Finding Amy (21 page)

Chapter 3
1

It had been four in the morning when Brittany left. After he had explained they were not now, nor had they ever been engaged she left in tears.
He hadn’t slept more than three hours in the past four days and it had caught up with him. He didn’t have the adrenaline rush now that had carried him those four days. But he needed to talk to Amy. It would have to wait until she awoke

He had met Brittany
at one of the horse sales. Her great looks and model perfect body drew him in like and overheated horse to water. They had started talking and he asked her to have dinner. They went to his favorite Italian restaurant and she had asked him to attend a wedding with her. It seemed harmless at the time, so he agreed.

Brittany’s great looks and pleading
, blue eyes seduced him into a three month affair, which he had enjoyed. He couldn’t lay all the blame on her, though. He had been a willing participant. But it hadn’t been the forever kind of affair for Carson. He had gotten tired of her unexpected visits to the house and it didn’t upset him when Brittany ended their relationship. She called one night and told him she didn’t think either of them was ready to settle down to one person. That had been over six months ago and he hadn’t even thought about her since. Later, after their conversation, Carson pondered on where she got the idea they were
settling down.

Carson wanted to go to Amy as soon as Brittany left but knew she would be asleep. He crawled into bed. With very little sleep and the threat that had unfolded in the past four days
, Carson’s body craved rest. He closed his eyes and forgot to set the alarm.

He opened his eyes
tried to focus. The full moon cast shadows dancing on the wall opposite his bed. Puzzled by the darkness, Carson glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand. It flashed 7:20. That couldn’t be right. He couldn’t have slept only three hours and feel like he did. Taking a second look, Carson saw 7:20P.M.

“Oh hell.” He threw back the covers and leaped out of bed. Carson had been asleep for fifteen hours. He had to get to Amy and tell her the
truth about Brittany. Grabbing a quick shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and went to dress.

Not bothering to knock, a squeal and a tiny blonde
greeted him and wrapped her arms around his legs when he entered his mom’s house.

“Carson,
can we ride the horse again tomorrow?”

Grinning at the four
-year-old, he patted her blonde head. “We might. Where’s your Aunt Amy? ”

Trish released him and ran back to join Ms. Garrett on the sofa. “She’s not here.”

Carson’s mom rose and walked over to hug him. “Good evening, son. You missed dinner but I can warm you up something.”

“Maybe later. Where’s Amy?” He kissed his mother’s cheek and glanced over her head at the bar. Rex and
Jamie were watching him.
Why didn’t someone answer him?
He looked over at Trish on the sofa, totally engrossed in a Disney movie and remembered her comment about Amy not being here. The lights went off in his head. Clenching his hands into fist, he glared at the three adults.

Ms. Garrett turned away and walked toward the kitchen. “I haven’t seen her.”

Something had happened. His mother would have pulled him into the kitchen to eat; Rex would have greeted him when he walked in and Jamie’s eyes were red and swollen. He couldn’t put his finger on what, but everyone acted strange. He entered the dining room and sat at the bar. “What’s going on?”

Amy had to be al
l right. Everyone who had threatened to harm the twins had gone to jail. Unless they had bonded out.

Rex glanced over at him. “Not that I know of. I
told Jamie that Martin will probably get the death penalty or life since Guthrie has made a deal with the DA and is telling them everything.”

Carson glanced from Rex to
Jamie and looked over the bar at his mother. She fidgeted with the cup towel on the counter and refused to look him in the eye. Carson slammed his palms on the table causing the glass cake dish to rattle. “What the hell happened? Where’s Amy?” he demanded.

Jamie
leaned toward Rex and put her hand on his arm, turning her back to Carson.

“Amy left last night,
” Rex answered.

“Left! What do you mean she left? Where did she go,
Jamie?” Carson never yelled, but right now he didn’t care how loud he got. The only woman he had ever fallen in love with had left. To go where? Deep down he knew why she left and he had to find her to straighten it out.

Jamie
turned to face him. “I took her to the airport.”

Carson’s eyes widened. “Where
did she go?”

Jamie
hung her head and Rex spoke up. “Jamie is sworn to secrecy, Carson. Amy made her promise not to tell anyone.”

Carson shoved the chair against the bar causing everyone to jump again. Rex
stood and grabbed his arm when Carson turned to leave. “Where are you going?”

Carson
jerked his arm out of Rex’s hand and glared at his brother. “I’m finding Amy.” He stormed out slamming the front door behind him. He marched to his own house and the door banged shut behind him. It didn’t take him long to pack a bag. He spotted his cell phone lying on the counter. Someone had picked it up and brought it inside. He shoved it in his shirt pocket.

Carson pulled the cover off of his pride and joy; a 1966,
midnight blue GTO. He pitched his suitcase in the back seat and hopped in. He only drove it to auto shows but with his truck at the Colorado airport, he didn’t have anything else to drive and he intended to find her. He refused to borrow a vehicle from anyone on the ranch.

The loud mufflers roared to life when he turned the key, backed out
, squealing tires when he hit the accelerator. The GTO made quick work of getting to the highway. He didn’t know exactly where he would start but his training officer had always said, “Start at the last place your suspect had been seen.”

****

Amy stood on the back porch of Stan’s cabin and watched two Mule deer drink from the lake. As soon as they had their fill, they dashed down the shore line and into the dense forest. Snow fell straight down in beautiful white flakes. Yesterday, when she arrived in Cody, Wyoming, the snow bordered on two feet deep and the temperature dipped into the twenty’s. Amy shivered from the cold.

She had taken a cab to her apartment, only to find her key didn’t work. She remembered that Stan had changed the locks the day she left for
Jamie’s. Thinking of Jamie, brought memories of her tear stained face at the airport. She couldn’t dwell on Jamie now. She would be fine. Amy had faith in her sister and believed she could stand on her own. From the looks of her and Rex together, Amy wouldn’t be surprised if they developed a lasting relationship. The only person she had to worry about, from now on, would be herself.

After she found the landlord and
advised him she was moving, he unlocked the door. Amy packed the few things she had in the apartment and knocked on Ms. Browning’s door to say good-bye. The older woman invited her in but Amy refused. Ms. Browning had hugged her and made her promise to write.

She drove to Cowboy Bills
and when she walked in her regular customers stood and embraced her. Bess screamed and drew all of the patron’s attention to Amy. A flush climbed up her neck and rested on her face. Thank God for the dimly lit bar that kept everyone from seeing her red face. After explaining she had stopped by before leaving for Texas, Stan and Bess wouldn’t have it. She had to stay the night and fill them in on the details of her recent ordeal. When the bar closed, the trio drove to Stan’s cabin and sat up until three in the morning talking. Amy told them about Trish’s kidnapping and Martin sending an army of gunmen to the ranch. By the time she crawled into bed, exhaustion set in and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Amy opened the sliding glass doors and walked back into the kitchen. The tantalizing aroma of bacon cooking met her and her stomach rumble. She hadn’t eaten since the omelet Carson cooked and she had shoved it away when Brittany barged in.

Bess stood at the stove and glanced up when Amy shut the door. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving. Anything I can do to help?”

Bess pointed toward a cabinet next to the sink with the turning fork she used to spear the bacon. “Plates are in that cabinet and utensils below in the draw. You can set the table.”

Stan entered through the patio door and shook off the snow. “Brrr. I think I might move to the south.”

Bess laughed. “You’ll never leave this town. You love it here. Breakfast is ready.”

Conversation over breakfast consisted of mundane things that were of little importance. Stan leaned back in his chair with a fresh cup of coffee. “I heard on the morning news that a Nor’easter is moving in and should arrive late tonight. The bar won’t be busy except for the diehard drinkers.”

Amy gathered the dirty dishes and took them to the sink. “That’s good information to know. I had planned to leave today anyway. I want to get ahead of any storms so I won’t get stranded.”

“Oh no. I had hoped you would stay a few days so you could help me pick out my wedding dress.” Bess smiled.

Amy dropped a cup in the sink and whirled around. “Are you serious?” She went to Bess, hugged her and looked at Stan, who grinned from ear to ear. “It’s about time. Congratulations. When is the wedding?”

Bess picked up more dishes from the table and went to the sink. “Sometime in the spring. I don’t want a winter wedding. Can you come?
I need you here for moral support.”

“I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll give you my home address and number before I leave and you can let me know.”

Amy helped Bess clean the kitchen and gathered the few things she had brought in from the car. After tearful goodbyes, Amy set out on the long drive back to Texas.

****

When Carson arrived at Tyler Pounds Field, he had to use his Ranger identification before the clerk would give him the information he wanted. Amy had bought a ticket to Dallas. He bought a ticket to Dallas but had to wait an hour for the next flight. He hated waiting. The longer it took to get to Dallas, the longer it would take to find out where she went from there. He knew her parents lived in Dallas. She may have gone home to see them. He could have taken the Cessna but he wanted to follow the trail and he couldn’t do that in his plane.

T
he American Airline plane touched down at Tyler, Carson watched the passengers exit. When the boarding call came, he passed through the line and climbed the steps. Forty-five minutes later, they landed in Dallas.

On arriving at DFW, Car
son called Amy’s parents number. When Mr. Summers answered, Carson he explained they were friends and wanted to know if Amy was there. Carson’s heart dropped when Mr. Summers answered, “No, Mr. Garrett. She called yesterday to let us know they were all fine and she would be going to Wyoming to pick up her car and might stop by on her way back through. Is anything wrong?”

No
 . . .no sir.” What do say to the father of the woman you love that there had been a dreadful misunderstanding and it’s important you find her. “I need to talk to her.”

“Why don’t you call her?” Mr. Summers asked.

Because she won’t answer the calls I’ve made every ten minutes since I found out she left. “I need to talk to her in person. Thank you, Mr. Summers. I’ll be in touch.” Carson disconnected the call and had already started checking the information board for airlines that flew to Cody, Wyoming.

After
finding the terminal number, Carson located the counter. “Can you tell me why all flights to Denver, Colorado have been cancelled?”

The ticket clerk looked up from her computer screen and her bo
dy language changed when she spotted Carson. Leaning on the counter, Carson noted she did a poor impression of sexy. “There is a blizzard moving through that area and they have cancelled all flights in or out of Denver. Can I find another destination for you?”

Carson ran his hand over his face and let out a sigh. “No thank you.” He turned away, wondering what to do next. There
might be one more place she could be. Carson called Stan.

His stomach knot
ted into a tight rope as he listened to the phone on the other end ringing. He almost hung up when Bess answered. “Hello.”

“Bess, th
is is Carson Garrett. The Texas Rang—,”

“Yes. I remember
,” she interrupted him.

He hesitated. “Is Amy there by any chance?” Carson held his breath, waiting for the answer.

“No, Carson. She left earlier this morning. She wanted to get ahead of the storm. It’s a good thing she did, too. Everything here is snowed in. Stan didn’t even open the bar. That’s the first time that’s happened since I’ve known him.”

Carson wanted to hit something. He struggled to keep his breathing in check. “Did she say where she
was going?”

“She
went back to Texas. Is something wrong?” Bess asked.