He squinted toward the mountains. “I want to find her as much as you do.”
Mo shook her head. “You don’t. Which is why you need to go back to Big Sky and your job before you lose it. Don’t throw your career away like I did. This isn’t about you.”
“It’s about justice. Without it, we’re nothing but outlaws. And if I went back, I’d have to take you with me. I’m not sure I can trust you to appear at your hearing.”
She met his gaze and held it. “Fine, stay. Just remember, I warned you.”
Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen before she stepped away to take the call.
MO HEARD THE anger in Thomas’s voice and groaned inwardly. “That man you were with the other day,” her brother-in-law said without preamble. “Deputy Marshal Brick Savage? He’s the one who found Natalie—and lost her again. Maureen, what are you doing?”
She realized it always bothered her that he’d never called her by her nickname. It had always been Maureen. “Thomas, why have you never called me Mo?”
“What?”
“I just realized that you’ve never called me by my nickname.”
“Are you drunk? Or have you just completely lost your mind?”
“Thomas—”
“What are you doing, Mo?” He sounded more pained than angry now. “I begged you at the funeral to let it go. Joey is gone. Tricia is gone. Why are you destroying your life, too? I called the police station. They said you’ve been suspended. Please, Maureen, Mo, whatever. Stop.” His voice broke.
She felt a painful tug at her heart. She’d met Thomas at college when her only eighteen months older sister had started dating him. They’d hung out with the same crowd. He was like a brother to her. She’d been maid of honor at their wedding.
“I can’t talk to you about this,” she said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“How can you say that?” he asked, raising his voice. “Joey was my son, Tricia was my wife. Natalie was like a member of our family. This has been a nightmare. One I just want to put behind me.”
“I wish I could, but I can’t.”
“So, what are you going to do?” he demanded.
She looked back at Brick leaning against his pickup, waiting for her. They needed go after Natalie. She was getting away. Again. She thought about telling Thomas about the note, about Natalie saying that Tricia hadn’t taken her own life, but didn’t. Like he said, he was trying to put it all behind him. Until she had even a shred of proof that it was true, she needed to keep it to herself. She didn’t want to hurt him any more than she already had. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” She could almost see him shaking his head.
“The cops let her go, Maureen.”
“That doesn’t mean she was innocent.”
“But it could, couldn’t it?” He sounded as if he was pleading. “Isn’t it possible Joey just died? The doctor had said he might die. If he’d lived, he was going to have to have all those surgeries and even then, the doctor said he might never...” His voice broke again. She could hear him crying.
She’d done this. “I’m so sorry. This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“Then don’t do this. Go back to work. It’s the only thing I’ve found that helps. I’m sure you can get back on at your old job if you leave all of this behind. You know you being obsessed over this is the last thing Tricia would want.”
She didn’t know what to say because she knew it was true. But then again, she questioned if she’d ever known her sister at all. Tricia was having an affair? It seemed impossible. She still didn’t believe it, but knew she had to find out the truth no matter where it led her.
“You and I shouldn’t have any secrets, Maureen. We’re...” His voice broke again. “Family.”
Her heart clinched. The worst thing about this was lying to Thomas. His losses were so much greater than hers. And now she had him worrying about her.
“I need you to be all right,” he’d told her at Tricia’s funeral. “I can’t bear losing anyone else.”
The anguish in his voice now broke her heart all over again. “I’ll be okay,” she said, wondering if it would ever be true. She’d told herself that she would be fine as soon as she got the justice her sister and Thomas deserved. But she wasn’t even sure of that anymore.
“I know I can’t stop you, but promise me this. That you’ll call every few days, Maureen. I need to hear your voice. I need to know that you’re okay.”
“I’ll call,” she said. “Thomas?” She searched for something to say that would help them both. “It’s going to get better.” At least she hoped so.
Chapter Nine
“Your brother-in-law?” Brick asked as Mo pocketed her phone and walked toward him and his pickup. She nodded without looking at him. “You all right?”
He watched her look away to hide her raw emotions. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I wish that were true.” When she met his gaze, he reached over to brush a lock of her hair back from her face. “You’re having second thoughts.”
She shook her head. “You have no idea what I’m thinking.”
“I see more than you think. You’re conflicted about all of this.”
“Of course I am,” she snapped and tried to step past him, but he blocked her way. She sighed. “What is it you want me to say? That maybe you’re right and I’m wrong? Don’t you think I wish that were true?”
“What if it is?”
She glared at him, clearly losing her patience. “Here is the problem. When we find her, and we will, you’ll still be debating it all in your mind. She
