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Hudson swept his cell phone from the kitchen table as he and Becca headed out to his truck, Ringo on his leash zigzagging across the gravel drive. Becca climbed inside, helping the dog onto her lap as Hudson dug his keys from his pocket.
It was early afternoon. They’d spent the morning at his house, waking late, drinking coffee, tending to the livestock, eating a leisurely brunch at a diner in Laurelton before returning to the farm. The day had been clear and the horses had stretched their legs, trotting, tails lifted around the pasture. Boston, the Appaloosa, her belly large with the foal she carried, rubbed her side against the rough bark of an oak tree, snorting in contentment, her breath two cloudy bursts from her nostrils, and Becca stroked her neck and murmured to her.
Now Hudson smiled to himself. Who would have thought that he would feel such a sense of contentment here, a peace he’d never experienced in his days of selling, brokering, and investing in commercial real estate? He’d done well enough, but he’d always been restless.
You’re too damned young to retire, he’d told himself often enough, but he’d ended up here anyway, wo
rking on the farm, managing the properties he owned at a distance, and satisfied, if not happy with his life.
From the moment he’d seen her at Blue Note he’d known he’d never gotten over her.
And Jessie had brought them together, which made him feel almost guilty about falling in love again.
He caught himself up short-Love? Jesus, you’re an idiot. Love? Ridiculous. But glancing at Becca as she climbed into his truck made him quiet that nagging little insistence. And the restlessness that had been with him for years was sliding away.
The phone rang as they were bumping down the gravel drive. He examined the Caller ID. “Tillamook County?” he read, then punched the talk button. “Hello?”
Becca gave him a shrug as he said, “Yeah, Tim. What’s up?” In an instant his face turned to stone. “Wait a minute…Slow down. Where?…Yeah, I know Renee went to the beach. What?”
Becca’s heart froze.
“Wait…which hospital?”
Hospital? Becca’s fingers tightened over the handle of her purse. Her blood turned to ice. “Hudson?”
All color drained from Hudson’s face. He stopped the truck at the end of the drive, his fingers crushing the phone.
“Hudson?” she repeated, her mind racing.
“She’s alive?” he said into the phone.
Becca’s hand flew to her throat.
“I’m on my way.” He clicked off, breathing shallowly. “That was Tim. Renee’s been in an accident. The sheriff’s department called him, told him she’s at Ocean Park Hospital.”
“Is she all right?”
“I don’t know. Shit!” He threw the truck into gear again.
“But she’s alive.”
“I think so.”
Becca was trembling inside, her blood turning to ice. Another “accident,” so soon after Glenn’s death. What were the chances of that happening? “I can’t believe it,” she whispered, but that was a lie. Fleetingly she thought of Renee’s sense of persecution-Renee, with her need to return to Deception Bay, her determination to find out what happened to Jessie, her yearning to write her story.
“I’m going straight to the hospital after I drop you off.”
“I’m coming with you,” she said. No way was he leaving her behind.
“It’s at-”
“-the coast. Ocean Park. I heard.”
“What about the dog?” Hudson asked.
“He’ll come, too. Ringo loves to ride in the car.” To the dog, she said, “Lie down, Ringo.”
“Are you sure about this?” They were at the end of the lane waiting for a truck towing a fifth wheeler to pass. “It doesn’t look good, Becca.”
