Hole in the Heart

by Carolina Mac

  Farrell called Blaine. “Hey, Blacky, drive around to the kayak rental place. I’m borrowing a boat and we’re gonna check the shoreline.”

  “On my way.”

  A man jogged towards Farrell from the cottage next to the kayak shop. “Help you out with something, Ranger?”

  “If you could,” said Farrell. “We’re pursuing a fugitive and he stole one of your kayaks last night, I believe.”

  “Uh huh, that’s what Jimmy said.” He held out a hand. “I’m Pete Warnock.”

  Farrell shook his hand. “If we can scope out the shoreline and spot the kayak it would save a lot of time and it would save the dogs a lot of miles.”

  Warnock eyed the big bloodhounds sitting next to Travis and smiled. “Beautiful dogs.” He turned and pointed across the water. “Y’all know the far side of the lake is Mexico, right?”

  “I’m not sure where the line is,” said Farrell.

  “No matter. Not much of anything on the other side of the lake. Hang on for a second and I’ll bring the bass boat up to the dock.”

  Blaine parked next to the rental shop and jumped out with Fletcher. He was staring at something on his phone. “That’s Mexico on the far shore,” said Blaine. “We’ll have to go back to the Amistad dam and cross there with the truck.”

  “Uh huh,” said Mr. Warnock. “That’s what I was thinking. That will take a bit of time.”

  Blaine introduced himself and Fletcher. To Farrell: “You haven’t heard anything from Oxford?”

  “Nope.”

  Blaine thought for a moment. “Okay, let’s do this. You two take the dogs in the boat and get Mr. Warnock to drop y’all when you spot the kayak. Fletcher and I will head back to the border crossing and work our way around to y’all on the other side.”

  “Do you mind the dogs in your boat, Mr. Warnock?” asked Farrell.

  Warnock smiled. “Nope, not at all.”

  BLAINE turned the truck around and followed the dirt road back to the campsite.

  “Do you think Golden is running free in Mexico, boss?” asked Fletcher.

  “Yep, I think that’s about it. Don’t see how we could ever find him if he grabbed a ride and headed south.”

  “Don’t see any roads marked on the Mexico side,” said Fletch, gazing at the little map on his phone, “but maybe there are.”

  Blaine picked up coffee on the way to the Amistad crossing and there was no waiting at the border when they arrived. They showed their creds and were on their way.

  JESSE and Avery made breakfast in the trailer. Luke had taken his meds with a cup of coffee and gone back to sleep on the sofa.

  “As soon as we know what’s going on,” said Jesse, “we’ll make a plan to get you girls home.”

  Avery nodded. “I need to talk to Farrell.”

  “Did you talk to your mother last night?” asked Jesse.

  Avery smiled. “She was so happy. She took Sylvie home from the hospital and Mom said Diego was hanging on tight to my sister.” The smile vanished from her face. “I wish I could see Sylvie.”

  “That’s like Charity,” said Jesse. “When I’m away from her and then come home, she wants me to pick her up and carry her.”

  “Do you have a baby, Ranger Quantrall?” asked Avery.

  Jesse grinned and whipped out his phone. “Sure do. Let me show you.”

  Avery watched Jesse scroll through the pictures. “She’s adorable.”

  Misty finished her tea, pushed her cup out of the way and spread her Tarot cards on the table.

  Devil’s Lake. South Texas.

  THE DOGS were a little antsy in the boat when Mr. Warnock started the motor. Travis and Farrell held them close and steadied them as they took off from the dock and zoomed across the water.

  Talking wasn’t an option with the roar of the Merc so the boys enjoyed the wind in their faces and concentrated on scanning the shoreline for the kayak.

  Farrell pointed. “That looks like a kayak over there.”

  Mr. Warnock turned the wheel and headed in closer. He shook his head. “Not one of ours.”

  He slowed the boat down at the opposite side of the lake and they putted along slowly observing all the boats, canoes and kayaks tied up at various docks.

  “That looks purple over there,” said Travis. He pointed to a clump of trees with the back end of what might be a kayak barely showing.

  “Uh huh. I see it. Let’s check it out.” Mr. Warnock drove the boat as close to the shore as he could get without running aground. “Sorry I can’t get y’all any closer.”

  “That’s okay,” said Farrell, “only a few feet to the shore.” He jumped over the side of the boat and splashed into water up to his knees. The dogs didn’t need encouragement, they loved water and jumped out of the boat after Farrell. He waded through the cold water to the mucky shore, pulled himself up beside the half-hidden kayak and waited for Travis.

  Once Travis was on dry land, they let the dogs sniff the kayak for a couple of minutes before shoving it into the water and pushing it out far enough, so Mr. Warnock could reach it. He tied it to the bass boat and gave them a wave.

  Bluebelle alerted and tugged against her leash. “We’re moving,” said Travis.

  The dogs pushed ahead for an hour through the thick woods on the south side of the lake. The trees began thinning out and gave way to scrub bushes and then to sand and cacti. They came to a dirt road and Red sat down. End of the line. He’d lost the scent.

  “Golden could have picked up a ride here,” said Travis. He looked up at the sun glaring down at them and took off his shirt. “Must be a hundred degrees out here.”

  “The dogs are hot, and they need water,” said Farrell. “I’m calling Blacky to see where he is.”

  Mexico.

  BLAINE answered Farrell’s call and he was almost on top of them. He’d been driving along the single dirt track since the border crossing not knowing where it went, but it was the only option going west. “I can’t be far from y’all. Should be there in a few.”

  He rounded a bend and Fletcher pointed. “There they are. They look wet.”

  Blaine stopped the truck and hopped out. “Where’s the kit for the dogs? They need towels.”

  “In the Range Rover,” said Farrell. “Don’t have it here.”

  “Never mind,” said Blaine. “Just brush them off and don’t worry about it. We’ll clean up the truck later. You guys look like you could use a drink. I’ve got water in the truck.”

  “The dogs need water too.” Farrell wasn’t happy as he loaded the dogs into the back seat and took their leashes off. “We just gonna leave him in Mexico? Are we letting the goddam pervert live?”

  “Nothing we can do about him at this moment,” said Blaine. “He’s got a huge head start and he could be anywhere by now. We’ll sent a want to Mexico as soon as we can.”

  Farrell stood beside the truck and stared at the nothingness of the terrain. “Don’t know if I can just walk away from here, knowing what he did to Avery and her sister and all the rest of the girls he took.”

  “Get in the truck, bro,” said Blaine. “We’ll get him. Just not today.”

  Del Rio. South Texas.

  AN HOUR LATER they arrived back at the campsite and Farrell wasn’t talking. Travis cleaned up the dogs and fed them while Blaine brought Jesse up to date on the pursuit.

  “Did Sheriff Oxford come back here?” asked Blaine.

  “Yeah, he did, and I told him you’d gone to search the Mexico side. He had a couple calls and had to go back to Sonora.”

  “That’s okay. We’re done for today.”

  “Think I’ll head home if y’all are done with the dogs,” said Jesse.

  Farrell spoke his first words since Mexico. “I’ll bring them back, boss. Don’t think I can leave yet.”

  “Okay, no problem. I’ll take Luke with me and drop him off at the ranch. He’s wounded and Ace will fuss over him.”

  Luke smiled and patted his wounded arm. “Makes it all wort
hwhile, don’t it, boss?”

  AFTER JESSE left and took the injured Luke with him, Blaine opened a Lone Star and sat down at the table with Avery and Misty. Avery was watching Misty shuffle the deck and Blaine wondered what Avery thought of the woman he loved.

  “Do you have a plan, Miss Avery?” asked Blaine.

  “I… wanted to talk to Farrell but he’s upset about Joey and now isn’t a good time.” She walked to the fridge and got herself a beer. “My mother called and said Bud Larkin is furious that his trailer was stolen. He wants me out of it by the time he comes to get it.”

  “You rented this unit from him?” asked Blaine.

  “Uh huh. It was close to the ranch where I worked, and it was clean and partly furnished when I moved in.”

  “This Larkin guy is coming here to the campground?”

  Avery nodded. “I don’t know when and I don’t know what I should do. Maybe I should be packing all my stuff, but I don’t know.” Her eyes welled up.

  “Okay, I can see where that’s a problem for you.”

  And after being abducted and raped I don’t know how you’re holding together.

  “Wait a minute till I talk to Farrell and we’ll work something out.” Blaine stood up and stroked Misty’s hair. “Do you want anything, sweetheart?”

  She shook her head and Blaine went to find Farrell.

  Farrell, Travis and Fletcher stood in a tight little group smoking next to Farrell’s truck and were deep in conversation when Blaine approached. He pointed a finger at his brother and said, “See you for a minute?”

  Farrell followed Blaine around the side of the trailer. “What?”

  “Hey, I know you’re pissed we’re not following the dickwad all over fuckin Mexico, but we can’t, so suck it up. There are other pressing issues you have to deal with here and now.”

  “Bullshit,” snapped Farrell, “like what?”

  “Like Avery crying because the guy who owns this trailer is coming to haul it back to his park and she doesn’t know what the hell to do, that’s what.”

  “Aw, shit,” said Farrell. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “She was afraid to because you’re being such a goddam shithead.”

  “Aw, shit,” Farrell said again. “Me being pissed has nothing to do with her. Nothing. I want her, bro, like for good. I want to take her back to Austin with me.”

  Blaine raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

  “Absolutely sure.”

  “Then go inside, take her in the bedroom and lay down the plan. I’ll send Fletch and Travis into Del Rio to pick up a rental trailer and packing boxes and everybody can get off their asses and get busy.”

  “I’ll go tell her,” said Farrell.

  “Are you sure she wants the same thing you want?”

  Farrell shrugged. “Umm… we haven’t had much time to talk. I better ask her that question first.”

  Blaine grinned. “That better be your first question, you dumb asshole.”

  ALERTED TO Avery’s plight, Farrell temporarily chucked his anger over losing Joey Golden. He blasted into the kitchen and startled both girls. Misty was doing a reading for Avery and writing her findings on her notepad while Avery watched in amazement. Misty affected people like that.

  “Can I speak to Avery for a minute, Mist? Would that mess up your reading?”

  Misty looked up and smiled. She shook her head.

  Farrell pointed, and Avery followed him into the bedroom and sat on the side of the bed. Farrell closed the door, then sat down beside her and held her hand. “I’ve been an asshole today, but it has nothing to do with you, okay? I’m out of my mind because we didn’t grab Joey Golden.”

  “Okay,” she said with tears in her eyes.

  “Blacky told me about the trailer problem and it’s not as big a problem as it seems. Let the guy come and take it. I want you to move to Austin and live with me.”

  Avery’s blue eyes widened. “Just pack up and leave? What about my job?”

  “I have a job for you. My mother has an Appaloosa operation and you can work at her ranch.”

  “Mr. Rayburn needs me.”

  “Yeah, well Mr. Rayburn can find somebody else, Avery. I need you too and I want us to have a life together.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that, Farrell, and I do want to be with you, but I don’t know if I can leave Sylvie and Diego and just walk away.”

  “Your sister and Diego are staying with your mother. She wants them there permanently.”

  “Can I think about it?”

  Farrell gazed into her eyes. “I’m so sure I don’t have to think about it. I know it’s the right thing for me, but you’ve been through a trauma and you’re messed up because anybody would be. Take your time.” He leaned down and kissed her gently, then left the room.

  FLETCHER and Travis returned with a U-Haul trailer hooked to the back of Blaine’s truck. Avery stood at the door of the trailer that was her home and watched as the men unloaded packs of flat packing boxes and long boxes of wrapping paper.

  Farrell jumped in to help them carry the supplies into the trailer.

  “I can’t believe y’all are helping me like this,” said Avery.

  “It was Blacky’s idea,” said Farrell. “I’m too brain-dead to think of it.”

  “Thank you, Ranger Blackmore,” said Avery.

  “No problem. Maybe you should call me Blaine. And if you’re having second thoughts about Farrell, I know him better than most and he’s a bit of an asshole but he’s true blue.”

  Avery spoke in almost a whisper as they stood in the doorway. “I don’t think I’m having doubts about Farrell. I can tell what a good person he is, but after what happened, I think I’m doubting everything I ever thought was real in my life.”

  Blaine smiled. “What did the cards say?”

  “A new beginning. Go forward,” said Avery. “I never met a mystical person like Misty before. She’s… amazing.”

  “Isn’t she?”

  “She gave me back my earring that I lost in Farrell’s truck.”

  That’s how we found you.

  By nightfall all of Avery’s belongings were packed up except for the bedding they were using for the night and a few coffee mugs. No sign of Bud Larkin but it didn’t matter, Avery was ready in any event.

  Blaine sent Travis and Fletcher back to Del Rio to sleep in a motel room. Not enough beds in the trailer. “Be back here at six. It’s a long drive and I don’t want to be late for Hilder’s funeral.”

  “Right, boss,” said Travis. “Roger that.”

  FARRELL walked into Avery’s bedroom not knowing if he should ask her about her decision or wait until she felt like telling him. He’d been waiting and holding his breath since he put it out there earlier in the day and she hadn’t said a word. She’d worked all day packing up her dishes and her clothes and everything in the trailer that belonged to her and not to her landlord. They’d consumed a lot of the food that was in the fridge and Avery had boxed all the food from the pantry.

  She undressed in silence and Farrell did the same. He’d worn the same clothes all day and his jeans from the knees down had dried stiff with a mud coating. He should have changed hours ago but his mind was torn in half. Between losing Joey Golden in Mexico and waiting for Avery’s decision and there was no room in his brain for anything else.

  Farrell slipped between the sheets and pulled Avery close to him. He felt the tension in her body and realized she was fighting not to pull away from him. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Relax, I’m just going to hold you. That’s all. Nothing else.”

  “I… can’t. I’m not healed,” she whispered. “I don’t know how long it will take.”

  “Doesn’t matter how long it takes. I love you, Avery.”

  “I love you too, Farrell. It happened out of the blue, but you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” She kissed him and stroked his hair. “I’ve been thinking about what you asked me, and I want to go with you and start a new life,
but I have to say goodbye to my Mom and Sylvie and Diego first. I couldn’t go without doing that and letting them know I was happy. There’s been… too much.”

  Farrell let go the breath he was holding. “You’re right. We should drive up to Sonora and see your family first before we go home. You’ve all gone through hell in the past week.”

  “Thank you, Farrell. I need to do that.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Wednesday, May 13th.

  BLAINE’S eyes opened wide when he heard a sound outside. A metal sound close to his head. He and Misty were sleeping in the tiny bedroom at the front of the trailer where the unit was still connected to the tow truck.

  Somebody is touching the hookup.

  He jumped out of bed, pulled his jeans and boots on and grabbed his Beretta from under the pillow. He tiptoed next door to wake Farrell. Blaine entered the room silently and touched Farrell’s arm. “Get up,” he whispered. “Somebody is outside.”

  Without waiting for Farrell, Blaine opened the door and stepped outside as quietly as he could. The cloud of mist hanging over the campsite was damp and thick as fog. Adding fog to the darkness, he couldn’t see much, but he sensed movement between the trailer and the tow truck.

  Is it the trailer guy or did that asshole, Golden, come back for his truck?

  Blaine glanced around and there was no Bud Larkin vehicle. Had to be Joey Golden.

  FARRELL dressed faster than he thought possible, jammed his feet into his boots and groped for his Smittie on the floor beside the bed. As soon as he crossed the kitchen heading for the door the dogs jumped up and barked. They were always at the ready for him because he was their handler. “Shit, don’t bark,” he said in a loud whisper, but it was too late. As he ran out the door, he could hear Blacky around the front of the trailer hollering.

  “Stop or I’ll shoot. You’re under arrest.”

  Farrell couldn’t see fuck all outside. He cursed as he ran blindly through a wet cloud in the direction of Blacky’s voice. Then he heard the truck start.

  Bang.

  As Farrell rounded the trailer the tow truck fishtailed out of the campsite and barreled down the dirt road. Blacky was already running to Farrell’s truck. His own truck still had the rental trailer hitched on behind.