When she’d gotten so comfortable touching him, he didn’t know, but he liked the feel of her tiny hand in his.

  Chatter spilled from the room, and the aromas of freshly cooked bacon and onions, coffee, and toasted bread each fought for his attention. His stomach grumbled.

  Inside the room, he found two long tables set up in a buffet line and loaded with warming dishes, a large coffee pot, stacks of paper products. Positioned near the food were round tables with white tablecloths, napkins wrapped around disposable silverware, pitchers filled with juice, and chairs butted up to them. Barbie and Eloise had gone to a lot of trouble and must have gotten up at the crack of dawn to pull off such a nice spread on such short notice, if they’d slept at all.

  Ryleigh was standing near the front of the line with Colin, Ryan, and Russ, smiling at Colin. Finn didn’t like her attention to the man, but they were just friends. That had become obvious. Still, Finn wanted her smiles but had no right to them.

  Avery let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around Eloise, who stood at the buffet table lifting off warming lids. “You said I could help.”

  “And you can, sweetheart.” She smiled down at Avery. “I have a very important job for you. I need someone to make sure the juice pitchers on the tables never run out of juice.”

  Avery let go and lifted her shoulders. “I can do that.”

  “Maybe you should eat before you start,” Finn suggested. “So you’ll be ready when your babysitter gets here to take you home.”

  Avery’s lip trembled. “I want to stay here with Gran.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Eloise said. “We’ll be heading back to Portland as soon as we clean up after the meal.”

  “But why?”

  “That’s where we live.” She smoothed a hand over Avery’s hair and bent lower. “But I have a secret for you if you can keep it.”

  Avery’s eyes widened. “I can. Tell me.”

  “Grandad and I have reserved all of the Maddox cabins for Labor Day so the whole family can come down for the weekend and then you can meet Ryleigh’s sisters and cousins. If Finn says it’s okay to join us.”

  Avery’s gaze flashed up to his. “Can we?”

  “I hope so, Peanut,” he said, being purposefully vague until he talked to Ryleigh about it.

  Plus, it probably wasn’t a good idea to encourage this relationship between Avery and Ryleigh’s grandparents. Maybe as a seven-year-old she would forget all about them a day or so after they left. He could only hope he would too.

  Ryleigh avoided Finn as she chewed the last of her perfectly browned bacon—crisp and crunchy in a way that her gran had perfected, but Ryleigh never seemed to achieve on her own. Finn had been ignoring her, too, until he came to the table where she sat with the rest of the task force team.

  She was glad to see he wore the bracelet from Avery. They hadn’t talked about it, but Ryleigh knew it meant a great deal to him just by the look on his face when he’d received it.

  Russ cast a frustrated look at Finn. “Eat up, man. We’ve got work to do.”

  “Had to get Avery settled first,” Finn said with not a hint of justification in his tone as he attacked the egg casserole sitting next to bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, and toast on his plate.

  She was glad he didn’t feel the need to apologize for being a good dad, and she smiled her approval.

  He returned it with a genuine brightening of his face. She’d been terse with him in the truck on the way to church. She didn’t want to be, but when an almost uncontrollable urge to hold his hand took control of her, she’d had to take a firm stance. She’d even had to sit on her own hand so she didn’t reach out, and that made her mad at herself.

  Russ leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You all look at the data from Carla’s phone?”

  “Give us a chance, we just got it,” Ryan complained around a mouthful of eggs.

  “Then let me tell you about it. Nick found a bunch of deleted calls to a Gerry Horne. Guy had a history of ecoterrorism and lives out in the boonies near Round Prairie. Don’t know much else about him at this point. Figured Ryleigh and I would pay him a visit when we finish here, and then we’ll have that update meeting if needed.”

  The others nodded.

  “We’re still waiting on Gates’s phone logs.” Russ cast a pointed look at Nick.

  Nick took a long sip of his juice, not looking the least bit put out by Russ. “You’ll have the data as soon as my team finishes.”

  Colin set his fork on his empty plate. “I culled down the list of Sovereign Earth members who could potentially be related to this incident and emailed the list to everyone. Four names came up that might be worth looking into, but it’s marginal at best.”

  “We can tackle that after we interview Horne.” Russ shifted to look at Finn. “You have duty at the bomb scene with Veritas. Any problem with that or are you on daddy duty?”

  Finn held a fork with a chunk of ripe cantaloupe in the air. “No problem.”

  “Good. Good.” Russ looked at Colin. “I want you to dig for information on Horne so by the time we get to his place we know everything about him, even how often he sneezes in a day. And I’d like satellite images of his property first. Don’t want any surprises.”

  Colin pushed his chair back and picked up his empty plate and cup. “Then I best get started.”

  He dumped his items in the trash and took off for the door.

  Ryan sipped his coffee. “Grady has some questions for me, so I’ll meet with him when we finish up here.”

  Russ clapped his hands, and the room went quiet as people stared at him.

  He shook his head. “Sorry to disturb you.”

  The others went back to their conversations, but the level lowered to a quiet hum as if they might be listening for what Russ had to say next. He had a very commanding presence. Couple that with the uniform he wore, and he seemed like a force to be reckoned with.

  Hopefully this Horne fellow would be intimidated by them and cooperate by giving up Keenan’s whereabouts if he knew it.

  Russ peered at her. “You about ready to hit the road?”

  Ryleigh nodded and grabbed her dishes before looking at Finn. “I’ll likely get back to the crime scene before our shift is up.”

  “Be careful.” He held her gaze as if he wanted to say more, then picked up a slice of bacon.

  She tossed her dishes but filled her cup with coffee and added a lid. Russ was already at the door tapping his foot.

  Still, she stopped to hug her gran and grandad. “Thanks for this amazing brunch.”

  “Hank and Barbie did their share too.”

  “But if I know you, Gran, you did all of the cooking.”

  “’Course she did.” Her granddad laughed. When he quit, he pointed at Finn. “Now you go easy on that young man. Give him a chance.”

  “You’re not trying to matchmake, are you?” She grinned. “That’s Gran’s job.”

  “Hey, you been married for as many years as we have, and you don’t know where one of you starts and the other finishes.” He chuckled.

  “And he’s right,” her gran said. “Finn seems like an upstanding guy. Just look at how he gave up his whole life for sweet little Avery.”

  But wouldn’t give it up for me.

  Oh, wow! Was she still holding that against him? She’d forgiven him for hurting her, but had she forgiven him for not letting her take first place in his life? God always came first, but she probably wouldn’t come next now either. Not with Avery to care for. That Ryleigh understood. But coming second to a job when he’d been a SEAL? Maybe not as much.

  Russ glanced at her and tapped his watch.

  “See you soon.” She gave her grandparents one last hug and rushed to the door. “Just saying goodbye to my grandparents and thanking them for the meal.”

  “I appreciate that, but we can’t let this Horne guy skate.” Russ marched out to his patrol car.

  She had to jog to keep up and climb in at the same time as he did while balancing her coffee. She set her cup in a holder and buckled her seatbelt.

  Russ tapped Horne’s address into a GPS program. He got his belt on and ripped out of the parking lot.

  “There are kids around,” she said. “You might want to slow down.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” he said, but the vehicle slowed some. “Keep an eye on your email for any updates from Colin.”

  She took out her phone and laid it on her knee face up so she could see the screen flash with a message or text before it even sounded an alert. She would normally rely on the signal, but she figured seeing her take action might help Russ calm down.

  He had the radio on low, and the dispatch calls played in the background. That couldn’t be good for his nerves either. She would try to get him involved in small talk until they got closer to Horne’s place and had to pay attention.

  She glanced at the address. “Why do all these ecoterrorists live out in the boonies?”

  “That’s a question for Colin, but if I had to guess they’re probably free-spirited and don’t like the rules of living in a town. Plus, they like to be self-sufficient. Grow organic veggies and free-range chickens. I’m just guessing based on what my mom and Poppy have said, as some of the people they grew up with would probably be called ecoterrorists today.”

  “Your mom was once part of a commune, wasn’t she? But I never knew the details.” Ryleigh sat back and picked up her cup. “Tell me about her, and how she met your dad.”

  “Nothing to tell really,” he said, sounding as if he didn’t like the topic. “Her parents moved out here in the sixties from the Midwest and joined a hippie commune. She was born and raised there, but when she hit eighteen, she took off to see the world. Met Dad at a Rod Stewart concert one of his buddies dragged him too.”

  “Really? Your dad doesn’t seem like a big rock concert goer.”

  “He’s not. Has always been kind of buttoned down. He followed in my grandpa’s footsteps and became an accountant to support the family. But he always loved the outdoors more, so he invested wisely and bought the resort. Then he set up his own CPA business and took as many clients as he could handle while also managing the resort.”

  “And starting the guide business.”

  Russ nodded. “By then he only had a few accounting clients he’d kept on for years so he could focus on the outdoors more.”

  “Why did the resort close?”

  “Business got to be too much for Mom and Dad, and we were all doing our own thing.”

  “And none of you wanted to take over for them?” She took a sip of the coffee. Strong and black just like she liked.

  He glanced at her. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but after being in the hospitality business all our lives, none of us wanted to do it. Too many demands and complaining campers. But then Reid’s wife died, and he decided to leave the FBI to be with Jessie more. Ryan was just next door, so we figured we could get a survival business going and make enough money to at least support Reid. Turned out better than we could’ve hoped.”

  “But you really don’t want to join in the family business full-time?”

  “No.” Russ clicked on his blinker. “I’m more like my dad than my mom, and this job suits my personality. Cut and dried with a lot of rules.” He laughed and glanced at her. “I’m surprised you left the FBI. A lot of law enforcement officers would do just about anything to get into the bureau.”

  “Family has to come first, right?” she asked.

  “I suppose, but I’m not sure I would be as selfless as you.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I did it primarily for the family, but it also got to the point that I didn’t feel like I was making much of a difference anymore.”

  “I get that, but I do see the difference I make on a daily basis.”

  “Cybercrime is a lot different than local policing. You shut one group down and another group can be up and running, creating a huge problem worldwide so quickly your head spins.”

  “Yeah, I can see that. Our crime is pretty finite. Though the drug trade has gotten to be a big problem that isn’t so easily policed. Especially with the fentanyl issues. It’s changed everything overnight, and I honestly fear for our future.”

  The light flashed on her phone. “Email from Colin.”

  She opened the message. “He included satellite photos and background on Horne. Guy’s nearly seventy. Was big in Sovereign Earth in the eighties. Colin couldn’t find much since then except one photo of him with Keenan at a logging protest in Alabama about twenty years ago. He was arrested twice for disturbing the peace during similar protests.”

  “Sounds like he might not be active or our bomber, but he could still know where Keenan is located.”

  “Yeah.” She kept reading but nothing else jumped out at her.

  Russ slowed and leaned forward to look in the direction of a mailbox. “We’re here.”

  She looked up to see private property and no trespassing signs alongside signs warning of dogs. “Horne doesn’t want visitors for sure.”

  “Might be all bark and no bite, but I’d like to take a look at that satellite footage before we go in.” Russ pulled to the side of the road and got his phone from his shirt pocket. He tapped the screen. “Property’s overgrown. Several outbuildings and places he could take cover to evade us. I’ve got a spare vest in the trunk. Let me get it for you.”

  He checked his mirror and then slid out.

  She didn’t like the idea of requiring a Kevlar vest. Russ was likely just being cautious, but still, she needed to take extra care. She pulled out her weapon and popped out the magazine to check it was fully loaded. Not that she really doubted it, but better to be safe than sorry. Besides, seeing the bullets gave her confidence, and she slid the clip back in place with a click that echoed in the empty car.

  Russ opened the driver’s side door and tossed in a vest. She put it on as he started the car forward. She pulled the Velcro as tight as it would go, but the vest remained too big, leaving vulnerable spots. Still, it was better than nothing.

  He turned into the driveway and met her gaze. “Be alert.”

  She nodded and leaned forward to scope out the area. Maple trees flanked the straight driveway, and vines tangled below, climbing the trunks as if trying to swallow the canopies. Russ followed dirt tracks and tall grasses swished on the vehicle’s undercarriage. The driveway opened into a clearing holding a small log cabin and several tiny outbuildings. Horne parked a vintage orange and white VW bus with rust burrowing into the side out front.

  Russ pulled up behind the van and killed the engine.

  A deep dog growl and bark emanated from inside the house. She searched for any movement but saw nothing. Hand on her weapon, she got out, and the curtains fluttered on the front window.

  “See that?” she asked.

  “Movement in the window at my three o’clock.” He eased to her other side, likely planning to protect her if Horne opened fire.

  She stepped through the deep grass next to Russ and kept her gaze moving over the area, letting it settle for longer on the window with each pass.

  They reached a small porch with an old green sofa and a black metal tray table. An ashtray and a wine bottle holding a candle with wax dripping down the sides sat on top.

  The door cracked open. She and Russ both stopped. She tightened her hand on her weapon.

  “Whatcha want?” a gravelly male voice came from the opening.

  “Sheriff Russ Maddox,” Russ called out. “We’re here to ask questions about a recent lumber mill bombing.”

  “Heard about that. Had nothing to do with it.”

  “Please step outside, Mr. Horne,” Russ said, his tone leaving no question as to whether Horne should comply.

  He came out wearing a stained tank top style undershirt and torn bell-bottomed blue jeans that looked as old as he was. “I got nothing to say to you, so you can be on your way.”

  Russ ignored him and climbed the steps. “We wanted to ask about a friend of yours. Dean Keenan.”

  Ryleigh followed Russ up to the worn porch and noticed the butts in the ashtray were hand-rolled, likely pot. Not against the law in Oregon, but if she were still an agent, she could hold him on a federal offense, which they hardly ever did.

  He crossed his arms, his skin shriveled, leathery, and sagging. “What about him?”

  “When’s the last time you saw him?” Russ asked.

  “Ain’t seen him in twenty years, back in Alabama. But I’m guessing you already know I saw him then.”

  “We do.”

  “But we also know you saw him recently,” Ryleigh said. “And before you answer this time, you should know that if we find out you lied to us, we’ll be more than happy to bring you up on charges as an accessory to murder. You’ll probably go away for the rest of your life.”

  He tightened his arms, but his gaze wavered. “I didn’t murder no one or even know about someone getting murdered.”

  “But you said you heard about the bombing,” Russ said. “Surely you heard someone died onsite.”

  “Well, yeah, but that’s not murder. Had to be an accident.”

  Ryleigh locked eyes with the guy. “Setting a bomb is not an accidental act, Mr. Horne. It’s murder, plain and simple, and if you had knowledge of this bomb before it was detonated, you’re as guilty as the person who set it.”

  “Something you would already know from your other arrests,” Russ added.

  “Look.” Horne flipped back straggly long hair the color of the fluffy white clouds above. “I saw him on Friday morning, so what? We talked about old times. That’s it.”

  “What was he doing in Oregon?” Russ asked.

  Horne rubbed the stubble on his face and looked beyond them as if he might not answer. He finally lifted his chin and sighed. “He was looking for his old flame. Carla Nye.”

  “Why?” Russ asked.

  “She dumped him, and he’d never let his wife leave him. He’s kind of a possessive guy, and he wants to get her back, but she’s running from him.”

  “Why?” Ryleigh asked.

  Horne stuck out his chin. “I don’t know him all that well so I don’t know, and he didn’t say.”