A Soldier's Homecoming

“What do we do now?”

“You know the drill,” Gage said quietly. “You escort Sophie to and from school. I’ll make sure you have time to do it. And if it’s not you, it’ll be me or one of the others, okay?”

“And Jody?”

“She doesn’t seem to have been the target, but I’ll tell her folks they need to watch her, too. And I’m going to double the in-town patrols so we can keep an eye on all the kids as they walk to and from school.”

“Good idea. Maybe he just happened to know Sophie’s name.”

“Maybe.” Gage looked past her, scanning the area. “If we don’t find him, all this activity will probably scare him on his way.”

“Probably.” But Connie still couldn’t relax. “All the parents need to know.”

“Of course. The school is already taking care of that.”

“Good.” Connie sighed. “Gage, I’m scared to death.”

“I don’t blame you. But this isn’t New York or Chicago, Connie. There aren’t a lot of places to hide.”

“In town, anyway.” She suppressed a shudder. “I promised Jody’s mother I’d bring her home.”

“I’ll do it. You just stay here with Sophie. I’ll leave Sarah here, too. The rest of us will keep searching.”

“Thanks, Gage.”

He surprised her with a quick hug, then gave her a straight stare. “You know this whole town is going to be watching now. Sophie will be safe.”

“Yes. Yes.” But something in her couldn’t quite believe that. The unthinkable had happened. And it had happened to her daughter.

She stayed outside in the gathering dusk while Gage retrieved Jody and put her in his car. Only then did she go back inside the brightly lit kitchen where her daughter, mother and Deputy Sarah Ironheart were sitting.

She tried to smile brightly for Sophie’s sake. “I was going to grill burgers again tonight,” she said, “but I don’t feel like it anymore. How about we try ordering from that new Italian place? They deliver.”

Sophie was over her fear now, and the idea of pizza thrilled her. So easy, sometimes, to be a child.

Not so easy to be a mother. Connie didn’t sleep a wink that night.

Chapter Five (#ulink_e83f43eb-c8a5-5ddc-85e5-3501d71761ce)

Everyone in the county knew about Sophie’s encounter by morning. Even Ethan could tell something was going on as he walked into town from the motel to get breakfast at Maude’s. He noted that he was getting a lot of suspicious looks he hadn’t received even the day before, and by the time he sat down at a table in the diner, he knew he was under surveillance.

His skin crawled with it. He waited for Maude to come to his table, pretending not to notice, but every nerve ending in his body was wound tighter than a spring. Hyper-alert, on guard, half expecting a bomb or a gunshot.

What he got, instead, was a menu, and a few minutes later Gage Dalton entered the restaurant. Gage stood looking around the room and announced easily, “This man is not the man who approached Sophie Halloran yesterday. Leave him alone.”

The eyes shifted away, conversation resumed, and in seconds Ethan had heard enough to understand the basics of what had the whole town acting as if it was under attack.

Gage joined him at the table, and Maude returned for their orders.

“Steak and eggs, over easy,” Gage said to Maude.

She snorted. “Like you have to tell me that.” Then she looked at Ethan.

“Same here,” he said.

“So what’s your name?” Maude demanded. “I don’t like to call people ‘hey, you.’”

He rustled up a smile. “Ethan.”

Maude nodded. “You want coffee with that?”

“Always.”

Another nod, then she grabbed the menu and stomped away.

“Our Maude,” said Gage, “has great charm. It does take some getting used to.”

“She’s harmless enough,” Ethan said.

“Depends on your point of comparison.”

“So what exactly happened yesterday? I was half-sure I’d get shot while I was walking into town this morning.”

“Remember the deputy who gave you a ride the other day? Connie Halloran?”

“Yeah.”

“Some stranger approached her daughter in a car and called her over by name.”

“I gathered that somebody had tried to abduct a kid, but I didn’t know it was her kid.”

Gage shook his head. “The rumor mill is in high gear. No abduction attempt, though. At least, not overtly. The guy wanted to talk to the girl.”

“That’s creepy enough.”

Gage leaned forward, lowering his voice. “When Micah came in this morning, he suggested I take you on.”

Ethan was startled. “Take me on?”

“As a deputy. At least temporarily.”

“But why?”

“He seems to feel you’re fresher at dealing with threats than the rest of us.” Gage grinned. “He’s right, you know. Whatever we used to be, we’re all small-town cops now.”

Ethan nodded slowly, turning the idea over in his head. He, too, kept his voice low. “You want me to protect the girl?”

“Sort of.”