Page 29 of Bridles and Bribery

Eloise looked horrified. “By scratch, you mean…?”

“One of the bullets grazed his upper arm,” she explained gently. “He reported it to the police, and they called an ambulance to bandage him up. Naturally, he refused to go to the hospital afterward.”

“Naturally,” her mother-in-law echoed, sounding pretty shaken up.

Jillian squeezed her hand. “It’s obvious that someone doesn’t want him taking the case in Dallas.”

“Several someones,” her mother-in-law corrected sharply.

“It’s also starting to feel like the Prophet is tied into all of this somehow.” She waved vaguely. “The two threats I’ve received, the one addressed to Dave, and now the ambush against Dave.” The timing of the threat to his life and the timing of the ambush didn’t feel like a coincidence.

Eloise appeared to be lost in thought for a few moments. Then she withdrew her hand from Jillian’s. “We’d better get going. Otherwise, we’re going to be late for church.”

“Right.” While Jillian finished her cereal and washed her bowl out in the sink, she overheard Eloise making a phone call.

“Gil? This is Eloise. We’re about ready for you to send our limo.” Whatever he said in return made her red-painted lips twitch. “Me? Milking my daughter-in-law’s pregnancy to score a favor? I’m genuinely hurt that you think so little of me.” She disconnected the call and broke into a loud cackle. “Men!” Though she rolled her eyes, Jillian sensed an undercurrent of affection on her part toward Gil.

Interesting.Eloise Phillips was turning out to be full of surprises.

Jillian hurried to the master bedroom to fetch her purse and coat. When she returned to the great room, her mother-in-law was waiting by the front door, bundled in a knee-length faux fur coat.

“You arenotgoing to believe the monstrosity that’s waiting for us in the driveway.” She twisted the door handle and flung open the door dramatically. “See for yourself.” She pointed one gloved finger.

Jillian stepped outside onto the porch and stared at the boxy, slate gray vehicle resting on oversized tires in the driveway. The front seat and backseat windows were narrower than the typical SUV. “Is it a Jeep?” A special edition, maybe? It looked like a cross between a Jeep and a Humvee. She moved down the stairs to the sidewalk, eager to get a closer look at it.

Gil, who was climbing out of the driver’s seat and hopping to the ground, must have heard what she’d said. “Good guess,” he called cheerfully. “It’s got a lot of Jeep Wrangler’s mechanical components, but it’s so much more than that.” He rattled off a laundry list of features that swirled like spaghetti noodles inside her head. She caughtsnatches of words like ballistic armor, bullet-proof glass, and run-flat tires. The rest of what he said went in one ear and out the other. Her knowledge about cars didn’t extend much past car colors.

Eloise clip-clopped at a slower pace down the porch steps in her spiky-heeled boots. “I can tell you what it’s not. It’s not the limo I requested.”

“It’s better than a limo. Trust me.” Gil opened the back passenger door for Jillian and assisted her onto a surprisingly luxurious leather seat. Then he hurried to Eloise’s side to offer her a hand.

“It looks like something out of a superhero movie.” She wrapped both hands around his arm. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” He grinned down at her. “I’m already in trouble for failing to deliver a limo.”

“Not yet.” She patted his arm. “I can be reasonable. You claim it’s better than a limo, so convince me.”

He delivered her onto the captain’s seat beside Jillian with the gallantry one might show a queen. “Prepare to have your minds blown,” he announced in a voice worthy of going on stage, then shut her door.

While he slid behind the wheel, his wife, Bliss, twisted around to peer at them over the console. “Big toys for big boys. That’s what this is really about, isn’t it, sweetie?” Her hair fanned like dark silk around the shoulders of her white puff jacket. Like Jillian, she was in maternity jeans. An emerald green tunic ruffled out from beneath her jacket.

“We-e-ell,” Gil drawled, reaching for her hand to draw it to his mouth. He kissed her gloved fingers. “Okay, you can tell ‘em. Now that Dave and Jillian have agreed to be the godparents of our children, they’re practically family.”

“Children?” Eloise sat forward in her seat. “As in plural?”

Gil made a choking sound that he tried to cover with a cough as he started the motor.

Bliss’s musical laugh filled the interior of the vehicle. “Retired only a few months from the sheriff’s department, and already my husband has lost his ability to keep a secret.”

“How many?” Eloise demanded, forcing them back on topic like a hungry dog with a juicy bone.

“Twins,” Bliss sighed in a dazed voice as her husband backed the vehicle out of the driveway. “You’re the only ones we’ve told besides Dave. We’re still absorbing the news ourselves and…” she paused to bite her lower lip, “coming to grips with the extra risks posed by carrying twins.”

“You’ll be fine.” Eloise’s tone was so matter-of-fact that Jillian blinked at her. “You and Jillian both.” She settled back in her seat, folding her arms over her coat. “You’re two of the strongest women I’ve ever met, who happen to be married to the two stubbornest, most formidable men in Heart Lake. They’ve had blood dripping from their fangs ever since they won the state football championship in high school.”

The vehicle erupted into laugher.

“Fangs,” Gil chortled, waggling his eyebrows playfully at his wife. “That’s Eloise for you. Wrapping a compliment in a slap upside the head.”

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