She Can Hide (She Can #4)(89)

“Freeze.”

They did. A rumpled-looking Ronnie leveled a gun at Marlene. “Put your hands in the air.”

Fury contorted Marlene’s features, but she complied.

“Don’t move,” Ronnie ordered. She whipped out her phone and called for backup. “Abby, there are some plastic ties in the garage. Would you bring me a couple?”

“Sure.” Abby turned.

Glass broke. Something thudded. Marlene dropped to the floor, a perfect hole in the center of her forehead.

“What the…?” Ronnie dropped into a crouch. She grabbed Abby and hustled her into the kitchen. “Stay down.”

Abby held her arm close to her body. Her body was oddly cold and her head light, but the white-hot pain in her arm kept her focused.

“Oh no.” Ronnie’s hand was on her back. “Put your head down.”

“What’s going on?” Lorraine yelled from the hall.

“That was a gunshot! Stay back there, Aunt Lorraine,” Ronnie shouted back.

Sirens wailed in the distance as Abby put her forehead on her knees. An hour later, the property was swarming with cops: local, state, county. But there was no sign of the shooter.





CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

One week later

Ethan walked out to the barn. He was still embarrassingly weak, and his tolerance for the cold made him long for a Florida beach. But even recuperating, he had too many responsibilities to go anywhere.

But he was OK with that. More OK than he’d been in a long time.

Derek had the roan pony in the aisle. He was carefully combing the tangles from his mane while the animal nosed through the kid’s pockets for treats.

Ethan gave the roan’s neck a rub. “How is he?”

Derek just nodded. He still wasn’t talking much. His cuts were healing, but his inability to enunciate words correctly embarrassed him.

“I wanted to talk about a couple of things.” Ethan eased into a conversation that would likely upset the kid. He’d get the bad news over with first, then more into what he hoped would make the boy happy. “Your mom is going into a rehab center. They’re going to help her quit drinking and get her life back on track, but she’s going to be gone for a while.”

The comb paused then resumed the short strokes on the pony’s mane.

“I was hoping you’d be OK with staying on the farm. I could use some help around here. You know my cousin Ronnie has been pestering the devil out of me to adopt these two horses.” Ethan unzipped his jacket to adjust his sling. Not only was Mr. Smith prohibited from owning large animals, he was going to jail for his armed assault on Abby and Ethan.

Derek put the comb in the bucket by the wall and pulled out a soft brush. He went to work removing some caked dirt on the pony’s foreleg.

“I’ve been telling her I couldn’t do it. I just don’t have the time to take care of them. But if you were here, maybe you could do most of the work.”

Derek looked up. His eyes were wet. Was he happy or sad? Probably both. He jumped up and threw his arms around Ethan’s neck. Pain blasted through Ethan’s shoulder, but he didn’t care.

Derek released him, looking at his shoulder. “Sorry.” His r’s sounded like w’s. Having the speech pattern of a three-year-old was one of the reasons Derek wasn’t going back to school just yet. Physically, he’d heal quickly, but his emotional recovery was going to take longer.

“No problem.” Ethan grinned. “I take it that’s a yes?”

The boy nodded hard.

“Then you get to name them. You should hurry up before Cam and Bryce get home this weekend. They think of the weirdest names for horses.”

“Batman and Robin.”

Ethan laughed. “I assume this little guy is Robin?”

Derek nodded.

“Batman and Robin are excellent names.” Ethan shivered.

The cold didn’t seem to bother Derek. A thick parka and insulated boots replaced his old, inadequate outerwear.

“Do you need any help with him?”

Derek shook his head. The last couple of days, he’d spent long hours in the barn, basking in the healing powers of the animals.

The bay stuck his head out of his stall. Ethan went over to give his neck a rub. “How’s Batman this morning?”

“Good.” Derek was a natural with the skittish horse. They had a lot in common.

“I’m going back up to the house then.” Though he was nervous about leaving the boy alone, Ethan knew Derek needed some space. The bond of trust between them needed to go both ways. Derek had promised not to run again, and Ethan believed him. “Abby’s coming over soon.”

“’Kay.” Content, Derek went back to grooming the already-clean roan.

Ethan walked back to the house through a few inches of fresh snow. He left his boots and coat in the mudroom.




Abby parked in her driveway. The house next door was empty, the windows dark. A piece of yellow crime scene tape fluttered from the front porch. She unlocked her door and stepped into the foyer. Zeus greeted her with the usual enthusiasm. Despite the dog’s warm welcome, her house no longer felt like her home. Every time she looked at Krista and Derek’s house, memories swamped her.

She set her briefcase on the table and fed the dog. Exhaustion rolled through her. Returning to work right away had probably been a mistake. She put on a pot of coffee and perused the fridge. Nothing looked appealing. Coffee for now, then.