Who kidnapped Emma Foster’s baby?

Find out in this Rangers of Big Bend page-turner

When her daughter is abducted from her Texas home, Emma Foster turns to Matt Thompson to help her. Matt and Emma work together to retrieve little Christina from the clutches of traffickers. But it will be a race against the clock for the ranger and the nurse, who must risk it all to save the innocent infant...

LARA LACOMBE earned a PhD in microbiology and immunology and worked in several labs across the country before moving into the classroom. Her day job as a college science professor gives her time to pursue her other love—writing fast-paced romantic suspense with smart, nerdy heroines and dangerously attractive heroes. She loves to hear from readers! Find her on the web or contact her at laralacombewriter@gmail.com.

Also by Lara Lacombe

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Ranger’s Baby Rescue

The Coltons of Red Ridge

Colton K-9 Bodyguard

Doctors in Danger

Enticed by the Operative

Dr. Do-or-Die

Her Lieutenant Protector

The Coltons of Shadow Creek

Pregnant by the Colton Cowboy

The Coltons of Texas

Colton Baby Homecoming

Deadly Contact

Fatal Fallout

Lethal Lies

Killer Exposure

Killer Season

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Ranger’s Baby Rescue

Lara Lacombe

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09386-6

RANGER’S BABY RESCUE

© 2019 Lara Lacombe

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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“Did the kidnapper give you a deadline?”

Matt’s voice was calm, as if he dealt with this sort of thing every day. For a second, Emma allowed herself to believe he could fix things. That he could find her baby before anything bad happened. And perhaps he could. Weren’t park rangers good at tracking?

“Three days,” she said, a lump forming in her throat. “He wants half a million dollars in three days.”

“And you don’t have it.”

“No.” She jerked her head up, glaring at Matt. “My God, do you think I’d be here if I did? Do you think I care about money? I’d give him ten times that amount if it meant getting Christina back safely! I’d do anything to hold her again.” Her arms ached with the memory of her baby, warm and soft against her body. Would she ever feel that sweet weight again? Christina was her life. She’d never stop looking for her daughter, never rest until she found her.

* * *

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Dear Reader,

Welcome to the second book in my Rangers of Big Bend series! This is one of those stories that grabbed me by the throat and demanded to be written. I started with the image of Emma standing next to an empty crib and the book unfolded from there.

Emma is a woman facing every mother’s worst nightmare—her baby has been taken. Desperate to find her daughter, she’s forced to turn to a stranger for help.

Matt isn’t sure what to think about Emma. But when he realizes she’s telling the truth about her baby’s kidnapping, he’s determined to do whatever he can to help her.

Emma and Matt are complicated people, with their fair share of past heartbreaks. I enjoyed getting to know them both, and discovering how they put loss and betrayal behind them to move forward in their lives. I hope you’ll like their story, too.

Happy reading!

Lara

This one is for Erin, the sister of my heart.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Emma Foster opened her eyes in the darkness, filled with the sudden knowledge that something was terribly wrong. She listened hard, straining her ears for any noise that was out of place. Nothing sounded amiss—the refrigerator hummed quietly in the kitchen; the ceiling fan ticked softly over her head. But despite the absence of obvious issues, the house didn’t feel right.

She slipped out of bed, stepping lightly to avoid making too much noise. She’d had a devil of a time getting Christina to sleep tonight—her normally cheerful and good-natured ten-month-old daughter was teething and grumpy with it, which made for long nights. The baby had finally surrendered to exhaustion about an hour ago, and Emma had slipped off to her own bed for a few stolen moments of sleep. Everything had seemed fine at the time, but now she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

She headed for the front door, knowing that it was locked but needing to check it again for her own peace of mind. Sure enough, the dead bolt was secure, just as she’d left it earlier in the evening. The windows were all shut, the blinds lowered into place. There was no sign of any trouble, nothing to explain the sense of dread that weighed on her.

Moments like this made her miss Chris all the more. He wouldn’t have hesitated to wake up with her, to double-check all the locks and peek into the closets and under the beds until she was certain they were safe. He’d been a perfect boyfriend and fiancé—Emma had no doubt he would have been a wonderful husband to her and a fantastic father to their little girl.

For the millionth time, she cursed the driver who had decided sending a text message was more important than paying attention to the road. Chris had stopped at a red light when he’d been hit from behind and pushed into cross traffic, where he’d been hit again by a bus and a garbage truck. Chris had died at the scene before the firemen could even get him out of the mangled wreck of his car.

Emma hadn’t known she was pregnant at the time. She’d been so busy working and wrapping up the plans for their wedding that she’d assumed the fatigue and upset stomach were due to stress. After the accident, she’d been so consumed with grief she hadn’t paid attention to her symptoms. It had been her mother who put two and two together and suggested she take a pregnancy test.

She could still remember the feeling of shock that had washed over her when she’d realized the test was positive. She and Chris had talked about starting a family soon after they got married, but Emma had figured that dream died along with him. Finding out she was pregnant with Chris’s baby had eased her grief a bit and had brought a spot of joy back into her life.

Chris had been gone a year and a half now, but Emma saw his face every time she looked at their daughter. Christina had her father’s blue eyes, impish smile and love of avocados. Emma had never gotten over losing Chris, but she comforted herself with the knowledge that a small part of him lived on.

She paused in the hallway outside Christina’s door, silently debating. Should she try to slip into her daughter’s room to check on her, even though there was a very real possibility of waking her up? Or should she leave well enough alone and go back to bed?

Better not risk it, Emma decided. Christina had had a hard enough time going to bed earlier—if she woke her up, it might take hours to get her back down again.

Emma headed in the direction of her bedroom but stopped after a few steps. The sense of wrongness returned, as sudden and intense as before. The urge to see her daughter built with every heartbeat until she felt her chest might burst with it. She turned and walked back toward the nursery, forcing herself to move as quietly as possible so as not to wake the baby.

Panic lapped at the edges of her worry as she twisted the knob and pushed against the door. The dim glow of the night-light provided just enough illumination to see the crib and the still form lying on the mattress.

She’s fine, Emma told herself. But she crept closer, wanting to see her baby’s face and hear the soft sighs of her breathing.

She reached the edge of the crib and looked down, expecting to see Christina’s chubby cheeks and rosebud mouth relaxed in sleep. But all she found was a crumpled blanket lying in the spot where she had placed her daughter only an hour before.

Emma gripped the edge of the crib, her mind refusing to comprehend what she was seeing. “No,” she whispered numbly. “It’s not possible.”

The roar of blood filled her ears, drowning out the sound of her screams.

Her baby—her world, her life—was gone.

Three days later

Park Ranger Matthew Thompson knew the moment the woman walked into the station that something was wrong. She stood just inside the lobby, clutching her purse, shoulders rounded as if she were expecting a blow. She glanced around uncertainly, her gaze flickering past the educational posters on the walls and the interactive displays scattered throughout the room. She looked out of place, lost even, and Matt took a step forward to greet her. As soon as she saw him move, her eyes locked on his, and he saw a glint of determination that made him realize his first impression was wrong—she wasn’t as fragile as she seemed. This woman was on a mission.

“Can I help you?” he asked, meeting her in the middle of the room. She stopped and eyed him up and down, her expression assessing as she took his measure. It had been a long time since someone had sized him up, and Matt felt the absurd urge to fall into a parade-rest stance. Army habits died hard.

Apparently, the woman liked what she saw; she nodded slightly before looking up to meet his gaze. This close, he could see she was younger than he’d originally thought. The lines of strain around her mouth and eyes made her look prematurely old, but her skin was otherwise smooth and youthful. Her eyes were brown, lit from within by a fire that burned bright. She wore her dark hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, and given the slightly wrinkled look of her clothes, Matt guessed her appearance was the last thing on her mind.

“I’m looking for my baby,” she said.

“Ah, okay,” he said, stalling as his mind raced. Whoever she was, it was clear this lady was confused. Now he had to figure out if she needed professional help, or if he should just try to send her on her way with a minimum of fuss.

“My brother took her,” she continued, her tone low but intense. “I think he brought her here and is hiding out in Big Bend.”

Matt arched one eyebrow at her absurd story. “I see,” he said noncommittally. He glanced around the lobby, hoping another ranger would show up so he could pass this woman off to them, or at least get some backup in case she turned violent. She only came up to his shoulder and she was slender enough, but he knew better than to underestimate a woman in the grip of strong emotion.

She pressed her lips together at his reaction. “I’m telling the truth,” she said, a hint of anger in her voice. “Three days ago I went to check on my baby in her crib, only to find her missing. My brother has her—he told me that when I called him to let him know she was gone. The police are searching for the two of them in El Paso. But I think my brother ran to the park.”

Matt decided to entertain this crazy story, if only for the moment. “Why would he bring an infant here?”

“We used to camp a lot with my dad,” she said. “This was one of his favorite places. I think Joseph came here because it’s familiar and he can hide.”

Her story sounded plausible, at least on a superficial level. Matt studied her face but saw no signs of deception. She appeared to truly believe what she was telling him, but he wasn’t quite ready to buy into her tale. A missing baby would be big news, and he hadn’t heard or read anything about a kidnapping.

“Where did you say you’re from again?”

“El Paso,” she replied, sounding a little impatient now. The city was hours away from the park, which meant it was possible the news hadn’t trickled down to them just yet. Still, it sounded quite far-fetched.

“And your name?”

“Emma Foster.” She dug into her purse and withdrew a card, which she extended to him. Matt took it and glanced down. It was the business card of a detective in El Paso, assuming it was legitimate and not something she’d forged to lend credence to her story.

But why would she lie about something like this? He knew some parents hurt their own children to get attention. Was she the kind of woman to fake a kidnapping for the same reasons? A small stone of worry formed in the pit of his stomach. Had she hurt her baby?

“That’s the contact information for the detective in charge of the case,” she said. “Call him and he’ll confirm everything I’ve just told you.”

Matt nodded but didn’t reply. Emma’s story was quite compelling, the kind of thing that would make a great movie plot. And she certainly seemed earnest. But Matt wasn’t willing to suspend his disbelief just yet. He’d been lied to before, and he wasn’t about to let Emma’s pretty face short-circuit his skepticism.

“I’ll call in just a moment,” he said. “In the meantime, why are you here?”

Emma swallowed hard. “The police said they didn’t have the man power to comb through Big Bend and still follow up on other leads. So I’m here to look for myself. I need a park ranger to go with me.”

His first reaction was denial. “That’s not really the kind of thing we—”

“Please,” she said, cutting him off. “I know I’m asking for a lot. But I have to do something. I can’t just sit at home while my baby is missing. I have to try to find her.” A look of desperation crossed her face as she stared up at him. Matt felt his initial resistance softening as his curiosity grew. What would it hurt to check out her story? A few quick phone calls, and he’d have some answers.

“Stay here,” he said. Emma sucked in a breath, and he held up a hand. “I’m not promising anything. But let me make a few calls and if you’re telling the truth, I’ll see what kind of assistance we can offer you.”

She nodded vigorously. “Thank you,” she said. Her shoulders relaxed a bit. Matt wanted to warn her not to get her hopes up, but he feared it was too late for that.

He left her in the lobby and headed for his desk, tossing the business card next to his keyboard. Typing quickly, he pulled up the number for the El Paso police department and dialed. When the call was answered, he asked for the name on the card and was put on hold while the call was transferred.

So far, so good, he thought to himself. Apparently this detective really did exist. Now to find out if he knew Ms. Foster, or if she was simply delusional.

“Doug Randall,” said the voice on the other end of the line.

“Detective Randall, this is Matt Thompson. I’m a park ranger down at Big Bend.” He quickly explained Emma’s appearance in the ranger station and summarized her story. “I’m calling to verify the details.”

“It’s true,” Randall said shortly. “All of it. Her baby was kidnapped three nights ago, and her brother, Joseph Foster, admitted to taking the child when she spoke to him over the phone. We’re currently searching for him.”

“What about the FBI?” Matt asked. “I thought they were involved in kidnapping cases.”

“They are,” Randall confirmed. “But we’re focusing our efforts in El Paso and the surrounding areas. Most of the evidence suggests Joseph hasn’t gone far, despite what Ms. Foster thinks.”

“I see,” Matt said. So Emma was telling the truth, but it seemed the police and FBI didn’t agree with her conviction that her brother and baby were in Big Bend. “What would you like me to do? I don’t want to interfere with your investigation. I can try to send her home if you think that would be best.”

“That would be ideal, but I don’t think she’ll cooperate. She’s got a bee in her bonnet about her brother and that park. I explained to her we simply don’t have the man power to mount a thorough search of that area. In fact, I was just about to reach out to you guys, ask y’all to keep a lookout for anything suspicious. I doubt you’ll find anything, though—our evidence suggests her brother and the baby might still be in El Paso. One of his associates swears on a stack of Bibles he saw the pair two days ago. I just can’t see him taking a baby out into the wilderness, away from any kind of supplies or support.”

“It does seem a bit unrealistic.” Matt sympathized with the detective—searching for one man and a baby in a large city like El Paso was probably a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

“I asked Ms. Foster to stay close,” Randall continued, exasperated. “I guess our definitions of the term vary widely.”

“I’ll tell her we can’t do anything and that her best bet is to go home.” Now that he knew she was telling the truth, Matt felt sorry for Emma. But he didn’t know the first thing about searching for a missing baby, and it was important she cooperate with the police.

“Actually,” Randall said, sounding thoughtful, “maybe you could help me out.”

“How’s that?” Matt replied. He had a sneaking suspicion the bottom was about to drop out of his day.

“Keep her there,” Randall said, confirming Matt’s premonition. “You can keep tabs on her while she goes on this wild-goose chase. Based on our preliminary findings, she’s not a suspect in her baby’s disappearance. But I still need to know where she is. If you stay with her, you can let me know if her brother tries to contact her or if she does actually find something relevant to the investigation.”

“Do you really think that’s a possibility?” Babysitting a stubborn, misguided woman wasn’t exactly high on Matt’s list of desirable activities, nor did it fit his job description.

“It’s worth considering, especially since she’s already there. Can you do it?”

“I suppose,” Matt said. “I’ll have to clear it with my supervisor, though.” It wasn’t unheard of for park rangers to assist law enforcement investigations, but the rangers in question usually worked directly with the officers involved. There had been such a case recently, when a ranger had teamed up with an FBI profiler to catch a serial killer who had been using the park as his hunting ground. In this situation however, he’d be working with the victim, with no clear search plans in place. How long was he supposed to help her? Unless he missed his guess, Emma was determined to comb every inch of this park. She probably wouldn’t be willing to leave until her baby was found, either here or in El Paso. He couldn’t help her indefinitely, that much was certain.

“Patch me through to him and I’ll put in the formal request,” Randall said. “I really appreciate you helping out like this,” he added.

Matt sighed, wondering how in the hell he’d gotten into this situation. I never should have made eye contact, he told himself. I should have turned around and let another ranger handle her. But it was too late for that now.

“All right,” he agreed. “I’ll be in touch, but don’t expect us to find anything.”

Randall let out a short laugh. “I don’t, but at least now I know we’re truly covering all the bases. One of us is bound to get lucky.”

It won’t be me, Matt thought sourly. He didn’t have the greatest track record where babies were involved.

Jennifer’s face flashed in his mind, the image of her accompanied by the familiar feelings of betrayal and pain. Three years ago, he’d shipped out with his army unit for a quick overseas tour and had come back to find his fiancée holding a baby. She’d sworn it was his, but even though the math just barely worked out, Matt had taken one look at the infant and known in his soul he wasn’t the father. The child was adorable, though, and he’d felt a tugging at his heart like he’d never experienced before. It would have been so easy to fall in love with the little one, even though the boy wasn’t his flesh and blood. But while he might have been willing to raise another man’s child, Matt wasn’t willing to forgive Jennifer for her deception. She’d cheated on him and spun a web of lies, trying to trick him into staying with her. He simply couldn’t spend the rest of his life with someone he couldn’t trust. After a paternity test confirmed his suspicions, Matt had packed his things and moved out.

He’d been worried about the baby, but Jennifer hadn’t wasted any time. The door had barely shut behind him before she started seeing the baby’s real father again. Last he’d heard, they were a cozy family of three, living the American dream in the suburbs. Matt felt a pang of jealousy every time he thought about them. That should have been his life; he’d signed up for the wife, the child, the dog, the house. Hell, he’d even looked forward to driving the standard-issue minivan. It was a vision that had kept him going throughout his time in the army, and coming home to find out Jennifer had lied to him had ripped the rug right out from under his feet. Seeing her holding a baby had been like a dream come true. Realizing the boy wasn’t his child had been a kick in the gut. It had shaken him to the core, and he was still trying to recover.

Matt ran a hand through his hair and sighed, trying to brush off the shadow of his memories. He heard the faint sounds of his supervisor speaking, and based on the snatches of conversation he was able to make out, Paul Anderson, the chief ranger in the office, was only too happy to have Matt cooperate with the police. It seemed he was going to have a new focus, at least for the foreseeable future.

Time to go give Ms. Foster the good news.

Chapter 2

Emma wandered over to a poster mounted on the wall and stopped, staring at the glossy pictures of animals without really registering what she was seeing. He has to help me. The thought circled round in her brain, drowning out everything else. If she kept repeating it to herself, it would have to be true, right? There simply wasn’t another possibility. She couldn’t search the park alone, and she didn’t have the money to hire a private guide. The ranger was her only hope, and if he refused, she didn’t know what she was going to do.

He didn’t believe her story, that much was clear. She’d seen the skepticism in his eyes and known he was writing her off as crazy. But Detective Randall would vouch for her, and then the ranger would have to understand. After discovering she was the real deal, surely he couldn’t refuse to help her find Christina, even though that wasn’t something a park ranger normally did.

She still couldn’t believe Joseph had taken her baby. He’d called a few weeks ago, asking for money to pay off some debts. When Emma had told him she didn’t have any cash to spare, he’d simply said, “Okay.” She figured that had been the end of it.

But when she’d found Christina’s empty crib, she’d called the police and then her brother. She’d wanted him to tell their mother what was going on—Emma hadn’t had the emotional energy to break the news to anyone else.

Joseph had sounded unconcerned at hearing his niece was missing. “She’s fine, Em.”

“How can you say that? You don’t know where she is!”

“Actually, I do. She’s with me.”

Joe’s confession had turned Emma’s blood to ice. She’d begged and pleaded with him to return her daughter, but her brother had refused.

“I told you, I need money.” He’d sounded exasperated, as if he was tired of repeating himself.

“And I told you, I don’t have it.”

“We both know that’s not true. You got a fat settlement after Chris’s death.”

“It wasn’t a lump sum,” she’d protested. “I don’t have a pile of money gathering dust in my bank account.”

“Anyway,” he’d said, ignoring her. “Christina and I will be fine. You can have her back once you get me what I need.”

He’d hung up then, leaving Emma feeling even more distraught. The police had tried to trace his phone, but to no avail.

“He probably dumped it already,” one of the detectives had told her.

The police and the FBI thought Joseph would stay in El Paso, figuring it was his home base and he wouldn’t want to stray far from the familiar. But Emma wasn’t so sure. The two of them had spent a lot of time in Big Bend as children, camping with their parents. Joseph had used the park as an escape before, when he’d needed to clear his head or take a break. It was a long shot, but Emma thought he might have run here again.

The thought of her baby girl out there in the wilderness sent a shiver down her spine. Big Bend was a huge park; God only knew where Joe had taken her. But the little one was here. Emma felt it in her bones, a tingling of her mother’s intuition that gave her a sense of certainty despite everyone else’s overwhelming doubt. And even though she was looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, Emma wasn’t leaving until she had her daughter in her arms once again.

Fortunately, the hospital had been understanding about her need for a leave of absence. There was a pool of nurses happy to step in and take her ER shifts while she focused on finding Christina.

“Take as long as you need,” her supervisor had said.

With that worry taken care of, Emma had been free to focus solely on the search for her baby.

She wouldn’t have picked this ranger had there been another option. But he’d been the only one in the lobby when she’d walked in, so she hadn’t had much of a choice. He seemed competent enough—tall, with broad shoulders and lean, muscled arms. She had no doubts he could handle the physical aspects of the search with ease. But there was a hardness about him that gave her pause. It was as if he wore an invisible suit of armor. She’d seen a glimmer of wariness in his blue eyes, even before she’d told him about Christina. Maybe she was mistaken, but he seemed to regard the world with a hint of suspicion. It was this air of reserve that worried her now. Would he be sensitive to the dangers facing her little girl, or would he decide she was too much trouble and send her back home?

“He can try,” she muttered. But if he thought she’d simply turn around and walk away, he was sorely mistaken.

Resolve stiffened her spine. If he refused to help, she’d ask another ranger. And another and another, if need be. She’d go through the whole damn roster of them until she found one who would search with her. And if that didn’t work, she’d call a reporter. Not that she knew anyone in the media, but it couldn’t be that hard to find somebody who worked at a news station or wrote for a paper. She’d raise holy hell until she got the help she needed. Beg, borrow or steal—Emma didn’t care what she had to do at this point. She had no pride left. All that mattered was bringing Christina home safely.

Indignation bubbled in her chest, the leash on her temper growing shorter with every passing minute. What was taking so long? It shouldn’t be that difficult for him to call Detective Randall. He wouldn’t be happy to learn she was here—he’d encouraged her to stay in El Paso while they searched for Christina, but Emma couldn’t sit in her empty apartment twiddling her thumbs while her baby was missing. Despite what the detective thought, Joseph would feel comfortable in Big Bend, and more importantly, he probably figured no one would think to look for him so far from home.

“But I know,” she whispered to herself. “And I will find you.”

The clop of boot heels on tile sounded in the otherwise quiet lobby. She turned to find the ranger emerging from the back offices, his expression inscrutable. As he approached, she saw that a hint of worry had replaced the skeptical glint in his blue eyes.

Good, she noted with satisfaction. He believes me now.

“Ms. Foster,” he said, his deep voice reminding her of tires on gravel. “I spoke with Detective Randall. I’m so sorry for your situation.”

She nodded, appreciating the comment. Under normal circumstances she would have let her manners dictate her response, but she had little patience for the expected niceties at the moment. “Will you help me?”

He hesitated, sending her heart plummeting to her toes. Her fear must have shown on her face, for he reached out and placed a hand on her arm. “It’s okay,” he said kindly. “I’m going to do my best, but I can’t promise anything.”

A wave of relief washed over her, making her feel a little light-headed. “I know,” she said. “But I need to try.”

He nodded as if he understood. “Why don’t we start from the beginning? Detective Randall told me some of the details, but I’d like to hear your side of the story.”

“That’s fine,” Emma said. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t know his name. “Uh, we haven’t actually been introduced yet. You know my name. What’s yours?”

Twin pink spots appeared high on his cheeks, making him look suddenly boyish. “Matt,” he said. “Matt Thompson. I’m sorry I failed to introduce myself before.”

She shrugged off the apology. “Is there someplace we can talk?” The lobby of the ranger station was nice enough, but she’d prefer to sit for this conversation.

Matt ushered her past the desk into the back room, which housed several desks and chairs. The far wall sported a large map of the park and a whiteboard full of text, but Emma didn’t bother to read any of it. He led her to a counter that ran under the board and gestured to the coffee maker. “Need a cup?”

“Yes, please.” Emma normally didn’t drink coffee, but she’d learned over the last few days that it helped to have something to hold on to while she told her story over and over again.

Matt poured two cups, adding cream and sugar at her nod. Then he guided her to a desk and chair and sat, gesturing for her to do the same. He pushed the mug across the desk and looked at her expectantly.

Emma wrapped her hands around the cup, appreciating the warmth leaching through the porcelain. A familiar heavy weight settled over her as she gathered her thoughts. Talking about the night she had discovered Christina was missing never got any easier. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d repeated the story to the police and the FBI. Unfortunately, the repetition didn’t dull her emotions or help her process what had happened. Her heart still pounded the way it had when she’d realized the crib was empty; her stomach still cramped as she relived the horror, as fresh as the first time.

Matt nudged a box of tissues toward her, as if sensing she might need them. She sent him a grateful smile and took a deep breath. “Three nights ago, I woke up at one thirty in the morning because I felt like something was wrong.” She told him about searching the apartment but finding no signs of anything amiss, and how she’d nearly gone back to bed. “But I had to check on Christina. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep until I made sure she was okay.”

He nodded, his blue eyes full of understanding. Emma appreciated the fact that he was simply listening and not bombarding her the way the police and FBI had done. She’d barely been able to get a sentence out before an officer had fired another question at her, which had made it difficult to get through the telling. But Matt remained quiet, apparently content to hear what she had to say before talking himself.

His silence was oddly encouraging, and she felt her shoulders relax. “That’s when I discovered my baby was gone.” Her throat tightened on the last word, and she felt the familiar prickle of tears. She blinked hard, dismissing them before they had a chance to fall.

“I called the police immediately,” she continued. “They thought that since there were no signs of forced entry into the apartment, whoever took her must have a key. My brother, Joseph, is the only one with a spare, but I didn’t think he would ever take Christina.” Disappointment and anger swirled in her chest as she recalled her naive assertion that her brother would never kidnap her child. How wrong she’d been!

“Then I called Joseph, and he actually answered. At first, I was relieved. I figured if he had taken Christina, he wouldn’t have answered the phone.”

Matt lifted one eyebrow. “He didn’t try to hide the fact that he’d kidnapped your daughter?”

Emma shook her head. “I think he was preparing to call me himself, to let me know she was safe.”

“Why did he take her?”

“Money,” she said simply. “Joseph has a gambling problem. It’s something that developed over the last several years. I’d helped him once before with a small debt, but told him never again. He agreed, and for a while I thought he had stopped gambling. But he’d just been hiding it. Now he owes some bad people a lot of money, and he’d come to me about a week ago asking for help. I told him I didn’t have anything, but he didn’t believe me.”

Matt tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing a bit. “Why would he think you’re lying?”

The question hit close to home. Emma shifted in her chair, not really wanting to get into the details of Chris’s death and the subsequent lawsuit. “I was involved in a lawsuit about two years ago that resulted in a settlement. Joseph thinks I have a lot of money. He doesn’t understand I haven’t seen a dime. He accused me of holding out on him, of deliberately abandoning him.”

“So he took your baby to try to force your hand,” Matt said. The words dripped with disgust, as if he couldn’t believe anyone would stoop so low.

Emma nodded. “Exactly. But I still don’t have the money. And I don’t know what he’s going to do once he realizes that.” Fear bubbled up in her chest as she wondered again how her brother would respond when he discovered there was no ransom coming his way. Joseph wasn’t normally a violent person, but Emma felt like she no longer knew her own brother. Three days ago, she would have sworn he’d never kidnap a baby. Now she had no idea what he was capable of doing. He was plainly desperate, and she could only hope that desperation didn’t override his basic humanity where her daughter was concerned.

“Did he give you a deadline?” Matt’s voice was calm, as if he dealt with this sort of thing every day. For a second, Emma allowed herself to believe he could fix things. That he could find her baby before anything bad happened. And perhaps he could. Weren’t park rangers good at tracking?

“Three days,” she said, a lump forming in her throat. She glanced down, swirling the mug a bit to stir the coffee within. “He wants half a million dollars three days from now to pay off his debts.”

“And you don’t have it.”

“No.” She jerked her head up, glaring at Matt. “My God, do you think I’d be here if I did? Do you think I care about money? I’d give him ten times that amount if it meant getting Christina back safely! I’d do anything to hold her again.” Her arms ached with the memory of her baby, warm and soft against her body. Would she ever feel that sweet weight again?

Matt held up his hands. “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I’m sorry.”

Her temper cooled quickly, leaving despair in its wake. “I don’t have the money. The only way I can get that kind of money is by robbing a bank. And even then, I doubt they keep half a million in cash on hand these days.”

“Probably not,” Matt said. His voice was soothing now, as if he were trying to calm a wounded animal.

“This is my only option,” she said. Her shoulders dropped, her energy starting to flag as the hopelessness of the situation took hold once again. The past few days she’d vacillated between a burning sense of urgency and a feeling of total defeat. It was growing more and more difficult to beat back the darkness trying to claim her spirit, but she had to keep trying. The police and FBI were doing all they could to find Christina, but at the end of the day, this was just another job to them. Christina was her life. She’d never stop looking for her daughter, never rest until she found her.

“If this doesn’t work...” She trailed off, unwilling to give voice to her fears. What if she was wrong, and Joseph hadn’t taken her baby to the park? Was she wasting her time and efforts, time that would be better spent looking elsewhere?

But what other choice did she have? Emma couldn’t rest while her baby was gone. She had to trust that Detective Randall and his team were doing their best in El Paso. They thought it unlikely Joseph had fled to Big Bend, which meant they weren’t going to spend time looking here. Even though they figured it was a long shot, Emma refused to leave any stone unturned in the hunt for Christina. If that meant spending the rest of her life wandering the desert, then so be it.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Matt said. He reached across the table and placed his hand over hers. His palm was warm against her skin. Even though he was a stranger, Emma drew comfort from his touch. She hadn’t been with anyone since Chris’s death, and a frisson shot up her arm as she realized how much she’d missed the touch of a man. Her body cried out for more contact, but not in a sexual way. She simply wanted to be held by someone bigger and stronger, someone who could fold her into his arms and make her feel safe. She wanted to lay her head against Matt’s chest and surrender her worries and fears. For one brief, aching moment, she wanted a man to take care of her, to fix her problems and give her the gift of rest.

It was a lovely fantasy, but that’s all it would ever be. In reality, there was no knight in shining armor waiting in the wings, ready to swoop in and rescue her from the nightmare her life had become. And while Emma prided herself on her accomplishments as a single mother, she wasn’t too proud to admit that she missed having a partner, someone to share things with and lean on for support when the going got tough. She’d had that once with Chris. Would she ever find it again?

Doesn’t matter, she told herself. Her loneliness wasn’t important, not right now. She couldn’t allow self-pity to distract her from her search. She’d never forgive herself if she missed a clue because of pointless navel-gazing.

“I’m trying to stay positive,” she said, forcing herself to return to the conversation. “But it’s hard. Every minute that passes without her feels like an eternity.”

“I can imagine.” Matt’s eyes were full of sympathy and a hint of understanding, as if he had some idea of what she was going through.

“Do you have children?” He’s probably a great dad, she figured. She imagined him playing catch with a towheaded boy, a smaller version of himself. She felt a pang in her heart as she pictured him hugging his son, burying his nose in the little boy’s hair. Does he take it for granted, the way I used to?

To her surprise, the light left his eyes and a wall shot up between them. “No,” he said shortly. “I’m not a father.” His tone was curt; it was clear she had inadvertently touched a nerve.

“Oh,” she said dumbly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

He ignored her apology, changing the subject. “You said you and your brother camped here a lot as kids. I’m going to grab a map of the park so you can mark where you think he’d go.” He pushed back from the desk and stepped away, leaving Emma alone with her cold cup of coffee.

She gripped the mug, staring into the dark liquid. For the first time in days, she felt like she could catch her breath. And as she watched Matt walk back toward the desk, moving with an easy confidence she envied, a strange sensation took root in her chest. It took her a few seconds, but she finally identified the feeling.

Hope.

* * *

This was shaping up to be a lot harder than he’d thought.

Joseph frowned as he watched his niece play with a small cloth ball, rolling it across the surface of the sleeping bag. She was all smiles now, but he’d learned quickly that her mood could change on a dime. Not even ten minutes ago she wailed loudly after he’d removed a rock from her mouth. Her quicksilver temper was enough to give him whiplash. How did Emma handle this? He was only three days in and ready to throw in the towel.

“Not much longer,” he said quietly, not wanting to disturb the baby’s play. He’d given Emma a deadline for the money—he’d been quite generous with the amount of time he’d granted her to get the funds.

It didn’t have to be this way. Bitterness rose in his chest as he pictured his sister. He’d come to her in good faith, asking for help to pay his gambling debts. She hadn’t been his first choice. He’d much rather take care of his own problems—he had his pride, after all. But the debt was out of control, and there was no way he could scrape together that kind of cash in time to keep the enforcers at bay.

Karnov was not a patient man. Whispers swirled that he was in with the Russian mafia. Joseph had dismissed them as mere rumors, but now he realized what a mistake that had been.

Even now, he broke into a cold sweat at the memory of Karnov’s warning. Joseph had literally been plucked off the street and thrown into the back of a van, a cloth bag jerked down over his head. When they’d stopped, he’d been manhandled into a warehouse. Someone had pulled the bag away to reveal an unsmiling Karnov and a gun, inches away from Joseph’s nose.

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Karnov had said.

“Please, I’ll do anything.” Joseph had nearly soiled himself, and only the two men gripping his arms had kept him from falling to his knees. “I just need a little time to get the money together. A month, that’s all.”

“Two weeks.” Karnov uncocked the pistol and let his arm hang by his side. “And I’m charging you interest. Now it’s five hundred thousand.”

The figure had taken Joseph’s breath away, but he couldn’t exactly protest. “Thank you,” he’d said, swallowing hard. Not for the first time, he cursed his bad luck. First, he’d backed the wrong football teams. Then, he’d tried to buy himself out of the hole by betting on ponies. That had only made things worse.

And so, out of options, he’d come to his sister, tail between his legs.

“I’ll pay you back,” he’d promised. And he’d meant it. He had no intention of mooching off his baby sister; it was more like he’d asked her for a loan.

But Emma hadn’t seen it that way. “Joseph,” she’d said, perfectly replicating the note of disappointment their mother had mastered over the years. “How could you do this to yourself again? You’re smarter than that.”

He was smart, that much was true. But neither the football teams nor the ponies respected intelligence. It was all a game of chance, and Lady Luck hadn’t smiled on him in far too long. He certainly hadn’t meant for things to get so out of hand, but life was a cruel bitch sometimes.

The downturn in his fortunes had stung, but not nearly as much as his sister’s denial. Emma’s refusal to help him was a betrayal of their relationship, and it cut him to the quick. She had the money—he knew she’d gotten a fat settlement from the other driver after Chris’s death. But she lied to his face, acting like she had nothing to give.

“I don’t have the money.” She’d said that several times, as if repetition would convince him to believe her lies. “The other driver doesn’t have money, so I’m not getting any.”

Yeah, right. Did she think he was stupid? The guy who was responsible for killing Chris might not be Mr. Moneybags, but Joseph knew he was paying. Maybe not all at once, but a monthly sum had to add up quick, and it had been over a year since the judgment. By his reckoning, Emma was sitting on a nice lump of cash. It might not be enough to pay his debt in full, but it would definitely buy him some breathing room. He’d heard through the grapevine that Karnov’s enforcers were brutal, going so far as to remove body parts from debtors.

But no matter how clearly he explained the situation, she clung stubbornly to her lies.

“I know you want to use the money for Christina’s education,” he’d said. “And I’ll have plenty of time to pay you back. You won’t even miss the funds.”

“No, Joseph. I can’t help you.”

More like won’t, he’d realized as he left her apartment. If he’d had more time, he probably could have come up with a way to persuade her to lend him the money. But a few hours after his conversation with Emma, Karnov’s thugs had found him and administered a painful beating. His ribs still ached from the blows.

“Next time, we take things,” the square-jawed enforcer had made a scissoring motion with his fingers as he and his partner left Joseph in a heap on the floor.

With his time running out, Joseph had resorted to desperate measures to secure his sister’s help. He felt bad about taking the baby, but really, Emma had only herself to blame. If she had simply agreed to help him instead of being stingy, he never would have had to take Christina.

The baby in question was apparently bored with her ball. She began to crawl, her gaze focused on the open backpack lying a few feet away.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Joseph muttered. He reached out to snatch the bag from her grasp, depositing it on the other side of the tent.

Deprived of her goal, Christina opened her mouth and let out a piercing wail. Fat tears began to roll down her chubby cheeks, and her face turned pink with distress.

“It’s okay,” Joseph said, scrambling to find some kind of distraction to stop the crying. The sound of her voice was like nails on a chalkboard, and he felt his hackles continue to rise with every passing second.

“Are you hungry?” In desperation, he twisted the top off a pouch of baby food and stuck it in her mouth. Christina blinked in surprise at this unexpected development. She gummed the nozzle for a moment, testing the plastic. Apparently deciding the offering was acceptable, she began to suck on the pouch, restoring a peaceful quiet to the tent.

Joseph let out his breath, grateful for the reprieve but knowing it wouldn’t last long.

Bringing the baby to Big Bend hadn’t been one of his smarter decisions, but there was no other place he could think of to hide while Emma got the money together. He’d camped here so much as a kid, but now that he was responsible for a child, he realized how difficult those trips must have been for his own father. There weren’t a lot of creature comforts out here in the wilderness. But fortunately Christina was too young to notice that. He’d grabbed diapers and baby food before taking her, figuring that was all he’d need. Camping with an infant was not exactly fun, but at least they were isolated enough that her cries wouldn’t bother anyone else. A single man with a baby would raise suspicion; all he had to do was lie low for a few more days, and his problems would be solved.

He knew Emma had called the police. They were probably searching for him now, thinking he was a danger to his niece. It wasn’t true—he had no intention of hurting the baby. As soon as he got the money, he’d make sure Emma got her daughter back. But he wasn’t going to stick around for the reunion. He was going to have Emma leave the money at a public location. Then he was going to tell Karnov where to find it. Let the Russian deal with the police when he sent his goons to retrieve the funds. Joseph smiled at the thought, imagining the square-jawed thug taking a few on the chin as he was arrested. Karnov would be pissed to learn he’d been double-crossed, but Joseph didn’t care. He’d be long gone by the time it all got sorted out. Besides, he was technically paying his debt. It wasn’t his fault Karnov wasn’t going to get to keep the money.

Joseph retrieved the ball and set it in front of Christina. She eyed it with interest, the now-empty pouch dropping from her mouth.

“Ba, ba, ba,” she babbled. She rocked forward to grab the ball, treating Joseph to an eye-watering whiff of her diaper.

“Didn’t I just change you?” he grumbled. He reached for a fresh diaper and the wipes as the baby cooed happily to her toy.

“Almost done,” he told himself as he set about the unpleasant task. “Just a few more days.”

They couldn’t pass quickly enough.

Chapter 3

“Is this going to take much longer?”

Matt glanced up from the computer screen to offer Emma what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She’d been pacing in front of his desk for the past twenty minutes, clearly on edge. She was obviously anxious to start the search, but there were things they needed to deal with before heading out into the park. He sympathized with her desire to do something, but he wasn’t about to head into an unknown situation without doing a little prep work first.

“I’m almost done,” he said. “Do you have a photo I can add?” He was putting together a flyer to print, a sort of wanted poster that showed the baby and briefly explained the situation. He wanted his fellow rangers to know what was going on, so they too could be on the lookout.

“A picture of Christina?” Emma asked. “Or Joseph?” Matt could tell by the way she practically spat her brother’s name that there would be no forgiveness for her sibling. Not that he blamed her—kidnapping wasn’t exactly something a mother could forget.

“I’ll take both, if you have them,” Matt said. It would be good to show Joseph’s face as well, especially since he might have the baby in a tent or otherwise have her face obscured when people were around.

Emma pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. After a moment, she flipped it around so he could look at it.

“That’s my love,” she said, choking up a bit.

Matt had to admit her daughter was a beautiful child. She had her mother’s curly dark hair and heart-shaped face. But her eyes were startlingly blue, like a cloudless summer sky. Deep dimples reminded him of a cherub, and her toothless smile held such joy Matt couldn’t help but smile back.

Seeing her made his heart ache for the child he’d lost. Even though he hadn’t been the father of Jennifer’s child, he’d been well on his way to falling in love with the little guy.

“How old is she?” he asked, unable to take his eyes off the picture.

“Ten months,” Emma replied.

Almost a year, he thought. A little older than Fisher had been when the DNA test results had proved Matt wasn’t his father. Did babies that young have memories? It broke his heart to think that Fisher, now three years old, might remember him or feel abandoned because he’d left.

Matt cleared his throat, trying to cast off his melancholy. “Too young to be away from you for long,” he said.

Emma nodded. “She’s eating solids now, so as long as Joseph has baby food she won’t starve. But she still likes a bottle, and he won’t know that.”

“We’ll find her,” Matt said. The thought of that innocent baby crying from hunger made his own stomach twist with anxiety. He hadn’t considered all the logistical reasons why Christina needed her mother—he’d just assumed maternal love was driving Emma’s sense of urgency. But now he realized all the practical issues involved—the diaper changes, feeding, dressing, rocking. All tasks that could technically be completed by anyone with half a brain, but from the baby’s perspective, her needs had only ever been met by her mother. To have a stranger caring for her now had to be stressful and frightening.

All the more reason to get out there and start looking.

“Send me that photo, please.” He rattled off his email address. “And send me any pictures you have of your brother.”

Her fingers flew across the screen of her phone. “Done.”

A moment later he heard the chime indicating a new email. He inserted the photos into the flyer and hit Print.

The printer across the room hummed to life and began spitting out pages. He walked over and grabbed the stack, bringing it back to his desk.

Emma reached for a sheet. She studied it carefully, her gaze lingering on the page. Her scrutiny made Matt self-conscious; hopefully he hadn’t made any spelling errors or other glaring mistakes.

It was a simple flyer, showing both Christina and Joseph and asking visitors to report any sightings to the park rangers or the police. He’d distribute some among his coworkers as well, so they all knew to keep their eyes open. The more people aware of the situation, the better the chance of finding Emma’s daughter.

“This looks good.” Emma returned the page to the top of the stack and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hands.

Sympathy welled in Matt’s chest at the sight of her obvious pain. “I can change things if you want,” he offered, unsure of how to comfort her. Had it been a mistake to create the flyers? But how else could they spread the word?

She shook her head. “No, they look great. I just never imagined I’d see my baby’s face on a missing person poster, you know?”

“I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you,” Matt said. Walking away from Fisher was the hardest thing Matt had ever done, and he’d only known the little guy for a few weeks. Emma was functioning amazingly well for a mother whose child had been kidnapped—he didn’t think he would be so tough if he were in her shoes.

“She’s my world,” Emma said, sniffing. “I’ll never stop looking for her.”

But why are you searching alone? he wondered. Based on the little he knew, he didn’t think Christina’s father was in the picture. Why not? Emma didn’t look like the anonymous one-night stand type; being deployed while in the army had made him an expert of sorts at spotting the women who hung around base, only wanting a quick roll in the hay. No, he could tell Emma was the kind of woman who did relationships. She had a girl-next-door appeal that screamed “wife and family.” She was the type he and his army buddies had talked about settling down with after they’d had their adventures.

Of course, Jennifer had been like that, too. That hadn’t exactly turned out well for him. Maybe something similar had happened between Emma and the father of her baby?

It really wasn’t any of his business, but curiosity got the better of him. “Where is Christina’s dad?” Not the most delicate way to ask the question, but since Matt was going to be spending the foreseeable future with Emma, he wanted to know why the father of her child wasn’t out beating the bushes, as well.

Her lips tightened, and for a second, he thought she wasn’t going to answer the question. Then she spoke, her voice low. “He’s dead.”

“Oh.” It wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting, and Matt felt like a world-class idiot for pressing the issue. “I’m so sorry.”

Emma jerked one shoulder in a dismissive shrug. “You couldn’t have known.”

No, but he could have been a bit more sensitive. He had to stop thinking the worst of people; not every woman was a liar like Jennifer.

He cleared his throat, needing to change the subject. “I’ll leave these out front, so people will see them. Let’s start getting supplies together, and then I can hit the trails.”

“You mean we can hit the trails,” she said.

Matt bit his bottom lip, cursing silently. Did the woman ever miss anything? “I don’t know if it’s such a good idea for you to accompany me—” he tried, but she cut him off.

“I have to go with you. I can’t stay here doing nothing.”

Matt took a deep breath and tried a different tack. “I know you’re frustrated and feeling helpless, but it’s best if you stay behind. What if your brother tries to call? Cell service in the more remote areas of the park is patchy at best.”

Emma frowned, as if she hadn’t considered that possibility before. Matt began to relax, thinking she’d accepted reason.

But she shook her head again. “It’s a chance I’ll have to take.”

Okay, he was clearly going to have to be a little rude to get her to listen. “Look, I can’t take you with me. You’ll slow me down and limit how much ground I can cover at a time.”

“No, I won’t.” She sounded supremely confident. He ran his eyes over her body, looking for clues as to her fitness. Her oversize T-shirt didn’t reveal much—from this angle, he couldn’t tell if she was all softness and curves or lean, toned muscle.

Did it matter? At this point, he knew she would follow him whether he wanted her to or not. Perhaps he should give in. If it turned out she couldn’t keep up with him, he could send her back to the ranger station. But if he remained stubborn and refused to let her join him, he’d be distracted by worries that she was out there wandering the park alone and with no one to help her should she find trouble.

“All right,” he said finally. “I guess we’ll find out if that’s the truth.” It shouldn’t take long for her to realize she was out of her depth, and by that time, she’d likely be all too happy to return to the refuge of the ranger station. “We can start as soon as I get my bag packed. Do you have supplies?” Maybe he’d get lucky and she’d say no.

“Yes,” she replied. “I’m all set in that area.”

He nodded. “I’d like to look at what you brought, make sure you have the essentials.” Experience had taught him that hikers didn’t always bring the necessities when packing for a trip. People tended to skimp on some of the supplies, filled with misplaced confidence that their journey would be free from accidents.

“That’s fine. I’ll go grab my bag.”

Matt nodded. She returned a moment later with a pack that looked broken in, and his impression of her capabilities inched a little higher. This was not the bag of a novice—she’d clearly done some kind of camping in her life.

Emma placed the bag on his desk and unzipped it, pulling it open with a little flourish. “Search away,” she said, the barest edge to her voice.

He met her eyes and could tell she knew he was looking for a way to discredit her. But he wasn’t going to apologize for his resistance. He’d been roped into this investigation without warning, and he wasn’t about to take her on a search without first knowing she could handle herself on the trails.

He combed through her bag, feeling a little self-conscious under the weight of her gaze. A sense of grudging admiration built as he realized she’d brought all the essentials, plus a few extra small conveniences. She was definitely prepared, at least from a packing perspective.

Matt zipped her bag closed and pushed it toward her. “Okay,” he said. “Let me get my stuff and we’ll set out.”

Emma nodded, relief flashing across her face. “That sounds great.” He could tell she was anxious to get started, and truth be told, he was eager to begin, as well.

“Have you ever done anything like this before?”

“Not exactly,” Matt hedged. He’d never mounted a search like this in his time as a park ranger, but it reminded him of one of the missions his squad had been sent on overseas. They’d been tasked with providing extra man power to a small group of Special Operations soldiers as they hunted for a well-known terrorist operative. They’d spent days combing the desert and beating down doors, but ultimately their search had proved unsuccessful. It wasn’t exactly the kind of encouraging story Emma needed to hear right now.

Hopefully this time, he’d have better luck.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, a fiery ball that made her eyes water from its brightness. Emma was grateful for her hat, and hoped that Joseph was keeping Christina in the shade. Her baby skin was sensitive to the sun, her blue eyes even more so.

For the millionth time, she wondered what her brother had been thinking. He’d always been impetuous, acting on emotion rather than reason. And after their dad’s death a few years ago, Joseph’s self-control had practically disappeared. That’s when his gambling had gone from a hobby to a problem. But kidnapping was beyond the pale, even for him. She’d never thought him capable of endangering a child, especially one he’d held and played with before. Had she simply missed the signs, or was this a new, dangerous aspect of his personality? Joseph was a stranger to her now, and Emma knew that later, after she had Christina back safely in her arms, she’d mourn the brother she’d lost.

She glanced over at Matt, walking alongside her. It was clear he’d been reluctant to let her join the search, but he wasn’t being an ass about it now. With his long legs, he could easily have set a pace designed to make her quit. Instead, he’d kept them moving at a steady, sustainable clip. She appreciated the consideration, more determined than ever to prove she could keep up with him for as long as it took.

“How long have you been a park ranger?” She normally wasn’t a chatty person, but the silence was getting to her. She needed a distraction from her own thoughts, or else fear and panic would take over, leaving her unable to function.

“A little over a year,” Matt replied.

“What did you do before then?”

He slid her a glance. “I was in the army,” he said neutrally.

It was clear Matt wasn’t a big talker, but Emma didn’t care. Anything was better than being trapped in her head at the moment. “Joseph was in the military, too,” she commented. “He joined right out of high school, except he signed on with the navy.”

“Really?” Interest sharpened Matt’s tone, and he looked at her fully now. “How long did he serve?”

“Only a few years. He got into some trouble and was dishonorably discharged.”

“Ah.” Matt nodded as if that made perfect sense. She got the impression he didn’t think much of her brother. Why would he, though? Any man who kidnapped a baby was no better than pond scum.

“He’s always been impulsive,” she said, stepping around a large rock in the path. “Loves to gamble. It used to be under control, but after my dad died a few years ago, Joseph couldn’t be bothered with moderation anymore. And since he was a single man, he didn’t need to worry about sending money home to a wife.” Emma wasn’t sure why she was telling Matt all this, but it was something to talk about. “He set up a gambling ring on his ship. Got caught eventually. The navy didn’t take too kindly to his actions, so they kicked him out.”

“The military is tough like that,” Matt said. “It’s not a perfect institution, but the service does hold its members to a high standard.”

“Yeah.” Emma was quiet for a moment, remembering her mother’s distress when they found out what had happened. “He came home, tail between his legs. We hoped he would learn from the situation, get some help for his addiction. But he refused.” She shook her head, the sound of their arguments still fresh in her mind. She and her family had tried everything to convince Joseph he had a problem and needed to take action, but his denial was too strong to overcome.

“That must have been hard.”

“It was. On my mother, especially. Joseph swore he was in control and didn’t need help, and for a while, he kept his nose clean. But I guess the lure of gambling was too strong to resist.”

“What kind of gambling?” A fallen tree trunk bisected the trail in front of them. Matt stepped over it, then reached back to help her. Emma slipped her hand into his, grateful for his assistance.

“Horse races,” she replied. She stepped carefully onto the trunk, trying to maintain her balance. But the bark was smooth and worn, and her boots lost traction. She began to slide forward, her heart leaping to her throat as she lurched toward the ground.

Suddenly, Matt was there. He stepped in front of her, stopping her fall with his body. His arms slid around her waist, his broad chest absorbing her forward motion. Emma had a split second to register the feel of his strength surrounding her before her head jerked from the sudden stop, her nose smashing into his shoulder. A starburst of pain filled her head, making her cry out.

Matt loosened his grip. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Emma stared up at him through watery eyes. “Not your fault,” she said, holding her nose. “I appreciate you catching me.”

“It’s the least I could do.” He reached out and gently pulled her hand away from her nose. “Let me take a look at that.”

She felt wetness on her skin and figured she was bleeding. Matt’s look of horror confirmed it.

“Here, sit down.” He helped her sink onto the log and quickly wriggled the pack off his back. He dug through it and withdrew a small plastic box, from which he extracted a few squares of gauze.

“Let me,” he said softly. He gently applied the gauze to her nose, then moved her hand into place to keep it from falling. “Here’s an ice pack.” She heard a crunching sound, and he handed her a small pouch that was rapidly growing cold to the touch.

“Thanks,” Emma said, gingerly applying the pouch to her nose. It hurt, but after a moment, the cold seeped into the tissue and numbed it.

“May I see?” At her nod, Matt reached out and gently lifted the cold pack to examine her nose. He frowned.

“That bad, huh?” she asked.

He shook his head. “It’s not pretty, but I don’t think it’s broken.”

“That’s good, then.”

“Yeah,” he replied. But his tone made it sound like the news was anything but.

“Don’t sound so happy,” she joked.

Matt winced. “I’m sorry. I just feel bad. I’ve never made a woman bleed before. It’s not one of my finer moments.”

“It’s not your fault,” Emma said. “If anything, you saved me from much worse. If you hadn’t caught me, I would have fallen flat on my face, and that would have done more damage than a busted nose.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he said.

“Trust me, I’ve had worse,” she said.

“Oh?” His gaze sharpened on her face, his brows drawing together in a slight frown. “Who hurt you?”

Emma realized he had misinterpreted her statement. “It wasn’t deliberate,” she said, wanting to clarify that from the beginning. “But my fiancé and I were moving furniture together once and had a bit of an accident. I thought he was going one way, he thought I was going the other, and we wound up dropping the couch. Onto my foot.” She crinkled her nose at the memory, wincing as a fresh bolt of pain zinged into her brain. “I fell and hit my face on the corner of the table and wound up with a broken foot and two black eyes.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, it was like a comedy of errors. Would have been funny if it hadn’t hurt so bad.”

Matt dug two water bottles out of his bag and passed her one. “What happened to him?” he asked softly. “If you don’t mind my asking.”

Emma took a swig from the bottle, stalling for a second as she debated how to answer his question. She didn’t talk about Chris very often, and especially not to people she’d just met. But Matt was different. He was helping her search for Christina, and while they hadn’t been looking very long, she already felt like they were a team. It was a sensation she hadn’t had since Chris was alive, and it made her heart ache a bit.

“He was killed in a car accident,” she said. “We were a week away from the wedding, and he was stopped at a red light. The driver behind him was texting and didn’t see.” Emma took another swallow, trying to dislodge the lump that always formed in her throat whenever she thought of the accident. “His car plowed into the back of Chris’s, sending him into the intersection. He was hit by a bus and then a garbage truck.”

“My God,” Matt said softly.

Emma shook her head and blinked away tears. “The firemen couldn’t even get him out of the car.”

“I’m so sorry.” His big hand covered hers, his skin warm.

She sniffed, immediately regretting it as pain spiked through her nose. “Thanks. I found out I was pregnant a couple weeks later. It was a shock, but I figured it was Chris’s last gift to me.”

“So he didn’t know about the baby?”

“No.” Emma shook her head. It was one of the most painful aspects of his death for her—the fact that he’d been killed before knowing he was going to be a father. Chris would have been over the moon at hearing the news. Another moment she’d never get to share with him, all because someone figured that texting their friend was more important than paying attention to the road.

“Damn,” Matt said softly. “That makes it even worse.”

She nodded, a little pleased to know he saw things the same way.

“What happened to the other driver?”

“Physically? Not more than a few bumps and bruises. There was some legal loophole that he used to keep from going to jail, so I sued him in civil court. Wrongful death. It didn’t seem right that he would get to go on with his life like nothing had ever happened while my life had been shattered into a million pieces.”

“Can’t say I blame you for that,” Matt said. “I’m surprised he was able to get out of a criminal conviction.”

“He had a fancy lawyer,” Emma said. A bitter taste formed in her mouth at the memory of the man in his expensive suit and perfectly cut hair. He’d waltzed into the courtroom like he owned the place, and a few moments later, after spewing a bunch of incomprehensible legalese Emma hadn’t been able to follow, he’d gotten the charges against the other driver dropped. The district attorney’s office hadn’t been able to give her a satisfactory explanation, and so she’d been left feeling enraged and helpless to do anything about it.

“But you won the civil suit?”

“Oh, yes,” she said, smiling. “His attorney couldn’t get him out of that one.” She still recalled the look of shock on both of their faces—driver and lawyer—when the verdict had been handed down. It was almost enough to ease the pain of her loss.

“I was awarded a pretty hefty sum, which is why Joseph thinks I have the money to bail him out of his gambling debts.”

“But you don’t?”

Emma shook her head. “The settlement is awarded in a series of payouts and, to be honest, the other driver used up most of his money paying for his hotshot attorney. I’m getting a little bit here and there, but nothing like I should be and nothing that would help Joseph.”

Matt frowned. “Does your brother know that?”

She shrugged. “I tried to explain it to him several times. He came to me before taking Christina, begging for funds. I told him I couldn’t help, but I know he didn’t believe me. A few days later, Christina was gone.” Her throat tightened around the words, as if she could change her reality by leaving them unspoken. If only it were that easy...

Matt was quiet a moment, studying her face thoughtfully. His blue eyes reminded her of a wolf, intelligent and assessing. She tried to figure out what he was thinking, but he kept his emotions close to the chest. He was a puzzle, that much was clear. In another time, she would have been intrigued enough to want to get to know him. What secrets hid behind his handsome face? What made this man tick?

But now was not the time for distractions. Not while her baby was still in danger.

She took the gauze from her nose and inspected it for fresh blood. She didn’t find any, so she crumpled it and stood, grabbing her backpack off the ground and slipping it back on. “We should go,” she said. “We’ve lost too much time already.”

Matt nodded, getting to his feet and shouldering his own pack. “All right,” he said agreeably. “Lead the way.”

Emma started down the trail, determination driving her on. Matt had proved to be a good listener, and he was dangerously easy to talk to. It had been a long time since she’d had a conversation with a man that went beyond the polite, superficial level. But she couldn’t allow her loneliness and selfish desire for comfort interfere with her search. Finding Christina was her sole focus—nothing else mattered as long as her daughter was missing.

* * *

Matt had to hand it to Emma—she was one tough woman.

She set a brisk pace, even though he knew her nose had to be throbbing with every heartbeat. But she wasn’t letting her pain slow her down; if anything, it seemed to make her even more determined.

Once again, he marveled at her strength. Not a lot of people would be able to function in the wake of their child’s kidnapping, much less drive several hours alone and strong-arm someone into mounting a search.

He felt a twinge of guilt at the way he’d initially treated her. At least he’d kept the worst of his doubts to himself. He might have thought she was crazy at first, but he was glad he hadn’t shown it. The more he got to know Emma, the more convinced he became that she was someone special.

He was a bit surprised to find himself wanting to get to know a woman better. It wasn’t just sexual attraction driving him, though he had to admit she was quite pretty. He let his gaze drift across her body to land on her rear, and for a split second, he wondered what it would feel like to cup her there. She’d been a tangle of heat and curves in his arms when he’d caught her earlier, but he hadn’t really registered the contact between their bodies until after it was over. And while he certainly hadn’t meant to cop a feel, he wouldn’t object to getting his hands on her again.

Not gonna happen, he told himself silently. Emma was searching for her lost baby—no way in hell was she going to be interested in anything but finding her daughter. He felt a little skeevy for even considering it, but he’d never been good at controlling his imagination.

He cleared his throat. If they kept talking, he wouldn’t have to worry about his fantasies taking over his thoughts.

“I just realized,” he said as they rounded a bend in the trail, “I don’t know what you do for a living.”

“Oh.” Emma sounded surprised, as if she hadn’t realized she hadn’t shared that information with him yet. “I’m a nurse.”

Her answer didn’t surprise him. She had a no-nonsense vibe that likely served her well in the job. But he knew underneath her tough exterior she had a caring heart.

“What kind of nurse?”

“Emergency room,” she replied.

No wonder she was so calm under these trying circumstances. That explained her stamina, too—she probably spent her entire shift on her feet or running from one place to another. It was no mystery why she was in such good shape.

“I bet you’ve seen some interesting stuff,” he said.

She smiled briefly. “I’ve had my share of entertaining patients. It’s the funny or strange cases that help get me through the tragic ones, you know?”

“Kind of,” Matt said. “I saw some pretty messed up things while I was deployed, but there were also a few absurd situations where I just had to laugh or I’d go crazy.”

Emma nodded. “That’s exactly it. You take the humor where you can find it, even if it’s pretty dark at times.” She smiled at him, and he felt a moment of true understanding pass between them. For the first time in years, he felt like someone else got him on a visceral, soul-deep level. It was a kinship he’d found in the army but had missed after returning home. Even the park rangers, while a close-knit community, were missing that vital spark he’d shared with his fellow soldiers. He was a little surprised to feel that connection now, of all times, but he wasn’t about to dismiss it.

The question was, did Emma feel it, too?

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her, but how could he phrase it so he didn’t sound creepy? He didn’t want to give the impression he was trying to hit on her. He just wanted to know if this sensation was all one-sided, or if she shared it.

But before he could find the right words, she darted off the trail like a bloodhound who’d found a scent. Matt hurried after her, pushing past bushes and wading through a bit of tall grass until she stopped in a small clearing a few feet away.

She stood in the middle, eyeing the ground intently. He followed her line of sight, but saw nothing. Why had she suddenly veered off to this spot? Was this one of the places she’d camped as a child?

“Emma?”

She ignored him and began to slowly turn in a circle, her gaze locked on the grass and dirt as she moved. It was clear she was looking for something, but what?

After a moment, her shoulders relaxed and she frowned. “Sorry,” she said. “I could have sworn I saw a glint of something from the trail.” She sounded dejected, and he could tell she was getting discouraged.

He glanced around, hoping to see something she had missed. But all he saw was dirt and gravel and a bit of grass—nothing that would have gleamed in the light of the afternoon sun.

“I’m sorry,” he said, stepping forward. “Is this close to where you camped a lot as a child? Is that why you thought to look here?”

She shrugged. “We did camp nearby once, but it wasn’t one of our regular spots. I really did think I had seen something, though. That’s why I left the trail.”

“We can stay and search if you want,” he said. It was getting too late in the day to go much farther. Might as well go through this spot carefully so they could mark it off their list.

“That’s fine,” she said. But she didn’t sound enthusiastic.

“I bet you did see something,” he said, trying to boost her spirits. “People leave trash behind a lot.”

“Yeah, but it’s probably just an empty chip bag or something equally generic,” she said. “That won’t help us.”

“No.” He began to walk in an ever-widening circle, scanning the area near his feet for debris of a man-made variety. “But at least we’ll know.”

They were quiet a moment as they worked, moving in opposite directions so as not to step on each other’s toes. He’d just about completed his circuit when he heard Emma suck in a breath.

“Matt,” she said, her voice tight. “Look at this.”

He turned to find her holding up what looked like an empty foil pouch. A plastic nozzle stuck out of one end and as he moved closer, he realized it was a squeezable yogurt that had been left behind.

Emma’s brown eyes sparkled with excitement. “This is what I saw—the light reflecting off the foil.”

He nodded. “Probably so. You look like you recognize it?”

She grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet a little as she held it up for his inspection. “Yes, I do. I give them to Christina all the time. She loves them—can’t get enough.”

And you think your brother left this trash behind. It was clear Emma had made that assumption, and Matt’s heart ached a bit for her. While it was technically possible her brother and baby had camped here, it was a lot more likely the wrapper had been left behind by a random innocent hiker. Who knew how long the trash had been here?

“It might not be from your brother,” he said, trying to manage her expectations. He understood her need to believe they were on the right track, but he didn’t want to see her get her hopes too high. Even if the wrapper did turn out to be from Joseph and Christina, there was no way of knowing where they had gone after leaving this site. Assuming he had brought the baby here in the first place, he might be long gone by now. Perhaps he’d crossed into Mexico and had disappeared in one of the border towns? It was a possibility he didn’t dare bring up to Emma, but one he had to consider nonetheless.

“It is,” she said with certainty. “I’m sure of it.”

“How do you know?” He was curious to hear her logic, to assess if she was merely engaging in wishful thinking, or if she had a solid reason for believing this particular piece of trash had been left by her brother.

“This is Christina’s favorite flavor,” she said.

Matt smiled sadly. “How would your brother know that?” he asked gently.

Emma’s confident expression faltered a bit, but then she shook her head. “He took some food from me when he kidnapped her. I didn’t notice it until later, after the police had left. But there were several baby food and yogurt pouches missing. This was one of them.” She shook the wrapper slightly in emphasis.

Matt held up a hand. “Okay,” he said, conceding the point. He knew no matter what he said, Emma believed the trash in her hand had been left behind by Joseph. And maybe that was the truth. But her brother wasn’t around now, and that was the most important point.

He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. “Any idea where he might have gone now?”

Emma shook her head, a troubled light chasing away the gleam of excitement in her eyes. “No. But I have to think we’re getting close.”

Maybe, Matt thought.

For her sake, he hoped she was right.

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