Never Let Go

by Elizabeth Goddard

  Some would say Charlie should work with him, but how could she trust him? He would side with Clyde like he’d already done. Could even be involved. She didn’t want Clyde, or anyone, to know she had stayed in the area.

  She feared her ragged breaths would give her away as she slipped out the back window. Only trouble was, she couldn’t get the window closed. It had jammed. If he looked through the house in the dark, he’d see that someone had been inside.

  Please help me, God!

  She ran through the dark and across the meadow, just like she had done that night two months ago.

  “I’m going to kill you too.” The gruff, unnatural voice resounded in her head as if she had just heard it. She stumbled but found her footing. Focus. She had to make it all the way across the field before the sheriff discovered someone had been in the house.

  Breathing hard, she found the spot where she’d tied Amber to a tree. But Amber was gone. Had she, in her rush, failed to tie a decent knot? A beam of light flashed across the meadow. The sheriff. How far would he search?

  Charlie had to find that horse. She looked behind her and spotted Amber through the trees.

  In the meadow!

  Not twenty-five yards from the sheriff. He would see her. To make matters worse, Amber trotted in Charlie’s direction. The horse knew Charlie was in the woods. She’d simply wandered off to graze. The sheriff’s light found the horse.

  Charlie couldn’t wait for Amber. Sorry, Mack . . .

  Chapter forty

  FRIDAY, 8:32 P.M.

  EMERALD M RANCH

  Too much was happening too fast. Her head would spin right off if she wasn’t deliberate about holding herself together. With her left hand, she fingered the charm on the necklace Austin had given her. In the other hand, she gripped the mug of hot chocolate Heath had offered. He and Austin talked with Evelyn in the kitchen, fussing over the special dessert Evelyn had made.

  Cheesecake. Willow’s favorite. Austin had obviously told her. Evelyn wouldn’t let them eat the cheesecake until it had properly chilled, which meant they’d have to wait until tomorrow, to Willow’s way of thinking.

  Willow should have been in there with them, talking and laughing. But she’d excused herself to sit on the sofa and watch the sunset—pink and orange clouds bursting around the silhouette of mountains. She drew a measure of peace from the scenery.

  Austin’s father must have been the worst sort of man. Why else would Austin ever leave such a beautiful place? Now that she was alone for a few moments, she allowed herself to think about his kiss. But she wouldn’t think about it too long. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against the sofa and relived the moment he’d drawn near, touched her face. Tingles had crawled over her.

  She knew she shouldn’t have led him on, but her heart had utterly disagreed with her mind and took charge, inviting his kiss. Willow could hardly believe he’d taken her up on it. Or had he been the one who’d sent the invitation and she’d given her permission? That part was a blur. Regardless, what was she supposed to do now? It had been hard enough working with the guy without thinking about everything she might have had with him, if she hadn’t needed to know all his secrets.

  And that was just it. Austin had opened up and shared with her. Why now? Why not back then? And what was she supposed to do? Thoughts of him filled her mind and senses. She couldn’t afford to get distracted. But later, maybe later, after they found Charlie, she and Austin could explore a relationship. The kiss—had his intention been to let her know he wanted to try again? Willow needed to think about that long and hard, but with her romantic compass spinning, she wasn’t sure which path to take.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

  Dana. “Hey, thanks for calling back.”

  Phone to her ear, she perused the living room and listened to Dana. “Still looking for a Wyoming connection to Katelyn and Marilee Clemmons. Oh, and I know you didn’t ask, but I searched records for Henry Haus to see if he did, in fact, have two sons like he said. After searching online resources and still getting nowhere, I decided to go ahead and create the Haus family tree myself to generate some applicable record hits. Turns out he only has one son. At least as far as I can confirm. So the nurse was right about the dementia. Or I could keep looking.”

  Willow held back her frustration. Dana likely needed the diversion, and she had only meant to help the poor old man. “We should really focus on finding out why Marilee took Charlie—if there’s a link between her and Texas. No rabbit trails, okay?”

  “You’re right. Maybe the next time you see him, if you do, he’ll claim he only had one son. But I’ll tell you the interesting part about my search. The son I found isn’t a Haus at all. A different name is listed for his father on the birth certificate. But in building the tree, I discovered Henry Haus is named as the great-grandfather of two children through this son who doesn’t share his name, so I’m glad I built that family tree myself. Could be the son was adopted by a stepfather.”

  “Or Mr. Haus had an affair that produced a child.” Like Willow’s grandfather on her dad’s side had done. Maybe that was the secret Marilee had kept for Mr. Haus, but Willow directed the conversation back. “I think we’re getting closer to solving Katelyn Mason’s mystery. We have to be.”

  “What am I missing? What more have you learned?”

  Willow lowered her voice. “Someone left a note. Someone doesn’t want us to find her. He threatened to kill her.”

  “What are you going to do? Please tell me you’ve gone to the authorities.”

  “Not yet. We’re going to. But we have to figure out how to do that without the person behind this knowing. And he’s watching. He knew I was at the cabin here at this guest ranch. He knew we were at the nursing home. This is making me sick. Katelyn’s daughter’s life is now in danger because we’re searching.”

  “Don’t forget about your life, Willow. Maybe I should talk to Austin and remind him to protect you. Sounds like you’re still in danger even though you’re in Wyoming instead of Washington.”

  For sure her heart was in danger. “No, please, you don’t need to remind him. I know you’re doing all you can from there, but please stay safe, Dana. If you’re willing to keep working with me through this, that is.”

  “Of course. I want to get to the bottom of JT’s death. We can’t let someone get away with what they’ve done. What would you like me to do?”

  “Just keep searching for Wyoming connections to Katelyn, or any other connections you think of—follow every lead, listen to every hunch. As for me, I want to find her and warn her, but I’m afraid to take even one step in that direction.”

  Headlights flashed up the long drive and bounced. “Looks like someone’s coming. I need to go.”

  “Me too,” Dana said. “I have the grandkids tonight. I’m making popcorn and we’re going to watch a movie. Willow?”

  “Yes?”

  “Be careful. I’d much prefer it if you’d turn this over to the police or if the FBI would just open it back up. I want you to be safe.”

  “I know.” Willow ended the call and stuck her phone in her pocket.

  Heath and Austin headed out the front door. Through the window she watched them wait for the approaching vehicle. She took in this lovely home—the house Austin had grown up in—though it had been through a fire at some point years ago and more recently a renovation. This was his past, his history, the part that had been missing in their relationship before. She wasn’t sure why it was so important to her, but she couldn’t have imagined this day would come.

  Thick photo albums rested on a shelf. Her heart jumped. Maybe she could get a better look into his family, his childhood. It surprised her that the albums had survived a fire and would be kept at all. Austin had a major aversion to remembering his past and childhood. Maybe things had been loving at first, but then everything changed. Willow wanted to know more. The albums could hold precious pictures of them with their mother. A happy family.

  S
he snatched one from the shelf and flipped through the photographs, wishing she had hours to look through all of them. She wasn’t completely certain Austin would want her digging this deep into his life, even though he had opened up to her tonight, throwing her equilibrium completely off balance.

  A photograph—something more recent—was jammed in the back of the album. Austin wasn’t in the picture. Heath stood next to a horse along with a young girl. An older teenager. Willow removed the photograph and held it near the lamp emitting soft yellow light.

  Oh. My.

  Apparently Austin wasn’t the only McKade brother who kept secrets.

  Chapter forty-one

  FRIDAY, 8:47 P.M.

  EMERALD M RANCH

  A Hoback County Sheriff’s Department SUV towing a short horse trailer crunched along the gravel. Apprehension stirred in Heath’s gut. His property was in Bridger County but bordered Hoback. Sheriff Everett stepped out of his vehicle. Heath had never liked the guy before, but he especially didn’t now that he knew Charlie’s reservations about him. He had a bad feeling about this.

  “Sheriff, what can I do for you?”

  “You can take your horse off my hands.”

  “Come again?”

  “I don’t like bringing the trailer up here. Takes too long.” Everett walked around to the horse trailer. Heath and Austin followed the sheriff and watched him open the trailer.

  Heath instantly recognized Charlie’s favorite horse. He schooled his features, allowing his surprise to show but not his utter panic. Charlie had taken the horse out earlier in the day for a long ride. Heath had tried to call her on her cell when she didn’t answer the radio. While Austin was taking that walk with Willow, Heath had wanted to talk to Charlie about why they were here. He hadn’t panicked then, because in these mountains, cell service wasn’t always a guarantee. But the lack of radio response worried him.

  Heath took the reins and ran his hand down Amber’s neck, walking her the rest of the way down the ramp.

  “Are all your clients accounted for?”

  “As far as I know. But I definitely need to check on that.”

  “You could start with who was riding this horse. I found the mare grazing over on the Clemmons property in the back. That’s fifteen miles from here, depending on which route you take. Maybe the trails are faster.”

  Heath didn’t want to lie to the law, but he had too many suspicions about Silas Everett and wouldn’t jeopardize Charlie’s secret or her life. Everett wasn’t in his own county anyway. He only brought the horse back to give him an excuse to ask questions.

  “I’m not a horseman, but I think it’s highly unlikely the horse would have wandered off on her own to that property.”

  “You never know,” Heath said.

  For the life of him, he didn’t know what more to say. Try the truth, Heath? Except Charlie had trusted him when she couldn’t trust the sheriff. If Heath couldn’t find her, then he would give the Bridger County sheriff a call. Sheriff Haines. A search and rescue team would be sent out. Charlie would be exposed then.

  Another thought accosted him. What if the man who wanted to kill her had found her?

  Please, no . . .

  He wouldn’t let his mind even consider that possibility. Still, it gave rise to the question—was he doing the wrong thing by hiding Charlie? What if she was out there somewhere hurt? Or murdered? He needed to find her. But he didn’t need Everett’s help.

  Best get this sheriff on his way.

  “Is there something you want to tell me, McKade?”

  Heath shook his head. Charlie didn’t want anyone to know she was still in the area. Didn’t want her would-be killer to know. But he’d obviously hired professionals to find her—Austin and Willow. They claimed her mother had hired them to find her—well, her mother was dead. Who else had hired them except the person who wanted to find and kill her?

  Heath had always considered himself a decisive man and had never been cornered like this. No matter which way he turned, he could see no clear path.

  “I have something to tell you.” Willow appeared out of nowhere. Heath hadn’t noticed her approach. She stepped up and introduced herself.

  She shared the story of the missing girl with the sheriff.

  Oh, I really wish you hadn’t done that.

  “You told Sheriff Haines we were barking up the wrong tree, but this note says otherwise.” Willow held up a bagged slip of paper.

  “Willow. What are you doing?” Austin asked, his brow furrowed.

  “I’m sorry, Austin, I don’t think we can wait any longer,” she said, and directed her next words to the sheriff. “Someone left it on our Jeep today outside of a nursing home. Proof enough that she’s alive and well and someone doesn’t want us to find her. I’m giving you the note so you can investigate. Sheriff Haines has the other note. We’ll turn over all we know and all we’ve found so far. But you likely know this girl, since her mother was murdered in your county not two months ago. She’s in danger. I might be endangering her by telling you now.”

  “Have you found who murdered Marilee Clemmons?” Austin asked.

  Sheriff Everett stared at the bag she held and shook his head. “You think her murder is connected to this person leaving you notes to stop looking for Charlie?”

  “Yes,” Austin said.

  The sheriff’s features shifted as though he couldn’t decide how to react to the news. Finally, he forced a controlled expression and took the note from her. “Appreciate you letting me know. Are you going to stick around in case I have questions after I look into this?”

  “I’m not sure how long we’re staying,” Willow said. “But since we were hired by her birth mother to find her, that isn’t going to stop, despite the notes.”

  “Even with the threat to her life?” the sheriff asked.

  Willow’s eyes flicked to Heath, a feral glint in them. What was that about?

  “No disrespect to you, but Mrs. Mason hired us because law enforcement let her down. I have to see this through.”

  Sheriff Everett grimaced but said nothing more. Got in his truck and slowly headed down the driveway. Willow stomped away. Austin stared after her, his face contorted.

  Heath didn’t have time to think about the growing tension.

  I have to find Charlie!

  Chapter forty-two

  FRIDAY, 9:16 P.M.

  EMERALD M RANCH

  Austin found Willow in her room. She’d stomped off when the sheriff left. Heath had done the same as he led the horse away to the barn. Nobody had eaten the cheesecake, which was probably just as well. Evelyn insisted it wasn’t ready. Regardless, he carried a slice up to Willow now that it had had more time to cool. Poor Evelyn had gone to all that work because Austin had given her the special request.

  He had no idea why Willow had gone ahead and told the sheriff about their case when Austin had asked her for time to carefully consider their next step. He peered through the half-open door. Willow’s duffel bag lay open on the bed. His heart dropped.

  He nudged the door all the way open. “What are you doing?”

  She peeked around him down the hallway, then drew him inside her room covertly. Like an informant.

  “What’s going on?” He set the ignored cheesecake on the desk.

  “Sh. Keep your voice down.” She paced the small room. “I’m packing. I’m leaving.”

  A chill crept up his spine. “What’s happened?”

  Unshed tears glistened in her eyes. Austin wanted to reach for her and tell her it was going to be okay. He mentally chained his arms to his sides.

  “I don’t know how to tell you this.” She turned her back to him and walked to the window to peek out, then she shut the mini blinds.

  Confusion rolled through him, trying his patience. “How about you tell me, Willow, before you drive me crazy?”

  She slowly turned to face him but kept near the window. “Heath has been lying to us.”

  Dread soured in his gut. “W
hat are you talking about?”

  “Please tell me you didn’t know.”

  He fisted his hands. Okay. Now he had to hold in his frustration. “What are you talking about?”

  “Heath knows Charlie.”

  Austin couldn’t have heard her right. He stood there a moment, letting her words soak in. The walls of the room pushed out, then closed in. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

  She took a step closer, her expression like a mother coddling a child. “I found a picture of Heath standing next to Charlie and that very same horse the sheriff brought back tonight.” The tears spilled over this time.

  I don’t believe you!

  “Please tell me you didn’t know. You’re always hiding stuff. Nothing’s changed. I thought we . . .”

  Austin pressed a hand against the wall to hold it up before it came crashing down on him. She was actually accusing him of hiding things again? No. He couldn’t think about her accusing him. He had to focus on her accusations regarding Heath. “I need to see the picture. Where is it?”

  “What? You don’t believe me?”

  “It has to be a mistake.”

  She moved to the duffel and took out the picture. “Here, since you think I’m lying.”

  “I didn’t say you’re lying.” He yanked the photograph away and stared at it. Sure enough, Heath stood next to a girl who he would recognize without the age progression photos—she looked so much like her mother. “I don’t know what to say.” Or think.

  “Austin,” she whispered.

  The hurt in her voice said volumes.

  He risked a glance at her, angry with himself. Hadn’t he warned himself to keep his distance from her when it came to his heart? But she’d wounded him. “How could you even entertain the idea that I knew about this?”

  She sucked in a breath and seemed to shake off her own pain. Her sorrowful eyes pleaded with him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to think. What if it’s him? What if he only wanted to keep us close so he could keep tabs on us? What if he’s leaving the notes?”