyone else have suspected that the whole thing had been a setup, a trap to snare her. And poor Tammy had been a witless participant. By now, Rick had to know that she was missing. But he’d have no idea who was responsible.

“You don’t want to do this,” Jordan said. “You don’t want to hurt me or anyone else. I know you don’t.”

“Oh, Jordan, I’d never hurt you. I love you. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. But you haven’t been happy. Not since Robby Joe left us.”

“I’m not unhappy. Actually, I think I have a chance to be truly happy with Rick Carson.”

“You’re wrong. He doesn’t love you. He just wants sex. The only man who’s ever truly loved you was Robby Joe.”

“Rick loves me. He’s told me that he does,” Jordan lied. “We’ll get married and we’ll have a baby, maybe several babies and you can—”

“No! He won’t make you happy. Why can’t you understand that?”

“Rick will come after me.” She knew he would turn the world upside down searching for her. “He loves me and he—”

“Don’t worry, if he tries to stop us, I’ll take care of him.”

A flash of metal in the moonlight reflected in the mirror. Jordan swallowed. She hated guns. Always had and always would.

“You wouldn’t kill Rick, would you? You wouldn’t kill anyone.”

Please, dear God, please, let the answer be “no, of course, I wouldn’t kill Rick or anyone else.”

“I think you know the answer to that question. Of course, I’d kill him. I’d kill anyone who posed a threat to you.”

A surge of fear-induced adrenaline roared through Jordan’s body, putting all her senses on high alert. If she had doubted whether or not her life was in danger, she no longer had any doubts.

“Did – did you kill Dan?” Jordan asked.

“Dan was a good man, but we couldn’t be burdened with a sick husband, not when we were expecting a baby. I actually thought I had talked him into committing suicide, but he didn’t have the guts to do it, so I just helped him along a little.”

Jordan barely managed to stifle the scream vibrating in her throat. Oh, Dan… Dan, I’m so very sorry.

“Killing Dan was simple really,” she said, her voice oddly calm as if she were talking about nothing more sinister than the weather. “He had left the gun on his desk. You know, the Glock he bought for you. I truly believe he thought about killing himself, but when I went to check on him, he was passed out drunk on the sofa. I put the gun in his hand, aimed it at his temple and pressed my finger over his to fire the pistol. He committed suicide, with a little help from me. I took care of your problem, just as I’ve done in the past. I always take care of you.”

“Did – did you kill Boyd?” Jordan asked, dreading her reply and desperately needing to hear her admit the truth.

“Of course, I did. After the way he betrayed us, first by not letting us have a baby and then by having an affair with that awful woman, he didn’t give me any choice, did he? He hurt you terribly. He had to pay for the way he had mistreated you.”

“But the children… didn’t you think about what killing Boyd would do to Wes and Kendra?” Jordan felt sick at her stomach.

“I did it for them, too. They were better off without him. We all were.”

“How did you…? I mean, everyone thought it was a hunting accident. The sheriff… the coroner. Someone shot him in the head. How could you have done that?”

“I’m an expert marksman, my dear Jordan; something I didn’t think you needed to know. My father taught me how to use a rifle when I was only eight. I went hunting with him often. Since Boyd was an avid hunter, the solution to ridding ourselves of him was quite clear. I planned his death months ahead of time. I simply had to wait for deer season. You can’t imagine the absolute triumph of the kill unless you’ve experienced it. It’s quite exhilarating.”

She’s insane, Jordan thought. Completely deranged. Why did I never suspect the truth? She has always seemed so normal.

“Would you like for me to tell you about how I took care of all your other problems? I think about each of them fairly often and I always get such a feeling of satisfaction knowing how much I’ve helped you.” She laughed softly, so obviously pleased with herself. “I was able to make several of the deaths look like accidents. Not Jane Anne’s death, but then I had to act quickly when I killed her. I didn’t have any time to make plans. It was pretty much spur of the moment.”

She had admitted killing Dan and Boyd and Jane Anne. What about the others? Donald and Jay and her father?

As if she had read Jordan’s thoughts, she said, “Donald Farris should have given you the promotion you deserved. He was such a smug SOB. I knew that as long as he was your boss, he’d never do right by you. But I took care of him. I planned his death to look as if he had accidentally fallen down the stairs and broken his neck. He had no idea when he heard someone coming down the stairs behind him that I was going to shove him over the railing. Oh, my, my, the way he looked lying there on the concrete, his body broken, his head smashed. Not a pretty sight.”

Don’t tell me anything else, please, Jordan wanted to scream, but she managed to remain silent. For now, she had to do whatever it took to keep them alive. Rick would find them. That one single thought kept her from totally panicking.

“You know, I believe that I enjoyed killing Jay Reynolds far more than any of the others. He was such a nasty man, wasn’t he, Jordan? He tried to rape you, but I showed him just what happens to a man when he hurts us. I followed him day after day, week after week, until I knew his schedule. That night I caught him unaware and hit him over the head with the baseball bat before he realized what was happening.” She heaved a deep sigh. “I hit him over and over again, even after I knew he was dead. Beating him repeatedly was absolutely thrilling, probably because he, more than any of them, deserved to die.”

Jay didn’t try to rape me, Jordan thought. He got fresh and I slapped him. That’s all that happened. Why did ever I tell you about it? Why, why, why? He didn’t deserve to die. And poor Donald Farris. The only thing he was guilty of was being a male chauvinist who was notorious for promoting men with families over single women.

And Boyd. She had killed him, too. Shot him as she would have shot an animal, almost for the sport of it. Yes, he had betrayed their marriage vows, but so had she. Although she hadn’t had an affair, she had been in love with another man. During her entire marriage to Boyd, she had still been in love with Robby Joe.

Rick sped along the highway, his Bluetooth headset in place, which allowed him to keep both hands on the wheel. Pushing the Wrangler to the limit, he focused on his objective – saving Jordan.

His phone rang.

“Yeah, what have you got for me?” Rick asked.

“I’ve tried several times to contact the funeral home,” Nix Elliott told him. “There’s no answer. Sheriff Corbett is getting the director’s private number and calling him at home.”

“Who’s missing from the house?” Whoever was missing had to be the person who had abducted Jordan.

“Vadonna and Tobias are the only two people in the house. Markham, Rene Burke, and Mrs. Wright are all missing.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“I checked with the front gate. Actually, I’m there right now. O’Steen says that no one has come in or gone out through the front gates this evening.”

“I figured as much. Jordan was taken out the back entrance. There had to have been a car there waiting.”

“Mrs. Price’s Navigator isn’t in the garage. I gave this information to the sheriff when I spoke to him.”

“Did either Tobias or Vadonna see anything?”

“Tobias said he saw Devon Markham leave the house by the front entrance shortly before you and Mrs. Price were summoned to the Harris cottage.”

“What about Mrs. Wright and Rene?”

“No one has any idea where they are or when they left.”

“Has Holt made it there, yet?”

“Not yet. He just checked in. He’s ten minutes away,” Nix said. “Hey, wait a minute. A couple of deputies are here. We’ll get started searching the grounds right away.”

“If you find anything—”

“I’ll contact you immediately.”

Rick stared at the dark country road ahead of him. It was two-lane highway all the way from Priceville to Jernigan Crossroads. If only he hadn’t sent the Powell helicopter back to Knoxville, he could get to the funeral home before Jordan and her kidnapper arrived. He might have had a hell of a time finding a safe place to land in town, but he could have found a suitable landing area on the outskirts.

Hindsight was twenty-twenty. He had to deal with the reality of the moment. He didn’t have the chopper.

What if I’m wrong? What if they’re not on their way to the funeral home? What if I’ve misinterpreted the things Tammy said? But what else could Jordan wearing her wedding dress and becoming Robby Joe’s bride forever mean? Whoever had Jordan – Devon? Rene? Mrs. Wright? – they intended to kill her.

Only in death could she be with Robby Joe forever.

As instructed, once they were within ten miles of Jernigan Crossroads, Jordan took a back road that she hadn’t even known existed.

“Will this take us directly to the funeral home?” Jordan asked.

“We’re not going to the funeral home.”

“We aren’t? Then where are we going?”

“We’re going to meet Robby Joe. He’s waiting for us at the cemetery.”

“What! But – but I thought…”

“I arranged to have him taken to the cemetery. It cost me quite a bit to bribe one of the funeral home employees, but for five thousand dollars, he was perfectly willing to break the rules.”

“You had Robby Joe’s casket taken to the cemetery? But why?” Jordan asked, hopelessly confused and scared out of her mind.

“I was afraid we might be disturbed if we met Robby Joe at the funeral home. Meeting him at the cemetery will give us the privacy we need.”

“Privacy for what?”

“For your wedding, of course.”

Rick had left Price Manor twenty-five minutes ago. If his calculations were correct, he’d make it to the funeral home in another five minutes.

His phone rang.

“Yeah, let’s hear it.”

“We’re still searching,” Nix Elliott said. “We’ve covered over half the grounds.”

“Nothing?”

“No sign of Mrs. Price, but we found Devon Markham.”

“Alive?”

“Yes, alive. The guy had just taken an evening stroll. He was alone when we found him. He’s pretty frantic now that he knows Mrs. Price is missing.”

“Any sign of Mrs. Wright or Rene Burke?”

“No.”

“We were too sure Markham was our killer,” Rick said.

“Looks like we were wrong.”

“Yeah, dead wrong.”

Afraid not to follow orders because she knew that she was not the only one whose life was in danger, Jordan turned the Navigator off the back road and onto the gravel drive that circled the cemetery.

“Pull off the drive and into the grass. Park so that the front of the car is facing Robby Joe’s monument.”

Jordan parked the SUV.

“Leave the headlights on. They won’t be as beautiful and romantic as candlelight, but they’ll have to do.”

Jordan did as she was instructed.

“Now, take your wedding dress with you and get out. We’ll wait here and give you some privacy while you change clothes.”

Jordan glanced at the garment bag lying on the front passenger seat. “You want me to put on the wedding dress?”

The shrill laughter jangled off Jordan’s nerves like ice daggers. “Of course, silly. You can’t get married in what you’re wearing now. You’ve waited twelve years to wear that beautiful dress. Now hurry up. And don’t do anything stupid like trying to run away. If you do, I’ll have to kill her, and you don’t want me to do that.”

“No, please, don’t hurt her.” Jordan grabbed the garment bag from the seat, clutched it to her chest and opened the driver’s side door.

This couldn’t be happening. Surely she was having a nightmare. If only… But this was no nightmare. This was real.

Rick will find me. Somehow, some way, he’ll figure out where we are and what’s going on. I just have to buy us some time.

Put on the dress and play along with her. Pretend you agree with her, that you understand why she’s doing this.

Jordan glanced toward Robby Joe’s headstone spotlighted by the Navigator’s headlights. When she saw the casket resting on the grass beside the empty grave, she gasped. Why was the casket open?

Oh, God. Oh, God!

Her hands shook so badly that she had difficulty removing her blouse and slacks, but she somehow managed to strip down to her underwear. Glancing at the car, at the two women in the back of the SUV, one holding a gun to the other’s head, she hurriedly unzipped the garment bag and removed the wedding dress.

She pulled the dress over her head, slipped her arms into the sheer lace sleeves and shivered when the thick, heavily beaded skirt fell about her hips and the scalloped lace edge skimmed the grass beneath her feet. She reached behind her and tried her best to maneuver the tiny pearl buttons into the buttonholes. Her fingers felt numb. Finally she managed to fasten three of the buttons, the ones closest to her waist.

The SUV’s right side back door opened and the two women emerged. “Do you need a little help with the buttons?”

“Yes,” Jordan replied.

“Then we’ll be glad to help you.”

Jordan forced a smile. “Thank you. I – I want everything to be perfect, especially my dress since I’ve waited such a long time to wear it.”

Twelve years and what seemed like a million lifetimes ago, this had been her fantasy wedding gown. And now, it just might become her burial gown.

Rick whipped the Wrangler into the parking lot at the funeral home and skidded to an abrupt stop in front of the entrance. Just as he jumped out of the Jeep, the chapel doors opened and a man he recognized as the funeral director met him under the canopied portico.

“Mr. Carson, I’m Charles Farmer. Sheriff Corbett called me at home and explained the situation.”

“Is Mrs. Price here?”

“No, sir. When I arrived, I checked the entire place and no one is here.”

Rick shoved Mr. Farmer aside. “If you don’t mind, I’ll see for myself.”

The director followed Rick inside as he went from room to room, from the chapel, through the offices, and back into the mortuary where the bodies were prepared for burial.

“Mr. Carson, please listen to me.”

Rick kept moving, searching for any sign of Jordan and her abductor. “Talk.”

“There’s no one here. I promise you. But – but—”

Rick stopped as they reentered the chapel. “But what?”

“Mr. Wright’s casket is missing.”

“What do you mean it’s missing?”

“I mean it isn’t here,” Mr. Farmer said. “I’ve checked the hearse, too, and it’s not there. I have no idea where it is.”

“Shit!” He grabbed Farmer by his jacket lapels. “How many people have access to the funeral home after hours?”

“You don’t think one of my employees would—”

“Yeah, I think they would. For enough money.”

“What possible reason would anyone have to steal Mr. Wright’s casket? Who would do such a thing?”

“Someone who intends to put another body in the coffin.”

Robby Joe Wright’s bride.

Jordan looked from Darlene to Rene, keeping her wavering fake smile in place.

Holding Rene’s arm with her left hand and clutching the gun in her right hand, Darlene forced Rene into position behind Jordan.

“Button her dress, please, won’t you, Rene,” Darlene said. “It’s just one of those little things a maid of honor does for the bride.”

Do it, Rene, please do it. Don’t argue with her.

Rene struggled with the buttons and after several tries, she managed to accomplish the task.

“Good job,” Darlene said. “Now, turn around, dear, and let us see how beautiful you look.”

Jordan turned slowly. Her gaze locked with Rene’s for one long, mutually terrified moment.

“I know you wanted Devon to be your man of honor, but that was just foolishness on your part. It’s much more appropriate for Rene to be your maid of honor. After all, it’s what Robby Joe really wants, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Yes, you’re right,” Jordan said.

“You’re going to make my son such a wonderful wife. The two of you are so perfect together. I only wish I had realized sooner that this was the only way you could be truly happy.”

“You’ve always put me first, haven’t you, Darlene? You love me as if I were your daughter. You’ve been at my side all these years, taking care of me.”

Darlene smiled. “I knew you’d understand why I had to kill them.”

“I do understand. I really do. You were protecting me from them, weren’t you? Jane Anne and Dan and Boyd and—”

“And Donald Farris and Jay Reynolds,” Darlene added the final two names to the list. “I had planned to get rid of J.C., but he left before I was able to finalize a plan.”

“What about my father?” Jordan asked.

“Oh, my dear girl, I had nothing to do with Wayne’s death. Undoubtedly living with that trashy whore he married finally became too much and he just keeled over with a heart attack.”

“You – you’re going to kill us, too, aren’t you?” Rene’s voice quavered with fear.

“I’m so sorry that I had to involve you, Rene. I’ve always liked you. But I wasn’t sure Jordan would come with me without a little persuasion. I promise that I’ll make it quick and painless.”

“Darlene, please let Rene go. She doesn’t need to be a part of this. It should be just you and Robby Joe and me. We don’t need her for the wedding. I’m all ready. See?” Jordan pivoted around slowly as if showing off her bridal gown. “Robby Joe has been waiting twelve years. Let’s not keep him waiting any longer.”

Tears glistened in Darlene’s eyes. “Oh, my dear, dear Jordan. I knew you still loved my son.”

“Please, let Rene go.”

“All right. After the ceremony.”

“Let her go now.”

“Oh, I’m afraid I can’t do that. But once you become Robby Joe’s bride, Rene can leave.”

When Rick rounded the last bend in the country road leading to the cemetery, he looked up ahead and to the right, directly toward the graveyard. Beams of two bright headlights broke through the darkness surrounding Robby Joe’s burial site.

God in heaven!

He pulled the Jeep onto the shoulder of the road, turned off the lights, and killed the engine. His heartbeat drummed inside his head. His muscles tensed.

As he got out of the Jeep, he pulled his Smith & Wesson from his shoulder holster. Adrenaline rushed through his body as he quietly made his way down into the ditch, up the other side, and into the cemetery.

As he approached the parked SUV, he heard voices.

“Go to Robby Joe. He’s waiting for you,” Darlene Wright said. “Take your place at his side.”

“Please, Darlene, think about what you’re asking me to do.” Jordan’s voice was amazingly calm. “Robby Joe is dead. He’s not in that casket. He’s in heaven.”

“Yes, of course, my dear. I know that. But soon you will join him and the two of you will be together forever.”

“You don’t want to kill me. You love me. Remember?”

“Of course, I love you. That’s why I’m doing this. It’s the only way you’ll ever be truly happy.”

“Please, please…” Jordan’s voice grew panicky.

“If you don’t go over there and get in the casket with Robby Joe, I’ll be forced to kill Rene. You don’t want me to do that, do you?”

“No, don’t. Please. I’m going. I’ll do what you ask.”

“No, Jordan, don’t! My God, you can’t!” Rene cried out.

Rick crept closer, pausing directly beside the Navigator.

Darlene held a gun to Rene’s head, the muzzle pressed against her temple. Even if he could get a clear shot at Darlene, he couldn’t be a hundred percent certain her finger, which was a hairsbreadth from pressing the trigger, wouldn’t react involuntarily. But what choice did he have?

Jordan walked slowly toward the open casket.

Rick slipped around the Navigator.

Jordan looked down into the coffin.

Darlene shoved Rene ahead of her and came up behind Jordan. “Get in. Don’t keep Robby Joe waiting any longer.”

Jordan lifted one foot and stepped into the coffin.

“Now, lie down beside your groom,” Darlene said.

Jordan lay down inside the casket.

Holding the pistol with both hands, Rick took aim.

Darlene slammed the casket lid closed.

Rick fired.

Rene screamed.

Chapter 33

Jordan shivered uncontrollably as she lay there in the darkness, her body resting on top of the recently autopsied corpse.

Not Robby Joe. Not Robby Joe, her mind screamed.

She gasped for air. Oh, God! There was no air. She was going to suffocate. Lifting her hands, she pushed on the padded satin lid.

Suddenly, as if from far away, she heard a loud noise. A gunshot? And then someone screamed.

Oh, please, no, no. Darlene, you promised not to kill Rene. You promised.

Was she going to die, too? Was it too late for anyone to save her?

Where are you, Rick? Where are you? You won’t let me die. I know you won’t.

Rene stood there shaking and screaming, her hands over her ears, her eyes wild with fear. Not bothering to check Darlene’s body lying on the ground to see if she was dead, Rick shoved Rene aside, and grasped the edges of the coffin lid. As he tried to pry up the lid, he noticed half a foot of white satin covered with heavy beading hung out the edge of the casket, preventing it from sealing. He managed to get his fingers beneath the latch, then he shoved the lid up and open.

Jordan lay inside, her eyes wide, her mouth open. But she didn’t move. She can’t be dead. She can’t be! She’d been in the coffin for only a few minutes. But in those few minutes, she could have suffocated.

He reached inside and slid his arm beneath her. His hand grazed the corpse as he lifted Jordan up and into his arms. She was limp and seemingly lifeless as he carried her away from the gravesite.

He went down on his knees and placed her on the ground, then he tilted her head back and listened to see if she was breathing.

She wasn’t.

Damn it, you’re not going to die. I won’t let you!

He pinched her nose and then covered her mouth with his. After he blew into her mouth, he watched as her chest rose. He repeated the process.

Come on, honey. Breathe for me.

Just as he started to proceed to the next CPR step and begin chest compressions, Jordan gasped.

Rick felt as if he, too, had come back to life.

“That’s it, honey. Breathe!”

She coughed. Rick helped her into a sitting position as she continued coughing. “Rick… Rick…” She sucked in deep breaths as tears streamed down her cheeks.

He wiped flyaway strands of her hair from her face and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her chin and finally her mouth. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around him.

“I knew you wouldn’t let me die.”

Holding her close, he buried his face against her neck.

Shivering and weeping, she clung to him.

“Rene? Darlene shot her. Is she—?”

“I’m all right,” Rene said, her voice a fractured whisper.

Jordan lifted her head and looked up, then cried out when she saw her friend. “Oh, thank God.”

“I shot Darlene,” Rick said as he slowly rose to his feet and helped Jordan to stand.

“Is she dead?” Jordan asked.

“Probably.” Rick glanced over at Darlene’s still body.

He had shot her in the back of the head. He had intended to kill her.

“Oh, Rick, she killed Dan,” Jordan said. “And Jane Anne and Boyd and Jay and Donald. She killed them all. And she believed she was killing them to protect me, to help me. Why didn’t I see it? Why couldn’t I—”

“It’s not your fault.” Rick clasped her face between his hands. “You had no way of knowing how mentally deranged she was and probably has been for a long time, maybe even before Robby Joe died.”

Jordan glanced at the open casket and shuddered. “She made me… Oh, God, Rick, I was in that coffin with… with…” She sobbed.

Rick stroked her back tenderly. “That’s it, honey. Let it all out. Cry until you can’t cry anymore.”

In the distance, police and ambulance sirens wailed, piercing the natural quiet of the country night.

Rick had stayed close by at all times during the past week, there at her side whenever Jordan needed him. But often she wanted to be alone and he and the others who loved her, gave her the right to mourn in private. He had slept on the daybed in her dressing room, but in the morning before dawn every day, she had called to him and he’d gone to her, simply to hold and comfort her.

This morning, six weeks to the day of Senator Daniel Price’s funeral, Darlene Wright had been laid to rest in the plot next to her son at the Jernigan Crossroads Cemetery. The ceremony at the graveside had been brief. Reverend Crowell had read from the Holy Scriptures and said a prayer beseeching the Good Lord to give Darlene eternal peace.

Only Jordan’s nearest and dearest had attended the service and those same people were now sharing coffee and drinks at Price Manor. Everyone wanted to be there for Jordan, to offer her their support. Roselynne and Tammy. Devon and Rene. Claire and Ryan. Wesley and Kendra. Tobias and Vadonna.

Jordan came up to him there in the foyer where they’d first met. Had it really been only six weeks ago?

“We need to talk,” she told him.

“There’s no rush. It can wait.”

“No, we need to talk now.” She took his hand. “Let’s go to my study.”

He followed her to the back of the house and into her small, cozy hideaway. He closed the door behind them. He knew what was coming. It had been inevitable. And he’d told himself he was prepared, but he wasn’t.

“I think I’m in love with you,” she said.

“Jordan, I—”

She pressed her index finger over his lips. “If you love me, you’ll give me time. I can’t do this. Not now. I’m only half a person. I need to be whole before I can make any kind of emotional commitments.”

“How much time do you need?”

“I’m not sure. Weeks. Months. Maybe a year.”

“That’s a long time to make a guy wait.”

“I know I’m asking for a lot, but—”

He silenced her with a kiss.

She kissed him passionately, and then pulled out of his arms. “Will you give me some time? Will you wait?”

“Yeah, honey. I’ll wait. Take all the time you need. And when you’re ready, let me know.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Would you say it, just once.”

He looked at her, but didn’t touch her again. “I love you, Jordan.” Then he walked out of her study and out of Price Manor.

He got in his Jeep and drove down the drive, through the front gates and onto the highway, leaving behind the one thing in the world that meant the most to him.

Epilogue

Ten months later…

Rick rang the doorbell. Devon Markham opened the door and greeted him with a smile and cordial handshake.

“Come on in, Rick. I’m glad you could make it. Everyone is going to be happy to see you.”

By everyone he sure as hell hoped Devon meant Jordan. He hadn’t seen her or heard from her directly in ten months. The last time he’d seen her, the day of Darlene Wright’s funeral, she had told him she loved him and then she’d sent him packing. He had been waiting impatiently for her to send for him. He had just about given up hope when he received an invitation to Roselynne Harris’s wedding to Wallace McGee.

He had found out through Griff and Nic that the wedding would be a small, private ceremony, held at Price Manor, which Jordan had turned over to Ryan and Claire when she moved out six months ago.

“She’s living in Chattanooga. She has an apartment there and is taking classes at UTC,” Nic had told him. “Claire said that Jordan’s thinking about renewing her teaching certificate and getting a job teaching elementary school.”

As he entered the foyer, he straightened his tie and swallowed hard. Weddings weren’t his thing. Wearing a suit and tie wasn’t his thing. If he wasn’t halfway sure that he’d been invited to this shindig because Jordan was ready to see him again, he damn well wouldn’t be here.

“I’m the only groomsman,” Devon told him. “So, allow me to show you to your seat.”

The house was decked with flowers and ribbons and candles, all tastefully done. He definitely saw Jordan’s fine hand behind the decorations.

“I guess you heard that J.C. got in a bit of trouble a few months ago. I’m afraid he’s serving jail time out in California and can’t be here. Ryan’s going to give the bride away and Tammy and Jordan are bridesmaids. It’s a real family affair.” Devon led Rick into the front parlor which had been stripped of eighty percent of its furniture to make room for white folding chairs, set up in two sections with an aisle, strewn with rose petals, between the double rows.