The day darkened. Doriann froze. She’d been studying an anthill while waiting to see what Clancy and Deb would do next, and now she had the most horrible feeling that Clancy had sneaked out of the barn while she wasn’t paying attention, and was standing between her and the sun. Hovering over her. Waiting for her to look up.

She looked up. She took a quiet, deep breath and let it out just as quietly. A bank of clouds had drifted between her and the light she needed to navigate by. The clouds meant she couldn’t tell which direction to go when she left here. She really needed to get that cell phone. She’d already practiced using the GPS system. She could find her way out of here and lead the police to the killers.

According to Grandpa, cloud cover also meant that there probably wouldn’t be a killing frost tonight.

“This hay stinks.” It was Clancy, talking as if he’d never knocked Deb silly.

Doriann listened for Deb to reply, but she didn’t.

“It’s moldy,” Clancy said. “How can you just lie in it like that?”

“You’re no rose garden,” Deb said at last.

The relief Doriann felt surprised her. Deb was wicked. She and Clancy were a threat to River Dance. But Doriann didn’t want to have to remember for the rest of her life that she’d been earwitness to a murder.

“So,” Deb said, her voice kind of slurred. “Why don’t you tell me how you killed all these people they’re talking about on the radio. Did you really do it?”

Doriann sat up straight, confused. Had that hit messed up Deb’s brain? Wasn’t she there when the killings took place?

Clancy snickered. It was a dirty sound, and it gave Doriann goose bumps. “They’re after you, too, you know.”

“Can’t be. I just met you.”

“Yeah, but they can’t tell the difference between one skinny broad and another. I had another skinny broad before I met you. We’re all just a bunch of worthless druggies to the docs and the Feds.”

“So what happened to the other skinny broad?” Deb’s words weren’t slurred now.

“Selma got all freaky on me and got religion. Told me she was going to turn herself in.”

“To the cops?”

“Who else? God?” He snickered again. “I told her the old guy in the sky wanted her dead, anyway, not just rotting in a cell somewhere. So I did God’s work for Him.”

Doriann’s eyes went buggy.

“You killed your girlfriend.” Deb’s voice shook.

“You got a problem with that?”

Deb startled Doriann by laughing. “Guess she got a surprise visit to the great beyond, huh? How’d you do it?”

“Slipped her an extra dose in the needle.”

“The best way,” Deb said. “How’d you do the others?”

Doriann stared at the side of the barn, feeling sicker and sicker while Clancy bragged about his acts of murder and Deb egged him on, asking for more stories.

Doriann had to do something, or more people were going to die. She’d just have to wait.

Tyrell rode shotgun, staring out the side window as Jama crossed the bridge over the Missouri River on the way back to River Dance. He was pretty sure his thoughts mirrored hers. They’d been banished from Monty’s room and reminded that they had work to do. Tyrell had left the farm truck for Mom in case she needed it. Too bad the Durango was at Joe’s Auto Service; it would have been easier for her to drive.

“It’s best we didn’t stay, anyway,” Tyrell said. “Dad’s worried about the frost, so he’ll feel better knowing that’ll be taken care of. And Mom’s worried about your job.”

“Monty’s going to be fine,” Jama said. “The surgery was a success, barring any unforeseen complications.”

Tyrell looked at her. “Is that doctor talk for ‘He’ll be fine, but don’t blame me if something goes wrong’?”

“I mean that it’s never a sure thing, just as in life. We can’t know for sure what the outcome will be in any situation.”

“I wanted to hang around and make sure Mom doesn’t wear herself out at Dad’s bedside. She’s like that, you know.”

“I do.” Almost five years earlier, Fran had stayed by Jama’s bedside in the hospital after the wreck.

“I spoke with Dr. George before we left,” Jama said. “Someone from maintenance is probably, at this minute, removing the television from Monty’s room for ‘repairs.’ Not that he ever seems to have time to watch much, but right now he might get bored.”

“Mom could hear about Doriann’s kidnapping out in the lobby or the cafeteria.”

“Dr. George is having meals brought to her as well as Monty, and he has instructed the staff to encourage Fran to participate in Monty’s care. Dr. George will stress to her the importance of watching Monty closely for signs of decline. A sleep chair is being brought to the room for her. Everyone agrees Monty could use a few more hours, or even overnight, to heal and rest before he is told about Doriann. This is particularly important considering the stroke he had after Amy’s death.”

“You arranged for all this while I was talking to Dad?”

“It didn’t take much,” Jama said. “Dr. George understands what’s going on.”

“You’re pretty handy to have around sometimes.” Tyrell shot her a glance.

“There will also be a cease-fire on the marriage proposal discussion,” she said.

“I agree. This is no time to talk about love and commitment.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I may regress, though, when I think about Doriann. She was the one who’s been telling me for three years that I should marry her aunt Jama.”

“You’re such a liar.”

“I’m not lying. That’s what she-”

“You said you agreed to the cease-fire, and now you’re firing with both barrels.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Then maybe you should stop trying to distract yourself and start talking about what’s really bothering you.”

As Jama turned onto Highway 94, Tyrell stared across the flat river bottomland, seeing the face of his niece. “Anger,” he admitted.

“Of course you’re angry,” Jama said. “I’m afraid to even mention what I’d like to do to the creep who abducted her.”

“That’s the problem. Sure, I want to get my hands on whoever took her, but as much as I love my sister, I sometimes want to grab Doriann, myself, and bring her to the ranch so Mom can shower all the love and affection on her that she showered on us when we were growing up.”

“It seems to me that Renee’s already doing that.”

He nodded. Renee, the epitome of earth mother.

Jama drove in thoughtful silence for several moments while Tyrell returned his attention to the view out the side window, the flat fields dotted by houses and silos. Some houses in the middle of the floodplain had been built on stilts.

The view of the rich green fields served only as a reminder that his father was depending on him to protect the family’s livelihood. Besides the cattle, the vineyards were the main cash crop for the Mercer Ranch.

“You were good with Heather,” Jama said. “I don’t think she could have picked up your feelings on the phone.”

“Good. Now is not the time for me to comment on Doriann’s upbringing.”

“You’re a good brother.”

For some reason, that simple statement made Tyrell feel better. Jama had a knack for doing that. She knew what he was thinking just by looking at him. It was Jama, more than his siblings, who laughed at his jokes even when others didn’t catch the meaning.

It had taken his bright little niece to point out Jama’s devotion to him.

And for the first time, he’d actually paid attention to Jama’s expression when they were together. He realized Doriann was right.

Granted, Tyrell had never had a problem with self-confidence. Even after Jama refused his proposal, he didn’t doubt her love. When he took the time to consider why he had never married, he realized that he hadn’t actually loved another woman before Jama.

For some people, there was one love for a lifetime, only one match that could be right, and for him, it was Jama. It was impossible to pinpoint why he knew this to be true. She was kind, loyal, independent, and he loved those qualities in her. But he’d met plenty of women over the years who had those same qualities. She was gentle, but she wasn’t the only gentle, beautiful-inside-out woman in the world.