Page 98 of Finding His Redemption

“And X sweet-talked one of the waitresses at the Rusty Spur,” River added. “She remembers seeing Bailee arguing with someone the night before she died.”

“Anyone we know?”

“Not yet. The description was pretty vague.”

River leaned against Tango’s stall door, arms crossed. Tango stole his hat off his head, but he didn’t so much as blink. “Boone’s running down some leads in town today. Says he’s gota contact at the sheriff’s office who might be willing to share the autopsy report.”

“That’s something, at least.” Jonah’s face darkened. “Hank Goodwin’s got his head so far up his ass he can see his own tonsils.”

“Ain’t that the truth?” River’s gaze shifted to Jax. “How’s Nessie doing with all this?”

Jax’s jaw tightened. “She’s not answering my calls.”

“At all?”

“Texts either.” He tried to keep his tone neutral, but the hurt leaked through anyway. “Maybe she believes Goodwin.”

“Bullshit,” Jonah said firmly. “That woman’s got eyes. She can see what kind of man you are.”

Jax wasn’t so sure. What kind of man was he, really? The kind who’d spent five years in prison for assault. The kind whose brain sometimes played tricks on him, making him see enemies where there were none. The kind who’d had a psychotic break so severe he’d?—

No. He wasn’t going there. Not now.

“Sorry, man,” River muttered. “That’s rough.”

Jax shrugged. What was there to say? That he’d finally let himself care about someone, only to have them pull away? That he’d started to believe he could have something good in his life, and now it was evaporating like morning dew?

“Maybe you should go see her,” Jonah suggested. “Sometimes things get lost in translation over the phone.”

“I can’t.”

“What, can’t drive?”

Jax grimaced. “My license lapsed while I was inside. Haven’t renewed it yet.” Another detail he hadn’t bothered to fix, another piece of his life left in limbo.

Jonah stared at him for a beat, then nodded decisively. “I’ll drive you.”

“What?”

“I’m heading into town anyway. Need to pick up some feed supplements.”

Jax hesitated, looking down at Echo. “I don’t want to leave her again.”

“Take her with you,” River suggested. “She could use the exposure. Isn’t that what Walker’s always saying? The more they see, the more they learn.”

“He’s right,” Jonah agreed. “And she’s bonded to you now. She’ll be fine as long as you’re there.”

Jax considered it. Echo had made incredible progress, but the town would be a lot. Noise, people, traffic. Then again, if she were ever going to become a fully functioning dog, she’d need to get used to the world beyond Valor Ridge.

But the thought of showing up unannounced at Nessie’s doorstep made his stomach knot. What if she didn’t want to see him? What if whatever they’d had was already over?

But the alternative—sitting here, wondering, waiting for a call that might never come—was worse.

“Alright,” he said finally. “Let me grab her leash and vest.”

chapter

twenty-nine