passed the sheriff and drove a little faster, worried.
As he pulled up in front of his uncle’s house, he spotted his father sitting on the porch alone. “What’s going on?” Brody asked as he joined him. His uncle was nowhere in sight. Brody felt his heart lodge in his throat as he saw his father’s expression. “Is he all right?”
“The sheriff was here,” Finn McTavish said. While only in his midsixties, he looked older suddenly, his face drawn and haggard. “He told your uncle that the body was Maggie’s and that it was now a murder investigation.”
“Where is he now?” Brody asked, thinking he shouldn’t be alone.
“Inside the house.”
He started in that direction but his father stopped him.
“Leave him be. He’ll come out when he’s ready,” Finn said.
“The sheriff... So it’s Maggie, just as I’d feared.” He’d grown up wanting to believe that the beautiful cousin he’d never known had run away to make a better life for herself. He’d actually looked for her in late-night movies since from the photographs he’d seen of her, she was so striking that she could have been an actress or a model. She could have been a lot of things.
A wave of nausea washed over him. He’d heard stories about his cousin since he was a boy. In fact, his first fistfight in grade school had been over what Billy Loring said his father had said about her. At that time, he’d never seen more than photos of her that his uncle kept on the mantel, but she was family and family was worth defending even if Billy Loring was older, bigger and stronger.
“When Harper and I found her horse... The rain had washed the wooden box down the hillside. She was buried on Hamilton Ranch, just yards from our land,” Brody said, and turned as the screen door was flung open and his uncle stepped out. Flannigan McTavish looked as if all the air had been knocked out of him.
“Uncle Flan—”
“I don’t want to hear another word about my Maggie.” His uncle’s green eyes flashed with anger. “Nor do I ever want to hear you’ve been with that Hamilton girl.”
With that, he descended the porch steps and walked across the yard toward the shop.
“Let him go,” his father said. “You heard him. He needs to grieve in his own way.”
Growing up, neither his father nor his uncle had liked to talk about Maggie, but when pushed, his father had told him that Flannigan had doted on his only daughter and “that was part of the problem.”
“Nor does he want to hear about Harper, it seems,” Brody said, realizing that he’d known this would be the case. “Don’t you think I heard the rumors growing up about Maggie and JD Hamilton? But even if it’s true and JD killed her, it’s no reason to hold it against the rest of the Hamiltons.”
His father looked toward the shop. Flannigan had stopped and turned to look back at them. Brody saw the two men exchange a glance.
“Or is there another reason the two of you don’t want me with Harper?” he asked.
CHAPTER SIX
JD KNEW SOMETHING was wrong the moment he opened the door to the ranch house. “Grace?” Maybe it was the quiet, the sense that no one was home, and yet Grace’s car was in the drive. “Grace?”
He had already started toward the kitchen when he heard the moan and retraced his steps to the living room, hurrying now, suddenly afraid.
She lay at the bottom of the stairs, her body twisted, her face pressed into the hardwood.
“Grace!” he cried, running to her. His first thought at seeing her lying there was that he would never forgive himself. She must have fallen down the stairs while he’d been gone. If he had been here...
Her eyes flickered open and he saw the pain and the fear. How long had she been lying here? Where were Buck and Sarah? He silently cursed himself for leaving her. He knew how upset she’d been at the news that Sarah was pregnant. “It’s all right. I’m here now.”
“I can’t feel my legs,” she cried, and gripped his
As he pulled up in front of his uncle’s house, he spotted his father sitting on the porch alone. “What’s going on?” Brody asked as he joined him. His uncle was nowhere in sight. Brody felt his heart lodge in his throat as he saw his father’s expression. “Is he all right?”
“The sheriff was here,” Finn McTavish said. While only in his midsixties, he looked older suddenly, his face drawn and haggard. “He told your uncle that the body was Maggie’s and that it was now a murder investigation.”
“Where is he now?” Brody asked, thinking he shouldn’t be alone.
“Inside the house.”
He started in that direction but his father stopped him.
“Leave him be. He’ll come out when he’s ready,” Finn said.
“The sheriff... So it’s Maggie, just as I’d feared.” He’d grown up wanting to believe that the beautiful cousin he’d never known had run away to make a better life for herself. He’d actually looked for her in late-night movies since from the photographs he’d seen of her, she was so striking that she could have been an actress or a model. She could have been a lot of things.
A wave of nausea washed over him. He’d heard stories about his cousin since he was a boy. In fact, his first fistfight in grade school had been over what Billy Loring said his father had said about her. At that time, he’d never seen more than photos of her that his uncle kept on the mantel, but she was family and family was worth defending even if Billy Loring was older, bigger and stronger.
“When Harper and I found her horse... The rain had washed the wooden box down the hillside. She was buried on Hamilton Ranch, just yards from our land,” Brody said, and turned as the screen door was flung open and his uncle stepped out. Flannigan McTavish looked as if all the air had been knocked out of him.
“Uncle Flan—”
“I don’t want to hear another word about my Maggie.” His uncle’s green eyes flashed with anger. “Nor do I ever want to hear you’ve been with that Hamilton girl.”
With that, he descended the porch steps and walked across the yard toward the shop.
“Let him go,” his father said. “You heard him. He needs to grieve in his own way.”
Growing up, neither his father nor his uncle had liked to talk about Maggie, but when pushed, his father had told him that Flannigan had doted on his only daughter and “that was part of the problem.”
“Nor does he want to hear about Harper, it seems,” Brody said, realizing that he’d known this would be the case. “Don’t you think I heard the rumors growing up about Maggie and JD Hamilton? But even if it’s true and JD killed her, it’s no reason to hold it against the rest of the Hamiltons.”
His father looked toward the shop. Flannigan had stopped and turned to look back at them. Brody saw the two men exchange a glance.
“Or is there another reason the two of you don’t want me with Harper?” he asked.
CHAPTER SIX
JD KNEW SOMETHING was wrong the moment he opened the door to the ranch house. “Grace?” Maybe it was the quiet, the sense that no one was home, and yet Grace’s car was in the drive. “Grace?”
He had already started toward the kitchen when he heard the moan and retraced his steps to the living room, hurrying now, suddenly afraid.
She lay at the bottom of the stairs, her body twisted, her face pressed into the hardwood.
“Grace!” he cried, running to her. His first thought at seeing her lying there was that he would never forgive himself. She must have fallen down the stairs while he’d been gone. If he had been here...
Her eyes flickered open and he saw the pain and the fear. How long had she been lying here? Where were Buck and Sarah? He silently cursed himself for leaving her. He knew how upset she’d been at the news that Sarah was pregnant. “It’s all right. I’m here now.”
“I can’t feel my legs,” she cried, and gripped his
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