Chapter Twenty-four
Aidan left Beth standing in the middle of the dance floor. He dug his hand into his jeans pockets and threw a few coins onto the bar when he walked by. "Thanks, Gino. Watch out for these outlaws. They are troublemakers," he joked, suddenly feeling lighthearted and happier than he had been in a long, long time.
He waved goodbye to his buddies. He saw Mike and Jerry, but Tommy was nowhere to be seen. What on earth had Tommy been thinking when he arranged for him and Beth to meet tonight? He’d take care of Tommy’s attempt at matchmaking later. Right now, he just wanted to go home to Maura.
Aidan smiled to himself. He was no longer under the spell of the dark-haired beauty he left on the dance floor. She had done her best to tempt him with her willowy charms and smoldering dark eyes.
He didn’t blame her for taking him for granted. He had always gone running back to her—until now.
His heart was free to love again, and the only woman he wanted was the petite, curvy, blonde with Jackson-green eyes and a fiery attitude to match. And she was waiting for him at home in their marriage bed.
It wasn’t until he reached the parking lot that he realized he hadn’t driven his pickup. He had hitched a ride with Tommy.
“Damn it.” Aidan turned and headed back inside to call his dad for a ride. He reached for the door when he heard a woman's scream. He had heard that scream once before, alongside a creek bank. “Maura!”
His mind stuttered, unable to come up with an explanation as to why Maura would be outside Gino’s Bar and screaming at the top of her lungs, but it was obvious she was in trouble. Before he could come up with any plausible explanation about what the hell was going on, he heard a dog in attack mode. But it wasn't just any dog. It was his dog. Willow.
Aidan ran toward the fracas just around the corner of the building. He saw Tommy shoving Maura against his car—and a pistol aimed at his dog.
“What the hell is going on here? What the hell!” Aidan screamed to no one in particular.
Tommy turned toward him in surprise. “Aidan, go back inside. I can handle this situation. Just—go back inside.”
“Tommy! Stop pushing Maura. You are hurting her. And if you don’t take that pistol out of my dog’s face, I swear to God, I’ll take it away from you and wrap it up beside your head. Now drop it!”
Tommy’s indecision was the opening Aidan needed.
Willow, come!" Aidan ordered the dog to come to him. She hesitated for a moment, and then she limped to him, lying down at his feet, her blue eyes never leaving Maura and Tommy.
"Now let Maura go. I don't know what's happening here, but whatever it is, we can work this out."
Aidan sent her a puzzled glance to ask her what was going on. Her answer was like a slap to his face. "Don’t act like you don’t know what is going on," she spat at him.
"I have no idea what's going on here. Why would I?"
"You lied to me. You made me believe you and I…had something we could build a future on. But, it was all a calculated plan to cheat me and my family, and your own parents, out of their land. The very thing our arrangement was supposed to save."
“Shut up,” Tommy shouted at Maura and pushed her against the car again.
"Tommy, what the hell is going on?" Aidan moved toward Tommy to stop him from shoving Maura again.
"Stay back, Aidan. You aren’t in this. Just turn around and go back inside. No one has to know you were ever here.”
Aidan stared at his life-long friend, but he was looking at a stranger. Something had gone wrong. Terribly wrong.
“But I am here, Tommy, and I can see with my own two eyes what is happening. I just can’t understand what I’m seeing. Explain it to me. Explain why you are manhandling my wife and pointing a gun at my dog.”
Tommy turned the gun on him. “I don't want to shoot you, Aidan. I don’t. But if you are going to take her side, then I’ve got no choice but to shut you up, too. I’ve gone too far to turn back now. She's got to go. She's ruining everything!" Tommy screamed.
"Why does she have to go? Where? What did she do? What did she ruin?" Aidan was really scared now. Something was wrong with Tommy, really wrong, and whatever it was, Tommy was blaming Maura.
"I told you to stay away from her. I told you not to get her pregnant because if you did, it would ruin our plans. But you couldn't keep it in your pants, could you? You could have had any girl in the county, and you couldn't stay away from this one."
Aidan turned to Tommy. “What the hell have you done?”
"I owe a lot of money to some really bad people, Aidan. And, if I don't get that money by getting the finder’s fee from the investors for the sale of your land, I'm gonna be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. She's gotta disappear, Aidan. I don't have a choice."
Tommy backed towards his car, keeping Aidan and Willow in front of him. Maura struggled against him, but he twisted her arm behind her back. She cried out in pain. Aidan’s fury almost got the better of him. He had to keep a cool head, or this situation could get out of control really fast.
“But why Maura? What’s she done that she has to be hurt?”
“Because she’s pregnant, you idiot! You got the damn girl pregnant!”
Aidan stood stock-still when Tommy’s words sank into his terrified brain. He looked at Maura. “You’re pregnant? We’re having a baby?” Aidan took a step toward Maura. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was going to be a father. For a moment, he felt he’d been struck with a pole axe, but Tommy’s next words brought him back to reality.
"That's right, Aidan. She’s pregnant. But it ain’t yours, remember. She’s tryin’ to pass someone else’s child off as yours. I told you them Jackson’s couldn’t be trusted—”
“Shut up, Tommy.” Aidan looked over Tommy’s pistol straight into the eyes of the woman he realized he couldn’t live without. “There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s carrying my baby. But, what I do wonder about—” He sent a silent message to Maura. He hoped she understood what he was about to do. “—is if she will stand beside me until death us do part?”
The fear in Maura’s eyes told him she understood. “Don’t do it, Aidan. Please, don’t,” she begged him but Aidan knew he was running out of time and he was out of options. He couldn’t risk rushing Tommy, or he might shoot Maura. Or Willow. But he couldn’t allow Tommy to pull Maura into the car. He was terrified he might never see her again. Or his baby.
“Tommy, please don’t do this. You’ll go to prison for the rest of your life. Or worse, you’ll get the death penalty.”
“If I don’t get that money, I’ve already been sentenced to a death penalty. Don’t you see? I’ve got no choice now.”
Tommy pushed Maura through the opening of his car door. Aidan rushed Tommy just as he saw someone come up behind Tommy and clock him on the head with something.
Tommy hit the ground. His gun falling limp by his side. Aidan rushed to Tommy's side and kicked the gun out of his reach in case he came to.
Once he knew the danger was over, he turned to their rescuer.
“Nola?” Aidan was in shock.
“I’m here too. I was gonna hit him with my walking stick, but Nola was quicker with her rolling pin.”
“Mom?”