Mission accomplished, she thought with a smile as she shrugged out of her coat and hung it on the hook near the door. When Dom stood, she glanced up at him. His blond hair was tousled as if he’d raked his hands through it. “I wish we had coffee.”
“Did you check the freezer?” She headed into the kitchen. “I know when my brother was here last, he left coffee behind.”
“Really?” His expression turned hopeful.
She opened the freezer and found a can of coffee. “Here we go.” She handed it to him. “Do you always drink coffee all day and into the night?”
“Pretty much.” He gratefully took the coffee and crossed to the coffeemaker. “Especially if I’m working late on a project.” He shot her a rueful glance. “I’ve never had a project as important as this, though.”
“I hear you.” She dropped into the empty chair. “It’s been a lot to process.”
“Yeah.” He filled the coffeemaker, then joined her. “I was thinking we should start by digging into Stuart Ramsey’s last few weeks in Jackson Hole. We know Gunther Volter was already in jail by then, and it would be nice to know who hired Ramsey. Was it Theo Le Ruiz or someone else? Seems logical that same person is the one who hired this gunman too.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense. You mentioned exchanging contact information with the hospice nurse. Any chance we can talk to her again tomorrow?”
“We can try, but I don’t think she has anything more to add.” He turned to the computer. “I’m sure she told me everything she knows.”
“I figure it can’t hurt.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “She called you on Sunday, right? Just over a week later, a gunman is hot on your trail. If nothing else, we should make sure she’s okay.”
“True.” His eyes widened in alarm. “I hadn’t considered the fact that she might be in danger too.”
She winced, wishing she hadn’t mentioned it. “I’m sure she’s fine. For whatever reason, this guy thinks you know something you shouldn’t. Maybe he’s worried your father spoke about his time prior to being relocated into witness protection.”
“Maybe.” He rerouted his ISP address again, then pulled up his email. She leaned over to watch as he sent Helen Gingrass a message to stay safe and that he’d like to call her the following day. Dom glanced at her. “Should I call the Denver police?”
She arched a brow. “Denver? I assumed the hospice was in Billings.”
“No, Denver.” He scowled at the screen. “When the Billings police showed up on my doorstep, they mentioned being contacted by the Denver PD. And the area code of Helen’s phone was also from Denver. I know Stuart Ramsey worked in Jackson, then sabotaged the plane in Billings six years ago, but after that, he must have taken the cash and relocated to Colorado.”
“Or he moved to Denver from some other town after being diagnosed with cancer.” The coffeemaker stopped brewing, so she stood to fill their cups.
“I think it’s easier to disappear in a larger town than someplace smaller where everyone knows everyone else.” Dom accepted the coffee cup with a smile of thanks. When their fingers brushed, a tingle of awareness danced up her arm. She worked hard to ignore it. This was the wrong time, the wrong place, and Dom was the wrong guy for her.
Just because every single one of her older siblings was now married, or in Trevor’s case engaged, didn’t mean she needed to do the same. She was only twenty-five, no reason to rush into anything.
Besides, Dominic lived and worked in Billings. Kendra couldn’t imagine leaving her family ranch.
Thinking of that, though, along with the gold Krugerrand, made her think of something. “Dom, you mentioned you found the coin in your dad’s plane hangar. You’re sure other coins aren’t hidden someplace in there?”
“I’m sure.” Dom sounded certain. “I stayed in my dad’s house after he died. I turned the office in the plane hangar into my home office. There’s storage in there, too, but I’ve been through those boxes. I never found any coins. Or anything that would indicate my father had once lived in New Jersey.”
She nodded. “We stayed in our parents’ home after they died too. Well, technically, my older siblings Maya, Chase, and Jessica moved back to the ranch, giving up their careers and lives to support us younger siblings.” Mostly her, Kendra knew. She’d wrestled with guilt over that for months, until Maya and Chase had both told her they were thrilled to be working search and rescue. That this was their life calling, not their previous careers.
Taking their words to heart, she had let go of the guilt. None of them had anticipated losing their parents at such a young age. But they’d pulled together and turned their inheritance into a way to serve their community.
A mission her parents would have been proud of.
And now her siblings were all happily married and engaged, thrilled to bring forward the next generation of Sullivans. Joel and Trina’s son, Ben, was the oldest. Chase’s son, Eli, was next in line, with Trevor and Bailey’s new daughter, Naomi, coming in third. But there would soon be many other Sullivan babies at the ranch. Maya and Doug’s son was due on Christmas Day, and Chase and Wynona’s daughter was due the second week in January. Jessica and Logan were expecting in late February, and Libby, Shane’s wife, was also newly pregnant.
Kendra knew it was silly to feel left out. She was looking forward to helping to care for the new generation of Sullivans.
“We have that in common.” Dom’s words drew her from her thoughts. “It wasn’t easy to live in the house after my dad died, but since I graduated college early and got the job at Data Intelligence Services, I figured I may as well stay.”
“We felt the same way.” She touched his arm. “I know you might not believe in God and Jesus, but we have taken great comfort in knowing our parents are watching over us in heaven.”
“I haven’t been to church in years,” Dom confessed. “I’m not even sure if my father believed, although he took me to church until I was a teenager. Once I started working, those services were less frequent until they stopped altogether.”
She wanted to point out that church alone wasn’t enough, but based on what she’d learned about Dom’s father, she was surprised he’d attended services at all. The guy had discovered a criminal enterprise, lost his wife, and then been plucked out of New Jersey to live in Billings, Montana. It couldn’t have been easy for him to raise a small child alone in a place where he didn’t know anyone.
