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Just knowing Maggie was waiting for him made going home a whole new experience. But when he walked in the back door, the silence was unexpected. Then he smelled the scent of lemon and noticed the floors were shining. She’d cleaned.

He hung up his hat as he went through the house, and then saw her asleep on the sofa and stopped, drowning in a new wave of emotions.

She looked so small lying still beneath his blanket. So small, and yet he knew how fierce she could be, and what an indomitable spirit dwelled within her.

Mine, waiting all these years for me to find her.

He sat down in a chair across from where she was lying to remove his boots, then padded quietly into the kitchen to get a drink before returning to the big easy chair. He stretched his long legs out before him and leaned back, thinking what it was going to be like in the years to come, with her at his side.

Lovers. Partners. Husband and wife. And he remembered then, the passage from Emmit’s letter about not living life alone.

I found my partner, Emmit, and she was worth the wait.

He took the phone out of his pocket and set it on the table beside him, then closed his eyes. He was in the halfway-world between sleep and awake, when he saw an old red pickup broken down on the shoulder of a highway. The hood was up, and two men were working on the engine underneath it. He couldn’t see their faces, but he could see a highway sign a few feet away from where the truck had stopped. BOISE CITY—5 MILES. Then the vision shifted back to the truck. As the men lowered the hood, he saw their faces, watched them kicking tires in frustration, then getting back inside. But they weren’t moving.

Walker and Nubby—broken down in the westbound lane of a highway in the panhandle of Oklahoma.

His eyes flew open—his heart was pounding. Charlie was right. They’re on the hunt. Taking the roundabout road, but westbound just the same. His gaze went straight to Maggie.

Damn Walker straight to hell. What was wrong with that man? How was he going to deal with them and keep her safe? He needed a way to know where she was at all times when she wasn’t with him. Maybe some kind of tracker.

And then it hit him.

The Life360 app that Charlie and Frannie had on their phones. All they had to do to find each other during workdays was to pull up that app and look at the map. Wherever they were, the map pinpointed their locations, and if they were moving, it showed where to and in what direction. If he loaded this app on their phones, as long as their phones were with them, they could see each other’s locations.

He sat up in the chair and pulled up Google Play on his phone, downloaded the app and set it up. When Maggie woke, he would add her phone to his group and show her how it worked.

But now he was unsettled. Trouble was coming but he didn’t know when, and tossing a skunk into the cab of their truck wasn’t going to come close to stopping them. Walker wanted him dead.

He got up and walked over to where Maggie was sleeping, pulled the cover back up over her shoulder, and then slipped outside onto the front porch, eyeing the road that ran past the entrance to the ranch.

The road was nearly always devoid of traffic, and today was no exception. He didn’t even know who his nearest neighbor east was. He’d never followed the road any farther south than to his property. He was three miles from Crossroads and in the middle of a high-plains prairie. He would see them coming, and he’d be waiting.

Tomorrow they’d deliver the straw and shavings he’d ordered for stall bedding. Maggie would likely go back to Crossroads to check on Pearl. He needed to get some extra groceries in now so he wouldn’t have to show his face in town, then hole up and wait it out.

He wasn’t afraid for himself. What would be, would be. Maybe he would call Matt Reddick, then discarded the thought. What would he say? I think my father’s coming to kill me? I don’t have proof, but I saw it in a vision? God, what a mess.

He was still staring across the land when he heard the click of the latch behind him. She was awake. And then her arms were around his waist, hugging him, and he could feel her face pressed against the middle of his back.

He turned around and pulled her close. The urgency of keeping her safe was uppermost, and to do that, she had to know what was going on.

“My Magnolia, in this very short length of time, you have stolen my heart. To quote the lines from a song I’ve always loved…‘they didn’t have you where I come from,’ and it has taken me all these years to find you. Now, the thought of life without you is impossible to consider.”

She stilled within his embrace. “What’s happened?”

“Walker and Nubby broke down in the Oklahoma panhandle near Boise City, and they’re headed west. They’re looking for me.”

Maggie’s heart skipped a beat, but she wasn’t going to let him know that it scared her to know that.

“How do you know? Did you see it?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“Maybe he’s just curious,” she said.

“You don’t know Walker. He does nothing on impulse. Since I refused to include him in this journey, he is changing tactics. He asked and I refused. Now he’s going to take or destroy, because that’s how he rolls.”

“Take? Take what?” she asked.

“My life, I think. The fact that he brought Nubby Zane with him is why I know this. Nubby is what medical experts would call a psychopath. He has no conscience. He’ll be the one with the gun.”

Maggie hid her spurt of panic. “What can I do?”

“Stay out of it or you’ll become collateral damage. But just in case, I want to add an app to your phone,” and he began to explain what he meant, and how they would know where each other was at any given time. “Would you be okay with that?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Then let’s go inside. I want to do that now, and then I need you to not be here until this is over.”

She didn’t flinch. She didn’t cry. She didn’t let on for even a second that she felt like she was dying inside as they entered the house. She watched him add her phone number and address to his phone, and then he showed her how it worked, and how they could tell each other’s location.

“Okay,” Maggie said. “You’ve done what you need to do, and I’m going to do what I need to do. I’ll go check on Pearl, but I’m not going to hide. If I’m with you, I’m with you in good times and bad. You don’t do this alone. Understand?”

She saw resignation on his face and the want in his eyes, then wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sonny swung her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom. She’d made up the bed while she was cleaning, but he wanted her on his sheets, and when he put her down, he pulled back the covers.

She began to undress, but then he stopped her. “Let me,” he whispered. She dropped her arms as he began removing the garments, one by one.

First her shoes, then her shirt, then her jeans, leaving her standing in nothing but lingerie, which was soon on the floor at her feet.

He laid her down on the sheets, and then began removing his clothes as she watched. He was hard and aching when he stretched out on the bed beside her, but he rolled onto his side and propped himself up on one elbow to see her face more clearly.

The arches of her dark eyebrows were perfect frames for the blue eyes looking up at him. The three freckles on her nose were endearing. The delicate oval of her face and the natural pout of her lips were forever etched into his memory. He slid his hand down the softness of her belly to the flare of her hips, to the junction of her thighs. When he slipped his hand between them, she moaned and reached for him. He accepted the invitation, parting her legs with his knee, and kissing the hollow at the base of her throat, and then her lips.

Flashes of the butterfly on his chest kept flitting in and out of Maggie’s line of sight. It was like her dream, but so much more.

The reality of imminent danger lent a depth to the passion between them as he finally slid into the tight wet heat of her, and with every ensuing thrust, every kiss, every frantic catch of breath, they moved closer to the climax they were chasing and didn’t stop until it hit in a shattering blood rush.

Maggie was still coming down from the sexual high when she felt Sonny’s cheek against her face, and heard the whisper in her ear.

“Love you. Trust me.”

There was steel in the tone of her voice when she responded. “I already trust you. I love you beyond reason. But I’m not going to stand back and watch you get killed.”

“I promise not to poke the bear, but my people do not run from the enemy. We meet them head on,” he said.

“Understood,” Maggie said and then hugged him fiercely. “The Rose will reopen in a day or so, and I will be your eyes. If your father shows up, I will know it before you. I will call the moment I see him. I won’t let you be caught off guard.”

He kissed her again, and then rolled out of bed and began putting on his clothes. “I need to get to Crossroads for supplies, and back here before nightfall.”

She got up and began gathering up her clothes, then putting them back on. “I’ll watch the sunset without you tonight, but you will be in my heart, just the same.”

Sonny walked her out to her car, waited while she tossed her things inside, then wrapped his arms around her.

“This is hard and ugly, Magnolia. I’m sorry that I am my father’s son. He is nothing short of a monster.”

Maggie put her hand on his chest. “You are also your mother’s son, and Charlie’s brother, and Julia’s special Uncle Sonny. You are a good man. You are the man I love. Let that be enough. Okay?”

He forced himself to let her go, and opened the car door.

“Drive safe, darlin’. Call and text me as often as you want. If anything changes, I will let you know immediately,” he said.

“I will, and if I see him in town, you will know it. Old red Dodge pickup. Old indigenous dude with funky gray braids. Big turquoise belt buckle. I’ve got this.”

“Just be careful. I can’t say that enough,” he said.

She nodded and then got into the car, and blew him a kiss before she drove away.

At that point, he went in to get his Stetson and wallet, grabbed his keys and locked the house on his way out. He was giving himself a couple of hours to do what he needed to do, and then make himself scarce in Crossroads.

***

Maggie drove back to town, bypassing her house and straight to the Yellow Rose to check on Pearl to tell her what was happening. But when she got to the Rose, there were three cars in the front parking lot, and she could see Pearl through the windows, sitting at a table with three people. Frowning, she parked in the back and used her key to get in.

The security alarm was off, but she called out as she closed the door behind her. “Pearl, it’s just me,” she said, and entered the dining room.

Pearl looked up and smiled. “Maggie! Glad you’re here. I’m interviewing prospective waitresses and grill cooks.”

Maggie smiled and nodded. “I didn’t know you were busy. I’ll come back in an hour or so, okay?”

“We’re nearly done here,” Pearl said. “Why don’t you make yourself something to drink and give me a few minutes to finish up.”

Maggie headed for the soda dispenser, filled a glass with ice and Pepsi, grabbed a straw, and sat down at the counter out of the way. It didn’t take her long to figure out that the man was there because of the grill cook job. He looked to be in his early sixties, was average height, and had a full head of curly gray hair. She recognized the two women as residents of Crossroads. She knew the man lived in a room in Crossroads Lodge, an old two-story house that had become the local hotel/boarding house, then she keyed in on what Pearl was saying.

“We’ve already discussed pay. I would expect you to show up at 5:00 a.m. to help get things ready. We open at 6:00 a.m. every day, and close around sundown. Davey, I have the names and numbers of your last two employers. I’ll call them later. Darla, you worked for me for a couple of years way back when, so I know you know the ropes. Cheryl, I’ll call your past employers this evening, as well, and be in touch with all of you before the night is out. If you pan out, then all of you come in tomorrow morning around 8:00 a.m. We’ll go through the routines, and I’ll show you where everything is and what I expect from all of you. Davey will make us all breakfast, and we’ll see how that goes. I only have one waitress opening, but if you are both willing to split the time, I would hire the both of you. One of you would work from five to noon, and the other from noon to close. Maggie would be your boss on the floor, but on her days off, both of you would work the whole day. I’ll be in the kitchen with Davey. What do you think?”

The women looked at each other, then nodded. “Yes, that works even better for me,” Darla said. “I’m an early riser.”

“And, if I had a choice, I would take noon to close,” Cheryl said.

“If your people give you good recommendations, then we’ll give this a try, but know this. I’m the boss. I expect a lot out of my workers, but I’m working just as hard right beside all of you. Understood?” Pearl asked.

“Understood,” they said.

Pearl stood. “I’ll be in touch. Darla, see you in the morning. See yourselves out, please.”

“Thank you for the opportunity,” Davey said, and the women echoed his sentiment before leaving the Rose.

Pearl pointed at the window. “Maggie, honey, would you take that Help Wanted sign out of the window for me?”

“How did you make this happen so fast?” Maggie asked, as she removed the sign and locked the door.

Pearl sighed. “I made some calls, and I feel exactly how I look, but this too shall pass. Bring your drink and let’s go upstairs. I want to kick back in my recliner a bit. My head’s killing me.” And then she saw the expression on Maggie’s face and frowned. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

Maggie nodded. “Yes, and Sonny is going to need our eyes and ears for a while. We’ll talk upstairs.”

By the time Maggie had explained in depth about what was happening in Sonny’s life, Pearl had moved past shock to a slow burn.

“Does he really think his father is coming to kill him?” she asked.

Maggie nodded. “Yes, he does, but I don’t know why. His brother called to warn him, and Sonny believes his father and another man were westbound in the Oklahoma panhandle when the truck broke down and they’re waiting for a tow. That’s a very long way from Okmulgee, Oklahoma, so they’re not out for a leisurely drive.”

Pearl nodded. “So, when we reopen, we’ll be paying close attention to the people who walk in?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Maggie said.

“You two are in love, aren’t you?” Pearl said.

Maggie nodded.

“You don’t think it’s too soon?”

Maggie eyes welled. “He said he’d been looking for me all his life. I don’t feel broken anymore. Be happy for us.”

Pearl groaned, and then held out her arms. “Oh honey, come here to me. I told you I trusted him, and I still mean it. If that man has laid claim to you, then you are most blessed.”

Maggie got up from where she’d been sitting, knelt beside Pearl’s chair. “I am so scared for him,” she said, then laid her head in Pearl’s lap and cried.

Hours later, she was home, sitting at her easel with a paintbrush in her hand, putting the finishing touches on the portrait she’d done of Sonny. After adding a highlight here, and a faint shadow there, she laid down her brush and stepped back.

It was him. Looking at her. A moment caught in time. If God was good, this man would grow old along with her, but this would never fade or age. She’d just given him immortality. In this painting, he was forever young.

***

Del Kincaid had just been released from jail. He had a court date in three weeks, and as he walked out into the sunlight, he frowned. He expected Heather to be waiting, but her car was nowhere in sight. The battery on his cell phone needed charging, and he had no way to make any calls, so he went back into the station to the desk sergeant.

“Pardon me, but my cell phone is dead, and I don’t have a way to charge it. I thought someone would be outside to pick me up. Who bonded me out?”

The sergeant shrugged. “I have no idea, but you can use the phone to call for a ride,” he said, and pushed the landline phone close to where Del could reach.

He called Heather’s number, but she didn’t answer. He didn’t remember any other numbers by heart except his dad’s, and calling him would be the ultimate humiliation. But without being able to access phone numbers, it was the only other person he knew to call.

His gut was in knots as he punched in the numbers, then held his breath, hoping he would answer. Otherwise, it was going to be a hell of a long walk home.

It rang once, twice, and then picked up.

“Hello?”

“Dad, it’s me. Do you know where Heather is? I called her to come pick me up at the jail, but she didn’t answer.”

“I’ll come get you. Sit tight. It’ll take a good half hour to get there,” he said, and then he hung up.

Del blinked. At least he had a ride home, but where the hell was Heather? The fact that his dad had ignored the question made him uneasy.

“Did you get a ride?” the sergeant asked.

“Yes, thank you, but it’ll be a while before they can get here.”

The sergeant pointed to a row of chairs against the wall. “You’re welcome to wait inside if you want,” he said, and then went back to work.

Del considered his options. Standing outside the jail for a half hour, or waiting inside a while. He opted to sit, with an eye on the clock.

***

Delroy had been expecting the call. He already knew Heather had taken money out of their savings to post Del’s bond, but she wouldn’t be there when Del was released. She and the baby were going to live with her parents, and she wouldn’t be coming back.

Delroy had been in tears along with her when she said it. He wouldn’t see his granddaughter, Carlie, grow up, but he would be witness to his son’s impending downfall.

“I’m sorry, Pop,” Heather said. “But Carlie is not going to grow up tainted by the sins of her father. I know all the vows I took when we married, but none of them had anything to do with standing by a liar and a thief. I am heartbroken, and humiliated, and you’re the only person I’m going to miss. You will always be welcome wherever we are, but if I never see Del’s face again, it will be too soon.”

“I understand, honey. Trust me, I do. You have to do what’s best for you and Carlie. Just promise you’ll stay in touch. Call whenever you want. Send me pictures as she grows.”

“I will,” Heather said, and then they were gone, and Delroy had been going through the motions ever since, keeping both ranches running, and waiting for the call.

That was two days ago, and now Delroy was on his way to the Briscoe County Jail in Silverton, to get his son and bring him home.

***

Finally, Del saw his dad’s truck drive past the jail, and when he did, he got up and walked out, waiting for him to swing around again. To say he was glad to see his father’s face was putting it mildly. He hadn’t spoken to him since before Carlie was born, and acknowledged that was all his own fault. He wanted a redo on the last two years, but that wasn’t happening.

When his dad braked in front of the entrance, he jogged out between parked cars and jumped in. Del glanced at his dad, saw the disdain and disappointment, and looked away.

“Thanks for the ride,” he muttered.

“I’ve been waiting for your call,” Delroy said.

“Where’s Heather?” Del asked.

“Gone.”

Del’s stomach rolled. “Gone? Gone where?”

“She’s at her parents’. She said she left you a letter.”

Del felt the gut-punch of the words. He turned his head away from his dad and let the tears fall.

Delroy knew his son was crying. He guessed he should feel sorry for him, but he didn’t. He was just disgusted with him as a man.

They drove in silence for a few minutes while Del went through a gamut of emotions, ending in anger.

“So, she bailed on me at the first bump in the road,” Del muttered.

Delroy turned on him, his voice rising with every word he uttered.

“Shut up now, before you say something to me that you can’t take back. What you did wasn’t a bump in the road. You dug your own grave here, and don’t you dare blame Heather for any of this shit. You shocked her. Hurt her. Humiliated her, and then you expected her to wait for your ass to get out of jail and go home like nothing happened? And she’s not just thinking about herself. She’s thinking about the child you both have. That baby will be judged by your sins off and on throughout her life. You don’t have the right to be mad at anyone but yourself, because if you’d been thinking about them, you wouldn’t have done what you did.”

“But I didn’t know—”

“I know better. Save that story for the judge. I don’t want to hear another word come out of your mouth. I’m getting you home. The rest of what happens after that is on you.”

Del was holding on to indignation to keep from crying again. His old man was hard as nails, but he was honest, and that’s more than Del could say about himself.

“Fine,” he muttered. “My lawyer thinks I’ll get off with a fine and probation anyway.”

Delroy didn’t respond. He was heartsick and sick to his stomach, too. Heather had a bolt-hole to go to. Whether he liked it or not, he, too, would be judged by his son’s mistakes.

By the time they went through Crossroads, the only sounds inside that cab were the rattle of a piece of sucker rod in the truck bed, and the hum of the tires upon the highway.

A short while later, Delroy took the turn down Del’s drive and pulled up at the front of the house. He didn’t even put the truck in Park. As soon as Del was out and the door was closed, he backed up and drove away.

There was a moment when Del felt the abandonment, and then he grabbed the keys from his pocket and went inside.

The house was silent—the rooms so empty. The baby’s room was stripped of everything that mattered. Seeing the empty crib felt like a death. No more baby hands pulling his hair. No more little fingers trying to feed him her snacks. He wanted to cry, but the tears were frozen. The lump in his throat kept getting bigger and tighter, leaving no room for the scream in his head to come forth.

Heather’s wedding rings were lying on top of a note. Her clothes were gone. And she’d left their wedding picture upside down on their bed.

He took the rings and the note and sat down on the bed to read it.

You broke our vows. You broke my heart. You destroyed your daughter’s future. I bonded you out with money from our savings and took enough to get home. You love money so much you can have it all. Don’t call. Don’t beg. I don’t want you anymore. You shamed us and you don’t deserve us. You go do you, Delroy Kincaid, and leave us the hell alone.

Del wadded up the note and threw it in the trash and put the rings in his pocket. They’d cost him a fortune when he bought them. He didn’t know what the going rate for used wedding rings was, but he’d find a buyer. And she need not worry about him trying to get her back. He didn’t have the guts to face her again.

Then he heard a knock at the door, swallowed the tears and his pride and went to answer. It was his foreman.

“What?” Del asked.

“Sorry to bother you, boss. Just checking in to see if you want us to continue branding tomorrow?”

Del’s head was spinning. They were branding? Who’d authorized that?

“You’ve been branding while I was gone?” he asked.

The foreman nodded. “Miss Heather asked your daddy to come help her, so he did. He’s been working two ranches nonstop, but told us you’d be back today, and that he wouldn’t be available. So, do we resume tomorrow?”

Del nodded, then closed the door. His humiliation was complete. Without thinking, he headed straight for the liquor cabinet, opened it, only to find it empty of liquor and a note from Heather propped up inside.

I knew you’d head straight for the booze, so I dumped it. You’ll have to go out in public to buy more, or maybe you could just rely on the backbone you’re supposed to have and grow a pair.

Every word in that note was like the other one she’d left—filled with rage and disgust. He wanted to be angry with her, but he was too ashamed of himself to bother.

He left the note in the liquor cabinet and quietly closed the door.

The empty house was a mirror to his life. He needed to take the next step, but he was afraid of where it might lead. The judge had yet to rule on his sentence. He was praying for probation and a fine, but he also knew he could end up doing time.

***

Wade Sutton was on his way to jail. There wasn’t a lot of bargaining for his lawyer to do on his behalf, because the facts of his crimes could not be denied. He’d chosen not to have a court trial. It wouldn’t have made a difference, and the humiliation of having it all made public was more than he could handle. He was standing in the courtroom with his lawyer by his side when the judge handed down his sentence.

Six years, with the possibility of parole. For the crimes he’d committed, he’d gotten off easy, but to Wade, it felt like a death sentence.

When they led him out of the courtroom, he didn’t look back.

***

The same day Wade was being transported to the Briscoe County Jail, Sonny was on his way home from Crossroads with food supplies, ammunition, horse feed, and a fresh block of salt.

Everywhere Sonny went on foot, Dancer followed like a puppy. This should have been good times for Sonny, but Walker’s imminent arrival was the storm, and Sonny felt like he was filling sandbags to prepare for a flood, knowing no matter how many bags were filled, the dam would still break, and the waters would come. All he could do was hope he didn’t wash away.

And while the mares looked good, he noticed the roan was limping, so he put a rope around the horse’s neck and led him into the corral and went to get the farrier tools.

It didn’t take but a few seconds to see the problem. A rock had become lodged in the soft part of the sole. He got a pick from the tools, propped the foot between his knees and dug it out. After a closer examination, he was satisfied he’d gotten it out before it had time to do any real damage, poured some antiseptic on it and then turned him back out in the pasture.

He was gathering up the farrier equipment when he glanced up, and realized sundown was happening in all its glory, bursting across the sky in colors achingly pure.

He reached for his phone and called Maggie. She answered on the second ring.

“Hello? Is everything okay?” she asked.

“No, everything is not okay. The sun is going down without you by my side,” he said.

“I know. But we’re still seeing the same sunset, breathing the same air, and I’m right here.”

He closed his eyes as her voice wrapped around him, hoping she was right. He might be able to see future happenings for others, but he couldn’t see them for himself. It was still a strange thing to accept that he’d gone from bull riding to psychic. Then he realized Maggie was still talking.

“Sonny, are you still there?” she asked.

“Yes, darlin’. I was just listening to the sound of your voice. Is Pearl okay?”

“Well, she looks like she went all ten rounds with a bear, but she’s already stirring things up. I think she’s just hired a grill cook to help her in the kitchen, and two part-time waitresses to help me in the dining room, which means I will now have my days off again.”

“That’s awesome,” Sonny said. “I hope they work out for her, because selfishly, I want my time with you, too. I just have to remember that my wishes do not come at the expense of what you need.”

“You. I will always need you,” Maggie said. “We’re having a trial run tomorrow morning at the Rose with just us and the new employees to see how it all goes, and then we’ll be open day after. I’m going to miss seeing you there.”

“Not as much as I’m going to miss coming to see you and eat Pearl’s good cooking,” he said, then he heard Maggie take a quick breath.

“Oh, look at the sky, Sonny. The pinks and oranges are melting into gold.”

“I see it, darlin’. I see it,” he said.

“Maybe it’s a good sign. A promise of a good tomorrow,” she said.

“Maybe so,” he said, but right now he didn’t trust ambiguous signs. What he needed was the strength of his ancestors behind him because the storm was still coming, and he couldn’t turn it back.