Page 22 of Shelter for Martina

She sighed. “Yeah. I meant to talk to you about that.” Plopping down on the foot of the bed, she looked up at him as he stood there in the doorway. “I promised Nola I’d take them every other weekend. Then Darnell will be home in a week, and they’ll be with him for a month. But after that, unless we find Renita…” Her voice trailed off and she bowed her head.

“Martina?” When she turned to look up at him, her eyes were red. “Honey, you do realize we’re probably not going to find her alive, right? I’m just trying to be realistic here.”

“I know. I don’t want to think like that, but I know it’s true.”

He sat down heavily beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. That was all it took for her to lean against him. “I’m not looking in that way. I’m believing I’m looking for her alive and well, but statistics show that’s not realistic.”

Her voice was quiet and resigned. “I know.”

“You just need to know that up front. But I’m going to do everything I can to find her, I promise.”

“I appreciate that.” She turned her face up to his and looked into his eyes, a big tear rolling down her cheek. “Would you just please hold me? I feel so alone.”

Bud crawled up on the bed and motioned for her to follow him. When he was propped up in the crazy bank of pillows at the head, he pulled her up against him, and she did exactly what he’d guessed she’d do.

She sobbed. He stroked her hair, kissed her crown, and let her cry. Her heart was broken. She’d had two children. She’d buried one, and she didn’t know where the other one was. Most likely dead, he knew. So far, she’d buried two of the three most important people in her life, and was looking for the third just to bury her. The thought sickened him. She needed someone who’d be there for her, and he wanted to be that person, the one who was always there.

After thirty minutes of crying, she was quiet, and Bud knew she’d drifted off to sleep. His right arm was numb, but he didn’t care. He’d hold her until she woke up, even if she slept all night that way. Somebody needed to hold her and care for her, and he was glad it could be him.

She slept for over an hour that way, and when she woke, he told her to get ready for bed. While she busied herself with that, he finished cleaning up the kitchen and starting the dishwasher. By the time he got to the bedroom, she was sound asleep. That made him smile. He had nowhere he had to be the next day, and all she had to do was pick up her grandkids. Maybe she’d bring them over and he could introduce them to the horses.

Bud slept with Martina in his arms that night. He dreamed of a four-wheeler, a grinning PhilAdams, and something else that kept creeping into his mind. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it disturbed his sleep in a way that made his skin crawl. Still, having her there was good. For at least the time she was there, he wasn’t alone, and neither was she.

* * *

She’d promisedNola she’d pick up the kids at nine, so Martina left his house at eight thirty after he’d made breakfast and she’d showered and dressed. Bud hadn’t bothered to shower. Instead, he gathered up his shotgun and shells and headed out into the woods.

There were coyote tracks at the back edge of his property, and it butted up to the wildlife refuge. All that was required to hunt there was the brochure they gave out which outlined their rules. He also had a Kentucky hunting license, so that was no big deal, plus coyotes… yeah. Open season. After about two hours out without seeing a single one of them, he’d decided to go back and give up when he saw two men approaching him. It wasn’t until they got within about thirty yards of him that he recognized one of them. “Tanner! How ya doin’?”

“Good, Bud. I’m doing well. What are you out here doing today?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” he asked the younger man. TannerSmithson had been with Kentucky Department of Fish andWildlife for years. He’d done his internship with them after high school and during college, and had gone to work for them as soon as he got his diploma. He’d gone through the academy too. Fish and wildlife officers were law enforcement just like Bud was.

Tanner laughed. “If I had to venture a guess, I’d say you’re on the prowl for coyotes. Find any?”

“No, but I keep looking. I got one last week. Damn things are terrorizing my neighborhood. I usually go into the woods off DownsLane over there, but today I just came out of the back of my property. And no luck.”

“Awww, you’ll get one next time. Bud, I’d like you to meet ConorPaxton. Conor here’s a fish and wildlife officer out of Texas.”

“Welcome to Kentucky, officer,” Bud said and extended his hand.

Conor took it, and Bud was impressed with his grip. “Thank you, sir.”

“That’s detective. Bud here’s a detective with the Kentucky State Police,” Tanner informed his friend.

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

“Nah! How ‘bout I’m Bud and you’re Conor and we keep it simple?” Bud asked, laughing.

“Works for me! So you have a coyote problem around here?” Conor asked.

“Oh, yeah. It’s pretty bad. Had a whole pack go across my front yard one night last week. They’re killing and maiming neighborhood dogs. Neighbors can’t keep chickens. I’ve got three miniature horses that used to belong to my wife, and I put them up every night so they don’t get attacked. It’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, they’re a problem everywhere these days. We’ve seen an uptick in their numbers too,” the Texan said.

“Conor’s here to help us with something else entirely,” Tanner said.

Bud couldn’t imagine what that was. “Yeah?”

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