Page 53 of The Last Dance You Saved
“I don’t need you watching over me! And what’s that supposed to mean? What do you think is going on here?” she asked, coming to a halt and turning to face me.
I dragged a hand through my hair and bit the inside of my cheek. If I told her the truth, would it make her dig her heels in more, or would it be the final push to send her on her way?
Stalling, I looked up at the sky and almost expected thunderstorms to be brewing, thunder and lightning that would reflect the chaos inside me. Instead, I saw millions of stars stretched across a clear, inky expanse. It reminded me of just how inconsequential I was. That we all were. In a continually expanding universe, we were nothing. Dust motes floating through the air that could easily be swept away. Easily forgotten.
Like I’d tried to forget my brother and the ranch and the land that had first formed me.
If I’d brought this trouble to my family, I had to fix it.
“Fallon doesn’t believe my brother’s death was an accident.”
In the moonlight, it was easy to see the shock on her expressive face. “You think he was murdered?”
I rubbed my hand along my beard, pushing into the tension at the apex of my jaw. Fallon was right. Spence would never have driven the tractor anywhere near the cliff where it went over. What would even have been the point of having the tractor up there? Above the river on a cliff that had been eroding for decades?
“Fallon does, and I promised her I’d look into it. Now that I’ve found out Puzo has been sniffing around town and that Adam knows him, it’s something I have to consider. You being here—”
A scream lit up the night.
It was female and high-pitched and had come from the open windows of the main house.
Fallon!
I sped toward the front door, heart in hand, stomach sinking when I realized the door wasn’t locked. It was probably never locked—just like Levi’s cabin hadn’t been. No damn protection.
I took the stairs two at a time with Sadie hot on my heels.
I wanted to thrust her away, lock her in a closet, keep her somewhere safe.
Fallon and Maisey had just stepped out of my daughter’s room as I hit the landing. Their expressions startled and scared. My gaze dragged over them, looking for injuries and finding none.
“What happened?” I demanded.
Fallon shook her head, running toward her mom’s room. “It wasn’t us!”
I barely caught her before she opened the door. I shook her gently before sending her in Sadie and Maisey’s direction. “Damn it, Fallon. Stay back. You have no idea what you’re walking into.”
I flung open the door of Spencer’s room—my parents’ old room—hitting the light switch and sending the dark shadows back into the corners of the eighteenth-century monolith of a bedroom.
Lauren was sitting in the middle of the four-poster bed, her eyes large but hazy with more than just sleep—the damn drugs she’d taken. Her hand was on her neck, her breathing rapid and wild.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded.
“Someone was here… Someone…” She darted a look at a pillow tossed at the end of her bed.
Anger and fear took hold. Someone had been in the house! They’d all been alone. Unprotected. God. My daughter. Her friend. Sadie. Shit, how would I protect all of them?
Ignoring my command, Fallon pushed past me into the room. “Mom?”
I grabbed her arms, holding her back. Who knew if the intruder was still here. I had to clear the room. Clear the house. Ensure they were safe. I hauled her out of the room and handed her off to Sadie. “Take the girls to Fallon’s room. Lock the door. I’ll come and get you when I’m sure the house is clear.”
“Dad! What happened? Is Mom okay?” Panic was in every syllable.
My voice softened slightly as I said, “She looks to be okay, Ducky, but I need you to go with Sadie. Let me handle this.”
Sadie tightened her arm around Fallon’s shoulders, drawing her down the hall. Our eyes met over my daughter’s head. Concern and fear danced in the air between us, amplified by what had happened with the snake, amplified by the memories we’d shared of just what evil was capable of doing.
I waited until Sadie pulled both girls into Fallon’s room and heard the lock click before I turned and strode back to Lauren’s bedside.
