Page 58 of River Justice

He cleared his throat, licked his lips and met her gaze. “He was upset, worse than usual. I never much paid attention to anything he said when he was upset.” She waited as patiently as possible as Elmer shuffled his feet under his chair and took another sip of his coffee. “He was trying his best to get along with that woman. Everyone knew what Charlotte was like.” Still she waited. “He said he’d discovered something interesting that he might use against her.”

“Something about...”

“Brand, her son. She’d been talking to the boy—he must have been about five, I think—but when he left to go outside, she said, ‘He is so much like you. Damn you, Holden.’ Dixon got out of there lickety-split, but he said he’d noticed before that the boy didn’t even look like the others.”

“What did he plan to do with this information?” she asked, heart in her throat as Elmer looked away and shifted in his seat. “He threatened to use it against Charlotte.” That most certainly could have gotten him killed, she thought.

But Elmer was shaking his head. “He was more interested in talking to the boy’s father.”

“He told Holden McKenna?”

“You’ve got to understand,” Elmer said. “He’d pretty much given up on making the marriage work. He was broke, and Charlotte had made it clear that when she kicked him out, he wouldn’t be getting a dime. He thought Holden might be willing to help him out to keep the truth about Brand quiet.”

“Blackmail?”Birdie didn’t want to believe it. But she’d known that her father must have been desperate. “So what happened?”

Elmer shrugged. “I never saw him again. Who knows if he went to the McKenna Ranch or if he went back to Charlotte that night? No one saw him again.”

HOLDENOPENEDHISEYES.PAIN.For a moment he couldn’t remember what had happened to him. Then it came back in a rush, accompanied by even more pain.

“Holly Jo?” The words came out a whisper, his throat so dry, his tongue felt as if it was covered in cotton. “Holly Jo?” He looked over at the person sitting in the chair next to his bed, not surprised to see Elaine.

She rose quickly to come to his bedside. He’d never seen her so upset, but she regained control and said, “Holly Jo’s still alive, but we haven’t been able to bring her home yet.”

He looked around the room, then at Elaine. “Charlotte?”

“She was here. She’s been here since she heard, but they are only allowing family in to see you.”

Holden frowned. “I must have dreamed—”

“I talked them into letting her see you for just a few minutes,” Elaine said. “You know how she is. She would have found a way to see you one way or another.”

He nodded, struggling to keep his eyes open. “I’ve made such a mess of things.”

“All you need to worry about is getting well and out of this hospital bed.”

“I need to see the sheriff.”

“Holden, I don’t think—”

“Stuart. Tell him. Please.” He closed his eyes and felt himself drifting. Lottie. He hadn’t dreamed it. She’d been here. But had the rest been merely a hallucination? He looked down at his hand, remembering her touch. She’d said she loved him. That definitely could have been a dream.

He must have slept, because when he opened his eyes again, Sheriff Stuart Layton was sitting in the chair next to his bed. He tried to speak, his throat too tight, his mouth too dry.

Stuart got up to get him a cup of water.

He took a sip, so thirsty he wanted to down the entire cup. “Holly Jo?” he managed to say after a few sips.

“She wasn’t in the pickup last night. Darius hadn’t brought her with him for the trade.”

He’d suspected as much.

“Still trying to find her and the kidnapper,” the sheriff continued. “He wants the rest of the money. He called. I’m making the drop this evening. I’m going to get the girl back.”

Holden could see the weight of all this on the sheriff. He hated that he’d only added to that burden by letting his anger get the best of him. He could have gotten them both killed up on that mountain.

“You need to know the truth,” Holden said. “Should have told you sooner. You were right. He doesn’t really care about the money or an apology or acknowledgment. He wants to destroy me.” He grabbed the sheriff’s hand. “I know now. He’ll kill Holly Jo.”

BIRDIEPRIEDOPENthe window and swung her leg over the sill. She listened for a moment before she dropped into the room. Looking around, she saw that she’d guessed right. It was a bedroom. But was it the right one?

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