Page 98 of Long Road Home

Kenna shrugged. Some days she wasn’t sure much and changed, others she didn’t even remember who she’d been just a year ago.

“The agent seems like a good man,” Alice said. “Though, I can’t say much more considering I only spent a few minutes with him.”

Kenna pressed her lips together.

“You aren’t hiding anything.”

“I wasn’t trying to.” Maybe in some situations Kenna would have to keep how she felt about Jax to herself, but that didn’t need to happen here, tonight. “He is a good man. Maybe the best.” Probably better than her.

But relationships should be between two people who balanced each other, not people who were carbon copies of each other. The goal was to grow closer, not side by side in a straight line with distance between them even if it was small.

Then again, she’d never been married, so she might not be right about that.

Kenna figured they should get this conversation back on track. “If you and your son could make a written statement as to the morning of Pastor Bruce’s murder, and the time you spent with Forrest, I’ll take it to the sheriff. We might not need more than a follow-up conversation to wrap up the situation. We certainly don’t need to ignite the core of your family and send it up in flames.”

“I appreciate whatever you can do.” Alice squeezed Kenna’s arm. “But I’d like to talk to my husband before I take any more actions behind his back. And Reuben will get to decide for himself to write the statement out, if he will come to the station with you, or what he wants to do. Assoon as the sun comes up, you can take the plane to town. My cousin owns a ranch close by, and Reuben can land there.”

Kenna’s brows rose. “You have a plane?”

“It’s small, but you all should be able to fit. Though, you may need one trip for this injured man to be taken to the hospital, and another for the rest of you.”

Kenna let go of some of the tension she’d been holding on to. “Thank you for offering.”

“My husband can work out the details. I need to check on the children.”

The back door opened, and she quietly left the room.

Then a young man stepped in, tugging a knit cap off his head, his nose red from the cold. “Did she tell you?”

Reuben—or so she guessed—didn’t get an answer to his question. His father stepped up behind him, saying, “Did who tell you what, Son? Be clear with your words.”

“Yes, Father.”

“I understood the question, thank you.” Kenna paused. “Yes, I spoke with your mother. We would like to get this man to a hospital as soon as we are able, if your family can help us with that.”

“The drive is two hours.” Mr. Merrington removed his boots and stepped into slippers, moving into the kitchen so the others could enter behind him—Jax, and the two sons who had come after Reuben.

All the children had the same coloring and features. Kenna would have connected them right away if she’d seen them apart.

Mr. Merrington said, “Reuben can fly the injured man to town as soon as dawn begins to break.”

“Thank you, sir.” Jax held out his hand, and the father shook with him.

The two teen boys got a cookie from a jar and hurried to the hall. Kenna spotted Destain there, and said, “All good?”

“Jim is asleep.” Destain lifted his chin. “What’s going on outside?”

Jax said, “The threat has been neutralized.”

And the way it was done hadn’t fazed those boys. Had they taken lives, then come in and grabbed a cookie?

“Reuben,” Mr. Merrington said, “if you could join your brothers.”

The teen didn’t move. “I need to talk to you, Father.”

“Then we can leave our guests and go to the reading room.”

Reuben shook his head. “Ms. Banbury needs to hear it as well.”

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