“Sure. Um, I can stop by on Saturday, if that would be okay.”
“Saturday would be great, thanks. What time should I expect you?”
“I’d say I’ll be there around ten. Does that work for you?”
“Yes, that sounds good. You know where I live, right?”
“Your parents’ house on Highway 17, am I correct?”
“Yes. I’ll see you at ten on Saturday then.”
When she hung up the phone, she walked out to the store to talk with Cindy.
“Cindy, is it okay if Katy spends her time with me at my house on Saturday? Miles Tenecyke is coming over at ten to check my hot water heater.”
“Sure, that’s fine. We’ll drop her off when we leave. She’s excited about staying with you. She so did not want to go with us.” Cindy smiled.
When Marissa left the store at the end of her day, she stopped to talk to the Verizon dealer in town. When she walked in, the dealer was talking to someone else, so she walked around and looked at some of the products they had.
Finally, the person left, and the dealer walked up to Marissa. “Can I help you with something?”
“Yes. I’m interested in getting a cellphone. I wonder if you could show me the different ones available and the prices.”
“Are you Marissa Saxton?”
“Yes, I am. Do I know you?”
“I’m Barb Bostwick. We were in band together in high school.”
“Oh yes, hello, Barb, nice to see you again.”
“It’s great to see you, Marissa. How are you?”
“Doing fine.”
“So, let’s get you set up with a good service plan and a cellphone, how’s that?” Barb said.
“Okay. Boy, it seems like I’m running into all my classmates,” Marissa mused.
“A lot of us stayed here in Frankenburg. You’re one of the few that left.”
When Marissa left the Verizon store, she had a nice package deal and a cellphone. Despite her reluctance to get involved with the people in town, Barb had managed to wiggle a promise out of her that they would get together soon for lunch or dinner.
She rushed home, changed her clothes, and sped out to the dig site. When she pulled up, Campbell was on her claim digging and shaking for her.
“So sorry I’m late. I stopped at the Verizon store, got myself a cellphone, and met my old classmate. I’ve been almost a year without a phone.”
“That’s okay. What I really wanted to know was how your lunch date with the sheriff went.” A smile tugged at his lips.
“It went good. The Lunch Box has great sandwiches.”
“Yes. I’ve been there a few times. They’re only open during the day though.”
“How has your day been?” she asked.
“Okay, I guess. Had another run-in with my neighbor.”
“Uh-oh. What happened?”
“Someone cut the chain that ran their trommel, and they accused me of doing it. Had to call your sheriff friend out here to settle it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They thought I had motives, means, and opportunity, so to speak. I don’t know who the hell did it, but I’d like to thank them. It’s gonna cost them some money to get it fixed and running again. At least they won’t be on my property for a while.”
Campbell dug into the ground and put everything in the shaker box, and Marissa shook it and removed the big rocks and twigs.
“Based on what the sheriff said it seems that them boys are causing trouble at the bar in town and that maybe they got someone pissed off at them enough to get revenge. He also told them they ought not be operating a business on the land, and if he finds out they are, he’s gonna be closing them down. I hope he can nail their asses.”
“I do too,” Marissa said and smiled. “Especially if they are a business. The mining rights are for individuals, not businesses.”
“I’m gonna take off Friday afternoon and head to Anaconda to the county building. I want to get a copy of that map in case I have to use it to get them off my land again. But I should be back by the time you get out here Friday.”
“Okay.”
Marissa grabbed her jar and went out to pull up her sluice. She found more nuggets. She scooped up the nuggets and dumped the sand in the bucket. She pulled the sluice out of the water so they could go over to Campbell’s property.
While they were working, Marissa heard a vehicle pull up, and she turned as Riley climbed out of the cruiser.
“How’s it going, Sheriff?” Campbell said.
“Okay. Have the Fergusons been over to bother you since this afternoon?”
“No. Haven’t seen them around.”
“Good.”
“Find out anything on them yet?” Campbell asked.
“No. We’re investigating right now. I just stopped by to see if they’ve been bothering you and to ask Marissa something.”
“You two go ahead and talk. I’m gonna go down here and see if I got any gold in the sluice,” Campbell said and winked at Marissa.
They watched him walk away, and then Riley said to Marissa, “I enjoyed lunch with you today. Could we do it again sometime?”
Marissa looked up at Riley and shrugged. “I guess.” She couldn’t think what was so great about their lunch except the food was good. What was he up to? She couldn’t understand why he wanted to spend time with her. Couldn’t he take a hint?
“Maybe I can even convince you to go out for dinner with me Saturday night,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
“I’m babysitting Saturday,” Marissa said quietly.
“I know, but that’s during the day, isn’t it?”
“I really don’t know how long they’ll be gone.”
“Well, how about we just say we have a ‘tentative’ date for Saturday night, providing Cindy and Dave get back at a decent hour?”
“Um, Riley…I’m not into this dating scene and going out and all. I’m just not interested.” She looked up at Riley and could see disappointment etched across his face. Heck, she felt disappointed after she said that too.
“Let’s not call it a date then. Let’s just say we’re going to have dinner Saturday night.”
“I…I don’t know,” Marissa stammered.
“What are you afraid of, Marissa?” Riley asked, with concern in his voice.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” she said defensively. Liar.
“When I kissed you this afternoon, you started shaking and acting nervous. Are you afraid of me?”
“No. I wasn’t shaking because I was afraid. I was just chilled.”
“I think there’s something you’re not telling me. You’re so evasive when answering my questions,” Riley said, his brows drew together.
Actually, there’s a lot I’m not telling you, Riley. “Why do you want to go out with me?” Marissa asked.
“I like you. At least, the little bit of you that you let me see. I find you interesting and mysterious. I want to get to know you better, that’s all.” Riley looked into her eyes. “Why don’t we treat this as just two friends going out for dinner and leave it at that?”
“Riley, we were never friends in school, and I just got back here a few weeks ago. How can we treat this as friendship?” Marissa raised a brow.
“Okay, if you need to compartmentalize this, let’s just say we were once acquaintances. And we’re getting to know each other because we didn’t have the opportunity to do so before.”
Campbell returned to the area before she had a chance to respond.
“Found two very tiny nuggets in the sluice. My day has gotten brighter!”
“Great, Campbell,” Marissa said.
“Well, I’m going to leave you two at it. Marissa? Saturday night?” Riley asked. His face looked hopeful.
She let out a small sigh. “Yes. Saturday night, if I’m not babysitting,” Marissa finally confirmed.
Riley’s mouth curved into a smile. “Good night, Marissa, Campbell.” He nodded and walked to his truck.
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After he left, Campbell wasted no time. “So, you wiggled a date out of the sheriff, huh?” A smile ruffled his mouth.
“No, he wiggled one out of me. I’m not into dating and going out with anyone, but he wouldn’t let up.”
“What’s wrong with going out with the sheriff?” Campbell asked. “I think he’s a decent man.”
“That’s all well and good, but after being brutalized by one man, I’m not interested in having another man in my life,” Marissa said quietly.
“I can see why you’re hesitant, but I think the sheriff is just the right person for you.”
“Hmmp, are you playing matchmaker here?” Marissa asked, her eyebrows raised.
“Nah, just a gentle push in a different way. As long as you and I are friends, I want you to know that I will not allow any man to hurt you. You don’t deserve that kind of treatment, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone treat you like that again,” he said hoarsely.
Marissa swore she caught a tender spot in his voice as he told her how he felt.
“Thanks, Campbell. But I don’t think you’ll need to worry about anyone hurting me again. I don’t intend to be put in a position where someone would want to harm me.”
That night after she got home from the river, Marissa lay in bed imagining how it felt to be in Riley’s arms. Part of her hoped that Cindy and Dave did come back early on Saturday. Another part of her thought it would be best if they came back late and she didn’t go out with Riley. She was torn between her body wanting and craving his touch and the voice in her head telling her to run from him.
Why couldn’t she trust her intuition? Did she want to trust her intuition? She had trusted Mark and look what happened. Would the same thing happen with Riley?
Chapter 9
Marissa made her way over to Heidi’s house and knocked at the door.
Dan, Heidi’s oldest son, answered the door and gave her a small smile. “Hi.”
“Hi, Dan. How are you today?”
“Fine. Come on in.” He opened the door wider, and Marissa stepped inside.
“Come on in, Marissa, I’m in the kitchen,” Heidi hollered.
“Okay.” Marissa walked through the living room, noting that the kids were watching television or playing with their toys, and she entered the kitchen.
“Sit down and have a glass of wine. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.”
“Okay.” Marissa poured herself a glass of wine and took a seat at the table.
“How has your week been?” Heidi asked.
“Not too bad. Yours?”
“It has been one crazy week. Work has been busy as hell.”
“Where do you work?”
“I’m a secretary at the county coroner’s office, up the road from here.”
“Wow, do you ever get to see the dead bodies or body parts?”
Heidi laughed. “No, I avoid that area as much as possible.”
“I thought the coroner’s office was located in Anaconda.”
“They are a different county. We cover all of Quartz County.”
“Is there a difference between a coroner and a medical examiner?” Marissa asked.
“The coroner doesn’t do autopsies. Also, he or she is not a doctor. A medical examiner is a pathologist and doctor of medicine. We have to call in a forensic pathologist to do it.”
“Have you guys been busy getting bodies lately?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that some test results for previous autopsies have returned and somehow it got messed up. Anyway, I had to sort the mess out, then Lizzie got sick, and I had one day off taking her to the doctor and getting her scripts. Hope you like chicken and dumplings. The kids voted that was what they wanted today.”
“I love chicken and dumplings.”
“I think we’re ready to eat. Kids, come and get your plates,” Heidi hollered out.
All the kids came running to the kitchen, grabbing a plate and a serving of food. After they got their helping and went back into the living room, Heidi and Marissa put a helping of food on their plates.
“How was it you ended up getting married so many times?” Marissa asked.
“Well, I married Hutch Benson and had the kids, then we got divorced. I married Rick Sneider, and we ended up divorced because he couldn’t stand my kids, which I didn’t find out about until after we got married. I married Alex Sheldon and caught him screwing around with another woman.”
“You seem to have bad luck when it comes to men,” Marissa commented.
“Yeah. How about you?”
“I was only married once. That was enough for me.”
“You said the last time we talked that you escaped with your life. What happened?”
“Whenever he was drunk, he assaulted me.”
“All the time or one time?”
“All the time.”
“Well, that sucks. How did you get away from him?” Heidi asked.
“After the last assault, I was in the hospital for three weeks and then went to a woman’s group home that helped abused women get away from their abusers. I was going to file for a divorce, but he did it first. He left me with nothing. The Volunteers of America donated a car to me so I could go out for interviews and get a job. They helped me get some financial help from the state. But after the divorce became final, I took the check from the state, left the shelter, and came here. By the time I got here and had the utilities hooked up at my parents’ house, I had no money left over until I got the first check from Southerlyn’s Jewelry and Gem. Heidi, no one knows about this, and I want to keep it that way.”
“Your secret is safe with me, my friend. I’m sorry you had to endure all of that. It must have been pretty bad if you were in the hospital for three weeks.”
“Yes, it was. He hit me with a two-by-four that had a rusty nail on it. The nail sliced my skin from my back around to my front. The scar looks like a surgical incision gone bad, and it ripped open my liver, requiring surgery to repair it.”
“Oh, man. How awful,” Heidi said, and gave Marissa a horrified look. “I see now why you said you got out of it with your life. I’m glad you came back here. Folks in this town don’t tolerate abuse like that from anyone. We keep an eye out for each other.”
“Yeah, so I’ve noticed.” Marissa wrinkled her nose.
“Something wrong?” Heidi asked, her head tilted.
“Oh, no. It’s just the sheriff won’t leave me alone. He insisted on taking me to lunch, and now he wants to take me to dinner on Saturday.”
“Riley?”
“Yes.” Her voice was resigned.
“What’s wrong with Riley? You used to have a crush on him in school.”
“That was in school. I don’t want a relationship with any man right now. I don’t need the headache.” Marissa spoke with light bitterness
“I wouldn’t exactly call Riley a headache. He’s quite a good-looking man, and he’s one of the good ones.”
“Good-looking doesn’t make a man.”
“No, but he’s a good, honest man. Why don’t you want to go out with him and have a nice evening out? You deserve it!”
“I don’t want to get involved with anyone right now. I don’t understand men, and I don’t want to end up like I did with Mark. I’m too uneasy to start another relationship. I don’t trust myself or anyone else.”
“I can see why you would be scared, but as I said, Riley is one of the good guys and I think you need to give him a chance to prove that to you.”
“You know there are other ways that men are abusive to women besides being physical. Being physical usually comes after all the other stuff.”
“Like what stuff?” Heidi tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Belittling, being told what to do and what to say and what to wear, tearing you down to build himself up, and verbal abuse.”
“Has Riley exhibited any of these things?”
“In a way, yes. He told me to get an inspector out to inspect m
y house and if I didn’t, he’d have to remove me from my home.”
“I think he’s just trying to protect you. We had some bad fires in a few of these old homes around here last year, and in most of those cases, if I’m not mistaken, the cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring.”
“That’s what Stephen said. I thought Riley wanted me to get out of the house and sell it to him so he could tear it down.”
“What gave you that idea?” Heidi asked.
“He wanted to make me an offer for the land. His house is up the hill from me.”
“He has a beautiful house.”
“He does.” Marissa huffed.
“Have you been in it?”
“What makes you think I’ve been in it?”
“I don’t know. I’d love to go inside it and see what it looks like.” Heidi let out a sigh.
“It was quite unsettling for me when I found out that the house was his.”
“Why?” Heidi asked.
“It’s like he’s watching every move I make. Waiting to take control of everything.”
“Well, I think you’re wrong about Riley, but that’s just my opinion. I wouldn’t brush him aside without giving him a chance to prove he’s worth your attention.”
“When I came back here, I wanted to be left alone. But now it’s everything but. I don’t mind visiting with you. You’re my friend, and it’s as if we’ve never been separated. But I’m babysitting Katy this Saturday. Campbell and I are sharing responsibilities between the two lands we have claims on. Mrs. Buell and I are having tea Sunday afternoon. And I’ve been in touch with several of my former classmates. Barb Bostwick sold me a package deal with my cellphone, and we agreed to get together for lunch or dinner one day. I’ve had Stephen at my house, and on Saturday Miles will be coming out to take a look at my hot water heater. All that, plus two dates with Riley.”
“That’s the way this community works. Don’t you remember that from when we were kids?”
“No, I don’t remember everyone being so…neighborly.”
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