By the look in his eyes, that must have done it, but Preston hesitated, so Shane yanked him ever so sternly, pulling on the safety pin and bringing tears to Preston's eyes. "I'll pull it out, Preston. I swear to you. It'll hurt."
"Okay!" he yelled. "He took her to the farm."
"What farm? Her farm?"
"Yeah," he said as clearly as he could with his safety pin pulling on his lip. "He took her there."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Shane jerked harder. He was so tired of this runaround. "His mother," Preston blabbed. "His mother's dying. You didn't know?"
Shane eased up a little on Preston's face. No, he hadn't known.
Preston took the reprieve from face torture to spill his guts. "I didn't know either. Not until today. He said she had cancer."
"Cancer." Shane wasn't stupid and didn't like where this was going.
"Yeah. Non-curable. She's dying."
"And Drake doesn't want that to happen. He'd do anything to stop it."
"Wouldn't you?" Preston grasping Shane's wrist to keep the pressure off of his face.
No, Shane was pretty sure he wouldn't do what he was sure Drake was doing right now. Without saying a word, he let the safety pin go and pushed Preston back. Preston staggered off balance, so Shane took that opportunity to punch his lights out. With his former friend lying limp on the ground, Shane ran to the car and headed for the farm. Drake was going to take Lizzie's ring to cure his mother, only it would kill Lizzie. No way would Shane let that happen.
****
Lizzie spun around, now clearly in the present. "Shane doesn't know? But you said…"
"I know. And I'm sorry. I am. I just needed to get you away from everyone."
Lizzie's felt like she might need to be looking for an exit. Unfortunately for her, Drake had her cornered. "What about Cheyenne? What did you do to her? Was she in on it?" She had a sick feeling in her stomach.
"She's fine. She's just knocked out a little bit."
"How can you be a little bit knocked out?" Lizzie questioned. She didn't know Drake. Who knew what he had in mind for her? Back in her day, she knew better than to go out in the dark with men she barely knew, and now she'd broken it just to get a glance at a letter Daniel wrote her.
"She's fine," Drake reiterated again. "She's just taking a little nap in the kitchen pantry."
The little blood droplet! It had been hers. "What do you want?" she asked defiantly.
He held his hands up in protest. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm not," he added when she scoffed. "I'm here to ask you a favor. A pretty big favor actually."
"Why would I ever help you?" She bit with venom she hadn't used in years. It was a valid question, though.
"You wouldn't. And you shouldn't. It's my mother." He lowered his hands and reached into his pocket. Lizzie got more in a panic, which he noticed. "Don't freak out, okay? I didn't ask you here to freak you out." He pulled a flat piece of paper out of his pocket. "Here. Take it."
Trying to be brave, Lizzie reached out and snatched the paper and recoiled like a snake. It was a picture was of a lady in her late forties by the looks of her. She had bright blue eyes and a big smile. She also had no hair and dark circles under her eyes.
"She wears a wig in public," Drake explained, not moving from his spot. "No one knows yet. Not even Shane. Cheyenne knows she's sick, but not as bad as she is. I've thought about telling them, but my mom's really adamant that no one knows."
"What's wrong with her?" The poor woman.
"Cancer. It started in her breast, but it's moved to her lymph nodes pretty rapidly. Doctors don't think she has very long to live."
Dying. The sweet, smiling woman in the picture was dying. Drake's heart had to be breaking. Shane had said that he'd been acting different for the past few months. Now she knew why. "I'm sorry. It has to be hard."
"You have no idea." His eyes glistened with unshed tears. "She used to be the healthiest person I'd ever met. She always ran, exercised. She did yoga."
Lizzie had no idea what yoga was, and she didn't stop to ask.
"She ate right. Did everything she was supposed to do to be healthy. She went to a regular doctor visit and the doctor found a lump… a knot," he clarified when he saw her bewildered expression. "The knot turned out to be cancer and the cancer had already spread. They don't give her a lot of hope for coming out of this."
"I'm so sorry." Heartbroken, Lizzie handed the picture back to Drake. He took it and folded it back up in his pocket.
"Me too. That's why I'm here with you. I just… I don't see any other option, and I wanted to beg you for your help."
A cold chill ran up her spine. She didn't like where this was going. "My help?"
"Your…" He took a deep trembling breath. This obviously was very hard for him. That made two of them. "Your ring. It can keep her alive, right?"
"It could if it wasn't keeping me alive." She laughed nervously. That's why he brought her here. He wanted her ring for his mother. Oh, Lord, She prayed. What do I do?
Drake shut his eyes and scratched his head. "Here's the thing, Lizzie. You killed yourself all those years ago. You chose to take your own life. My mother didn't. She wants to live, and your ring can help her do that. Not to sound mean or cruel, but you've had your time. Everyone you've known, everyone you were related to is dead."
Ouch, but he had a point…
"And back then, you chose to die, did you not? You chose suicide over having to live without Daniel. It's the ring that saved you. The ring you didn't even know about. It has a magic you didn't even want. Now it's time to take it off," he pleaded. "Go to Heaven and be with your family. Meet your sister you've never known. Go be with Daniel, just please… please give me the ring so I can save my mother's life. Please."
Her heart ached for him. It had to be hard watching his mother dying. She knew if it were her, she would do everything she could think of to keep her mother alive.
"I know it's a hard decision." He went on when she couldn't find any words.
Her mind was racing too much. She'd promised Shane she would live out her life in the fullest, but could she do that knowing she was depriving another woman from living at all. Drake had a point. Back in 1862 she'd made her choice. Even though she appreciated the second chance, maybe it was her second chance to help Drake's mother.
"I just… it's a lot to ask."
"I know it is." He inched closer. "Lizzie, I know and I wouldn't ask if it wasn't the last resort. My mom went to the doctor today and it's gotten worse. They are only giving her three months to live. Three months, Lizzie. That's not long at all. You've been alive for over a hundred years. I know a lot of that time was basically spent in Hell, but at least you got to live. My mom will be gone. She'll be gone and I won't be able to get her back if I don't do this for her. I'm asking… Lizzie, I'm begging. Please. Be a hero. Save my mother's life."
Shaking, Lizzie bit her lip. A thousand things swirled in her mind. She'd promised Shane she'd live and not do something like she'd done in 1862 again. But this time, it would be to help someone else. Not just her. It would save a life… not take it. It wouldn't hurt anyone. Shane didn't know her well enough to cry over her death for the second time. And if he did, he'd get over it. She'd miss him — miss him so much. But she couldn't be selfish.
With her mind made up but very sad about it, Lizzie took a big deep breath and smiled at Drake. "Okay."
His face lit up, and relief clearly washed over him. "Okay?"
"Okay. You're right. I don't know this time period. I don't know the customs or how people are supposed to act. I'm out of my time and it's not fair to your mother. If I can help her, I should do it and not be selfish about it."
"Oh, thank you, Lizzie! Thank you!" He pulled her into a hug so tight she couldn't breathe if she wanted to. "Thank you!" he said again into her hair. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
"I have a pretty good idea," she mumbled, and he let her go.
"Sorry. I'm just… you've saved her life."
She smiled back. His mom's life meant hers, but that was okay. She'd die a hero this time. That was something. "I'd like to see my barn again. You know, before I give you the ring."
"Of course… of course!" He beamed, walking her to the door. "You've saved her, Lizzie. Thank you. You're a hero."
That part made her happy.
They used their flashlights to light the way to the old red barn, much newer than she remembered. All of the boards had been placed back in the structure, even the ones the storm had blown out in early 1860, the ones her father hadn't gotten around to fixing because they didn't matter that much. The little red square at the top which was always open was closed, and the structure looked like a sleeping giant.
"There's a light switch somewhere over here probably," Drake said as he shined his flashlight against the side of the large double doors. "Ah…" he said with his hand on something attached to the wall. "Let there be light." When he said that, the sun came up in the building or so it appeared. Light from long rectangular structures hanging from the ceiling nearly blinded her.
"What is that?" she said, covering her eyes.
"Sorry. Its lights. Electricity. Like Shane has at his house. They ran it to the barn."
"No torches?"
"Nope. All comes from the wires. Pretty cool, eh?"
That was one way to describe it. Why anyone would need such things in a barn, she couldn't figure out, but it had to be for a reason. "No one from the road will see the light?"
"It's hidden behind the house. I don't think anyone will notice it. Plus, you wanted to see it, but we probably shouldn't stay long."
"Probably." Which made her heart ache. She'd give him her ring and then she'd be dead again. She was happy to help his dying mother, but wasn't thrilled to be dead again either. Maybe this time would be better, though. Maybe this time she'd actually make it to Heaven. She could hope. Then maybe — just maybe — someday Shane would join her. She'd pray for him. It would hurt if she never saw him again, in this life or the next.
Leaving Drake at the door, she slowly walked to the middle beam on the right side of the barn. The beam she died next too. A plaque hung there too. It read:
Lonely Lizzie full of strife
In the barn, she took her life.
Go there now and count to three.
Lonely Lizzie you will see.
R.I.P Elizabeth Ann Monroe: January 12, 1845 to June 7, 1862
"It's the rhyme associated with you," Drake said from a few feet away. "I guess they put it there to keep the legend going. I remember when I was younger, we'd sneak in here and say your name three times."
"Did anything ever happen?" she asked, trying to detach herself from all of this.
"Never stayed around long enough to find out." He gave a short, nervous laugh. "I guess it wouldn't have now that I think about it. You weren't a ghost."
"Just a… what did Shane call me? A zombie."
"A lifesaver," Drake corrected. "Have you seen everything you want to see?"
She shook her head and made her way to the backdoors of the barn. She tried to open them, but found them locked with metal and a strange locking mechanism.
"Padlock," Drake said. "It's to keep people out."
"They should have one on the front door." She laughed.
"They do. I just have Laura's keys, remember?" He pulled them from his pocket to show her.
"Right." She'd totally forgotten that. "Do you happen to have the key to this lock?"
He made a face. "Don't think we should tempt fate, do you?"
She wanted to tempt fate, darn it. She hadn't seen the view from there in years. "Daniel proposed to me here. It was on Christmas and we were bundled up. It was the last happy memory I have," she told him sadly.
Drake hung his head and walked to the padlocks. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you." She grinned. If she couldn't get her happy ending, maybe she could get something out of it. To relive her last happy day on Earth would be wonderful.
Drake tried every key he had, but nothing worked. "I'm sorry, Lizzie. Since this exit isn't used very often, I bet it's not on the main set of keys. I wish it was. I'm sorry."
It was okay. It really was. It was sad, but she still had the memory of that cold December day. She could feel Daniel take her hands, hear the nervousness in his voice, and feel her heartbeat in anticipation for the question that would change her life.
"I'm so sorry, Lizzie," Drake said placing the keys in his pocket.
"It's fine. I have my memories. It'll have to do. And I'll see Daniel again soon anyway." She forced a smile on her face. It would have been nice to have one day on Earth to share with Shane — to actually live.
"If there was any other way…"
"I know." She cut him off. "I know. I understand." She sucked in a deep breath. Might as well use her lungs while she could. "Where do you want to do this?"
"Any place that is comfortable for you. I want you to be happy."
Happy… such a novel concept. She'd spent years not being happy, years locked in that never-ending torture in the box.
She looked around the barn. "Well, seems like it would be pretty symmetrical to give you my ring where I started this wild journey." Lizzie walked over to the familiar beam that had once held her father's knives. None were there tonight, not that she needed one. All she had to do was take the ring from her finger and it would all be over.
All be over.
Lizzie eased down the beam and sat on the cool dirt floor. This was it. This was where she was going to die… again. At least this time, someone else would live because of it.
Drake kneeled down beside her. "Lizzie Monroe. I can't thank you enough for this. And for doing it willingly. It means so much. My whole family will appreciate it."
She smiled a shaky smile. "It's my pleasure. I hope your mother enjoys the gift and doesn't waste it." With that, Lizzie rolled the metal oval floral ring around her finger. She closed her eyes, took one last breath of air, and pulled the ring over her knuckle.
****
Shane broke every speed limit posted on the way from the church to the Monroe Farm. No way was Drake taking Lizzie from him. None. She may not have been his girlfriend or anything of the sort, but he found himself caring for her. She'd never had a chance. She killed herself before she even had a life. No way was Drake selfishly going to take it from her.
He pulled in beside Drake's black truck and a sick feeling washed over him. On the way over, he'd tried to call Cheyenne's cell, but she never answered. That wasn't like her. She always had her phone on her. Nothing was good about this.
Nothing.
No lights were on in the house, but he could see illumination peeking from the cracks in the old barn. The barn. Where Lizzie died the first time.
God, no, he whispered with trembling breath.
He ran as fast as he could, determined to stop Drake before he could take the ring from Lizzie. With everything he had, he slammed into the barn door and it flung open at the force.
The scene he saw made him physically ill.
Drake squatted next to Lizzie who was slumped against a beam. When Drake saw him, he stood instantly and tried to block Lizzie. "This has nothing to do with you." He had the nerve to say.
"It has everything to do with me. Lizzie's mine." Shane tried to look around him to see if she was alright, but Drake wouldn't get his big butt out of the way.
"Yours?" Drake scoffed. "She's yours? She's your personal property? You never would have known about her if you didn't burn the church down. I see Preston did a poor job keeping you there."
"You son…"
"Uh… uh…. Don't get testy, Shane. All I did was tell Preston I'd tell my cop father what he'd done to the church if he didn't do his part and keep you there. Doesn't matter now, though. I got what I wanted." He held his hand to the side, fist closed. Something shiny inside caught Shane's eye.
"You
killed her. You killed her…" Shane felt like he could hyperventilate. He'd been too late.
"Shane?"
Shane's world started spinning again when he heard her voice. "What are you doing here?" she asked from the barn floor.
"Looking for you." He went toward Lizzie, but Drake blocked him. Shane stared him down, praying he moved so he could knock his lights out too. "Come on, Lizzie. Let's go."
She stood up at the beam but didn't offer to move toward him. "I can't."
"You can. Let's go." He moved to his right, and Drake followed. "You need to move," he ordered.
"Make me."
Shane stepped forward to show him when Lizzie walked up behind Drake's shoulder. "Shane, don't. It's okay. I know what I'm doing."
"Yeah, what's that?" Shane turned his attention from Drake to Lizzie, still keeping Drake in his side vision at all times though. He didn't trust him.
"Drake's mother is dying. She needs my ring."
"You need your ring."
"She needs it more," Lizzie had the gall to say. "And I'm going to give it to her. I'm going to give her the gift of life."
Shane's entire world felt like it was falling apart, but he had to stay calm. "You don't mean that. You promised that you'd live this time. You said you'd try."
"How can I when I know I can save someone else's life?" That did it. She was brainwashed. She had to be.
"What did he do to you?" Shane's voice cracked both from sadness and anger. He was so mad at both of them he couldn't hold it in.
"He told me the story and I made my own choice. My own choice, Shane."
Shane couldn't help but laugh. He threw his hands in the air and paced back to the open barn doors. "Your own choice? Really? You believe that? What do you think he would have done if you had said no, huh? He would have forced you to give over your ring."
"It was her choice," Drake said.
"Shut up," Shane ordered, his voice dangerous. "I don't want to hear you. I want to talk to her." He focused on Lizzie. "Sweetheart, you deserve better than this. You deserve to live. And don't let him talk you out of the life… out of the miracle you got handed. This is your miracle. Not Drake's."
"I'll get to see Daniel and my folks again. I'll get to see Heaven. And I can help his mother."