Page 141 of The Mountain Echoes

I want nothing more than to take a shower and crawl into bed with Aria. Hold her. Wash the day away.

I have two missed calls from Hugh, so on my way to Longhorn, I call him. “What?”

“Well, hello to you as well, asshole.”

I chuckle. “Give me a break, it’s been a long fuckin’ day.”

“No shit! Mine’s been fuckin’ sunflowers and daisies, what with one man dying of his own hand tryin’ to bomb Longhorn and another….” He trails off.

“Any news?”

“They picked up Wes Boone all the way in Sweetwater Junction,” Hugh says. “Sheriff down there called it in—caught him trying to hitch a ride out of state. We’re coordinating transport now, but I haven’t had eyes on him yet. Should have him back in custody here by morning.”

I want to demand that I be there when he interrogates Wes, but I don’t know what shape Aria is in, and my priority is her, not that weasel.

“Celine?”

He sucks in a breath. “We had someone talk to her in Aspen. Break the news to her. Wanted it done officially before the rumor mill started up.”

“And?”

“And…she’ll be here tomorrow morning, as well. As will Tate. I plan on talking to both of them,separately.”

“What about Hudson? Anything on the bomb?”

There’s a long exhale on Hugh’s end. “We’re still piecing it together. The device was crude—homemade, rigged with a timer and a remote ignition. Looked like it was meant to disable the barn, maybe scare you, not necessarily kill. But it was amateur fuckin’ hour. It could’ve gone off early, could’ve taken out anyone nearby…maybe it did both with Hudson.”

“So, he died tryin’ to set it off.”

“Can’t say for sure. But we’re goin’ to know more about who built the damn thing once the state lab at Grand Junction runs chemical and forensic analysis, see if they can trace where the parts came from. Wires, the timer module, and even the casing. Might take a few days.”

I’m still having trouble with the idea of Hudson being so far gone that he wanted to blow the herd up. It sounds like his style. Sloppy and poorly timed, which got him killed. I don’t feel sorry for him, not one fucking bit. The sniveling prick got what he deserved.

“You call me and let me know how things go?”

“Of course, anything else I can do for you? Wash your car or?—”

“You have a nice night, Hugh.” I hang up on him.

Nadine is on the porch when I get to Longhorn. “She’s out by the paddock. Hasn’t gone inside since sunset.”

“Joy still here?”

Nadine nods. “She’s sleeping in one of the guest rooms. Been crying all day. She was exhausted. Bree was here for a good part of the day and just went back.”

“How you doin’, Nadine?”

She lifts her shoulders in a helpless gesture. “Not good, Mav, but…life goes on, yeah?”

She’s lost two friends in a short time. First Rami and now Earl. It’s going to take a while even for the hard-as-nails Nadine to find her footing again—grief like that doesn’t just knock you down, it rearranges the ground you walk on.

I put a hand on her shoulder and squeeze.

“You go check on our girl,” Nadine says, her smile sad.

I head to the paddock.

I find her sitting on the bottom rung of the fence, wrapped in Earl’s jacket, knees pulled up to her chest.