Lone Star Christmas Witness. Margaret Daley

in here. It won’t take me long to get Oscar. I want to be away from here before they figure out where my home is.”

      After Taylor disappeared inside, Sierra turned toward Ben to make sure he was all right. She couldn’t tell. His head hung down, his chin resting on his upper chest. Before she could think of the right words to say, Taylor brought Oscar into the garage on a leash while also carrying a paper sack and a backpack.

      When Taylor opened the back door to let Oscar jump inside, Ben finally lifted his head, his eyes big but not in fear. The black Lab saw her nephew, and his tail began to wag frantically as he approached Ben. He held out his hand for Oscar to sniff. The Lab not only smelled him but also licked him. Ben threw his arms around the dog.

      “Sit,” Taylor said, then shut the back door and rounded the rear.

      Oscar settled right against Ben and laid his head on his lap while his tail kept wagging.

      Sierra faced forward as Taylor opened his garage and started his SUV. “Where does your father live?”

      “Sunflower. Not far outside San Antonio.”

      Sierra glanced again in the back seat. Ben still held Oscar, but his eyelids began to close. She turned forward and leaned her head against the window, staring at the terrain as they passed without really seeing it.

      Twenty minutes later, Taylor pulled into a driveway of a two-story white house with a front porch. Sierra sat up as an older man, about sixty-five, with short salt-and-pepper hair came outside and headed for the car. Sierra exited the car and opened the back door for Ben to climb out with Oscar by his side.

      “Dad, this is Sierra Walker and her nephew, Ben.”

      His dad reached out and shook Sierra’s hand. “I’m Robert. I’m glad y’all are here. Come on in.”

      “Thanks,” she said with a smile. How would she ever repay Taylor and his father for what they were doing for her and Ben? Thank You, Lord, for the help.

      After talking to his office the next morning, Taylor sat at the kitchen table and looked out the big window as Oscar romped around the large backyard as if he were a puppy, not four years old. Living in a town house with a ten-by-ten-foot grassy patch off his small patio wasn’t a good match for a dog that loved to explore and run. When he’d rescued Oscar, he hadn’t given a thought to the size of his yard. It had been especially hard on Oscar because he’d been working extra long hours since the multiple-kidnappings case in the summer.

      The sound of footsteps approaching drew his attention toward the entrance off the hallway. Sierra, dressed in a pair of black slacks, a long-sleeve, silky gray blouse and black heels, entered the room.

      “Going somewhere?” Taylor asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

      She headed for the pot on the counter. “I got a call from the clinic’s lawyer this morning. He wants to meet with me immediately about what happened yesterday.”

      “Why?”

      “He’s concerned one of the employees’ families will sue the business.” She filled a mug, then strolled to the table and sat across from him.

      “Has anyone indicated they would?”

      “Not that I know. I personally can’t see that happening. Everyone has worked for the clinic for at least three years. We were like a big family.”

      “What happens to the clinic now?”

      “My sister and Dr. Porter had formed a partnership. Dr. Porter’s wife, Sue, will be at the meeting, too. It will be Sue’s and my decision what happens to the clinic. If not for anything else, I have to go for her. She often helped out at the clinic if we were shorthanded either at the reception desk or as a nurse. I was hoping I could borrow a car since we left mine at the house.”

      “Dad went to the store but should be back soon. I’m sure he’ll drive you to the lawyer’s office.”

      “I don’t want to disrupt his life any more than we already are. Maybe he could take me to my house, and I can get my car. Surely the press isn’t hanging around since we aren’t there.” Sierra brought the mug to her mouth.

      “When is the meeting?”

      “Nine thirty.”

      Texas Ranger Dallas Sanders would be working with him on the case and would be here at nine. It was important that he coordinate with Dallas, so he needed to be here. “Dad won’t mind taking you to the meeting. I’d avoid your house. This story has gone national. Is Ben up yet?”

      “No, but I looked in and checked on him. Sleeping might be the best thing for him. He didn’t go to sleep last night until late. Did you call John Yates about him being here at your father’s?”

      “Yes. Instead of coming before his morning appointments, he’ll come at lunch. He has more time to make the drive and see Ben.” He heard the garage door going up and stood. “Dad’s home. I’ll help him bring in the sacks, then you two can leave. I don’t want you to be late in rush-hour traffic.” And he wanted to talk to his father about keeping an eye on Sierra. She wasn’t a witness, but she was connected to the clinic and he still had no idea why the killer had targeted the clinic.

      Out in the garage, his dad opened the passenger’s door on his Jeep and grabbed a couple of sacks.

      “I need to talk to you.” Taylor took the bags from his father’s arms. “Sierra needs to go to the clinic’s lawyer’s office. She has an appointment at nine thirty. Will you drive her? I don’t want her to go alone.”

      “You think she’s in danger?” His father picked up the rest of the food.

      “Probably not. But I think this meeting will be hard on her. I don’t want her driving by herself. She’s been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours.”

      “I’ll do anything to help her and Ben.”

      “I appreciate it, Dad.” Taylor carried the sacks into an empty kitchen and put them on the counter. As his father set his bags next to Taylor’s, he said, “I’ll take care of putting this up.”

      Sierra returned with her purse. “Ben’s still sleeping. Robert, are you sure you have the time to take me to San Antonio?”

      Taylor’s dad laughed. “Of course. This gives me a chance to take the morning off. My son will have to put away what I bought and fix lunch. Plus, on the way back here, we can pick up a live Christmas tree to put up tonight. Give Ben something to look forward to. I’ll be right back, and then we can go.”

      “Like Ben, it took me a while to go to sleep last night.” Sierra poured coffee into her mug. “I don’t know about y’all, but you saw my house. We go all out for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving.”

      Taylor laughed. “I thought I’d been transported to the North Pole.”

      She set her mug on the countertop and began emptying one of the sacks. “Kat always went overboard even before Ben was born. I hope that it’ll distract him some. Maybe even get him to talk. He has all these intense emotions bottled up inside of him. He needs to let them go and deal with them. I’m afraid of what will happen if he doesn’t.”

      Taylor remembered John telling him that when TJ died. It took him a year before he did. He didn’t want Ben to go through that. He’d felt as though he’d been living in limbo—going nowhere. “I went through a situation that left me devastated and changed my life drastically. Years later, it still can affect me profoundly. John helped me, especially when he suggested I get a dog. Oscar was the best thing I did. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to bring Oscar here.”

      “I’m not sure Ben would have gone to sleep if Oscar hadn’t slept on his bed beside him.”

      Taylor snapped his fingers. “Thanks for reminding me. I let Oscar out in the yard. I want him to be upstairs when Ben wakes up.” He walked to the back door and called Oscar.