Chapter Seventeen

Gracelyn felt both exhausted and pumped up as if every nerve in her body was on high alert. And on the verge of crashing. Her mind was a tangle of thoughts and fears as Ruston sped toward his family’s ranch.

It’d been nearly a half hour since the shoot-out with Devin. Time when they’d had to wait for backup to arrive so that Duncan wouldn’t be left at the crime scene alone. During those thirty minutes, Gracelyn had spoken with Joelle not once but twice, and Joelle had assured her that all was well, that no one had come for Abigail. Gracelyn believed her, but she wouldn’t breathe easier until she saw the baby for herself.

The moment Woodrow and Luca had arrived, Ruston and she had left, and she’d gotten one last glance of the baby farm in the rearview mirror. Despite nearly being killed there tonight, it no longer held that bogeyman fear for her. It was just a place that bad people had used to do bad things.

And now the leader of those bad people was dead.

Gracelyn didn’t feel a drop of grief about that. Just the opposite. A monster was dead, and his death made the world a safer place. Devin wouldn’t be around to hire any more henchmen. Wouldn’t be around to try to kidnap and sell babies.

“I would suggest you go to the hospital for those injuries,” Ruston said, “but I’m guessing you’d rather have an EMT come out to the ranch and examine you.”

“The EMT,” she immediately agreed. “And you should be checked out, too. We both got some heavy hits of tear gas tonight.”

Ruston made a sound of agreement and glanced at her. “How are you, really?”

She did a quick assessment. Her head was hurting, but it wasn’t a throbbing pain. “I’m okay enough. How about you?”

“Okay enough,” he repeated, and he reached over, took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

There was plenty of emotion in his voice, and she thought they were on the same emotional wavelength here. Well, maybe they were. She had been terrified when she’d thought she would lose Ruston. But there had been an extra layer to that terror.

That she might lose him before she even got the chance to tell him how she felt about him.

She was in love with him.

Gracelyn nearly blurted that out now, but Ruston’s phone rang, and she saw Slater’s name pop up on the dash screen. All her fears about Abigail came rushing back. It must have been the same for Ruston, because he answered it right away on speaker.

“Nothing’s wrong here,” Slater said right off the bat. “Abigail is fine.”

Gracelyn’s breath of relief came out like a loud moan. Ruston did his own version of a breath of relief by muttering something she didn’t catch.

“How far out are you?” Slater asked.

“About fifteen minutes,” Ruston answered. “Thirteen,” he amended when he sped up. Good. The sooner they got there, the better.

Slater made a sound to indicate he was pleased about the shorter arrival time as well. “I thought Gracelyn would want to know that Allie came out of surgery, and she’s critical but stable.”

Gracelyn had to fight through the fatigue to try to process that. Unlike Devin, she didn’t wish her sister dead. Yes, Allie had done some horrible things, but she didn’t deserve to die.

“When Allie came out of the anesthesia,” Slater went on, “she asked the doctor to give Gracelyn a message.”

Everything inside Gracelyn went still. And she waited for Slater to finish. Her sister had done so many reckless, dangerous things that Gracelyn wasn’t sure what kind of message she’d want to have passed on to her.

“Allie said that Abigail is yours, Gracelyn, that she’ll sign over custody to you,” Slater spelled out. “She also won’t fight going to prison either.”

It took a moment for that to sink in. A long moment where her stomach unclenched. Where so many of her nerves settled.

Abigail was hers.

“Why the change of heart for Allie?” Ruston asked.

“I think nearly dying must have given her some clarity,” Slater suggested.

Yes, Gracelyn knew all about that. Being near death did have a way of pinpointing everything. Of making you see what was important.

She certainly had.

And Abigail and Ruston were at the very top of her list of important things.

“I alerted SAPD about Allie coming out of surgery,” Slater went on a moment later. “Duncan agreed that they’ll be the ones charging her. Conspiracy to kidnapping, human trafficking, obstruction of justice, child endangerment and accessory to attempted murder, including the attempted murder of a police officer. The last two are because she was involved in hiring Zimmer and Robert Radley, who attacked you at Gracelyn’s place.”

Gracelyn mentally repeated all those charges. With Devin dead, Allie wouldn’t have any bargaining power for a deal, which meant she would likely spend the rest of her life in prison.

“See you in a few minutes,” Slater said, ending the call.

Ruston gave her hand another gentle squeeze and then brought it to his mouth and brushed a kiss on her fingers. “Are you okay?”

She sighed. “Part of me aches for my sister, but this means Allie won’t be able to endanger Abigail again.”

Ruston nodded, kissed her hand again. She wished the kiss had been on her mouth. While he’d been holding her. She needed that right now.

She needed him.

Soon, she wanted to tell him that, but for now, she sat in silence, mourning the loss of a sister. Yes, Allie had done some unforgivable things, but she’d also given her the greatest gift. Abigail.

Ruston took the final turn to the ranch, and Gracelyn pushed aside her thoughts to prepare herself for what felt like a homecoming.

She was pleased when she spotted the still-armed ranch hands at the end of the road. Standing guard. Keeping Abigail safe. Gracelyn would owe them all a deep gratitude that she’d never be able to repay. The same was true for Duncan, his deputies, Ruston and his family.

Ruston pulled to a stop in front of the house, and Gracelyn hurried out of the cruiser. Slater was already opening the door before she reached it.

“Uh, are you sure you’re okay?” Slater asked when he saw her face.

She nodded, though Gracelyn figured she looked pretty bad for him to have that reaction. However, that was yet something else she’d put on the back burner. For now, she raced up the stairs and straight to the guest room. Carmen and Joelle were both there.

And so was Abigail.

She was sleeping, but Gracelyn picked her up anyway and held her close. The tears came. The tears she’d fought so hard to hold back. But there was no holding back now. Abigail was safe. She was also a little riled at being awakened, and she let out a protesting wail that made Gracelyn smile. She hadn’t given birth to Abigail, but this child was hers in every sense of the word.

Gracelyn kissed her cheek and looked back at Ruston when he stepped into the room. He went to them, sliding his arm around Gracelyn’s waist and delivering his own kiss to the baby’s cheek. Abigail immediately stopped her fussing and smiled at him.

“You’ve already charmed her,” Gracelyn muttered.

“One down, one to go,” he muttered back.

Their gazes met for a moment, and Gracelyn saw the love. Well, maybe that was what it was. Love for Abigail, anyway, but what had he meant?

His phone rang, and she saw Duncan’s name on the screen. Since Gracelyn wanted to hear what he had to say, she eased the baby back in the crib, thanked both Joelle and Carmen and then stepped out into the hall with Ruston.

“You two back at the ranch yet?” Duncan immediately asked.

“We are,” Ruston answered. “Just a couple of minutes ago. Slater filled us in on Allie.”

Duncan sighed. “Yeah,” he muttered like an apology that Gracelyn knew was meant for her. “I have some good news,” he added. “The techs located Zimmer’s online file.”

Gracelyn saw the surprise flash through Ruston’s eyes. “How? They said it’d be a needle in a haystack.”

“It would have been, but Zimmer had a clue to the storage site in the password, so the techs were able to narrow it down. They not only found the file, but they were also able to access it.”

Something Devin would have certainly been able to do had he gotten the username and password.

“The file is huge and filled with photos and details that would have apparently gotten Devin the death penalty,” Duncan explained. “Zimmer confirms that Devin was Green Eagle. And there are other names of people involved in the baby farm, people who probably thought they’d escaped justice.”

“Are Tony or Charla on the list?” Gracelyn asked.

“No,” Duncan was quick to say.

Gracelyn felt nothing but relief about that. Yes, she would apologize to Charla and Tony for believing they were guilty, and she was glad they hadn’t been dirty cops.

“Archie, Marty and Simon were on the list,” Duncan went on, “and that explains why Devin had them murdered. Devin was basically eliminating anyone who could link him to the baby farm.”

Yes, that made sense. It was the reason Devin wanted to eliminate Ruston and her, too. And Allie. But maybe he’d let her live, with the hopes that she would end up taking the blame for not only the attacks and murders but also for the baby farm itself. Gracelyn could see Devin trying to use Allie as the ultimate scapegoat.

“I’ll be tied up here a while longer, but I’m hoping to be home in about two hours,” Duncan added. “Is everything and everyone okay there?”

“Yes,” Ruston and Gracelyn muttered in unison, and for the first time in nearly a year, Gracelyn could say that was the truth.

She was okay.

The past would always be with her, but it wasn’t the past she was looking at now. She was looking at a future.

Gracelyn was looking at Ruston.

And he was looking at her.

He ended the call, slipped his phone into his pocket and immediately pulled her into his arms. He took her mouth in a deep kiss that notched up her “okay” to something much, much more.

But how much more?

What she said in the next few minutes could change everything, but Ruston might not be ready to hear it. Still, she needed to tell him what she’d been holding inside. And she would. As soon as he finished melting her with this kiss.

When he’d left her breathless and on cloud nine, he eased back from her and flashed that incredible smile again.

“I’m in love with you,” she said. Gracelyn braced herself for the shock. Maybe for him to back away and tell her that he needed more time.

That didn’t happen.

Ruston kissed her again, and this one was so hot that Gracelyn wasn’t sure how she managed to stay on her feet. The man had a way of firing up every inch of her.

“Good.” He muttered that single word while his mouth was still against hers.

But he added more words to it.

“Because you and I are of a like mind here,” he went on. “Because I’m in love with you, too.”

Now she didn’t stay on her feet. Or at least she wouldn’t have if Ruston hadn’t caught her. Her heart filled with so much emotion. Not the bad ones this time either. All the very best ones. Happiness. Need. And love. So much love.

But Ruston added to that, too.

“I say, since we both love Abigail, that we raise her together,” he threw out there. “What do you think about that?”

“I think it’s perfect,” she managed to say.

And it was just that. Perfect. Still, Ruston managed to add to that, too. Because he pulled her back to him for a long, slow kiss.

USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen’s miniseries Saddle Ridge Justice continues next month with Tracking Down the Lawman’s Son . And if you missed the first book in the series, look for The Sheriff’s Baby , available now wherever Harlequin Intrigue books are sold!

Keep reading for an excerpt from A Colby Christmas Rescue by Debra Webb.