in the parking lot of the sheriff’s department just in time to see her parents pulling in next to her truck with two familiar dark heads in the back seat. Andy burst out of the car and ran toward her.
“You found him! Dad called and he said you found him!” Andy threw himself at Val, wrapping his arms hard around her middle. “How did you find him?”
“It wasn’t just me.” Val hugged Andy and kept her eyes on Jackson, who was hanging back. “Sheriff Sully helped. Robin and Mark and Monica helped. It was a group effort.” She rubbed the top of his head. “Kid, remind me to get you a haircut.”
Andy laughed. “Dad said he didn’t do any of that stuff on the news, which makes sense because he was up at the cabin for a long time. I forgot about that place. We haven’t gone for so long and we never go in winter, so I didn’t think about it, but if he was there the whole time then the police can’t even say anything, right?”
“Take a breath, kiddo.” Val kissed his cheek. “Why don’t you go inside? I’m sure your dad is dying to see you.”
“Oh my gosh, right?” Andy’s face lit up. “Okay.” He looked around for Vincent and Marie. “Grandma, Grandpa, I’m gonna go inside.”
“I’ll go with you.” Vincent put a hand on Andy’s shoulder and steered him toward the stairs. “Quite a story he’s going to have, huh?”
“Totally.”
Val turned to Jackson as Andy and her dad walked into the sheriff’s department. She held her arms out. “Hug. Now.”
Jackson rolled his eyes, but he walked into her arms. “You’re not the cool mom if you hug. You know that, right?”
“I do not care about being the cool mom.” Val wrapped her arms around her tall boy. “Go easy on him. I know you’re mad, but take a breath.”
“I know.”
“None of us are perfect,” Val said. “And hopefully, this will be a lesson learned.”
“He’s kind of old for that, don’t you think?”
“Hey.” She leaned back. “You’re never too old to stop learning.” She tweaked his ear. “Aren’t you the one who told me I didn’t have to do everything myself?”
“Yeah.” His cheeks flushed a little.
“So you should have seen me asking for help the past couple of days. I was asking for help all over the place. Sully, Robin, Mark, random forestry personnel…”
“Very funny, Mom.”
“Seriously.” She didn’t know if Josh had told the boys about Anderson trying to kill them, so she figured she’d wait and see. The less the boys knew about that, the better, in her opinion. “Go on.” She pushed him toward the doors. “Go see your dad. Try not to lecture him too much. He’s had a rough day.”
Val watched Jackson follow Andy and her dad up the stairs and into the sheriff’s department, slouching as he walked. Val leaned against her truck and took a deep breath.
Marie slid an arm around her waist. “Random forestry personnel?”
“Savannah Anderson’s husband tracked us up there and tried to take a few shots at us from a distance.”
Marie’s arm tightened around Val. “And?”
“Sully arrested him. Josh has a graze on his temple, but he’ll be okay. The medics checked him out.”
“So that man really did try to kill that sweet girl?”
“Yep.”
Marie shook her head. “My heart hurts for the world, Valerie Jean.”
“Just don’t let it hurt for Allan Anderson,” Val said. “He’ll probably get off with a slap on the wrist because he didn’t actually succeed in killing anyone.”
Marie shook her head. “I’m just glad that you’re safe, Josh is safe, and that woman isn’t going to be in danger anymore.”
Sully walked out of the office, shrugging into his jacket as he donned his hat and scanned the parking lot. He spotted Val and his gaze stopped.
She raised a hand and waved. “Hey.”
Without a word, he walked over to Val and Marie.
“Mrs. Costa.” He tipped his hat. “Val.”
“I just realized Josh’s truck is still up by the ranger station in Keane.”
“Yeah. He gave me his keys. I’ll have a couple of deputies head up there in the morning to pick it up. I called Bridger PD and filled them in. Mason is on the phone with his snowmobile buddy right now. I guess he did find the envelope with the money. It was in a pile of mail they thought was junk.”
“Crazy.”
“I know. Anyway, Bridger PD agreed he could drive down with me in the morning to officially turn himself in.”
“He still has to go