Page 83 of Westin

“We have an ambulance at the front gates for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank your boss back in Seattle. I was on the phone with him most of the afternoon. And then Clint Grooms charged into my office, demanding I do something to help you.” She chuckled softly. “You made a lot of very good friends in a very short time, Ms. Montgomery.”

They stepped through one of the people-sized doors, officers milling around everywhere, it seemed. There were dozens of cars, most of them with emergency lights flashing. She hadn’t realized that such a small town had so many patrol cars. And then she was being lifted into the air.

***

“You disappeared!”

“Sorry.”

“As long as you don’t do it again.”

“I’ll try not to.”

Westin laughed as he pulled her close, wrapping her up in that embrace that she loved so much. She buried her face against his shoulder and, to her horror, burst into tears. No one seemed to notice, though. Or maybe it was just because she kept her face buried until the sobs finally passed.

Either way, she was surrounded by friends. Maybe it was okay to fall apart now that she had someone there to catch her. Westin had not imagined he’d be here again, especially so soon after the fiasco of the night before. But there he was, standing at the back of an ambulance, watching as the paramedic wrapped Lee’s ankle, explaining that she would have to spend the night in the hospital so that a doctor could decide what needed to be done for the dislocation.

Every light seemed to be on in the house. They could see the shadows of officers moving in the windows. Westin knew that Rena and her mother were in there, and he felt horrible for them, having to go through something so traumatic. It wasn’t enough that Dominic Mollohan treated them with such indifference; now they had to endure a search warrant that allowed strangers to paw through all their belongings with no concern for their privacy. He wished there was something he could do, but he knew just the sight of his face would likely cause them more pain than comfort.

Lee reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t choose this for him.”

“He’s your father.”

Westin shook his head as his eyes moved over the front of this house he’d dreamed of owning almost his entire life. But dreams rarely ever came true.

“A father is someone who takes the time to get to know a child; he’s the man who gets up at night to scare away monsters, and holds hands during illnesses. This man… he wasn’t a father. He was a donor.”

Lee nodded. “You deserve better.”

“I have better. I had a mother who gave up everything for me. And I have a boss who sees me as her son, and four brothers I know would do anything for me. What more do I need?”

“Not a thing.”

“Exactly.”

Westin leaned toward her and kissed the tip of her nose. “I have everything I could ever want. It was selfish to ask for more.”

Even as he said it, something behind him caught her attention. She nodded, and he turned just in time to watch Sheriff Reeves walk Dominic Mollohan out of the house. He thought he was prepared for it, but the actual sight of it was harder than he’d expected. Despite his big words, despite the truth he’d spoken, it still hurt.

Lee had found all the evidence on her partner’s computer. She hadn’t realized what she had at the time, but she’d forwarded all the files to her boss, even files she hadn’t had a chance to review. He was the one who found irrefutable proof, the one who called Sheriff Reeves and offered her the bust, the one who set into motion an arrest that was about to ignite a media storm that would change everything in this small town. All because of this man.

That was the man behind one of the biggest drug rings the state of Colorado had ever seen. That was the man known as Razor, the one who’d come up with the dead drops in the boxes, the one who came up with the idea of selling fentanyl to children. This was the man who was responsible for dozens of deaths over the past ten years or more. And all so that he could save his ranch from the mess his father left behind. To pay for all those lawsuits he’d brought against Asa.

That was his father.

Chapter 14

Two months later

Westin whistled, pushing his horse forward, encouraging the cows to move deeper into the valley. The winter grazing lands were frozen over. Snow had fallen last night, dumping over seven inches on the county. The damn cows wouldn’t move on, wouldn’t get their butts out of the shade under these trees and out into the warmth of the sun. Every year. Bowie was in the truck, dragging the hay feeder behind it, but even that wasn’t encouraging the cows to move. Sometimes, the old ways were still the best ways. They knew what to do when a horse came riding at them.

The cow dogs were barking, the cows were moaning, the birds were singing. It was a beautiful morning despite the cold. Westin took off his hat and wiped his forehead with his hanky, pausing for a second to wonder how Lee was doing up in Washington. She’d had to go back. She’d stayed at Golden Sphinx for a few weeks, but she’d had to go back to Seattle to file her reports. She wanted to see her partner’s wife, wanted to visit with her family. She’d said something about settling her affairs, but he wasn’t sure what she meant by that. She’d promised she’d come back, and that was all he heard.

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