Chapter 23

Sawyer raced out the kitchen door, around the house and over to his truck, surprised to see the sheriff already standing there. "Helen's car was spotted out on Highway 7; it looks like they're headed over the pass and into Marshall. I just can't figure out why."

"Helen is planning to throw them off Caviler's Peak," he said, jumping in the truck. "She's been talking about doing it for years."

The sheriff just stared at him, "Son, that sounds crazy," he said. "How is she going to do that?"

"I don't have time to explain," he said, staring up the truck. "Get in if you're coming with me."

The sheriff jumped in, fastened his seatbelt, and they roared away from the house, leaving a fresh set of tracks in the grass. "Now tell me all that again," the sheriff said when they hit the main road. "You said Helen is going to throw Piper off a cliff."

"She's talked about it for years. It started right after we got married," he explained. "She always mentioned Caliver's Point. I don't know why there specifically, but it never changed."

The sheriff was silent for a second, then grabbed his radio and sent out a call for all available deputies to respond to the point, then briefly described the situation. When he put the radio away, he looked over at Sawyer, "Okay, what do you think Helen is going to do?" he asked. "She can't physically throw Piper and the baby over Cavalier's Point, it wouldn't work."

"But a car going over would mean certain death," he said. "I noticed that the emergency car seat was missing. They must have taken it; Piper would have insisted."

"Sawyer, that's crazy, Helen couldn't pull something like that off," the sheriff said, shaking his head. "And why take the car seat if she's just going to push them over the cliff?"

"To let me know they left in a car," he said. "My wife is a smart cookie, Sheriff. If she can find a way out of this, she will, but I'm her backup."

"Well, then let's go," the sheriff said. "They've got a big head start on us, and my closest deputy is ten miles away."

He floored the truck, sent up a spray of gravel behind them, let his magic flow to boost his senses, and turned onto the highway on two wheels. The miles flew by, the trees just a blur as they raced into the mountains, each turn he took forcing him to slow down, only adding to his frustration. When they were only a quarter of a mile from the point, he slowed the truck, then pulled it over to the side of the road and jumped out.

"From here, I'm going in on foot," he said. "I don't want to spook Helen. She's got a gun, and it sounds like she's willing to use it."

The sheriff nodded, and they ran across the road, then ducked into the trees and began making their way through the forest toward the soaring peak that was both beautiful and deadly. By the time they reached the mountain crest where Caviler's Peak guarded the valley on the other side, the sheriff was panting and struggling to keep up. Pausing to let the older man catch up, he looked through the trees, his heart beginning to pound when he saw the big black car parked in the middle of the gravel pull-off.

He pointed it out to the sheriff, "That's Helen's car, but I'm going to try and get a little closer," he said. "I can't tell if there's anyone on the inside."

"I'm going to call this in, have the boys wait down the road until we know what the situation is," the sheriff said, pulling out his radio. "I'll keep my eye on you from here. Be careful, son, don't rush in, take your time. I'll know that you'll make the right decision."

"Thanks, that's good advice," he said. "I'll try to remember it."

He understood what the sheriff was saying, that he'd just given him silent permission to do what was necessary to save his wife and child. Slipping back into the trees, he made his way up the hill until he was on the edge of the parking area, then crouched down, frustrated that he couldn't see anything through the darkened windows. Not sure what he should do, he sat waiting, his heart hammering in his chest, hoping that the worst hadn't already happened.

Just when he was sure that he couldn't wait a moment longer, the front doors of the car flew open. Piper was sitting in the driver's seat, her body tensed, and he almost came charging out of the trees. The sheriff's words popped into his mind, and he resisted the animal inside him screaming for him to rescue his mate, forcing himself not to move yet.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm just saying no one is going to believe this was an accident," Piper said, sliding out of the car. "Think about it Helen, it's your car."

"I'll report it stolen," Helen said, appearing on the other side of the car. "Now shut up and get that little brat out of her car seat."

"Helen, this isn't going to solve your problems, it's only going to make them worse," she said. "Please think about it. You really don't want to kill us; you're just hurt and angry."

"No, I'm done with you," Helen screaming while walking around the car and pointing the gun at Piper. "You've interfered with my life for the last time. You're going to drive this car off this cliff, and then Sawyer and I can be together again. Nothing is going to stop me, not you, not that disgusting little monster in the back seat. I'm going to stand here and watch you go over, and then I'm going to do a victory dance, Sawyer and I will be back together before your bodies are cold in the ground."

***Piper***

Piper backed a few steps away from Helen, looking around frantically for a way to save them. The woman had completely lost her mind. "Get back there and push the car over to the edge of the cliff," Helen ordered, pointing the gun at her. "And if you refuse, I'll put a bullet in the baby."

Without turning her back on Helen, she walked around to the back of the car and began to push it, but not very hard. "I can't do it by myself," she said. "You're going to have to help me."

Helen let out a scream, "You'd better figure it out," she called. "I'm not going to ruin my shoes for you."

Left with no choice, she pushed harder and the car began to roll, "That's good, you can stop now," Helen called. "Now get that brat out of her car seat and put her in front. Such a shame that you were so neglectful, but what can you expect from a sadly unexperienced stepmother? You couldn't have known that the baby would crawl into your lap when you let her out of the car seat, you couldn't have known that she would pull the steering wheel. It will be such a terrible tragedy, but I'll be there to help Sawyer pick up the pieces. Now get on with it. I need to get back to town, I have an appointment with the hairdresser this afternoon."

An idea had finally popped into her mind while Helen was talking; it was a long shot, but she was out of options. Going around to the other side of the car, she started fumbling with Reese's car seat, talking to the baby to keep her calm, then pulled her head back out of the car.

"I can't get it," she said. "It must be stuck or something. Maybe I buckled it wrong. I'm not used to these things."

"Do I have to do everything?" Helen wailed. "I don't want to touch that little monster."

"Maybe if you just leaned in from the other side and looked at it, you could tell me how to get it open," she said. "There's too many buttons and buckles, I can't tell which one to push or pull or whatever."

"You really are an idiot," Helen said, but climbed into the back seat of the car and scooted over to the car seat. "All you have to do is push this button, then slide that little thing over. Now hurry up, I'm tired of waiting."

Piper knew she only had a few seconds before Helen got out of the car. Reaching out, she flipped open the straps on the car seat, pulled Reese out, then ran around to the back of the car. After putting the baby down on the ground, she gave the car a hard shove and kept pushing, using every ounce of her strength, then stood back breathless with what she'd done when the car started rolling on its own.

Helen was screaming and trying to right herself when the car sailed over the cliff. There were a few seconds of silence, then the sound of an explosion, the ground shook a little, and then a big puff of black smoke rose into the air. She collapsed to her knees, crawled over to Reese, pulled her onto her lap, and rocked back and forth, horrified by what she'd just done.

Sawyer was suddenly there, wrapping his arms around both of them. They looked up at him, "I killed her," she said. "I pushed her over the cliff and killed her."

"It's okay, Piper, she didn't give you any choice," he said. "I heard it all, you did what you had to; she would have killed you if you hadn't killed her, and she was going to kill Reese. You saved my little girl, Piper."

"Our little girl," she said, looking down at the baby in her arms. "I couldn't let her do it, Sawyer, I couldn't let her destroy our family."

"I love you, Piper," he said. "I'm going to take you and the baby home now, and we're going to lock ourselves in the house for a few days and let the sheriff clean up the mess."

"I love you too, Sawyer," she said, leaning into him. "I can't think of anything I would like better."

He helped her to her feet, took the baby out of her arms, and hugged Reese close to his chest. Then he took her hand, and they started down the road together. Behind them, the sound of sirens could be heard, but they didn't turn around, and when several police cars roared past them, Sawyer draped his arm around her shoulder. After he helped her into the truck and buckled Reese into her seat, he started the truck, turned it around, and headed back to the ranch.

"It is over," Piper said. "It's really over this time."

He reached and took her hand, "No, on second thought; it's just beginning," he said.