Page 81 of Deadly Evidence
“Just restless, I guess.” He kicked at a pebble. “Mia’s all packed and ready to go?”
Ahhh. “I’m afraid so. She and Vicente are having a talk right now. I expect she’ll be there for a while yet, talking about the past. Would you like to take her to the bus tomorrow?”
His Western hat dipped as he nodded.
“This time, she will have to leave, Dante,” Anna said gently. “But I’m pretty sure she’ll come back again, now that Vicente and she have finally connected. Maybe even this summer—you’ll have to ask her for me. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
He sounded so disconsolate that she veered from her course toward the house and joined him. “Mia said she had a great time riding this morning. Thanks for taking her.”
“Yeah, well...” He jammed his hands in his back pockets. “It’s been nice, but she’s got a future. College and all.”
“Have you thought about what you might want to do? You’re young, bright—you could go to college or even start with some correspondence classes. Anyone who has the motivation can find a way to chase their dreams.”
He snorted. “That all takes money.”
“Well...there’s a lot of ways to find it—lots of options for financial aid, and some kinds you might not even have to repay. Someday, if you’re interested, we could look up these things on the Internet.”
When he didn’t answer, she folded her arms over her chest and looked up at the waning crescent moon. “Dark night,” she said finally. “Well...I guess I’d better get up to the house and do some bookwork. See you in the morning.”
She was nearly to the fence surrounding the yard when she heard him call her name.
“Thanks, Anna. You’ve been real nice to me.”
She smiled to herself and went on. It never hurt to plant the seeds, because someday, they might just take root and grow. And after this current trouble was over, maybe she could help him...
The words of that anonymous, threatening letter came back to her, and her smile faded.
There were escalating risks here—and tomorrow another agent would appear at the ranch. But soon it would all be over, and Brady would be gone.
The banter, that breathless flash of attraction when he entered a room, and the pleasure of simply being with him would all be just memories. And then the rest of her life would stretch out like the endless, desolate land around her.
With a sigh, she opened the door of the house and stepped into the light, and accepted what would always be.
“We’re going where?” Lacey stared at her mom in disbelief. Something was up—she could see it in Mom’s eyes.
“After school today, I’m taking you to my friend Linda’s place just outside of Houston,” Mom repeated. “Remember? She has a son just about your age, and two retired greyhounds. Her house has that nice pool.”
Lacey remembered the beautiful, queenly dogs who lounged like royalty on the sofa and loveseat in the family room. They were quiet and serene, and she’d liked them a lot, but thatboywas a jerk. “How long will we be there?”
“I’m actually just taking you there, and then I’ll have to come back to the ranch. It’ll only be a few days—maybe a week.”
“I don’t get it. You’re justdumpingme there? For aweek?Usually, I have to be practically dead before I can ever miss school.” Lacey’s suspicion grew. “This isn’t anything to do with that Brady guy, is it? You aren’t, like, going someplace with him, are you?”
“No. I’m notdumpingyou anywhere. And no, I’m not going anywhere with him.”
Mom chewed her lower lip, clearly not sure how much she should say, which concerned Lacey even more.
“I’m not going.”
“Honey, it isn’t your choice. You have a few minutes before the school bus comes, so you can start packing some of your things. Do it now, please.”
Scowling, Lacey hesitated just long enough to express her rebellion, then she trudged to her bedroom and hauled the suitcase from beneath her bed.
Not that missing school was so bad. But something was going on here, and Mom wouldn’t say what. What if she was in trouble?
Or what if this was about Grandpa—who didn’t look so good and might die? Being sent away was wrong, wrong, wrong.
