White Wedding for a Southern Belle

Waving again, she watched as the car accelerated then pulled to a screeching halt beside her. With relief that almost had her on her knees again, Ashley saw it was a police car. A uniformed officer hopped out of the car. It was Bull. She fell into his arms.

“Help! Kiefer is locked in a warehouse. Marko kidnapped us. Call an ambulance. There’s an injured man in there too.”

“Get in. Show us where.” He opened the back passenger door and Ashley climbed in. The policeman driving was already on the radio, letting other patrolmen know they needed help. When Bull was back in the car the driver stepped on the gas.

She sat forward, looking through the wire mesh and out the windshield. Could she recall enough to find the correct building? They all looked the same in the dark. She had to remember. Had to get the right one. Kiefer’s life depended on it.

“It’s down here. The third big building on the right. No, fourth. I came out between those buildings.” She pointed off to the right despite the fact no one could see her do it. “The one with the trash cans beside it.”

The patrolman stopped the car in front of the large roll-down door.

“You stay here,” Bull said, as he leaped out and pulled his gun. The sound of sirens filled the air.

She watched as Bull and the other officer opened a smaller door beside the larger one and entered the warehouse. Watching with her nose pressed against the window, she waited. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. More police cars arrived and men flooded in. Still no Kiefer. Where was he? Was he all right? Panic became a living thing in her. She hung on to the edge of the car door and didn’t take her eyes off the opening to the warehouse. Was this how Kiefer had felt when he’d been waiting for her that night? Tears filled her eyes.

Had Marko returned while she’d been gone? She couldn’t think like that. Not now that she’d found help.

An ambulance pulled to a stop nearby. The EMTs unloaded a gurney and pushed it through the larger door, which was opening. Soon after Bull came out of the building and walked toward her. He opened the door.

“Kiefer?” She was almost afraid of the answer.

“Inside. He’s fine. Asking to see you.”

Ashley ran into the building and stopped. Kiefer walked toward her.

Happiness surged through her. She smiled as the band squeezing her heart popped open. She ran, tears streaming down her face, toward him. His arms opened wide. When she reached him he engulfed her, lifting her off her feet. Kiefer was solid, sure and safe. Best of all—alive. She never wanted to leave him again.

“I thought... Thought...I was so scared...”

He held her tight as if he never wanted to let her go. “Shh, sweetheart. I’m fine. You did good. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.” Kiefer slowly placed her on her feet and looked at her. He studied her as if making sure she really was okay.

“Did Marko come back?”

“No, but Bull can tell you all about that. I have to go to the hospital with Jorge. I want you to go too and be checked out. Bull is going to see that you get to your parents’. No argument.”

She would go gladly. If Kiefer wasn’t going to be with her then she wanted people around her who made her feel safe. Her parents could provide that. Despite them hovering when she’d been a child, she had felt secure. Smiling up at him, she nodded. “No argument.”

The emergency crew came past them with Jorge on a gurney.

“I’ve got to go.” He gave her a quick kiss and followed Jorge into the back of the ambulance.

Bull joined her. “Come on. I’ll get you to the hospital and call your parents.”

Ashley slowly walked to the car with Bull. Kiefer had said nothing about seeing her again. Had anything really changed between them?

* * *

It had been three days and still Kiefer hadn’t called. Ashley had begun to worry that he wouldn’t.

Her parents had picked her up from the hospital. Her arm had been put in a sling again. Not because of her gunshot injury but because her shoulder had been hurt from being hyperextended when she and Kiefer had been tied together.

Bull had explained on the way to the hospital that 911 had received the call, but before they could pinpoint the location, the battery had gone dead. All they’d had was a vicinity. When they had been called to a break-in at a pharmacy, they’d suspected it was related but they’d still had a large area to cover. They’d started searching the area. That was when they’d found her. On the way to the hospital the call came through that Marko and his driver had been picked up.

By the time her mother and father had made it to the hospital they had been typical worried parents. This time Ashley had found it comforting. She’d appreciated the pampering, even though Kiefer hadn’t been there to offer some as well.

The second day she was at her parents’ she went for a walk along her old block. It was warm outside but not hot and steamy yet. It was summertime and children were playing in their yards.

She stopped and looked at the house next door. The one Ron had lived in years before. After what he’d done, his parents had moved away, no longer able to face their shame. The new neighbors had painted the place, but it still held the stigma of being where Ron had lived. How could anyone have known? Was there ever a way of knowing what people were capable of? Not really. Mostly she had to just believe in the goodness of mankind. That trust was something she’d had a hard time giving. Kiefer had more than earned it. Proved himself worthy.

Still, she had misjudged Marko. No, that wasn’t true. She just hadn’t wanted to see it. He had given her all the signs.

Ashley continued along the street, lifting her face so that the sun warmed it. It had been a while since she had really looked at the area. Little had changed yet somehow it seemed different. She went on another couple of blocks and turned right. There was her father’s small grocery store. Entering, she saw her father behind the counter.

“Hey, sweetheart. It’s nice to see you.”

“Hi.”

“How about a drink?” He walked toward an old soda machine.

“That would be great.” She accepted the bottle from him.

“I’m not busy this morning, so come have a seat and stay a minute.” He indicated a stool nearby.

Ashley took it and her father the other.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Better. Much better. In fact, I think I’ll be going home tomorrow.” She took a sip of her soda.

“It’s been nice having you but I know you have your own life.”

Ashley nodded.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you. I never would’ve thought Marko would do such a thing.” A dark look came over his face. “But then, I’ve made that mistake before. I know you had a hard time with how overprotective I was when you were a kid. It was only because I loved you.”

Had her father felt the same way she had when Marko had pointed the gun at Kiefer? Or when she’d had to leave him behind, knowing Marko could return at any moment? Had that been the same alarm that had consumed Kiefer when she’d been shot?

She’d experienced that type of fear. “I understand that now, Dad.”

“I hope so.”

There had been no compromise with her father but Kiefer had offered one. Instead of accepting it, she’d all but slapped him in the face. She’d thrown away what could have been.

A customer entered. Her father kissed her on the forehead. “I love you, honey. It can make us act in strange ways.”