They both wanted to hear everything Paxton knew, and the more Paxton told his story, the more frustrated he became at knowing so little. When he informed them that Shad was missing, Karl looked stunned and Jill looked, well, angry.

The nurses were remaining scarce, and once the family members ran out of questions that still didn’t have any answers, nobody seemed very inclined to talk for a while.

Karl was the first to finally break the silence. “I’ve just realized I haven’t thanked you yet, Pax.”

Paxton shrugged. “We’ve all got a lot going on.”

“But I really appreciate what you did. If it hadn’t been for you....” Karl seemed to become at a loss for words, which wasn’t usually like him.

“Yes.” Jill spoke almost absent-mindedly while she gazed down the hallway from the entrance of the waiting room. “Thank you.”

Karl’s tone took on a slight growl. “And thank God we live in a country where not only the outlaws get to have guns.”

Jill glanced over at her husband. “We don’t know if Dulsie ever actually fired that rifle.”

“There were only two shots loaded in it.” Karl had also had a little talk with the deputy. “Dulsie always put in three. One way or another the scumbag found out she had a gun, too. You know the reason he left was because he didn’t want a showdown with Deadeye Dulsie.”

“Maybe she didn’t have time to load her usual three.” Jill sounded contemplative. “Maybe the scumbag left because he already knew what a good shot she is and he realized she’d gotten that rifle.”

Jill’s comment caused a chill in Paxton’s blood, and he glanced at Maddie to see if she also determined there was an accusatory insinuation in Jill’s words. The grimace that flashed across her face confirmed Paxton’s concern.

“We don’t know if the gunman was an actual prowler or some drunk out hunting for snipe or just another doper who got lost on his way to the meth lab.” Paxton tried to divert Jill’s ruminating. “Maybe he just got spooked by the dog and Dulsie, and started shooting.”

“That still doesn’t explain why Shad isn’t around.” Once again Jill proved her tenacity for speaking her mind.

Karl shot a warning glance at her.

“You know how he travels sometimes.” Maddie’s voice was unusually stiff. “He could be out late or even for the night.”

“Then why would his cell phone be turned off?” Jill mused.

“Maybe he forgot to charge the battery,” Karl almost growled as he looked at Jill.

Paxton wanted to defuse the situation as quickly as possible. “There’s no use for speculation right now. We all need to stick together for Dulsie when she comes out of surgery and wakes up.”

“All of us but Shad, of course. He isn’t even here.”

“Jill.” Karl’s voice had a serious tone that Paxton hardly ever heard. “Put a cork in it.”

Jill finally diverted her attention from the hallway, and her eyes flashed as she turned toward Karl. “Don’t tell me you’d stand up for that man before you’d stand up for your own daughter!”

“I won’t stand here and let you start throwing accusations around. And that’s exactly what Dulsie would want me to do!”

“Maybe before tonight,” Jill replied authoritatively. “She may have a completely different story when she wakes up.”

“This is ludicrous.” Maddie’s eyes were smoldering but her demeanor remained calm. “You know Shad had nothing to do with this.”

“I know Shad always keeps his history hidden, and now he himself seems to be in hiding.” Jill glared at Maddie.

“Dulsie is the world to him.” Maddie returned the expression. “Even you have to admit to that. He’d sooner cut off his own hand than ever do a thing to hurt her.”

“He’s also emotionally repressed and socially challenged, and under the right – or wrong – conditions, Shad could react to an event in a way that reveals how unbalanced he really is.”

“Hold on there.” Paxton shook his head. “This is Shad you’re talking about. This is the most submissive kid I’ve ever seen. I spent years trying to get him to finally be assertive.”

“Congratulations.” Jill murmured. “You succeeded.”

As soon as those words were out of Jill’s mouth Paxton shot his attention to Maddie because he knew he might have to intervene.

“Don’t you talk to him like that.” Maddie growled. “If you need share your petty spite somewhere, you bring it to me.”

“Petty?” Jill turned toward Maddie with a renewed flash in her eyes. “My daughter is lying in there on an operating table, and you think that’s petty?”

“She’s my daughter too.” Karl stepped between the two women as he faced off with Jill. “At least we know where Dulsie is. Did it ever occur to you that Shad might be gone –” He glanced quickly between Paxton and Maddie, and his voice dropped. “– because something happened to him?”

Jill seemed to scrutinize Karl, and then the agitation faded from her expression. She glanced from Paxton to Maddie with just a hint of chagrin before Jill turned back toward the doorway.

“We’ll see,” she murmured.

The next half hour or so passed in relative quiet, and then a young man in surgical uniform stepped into the waiting room. Paxton wondered how many hours had passed since the doctor had graduated from med school.

Karl and Jill immediately met him at the doorway, and Paxton and Maddie stood closely behind them.

“Are you all here for Dulsie Delaney?” The doctor regarded them through the top part of the lenses in his wire rim glasses.

“Yes.” Jill nodded. “What’s the news?”

“They’re preparing to take her to recovery.” He glanced at the clipboard of papers in his hand. “All the bullet fragments have been removed, and we didn’t find any sign of chest penetration. That’s the good news.” He glanced over the group. “Upon impact, though, it shattered her upper humerus, and the fragments shredded her rotator. We patched it up the best we could, but she may need subsequent surgery. Physical therapy will help her regain some use of her shoulder, but she’ll never have the same range of motion again.”

Paxton released a slow breath of relief. At least Dulsie’s condition wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

“Sounds like he used a damn elephant gun,” Karl growled.

The doctor shrugged. “We’ll turn over our findings to the police. I did want to find out, though, if any of you can tell me how long she’s been pregnant?”

There was a split second of silence, and then all of them responded almost simultaneously “She’s pregnant?” The four members glanced around at each other as though trying to determine who among them had been keeping the secret.

“I see.” The doctor made a note on the top paper on his clipboard. “I’ll presume from your reaction that she’s still very early in her term.”

Maddie and Jill asked their questions in unison.

“Will the baby be alright?”

“Could this hurt the baby?”

The doctor seemed to regard the two women a little warily before he responded. “That depends on a lot of factors. She did lose a lot of blood, but the female body is already hardwired to divert blood to the uterus during physical trauma. The fact it’s early in her term does give the pregnancy some advantage since it doesn’t need as many resources to sustain itself. But it’s too early for me to say for sure one way or the other.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Even after they wheel Dulsie into recovery, she might not awaken immediately when the anesthesia wears off. You folks should have time to go get a bite to eat or catch a little sleep or anything like that.”

“I want to go there as soon as she gets to recovery,” Jill informed him.

“Then we’ll make that arrangement.” The doctor nodded. “You folks take care.”

Somewhat numbly, they thanked him as the doctor left, and then the four began to look at each other again.

“Boy,” Karl muttered. “Dulsie could’ve come up with a less dramatic way of letting us know.”