Normally, Angus could have easily disarmed the woman, but his head injury had left him weak and slow as if he was moving through quicksand.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jinx and was instantly thankful she didn’t appear to have been shot. She stepped down on the woman’s hand holding the gun, grinding her boot heel in until he heard a cry and Jinx kicked the gun away.
He sat back against the wall, the gun at his side, as Jinx dropped to the floor next to him.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “You should be in the hospital.”
Angus could only smile because he had to agree. “I was worried about you.”
“Oh, Angus.” She cupped his face and bent to kiss him. The sound of sirens filled the air, drowning out at least some of Patty’s sobs. The woman had climbed up on the bed and now had T.D.’s head cradled in her lap. She was smoothing back his hair and telling him about a dream she had that involved Disney World.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“What’s the plan now?” Marshal Hudson Savage asked from the head of the huge family table in the dining room at Cardwell Ranch.
“Don’t cross examine them, sweetheart,” Dana said sweetly but strongly. “They’ve been through enough without having to decide their futures at my dinner table right this moment. Have some more roast beef,” she said to her twin sons seated across from her.
“I’m going back to Wyoming to help Jinx get everything ready for the sale of her ranch,” Angus said, passing on more roast beef.
Brick took some, though, thanking their mother. “Mom, everything is delicious,” he said after chewing and swallowing. His recovery was going slowly, making them all worried about him.
She smiled. “Thank you, Brick. You know you both gave us a scare. I’m just so glad that you’re home.”
“But for how long this time?” Hud asked, not to be deterred. Brick hadn’t looked up from his meal, eating quietly as if lost in his own thoughts.
“I shouldn’t be gone for more than a couple of weeks,” Angus said. “Then my plan is to come back and go to work here on the ranch.” He said this to his mother. “That’s if you’ll have me.”
His mother’s eyes filled with tears. “Really?”
“Finally,” Hud grumbled. “You boys are going to be the death of me.”
“Are you coming back...alone?” she asked, pretending interest in the small portion of mashed potatoes on her plate.
Angus laughed. “You are so subtle, Mom.”
“Like a sledgehammer,” his father muttered under his breath.
“Well?” she asked, clearly ignoring her husband.
“Alone, Mom. At least for now. Jinx and I both need some time.”
“What about you?” Hud asked Brick.
“I’ve actually been thinking about what I might want to do once I’m healed,” he said, motioning to the sling that had his mother cutting his meat up as if he was five. Angus could tell that his brother didn’t mind. Like him, Brick seemed to be glad to be home. “I heard you might have an opening for a deputy marshal.”
His father looked up from his meal in surprise. “Are you serious about this?”
Brick nodded. “I am.”
“You have to go to the law academy, but if this is something you want...”
Angus could tell that their father was delighted at the prospect that at least one of their sons might be interested in law enforcement. Their older brother Hank lived on the ranch with his wife, Frankie, and Mary did the ranch’s books. It had looked like they all might be involved in ranch work in this family.
He looked over at their mother. Clearly she’d prefer Brick not become a lawman, but she only took her husband’s hand and smiled at Brick. “It will be nice to have you boys home,” Hud said.
“I’ll get dessert,” Dana said and got up to hurry into the kitchen. Angus could tell that she was thinking about all the meals the family would be having at this table in the future. Tonight she’d wanted it to be just the four of them. But he knew they were in for a lot of big family celebrations at this table.
When his mother returned with a three-tiered chocolate cake, he said, “By the way, I thought Ella was going to be here tonight.”
Dana shook her head as she began to cut the cake. Brick already had his fork ready and was saying how much he’d missed his mother’s cooking, making her beam.
“Ella?” she said. “She wasn’t around. Hank told me that he saw her leave.” She stopped cutting to look up at him. “I think she’s gone to look for her mother.”
“Stacy?” Brick said as he took the slice of cake his mother handed him. “Where’s she off to?” he asked and took a large bite of the cake and thick fudge-like frosting, one of his mother’s favorite recipes.
“That’s just it,” Dana said. “We don’t know. Stacy just left.” She looked to her husband, who shook his head. “Maybe she just needs a break from all of us.”
“Maybe,” Angus said, but he could tell that his mother was worried about her sister.
“Ella will find her,” Brick said. “That woman is like a bloodhound when she gets something in her head.”
“I hope you’re right,” their mother said as she handed Angus his cake. “Now, tell me about Jinx. I want to know everything.”
ON A BEAUTIFUL fall day, JoRay “Jinx” McCallahan drove into Cardwell Ranch in her pickup, pulling a horse trailer with her favorite horse inside. She slowed as she crossed the bridge over the Gallatin River to look down. The water was incredibly clear, a pale green that made the granite rocks along the bottom shine as if pure gold.
She breathed in the fall air scented with the river and the pines and looked up at the towering mountain with its rock cliffs before letting herself take in the ranch. The house was two stories with a red metal roof. And there was the large old barn that
