McCullen's Secret Son (The Heroes Of Horseshoe Creek Book 2) by Rita Herron Page A

under the name of Lamar Ranger, yet it bore Leo’s photo.
    Oddly another pair of boots sat inside. Curious, Brett searched inside the boot but found nothing. Still wondering why the boots were stowed with the gun instead of the other box of clothes, he flipped the boots over and noticed one of the soles was loose.
    “What is it?” Willow asked.
    Brett removed his pocketknife and ripped the sole of the shoe off and found a folded piece of paper inside. He opened it and spread it on the floor, his heart thundering.
    “A map.”
    Willow leaned closer to examine it. “You think this map will lead us to the place where Leo stashed the money?”
    “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.” He folded it and put it in his pocket, then set the gun and fake ID in one box to take with them. They might need them for evidence.
    Willow brushed dust from her jeans as they descended the steps and shut the attic.
    Eleanor appeared in the hallway, her brows furrowed. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
    “Not really,” Brett said. “But we’re taking this one with us. The boots are special to Willow.”
    Willow thanked her, then she and Brett hurried outside to his truck. She hoped Brett was right. If that map led them to the money, she could trade it for Sam and bring him back home where he belonged.
    * * *
    B RETT ’ S PULSE HAMMERED as he drove away from Eleanor’s. He waited until they’d reached the dirt road he’d seen on the map, then pulled over, unfolded it and studied it.
    “Where is it?” Willow asked.
    Brett pointed to the crude notations on the map. Symbols of trees and rocks in various formations that must be significant, signs that would lead the way to his hiding spot.
    “If it’s there, and we find it,” Willow said, “maybe we can end this tonight.”
    Brett gave a quick nod, although he was still worried that the kidnapper would hurt Sam.
    He fired up the engine again, and turned onto the dirt road while Willow pointed out the landmarks.
    “There’s the rock in the shape of a turtle.” A hundred feet down the road. “Those bushes, they form a ring.” Another mile. “There’s the creek.”
    He made each turn, the distance growing closer until he spotted the ridge with water dripping over it creating a small waterfall. Willow tapped the map. “Hopefully it’s in this spot, hidden under the falls.”
    Brett pulled over and parked, then got out. The shovels they’d used to bury Leo were still in the back, so he retrieved them and carried them along the trail to the ridge overhang.
    Willow knelt and they both examined the wall of rock. She pointed to an etching of a star. “I think the money may be buried here.”
    Brett propped one shovel by the rock and began to dig. Willow yanked her hair back into a ponytail, and jammed the second shovel into the dirt.
    For several minutes they worked, digging deeper, but suddenly a gunshot sounded and pinged off the rock beside him.
    Brett threw an arm around Willow and pushed her down, just as a second bullet whizzed by their heads.

Chapter Eleven
    “Who’s shooting at us?” Willow cried.
    “I don’t know, but the shot is coming from behind that boulder.” Brett gestured toward the bushes beside the falls. “Run behind those bushes.”
    Willow remained hunkered down, but crept toward the left by the brush. Another shot pinged off the rocks at their feet, and he grabbed her hand and dragged her from the ledge behind some rocks.
    “Stay down, Willow.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “Find out who the hell is firing at us.”
    Willow grabbed his arm to hold him back. “Please don’t go, Brett. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “I’m not going to wait here like a sitting duck.” Brett ushered her down to the ground, then grabbed his shovel and circled back behind more bushes and trees so he could sneak up on the shooter.
    Rocks skittered and a man scrambled down a path. Brett chased after him, but the man veered to the right and cut