A gun’s report split the quiet.
Cord’s heart almost stopped.
Lucas. His last family member who was safe. He was in there with a gunman. And Kendall. His Kendall. She wasn’t carrying. He was certain of that.
Cord bolted from the car and drew his weapon.
He wanted to shove the front door open and race inside, but he had to take his time. He couldn’t help any of them if he allowed himself to be shot.
He glanced in the glass front door. Saw Kendall down on the floor. The gunman nowhere in sight.
He jerked the door open. “Kendall!”
“I’m fine. We scuffled. He got off a shot before I disarmed him. He took off out the back.”
Cord charged inside and turned the lock behind him so the shooter couldn’t come back through that door. He jogged down the hallway to Kendall.
She was getting to her feet. “He wore a mask, but he was the right size for the intruder at Eve’s house.”
The gym door opened, and Mark poked his head out.
“We’re all clear,” Cord said. “Lucas okay?”
“Fine.”
Cord picked up the shooter’s gun and gave it to Kendall. “I’m going after him. Lock the door behind me and call in backup.”
Lucas poked his head out. “I heard the gunshot. Be careful, Cord.”
Cord ruffled Lucas’s hair on the way past. “You got it, kid.”
Lucas smiled up at Cord, and he wanted to let the shooter go and hug this kid, who actually seemed to care about him at the moment, but Cord had a job to do.
He raced toward the back door and slipped into the quiet that was suddenly usurped by a motorcycle engine. He caught sight of the glowing taillight as the full-size bike roared out of the lot and careened onto the street. Cord couldn’t make out the plate, but he did see the bike was black with red detailing and shiny chrome trim.
Cord came to a stop. He couldn’t catch this guy and there was no point in trying. He would make sure the scene was processed for forensic leads, though. Turning back toward the building, his thoughts went to Eve. If this man had escalated to using a gun, that wasn’t a good sign for his aunt. He didn’t want to think the guy had killed her, but the idea wouldn’t leave him alone.
Father, please. Please let Eve be okay. I couldn’t handle it if I lost her, too.
His gut ached so powerfully, it nearly took Cord down. He reached for the door handle and took a few moments to compose himself so he didn’t freak Lucas out and then knocked for Kendall to let him in. She opened the door and he noticed Pastor Mark and Lucas were standing off to the side, deep in conversation.
“Shooter took off on a motorcycle,” Cord said.
Kendall lifted troubled eyes to him. “Something’s weird about this. He didn’t bother to hide his face when he sideswiped me the other night, so why suddenly put on a mask?”
“This’s a public place, and he could be concerned others might see him.”
“Yeah, I suppose, but the place is all but deserted. Still bothers me, though.”
“You think it wasn’t the same guy?”
“His build was right.” She fidgeted with her hands, but suddenly crossed her arms as if she didn’t want him to see this incident had impacted her. “I’m sure you’re right. He was worried about others seeing him.”
Cord didn’t like how defeated she sounded, but as he was about to discuss it, fists pounded on the front door. He saw her brother Matt and Seth through the glass.
“I’ll let them in.” Cord brought Matt and Seth up to speed, and Kendall shared details of the attack.
The mere thought of her nearly taking a bullet made Cord’s blood run cold, but hearing about it in graphic detail was simply too much, and he had to take several long breaths to keep himself under control.
“Okay, I’ll take it from here.” Matt met Cord’s gaze and held it. “I want you to escort Kendall directly back to the ranch. Got it?”
Cord nodded as he didn’t trust himself to speak. He took Kendall’s arm and called for Lucas. He came running and bolted for the door. Kendall moved slowly. Cautiously. Worry shadowed her beautiful eyes. She took in a long breath and blew it out, then lifted her lips in an attempted smile that fell flat.
With everything in his inner being, Cord wanted to lean down and kiss away her fear. Her worry. Find a way to take her fear on himself and make her smile, that glorious, dazzling smile he remembered from the past. But he couldn’t. What he could do was get her safely to the car and home to the ranch.
He rested his hand on her shoulder for a moment, then slid it down to take her hand. Before she could balk, he started for the vehicle at a quick clip, feeling her struggling to keep up, but he couldn’t slow down. No, that was wrong. He could, but he wouldn’t and leave her exposed out in the open for longer than necessary.
She dug out her keys, her hands trembling. The sight of her slender fingers shaking stole nearly the last of Cord’s resolve not to sweep her into his arms. He swallowed hard and took her keys.
She opened her mouth as if to argue, but he turned her toward the passenger side and prodded her in that direction with a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t speak, but at the door she eyed him for a long moment.
Lucas stepped in and opened the passenger door. He took her hand and helped her get settled. She smiled at him with a pleased look, the smile that Cord wanted and now hoped he’d see directed at him someday. He was thankful for her kindness to Lucas and for his nephew’s stepping up. He closed the door.
“Thanks for wanting to take care of her,” Cord said.
“She’s totally cool.”
“Agreed.”
“You, like, have a thing for her?”
“Maybe.” If Cord was totally honest, he’d say most definitely, but he didn’t want Lucas to think she might become part of their life.
“Don’t hurt her,” he said with maturity far beyond his years and climbed into the back of the car.
Cord took his place, feeling mighty comfortable behind the wheel of a Lake County patrol car again as he drove toward Trails End. Now that he was back in Lost Creek, he had to admit he missed the community and wouldn’t mind living a slower lifestyle again.
He glanced at Lucas in the back seat. He seemed to like ranch living, but would he want to move away from his friends to live in a rural community? Cord doubted that, and he wouldn’t do anything to upset Lucas’s life any more than it had been.
At the ranch, Lucas hopped out and opened the door for Kendall. She smiled her thanks and her family met them on the porch to take turns hugging her. She wasn’t surprised they knew about the incident as Matt would have called their father the moment he learned of the shooting.
Cord faced Lucas. “In all the excitement, I didn’t ask how your talk with the pastor went.”
“Good,” he said. “I liked him. But I need to think about what he said.”
Cord felt a change in the boy, and he lifted his hand in a fist bump, something he hadn’t tried with Lucas since the plane crash. Lucas reciprocated, and Cord’s heart soared. He had to work extra hard to not let his excitement show and scare Lucas back into his sullen mode.
“Think I’m gonna go up to my room,” Lucas said.
“See you in the morning.”
Lucas hurried inside.
Winnie stepped over to Cord. “Things seem a little better with you two.”
Cord nodded but didn’t want to talk about it, as this might not be a permanent change. After all, a boy didn’t get over losing his parents or hating the man he thought was responsible after one counseling session. It took time and work. Cord wished he’d insisted that Lucas continued in therapy, but he hadn’t been open to it and Cord had thought with Lucas’s negative attitude it wouldn’t have been successful.
“It’s amazing what a good talk with the Lord or His representative can do for the soul.” Winnie squeezed Cord’s arm. “Now I’m gonna go grab some of Betty’s chocolate chip cookies and fill you and Kendall full of sugar to wash away your remaining anxiety.”
“Sounds good.” Cord wished sugar could help fix anything, but right now, with the residual adrenaline running through his body, it was the last thing he needed. Still, he didn’t want to hurt Winnie’s feelings, so he would try to eat some cookies.
The entire family headed into the dining room, and Kendall recounted her harrowing experience while she picked at a cookie. He noticed she didn’t eat it and neither did he.
“We need to figure out how he tracked you,” her father said.
“He didn’t tail us,” Cord replied. “I watched the mirrors and know that for sure. Especially tonight. It was dark out, and I’d have seen his headlight. And I checked the car for a tracker before we left.”
“He could ride without his light,” Jed offered. “It’s a full moon out.”
“That would be foolhardy,” Betty said.
“So is trying to shoot someone,” Walt pointed out.
“So maybe he did tail us,” Cord admitted reluctantly. “It’s the only thing that makes sense, I suppose, but I hate to think I allowed that to happen.”
“Can’t see how anyone else could’ve done anything different,” Walt said, and Cord felt a bit better.
“Walt’s right.” Winnie stood. “Looks like no one really wants cookies, and it’s getting late. I’ll clean things up.” She crossed over to Kendall and laid a hand on her shoulder. “You should get some sleep, honey.”
Kendall smiled weakly up at her mother. “I need to decompress first.”
“I’ll help clean up.” Walt started picking up containers and plates.
“Bedtime for us.” Betty gave Jed a pointed look and hugged Kendall’s shoulders on the way out of the room.
Jed stopped to place a kiss on Kendall’s head. “You’re a strong deputy, Granddaughter. Don’t let this incident throw you.”
“I won’t.” Kendall got up and wandered around the room as if lost, then went to the living room to sit on the sofa.
Cord followed her and rested his shoulder against the doorframe. “Are you doing any better?”
“Let’s talk.” She patted the sofa cushion next to her.
He joined her but his gut churned. When a woman said “let’s talk,” he knew from his experience that he should expect a problem.
She met his gaze, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “It’s tearing me up inside when I see you reacting to someone getting hurt or nearly getting hurt. You’re suffering so badly, and I want to help.”
He gaped at her. Not at all what he expected her to say.
“Maybe you should talk to Mark, too, and find a way to turn this over to God.”
“Don’t you think I tried that? I have. Like a million times and failed.”
She took his hand and stared at it. “Do you really want to succeed?”
“What do you mean by that?” He hated how accusatory his tone sounded, but come on. Of course he wanted to get over his loss and live again.
“It seems to me like you want to keep punishing yourself, but if you let God take charge, you have to let that guilt go, too. I think since Danny died, you believe you keep failing at the important things in life. The loss of your family confirms it for you, so you’re clinging to it as proof to punish yourself.”
Cord’s mouth fell open but he quickly snapped it closed, as her comments whirred around in his head like the blades on a helicopter, slicing into his mind.
Was she right? Did he want to hold on to the blame, the regret?
Had he let that become who he was deep down? And unless he made a drastic change, would he be destined to live his entire life holding on to this guilt?
Sounded like a good possibility. Or a bad one, actually. He didn’t want that. He really didn’t, but he also didn’t know if he could do anything about it.