CHAPTER TWENTY
After I hung up, I bolted out of bed so fast the room began to spin. I put a hand on the sloped ceiling and waited for it to pass, but the sounds of more banging spurred me into action. I knew I shouldn’t rush into something, especially if bullets were flying, but I couldn’t hide in Dixie’s room like some scared little girl.
Even if I felt like one.
I clung to the side of the wall as I descended the steps, hoping the dizziness would fade. I strained to hear any sounds, but the downstairs was oddly silent. As I reached the bottom step, I realized both my cousins had weapons, and I was defenseless. I peeked around the corner into the dining room and saw it was empty. I heard more noises out behind the house, and the sound of a car engine.
I left the staircase, grabbed a crystal candlestick from Meemaw’s hutch, and entered the kitchen through the swinging door. It was quiet again, but the back door was open. An exterior light was on, and I saw three figures in the shadows near the barn. One of them took off running for Teddy’s pickup truck.
Distant sirens filled the night air as I slipped out the door.
“Teddy!” Meemaw shouted. “Don’t go doin’ something foolish!”
But her words didn’t even slow Teddy down as he climbed inside the truck.
“Is he goin’ after the people who tried to break in?”
“Summer!” Dixie shouted. “What are you doin’ out here?”
“Seein’ what all the commotion’s about. Is he goin’ after them?”
“Yes.”
The truck started, and he swung it in a wide circle, driving to the lane between the house and the detached garage.
I knew going after someone who’d broken into your home with a loaded shotgun was a recipe for trouble, so I ran over to the gravel driveway and stood in the middle as Teddy barreled toward me.
“Summer!” Dixie screamed.
Teddy laid on the horn, but I stood my ground, counting on the fact that the guy who’d carried me upstairs so sweetly a few hours ago wasn’t about to mow me down now.
The sirens were close enough that flashing lights were bouncing off the garage.
Teddy hit the brakes, and gravel went flying as he skidded to a stop. Only he’d picked up enough speed that he wasn’t going to stop in time to miss me.
Shit. I was in an unintentional game of chicken with my cousin.
I darted for the house, reasoning that he’d aim for the garage before damaging our century-old home. Thankfully, I was right—and I barely had time to wonder if I had saved him only to unintentionally injure him when he came to a stop before hitting the cinder-block garage.
“What the Sam Hill’s goin’ on here?” Luke shouted from behind me.
Teddy got out of his truck, ignoring the police chief and instead stalking toward me. “What the hell were you doin’, Summer? I could have killed you!” He grabbed his head with both hands and bent over his knees. “Fuck!”
My heart racing like it was in a hundred-yard dash, I started to move toward him, but Luke blocked my path, lifting a hand to hold me back.
“What’s goin’ on, Teddy?” Luke barked. “Why did I pull up to find you nearly running down your cousin?”
He flung a hand out toward me. “She stood in the middle of the drive, blocking the path. I was goin’ after whoever broke in.”
Luke glanced over his shoulder at me as though waiting for me to disagree or concur.
“I’ve lost too many family members to tragedy.” My voice cracked. “I wasn’t going to risk losing Teddy too. Who knows what would have happened to him if he’d caught up to them.”
Luke turned his attention back to Teddy. “She’s right, man. What were you thinkin’?”
Teddy stood upright, his chest puffing out. “I was thinkin’ that I was protectin’ my family and what’s mine.”
“That’s for me and my men to figure out, Teddy. Not you.”
“Not if they’re on my land!” he spat out while he clenched his fist.
“But you were about to chase ’em off your land.” Luke dropped his hand and took a step to the side. “Let’s just everyone take a breath, and then you can tell me what happened.” He glanced toward the barn. “Dixie and Miss Viola, if you’d be so kind as to put away your guns, I’d feel a little better.”
I hadn’t noticed before, but sure enough they were both armed—Dixie with her handgun and Meemaw with a shotgun. The both lowered their weapons.
Luke shot a glance to the candlestick still in my hand. “And if you’re planning to redecorate, you’ll have to wait until I’m done.”
I narrowed my eyes and put a hand on my hip.
His back stiffened, and he turned to me, giving me his full attention. “What the hell are you doin’ here at all? Dr. Livingston said he was keeping you until tomorrow.”
“I decided to leave early, not that it’s any of your business!” I advanced toward him. “What’s the doctor doing givin’ you my personal medical information? Isn’t that against the law?”
His jaw clenched. “I was checking in case I needed to give you protection in the hospital. And then I talked to Deputy Dixon.”
“Oh, really? So you think I’m lying too?” I was standing in front of him now, and I had to lean my head back to look up at him. “You think I moved Otto Olson’s body to the woods for a freaking TV show I hate?” I knew he didn’t really believe that—he’d said as much in the morgue—but he’d also confessed our history might be clouding his judgment.
“If you hate it so much, quit!”
I wasn’t having this conversation with him again. We’d started having it twelve years ago, and it never ended any differently, so why were we still wasting our time? “Don’t you have other things to do besides berate me for my career choices, Officer?” I said in a snotty tone. “Like investigate the break-in?”
“Was there a break-in?” he asked in an equally hateful tone.
I gasped in pure shock.
His face fell. “Summer . . .”
Teddy took up the mantel of confronting Luke. “Are you seriously callin’ my cousin a liar?”
Luke lifted his hands in defense. “Teddy, I was out of line.”
“I’ll say.” His eyes widened, and he took a step toward Luke as he started putting things together. “Jesus Christ! You think she was lying about gettin’ attacked?”
Luke took a step back, still holding his hands up in a defensive stance. “I didn’t say that.”
Teddy was standing in front of me now, putting himself between us. “Then why would you suspect her of movin’ Otto’s body?” He glanced over at me, then back to Luke. “How the hell would Summer be able to move Otto’s body? Jesus Christ,” he said in disgust. “I knew you hated her, but that’s low even for you.”
The words felt like a slap across the face. “Oh, my God.” I walked around Teddy to face Luke. “You told people you hated me?”
“Summer. No.”
Teddy balled his fists at his sides. “Get the hell off our land.”
“Teddy,” Luke said in a pleading tone as he extended his hand toward him, “tempers are short—”
“You’re damn right they are.”
“But if you had a break-in, we need to investigate.”
“I don’t trust you to investigate, Luke Montgomery,” Teddy said, taking a step toward him. “You didn’t see Summer when she came home tonight. She looked like a fuckin’ ghost. I had to carry her upstairs for fear she’d pass out before she even got inside the house. I take great offense to you insinuatin’ she’s fakin’ that.”
Luke cast a concerned glance toward me. “Summer. Maybe you should sit down.”
“Don’t you talk to her!” Teddy pointed a finger at him. “You have no right to talk to her. In fact, get the hell out of here before I call the sheriff to haul your ass off.”
“I know she’s not fakin’ it, Teddy. I talked to her doctor—”
“To see if she was fakin’?”
“No!” Luke took a step back and put his hands on top of his head. “I’m talkin’ to you man-to-man now, Teddy, not as the police chief.” He paused to make sure Teddy was listening. “I know Summer’s not fakin’ anything. We may have our differences, but she’s incapable of that kind of duplicity. Was she attacked? I’d like to talk to her more about that. I thought she was spending the night in the hospital, and I planned to talk to her tomorrow, which is now today.” He pushed out a breath when he realized Teddy was listening. “But I do know something happened to her in the woods, and I’m trying to figure that out.”
Teddy took in two heavy breaths before he answered. “I thought the sheriff’s department was handling Otto’s death.”
Luke took a step closer and nodded. “They are, but just like you take care of your own, I take care of my own too.”
My chest froze. Was Luke calling me his own? While part of me took great offense, another part of me rejoiced.
“My sworn duty is to protect the citizens of Sweet Briar,” he continued as he held Teddy’s gaze, “and I take that very seriously. And since Summer’s originally from here and temporarily livin’ here again, she’s included in that.”
Oh. Of course. That buoyant feeling that had risen inside me sank, carrying the rest of my energy with it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to remain upright much longer. “I’ve got to sit down.”
Teddy snaked an arm around me, pulling me to his side. “I still want you gone, Luke.”
“Teddy, listen to me. The sheriff’s department is the one trying to pin this Otto mess on Summer. If you want to help her, then keep them out of it.” He paused. “We’re on the same side here.”
“Fine, then no one’s investigatin’. Matter of a fact, there wasn’t a break-in.”
Luke released a groan.
“Teddy,” Meemaw said, “enough of this nonsense. The window on the back bedroom is busted out.”
“Raccoons busted out a window last year,” Teddy said in a gruff tone.
“We may grow coons big here,” she said, “but I’ve never seen one get big enough to drive off in a truck.”
Meemaw walked over to us, and her tone softened as she held Teddy’s gaze. “Your Pawpaw and your daddy would be proud of ya, boy—standin’ up for your family. But you have to know when to back down.”
“Just like you’ve always backed away from anything to do with Summer?” he asked with a hard edge in his voice.
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s enough, boy.”
“Is it? You’ve been dancing around her bein’ back ever since that woman came to talk to you about her stayin’ here.”
“This is a family discussion.”
“Family . . . some family.”
My grandmother looked so angry, I was sure she was going to snap his head off. “This is still my land, boy . . .”
“And you never tire of reminding me of that.”
The pain in Teddy’s voice broke my heart.
I tugged on his arm and whispered, “Don’t do this on my account, Teddy.”
He glanced down at me. “Family actually means something to me, Summer.”
He made it sound like a conviction, only I was sure he wasn’t convicting me.
Teddy glanced from Luke to our grandmother. “You two make me sick. Did you ever once stop and put yourself in Summer’s shoes?” He shook his head in disgust. “You do whatever you want, Meemaw. You always do.” He steered me toward the front porch, and I staggered along with him, hating that I was the source of this conflict.
“Teddy, I’m sorry,” I whispered as tears stung my eyes.
“Don’t you dare tell me that.” Then he grinned. “Unless you plan to tell me sorry for almost makin’ me run you down.” He paused. “Jesus. I think I aged ten years.”
I leaned my head into his chest. “I couldn’t let you get hurt. I heard gunshots. What if they shot you?”
“I was the one to get off a few shots.”
“Okay, then,” I said as we started up the porch steps. “What if you caught up with the robbers and got so pissed you shot them? Luke wouldn’t be able to get you out of those charges.”
“Just like he didn’t get Dixie out of her charges?”
The blood rushed to my feet, and I stumbled on the top step, but Teddy held me up. “What?”
I stood still on the front porch.
“Luke was the one who arrested Dixie for setting the old barn on fire.” He studied me. “You didn’t know?
I shook my head.
“Sorry, Summy. I thought you did.”
I couldn’t help the small smile that surfaced at his use of his childhood nickname for me, but it faded as soon as his words registered. “How can Dixie stand talkin’ to him?”
“She doesn’t blame him, but I do. My family had already been ripped to pieces, then Luke went and stole my sister too.”
I closed my eyes, suffocating in guilt. “Oh, Teddy. I’m so, so sorry. I should have been here for you.”
“You were livin’ in your own hell.”
My eyes opened and I glanced up at him. “What?”
“I’m not blind, unlike half the people around here, and I’m certainly not as stupid as Meemaw gives me credit for. I know Aunt Bea. She’s a manipulator and a bitch. I remember how much you always hated those pageants. You never wanted that life. You wanted to live here and marry Luke and have a family of your own and live on Baumgartner land. Aunt Beatrice stole your life from you.”
I gazed up at him in wonder. Someone finally understood.
“Ah . . . don’t cry, Summy. Why’re you cryin’?”
I hadn’t even realized there were tears in my eyes. “Because I love you so much.”
I threw my arms around his neck, and his wrapped around me. “I always have your back, Summer. Always. I take my responsibility as your cousin seriously. Just like my responsibility for Dixie.”
I couldn’t believe he was giving me the same status as his sister. “I was gone for so long.”
“We were always more like siblings than cousins,” he said with a crack in his voice. “The spell we spent apart doesn’t change that. But you’re back now. That’s what matters, isn’t it? Dixie came back and then you did. The Baumgartner kids are together again.”
I started crying. “I’m so stupid.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I was so scared to come back and face Meemaw. She made it clear that I wasn’t welcome here, but I should have fought harder to stay in the family. I was missin’ out on two something wonderfuls—you and Dixie.”
“That’s all water under the bridge,” he said. “You’re here now. That’s what matters.” Then he leaned back and searched my face. “Promise me you won’t ever jump out in front of my truck again.”
“No. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you, Teddy. We Baumgartner kids have each other’s backs.”