Evidence of Trust (Colorado Trust 1)

They’d both heard the same thing from a ton of gawkers all day long, so Britt skipped over his expression of disbelief. “Hey, Randy, what’s up?”

He shifted his attention, his gaze skimming her stitches. “I’m here to pick you up.”

Her pulse skipped a beat. Confusion followed. “Joel said he’d be here at five.”

“I know, but he got caught up with Aaron following a new lead. Instead of making you wait, he asked me to swing by. I’ll drop you off at the ranger station and you can wait for him there.”

“What were you doing up this way?” Casey asked.

Randy grimaced. “Another ram was found near the overnight camp last night. Joel caught me on my way back to town.”

Finding out Randy had conveniently been in the area didn’t lessen her disappointment that Joel had pushed her off on someone else. Had he guessed the depth of her feelings and now planned to distance himself to make his inevitable departure easier?

She put the thoughts out of her mind and turned to Casey. “He’s been helping Joel with the investigation from the start.”

“Good.” His gaze cut toward what was left of the barn. “The sooner this is over, the better.”

“I think we can all agree on that.”

Britt crossed to the passenger side of Randy’s truck, then paused to look back at Casey with the door open. “You headed home?”

“In a little bit. Jon and I are gonna grab a beer at the bar. You guys want to join us?”

She shot Randy a questioning glance. He was never one to turn down a drink, and she now found herself not quite so anxious to see Joel.

“Probably better if we get going,” Randy declined. “Wouldn’t want Morgan to send out the cavalry.”

Casey grinned across the hood at her. “And he would for this one.”

“Shut up.” She climbed in and slammed the door. One hard shove clicked her seatbelt in place. The only cavalry she wanted was Joel, and he hadn’t come. Maybe she really was just part of his job.

Randy started the truck and executed a three point turn. Despite wanting to keep her mouth shut, she found herself asking, “Did Joel say how long he was going to be?”

“I don’t think too long.” They passed a row of guest cabins, crawling along at about five miles per hour. He glanced over again, his gaze touching on her bruised forehead once again. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’ve got a little bit of a headache that comes and goes, but that’s about it.”

“Good.” He sent her a smile across the console. “You know, I have to say, I’ve missed you this summer. We haven’t gotten a chance to catch a movie together, or play mini-golf, or anything.”

“I know, it’s been a crazy summer so far, hasn’t it?”

“It’d be nice if things could get back to normal once he’s gone.”

“Who?” Britt shot him a glance. “Joel? I thought you guys got along?”

Randy shrugged. They’d reached the end of the driveway, and he flipped the left turn signal on. Estes Park was to the right. A bell went off in her head. He should be turning right.

“Where are you going?”

“I want to show you something.”

“We’re supposed to go meet Joel.” She couldn’t help the suspicion in her voice.

Randy gave her a measured look. The tiny sliver of apprehension that had lingered since the moment he’d stated he was there to pick her up exploded into full-fledged alarm. When he stepped on the gas to make the left turn, icy shards of fear splintered in her veins. She frantically sought for the release of her seatbelt while reaching for the door handle.

“Don’t.”

The clunk of the locks made her jump. The seatbelt released, but with the engine running and the vehicle in drive, her door refused to open. As she searched for the lock, Randy’s rough grip on her wrist dragged her halfway across the middle console.