Page 4 of Mystery at Rescue Ridge

Evie should push him away and regain her composure.The tide was too strong, so she let it roll through in the hopes it would wash away.

The second she pulled back and lifted her gaze to meet his, she realized her mistake.Those feelings came crashing down, leaving her vulnerable and exposed in a way she never wanted to experience again.

Before he could convince her otherwise, she turned and ran away from him.Please don’t follow.

2

Fishing was the last thing on Owen’s mind after running into Evie again.“Hold up there.”She didn’t.“Wait.”He started after her.Questions flooded his brain, adding to the already mounting ones about what he’d done wrong and why she’d left.Hell, why she was still running?

“Leave me alone, Owen.”

Those words stopped him cold.He’d never gone anywhere he wasn’t invited before.Did he think anything like this would ever have happened between him and Evie?No.

Maybe she was right.Times change.People change.And yet, his bruised ego wanted answers.

It occurred to him there was a mountain lion with a taste for human blood stalking around.The animal would need to be dealt with, so he made a mental note to call Texas Parks and Wildlife Services to report the attack.This might be a rare occurrence, but if you were the exception to the rule, you were still dead.The fact that Evie had gotten away with nothing more than a bloody arm was a miracle.

Owen fished out his cell and sent a message to his contact at Wildlife Services.He pulled up his GPS location and took a screenshot before sending the information.The more details he sent, the better chance his contact had of locating the animal.

And then he decided to get the hell out of there before he became the second victim.

The aftershocks of being surprised and abducted reverberated through him.His pride wanted to say that he was fine, back to normal.Ego didn’t want to admit that he had hesitations about going out on a property all by his lonesome.He’d meant for the fishing trip to be sort of a test as to whether he still had it in him to be alone out here.He mentally shook off his unease and turned in the direction of his vehicle.It also occurred to him that he might never get answers from Evie.As much as that frustrated him, there wasn’t squat he could do about it.

Her shoulder-length silky red hair streaked through the thicket as he saw the all-too-familiar backside of her.Those heart-shaped pink lips shouldn’t stamp his thoughts or stir up so many desires.Tall and redheaded with just the right amount of curves, Evie’s looks had nearly knocked him back a step.She’d grown up and into her beauty in more ways than one.He missed the dotting of freckles on the bridge of her nose.He missed the hue of her mostly blue, sometimes green eyes.He missed the freckle just above her lip.But those were just physical attributes.What he missed most about Evie was the way her smile could turn even the worst day on its head.

He missed his best friend more than words and was reminded of the loss now after seeing her again.The ache was still there, still raw.Seeing the pain in her eyes at the loss of her sister had practically gutted him.

Suddenly, the idea of locking himself up in a cabin alone for a couple of days lost its shine.Evie was in town long enough to settle Simone’s affairs and decide how to proceed with the children.

If he didn’t act soon, his former friend might disappear again.This time, there’d be no reason for her to return, and he would lose the chance of closure forever.

Besides, he didn’t like the way she’d avoided eye contact or how scared she’d been.What the hell had he done wrong, and why couldn’t he get over it?Seeing her again gave him hope that he could finally get an answer and move on.Her response to seeing him again stirred up a feeling in his chest he hadn’t felt in years.More questions would haunt him until he got answers.

Owen issued a sharp sigh and turned about-face.Starting toward his vehicle, he heard a low growl.

“Thank you for your patience,Ms.Bart.”Evie tried to catch her breath after running the entire way home and bursting through the front door.

Ms.Bart was a godsend to the children, and the last thing Evie wanted to do was take advantage of the woman’s kindness.Without her, Evie would be crushed under the weight of responsibility for a one and three-year-old.She had zero experience when it came to kids.

“I have to go,” Ms.Bart said, pushing off the couch to stand up.The seventy-year-old widow stretched and bit back a yawn.Ms.Bart was a sturdy woman with a near-constant scowl, except when it came to dealing with Luca and Olivia.

The elder caregiver made a show of bending over and kissing the round, angelic faces—faces that barely registered Evie was home now that their favorite cartoon played on the big screen.

“I hope I didn’t make you late for anything,” Evie said.She had no idea what Ms.Bart’s extracurricular activities might be.Though she highly doubted they involved anything that required a delicate touch like needlework.Ax-throwing, Evie would believe.

A disapproving glare was followed by atsk-tsk.

“At least you made it back,” Ms.Bart said as she padded toward the door.“Children need stability.They need someone reliable in their life.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Evie said.The woman’s help was a blessing.Her comments, not so much.

“Dinner is in the fridge,” was all Ms.Bart said before rushing past Evie and out the front door.

“Don’t let the door hit you where the…” Evie glanced at the sweet angels on the sofa and decided not to finish the sentence.Ms.Bart was right.Evie was the last person who should be responsible for children, even with a shared bloodline.Evie had been living and working in the city for years.She’d adjusted to cars whipping past her condo at all hours of the night, horns honking, and the occasional sound of a train roaring by her window.The dark here in Saddle Junction was unsettling.She’d forgotten how noisy the nights became with crickets chirping and all the other critters that gave her the creepy-crawlies.

An involuntary shiver rocked her body just thinking about it.

A knock at the door caused her to whirl around.What the hell had Ms.Bart forgotten?Bracing herself for another mini-lecture, she opened the door to find a woman dressed in a Parks and Wildlife tan uniform.

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