Page 11 of Rawhide and Ransom

“Why’s that?” Hawk wasn’t following her.

She ducked her head. “Mom had me when she was a teenager in foster care. Rumor has it that my biological dad is just some cowboy who was passing through at the time. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, since my mom refuses to talk about it.” She waved a hand in exasperation. “To conclude my less than thrilling life story, my parents and grandparents have been arch enemies and corporate rivals for as long as I can remember.”

Which may or may not have anything to do with why someone is trying to kill you and your mom.Hawk nodded as he digested everything she was telling him. “I take it your grandfather owns a farm, too?”

“A commercial one.” She bobbed her head in affirmation. “Much bigger than ours.”

“I see.” Hawk asked for the name of it next, intending to research it online later.

“Dakota Farm,” she supplied. “Ours is Gilbert Farm. Not very creative, I know.” Her mouth turned down at the corners. “Business took a nose-dive on our end after we lost my dad. Mom had to lay off most of our staff.”

Hawk couldn’t tell by listening to her if she knew that the farm she’d grown up on had burned to the ground. However, it didn’t feel like his place to tell her.

The timer he’d set on his watch went off. He held out a hand for the ice pack, and Miley gave it to him. “You ready to turn in for the night?” Rest would be her biggest healer right now.

She nodded. “I’ve been praying around the clock for my mom’s safety. The Lord is gonna take care of her until we can find her, right?”

“Yep.” Hoping he wasn’t giving her false hope, he shared his latest discovery with her. “A friend of mine helped me track down a report about a Jane Doe at a hospital in Clarendon. She was involved in a car wreck that left her in a coma about the same time your mom disappeared.”

Miley’s forehead scrunched with worry. “What’s a Jane Doe?”

“A generic name the law enforcement and medical communities give a woman when they can’t identify her.”

Her expression grew hopeful. “And you think it’s my mom?”

“I do.” He held up a hand in caution. “That said, the same day she woke up from her coma, she left the hospital against doctor’s orders.”

“That sounds like something my mom would do.” A smile spread across her face. “Take my word for it. She won’t rest until she finds me.”

After meeting the teenage daughter of the woman in question, Hawk could easily take Miley’s word for it. His anticipation of meeting Annalee Gilbert for the first time ratcheted up another few degrees. She sounded every bit as extraordinary as her daughter.

* * *

Saturday morning

Hawk could tellwhen he entered the living room that Miley was going to need those antibiotics Prim had called in the night before. Her cheeks and ears were flushed, and she looked miserable. The jagged cut on her arm must’ve gotten infected.

He wasn’t surprised, considering how dirty she’d been when he’d discovered her hiding in his workshop.

“I’ll head to the pharmacy,” he announced gruffly as he strode to the door in his sock feet. He stepped into the boots he’d left sitting there. “I should be back in less than an hour.”

“You’ll need my ID.” Miley produced her driver’s license and waved it at him.

He motioned for her to zing it his way, and she did.

She watched the effortless way he caught it and looked impressed. “Do you have any food besides cookies in this place?” She was standing at the bar with a fresh glass of water, swallowing more pain meds. The blanket he and Clint had covered her with last night was draped around her shoulders. The open lid of the cookie box told him she’d had the sense not to take her pain meds on an empty stomach.Good girl.Someone had raised her right.

He pointed at the pantry and fridge. “Yep, and anything you find is fair game.” He had a better idea, though. “Want me to bring you back a hot breakfast?”

Her feverish eyes widened. “I would kill for a breakfast burrito right now!”

He shook his head at her. “No offense, but you don’t look up to killing more than a gnat this morning.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I choose to be offended, anyway.”

Relief made him smirk. Despite her fever, her sense of humor remained intact.

Before leaving the cabin, he hauled out an electronic tablet he rarely used. It wasn’t even password protected. He set it on the bar in front of her. “We need a way of reaching each other, so pick an app.”

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