Page 10 of Vanishing Point
But time had indeed passed. A lot of time. And not just time, but an entire lifetime of mistakes on her part.
Besides, she’d been back in Bent County for almost a full year and had managed to avoid running into him or anyone else she knew by spending most of her time on the ranch. And she liked it that way. She liked the life she was building out here where it felt like no one could reach her.
She had family—not just Mags, but actual family. And it was because they’d become her family in heart as well as blood, Vi didn’t stay in her room sulking.
Well, and because she was starving after all.
When she got to the dining room, Rosalie and Audra were already at the table, eating and chatting. Franny was still off on her book tour for another two days. Since Vi didn’t have a job, she usually handled the household duties—like cleaning and making dinner—but since Mags had been sick everyone had insisted she take the week off.
So someone else had made dinner. Vi was determined she would at least clean up after it. She had to earn her keepsomeway.
Both sisters looked up when she entered the dining room. Audra smiled. Rosalie looked sheepish. Which was how Vi knew that Rosalie hadn’t told Audra about this.
“Your sister had Thomas Hart come out here, without telling me.”
“Rosalie,” Audra said, clearly pained and, as ever, despairing of her sister.
“You listened to the same voicemail I did,” Rosalie said, scowling. “The threats are escalating.”
“I’m not going to have you listen to any of them after this,” Vi returned, sitting down at the table. She didn’t know what possessed her to let Rosalie listen in the first place.
“She isn’t…wrong about that, Vi,” Audra said, clearly concerned. “This did sound more…violent.”
Vi refused to accept it, even if it was true. “He wants me to live in fear. I won’t do it. I’m certainly not going to ask for help from a cop.” Maybe she had a hard time believing Thomas would be like Eric, but it hadn’t just been Eric that she’d had to deal with back in Richmond. It had been his whole squad.
Every last one of them either so taken in by Eric they couldn’t see the truth, or just…didn’t care about the truth. Too many of them had figured it was her fault that Eric liked to knock her around.
She took a seat next to Audra and accepted the passed casserole dish.
“Thomas isn’t justanycop. You know him. Like biblically.”
Vi spared Rosalie a scolding look. “That was fifteen years ago.”
“So?”
“I knew my ex-husbandbiblicallytoo. Enough to have a child. Should I ask for his help?”
Rosalie grunted in frustration.
“I know you’re worried. If you want me to leave—”
Audra put her hand over Vi’s. “Don’t do that,” she said in her soft way. Even though Audra was tough on the outside, with her ranching and sharpshooting, and her ability to handle the rough-and-tumble life out here in the middle of nowhere, she was such a gentle softie underneath it all. “We’re not worried because it’s trouble, we’re worried aboutyou.”
Which made Vi want to cry. She didn’t know why her two second cousins she’d barely known growing up had taken such a risk to get involved with her life. How they were so good at pulling her into the fold, accepting her and Magnolia as family. How this had begun to feel like a real, good life instead of the nightmare she’d escaped.
She filled her plate, gave herself a second to get her emotions under control. And then she worked on letting anger and resentment go.
Because it didn’t get them anywhere.
“I understand why you did it, Rosalie. And if I ever…” She had a hard time saying the words, because she had to believe it would never, ever happen. “If there’s ever a real threat, where he might actually come here, I’ll call Thomas. I promise.”
And she prayed like hell that would never be the case.
Chapter Four
“The prosecutor isn’t going for it.”
Thomas didn’t look up at Copeland. He knew he’d see his own frustrations and powerlessness reflected back at him. “So what now?”
