Page 86 of Dairy and Deadly

“Here.” He pointed at the floor, surprised she didn’t know their location. “You’re on a Comanche reservation, just south of Heart Lake, Texas.”

She nodded, looking tearful again. “Heart Lake is a nice name.” She still didn’t offer an explanation for how she’d arrived on the rez.

“It is. A lot of nice people live there.”

She blew out a breath, making the stringy bangs on her forehead fly upward. “You seem nice, too.”

“I have my moments.” He winked at her. “I work as a bodyguard at a place called Lonestar Security. I also help out at one of the dairy farms in town.”

“Are you married?” Her boldness surprised him, but he didn’t mind. He was just glad she was finally opening up a little.

“Nope.”

“Sensitive,” she mocked. A glint of humor shone from her red-rimmed eyes.

“You’re a brat.” He turned his back on her to grab the box of cookies and set them within reaching distance.

“Takes one to know one.” She pressed her injured arm against her chest to hold the paper towels in place so she could grab a second cookie. She inhaled it almost as quickly as she had the first one.

“True.” He waited until she downed a third cookie before pressing, “Ready for me to call Prim to come stitch you up?”

She made a face at him, but she nodded. “If it hurts, I’ll probably cry like a baby.”

“No judgment.” He’d seen grown men shed a few tears over needles and stitches. “Mind if I ask how old you are?” He needed to figure out what to do about his uninvited guest. If he had a minor child on his hands, it would require a very different course of action than what she was probably hoping for.

“Eighteen.” She gave him a shuttered look. “As of today.”

“No kidding?” His eyebrows rose. “We have the same birthday?” What were the odds?

“Kind of cool, isn’t it?” She offered him a shy smile that transformed her grimy face, making him blink in surprise. She was beautiful, something he hadn’t noticed before she’d smiled.

“Yeah.” Someone had to be searching for the lovely runaway munching cookies in front of him. Possibly several someones.

“So, um,” she ventured in an even shyer voice. “Maybe you could give me a job and let me stay here?” Her question ended on a high-pitched note of uncertainty.

Though he was impressed by her initiative, he wasn’t sure that offering a job to a runaway was a good idea, especially one that hadn’t yet shared her last name. He could practically smell the trouble rolling off of her. “What kind of a job?” he asked, hoping she’d volunteer a skill set that might shed more light on her identity.

“I’ll clean your workshop, run errands, and assist you with your leather stuff in exchange for meals and a place to crash.” She lifted her chin and added in a hopeful voice, “And access to a shower.”

“Deal.” Every instinct in him told him it was a bad idea, but “hiring her” would give him time to delve deeper into her story and hopefully get her the help she needed — the police, a counselor, or possibly even the family she’d left behind. He’d call his pastor and his higher ups at Lonestar Security for starters and take it from there.

“If you like my work, I’ll eventually want to get paid a little.” Her voice thinned with apprehension. “You know, like money.” It was as good as an admission that she had nothing and no one to go back to.

Fatherly concern twisted his insides. “I bet we could work something out.” It would certainly take money if she intended to stand on her own two feet.

“Good, because I’m gonna need money to find my mom. She’s, um…missing.” Miley sounded two snaps away from shattering again.

Missing!Hawk felt like a man who’d just caught a bombshell, hoping it wouldn’t explode in his hands. “Er, how long has your mom been missing?”

“A few months. Weird stuff has been happening to us ever since my dad died.” Miley’s eyelids drooped against her cheeks, as if unburdening herself of that bit of information had utterly exhausted her. “It’s a long story. I could probably tell it better after a shower.”

Right!“Stitches first, kid. Then you can take your shower.”Hawk hastily dialed Prim and lifted his cell phone to his ear. As it rang, he made a mental note to reach out to Lonestar Security — and maybe the police — while Prim was working her P.A. magic on Miley. It greatly disturbed him that the widowed mother of his spunky trespasser might be in deadly peril…or worse.

Man!What was unfolding in front of him was far from the birthday he’d planned. Even so, Miley’s appearance felt oddly close to a gift from Above. He glanced up at the ceiling, sending up a silent prayer of gratitude that the lovely runaway had crossed his path instead of the path of someone unscrupulous.

His next thought was far less reverent.And if I’m fortunate enough to help Miley track down her mom…An image flickered through his mind ofan older version of the funny, mouthy, fearless young woman huddled beneath a blanket in front of him. Nowthatwould be a woman worth meeting!

Johnny reachedfor his wife’s hand as they started the long drive back home from Dallas. “It’s Hawk’s birthday. We should give him a call this evening.” With a few hours of driving ahead of them, they certainly had time.

---