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But I won’t.Jolie thought about the night before, when she’d tried to sleep alone in one of those bedrooms, knowing Matt was downstairs in his own.
Just as it should be.
But between her anxiety over the break-in and Matt’s proximity, she hadn’t been able to sleep a wink.
Before either man could say a word, she waved at the chairs in front of her desk. “Please, sit down. Do you have any leads?”
Rafe settled into a chair, crossed one leg over the opposite knee, and settled his tan Stetson on his thigh. “I lifted latent prints in your cabin, and this afternoon I’ll hand deliver them down to the sheriff’s office in Big Timber. I figure the prints might match what we took from the doll. Those didn’t match anything in our local files, but maybe then we can push for a faster answer on print analyses from the lab in Missoula. A stalker would get higher priority than an isolated incident of vandalism.”
“Good. I can’t believe how long this takes.”
“It’s not like you see on TV,” Rafe agreed dryly. “Just once I’d like to see things happen that fast in real life.”
Matt cleared his throat. “You shouldn’t go to the cabin alone, Jolie.”
“I appreciate your concern.” Jolie rose, braced her hands on her desk. “But I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?”
“I’ll just bow out of this one,” Rafe said mildly. “I’ve been on duty all night and I don’t have the energy. It never does much good to argue with a Maxwell, anyway.” He gestured toward the phone. “Mind if I call the ranch? I tried an hour ago, but no one answered.”
“They’re probably already moving cattle.” Jolie lifted an eyebrow. “Eight o’clock in the morning is practically midday out there.”
“I know. Thea usually leaves our house by five.”
Rafe’s forehead creased the moment someone answered the phone.
He waved to Jolie to stay behind her desk, spoke rapidly into the receiver, then hung up, his expression grim.
“Your father has had more heart trouble. Beth called for help, and he was airlifted to Bozeman around midnight. He’s stable and doing okay, according to one of the hands. I expect weboth have texts or phone messages from Thea on our answering machines.”
Rafe’s words sent a chill through her heart. She’d thought she’d heard a few notes of her cell phone’s ring last night, but perhaps the weakened battery died at that moment. Had Thea tried to call?
“Where is he now? Do they have a diagnosis?”
“He’s at St. Andrew’s Hospital, but the ranch hand didn’t know anymore.”
“I’ll have Irene switch my appointments so I can head up there today.”
Matt regarded her with troubled eyes. “I’ll go with you. You shouldn’t have to go alone.”
Which is what I’ve done all my life,she realized.Until you.Warmth bloomed in her heart.
“Thanks, Matt, but if Dad needs surgery, or if...if he isn’t doing well, I could be up there for days. What about your kids?”
“If we need to stay up there, my kids can stay at my brother’s place. Mandy, too. He’s got a big old house. Not fancy, but he has plenty of room.”
“But your jobs—”
“We’re starting a screened porch for the Sloans this week, and a day or two won’t matter. Ed can get it started.”
“I still don’t think—”
Under Rafe’s amused eye, Matt stood, rounded the desk, took Jolie by the shoulders and kissed her.
“Interesting,” Rafe muttered as he slipped out the door. “That always works with Thea, too.”
JOLIE WAS THANKFULfor Matt’s presence, his amusing stories about the kids, and his quiet understanding during the trip to Bozeman.
