Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

The hair on Chelsea’s arms rose as she turned around.

Gilbert stood there, a baseball bat in his hands.

Wait, was he actually in on this also? Or was he a victim?

She wasn’t sure.

“What are you doing, Gilbert?” Tex asked.

As he stepped closer, Chelsea saw the blood across his forehead.

Anna must have knocked him out. But Chelsea still wasn’t sure whose side he was on.

Then Gilbert looked at Anna, his voice cracking as he said, “I loved you.”

Anna looked away without replying.

“She tricked you too?” Tex asked.

“I had no idea what she was up to.” Gilbert pressed his lips together and his nostrils flared as he stared at Anna. “She used me. You’ve got to believe me.”

“We’ll let the police figure that out.”

Chelsea glanced at the ground. At the gun Anna had dropped . . . it lay halfway between her and Gilbert.

If she could only grab it . . .

Her gaze shifted back up to Gilbert, who still held the bat.

“Why don’t you put that down?” Tex said as if reading her mind.

But Gilbert didn’t seem to hear him—he continued to grip the bat. “I didn’t know they were doping.”

Tex twisted his neck dubiously. “You had to have a clue, Gilbert.”

“I did wonder what was going on. I started asking questions. But no one would give me answers.” Sweat spread across his forehead.

“Then what was with all those late-night meetings?” Chelsea asked. “I saw you talking to people outside of your house.”

“Steve stopped by several times and begged me to stop asking questions about the change in the boys. He seemed desperate. I told him I knew something was going on, and I didn’t know what else to tell him. Steve told me he couldn’t keep going back and forth like this, and I told him we didn’t have much of a choice. We had to get to the bottom of things.”

Gilbert’s stress could cause him to do something irrational, Chelsea realized.

She needed to get that gun before Gilbert got any ideas.

An image of him grabbing the weapon and turning it on Anna filled her mind.

Her heart pounded harder.

As Gilbert glared at Anna, Chelsea saw her opportunity.

She dove for the gun.

Her sudden motion seemed to cause Gilbert to panic.

He lunged for it at the same time.

Chelsea grabbed it mere seconds before he did. But then he lunged forward, his fingers grasping the barrel.

Before anything bad could happen, police cars surrounded them. Officers appeared, guns drawn.

They took over the situation, and Chelsea was more than happy to let them do that.

But how had they known to come?

That was when she saw a figure step from the shadows.

Regina, she realized.

Her cousin Ryan’s wife. The one who didn’t like Chelsea or appreciate her help. Who’d told Chelsea to stay out of their lives.

Chelsea sent her a questioning look. “What are you doing here?”

The woman stepped closer. “Ryan told me that you’ve been helping us. At first I was angry. But then I realized that you didn’t want anything in return. You were just trying to be a good person. And I came over to tell you thank you. But when I got here, I saw that woman pull the gun on you guys. And I knew the biggest way I could say thank you was by calling the police.”

Chelsea threw her arms around the woman. “Thank you. You may have saved our lives.”

“No, you’re the one who saved our lives.”

As she pulled away from the hug, she saw that the police had arrested Anna, and she was being led away in their custody. Another officer was having a serious conversation with Gilbert.

Chelsea turned to Tex.

The two of them exchanged a look that spoke volumes.

There were still conversations that would need to be had.

But they couldn’t happen until they were alone.

Finally, everything was wrapped up. Tex had been counting down the moments.

The police had arrested Anna. They had taken Gilbert in for questioning. Meanwhile, they taken Tex’s and Chelsea’s statements.

One of the cops had suspected something had been going on, ever since a football player had gotten into a fist fight with one of his colleagues. They’d started looking into things, but they’d never been able to prove anything.

Maybe this was over. Maybe the school wouldn’t win anymore state championships. But that was okay as long as everyone stayed healthy.

A lot of corruption had erupted in such a short amount of time. It remained to be seen what all of those repercussions would be. Would Patrick be arrested? What about Steve Strober?

There were probably other things that had taken place that they still didn’t even know about. But the police would uncover those details with time, and justice would be served.

With everyone gone, Tex and Chelsea had returned to her house. She’d made them some peppermint tea to warm them up.

“Chelsea . . .” Tex started as he stood in the kitchen, Chelsea in front of him.

She lifted her gaze. “We should probably talk.”

“I’ve been wanting to explain myself.”

“And I’ve been too prideful and stubborn to ask you for an explanation. I decided I would rather be angry and resentful toward you.”

He hated to hear that. But he hoped he could at least start making things right.

He put his half-drunk tea on the counter and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Being vulnerable wasn’t one of his strengths. But he had to say this.

“I thought it would be better for you if I left,” he blurted. “That if I did, you’d find someone worthy of you.”

“You didn’t think you were worthy of me?” Chelsea blinked in confusion.

“When you come from a messed-up background like I did, everything is skewed. I had been told I was worthless and unwanted so many times that I had a hard time believing I’d ever be worthy and wanted.”

“Oh, Tex . . .”

“I was determined to make something of myself. I told myself one day I was going to come back to you once I’d done that. Then I ended up in that military program that broke me. I realized there might not ever be a time when I felt good enough for you. I figured it was better if I stayed away.”

She tilted her head as she listened, her gaze soft with emotion.

Tex continued. “Then as more time passed, I also realized that that was the biggest mistake of my life. I figured I’d blown my chance with you.”

“I was pretty angry and hurt when you left the way you did.”

“That was never my intention. I couldn’t see things clearly. Or maybe I didn’t let myself. I told myself I was doing what was best for you.”

“You were wrong.”

“I know that now. You’re the only person who’s ever felt like home to me.”

Chelsea stepped closer and rested her hand on his chest. “It sounds like we wasted a lot of time these past twelve years.”

His heart softened. “Yes, we have.”

“When you came back . . . I told myself I didn’t want to get close to you because I didn’t want to be hurt again.”

“Hurting you again is the last thing I want to do.”

“Then what happens from here?” she asked. “Are you leaving now that everything with Gilbert is resolved? Am I never going to see you again after this?”

“I’d like a second chance.” Tex’s throat burned as he said the words. “If you’d give one to me. I know I travel with work. But even people who travel need a home base. I’d like to make it here. In Holly Ridge. With you.”

Tex could hardly breathe as he waited for Chelsea’s reaction.

A grin spread across her face. “I would like that. I would like it a lot.”

“Really?” He studied her face, halfway expecting her to say she was joking.

Not that she was cruel enough to do something like that.

“I absolutely mean it,” she murmured.

With those words, Tex’s arms encircled her waist, and he pulled her closer.

He pointed above him.

He’d pinned some mistletoe there earlier—he’d found it in the backyard. The two of them had become experts at hunting for it as teenagers.

Then, just like he had wanted to do for all of the years they had been apart, he lowered his head until his lips met hers.