* * *
Kendall wanted to question Eve. To get answers on how her attacker, who they’d learned was named Greg Hurley, was involved with Wessel, but Cord was in surgery and neither she nor Eve needed to be having that discussion right now. As it turned out, when the doctor evaluated Cord, he discovered that the bullet entered Cord’s thigh and had indeed traveled inside, causing enough damage to require surgery.
Kendall paced in the waiting area. Back. Forth. Every direction she could find space to move. Her family had arrived in full force and sat vigil with her. They’d brought Eve and Lucas, too.
Cord’s wound wasn’t life-threatening, but any surgery was a risk. Unlike Hurley. He was touch and go. Her bullets stopped him cold and might stop him for life. This was the first time Kendall had ever needed to shoot a person. She didn’t much like that thought, and as much as she hated what he’d done to her, she’d been praying for both Hurley and Cord.
Her mother stepped into her path. “You’re scaring Lucas.”
She glanced at the boy, who was circled under the protective arm of his great-aunt, but he was twisting his hands together. How could he survive all of this? First his parents and grandparents. Then Eve went missing only to be found, and now Cord got shot. Lucas had to be nearly scared out of his mind.
She started across the room to talk to him, when the doctor stepped into the waiting area. He pulled off his scrub cap and ran his hand through thinning gray hair. Kendall didn’t know if his action was from tiredness or from bad news. She didn’t want to know the answer. If she didn’t talk to him, then in her mind Cord could still be alive, but if...
“We’ll do this together.” Her mother took her arm and led her to the doctor. The others flocked around her, Lucas coming to slide under her arm. She hugged him close and waited for the news.
“Cord came through fine,” the doctor said. “And should make a complete recovery.”
Kendall’s legs threatened to collapse in relief, but she had to stay strong for Lucas.
“When can we see him?” she asked.
“He’s in recovery but you can wait for him in his room. He’ll be in 232.” The doctor ran his gaze over the big group. “No more than two visitors at a time, though.”
Kendall thanked him and faced her family. “Lucas and Eve should go in first.”
“Oh, no, honey.” Eve waved a hand. “Now that I know Cord is okay, I’ll go ahead and get checked out by a doctor so you all can stop fussing at me. So you and Lucas go. Cord will want to see you two the moment he wakes up.”
Kendall knew she should argue, but she had to see for herself that Cord was indeed going to be okay. She looked at Lucas. “You ready to do this?”
He nodded, his expression so serious, a tight heaviness invaded her chest, but she smiled to cover it up. “Maybe we should stop at the gift shop and get him a teddy bear.”
“For Cord? Are you kidding?”
“That’s why we should do it.”
“Oh, I get it. A joke. Yeah, let’s get one.” He grinned, and Kendall knew her mission to cheer the boy up had succeeded.
They got the biggest bear they could find. She was surprised to find Cord in the room already. His face was pale, but with more color than it had at the scene. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be resting comfortably. She longed to rush over, hold him and never let him go, but with Lucas at her side, she held back.
“He’s so gonna lose it when he sees the bear,” Lucas said, his voice choked with laughter.
Cord’s eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes. He caught her gaze.
“Hey,” he said in a low, sultry voice.
“We got you something.” Lucas approached with the bear.
Cord blinked as if he hadn’t realized Lucas was with her.
“Oh, man.” Cord grinned. “Just what I always wanted.” He started to chuckle but stopped on a gasp of pain.
“Hey, sorry,” Lucas said. “I wanted to cheer you up but didn’t think it would hurt to laugh.”
“No worries.”
Kendall stepped forward. “The doctor said you’re going to make a complete recovery.”
“And the shooter?”
“His name’s Greg Hurley. Still touch and go.”
“I’d like to see Eve and get all the details of what happened.”
“The doctor said only two visitors at a time, and she insisted Lucas and I come in first.”
Cord nodded. “Looks like I’m here for the night, but Doc said he’ll likely discharge me in the morning.”
“You’ll stay at the ranch until you’re well enough to go back to Houston,” she insisted.
He frowned.
“I can drive you back to Houston if that’s what you want.”
“No.”
She started to ask about the lingering frown, but then a painful thought entered her brain. Now that Eve was safe, maybe he didn’t want to stay in Lost Creek any longer. Maybe her feelings were one-sided. She didn’t think so, but it was possible that he cared for her yet still didn’t want to pursue a relationship.
“I’ll keep an eye out for Lucas tonight.” She faked a punch to his arm. “We should probably let you get some rest.”
“Wait,” Lucas said, sounding desperate. “I wanted to tell Cord something before we go.”
“What is it?” Worry returned to Cord’s expression.
“I’m sorry for being such a jerk. It wasn’t your fault. The accident, I mean. And I was real ugly toward you.”
“No worries,” Cord said, but he followed it with a wide smile. “Can I ask how you reached that conclusion?”
“Pastor Mark. He told me that God doesn’t make mistakes. If He keeps someone from being killed or allows a person to die, it’s not some fluke. He’s, like, in total control all the time.”
“So true.” Kendall couldn’t help but think about her own life and how she liked things her way. She took control when she should really be allowing things to go God’s way, whatever that might turn out to be.
“Yeah, he also said if I think one person is more worthy of life than another, then I’m making judgments God hasn’t authorized me to make. God’s the only one who can evaluate human life. And He isn’t going to share reasons for His decisions with people.”
“Wow,” Cord said. “This Pastor Mark sounds like a smart guy.”
Lucas nodded. “So I can’t blame you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Cord grabbed Lucas’s arm and pulled him in for a hug. “Love you, bud.”
“Yeah, love you, too.” Lucas’s shoulders started shaking.
Kendall knew he was crying, so she left the pair alone, her heart full with the joy of seeing them repair their rift but aching with the knowledge that if something didn’t change, she wouldn’t be around them to see it play out.
SEVENTEEN
Cord smiled at his aunt, who was standing at his bedside with Kendall. He was exhausted from being awake for only an hour but he wasn’t going to sleep until he heard the whole story from Eve.
He squeezed his aunt’s hand, so thankful to be holding it. “Go ahead. Sit and tell me all about it.”
Kendall pulled up a chair for Eve and stood behind her.
“I wasn’t his only scam victim, but apparently he changed his usual method with me.” Eve lowered herself into the chair. “Turns out he went to high school with Ollie and heard through mutual friends that Ollie had left me with a nice nest egg. Wessel pretended on Facebook to be a lovely man named Phillip Reese. I foolishly sent him some cash through Western Union, but that wasn’t enough. Apparently, he wanted one final score to set himself up for the rest of his life, so he decided he had to meet me to see if he could figure out how to steal more of my money. At first, he made up reasons for needing the money.”
“What kinds of reasons?” Cord asked, though
he knew some of them from Facebook.
“Helping with the rent, for furniture and utility deposits. I figured I should see what my money paid for, but he kept stalling in showing me the apartment. I got suspicious and wondered if he was scamming me.” She clung to Cord’s hand. “So I told him about you. Said you were the best detective ever and if he was doing me wrong, you would arrest him.”
“And what did he do then?” Kendall asked.
“Why, that snake lied to my face and said he wasn’t scamming me. Told me he had to clean up the apartment but would take me to see it the next day.” Eve shook her head. “I believed him, so when he showed up at my place that night, I didn’t think anything of it and let him in. When I was going to make coffee, he pounced. I got away and grabbed a knife. Sliced him good, but then he grabbed me and forced me into the trunk of his car.”
She sighed a long breath. “How did you discover I was missing anyway?”
“I called, and you didn’t answer. I’m so sorry I didn’t make time to talk to you when you needed me.” Cord’s eyes narrowed. “You were going to tell me about this, weren’t you?”
She nodded, a sheepish expression unfolding on her face. “I wanted to run it past you. See if maybe you could do a background check on him.”
“Why did you trust him to begin with?”
“I was grieving after the plane crash and desperately needed something positive, so I guess I latched onto him for that.”
“If I’d only talked to you, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Hey, hey.” She patted his hand. “God’s in control, not you. How many times do I have to tell you that before you accept it?”
“Apparently, a few more times to get it through this thick head of mine.” He smiled. “When you didn’t answer, I kept calling and got worried. So I asked the sheriff’s department to do a welfare check.”
“I did that check,” Kendall said. “And spotted an intruder in your house. Hurley, the guy I shot, hit me with your rolling pin and got away. He’s been threatening me ever since. Tessa has already confirmed she lifted his prints at your place and they found his bike at the cabin and matched the tire tracks.”
“Oh, dear. Someone attacking you makes me even madder.” Eve’s body nearly vibrated. “But I’m glad you have proof, and if he lives, he will go to prison.”
“Do you know how Hurley was involved in this?” Cord asked.
“I do, but I need to tell you the whole story first, and then I’ll explain about Hurley. Wessel planned to kill me, but like I said, he wanted the rest of my money. So he took me to banks to withdraw it.”
Kendall stepped around the chair and sat on the edge of the bed. “Why did you go along with him? You could have asked for help when you were in the bank.”
“He threatened to kill Cord and Lucas if I didn’t do it. But then he started to worry I had evidence at my house that could lead back to him. So he hired this Hurley fella to erase my hard drive and search for anything else that might implicate him.”
“But why did you have the money in your trunk?”
“Trunk? Money?” Her gaze widened. “I didn’t leave any money there.”
“We found ten thousand dollars.”
“Oh, my.” She clutched her chest.
“Do you think Wessel was paying Hurley in cash, but Kendall scared him off before he could get it?” Cord asked.
“You could be right. I heard him tell Wessel he wasn’t going to jail, so he took matters into his own hands, stole a truck and threatened you.” She shook her head. “Wessel got mad and ordered him to lay off, but it sounds like he didn’t listen.”
Eve sat back, and her shoulders slumped. She stifled a yawn and Cord felt bad for keeping her here just so he could understand what had happened.
“I should let them take you home,” Cord said to Eve.
“I... I don’t... I’m...” She sighed.
“You don’t want to go back there,” Kendall finished for her.
“I was thinking of selling the property before, but now I will for sure.”
“Why don’t you come stay at the ranch with us?” Kendall suggested. “You could take one of our guest cabins until you can find a new home.”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“No bother at all. We’d be glad to have you.”
“Then yes. I’m happy to take you up on your offer.” Eve struggled to her feet.
Kendall stood and gave her a hug. “Thank you for being brave enough to want to tell Cord about the scam when so many women wouldn’t. I’m proud of you.”
Eve smiled. “And I’m proud of you for finding me. I can already tell you’re as special as Cord said.” Eve looked at Cord. “If you let this one get away from you again, you’re not half the man I thought you were.”
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kendall said, blushing.
“Eve,” Cord said. “Would you mind if I talked to Kendall alone for a moment?”
“Mind? Of course not.” She bent over Cord and kissed his cheek. “In fact, I insist on it.”
She suddenly seemed to be full of energy and marched out the door.
“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Kendall smiled and fingered the bear.
“The bear was your idea, wasn’t it?”
“Maybe.” Kendall smiled freely.
His heart tripped at her beauty. With one suspect behind bars and the other one in a guarded hospital bed, her mood was bubbly, and she was positively radiant. He knew it was only temporary. Likely a buzz from adrenaline, but it would soon hit hard that she’d had to shoot someone. He’d been there. Knew the toll it would take.
But for now, he would enjoy her happiness. “Thanks for the bear, and for offering to take care of Lucas tonight.”
“I’m so glad to see that you two are going to be okay.”
“I know he still has a long way to go, but I’ll have to thank Pastor Mark for helping him turn a corner. Gave me a fresh perspective, too.”
“Me, too. I may not be dealing with life-and-death issues like the two of you, but it showed me how much I like things my way. I need to work on that.”
“And I need to work on letting go of the guilt for having put work before my family. I’ll never get that time back, and I don’t want to waste any more. Feeling bad about it has kept me locked in limbo. That has to go if I want to move on to the future I want.”
“That won’t be easy.”
“Hey, if a kid like Lucas can let go of the pain and past, so can I. With help from God.”
She nodded. “You sound so hopeful.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am for the first time in a while.” After spending the past days with Kendall, he would like that hope for a future to include her. But how, when he lived and worked in Houston?
“I wish I could move back here,” he said without thinking about it. “You know, with Eve and all, but I need a job with good benefits for Lucas, and I know there aren’t any department jobs open.”
“There’s the detective slot if Matt wins the election.”
“That’s your job, and you’ve earned it.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you got it. Honestly.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not taking your job and that’s final.”
She frowned and sadness replaced her good mood.
“What about a long-distance relationship?” he asked.
Her forehead furrowed. “Do you really think that would work?”
He shrugged. “Let’s think about it, okay? Not rule it out right now.”
She nodded, but for now he would recuperate, pack Lucas up, maybe Eve, too, and head back to Houston. He had no other choice.
* * *
Kendall found her father in the waiting room. Everyone else had gone home, but he got up and crossed over to her.
<
br /> “How’s Cord doing?”
“Good.”
She felt so emotional and raw that she lifted her arms around his neck for a hug.
“Hey,” he said against her hair. “What’s got my tough girl all upset?”
“It’s Cord. He wants to move back here to be close to Eve, but he needs a job to support Lucas and provide insurance.”
Her dad pushed back. “Just to be near Eve?”
She felt a blush rush over her cheeks.
“Ah, so I’m right, then. You two have a thing again.”
“Wait, what? Again?” She gaped at him. “You knew about before?”
“Sweetheart, there’s nothing I don’t know about in my department.”
“You frowned on officers dating, but you didn’t object.”
“How could I when you were so happy?” He smiled.
“But I... But...” She shook her head and laughed. “Cord’s not going to believe this.”
“I’m here to take his statement, and I’ll tell him if you like.”
“Would you?”
“Sure. I’d love to see him sputter.” Her dad laughed again.
“I want you to hire him for the open detective slot.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I want him to have it.”
“I can’t do that, sweetheart, even if I wanted to, which I don’t.”
“Explain.”
He placed his hands on his waist. “Cord can’t walk in and take a highly sought-after detective position. That wouldn’t be good for morale or be fair to Braden. You proved yourself on this investigation and the job’s yours. If you don’t want it, then it will go to Braden. He’s put in the time. But I know you want it.”
“I want to see Cord happy more.”
“So, my little girl’s in love.”
“Looks like it,” she said, surprised she admitted it to her father before telling Cord.
“He could take your deputy slot when you move up.”
“The pay is hardly enough for me, let alone to support a family.”
Her dad widened his stance. “You know I can’t make exceptions to the pay scale.”
Taken in Texas Page 17
