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She didn’t wait a moment longer. Screaming with rage, she hurled herself through the air at the police chief. “Don’t you dare hit him! Don’t you dare!” She butted Thackery with her head and pummeled him with her fists, forcing him to let go of Bobby Tom to protect himself.
“You stop that right now!” He began to swear as the edge of her sandal caught him in the shin. “Stop it! Stop or I’ll arrest you, too!”
“What the hell is going on here?” Luther Baines roared. All three of them turned their heads to see the mayor running toward them, waddling a bit on his stubby legs, with Dell Brady by his side, and his squad car parked at a crazy angle across the highway. Behind the two men, tires squealed as more cars began pulling up. Terry Jo and Buddy tumbled out of their Explorer, and Buddy, who had a split lip and swollen jaw, ran forward. Connie Cameron hopped out of her Sunbird.
Luther whacked Jimbo Thackery in the arm, forcing him to take another step backward. “Have you lost your mind? What in the sam hill do you think you’re doing?”
“Bobby Tom!” Suzy screamed her son’s name as she ran down the blacktop with Way Sawyer at her side.
Thackery glared at Luther. “He broke out of jail. And she attacked me. I’m arresting them both!”
“Like hell you are!” Buddy cried in outrage.
Luther shoved his index finger into Thackery’s chest. “You couldn’t be satisfied with being an amateur asshole, could you, Jimbo! You had to go and turn pro on me!”
Thackery’s face grew florid. He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut and took another step back. Suzy rushed forward only to have Way detain her as he saw Gracie’s arms wrapped protectively around his future son-in-law’s chest.
“Everybody get away from him!” Gracie shouted, her copper hair glinting in the sunlight, her expression as fierce as an Amazon warrior. “Nobody touches him, do all of you hear me? Nobody touches him!”
Bobby Tom, his wrists still cuffed behind his back, looked down at her, his expression faintly bemused.
The fact that he no longer seemed to be in imminent danger didn’t make Gracie relax her vigilance. Anyone trying to hurt him was going to have to get through her first.
She felt his cheek press against the top of her head, and he began to murmur the most wonderful things in a voice so low that only those close to them could hear.
“I love you so much, sweetheart. Tell me you’re going to forgive me for last night? Everything you said about me is tight, I know; I’m insensitive, selfish, egotistical, a lot of other things. But I’m going to change. I swear it. If you marry me, I’ll change. Just don’t leave me, because I love you too much.”
Someone must have unfastened his handcuffs because suddenly his arms were around her. ‘She looked up into his eyes and saw that even the swollen one glistened with tears. He meant every word he was saying, she realized with a sense of wonder. This outpouring of love had nothing to do with injured pride or getting even. He was speaking to her from the bottom of his heart.
“Tell me you’re going to give me another chance,” he whispered, cupping her cheek in his palm. “Tell me you somehow still love me after everything.”
Her throat squeezed tight with emotion. “It’s my weakness.”
“What is?”
“Loving you. I love you, Bobby Tom Denton; and I always will.”
She felt his chest convulse. “You’ll never know how glad I am to hear that.” For a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut as if he were gathering his courage. When he opened them again, his lashes were moist and spiked. “You’re going to marry me, aren’t you, sweetheart? Tell me you’re going to marry me.”
The uncertainty she heard in his voice made her love him all the more, and her own eyes filled. “Oh, I’m going to marry you, all right. You can bet on it.”
For a few moments, they forgot everyone around them. They were alone at the side of the Texas highway with a bright sun shining down on them and a brighter future shining ahead, one filled with laughter, children, and an abundance of love. He kissed her with his poor, swollen mouth, and she kept her lips gentle against his. Suzy finally ended their embrace by touching her son’s battered face to make certain he wasn’t badly hurt, while Way hugged Gracie as Bobby Tom released her. Gradually, they all grew aware of the car doors that continued to slam as more of Telarosa’s citizens drew up to block the highway and witness Bobby Tom’s jailbreak. Gracie spotted Toolee Chandler and Judy Baines, along with Pastor Frank and Suzy’s bridge club.
Jimbo Thackery had moved off to the side, where Connie Cameron seemed to be giving him a piece of her mind. Luther looked suspiciously pleased with himself as he eyed Bobby Tom, who was once again holding on to Grade.
“I’m going to give you a couple of hours to straighten yourself out with Gracie here, and then me and you are going to have a nice long meeting with Judge Gates. They don’t call him the hanging judge for nothing, B.T., and before this is over, I can just about predict that you’re going to find yourself faced with a heap of fines and a real expensive community service project. This escapade is going to cost you a pretty penny, boy.”
Gracie couldn’t resist peering across Bobby Tom’s chest to offer her own opinion. “The senior citizens center could use a bus with a motorized ramp.”
Luther gave her a proud smile. “Excellent idea, Grade. How ’bout you come along to that meeting in case me and Judge Gates need some inspiration.”
“I’d be happy to.”
Bobby Tom’s eyebrows rose in indignation. “Whose side are you on, anyway?”
It took her a moment to respond because she was envisioning all the good work the Bobby Tom Denton Foundation would be doing in the future. “Since I’m going to be a citizen of this town, I have a duty to the community.”
If anything, he looked
