“Theron,” Miranda murmured.
Quinn turned to her. Sudden, hot emotions threatened to overwhelm him as he thought again about how close she’d come to dying. “Excuse me? Did you say Theron?”
She nodded. “When he died, he said, ‘Theron.’ I didn’t understand what it meant.”
“Could be one of his birds.” Quinn turned back to Bill while squeezing Miranda’s hand. “Larsen might have felt a kinship with his nephew. They went fishing together. Ryan felt his uncle was a good listener. Larsen probably couldn’t conceive of killing him, but he also probably didn’t believe Ryan would turn him in.”
“But why didn’t he just leave? Disappear?”
“He had to finish what he started.”
“I gave Richard a suite of rooms,” Bill said. “He and Ryan are staying here a few days. Richard’s worried about Delilah. He thinks Larsen killed her.”
“It’s possible,” Quinn said, though he couldn’t figure out the time line on that scenario. Richard and Delilah had been at the house together when Sam Harris visited. Richard said she left shortly thereafter, very upset. Ryan met up with Larsen at about the same time Delilah left the ranch.
There was an hour of Larsen’s time unaccounted for, the time it took for Ryan to ride his horse to the Lodge.
From evidence at the Parker Ranch, Larsen had gone into the house at some point, but Quinn didn’t know when.
Had Delilah Parker returned during the short time Quinn and Judge Parker had left? Had she and Larsen had a confrontation? There was no evidence of violence in the house. They hadn’t made a complete search of the property because of the rescue in the canyon. Tomorrow a full team would be out there, as well as at the Parker cabin outside of Big Sky where Nick had stumbled upon Larsen’s hideout.
Or maybe Delilah was scared that he would go after her and went into hiding. She’d return, then, tomorrow, when she learned he was dead.
Or maybe she fled because she felt guilty. That she knew what he was doing and hadn’t stopped him.
Quinn didn’t know, but he didn’t like loose ends, and Delilah Parker’s role in her brother’s life was one big mess.
Nick was still unconscious. He had a serious head wound and an infection they had yet to get under control. Quinn hoped to God he made it.
It looked like JoBeth Anderson would pull through. And Ashley’s parents had already arrived from San Diego. She would be released from the hospital in a day or two, and had already decided to go back to California.
“What happened with Sam Harris?” Miranda asked, stifling a yawn.
Quinn tensed. “He eventually came back to headquarters and the dispatcher told him he’d been relieved of duty. He left the station, apparently furious. I’ll deal with him tomorrow.”
Frankly, he didn’t know what he would do about Harris. He’d jeopardized the entire investigation and Quinn would like nothing more than to make an example of him, but he should probably leave the situation in Nick’s hands once he was fully recovered. He’d write up a formal report for the Sheriff once they tied up the loose ends in this investigation.
Like, where was Delilah Parker? Was she dead-or alive?
Miranda yawned, and Bill told Quinn to take her back to her cabin. “Take care of her, Peterson,” he said. Quinn didn’t miss the double meaning.
Bill hugged his daughter. “I love you, Randy,” he whispered in her ear, tears making his voice raw.
“Love you too, Daddy.”
Miranda disliked being fussed over, and Quinn was going overboard. He kept making sure she was comfortable in bed, her leg elevated, her pain medication and a water bottle on her nightstand, even though she insisted she wasn’t going to take the pills. He started a fire in the wood-burning stove to ward off the chill that descended once the sun had set, and offered her food, another drink, water. He told her it was late, and she needed to get her sleep.
All in all, though, it was kind of sweet.
“Quinn, sit.” She patted the bed beside her.
“I don’t want to hurt your leg.”
“You won’t. Please.” She reached out for his hand, and he took it.
Quinn sat, and Miranda saw the fatigue in his rich chocolate eyes. Fatigue and worry and relief.
And love.
Tears sprang to her eyes, but not of pain or sadness.
For the first time since the Butcher had changed the course of her life, she felt truly, wonderfully alive.
She wanted to share it all with Quinn.
His hand reached out and caressed her cheek. She leaned into it and sighed, closing her eyes.
“I love you, Miranda.”
Her eyes opened. She saw him searching for her response. She had been unable to say it before. Not because she hadn’t felt deeply for him, but because she had been afraid. She couldn’t bear losing him a second time, and she didn’t know how she’d be able to work through her resentment and feelings of betrayal.
But the fear was gone, along with her confusion. The past was just that-gone.
“I love you too.” Her voice cracked. “Quinn, I was such a fool. I’d been so hurt all those years ago I never understood what you’d done and why. I don’t know if you were right, but it doesn’t matter anymore. My stubborn pride got in the way. I thought you doubted me, and that hurt more than anything.”
“I’m so sorry I hurt you.” Tears glistened in his eyes. “But I never doubted you. I hope you believe me.”
“I believe you. I hurt you too. I said cruel things that I regret.” She paused. It was so hard to open her heart, even to Quinn, whose love for her radiated on his face.
She took a deep breath and asked for what she wanted, what she needed: him.
“Can we get back what we had?”
He leaned forward and kissed her lightly.
“Randy, we can’t go back. We’re not the same people. But-” he kissed her again “-we can move forward.”
Hope blossomed in her heart. But she had to hear him say it. Exactly. “What do you mean? What do you want?”
“I need you. I want you. My life has been empty without you in it. I never fell in love with anyone but you. You’ve always been in my heart. I should have come back earlier, but I ended up being as stubborn as you.” He shook his head and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I thought for sure, after time, you’d call me,” he said. “Maybe yell at me, but in the end you’d tell me you loved me and ask when was I coming to visit.”
“Well, I think it’s pretty well established that we are two very stubborn people.”
He squeezed her hand and held it close to his chest. “Randy, you are incredible. You beat back your demons by sheer will. Every time I watched you, I feared you wouldn’t find your inner strength, that you would let your doubts win. I could only tell you so many times that you were brave and courageous. You had to prove it to yourself.”
He kissed her. Soft, warm, sweet. “And you did.”
“I feared I’d never be able to face the monster who took so much from me.”
Her hand trailed to her covered breasts. Tears sprang to her eyes. She would always be marked, always bear the evidence of a killer on her body.
“Sweetheart, I don’t see the scars. I see you. I know they’re there, just like you do, but they are all on the outside. The scars inside have faded. And I’ll do everything in my power to make sure they never return.”
Her tears spilled over and Quinn wiped them away.
He kissed her, his lips light on hers. She leaned in, wanting more than a feather of a caress. She wanted him, completely and fully. And forever.
He leaned away as if afraid of hurting her.
“Don’t,” she said, pulling him back.
Their lips were inches apart, his eyes locking hers in an intangible embrace. Her breath caught.