Randall On The Run

“You did a dangerous thing, honey,” her father, Brett Randall, said. “You could’ve been killed.”

“I know, Dad, but I couldn’t just drive away and leave him there to die. You wouldn’t have done that.”

“Well, no, but—but I’m a man.”

“Oh, Dad, you’re so hopelessly out of date. Women can be brave, too.”

“We’re so glad you’ve come home,” Anna said, hugging her again. “Now, I have to go get ready for the surgery. Maybe you should go tell Mike what’s going on.”

“Yes, as soon as they take Steve into surgery, I’ll go to the waiting room. I’m assuming that’s where Mike is?”

“He and Caroline had to bring their son, so I think Mike’s in there, getting him back to sleep.” Anna stretched up and kissed her husband. “I’ll see you soon.”

Only a few minutes later, Anna came back to take Steve into surgery. Jessica went out to talk to Mike.

She found him and her Dad sitting in the waiting room with cups of coffee. She told him about finding Steve and what he had told her.

“The information he had is in a manila envelope that Tori promised to hold for me. He said it was proof that some of his partners were dirty. And he keeps saying he needs to get to Washington.”

“Can we look at what he has?” Mike asked.

“Would it make a difference in reporting his wound?”

“I might be able to hold off for a couple of days,” Mike said. “You know, things get mislaid sometimes.”

Brett nodded. “That works for me.”

“Okay. But we should wait until morning before we call Tori. She should get a little more sleep,” Jessica said.

“How about you?” her father asked. “Don’t you need some sleep?”

“Yes,” Jessica agreed, “but I’ll have to wait until I’m sure Steve is all right.” She turned back to Mike. “Is it okay if we use the apartment over the sheriff’s office? He seems to think these guys will come after him.”

“Yeah. I’ve got the key. You want to run over now and look at it? Maybe unload some of your things?”

“Wait a minute!” her father protested. “I don’t want Jess staying there if there’s going to be any danger. And she shouldn’t be alone with the guy, anyway!”

Jessica was waiting for that response. “Daddy, I’m not your little girl anymore. I’m all grown up.”

“Not that grown up!”

“I lived in L.A. by myself. And besides, I promised Steve I’d be beside him all the way.”

Mike intervened. “I’m sorry, Brett, but if it’s not Jess, than it will have to be Anna.”

Her father looked at her as if he’d been caught in a nasty trap.

“I’ll be fine, Daddy.” She took his silence for approval and turned to Mike. “Let’s hurry and get the apartment ready so we can get back before they finish the surgery.” Already she felt an odd sensation at being separated from Steve.

She recognized it as loneliness.

IT WAS A LITTLE AFTER FIVE in the morning when Mike and Brett carried Steve up the stairs to the bed Jessica had gotten ready for him.

She stood anxiously at the top of the stairs, knowing Steve was probably in some pain. But she had some pills Caroline had sent to ease his pain, to help him sleep. She would have to start his IV. Thankfully, her mother was following the threesome up the stairs to show her exactly what to do.

When they put Steve in the king-size bed and Jessica pulled the cover over him, she saw him relax. She looked at her mother. “Did they get the bullet out?”

“Yes, and Mike kept it as evidence. Steve is going to be fine. He’ll be on an antibiotic drip for three or four days and will need to stay in bed, except for trips to the bathroom. I’ll show you how to start the drip.”

Jessica drew a deep breath. For a role in Hollywood she’d acted as a nurse, but it hadn’t been real. She hoped she could do what was needed.

After watching her mother insert the connection into the needle in his hand, Jessica realized her job would be easy. “Thanks, Mom. How long will it last?”

“I think three hours. An alarm will sound to let you know. If it’s not changed at once, it will still be all right. Just do it as soon as possible. We have to keep the antibiotics going to be sure there’s no infection.”

“Okay. So, it’s all right if I sleep in between?”

“Yes, of course, dear. In fact, I can stay and keep an eye on him if you’re not comfortable—”

“No! No, I can take care of him.”

“We do need you to stay awake until you talk to Tori and tell her to bring that manila envelope to me on her way to work,” Mike said. “Can you do that?”

“Yes. Uh, how early does she get up?”

“Jon said she gets up at seven. That’s only a couple of hours from now. Then you can sleep all day. I promise I won’t do anything until I’ve looked at the evidence and talked to Steve. Jon and Caroline said he should be able to talk in the morning.”

“Thanks, Mike. And you, too, Dad, for getting him here. I’ll try to explain everything to him.”

“All right, honey, but we wish you’d come home.”

“Dad, we’ve already been through this. I don’t want to bring any trouble with me. We’ll be fine. And after Steve has settled everything, I’ll come home.” She hugged her mother and father and Mike, too. Then she watched them go down the stairs.

She was finally alone with Steve again.

Only he was asleep and she wished she was.

Determined to stay awake to talk to Tori, she went into the kitchen and searched for something to eat. Mike had brought some food from his kitchen until the stores opened.

She made herself a cup of hot chocolate and stared out the window at the street below. People rose early in Rawhide, which was quite different from Hollywood.

She wished Murphy was here. Jon had promised to bring him when he came back to the hospital later that day. That would give him an opportunity to check on Steve then, too.

A groan behind her reminded her of Steve’s presence. She hurried to his side, feeling his forehead. He was still running a fever. But the antibiotics would take care of that. Maybe it was time for a pain pill.

While getting the pills, she also got a glass of water for him. Then she returned to his bedside. She sat down on the edge of the mattress. “Steve, are you awake?”

He groaned again.

“I have a pain pill here to stop it from hurting. Open your mouth.”

He had to have understood because he did as she asked. She raised him so he could drink some water, then settled him back on the pillow. He shivered, and she pulled the blankets closer over his shoulders.

She returned to the window that looked down on the main street of Rawhide. Snow was once again drifting down slowly, adding another layer to the rooftops, streets and the few parked cars.

She’d lived in Rawhide, or near it, almost all her life. From the three years she’d been gone she could see some changes—the café had a new sign; there was a new shop across the street—but basically Rawhide had remained the same. Just the way she liked it. She found a sense of comfort in that sameness.

It was good to be home.

She had to have dozed in a chair by the window, because the ringing telephone woke her at a quarter to seven.

It was Tori. “Jess, are you sure you want me to take this envelope to Mike?”

She explained that Mike might be willing to delay his report, as long as the evidence in the envelope backed up Steve’s story. She asked her sister to rush it over to the sheriff’s office.

“Will do,” Tori replied. “Have you gotten any rest?”

“I’m going to sleep now.” The question was where. Surely not on the uncomfortable-looking sofa, not when there was that huge bed that Steve was sleeping in in the other room. She could sleep there and never even touch him.

After Tori promised to bring her some lunch from the café later, Jessica hung up and went to crawl into bed, careful to keep her distance from the patient.

Her last thought was that his body was as good as a furnace.

B.J. RANDALL ANSWERED the phone in the ranch kitchen around ten o’clock. “Hello?”

“Is Jessica Randall there?”

“No, she’s not. May I take a message?”

“Well, is this the right place? I mean, this is the number I got from Information. Do you know Jessica?”

“Yes, I do. Who’s calling?”

“This is Monica Miller. I’m a friend of Jessica’s from L.A.”

“I’m her aunt. I can get a message to her if you want.”

“Okay. This may be nothing, but a man called this morning and—and asked for her address in Dallas.” The woman paused. “I know she’s from Wyoming. I said she didn’t live in Dallas, she lives in Wyoming.”

“Who was the caller?”

“I don’t know. I was so taken by surprise I didn’t think to ask. And he wanted to know where in Wyoming, so I told him all I knew was Rawhide. I hope I didn’t cause her any problems. Can you tell her that?”

“Of course I can. And we appreciate your letting us know.”

After she’d hung up the phone, B.J. dialed the sheriff’s office. “Is Mike in yet?”

“Yes, ma’am. May I tell him who’s calling?”

“Yes, it’s his mother-in-law.”

“Just a minute please.”

“B.J., what’s up?” Mike asked when he picked up the phone.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t have a good feeling.” She told Mike about the call. “I thought I should let you know.”

“Yeah, I’m glad you did. It confirms what I suspected.”

“Does it mean that Jessica is in danger?”

“Possibly. But we’re going to keep an eye on her. And we’ll spread the word to keep her location secret. I’m going to make some calls, too.”

“We’re counting on you, Mike.”

“I know, B.J. Jess is family.”

THE BANGING ON THE DOOR woke Jessica. She crawled out of the bed and went to unlock the front door after checking to be sure it was her sister.

She was delighted to see that Tori’s arms were filled with sacks from the café. “I hope you bought lots of good stuff. I’m starved.”

“I did. I even brought some food for you know who. How’s he doing?”

“Still sleeping. I changed the drip once.”

“Well, maybe we can wake him up after you eat. Oh, and Mike may come up. He said he needed to talk to you.”

“Why? Did he read the evidence?”

“I don’t know, Jess. He just wanted to know when you’d be awake.”

A knock on the door interrupted them. Jessica hurried over and opened the door.

“Did you look before you opened the door?” Mike asked sternly.

“No, but Tori— I thought no one knew where we were?”

“Always check. There’ve been some developments. Do we still not know Steve’s last name?”

“He said he had a driver’s license. I haven’t looked, but it should be in his pants pocket,” she said, waving toward a pile on the end of the sofa. Mike moved to it.

“Go ahead and eat. I know you must be hungry.”

She and Tori sat down at the small table. Tori took out the enchiladas and a tossed salad.

“It’s enchilada day!” Jessica exclaimed. “I didn’t realize that!”

“Some things never change, Jess. I also brought some dessert for you.”

“Oh, good.”

Mike brought over Steve’s driver’s license. “This gives his name as Stephen Carter. I’m going to call a friend who used to be DEA. Maybe he’ll know the name.”

“But it could be an undercover identity,” Jessica said, worried.

“I know, but I still need to check. By the way, a friend of yours from Hollywood called. Someone called asking for your home address in Dallas.”

Jessica froze. Then she said, “That had to have come from the cop who pulled me over before I left L.A. I told him I was heading home to Dallas, hoping to throw anyone off track.”

“Yeah, I remember. You told me that story this morning. I have to admit I thought you were exaggerating but…” He let the thought go unsaid. “Your friend told them it was Wyoming, not Texas. They asked where in Wyoming and she told them Rawhide.”

Jessica felt an instant tightness in her chest. “So they’ll be here?”

“Maybe. But we’re going to be watching out for you. Just don’t open the door unless you know who it is.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“Has he awakened yet?”

“No, Tori and I are going to wake him in a few minutes and try to get him to eat.”

“All right. Tell him I haven’t reported his wound yet, and I’ve got his evidence in the safe downstairs. Seems he was right.”

“Thank you, Mike. I will.”

After Mike had gone and Jessica had eaten, she and Tori went into the bedroom to awaken Steve.

His groggy response wasn’t encouraging, but Jessica sat on the side of the bed and got him to take some sips of a chocolate malt. “Maybe this will help his fever go down,” she said.

“I have no idea,” Tori replied. “It’s funny that our mother is a nurse and midwife and neither of us is any good at this medical stuff. Though I have gotten better since I’ve had kids.”

“I hope I have kids,” Jessica said in a pensive state, almost as if she didn’t realize she was talking aloud.

“Of course you’ll have kids. I’m counting on it,” Tori said with a laugh. “How else will I have nieces or nephews?”

“I don’t know. I was in California for three years, and I never met anyone I was interested in.”

“Not even on your last day?” Tori asked.

Jessica stared at her sister. “What are you talking about? Oh, you mean Steve?” She stared at the brown-haired man who had fallen asleep again. She avoided her sister’s eyes. “I don’t know. Besides, it wouldn’t do me any good. I don’t live in L.A. anymore.”

Tori raised her eyebrows, but she didn’t say anything else.

Jessica just smiled and changed the subject as they moved back into the living room. When Tori left for work, Jessica returned to the bedroom.

Once again she tried to rouse Steve and get him to drink more of the chocolate malt. He actually opened his eyes this time, though it was more of a flutter. From what she could see, they were the same color as the malt, a rich chocolate brown.

She couldn’t resist the opportunity to talk to him. “Steve, is your last name Carter?”

“Yeah.” His eyes closed again, but he mumbled something she couldn’t decipher.

She wanted to question him, but there was another knock on the door.

This time she definitely checked and was greatly relieved to find her mother there. “Come in, Mom. I’m glad to see you.”

“I hope I’m not keeping you from sleep,” Anna said, carefully studying her daughter’s face.

“No, I slept about six hours. I may take another nap later, but I’m fine for now.”

“And how is our patient?”

“We woke him up and he drank some of a chocolate malt, but he didn’t really eat anything. Will that help him?”

“It won’t hurt him,” Anna said with a smile.

The beeper on his drip sounded. “I’ll change it since I’m here,” Anna said. “I can check his wound, too.”

The two women adjourned to the bedroom. While they were working on the patient, another knock sounded on the door.

“Is that Dad?” Jessica asked.

“No, he had some work he needed to do. Has Mike been here?”

“Yes, when Tori came with my lunch.”

“Then who could it be? Make sure you look before you unlock the door.”

Her mother didn’t need to warn her.

She couldn’t get a good look at the person, but she could tell it was a man. Before she had a chance to study him, a booming voice sounded through the door.

“Open this door. I know you’re in there.”

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