Page 41 of Quinn

“Since we have no idea how long he’s been gone, could be anywhere from three to twenty miles on foot. If he caught a ride, he could be halfway to Dallas by now.”

After pulling into Connor’s ranch, Quinn looked to Eloise. “You stay in the cab. Finn and I will toss a few sandbags in the back and we’ll be on our way.”

“I’m not a delicate flower.”

The next thing he knew, she was out of the car and carrying sandbags over just as quickly as he and Finn were. Apparently, in more ways than one, he’d underestimated his chef.

Satisfied with the extra weight in the vehicle, they all climbed back inside and tearing out faster than he should have, Quinn turned the SUV onto the main road. From the rear-view window, he could see a massive brown wall chasing after them, eating up the horizon.

Ahead of him, the truck’s headlights caught swirling dust devils growing larger by the minute. They hadn’t gone but a few miles when static crackled over the radio.

“Adam here. No sign of him anywhere in town. Most folks are hunkering down, but the word is being spread to keep a lookout for him. I’m driving to the ranch. Out.”

Connor came over the radio next. “We’re on our way to town now. No sign of him yet. Out.”

“I’ll let you know if I find him first and you can turn around. Out.”

“Ten Four,” Connor replied.

A few more miles and another voice—Declan’s—cut through. “Got a report from Ned. On his way into town a few hours ago, he spotted someone matching Danny’s description walking toward Butler Springs.”

Eloise’s heart jumped. “That has to be him.”

Morgan came over the radio next. “We’ll keep driving toward the interstate, just in case it’s someone else Ned saw. The guy is pretty old. Out.”

Eloise turned to Quinn. “Who else could possibly be out on a night like this?”

“Unfortunately,” Finn leaned closer to the front seat to be heard over the howling wind, “most villages have more than one idiot.”

If the situation weren’t so serious, Quinn would have laughed at his cousin’s observation. He just hoped that wherever he was, someone found Danny safe and sound, and soon.

Chapter Eighteen

The world shifted from a light haze to a brown blur. Wind howled through every crack in the SUV, carrying stinging particles of dust despite the closed windows and their bandanas. Eloise couldn’t see the hood, much less the road ahead. She had no idea how they were creeping forward.

Quinn slowed to a crawl. “Based on my odometer, we should be reaching where Ned thought he saw Danny.”

A loud thump hit the fender. Debris? A bird? She couldn’t tell in the darkness.

Even though Eloise had no idea why under normal conditions anyone would want to magnify their view of the West Texas dust, right now she was thankful Ryan had binoculars to watch the road ahead. “Better stop. There’s something blocking our path,” Finn called from the back seat. “I think it might be a fallen tree.”

“Great,” Quinn mumbled, edging closer until the headlights caught the obstruction. “Is that a….”

“Roof,” Finn finished for him. “Wonder where the rest of the shed is.”

“Especially since there isn’t a homestead anyplace near here.” Quinn shook his head. “We have no choice. We’ll have to move it. I don’t dare go around it, there are a lot of cattle grills on this stretch of road. We could mess up a tire or worse, hit a cow.” Quinn reached for his door handle.

“Wait.” Eloise grabbed his arm. “You can’t go out there alone.”

“She’s right,” Finn reached behind him and grabbed a roll of rope. “We all go. Safety in numbers or we might all be blown to the land of Oz.”

Taking a few short moments to unwind the rope, he handed the end to Quinn who quickly knotted it around his waist before doing the same for Eloise.

“You two climb out, then I’ll step out and tie it around me.”

Quinn nodded.

She was thankful the front seats were captain’s chairs or she would have had a hell of a time climbing over the console. The moment they stepped outside, the wind nearly knocked them over. Stinging particles of dust burned what little skin was exposed.

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