Page 46 of Elsie's Strong Shelter

“I don’t know where he is,” Jackie said, lifting her shoulders to her ears. “I promise I’d tell you if I did. I’ll try to call him, try to find him, and then you’ll see. He’s not the one you should be after.”

“You should have my number on your phone,” Dean said. “Please call if you talk to him. Thank you for your time.”

“I’ll walk you to your truck.” Paul bent and whispered something in his wife’s ear then met them by the gate before walking toward Dean’s truck.

Elsie and Dean fell into step beside him.

“I’m sorry for upsetting your wife,” Dean said.

Paul glanced over his shoulder and sighed. “I’m not surprised someone has shown up to deliver this kind of news about Justin.The guy’s always been a troublemaker. Jackie knows he’s done some things he shouldn’t, but she’s his mom. She still has some blind spots. I’ve seen that boy’s temper.”

Elsie stopped at the side of the truck and steeled her nerves to ask her most pressing question. “Would he hurt a helpless woman?”

Paul’s jaw hardened, his eyes narrowed. “Honestly, I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

18

Dean handed Elsie a cup of tea then fell onto the sofa beside her. The day pressed down on him like a two-ton weight on his shoulders. He’d replayed his conversation with Justin’s mom over and over on the drive home, but no new nugget of information came to the surface. Nothing erased the sorrow he’d witnessed in Jackie’s eyes.

Elsie curled her legs under her and took a sip of her tea. “That sucked.”

She hadn’t spoken much during the ride back to his place, and he’d been too consumed with his own thoughts to coax out conversation. Nothing else she said could’ve summed up their encounter with Jackie Thomas better.

Sighing, he leaned his head on the back of the couch and studied the subtle white swirls on the ceiling. “Yeah, it did. Nothing worse than delivering bad news. Chances are high things will only get worse for her.”

“She seemed like a nice lady. Just like her mom. Makes you wonder how Justin turned down such a dark path.”

Dean shrugged and shifted to face her. “Who knows why people end up the way they do. Something inside them that justisn’t right, or something happens that knocks them on their ass and they don’t know how to get back up.”

Indignation scrunched her nose. “Sorry but that’s bullshit. We all have things that happen in our lives that are beyond our control, but that’s not an excuse to do bad things. To hurt people. To take and take with no regard to how it affects others.”

He squeezed her knee and offered her a small smile. “You’re absolutely right. Unfortunately, not everyone looks at life the same way you do. If they did, the world would be a much better place.”

A knock on the door stole his attention and brought him to his feet. The last thing he wanted was to rehash details with Sadie and Tommy, but they’d texted earlier to ask for a few minutes. “You ready for this?”

“I don’t think I have a choice.” Elsie set her teacup on the end table and sat up straight. “Who knows. Maybe they have some good news and wanted to share in person.”

Her continued optimism sank low in his gut. As much as he’d urged her to keep hope, things weren’t looking good for Mila.

“You never know.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead before answering the door.

Tommy and Sadie stood side by side in their matching deputy’s uniforms.

“Hope you’re hungry,” Tommy said, lifting a large pizza box in his hands. “We’re starving. Thought we’d bring dinner.”

“Thanks. Come on in.” Dean waited for them to enter then closed the door and led the way to the kitchen. “We haven’t eaten much today. Neither one of us has had an appetite.”

“That’s understandable, but you have to keep up your energy. No one is worth a damn if they aren’t taking care of themselves,” Sadie said. “That’s also why we brought pizza. According to Amelia, no one can say no to pizza.”

Elsie laughed and met them in the kitchen. “She’s a smart kid. You better save her a slice, or she’ll be mad.”

Tommy set the box on the counter and lifted the lid. “She’s being spoiled by Mrs. Collins. She’ll be fine if we polish off this whole thing.”

Chuckling, Dean gathered plates and placed them by the box. “Good thing because I can’t pass up Prato’s. Best pizza in town. Hell, even when I lived in California, I craved this stuff.” He placed two slices on a plate and handed it to Elsie.

“Thanks. Not sure if I can eat all this though.”

“Listen to Amelia,” Sadie said in a sing-song voice. “Can’t say no.”

---