Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

C orbin raised the axe and brought it down full force, the blade slicing into the dense wood of the chopping block. He pulled the blade free and raised the axe high, bringing it down again. Curses flew from his mouth, his mind on fire as he hit the block again and again. Tears mixed with his rage as he used every last bit of strength he possessed to obliterate the block. It was so utterly unfair! Not only was Gram robbed of her mind, but now she was dying. And Pops and Addie hadn’t told him. What would’ve happened if he hadn’t come home? Would they have waited until Gram passed to tell him she had cancer?

When his anger was spent, he dropped the axe blade to the ground, keeping hold of the handle. His shoulders slumped, his breaths came in short bursts, sending puffs of steam into the air. After they left the care center, Delaney had tried to offer comfort, but he barely heard a word as he sped back to the cabin where he’d jumped out and grabbed the axe.

He glanced at the cabin and realized with a start that Delaney was pressed against the window, watching him. The stricken expression on her face said it all. His blood ran cold as the knowledge pricked him like a thousand needles all at once. Delaney was afraid of his anger … afraid of him. When she realized he’d seen her, she stepped back, the lace curtain falling over her face. Shame covered him, giving way to a numb coldness that touched every speck of his body. He’d lost himself in the scorching river of anger that raged through him, giving no thought to how this might look to Delaney who was ultra-sensitive about violence, considering her background.

He breathed out a heavy sigh as he put the axe away and trudged up the steps. When he opened the door, his eye caught on Delaney sitting on the couch, her hands clasped tightly, a pinched expression on her tear-stained face.

He ran both hands through his hair, feeling like an idiot. He removed his coat and put it on the rack before going to her side. He sat down beside her. “I’m sorry,” he began, touching her arm.

She whirled around to face him. “Don’t!” Tears pooled in her eyes, her lower lip quivering. “I thought you were different.”

The accusation mixed with hurt in her eyes made him want to crawl under the couch. “I am different.” The fact that she kept comparing him to Tuck Allen was insulting. How could she think he was like that monster?

A hard laugh gurgled in her throat. “Clearly.”

“Look, I was upset. The news about Gram threw me for a loop.”

“I can understand you being upset … angry.” She shuddered. “But what I can’t tolerate is violence.”

His voice rose, the anger resurfacing. “Because I pounded a chopping block?” His eyes narrowed. “Everyone gets upset, Delaney.”

She hugged her arms. “But not everyone goes berserk.” Her dark eyes filled with fear. “I can’t go through that again.”

His jaw tightened. “Through what? I’m not a robot. I have feelings.” His voice broke. “I just found out that my grandmother’s dying. Cut me a little slack here.”

She bit her lower lip to stay the trembling. For a second, they sat looking at each other until she finally spoke. “I’m sorry about your grandmother. I truly am. But I can’t be with someone who’s so … angry.”

He rattled off a hard laugh. Yeah, he was angry, so furious that it was roasting him from the inside out. “Just because I’m angry doesn’t mean that I’d ever hurt you.”

Tears slipped from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she croaked. “But this isn’t gonna work.”

Corbin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She was giving up on him so soon? Before they even had a chance to get started, just because he’d gotten mad and pulverized a chopping block? “I love you,” he said quietly. “Does that mean anything to you?”

The door opened. Pops’ eyes rounded as he looked at the two of them. “Is everything all right?”

Delaney hiccuped with emotion, her hand going over her mouth. “Excuse me.” She got up and fled the room.

A look of concern washed over Pops. “What was that all about?”

Corbin gave him a hard look. “Why didn’t you tell me about Gram? The brain cancer?”

Pops blinked a couple times, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “I tried yesterday.”

“What?” Corbin flung back.

Pops sat down in the recliner. “I tried to tell you,” he began, “but you wouldn’t listen.”

“You should’ve told me earlier.”

“Earlier?” Pops chuckled dryly. “I couldn’t even get you to come home for a visit, how was I supposed to tell you that?”

“You could’ve called.”

Pops’ eyebrow shot up. “And have you self-destruct?”

He rocked back. “I hardly think I’d self-destruct,” he muttered.

“Look, it’s been hard enough for you to come to terms with Lou Ella being put in the care center.” He paused. “I didn’t want to add insult to injury.”

Acid rose in his throat. “You should’ve told me.” He shot Pops a condemning look.

“I’m not the enemy here, son.” Tears gathered in his eyes. “You don’t think it’s been hard for me? To sit by helplessly, watching my sweetheart deteriorate? First her mind? Then her body? I love her with all my heart.”

“I love her too.” A sob rose in Corbin’s chest. “I know it’s not your fault. It’s my fault. I couldn’t come back … couldn’t face it.” This time, he was unable to stop the tears.

“It’s nobody’s fault.” Pops was at his side in two steps. He sat down and put his arms around Corbin, letting the grief flow out.

Delaney pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring unseeingly ahead. Her life was a tangled mess. Maybe she’d overreacted. But watching Corbin strike the chopping block over and over, his face twisted in rage, had jolted her to the core. How many times had she seen that same ruthless look on Tuck’s face before he vented his anger on her? She shuddered, her stomach churning. Would she ever be whole again? Free from the fear? While her rational mind knew that it wasn’t fair to project Tuck’s sins on Corbin, her feelings screamed otherwise.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Go away,” she said reflexively. She’d have to face Corbin sooner or later, figure out if her reaction to his anger was valid or not. But for now, she just wanted to be left alone.

Another knock.

She gritted her teeth. “I said go away!” Why couldn’t Corbin allow her some time to sort this through?

“It’s Wallace.”

She jerked, heat stinging her cheeks. “Oh, sorry.” Hastily, she wiped her tears with her palms.

“Can I come in?”

She didn’t want to see anyone right now, not even Wallace. But she didn’t want to be rude. She blew out a long breath. “Sure.”

As he came in, she smoothed down her shirt and sat up, trying not to dwell on how horrible she must look.

Wallace sat down on the edge of the bed.

She frowned. “Did Corbin send you in here to talk to me?” It wasn’t right for Corbin to make his grandfather do his dirty work. If Corbin wanted to talk to her, he needed to face her himself.

“No, he doesn’t even realize I’m in here.”

“Really?” She eyed him to see if he was telling the truth.

“Corbin went out.”

She stiffened. “Where?”

“To grab a pizza for dinner.” He paused. “And I suspect to apologize to Addie for the way he reacted to Lou Ella’s cancer.”

“Oh.” At least Corbin had the decency to apologize for being wrong. This made her feel a little better about him, and somewhat guilty for jumping the gun.

Wallace gave her a tentative look. “Corbin told me what happened with the chopping block.”

She went to rub her hand through her hair, realized the wig was there, so she touched it instead. “You’re probably thinking I’m nuts for getting so upset.”

“No, not at all.”

“Really?” The kindness in his eyes caused a lump to form in her throat.

“After what you’ve been through, it’s understandable that you’re upset.”

She hugged her arms to ward off a shiver. “I’ve been trying to take your advice, to feed the right wolf …” she paused “… but it’s hard.” She let out a nervous laugh. “That other wolf’s not going down quietly, I can tell you that.” Wallace’s analogy had given her hope that she could change, could vanquish the old fears and start fresh. But now she wondered if it was only a pipe dream.

“Be patient with yourself. It takes time to reshape your thoughts. But with persistence, patience, and a whole lot of prayer, it’ll happen.”

More tears. Ugh! She felt like such a crybaby. “I dunno.” She looked away, unable to face his probing gaze.

“Delaney.”

She was surprised that he’d called her Delaney. “Yes?”

“Corbin cares about you and you care about him. Don’t let fear keep you apart from him.”

“I can’t be with a man who can’t control his anger.”

Wallace laughed. “Then you’re out of luck.”

“What?” Not the answer she was expecting.

“All men experience anger, frustration. It’s how we’re wired. Men have to be warriors to take care of their families.” He looked her in the eye. “The thing you fear most about Corbin is also what makes him great … what draws you to him.”

She grumbled out a laugh. “Tell me about it. I’ve always been attracted to the wrong sort of man.”

He arched an eyebrow. “If you’re including Corbin in that list, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree with you.”

She just looked at him, at a loss for words.

“Sure Corbin’s impetuous, even reckless at times, but he has a heart of gold.” His eyes went moist. “Which is why this thing with his grandmother’s tearing him up inside.” He gave her a perceptive look. “It’s why whatever happened to him in the military still haunts him.”

The words burned into Delaney’s breast with a conviction that surprised her. Corbin was good in all the areas that counted.

“Corbin has a temper. He’ll get mad and beat some inanimate object to a pulp, but he would never hurt you.” His eyes held hers. “In fact, his burning desire to keep you safe may be the thing that does you both in.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I hope I’m not speaking out of turn here, but I think Corbin’s making a big mistake.”

She leaned forward waiting for him to expound. “What do you mean?” she asked when he remained silent.

He cocked his head like he was gathering his thoughts. “The best way I can describe it is to tell you what happened to me once. I was with a group of fellow hunters, tracking a grizzly bear that had mauled a hiker. We tracked the bear for twenty or so miles through the forest before we caught a glimpse of him. One of my buddies shot him several times. The grizzly kept going, but we knew he’d been hit because of the trail of blood spots.”

“It was getting dark. Half the men wanted to go after the bear and put an end to the chase. But the other half was tired, wanted to set up camp and wait until daylight to track him. After a few rounds of arguments, the latter group won. We found a place by a stream and set up camp for the night. About two in the morning, when everyone was asleep, the enraged grizzly charged into the camp. As we were scrambling for cover and to get our rifles, the bear killed three men and injured several others before we could put it down.” He paused. “Had we gone after the bear, lives would’ve been saved.” Intensity burned in Wallace’s eyes. “No matter how long you run, Hugh Allen’s going to eventually find you.”

A shiver slithered down Delaney’s spine. Wallace was right. There was no way they could evade Hugh forever.

“You can’t change that,” Wallace continued, “but what you can change is how and when he comes.”

Horror trickled over her as she caught the meaning of his words. “Are you saying we should lure him here?” The thought of doing so had her quaking.

Wallace’s jaw tightened. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Bring him to our territory where we’ll be waiting. That’s the only hope you have of outsmarting him.”

“Have you told this to Corbin?”

His brows furrowed in frustration. “Yes.”

Her mind whirled, trying to decide if Wallace was right. “What did he say?”

“Corbin won’t even entertain the idea because he wants so desperately to keep you safe. But like I said, while his intentions are noble, it will be to your detriment in the end. Think of how much better off me and my hunting buddies would’ve been had the bear not caught us unaware.”

“Why’re you telling me this?”

“Because Corbin loves you too much to voluntarily put you in danger.”

Her mind caught on the word love , running it through her head a few times. I love him too. The thought caused her to jerk slightly. She shook her head, putting her focus back on the problem at hand. “What do you want me to do?”

A grim smile spread over Wallace’s lips. “To be the bait. Lure the grizzly here to our trap.”

She sucked in a breath, fear settling like stone in her gut. Could she do it? Be brave enough to face this? Or was luring Hugh Allen here utter stupidity? She bit her lower lip, trying to decide the best course of action. “I’ll have to give it some thought,” she finally said.

Wallace nodded. “Fair enough. But don’t let it sit too long because my gut tells me we’re running out of time.”

She went cold all over, the knowledge settling into her like the march of doom. Somehow, in a way she couldn’t explain, she knew that Wallace was right. Their time was almost up.