Page 26 of Daybreak

“Where’s Dad?” she asked as Travis came out of the stall carrying a halter.

“In the corral with the farrier,” he said.

“Is he close to being done?” she asked.

“We’re on the last horse. He’s nailing on a new shoe. Why?”

“Sheriff Reddick is coming to the ranch to talk to us. He’s bringing the autopsy results. He’ll be here within the hour. Would you please tell Dad? The sheriff wanted to talk to him personally,” Holly said.

Travis frowned. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know, honey. But we’ll find out shortly. I’m going back to the house to wait for him. Now, go tell Dad.”

Travis went to get his dad as Holly returned to the house to tell Trudy.

* * *

This trip back to Crossroads was one Sheriff Reddick could have done without. The cause of death was unexpected on both counts, and both families were going to have to readjust to the actual truth. He would stop by the Peterses’ home on his way back to the office in Silverton, but the Dillon Ranch was the farthest one away, so he was going there first.

He glanced at the Tumbleweed Bar as he drove through Crossroads, wondering how Jacob Kingston was faring, and had a sudden yen for some of Pearl Fallon’s coconut cream pie as he passed the Yellow Rose Café, but that would have to wait for another day. Instead, he kept going west until he reached the turnoff on Highway 86 that led to the Dillon Ranch. It was the only road in and out to the ranch, and he knew that tragedy would forever mark it as the place where Helen died.

He pulled up to the house and picked up the envelope containing Helen Dillon’s personal property they’d recovered from the wreck. As he got out, he settled his Stetson a little firmer onto his head against the wind, went up the steps, and rang the doorbell.

A few moments later, the door swung inward. Garrett Dillon was standing in the doorway.

“Matt, good to see you. Come in.”

Holly, Trudy, and Travis were already in the living room when Garrett led him in to join them.

“Holly said you have new information for us,” Garrett said.

Reddick sat. “I do, and I’ll get right to it. The autopsy on Helen revealed that she died from a massive heart attack. She was already gone before the wreck happened.”

There was a mutual gasp from the Dillons.

Trudy put her arm around her son as he dropped his head, and Holly reached for her brother’s hand.

“Oh, my God. It’s like she died twice,” Garrett muttered.

Trudy gave his shoulder a quick squeeze. “Only to you. For Helen, she was already with the angels before any of that happened. She wouldn’t have known it or felt it. You have to hold on to that.”

Holly shuddered. “I have been struggling with the image of her being hit head on, and imagining her shock and fear, knowing she was going to die. I am going to hold on to this and tell myself that the heart attack happened so fast she didn’t suffer. Her body was still in the car when she and Lee collided, but knowing she was already gone helps take away that horror for me.”

Matt cleared his throat and handed them the last piece of information. “One other thing. We had a phone call from Lee Peters’s girlfriend, telling us that she and Lee were texting back and forth when the wreck happened. We had recovered Lee’s phone from the wreck and checked it. He was texting her, and likely not looking up when Helen’s car came over the hill. Helen was no longer in control, but her foot was still on the accelerator. If Lee hadn’t been texting, he would have seen her and swerved. I don’t know if this helps or makes it worse to hear, but these are the facts, and you all deserve to know the whole story. I will be giving the Peters family the same information.”

Travis swiped a hand across his face, as if to wipe away the horror of what he’d just heard.

“Trisha is…was Lee’s girl. The last thing he said to me when he dropped me off at the house was that he was going to see Trish. I don’t know how many times I told him not to text and drive. If only he had looked up, he could have swerved and missed her. Damn it,” he muttered, and he got up and walked out of the room.

“The bodies are being released to the respective funeral homes. You can contact them to make the arrangements. I’ll see myself out, and I’m so sorry for your loss,” Reddick said.

Garrett got up, turned in a random circle, then sat down again and put his head in his hands. Trudy stood. “I’m going to make some coffee.”

Holly moved to where her dad was sitting and put her arm around his shoulders. “Love you, Daddy.”

Garrett reached for her hand. “Love you, my sweet girl. Thank you for being here with us.”

* * *