“I should have,” he said. “I don’t know why I held back. I love you, Jo. It’s as simple as that. I love you.”
That was all she wanted to hear. “I love you too. Please don’t ever leave me again.”
He quickly grabbed her up into his arms and kissed her thoroughly, warming her up. Forget hypothermia. After kissing her breathless, he released her. “I’m never leaving you, Jo. I think I loved you the first moment I saw you coming to my rescue.”
42
Whop,whop,whop.
Cole held on to Jo and turned to look north, where a helicopter landed. Hawk jumped out, along with Detective Sanders and two deputies. Hawk wasn’t flying that thing with a concussion, was he?
Interesting. Who’d given them the heads-up? His arm around Jo, they walked along the sandbar until they were near the water. “I really hate having to get wet again, but we’re not going to make the beach without going through the water. At least we have a ride back.”
He suspected that Hawk had some blankets in that bird as well.
“You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Holding Jo’s hand, Cole walked with her through the thigh-deep water to the shore. The icy cold shocked him again, but he could weather any storm, any kind of shock or dangerous waters, as long as he had Jo by his side.
A vehicle appeared on the beach, heading from the north. Jo’s Land Rover? “What? Who’s driving—”
“Pop. He must have raced back to the shop. I don’t know how he crossed the river, but I bet he was the one to call for help too. Oh, I bet I know. He probably was able to maneuver a tree trunk via some kind of leverage and then crossed. That sounds like him. But how did he get my Land Rover?”
“I took your Land Rover to the shop. Left the keys inside in my panic. Come on.” Cole picked up the pace, and the Land Rover stopped near them.
Cole opened up the back to climb in, expecting Jo to get in the front with her father, but she climbed into the back with him.
“I have the heat cranked up,” Ransom said.
Hawk hiked toward them, and Cole lowered the window.
“We got him.” He peered into the vehicle at Ransom. “You’re planning on hanging around, aren’t you? You have a lot of questions to answer.”
“Sure. I only meant to protect Jo.”
Hawk jogged back to the helicopter where they were hauling Troy Martin. Hawk wasn’t even an aerial deputy anymore, but his skills and his bird obviously came in handy.
“Are you in trouble, Pop? Did you commit a crime?” Jo asked.
“Not as far as I know. Look, Jo, I can’t tell you how sorry I am about everything.”
Cole spoke up. “Why don’t we talk about this back at—”
“The lodge. Cedar Trails Lodge. I just want to be back with friends and family. I consider everyone at the lodge my family.”
“Cedar Trails Lodge it is.” Ransom steered them along a forest road and then finally turned onto the road to Cedar Trails Lodge.
Jo squeezed Cole’s hand and then got out of the vehicle. Remi was waiting and hugged Jo, then dragged her inside herpersonal cabin. Cole and Ransom followed. Remi wrapped them each in a thick blanket.
A fire was going in the fireplace, and they had the choice of drinking hot apple cider, hot chocolate, tea, or coffee. Remi was the best hostess, but after all, she ran a lodge.
Cole settled on the sofa next to Jo and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She gripped a mug of coffee in her hands. It was over, finally over. But he could tell by Jo’s pained expression she wasn’t done.
“You’ll have to tell the police everything, Pop. You know that. But I want to hear it first. You owe that to me, don’t you think?”
Ransom Driscoll hung his head. “It’s a long and complicated story. I told you some of it in the shop, just in case that was my last chance. Your mother and I, and Mason, worked with Troy Martin. He was the founder and owner of Resonant, which employed most of the small town of Griffin, Nevada. Your mother and I were two of fifty or so engineers. Resonant was one of hundreds of NASA contractors. We developed and supplied only a few of the more than 2.5 million parts for theLibertyshuttle. Even today, the orbiters are considered the most complex flying machines ever to be built. But that’s beside the point. Myrna was best friends with Helen Martin.”
