Page 28 of Bridles and Bribery

“Good point.” He liked how she thought. “Very good point.”

“I’m full of them, sweetheart. That’s why you married me,” she joked.

“Among other reasons.” His voice dropped to a silky note. “I can’t wait to come home and show you exactly what I’m talking about.”

“So hurry home,” she whispered.

“That’s the plan.”

Chapter 5: In-laws and Outlaws

Jillian was humming as she left the bedroom. She adjusted one of her silver hoop earrings as she made her way across the great room to the kitchen. Unsure if her mother-in-law would be dressed up for church, she’d kept her own outfit simple — a long red plaid shirt over maternity jeans and cowgirl boots. Dave would seriously adore seeing her like this. He rarely wore anything other than boots, not even when he had on a business suit.

Eloise glanced up from the bar, where she was seated, cupping a mug of coffee. “You’re awfully cheerful this morning,” she observed sourly. The lines at the edges of her eyes were deeper than usual, indicating she hadn’t slept any better than Jillian had.

Despite her obvious exhaustion, a blue velvet sheath dress encased her slender figure. She’d paired it with knee-high designer black boots with pointy toes. Silver bangle bracelets lined her left wrist, jingling as she took another sip. She looked like a picture out of a magazine, making Jillian feel underdressed in comparison.

“I’m in an insanely good mood.” Her voice rose withelation. “Because Dave made it to Dallas!” She couldn’t resist doing a brief celebratory dance as she entered the kitchen.

“Oh?” Eloise nearly dropped her mug as she hastily set it down. “Did Gil call with another update?”

“No, it was the man of the hour himself. I just got off the phone with him.” Jillian’s heart fluttered at the memory. She pressed her hands to her chest. “He’ll probably call you next.” She was kind of surprised he hadn’t already reached out to his mom via a text or something.

“I highly doubt it.” Eloise’s lips dipped down even further at the corners. “He and I only talk a couple of times a year, usually on Mother’s Day and Christmas. Otherwise, we stay out of each other’s hair.” The wistful look in her gaze, however, told Jillian she’d welcome more details about his current whereabouts and well-being.

She hurriedly shared what she knew. “He said he ran into some really bad weather. Wind sheers and stuff. At one point, the plane he was on was practically flying sideways.”

Eloise’s eyes grew damp. “Is he alright?” She blinked rapidly, waving both hands at her eyes.

“In his own words, he’s very glad to be back on the ground.” Jillian figured it would be best to focus on the good news while easing into the bad news.

“I can only imagine.” Eloise made a humming sound of sympathy. “In all my years of flying, I’ve never experienced turbulence that severe.”

“I’ve never been in any turbulence at all.” Jillian was in no hurry to experience it, either.

“What?” Her mother-in-law’s eyes widened. “Is that your way of saying you’ve never been on an airplane before?”

“Not one that’s in the air.” Jillian walked to the fridge totake out a carton of organic milk. “During junior high, we took a field trip to one of the local farms and got to take turns climbing into the cockpit of their crop duster.” She poured a bowl of milk and reached for a box of her favorite granola cereal. Carrying them to the bar, she took a seat across from her mother-in-law.

Eloise watched her pour her cereal and twirl her spoon through it. “You should come visit me in Italy. There’s so much to see and do there. So many incredible shops and boutiques to putter through.”

“Thanks for inviting me.” To a small-town girl like Jillian, Italy sounded galaxies away. “Maybe we can visit you after the baby’s born.” She’d have to apply for a passport first, and that could take weeks. Maybe months. But no doctor would recommend her traveling that far from home until after her delivery.

She bowed her head over her cereal and sent up a whispered prayer of thanks.

When she opened her eyes, Eloise snorted. “Dave’s tale about flying sideways has you wigged out about flying, eh?”

“A little.” Jillian wrinkled her nose as she took a bite. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a bit of a homebody. I love it here in Heart Lake and never had any burning desire to leave.” She’d always been content to see the world through books and television. And now that she and Dave were being hounded by the elusive Prophet, she was even less inclined to leave the haven of her hometown.

As if reading her thoughts, Eloise nodded in understanding. “Good, because Gil made it clear he doesn’t want us going past the driveway right now without a military escort. I’m surprised he didn’t pitch a bigger fit about us going tochurch this morning.”

Jillian smiled. “Dave said the same thing over the phone about me staying put.”

“No big surprise there.” Eloise’s voice was dry. “The two of them have always been as thick as thieves.”

“They have their reasons for being extra cautious right now.” Jillian debated how much she should share with her mother-in-law and ultimately decided to come clean with the whole story. “After Dave’s plane got rerouted last night, he was ambushed by three men at gunpoint.”

Her mother-in-law gasped so loudly that Jillian reached for her hand. “He gave them the famous D-Dave Invasion treatment and escaped with nothing more than a scratch.”

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