“Oh my God what?” Copeland demanded irritably.
“She’s pregnant,” Audra said. Then her eyes filled, and she went and hugged her sister. Franny followed, wrapping her arms around the both of them.
“Oh my God, Rosalie. Ababy.” She rocked with her cousins, overjoyed. Teary herself. But that might be the exhaustion. But ababy. It was so sweet. So great. So exciting. Sohappyin the face of all this decidedly unhappy.
“And I would have preferred not to announce that in a damn police station in the middle of the night, so thanks, Ace,” Rosalie said glaring at Duncan over Audra and Franny’s heads.
“Hey, it’s a story. You love those.”
“Uh-huh.” But she pulled away from the hug, her mouth twisting and the color draining out of her face. “Hell, give me a second.” She dashed out from their grasp and then out of the room.
Duncan looked after her a little helplessly. He turned back to them, shrugged. “She’s going to want to help, but she’s not up to it. The doctor wants her on some anti-nausea medication and she’s refusing. She’s okay, but she needs to take some extra care of herself, and unfortunately involving herself in this isn’t the way to do it.”
“She doesn’t need to. I’ll handle it,” Audra said. “I can—”
“You have a ranch to run,” Franny told Audra firmly, sad that they had to swing from the happy news of ababyto…whatever this was. “Copeland’s got work to do. You’re busy people with real lives, and this isn’t… I’m not saying it’s not a concern, but if the sheriff’s department is looking out for me, how much safer could I be?” She turned her gaze to Royal. He stood stiff and stoic. Even though he wasn’t dressed in his uniform, didn’t have that gun belt slung on his waist, he looked like he was holding himself as though he was wearing a uniform.
And he was the reason nothing bad had happened tonight, she was almost sure. If he could do that… “Royal was close enough to stop it before a break-in even happenedbeforewe knew I might be threatened. I’m even safer now that we know I have been, sort of. I can handle this, Audra.”
Audra raised an eyebrow. “Royal, is it?”
Franny shook her head at Audra, not going down that line of questioning. Not right now. She turned her attention to the sheriff.
“Sheriff, I’ll stay. I want to do whatever I can to help bring Albennie home.”
The sheriff nodded. “You follow instructions, Ms. Perkins, we’ll keep you safe. Deputy Campbell is in charge of this for the time being. You have any questions, he’s your man. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Which left her in a room with her family. And Royal.
“I can give you guys some time to talk this over,” Royal said, sounding very formal and professional. “When you’re ready, Ms. Perkins, I’ll take you back to your apartment. Mr. Simmons is already working on beefing up the security, but I can assure you all, we won’t be leaving her on her own until it’s all set up.”
“Yes. She won’t be on her own because she’s going to be with us,” Audra said firmly.
“Audra. Please.” Franny didn’t know how to argue with Audra. It went against all her people-pleasing tendencies. But this was…important. The police wanted her to stay, and she wanted to…help. Like she hadn’t been able to help when she’d watched Albennie get dragged into that car.
“You cannot just…handle this on your own,” Audra said. “It’s insane the police are even asking you to. Don’t be stubborn for the sake of being stubborn.”
“Pot. Kettle.”
All eyes turned to Copeland, who’d assuredly taken his own life into his hands with those words. But he didn’t back down.
“It’s true. The both of you know it,” he said, pointing at Audra then Rosalie as she came back into the room. “You’re two of the most hardheaded women I’ve ever known, and I deal with criminals for a living. At least your cousin has the sense toaccepthelpwithout putting up a fuss. That’s more than I can say for the two of you when threats come knocking.”
Audra and Rosalie scowled at him, but they didn’t mount arguments. Because there was no argument to be mounted.
“And Franny is right. Deputy Campbell is right across the street. With the security precautions Simmons is adding, there’s no reason to believe Franny won’t be safe. Safer there, with surveillance and a cop always on duty in Hope Town—twenty-four-seven—than at the ranch with just you and me. Or even at the Kirk Ranch. Isolated, far away from town.”
The room was silent for a few humming minutes. Audra turned to Franny. “I don’t like it.”
Franny met her cousin’s gaze. “I didn’t ask you to.”
Audra closed her eyes and shook her head, but that was how Franny knew she’d won.
ROYAL WAS CHOKINGdown some dregs of coffee that had probably been made twelve hours before and had since kind of burned at the bottom of the pot. But it was the only thing keeping him awake at the moment.
Everything was taken care of on his end—Beckett would handle the evidence. Simmons was off getting the security arrangements ready. He couldn’t ask the businesses for their security footage until actual morning.
So he was just standing around waiting for Franny to be done with her family so he could take her back to her apartment.
