only because my car died at the church last night.”
“How’d you get home? Did you call a deputy?”
“Hugh Gallagher took me.”
“Well, that’s the next best thing. He’s one fine man.”
Anna knew she should come to the point, but she seized on Hugh as an excuse to avoid it just a little longer. “Is he?”
“You bet. He’s a bona fide war hero, you know. Everybody knows he had some head problems after the Gulf War and hid up in the mountains with those vets for a few years, but that isn’t the whole story. Anyway, for all that, he’s got his head screwed on straight. But I don’t gossip, so you’ll just have to find out the rest for yourself.”
Anna had to chuckle at that.
“Now, what’s up, sweet pea? Not that I want to rush you or anything, but you never know when there might be another pileup on the state highway. Some of those damn truckers are pushing through like that pavement is dry.”
“Well, it’s about Lorna.” She drew a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut, reminding herself to keep her own feelings out of this. She had to speak to save the girl. “I’m convinced her father is sexually molesting her.”
“So are all of us who were at that hearing yesterday. But there’s not a whole lot I can do without proof. If she won’t talk, my hands are tied.”
“I talked to one of her friends last night, Nate. And she said some things…well, I think if I tell her what I know, I might be able to persuade her to confide in me.”
He was silent for a moment. She could almost hear him ruminating. “All right. It’s worth a stab. At least if she talks to you, I’ll have something to start with. Okay, sweet pea, get into your outdoor gear.
I’ll have a deputy at your door in ten minutes.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“Damn county’s going to hell in a handbasket,” he muttered. “See you in a few minutes, Anna.”
Anna put Jazz in her cage, then dressed with trembling hands. She was about to do something she hadn’t done in fifteen years: expose her past to another person. She didn’t kid herself that she was going to get anywhere with Lorna if she didn’t. God, she hoped she had the strength to go through with it.
The deputy took longer than ten minutes to get there. More like twenty, actually. Anna was just grateful that Nate had sent a woman. Sara Ironheart apologized profusely for the delay, but said she’d had to stop at an intersection to help get a car out of the way.
“Don’t you live all the way out at the west end of the county?” Anna asked her. “How did you manage to get in this morning?”
Sara flashed her a smile. “I never got home last night. I’ve been on duty since three o’clock yesterday afternoon.”
“You must be exhausted!”
Sara shrugged. “I caught a couple of catnaps at the office.”
“Well, I hope the roads clear soon, so you can go home.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. It looks like snow is moving in, and unless some of the other guys manage to find their way in, Nate’s going to need every one of us still here to stick it out.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an ice storm like this.”
“I don’t recall us ever having one here. Usually it’s just snow. Funny weather yesterday. Really funny.”
The chains on the tires of the Blazer clanked loudly as they drove down the ice-coated streets. The trees looked like something out of a fairy tale, encased in ice and icicles. If the sun had been out, the world would have glittered and sparkled, but overhead, leaden clouds dulled the day.
“How’s Joey doing?” Anna asked, referring to Sara’s eighteen-year-old brother. When she had first moved here, Joey had been in the youth group and going through some hard times.
“Glad to be away at college, I think. I’m so glad my husband was able to talk him into at least trying it. I’d sure hate to see him miss the opportunity.”
“Gideon seemed to have a good influence on him.”
“He’s been a good influence on all of us,” Sara said. “And he’s sure taken the load off my grandfather’s shoulders.”
“You board horses for people at your ranch, don’t you?”
“Board some and raise some. Gideon’s a wonder with those ponies.” She shook her head and smiled. “The man is magic with horses. You ought to come up sometime and watch him work with them. It’s well worth seeing.”
“Some day I’d like to ride a horse.”
Sara smiled at her. “We can arrange that, too. We have some really gentle ponies that are good for getting started on.
Gideon’s thinking about giving lessons to town kids who don’t get the chance to ride like the ranch kids. I’m sure he’d love to practice on you.”
“I’ll think about it.” But Gideon Ironheart, pleasant as he was, intimidated her. He was so big and muscular, and so exotic looking with his long black hair. She didn’t think she would ever feel comfortable enough to take riding lessons from him.
They pulled up at last in front of the sheriff’s office, and nervousness washed over Anna. It was no worse than stage fright, she told herself. Just do it. Just walk through it and do what needs doing.
Lorna was still sitting at the dispatcher’s desk, working with Velma. When she looked up and saw Anna, she broke into a wide smile that nearly broke Anna’s heart. This child looked so different today from yesterday. So much more alive and hopeful.
“Hi, Miss Anna!” Lorna said cheerfully. “Did you get stuck, too?”
“No, I just wanted to see you, so Sheriff Tate had Deputy Ironheart pick me up. Have you tried walking out there? You need ice skates!”
Lorna laughed and tossed her long blond hair. “I fell on my bottom this morning at the sheriff’s house when I was helping put down salt on the driveway. And now it’s going to snow. I hope it snows so deep that nobody can go anywhere.” She looked suddenly wistful, and Anna identified with the feeling. How many times had she hoped her stepfather wouldn’t be able to make it home from work?
“This child,” said Velma, through a cloud of cigarette smoke, “just wants to be stuck here at this desk forever. Can you believe it? She actually likes talking to all these deputies and answering the phones. Next thing you know, they’ll be retiring me and giving her my job.”
Lorna grinned at her.
“You shouldn’t give them such a hard time.”
“Child,” said Velma, “giving deputies a hard time is my stock-in-trade. Somebody’s got to keep them in line.”
Nate
