Page 75 of Harrison Hyde and the Runaway Bride

“It was a team effort,” Maria said.

He pulled her in for a kiss, and he was nowhere near finished when a throat cleared. They both turned to see Willow, in her uniform, smirking and wiggling her eyebrows at them.

“Shut up, Will,” Maria said.

“She’s awake?”

Harrison nodded. “A nurse is in with her now. Kicked us out. But she seemed good. Remembered what happened. Asked about Dad.” He couldn’t seem to keep the smile off his face.

Willow was smiling, too. “I’m glad. I wish my news was as good.” She paused as another white-coated woman went past them into Lily’s room. While the door was open, Lily caught his eye, held up the breakfast sandwich he’d left on the stand, and called, “Can I have this?”

He said yes while laughing, so the word had about four syllables. The door closed, and he got hold of himself. There were serious things going on.

“Let’s talk where it’s private,” Willow said. “There’s no one in the waiting room.” She led the way, though they both knew it. Once inside, they didn’t sit. They turned to face her, standing so close to each other they were touching.

Maria hooked Harry’s pinky with hers.

“The guy who kidnapped your sister got away. But we know who he is. Kendrick Mason. The one we arrested is Cole Samson. And we’ll get Mason eventually. The thing is, Mason, Samson, and the guy who took a shot at you?—”

“The dead one?” Harrison asked.

“Yeah. Name was Bobby Green. They all had the same employer. Beckett Oil. Owned by Jimbo Beckett, one of the richest and most eccentric oil barons in Texas. And so did one of the guys we questioned in the windmill fire. I’m starting to think this little crime spree might be connected to the theft of your device. We need to pull this thread and see what unravels.”

“And their connection is an oil company? Harrison asked.

“Jimbo Beckett might be crazy, but he’s Texas royalty. I need more than a theory to justify questioning him,” Willow said. “We found your sister’s phone, in the woods, Harry. We were meant to find it. They’d texted a message from Lily to Lily. I forwarded it to myself.” She tapped her own phone to show him.

Lily: Harrison Hyde for the woman. Midnight, Lone Wolf Rock.

Maria grabbed his arm.

Willow said, “My notion is, you show up for the meeting. We have police surround the guy when he shows up, take him in, put him in a cell next to his buddy. Then we can play the two of them against each other. Lead one to believe the other’s pointin’ the finger and get ’em to tell us who’sreallybehind it.”

Maria said, “Yeah, Willow, you’re forgettin’ the part where this Mason character has no intention of trading Lily for Harry. He don’thaveLily and he’s fixin’ tokillHarry!”

“Well, we’re not gon’lethim,” Willow said.

Maria shook her head. “Things haven’t exactly gone to plan so far. What if youdo?”

“I’m going to do it,” Harrison said. “I’ll meet the guy tonight. But before I do, let’s get my sister out of here. I’ll feel better if she and Dad are together at the ranch before we do this. I know they’ll be safe there. Whatever happens.”

When he said that, he glanced at Maria. She looked into his eyes so deeply that he felt as if her soul was reaching out to his. And his was reaching right back.

Aunt Chelsea made a low-key dinner of biscuits & gravy with roasted sweet corn, fresh from the field. Uncle Garrett and Aunt Chelsea sat at either end of the oval dining table. Harry was between Maria and his dad with Lily and Bubba across from them.

The rest of the gang were around, watching out for them while that maniac Kendrick Mason, who’d kidnapped Lily, was still on the loose. They were just staying under the radar. Aunt Chelsea had probably asked for peace and quiet in the main house today. Hyram and especially Lily had needed the time to recover from the madness of the night before.

“You’re a fantastic cook, Mrs. Brand,” Hyram said at length. He’d been doling out compliments throughout the meal.

“Call me Chelsea,” she said. “And thank you. That’s high praise, coming from a chef.”

“Oh, I mean it. Especially these biscuits.”

“Well, if and when things settle down around here, I hope we can cook together.”

He put a hand on his chest, nodding hard. “I’d love that.”

They all got up and headed into the living room. Willow and Bubba stayed behind to clear the table, and as everyone found a place to perch, Maria smelled coffee brewing.

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