“You feeling all right? You look a little flushed.”
Sabrina cleared her throat. “I’m fine.”
“You should have waited for me to come get you.” He looked around. “I don’t like you being out in the open like this.”
Sabrina returned his frown. “I can’t hibernate, Clay. I need to get to the hospital to see my grandmother.”
He gestured with the plate. “I brought you some breakfast. You hungry?”
“Starving. I was going to ask if we could go through a drive-through, but this’ll work.” She opened the door and stepped back inside. Clay followed, his eyes on the area behind them.
They settled themselves at the kitchen table, and Sabrina helped herself to the plate of food. “Have you talked to your dad about your uncle and the ranch yet?”
“Nope. Not yet. Nothing to talk about, really. We’ll figure something out.” He swiped his hand across the table, his brow furrowed.
“If I leave, it would make things easier, wouldn’t it?”
He looked up. “Easier? Maybe. But us Starkes have never been known for taking the easy route, so let me worry about it, all right?”
“You know that’s not my personality, don’t you?”
He eyed her. “Yes. I know.” He cleared his throat. “I’m going to take you to see your grandmother, if that’s all right. I really don’t want you driving by yourself. I just don’t think it’s safe.”
She toyed with the fork. “Ned’s giving you an awful lot of leeway when it comes to protecting me. Don’t you have a shift you need to be working with the department?”
He shrugged. “Ned likes you.”
She smiled. “I like Ned, but you’re getting paid to do a job. Protecting me 24/7 isn’t exactly what the county is paying you for.”
“Of course it is. You’re a tax-paying citizen, too.”
“Well, that’s true enough, I suppose, but you know what I mean.”
“I do. And in all seriousness, I’m basically doing the job as a favor to Ned. And I’ve already told him I was going to keep you safe. He agreed.” He carried her empty plate to the sink. “What about your job? Have you talked to your boss?”
“Yes. Thankfully, she’s being understanding about it. I have several days of vacation I can take if I need to. Right now I’m looking for Jordan, and that’s working. Sort of.”
“Good. I’d hate for either of us to lose a job over this.” He picked up the coat he’d shed when they’d walked in. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.” He placed a hand on her back and walked with her to his cruiser. The frown stayed on his face. Tension rolled from him.
“Is something else wrong? You’ve been distracted and tense since you walked over here.”
He opened the door, and she slid into the passenger seat. Clay buckled himself into the driver’s seat before he answered. “I got a call from Ned. They found Trey Wilde, and he’s been killed.”
She gasped. Sorrow hit her, and her throat tightened. She fought the tears clouding her eyes. “Oh, no. His poor parents. Why?”
“We don’t know yet for sure, of course, but it’s obvious someone thinks he knew something. On top of that, the truck that tried to run us off the road is registered to Trey’s father.”
“So whoever killed him stole his truck?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
Sabrina closed her eyes and said a prayer for Jordan. Clay drove to the hospital, and she kept an eye on the rearview mirror.
When they reached the hospital without incident, Sabrina pulled in a relieved breath. She made her way to her grandmother’s room, where she found the doctor just coming out. “How is she?”
“Still sleeping. We’re taking good care of her, but it’s going to be a long road to recovery.”
Sabrina nodded. Already her mind clicked with everything she needed to start doing.
Call her boss and ask for a leave of absence.
Check on the boarders at the B and B.
Call Daisy Ann to see if she could continue to provide the meals and be available should one of the boarders need something.
What was she forgetting?
A hand fell on her shoulder. “Lance can watch over you two while I go check in at the station.”
“Thank you, Clay. For everything.”
“Sure thing.” He smiled.
Lance arrived fifteen minutes later, and Sabrina settled herself in to wait for her grandmother to wake up.
FOURTEEN
Saturday morning, Lance stepped into the hospital room, and Sabrina looked up from the laptop Clay had brought to her first thing Thursday morning. She’d been able to get some work done when she realized her grandmother wasn’t going anywhere until the doctors discovered the reason for her fever. Between the stack of books on the end table, the computer and helping with her grandmother, she’d not had a boring moment.
“How’s she doing?” Lance asked.
“Better, I think. She hasn’t had a fever since yesterday afternoon, so I think we may be out of here soon. They were talking about getting her to the National Healthcare facility first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Excellent.”
Sabrina gave a wry smile. “I almost hate to leave. It’s been so quiet. No one trying to kill me, no one breaking in during the night...nothing.” She shrugged. “It’s been nice.”
“It’s because no one wants to mess with the guard at the door.”
Sabrina laughed. Lance, Clay and Leighann had all taken turns to ensure her and her grandmother’s safety. “I’m very thankful to you all.”
“Leighann and I are going to share the shift tonight so Clay can be at the barbecue. Aaron and Amber are coming home for it.”
Clay’s other brother and his sister. “Good. I think his mother needs them to be here.” She glanced at the window. “What will they do if it starts to snow?”
He shrugged. “Move it indoors, I suppose.”
“That’s a lot of people.”
“We’ll work around it. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve done it in the snow.” He gave her a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. If it looks like it’s going to get bad, people will stay home.”
A knock on the door swung her attention from Lance to Clay as he stepped inside. “You ready?”
“Yes.” She patted her grandmother’s hand. “We had a good visit before the pain meds knocked her out.”
Clay took her hand. “Thanks for doing this, Lance. I appreciate it.”
“I’ll let Leighann enjoy hanging out with you all for a while. Then I’ll head over when she gets here.”
“Is Krissy coming?” Clay asked.
“Yes. Her brother is with her mom so she can come.”
“See you in a little while.”
“Save me some barbecue.”
Clay and Sabrina left the hospital. Sabrina settled into the passenger seat. “Do you think this is a good idea?”
“What?”
“Me coming to the barbecue.”
“I think it’s a fabulous idea.” He gave a short laugh. “In fact, I think you’ll be safer there than anywhere else in town. Every cop in Wrangler’s Corner will be there. On duty and off. The ones on duty will come in shifts.”
Sabrina nodded. “True. Okay. I’m looking forward to meeting Aaron and Amber.”
“They came in last night.”
She hesitated. “Is Abe going to be there?”
“I doubt it. He and my father haven’t spoken since Dad told him to leave.”
Sabrina dropped her head. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
And then he was pulling into the drive, and Sabrina’s eyes widened at the transfo
rmation. “Wow.”
Tables lined the front yard, and two large grills smoked delicious scents. Christmas lights and Christmas trees sparkled in multicolored profusion. Clay parked under a tree at the edge of the property. Sabrina climbed out and shivered. “It’s cold, but the sun feels good.”
“Still looks like it’s going to snow, but for now it’s a great day for a barbecue.” Sadness flickered in his eyes for a brief moment. Then he gave a strained smile. “Steven would love it.” He took her hand and led her to the house.
In the kitchen Clay introduced her to his brother Aaron. Sabrina gulped. He could be Steven’s twin. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you.”
“Aaron’s graduating from veterinarian school in about a week.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
Next Clay turned to a beautiful dark-haired young woman with the Starke blue eyes. “This is Amber, my wayward sister.”
Amber gave her brother a light punch in the arm. “I’m not wayward—I just don’t get home very often.” She gave Sabrina a hug. “Glad to meet you.”
“She’s a writer for a travel magazine. Has the glamorous life and gets to travel all over the place looking for the next best vacation spot. At least that’s what she’s doing this month.”
“Right. Glamorous.” Amber wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes. Sabrina loved the camaraderie between the siblings and felt a pang of loneliness. She’d always wanted a brother or a sister. Mostly a sister. Or a big brother to beat up the bullies. Either way, she felt as if she’d missed out.
Clay’s mother bustled into the kitchen followed by Tony and Maria. Sabrina hugged each child and listened to their excited chatter about living on the ranch. Amber moved to help her mother, and Aaron pushed open the storm door. “I’m going to check the grills.”
Clay tapped her arm. “Can you give me a bit? I want to help my dad with the horses.”
Sabrina smiled. “Sure, I’m fine. Take your time.”
“Good. Thanks.” He placed a kiss on her cheek. “Stay inside and hibernate. Okay?”
“The kids want to show me the barn.”
He frowned, then looked outside. “That’s fine, I suppose. We’re going to turn a few of the horses out and muck a couple of stalls.” His frown faded. “Wanna help?”
Sabrina laughed. “Sure, let me just put my purse up.” Clay and the children waited for her. Then they all walked to the barn together. Once inside, she gave a start of surprise. “It’s warm in here. I mean, it’s not toasty like inside your cottage, but it’s not cold, either.”
Clay smiled. “When it gets below freezing, Dad uses the heat. He turned it on last night. Don’t want the horses getting cold.”
“They’re spoiled animals.”
“We’ve got some high-dollar boarders.” He shrugged. “The temperature-controlled barn is one of the perks. Can’t be too warm though, or the horses’ body temperatures can’t adjust to being in the cold.”
She reached for the pitchfork, and he stopped her. “I was just kidding about helping. Your arm’s still healing.”
She moved it. “It’s sore, but I can deal with it.”
For the next thirty minutes, Clay and his father turned horses out. The children got bored with the mucking and decided to head inside for some cookies. Sabrina wasn’t ready to leave, so she started forking fresh hay back in for when the horses returned. She had to admit, the arm hurt. A lot. But the exercise felt good.
Sabrina jabbed the pitchfork into the next bale of hay and winced. A slight shuffle in the loft above caught her attention.
A barn cat?
Hay rained down on her. She jumped out of the way. Something landed beside her with a thud.
She stared. A pitchfork stuck up out of the dirt. Right where she’d been standing only a second before.
“Sabrina?” She spun to see Clay standing in the door.
She pointed to the pitchfork with a shaky finger. “That just fell from the loft.”
Clay strode over and looked up. He slapped a hand against the wall of the barn. “That didn’t just fall.” He bolted out of the barn and Sabrina followed him. They stopped and stared at the growing crowd. “It could be anyone,” he muttered. “No one looks out of place.”
“You know everyone here?”
“Yes.”
She swallowed. “Then if the pitchfork didn’t fall by itself, someone threw it at me.”
“I thought you would be safe here.”
Sabrina’s knees refused to hold her. She grabbed his arm so she wouldn’t fall over. “I don’t think I’m going to be safe anywhere until this person is caught.”
* * *
Clay had to agree. She wasn’t safe until the person was caught. And that person was someone he knew. Someone who blended in with his family.
Someone he trusted.
A cold ball formed in his belly. Which meant now he trusted no one.
To his right he saw Ned and motioned him over.
“Great tribute to Steven,” Ned said.
“Yes, it is. Unfortunately, someone just tried to kill Sabrina again.”
Ned jerked and frowned. “What?”
Clay told him what had happened in the barn. “It’s someone we know, Ned. It’s someone here.”
“Who?”
He shot him an exasperated look. “If I knew that, I would have arrested him by now.”
Lance Goode drove up and his wife, Krissy, walked over to greet him. “Their body language say anything to you, Ned?”
Ned shook his head. “They’re having issues.”
“I kind of got that feeling, but I just thought it was from all the stress Krissy’s under with her mother.”
“That and she’s just not happy.”
“Shame.”
“Yeah. I gave Lance the name of a good counselor. I hope they’ll use it.”
“How’s Prescott doing?”
Ned blew out a sigh and held up his phone. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to get you alone. Prescott escaped.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I wish.” Ned massaged his temple. “I made a bad call on him. I hate that.”
Clay ran a hand through his hair and blew out a sigh. “All right, then. Look around and see if you spot him. It might have been him who tossed that pitchfork at Sabrina.”
They split up. Clay headed straight for Sabrina. She didn’t want to hibernate, but with a killer in his backyard, she might not have a choice.
FIFTEEN
Sabrina let Clay usher her into the house. Amber was playing checkers with the children, but otherwise the home was empty. “Stay in the house, okay?” Clay said. “If the person who’s trying to kill you is around here somewhere, I don’t want to give him another chance to get at you. Ned’s going to keep an eye on one side of the house, and Lance will watch the other.”
Sabrina sighed and sank into one of the kitchen chairs with a slow nod. “You’re right. The children were in the barn with me for a little while. If that person had thrown the pitchfork with them in there...” She shook her head. “Fine. I agree. I don’t want to put anyone else in danger. I’ll stay inside.”
“And I’m going to start snooping around and asking questions.”
“Oh, Clay, I’m sorry. This is supposed to be a time for you to enjoy your family.”
“I can’t enjoy it while we’ve still got a missing kid and Steven’s killer is running free. Sit tight. I’m going to look for whoever could have possibly tossed that pitchfork at you. I’ll be back.”
He went out the door, and Sabrina looked around. The least she could do was help clean up. She rose and went to the sink, filling it with sudsy hot water to hand-wash the larger pots and pans. The smalle
r items went into the dishwasher.
As she scrubbed, her brain spun. What could she have that these people knew about but she didn’t?
The very idea was crazy.
Amber and the children tired of their checkers and headed back outside to enjoy the barbecue while the snow was holding off, leaving Sabrina to finish cleaning. Soon she had the area spotless.
The door opened, and Clay’s mother stepped inside. She blinked. “Did the cleaning fairies come?”
Sabrina laughed and raised her hand. “Just one.”
The woman engulfed her in a tight hug. “I want to adopt you.” Sabrina hugged her back. Mrs. Starke shook her head. “Christmas came early.”
“I’m afraid there will be plenty to do when the party ends.”
“Oh, yes, true enough, but at least I don’t have to worry about this.” She shook her head. “I think we’re going to have to end it early. The sun’s disappeared, and I think the snow is getting ready to fall.” Her gaze landed on the family picture she had taped to the refrigerator. Her eyes teared up. “Steven should have been here.”
“I know,” Sabrina whispered.
“I miss him something awful.”
She rubbed the grieving mother’s shoulder. “I’m sure you do. Everyone who knew him loved him.”
Mrs. Starke looked at her. “He talked about you, you know.”
“He did?” That surprised her.
She nodded. “He said if he wasn’t still grieving his wife, he might be interested in pursuing something more than a friendship with you. He said you were special.”
Sabrina gave her a sad smile. “What an honor.”
“I see what he meant now.” She patted Sabrina’s cheek, then swiped her eyes. “I need a moment.”
“Of course.”
The woman disappeared down the hall.
The door opened again and Krissy Goode entered. “Oh. I didn’t realize anyone was in here. Lance said I could come in and get warm.”
“It’s just me and Mrs. Starke.”
“I’ll come back later.”
“Did you need something?”
“No. Just wanted to get warm.”
Sabrina smiled. “Have a seat.”
The Lawman Returns Page 13