Mountbatten Pink: The Becquerels by Kathryn Kaleigh

Author:Kathryn Kaleigh [Kaleigh, Kathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-08T06:16:33+00:00

21

ISABELLA

According to the clock on the wall behind me, I waited for two hours.

I didn’t have my identification or my phone or anything.

I’d just run, literally, into town to fetch Doc Avery.

Instead, I was sitting at a little store. Waiting.

Waiting for the police to report back.

The man, his name was Walter, had called the sheriff’s office and reported what I knew. That Dakota Rivers was at the Daniels House having a baby. No transportation.

Walter had taken pity on me and gave me a bottle of water.

Every single person who walked through the door, looked at me. I was the only one wearing a dress, much less a long formal dress.

I just ignored them. There was nothing else I could do.

Sitting back, I closed my eyes and replayed the last couple of days starting when Colton had picked me up at the Carriage Stop.

So much had happened. I had become part of the family. At least that’s what it felt like.

Colton and his family had taken me in and made me feel welcome.

They had indoctrinated me into their way of life — living in 1870.

There were still things I couldn’t explain. Like the running water and the fresh vegetables, if they were indeed in 1870.

I was convinced they believed they were in 1870. There was a name for this kind of shared delusion. Or maybe it was just a way of life they had chosen. I’d heard about those things, too.

If I had my cell, I would call Thomas. Or at least check my messages.

A few minutes after I finished off my water and came back from the restroom, a police car pulled up and a young male officer stepped out. He wore a hat that made him look more like a forest ranger than a policeman.

The policeman spoke in hushed tones to Walter, then came over to my table.

I braced myself. I had not seen an ambulance go up to the Daniels House.

I was worried about Dakota. About Bailey. About the men out looking for horses.

“Hello,” the policeman said. “I’m Officer Hadley.”

“Hello,” I said, sitting forward in my chair. “Did you find Dakota?”

“I didn’t find anyone up there who was expecting a baby.”

“What do you mean? Dakota—”

Officer Hadley was shaking his head. “No one by that name. No one named Dakota.”

“But—”

I glanced over at Walter, but he was busy with customers.

“I’m gonna need you to come down to the station,” he said. “We’ll do some paperwork. There’s a social worker on the way in to talk with you.”

“I don’t need a social worker,” I said. “I need to get back up to the Daniels House.”

Officer Hadley was shaking his head again.

“Ma’am,” he said. “Don’t make me detain you.”

“What? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Maybe not, but if you don’t come with me, I’m going to have to put you under an M-1 hold.”

“A what? What’s that?”

“Can I see your identification?” he asked.

“I don’t have it,” I said, then took a deep breath, when I heard my own voice rising. “I told Walter this.

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