Jase thought for a moment. He held his jaw and concentrated so hard his face turned red. “I went out to the barn for wood. I remember tripping over a rock or something. When I woke up I couldn't remember a thing.”
Thoughts of what might have been raced through Luis's head. If Jase had not fallen and lost his memory, Matthias might have killed Jase just to get him out of the way. The fact that Jase couldn't remember anything left Jase in a weakened state. It gave Matthias a sense of power and authority he normally wouldn't have had. In other words, Matthias didn't feel threatened, which gave him a false sense of security. It might have been the luckiest fall Jase had ever taken. But Luis only said, “I'm glad you remember everything. And when we get back home, I'm making an appointment for you to see a doctor.” His lifted his hand before Jase could respond. “I'm not joking around. You're seeing a doctor and you're getting a check-up. Life's too short and we're not taking any chances anymore. If you refuse to do it, you're going to freak me out more than what happened here today.”
Jase laughed. “If it means that much to you, I'll see a doctor. But I feel fine, never better.”
If the police were shocked by the way Jase and Luis behaved as openly gay men, they didn't make it obvious. They remained professional, didn't comment once, and said they couldn't get an ambulance there to take the body away because the main roads into town were still closed. There had been so much rain and flooding a small bridge had washed out and they weren't certain how long it would be before anyone could leave town. The police said they were going to treat this as a suicide and not as a criminal case, and Jase, Luis, and the others had nothing to worry about.
Jase thanked them and said he'd prefer to keep this out of the news if at all possible. He told them he didn't want his family to know about it because they'd been through a lot that year. The police didn't see any reason to make a big thing out of it as long as Jase was willing to keep it quiet. Matthias had been a deeply disturbed young man and he'd killed himself before he'd caused anyone serious harm. There was no reason to bring a quiet little town that was filled with peculiar, unfortunate people more problems than they already had. The police knew who Jase Nicholas was by then, and although they treated Jase with respect, the last thing they needed were tabloids showing up looking for dirt on the Virgin Billionaire from Alaska in their quiet little town.
While the police took Jase downstairs to ask him a few more questions, Luis and Hood dressed and joined them a minute later. When Luis went downstairs, Jase was still talking to the police near the front door. So Luis rolled up the white boots and the vinyl outfit and threw them into a paper bag he found in the kitchen. He vowed when he returned to the cabin he was going to burn the bag and the clothes in the fireplace. He never wanted to look at that outfit again.
The police drove them all to the end of the road and released them at the gate. For small-town police, they were very open-minded and friendly. They said they'd call Jase if they needed anything else but that they were sure they'd covered everything. The cramped ride between the farmhouse and where they'd left the Tahoe outside the gate of the Glatenfrissle compound was awkward and silent. Beth Anne had been so quiet Luis was afraid she'd lost her voice. And Blaze sat there with her hands folded on her lap and her body shoved up against the back door, hunched over, staring down at her knees.
Jase drove the Tahoe back to the cabin. Luis sat in the front seat and Hood sat in the back with the girls. Everyone remained silent most of the way, until Beth Anne sighed and said, “Hey, how long do we have to stay in this shit hole town? I want to go home. I can't take one more night here. I'll swim the fucking creek if I have to.”
Luis had been wondering the same thing. He was ready to swim the creek, too. But he'd been so grateful they'd all come out of this nightmare alive he didn't want to say anything aloud. He was still to busy counting his blessings to complain.
“I'd like to get out of here, too,” Hood said. “But the police said they weren't sure how long it would take. The creeks and rivers have to recede before anyone can get in or out of town.”
Jase laughed. “We'll be home in our own beds by this time tomorrow night.”
Luis turned fast. “What are you talking about?”
“While you guys were getting dressed, I talked to the police. I asked them to call my attorney in New York. I told them to tell my attorney I want a helicopter down here as soon as possible. Then I made a huge donation to the local police fund that's going to help out a lot of people in this little town. They haven't been able to afford new police and emergency vehicles in ten years, which is ridiculous. I've never seen a small town lacking so much of the basics. The police said there's an open field next to the town hall. We'll gather our things at the cabin and get over there as fast as we can. The helicopter might even be there before we are.”
Luis smiled. It wouldn't have occurred to him to call for a helicopter. He would have wound up waiting in the cabin until the roads cleared. “I love you more and more each day,” he told Jase.
Jase shrugged. “I love you, too, baby. And I kind of like this little town. I know that sounds crazy, considering what just happened. But there's something about it that's decent. I know the people are a little weird. But who isn't a little weird? I know I am. I think we might even be coming back here again someday under better circumstances. I see a lot of potential here and I'd like to help these people. I'm going to have a long talk with Barton when I get back to work. If his family is from here, and they've had that cabin all these years, he must know more about it.”
Luis rolled his eyes at that comment. He'd have to think about coming back.
Beth Anne said, “Well, I'm not coming back here ever again. Are you nuts?” Though she'd said she was sorry about Matthias, she didn't seem too broken up over him, which tugged a little at Luis's heart. He hated to see a talented young man ruin, then end his life. If only Luis could have done something to change Matthias's mind before he shot himself.
“I wish you'd known Matthias like I knew him,” Hood said. There were tears in his eyes and his voice was filled with sorrow. He seemed genuinely shaken.
Luis turned around. He could see Hood was grieving for his friend. “We know he wasn't in his right mind, Hood. We're not judging him.” Then he reached back between the seats and set his palm on top of Hood's hand.
“Thanks,” Hood said. “That means a lot to me. We weren't in love or anything. It wasn't like that. But we were good friends. I just can't believe I didn't see there were such serious problems. Now that I look back, I should have seen the signs. I should have helped him.”