none of that helped Hilde right now, she thought, as she looked across the marshal’s big desk. He was on the phone and had been for several minutes. From his tone of voice, she suspected it had been Dana who’d called, but Hilde now thought that Dana had put Dee on the line.
“I do understand,” Hud was saying. “But I’d prefer that you came down here and we discussed this before you made any—” He listened for a moment, his gaze going to Hilde, before he said, “If you’re sure. I would strongly advise you against this.” More listening, then he said, “Fine,” and hung up.
Hilde hadn’t realized that she’d been holding her breath toward the end of his conversation until she let it out as he hung up.
Hud sat for a moment before he turned to her. “Dee is dropping the charges. I can still hold you, if I want to, and I’m certainly considering it.”
She could tell that Dana had fought for her. Why else would Dee have dropped the charges? She felt tears sting her eyes. She knew better than to argue that she hadn’t done anything to Dee. She’d already tried the truth and that had gotten her arrested, so she waited.
“Dee is filing a temporary restraining order that is good for twenty days. I assume you know what that is,” he said.
A restraining order? It was all she could do not to scream. “It means I can’t go near her.” Which meant she couldn’t go near the ranch or Dana. Her tears now were of frustration. Dee kept maneuvering her into impossible situations where Hilde always came out looking like the villain.
“That’s going to be hard to do in Big Sky. Hilde,” he said with a sigh. “Think about taking a vacation. Go see your mother in Chicago. Or go lay on a beach for a couple of weeks. Get out of here.”
“For twenty days?” Wouldn’t Dee love that. “Or maybe she’ll make it a permanent restraining order, since she doesn’t seem to be leaving, does she?”
“Hilde, I’m trying to help. I’d think you’d want to get out of here for a while.”
“You don’t know how tempting that is, Hud.” She felt as beat-up as Dee was. She’d lost control of her life. She’d certainly lost her friends, her shop had been vandalized and she was losing faith that she would ever be able to fix any of this before things got worse.
“Dana is worried about you,” he said, and she heard some of that old caring in his voice.
“And I’m worried about her. I wish I could leave, but I can’t, Hud. I can’t leave Dana knowing what’s living in your house right now. I’m sorry,” she said when she saw his expression harden. “So can I go now?”
He nodded. “Hilde? Stay away from Dee.”
“Believe me, I’m doing my best. For the record, do you want to actually hear the truth?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “I came out of the shop after locking up to find I had a flat tire. I should have suspected something then, but I’ve never been a suspicious person. I started to walk home, no big deal, that’s when I saw Dee. She called to me, said she had some news. When she got close, she told me she was leaving. She said she was sorry for what she’d done to me.”
Hilde stopped for a moment, smiled and said, “You know I actually believed her. She is that good. And then she grabbed my hand, raked my fingernails down her face. I was so shocked I couldn’t move. I jerked my hand back. That’s when she picked up a chunk of broken sidewalk from the side of the street and hit herself in the face. I know,” she said, seeing his disbelieving expression. “I had the same reaction. Right after that was when she began to rip her clothing. She said no one would believe me. So far, she’s been dead-on, hasn’t she?”
With that she turned and walked out, leaving Hud frowning after her.
* * *
ONLY A FEW miles out of Big Sky, Colt got the call that Dee was refusing to press charges, deciding to take out a temporary restraining order instead. He swore, anxious to get to Hilde and find out what had happened.
He found her at her house. She hadn’t been home long when she opened the door. He saw that she had a stunned look on her face. Stunned and devastated. It