“Any word?” Kimberly asked Deputy Hanson as soon as Amy pulled the SUV alongside his in the parking lot of the Dairy Dip. They’d made it to Broward County and the sight of a law enforcement officer on their side was a welcome reprieve. Until Kimberly remembered that her real name was out there and she had no idea if she was wanted for questioning in New Mexico.
“Sheriff wants to fill you in himself,” he responded. He was in his early thirties with black hair and brown eyes. He worked out and Kimberly remembered that he liked to talk about his CrossFit training. He wore reflective sunglasses and she didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t see his eyes.
Did Zach plan to arrest her?
“That can’t be good,” Kimberly said to Amy.
“They’re alive, right?” Amy’s voice trembled.
The deputy nodded and she blew out the breath she’d been holding.
“Follow me and I’ll get us there in no time,” Hanson said, shooting a look of apology before turning on his lights and siren.
The escort got them to the sheriff’s office in less than half an hour. The sirens woke the babies, who cried on and off during the entire ride.
Amy shot a look toward Kimberly as though steeling her resolve. “Let’s get these guys changed and fed. I can take Aaron.”
Kimberly hopped out of the seat and opened the back door to her daughter, grateful to have this time with her children. The thought that she might be sent away for years sat heavily on her chest as she fumbled with the car seat buckle.
“Like this,” Amy said, demonstrating the release valve.
She mimicked her and was holding her daughter within a few seconds. “Thank you.”
Amy gave a quick nod. “I got the diaper bag.”
Deputy Hanson was already next to Kimberly, ready to escort the women and children into the sheriff’s office. Kimberly wondered if his being nice was an act. On second thought, she realized he was being especially nice to Amy. He apparently hadn’t gotten the memo that she had feelings for Isaac, which also probably meant that Zach wasn’t aware, either.
Once inside she half expected to be arrested.
Instead Zach greeted her with a bear hug after an equally hearty greeting with his baby sister.
Marybeth, his administrative assistant, was on her feet and circling around her desk as soon as she saw Kimberly. The middle-aged single mother had always been so kind to Kimberly. Another stab of guilt penetrated her armor.
“Good to see you, Kimberly,” Marybeth said, offering a hug.
Kimberly accepted the kindness.
“Can I help with one of the babies?” Marybeth asked as her phone rang. She shot a look toward Kimberly and held her hands up. “Go on ahead. We’re waiting on an important call.”
Did that mean there was no word on Mitch and Isaac?
“You don’t know how happy I am to see both of you,” Zach said, taking Kimberly’s arm and ushering her into his office.
One look at Kimberly and he seemed to realize there was no way she was handing over her baby, so he didn’t ask.
Amy followed them into his office as the babies fussed.
“Go ahead and take care of the little ones,” he instructed. “I’ll wait.”
Amy went to work, placing Aaron on the sofa and patting the spot next to him.
Kimberly took Amy’s suggestion and gently placed Rea next to her brother. The little girl looked up into her mother’s eyes and Kimberly felt her heart melt. Rea had the saddest little pout when she wound up to cry. She was heavier than Kimberly had expected.
Babies really did grow fast.
She quickly worked on changing Rea’s diaper, hoping to hear news that Mitch and Isaac were all right.
“We can listen and take care of the kids,” Kimberly urged with a pleading look.
“Mitch and Isaac are in custody,” Zach informed her.
Kimberly gasped. “What did they do wrong?”
“They’re safe and that’s the most important part,” Zach cautioned.
“Agreed.” Kimberly shot a worried look toward Amy, who returned it in kind.
Joyce padded in, holding a tray with jars of baby food, along with sippy cups.
Kimberly braced for the older woman to say something mean to her—heck, give her a dirty look. Instead she set the tray down on the coffee table and then hugged her.
“I’ve missed you so much. It’s so good to see you.” Joyce used her wrist to wipe away a tear.
The emotions radiating from her children’s caregiver were genuine. She was genuine. And Kimberly was grateful that such a loving woman had been helping out with the kids in her absence.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for my family,” Kimberly said to the older woman, and she meant every word.
Joyce acknowledged her with the warmest smile. “I have their favorite foods warmed. I’d be happy to help feed them while you speak to Zach. Or we can set up in the break room if you’d like privacy for grown-up talk.”
If she was about to be arrested she certainly didn’t want her children seeing that. But she had to believe Zach wouldn’t do that in front of the children. He was a good sheriff and an even better man.
Kimberly must’ve given Joyce a panicked look that reflected exactly how she felt about being apart from her children even for a few minutes, because Joyce immediately proposed a different option.
“Or I could give you a hand right here,” she offered.
Zach was already to his feet, calling out to Marybeth for assistance. He’d glanced at his phone more than once; the call he was expecting mustn’t have come through.
Once the babies were happily being fed on the sofa, Zach motioned for Kimberly and Amy to follow him to his desk off to the right-hand side of his office.
He focused a sympathetic look on his sister. “Isaac’s in the hospital. He’s in surgery to remove a bullet fragment from his neck. I’m waiting for word on his prognosis.”
Amy gasped. Her hand came up to her throat like she was trying to stop herself from having a panic attack.
“What happened?” A sob escaped but then she immediately took in a breath, looking like she was reining in her emotions.
“A bullet fragment lodged in his neck, beneath his jaw. He lost enough blood to worry the EMT on the scene,” he said before his gaze shifted to Kimberly. “There was an accident.”
A gasp escaped before she could suppress it. Her first thought was that the children didn’t deserve to lose the only parent they’d known. Mitch was an amazing father. “But he’s okay, right?” She searched for any signs of mourning in Zach’s eyes. Was that why he wasn’t arresting her? He couldn’t take both parents away from Rea and Aaron?
Nothing could happen to Mitch. She shook off the thought and refocused.
“How bad is it?”
“Physically, he’ll be fine. He has a couple of bruised ribs from the seat belt, which saved both of their lives,” Zach said, but there was a note of worry in his voice.
“But?”
“The local sheriff put him under arrest,” he said on a sharp sigh.
Amy started pacing. “That’s crazy. Why on earth would he do that?”
“It should never have happened but witnesses claimed they were shooting weapons and driving in a manner that endangered others.” Zach’s hands came up in the surrender position. “I’m waiting for a call back from the governor’s office. He owes me a favor and I’m asking that both men be released into my custody. Of course, we’ll have to wait until Isaac gets out of surgery before he can be transported nearby.”
“What are the chances any of that will happen?” Amy hurled back angry words, quickly reining in her temper when her brother started to respond. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take my frustration out on you.”
“We’re all fuming about this,” Zach responded and there was no return anger in his voice.
He gave a reassuring look to his sister. He also seemed to realize there was more going on between Isaac and Amy than concern for a friend.
“I’m doing everything in my power to bring him home, Amy,” Zach comforted. “If I have to drive there myself and pick him up, I will.”
“I know,” Amy said. “Between Isaac in surgery and Mitch in jail, I feel like I’m in a nightmare and can’t wake up.”
Welcome to Kimberly’s life, she thought. Seeing the interaction between brother and sister made her think about her sister and how much she missed her.
Tracking her down now that she was old enough for the file to be unsealed would be next to impossible if Rose didn’t want to be found.
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on her loss. Her losses were racking up and she refused to allow anything to happen to Mitch because of her. Their children needed him. He was the stable one between the two of them. She had a past that seemed like it would always catch up to her no matter how much she tried to outpace it.
“What about me?” she plucked up enough courage to ask Zach. Bad news was like old fish—it would only smell worse with time. If she was going to be arrested, she wanted to be prepared. “You’ve looked into my background by now.”
“I have.” He gave an apologetic look.
“Whatever’s in her file can’t possibly represent who she is as a person,” Amy defended, and Kimberly’s heart swelled at the kindness.
Joyce shouted an “Amen” from where she sat on the floor, feeding the babies.
“I realize that,” Zach said and his tone sounded offended.
“Glad you do,” Joyce interjected. “Any one of us could vouch for her character.”
The love and acceptance in the room was beyond anything Kimberly had felt with anyone else but Randy and Julie Bristol.
Grateful tears streamed from her eyes before she could get hold of her emotions. She wiped away a few tears. “You can’t know how much all of this means to me.”
Kimberly’s ringtone sounded. She palmed her cell and immediately checked the screen.
“It’s Mitch.”
On instinct she spun around to face the corner and lowered her voice when she said, “Hello.”
“Where are you?” There was so much concern in Mitch’s voice and she wanted it to be for her. He was most likely worried about the babies, which was fair, even though her heart decided to go rogue and wish for the impossible.
“With your cousin at Zach’s office. We’re all fine. But what happened to you? Zach said you were in an accident.” Her words spilled out.
“The Camry knocked the Jeep off the road. We took a spill down the ravine,” he said quietly. “A few concerned citizens contacted the local sheriff. Camry driver and his passenger got away. I couldn’t leave Isaac on the side of the road and go after them.”
“What about Isaac?” she asked. A small sigh of relief slipped out at hearing Mitch’s voice and knowing he was alive. She quickly turned to a nervously waiting audience and said, “Mitch is okay.”
“By the time the EMTs arrived, Isaac had lost consciousness.” She could hear the heaviness in his voice.
“But Isaac’s going to be all right, isn’t he?” she asked.
“They separated us. He went to the hospital and I’m in lockup,” he admitted. “A deputy walked in and handed me my phone. I don’t know what’s going on and planned to call Zach next to see if he knew.”
There was noise in the background and then she heard a male voice.
“Time to go, Kent.”
The line went dead.