“No hospital.” Rick’s voice was a low growl. “It’s only a scratch, and they’ll use this against her.”

“Rick,” Lana said softly, touched by his concern.

“You’ve been drinking.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“You two are both tanked.” Graham poked Zoey’s shoulder, and she wobbled. “We can smell it on your breath from here.”

Well, that wasn’t very attractive.

Zoey wasn’t buying it. “But it’s only Mr. Lockett’s eggnog. It’s cinnamon-y. There’s no alcohol. I tasted it to check.”

“Yes, which is why it’s deadly. I would have mentioned that if you’d told me you were bringing it out here.”

“Don’t call anyone,” Rick repeated, then he took a step and stumbled. “Don’t call Jonah. He’ll cause her problems.”

Now, it was possible Lana wasn’t at her best, but she certainly wasn’t hammered. She definitely knew prioritizing Rick’s health was much more important than a little thing like the law.

“Well, it was an honest mistake,” Lana said. “It’s not like we’ve never been incarcerated before.”

“Lana, do not tell him that,” Zoey hissed.

“You’re going to have to let Graham in on at least a few of our secrets one of these days. Rick, we need to get you to your house. Graham, would you be willing to help him on the other side?”

“Immookay.” Rick’s voice was starting to slur. “Graham—”

“Yeah, yeah, no cops.” Shaking his head, he said, “You’re a loyal SOB, aren’t you?”

“What are we going to do?” Zoey asked as they helped him walk back the way he had come.

“About what?”

“You shot Rick,” Zoey said in a hiss.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” Lana tightened her hold on Rick’s waist. “There you go. Lean on us.”

“And yet he still has dangerous chemicals coursing through his veins,” Zoey said. “You can’t drink and tranq.”

“You gave me the eggnog. I didn’t know it was alcoholic.”

“Well, I didn’t know either,” Zoey argued back. “All I could taste was the thousand cups of cinnamon Mr. Lockett poured in there.”

“You didn’t ask him if it was spiked?”

Zoey drew herself up, indignant. “Lana, that is Easton’s grandmother’s recipe. Of course I didn’t ask.”

“What else did he put in here? I’m feeling all paranoid.”

“You’re paranoid because what’s left of your collective sobriety has realized one of you just committed a crime.” Graham grunted as Rick leaned more of his weight against Graham’s shoulder. “Come on, Rick. One foot in front of the other, buddy. We’re almost to the porch.”

“My nana liked cimmanon.” Rick cocked his head and tried again. “Mininmon. Cimmimmim?”

“Close enough,” Lana said. “Come on. Let’s get you up the steps.”

They weren’t the quietest in their approach, especially with Rick staggering every step. Now, for the record, if Diego wasn’t expecting them to all come stumbling through the door, he certainly covered it well. A single eyebrow rose, followed by a low curse.

“What did you do this time?” he asked, taking Rick’s arm away from Lana.

The extra help was a relief, because she might be tall, but Lana wasn’t quite in shape for helping carry a 180-pound, muscular adult man through the woods.

“I…There was a dart.” Rick paused halfway to the couch, staring blearily at the wall. “Roger’s judging me. Roger, stop judging me.”

Lana followed Rick’s line of sight to where a massive tabby cat perched on a bookshelf, flicking his tail.

“Yeah, he’s messed up,” Diego said with amusement.

“We’re going to call an ambulance for you, okay?” Lana told Rick.

Rick weaved unsteadily on his feet. “Imma…imma good.” Good enough to give her the most drunken, happy smile she’d ever seen on his face. “You’re cimmomin.” He took a strand of her hair, inhaling deeply. “Is my favorite. Cimmonin and apples. You’re my favorite.”

“This isn’t happening.” Zoey took Rick by the shoulders, shaking him. “Don’t, okay? Do not profess your innermost secrets. Rick, no secrets.”

“Imma lay down.”

At which point Rick stretched out on the couch, pulling Lana down with him. He put his head in Lana’s lap and began to sing. For a man under the influence of dangerous chemicals, Rick had quite a pleasant singing voice. One ambulance, two paramedics, and an IV later, Rick was still lying with his head on her lap, although he’d stopped singing around the time he announced the room had stopped spinning.

Zoey hustled back into the living room. “They said to go to the emergency room if you start feeling heart palpitations. But the dart only scratched you. They think the chemical exposure was minimal compared to what it could have been.”

“Go. I’ll stay with him.” Lana adjusted the blanket around Rick’s shoulders. “It’s my fault.”

“It’s our fault,” Zoey said stubbornly.

Graham was still outside pleading their cases with Jonah. Apparently, one couldn’t accidentally tranquilize one’s crush without the cops being called. Zoey glanced at the living room window, through which Lana could see Jonah and Graham in a heated discussion.

“Graham will get Jonah to back off, but don’t be surprised if Jonah wants to talk to you.” Zoey hesitated. “I should stay and help.”

“Rick and I are perfectly fine. Right?” She ran her hand through Rick’s hair, earning a grunt of agreement from Rick in her lap.

Jonah walked in, giving Lana a look that she was sure had convinced many a reluctant witness into talking. However, she’d grown up in the Montgomery household, and it would take more than his side-eye to crack her.

The officer sat on the coffee table, elbows on his knees.

“I’m not all that surprised to be getting called out on a hunting accident, but I’m surprised to find you, Ms. Montgomery.”

“There was no hunting.”

At her calm reply, Jonah cleared his throat, eyeing her ghillie suit. She’d taken the headpiece off, but the rest of her was covered in white and gray strings.

“It was more of a moose-stalking situation.”

“So I’m hearing a lot of what could have happened and what probably happened. I’m wondering what actually happened.”

“I’ll be happy to tell you,” she said. “But I’m sorry, it will have to wait until the morning. I’ll have to call my lawyers.”

“Lawyers? Plural?”

“Yes.” Lana readjusted the washcloth on Rick’s forehead. “How are you feeling?”

Rick watched them through bleary, reddened eyes. “Like you shouldn’t say anything. Jonah, leave her alone.”

He had stopped slurring, but he still seemed out of it. When Rick started to push himself up to his elbows, Lana stopped him.

“I don’t need you fighting my battles for me,” she said gently. “The paramedics said to rest.”

The door slammed, making him groan, a low, pained noise. So far, Diego had stayed on the far wall, watching everything but not saying a word. But when Jonah frowned, Diego stepped forward.

“If Uncle Rick says nothing happened, then nothing happened.” Diego spat off to the side. Inside the house. On a perfectly nice rug. Eyes fierce, Diego added, “If you’re going to keep calling him a liar, maybe we should get our lawyer involved too.”

Jonah sighed. “All right, I know when I’m not wanted. But, Ms. Montgomery, I’d like to talk to you again. I have a court appearance to make in Anchorage tomorrow morning, and I’d like to see you afterward.”

He was more than overworked. He was exhausted. The expression on his face had bypassed stressed and bordered resentment.

“Jonah? Do you have any help? This town is too big for a single officer without any backup. Even Andy of Mayberry had Barney Fife to help him.”

“It’s occurred to me more than once, ma’am.” He looked at her. “But if you’re thinking of suggesting something to help, I’d like to remind you that I’m here because of your drunken, disorderly, and dangerous conduct. So if you’re about to add bribing a police official on top of that, you may want to think long and hard about what you say next.”

That wasn’t what she had been intending, but like always, the people here didn’t trust her intentions at all.

Lana lifted her chin, holding his eyes. “Go ahead and arrest me. I’m still going to make sure you have the support staff you need to keep Moose Springs safer. It’s not a bribe. It’s a solid business decision. I have a lot of money invested in this town.”

Jonah looked at Rick, then rested a hand on his shoulder. “You sure we can’t take you to the hospital?”

“The hospital will make trouble for her.”

“Between us, I have the feeling that Ms. Montgomery is more than capable of handling herself.”

The officer headed outside to his cruiser, leaving Diego, Rick, and Lana in the living room. Diego watched through the window until Jonah was gone, then he turned back to Rick. A smile almost cracked his face.

“Still stoned?” he joked.

Rick rolled his eyes, flopping a hand at Diego. “Can’t you be anywhere else right now?”

“Yeah, I know when I’m not wanted.” Smirking, Diego headed down the hall, presumably to his room. Rick shook his head, then groaned as if the motion hurt him.

“Headache?” Lana bit her lower lip, worried.

“I’ve had worse,” he promised. “It’ll pass.”

Readjusting the blanket higher on his shoulders, Lana said softly, “I’m so sorry for tonight. Are you mad at me?”