Seth tugged the wheel and turned onto the raised access road toward the bridge where he’d caught the sound of an ATV. Or was it a truck? Both, he realized as he saw the truck and trailer stopped on the bridge and the ATV closing in from behind. He felt Felicia’s fear rise along with his own. Why had Nora stopped on the bridge? A shadow peeled away from the stone arch. He blinked hard. His eyes must have deceived him. He thought he’d seen...
“She jumped,” Felicia gasped, gripping his wrist so hard her nails cut into his skin. “Nora jumped from that bridge.”
Jumped. The word thudded against his unbelieving brain. He really had witnessed her dropping feetfirst over the side. Was the water deep enough? Why hadn’t she kept driving, gotten herself to safety?
A checklist from his days in the medical corps scrolled through his thoughts. Shock, spinal compression, impact injury, extremity wounds, blood loss... He blinked the thoughts away as his mind put the pieces together. Her actions had been purposeful, calculating. Nora hadn’t leapt in blind panic. She’d had a plan to lead the ATV into a trap. When the driver got out to approach the truck, she’d have climbed back up the bank and pinned him down.
A half smile crept across his face. Who was this woman? But there was no time to process what he’d just witnessed. The attacker must have sensed Nora’s intention because the ATV was backing away from the bridge at dizzying speed. Seth shoved the Bronco into gear.
“Look out,” Felicia cried.
Too late. There was no way he was going to avoid a crash.
“Hold on,” he shouted. Five feet from impact. He tried to turn enough that it would not be a head-on blow, but the tires skidded, searching for traction.
Four feet...
As if in a dream, he saw Nora surge up the top of the riverbank, a dark silhouette. He watched her level the rifle at her shoulder and squeeze off a shot. The noise jolted him; the memory of a previous shooter’s bullet plowing through his front windshield and into his skull. But this bullet found its target in the ATV, the front tire exploding with an audible pop. It wobbled, but the driver was too close, less than three feet from Seth’s fender. He tensed against the seat belt, teeth clenched for what would happen next. After a surreal, stretched-out moment, the ATV smashed into them, the impact like a shockwave, throwing them both back against the seats. Metal crumpled, the side window cracked. His vehicle was slammed sideways.
Felicia screamed.
As the ATV ripped around them and lurched off into the darkness, its tire flapping, a new threat became clear. Their vehicle was sliding toward the riverbank. Dizzied by the impact, he fought to stop the Bronco. If he didn’t, they would catapult into the river.
“Seth!” Felicia gasped.
There was no safe way for her to jump from the vehicle. Their only chance was him.
Teeth gritted, he eased the wheel into the skid, praying they were not close to the edge of the bank and that Nora was out of the way. The moments crept by in slow motion as the tires shimmied across the slick ground until, finally, they began to slow and he was able to bring the Bronco to a stop. Panting, he peered out the cracked driver’s window. Their left front tire was six inches from the edge of the bank.
Thank you, Lord.
“Oh wow,” Felicia squeaked.
“That pretty much covers it for me too,” he managed to huff, wiping the sweat from his brow. “You hurt?”
She shook her head. “You?”
“No.” Now to get to Nora. He reached to shove the door open when Felicia called out.
“There she is.”
Nora sprinted toward the Bronco, a rifle clutched under her arm. Felicia leaned over the back seat and flung open the door.
“Nora,” she said, voice cracking. “I can’t believe you did that.”
Seth twisted around. She didn’t seem to be bleeding and she hadn’t been limping.
“Are you two okay?” Nora said, the fringe of bangs plastered onto her wet face.
Felicia nodded. “Seth found me.”
“What about you?” he said. “You jumped from the bridge...”
She waved off his concern. “I’m fine. Let’s go,” she ordered Seth, pointing in the direction the ATV had taken. “We can run him down. He’s got a shredded tire.”
Somehow, he wasn’t surprised at her command. He shook his head. “Not safe. Cops are rolling. We’ll wait for help.”
She flashed blazing eyes on him. “Seth, he’s going to get away.”
“The risk isn’t worth it.”
“Worth it?” She gaped. “Whoever that is tried to kill us.”
“And if we go tearing off in the dark, we just might give him another shot at it, or finish the job for him,” Seth said calmly. He could feel her hot anger flaming over him. She was stubborn, fiery. He countered the way he’d learned to do long ago as a medic. His role was to calm, deescalate, save lives. “The police are trained. We’re ill-equipped amateurs.”
“So you want to let him go?” She fired off the words like a barrage of buckshot.
“No, I don’t. But what I want more is to keep you two safe.”
Her hand squeezed into a fist atop her thigh. “Seth, if you don’t move this car, I’ll go after him myself, on foot.”
Her face was eerily beautiful, her resolution sizzling like a bolt of lightning between them, which pulsed his nerves. “Nora,” he said, his tone serene as a windless desert morning, “this situation is a soup sandwich.”
“A what?” Felicia said. “You can’t make a sandwich out of soup.”
“Exactly,” he said. “Imagine the mess.”
Nora was about to retort when he pointed a finger out the window. “It’s dark, there’s someone out there who knows this area better than we do, and you’re both cold, wet and susceptible to shock. We drive to a spot near the main road with good visibility and wait for the police. We don’t run around trying to eat a soup sandwich.”
“This is cowardice,” Nora said through gritted teeth.
He absorbed the insult, not allowing the arrow to hit home as he flashed back in time. The shout of “Corpsman up!” brought him running through the remnants of a destroyed Humvee as the team poured out to provide cover fire. He couldn’t remember the soldier’s name. George? Jeff? But he’d never forget those frightened eyes, dark as the shifting shadows that cloaked them now. “Am I gonna make it, Doc?” Seth had forced a hopefulness he had not felt, a calm message of reassurance as the shouting and gunfire rattled and clanged around them. “Gonna take care of you, man. Don’t you worry.”
The wounded soldier had flashed a wobbly smile. “Soup sandwich out here, right?” he’d said, mouth tightening in pain.
Another smile from Seth as he’d tried in vain to stop the bleeding. “You know it, brother.”
Cowardice was an unfair label, but Seth would take it, if it meant getting the women out safely. He looked back at her stony gaze, which he knew from their Zoom meetings was the deepest navy blue. “You can call it cowardice if it’s easier for you to take.”
“Nora, he’s right,” Felicia said quietly, reaching to squeeze her shoulder.
She beamed a look of fury on him, slumping against the seat. “Can you at least put the drone up? Track his location?”
Seth felt the flush of embarrassment. “I dropped the controller when I ran to help you.” He actually heard her teeth grind together. Maybe he should have thought to pack away the drone and controls before he’d launched into rescue mode. No help for it now.
When he was convinced she wasn’t going to ignore his advice and leap out, he drove his battered Bronco to higher ground, the junction of the main highway and the road to the date farm. He kept the engine running.
Just in case whoever tried to kill them came back to finish his mission.
Nora’s fury ebbed as the minutes ticked by while they waited near the main road. Dread took its place as she considered what lay ahead. The police, her brother Jude. Suddenly she felt chilled to the bone in spite of the blanket Seth had given her. Go on the offense. Don’t let anyone get the upper hand on you, especially not Jude. She hopped out of the truck as she saw the sheriff’s car speeding to meet them, its lights on but no siren. Braced for what was to come, she was mortified to find her whole body trembling.
It was not simply that she was wet and cold and reeling from the ATV attack. It was the uniformed man who got out of the car to face her, tall, muscular, self-assured. His expression was unreadable; a face she’d peeked at online during those moments in the last ten years when she’d been so desperate for family. She’d known Jude had become an Inyo County sheriff from those painful internet checks, and she’d found out when he’d been named chief of Furnace Falls. Her social media poking was a silly weakness she’d never admit to, since she was positive he’d never checked her status.
She wanted to speak first, to show her strength by making the first move down this painful path, but the words stuck in her throat.
Seth and Felicia climbed out. “Chief, am I glad to see you here,” Seth said.
Jude shot a curious look at Nora. “Where else would I be when there’s an ATV’er wreaking havoc?” he said with a polite smile. “Injuries? Should I roll an ambulance?”
Seth declined the offer and gave Jude a quick retelling of what had happened.
Jude listened without interruption, though his eyebrows shot up at the jumping-from-the-bridge part. “Bold,” he said, his gaze still indicating he was trying to place Nora. The darkness and her soggy state delayed the light bulb moment.
She let the comment hang without a reply until he gave up waiting and spoke again. “I’ve got a unit en route and we’ll comb the area.” He paused. “Let me get your personal details.”
Her stomach contracted. Here we go.
“Felicia Tennison.” Her friend spoke first and Jude cocked his chin at her. “I know you. In high school you were my sister’s best friend.”
Nora gulped in a breath. Might as well get it over with. “She still is.”
Jude’s eyes shifted to hers and she saw them narrow as they recognized her. The air seemed to smother her as the seconds ticked between them.
She felt Seth looking at her too; differently now that he’d caught on. “I didn’t catch your last name before,” he said. “You didn’t mention you had kinfolk in town.”
“So it’s Nora now?” Jude asked. “What happened to Sadie?”
“I decided to use my middle name, but that has nothing to do with this situation.” Did she sound defensive? Probably, even though she was completely innocent...this time.
“Doesn’t it?” Jude’s face was impassive, like granite.
She raised her chin. “I go by Nora now. I’m here trying to trap a donkey and I intend to leave as soon as humanly possible. I have no idea why someone would attack us, but he may still be down there. I wanted to go search but Seth overruled me.”
“Thanks, Seth,” Jude said. “For looking out for them.”
Patronizing. “I don’t need someone to look out for me.”
Jude’s mouth twisted into a smile that wasn’t. “That right?”
There was a universe of disdain in those two words. Fury and despair battled inside her but she could not produce a reply. Teeth clenched, she looked away.
Seth cleared his throat. “Jude,” he said softly, “there’s obviously some family stuff here, which isn’t my business, but these women have been through the wringer. Let me take them back to their hotel.”
Felicia sighed. “We didn’t book a hotel. Nora was going to arrange something in Beatty and I promised to stay at my mom’s.”
“I...didn’t get around to making a reservation,” Nora said. Because she desperately didn’t want to stay. But Felicia deserved to see her mother and try to reconnect with Zane. Just because Furnace Falls was a no-man’s-land for Nora didn’t mean it had to remain that way for Felicia.
Jude shifted, his gun belt creaking.
“No problem about the hotel,” Seth said. “We’ve got a trailer set up on the Rocking Horse. We’re trying to encourage that ‘come stay on the ranch and pretend to be a cowboy’ thing. It’s unoccupied right now while I finish remodeling it, but it’s furnished and there’s electricity and water and everything. You’re both welcome to stay there.”
“That’s super nice,” Felicia said. “We still gotta catch that donkey tomorrow, but like I said, I promised to stay with my mom.” She hesitated. “Um, that won’t work for Nora, though.”
No, it wouldn’t. “It’s okay,” Nora said with forced cheer. “I’ll find a room.”
“Not in Furnace Falls. The Hotsprings Hotel is booked up for a Christmas golf tournament.” Jude twirled the pen over and over in his hand until she wanted to snatch it away from him. “Might be a room in Beatty left.”
Seth smiled, as if they weren’t standing there in the world’s most awkward family reunion. “No need for that when there’s a fabulous trailer available for free. How about it, Nora? Spend the night and you can check out the digs I’ve set up.”
No, Nora wanted to say. I can’t stay in this town any longer. But she would endure anything at that moment to get away from Jude’s calculating stare. As he stood there, she could see his mental wheels spinning.
“All right,” she said to Seth. “I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”
They heard the sound of trotting hooves and a man appeared astride a painted horse. His dark eyes widened under his cowboy hat as he approached. “Are you all okay?”
Jude greeted him. “Appears there’s been a problem near your property, Mr. Freeman.”
“Call me Zane,” he said, dismounting and catching the reins. Sliding off his hat, he revealed a thick head of light-colored hair. Zane was heavier than Nora remembered, his cheeks fuller and darkened with a couple days’ worth of scruff, and there were lines bracketing his mouth and grooving his forehead, but he’d held on to his high school charm. The desert sun took its toll, she thought, no matter how much sunscreen a person wore.
Zane shook hands with Seth and Nora. When he got to Felicia, his smile was shyer, clasping her palm between both his and squeezing. “Good to see you, Felicia. I was worried when I heard a gunshot so I saddled a horse and came to check it out.” After a moment, he let go.
Nora suspected her friend was blushing. Felicia reached up to tuck her tousled curls behind her ear. Surreptitiously, she stood taller and straightened her jacket. “It’s been a weird night, but we’re all okay.”
“I knew you three were trying to trap the jenny, so when I heard the shot, I thought maybe a mountain lion had made trouble,” Zane said.
“They were attacked by an ATV driver,” Jude said.
Zane stared. “Why would anybody do that?”
“That’s what I’m here to find out,” Jude said. “See any trespassers on your property?”
“No, sir, but I was talking online with a friend, so I wasn’t exactly on high alert.”
“Any trouble with ATV’ers before?” Jude asked.
“Couple months ago I had some ATV’ers down by the river. I told ’em the land’s protected and they left peaceably enough. Sorry I didn’t get any names.”
“Going to cover the area now,” Jude said. “Permission to search your property as well?”
“Of course. Whatever you need to do. Oh, I should tell you my dog Barney is missing. He’s a champion hunting dog with a bad attitude. He might be somewhere on the property, but I can’t find him. Had to put his buddy Fred down and I think he’s upset about it. Probably won’t bite, but he’s a barker for sure.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.” Jude reached for the radio clipped to his shoulder.
Zane turned again to Felicia. “I’ve been having a laugh looking through our old yearbook like you suggested. Can’t believe we were ever so young. It’s like looking at somebody else’s life.”
Nora silently agreed. High school was a lifetime ago.
Jude spoke into his radio before he turned his attention back to them. “We’ll take it from here and I’ll contact you all with follow-up questions and arrange to return your truck and trailer when we can.”
“And there’s a drone too,” Seth said, giving Jude the location. “I’d love to get that back.”
Jude nodded. “We’ll probably be here for a few hours, Zane.”
“Yes, sir. Whatever you need to do is fine with me.” He said goodbye and put a foot into the stirrup. “We aren’t open for tours right now. Had to close for some cleanup work, so no one has any business being on the farm property, especially not at this hour.”
“Good to know. Call the station if you think of anything else.”
Zane nodded and swung up on his horse. “Take care of yourself, Felicia. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
They both smiled and Felicia waved until he was out of sight.
“I’ll drive you ladies home now, if you’d like,” Seth said.
“Thank you.” Nora climbed into the rear seat. She felt like crawling into the smallest hole she could find. Felicia got into the passenger side. “Zane and I are going to touch base tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll see if he can give us any helpful intel on catching the jenny.”
The donkey had eluded capture and that meant Nora was stuck in Furnace Falls. Not only was it a place that held all her deepest shame, but now there was a violent ATV driver added to the mix. Catching that donkey couldn’t come soon enough, Nora thought as the red lights of Jude’s car strobed the night.