Cody's Come Home

“But—”

He placed a finger against her lips. Again with the tenderness even while he was taking control. “You’re already wounded all over your body because of him.”

She finally recognized the expression she’d been trying to decipher since the shot rang out. Regret. Self-reproach.

“Why are you taking the blame for what this guy is doing?”

“I should have taken this more seriously.” He brushed damp hair from her cheek. His eyes softened. “I should have been more diligent.”

“You couldn’t have known he would show up again. Neither could I.”

“The behavior you described is not that of an animal hunter. We’ve got a criminal out there. I should have been more aware of our surroundings.”

“So should I. Neither of us is responsible for this maniac’s actions. Okay?”

He nodded, but vestiges of remorse lingered.

“We’re getting out of this, Cody.”

He flashed a smile that looked more real. “I like your spunk. You’ve changed.”

“I’ve had to. Anyway, let’s get out of here.”

“You’re going first,” he asserted again.

Her mouth tightened. “And if you get hit? I can’t carry you out.”

“We’ll take that chance. You’re injured enough already.” After that one lovely real grin a moment ago, he’d closed himself off again. He wasn’t budging.

She gave in. “Okay, but we’ll hurry.” She grasped his coat with both fists, shooting pain up to her injured shoulder. She didn’t care. She had a point to make. “We’re both getting out of this alive, Cody. Don’t do anything heroic.”

She didn’t like the ironic half smile that hovered around his lips. What was he planning? “I mean it, Cody. No standing up to draw fire away from me. You follow me quickly on your belly or we don’t leave here at all.” She let go of his jacket. “Which will it be? Stay or go safely?”

“Go.”

“Safely.”

“Safely.” He mimicked her emphasis.

She searched his eyes, but he was closed off to her. She didn’t like it, but would have to take him at his word.

She rolled onto her stomach so he could ease the straps of her backpack up her arms. He helped with her injured shoulder. He was beyond gentle. Still it hurt and she couldn’t help sucking in air.

“How are you going to support your weight on that arm?” he hissed.

She set her jaw. “Willpower. I won’t let that animal win.” A fire burned in her belly with anger and defiance, but also with the resolve to get home to her daughter. She would make it out of here. She would hold Annie again.

Beside her, Cody wriggled into his pack.

She took a moment to plan her route around bushes and trees. Farther up the hill, there were bare patches where they might be spotted, but if they moved quickly and got a head start before the shooter realized they had left this spot behind the rock, they could make it through.

Thank goodness the ravine had become shallower and this slope was not as steep or long as the one she’d fallen down.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Yep.” He touched her arm to hold her back. “Aiyana—” He seemed to struggle with his thoughts. “Please be careful.”

She felt something on her hair, the lightest butterfly touch of...his lips?

But she had no time to wonder.

The first few pulls forward almost killed her shoulder. Sweat broke out on her upper lip. She kept going, slowly, movements small while she hunted out bare spots. Nothing rustled around her, so maybe this would work.

Cody came next, as silently as a wraith. Had he done army training?

She bit her lip against the pain and tried to put more support on her good arm, but couldn’t avoid using her injured shoulder altogether.

About halfway up she had to stop. She rested her head on her crossed arms. Her pulse pounded deeply while her breath became more and more shallow.

“Aiyana,” Cody whispered. “Can you roll onto your good side?”

She did.

He crept up beside her in the space she’d left clear by leaning against a tree. After one glimpse of her face he rolled onto his back. Hands around her waist, he lifted and stretched her full length on top of his dry body, away from the damp earth.

A breath whispered out of her, his body beyond wonderful beneath her, solid and invincible. His palm wrapped around her head and held her against his chest. His heart beat a steady rhythm in her ear.

After catching her breath, she said, low and quietly, “I’m trying to be strong.”

“There’s no trying about it, Aiyana. You did well.” Even as he monitored their surroundings for signs of danger, his eyes sparkled when they returned to her. “I can’t believe how far you got before stopping.”

“Do you think we got away?” she whispered. “I haven’t heard a thing.”

“Me, either. We moved quietly. I’m not sure we even rustled those bushes. You picked a good route. Maybe he thinks we’re still hiding behind the rocks.”

“Give me a minute to catch my breath then we can move again.”

She felt him move beneath her, sensed him twisting his head to check uphill.

“You made it more than two-thirds of the way up.”

He grasped her face and kissed her forehead, hard and quick. An impulse, she thought—and a glorious one at that. “You’re amazing. If the shooter was coming, we would have heard him by now. I can carry you from here.”

“No.”

At her emphatic tone, his arms tightened across her back. “Why not? I can.”

“I know. You’ve proven how strong you are.”

He stiffened.

“I mean it, Cody. As much as you think I’ve been amazing? Double it for you.”

His hands rubbed her back and she melted into him, still chilled deep within by the night and the rain and the danger.

“We’d better get going,” she whispered.

He released her slowly. Was that reluctance she sensed? She didn’t have time to explore it. They had to get out of this ravine alive. They sat up and listened. They heard nothing.

Cody brushed a hand across her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The action felt as sad as his eyes looked.

“It seems that he might have given up.”

He stood and Aiyana followed, helping to lift herself when he took her onto his back.

Fifteen minutes later, moving slowly, they reached the path that ran along the top of the ravine. Cody set her on her feet.

She leaned against him, her ankle throbbing. Glancing up and down the path, she said, “I think we’re home free. Cody, leave me here and go for help.”

“We’re really going through this again? Read my lips. I’m not leaving you alone.”

“Okay, fine. Be a bloody hero and knock yourself out.”

For a long moment, they stared at each other. Then Cody started to laugh, and she couldn’t help herself but had to join in.

“I’m sorry.” She groaned and gently rubbed her chest above the bruise. “You’ve been selfless and here I am giving you a hard time.”

“We’re both tired. This has been stressful.”

“No fooling. It’s kind of unprecedented. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in Accord.”

Cody took a map out of his back pocket.

“Well, we’re pretty close now. The shooter wouldn’t dare fire at us here. Everyone would hear and come running.”

A gigantic balloon of relief swelled inside her, and a heartfelt “Thank God” burst out of her. “And thank you, Cody. I can’t thank you enough.” Her voice broke.

He grasped her arm. “Buck up. We’re almost there.”

“I just want to get home so badly.”

“I hope this hasn’t ruined the park for you. Your dad says you come here all the time.”

“I do. I love it.” She glanced around while a poignant sadness filled her. “But I’ll have to take a break.”

Could she ever come back? She didn’t know.

Cody watched her, concern written like braille on his brow. He turned his back, picked her up and carried her along the trail. They heard someone coming ahead and tensed. Cody leaned against the upper hill, shielding as much of her as he could with his body.

A moment later, a park ranger rounded the curve.

Aiyana let out the breath she’d been holding. They were truly safe!

The ranger’s frowned eased. “You found her!”

“Yeah, but she’s injured. She can’t walk.”

“I can see that.” He stared hard at Cody. “You look like you’re about to drop. I can take her from here. The parking lot’s only a few hundred yards ahead.”

“No. I’m fine.” His grip tightened around her thighs. “I can carry her out.”

When Cody stepped around the park ranger, Aiyana gave the man a delicate shrug. She had no idea why Cody wouldn’t hand her off.

He frowned at Cody then raised his eyebrows at Aiyana and smiled. “Interesting,” he said, for her ears only.

Interesting, indeed. Aiyana knew she couldn’t handle romance right now and Cody couldn’t possibly want to start a relationship, and yet...

She rested her forehead against his back and smiled, enjoying these last few moments with him.

They rounded a corner and there was the parking lot ahead.

In the distance, Aiyana saw her dad, his back to her.

Before the hubbub started, Aiyana whispered, “Cody—” She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. The day had been momentous, strange and unlike any she’d ever experienced.

She had prayed someone would find her—a friend, family member, stranger. But it hadn’t been a friend or a family member or a stranger.

It had been Cody.

He stopped walking. “Aiyana—” He sounded serious.

But he didn’t finish his thought; instead he cursed abruptly.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Not what. Who.” He sounded miserable.

As best she could, she peeked around Cody.

Across the long parking lot, a woman dressed in knee-high black leather boots, a long tan leather coat and a thick white turtleneck above a black pencil skirt started toward them. She was gorgeous. Black hair framed flawless pale skin, high cheekbones and red lips.

“Cody!” she called.

Hearing his name, everyone else in the parking lot noticed Cody with Aiyana on his back. Pandemonium broke out.

Before everyone reached them, Aiyana said, “Cody, what’s wrong? Who is she?”

“She’s my wife.”

Ah, yes. His wife.

“My ex. We divorced six months ago.”

Aiyana stared at the beautiful woman whose hungry gaze devoured Cody.

“Cody, I don’t think she got the memo.”

His sigh rumbled through her.

Yep, Aiyana thought, best not to let her pesky infatuation get out of hand. Good thing she wasn’t anywhere close to the right headspace to start anything right now.

For a brief moment, she tightened her grip on the beautiful man in her arms, but eased up when her father ran over.

* * *

CODY CURSED HIMSELF, his wife and his life from here to eternity. How much more was he supposed to bear?

The big question looming—What is she doing here?—was lost in the confusion of the searchers converging on them. Salem reached them first, grasping Aiyana’s face and kissing her cheeks, her forehead, over and over. He couldn’t seem to stop.

“We were afraid to hope that you were okay,” Salem said, voice raw, face ravaged. “It was taking so long... Then Cody disappeared, too. We wanted to believe he was with you.”

He smiled at Cody, the effort wobbly. “Thank you. I’ll never forget this.”

Emily ran up. “Bro, you’re my hero. Aiyana, why was Cody carrying you?”

“I hurt my ankle. I can’t walk on it.”

Emily motioned to the paramedics, who were already wheeling a stretcher over.

Careful with their actions, they took her from Cody’s back. For some strange reason, he had trouble letting her go.

She’d been a burden, physically, but he missed her warmth against his back, the solid real weight of her that took his mind off his many other amorphous burdens. If only he could rid himself of them as easily as handing Aiyana off to her family.

Salem held her hand as though she were a fine china doll. She didn’t mention the gunshots.

The paramedics wheeled her toward the ambulance.

Cody made to follow. His wife appeared in front of him, blocking his path, enveloping him in a perfume-scented hug. He extricated himself from her arms. She knew it was over. The divorce proceedings had been final for six months.

“Why are you here, Stacey?” Hands on her upper arms, he put distance between them.

Her hesitant smile surprised him. Stacey wasn’t a hesitant person. “I’d like to talk.”

“Why? What’s left to discuss?”

She bit her lower lip. Tears formed in her luminous eyes. “Please. I need to talk to you.”

Cody held back a sigh, drawing on the last vestige of patience he had.

“Fine. We’ll talk. Again.”

From the corner of his eye, he noticed his mother approaching. Cody stepped away from his ex-wife.

“Cody,” Laura said, voice etched with worry. “We were anxious when you didn’t call or return.” She hugged him, holding him longer than she should have, but he understood. The tension in her arms, in her concerned frown, spoke the language of his childhood and motherly love.

While she fostered independence in her children, his mother had always been there for them, waiting in the background in case they needed her.

He’d outgrown his need, but not his yearning for her reassuring hugs.

“Lightning must’ve knocked out the cell tower.” He patted her back, hoping to offer as much reassurance as she gave him. “I couldn’t call—”

Stacey slipped her arm through Laura’s, essentially stopping their conversation. “Your mom and I had a nice talk. She agrees that marriages need to be worked on.”

Cody’s mother glanced at Stacey sharply. Cody saw red. Stacey had the ability to see only her own point of view and to think everyone else agreed with her.

He grasped Stacey’s elbow, physically removed her hand from his mother’s arm and all but dragged her away from onlookers to the other side of his SUV.

“Don’t look to make allies here.” He leaned close, intent on laying down the law of this land. His land. “These are my people. You have no standing here. Our marriage is over. You know that.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he ran roughshod over her. He knew what she needed from him—forgiveness—but absolution was out of the question.

“We can’t be friends, Stacey. We can’t have anything more to do with each other.”

She stared at him with pleading eyes. “Can’t you try, for me? I need you, Cody.”

He hung his head.

“Know what, Stace? I’m too tired to do this right now. I need about twelve hours’ sleep.”

How long did she plan to stay?

“Did you book a room at the B and B?”

“Of course not. I’m staying with you, at your parents’ house.”

“No.” Out of the question.

“Why not?”

“I’m not trying to be heartless, but I can’t handle this right now. I left California to get away from everything. We’re divorced. It’s over.”

She chewed on her lip. “But I—”

“Stop!” A few people turned at his raised voice. He lowered it. “I’m sorry you came all this way, I truly am, but we aren’t together and never will be again.”

He opened her door. “I’ll take you to the B and B. They’ll have room.”

“But it will cost me.”

“Yeah. I’m afraid so.”

“I don’t want it to be over, Cody.”

“I know, but we’ve gone around this a hundred times. Please, get in the car.”

When he noticed how unhappy she looked, he softened his tone. He was taking his fatigue out on her. “Let’s get a good night’s sleep and talk in the morning. Okay?”

She nodded and slipped into the car.

He walked toward Aiyana to find out how she was doing, but drew up short. Salem and Emily hovered like mother hens, showering her with care and tenderness, exactly as she deserved. Exactly where she belonged. He was an interloper.

They said when one door closed, another opened, but here Cody was, back in his hometown, and all of the doors were old and already known. There were no doors that hadn’t always been open to him. For a few precious moments in the wilderness with Aiyana, he’d wondered whether there might be a new door opening, but no. She had her life ahead of her. And he had a lot of repair work in front of him to make his life worth anything at all.

As for his doors back in LA? They were closed for good. But his mind hadn’t yet left that world behind, and wouldn’t for a while. This feeling of straddling two worlds might be the death of him. He needed to sort out Stacey once and for all.

He asked, “How did you get to the park?”

“I rented a car at the airport and made my way to your parents’ house. Your uncle was there dropping off stuff in case the search went into a second day. He offered to drive me here.”

Thanks, Noah, Cody thought with an uncharacteristic bitterness toward his uncle.

He was being unfair. It wasn’t Noah’s fault; his uncle had merely exercised his basic decency.

Cody drove her into town, stopping to retrieve her suitcases from her rental car on the way, and parked in front of the big old Victorian originally owned by the town’s founding father well over a hundred years ago.

Physically taking her right into the B and B and making sure she rented a room was the only way to guarantee she wouldn’t end up back at his house.

Cody carried her luggage in for her and waited while she registered. In her room, he set it all onto the floor and turned to her.

“I’ll bring your rental car and see you off in the morning.”

“Can’t we at least have dinner?”

“Stacey, I need a clean break. I’m sorry.” He knew he sounded frustrated. To soften the blow of his honesty—they’d been around this too many times—he kissed her forehead. “I can’t do this anymore and you shouldn’t want to, either. It isn’t healthy.”

He opened the door to leave.

“We’ll talk tomorrow. I promise.”

Back in his parents’ house, he showered, closed the blinds in the bedroom he’d grown up in and crawled into bed, pulling the covers over his head.

With a little luck, when he woke up, the past dozen years would have all been a bad dream.

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