It was the fate that awaited the last outsider who came to their small town only to start trouble. Mike threw that right in Lucas’s face, reminding him about Mack Turner and how he tried to assault Maria inside of Ophelia. That outsider ended up a mangled mess when his truck crashed into the gulley on his way out of town. Most of Hamlet thought Turner got what he deserved for daring to lay hands on Maria De Angelis. Pitching O’Malley into the deep, dark, dangerous valley seemed like a fitting penalty for his crime.
Except, as Lucas pointed out, as far as Hamlet knew, Turner’s death was an accident. Only one person in town ever mentioned just how suspicious his accident was, and since Caitlin was dead now too, an accident it would stay.
If Mike Johnson, in a fit of anger, murdered O’Malley, the man would never get over it. He wasn’t built the way that the former Marine turned sheriff was, or wired wrong like Lucas. Some men were meant to kill; most weren’t. Mike wasn’t.
Keeping him from getting his hands on O’Malley wasn’t a favor for O’Malley. It was a favor for Mike Johnson and his family.
Even if Lucas secretly thought O’Malley deserved a swan dive of his own.
Lucas handed Liam over to his mother with the stern instruction to allow the boy to finish his lollipop before tucking him into bed with promises of a better tomorrow.
The only way to help Liam forget the terrifying experience of the fake Santa was to talk up the real one and give the kid the best Christmas they could. After the fright they had when they discovered Liam was gone, Lucas figured the Johnsons were so grateful to have him back, they’d give him a Christmas Eve and Day to remember.
Lucas was looking forward to the same thing for himself.
First, though, he had to take care of O’Malley. Sylvester offered to give the Johnsons an escort back to their house, then drove out of Hamlet to be able to use a cellphone. A quick call to an old acquaintance, Detective David Rodriguez, and Sylvester came back with good news. Ricky wouldn’t have to babysit O’Malley in the cells all night—only until Rodriguez could send his men to retrieve the thief and kidnapper.
No surprise that O’Malley was wanted for a rash of burglaries all throughout the county.
Since it wouldn’t help Rodriguez out if they stuck him with a bleeding perp, Lucas had to clean O’Malley up. Luckily for him—and O’Malley, too—Sly’s shot went right through his shoulder. Without the bullet in there, it didn’t take long for Lucas to patch him up.
Remembering the pain of being shot, Lucas purposely went as briskly yet as roughly as he could, knowing the outsider would be aching for a long time anyway.
O’Malley deserved it, too. For trying to rob the townspeople, for taking that poor boy, for screwing up the time he had before Christmas with Tessa and Maria… he deserved that and more. And now that Lucas had gotten stuck waiting with Rick in case Mike Johnson attempted to come back, it wasn’t like he was returning to Ophelia anytime soon.
Lucas reached out and slapped the bullet wound.
Despite the uncomfortable position the restraints had him in, O’Malley—from the blood loss and the alcohol—had been dozing in the chair. At the feel of Lucas’s hand coming down hard on his shoulder, he jerked awake.
Eyes a slit in his puffy face, the drunk outsider slurred, “Jesus Christ, what the hell was that?”
“Sorry,” Lucas said dryly. “Just making sure the bandage is in place.”
9
“Do you have to go so soon?”
Lucas reached out, cupping Maria’s cheek. With the edge of his thumb, he wiped at the tear that spilled from the corner of her eye.
The tear burned at his skin. This was the exact reason why he hadn’t wanted to come back. It was easier to deal with missing Maria when he wasn’t forced to come face to face with how much she missed him.
“I’m afraid so. We only ever meant to stop in for the night. Tessa insisted we visit for Christmas, but we already have plans of our own for Christmas Day.”
She also apologized profusely after Lucas finally made it back to Ophelia that morning. Tessa so desperately wanted to give him a special Christmas and she blamed herself for tainting it with Maria’s undisguised sadness and the night he spent searching for—and tending to—that drunk kidnapper. If they had stayed in Dayton, instead of coming all the way to Hamlet, none of this would’ve happened and they wouldn’t have had to spend all night and then part of Christmas Eve apart.
Lucas couldn’t believe that she didn’t see it the way that he did. That this Christmas would be the most special of all because finally, after more than six years, they were spending it together. Tessa was the best gift he could have ever asked for, and even if he had to work for everything they had… even if he had to kill for it, he would do it all again in a heartbeat because she was all he ever wanted.
Insisting that they take the drive from Dayton to Hamlet so that he could see Maria? Being so willing to share him, when he couldn’t even tolerate her shaking another man’s hand? He’d never understand it. Not only was he lucky enough to find her in the first place, but for her to be as devoted to him?
It was a fucking miracle. For Christmas, for New Year’s, Valentine’s, Easter… it was a fucking miracle all year-round and he knew that better than anyone.
Drawing back from Maria, Lucas lowered his hand, brushing it slyly against the slight bulge in his pants pocket. The rings were still there, though he was sure he’d be checking them again and again before they finished their drive and he’d finally be able to slip the band on Tessa’s slim finger.
Lucas didn’t bother with an engagement ring because he had no intention of asking her to marry him. As with everything in his life, he’d been
meticulously planning this moment for weeks. It was in his nature to always lock down every detail, be prepared for every outcome. He never left anything for last minute. He even chose the quaint chapel for their Christmas Eve wedding because it was only an hour’s drive from Hamlet.
And, okay, he never expected to be drawn into a nighttime hunt for a missing boy, not in Hamlet, but he knew Tessa’s soft heart. Her doing everything she could to convince him to visit Hamlet for Christmas was a distinct possibility. So he let her think that he needed to be persuaded, while the entire time he anticipated seeing Maria.