Elijah’s death brought her the flood of relief that the babies were now finally safe. They would be inconvenienced by having to leave the ranch for a day or two since it was now a crime scene. One that would need to be processed and cleaned up. That move would happen in an hour or two, after the deputies had cleared the grounds to make sure no other threat was lingering around. Everyone was convinced that Elijah had acted solo, but they wanted to be sure.
So did Addie.
She didn’t want to take any chances with the twins’ safety.
Then, the three of them and Etta Jean would be going to Judson’s house for a couple of days. Not ideal, since it meant hauling loads and loads of baby stuff, but it was better than the alternative of being in the house where Elijah’s blood was still on the floor. Soon, that would all be cleaned up, and while there would always be those horrible memories of him, there werethousands more good memories to overshadow what he’d tried to do.
Addie lathered up for a third time to make sure there were no traces of Elijah left on her body and wished it would be this easy to rid her mind of the terrifying images that would likely plague her for years to come. Etta Jean and Judson as well. Heck, the entire Renegade Canyon sheriff’s office. Elijah had spread this nightmare to so many people.
And for what?
Money, plain and simple. His greed had spurred all of this, and she wondered if that greed would have soon extended to murdering Jennifer as well once he was certain he could have Yvette’s entire estate.
Trying to shove aside as many thoughts of Elijah as she could, Addie stepped from the shower and was greeted by an amazing sight.
Judson.
He was in the doorway of the bathroom that she’d left open so she’d hear if anyone called out for her. Especially Etta Jean, since Livvy and she were in the nursery with the babies.
Judson’s eyes locked with hers before his gaze slid down the naked length of her. The corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. Something she was glad to see. Right now, she wanted anything that would erase even a small portion of what she’d just been through.
He handed her a towel and watched as she coiled it around herself. “I would pull you into my arms right now, but that could be a little risky,” Judson admitted. “I doubt we want to start something when we could be interrupted at any second.”
That was true. But Addie risked it anyway. She went to him and let him engulf her in exactly what she needed. She let the feel of his body against hers ease some of her still-knotted muscles. Addie took in his scent, too, and let that fill her withsomething wonderful rather than the stench of gunfire and blood.
Yes, she needed this.
Addie held on for several minutes, letting herself level out.
“FYI, they just removed the body,” he murmured, gently rubbing her back with his fingertips. “So, you won’t have to see that when you go back downstairs.”
Addie was beyond thankful for that. She never wanted to see Elijah again. She just wanted this moment with Judson and then the babies.
But she didn’t get another moment with him, because his phone rang. Groaning, she stepped back, knowing he needed to take the call since it could be important.
“It’s Serenity Springs Care Facility,” he let her know.
He didn’t put the call on speaker, and Addie didn’t push him to do that. If this was Rowena, she didn’t want to hear the woman’s voice.
“Yes,” Judson replied in response to what the caller had just said. “I’ll tell her,” he added a heartbeat later. “Thanks for letting us know.”
Before he even ended the call, Addie knew what this was about. “Rowena’s dead?”
He nodded, and she saw him studying her face, no doubt looking for any signs of grief. But there weren’t any. Just the opposite. Addie exhaled a long, slow breath of relief and nodded.
“It’s over,” she muttered.
On a sigh, he reached for her again, but reaching was as far as he got before he got a text. Clearly, fate was not going to allow Judson and her a little alone time. Of course, that was expected with all the various wheels turning in the wrap-up of the investigation.
“From Grace,” Judson relayed after looking at his screen. “It’s a couple of updates. One about Bennie.”
That grabbed her attention, and she steeled herself up in case the deputy had died, but she didn’t see dread in Judson’s eyes. Only relief.
“Bennie made it through surgery,” Judson explained. “He’s in stable condition. The doctor is optimistic that he’ll make a full recovery.”
That eased even more of her too-tight muscles. They had already gotten word that the ranch hand, Delbert Reeves, was doing well, too. He’d been in the kitchen when the lights had gone out, and Elijah had clubbed him with the butt of his gun. Delbert had needed stitches and would require a night’s stay in the hospital for observation, but like Bennie, he would recover.
“Good,” she managed to say. Elijah hadn’t claimed another life. But Bennie, and the rest of them, were also going to have to live with the SOB’s actions for a while.
