They walked to the end of Main Street and a little farther, out of range of the houses and any nosey neighbors. At the end of town, Molly called her supervisor, Pete, gave him Batson and Perez’s names and asked him to scan the criminal data bases for any hits.

While Molly talked to her boss, Kujo placed a call to Hank, giving him the same information. When they ended their calls, they turned and headed back into Eagle Rock. They were halfway back to the diner when they saw Perez enter one of the buildings. It appeared to be the one they’d passed with pictures of houses posted on the insides of the windows.

“Give him another fifteen minutes to set up appointments, then we’ll step in. In the meantime, let’s go in here,” Molly steered Kujo into the first store they came to. Six sat outside the door and waited patiently.

It just so happened the store was filled with baby and maternity items.

“Oops.” Molly fought the smile threatening to spill across her face. “Guess I should have looked first.”

“Hello. Welcome to First Comes Love.” A petite and very pregnant woman waddled toward them. “Can I help you find anything?”

Molly shot a glance at Kujo and nearly burst out laughing. “We’re just browsing right now.”

“Oh, please. Take your time,” the young lady said. “When are you expecting?”

Molly laid a hand over her flat belly. “Not for a while,” she said, choking down a giggle.

“I’m Simone. If you have questions, feel free to ask.” She rubbed a hand over her belly. “Don’t worry. This isn’t my first baby; I have three more with the sitter. I can tell you just about anything you might want to know about having babies.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” Molly dragged Kujo deeper into the store. “What do you think about this crib?” Molly stopped by one painted white. “Or do you prefer the darker one?”

“I actually hadn’t thought about either.” Kujo tugged at the collar of his T-shirt, a fine sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead. “Isn’t it a little soon to be looking at cribs?”

“It’s never too soon. You’d be surprised at all of the furniture and equipment available to make your baby more comfortable.” Simone appeared beside them. “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl, yet?”

Kujo coughed. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh, are you going to be surprised, then?” Simone smiled. “I was surprised with my second one. They told me it was a girl, but his little thingy was hiding every time we did the ultrasound.” Simone made a motion with her finger, indicating the baby’s penis. “We welcomed him into a pink baby room. Oh, my husband painted it within a week, but we’re very happy to have our little Robbie. He’s three now.”

“Uh. I think I need some air,” Kujo bolted for the door.

Simone stared after him. “Is he going to be all right?”

Molly laughed out loud. “I don’t think he’s quite ready for all of this.”

Simone smiled. “Are they ever? My husband always turns a little pale when I tell him I’m pregnant again. I’m just thankful he has a good job with the sheriff’s department, what with so many people out of work lately. But he loves every one of our babies, and he’s a good father.”

If she weren’t on a mission, Molly would have spent more time with the woman. “I’d better catch up with my fiancé before he runs clear to the next county. Thank you for your assistance.” She hurried out of the store, chuckling all the way. When she caught up with Kujo and Six outside, she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. “I’m sorry.” She touched his arm. “That was unfair of me.”

“I was good up to…” He crooked his finger like Simone had.

Molly grinned. “I liked Simone. She’s very passionate about her job.”

“That’s not the only thing she’s passionate about. Three kids and another on the way?” He shook his head.

Molly fell in step beside him. “How many children is the right number?”

“I don’t know…2.5?” He shoved a hand through his hair.

Molly almost felt sorry for him. But not quite. “I always pictured having four children like Simone. I grew up an only child. I wouldn’t wish that on any kid.”

“I’m one of five. I’m not sure I’d wish that on any kid.”

“Did you like your siblings?”

“For the most part. My mother didn’t see fit to give us a sister to tone us down, so we fought, wrestled and broke things.”

“And I bet you’d fight to your last breath for any one of them.”

Kujo didn’t say anything for a moment. “Yeah. I’d give my life for them.”

“How long has it been since you’ve visited your siblings?”

He shrugged. “Four or five years.”

She stared at him with a frown puckering her brows. “Are you kidding me? If I had siblings, I’d make it a point to visit them more often.”

“We all went our separate ways after high school. I went into the Army, two of my brothers joined the Marines. Another went to college and is an engineer working for one of the big aircraft manufacturers. The other stayed on the ranch down in Texas to work the horses and cattle my father raises.”

“And you haven’t been back to Texas?”

Kujo shook his head.

“Why?”

He turned away and stared up at the mountains. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It must or you’d have gone back to visit. Do you and your parents get along?”

“Sure. It’s not like that.”

“It’s about losing yourself in the mountains, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

“I’m glad you found yourself.” Molly wanted to wipe the grim look off his face. “And it’s a good thing. If we’re having children together, I insist on them knowing their grandparents.”

He whipped his head around to stare at her in alarm.

She grinned and hooked her arm through his. “Don’t sweat it. I guess I’m jealous of your family and wanted to live vicariously. I’m sure your reasons are good.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “We should go look at property. I hope we find what we’re looking for.”

David Perez met them at the door. He had a list of properties to show them and had called ahead to warn the sellers they would be coming.

“Do I need to take my dog back to the B&B?” Kujo asked.

David glanced down at Six. “Is he friendly?”

“He’s well-behaved,” Kujo said.

Perez seemed to think about it then shrugged. “He can ride in the back.”

They loaded into Perez’s SUV and set off on the hunt for property.

After the first three places proved to be small acreages, not nearly close enough to the area Molly had hoped to explore, she took the matter into her own hands. “I was really hoping to get closer to the mountains. Is there any property for sale in that direction?” She pointed to the hills she’d gone into two days before. “All of what you’ve shown us is too small. Think bigger. And we don’t mind remote.”

David’s brows dipped. “Have you ever been in Montana during the winter? Remote can be the difference between accessible and cut off.”

“We’re from Wisconsin,” Molly said, coming up with the first cold state she could think of. “We know how to deal with snow.”

“Wisconsin doesn’t have the mountains Montana does.”

“Like I said, my fiancée is an avid photographer,” Kujo said. “She wants to live as close to nature as she can. Her photographs can be seen in all of the nature magazines.”

“Could you drive that way and tell us a little about the larger tracts of land?” Molly asked. “Who owns them? Are they friendly? Would they mind an outsider moving in next door?”

Perez turned the SUV around and drove in the direction Molly had pointed. “I haven’t called any of the property owners,” he said.

“Can we drive up into some of the hills and find a vantage point where we can look out over the area from higher up?” Kujo asked.

Molly clapped her hands. “Great idea. That might give us a better understanding of the terrain and available properties.”

“There isn’t any place like that.”

“No?” Molly blinked up at the realtor, giving him her most innocent look.

“Most views are blocked by tall trees.” Perez shook his head. “I’d take you up into the mountains, but it’ll be dark soon, and I wouldn’t want to get us lost finding our way back out.”

“Understandable,” Kujo agreed. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Molly recognized the dirt road she’d turned off on the day she’d gone out on the four-wheeler. “I adore this area. The trees are so tall and lush. Is this property for sale?”

Perez snorted. “Not hardly. It’s a three-thousand-acre ranch owned by Paul Tilson.”

“Oh, my.” She pushed out her bottom lip in a pout. “I know we can’t afford that much land, but do you think we could ask him to sell off a small corner?”

“No,” Perez said, his tone unbending. Final.

Molly studied Perez.

His face was firm, unyielding. She found it intriguing. Perhaps he’d asked Tilson on previous occasions and been rebuffed.

Still, she persisted. “Can’t we even ask?”

“He rarely visits the Pinion Ranch, and he’s even harder to get in touch with. He contracted me with the authority to hire people to maintain the house and fences, but asked not to be troubled otherwise.”

Molly frowned. “That’s strange. With such a pretty place you’d think he’d be here all the time.”

“Well, he isn’t,” Perez said, his voice curt.

“What about on the south side of his place? Is there anything available?” Kujo asked.

“No, that property is part of the National Forrest.”

Perez stepped on the accelerator, skimming past the rest of the countryside, headed back into town. “Drop you off somewhere?”

“At the diner would be fine. We can walk from there, thank you,” Molly said.

“I’ll look at the MLS system and see if I can come up with anything else for tomorrow.”

“Have you always lived in Eagle Rock?” Kujo asked. “I wondered, because you know so much about the town and the surrounding countryside.

“My parents moved here when I was a just shy of my fourteenth birthday. I’ve been here ever since.”

“And your parents?” Molly asked.

“They moved on to California.”

Molly tilted her head. “I imagine real estate gets you around.”

“True. I know just about every property in this county and many of the surrounding counties.”

The sun was on its way toward the horizon as they neared town.

Red and blue lights flashed as emergency vehicles crowded the streets. Molly leaned forward and peered through the windshield. “What’s going on at the diner?”

“I was wondering that myself.” Perez parked several blocks away. “This is a close as I can get.”

“That’s fine,” Kujo said. “We can walk.” He leaped out and let Six out of the back.

Molly glanced across at Perez. “Thanks for your assistance. We’ll be in touch when we’re ready to look some more.”

Perez had turned away and had his cell phone pressed to his ear as he hurried toward his office.

Kujo and Six joined Molly. “Ready?”

She nodded. “Let’s go.”

As they neared the emergency vehicles, a sheriff’s deputy stepped in front of them. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to take another road through town. They’re conducting a crime scene investigation.”

“What crime?”

“Someone set off an explosion at the diner. Several people were injured.”

Molly’s pulse quickened. “An explosion? Was Daisy, the waitress, one of the injured people?”

The deputy held up his hands. “That’s all I know. The EMTs are working it, and the state police crime lab is on its way.”

Kujo cupped Molly’s arm and guided her down a street to one a block over that ran parallel to Main Street. They reached the B&B a couple minutes later.

Mrs. K was in the dining area sitting beside a police scanner. When she saw them walk in the door, she leaped to her feet and hurried toward them. “I was worried about you two. Someone blew up the diner.”

“We heard.” Molly hugged the older woman. “Any news on who was hurt in the explosion?”

“I’ve only heard the names of a few. Al was knocked off his feet in the kitchen. He might have a concussion. And Daisy Bishop was taken to the trauma center in Bozeman.”

“Any idea why the diner was targeted?” Molly asked.

“Someone saw Tanner Birge running from the scene.” Mrs. K’s eyes rounded. “The sheriff has a BOLO out for him. I knew that boy wasn’t good enough for our Daisy.”

“Daisy’s ex-boyfriend?” Kujo asked.

Mrs. K nodded.

Molly’s fists tightened. The bastard. “He’s mad because she dumped him.”

Mrs. K’s brows rose. “She did?”

Molly nodded.

“About damned time. He didn’t treat her right.”

The police scanner crackled.

“I better go and listen.” Mrs. K spun and ran across the dining room to where she’d been sitting when they’d entered.

Molly was already halfway to the stairs when Kujo and Six caught up to her.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

She shot a glance back at him. “Probably. Where would a country boy learn how to set explosives?”

Kujo’s lips firmed into a straight line. “At the local terrorist training camp.”