Page 6 of Unexpected Danger (Mountain Justice #2)

Brodie hated high-speed chases. He hated the risks involved.

Hated that innocent lives were endangered.

Hated that they were put in the path of an idiot.

A maniac who thought it was a good idea to do all he could to elude the police, driving speeds far faster than what was safe and prudent.

On this occasion, it was a male driver who misinterpreted the speed limit on one of the back county roads.

Instead of going forty-five miles an hour, or even a few miles over, he took his speed in excess of a hundred miles an hour.

Might work on a straightaway, but not on backcountry roads with curves.

The guy illegally passed several innocent drivers on the shoulder of the road.

Fortunately, no one else was injured in the chase.

Law enforcement put down spikes, attempting to stop him.

Finally, the criminal failed to negotiate one of the curves a mile later.

He flipped the car he was driving, and it had come to rest on its roof.

The ambulance was en route, and Brodie and one of his deputies pulled the guy from the car before it burst into flames.

He was barely breathing and died before the ambulance arrived.

After completing some paperwork, Brodie was ready to be done for the day. He was glad when Roarke called him.

“Hey, Bro, it’s Thursday night. You know what that means. You up for a juicy burger over at Jody’s?”

Brodie was always up for a juicy burger, especially at his favorite restaurant. However, weariness tugged at him, and he could see himself curling up in his recliner and not making it to the bedroom to sleep. But his rumbling stomach begged otherwise.

“Yeah. A juicy burger sounds good.”

Besides, it would take a lot for him to want to miss out on his weekly dinner with his favorite brother.

“All right, I’ll meet you over there at six-thirty.”

“Six-thirty it is.”

Of course, Brodie would do just about anything to get out of having to do paperwork.

It was a necessary evil. And if it wasn’t done correctly, some overzealous defense attorney would get the criminal off with barely a slap on his wrist. While that wouldn’t be the case for this situation, with the man having passed away, Brodie still had to complete the paperwork.

He finished dotting his i’s and crossing his t’s and climbed into his truck.

The drive to Jody’s took him about ten minutes from the sheriff’s office.

He pulled into a parking spot near the back because everywhere else was taken.

If there was ever another recession in Pronghorn Falls, Jody’s would remain unscathed and probably come back stronger than ever.

There was never a day when the place wasn’t crazy busy.

The aroma of hamburgers, french fries, and onion rings filled his nose, and he inhaled the savory smell. Roarke found them a booth on the right-hand side of the restaurant.

“Hey, Bro.”

Brodie slid into the brown upholstered seat across from his brother. “Hey, Roarke.”

“Rough day?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Looks like you’ve had a little bit of excitement today.”

“Yeah, just a little bit.

“I can only imagine.”

“It was a high-speed chase. A guy thought he could get to the next county going a hundred miles an hour. Thankfully, nobody was injured or killed, with him being the exception.

“That’s my brother. Always out making the roads in the county safer.”

“Glad it’s over with. So, what’s new with you?”

“Just busy at the ranch today. Mila is ready to have this baby even though it’s not nearly time yet. I sure don’t blame her.”

“Probably not too bad now, but when the summer comes in all that heat…have you settled on a name yet?”

“You’re the fifteenth person who’s asked me that this week.”

“Well, it is the thing to ask when you’re about to be a dad, right?” Brodie was happy for Roarke, but secretly, he’d always hoped someday he’d marry and be a dad himself. Londyn’s face flitted through his mind.

The waitress came and took their orders and brought them each their tall cups of pop. Brodie guzzled it down within seconds.

“Any word lately from Londyn?” Roarke asked that question each week at their dinners, and each week it was the same answer.

“Just those couple of times and not recently.”

“At least she stays in touch with Mom.”

“Somewhat. Seems she’s enjoying her life in the city.” He wanted Londyn to be happy. To live a full life. He only wished that life included him.

The entire Brenneman family cared about Londyn.

They had been her surrogate family, and Mom asked about her often as well.

Londyn had been a part of their lives for so long that when she had left, she had not only hurt Brodie, but also Mom.

Even Xander asked about her on occasion.

The thought of Londyn and the heartbreak she caused remained lodged in Brodie’s chest.

“I was going to tell you about someone I thought you should date in case you haven’t already considered her.”

Brodie narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Who?”

“Diana asked about you when I went into the courthouse to renew the tags for my truck.”

“Yeah, come to think of it, you told me that last time you visited the courthouse.”

“Okay, well, just wanted you to keep your options open. She seems like a nice person.”

“I appreciate you trying to be a matchmaker, but I’m not interested.”

“Not interested because you’re not interested, or not interested because you’re not over Londyn?”

Brodie didn’t even have to contemplate that question.

He’d probably never be over Londyn. He dated a couple of times after she left, but it never transpired into anything.

Because how could it? His heart belonged to the woman who rejected his marriage proposal.

She was the one who filled his thoughts.

Who he kept a picture of on his bedside table.

Who meant more to him than she would ever know.

“All right, well, I won’t pester you about it.”

“Is that a promise?”

A suspicious smirk crossed Roarke’s face. “Although maybe I should because you were so annoying about Mila.”

“Hey, it turned out well, right?”

“You’re right. It did work out. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on her for anything. Maybe it could work out with you and Diana.”

“Yeah…not likely.” Not when Brodie couldn’t get over Londyn. That wouldn’t be fair to Diana, no matter how nice she was.

They talked about the upcoming men’s breakfast at church that was held each month, and this time it was Brodie and Roarke’s turn to make the breakfast.

“Have you decided what we’re going to be serving up for the guys on Saturday?”

Brodie was glad for the change in topic. “Something easy and hopefully palatable.”

“How about one of those pancake mixes? We could probably make that and be somewhat successful. You were always good at frying bacon.”

Brodie ate a fry. “Yeah, I could probably fry up some bacon again, but if there are going to be twenty guys, I am going to have to fry up more than a few pieces because they’re going to want more than one slice each.”

Roarke chuckled. “Probably so. They eat like you do.”

“I was thinking more like you eating the entire pack of bacon.” Brodie steepled his fingers “I say we go ahead and make the pancake mix and see if we can borrow Mom’s huge griddle. If we provide enough syrup, the guys won’t pay attention to how bad the food tastes.”

“I’m really not one to be able to make food even if it only necessitates adding water.”

“You’re lucky to be married to Mila. Of course, Mom made sure you were well fed before that, but if you had to fend for yourself on your own, you might become emaciated.”

“Very funny.” Roarke patted his stomach. “I have a way to go before I’m emaciated. I think I’m having sympathy belly with Mila’s pregnancy.”

“You’re starting to get a dad bod.”

Roarke reached across the table and playfully slugged Brodie. “It’s just a case of helping Mila.”

“Helping Mila?”

“Yeah. She has cravings all the time, especially for breadsticks from that pizza place. I don’t want her to feel bad about having to eat those all by herself.”

“You always were a compassionate guy.”

Roarke straightened his posture. “That I am.”

“Mila is getting some of those breadsticks, right?”

They continued chatting and ribbing each other while waiting for their food to arrive. Roarke turned somber after a time. “I sure wish we would hear from Grayson.”

“Me too. Hard enough on us, not to mention Mom. At least it would be nice if he would contact her and let her know he’s doing all right.”

“I guess at least he called that one time and let her know he had taken a job in Denver. But, yeah, it would be good for him to learn how to use the phone on a regular basis.”

Grayson was on some type of prodigal journey.

Everyone grieved in their own way after Dad died, but Grayson left everyone’s lives completely after Dad was killed.

Brodie attempted to convince himself that that was just how Grayson handled the situation.

But it wasn’t right to have left his family when they all needed each other.

Especially Mom, who lost the love of her life.

They finished eating and said goodbye before Brodie hopped in his truck and headed home. He took a shower and lifted his phone to find that he had missed a call from a familiar number while he was in the shower. But there was no message.

Why had Londyn called? Should he call her back? And why hadn’t she left a message?