Page 57 of Moonlight Over Montana

Maggie threw herself against his chest, fighting back the tears that wanted to flow. She held on with all she had, praying he was right.

28

Jed had gone into every store on Main Street that was still open with Maggie by his side. Most hadn’t seen Susie or a gray truck with the exception of a clerk at Claire’s Closet. She described Susie and Cash perfectly. She remembered because they had been in just after ten, buying Susie a hat, scarf, and heavy gloves, and she called the man dad. He had been teasing her about being more like a city girl than a country girl. They had been laughing and having a grand time. So that was good news that at least she wasn’t kidnapped by a stranger.

Maggie was on the phone with the sheriff’s office, relaying the information and told the desk sergeant they were on the way back to the ranch to see what information could be found on Susie’s laptop. When she disconnected, she slumped in the seat. “I’m sorry about all of this. Having to be out in this storm helping me find my daughter.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” He’d like to take her hand, but he clutched the steering wheel and drove slowly out of town. “Linc said he brought the computer up to the main house and Mary was fixing some snacks so we can make an action plan.”

She sighed. “Now I’ve stirred up everyone and Annie doesn’t need this kind of stress being pregnant. We should take the computer back to my cabin and figure this out.”

He glanced her way. “I’m not going to be the one to tell Annie she’s too delicate to hatch a plan.”

Her cell pinged and her heart pounded. “It’s from Susie.” She scanned the text message. “She said she and Cash are going on an adventure for the weekend and I shouldn’t worry. She couldn’t tell me ahead of time because, and I quote, ‘Dad said you’d never let me go with him.’”

The truck skidded and Jed slowed down even more. He didn’t need to call somebody to get them out of a ditch. “That SOB. You were right. Call Tye right away and he can put out an all points bulletin and arrest him.”

“He’s her biological father. But wait, he signed away all legal rights and has never paid a dime in child support. That has to work in my favor now.” She dialed and said, “I need to talk to the sheriff.”

Jed seethed and his gut was in knots. He wanted to take this guy and pound him into the ground for the fear he was causing Maggie, and manipulating Susie the way he had was unconscionable. Cash had better hope Tye found him before he did.

“That’s right,” Maggie said. “She’s with Cash and I’m going to say he has a gray dually with tinted windows. Once I read her messages, hopefully it will have a clue where this big adventure is supposed to be happening.”

He could hear the sarcasm in her voice, and he didn’t dare take his eyes from the road. There had to be six inches of snow now and visibility was less than one quarter of a mile with the winds buffeting his truck like it was a tiny car. He had driven in storms before and was confident he’d get them back to the ranch safely; however, he was more concerned when they would need to go back out and get Susie. And as soon as he knew where she was, they were going.

Maggie finished her call with Tye. “They can track his truck through his registration, but the most important piece of information is to find out where they might be headed. And he reiterated, this is a kidnapping. I’m going to have his butt thrown in jail for this stunt.”

It was good to see the momma bear in her replace the fear. It had to be some comfort to know she was with Cash. “Why do you think he reached out to her now? Why not wait until she was eighteen or talk to you about seeing her?”

“Cash only thinks of himself. He was mad when I got pregnant, like I did it by myself. At first I was hurt he didn’t want to get married, but now I’m glad we didn’t. He hung around long enough to see if the baby was a boy or a girl. I think if Susie had been a boy, he might have stuck around longer. You know how some men want to raise a son to follow in their footsteps and all. But a girl didn’t quite fit into his plans.”

Jed had never understood how some men were hung up on having a son. If he had been that lucky, he wouldn’t have cared. Son or daughter, he’d have been a hands-on dad. “It’s his loss.”

“But Susie missed out on having a father. She never came out and said anything but things like the father-daughter dance at school, she was the only girl with her grandfather. Dad did what he could to fill in, but it wasn’t the same.”

A wind gust shifted the truck toward the edge of the road. Maggie sucked in a breath and grabbed the door, clinging to it, her knuckles white.

“We’re okay, Mags. I’ll get us wherever we need to go.”

Her voice shook. “I know you’re a great driver.” Those were the last words she said until they turned onto the gravel road that led to the main house.

He was relieved to see it had been recently plowed so this part of the trip had been the easiest. He pulled under the portico and the front door opened before they reached it. Annie was with Linc in the doorway. She drew Maggie into a hug. Linc clapped a hand on Jed’s shoulder.

“Tough driving?”

Jed shrugged out of his jacket, being careful not to drip snow all over the hardwood floor. Using the boot jack, he pulled off his boots. It was an unwritten rule, no one walked on Mary’s floors in boots and as far as Jed knew, even Pops hadn’t dared to tread across the house in anything but socks or slippers.

Maggie was still in her heavy coat and Jed helped her out of it and then her boots. Once they were stowed, Annie ushered everyone into the oversized kitchen. A crackling fire warmed the space. Daphne was setting down a tray with coffee mugs on the table, and Mary placed an arm around Maggie, talking to her softly as she escorted her to a chair.

With Maggie under Mary’s care, Jed turned to Linc. “A word?”

Linc walked down the hall and turned into the living room. “What’s going on?”

“I need to blow off some steam and not in front of Mags. I can’t freaking believe Cash Gordon would be talking to Susie behind Maggie’s back and convince her to go on some stupid adventure with him. She’s a smart kid; why would she do something like this?”

“I don’t know how teenage girls think, but Annie said Susie’s probably been building up this man in her mind to be a great person; she’s just misguided, and when he reached out, she was so desperate for his attention she believed everything he said.”

Jed clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to maintain control over his rage. “Didn’t Susie realize how scared Maggie would be? They’re so close.”

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