Would she be willing to see him again when this was over? It scared him to realize how much he wanted to see her again. She’d still be working with the task force to find Jenny’s killer and the missing baby. Obviously, Autumn would likely keep him informed.
For now, he told himself that would have to be good enough. He wasn’t sure he was ready to trust his heart again, anyway. After Shiloh left, he hadn’t wanted to risk opening himself up to rejection.
“Were you close enough to identify the make and model of the black car?” Autumn asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
“Not really.” He frowned, trying to remember. “I can tell you the sedan has four doors, but other than that I have no idea.” He sighed. “I wouldn’t make a very good cop.”
“Hey, I didn’t get a close enough look to see the make and model, either.” She waved a hand. “Don’t worry. Turns out there are more than twenty cars in the Denver and Canyon Creek area that have the number eight as the last digit of the license plate. But that’s okay, I’ll crossmatch with the names on my list. I’m sure we’ll find him.”
He nodded, adding spaghetti sauce to the ground beef. Then he set about making noodles. He’d need to head outside to do more chores when they’d finished eating.
And he really wished he’d gotten to the grocery store prior to this so he had more to offer.
Autumn set Cutie on the floor, stood and stretched. “I need to get dog food for Bear from my car.”
“I’ll feed Cutie now, then, too.” He learned it was better to feed both dogs at the same time, otherwise Cutie tried to sneak some of Bear’s kibble.
When dinner was ready, he carried plates and silverware to the table.
“Smells awesome.” Autumn closed her laptop.
“It’s nothing special.” He couldn’t help wishing he could impress her with his culinary skills. “I pretty much learned the basics of cooking but haven’t tried anything fancy.”
“You’re doing a wonderful job, thanks.” She smiled then added, “I’d like to say grace.”
“Of course.” He should have expected that. He quickly clasped his hands in his lap and bowed his head.
“Dear Lord Jesus, we ask You to keep us safe in Your care. Please grant us the courage and wisdom to find the threat and to bring those who would harm others to justice. Amen.”
“Amen.” He thought about the brief prayer he’d tried last night. “Thanks, Autumn.”
“God’s watching over us, Jordan.” She lightly touched his hand, sending a tingle dancing up his arm. “Have faith. We’re going to get to the bottom of this, you’ll see.”
He believed her. And deep down, he was beginning to believe she was right about God watching over them.
That maybe his father had truly found God and forgiveness for his sins, prior to his death.
Autumn dug into her meal. “I can’t believe there are that many license plates that end with the number eight,” she said between bites.
“I can help you with crossmatching the names,” he offered. “It won’t take me that long to do the evening chores.”
“I can handle it.” She shrugged. “I need to call my boss, see if he’ll provide some additional backup here.”
He nodded. Before Autumn could make the call, her phone rang. She arched a brow, showed him Peters’s name on the screen, then answered.
“Detective. Thanks for getting in touch.” He listened as she went through the recent attack in more detail. “I was planning to call Redding to ask if I could have a uniform posted here at the ranch for the night.” Another pause. She grimaced, indicating the news wasn’t good.
“That’s okay, I understand. Getting the crime scene techs to check the paint transfer on my SUV will help. Thanks.” She set the phone aside. “Sounds like Peters already spoke to Redding about the danger, and the best they can offer is to have an officer drive by every two hours. Apparently, there’s been an uptick in crime, so he doesn’t want to risk having someone sitting out here when they’re needed in town.”
He didn’t like it but understood. “At least we have the trail cameras.”
“We do.” She glanced down at where Bear had crawled to sit at her feet under the table. Cutie joined him but promptly fell asleep against Bear. The image of the two of them together made her smile. “I should have a suspect by then, too.”
When they finished eating, he stacked and carried the dirty dishes to the sink.
“It’s my turn to wash them,” Autumn said as he turned the water on.
“Your work is more important.” He nodded at the computer. “Find our guy already, would you?”
