“Ennis,” he said, stealing glances at her. Fortunately, he didn’t ask, but she knew he was wondering about her—as he should be. “What now?” he asked as he drove into the tiny Western burg.
“Food and then somewhere to sleep.”
That surprised him. “I thought we were in a hurry to catch her.”
“We are. If I’m right, she’s already here. She won’t leave until she is forced to.”
He seemed surprised, but only said, “Well, I could definitely eat something,” as he pulled into a space in front of a log cabin café.
But neither of them moved for a moment as if happy not to be in motion after hours on the road.
HERB LICKED HIS praline ice cream before it melted down the cone and watched the couple that had just driven up in the pickup. He recognized the man behind the wheel. Deputy Marshal Brick Savage had been pointed out to him as the man who’d discovered the abducted woman.
“Enjoying your cone, Dorie?”
She smiled over at him, chocolate ice cream on her lips.
They’d gotten ice cream on their very first date fifty-three years ago. He’d known then that he was going to marry her. Their future had been so bright. There’d been a few bumps in the road over the years, but nothing they hadn’t been able to overcome together.
Until the death of their youngest grandchild, the first boy out of six. Their daughter had named him Herbert after his grandfather, an honor that had brought tears to Herb’s eyes. He’d been so happy and had gladly offered to pay for a full-time nanny to live in the house and help their youngest daughter with her first child, since the baby had some special medical needs.
He wiped at an errant tear and noticed that his ice cream was melting. He quickly turned his attention back to his cone—and the pickup. The occupants hadn’t gotten out. He could see the woman sitting on the passenger side. Another cop? The hospital had been in pandemonium over what had turned out to be a suspended homicide detective pretending to be a nurse, he’d heard when he’d stopped by. The woman had gotten into Natalie Berkshire’s room—right past the deputy stationed outside the door.
Herb wondered what the cop had been planning to do. Or if she was merely trying to find out who had taken Natalie captive. That was when he’d decided it was time to get rid of the motor home.
Seeing the two law officers here in Ennis, he knew he’d been right about where he could find Natalie again. He realized that they might be able to help him. He glanced over at Dorie. She’d almost finished her cone. She looked content for the moment and that alone made him happy.
Unlike him, he thought she had moments when she didn’t remember what had happened to their only grandson. What a blessing for her and one that he just assumed he wouldn’t have until he died, which wasn’t that far off given the way he’d been feeling lately.
But first, he intended to take the woman who’d killed his grandson with him as soon as he found her again. It was time.
HUD WALKED INTO the old two-story house on Cardwell Ranch, hung his Stetson on the hook by the door and dropped onto the bench to take off his boots.
“You look exhausted,” Dana said as she hurried to help him with his boots, an offer she’d given him most nights since they’d married. Tonight, though, he seemed glad for her help as if he needed it badly. For months, she’d been encouraging him to retire. Their children were raised, and she suspected it wouldn’t be that long before they had grandchildren.
“It was one of those days,” the marshal admitted as he gave her a wan smile. “You’re going to hear about it soon enough anyway...” He seemed to brace himself. “Brick...” He raked his fingers through his graying hair.
Sometimes it hit her how much they’d both aged. Like now. Normally when she looked at her husband, she saw the young, big strong man he’d been when she’d fallen in love with him. She was still desperately in love with this man, looking past the gray and the wrinkles and the slight stoop of his broad shoulders.
“Brick has gotten himself involved in a case that could blow up in all of our faces,” Hud said finally.
“I thought he was technically still on medical leave?”
“Tell that to him. I told him until I got the release from the head doctor...” He met her gaze. “He’s still having the nightmares, I know he is. He thinks he’s fine. You know him.”
“Is this about the woman he found?”
Hud nodded. “She escaped from the hospital after taking a nurse’s clothing and leaving the woman tied up under the bed.”
Dana gasped. “This is the same woman that someone had abducted and held?” He nodded. “Why would she do something like that?”
“I suppose she’s scared. Or she heard Billings homicide was on its way to question her. But what complicates it is this cop who’s after her...”
“The one who attacked our son?”
For a moment, he looked surprised that she’d heard that detail through the grapevine. He shouldn’t have been. He had to know how talk moved down this canyon.
Hud sighed. “We had her behind bars, but Brick broke her out. Now the two of them have gone after the woman who escaped the hospital. Brick to save her and...who knows what Mo has planned.”
“Mo?”
“Maureen ‘Mo’ Mortensen, the suspended cop who your son is now
