Read Blood Trails for Free Online Page B

engine. The rain was loud inside the car as it peppered the roof. And since she wasn’t moving until the downpour subsided, she dug the journal out of her bag and flipped through the pages, seeking solace in the sight of Andrew’s handwriting. It was as close as she would ever get to talking to him again, and she desperately needed to get a grip on her emotions. She found a passage dated less than four years ago and marveled at the secrets Andrew Slade had been able to hide.
    Your real mother, Twila, wasn’t very tall. Not nearly as tall as you are, but you have the same color hair—that dark auburn—and the same green eyes. When you were younger, you insisted on sprinkling cinnamon in your hot chocolate. I always assumed it was the way your mother had served it to you, because it wasn’t something we did. Of course, once Maria and Savannah saw you having cinnamon, they had to have it, too. After that, it became the norm. That was something you brought with you that you hadn’t forgotten, which leads me to believe there’s more—much more. I want you to know that I have faith in your ability to get through this. You were a quiet but strong-willed child. As you got older, you have become less strong-willed and more willing to abdicate leadership to others. Go back to your roots, my daughter. Resurrect that strong-willed child in you, because I fear you’re going to need her.
    The warning made Holly shudder. “Oh, Dad…what I need is you.”
    When a burst of police sirens sounded from the street behind her, she glanced up in her rearview mirror to see the arrival of an ambulance. Police cars had cordoned off the scene, while a policeman in regulation rain gear was directing traffic away from the area to a temporary detour. He stood firmly in the midst of the rainstorm as if it were of no consequence, waving cars right and left.
    Holly reached for her phone. It was a little after ten in the morning here, but just after nine back home. Bud would have been up for at least an hour, maybe more.
     
    Bud was cursing his injured hand and his pickup in one steady breath while trying to drive out of a snowdrift. Montana’s weather patterns were oblivious to the seasons, and the unexpected snowstorm that had blown in late last night was no exception.
    He’d sent two separate crews in different directions to feed cattle that would be in dire need of food, while he took care of the animals penned up in the corrals at the ranch. He was almost finished before he realized Andrew’s old gelding, Jim Beam, was missing. The horse hadn’t been ridden since Andrew’s death and wasn’t accustomed to so much downtime. It didn’t take long to see the unlatched gate and the tracks leading out through the snow to the back pasture, where the herd mares were kept. Andrew had been amused that the horse he’d named after his favorite brand of whiskey could undo pretty much any latch on the place, but right now Bud wasn’t laughing.
    He’d already called his crew and had no choice now but to sit and wait for them to get back. One man was bringing a tractor to pull him out while the others went after Jim Beam. Those herd mares didn’t take kindly to abrupt appearances of males in their midst, even if they were no longer stallions. The last thing he needed was for them to get in a fight and someone to get hurt. He’d just settled back in his seat when his cell phone began to ring. When he saw it was Holly, the bad day suddenly took a positive turn.
    “Hey, sugar! How’s it going?”
    Holly shivered. Even the sound of his voice made her ache.
    “Oh, pretty good…considering,” she said. “It’s pouring rain, and I just missed being in the middle of a bad wreck. I got through an intersection just fine, but the car behind me was T-boned by one car and rear-ended by another. I pulled over into a shopping area to wait for the rain to subside. What about you?”
    Bud blinked. He was still trying to get past the “I just missed being