Even as a child, Blade had known that Austin was unstable. His father had warned him never to trust his uncle Austin. The man drank too much, gambled, and liked to get into fights. Despite all of that, Blade’s father still loved his brother and wanted to help him. Obviously, Austin did not feel the same.
Blade was feeling uneasy and needed to be grounded. His anger at his uncle was overwhelming, and one of the few people he knew could calm him down was Dakota. She understood him more than anybody else and shared his anger and pain. Blade and Millie weren’t the only ones who lost their parents; Dakota did, too. Luckily, she lived not too far from them, and her house was on the way to Wolfe’s office.
Dakota was out front, brushing her horse. Their love for animals was another thing that Blade and Dakota shared. As soon as she saw him, a huge smile formed on her face.
“You done for the day?” she asked as he approached.
Blade shook his head, unable to return her smile.
The expression on Dakota’s face changed from happiness to worry. “What happened?”
“Margaret’s dead,” Blade replied. “Looks like her heart finally gave out.”
Dakota rushed closer, the brush falling from her hand. “I’m so sorry. What can I do to help?”
“Keep me company while I sort everything out?”
“Of course,” Dakota agreed immediately. “Let me just saddle up Riot.”
Blade watched Dakota carefully, trying to distract himself. He had known her all his life. They were the same age, separated by only two months, and grew up together. Unlike Blade’s parents, who were born and raised in America, Dakota was of mixed heritage. Her father was a white man, born in Texas as far as Blade knew, while her mother came from China.
He had known both her parents. They worked for his parents on the ranch and were good people. They had been murdered along with his family.
“Ready,” Dakota announced as she mounted Hawk. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m going to go get Wolfe, and then I guess we’ll have to bury Margaret. I don’t want to wait to do it.”
Dakota nodded. “That’s understandable. How’s Millie coping with it?”
Blade let out a deep breath. “Not well. When I got home, I found her sitting on the kitchen floor, holding Margaret. To make things worse, Margaret must have fallen because it looked like she had hit her head on the table. Millie was covered in blood.”
“Oh, that just . . .”
“Yeah, not good at all. She was having one of her episodes.”
Dakota placed a hand on Blade’s arm. “She’ll be all right. Millie is stronger than you think.”
Blade hoped that Dakota was right. She had known Millie just as long as she had known him. Despite that fact, Dakota had always been better friends with him. She wasn’t like other girls. She preferred wearing pants and shirts instead of dresses and insisted on training with him. She had better aim than Wolfe.
The two of them made their way to Wolfe’s office. Unless something happened, he should be there. Wolfe preferred being in places where people could find him if they needed him. It didn’t take long to get there, and soon enough, Sheriff Wolfe was accompanying them back to Margaret’s house.
The first thing Blade did when they arrived home was check on Millie. She was still lying on her bed where he had left her, but she had fallen asleep. That was a good thing. She needed her rest after an episode.
Feeling a little better now that he knew Millie was all right, Blade showed Wolfe and Dakota Margaret’s body. The old woman didn’t have any family left, so it would just be the four of them at her funeral. It was actually pretty sad. Blade hadn’t given much thought to anything but getting revenge, but in that moment, he hoped he wouldn’t end up dying alone.
“I’ll help you dig,” Wolfe offered as they made their way outside.
Blade quickly fetched two shovels from the shed, and they got to work.
“I can help too,” Dakota offered.
“That won’t be necessary,” Wolfe replied. “We’ve got this.”
Between Blade and Wolfe, it didn’t take long to dig Margaret’s grave.
Blade didn’t want to wake Millie, but he knew she would be upset if he didn’t. She deserved to be at Margaret’s funeral, even if it was only going to be a small one. Knowing what he had to do, Blade headed inside and woke Millie. “Come on,” he said with a soft smile, not wanting to cause her any more stress. “Sheriff Wolfe and Dakota are here. We’re going to bury Margaret.”
Millie was still shaken and looked pale as they stood around the grave. They kept the whole thing short. Wolfe helped Blade place Margaret’s body in the grave, and then Blade said a few words. Dakota offered a prayer, and Millie threw a pink wildflower into the grave. It was Margaret’s favorite color.
