Page 20 of Murder at Rescue Ridge

“My buddy hit the parenting lotto,” Conrad said, his voice gruff with emotion. At least she wasn’t the only one. Was that part of the attraction to him? They were both kindred spirits? Broken souls? Did the broken parts of them fit together?

Or was she in an emotional tailspin, searching for an explanation for why her hand ached to reach out and touch his? Like having a physical connection with the man could tether her to reality.

“Growing up with Beaumont as a father and no mother had to be hard,” she reasoned. Her own mother might have been cold emotionally, but she had never been cruel to Nikki. Her mother had never struck her.

“I got through it,” Conrad said.

Hank’s voice cut through the air. He was shouting for Conrad.

They turned around and met him halfway across the stretch of yard leading to the lake. The older man was out of breath by the time they got close enough to talk.

“There’s a large reward being offered for Nikki’s safe return,” Hank managed to say through gulps of air.

“My stepfather,” she said on a gasp. And then she looked at Conrad to see if he understood what had just happened. “There’s a price on your head now.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “Unless you want to go.” His train of thought seemed to pick up steam when he caught her gaze and held. “You could say that I forced you to come with me in case I was caught. That I was going to use you as a hostage.”

She was already shaking her head.

“It’ll work, Nikki. That way, you’ll be safe, and I’ll be able to slip on and off the property unseen.”

“We’re doing this together, Conrad. It’s the only way.” She could hear the panic in her own voice as it raised a couple of octaves.

“It’s not,” he huffed. “Can’t you see? I’m better off without you.” Those words were knife stabs. “I’ll travel lighter.” He held up the heavy bag of food and the backpack he refused to let her carry. “I don’t need all this, but you do.”

“That’s not true,” she said, folding her arms over her chest and planting her feet apart, ready for whatever came next.

“You’re a liability, and you know it,” he spat out, venom in his gaze. “You’re in the way.”

He was only saying that to protect her. He didn’t mean a word. Did he?

“Conrad, be reasonable.”

“Yoube reasonable for once. So far, you’ve forced yourself on me and refused to listen to anything I say.”

“That’s a lie.” Moisture formed in her eyes, but she refused to cry.

“Take the hint, Nikki. Go back to the cabin with Hank and call off your dogs. Let me be, and I’ll find the truth. Stay with me, and I’ll end up caught and in jail.”

“Dammit, Conrad. You need my help.”

“Is this what you call help?” Again, those words were the equivalent of knife jabs.

Nikki couldn’t allow herself to believe he meant them. Not when a hint of regret passed behind his eyes with every jab as well as another emotion she couldn’t quite put her finger on. A mix of loneliness and a deep sadness, perhaps?

Conrad was used to being alone. He was used to taking care of himself.

Guess what?

So was Nikki.

“Go on then,” she dared. “Leave without me. But I’m not going back to the cabin. I’ll figure out who killed my father on my own.”

Conrad stood there for a long moment. He studied her like she had the answers to a life-or-death final exam.

He muttered a string of swear words, turned around, and walked away. At the lake’s edge, he turned and asked, “Are you coming? We don’t have all day?”

They did, in fact, have all day. They had all night. They had however long it would take to find the real murderer and clear Conrad’s name.

---