Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
The following morning, Autumn stood at the sink washing the breakfast dishes as Jordan went out to handle the chores.
She’d tried to convince him she could do them, but he insisted.
He seemed better, but not entirely healed.
She knew from her own personal experience that getting over a concussion could take time. Several days at the very least.
As the doctor said, head injuries could be tricky.
She knew they needed to talk. She’d been startled when he’d told her he loved her and felt sure the words had been said in the heat of the moment. Especially coming on the heels of her confronting her assailant. And her mother’s killer.
Did he really mean them?
Jordan’s reaction to being in danger was justified. She didn’t blame him for being upset. And the problem was, she couldn’t guarantee a similar incident wouldn’t happen again.
She was a cop. And that meant putting bad people, men and women, behind bars.
Granted, Meredith Delbert was an extreme case—she wasn’t aware of any other family member who’d gone to such lengths to seek vengeance like this.
But there could be others. She was still grappling with having answers on her mother’s case all these years later.
The danger was over for now, but Jordan needed to understand the risks associated with her job before he committed to seeing her again.
Steve hadn’t been able to cope with her job. He’d suggested she should be a security guard at the medical center, rather than putting her life on the line. And when she’d refused, he’d walked away.
Now here she was, letting another get close to her heart. She wanted to see Jordan again, more than anything.
But she didn’t want her heart broken again, either.
She smiled at the dogs playing together in the living room. Bear was stretched out on his belly, with Cutie jumping all over him. Bear finally figured out that if he just let her goof around, she was likely to get tired and eventually stop.
Last night was the first good night of sleep she’d had since the night Meredith had broken into her house and shot at her.
She’d called the hospital to check on her, but they would only tell her that Meredith Delbert was in critical but stable condition.
Autumn had prayed that Meredith would survive.
She wanted the woman to be held accountable for murdering her mother.
And for attempting to kill her.
When her phone rang, she thought for sure it would be Peters or someone else from the police department giving her an update. She was especially keen to get her mother’s things back, if Meredith hadn’t destroyed them. But River’s name lit up her screen. With a frown, she quickly took the call.
“Hey, River. What’s going on?”
“I just got a call from Emmett. He’d like us to come search a desolate area outside of Denver. He’s counting on Bear’s nose to alert on any human remains.”
“Another tip?” she asked, nodding at Jordan walking in.
“Yes. Like the last one, it could be nothing, but Emmett doesn’t want to ignore it.”
“I understand.” There was too much at stake not to take every tip that came in seriously. She glanced at the clock. “I’ll leave right away. I’ll meet you there in thirty minutes, give or take a few.”
“Great, see you soon.” River ended the call.
“You have to go?” Jordan shrugged out of his coat.
“I’m afraid so.” She dried her hands on a dish towel. “I’m sorry, but this is another tip for the task force that needs follow-up. I’m sure it won’t take long. We’ll talk when I get back, okay?”
He frowned. “I was hoping—”
“I know.” She quickly cut him off. “I want to talk things through, too. Very much.” She reached for her coat. “Just remember, I’m a cop. This is my job, tracking bad guys and heading out to follow up on leads at a moment’s notice.”
He nodded slowly. “I understand what you’re saying.”
Did he? She wished she could be sure. Her ex had resented her job, and she couldn’t help but hope Jordan wouldn’t feel the same way. “Come, Bear.” Her K-9 jumped up, dislodging Cutie, who’d sprawled on top of him. “Time to go to work.”
Bear perked up at the words and trotted to the door. She didn’t hug and kiss Jordan on the way out.
The way she wanted to.
Thankfully, the drive to Denver didn’t take long. They were near an open field that wasn’t too far from the K-9 training center. Autumn pulled off to the side of the road next to River. He stood with Frankie, who sniffed the air curiously.
“You head north I’ll go south,” River said. “It’s muddy from the storm the other night.”
“Sounds good.” She opened the back hatch for Bear. Meeting him in the back of the SUV, she poured water in a collapsible bowl and offered it to him. “Are you ready, boy? Huh?”
Bear lapped at the water, then looked up at her expectantly.
“Are you ready to search?” Autum pointed to the western part of the deserted area. “Search napoo! Napoo!”
Beside her, River was going through a similar routine with Frankie. She set out to follow Bear’s zigzag path as he swept his keen nose along the ground. Her K-9 trotted over the rocky terrain and through mud without hesitation, totally focused on his job.
They spent a solid hour going through the area, but Bear didn’t alert. She glanced over at River on their way back to the SUV and the dejected expression on his face confirmed he and Frankie hadn’t found anything, either.
They met up at the cars, eyeing their muddy dogs.
“I think we should head over to the training center to give them a bath,” River suggested.
“Okay.” She tried to hide the fact she’d rather get back to Jordan’s ranch. Yet Bear could use a bath, and she wanted to be a part of the team. “I’d like to check on the new puppy recruits Emmett mentioned the other day.”
“I agree. Let’s go.” River turned back to his SUV.
Autumn knew Dodger Andrews had funded the training center through a generous donation.
Emmett had mentioned this was available for all area K-9 units, and she had to admit, the place was impressive.
There was a large indoor and outdoor training course along with several kennels.
She’d met the head trainer, the kind and gentle Dev Singh, on her initial visit to the FBI offices for the task force meeting.
That’s when she’d heard about the two German shepherd puppies, brothers, being trained by Dev to become future K-9 officers.
Ten minutes later, she and River arrived at the training center.
They took their dogs into the kennel to bathe them, something Bear tolerated but didn’t love.
Frankie the Lab apparently loved the water.
When she finished washing Bear, he shook his body to get rid of the excess water, spraying her in the process.
With a sigh, she toweled herself off, then worked the towel over Bear’s fur. As she rejoined River, she found him talking to Dev, a fit, tall man in his sixties with salt-and-pepper hair. The head trainer had the new puppies on leash.
“How are things going with the puppies?” she asked with a smile. “They’re so cute! I can hardly imagine them as grown-up K-9s.”
A pained expression crossed Dev Singh’s features. “Chance is doing very well, but Trooper is a little slow to follow commands.”
“That’s unusual for German shepherds,” River said with a frown.
She nodded in agreement. “Shepherds make excellent police dogs.” She bent to pet them both, giving Trooper a little extra attention. “I’m rooting for you both to sail through the program, okay? You’re going to do great.”
Trooper wagged his tail. The puppies reminded her of Cutie. She was more than ready to head back to Jordan, although she somewhat dreaded the conversation that loomed before them.
Could they really make things work?
“I was just telling River that my retirement date is right around the corner, but no decision has been made yet on my replacement.” Dev shrugged. “There are three candidates, all very well qualified, but opinions are split three ways as to which one is the best.”
“That figures.” Autumn shook her head wryly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll come to a consensus soon.”
“They’ll have to,” River agreed. Then he clapped Dev on the back. “We’ll miss you, though.”
Dev Singh’s teeth flashed in a bright smile. “I will miss you all, too, but the dogs most of all.” He unwound the puppies’ leashes. “Let’s go, Trooper and Chance. Time to get to work.”
Trooper didn’t respond to the word, but Chance’s ears perked up and he looked raring to go. Trooper looked around as if he didn’t care where they were going.
Autumn grimaced and hoped Trooper would find his way. She turned toward Bear. “Let’s go, buddy.”
River and Frankie fell into step beside her. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Fine.” She glanced at him. “It’s just been a long couple of days.”
“How’s Jordan holding up?”
“He’s still recovering from his concussion.” She quickly filled River in on the recent events, ending with the shoot-out at her home.
River whistled. “Wow, you have been busy. You should have called me for backup.”
“Everything happened pretty fast, but at least it’s over now.” Despite knowing Meredith would never hurt anyone again, she couldn’t help feeling dejected.
“Hey, don’t stress.” River gave her a gentle nudge. “I’ve seen how you and Jordan are together. I’m sure things will work out.”
“I don’t know.” She forced a smile. “You know how it is being a cop. A lot of people romanticize what we do. But the reality is often much harder to accept. There’s a reason the divorce rate is high among cops.”
“True,” River agreed. “But don’t let that stop you from trying to be one of the success stories.”
She nodded as they reached the cars. Was it possible she and Jordan could become a success story? Maybe.
There was only one way to find out. And as she drove the thirty miles back to Canyon Creek and the Clarke Cattle Ranch, she silently prayed God would guide her on the right path.
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