by Stacy Finz
In that moment she knew with crystal clarity that she loved Clay. He was it. Everything. The man who could salve her wounded heart and make it beat again. The man who had brought her back from the living dead.
The phone rang again and Clay grabbed it before Emily had the chance. “Hello.”
He listened, his face going tight. Although Emily couldn’t tell who was on the other end of the line, the gist of the conversation wasn’t good. A chill ran up her spine as she mustered the energy to sit up and hang her legs over the side of the bed, girding herself for the news.
When he finally got off the phone, he told Emily that Fairbanks had led authorities to the alleged burial site. “It’s an abandoned well on the property of Manski’s grandfather,” Clay said. “They’ll start excavating tomorrow.”
Another day of waiting. Emily didn’t know how much longer she could take it. “I need to call Drew.”
He nodded, and she went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee while she spoke to her ex-husband. In the background she could hear the shower running. Clay had taken to leaving a couple sets of clean clothes at her house. The domesticity that they’d managed to create under trying circumstances somehow kept her calm as she explained the well to Drew.
“How are you getting this information?” he asked. “I’ve been kept almost completely in the dark.”
“The police chief here is very good,” Emily responded. “He’s best friends with my landlord, and although he says he’s out of the loop on the investigation, he seems to be very much on top of it.”
“You holding up okay, Em? I hate that you’re alone.”
She paused, then said, “I’m not alone.”
It took a moment for the meaning to register with him. “I’m glad,” he finally said. “All I want is for you to be happy, Em.”
She began to cry. “I’m sorry, Drew. I’m sorry that I let a monster take our little girl.”
“The hell you did.” She could hear him crying too. “I never blamed you, Emily. Never once. And you have to stop blaming yourself.”
Clay came into the room and looked ready to rip the phone out of her hand.
“I have to go, Drew. But I’ll call you as soon as I hear something.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Hang in there, Em. We’ll get through this.”
By the time Emily hung up she was hysterical.
“What did that son of a bitch say to you?” He pulled her into him, letting her weep into his clean shirt.
“That we’d get through this. But I don’t know if I can.”
“He didn’t say something to upset you?”
“No, of course not. He is a good man, Clay.” The best.
Because if the shoe was on the other foot, she never would have forgiven him.
Chapter 24
When Clay picked the boys up from school there was no press in sight. According to Rhys, some of the townsfolk were doing their best to distract them. He’d said Donna was doling out free sodas to anyone with a press pass and Sophie and Mariah had turned the Ponderosa into a command post of sorts, letting reporters hook up to their Wi-Fi.
Maddy had made welcome even the press who weren’t staying at the inn, letting them use the Lumber Baron facilities. But to hear it from Rhys, the reporters seemed to like the barbershop the best, hanging out with the Nugget Mafia and drinking Owen’s crappy coffee while the town’s power brokers held court. Supposedly, even Griffin dropped by from time to time, offering to give tours of the area, specifically Sierra Heights. Rhys, who had been following the stories, said most of the news with a Nugget dateline had focused more on the flavor of the town than it did on Emily. Then again, the reporters, like the rest of them, were in a holding pattern until that well got dug up.
Still, he was proud of his neighbors. When push came to shove, Nugget was a good town. Its people looked out for their own.
“Dad, maybe we should take Emily out for supper,” Cody suggested from the backseat of Clay’s king cab. By now the boys knew more than he would’ve liked them to know about Hope’s disappearance and Fairbanks’s claims.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to leave the ranch. Not while all the reporters are still in town. But we can fix her a meal.”
Justin scoffed. “No offense, Dad, but your cooking sucks.”
“Why, thank you, Justin.”
“It’s just the truth.”
They all laughed, knowing it to be a fact. Clay said, “Some of the ladies in town brought some nice dishes. We could heat those up. My guess is that Emily would just appreciate your company and support.”
“Dad, you think they’re gonna find Hope in that well?” Cody asked.
“I don’t know, Son.”
“Justin doesn’t think so.”
Clay turned to Justin in the passenger seat. “No?”
His eldest suddenly feigned interest in something on his phone, so Cody answered. “He thinks she’s still alive. That someone who really wanted a kid took her and has given her a really nice home.”
“Could be,” Clay said, ruffling Justin’s hair.
Instead of driving straight to Emily’s, Clay parked in his own driveway. “You guys have homework?”
“I have math,” Cody said.
Justin grumbled something Clay couldn’t make out.
“Why don’t you start on chores? When that’s done, we’ll go over to the barn. You can do your homework there, while I heat up some of that food. Emily baked cookies.”
Both boys started to scramble out of the truck when Clay called, “Justin, I need your help with something in the stable.”
Justin followed him down the trail until they got to the paddock. Clay waved to Ramon, who was tossing fresh flakes of hay to the horses, and led Justin inside.
“What do you need me to do?” Justin asked, rubbing the nose of his horse. As soon as the gelding had sensed the boy’s approach, he’d trotted straight into his stall.
“That horse likes you.” Clay smiled. “I just wanted to talk to you for a second.”
Justin looked a little nervous, like he’d gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “What did I do now?”
“I’m sure plenty,” Clay said, and grinned. “Emily says you two had a nice talk not too long ago. She’s pretty big on respecting people’s privacy, so she wouldn’t tell me what it was about. You don’t have to either if you don’t want to. But I’m always here for you, Justin. Okay?”
“Are you two a couple?” Justin asked.
“Yeah. I’d say we are. How do you feel about that?”
Justin shrugged. “Do you hate Mom because she left you for that Russ guy?”
“No.” Clay sat on a straw bale. “I was gone from you guys a long time. When I finally came home, I was grieving the loss of your grandpa, trying to hold the ranch together, spending all my spare time getting to know you and Cody. Rightfully, your mom felt left out. That Russ guy paid a lot of attention to her and I think she hoped it would make me love her again.”
“Did it?”
“No,” Clay said. “At the time I was too angry.”
“Emily says Mom would never have left Cody and me. That Sean’s dad is a liar.”
“Never.” Clay patted the straw for Justin to sit. “Your mother loved you two boys more than anything in the world. You two were the best things that ever happened to us. Adults can be real idiots, Justin. So in our anger at one another, we fought over you guys.”
“Did she try to sell us to you for half the ranch?”
“Nope. But in a fit of anger, I offered to give her a lot of money for full custody of you and Cody. Justin, we were fighting and I said a lot of stupid things. But your mother wouldn’t even consider it. No amount of money could equal you boys.”
“Do you miss her?”
“I do,” Clay said. “I wish she could see the men you’ve grown into. The pride I have in knowing that she raised you so well. Because she gets all the credit. Oh God, did she love you boys.”
“Will you marry Emily?”
“Justin, Emily’s got her mind on other things right now. And I won’t do anything until you boys are ready.”
“Good.” Justin nodded. “But I don’t mind her living in the barn so much anymore. I can tell she likes it and she definitely needs a good place. What if it’s really Hope in that well, Dad?”
“She’ll need us to hold her up.” Clay sucked in a breath and threw his arm around Justin’s shoulder. “We better get back. Cody’ll wonder what took us so long.”
They’d all slept in the big house. Emily hadn’t wanted to leave the phone, but Justin and Cody had insisted.
In the middle of the night, Clay had snuck into the guest room, where he stayed with her until sunup, then crept back to his own bed. Because Emily couldn’t sleep without him, she got up, showered, and made a large country breakfast.
It took her a while to figure out the coffeemaker Clay hated, but by the time he came down the stairs she had a pot ready. For the boys she’d made homemade hot chocolate. Bacon sizzled in the skillet, while biscuits baked in the oven. She just had to throw together the omelets.
“You’re up early,” Clay said, kissing her softly on the lips.
Justin caught them in the act and Emily pulled away. The last thing she wanted to do was upset the boys. Through this whole ordeal, they’d been so achingly kind to her. In truth, their compassion had kept her from falling apart.
“What are you making?” Justin sniffed the air. “It smells fantastic. Dad just feeds us Pop-Tarts for breakfast.”
Clay shot him a dirty look. “I’ve made you oatmeal.”
“Yeah, instant.” Justin took a mug of the cocoa from Emily.
Cody came down a few minutes later and made a similar fuss, although he’d been over to her place plenty of mornings for breakfast. The three of them ate and bantered back and forth with each other while Emily made herself a scrambled egg. She doubted she could eat it, but would at least go through the motions. If for nothing else, to keep Clay off her back.
Rhys was pulling carpool duty today and she hoped he’d have news when he came to pick up the boys for school. Clay cleared the table, motioning for her to sit when she tried to help.
“Eat,” he said. “You’ve hardly touched your food.”
Cody buttered a biscuit and slipped it onto her plate, while Justin described in intricate detail his project for the annual science fair. For a stunning moment, they felt like a family.
Then a sharp pain cut through her gut—a reminder that the last of Emily’s family was most likely at the bottom of a well. She clutched the edge of the table, trying to breathe.
“What’s wrong?” Clay came to her side.
“I swallowed something wrong,” she lied.
Justin handed her a glass of water and she took a sip. “I’m okay.”
“You guys ready to go?” Clay put his hand on her shoulder while he addressed Justin and Cody. “Uncle Rhys will be here any minute.”
Both boys ran up the stairs to gather their books and backpacks.
“Will you ask Rhys if he knows anything?” Emily stood up to do the dishes.
“Yes,” he said, and held her hard against his chest. “I thought we could go for a ride a little later in my Cub. Help get your mind off things.”
“I don’t want to be away from the phone, Clay.”
“We both have cells.”
“Clay, shouldn’t you be working? It’s incredibly sweet, but you don’t have to babysit me.”
“This is work. I need to locate my cattle. This time of year they head up the mountains, where there’s more grass. In a few weeks, we’ll have to bring them down and truck ’em south for the winter. But I have to locate them first. Come on, I could use a second pair of eyes.”
“I should really—”
“Emily, look at me for a second. There is nothing you can do. The excavation could take days. If they find anything, which they very well may not, it will take even longer to make identifications. Sweetheart, just sitting by the phone isn’t going to do you any good. And I’d like to take you up in my plane—show you the ranch.”
“Okay,” she said with reluctance.
Rhys knocked on the mudroom door and Clay let him in. “The boys will be right down. Where’s Sam?”
“He’s in the truck,” Rhys said. “I just wanted to let you both know that the Shasta County sheriff has started digging. It’s a slow process because they don’t want to destroy evidence. If they find anything, they’ll bring in an archeological team. I’m sorry, Emily. I know this is beyond tough.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I so appreciate you keeping me abreast of the investigation. Otherwise, I’d go crazy.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“I’m planning to take Emily up for a few hours in the Cub,” Clay told Rhys. “Any reason we should stick close to a landline?”
“Nah, I’d be surprised if we heard anything today. Go up, it’ll be a good distraction.”
An hour later, Clay drove them a few miles away to a small airport in Beckwourth. Other than a long row of metal hangars and a runway, the place was pretty nondescript. There wasn’t even a waiting room to speak of, just a metal building where the employees worked. Clay seemed to know everyone by first name.
He gave Emily a quick tour; he showed her his three planes, ending with the Piper Cub. It was bright yellow, like Big Bird from Sesame Street, and the seats were tandem instead of next to each other. She waited while he and another man pushed the plane out of the hangar and did what must’ve been a routine check.
When they finished, Clay helped her climb in. Oddly, Emily sat in the front seat and Clay piloted the plane from the back. The size of the Cub didn’t seem practical for a man of his height, because he would essentially have to fold himself like a pocketknife to get inside. But Clay didn’t seem to mind.
“You nervous?” he asked her.
“A little,” she admitted.
“I used to land fighter jets on a five-hundred-foot, moving flight deck in the dark. This is a kiddie toy.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, hot shot.”
He winked at her and her insides went up in flames. While buckling her in, his hands wandered over her breasts.
“We’re not even off the ground, and already you want to join the Mile High Club,” Emily joked.
He whispered in her ear, “We’ll do that later.”
Before Emily could respond, he hopped out, did something with the prop, which started the engine, pulled blocks away from the front tires, wedged himself back inside the cockpit, and shut the doors. The next thing she knew, they were motoring down the runway, taking off. Up, up, and away.
Soon the Beckwourth airport became a speck of dust. Clay pointed out the window at the Sierra mountain range. It was perhaps the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.
“Look down, Emily,” he told her through her headset. Laid out before her was McCreedy Ranch. She recognized Clay’s big farmhouse and the corrals that sprawled across his property. “See that?”
It was Emily’s barn. “Wow. This is amazing,” she said.
“Isn’t it though?”
He flew over the Feather River and up over the mountain range so that they could get a bird’s-eye view of every peak and valley. “Is this all yours?” she asked.
“Yep. Look for cattle.” He handed her a pair of binoculars.
“Okay, but you watch the road.”
He laughed. “Have a little faith, baby.”
It felt like they were gliding at a relatively low altitude, not like in a commercial jet where you’re above the clouds. “How many feet up are we?”
“Only about two thousand,” he said. “That’s the beauty of a Cub.”
Emily hadn’t known what to expect. A part of her had expected a good amount of hotdogging. But this was mellow and lovely. And the view quite spectacular. “Is that a lake?”
“It’s an irrigation pond.”
> She put the strap of the binoculars around her neck and fiddled with the lens until she got them focused.
“You see anything?”
“Just a lot of beautiful forest and mountains. I see why you love this place. It’s pretty great.”
He leaned over and kissed the back of her head. “You’re pretty great.”
The compliment made her stomach flutter and she turned around in her seat. “Thank you for taking me up.”
He nodded, started to say something, then seemed to think better of it. She faced forward and scoped the land, looking for cows.
A short time later, through the lens of the binoculars, she saw a few black blobs. “I think I see some that way.” She pointed in a westerly direction.
Clay was very good, because he turned the plane so subtly she could hardly feel it change course. Soon they flew over a herd of more than a hundred cattle grazing along the mountainsides.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“Make sure they look healthy. In a couple of weeks a group of us will round them up and bring ’em down.”
“On horseback?” It seemed like a harrowing ride to Emily.
“Yup. This will be the first time I take the boys out of school. My dad took me out when I was nine. A whole week. We camped out under the stars and I thought it was heaven.”
“It sounds terribly romantic,” she said, conjuring the iconic image of a real Western roundup. “I didn’t think people did that anymore.”
“Some ranchers use ATVs, but this land is too steep and rutted. Horseback is the only way. Want to come?”
“I don’t know how to ride.”
“I’ll teach you,” he said. “And by next year, you’ll be ready for a roundup.”
Next year? Emily had trouble thinking beyond tomorrow. “You think we should go back?” Throughout the trip, her cell had rarely registered even one bar.
Clay sighed. “Yeah. We’ll go back.”
She’d gotten the sense that he’d taken her up for more reasons than a lovely distraction and looking for cows. He’d wanted to talk to her about something. But by the time they landed and taxied, Rhys was waiting for them on the runway.