Linda muttered something under her breath. The cadence sounded unmistakably furious. Coop couldn’t blame her. They’d abused and orphaned an innocent girl. Some wounds didn’t heal.
It was probably nothing other than thug bravado, but he didn’t like loose threads and made a note in the file.
When Cheyenne yawned, he ended it.
“I know talking about it isn’t easy. Thanks for taking the time.”
Coop closed the folder and stood.
The girl’s gaze followed him, but her voice didn’t. It went small and shaky, directed at her aunt. “What about Whiskers, Aunt Linda?”
At the door, he looked over his shoulder at Cheyenne, trying hard to keep it together. “Gray fur ball with attitude?” he asked.
“You saw him? Was he all right?”
“Yeah. A neighbor has been feeding him. What’s the problem?”
“My building doesn’t allow pets,” Linda explained, the fierce protector slipping to reveal a woman desperate to move mountains for a girl who had lost too much already. “We’ll figure something out, honey. Maybe someone can keep him until we get settled.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Cheyenne whispered. No accusation. Just the certainty of a kid who’d already learned how these things went.
For a moment, Coop saw his own daughter at that age: scared, trying not to show it, clinging to the one thing she could still protect.
If this had happened to his daughter, the kidnappers wouldn’t have needed to worry about Doyle Pruitt.
“I might be able to help with that.”
Cheyenne looked up, hopeful in a way that gutted him. If Erica said no, he’d take the damn cat himself.
“I know someone,” he said. “She’s kind and will make sure Whiskers has everything he needs until you’re ready for him. He found his way to her while you were gone, and he seems to trust her.”
“Do you mean Miss Stevens across the street?”
“That’s her.”
Cheyenne bit her lip then winced at the bruising. “I don’t really know her, but she always smiles and waves when she sees us,” she murmured. “Do you really think she’d take care of him?”
“Yes,” Coop said. “And I’ll give you updates through your aunt.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, fighting tears as she looked away.
Linda exhaled like she’d been carrying too much and finally set something down.
Coop reached into his pocket for a business card and handed it to her. “Please call me if she remembers anything else.”
“You’ve been very kind, Lieutenant.”
“No other way to be, considering what you’ve been through. I wish you both well.”
And he meant it.
Chapter 10
With her coffee halfway to her lips, Erica stilled. The house was quiet except for the hum of the air-conditioning. It was shaping up to be a typical West Texas summer day—cloudless, humid, and scorching.
She turned her head slightly. She didn’t hear a car in the drive or footsteps on her porch, but she knew someone was at her door, and knew it was Coop. How she knew, she couldn’t say, except it felt more intuitive than her gift.
She’d been waiting for his call. Maybe that was it. That he came in person said it couldn’t be good news. For a second, she considered pretending she wasn’t home. Then he knocked. Not loud, and just twice.
