our dad tonight but then he said he had to work so we couldn’t go.”
“Since we already had the hot dogs and stuff, we decided to have our own campfire,” Caleb said.
As much as he liked Lindy-Grace Keegan, he had never much liked her husband, Ron. The guy had always struck him as a self-absorbed workaholic who didn’t know a good thing when it lived in his house. The story just confirmed it.
“If you have to arrest somebody, arrest me.” The older boy held out his wrists as if he expected Cade to slap cuffs on them right there. “It was my fault. All of it. I tried to start the fire and I guess I used too much kindling.”
“No, I didn’t make the ring good enough,” his brother protested. “You should arrest me.”
“But if I hadn’t fallen when we jumped down from the loft, we could have run out and called for help. I’m the one responsible. Arrest me.”
Wyn made a soft sound and he risked a glance down. Her eyes were suspiciously moist and he felt an answering tug of emotion. It would take a harder man than he was not to be touched at this evidence of brotherly love, each trying to shoulder the blame for the other.
Would any of his brothers step up to do the same for him? He wanted to think so but he wasn’t sure. Hell, his own father would have shoved every single one of his boys in front of a firing squad if it meant he could save his own skin.
“I’m not going to arrest anybody—” he started to say, but didn’t finish the sentence before a distraught female voice cried out.
“My babies! Where are they? My babies!”
“Mama,” Lucas cried out and Lindy-Grace lifted her head at the sound like a bird dog on a pheasant.
An instant later, she and Ron were both there. Lindy-Grace shoved him aside to jump into the ambulance so she could hug and kiss each boy, babbling about how much she loved them. Ron, ashen-faced, stayed next to Cade.
When she finished hugging them, she frowned ferociously at both of them. “You are in such big trouble!”
At her words, both boys burst into tears.
“We’re sorry,” the younger one wailed. “We’re so sorry, Mama.”
“We didn’t mean to,” Caleb blubbered. “It was an accident. We had a fire ring and everything but then the fire jumped out onto some hay and we couldn’t put it out. I knew we had to get out so we jumped down, only I fell hard and hurt my ankle and couldn’t get up and Luke wouldn’t go without me, even though I told him and told him to go.”
“We were so scared,” his brother interjected. “We couldn’t get out and we were crying and praying and then she came in and helped us.”
They pointed to Wynona, who smiled and waved weakly.
“Wynona Jane Bailey,” Lindy-Grace exclaimed. “You saved my boys.”
She jumped back down from the ambulance and wrapped Wynona in a tight embrace that couldn’t have felt the greatest on his officer’s smoke-seared lungs.
“If I live to be a hundred and three like my great-grandmother LuLu, I will never forget what you’ve done here today,” LG said through her tears.
He knew just what Wyn was thinking when she arched an eyebrow at him. See? Not everybody thinks I screwed up.
She hugged Lindy-Grace for a moment before deftly extricating herself. “It wasn’t a big deal. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Any other officer on the Haven Point Police Department would have done exactly the same thing. Isn’t that right, Chief Emmett?”
He was spared from having to answer that by Lindy-Grace’s effusive gratitude.
“I don’t care. They weren’t there. You were. Cade, I sure hope you’re going to give Wynnie a medal!”
His jaw clenched and he opened his mouth to answer but one of the EMTs spoke up before he could get the words out.
“Actually, he suspended her for a week without pay,” Terri Michaels offered, with a dark look in his direction.
The women in Haven Point apparently stuck together.
“What?” Lindy-Grace exclaimed. “Suspended her! Are you kidding?”
Cade ground his back teeth. How was he supposed to defend his position to the mother of the two boys Wynona had risked her life to rescue? Yes, he was glad everything had turned out relatively okay except for Caleb’s broken ankle. But procedures were in place for a reason.
“It’s an internal police matter,” he finally said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to the scene. Boys, we’re not done talking about this. But now that your mom and dad have had a chance to make sure you’re okay, you need to be checked out at the hospital. I’ll come by later to ask you a few more questions about what happened here and I’m sure Chief Gallegos will have a word or two for you as well.”
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison, looking chastened at his stern tone.
He walked away without risking another look at Wynona, wondering how he seemed to have lost control of the entire situation.
WYN WATCHED CADE walk away, tension radiating from him with every step.
She had worked with him for nearly three years but had never seen him like this. Usually he was calm, coolheaded, no matter the crisis. He was acting very unlike himself—being abrupt to two scared little boys, suspending her for actions he certainly would have taken himself in the same situation.
It left her feeling off balance, as if she were trying to hike up to the top of Mount Solace wearing high heels.
“Seriously, Wyn. How can we ever thank you?”
She shifted back to Lindy-Grace and Ron. She had a sudden feeling this was going to get old really quickly.
Her father had been the hero around town and people revered him accordingly. Twenty-five years as the police chief of Haven Point had earned him a reputation as a decent, caring man who would do anything for the people he served. The last difficult two years of his life had only solidified that love and respect. His funeral five months earlier had to be moved to the gymnasium at Haven Point High School to hold the crowds of people who wanted to come pay their respects.
She was no hero, just a police officer doing her job.
Her mother was going to freak. It was a wonder Charlene hadn’t hitched a ride to the fire with Lindy-Grace to make sure her oldest daughter was okay.
“I’m just happy everything worked out,” she said now to her friend.
“But a week’s suspension! You saved two lives. You shouldn’t be punished for that! What is wrong with that man?”
She couldn’t begin to guess—nor did she want to discuss it with Lindy-Grace.
“It
