Sheriff Logan MacDonaldâs office phone rang making his heart ache and pound at the same time. At the Willow Valley sheriffâs office, a phone call could mean a life-and-death situation or, more likely, a few cows had escaped their fencing and blocked a county road. A call could also bring Logan news of his son.
But now after four months, when he answered a call, he tried to keep his heart from racing and his hopes from rising. Still, an insistent voice inside him whispered, This could be the one. Maybe itâs news of Travis.
He snatched up the receiver.
âDoc Jacobs, Logan. Iâm on my way over to Lily and Ned Carlsonâs. They found a migrant couple in their barn. The womanâs having a baby, and they donât want the rescue squad. But I might need some backup.â
Loganâs heart rate slowed, and his hopes hit the ground. Then Doc Jacobsâs words sunk in. The rescue squad in Willow Valley, Virginia, took care of the small town and the surrounding rural area. The closest hospital was a half hour away in Lynchburg. âIâm leaving now.â
Logan snapped down the receiver and tried to push thoughts of his sixteen-year-old runaway son out of his head.
Although it was midmorning, the steamy, end-of-August heat blasted him as he hurried to his car. The temperature would probably hit a hundred by three oâclock. He could have sent one of his six deputies to the Carlsonsâ place, but he preferred taking some time out from his administrative duties and getting into the thick of things himself.
The inside of the sheriffâs cruiser was as hot as blazes. He flipped on the air conditioner full blast, letting the panel air hit him in the face. He tried to forget that his hopes had been crushed yet another time, that he still didnât know whether his son was alive or dead. Four months. Four long months to agonize over every mistake heâd made as a parent.
Logan brushed his black hair from his brow as the cool air fought the intense heat, and he switched on the siren. The stores on Main Street flashed by, then the corner grocery. A few teenagers stood out front, reminding Logan that school would be starting in a week. And Travisâ¦
Travis. Loganâs chest tightened.
He had moved his family to Willow Valley five years ago in large part because of Travis. Logan had wanted more time with his son in a wholesome country environment, rather than on the streets of a big city. His career as a cop had always added tension to a marriage that had been troubled from the start. Even Shelley had agreed that moving might helpâthat a job as deputy sheriff in Willow Valley and the surrounding county could make a difference in their lives. But their son had hated leaving the familiarâhis school, his friends.
And Shelley? Sheâd never had any intention of starting over. Once they were settled in Willow Valley, Logan had figured theyâd all have a chance at a fresh start. But heâd figured wrong. For his marriage. For Travis.
The farmland surrounding Willow Valley zipped by as Logan sped toward the Carlsonsâ farm west of town. The green pastures, the cedars, the trees in abundance, usually filled him with a sense of peace. Even now he felt it, although his surroundings blurred as he pushed down the accelerator.
Logan drove down the lane to the Carlsonsâ barn and parked on a patch of gravel beside Doc Jacobsâs SUV. He didnât recognize the blue compact beside it, though he guessed it might belong to the Carlsonsâ niece. Heâd never met her, but heâd heard she was in town for a visit. As small towns go, anything happening in Willow Valley was everybodyâs business, and rumors, as well as accurate information, traveled faster than the rescue squad with its siren blaring.
He rushed to the open barn door and stepped inside. The smell of hay and old wood wound about Logan. But when he heard a womanâs moans, he forgot about his surroundings and hurried to the far corner. Although heâd learned CPR and emergency-aid training as a police officer, heâd never delivered a baby. Heâd been out on patrol when Travis was born. But if Doc needed help, heâd do whatever he could.
The tableau Logan found was one he wouldnât forget for a long time. The woman in labor held on to her husbandâs hand. A second woman kneeling beside her spoke to them both in a low voice. Her fluent Spanish was melodic and soothing, a calm in the midst of a strange situation. She looked vaguely familiar. The observer and investigator in Logan noticed every detailâfrom the slight tilt of her nose, the silkiness of the brown hair swinging along her cheekbones, to her eyes, which were a rich chocolate color that deepened as she suddenly realized someone else was in their midst. Her gaze slid over his uniform. Loganâs body responded to her figure in denim cutoffs and blue-and-white cotton blouse. He almost smiled. That hadnât happened in a very long time.