Cardwell Ranch Trespasser - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,44
shaking his head. “I’m sorry this happened. I’ll file a report and you can turn it over to your insurance. I’m glad nothing was destroyed.”
She laughed at that. Dee had destroyed so much—the shop was the least of it.
“Are you going to be okay?”
The concern and kindness she heard in his tone was her undoing. The tears broke loose as if they had been walled up, waiting for the least bit of provocation to burst out.
He patted her shoulder. “Take the rest of the day off. Go home. Get some rest.”
As if rest would make her world right again.
* * *
FORTUNATELY, THE REST of the day was busy at the shop. All the women who’d come in to sign up for quilting classes buoyed Hilde’s spirits.
Dana called midmorning. “Just wanted to say hi.”
Hilde figured she’d heard about the vandalism from Hud. He must not have told her about the allegations against her cousin.
“Fourteen women have signed up for the quilting classes so far,” she told her silent partner in the shop.
“Oh, that’s great. You must be excited to get them started.”
“I am. It’s going to be a good summer.” Hilde said the last like a mantra, praying it was true.
“Dee’s leaving Saturday,” Dana said.
The words should have made her heart soar, but she heard sadness in her friend’s voice. “I’m sorry her visit didn’t go like you had hoped.”
The bell over the door jangled as another customer came in.
Dana must have heard it. “You’re busy. I’ll let you go. I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you.”
“Thank you for calling.” It was the best she could do before Dana hung up.
The rest of the day slipped by. Hilde had moments when she would forget about the break-in. She knew she would have to replace the top of the counter. The scissor holes were a gut-wrenching reminder each time she saw them that it wasn’t over with Dee.
Colt must have called when she was helping a customer by carrying her fabric purchases out to her car. He’d left a message that he hoped he could see her tonight.
She texted back that she was looking forward to it.
And suddenly it was time to close up shop. She gathered her things, trying hard not to look at the top of the counter. Thinking about Dee only made her blood boil.
A gust of wind caught the door as she started to lock up. She hadn’t realized the wind had come up or that a storm was blowing in.
As she turned, she saw that her SUV parked across the street was sitting at a funny angle. Then she noticed the right back tire. Flat.
All she’d been thinking about the past few minutes was going home, taking a nice hot bath and getting ready for when Colt got back from West Yellowstone.
After finding her store vandalized first thing in the morning, she wasn’t going to let a flat tire ruin her mood now, she thought. For a moment, she considered changing the tire herself, but she wasn’t dressed for it, and her house was only a short walk from the shop.
As she started down the street, she saw that the storm was closer than she’d thought. Dark clouds rolled in, dimming the remainder of the day’s light. She’d be lucky to get home before it started to rain, and in April the rain could easily turn to snow.
Hilde laughed, surprised that even the storm didn’t bother her. She was seeing Colt again tonight and she couldn’t wait. The only real dark cloud right now was Dee Anna Justice, and apparently there wasn’t a darned thing she could do about her.
When she looked up and saw Dee coming down the dark street toward her, she feared she’d conjured her. Because of the upcoming storm and the time of the year, the streets were deserted—something she hadn’t noticed until that moment.
Stopping, she considered what to do. Dee had realized that she had her fingerprints and DNA. That was probably why she’d torn up the shop. Did that mean she’d realized whatever she’d been up to was about to come to a screeching halt? Or would the prints only prove that the woman really was Dee Anna Justice, a psychopath who would be able to keep fooling Dana unless Hilde and Colt could prove otherwise?
More to the immediate point, what was she doing here now? Hilde considered whether she should make a run for it. She didn’t have that many options. Calling the marshal’s office for