Page 15 of Daybreak

“I can be. Are you in trouble?” Wes Bradley asked.

“It’s not bad, but it’s way out of my wheelhouse, and I have to do it ASAP.”

“Where do I meet you?” Wes asked.

“I’ll pick you up at your office at 9:00 a.m.”

“Works for me. Just give me a call when you arrive, and I’ll come out to meet you. Save you the trouble of trying to find a place to park.”

“I really appreciate this,” Gunner said and disconnected, then sat up in bed with the gun in his lap, waiting for daybreak.

* * *

It was just shy of 4:00 a.m. when Holly Dillon drove through Crossroads, Texas. A couple of miles farther, she took a right off the highway, and the moment her tires hit the blacktop, she was already home. Everything from as far as the eye could see, in any direction—west, north, and east—was Dillon property. The house was still a quarter of a mile north.

She was coming up over the rise when the bits of scattered debris across the road suddenly caught light in the moonlight. She slowed down, hesitant to drive through it for fear of damaging her tires, then she saw more of the same debris glittering from both sides of the ditch, and that’s when it hit her!

This is the wreck site!

This is where her mother and Lee died.

“Oh my God, oh my God,” Holly moaned and sped through it like she was driving through fire, then pulled over and stopped, sobbing uncontrollably. The whole time she was trying to unbuckle her seat belt, she knew she was going to be sick. When it finally came loose, she all but fell out of the car, staggered into the headlights, and threw up until there was nothing left inside her to reject but the grief, and it was going nowhere.

She stumbled back to her car, grabbed a half-filled bottle of water from the console, and rinsed her mouth, then sloshed the rest of it in her hands and scrubbed her face. The last thing her family needed was for her to arrive in a state of hysterics. She got back in the car, took a deep breath, and buckled up.

Within minutes, the security lights on either side of the entrance gate to the homestead came into view. The lights of the long, rambling ranch house were visible now as she drove over the cattle guard. As she neared the house, she saw her granny Dillon’s car parked beside Garrett and Travis’s trucks. The only vehicle missing was her mom’s blue Toyota.

She parked beside her grandmother’s car, popped the trunk, and killed the engine. Her legs were shaking as she circled the car to get her bags, but then the front door opened and Garrett and Travis were coming toward her in long, hurried strides.

“Baby girl,” Garrett said and wrapped his arms around her.

“Oh, Daddy, wake me up now. This is a nightmare,” she said and broke into sobs.

Garrett’s voice was thick with tears. “I know, honey, but I keep reminding myself that we’re not the only family grieving. Lee was Travis’s age, and he’s gone, too. It was a freaking tragedy, but we’re gonna get through it together.”

Travis gave Holly’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “I’ll get your bags.”

Holly was exhausted and so sad it was hard to breathe, but she was home.

Garrett was at a loss for words as he walked Holly into the house. Every time he took a breath it was like a knife to the heart.

Travis came in behind them with Holly’s suitcases. “I’ll take these to your old room,” he said.

“Dad… Travis… You both must be exhausted, waiting up for me, but I’m here now. I assume Granny is asleep, and I can get myself to bed. Both of you are officially relieved of duty. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Whispered words and one group hug later, Holly was alone. She knew no one was going to be able to sleep, but rest was needed. She slipped out of the room and went up the hall to the kitchen, looked for a can of anything cold to take away the bad taste in her mouth, and took it back to her room, sipping it now and then as she began to unpack. Finally, she stretched out on the bed just before daybreak and closed her eyes, drifting in and out of sleep for a couple of hours before she was awakened by the sound of a calf bawling and, before she opened her eyes, wondered where the hell she was at.

Then her eyes flew open, and she remembered. Fresh tears rolled as she threw back the covers and got out of bed, tied up her hair, and took a quick shower. A short while later, she was in the kitchen frying bacon and listening to the burp and bubble at the coffee station as fresh coffee dripped into an oversize carafe.

Garrett appeared a few minutes later, with Travis on his heels. “Holly, you didn’t have to cook.”

“We all need food. Where’s Granny?” she asked.

“Mom’s up,” Garrett said. “She’ll be along later.”

Holly pointed. “Coffee is done. Toast and bacon are on the counter. Scrambled eggs are in the skillet. Help yourselves. We can talk while we eat.”

Moments later, Garrett’s mother, Trudy, came into the kitchen in yoga pants and a loose sweater. Despite the silver in her hair, she could have passed for a woman twenty years younger than her actual seventy-one. She wrapped her arms around her only granddaughter to hug her, then didn’t want to let go.