by Becky Harmon
“We’re ready,” Cassie called to Steph when the horses were saddled.
“You and Dillon are coming with us, right?” Steph asked.
Cassie felt her gaze rest briefly on the bulge of her pistol, and she waited until Steph met her eyes. “Yes,” she said firmly.
Steph nodded. “Good. You guys will notice anything out of place faster than we will. We separated your property into three divisions. Once we reach the property line, we’ll meet back up to decide how to handle the federal park. By then we should have Search and Rescue here and they can help.”
The teams separated; Steph and Cassie took the middle section. They crossed the pasture area, slowly looking for any clues that Chase may have left behind.
At the edge of the woods, Steph checked in with Search and Rescue and directed them to begin on federal land, working their way back toward Cassie’s property. Cassie let Steph take the lead as they entered the woods. They traveled quietly and circled left and right to the perimeter of their area. It was almost two hours later when they exited the woods, crossed to the edge of Cassie’s property and reunited with the other teams. Cassie pulled the gate latch to allow everyone to cross onto federal property.
Chapter Thirty-Six
They were losing the last rays of sunlight as the deputies gathered again around the map. Steph used her cell phone to check in with Search and Rescue again before assigning new areas for each team. Cassie texted Kathleen with an update. She wanted to call her, but she knew she didn’t have anything to tell her.
Dillon rode up beside her. “Come look at this.” He led her to the section of fence they had repaired the previous week. There was a small piece of fabric stuck to one of the wire patches Dillon had made.
Cassie returned to Steph. “We found where Chase crossed the fence.” She pointed to where Dillon sat on Dakota. “There’s a piece of fabric stuck on the fence. It’s the same color of the shirt Chase had on today.”
Steph surveyed the scene. “I wonder why he didn’t go through the gate.”
“Maybe he was in too much of a hurry,” Cassie answered anxiously.
Steph nodded. “Let’s get going. Check-in texts every thirty minutes with your GPS location,” she reminded the deputies.
Everyone mounted, and they began their search again. Cassie knew Chase was hungry and he had to be tired. She thought about Pandy and Zoey and wished again she could call for them. She knew they would respond, but Steph thought, and she agreed, that it would alert the driver of the black car, who they had to assume was searching for Chase too.
As darkness surrounded them, Steph pointed out a broken limb and dismounted, using her flashlight to take a closer look. When Cassie dismounted too, she placed a hand to her lips and motioned for them to tie their horses in place. Quietly they followed the broken limbs through the forest. Cassie heard a voice in the distance, and her eyes grew wide. Steph nodded; she too heard the voice. They advanced close enough to see and hear the owner of the voice.
A short man in a dark suit was pacing as he ranted into his phone. “Don’t worry. I’ll find the little fucker.” A pause. “I’ll call you if I need a ride back to my car.” Another pause. “Then I’ll kill him where I find him.”
Motioning Cassie to stay in place, Steph began to move to their left directly behind the man. He slammed the phone shut and jammed it into his pocket. Slapping at nearby tree limbs, he started moving again. Seeing Steph emerging from the tree line, Cassie stomped her feet. It didn’t make a lot of sound, but there was enough of a rustle to pull his attention away from Steph, who slammed into his back, driving him to the ground.
His compact body was muscular and he pushed back against Steph like a bucking bronco. Before he had a chance to try to stand, Cassie dropped beside her and placed her knee in his back. Using her body weight, she helped Steph hold him down and together they cuffed him.
Adrenaline pumped through Cassie’s body and she almost wished he had put up more of struggle. She didn’t think she would be doing this again and had forgotten how much she enjoyed the thrill of an arrest. Then she remembered Chase and why she was out here in the middle of the night.
She held his arm while Steph radioed back to base and sent texts to the other deputies. Cassie helped her get him back to the horses, and they tied a rope around his wrists so he could walk and Steph could ride.
“Call your dogs. I feel confident that he’s out here alone,” Steph said, stepping away from their captive. “I’ll question him as soon as I get him back and let you know if I learn anything different.”
“Thanks. I don’t think it’ll take me long to find him now.”
“Good luck and stay alert.”
Cassie was relieved to be able to turn her attention to finding Chase. She called Kathleen as she mounted Cheyenne.
“We found the guy, and Steph is headed back with him. You guys are safe.” Cassie paused. “I can call for Zoey and Pandy now, so hopefully I’ll find him fast.”
“That’s great,” Kathleen gushed. “Hurry and find him.”
* * *
Kathleen turned off her phone and faced the room. Greg was standing, so she shook her head at him. “They found the man who was after Chase. The deputy is bringing him in now.”
“But not Chase,” Shelley said softly.
“Not yet. But Cassie is able to yell for Zoey and Pandy now, and they’ll come to her.” She touched Greg’s arm. “It won’t be long now.”
“Can I go outside?”
Kathleen appreciated him asking and she couldn’t deny him the opportunity to be a little bit closer to Chase. “Yes, but please stay close.”
Kathleen sat down at the table and looked at the girls stretched out across the living room. Morgan was the only one still awake, and her eyes met Kathleen’s across the room. Kathleen smiled at her and she went back to watching the program on television.
Shelley set a cup of coffee in front of her and then joined her at the table.
“Oh, I don’t think I can drink another cup.” Kathleen rubbed her face with her hands.
“It’s decaf.”
Kathleen picked it up and sniffed it. “Maybe I’ll just use the smell to wake me up then.” She took a sip. “That’s good. Thank you.”
“It’s my favorite. I’m sure we’ll switch to tea when Cassie returns. She’ll need some downtime before bed too.”
“When she returns, I just want to crawl into bed with her and hold her all night.”
Shelley laughed.
Kathleen covered her face. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
“Must be sleep deprivation.”
“Or just insanity.”
“There is nothing insane about love,” Shelley chastised her.
“Who said anything about love?” Kathleen frowned at Shelley, looking to see if Morgan could hear their conversation.
“Everyone knows, Kathleen.” Shelley smiled at her. “You can’t hide the way you look at her.”
Kathleen frowned again and lowered her voice. “I do like her, and after the girls leave this summer we’re going to explore a relationship.”
“Right. You’re just going to ignore each other for the next two months.”
“Yes.”
“Ignore each other like you’ve been doing for the last couple days.”
“Yes.”
Kathleen’s frown deepened when Shelley laughed again. “That’s what I’m telling you. You aren’t hiding anything from those girls. Wouldn’t it be better to show them a loving relationship rather than someone trying to ignore the way they feel?”
“I want to enjoy the feeling I had when I was here last, and I can’t do that with those eight eyes watching us.”
“Why not?” Shelley asked. “Let them see you fall in love. It’s a wonderful thing.”
Kathleen rubbed her face again. “I’ll think about it once Chase is home and it’s not the middle of the night.”
* * *
Cassie called again and then sto
pped to listen. In the distance she could hear a bark, so she yelled again. When another bark followed, she kicked Cheyenne into a gallop. They were both tired, but Cassie needed to find Chase. She could hear Search and Rescue teams in the distance, but when they yelled there were no answering barks, so she continued to yell, hoping the teams could follow her voice.
As she entered a clearing, she could see movement on the other side. She gave another yell and Zoey came sprinting across the clearing. She jumped down to pet her and left Cheyenne to follow when Zoey took off into the tree line. Zoey led her straight to Chase, who was fast asleep snuggled against Pandy. Cassie scooped him up and his eyes flew open.
“I thought I was dreaming.”
“You’re not dreaming.” Cassie squeezed him close against her, wishing she had brought a blanket when she felt his little body shiver. She stepped into the clearing and almost immediately they were surrounded by Search and Rescue personnel.
“Let us take him for a minute,” a soft-spoken female voice said into Cassie’s ear.
Cassie didn’t want to, but she allowed a rescue worker to pull Chase from her arms.
Chase began kicking and screaming. “No, Ms. Cassie. There’s a bad man here.”
She stepped into his line of sight. “Everything’s okay, Chase. These people are going to make sure you’re okay so we can go home. The bad guy is gone.”
Chase didn’t look convinced, but at least he stopped kicking and screaming. Cassie knelt down, taking both her dogs into her arms. Unlike their normal behavior, they licked her face and she talked softly to them. They had stayed with Chase even when they heard her calling, and she was so proud of them.
Dillon came at a gallop and jumped down beside her. He was on the phone. “Yes, she’s right here.” He passed her the phone. “It’s Greg.”
“He’s fine, Greg.”
She heard a sigh of relief.
“We’ll be on our way back shortly, and I’ll let him call you.”
“Okay.” He paused. “Hang on.” She could hear Greg yell in the background. “They found him and he’s okay.”
Cassie listened as excited voices talked, then a soft, soothing voice said into the phone, “My hero.”
“Well, that’s an exaggeration.”
“It’s my opinion and you can’t change it. Are you on your way back yet?” Kathleen asked.
“Not yet. Search and Rescue are checking Chase out.” When there was no response, she continued. “He seemed fine though when I held him.”
“Okay, good. Call us when you start back.” Kathleen paused and then said softly. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
Cassie released her breath. “I love you.” In the few seconds of silence that followed Cassie couldn’t make herself regret the slip.
“I love you too, Cassie.”
Cassie smiled and she handed the phone back to Dillon. “Let’s get our kid and go home.”
Dillon smiled back at her. “Yeah.”
Cassie looked at Chase’s little body sitting on the ground surrounded by people. She pushed her way through the crowd and found the woman who had talked her into giving Chase up. “Can we take him now? His brother needs to see that he’s okay.”
“Yes, he seems fine. You can follow up with your regular doctor tomorrow if you feel like you need to.”
“Thank you for coming so quickly.” She wanted to say more, but she needed to get Chase home more than they needed praise. There would be time to show her appreciation later.
She scooped Chase up and handed him to Dillon while she mounted Cheyenne. Dillon passed him up into her arms and helped make him comfortable in the front of the saddle. One of the rescue workers passed up a blanket for Chase and a jacket. Cassie quickly pushed her arms into the sleeves one at a time while holding tight to Chase. It was the first time she realized she was cold. It was probably still sixty degrees, but without the sun and with the lack of sleep the jacket felt good on her bare arms.
As they traveled back across federal land, walking slowly to avoid injury to the horses, two of the deputies joined them. The trip seemed to take forever. When they crossed back onto Cassie’s property, she dialed Greg and handed the phone to Chase, holding him tightly against her chest.
“Greg! Where are you?” Chase exclaimed when he heard his brother’s voice, and then he began to talk quickly, explaining to Greg that he had been on his way to see him after the shopping trip when the guy that killed his foster parent had appeared. He was between Chase and the house, so Chase’s only choice had been to run away from the house. He made it across the pasture to the tree line before the guy realized it and began to pursue him. By then it was too late to yell for help, so he continued to run.
By the time Chase finished his story, they could see the lights from the house. Greg met them halfway across the pasture, and Cassie handed Chase down to him. Greg pulled Chase into his arms. “Don’t ever do that again,” he said sternly.
Chase looked up at Cassie as she dismounted and his surprise at Greg’s words showed on his face. “He was scared, Chase. We all were.” She patted Chase’s head and then Greg’s back. “There’ll be time later when you can talk about what he should do, God forbid, this ever happens again. But not right now.”
Greg looked at her with tears in his eyes and nodded. He hugged Chase hard and then stood, taking Chase by the hand they walked toward the house. Kathleen and the girls were waiting at the fence, and they all hugged Chase as he left the pasture.
Cassie hugged Kathleen before turning back to unsaddle Cheyenne. “Where’s Shelley?”
“She’s making breakfast.” Kathleen looked at the deputies. “And she says there’ll be enough for everyone.” They nodded their agreement.
With help from the deputies and Greg, Cassie and Dillon unsaddled and brushed all the horses before leading them into their stalls. They would release them with the other horses after they were fed and rested.
Cassie followed the crowd toward the house. Steph waited at the door of her cruiser, a tired smile plastered on her face.
Cassie squeezed Kathleen’s hand. “I won’t be long.”
Kathleen smiled and, with a quick glance at Steph, left her.
“Looks like we need to talk,” Steph said as Cassie approached.
“Yeah, a few things have changed.” Cassie smiled. “Thanks for everything.”
“Happy to help. Our scumbag is on the way to the station and a few deputies are waiting for the man he was talking to on the phone to arrive.” She gave Cassie an evil smile. “We made him call his partner and tell him to come give him a ride back to his car.”
Cassie laughed. She watched the pink sky swirl with light as the sun fought to break through the morning clouds. Though she was relieved to have her family safe inside the house, she wished she had been more suspicious of the stranger when he showed up. She needed to convince Chase to spill every detail from the night of the murder.
Interrupting her thoughts, Steph spoke them. “Someone needs to see what that boy really knows. Someone he trusts.”
“My first task when things calm down.”
Steph slid into her cruiser. “Call me and I’ll put his official statement on record. We can do it here if that makes him more comfortable.”
“I appreciate that.”
Kathleen emerged from the house and handed Steph a wrapped sandwich. “Thanks for all your help.”
Steph nodded. “Thank you.” She held up the sandwich.
“It didn’t appear you were staying.”
“Nope, paperwork is calling. And then sleep.”
Cassie slid her arm around Kathleen’s waist as they climbed the steps. “That was nice of you.”
“You didn’t think I could be nice to your former lover?” Kathleen joked.
“Not lover.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“I think you did.”
* * *
After everyone had eaten, she walked the deputies out and thanked them for their help
. When she returned Kathleen was waiting for her in the doorway. The breakfast dishes were washed and loaded into the dishwasher. The kitchen was spotless.
Kathleen took her hand. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Where is everyone?”
“I sent the kids to their rooms, and Dillon and Shelley are in my room.”
Cassie smiled. “And where do you plan on sleeping?”
Kathleen pulled her up the stairs without answering.
Cassie took the bullets out of her pistol and secured it in the closet before climbing onto the bed with her clothes on.
“At least take off your boots,” Kathleen commanded with a laugh.
Cassie unlaced her boots and kicked them off before pulling the comforter over both of them. She was asleep before Kathleen had a chance to snuggle in.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Cassie awoke to find Kathleen and Chase sitting at the bottom of the bed, their voices soft as they whispered.
“What’s going on?” Cassie growled at them.
Kathleen turned to look at her and smiled. “Aren’t you a fright when you wake up?” Kathleen looked at Chase. “I think we woke up the bear.”
Cassie glared at them when they both laughed.
“Mr. D says we should have a party,” Chase said excitedly.
“Okay, but only if you give me a hug and then leave the room quickly.”
Chase jumped onto the bed beside Cassie, and she sat up, pulling him into a hug. “Now go quickly and wake everyone else.”
Chase bolted out of the room and began knocking on the girls’ doors.
“Oh, that was mean,” Kathleen said with a smile.
“If I must be awake then so must everyone else,” Cassie growled.
Kathleen leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “Take a shower and then you’ll feel better.”
Cassie took in her fresh clothes and the refreshing smell of body wash. Her hair was styled back, but it fell forward around her face when she leaned in to kiss Cassie again. This time Cassie captured her and pulled her against her body, inhaling the smell of her shampoo.
“No more kissing.”
