Page 39 of Mystery at Rescue Ridge

“He’ll be here in ten minutes,” Owen said.

“What do we do?Keep walking?Wait?”

Owen’s gaze skimmed the tree line on both sides of the road.“Let’s stay on the move.”

Would standing still make them sitting ducks?

“Travis is sending a tow for the Jeep.”

“I can’t believe you still own that thing.”

“Diablo?”

Owen’s smile broke some of the situation’s tension.At least help was on the way.

“You were obsessed with that name,” she teased.“I can’t remember when it started.”

“Middle school, I think.”He laughed.“The Tuzors had a black dog named Diablo, and Ricky used to walk around downtown with it.I remember folks used to cross the street to avoid the big, scary dog.Except that under the surface, Diablo was the sweetest animal.”

“Unless you messed with Ricky.”She felt the need to point out the fact.

“Made me love Diablo even more.”There was more than a hint of appreciation in his voice.

She could understand why Owen would value loyalty and why her leaving the way she had would have wounded his pride too much for him to try to find her.The move had been a necessity for her own survival at the time.She couldn’t help but draw comparisons to people and nature.An animal hunted because it was hungry.It had a need to fill.It wasn’t personal.She’d seen her decisions as a necessity and not personal, thinking they’d hurt her far more than Owen or Simone.

Evie was beginning to see how selfish her actions had been.What if she’d told Owen that her heart ached at the thought she would have to sit back and watch him date other people?Would knowing have eased some of his pain?Would he have understood, at the very least, that she’d been acting on survival instinct?

And what about Simone?

What if Evie had come clean to her sister and said everything, literally everything in Saddle Junction, reminded her of a horrific childhood and losing the love of her life?Would Simone have understood?Made more trips to Dallas?Felt like she could confide her true business to her sister?

How different would her life have been if she’d had those conversations?

Regret was useless.It didn’t bring people back from the dead.It didn’t make losing the love of your life any easier.Normally, Evie didn’t waste her time with the emotion.

Now?

Her heart filled with it.

A vehicle on the road caused her blood pressure to spike.It was probably Travis, so her body’s reaction was over-the-top.Except, what if it wasn’t?What if the person driving was Size Eleven?

No.Owen had said something about the man riding a dirt bike.

Did that mean he was local?Or had he hauled one here?Would he be staying right under their noses?At a motel on the highway?In a forgotten shed on someone’s property?

Owen dropped her hand and backed them both up enough to disappear into the tree line.In a protective move, he positioned himself between her and the road.

The sheriff’sSUV was clearly marked.Owen saw it coming from a quarter of a mile away as it rounded the bend.He stepped out of the trees and waved his arms high in the air.

Travis pulled over to the side of the road and motioned for them to hurry inside.

They did.

“Tech got a couple of hits from the chat rooms,” Travis said as soon as the doors closed.“Jim-Bo worked his magic and got three hits.Two possible suspects are in neighboring towns, and one is a thirty-minute drive from here.”

“Is that where you were headed when I called?”Owen asked.

“Yes.”

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