The Widows of Wichita County

Sunday, December 19

6:00 p. m.

Sheriff's Office

"I don't care what you and the widows came up with Meredith, I'm not letting Zack Larson out of jail." Granger looked quite official, leaning forward in his chair. "By the way, which one of you has been making trips down to Sam Houston State to pick up a Criminal Justice degree?"

Meredith glared at the man she once considered intelligent.

"And aren't you supposed to be staying with Anna? Why are you and Randi leaving your post?" The sheriff glanred from Meredith to Randi, who did not seem to be listening to his lecture at all. He had a feeling she probably acted the same with anyone in authority since she had been in the sixth grade. He did not even want to think about what she offered in trade for all the gossip she collected from tlu Montano ranch hands.

"We were with her all night," Meredith answered. "Bella came by the Montano place after she brought Zack some clothes and found out what was going on. She said she'll stand guard over Anna until we get back."

Granger started again, this time with that "I'll try to hc patient with you" tone in his voice.

"Look at it this way, half the men in town want to kill Zack Larson, including Anna's brother. The man is safer in here for tonight. After he sees the judge in the morning, we'll take him to the County lockup. I know his kind. He's a loner. If I did let him go, the first place he'd head would be back to that rundown ranch of his, and I'd have no way of protecting him."

Meredith knew Granger did not exaggerate the danger. Folks clustered around town, talking about how something needed to be done about Zack Larson. Most of it was talk, but what if one drunk, or friend of Davis Montano, decided to take the law into his own hands? Could Granger and a few old deputies stop him?

The sheriff glanced over at Randi, who perched on the wide windowsill to watch the snow. She obviously did not see herself as part of this discussion.

He turned back to Meredith and tried again. "I can't let a man go because the widows took a vote. That's not my job. I'm the one who catches them, the courts are the ones who let them go." He smiled at his attempt at humor.

"Yes, but you're holding an innocent man," Meredith Insisted. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"Why are you so sure he's not guilty? Because Crystal heard him ask about Anna? Maybe he was worried that if he killed her he'd be going up for murder, not just assault."

Meredith did not answer, so he continued, "Or maybe I should unlock him because Anna asked about him? Did you women ever think that she might have asked because he scared the hell out of her and she was hoping he was dead?

"I've got my own misgivings, but nothing strong enough to let the man go. He was in a house where he didn't belong at a time that's not usually considered visiting hours. He was undressed. Anna was beat to a pulp. Carlo was shot."

"But I stood right next to you when Adam called from the hospital to tell you there was no powder residue on Zack's hands. He didn't fire the gun that shot Carlo." Meredith walked back and forth in front of the sheriff as though she were lecturing. "And I saw you measure the space between the weapon and Zack. He couldn't have fired the gun and washed his hands, then fallen unconscious half a room away. He wasn't the one who shot Carlo, and he didn't hit Anna."

"Then get her in here and let me talk to her. All she has to do is tell me who, besides Zack, beat her near to death and I swear I'll put that guy in jail and let Zack out."

"She can't come. She's too afraid. But you should she the way she looks when someone says Zack's name. She's worried about him, not afraid of him."

Meredith rubbed her forehead. "I don't know, maybe she thinks if she tells the truth Zack and her might both die. It's that kind of terror I see in her eyes. She cares about the man and somehow thinks she's helping him by remaining silent.

"That's not enough." Granger shook his head.

Randi finally unfolded from the window. With her slender limbs and fringed jacket, she looked like a daddy longleggs spider on the move. "I know what would be enough," she said calmly. "I read it in your report."

Meredith and Granger both looked at her as if they had forgotten she was there.

Randi widened her stance. "You're a man of detail, Sheriff. In your report you wrote that you turned off the stereo."

"So? I always write down things like that. You never know what's important."

"All right. This is important. What was playing?"

Granger frowned. "I don't remember, some country and western station."

"Zack Larson didn't rape Anna Montano." Randi smiled as if she'd made her point. When the other two did not respond, she added, "Anna loved classical. Drove us all crazy every time we were around her. It was her house, her stereo, so the music would have been her choice. Classical, not C-and-W. A man doesn't take time to change the radio country if he's chasing her around the room to rape her."

"Maybe, maybe not." Granger frowned, obviously angry that hadn't thought much about it. "Look, since yesterday morning I haven't had more than an hour's sleep. Why don't you ladies come back tomorrow?" Meredith leaned into his space. "Let me talk to him, Granger." She almost knocked his keys off his desk.

"No way." Her nearness bothered him, but he didn't back down. "I've tried to talk to him a dozen times. He won't say a word. He won't even admit to knowing Anna, much less going over to her place."

"Then let me talk to him," Helena Whitworth demanded as she walked through the sheriff's office door.

Granger stood, almost bumping noses with Meredith in his haste. "Mrs. Whitworth, I was just explaining to Mrs.

Allen…"

Helena handed him a paper that had been folded neatly in half. "I'm too old to argue. I brought a letter from Judge Lewis stating that since Zack Larson has no relatives that we know of, I can visit him as his next of kin."

Granger's frown was becoming a permanent part of his face. "I've never heard of such an exception."

Randi laughed. "Great, Helena. You've adopted him."

"No, I'm just visiting Zack Larson. I woke the judge up from his nap. It doesn't seem right for a man who's lived in this town all his life not to have at least one person visit him. If the rest of the city counsel considers themselves the town fathers, I can play the town mother once in a while." Granger shook his head. "What makes you ladies so sure you're right? Did it ever occur to you that Zack may be guilty?"

"It might have." Helena tilted her head slightly. "Bella his housekeeper, Bella Johnson, told me he's been drinking tea lately. English tea."

Granger threw up his hands. "That settles it. I'm letting him out. If he drinks tea, he couldn't be a bad person."

None of the women thought the sheriff was the least bit funny.

"Bella told me the same thing when she brought Zack up a set of clothes this morning." Granger tapped the letter against his hand. "But Bella spent half her life living in a bottle. Zack's family probably offered her the only job slu could get and keep. She'd say anything."

Helena raised her chin as though peasants were questioning the queen. "She worked for Anna, too. Bella may have taken a drink now and then, but I believe she's honest. She wouldn't lie."

Meredith almost felt sorry for Granger. He could handle the drunks and the troublemakers, but he had no idea how to handle the widows.

She watched as he paced the office, rereading the letter from Judge Lewis. "All right, you can see him for five minutes. But you'll have to climb the stairs, the elevator isn't working."

"I'm sorry, officer. I can't." Helena lowered her thin body to the nearest chair. "I've been having dizzy spells lately. I have no plans to climb any more stairs than I have to this day."

Meredith smiled. Helena played her part so well. She wouldn't have been surprised to hear the older woman call Granger "young man."

"You'll have to bring him down here." She said the words casually, as though ordering an extra course at dinner.

Granger had met his match. Helena Whitworth had not managed a successful store and the town by giving an inch to anyone. Meredith had no doubt there would be another letter from the judge if Granger didn't start moving.

"Just wait here, Mrs. Whitworth. Adam and I'll bring him down from the third floor." The sheriff looked at Meredith and Randi. "I don't want either of you in this office when I get back."

After he left, the three women stood staring at one another in silence for a long time. They all knew the risk they took. Crystal said the hospital planned to release Carlo by the next shift change. He had already called and had his men post a guard at the gate of the Montano Ranch. Anna would not answer the phone, she was in no shape to leave, and as soon us Carlo got home and demanded Bella leave, Anna would be all alone. They would no longer be able to get to her… or save her.

If they were going to help Anna, Zack might be their only chance.

"I've never done anything like this in my life," Meredith whispered as she wiped her sweaty palms on her pants and reached for Granger's keys. She circled them around the desk as though they were a toy.

Randi shrugged. "This is just Saturday night excitement for me."

Helena straightened. "We do what we have to. I see no crime in that."

"Hope the sheriff agrees with you," Randi added.

When they heard footsteps on the stairs, they sprang like rabbits.

Randi took her place on the far side, at the bottom of the stairs. Her long leg stretched up to the fourth step as though she were a ballerina warming up.

Meredith stood on the other side near the marble column.

She slipped her hand up along the back side, feeling in the darkness for what she hoped was still there.

Helena waited just inside the office, watching the men come down.

Adam held Zack Larson's arm at the elbow. Granger walked a few steps ahead. As always, he appeared aware of everything around him.

Meredith watched Granger's face, knowing the second Helena started her faint without looking in the older woman's direction. The lawman's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to shout and rushed toward his office door.

Adam and Zack were two steps from the main floor when Meredith rose to her tiptoes and threw the emergency switch.

All power went dead. The hallways blinked black.

Deputy Adam let out a long shout as he stumbled.

Meredith grabbed Zack's arm and pulled him behind the pillar. She was surprised he did not fight her. It was like he was in a coma and no longer cared one way or the other what happened.

It took her a few seconds in the darkness to shove the key in the lock of his handcuffs. "Hurry!" she whispered. "Take my Mustang just outside the door."

He responded as if someone had yelled fire and he had no choice but to run. Long sure steps echoed off the marble floor as he headed for the closest exit. A second later, Meredith heard the door open and shut.

She raised her hand and flipped the switch back on. No one, probably not even the sheriff, knew about the emergency switch. Only janitors, and janitors' daughters who hail once danced in the hallways.

"What the hell?" Adam rolled across the floor like a basketball in need of air.

"What happened?" Granger yelled from the office.

"I fell," Adam mumbled as he rubbed his knee. "Hurt my leg. I swear something ran between my feet a moment after the lights went out. Tripped me right up. This place must have rats a foot long."

Randi stood at the bottom of the stairs where she had been when the lights went out, her red Ropers looking as innocent as Ropers can look.

Meredith hurried to where Granger still held Helena. "What's wrong? Helena, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, dear. Just felt a little faint there for a moment." Helena looked pale, and very fragile. "Thank goodness the sheriff caught me or I could have had quite a fall."

Granger carefully sat Helena on the nearest chair. "How's Larson?" he yelled toward Adam. "Did he fall, too?"

There was a long silence before Adam's disgusted whine echoed off the courthouse walls. "Larson's gone."

Granger was out the office door and into the hall before Adam's words died. "Gone! Where could he have gone?"

The sheriff didn't wait for an answer. He scanned the hallway. The only unlocked door was that of his office. There was nowhere for Zack to hide. "If he didn't come past me…"Granger stormed to the side door in time to see the tail lights of Meredith's car disappear.

"You want me to get the highway patrol on the line, Sheriff?" Adam limped toward Granger.

"No," Granger answered as he crossed back into his office and opened his gun rack. "I plan on following him. Looks like he's heading away from his ranch. Probably figures that would be the first place we'd look. Since he's in Meredith's old car, I've got a good chance of catching him before he can get to the New Mexico line."

"Can't blame him for heading away. If he goes anywhere near the Montano spread, they'll shoot him on sight."

Granger's angry stare met Meredith's. "What did you have to do with this?"

Meredith stood as straight and tall as she could."I planned the whole thing. Turned off the lights. Tripped Adam. Left my keys in my car. I helped him escape." Slic crossed one hand over the other, praying he wouldn't notice how violently she was shaking as she laid his keys back on his desk.

Granger wasn't watching. He grabbed a rifle before turning back to her, a tired smile brushing the corner of his face "If I believed that for one minute, I'd lock you up right now."

He disappeared out the side door with Adam limping at his side.

"Men." Randi shrugged as she looped her arm over Meredith's shoulder. "You can't fool 'em no matter how hard you try."

In the oil business, once you hit oil you dropped pipe and the money started rolling in. The early fields of Texas were full of men with "pipe dreams."

Sunday, December 19

7:25 p.m.

The Breaks

Zack turned south toward what everyone in town called "The Breaks." He knew the dirt roads out there near the river better than the sheriff knew the streets. When he had been a kid, he'd spent thousands of hours riding across them on a dirt bike. If the car held up over the hard snow-packed trails, he knew he could lose Farrington.

His head throbbed as if someone was sitting in the back seat taking a swing at it with a hammer every few minutes. He gripped his side feeling a stabbing pain in his ribs every time he twisted. But, none of it mattered. With pure determination pounding through his veins he had one purpose, Anna. He had to find Anna. Nothing else, not even his life mattered.

The entrance to the breaks was hidden on one side by an old bait shop covered over by trumpet vines, and the town cemetery on the other. During the summer, you could tell the time of day by the traffic on the old road. Fishermen at dawn, families picnicking in the afternoons, bikers looking for the back trails and weekend adventures, and lovers who arrived after dark.

When Zack dipped out of sight of the car following him, he turned off his lights and drove more by instinct than with the help of the pale quarter moon. Cottonwoods twisted be side the road, spilling inky shadows over the snow. The old Mustang blended like smoke through the turns, weaving neap the river and around brown grass as tall as the roof of the car.

Twenty minutes later, Zack pulled out on the far side of the breaks and took the back road to his ranch. The car slid off the road several times, running into the pasture, knocking down fence poles until finally he saw the lone light of his house.

Zack let himself take a deep breath for the first time. He'd made it home. Maybe it made no sense. The sheriff would find him eventually. He had sworn never to tell anyone about Anna, and he knew her brother would kill her if she tried to talk. The sheriff left her with one hell of a choice: if she testified she might free Zack, but she would condemn her brother. And Carlo would kill her before he would let that happen.

So Zack figured he would probably go to jail for a few years. But like a homing pigeon, he wanted to come back one last time. He did not blame Anna for remaining silent. Hell, he had had a lifetime of bad luck. Why would he expect it to change just because she came into his life? He just wished he could hold her one more time.

When he pulled into the yard, he saw Crystal Howard at his front door. For a moment he thought of circling his place and heading for parts unknown. The last thing he needed was more trouble.

She yelled at him before he reached the porch. "The hospital called on my cell. Carlo is on his way home. Can you get Anna back here before Carlo makes it to their place? I figure you got about ten minutes. If you can, we'll get her to safety."

"You know?" he said, fearing he had said too much by even asking about Anna at the hospital. There was no way she could have learned anything about Anna and him.

"We know little," Crystal answered, directly, "except that Anna is in danger, and it isn't from you."

There was no time to talk. He ran to the walkover and crossed the fence. The path to Anna's house was twisted and slippery, but he made it as fast as he dared. He wouldn't be much help to her if he fell and cracked open what was left of his skull. But the drugs for pain made it feel like he was moving through water. His feet would not maneuver as fast as they should.

Zack fought to clear his head. He took in deep gulps of the cold air and concentrated on one thing, Anna.

A few lights were on at her place. Zack felt his way along the patio until he found the sliding doors. The second one he tried, opened.

He entered the house, afraid of what he might find. The memory of the fight still hung in the air. He could almost hear the echoes of Carlo shouting and Anna crying. The smell of the fire he and Anna built late that night still lingered, spiced now with the hint of gunpowder. The feeling that he'd die of pleasure, the fear he'd die of pain now blended in the silence of the huge room.

But no sign of the fight or the loving remained. Not even the quilt. Everything was back in order as if the hours had never happened.

"Anna?" Zack whispered her name. Maybe she wasn't even here. Crystal and the others could be worried about nothing. Anna might have gone to stay with friends.

But Zack knew she had no friends except for the widows and Bella…and him.

He flipped on the light in the kitchen. "Anna?" he called.

The sound of a round being chambered clicked in the silence.

"Take another step mister and you're a dead man," Bella's voice ordered from the darkness of the great room.

Zack moved into the light so she could see him. "You'll have to kill me to stop me," he answered. "I've come for Anna."

Bella smiled and lowered the weapon. "Evening, kid. I didn't expect to see you here tonight. Some guard I am, I must have fallen asleep on the couch." She met his stare. "I might just be falling back to sleep right now."

Zack nodded, understanding what she was saying.

Slowly, he crossed from room to room. He remembered seeing Anna being hit, falling, holding the gun. She was hurt, and probably frightened. If she knew Carlo was coming home, she might even be hiding. Time was running out for him to find her.

"Anna?" he called as he stepped into her bedroom.

In the shadows, he saw her, huddled in a corner with her grandmother's quilt wrapped around her.

"Anna." He couldn't move, afraid of what he might see if he came closer.

"G-go away." Her voice sounded hoarse as if she'd cried all she could. "I-I almost got you k-killed, Zack. G-go away before I do. Just go away and forget about me."

She shifted, and he saw her dark eyes. There was a calmness about her as though she had accepted her fate. She was giving up any chance they might have in the hopes of keeping him alive.

"That I can't do." He fought the urge to draw closer. "The way I see it, we've got two choices. I can stay here to face Carlo and probably his men, or you can come with me. Crystal's waiting for you at my place. She promised to take you somewhere safe."

He walked toward her.

"If I leave, he will kill me," she whispered, "and then he'll kill you."

Zack knelt in front of her. "If you stay, he'll kill you, Anna. Maybe not tonight, or next month, but eventually."

"I know. He wants control of the ranch, and the only way he can get that is to control me."

Zack brushed her dark hair from her eyes. "Come with me. Somehow together we'll work it out." When she raised her arms, he lifted her, blanket and all, ignoring the pain in his side and shoulder. She held tightly to him. He walked out of the house the way he came. Bella looked sound asleep on the couch when he passed the old woman, but he noticed a smile on her lips.

They did not say a word to one another as they crossed the darkness between their ranches. He sat her on top of the walkover, climbed it and lifted her once more in his arms. When he turned toward his house, a huge Buick pulled up next to the Mustang he had borrowed.

Or stolen. The way his luck was running, he would be charged for that, too.

Three women climbed from the car, an old woman, a cowgirl and what had to be a schoolteacher. Helena, Randi and Meredith. Anna had told him too much about each for him not to recognize them, even in the shadows. The widows had assembled.

They all turned and watched as he walked toward them with Anna in his arms.

"Be careful with her," Helena ordered.

Zack frowned. He wasn't about to drop the only wonder in his life.

"Set her down inside." Crystal held the door. "I'll get her some tea."

"Now, don't you worry, girl," Randi followed Zack into the house. "No one is going to hurt you again."

"I will not talk to the sheriff," Anna said over Zack's shoulder.

"You don't have to talk to anyone about what happened at your place if you don't want to," Randi promised.

They clustered around her, forgetting about Zack. He wanted time with Anna, but he would wait. He was not sure, but he would swear all four of them were talking at once. And Anna… Anna smiled.

Finally, Helena raised her hand and called the meeting to order. "I've got one question, Anna, and I need an answer even though we think we all know the truth."

Meredith sat on one side of Anna, patting her hand. Randi stood behind her on guard. Crystal offered her tea.

Helena looked straight at Zack. "Did this man hurt you in any way?"

Tears bubbled in Anna's eyes. "No," she answered without stuttering.

"Good. We didn't think so, but I was prepared to shoot him if we'd guessed wrong."

Zack looked at Helena, trying to figure out if she was kidding. The woman did not look like the type who would ever handle a gun. But what he didn't know about women would fill volumes.

He backed into a corner, fighting the pain in his side as he watched them pamper Anna. It felt great to have her here, safe and among friends. He had almost driven himself mad thinking about what might be happening to her. Now, he had a feeling that no matter what happened to him, these women would see Anna through this.

They were somehow connected to each other. He read once that people chose to love one another. These five women had made that choice. The bond was more than friendship. A comradeship he felt honored to be allowed to watch.

Lights blinked like static lightning across his windows, slamming him back into crisis. A line of cars and pickup trucks were coming at full speed directly toward his house.

Zack headed for the old rifle he kept mounted over the fireplace.

"Wait." Helena stopped him. "Let us deal with them. You stay with Anna."

Zack shook his head. This was his land, his fight, his problem.

Helena didn't back down. "They're not going to bother us, but they might shoot you on sight."

Randi shoved his shoulder. "Sit down, cowboy. Tonight's not your rodeo."

Without another word, Helena, Randi, Crystal and Meredith went outside to the porch. Zack lowered slowly to one knee so he could see Anna's face.

"We know he's in there! Get out of the way!" someone shouted in the frosty air. Car lights shone like footlights in front of the porch.

"Yeah, who's gonna make us, Tucker? You?" Randi yelled back at the line of men moving toward the house. "Step one foot on this porch and I'll be visiting your wife tomorrow telling her what kind of man you are."

"There is nothing happening here, gentlemen," Helena announced. "I suggest you all move on about your business."

Zack watched Meredith shade her eyes with her hand. "Butch Colwell, what do you think you're doing here frightening us? Put that rifle down."

A young man in the front lowered his gun. "I was told Larson kidnapped Mrs. Montana I come to help."

"Do you think if he kidnapped Mrs. Montano, I'd be out here visiting him?"

"No, ma'am."

"Well, why don't you take Kirk there with you and go on home? The two of you haven't changed since grade school, still looking for a fight you can get involved in."

"I will not go home!" Carlo yelled as he slowly climbed from the pickup, his leg in a cast. "That man stole my sister and I will take her back."

Randi stormed. "She ain't no sack of potatoes Zack drug across the property line. If she wants to be with him, there is nothing you, or anyone else can do about it."

Zack felt Anna's hand touch his bandaged forehead and he forgot about the circus outside.

"Are you all right?" She brushed his hair away from the cotton.

"I've had better days." He smiled. "This probably isn't the best time to talk, but I want you to know what happened between us, it was real…" He couldn't think of the right words with people in his front yard shouting they were going to kill him. "It was something that's never happened to me before. It was…"

He heard Crystal ordering all oil workers to leave if they still wanted to have a job come dawn.

"If I thought there was one chance in a million you'd say yes, I'd ask you to marry me." He wished he hadn't told her his thoughts. She could buy and sell him and everything he owned with pocket change.

Zack looked out the window. Carlo ordered his men to move the women over and go after Anna. But the men weren't moving. Colonel Travis should have had these four ladies at the Alamo.

"There's one chance in a million," Anna whispered as she leaned and kissed the bandage over his eye.

It took a moment for her words to sink in.

Meredith stood at the corner of the porch and stared at Granger as he watched from the back of the crowd. His rifle was propped against his shoulder; his finger looked like it was resting on the trigger guard. He had come to bring Larson back but now, he was hesitating. She knew he could have stepped in and handled the crowd, but he was letting them do it.

Thanks to the huge windows of Zack's home, Anna's statement was being played out before everyone's eyes.

About the time Carlo called a charge to save his sister, everyone in the crowd saw Anna push Zack's shirt aside and kiss the bandage covering his broken ribs. It did not look like the kind of thing a woman does to a man who raped her, shot her brother and kidnapped her from her home.

The mob moved back, no longer wanting to follow Carlo. They could see Zack gently holding her, whispering to her as lovers do.

The crowd had no way of knowing that he was promising to stand with her no matter what the storm. He made his oath for a lifetime, not just for tonight. The men outside might not hear Zack's words, but they could see Anna's face as she smiled up at him.

Granger swung over the rail of the porch, dipping his head to the widows as though he hadn't seen them in a while "Nice job," he commented casually. "Next time I need crowd control, I'll be sure and call you ladies."

They all looked out over at the pickups and cars. Men were leaving quietly, as though they had been caught eaves dropping.

Carlo was the only one who did not move. "I am not leaving without my sister!" Despite the crutches, he stepped onto the first step on the porch.

Granger glanced at the widows, almost as if he was considering letting them handle the stout man. Any one of them would gladly cut Carlo to pieces. "You've done enough for one night, ladies," he said. "It's time I earned my pay." He moved to the step directly above Carlo. "I'm afraid, Mr. Vangetti, that you'll be riding back with me. At least as far as the county lockup."

"I do not think so." Carlo seemed to believe that if his voice was louder than anyone else's then he must be right. "I have done nothing, Sheriff, but protect my family."

Granger watched Carlo carefully. "You see, Mr. Vangetti. it's against the law to file a false report. Zack Larson didn't rape your sister, and he didn't shoot you."

"You can not prove that!" Carlo shouted.

"Yes, he can," Anna whispered from the doorway. She slipped out onto the porch, staying well behind Granger. "You forget, Carlo, I was there."

"You would send your own brother to jail?" Carlo looked surprised at the possibility. Anger crept into his words. "That would not be a wise thing to do, Anna. Not for your sake, or Zack's."

Randi stomped toward the edge of the porch, her hands already balled into fists for a fight. Carlo's size and volume didn't frighten her.

Before she issued a death threat that he would have to arrest her for, Granger slid between them and took Carlo by the arm. "How about you come along as a guest of the county tonight? Let your sister have some time to think. Give you a chance to settle down."

Carlo swore as Zack walked up behind Anna and placed his hand on her shoulder. The Italian took powerful breaths like a bull about to charge.

The sheriffs grip tightened around his solid arm.

Carlo tried to jerk free, but it was hopeless. He might be a fighter, but he was smart enough to know now wasn't the time. With an angry oath, he stopped struggling with Granger. "You must take him in, also."

With the help of Adam on Carlo's left side, Granger turned Carlo toward the patrol car. "We're not in the habit of arresting a man for loving a woman." He glanced over his shoulder. "Sorry about the lock up, Larson. No hard feelings."

Before Zack could answer, Carlo demanded, "You can not leave him here with my sister."

"He's well chaperoned." Granger opened the back of his car and gave Carlo a helpful shove as he glanced back at Meredith. "'Course, I suspect they're all criminals, but I'm too outnumbered to haul them in."

Meredith opened her mouth to say goodbye to Granger. He hadn't spoken to her, but she'd felt him watching her from the time he walked up at the back of the crowd. There was something comforting about knowing he was there.

Before she could think of anything to say, he was gone. She watched his taillights disappear and realized she had probably ruined any chances of them ever even being friends. Eventually, he would figure out that she had told him the truth, she had set Zack free, and even though it was the right thing to do, she'd broken the law. They lived in different worlds. She believed in doing what was right, he believed in following the law. Once in a while the two view were not parallel.

"Thanks for the loan." Zack returned the Mustang keys. "If you'll bring it out some weekend, I could work on that engine. Maybe make it run a little smoother for my next getaway." He lowered his head. "You saved my life tonight as well as Anna's. Thanks."

Meredith did not know what to say. Before Zack could move, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged.

At first, he didn't react. Women hugging him was not something that happened to him often. Slowly, he put his arms around her and patted her on the back.

Meredith fought tears. She told herself she just needed someone to hold her for a few minutes. She needed her heart to stop pounding. She needed to know it was all over and they were all out of harm's way.

But Zack's arms gave her little comfort. He was not the one she wanted. The man she needed would never offer.

Meredith pulled away and gently embraced Anna. "You're welcome to come home with me," she volunteered. "Randi and I will try not to keep you up talking."

Anna shook her head. "I want to stay here tonight."

The women moved away from Anna and Zack with hugs but few words. They knew what they had done and why they did it. There was no need for thanks.

At Helena's car, Meredith asked, "You want me to follow you home? Or Randi can drive you and I'll follow." Helena had been a rock during the trouble, but now she looked so pale it frightened Meredith.

"No, dear. I promised J.D. I'd be home by dark and I'm already late. He'll be worried about me. I'd best hurry." She climbed in her huge car and pulled away.

Randi moved to Meredith's side. "He's not dead to her, is he?"

Meredith shook her head. "Does it matter?"

They waved goodbye to Crystal and folded into the Mustang.

"I don't suppose I could interest you in stopping off at Frankie's on the way home?" Randi propped her foot up on the dash.

Meredith laughed. "No way."

"Then, how about the Dairy Queen? I'm starving. A life of crime always makes me hungry."

"Now, that's a deal. Let's go crazy and order banana splits."

Randi leaned back and frowned. "I'm living on the wild side now."

But she laughed all the way through her hamburger and fries. By the time they ordered their banana splits they were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, reliving their night of near death and riotous adventure.

They finally waddled out to the Mustang and drove back to the courthouse to pick up Randi's car.

"I must have left the lights on in the office," Meredith said as she pulled into the lot. "It won't take me a minute to turn them off, then I'll meet you back at the house."

"All right." Randi climbed out. "I'll stop by and pick up something for breakfast on my way. It's the least I can do."

Meredith started to argue that shopping was not necessary, but in truth she couldn't remember having anything in the house to offer for breakfast. She watched Randi drive away in her newly painted car, thanks to Crystal, then huddled into her coat and ran for the side door. Maybe ice cream on a night like this had not been such a good idea. She was freezing inside and out.

The hallway of the courthouse was dark, but her lights were all on, as well as one in the sheriffs office. Meredith's shoes tapped along the marble as she tried to remember even going in the county clerk's office earlier. She could have sworn the office was dark when she threw the emergency switch. There had not been time to go into the office. Helena, Randi and she had headed straight to Larson's ranch, knowing Crystal would be waiting.

Meredith flipped the lights off and stepped back out into the hallway.

Granger stood in his office doorway in silhouette. She couldn't see his face, but his stance was official as always.

"I'm sorry. I must have forgotten to close up the office." She moved toward him, feeling like she was reporting to the hall monitor. "That's not like me to forget something like that."

"You didn't leave them on." He stepped out, blocking her path. "I turned them on hoping you'd notice when you came back to pick up Randi's car."

Meredith stopped walking, confused by his action. She swallowed, telling herself not to be afraid. If he locked her up, he locked her up. She was not going to explain or apologize.

"I thought you'd never get here." He cut the distance between them in half. "I was worried that you'd managed to find the last icy spot of pavement between Larson's and town."

"Oh, no. We had no trouble. Randi and I stopped for a hamburger and got to talking." Meredith wanted to scream "What business is it of yours?" but she rambled instead. "We decided to forget calories and have a…"

Granger put his hands on her shoulders. For a second she thought he was going to shake her.

But he drew her to him and kissed her hard on the mouth.

When he moved an inch away, Meredith continued, "banana split."

"I know." She felt his words against her cold face. "I can taste it." He leaned down and kissed her again, this time softer, longer.

She knew there was probably something she should say. Maybe she should even pull away and run. But all she did was wrap her arms around his neck and lean against him, feeling like this was her first kiss on the porch of her parents' house when she was sixteen.

He moaned against her lips as he slipped his hands inside her coat and pulled her closer. His body warmed the length of her.

When he finally moved away, he whispered against her hair. "I've been wanting to do that all night."

"I have to go," she answered, afraid if she stayed any longer she would make a fool of herself. "Randi is waiting for me."

He took a long breath and let her go. "I heard you tell Helena that Randi is staying with you."

She closed her eyes trying to remember where she was… who she was. He no longer touched her, but she could still feel his arms, his lips, the warmth of him against her.

"Good night, Granger," she said as if the kiss had not happened. All she wanted to do was stay and kiss him again. But Randi waited and now was not the right time.

"Good night. I'll see you tomorrow."

A stranger might have thought his farewell formal, but Meredith heard the promise in his voice.

December 19

10:00 p. m.

Pigeon Run

Helena hurried up the stairs as fast as she could. She wanted to get into her robe and relax. Most of the evening she had been fighting a nagging pain in her chest and now, finally, she could forget about everything and breathe easy.

All she needed to do was rest, she told herself. Everything would be better once she made it back to J.D.

As she entered their room, he poured her a glass of wine. She did not tell him she had been feeling dizzy earlier, or that she'd thrown up the soup she'd had for dinner. She blamed both on the excitement of the evening, nothing more. Nausea and dizziness were little inconveniences she had learned to live with over the past few months. Like the flu or a cold, they would pass eventually.

And, in truth, when she leaned back in her favorite chair and finished her first glass of wine, she did feel better. The pain eased a little and she relaxed. Home was the only medicine she needed.

Following a lifetime of routine, she got out her yellow legal pad and wrote several notes with her plans for tomorrow. Meetings, things to check, messages to Mary. The last entry said simply, "remember to tell the girls I love them."

J.D. was right, she should make it a habit. She had spent far too many years seeing the twins' shortcomings. It was time she noticed a few of their talents.

As she calmed, she told J.D. every detail of the evening, laughing with him about how adventurous she had been and almost crying when she described the way Anna and Zack had looked at one another.

Exhaustion finally seeped into her very soul. The wine eased the discomfort in her chest. Helena decided she would not take the nitroglycerin. All she needed was a good night's sleep.

The ache grew sharper when she removed her jewelry and placed it in her jewelry box, but Helena never went to bed without making sure her clothes were properly cared for. Her cashmere coat was brushed and put in its place, ready for the next time she needed it. Her shoes were dusted inside with powder and buffed. Her dress folded neatly and placed among cleaning, ready to be taken out.

From her desk she lifted the silver dollar J.D. had given her and walked slowly to bed. The pain lessened a little when she lay down. She nestled into J.D.'s waiting arms and drifted to sleep.

An hour later, her heart forgot to beat. Her hand opened and the silver dollar rolled across the floor.

J.D. pulled her closer.

Dreams drove the drilling. Dreams of being rich. Dreams of power. Dreams of belonging. And for some, the lucky ones, dreams of home.