Heart of Integrity (Hearts of the West, #2)

Chapter 30

Ifor didn’t know whether to be glad or annoyed that Timothy was with them.

Part of him wanted to be alone with Susan, and the other half was relieved that there was someone there to keep him from letting his guard down too much.

He’d tried not to show it, but it’d been frightening going into the post office, not knowing if the rest of it would collapse on top of him or not. He could still see in his mind’s eye the ceiling in his house crashing down on top of his father.

He shuddered. For the most agonizing few moments of his life, he’d been convinced his fatherwas dead.

The doctor’s words came back to him. Had his father survived the falling debris only temporarily? He couldn’t picture what life would be like without his father in it.

Didn’t want to picture it.

“You’re pretty quiet, Ifor. You okay?” Timothy’s voice was deep and sincere.

He glanced at Timothy, then at Susan. “Just still trying to take it all in, I suppose.”

Timothy exhaled sharply. “I’m with you on that.”

They continued their walk in silence, until Susan’s house came into sight. At least, what was left of it.

Ifor looked at her. “Could he even get inside it?”

“I don’t know. We ran out while it was still falling, then kept our distance from it.” She looked up at him, and the emotion in her eyes stung his throat.

“I’ll have a look,” he said, his voice husky.

She nodded gratefully.

As Ifor moved toward the house, he glanced back at her. Timothy was beside her now, the two of them watching him, waiting to see if it was another dead end like the post office.

Ifor clambered over a pile of rubble—there’d been no way to get around it. He carefully investigated the remains of Susan’s house, but as far as he could see, the door had been completely destroyed and the doorway blocked by heaps of brick and wood and earth.

He sighed, hoping her father hadn’t already skipped town.

“No way in,” he said, rejoining Susan and Timothy.

The expression on her face made his chest tighten. She looked so mournful, so vulnerable. His gaze settled onthe bruise above her eyebrow. She’d said the man who’d died had knocked her out. The thought of him—of anyone—hurting her lit a fire within him that nothing else ever had.

“Where now?” Timothy asked.

“I have no idea,” Susan said, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Well, if he was planning to leave town, he’d probably want to check a few other places for ready money,” Ifor said.“The bank is in the center of town, too close to the crowds for him to risk, even with all the commotion. So, where else could he try?”

Susan’s brows lifted. “The mill?”

“Worth a try,” Timothy said with a shrug.

The three fell into silence again as they began their journey to the mill.

Ifor’s thoughts flitted to Tad, and he prayed that his father’slife wouldn’t fade away while he was out trying to find someone who’d willingly taken one.