“Well, that’s the part of the story I’m thinking might be wise to keep to myself,” Evelyn said cryptically.
“And why is that?” I asked. Surely, she wasn’t trying to protect her son after what he did to Layla.
“Not for the reason you’re over there thinking, sonny boy. I know how you brothers are about speaking in front of the women,” she said and cast her gaze to Layla, then Macy.
“Oh, uh, we’ll just step out into the hall and give you a few minutes to talk,” Macy said and reached for Layla’s hand.
I started to protest, but Badger stopped me. “Isaac and Grady are out there. They’ll be fine.”
When the girls left, Evelyn shared the rest of her story. “I saw a beat-up truck I didn’t recognize when I pulled up to the cabin and immediately knew something wasn’t right. I got my gun from the glove box and went inside to make sure Kay—Layla was okay. Well, after seeing the house ransacked, I knew who was there and that he was after money. I found him pacing in the living room, high as a kite and blabbering on and on about all kinds of nonsense. So, I told him I had some money hidden in his father’s old tool box out in the shed behind the house. I kept the gun pointed at him and told him where to find the key. When he saw that the drawer was empty, he turned around and started for me, so I shot him.”
Badger and I both sat in stunned silence for long minutes after she finished speaking. Finally, I managed to ask, “And then what happened?”
She huffed in annoyance. “I left his dead ass there and went back into the house to grab the radio so I could call the Sheriff to help me find Layla. I was in such a confounded hurry that I tripped or slipped on something and fell down the stairs. I probably would’ve laid there and died if I hadn’t had that radio in my hand.”
Badger scratched his head. “Are you saying he’s still in the shed?”
“I reckon he is, unless an animal smelled him and drug him off somewhere, which is a likely possibility since that shed was barely standing as it was. Wouldn’t have been hard for ‘em to get in,” she explained.
“Did you tell the Sheriff about Travis?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I told him a little about Layla, but didn’t tell him her name. Guess it wouldn’t have mattered since the clever little thing told me a fake one. I said I was rushing out to look for her and fell. He didn’t believe me for one second, but the funny thing was, that part was the honest truth.”
“I need to make a trip out to my cabin and check on things. I’ll stop by yours and make sure everything’s as it should be,” Badger said.
“Well, don’t make a special trip on my account,” Evelyn retorted.
“Don’t worry about it, Evelyn. I’ll make sure everything is taken care of,” Badger assured.
Macy and Layla came back into the room, and we spent the next hour talking and catching up. By the time everyone left, I was more than ready to fall asleep. I patted the bed beside me. “You want to take a nap?”
Layla grinned, “Hell, yes. I’m exhausted.”
“Yeah, today’s been full of excitement. Speaking of, how’d things go upstairs?”
“About as good as they could have I guess. His daughter is precious. She’s so sweet and happy, even though she’s extremely sick,” she said.
“Did you agree to get tested?” I asked.
She held out her arm to show me the cotton ball taped to the inside of her elbow. “Already did. Annabelle can’t and neither can Ember, but Coal got tested, and I think some of the other club members did, too.”
“Did you get to meet Ember?” I asked.
“No, she’s in Croftridge with her husband, but she’s not an option because she’s pregnant.”
“How long will it take to get the results?” I asked.
“Anywhere between one day and one week, though Splint said he was going to talk to someone down in the lab and see if they could put a rush on it. Oh, I did get to see the babies!”
“Do they have names? Everyone keeps calling them the twins or the babies. Hell, I don’t think anyone’s said if they’re boys or girls.”
Layla laughed, and it was so good to hear. “They had one boy and one girl. They named the girl Blaze and the boy Flint. Annabelle is supposed to send some pictures to my phone later tonight. They’re so cute.”
“You want kids?” I asked.
She stiffened for a second before she blew out a breath and answered. “For a while, I didn’t think I would ever be in a place in my life that would be a good time to have children, but I’ve always wanted them,” she admitted.
“Good, because I’m planning on knocking you up as soon as I can get out of this hospital,” I growled.