"Fine, thanks. No change, but holding his own."
"I saw the news last night," Harry said. "What the devil’s wrong with those idiots down in Texas? Whoever heard of someone getting off death row down there?"
Reed saw Shelly swallow hard before answering. "I don’t know. Some guys thought they were doing the right thing and really screwed it up."
"They going to put his ass back in jail where it belongs?" an old man with tremendously thick glasses asked.
"Not unless he breaks the law again."
"Well, he better not show his face around here, I tell you that," Harry said. "I might be eighty, but I can still shoot a pretty good hole in something the size of a man."
Reed found himself liking Harry a lot.
"I’m sure that won’t be necessary," Shelly said.
"Just saying. How you gettin’ along out there? You need any help? I can send over them grandsons of mine."
"We’re doing okay. Reed even pitched in a little this morning."
Harry eyed him with a wise expression. No, nothing got by those eighty-year-old eyes. He could probably spout the family tree of everyone in Bobcat Ridge all the way back to the Mayflower. "Huh, some vacation you got going there."
"Beats Dallas in the summer."
"Been there once. Wouldn’t give you two cents for it."
Reed had to laugh. Something about the group of old friends was growing on him.
They left Harry’s and drove about five hundred yards down the road to a small structure that looked like a miniature barn. The green and white sign above the door said Sugar High.
"Linda makes the best desserts I’ve ever put in my mouth," Shelly said as she stepped out of the car.
Damn, was the woman trying to kill him by talking about secret affairs and her mouth? If she kept it up, he was going to have to take a dip in the river.
He followed her inside where she introduced him to Linda Brickman, loved far and wide by sweet tooths.
"I remember the first time I had one of Linda’s cakes," Shelly told Reed as Linda blushed over the praise. "It was for my eighth birthday party, and the cake was so good I thought only an angel could have made it." Shelly placed her arm around the older woman’s shoulders. "Turns out I was right."
"Listen to you, saying such things." Linda, a remarkably thin woman for someone who baked all day, looked at Reed. "This one, she was always the sweetest thing. Always packing home stray animals. Didn’t matter if it was a puppy or a raccoon. I think she would have brought home a black bear if she could have picked it up."
The slice of Shelly’s younger self didn’t surprise him. He’d called her Nature Girl more than once because of her tendency to go off on tangents about some bird none of her friends had ever heard of.
"Well, let me go get your order." Linda disappeared into the kitchen.
"I buy muffins and cookies from Linda to go in all the cabins," Shelly said.
"That little extra touch?"
"Yeah. Her stuff is delicious, and I try to support as many of the local cottage industries as I can. Baked goods from Linda, linens from a lady down in the valley, soaps from Marianne Miller up the road."
"Good business strategy."
"And they’re my friends. We all look out for each other, have to in order to survive. The businesses here have to market the quiet of Bobcat Ridge, the personal touches, to compete with bigger towns like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. We’re small, but we like it that way."
Reed was surprised to see the same passion in Shelly she normally reserved for nature’s critters. She might have come back to Bobcat Ridge to escape the bad memories in Dallas, but it was obvious she really loved her hometown.
"Here you go," Linda said as she reappeared with a large box. "Orange cranberry muffins and lemon iced cookies." She handed the box to Shelly, then extended a wrapped loaf to Reed. "And here’s a little something for you, Mr. Tanner."
Surprised by the unexpected gesture, he stared at the proffered treat for a moment before taking it. "Thank you. What do I owe you?"
"Not a cent. Consider it a welcome to Tennessee gift. And anyone who takes care of our Shelly is a friend of mine."
Now how had the word gotten to Linda so quickly? This town had one hell of a grapevine and collective intuition.
He thanked her again, then followed Shelly back to the car.
"If that’s what I think it is, I might have to fight you for it." She slid into the driver’s seat.
He lifted the loaf to eye level. "It looks chocolate."
"Only the best chocolate pound cake in the world. I’ll have to take that off your hands. If you eat any of it, you’ll never want to go home."
As they headed back toward Shelly’s place, Reed watched the town roll by, trying to imagine it from her point of view. It was quaint, even inviting in a Mayberry sort of way. If one didn’t mind the lack of nightlife, it might even be considered attractive. It probably also had the added bonus of a virtually nonexistent crime rate. Very attractive indeed after his years of combating one crook after another in Dallas.
The thought brought images of Eddie Victor to mind. In the bosom of lazy, wholesome Bobcat Ridge, it was hard to believe such evil existed. But Reed’s mind harbored not a fraction of a doubt that Eddie would take out the entire town if it meant getting to Shelly.
Eddie might be living it up in Vegas, but instinct told Reed it was too good to last. He was just waiting for the call that would tell him his instinct was right.
"One more stop." Shelly’s voice banished his train of thought as she pulled into the parking lot of the tiny post office. Either the incident by the tool shed hadn’t bothered her like it had him or she was doing a masterful job of hiding it behind her chipper voice, forced though it might be. "Since you’re staying outside, Ina will just have to get her look at you through the window."
As Shelly disappeared inside, Reed felt even more like a specimen in a petri dish. He took the opportunity to call Lee.
"What’s the latest?"
"Eddie’s helping Las Vegas keep its reputation as Sin City. Spending a good amount of time in a suite with a very pretty young thing."
"When you can, talk to her. See if Eddie’s let anything slip."
"Will do. How long you thinking we should keep an eye on him? I gotta get back in a couple of days."
Reed wanted to say forever but knew that wasn’t practical. "You leave when you need to. I’ll call in some favors after that."
He ended the call and strolled over to the ATM at the edge of the building to get some funds. When he returned to the car, a woman with a big head of blond hair that would rival any in Texas stood leaning against the front fender.
"You must be Shelly’s friend, the Texas policeman."
Bobcat Ridge might be so small it didn’t warrant a dot on the map, but it must be keeping the local phone company in business.
"Yes, ma’am. Reed Tanner." He shoved his wallet in his back pocket, then shook her hand. She held his a moment too long, causing the strangest sensation that she was checking out the feel of his palm.
"I’m Marianne Miller. I own the shop across the street."
Reed glanced over at the Touch of the Smokies Gift Shop. "You must be the Marianne Shelly buys soap from."
"Yep, that’s me," she said, her voice bright and chirpy. "Shelly and I go way back, to first grade. How long have you known her?"
"About five years."
Marianne glanced toward the post office as if checking on Shelly’s progress. He detected a bit of nervousness in the way she slid her hands into her back pockets, an action that stretched her sleeveless sweater more tightly across her ample breasts. He looked at her face more carefully while her gaze was turned away. She was pretty if you could get past the copious amounts of hairspray and one too many layers of makeup.
A vehicle with Illinois tags rolled into the gravel parking lot in front of Marianne’s shop.
"Well, duty calls," she said. "You be sure to come in
to get something pretty for your girlfriend before you leave."
Reed knew fishing when he heard it and had grown adept at avoiding a direct answer. "I’ll be sure to stop by."
He also detected a little extra sway in her hips, presumably for his benefit, as she crossed the road.
"Wonder if she wants fries with that shake," Shelly said from the post office steps. The cattiness in Shelly’s voice surprised him.
"Bad blood between you two?"
"No. I just think it’s kinda pitiful that Marianne virtually attacked the only single man in town under the age of sixty."
"I wouldn’t say she attacked me, more like invited me to browse her merchandise."
"Lord." Shelly jerked her car door open and tossed her mail in the back seat. As he slid into his seat, she pointed toward the post office. "Be sure to wave at Ina. She’s the latest member of your fan club."
He offered a halfhearted wave to the older lady craning her neck inside.
Shelly threw the car into gear and headed toward home at a faster clip than when she’d arrived.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Not unless you mind being a minor celebrity."
"What?" She wasn’t making any sense.
"Word that an honest to goodness Texas lawman is staying at Firefly Run has spread faster than a wildfire during a drought. You’d think you were Wyatt Earp or something."
"I don’t think Texas was Wyatt’s neck of the woods."
"Smart aleck."
He didn’t goad her further, just sat back and wondered why her knuckles had turned white on the steering wheel and her back sat ramrod straight. Shelly was a champion slumper. She only sat straight when she was peeved.
She’d been fine when she went into the post office. Had Ina said something to turn her mood south? Her comment about Marianne came back to him. He glanced over at her profile. Was she jealous?
Even considering such a thing scared him almost beyond reason. His chest tightened until it was painful to breathe. When Shelly parked back in front of her office, he nearly bolted out of the car and back to his previous carpentry task.
If Shelly was jealous and he was daydreaming about kissing her, they were treading on fragile ground. Somehow, he had to figure out a way to protect her without spending time alone with her. When he smashed yet another finger, he scorched the air with curses. He glanced back toward the office, but she was in the office and out of his view.
Reed closed his eyes and rubbed them with his thumb and forefinger. As long as no one was hurt, the sooner Eddie made a wrong move that would send him back to prison, the better for everyone involved.
****
Her fit of frustration propelled Shelly through the rest of the day. Only when she closed up the office later than normal did she stop to sink down on the front steps. That’s when the memory of her strange behavior caught up with her.
What had she been thinking, snapping and pouting like a jealous girlfriend?
She’d introduced Reed around town to avoid gossip and to take her mind off the disturbing phone call, but she’d only succeeded in stirring up a bevy of female interest. By the time she’d stopped at the post office, Ina had received three calls informing her that Shelly was driving around town with the best looking man Bobcat Ridge had seen since 1978 when Burt Reynolds had come to town for a little R and R. Personally, she thought Reed had ol’ Burt beat by a long shot, but that was beside the point.
To be honest, all the clucking over Reed had amused her when it was coming from middle-aged mothers and grannies who’d last dated in the 1950s. But when she’d looked out to see big-haired, big-boobed Marianne making goo goo eyes at Reed, jealousy had awakened in her like a long-slumbering dragon. She’d actually been ready to breathe fire when she’d hit the front door of the post office. But somewhere between there and her car, she’d slugged that dragon, if not knocking him out at least making him groggy.
Now, as she watched the sun sink below the tree line, she wondered why she’d been jealous. Sure, Reed was an attractive man, but he was Reed. She couldn’t actually be attracted to him, could she?
No. It was merely protective instinct, that’s all. Though she liked Marianne, it didn’t take a genius to figure out she was on the prowl for husband number two. And Reed standing across the street from her shop must have seemed like a gift from the marriage fairies.
She let her head drop forward in her palms. If she wasn’t worrying about her parents, she was fearing turning around to find Eddie Victor’s cold eyes staring at her. When she tried to push both worries from her mind, it seemed to migrate to Reed and her strange, jittery reaction to him. What she wouldn’t give to go back to the days when all she had to worry about was getting the cabins cleaned in time for the next guests.
Replaying their trip into Bobcat Ridge, Shelly remembered the mail she’d tossed in the back seat. She retrieved the stack of envelopes and advertising circulars and headed for her cabin. Reed stood talking to the guests staying in the cabin farthest from the office. Not up to sitting across the table from him, she hurried inside, slapped together a turkey and bacon sandwich, and made for his cabin with the sandwich and a family-size bag of chips.
She ducked inside, placed the meal in his fridge, and rushed back out the door.
"Where you going in such a hurry?" Reed asked from his perch at the bottom of the steps.
How had he moved that fast?
"Home. I left you some food inside."
"Thanks."
Shelly glanced down the line of cabins to where her guests’ children were chasing a butterfly through the meadow.
"What were you talking to them about?"
"Not Eddie Victor, if that’s what you’re worried about."
"Good. I don’t want you scaring anyone off just yet. There’s still no indication that Eddie’s even coming this direction." Except for a spooky phone call, her mind whispered. No, that was just a coincidence, something she wouldn’t have thought twice about if it were not for Eddie’s release and Reed’s concern.
"And there’s no indication he isn’t."
Her shoulders slumped. "I know." She paused and scanned her surroundings. "But I can’t close up shop based on a maybe. What if he disappears and no one knows where he is? The waiting could go on forever. We’d lose the business. What would we do then? I can’t hide the rest of my life."
Reed didn’t answer. Maybe he didn’t have one. She moved toward the steps.
"Don’t go." Reed startled her, sending her nerves into a tailspin. "You look dead on your feet. We can share whatever you took in there." He raised an eyebrow. "I might even be persuaded to split the chocolate pound cake with you."
Her stomach grumbled in response, making him smile. Nothing but tall, lean man with a sexy Texas drawl. Good Lord, why hadn’t she ever noticed how gorgeous he was?
Because you were in love with Troy.
A twinge of guilt dampened the moment, but she accompanied Reed inside. She told herself it was for the chocolate cake, not the opportunity to stare at Reed a few more minutes. Or the fact that chocolate and a sexy man might just be enough to make her forget her more serious concerns.
Reed halved the sandwich and ripped open the bag of chips before seating himself at the table. Shelly stood rooted to the floor, wondering whether she should join him or bolt. Considering Reed would likely chase her if she ran out suddenly, she sat in the chair opposite him.
"So, what did you talk to the Shafers about?" she asked again.
"Just the basics. Where you from? What do you do for a living? That kind of stuff. I think the little boy is a bit in awe of me."
"Because you’re a cop?"
"Because I’m a Texas cop," he said before taking a bite of sandwich.
She rolled her eyes. This was the Reed she knew—bragging, smiling from ear to ear. "That reaction seems to be running rampant around here."
"Nothing wrong with that. And you’re cool by association."
She threw
a potato chip at him. "I see you’ve acquired modesty since I last saw you."
"Modesty’s way overrated."
Shelly gradually relaxed as they ate and talked about the various citizens of Bobcat Ridge. She was glad the grim, determined, unyielding man Reed had been when he arrived had softened a bit. It was almost like old times—except for the large hole where Troy had always been.
"You talk to your mom anymore today?" Reed asked.
"Yeah, a couple of times. Still no change, but they did get a little encouragement from one of the tests."
"That’s good."
"Yeah. So, how are your parents?"
"Fine. Doing a lot of traveling, so I don’t see them as often as I used to. I saw Grace a couple of weeks ago. She said they’re adding twenty acres to the preserve."
"That’s great. I really need to call her." She hadn’t called Grace or any of her other friends at the Sally Morrison Wildlife Preserve in a long time, she didn’t even know how long. And they’d been a big part of her life at her first naturalist job out of college. It just seemed that the longer she waited, the harder it got to call. And everything from her life in Texas seemed tainted with bad memories. Even the preserve, which she’d loved with a passion, held memories of Troy. She’d been leading a tour he’d brought his young niece on when she met him. She still remembered how the sight of him had taken her breath away.
But maybe now that she’d had time away and she was dealing okay with Reed, she could begin to rekindle those ties.
"I’ve been really bad at keeping in touch. I haven’t even talked to Troy’s parents in a couple of months. It always feels like we’re tiptoeing around something, you know?"
"Yeah. I feel the same way. I go by once in a while, but I don’t stay long. They seem to be getting along okay, but there’s something about the way Troy’s mom looks at me, like she’s seeing him."
Shelly sighed. "I guess everyone gets through grief at a different pace."
Reed rose abruptly and cleared the table. "Want to watch a movie?" he asked as he nodded toward the video collection provided for guests beneath the TV. He’d had enough talk of Troy, and she wasn’t going to push him.
"I should go home. I’m tired."
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