* * *
SINCE THE DUCK was close to Hidden Creek Road, Carter took a detour past his mother’s house. He’d left so abruptly yesterday that he hadn’t really welcomed his sister home. Seeing Ava’s car in the drive, he pulled in and found her in the vegetable garden. He’d almost forgotten how pretty she was, and today she looked like a teenager again, her dark hair tucked into a straw hat, her cheeks glowing with sunlight.
She wiped dirt from her hands onto her faded jeans and called to him, “Hey, little brother. No crimes to fight today?”
“Actually, yeah. Some vandalism at the Hummingbird Inn. Miranda’s car was spray painted.”
“Oh, no.” She walked toward Carter. “Are Miranda and Emily okay?”
“They’re fine. I think Miranda was kind of shook up. But the kid was taking pictures of the car like she was part of the paparazzi.”
Ava smiled. “She’s a spirited little thing, as well as being cute as a button. Don’t you think so?”
Carter knew a setup when he heard one. Obviously his mother had complained to Ava about his indifference to Emily yesterday. He shrugged and said, “She’s cute.”
“We hardly got a chance to talk yesterday,” Ava said. “I had just arrived and you left so quickly. And since I hate working in dirt anyway, why don’t we go to the porch and catch up?”
“I just have a few minutes. Got a special detail I’m working on tonight. Wanted to see if everything was okay out here.” He looked around the property. “Where’s Mom?”
Ava stepped over some plants and stood at the border to the garden. “She loaded up her purse with coupons and drove twenty miles to a low-cost supermarket to stock up.”
Carter didn’t like the sound of that. “Why’d she do that? We have two great supermarkets in town. It will cost her more in gas than she’ll save with the coupons.”
“Apparently she’d done a cost analysis and figured all that out.”
“This is exactly what’s been worrying me, Ava. What’s going on with Mama? She’s letting repairs go on the house, clipping coupons, canceling vacations with Aunt Dolly. Is she having money problems?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve noticed the trend, too. She’s tending this vegetable garden like she’s going to depend on homegrown tomatoes to survive the winter.”
“Have you asked her?”
“Sure. She says everything is okay and I’m not to worry. She said something about the wisdom of saving money whenever possible and then turned the whole discussion on me and told me I should take the lesson to heart. When I couldn’t get a straight answer from Mama, I called Uncle Rudy and asked how the paper mill is doing since Daddy died. He said all is okay there.”
Carter frowned. “I wish I trusted him completely, but I don’t.”
“I’m with you, brother.”
“I guess Dad trusted him since he left controlling interest in the mill to Rudy.”
“Not to mention making him executor of his will and sole owner of the factory.”
“I figured you’d be executor, Ava,” Carter said. “You being the favorite kid and all.”
She smiled. “Didn’t happen. But anyway, Dad made provisions for Mama. Generous ones. She got this house, whatever was in their joint bank accounts and monthly profit sharing checks, which she says Rudy has been sending regularly. At the time of Daddy’s death, I thought that was a good arrangement. Mama wouldn’t know what to do with the mill, and you boys had no interest in it.”
Carter couldn’t argue. “I guess as long as Uncle Rudy doesn’t screw things up, Mom will be fine.”
“I hope so.” Ava looked worried. “But this pinching pennies has me concerned.”
Carter thought a moment. Two of Cora’s children had noticed the change in her. Only Jace, who stayed as emotionally detached from the family as he could, hadn’t said anything. “How are your investigative skills, Ava?” he asked.
“As sharp as ever. I don’t go through trash cans looking for notes from old boyfriends anymore, but I’m not above a bit of sleuthing.”
“You know where Mama keeps her checkbook?”
“I assume it’s in Dad’s rolltop desk. All their records are there.” She tapped her finger on her lower lip. “I know what you’re suggesting, Carter, and it’s absolutely an invasion of Mom’s privacy.”
His daredevil sister had obviously lost some of her mettle. She was right, of course. “Okay, forget it.”
She smiled. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it.”
Carter chuckled. “Call me if you find anything. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this.”
“You got it, bro. I’ll invade Mom’s privacy tonight. Can I reach you on your cell later?”
“Sure. Call me as late as you want. I should be up most of the night on a stakeout.”
Ava grinned at him in that sisterly way that meant she knew what was going on in his head. “At the Hummingbird Inn, I’ll bet,” she said.
“None of your business. But maybe.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MIRANDA COULDN’T SLEEP. She’d tucked Emily in bed at nine, and had spent the last three hours reading on her Kindle. After all that time, she wasn’t sure what she’d read. Last night’s vandalism had left her wary of the same thing, or worse, happening again. It wasn’t that she was afraid. After all, Carter said patrol cars would drive by the inn through the night. But nothing like that had ever occurred to her before. She was in the business of helping people, not stirring up bad feelings among citizens of a small town.
She looked out the kitchen window toward the main house. The windows were dark, with only soft illumination from nightlights Lucy must keep on for guests. Since this was Saturday night, the inn was fully occupied. Miranda said a silent prayer that nothing would happen while that No Vacancy sign was up. Lucy may not have shown a great deal of empathy for Miranda’s problems, but she certainly didn’t deserve to have vandalism occur on her property.
Finding all well at the house, Miranda went to the front door of the cottage and looked out that window. All was not quiet on the gentle slope from the inn to the main road. A car was parked on the shoulder, and a man stood next to it.
Her heart racing, Miranda squinted into the darkness. Had the vandals from last night returned? Were they just waiting for her to extinguish her reading light before attempting more damage? She considered calling the police but decided against it when she noticed something about the car. It appeared to have a light bar on top, regulation cop equipment.
She sighed with relief. Carter was better than his word. He’d obviously sent an officer to be on guard at the inn rather than just passing by during the night. She watched the officer circle the car, looking in all directions from his vantage point. And then she made a positive identification.
There was no mistaking that confident stride, the squared shoulders, the wisps of dark hair catching the breeze. Miranda smiled. Carter.
She brewed a pot of coffee, filled two mugs, checked on Emily and left the cottage. She’d taken only a few steps toward the car when Carter whirled around to stare at her. He immediately relaxed his stance, raked his fingers through his hair and leaned against the patrol car.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked her when she got to the car.
“No, not really. I see I’m not the only one doing without eight hours tonight.” She handed him a mug of coffee.
He took a sip. “Sleep is overrated. I do my best work on an overload of caffeine.”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, aware that he was watching her movement. “This is really nice of you, Carter. I had no idea you would come back here tonight. I thought you would just tell the officer on duty to drive by.”
“I could have done that.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He set the mug of coffee on the trunk of his car and took a deep breath. �
�What do you want me to say, Miranda? That you used to mean a lot to me, and I personally want to see to your safety? That I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you or your kid?”
She smiled at him. “Either one would do just fine.”
“Okay, then. The truth is, I don’t want anything to happen to you. I don’t know why you felt like you had to come here to make everything right for Lawton. He’s a grown man after all. But you’re here, and as long as you’re in my town, I’m going to watch out for you.”
She smiled. “You sound an awful lot like Donny right now. He didn’t think I should come here either.”
Carter scowled. “Who would believe it? Donny and I actually have two things in common, and both of them concern you.”
“Don’t go there, Carter,” she warned. “It’s nice that you’re here, but I don’t want you to feel like I’m your responsibility.”
“Like you feel Lawton is yours?”
“Law is my responsibility, Carter, for two reasons. One, he was the best friend I ever had...until I met you.” She watched his face for any sign that her confession meant something to him. His expression didn’t change. “And two, helping released prisoners is my job.”
“By the way, Miranda, did Law get his driver’s license this afternoon?”
“He did. And we have a good lead on a car. He found one in the Boone Trader for only a thousand dollars. If I cosign for him, I think he can get a loan for half the amount.”
“Would that car be an older-model Dodge Neon, and isn’t Lawton familiar with the engine from when he worked on one in high school auto shop?”
“How did you know that?”
“I stopped and had a chat with Law this evening before I came out here.”
“You did? I’m so glad.”
Carter smiled. “I take my mentoring job seriously. Besides, I had some good news to tell him. I’m taking him for a job interview tomorrow in Pine Grove at a body shop. The owner is coming in on a Sunday to meet with us.”
“Pine Grove? It’s a good thing he’s getting a car, then. That’s at least ten miles away.”
“It is, but I wasn’t having much luck getting him hired in Holly River.”
“Thanks, Carter. Now, if I can see Lawton settled in Holly River and even becoming part of the community, then I’d say my job is done.”
Carter rubbed his chin.
“What?”
“Lawton has a way to go to be part of the Holly River community,” Carter said. “I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen. At least not while his brother is around. Folks don’t seem to be able to separate the two of them.”
Miranda didn’t argue. Carter was correct. People in Holly River seemed to think anyone with the name Jefferson was trouble. She’d been lucky as a teenager that she’d been able to live down that reputation through decent grades and cheerleading. She never experienced the kind of prejudice her cousins had. But then again, she’d never broken the law.
A cool breeze suddenly swept down from Sawtooth Mountain, and Miranda wrapped her sweater tightly around her shoulders. “It’s going down into the fifties tonight,” she said. “Why don’t you come back to the cottage with me? I’ve got a fire going, and you can catch a few winks on the couch.”
She wished she could read his mind. His eyes widened, his lips thinned. Did he want to accept her offer, or did he think a few hours in front of a fire with her could only lead to trouble? The chill she’d experienced a moment ago suddenly vanished, replaced with a warmth deep inside her that had everything to do with the image she’d just formed in her mind. All at once she couldn’t think of anything nicer than sitting next to Carter...
“I’m fine out here,” he said. “Got a jacket in the car. But thanks.”
Disappointment washed over her. She looked down at the ground so he couldn’t read her reaction to his words in her eyes. What did she expect? Carter hadn’t shown any romantic interest in her since she’d returned except for that one spontaneous kiss yesterday. And he knew Donny was here when she returned from the Cahill farm and had probably drawn a false conclusion about that visit.
She raised her face and looked into his eyes. “I didn’t invite Donny here,” she said, surprised when the words burst from her lips. “He just showed up to see Emily.”
Carter shifted from one foot to the other. “Ah, okay.”
She’d gone this far... “Carter, we kissed in the apple orchard. I know that upset you. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but maybe we should talk about it. I think the kiss made you uncomfortable.”
“Darn right it did,” he said.
“You didn’t like it? Not even a little? Because, well, I did. I could kiss you again right now, but I won’t do it since I know how wrong it made you feel...”
He reached out and touched her hand. “You have no idea how it made me feel, but remember one thing. There was never a time in our lives that your kiss didn’t make me feel pretty darn spectacular. And there’s no reason for you to think anything different now.”
Then, with gentle hands, he grasped the lapels of her sweater. She thought he was going to draw her close and give back the kiss she’d been thinking of since yesterday. Her breath caught. Blood pounded in her temples. He was so close. But instead he pulled the sweater close against her neck and rested his hands on her shoulders. “It’s getting cold, Miranda. Go on back to the cottage. And get some sleep. I’ll be here till sunrise.”
“If you change your mind...” But she knew he wouldn’t. The walk back to the cottage seemed to take forever, especially since she felt his gaze on her back warming her all the way to her heart. When she reached the door, she went in without looking down the hill. She knew he’d be there as he promised. And she knew she wouldn’t sleep.
* * *
CARTER WENT TO the station when he left the Hummingbird Inn. Few officers were at their desks because of the early hour, but he did find Sam McCall filling out reports.
“Saw you at the inn, Chief,” Sam said. “Everything okay there?”
“Yeah, I stayed the night just to be sure. Mrs. Dillingham wants Miranda out of there. She’s afraid the trouble will hurt her business.”
“She might be right. Feelings about the Jefferson boys don’t seem to be calming down any. Where’s Miranda going?”
Carter shrugged. “It’s Sunday, Sam. You know that all the local places still have their No Vacancy signs up. And the Best Western is always full.”
“Does that mean you’re going to pull an all-nighter again tonight if need be?”
Carter rubbed the tired muscles at the back of his neck. “I was hoping you might offer.”
“Have a date with Allie tonight. But when I drop her off, sure. I’ll hang out at the inn.”
“I appreciate it.” Carter started for his office, but remembered his conversation with Sheila the day before. “You’re seeing a lot of Allie, aren’t you?” he asked Sam.
“Not as much as I’d like. Saw her last night, though. She said you grilled Sheila about the stolen property.”
“I’d hardly call it a grilling, but yes, I asked her if she’d heard anything about the robberies.” Anticipating Sam’s next question, he said, “She hasn’t.”
Sam nodded. “Too bad. By the way, did she happen to mention me?”
Oh, boy. Carter dodged. “She did once, but I told her I didn’t think you were responsible for those thefts.”
Sam gave him an indulgent smile. “Funny, Carter. I mean did she mention me with regard to Allie?”
“Why would she do that?”
“I get the feeling she doesn’t like me. Or maybe doesn’t approve of me.”
“Who you date is your business, Sam. I can assure you that I wouldn’t encourage any conversation that included you and your women.”
“Woman, Carter. Only one.”
; Carter patted Sam’s back. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” He continued into his office.
* * *
AFTER COMPLETING SOME REPORTS, Carter went home to grab a few hours’ sleep before picking up Lawton for the job interview. When he got up, he checked his cell phone and discovered an urgent message from Ava, so he drove to Hidden Creek Road.
Cora was busy in the kitchen. Carter smelled a chicken roasting in the oven. Ava was shelling peas into a bowl. “Company for dinner?” he asked.
“You, if you’ll stay,” Cora said.
“Sorry. I need to put in some extra hours tonight. I was on a special detail last night.” He didn’t mention the errand he had planned with Lawton. Maybe his mother and Ava felt the same as Jace did about his involvement with Miranda’s cousin.
“Oh, I heard,” his mother said. “You stayed all night at the Hummingbird Inn after Miranda’s car was vandalized to make sure nothing bad happened again.” Cora wiped her hand on her apron and patted Carter’s cheek. “You can be a sweet boy when you want to be.”
“I’m always a sweet boy, aren’t I?”
“I can’t imagine who would do such a thing.” Cora sighed. “You’re going to miss a good meal, Carter. I was at the supermarket yesterday.”
Carter glanced at Ava. She gave him a nod, indicating she had some news to share.
“I’ll finish up in here, Mom,” she said. “You’ve been working all day. Why don’t you lie down for a while?”
“I just might do that.” She took off her apron and hung it on a hook by the back door. “Call if you need me, Ava.”
Once she’d left, Carter closed the door to the kitchen and pulled out a chair for his sister. “What did you find out?”
“Plenty.” Ava sat, crossed her hands on the tabletop. “I’m not sure what it means, but Mom has been writing checks to the same woman practically since Daddy died. Sizable checks, too.”
“Really? For the same amount each time?”
“Yep. Seven hundred and fifty dollars every two weeks.”
“Holy cow.” Carter drummed his fingers on the table while he tried to make sense of the startling revelation. “What’s the woman’s name?”
High Country Cop Page 15