don’t have to talk at all if you don’t want to, and we won’t go far. You’ll have your phone with you and we can get back to the house in minutes if there’s a need.”
“I haven’t ridden in years,” she said.
“But you have ridden before?”
“I rode a lot during my early teen years. The family of my best friend owned a ranch in the Hill Country. They frequently took me with them for long weekends and summer vacations. I always hoped that one day I’d live on a ranch.”
R.J. would probably love to give her Adam’s share of the ranch. He just might when he found out that Lacy and Lila were his granddaughters.
“You could use some fresh air,” Adam urged. He was going stir-crazy. She had to be feeling the same way. Doing nothing in the face of a tragedy was the hardest task of all.
He’d grab some food from the kitchen to take with them. At the very least he should be able to get her to eat enough to keep her from collapsing. He wasn’t doing much else to help.
Being useless was killing him.
* * *
R.J. SADDLED A couple of horses that needed exercising while Adam made fried-ham-and-egg-on-toast sandwiches and Hadley changed into more comfortable riding clothes.
In minutes they were on the worn horse trail to the swimming hole. It was only mid-morning but the temperature and humidity were steadily climbing.
Adam led the way, taking his horse to a canter and then a full gallop when he realized Hadley had no trouble keeping up. They didn’t slow until the old swimming hole came into view. Oddly the only part of it that looked familiar to Adam was the rope hanging from the branch of an oak tree that extended over the spring-fed pool.
They dismounted and Adam looped and secured their reins to the branch of sycamore tree.
“Your gnarly rope is still there,” she said.
“Most likely it’s not the same one. That was a lifetime ago.” Last week was a lifetime ago.
Hadley walked toward the pool. Adam took the sandwiches and two bottles of water from his saddlebag before following her across the carpet of grass and weeds.
Hadley stopped to watch a butterfly flutter past. “The girls would go wild with this much room to run and play and a pool of cool water to wade in.”
“The girls will love it here,” he corrected. “R.J. is smitten with you. I’m sure he’d love for you and the girls to come out as often as you like.”
“He’s already said as much,” Hadley said. “I feel guilty not telling him that the girls are his granddaughters. But if Lane finds out that you’re Lacy and Lila’s father, he’ll find a way to twist that into suspicion and motive. Based on the fact that I lied about it earlier, if nothing else.”
Adam had no doubt that Lane would find out soon. The longer this went on, the less likely he was to keep any of his secrets. He’d only glanced at the morning paper, but it was full of speculation about what had happened to the girls. He figured the TV and radio news was, as well.
Dallas citizens who believed that Hadley was innocent were worried about their own children and demanding the police move faster in solving the case and finding the girls.
The number who believed Hadley had gotten rid of her own daughters was growing and they were demanding an arrest.
And all Adam and Hadley could do was wait. He hated that the kidnapper held the reins. All Adam’s military training, all his combat experience was worthless in this situation. He couldn’t sneak up on the enemy or go rushing in with guns blaring. Even if they knew the identity of the kidnapper, a wrong move could get the girls killed.
So the best he could do was try to keep Hadley from falling apart. He unwrapped the top of a sandwich and tried to hand it to her.
She shook her head. “I can’t eat.”
“Try a few bites. You have to stay strong for the girls. You don’t want to be fainting from hunger and exhaustion when the kidnapper calls.”
She relented and reached for the sandwich. “I’ll take a bite, but I can’t guarantee that it will stay down. Even the sight of food makes me nauseous.”
She took a bite, chewing as she walked to the water’s edge. “Did I tell you that both Lacy and Lila can swim?”
“You never mentioned it.”
“They can. I took them to toddler lessons