actions. They both looked expectant.
“Excuse me,” Adam said. “I’m looking for the owner.”
“She’s gone for a bit. Said she’d be back as soon as she could,” the man said.
Adam thought it was worth a try to ask, “Do you know how many guests are staying here?”
“We’re not sure,” he said, glancing around. “We only checked in a few hours ago, a room at the back down here on the first floor. To be honest, we haven’t seen or heard anyone.”
Adam spotted the ledger on the desk, crossed to it and was about to reach for it when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID. Jack. He thanked the couple and headed out as he hit the talk button on the phone. “Jack?”
“It’s me,” his older brother said over the line.
Adam hopped into the truck and waited, then finally spoke when Jack didn’t. “How are things up north?”
There was an intake of breath, then Jack said, “Just checking in.”
Adam glanced behind him, switched on the ignition and backed out into the street. “What is it?”
“I said, I’m—”
“You called to tell me something. What is it?”
“I’m staying here until after the New Year.”
“Things are going okay?”
“Yes, they are. Trey’s a great kid, and...” His voice trailed off and then he tried again. “He looks a lot like his dad.” It meant he looked a lot like Robyn, too. “He’s a good kid.”
Adam smiled. “I bet he is. Tell Robert to bring him out to see Mom and Dad as soon as he’s able to.”
“Will do,” Jack said, then added, “Merry Christmas.” He hung up.
Adam exhaled. Jack was okay. He was working things out. And he’d be back sooner or later. He just needed time. Meanwhile, here he was running around like a chicken with his head cut off looking for a woman who was probably hundreds of miles away from Wolf Lake.
He was a cop who had tracked down a number of people, and yet now he’d lost a woman who seemed to be able to flit in and out of his life at will. He couldn’t find one pretty, dark-haired woman in a town a fraction of the size of Dallas.
He drove away from the inn, spotted the police station and pulled into the parking lot. It couldn’t hurt to at least talk to John. If nothing else, he could complain to his friend about the way life worked sometimes. He got out and to the door of the flat-roofed, sprawling building with a handful of cruisers out front. He was way out of his jurisdiction, but at this point he was beyond caring.
Jack should be his focus, not a woman who didn’t seem to want him anywhere near her. As he stepped inside, he almost ran into John. They avoided a collision, made small talk, and by the time they were in John’s office, Adam had decided not to discuss Faith or admit to the obsession he had. That was gone. She was gone. They talked about John’s family, the holidays and Jack’s phone call.
When Adam left a half hour later, he felt settled and focused. Until he got back in the truck. It wasn’t obsessive to want some information about Faith. It was what he did. And he was like his mother and was not a quitter. He turned the motor on, got the heater blowing warm air, then sat back and took out his cell phone. He put in a call to his partner in Dallas, and when Connors picked up, he said, “Hey, it’s Adam and I need you to do me a favor.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
F AITH STOOD , EXAMINING the sundries at the general store. She had a jumble of thoughts going through her mind, things that confused her and things that made her heart ache. It had been hours since she’d gotten up and started hunting through the files. But now her stomach grumbled.
It was midmorning and she’d finished the last of her supplies—the granola bars, crackers and candy that she kept in her room along with packets of instant coffee. The coffee she brewed on a hot plate on her dresser.
As soon as she’d ducked inside the general store, she spotted the old man who seemed to own the place. Oscar Ortega, a balding man
“Excuse me,” Adam said. “I’m looking for the owner.”
“She’s gone for a bit. Said she’d be back as soon as she could,” the man said.
Adam thought it was worth a try to ask, “Do you know how many guests are staying here?”
“We’re not sure,” he said, glancing around. “We only checked in a few hours ago, a room at the back down here on the first floor. To be honest, we haven’t seen or heard anyone.”
Adam spotted the ledger on the desk, crossed to it and was about to reach for it when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID. Jack. He thanked the couple and headed out as he hit the talk button on the phone. “Jack?”
“It’s me,” his older brother said over the line.
Adam hopped into the truck and waited, then finally spoke when Jack didn’t. “How are things up north?”
There was an intake of breath, then Jack said, “Just checking in.”
Adam glanced behind him, switched on the ignition and backed out into the street. “What is it?”
“I said, I’m—”
“You called to tell me something. What is it?”
“I’m staying here until after the New Year.”
“Things are going okay?”
“Yes, they are. Trey’s a great kid, and...” His voice trailed off and then he tried again. “He looks a lot like his dad.” It meant he looked a lot like Robyn, too. “He’s a good kid.”
Adam smiled. “I bet he is. Tell Robert to bring him out to see Mom and Dad as soon as he’s able to.”
“Will do,” Jack said, then added, “Merry Christmas.” He hung up.
Adam exhaled. Jack was okay. He was working things out. And he’d be back sooner or later. He just needed time. Meanwhile, here he was running around like a chicken with his head cut off looking for a woman who was probably hundreds of miles away from Wolf Lake.
He was a cop who had tracked down a number of people, and yet now he’d lost a woman who seemed to be able to flit in and out of his life at will. He couldn’t find one pretty, dark-haired woman in a town a fraction of the size of Dallas.
He drove away from the inn, spotted the police station and pulled into the parking lot. It couldn’t hurt to at least talk to John. If nothing else, he could complain to his friend about the way life worked sometimes. He got out and to the door of the flat-roofed, sprawling building with a handful of cruisers out front. He was way out of his jurisdiction, but at this point he was beyond caring.
Jack should be his focus, not a woman who didn’t seem to want him anywhere near her. As he stepped inside, he almost ran into John. They avoided a collision, made small talk, and by the time they were in John’s office, Adam had decided not to discuss Faith or admit to the obsession he had. That was gone. She was gone. They talked about John’s family, the holidays and Jack’s phone call.
When Adam left a half hour later, he felt settled and focused. Until he got back in the truck. It wasn’t obsessive to want some information about Faith. It was what he did. And he was like his mother and was not a quitter. He turned the motor on, got the heater blowing warm air, then sat back and took out his cell phone. He put in a call to his partner in Dallas, and when Connors picked up, he said, “Hey, it’s Adam and I need you to do me a favor.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
F AITH STOOD , EXAMINING the sundries at the general store. She had a jumble of thoughts going through her mind, things that confused her and things that made her heart ache. It had been hours since she’d gotten up and started hunting through the files. But now her stomach grumbled.
It was midmorning and she’d finished the last of her supplies—the granola bars, crackers and candy that she kept in her room along with packets of instant coffee. The coffee she brewed on a hot plate on her dresser.
As soon as she’d ducked inside the general store, she spotted the old man who seemed to own the place. Oscar Ortega, a balding man
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