But Brick had always stubbornly gone his own way even as a child.
“It wasn’t just your body that went through the trauma,” Hud said now to his son. “You need to heal. I suspect one of the reasons you’re so interested in this case is that finding that woman in the condition she was in brought back what happened to you in Wyoming.”
Brick scoffed. “I was shot. I wasn’t tied up in some basement and abused.”
“I don’t think you’ve dealt with how close you came to dying or the fact that you were forced to take another man’s life. It’s standard procedure, son. Don’t miss today’s appointment.”
BRICK GLANCED AT the time as he drove to the hospital. There would be hell to pay if he missed his doctor appointment. But he had to at least see the woman again. He felt confused. Not that seeing her lying in the hospital bed would probably help with that confusion.
He still couldn’t believe that the woman he’d rescued was the notorious nurse who’d worked as a nanny for a young couple in Billings. The couple’s newborn son had multiple life-threatening medical problems. They’d opted to take their son home and be with him for as long as they had.
Natalie Berkshire had sworn that when she came into the nursery she found the baby blue. She’d tried to resuscitate him, screaming for the mother to call 911. But he was gone. An autopsy revealed that the baby had died from lack of oxygen. It wasn’t until fibers from the baby’s blanket were found in his lungs that Natalie was arrested, and then released when the case against her wasn’t strong enough for a conviction.
Now as Brick took the stairs to her floor, he told himself that he was invested in this case whether his father liked it or not. True, he was restless and ached to get back to actively working, but he also wanted to prove to his father that he could do this job.
He knew his dad had had his reservations. All Brick had known growing up on Cardwell Ranch in the Gallatin Canyon was wrangling horses and cattle. He’d never shown an interest in law enforcement before, so he couldn’t blame him for being skeptical at first.
After coming home to recuperate after his ordeal in Wyoming, he’d realized it was time to settle down. When he’d heard about the deputy marshal position coming open, he’d jumped at it. He told himself that he wasn’t grabbing up the first thing that came along, as his father feared. Somehow, it felt right.
At least he hoped so as he came out of the stairwell on Natalie Berkshire’s floor. He was only a little winded by the hike up the stairs, but he was getting stronger every day. Physically, he was recovering nicely, his doctor had said. If it wasn’t for the nightmares...
Walking down the hall, he was glad to see the deputy stationed outside her door. He’d been relieved last night when his father had assigned a deputy to guard her after the lab techs had taken what evidence they could gather—including her fingerprints, which ID’d her.
Brick had feared she was still in danger from whoever had held her captive. At the time, he hadn’t known just how much danger this woman was in—or what she was running from.
After being raised in a house with his marshal father, he believed in innocence until proven guilty. If this woman was guilty, she deserved a trial. But even as Brick thought it, he wondered if she could get one anywhere in this country after all the publicity.
As he approached her room, he hoped his father hadn’t told the guard not to let him in.
“Hey, Jason,” Brick said as he approached the deputy sitting outside her door. The marshal department in Big Sky was small, so he knew most everyone by name even though he was new. And everyone knew him. Being the marshal’s son was good and bad. He wouldn’t get any special treatment—not from his father. If anything, Hud Savage would be tougher on him. But he couldn’t have anyone thinking he was special because of his last name.
“That must have been something, finding her like you did,” Jason said.
Brick nodded as he looked toward her closed door. “Any trouble?”
“Not a peep out of her.”
“No one’s come by looking for her?” Brick knew how news traveled in this small canyon town. He feared that whoever had held the woman captive would hear that she’d been taken to the hospital. The hospital was small and busy during the summer season. If someone were determined to get in, they would find a way.
“Nope.”
Brick heard a sound inside the room and looked quizzically to the guard.
“Nurse.” The deputy grinned. “Good-looking one too. I’d let her take my vitals.”
Brick smiled, shaking his head at the man, and pushed open the door. As he did, the nurse beside the bed who’d been leaning over the patient now looked up in alarm.
He took in the scene in that split second as the door closed behind him. The guard was right. The nurse was a stunner, blonde with big blue eyes.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said as he stepped deeper into the room, sensing that something was wrong.
“You didn’t.” The nurse began to nervously straighten the patient’s sheet before she turned toward him to leave. He realized with a start that the patient had been saying something as he walked in. He’d seen Natalie’s lips moving. Her eyes had been open, but were now closed. Had he only imagined that she’d spoken? How was that possible if the woman was catatonic and nonresponsive?
Also, when he’d come in and the nurse had been leaning over the patient, she’d clearly been intent on what Natalie was saying. She’d straightened so quickly as he’d come in. But before that, he’d seen something in the nurse’s
