by Barb Han
“To be honest, I have no idea.” The admission stung. Cheyenne should know who her best friend had been hanging out with. “I’ve been so wrapped up in my own life for the past year and getting ready for the baby that I haven’t been staying in touch as much as I should have.”
He nodded.
“Do you know if she was seeing someone?” There was no judgment in his voice.
“She used to date someone in Dallas, but I don’t remember his name and I think it was a long time ago.” Cheyenne blew out a frustrated breath. There were fuzzy memories of Ally coming home in the mornings after work, coming into Cheyenne’s room to check on her. Her friend talked about her shift as Cheyenne drifted in and out. “Look. I haven’t been the best friend to her lately. I got so caught up in my relationship with you and then the pregnancy that she and I didn’t talk as much as we used to.” She threw her hands up in the air. “There was a time when she was going back and forth to Dallas for a guy, but I couldn’t tell you if that was still the case and for the past two weeks all I’ve wanted to do is stay in bed twenty-four seven, so it’s not like we’ve been having sleepovers to catch up.”
She blew out a breath and apologized.
“I’m frustrated with me, not you. Please don’t take what I’m saying the wrong way,” she said. “I remember something about work... I can’t remember what, though.”
“It happens to friendships,” he said and his attempt to comfort her shouldn’t make her even more frustrated. “And it was probably just her needing to talk about her shift.”
“It shouldn’t, though. I care about Ally. I just never really worried about our friendship before. It’s not like we talk every day. We’ve gone weeks, sometimes months, without talking. Then we just pick up where we left off. Except this year has been the longest break we’ve ever taken.” And she wanted to add it was her fault. She also wanted to remember who Ally complained about from work. A doctor? It would be another angle they could follow up on. And yet nurses grumbling about how a doctor treated them wasn’t exactly new.
“I’m sure you two would have picked up again once the baby was born.” Again, his attempt to let her off the hook shouldn’t infuriate her more. Except that was exactly what it did.
“How? From everything I read, babies are more than a full-time job,” she said with a little more heat than she’d intended. She pinched the bridge of her nose to stem the headache threatening. “I would have just let our longstanding friendship slip away. And now, something might have happened to her and it’s because of...”
She stopped herself right there before she went all in blaming herself. This wasn’t a pity party by any means. She had a very real sense of annoyance that she’d let her friend down—a friend who had been there for Cheyenne during her darkest days.
“I won’t pretend to know your friendship with Ally, or how it works. All I can say is that I’m guilty of the same thing with my brothers.” He didn’t have to tell her how close his family was. She’d seen it firsthand while living at KBR, Katy Bull Ranch. “It can be easy to take the ones we care about most for granted.” He put his hand up before she mounted an argument. “I’m not saying we have to do it that way, but it’s more common than it should be.”
He wouldn’t get an argument from her there.
“Why is that, Riggs?” She leaned her head against the headrest. The headache from earlier threatened to return.
“You tell me and we’ll both know,” he said. It was one of his favorite sayings while they were together. A smile ghosted her lips at the memory. There were others that tried to follow but she shut them down.
“All I know is that she’s out here somewhere and if I was a better friend, I’d know where. I’d be able to find her and help her,” she admitted before she had time to reel those words back in.
Riggs didn’t immediately respond. In fact, he took so long she slowly opened her eyes and turned to look at him. When she did, she saw something else...
Movement in the background caught her attention. The mousy-haired nurse was back, and she was standing in the same spot as before.
“Well, look at that.” Cheyenne nodded toward the woman.
“She must have something she wants to say to us,” he said.
“What if she was just trying to bum a lighter?” Cheyenne couldn’t afford to get her hopes up.
“I don’t think e-cigs work that way but I don’t exactly have personal experience to draw from,” he said. Then he turned to lock gazes with Cheyenne. “Only one way to find out.”
“True.” She opened the door, exited the vehicle, and met him around back.
They approached the nurse together. She had the same e-cig out. Cheyenne figured a smoke break must be her excuse to leave the building while on duty.
“Come closer.” She took a drag off the e-cig before glancing around again. “I need this job and I’ll get fired if I’m seen talking to either of you.”
“Why us?” Riggs took the lead.
“Don’t you know?” The nurse’s name tag wasn’t on her left pocket like everyone else’s. Had she removed it?
“I’m drawing a blank here.” He threw his hands in the air for emphasis.
“Your friend is in trouble,” she said like it was plain as the noses on their faces.
“Why?” Cheyenne asked.
“Because of you. She went poking around where she shouldn’t, and now she disappeared just before her shift was over. Have you seen her?” the nurse asked with a cocked eyebrow.
“No. I haven’t,” Cheyenne said. “I was hoping you could tell me where she was.”
The woman shook her head. “That’s not a good sign.”
“Her car is gone,” Cheyenne pointed out. “Did she leave on her own free will?”
“All I know is that she was poking around in the files on your birth, asking around about Dr. Fortner,” the nurse said. “Then she was gone, and Sherry, the head nurse, starts asking if anyone can fill her shift tomorrow.”
Sherry knew?
Riggs reached over and squeezed Cheyenne’s hand.
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Cheyenne asked. “Please. My friend might be in danger. Anything you can tell us might save her life.”
The nurse’s eyes widened to saucers. She pushed past them and tucked the e-cig inside her pocket. “I gotta go.”
“That’s it?” Cheyenne asked. “What about Ally?”
“I’ve already said too much. I’m sorry. I have to worry about me and my kid.” She twisted her hands together.
“Can I ask why you’re here talking to us, then?” Riggs asked.
“Yeah. Because any one of us could be next.” She stormed off and disappeared around the corner into the building.
“She knows more than she’s telling us,” Riggs said.
“I know.” Cheyenne reached in her bag and pulled Ozzy out. He immediately started barking. She placed him back inside, figuring she was right about him feeling the most secure there. She might not be able to help Ally right now, but she could take care of Ozzy.
They headed to the truck with the confession spinning in Cheyenne’s thoughts. Riggs walked her to the passenger side and opened the door for her. She could open it for herself but her hands were busy with Ozzy, and she appreciated the gesture.
She thanked him and then climbed inside the cab. After situating the dog and securing her seat belt, she exhaled. “Something sinister is going on here.”
“It sure is.” He started the engine and then put the gearshift in Reverse.
“Something about the birth.” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words our daughter, despite them sitting right there on her tongue. After feeling like her heart had been ripped from her chest, she couldn’t dare to hope there’d been some kind of mistake. Although rare, mistakes did happen. Could their daughter have been sent home wit
h someone else by accident? Babies switched at birth? Those kinds of things made the news. As tragic as it was for all parties, mistakes happened.
“Yes,” he agreed, clearly not wanting to get his hopes up, either. They would be crazy to, and both seemed to realize it.
“Which doesn’t mean there’s a different outcome,” she quickly said. “It could be something as simple as Ally figuring out someone messed up the birth. That it wasn’t all my fau—”
“Hold on there a second.” Riggs hit the brake. “These things happen in life. And as awful as they are, no one person is to blame.”
Did he really believe that? Because she didn’t. She was the one in the hospital in early labor. She was the one who was supposed to be able to give birth like so many other women did every day of the week. And she was the one who’d lost their daughter.
The black cloud hung over her head, not his.
Judging from his reaction, telling him so wouldn’t change his mind and there was nothing he could say to change hers. So she left it at that, figuring it was time to redirect the conversation back on track.
“Where do we go next, Riggs?” she asked, hoping he would let it go.
He sat there silent, with the engine idling for a long moment before shifting into Drive, looking like he had a whole lot to say. He seemed to decide on, “Let’s go back to the house. She might be there waiting already.”
“Do you really believe that after what the nurse just said?” Cheyenne asked.
“Not really, but I’m grasping at straws as much as you are,” he admitted.
“I’m not saying I don’t believe the nurse. But it wouldn’t be the first time Ally’s cell died after a long shift.” Evidence pointed to the contrary, but she wasn’t ready to embrace the thought something permanently bad had happened to Ally. “On second thought, do you think we should circle back and try to get more information out of E-cig Nurse?”
The woman had disappeared a little too fast. She knew something she wasn’t sharing.
“If it’s true that she has a kid, she won’t tell us anything else. She barely told us anything as of now. And we don’t even know her real name.” He navigated out of the parking lot and onto the roadway back toward Ally’s bungalow. “We’ll give Colton an update. The nurse will talk to law enforcement and so will Sherry. I’d like to hear her explanation as to why she seems to know Ally won’t be coming back to work in the next few days.”
The obvious answer was that Ally was going somewhere and asked for time off. But Ally wouldn’t. She didn’t. And yet Cheyenne couldn’t prove it.
“I’d like to be a fly on the wall when the nurses talk to law enforcement.” The thought of going back to the bungalow to wait for Ally with Riggs made breathing a challenge. Slow down. Breathe.
Tie the knot. Hold on. Her new mantra had to work because Riggs was most definitely going home with her. She couldn’t turn him away when the investigation involved finding out what had happened to his daughter.
Cheyenne picked up her handbag and held Ozzy to her chest. Instead of trying to snap at her, he leaned his head against her neck and nuzzled her.
“You like car rides?” She kept her voice quiet. Talking to the dog was one thing. Figuring out what to say to her soon-to-be ex was a whole different ball game, especially since her pulse pounded so loudly he had to be able to hear it.
Being around Riggs did things to her heart she couldn’t afford right now. She needed all of her determination and resolve to find out what had really happened to her daughter. To their daughter. The unfairness of shutting him out slammed into her. She’d been so caught up in trying to protect him that she’d hurt him even more.
Cheyenne took in a deep breath. She had to figure out a way to find the words to talk about what had happened.
Riggs deserved to know.
Chapter Five
“No sign of your friend.” Riggs pulled onto the parking pad in front of Ally’s place for the second time that day. A few thoughts circulated through his mind and a picture was emerging as he hopped out of the driver’s seat after cutting off the engine. Cheyenne blamed herself for losing the baby. He suspected it was at least part of the reason she’d told him that he would be better off without her. There could be more to it, but something told him this statement carried most of the weight.
“No.” The sadness in her voice nearly cut a hole in his chest.
The passenger door swung wide open before he made it halfway around the front of the pickup. She’d been quiet on the ride back. Too quiet for his liking. It meant she’d gone inside herself again and he had no idea how to reach her. It had happened twice during the early months of their relationship. The first time wasn’t too long after she’d told him she was pregnant. He’d given her space and she’d come around after two long weeks. The second came midway through the pregnancy, when she’d shut down on him. Again, he’d given her space, and she’d come around with a little bit of time. This time seemed different.
Riggs headed toward the bungalow as Cheyenne shut the door to the truck. She stopped on the porch and turned to face him. The way she bit the inside of her cheek before she launched into whatever she was about to say caused a knot to form in his gut.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and her fingers traced the house key in her hand. A sense of dread for what might come next tightened the knot.
“Is there any chance you can stay for a while?” she asked, not making eye contact.
Cheyenne’s question caught him off guard.
“I can and planned to,” he said. Nothing inside him wanted to get back inside his truck and drive away while there were so many unanswered questions anyway.
“Good.” She turned around before unlocking the front door. “We need to talk.”
The second surprise struck with her last comment.
Riggs closed, then locked the door behind him and nodded toward the kitchen. “Mind if I get a fresh cup of coffee?”
“Be my guest.” She shrugged. Tension radiated off her in waves. “I can get it for you. It wouldn’t be any trouble.”
“I sort of remember where everything is,” he said, figuring he needed something to do with his hands as much as the caffeine boost.
Cheyenne followed him into the next room. Ozzy was still tucked inside her purse and he seemed to like it there. He’d stopped yipping, so that was a step in the right direction.
“You want a cup?” he asked.
“Sure.” Cheyenne kept her distance, looking like she was working up her nerve to tell him something. If he moved toward the fridge, she took two big steps backward. Five feet seemed to be her “safe” distance from him.
Hell, it wasn’t like he was going to bump into her despite the small space. He had no plans for intentional contact. Granted, the kiss from the parking lot still sizzled on his lips. But he didn’t foresee the need for a repeat. It had gotten them out of a tricky situation.
Telling her to relax would most likely increase her stress levels, so he let it be, forcing himself not to think about the fact they normally couldn’t be in the same room without near-constant contact even if it was just outer thighs touching while seated on the couch.
Riggs fixed two cups and handed one over. Their fingers grazed, causing a familiar jolt of electricity to shoot straight to his heart. He stared at the cup for a second longer than he’d intended, and she seemed to do the same.
After taking a sip and then a breath that was apparently meant to fortify her, Cheyenne apologized.
“It’s not easy for me to talk about that night,” she continued, referring to the birth. “But that’s no excuse. It has dawned on me that you deserve to hear what happened.”
He nodded as she glanced at him. Suddenly, the rim of her coffee cup became very interesting to her.
“I panicked when I couldn’t reach you,” she said.
>
“Why didn’t you grab someone else at the ranch?” he asked.
“Because I wasn’t there.” She started working the ladybug bracelet her mother had given her, another sign her stress levels were climbing.
“The doctor didn’t think it was a good idea to be away from the r—”
“I’m aware,” she cut in, her voice laced with more of that sadness. “I should have been home and probably in bed. At the very least somewhere with my feet up.”
She flashed her eyes at him.
“I was going stir-crazy at home by myself and I don’t know the rest of your family well enough to—” she took in a slow breath before continuing “—to ask someone to go to my mother’s favorite place with me.”
“You hiked Harken Falls alone?”
“There were technically park rangers there, but yes.” Another emotion was present in her voice. Shame?
“What made you decide to go there?” This wasn’t the time to pour on more guilt, so he checked his frustration.
“I knew the baby was coming soon and I—” her voice dipped low “—missed my own mom, so I went to the place we spread her ashes.”
“It’s understandable.” He knew her mother had died many years ago. Other than that, Cheyenne didn’t say much about her family. Any time the subject came up, she got quiet.
“Is it?” she quipped. “My water broke and I went into labor. There was no one around to help and I had to hike down the falls area. I ran in between contractions. Once I got in cell range, I called 911, but it was irresponsible of me to go there by myself.”
She’d tried to call him almost a dozen times. He’d missed every single attempt. Reminding her of that now didn’t seem like it would help much. So he held his tongue.
“You couldn’t have known that would have happened, Cheyenne. We both know you would never do anything on purpose to hurt the baby.” His words didn’t seem to sink in. She appeared determined to punish herself for the mistake.
“The EMT gave me oxygen and I was in pretty bad shape by the time I got to the hospital. I guess I dehydrated out there faster than I realized I would.” She turned her face away from him and it took every ounce of strength inside him not to walk over to her and offer comfort. “That’s about as much as I remember. I was too far along for the epidural and then there were complications with the birth. The rest is all like a nightmare. I have fuzzy bits of being told the baby was breech. Another of a masked doctor leaning over me right before everything went dark.”
