Page 103 of Winter Vows

He was still sitting there when Trish came downstairs at dawn to fix breakfast for Hardy, who was splitting his days between duties at the ranch and search parties that continued to comb half of West Texas looking for some trace of Paul James and Bobby.

“Dylan, what are you doing sitting down here in the dark?” She stepped into the room and took a closer look. “You look like hell.”

“Feel like it, too.”

“What time did you get in last night? I never heard you.”

He shrugged. He hadn’t looked at his watch. After he’d left Kelsey’s, he’d driven around for hours, then instinctively stopped in at the sheriff’s office to check in with Justin. There had been no news, no leads.

Trish sat down opposite him. “Okay, big brother, spill it. What’s wrong?”

“Aside from the fact that here’s no sign of Bobby and the fact that I’ve been fired? Aside from those two things, I’d say life is just about perfect.”

Trish stared at him with undisguised astonishment. “Fired? Why?”

“Your friend seems to think I might have a conflict of interest. I don’t suppose you’re the one who mentioned Shane to her.”

His sister flushed guiltily. “Yes, and I could see she was overreacting, but I thought I’d calmed her down. I had no idea she’d go off the deep end. You’ve worked your tail off on this case. How dare she fire you?” she asked indignantly. “Don’t worry, Dylan. I’ll talk to her.”

“No need. I’m not going to stop working, just because of a little technicality like being fired. I wasn’t planning on getting paid anyway. Are you going over there today?”

She nodded. “Right after breakfast.”

“Do something for me.”

“Anything.”

“See if you can find out what she’s holding back. There’s something she hasn’t told me. She almost let it out yesterday, but then Paul called and we got sidetracked. Before that she clammed up whenever I asked. I know she won’t tell me now, but I have a feeling it’s crucial.”

“Maybe Lizzy knows. Have you talked to her?”

“I tried. She was as evasive as hell, too.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Thanks. I’m going to go up and grab a shower. Think you can have some lethally strong coffee ready when I get back down?”

“You got it, big brother.” She gave him a hug. “Don’t let what Kelsey did get you down. She appreciates your help and she cares about you. I know she does.”

“Sure,” he said grimly, thinking of the way she’d kissed him, the way she’d melted in his arms. She cared, all right. “She just doesn’t trust me.”

When he came back down, feeling marginally better after an icy shower, he found not only Hardy at the kitchen table with Trish, but Jeb. His brother, who was only a year younger, frowned at him.

“For a man in such a big hurry to get me over here, you might have stuck around last night to tell me what you need me to do,” Jeb noted without any real venom, spooning cereal into his mouth as if he hadn’t had a meal in a month.

Dylan winced. “Sorry. I got sidetracked.”

Jeb stared, clearly incredulous. “You? In the middle of a case?” He turned his gaze on Trish. “Did I miss the sky falling?”

“Very funny,” Dylan retorted. “Now if you’re finished trying to eat Trish and Hardy out of house and home, we can hit the road.”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Trish said, motioning toward a chair. “Sit. You’re not leaving here until you’ve had coffee and breakfast. I’ll make you an omelet.”

Dylan knew better than to argue. Trish could nag worse than their mother, if she put her mind to it. Besides, he knew she wanted badly to make up for spilling the beans to Kelsey about Shane.

“I’ll take the coffee and some toast. That’s enough.”

“You’ll eat eggs and be grateful for them,” she countered, whipping the eggs with a whisk. She poured them into a pan sizzling with melted butter. “Jeb might be able to run all day on a sugar high, but you need protein.”

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