His lips suddenly twisted to a crooked grin. “I don’t want us to argue either. So I won’t mention marriage for at least another thirty minutes.”
How could she stay vexed with him, she thought, when just a little grin was enough to melt her heart. “You’re crazy. You’re awful,” she said softly.
He brought his forehead against hers. “Yeah. But you love me anyway.”
“Yeah. I guess I do.”
He moved closer and touched his lips to hers. “I’ll settle for that much right now,” he said, then easing back, he stroked his fingers down the side of her face. “And anyway, I have something else to talk to you about.”
Her brows arched upward. “Really? I thought you had a one-track mind.”
He chuckled, but she noticed the amused look on his face didn’t last for long.
“Bram came by this evening. Shortly before you and Peggy arrived. He had news about the fire investigation.”
She looked at him with dread. “Oh. Is the inspector wanting to question us?”
Jared shook his head. “No. Thankfully, Bram handled that part of things. From what he says the inspector realizes we were totally innocent bystanders.”
Kerry breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s wonderful. Then the whole thing was just an accident that happened to occur while we were there?”
His features tight, Jared shook his head again. “Nothing about it was an accident, Kerry. Someone sloshed the place with gasoline, then tossed on lighted candles.”
She stared at him with shock. “Oh no, Jared. That’s—it’s too evil to even think about. I can’t believe someone would do that—not while we were in there!”
“But they did, Kerry. I told Bram there was no way the person couldn’t have known we were in the next room. The light was on. We’d been talking. You even walked down the hall to the rest room and back.”
She shivered as her mind retraced that last night they’d been in the courthouse. “That scares me, Jared. Whoever it was—he could have grabbed me. You might have never known where I was. Or smelled the fire before it was too late!”
“Don’t think about that part of it now, Kerry. But I do want you to be extra careful. Like tonight. I’m going to follow you back home. Just to make sure someone isn’t on your tail.”
Her brown eyes grew dark with fear before they darted out to where Peggy had left the swing to pick clover blooms from the thick blanket of grass beneath the tree. “But Jared, why would someone want to harm me?”
“We don’t know that you are a target. But it’s obvious the Coltons are. And since you’re connected to me you could be caught up in this thing.”
She did her best to swallow down the lump of fear in her throat. “What does Bram think about all this? Does he have any leads on who might have set the fire?”
A grimace flattened his lips to a thin line. “Not yet. But I can assure you that he and his department will be working to catch this maniac. Until then, I want you to be very careful. Especially if you go out alone.”
“I will,” she promised. “But what about you, Jared. I don’t want anything to happen to you!”
The corners of his lips lifted in a brief smile. “I think you actually mean that.”
Her fingers reached up to touch his cheek. “I might be afraid to marry you, Jared, but that doesn’t stop me from loving you.”
He caught her hand and was pressing a kiss in the center of her palm when Peggy came skipping up to them. She had a fistful of clover blooms, but rather than offer them to her mother as she usually did, she thrust them at Jared.
“Thank you, little dove,” he told her as he carefully accepted the short white blossoms. “These are the first flowers I’ve ever had given to me.”
Peggy swelled with pride then twirled on her toes before she wedged her way between Jared’s knees. “Do you have any ice cream I can eat?”
Jared threw back his head and laughed while Kerry scolded, “Peggy! You’re Jared’s company. You’re not supposed to be asking him for things to eat.”
“She can ask me for anything she wants,” Jared said, then rising from the bench, he picked up Peggy and set her on his shoulders. “Come on, Mama,” he said to Kerry, “I think I have a half gallon of strawberry ice cream just waiting for my little girl to eat.”
His little girl. The simple words darted right through to Kerry’s heart and as she walked next to Jared and listened to Peggy’s shrieks of pleasure, she felt as if her life was snowballing out of control. Peggy had picked the father she wanted and Jared appeared to be champing at the bit to make the three of them a family. So why wasn’t she thrilled about it all? she asked herself. What was it going to take to give her the courage to become Jared’s wife?
She didn’t know the answer. But there was one thing she was certain about. Jared was not a patient man. He wouldn’t wait around on her forever.
Chapter Twelve
“Are you getting ill, Kerry? You’ve been playing with that French fry for the past ten minutes.”
Kerry glanced across the small table at her friend, Christa. The two women had decided to go out to a fast-food restaurant for lunch today, rather than eat a sandwich in the bank’s employee lounge.
Kerry shrugged. “No. I’m not ill. I just have a lot on my mind, Christa.”
“Peggy’s okay, isn’t she?”
A rueful smile twisted Kerry’s lips. “Oh my daughter couldn’t be better. She has Jared wrapped around her little finger. Or maybe he has her wrapped around his. Either way, it’s a total love affair.”
Christa smiled. “I think that’s great. Don’t you?”
Another shrug lifted Kerry’s shoulders as her expression turned pensive. “You know, after Damon dumped me, I’ve prayed that a man would come along to love my daughter, to be a good father to her. And I want to think Jared is that man. But I’m—just not sure.”
Christa’s brows arched with surprise. “I don’t understand. You just told me they were crazy about each other. It sounds like Jared is very good with Peggy.”
Kerry made a helpless gesture with her hand. “He’s great with Peggy. I can’t imagine a man being any better with her. But—”
“All right, what’s the matter here?” Christa prodded. “You’ve been acting like you’ve lost your best friend for the past couple of days. Has something happened with you and Jared?”
Kerry tossed the French fry and wiped her hands on a napkin. “Jared wants to get married. Soon.”
Christa let out a gasp of surprise, then a bright smile lit her face. “Boy, he’s a quick worker. But I think it’s wonderful! Don’t you?”
Shaking her head, Kerry thrust a hand through her black hair and pushed the heavy swath away from her cheek. “I don’t know what to think, Christa. I love Jared. But I’m—just not sure he’s ready for marriage.”
Christa frowned. “But why? The man is in his thirties. He ought to know by now if he wants to be a husband.”
“He’s thirty-four. And he says his playboy days are over. I believe him when he says that. But I’m not sure he’s ready to settle down in the sense of building a home.”
“He has a place here in Black Arrow. Wouldn’t you live there?”
Kerry grimaced. “Not permanently. As soon as Jared’s job is finished he’ll be moving on to another. And there’s no telling where that might be.”
“Oh. So how much longer will he be here in Black Arrow?” Christa asked.
“I’m not sure. I think his job here is winding down. So we might not have much time left to be together.”
Christa looked shocked. “But Kerry! Surely you’re not going to let Jared’s job stand in the way of your marriage? That’s crazy! Do you know how many women would kill to be in your position?”
Pain filled Kerry’s features. “Look, Christa, I have nothing against Jared’s job. He’s very good at what he does and he gets top money for doing it. But I have a daughter to think about. I don’t want to drag her all over the country from one
town, one state to the next. I want a home for us. One that I know will always be there.”
Christa reached across the small table and touched Kerry’s hand. “But Kerry, home isn’t necessarily a place or a house. It’s the three of you being together. Haven’t you ever thought about it like that?”
“Believe me, I’ve tried, Christa,” she said miserably. “And maybe in the end, I just keep remembering all those promises Damon made that never came through. And my own father rarely ever showing his face in his own home.”
“Jared isn’t like either one of those men. You shouldn’t be comparing.”
Kerry shot her a tired look. “Don’t tell me you haven’t forgotten all the misery your ex put you through. And believe me, Christa, when another man comes into your life you’ll see that you can’t readily toss all those painful lessons aside. No matter if he is Mr. Wonderful.”
Christa made a disapproving click of her tongue. “You sound bitter, Kerry. Just like your mother. And you always swore you’d never be that way.”
For a moment Christa’s words brought her up short. Had she turned as bitter and mistrusting as her mother? Dear Lord, she hoped not. Otherwise, she was going to have a miserable life ahead of her.
Glancing at her wristwatch, she said, “It’s getting late. We’d better get back to the bank.”
Christa looked as though she wanted to say something else but at the last moment decided against it. “Okay, just give me a minute to put on some lipstick. That way my boss might not notice if we’re five minutes late,” she added with a giggle.
A few moments later, the two women were traveling down a busy street not far from the bank when they spotted a commotion on the next block ahead of them.
“What in the world is going on up there?” Christa mouthed the question before Kerry had the chance. “Looks like a bunch of police cars are gathered at the newspaper office.”
Kerry leaned up in the seat. “Slow down,” she said to Christa, who was driving. “Maybe we can see what’s going on.”
As their car crept through the congested area of traffic, Christa said, “Look, there’s yellow crime tape all around the front door.”
Kerry peered carefully at the group of lawmen standing on the sidewalk in front of the building’s entrance. “There’s Bram. If the sheriff has been called in on this, it must be something serious.”
“Must be,” Christa agreed. “Maybe we’ll find out something when we get back to the bank.” She shook her blond head with dismay. “First the courthouse is set on fire and now the newspaper office has trouble. What in the world is happening to our town?”
“I don’t know,” Kerry replied, but inwardly she was praying this new incident had no connection to the last one. It was already spooky enough thinking someone might be looking over her or Jared’s shoulder.
Lunchtime had come and gone when Jared spotted Bram pulling onto the work site. His brother’s unexpected appearance surprised Jared. Especially when he knew how Bram had been swamped with work these past few days.
“Looks like you’re about to wind things up here,” Bram said as he joined Jared in an out-of-the-way spot.
Jared gazed proudly out at the ground that had once been strewn and gouged with broken pipes. Now the earth was smooth again and the only thing left was the massive valve which controlled the flow of the gas well.
“Two or three more days,” Jared told him. “We’ve been blessed with dry weather. So that’s speeded things up quite a bit.”
Bram sighed. “I’m glad one of us has had a good break.”
Jared glanced at him sharply. “Don’t tell me something else has happened.”
“The newspaper office was broken into some time during the night.”
Jared’s forehead wrinkled with confusion. “The newspaper office?” he repeated. “I wouldn’t think they’d have much cash lying around.”
“The perpetrator wasn’t looking for money,” Bram said grimly. “There was some cash in a small safe in the business office, but it wasn’t disturbed. No, it seems this thief was only interested in old papers and microfilm. Any old news that had articles about the Coltons.”
Jared’s jaw dropped as he stared at his brother. “Oh hell, no. How can you be sure of that?”
“Because the things were strewn around. The piece on when our parents were killed—when you and I and our siblings were born. When Uncle Thomas and Aunt Alice were married and our cousins were born. Do I need to say more?”
Jared’s mind was whirling. “That’s the same stuff—”
“The maniac destroyed in the courthouse.”
Shaking his head with dismay, Jared pulled off his hard hat and sank down on the edge of a front bumper on a nearby work truck. “Bram, this is getting downright eerie. Not to mention crazy. Have you talked to the rest of the family about this?”
Bram drew in a long breath, then let it out slowly. “No. But I’m going to have to make some sort of decision. Especially if you say George is already spouting off.”
“Well, Aunt Alice and Uncle Thomas have a right to know. And our cousins. George isn’t going to say anything to Gloria, he’s already made that clear. But Willow knows a little about what’s going on. We can’t keep it hidden from the rest for very long.”
Bram let out another weary breath. “You’re right. But I would like to have something more concrete to tell them than what we have right now. Which is very damn little.” He glanced at Jared. “Look, I have another investigation going on right now and I have to go up to Kiowa County to extradite a prisoner this afternoon. I was wondering if you and Kerry might be willing to drive out to George’s place this evening and go through his old papers, photographs or anything that might shed some light on this mess.”
The only thing Jared wanted or needed to do tonight was be with Kerry. And make love to her until she understood she was going to be his woman. Now and always.
“Sure. We can do that,” he said, hoping she’d be willing. “But what about George? Is he home or still with Gran at the feed store?”
“I went by there a few minutes ago. Seems Gran still doesn’t feel good, so George doesn’t want to leave. I took him aside and talked to him about the papers and things. He doesn’t care what you look at. He said anything that had any value at all was stored in boxes in his bedroom closet.”
“Good. I’ll go through everything. Although I doubt I’ll know what I’m looking for, even if I see it,” Jared told him, then asked, “What did George have to say about all this to you?”
“Hell,” Bram cursed. “I thought you said the old man knew something. I couldn’t get anything out of him that made sense. When I mentioned you and Kerry, he started uttering this stuff about me. That I shouldn’t hide behind my Comanche heritage and that one day when I least expect it, I’ll hear the coyote’s cry and my life will be changed forever.”
Chuckling, Jared lifted both palms in helpless defense. “Sorry brother, I didn’t promise he’d make sense all the time.”
“Just part of the time would be a help,” Bram said wryly, then gestured toward his waiting truck. “I’ve got to be going.”
Jared slapped his hard hat back on and walked alongside Bram as headed toward his vehicle. “Bram, what does your gut tell you about this—and this stranger looking into our family?”
“As for the stranger,” Bram answered grimly, “no one has seen him except Hazel Watkins at the courthouse. And she can’t remember much. Brown hair and eyes. Medium build. Nothing noticeable like scars or tattoos. She described him as skulking, but I’m not sure if she means suspicious or rude. In any case, my gut tells me this isn’t fun and games.”
Jared glanced over at him. “This is one time I wish I didn’t agree with you, brother.”
When Kerry arrived home that evening from work, the telephone was ringing and no one seemed to be answering.
Tossing down her handbag at the kitchen table, she snatched the receiver from the wall phone.
“Hello. Win
dWalker residence,” she answered breathlessly.
“Kerry, it’s me.”
Her heart jerked into overdrive. Even though Jared had consumed her thoughts today, she’d not expected him to be calling so early this evening.
“Jared, I’m surprised to hear your voice.”
A sensual chuckle came back at her. “I don’t know why. You ought to know by now that I’m not going to let much time pass without seeing or talking to you.”
Without her even knowing it, a wide smile spread across her face. “I’m not sure I know that, but I’ll take your word for it. Why are you calling?”
“I was wondering if you could drive out with me to Granddad’s this evening?”
The idea of spending that much time with Jared, especially out in the quiet countryside was enormously appealing, but she couldn’t have Peggy out late two nights in a row. Since he already knew her rules about that, he must be expecting her to go on this trip alone with him, she thought quickly.
“I realize you don’t want to keep Peggy out late,” he went on as though reading her mind. “But actually I—was hoping we could be alone.”
A soft rush of breath caught in her throat as heat suffused her body like a warm ocean wave. “Jared—I can’t—”
“Don’t say can’t,” he interrupted.
She laughed in spite of herself. “You just used a double negative.”
“I have to use double negatives to cancel your single negatives,” he reasoned. “And before your mind gets to reading too many naughty thoughts into this invitation, let me tell you I have another reason for you to go. Besides making love to you,” he added seductively.
The easy way he talked to her about making love was something new for Kerry. But then everything about having a man like Jared in her life was all new and totally overwhelming. Especially for a Comanche girl who’d lived a somewhat sheltered life.
“Oh,” she said guardedly. “What is it?”
“Have you heard about the newspaper office being broken into?”
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