really odd when she was talking about Jarrod. She said, ‘He was nice, handsome and generous. There wasn’t any way I could resist that, and then when I met Jubilee, I was hooked for good.’ Something like that anyway. It struck me for about three seconds, but I was so shocked to see her on my doorstep, I guess I didn’t hold on to it very long.”
“So, you think that Jarrod had Jubilee when he and Tabitha met?” The possibility intrigued Malone. Tabitha’s description made Jarrod sound like someone who liked to be in control, someone who would insist that he be paid the utmost respect. He didn’t sound like someone who would go out of his way to commit a crime that wouldn’t benefit him. And what good would kidnapping Jubilee have done?
“I don’t know. That’s the way it sounds, though. Don’t you think?”
“I think we need to talk to your sister and her husband.”
“My sister is missing, and Las Vegas is a long way from here.”
“We’re going to find your sister, and I don’t need to go to Las Vegas to talk to her husband. Stella is very good at getting information we need. I’ll put her on it.”
She nodded, standing and stretching, a ring on her right hand glinting in the sun. It caught his attention, the narrow gold band enough like a wedding ring for him to wonder if it was one.
Not his business, but his mouth opened anyway, and he was asking before he could stop himself. “Is that your wedding ring?”
She frowned, twisting the band. “Yes. People kept telling me to take it off, and move on, but I couldn’t bring myself to not wear it, so I shifted it onto my right hand. I know it seems silly, but—”
“Why do you say that?”
“What?” She met his eyes, and he found himself caught in her gaze, noticing a dozen things that he hadn’t seen before. The blue flecks in her eyes. The thickness of her lashes, and the way they brushed her cheeks when she blinked. The smoothness of her skin and the golden strands that seemed woven through her hair.
“That it seems silly to wear the ring.”
“Because Cory has been gone for three years, and our marriage ended when he died.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t still love him.”
She shrugged, twirling the ring once and then letting her hand drop. “No one tells you how to move on when someone you love dies or how to stop being the caregiver when the hospital bed that’s sitting in your living room is finally empty.”
“Was he sick for long?” he asked, imaging that empty bed in the empty room, imaging just how hard that would have been to face alone.
“In the grand scheme of our marriage? An eternity, but it was really only a year. He had brain cancer, and it took everything from him, and then it took everything from me.” Her cheeks went bright pink, and she frowned. “That sounds really melodramatic.”
“I don’t think so. I think it sounds like how you feel.”
“How I felt. Things are back on track now, but I’m still not ready to take off the ring. Not yet, and I don’t even really know why.”
He thought he did.
He thought that maybe she couldn’t quite let go of the dreams she’d had when she’d said her vows, that she didn’t really want the good times she’d shared with her husband to be over.
He could understand that. He could also understand how difficult it would be to let go of forever, to know that a lifetime with someone had only amounted to a few short years.
“You know what I think, Quinn?” he asked, and she frowned.
“Do I want to?”
“Maybe. I think you should wear that ring for as long as you want to. I think you should never feel anything but happy to do it. You’re honoring the memory of what you had with your husband. There’s nothing wrong with that. Now, how about we find Chance? He’s trying to talk the sheriff into letting us leave.”
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to.”
“Have you looked around recently?” He gestured to the black field, the
“So, you think that Jarrod had Jubilee when he and Tabitha met?” The possibility intrigued Malone. Tabitha’s description made Jarrod sound like someone who liked to be in control, someone who would insist that he be paid the utmost respect. He didn’t sound like someone who would go out of his way to commit a crime that wouldn’t benefit him. And what good would kidnapping Jubilee have done?
“I don’t know. That’s the way it sounds, though. Don’t you think?”
“I think we need to talk to your sister and her husband.”
“My sister is missing, and Las Vegas is a long way from here.”
“We’re going to find your sister, and I don’t need to go to Las Vegas to talk to her husband. Stella is very good at getting information we need. I’ll put her on it.”
She nodded, standing and stretching, a ring on her right hand glinting in the sun. It caught his attention, the narrow gold band enough like a wedding ring for him to wonder if it was one.
Not his business, but his mouth opened anyway, and he was asking before he could stop himself. “Is that your wedding ring?”
She frowned, twisting the band. “Yes. People kept telling me to take it off, and move on, but I couldn’t bring myself to not wear it, so I shifted it onto my right hand. I know it seems silly, but—”
“Why do you say that?”
“What?” She met his eyes, and he found himself caught in her gaze, noticing a dozen things that he hadn’t seen before. The blue flecks in her eyes. The thickness of her lashes, and the way they brushed her cheeks when she blinked. The smoothness of her skin and the golden strands that seemed woven through her hair.
“That it seems silly to wear the ring.”
“Because Cory has been gone for three years, and our marriage ended when he died.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t still love him.”
She shrugged, twirling the ring once and then letting her hand drop. “No one tells you how to move on when someone you love dies or how to stop being the caregiver when the hospital bed that’s sitting in your living room is finally empty.”
“Was he sick for long?” he asked, imaging that empty bed in the empty room, imaging just how hard that would have been to face alone.
“In the grand scheme of our marriage? An eternity, but it was really only a year. He had brain cancer, and it took everything from him, and then it took everything from me.” Her cheeks went bright pink, and she frowned. “That sounds really melodramatic.”
“I don’t think so. I think it sounds like how you feel.”
“How I felt. Things are back on track now, but I’m still not ready to take off the ring. Not yet, and I don’t even really know why.”
He thought he did.
He thought that maybe she couldn’t quite let go of the dreams she’d had when she’d said her vows, that she didn’t really want the good times she’d shared with her husband to be over.
He could understand that. He could also understand how difficult it would be to let go of forever, to know that a lifetime with someone had only amounted to a few short years.
“You know what I think, Quinn?” he asked, and she frowned.
“Do I want to?”
“Maybe. I think you should wear that ring for as long as you want to. I think you should never feel anything but happy to do it. You’re honoring the memory of what you had with your husband. There’s nothing wrong with that. Now, how about we find Chance? He’s trying to talk the sheriff into letting us leave.”
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to.”
“Have you looked around recently?” He gestured to the black field, the
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