The Cowboy Lawman Read Online Free PDF Page A

young woman I know could sit in this house and give up.”
    “I haven’t given up.”
    “No?”
    “No.” Mia pushed the coffeepot because it was tilted on the heating element and about to spill out over the lid. “I’m not hiding. I’m just trying to get my head on straight.”
    “I know that I can’t convince you that God was there that night, Mia, but He was. He didn’t leave you or ignore you. It just feels that way right now. You might never know why things happened the way they did. You might always feel a little angry, a little confused. But God can get you through the anger, too.”
    “I love you, Gran.”
    “Of course you do. I’m very easy to love. And I’m almost always right. Now don’t tell people I confessed to the ‘almost’ part. I’m just sharing that with you, and I’ll deny it if you tell anyone.”
    “I won’t tell a soul.”
    “Then come to church with me. You can take your anger there. It’s safe. And you might find a little peace to go with the anger.”
    “You’re pushy.”
    “It’s one of the perks of being eighty-five. And we have plenty of time. I’ll have coffee, you drink that nasty tea of yours and then I’ll help you get ready.”
    Mia leaned to kiss her grandmother’s softly wrinkled cheek. “I am so glad you’re my grandmother.”
    “Oh, honey, I’m so very glad you’re my granddaughter. And by the way, now that you’re home for a little while, maybe you can do something about Slade McKennon.”
    “Why?”
    “He’s far too good-looking to be eating alone at the Mad Cow. Don’t you think?”
    “I’ll try to think of someone to fix him up with.” She smiled as she wiped up the counter. She knew that wasn’t what her grandmother meant, but it was all she could handle right now.
    “You would want him to date someone else?”
    “Gran, Slade is my friend—nothing more.” She thought about his hand on hers, and the memory took her by surprise. She and Slade had always been just friends. They’d shared a childhood, shared memories, shared grief.
    The thought of anything more with Slade... She shook her head. Slade belonged to Vicki.
    She led her grandmother to the patio and the two of them sat down. The sun had climbed higher and their shade wouldn’t last much longer. Mia closed her computer to keep her grandmother from seeing too much. Not that Mia had found anything. Breezy didn’t seem to exist.
    What if something had happened to her sister? What if...
    She picked up her cup and took a drink of the now-tepid tea. The thought that Breezy might be gone, perhaps had been gone for years without Mia knowing, continued to haunt her.
    “Mia?”
    She opened her eyes and smiled at her grandmother. The confession slipped out. “I’m searching for my sister.”
    Granny Myrna set her coffee down with a thunk, slopping the brown liquid over the edge of the cup onto the table.
    “Well, that wasn’t what I expected.”
    Mia half smiled. “I know. I’ve tried over the years but now that I have plenty of time, I’m really digging.”
    “But not finding her?”
    “No.”
    “You will. You’re the best detective I know.”
    “Do you know a lot of detectives, Gran?”
    “Well, not many, but you’re the best.” Her grandmother glanced at the delicate watch that had been her eightieth-birthday present from Tim and Angie Cooper. “We need to get you ready to go.”
    Mia looked down at her sweats and the T-shirt she’d pulled on that morning. “This doesn’t work for you?”
    “Let’s see if we can’t find a skirt to pull on with that shirt and not the sweatpants that I think you wore for gym class a dozen years ago.”
    “They’re comfy.”
    “They do look comfy, but no.” Granny Myrna stood and gathered up their cups. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
    Mia left the house fifteen minutes later looking what her grandmother called “presentable” in a peasant skirt, flip-flops and the dark red T-shirt she’d put on that morning. Her hair