Page 16 of Mystery at Rescue Ridge

His heart went out to Olivia.The kid’s world had been turned upside-down with the loss of her mother.By Evie’s admission, she hadn’t visited the kids often, which would essentially make her a stranger.And now, Olivia was being cared for by a person she didn’t know.He had no idea how smart little tykes were, and yet he figured they had to have instincts.There was familiarity in Evie.Would a one-year-old know her aunt on instinct?Would the sound of her voice be familiar?

He heated the milk in the microwave, using a glass measuring cup, and then poured it into the bottle and tested the temperature of the milk against the back of his hand.Not ten seconds after he finished and handed over the bottle, Olivia was quiet.

Evie released a long, slow breath like she’d been holding it the entire time.

“What kind of security precautions are there here?”he asked as they settled at the kitchen table.

“Other than this?”She raised the gun to show him.“None that I know of.In my Dallas apartment, I had one of those doorbell cameras.Here?I don’t think Simone expected to need actual security, and I’m sure the gun belongs to my brother-in-law.”

“No one did until recently,” he said.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s like Beaumont’s death conjured up criminal activity out of nowhere.”Where did he begin?“Kade’s new wife was targeted by a killer.”

Evie frowned as she set the weapon down.“Simone said there’s been trouble brewing in your family recently, but she didn’t elaborate.”

He probably shouldn’t take offense at the fact Evie hadn’t prodded her sister about his family, except he took it to mean she didn’t care what happened.Even though they didn’t talk anymore, he cared about Evie’s life.

“Then, the band manager for Chloe’s ex came after her for the ranch inheritance.The bastard hid his identity right up until he was caught.”

“Money can bring out the worst in folks,” Evie said.

He wouldn’t disagree there.“The family’s lawyer was murdered on our property, and it was made to look like Conrad was responsible.”

Evie’s jaw dropped.“You guys really have been through it, haven’t you?”

“You can say that again.”He retrieved his beer and then reclaimed his seat.“And then there was the situation with Archer.”

“What happened there?”she asked.

“I was mistaken for my brother by someone trying to draw Analee Copeland out of hiding.”

“Analee.That name is familiar.She went to school with us for a short time.I remember how awful the town was about her and her mother.”

He nodded.“One of those no-good boyfriends of her mother’s hatched a scheme to extort money from the family,” he said.“I got caught in the middle and banged up a little.”

“Owen, I’m so sorry.”

The way her name rolled off his tongue shouldn’t comfort him as much as it did.He shouldn’t like it as much as he did, either.

“Are you okay?”

“I survived,” he said.

“But are you okay?”The emphasis on the last word struck a chord.Everything had happened so fast that he hadn’t had time to put the events in perspective.

“I will be.”There was no other choice but to be okay.If Beaumont’s punishments had taught him anything, it was that he could survive a lot of physical punishment.

“Simone must not have realized everything going on with your family, or she would have told me.”

Would she have?Had Evie asked about him once?He doubted it.

“Speaking of which, now that the little one is calm, I should give Travis a heads-up about what’s going on here.”He caught her gaze, checking to see if she could handle more bad news.Either way, he had to tell her.“There are tracks outside that likely match those found in the woods.”

Evie compressed her lips into a frown.She bit down on her bottom lip—a cherry lip he had no business staring at.He forced his gaze away as he grabbed the cell he’d set on the table a few moments ago.He pulled up the contact and then tapped the screen to make the call.It rolled into voicemail.

Rain pelted the windows as winds gusted.

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