Dateline Matrimony (Hot off the Press! 3)

“That he was all right, but that he needed to get away for a little while. He said he’d get in touch with me eventually, but for me not to worry about him in the meantime. As if that was even a possibility.”

“He gave you no hint of where he might be?”

“None. I called my parents, but they haven’t spoken to him since last week. My father didn’t seem overly concerned. He said Bud can take care of himself and that he’ll show up again when he’s ready.”

“Do you think your uncle is with his friend? Mr. Hightower?”

“I think that’s a definite possibility.”

Because he still seemed so unhappy, Teresa laid a hand tentatively over Riley’s. “I’m sure he’s fine. If there was any reason to be concerned, Bud would have told you.”

He stared at their hands without expression. “There was a time when I would have said Bud told me everything. I didn’t think there were any secrets between us. Now…”

She clutched his hand more firmly. “You’re just upset right now. You and your uncle are as close as any father and son I’ve ever known. You know how much he loves you.”

Riley cleared his throat. “I know. I just wish I knew what the hell is going on with Bud and R.L. And whether Truman’s death had anything to do with it.”

She hadn’t

considered that possibility. She was beginning to understand exactly why Riley was so concerned. “When did Bud leave?”

“Sometime last night. I talked to him at about six. When I went by to check on him this morning, he was gone. He left the note to me taped to his front door in an envelope with my name on it.”

“Seeing that van parked on our street Saturday seemed to bother him. Do you think that had anything to do with him leaving this way?”

“I keep coming back to that,” Riley agreed. “Before we saw the van, he seemed to be cheering some. He was even making plans to take Mark fishing again soon. After we saw the van, he seemed to withdraw again.”

“He thought whoever was in the van was watching him?”

“Apparently. He wouldn’t tell me why. He seemed to be worried about having your kids around him—as if he was afraid that there was some risk to them if they were with him.”

She moistened her lips, an instinctive ripple of fear going through her at the very suggestion of any threat to her children. “Do you think there’s any reason for me to be concerned?”

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “No. Bud seems to think the people he cares about are safe as long as he’s not around.”

She thought of the connotations of that statement. “Your uncle is afraid that whoever shot at Mr. Hightower will come after him next.”

“I think so.”

“But you have no idea why.”

“Not a clue,” Riley answered grimly. “Dan’s looking into it, trying to find some record of trouble in their past, but so far he has nothing. Bud and R.L. have lived here all their lives, never got into any trouble that I know of, other than the usual hell-raising when they were kids.”

“What are you going to do now? Are you actively trying to find your uncle or are you going to wait until he decides to contact you?”

“There’s not a whole lot I can do,” he admitted, frustration in his voice and in his expression. “Without knowing where Bud and R.L. are staying, I certainly can’t ask them any questions. I’ve already called everyone I know who might have had a suggestion of where to look, but if anyone knows where they are, no one’s talking.”

“Then you’ll have to wait until Bud calls you. He will, you know—when he’s ready.”

“I’m not sure I can wait for that.”

“I’m not sure you have any other choice.”

“I’m a reporter. I can dig up information. Find out if there’s anything in Bud or R.L.’s past that could come back to haunt them now.”

“How would your uncle feel about you doing that?”

“I can’t just do nothing while I wait for Bud to come home. Or sit here worrying about whether I’ll ever see him again.”