“Militant told Dr. McBride she has whiplash from braking too hard at the stop sign recently installed at the end of her road, the one she voted against.”
Cubby snorted. “That woman finds fault in her own kin. Told me before I left that her daughter had turned on her. Some kind of wildlife photographer now, Hope was a friend in school, and she left as soon as she was old enough. Hardly surprising, given who her mother was. Anyways, Militant said she hasn’t been home in eight years, and she fears a cult have got hold of her.”
“Was she really a lawyer?” Tex asked.
“Yup. Hard to believe, I know, but according to Jake’s dad, she was a good one too.”
“Huh, go figure.”
“You and Annabelle set the date yet?”
“Thinking end of summer.”
“Good time to have it.”
Tex grunted, and that was pretty much that, as they had arrived at his office.
“Thanks again, Tex.” He lifted a hand to his friend as he drove off.
His office sat at the beginning of the main street, overlooking the town. Spring was dragging in the tourists, which would steadily build through to summer. It was fairly busy in Lake Howling year-round, as it was a picturesque little spot that tugged on people’s heartstrings, but summer was usually the busiest. He and his staff would be kept busy dealing with a range of problems, from lost things to missing hikers on the trails.
“Good to see you back, Cubby; must be time to throw the ball around soon?”
“I’m thinking you’re right, Noah.” He acknowledged another old school friend and owner of The Howler, the local bar, where you could get a meal and accommodation too.
Heading along the street, he saw they were swept, the gardens in bloom and weeded. He ambled down the grassy slope and dropped down on his haunches and dipped his fingers in the cool waters of Lake Howling as he looked out over the still surface to the mountain range beyond. Snowcaps added to the beauty, and he felt himself slowly relax. Katie was home safe and so was he; for now that was enough. Tomorrow it might be different, or the day after that, but that night he would sleep well.
Chapter Five
Katie leaned on her father. Childhood memories of this man holding her swamped her as she inhaled his scent. She hadn’t allowed herself to miss these people, hadn’t allowed herself to think of them, or she would have come apart even more than she already had.
“Dad, I’m sorry.”
He turned her gently in his arms and hugged her close. Enveloping her, he surrounded her, giving her love and support but as usual no censure. He usually left that to his wife.
“It’s all right now, sweetheart.”
“I should have told you.” She rested her cheek on his chest and listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. How would she survive when one day it stopped?
“Yes, you should.”
Those words came from her mom. Lifting her head, Katie saw that she, Branna, and Jake were standing a short distance away, concern on their faces.
“The baby was coming, and I—”
“You were in a shooting, Katie, you got injured and narrowly missed being shot yourself. We had a right to know; we had a right to support you through this time.”
She knew her mom was hurting, knew it, but still resented the anger she heard. Having been away from home for so long, she was unused to anyone other than her boss telling her what to do.
Katie had been the spoilt youngest child of the McBrides, a family loved and respected in the town of Lake Howling. As the local doctor, her mom was an important member of the community, and her father, an accountant, equally so. It was a natural progression that the McBride children received the same affection.
“I know, and I have already said I should have told you, Mom.” Her father dropped his arms, but kept a hand on her back. She could feel the heat from his large palm supporting her.
“What else have you not told us, will not tell us in the future?”
Dr. Nancy McBride was a beautiful woman in her late fifties, tall and elegant, with blonde hair. She looked soft and approachable, but you believed that to your detriment. Katie and her mother had butted heads a time or two, but for the most part, she had been happy to follow her mother’s lead. She knew that was no longer the case. Her father had often said she and her mother were made the same way, and she hadn’t really seen it until now.
“We have time to talk this through, Mom, but I don’t think Katie’s up to it now.” Jake said the words in a steady voice that had everyone listening, and she sent him a grateful look.
