Page 40 of Colorado Christmas Carol
No sooner had Essa done that than he turned the car with furious speed and jetted out onto the highway, spinning dirt and gravel everywhere.
* * *
Duke had just contacted the sheriff of another county in Colorado, and now he had enough evidence for reasonable suspicion to make an arrest. It had taken some quick work by Sheriff Jeff Ralston, but he had a warrant, signed by a local judge.
Now all he had to do was get his girls and ensure their safety before he arrested Dean. He walked into the hotel and stood very still.
They weren’t in the lobby where he’d sent them before he left the hotel. His heart stopped. His blood ran cold. Surely Dean hadn’t come early . . . ?!
“Hi, there,” the desk clerk called gaily. “If you’re looking for your little girl, she and Essa went out to that dig site with Dean Mr. . . . Marston?!” he exclaimed, because Duke’s face was white. Sheet white.
He was punching in numbers like a wild man with hands that were unsteady. Please, God, he prayed silently as he waited for his daughter’s phone to ring. Please, God . . . !
It rang once. Twice. Three times. He groaned out loud, holding up a hand to ward off the desk clerk, who was asking questions. Four times!
Mellie, he thought with horror. Please,God, spare Mellie. Spare Essa. He couldn’t bear to lose them; either of them!
Five times . . . !
“Hello? Daddy?” Mellie asked.
He almost staggered with relief. “Baby, where are you?” he asked at once.
“We’re at the dig site, but there’s nobody here,” the child said. “And Dean . . . what? Oh, sure, here.”
“Duke,” Essa said, “Dean left us out here at the dig site. There’s nobody here. He was acting very oddly, and he drove away like a madman! What’s going on?”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“It’s a twenty-minute drive . . . Hello? Hello?”
Mellie looked up at her. “Daddy drives like a maniac sometimes,” she explained. “But he’s a really good driver. He used to race cars,” she added with a grin. The smile fell. “Did he say what was wrong with Dean?”
“No.” She handed Mellie back her phone. It was cold out here, and lonely. “I wish I knew what was going on,” she added.
Mellie pressed close to her. “Me, too. I hope Dean is all right. I like him a lot.”
“So do I,” Essa said. She hugged the child close.
* * *
It was more like twenty minutes before Duke showed up, and he was followed by an ambulance and a sheriff’s car with sirens going and lights blazing.
Duke stopped by Essa and Mellie, but the other vehicles kept going.
Duke didn’t hesitate. He scooped up the most important females in the world and hugged them close.
While Mellie pressed close, his head bent, and he kissed the breath out of a shocked Essa. She melted.
“I can’t remember the last time I was this frightened,” Duke said, kissing Essa’s eyes shut.
Mellie pulled back and looked up at him. He was very pale. “I don’t understand, Daddy. Dean brought us out here to see something the archaeologist found, but there was nobody here. He told us to get out of the car and then he took off.”
“Like a bat out of hell,” Essa added, meeting Duke’s eyes and still disconcerted by that very passionate and unexpected kiss. “He said a lot of things I didn’t understand, about what his stepmother had done and he saw his father and went crazy and did something. He was very upset about it. He asked us not to hate him . . .”
Duke just looked at her. He looked down at his daughter. “I thought I told you two to stay in the lobby,” he said in a choked tone.
“We’re sorry,” Essa replied. “But Dean came very early and said the crew had found something exciting. He promised we’d only be gone for about a half hour.” She shrugged and smiled. “So we went with him. After all, he wasn’t really dangerous, was he? I mean, you were investigating a burglary for your detective agency. Most burglars wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
