Page 3 of Mystery at Rescue Ridge (Rescue Ridge #5)

F ishing was the last thing on Owen’s mind after running into Evie again. “Hold up there.” She didn’t. “Wait.” He started after her. Questions flooded his brain, adding to the already mounting ones about what he’d done wrong and why she’d left. Hell, why she was still running?

“Leave me alone, Owen.”

Those words stopped him cold. He’d never gone anywhere he wasn’t invited before. Did he think anything like this would ever have happened between him and Evie? No.

Maybe she was right. Times change. People change. And yet, his bruised ego wanted answers.

It occurred to him there was a mountain lion with a taste for human blood stalking around.

The animal would need to be dealt with, so he made a mental note to call Texas Parks and Wildlife Services to report the attack.

This might be a rare occurrence, but if you were the exception to the rule, you were still dead.

The fact that Evie had gotten away with nothing more than a bloody arm was a miracle.

Owen fished out his cell and sent a message to his contact at Wildlife Services. He pulled up his GPS location and took a screenshot before sending the information. The more details he sent, the better chance his contact had of locating the animal.

And then he decided to get the hell out of there before he became the second victim.

The aftershocks of being surprised and abducted reverberated through him.

His pride wanted to say that he was fine, back to normal.

Ego didn’t want to admit that he had hesitations about going out on a property all by his lonesome.

He’d meant for the fishing trip to be sort of a test as to whether he still had it in him to be alone out here.

He mentally shook off his unease and turned in the direction of his vehicle.

It also occurred to him that he might never get answers from Evie.

As much as that frustrated him, there wasn’t squat he could do about it.

Her shoulder-length silky red hair streaked through the thicket as he saw the all-too-familiar backside of her.

Those heart-shaped pink lips shouldn’t stamp his thoughts or stir up so many desires.

Tall and redheaded with just the right amount of curves, Evie’s looks had nearly knocked him back a step.

She’d grown up and into her beauty in more ways than one.

He missed the dotting of freckles on the bridge of her nose.

He missed the hue of her mostly blue, sometimes green eyes.

He missed the freckle just above her lip.

But those were just physical attributes.

What he missed most about Evie was the way her smile could turn even the worst day on its head.

He missed his best friend more than words and was reminded of the loss now after seeing her again. The ache was still there, still raw. Seeing the pain in her eyes at the loss of her sister had practically gutted him.

Suddenly, the idea of locking himself up in a cabin alone for a couple of days lost its shine. Evie was in town long enough to settle Simone’s affairs and decide how to proceed with the children.

If he didn’t act soon, his former friend might disappear again. This time, there’d be no reason for her to return, and he would lose the chance of closure forever.

Besides, he didn’t like the way she’d avoided eye contact or how scared she’d been.

What the hell had he done wrong, and why couldn’t he get over it?

Seeing her again gave him hope that he could finally get an answer and move on.

Her response to seeing him again stirred up a feeling in his chest he hadn’t felt in years.

More questions would haunt him until he got answers.

Owen issued a sharp sigh and turned about-face. Starting toward his vehicle, he heard a low growl.

“Thank you for your patience, Ms. Bart.” Evie tried to catch her breath after running the entire way home and bursting through the front door.

Ms. Bart was a godsend to the children, and the last thing Evie wanted to do was take advantage of the woman’s kindness. Without her, Evie would be crushed under the weight of responsibility for a one and three-year-old. She had zero experience when it came to kids.

“I have to go,” Ms. Bart said, pushing off the couch to stand up. The seventy-year-old widow stretched and bit back a yawn. Ms. Bart was a sturdy woman with a near-constant scowl, except when it came to dealing with Luca and Olivia.

The elder caregiver made a show of bending over and kissing the round, angelic faces—faces that barely registered Evie was home now that their favorite cartoon played on the big screen.

“I hope I didn’t make you late for anything,” Evie said. She had no idea what Ms. Bart’s extracurricular activities might be. Though she highly doubted they involved anything that required a delicate touch like needlework. Ax-throwing, Evie would believe.

A disapproving glare was followed by a tsk-tsk .

“At least you made it back,” Ms. Bart said as she padded toward the door. “Children need stability. They need someone reliable in their life.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Evie said. The woman’s help was a blessing. Her comments, not so much.

“Dinner is in the fridge,” was all Ms. Bart said before rushing past Evie and out the front door.

“Don’t let the door hit you where the…” Evie glanced at the sweet angels on the sofa and decided not to finish the sentence.

Ms. Bart was right. Evie was the last person who should be responsible for children, even with a shared bloodline.

Evie had been living and working in the city for years.

She’d adjusted to cars whipping past her condo at all hours of the night, horns honking, and the occasional sound of a train roaring by her window.

The dark here in Saddle Junction was unsettling.

She’d forgotten how noisy the nights became with crickets chirping and all the other critters that gave her the creepy-crawlies.

An involuntary shiver rocked her body just thinking about it.

A knock at the door caused her to whirl around. What the hell had Ms. Bart forgotten? Bracing herself for another mini-lecture, she opened the door to find a woman dressed in a Parks and Wildlife tan uniform.

“May I help you?” Evie asked.

“I’m Game Warden Joann Garza, and I understand you’ve had an encounter with a dangerous animal in the area.

” The warden was tall, at least an inch or two taller than Evie, with olive skin and slick, straight auburn hair cut in a bob that framed her jawline.

She wore a serious expression underneath a light-colored cowgirl hat.

The hat coordinated with her uniform. A radio squawked, catching the kids’ attention.

The three-year-old’s eyes widened as he took in the warden. Luca loved playing sheriff. Olivia rolled onto her tummy and got stuck trying to scoot off the sofa as Luca darted toward the door.

“Come in,” Evie said, opening the door a little wider to allow passage.

“Thank you,” Warden Garza said. The term statuesque came to mind.

Olivia grunted in frustration at not being able to execute her plan to slide off the couch as Luca plowed into Evie’s knees. An ear-to-ear grin was plastered on the kid’s face as though he was meeting a celebrity or sports star.

The little one, however, was working up to cry.

“Excuse me for one second,” Evie said as she navigated over to the couch with a kid stuck to her like glue. How had Simone managed this and a work-from-home business selling bobbles and homemade goods on the internet?

She helped Olivia down. The kid had only recently learned to walk, so she grabbed hold of the coffee table. Her fingers slipped as Evie turned toward the warden. From the corner of her eye, she saw the bobble and then the fall headfirst into the coffee table.

A few moments of silence stretched on as Olivia wound up to cry. The longer the windup, the worse the cry. Evie had learned the lesson the hard way.

“I’m sorry,” Evie said as the first wail pierced the air.

She scooped Olivia up and moved into the kitchen.

At least the space was open-concept, so the warden could maintain eye contact as Evie issued another apology.

“Please, make yourself at home at the table while I grab an ice cream.” A treat before dinner would most definitely make Ms. Bart’s list of Evie Parenting Failures, but she didn’t know how else to soothe the little ones so she could carry on an adult conversation.

After settling the little angels in their respective high chairs, which felt like a monumental task, Evie grabbed a pair of Popsicles, ripped off the packaging, and then sat across from the warden, who Evie judged to be in her late thirties. “Do you have kids?”

The warden smiled, nonjudgmental. “I have an eleven-year-old boy.”

“How did you survive…this…stage?” Evie seriously wanted an answer because she couldn’t fathom getting through the toddler years. How Simone had pulled it off was a head-scratcher. But then, Simone had made everything look easy.

“My husband was a huge help,” Warden Garza said with a wistful smile. “We live in the same neighborhood as our families. Both of our parents chipped in since we both work odd hours.”

Evie blew out a breath. “That’s it. I’m outnumbered.”

“Is it just you here with the babies?” Warden Garza said.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Please, call me Joann.”

Evie’s gaze was met with warm brown eyes. They almost made her feel comfortable enough to talk about her situation.

The radio squawked, reminding Evie this wasn’t a social visit. “How can I help you, Joann?”

“Start by telling me about the encounter.” Joann’s gaze shifted to Evie’s shredded sleeve and bloodied arm.

“I need to do something about that,” Evie said. She paused. “How did you hear about…?” The answer dawned on her midsentence. “Owen,” she whispered.

“That’s correct, Miss—”

“Call me Evie.”

Joann nodded. “Mr. Sturgess sent a text to me with the information, pinpointing the location where he’d located you after answering a distress call.”

“The thing came at me out of nowhere.” Evie glanced at her arm, realizing she needed to clean up.

She was half surprised Ms. Bart hadn’t questioned her about the injury.

Then again, the older woman had seen just about everything, according to Simone, which was half the reason she’d hired Ms. Bart part-time to help with the children.

Simone had said she would have hired the woman full-time if there’d been enough money.

Having a grandmother figure around, one who wasn’t easily spooked, had given Simone peace of mind, especially considering the fact that Ms. Bart lived down the road.

The older woman was literally a phone call away.

Somehow, Evie doubted Ms. Bart would appreciate a middle-of-the-night phone call from her when a wind gust caused the old family house to groan, scaring the daylights out of Evie. But that wasn’t the reason Joann sat across the table.

“These types of predators use the element of surprise to attack their prey,” Joann said.

“In all my years growing up here, I don’t remember hearing of such an attack on people.”

“It’s rare.” Joann turned down the volume of her radio. “We’ve been seeing an uptick in all types of animal encounters. Humans are increasingly encroaching on their territory, so we see them migrating to areas they’ve never been to and considering different food sources to avoid starvation.”

Another involuntary shiver rocked her body at the thought of how close she’d come to being a meal.

The thought sobered her. Life could be taken away in an instant.

Glancing at the babies, Evie couldn’t imagine leaving them to a worse fate than being stuck with her.

Apparently, their living grandparents, on their father’s side, were about as backwoods as they could be.

Simone had described them as the kind who sat around on the porch drinking all day and then abusing their significant others almost as a sport in the evenings.

Her husband had broken the mold and entered the military, where he’d received an education.

The fact he’d given his life to secure a better future for himself and his family made her respect him even more.

According to Simone, he’d been adamant about the children not being exposed to his side of the family, let alone being raised by them.

They would only take the kids in for the money, not because they cared about bringing them up well.

“How did you get away?” Joann asked, breaking into the heavy thoughts.

“I zigzagged in between trees and basically threw everything I could find at it as the damn thing chased me.” Evie immediately regretted cursing in front of the children.

Was it a miracle she’d gotten away?

The answer came in the surprised look on Joann’s face. “You got very lucky.”

“This might sound strange, but I was certain I heard someone else out there,” she said. “It’s the reason I screamed for help.”

“Mr. Sturgess, correct? Isn’t he the other person who was in the woods?”

She shook her head. “He responded to my call for help, but it took him a while to get to me.” She’d heard someone closer. It couldn’t have been Owen. “I’m certain it couldn’t have been him.”

Luca started slapping his Popsicle stick on the plastic tray in front of him as he tried to wiggle out of his seat.

A quick glance at the kids said they needed to be hosed off rather than bathed.

The flat piece of wood stuck to his hand.

“How do they get so messy with one Popsicle?” Sticky, red dripped down Luca’s elbow, and Olivia’s onesie had a blue ring around the neck along with plenty of splotches on the white cotton fabric.

Evie sighed. Apparently, most of her time would be spent wiping faces, bottoms, and hands. When she wasn’t doing that, she’d be cleaning tables, fabrics, and floors. Who knew parenting involved so much soap, wipes, and cleaning products?

Joann’s cell buzzed. “Excuse me.” She checked it. A wave of panic shattered her once-calm demeanor as she jumped to her feet.

“Everything all right?” Evie asked, standing.

“Your mountain lion is still in the area,” Joann said, shooting across the room toward the front door like a guided missile. “Keep the kids inside, okay?”

Evie followed the warden out the front door. “What is it, Joann? What happened?”

“We received a distress call from Owen.”