Carly reached over and caught her hand. “What they’re saying doesn’t matter. Linc and I had to deal with the town gossips, too. One thing I learned—all that matters is what makes you and Josh happy.”
Tory smiled, liking Carly right away. “Thank you for saying that.”
“Josh and Linc talk fairly often. Josh explained about your friend, Lisa, and the terrible things that happened to her. Of course you had to come back to Phoenix.”
“I’m just so glad she’s going to be okay.”
Carly squeezed her hand. “Josh told Linc about Damon Bridger and how you ended up in Texas.”
“Josh told Linc about Damon?”
“Both of us know about him. We know you have a little girl. Josh says she’s adorable.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about Josh discussing her personal business with his family, but knowing how he felt about her daughter took away some of the sting.
“Her name is Ivy.” She thought of her little girl as she gazed at the sandy desert landscape passing outside the window. “I need to get back to her, but I can’t leave Josh. It’s my fault he’s in jail.”
“Why is that?” Linc asked from the driver’s seat.
“If Josh hadn’t been trying to protect me, he wouldn’t have gone after Damon and he wouldn’t have been arrested. I don’t know exactly what happened last night but I should have found a way to stop him.”
A rumble of disbelief came from Cain’s broad chest. “I don’t think that was going to happen, no matter what you did.”
Maybe not, she silently conceded. Josh could definitely be strong willed.
“In some ways, my brother’s a lot like me,” Linc said. “He’s protective of the people he cares about. If he feels one of them is in danger, he isn’t going to stand by and do nothing. I doubt there was any way you could have stopped him from doing something he believed was necessary.”
Maybe Linc was right, but whatever had happened last night, she wasn’t going to abandon him now.
“We’re going to get Josh out,” Linc said. “We’re going to fix this, Tory. You can count on that.”
She relaxed back in her seat, her worry easing a little. Everything about Lincoln Cain said he would keep his word.
Her worry resurfaced as the Jeep turned off Indian School Road into the parking lot of the Scottsdale Police Department, a flat-roofed structure painted a bright sunflower yellow. In front, big glass windows looked over the parking lot.
For the next half hour, Tory and Carly sat in the waiting area while Nathan Temple and Linc were in the back talking to Josh. Making use of the time, they both made phone calls, Carly calling her Drake Trucking office in Iron Springs while Tory phoned Mrs. Thompson.
“I’m really hoping we can come back today,” she told the older woman. “I’ll call you as soon as I know for sure.”
“Ivy’s really been good, but she misses you. She keeps asking when you’re coming to get her.”
Tory’s heart pinched. “Could you put her on the phone?”
“She’s right here.” There was a pause while Mrs. Thompson handed Ivy the phone.
“Mama?”
“I’m here, sweetheart. Are you and Mrs. Thompson having fun?”
“When are you coming home, Mama?”
“There’s a chance Josh and I will be back this afternoon, honey, but I’m not sure yet. I’ll be there as soon as I can, I promise.”
“I really miss you, Mama.”
Her throat went tight. “I miss you, too, sweetheart. I’ll call you as soon as I know for sure. Be good for Mrs. Thompson until I get there.” Tory ended the call and wiped a tear from her cheek. She looked up to see Carly watching her.
“You’ll be home soon.”
