Desert Rescue

by Lisa Phillips

  It was the trauma. That was why he was latching on to Patrick—who hadn’t even looked at her. She’d told her son plenty of stories about his dad. After all, what child wouldn’t be curious about an absent parent? He’d seen pictures of his father. Heard all the stories about Patrick’s football team wins. Now Nate never missed a home game.

  His father was here. Everything he’d ever wanted. And on a night like tonight? She didn’t blame him for holding on tight. This man had rescued him.

  So why did Jennie feel like she was going to be sick?

  * * *

  The doctor pulled back the curtain. “Nathan Patrick Wilson?”

  Patrick stiffened, hearing his own name as his son’s middle name. Nate stiffened as well, which he figured was for a whole different reason. Patrick shifted on the bed to face him. “Hey. The doctor just needs to make sure you’re all right. Okay?”

  Nate looked at him. “Mom’s the one who’s bleeding.”

  Maybe it was fear, or maybe he was the kind of male who needed the woman he cared about to be seen to first. Either way, the outcome was the same.

  The doctor glanced at Jennie in the next bed over. Then he looked back at Nate. “That your mom, Nathan?”

  The boy nodded.

  “I’m going to have a nurse take a look at you while I look at your mom’s leg. Is that good with you?”

  “Yes.”

  Patrick figured the doctor had read Nate’s wariness. That was a good quality in someone who needed to treat injuries and illnesses but also had to have a care for the emotions and mental state of his patient.

  The nurse checked out Nate, who had a few scrapes and bruises along with a sprained wrist. It was the bump on the side of his head—one that neither Patrick nor Jennie had noticed in the dark—that worried both her and the doctor. Nate was admitted overnight, while Jennie was cleaned up. Her leg was bandaged, but her injured head needed pain pills.

  She came over and sat on the end of Nate’s bed.

  The nurse gave the boy a shot to calm him so he could sleep and, minutes later, his eyes fluttered closed. He fought it. Struggling to stay awake. “Mom.”

  She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Good night, buddy.”

  Patrick knew Nate had been in good hands with his mom. And yet she’d denied him the chance to know his son. “You should have told me.”

  “I thought you knew.” She gritted her teeth, whispering back, “And I still tried to find you anyway. Now, right when we’re kidnapped, here you are. Waltzing in with your dog to save the day. Well you can go back the way you came. We didn’t need you before, and we don’t need you now.”

  He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Not happening.”

  She really thought he would leave when he’d just met Nate? No way. Seriously. No. Way. Not in a million years.

  “So tell me why you were kidnapped, and maybe I can figure out exactly how much danger you put my son in.”

  She shook her head and got up. The second she put weight on her leg, she winced.

  “Sit back down.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do.” She glared at him. “You chose to leave. I did the best I could, alone and pregnant, with no one but my father to ask for help.” She kept her voice low, so she didn’t wake Nate, but her tone dripped with angry sarcasm. “You can probably imagine how that went. But you don’t know. Because you weren’t there.”

  “Is he why you were kidnapped? Some kind of turf war?”

  Her father was a drug dealer the sheriff hadn’t managed to put in prison while Patrick was in high school. If things were the same, Jennie was probably still caught in the middle all the time. And Nate? Patrick didn’t even want to imagine what back-and-forth the boy had been subjected to.

  “That would be difficult. Since my father died when Nate was two. He doesn’t even remember his grandfather, so I’d appreciate it if you quit bringing him up.”

  Her dad was dead?

  “And you still didn’t find me.”

  “That would be difficult, Officer Sanders. Considering I didn’t even know your name. Why did you change it?”

  Patrick said, “That’s why I wrote you all those letters. So you’d know how to find me. In case you changed your mind, which is what I was hoping. But I never heard back from you.”

  “Maybe that’s because I didn’t get any letters.”

  He was about to reply in kind, his tone now hard as hers and just as sardonic. But Nate rolled over in his sleep and tucked himself against Patrick’s side, his hand on Patrick’s arm.

  He stared down at those small fingers. Tiny nails, smaller than he’d ever seen. A scar on the knuckle, long since healed. Evidence that he’d lived a life.

  One Patrick had missed.

  Jennie said, “I tried to find you.” After a pause, she added, “You knew where I was.”

  He’d also known who she’d lived with—a father who had no moral compass and an even lesser desire to do anything but make money by any means necessary.

  He lifted his gaze to hers and saw tears in her eyes. “I didn’t know I had a son.”

  Pain flashed in her eyes. He realized the implication of his words. He’d have come back for Nate, but not for her. The truth was, that had proved correct. He’d stayed away. Because of her father.

  His mom had taken him to Albuquerque to stay with his aunt. Changed their names to his mom’s maiden name, Sanders. She’d gotten a job as a waitress and he’d worked while going to school. Twice as hard as everyone else. Twice as determined to become a cop and put men like Jennie’s father away.

  “Now I do. Your secret is out, and I know about Nate.”

  Patrick had to let go of the pain. Get along with her, enough that Nate could have some semblance of a peaceful life as he was shuffled between his parents.

  The curtain fluttered and a nurse appeared. She stepped aside to admit the sheriff.

  Bitterness left a sour taste in Patrick’s mouth, but he swallowed against it. “Sheriff Johns.”

  The old man nodded. “Officer Sanders. You found them. Good job.” He glanced at Jennie.

  She tried to smile.

  Johns looked back at Patrick. “Everything okay?” He frowned. “Is Nathan okay?”

  You mean, Nathan Patrick Wilson? He wondered if the old man knew he was Nate’s father. Could be he’d planned this. Brought Patrick here, so he could meet them. Probably not. Maybe the reason was far more sinister.

  Patrick turned to Jennie. “Tell me who those men that kidnapped you were.”

  Her mouth dropped open and she paled. “You think they’ll come back?”

  “Now, Officer—”

  Patrick interjected, “I’m taking a witness statement, if you don’t mind.”

  “I do mind.” Johns rocked to the balls of his feet and then back. “You were brought here for one search and rescue job. You found them, and now they’re good. You can go, Officer Sanders. Before I call your lieutenant in Albuquerque and tell him you overstayed your welcome in my town.”

  Patrick just stared at him.

  What was going on?

  FIVE

  I didn’t know I had a son.

  Jennie wanted to collapse into the nearest chair and just cry. At least now he knew her father was gone.

  She looked at her son, holding his hand while the sheriff and Officer Sanders—it was much better to think of him like that—duked it out over who was going to talk to her.

  “Go ahead and call my lieutenant, Sheriff. I’ll wait.”

  Jennie heard Patrick shift and glanced over to see he’d folded his arms. Determined. Refusing to back down. Exactly the kind of man Nate needed in his life. Someone who could teach him to be a good man. Patrick hadn’t been there for her when she could have used that kind of man in her life. None of the other men around her had been anywhere
near good. Not her dad. Not her brother.

  Patrick had been the breath of fresh air she thought she’d needed back then, even if it hadn’t lasted. In comparison, her brother, the train wreck, had disappeared just after he’d graduated high school—right before her junior year—and joined the army. She’d only seen Martin once since, but on several occasions he’d called, asking for money. One time he’d been in a jail cell in Georgia, needing to be bailed out. But all that was years ago. Until last summer, when the army called her a few times.

  She hadn’t called them back.

  Martin hadn’t been a part of her life for years, and she had no intention of inviting him in again now.

  The sheriff’s words cut through her thoughts. “—do you hope to achieve here? You’ve done your job.”

  “So you insist on pointing out.”

  Was he going to tell the sheriff that Nate was his son? Jennie didn’t think that was any of the old man’s business. Especially considering the way he’d tiptoed around the problems she’d been having out on her property.

  Jennie twisted to face the sheriff. “I’ve asked Officer Sanders to help me and Nate.” Yes, it would be because Nate was his son. And no, she hadn’t specifically asked him. But Patrick was on board, even if he intended to blame her through the whole thing.

  She continued. “The same men who’ve been trespassing on my land took me and my son from our house. They kept us overnight, trying to scare us. They chased us. They shot at us. And I think they were going to take us to meet someone.” She folded her arms, trying not to talk so loudly she woke Nate. “I don’t want them coming back, or trying again. I want Nate to be safe.”

  “It’s over now,” Johns said. “There’s no reason to believe you’re still in danger.”

  “And when they drive onto my back forty again, causing trouble, making noise and a mess? What then?” She didn’t go there much. But that didn’t mean she wanted bad guys on her land, or anywhere near her son. “I’m supposed to just let them do whatever they want?”

  “They’re still out there?” The sheriff glanced between her and Patrick.

  “They ran off.”

  The sheriff huffed. As though Patrick should have saved the two of them and arrested those guys, as well. In the middle of a gunfight. “I thought you had a K-9 with you.”

  Patrick’s lips pressed into a thin line.

  Jennie wasn’t interested in a battle between the local sheriff and Patrick, who represented the New Mexico State Police. What she wanted to know was why the sheriff had been blowing off her concerns for weeks now.

  “Have you received any calls from the DEA?” Jennie asked. “I left all the information when I called them, but they never called me back.”

  The sheriff blinked. “You called the Drug Enforcement Agency?”

  “Sheriff—”

  Whatever Patrick had been about to say, the sheriff cut him off. “It’s trespassers. That’s a local problem, and it’s going to have a local solution.” He shook his head, looking exasperated. “Everyone knows those boys have dirty federal agents on their payroll. You probably tipped off these guys, and that’s why they kidnapped you.”

  “I thought it was trespassers.” Jennie tried to look innocent, with a side of oblivious. She wasn’t sure it worked. “You’re saying they could be drug runners? I know my father used to transport narcotics through town using back roads and people’s land. I thought you shut all that down.”

  Also, since her father had died, a lot of his associates had scattered, leaving a void in town. The rest of what had happened to the drug trade locally...she had no idea. She’d been a busy twenty-year-old single mom trying to figure out how to make enough money to support herself and her son.

  Sheriff Johns shrugged. “Who knows what kind of men they were? Could just have been a couple of bikers, or transients. People looking for passage through the back country.”

  “We know what kind of men they were.” Patrick stared down the sheriff. “Both Jennie and I saw their faces. So we’ll need you to supply us with your collection of mug shots, and we’re happy to ID them.”

  Jennie nodded. “Yes, we’re happy to tell you who it was. Then you can bring them in.”

  “Good.” The sheriff didn’t look like he thought that would be a problem, but he also didn’t seem happy, either.

  She wasn’t sure if he was on the up-and-up or not. She’d always thought he was a good guy, or at least tried to be. “Then there will be two fewer dangerous men out there.”

  Johns nodded. “We try. Right, Officer Sanders? Every day, chipping away at the bad element. The job is never done but we do what we can to stem the tide. Especially in a place like this, where good people live.”

  Maybe Johns thought she had something to do with it. Like this was a turf war and she was some kind of drug queen. Jennie would have been scared if that idea hadn’t made her want to laugh out loud.

  “And,” Patrick said, “we’ll know who their associates are as soon as we know their names. Which gives me a shot to identify this boss they were going to take Jennie and Nate to see.”

  Neither of them mentioned Nate being taken alone. That would come, and she got the feeling Patrick was as reticent to overshare with the sheriff as she was.

  Sheriff Johns hadn’t protected her. He’d only brushed her off, insisting things weren’t that bad. Just a few high school kids, Jennie. I’m sure of it. Then they’d come to her house at night.

  She noticed Patrick’s gaze on her. A slight frown shifted his brows, but she knew if she leaned into his concern, that would just give her permission to fall apart. And that was the last thing she needed to do right now...when she should be strong for Nate.

  For Nate.

  Patrick would make sure his son was safe, and that was all that mattered.

  * * *

  She was scared. Really scared. Patrick could see the fear on her face, and it made him want to protect her.

  He pulled out his phone and typed a quick email to his partner, copying in their lieutenant. He needed Eric here to help him figure this out and he wanted the lieutenant to sign off on it. But he included the personal revelation. No point hiding the fact when he’d later ask for a vacation so he could get to know his son. He had enough accrued days that he would be able to take a couple of weeks off at least.

  Judging by the look on Jennie’s face, she wasn’t going to say no to him hanging around. And if that meant he had his gun on his hip and his dog by his side, she’d probably feel a little better still.

  He turned to the sheriff. “So you’ll get me those mug shots?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  Patrick clenched his jaw. No point arguing with the man, even if he insisted on making everything a battle of wills. Was he just an old sheriff, set in his ways, or was there a reason Johns wanted to take care of this himself? Sounded like there wasn’t. Or, if there was, the man was inordinately slow at getting results.

  What was up with that?

  Patrick needed more information if he was going to figure out why those men had taken her and Nate, who their boss was and what it had to do with trespassers. But he would find out. Otherwise he’d have to go back to his office, and his home, knowing there was still danger on Jennie’s land. Right at his son’s doorstep.

  “Great. I appreciate the aid,” Patrick said. “I’ll be sticking around to make sure both Nate and Jennie remain safe until the men that took them are behind bars. Along with everyone they work with.”

  No, he wasn’t a one-man army. Still, he had every reason to see it through. Jennie wasn’t married. She was doing this alone when she could have the bonus of someone else there to share the load. As it had been with his mom—also a single mom after his father had died—she very much could do it all by herself.

  But that didn’t mean she had to.

  The sheriff rep
eated, “Great.” Though from the look on his face things were far from great. “I’m glad for the assist.”

  If the sheriff of his hometown had anything to do with what had happened to Nate and Jennie, Patrick was going to figure it out.

  Out the corner of his eye, he saw her take a half step back and glance over. Reacting to his words?

  Of course, he was sticking around.

  Her eyes were wide with surprise. But why? Obviously he cared about both of them. Nate, more so. There was no sting of betrayal when he looked at the boy. But he didn’t want anything happening to either one. Nate needed protection, and he needed his mother with him.

  Patrick had no intention of coming between them. Even if he and Jennie had to have a hard conversation about how this could’ve happened, it wouldn’t change what he’d missed out on with Nate. Talking through it would help them get past it. But it wasn’t going to get back time.

  What was done was done. Now it was all about getting to know Nate and being a good father.

  She had to know that.

  Patrick said to the sheriff, “I’ll send you the location of the house where they were held...”

  Johns was already nodding before he even finished. “I’ll go there personally and see if I can find anything that will tell us who these guys are.”

  “I already walked through it once, but I was moving quickly so I might’ve missed something. Or they could have come back after.” His phone buzzed and he looked at the screen. Eric was on his way.

  The men could be at the house now. Or they could have cleaned up what was left.

  The sheriff might find nothing at all.

  Patrick was tempted to thank God that he’d found Jennie, and then her son. That Tucker had caught the scent and Nate was safe in the hospital. But he’d left faith behind as well when he’d left town.

  Despite the blessing of now having so much in his life, and it coming so unexpectedly, he couldn’t thank God. Not when He was a God that Jennie believed in. She was the one who’d kept the truth from him. Did God really want that from His people?