Living in Shadow

by Georgia Florey-Evans

  His handler, who was also a Christian, tried to comfort Hardy by reminding him at least he wasn’t having to play the field or fool a woman into what she thought was a real relationship. It hadn’t mattered, though. It just felt wrong.

  The next time Hardy spoke to Elliott or Stephens, he was going to pull his head out of the sand and ask if they could find out about Audrey.

  He pushed the thought away as he pulled into the Walkers' drive. The lights were on, and the Walkers’ farm house looked warm and inviting as Hardy drove to his camper. The thought of Luke and Holly happily ensconced in their home, enjoying each other’s company, brought a hollow feeling to his chest. When he was in his twenties, he’d planned on being married by the time he was thirty. He’d have a family by the time he was thirty-five. Now he was thirty-four, and didn’t even have a chance at any kind of a relationship with a woman.

  An image of sparkling blue eyes and dimples on a smiling face flashed in his mind. Haley Johnson. She was dangerous to him in more ways than one. Not only did he find himself greatly attracted to her; after less than fifteen minutes, she had known he was a police officer.

  He parked his truck beside the dark camper and got out. Rustling leaves announced the dog’s arrival moments before Clarence appeared under the nearest security light.

  “What are you doing out here?” Hardy asked him as he scratched behind the dog’s ears. “I figured you’d be in the house with Luke and Holly, eating popcorn and watching a movie.”

  Clarence cocked his head and looked up at him as if he were contemplating Hardy’s words. The dog’s responses to people were uncannily human-like most of the time. Hardy could understand why people found themselves talking to him like he was a person.

  “Well, I don’t have any dog food out here, and Luke will kill me if I give you people food.” Hardy opened the door to the camper. “You’d better get on back to the house, boy.”

  Luke’s whistle caught Clarence’s attention right at that moment. The dog seemed to nod his head as if to say, “see you later” before turning and galloping toward the house.

  The camper was too small, too quiet, and too empty when Hardy walked in. Was this how his life was going to be from now on? Living alone in whatever home the agency found him, uncertain from day to day what might happen to change things. No deep friendships. No real relationships, because nobody would know who he really was.

  God, I know you’re probably not even listening to me anymore and I don’t blame you. I’ve been mad at you for a long time now. But if you are, I . . .

  Hardy couldn’t even think of what to ask for, what to tell God. He picked up the paperback he’d bought at the drugstore and sat on the sofa. He’d just forget everything and get lost in the story of Texas Ranger “Tex” Callow and the cattle rustlers he was after. He hoped Tex had better luck at catching his rustlers than Hardy did at catching the senior Dohner.

  Chapter 15

  “What are you doing, you fool?”

  The voice on the other end of the phone was too confident. “Your way is taking too long. We need to get his attention. So we did. We even left his name. His real name.”

  “Davis?”

  “Yes.” The caller sounded quite proud of himself.

  He should have known better than to agree to hire these barbarians. “Has it ever occurred to you that nobody there knows who he is? You wrote his name, and nobody will even put it together with Beau Harding.” His voice was growing in volume, right along with his anger. “You killed those animals for no reason!”

  He softly swore. “If we aren’t patient and stick to the plan, we’ll all end up in prison. I understand prisons aren’t particularly comfortable for men like you. Now, am I understood?”

  “What if next time we put his whole name?”

  “No!” He wanted to punch something, but the only thing close enough was a very valuable painting, which meant too much to him to destroy. “We will stick to the plan and give him a reason to make his home in Shadow. My way. No more killing. Not even a rodent. You may burglarize and vandalize to your heart’s content, but leave no more than similarities behind. We want him to realize something is going on, and that he needs to stay and help fix it. The police officer in him is too strong not to want to help. Do you understand?”

  “Fine. We’ll do it your way.” Of course, they would. The fools thought they had found a relatively easy way to become wealthy. Once they had served their purpose, they would be expendable. But until then, he needed to keep them on the path he so carefully plotted.

  “Don’t call me again unless you have new information about Davis.”

  “Okay.”

  He hung up. This plan had to work. He had come up with it and ironed out every last detail. Harding Davis was a dead man. He just didn’t know it.

  Chapter 16

  Leaves on the trees were in beautiful fall colors. Haley took a deep breath of fresh air and admired her surroundings.

  Coming here had been a wise choice. Holly had noticed Haley’s mood at Bible study Wednesday evening. She hadn’t even asked Haley to explain; she simply told her to come to the farm and go for a walk when she got off work today. Then, there had been yet another break-in this afternoon, making her job even more stressful, so Haley was doubly grateful for Holly’s offer.

  She looked to her left, at a field of soybeans. To her uneducated eye, they looked ready to pick. Soon, Luke would be the one out there on his tractor taking care of his fields. And Beau Harding would be a name she’d once heard.

  Expecting him to be there, she’d braced herself and been prepared to be polite. Only when she arrived, Luke and Holly had left for an evening spent at her parents’ farm, and there was no sign of Beau Harding. She had the place to herself.

  Could she ever be a farmer’s wife, like Holly? The role seemed made for the farmer’s daughter to step into. But Haley couldn’t even keep a cactus alive, let alone an entire vegetable garden like the one planted closer to the house. She’d probably pull the edible plants and fertilize the weeds.

  Her thoughts came back to Hardy. If, as she highly suspected, the man was some sort of law enforcement officer, how was it that he was so good on a farm? Holly had commented numerous times Luke was as pleased with Hardy’s work as he would be if he’d done it himself.

  And, if Hardy was a crooked law man, she couldn’t imagine Mitch sanctioning his employment by two of his best friends. So, what was his story?

  She sighed. He’d be gone in another week, and she would never have to worry about it again.

  A particularly pretty shade of orange drew her attention to a bush a few yards from the trail. She’d just walked over for a closer look when what sounded like a herd of cattle came crashing through the brush.

  “Clarence!” The male voice was stern. “Get back over here.”

  Haley laughed as the friendly dog cocked his head as though he were studying her. “What are you doing out in the woods, Clarence?”

  Beau Harding stepped into sight, standing on the path Haley had just left.

  “I’m sorry. He wanted to be let out, so I thought I’d take him for a walk. I didn’t know anybody was out here.” His displeased tone of voice belied the polite words.

  Haley’s feathers were immediately ruffled. “Didn’t you see my car?”

  “I figured whoever was here had ridden to the Morris’s with Luke and Holly. I didn’t think anybody would be here with them gone.”

  She was liking his attitude less and less. Did he think he owned this farm?

  “Holly invited me to come and enjoy a walk. I can assure you I have permission to be here.” She reached out and broke off a sprig of the leaves she’d admired, determined to ignore the brute. They felt like satin against her face.

  His soft laughter drew her attention right back to him.

  “What’s so funny?” Clarence was looking at him, too.

  He looked altogether too handsome with that smile on his face. “Call it a hunch, but I’m gues
sing you’re not exactly a country girl, are you?”

  Well! “What makes you say that?” Surely the way a person stood in the woods didn’t depict the level of her experience with nature.

  “Because,” His grin grew wider. "You’re standing there rubbing poison oak. Unless you’re not allergic, you’re going to be covered with a rash in a few hours.”

  Haley let go of the leaves and took a quick step back, embarrassed beyond belief. “I’d better go.”

  She walked back to the path a little closer to the house than he was, but he was there before she’d taken two steps.

  “Wait.” His hand on her arm stopped her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. Some people get sick from poison oak.”

  “Well, I’ll go home and . . . " She realized she had no idea what to do. Sit around and wait to break out, she supposed.

  “You need to take a shower and get into some different clothes right away. You’d better come on back to my trailer with me.” He took her arm and started to lead her on the path.

  “I can’t take a shower.” She stopped in her tracks. “I don’t have anything to change into, and I’m not . . . I can’t . . . It’s not proper!”

  He glanced at his watch. “I figure you have about twenty minutes to wash that stuff off before it does its damage. You can use the shower in my camper while I stay outside with Clarence. I’m sure you’ll be okay in a pair of my sweats and a T-shirt. You have my word I will be a perfect gentleman.”

  “But, I—”

  “Getting closer to fifteen minutes, and my water pressure isn’t the greatest.”

  She turned and started up the trail. “I guess I don’t have any other choice.”

  “Sure you do.” She turned to see a wide grin on his face as he walked beside her. “You can break out and be miserable for a week or so.”

  “What about you?” She looked at his hand. “You touched my arm. Won’t you break out?”

  “I might if I were susceptible to it.” He reached down and petted the dog trying to edge between them on the narrow path. “I’ve never broken out from any kind of poison in my life, and I’ve been exposed to them all at one time or another.”

  Well, aren’t you special was on the tip of her tongue before she reminded herself he was only trying to help. The grudging attitude he’d first displayed had been replaced by a pleasant, even friendly, one.

  Fifteen minutes later, she was unsure if he had truly been friendly at all. His shower was a convoluted creation put together with a torn shower curtain hanging on what looked like might be old metal clothes hangers. And instead of simply hanging it around the shower area, he had rigged up a mat on a board of some sort so it would drain back into the stall and hung the curtain around the whole kit and caboodle.

  Her first problem came when she turned the faucet on only to have nothing happen. She studied the apparatus and finally figured out she had to turn a dial on the shower head. Only when she did that, she didn’t get her face out of the way fast enough, and was nearly drowned in the flood of water that shot out.

  Then she realized she’d have to use his soap and shampoo. And it smelled good—like clear, fresh air with just a hint of musk. She became embarrassed when she realized she was standing there sniffing a bar of soap.

  It would have been nice if he’d warned her that the hot water didn’t last very long. She had barely worked the shampoo into a lather when the comfortably warm spray became ice cold needles pounding on her skin. She was certain he’d heard her yelp of surprise because Clarence howled.

  The man could make a living teaching contortions, too. When Haley started to get out of the shower, she found herself entangled in the curtain. Somehow, she ended up abruptly landing on the stool. She just gave up and stayed there as she dressed. How he could possibly shower and dress in the tiny un-curtained area of the already small room, she couldn’t imagine. At five-seven, she wasn’t a small woman, but he had to be every bit of six-two or more. Not to mention his build—all those muscles.

  What was she doing? Standing in a closet masquerading as a bathroom, wearing a shirt that came down to her knees and a pair of sweats she could probably have gotten around her waist twice, mooning over a man’s muscles! A man that A—didn’t like her very much and B—was living under a false name. Not exactly her dream man.

  Only, if that were truly the case, why had her heart felt like it might pound out of her chest when he’d taken her arm? And why had she stood, mesmerized, looking into his eyes? What was it about this man?

  Okay, Lord, I know You have a sense of humor. Please don’t let me go all silly over a man I shouldn’t be with. He’s lying, and I know that’s wrong. And I’m pretty sure I annoy him. Could you just wait and give me these feelings when there’s a good, honest man who will be just as interested in me?

  That’s right. All the guys Wayne and Lori had tried to fix her up with, and the first time a man ever really interested her, it was this one. She should have her head examined.

  “If you give me your clothes, I’ll throw them into the washer. You don’t want to handle them until the poison is washed out.” Hardy held out his hands to accept the clothes she was timidly carrying as she stepped out of the camper.

  “How can you throw them into the washer? Are Luke and Holly already home?”

  He flushed guiltily. “I have my own key. They let me do laundry and use their stove. And I have to let Clarence out for them.”

  Why would he feel guilty about having his own key? Wait a minute. “I could have taken a shower in one of their bathrooms!”

  The guilt disappeared into a lazy smile. “But it wouldn’t have been as much of an adventure, would it?”

  “An adventure?” She angrily stomped her foot on the ground, which wasn’t so smart since she didn’t have any shoes on. “I nearly killed myself using that concocted accident waiting to happen you call a shower!”

  “Okay.” Hardy held up a hand in supplication. “The truth is, I didn’t think of you using a shower in the house until you were already in mine. I’m sorry.”

  Haley didn’t think she believed him. “Just put my clothes in a garbage bag. I’ll take them home and dump them into my washer.”

  “How will you drive without your shoes? Your sneakers will need to be washed, too.”

  “I’ll drive barefooted!” She was about to stomp her foot again. Why was it so easy for him to rile her like this?

  He looked at her, the expression on his face telling her he was considering the merits of continuing their arguments, but then he answered her. “Okay. Just a minute.”

  She watched as he disappeared into his trailer. He came out the door a few minutes later carrying a large plastic shopping bag.

  The bag was just about in her hands when he pulled it back. “Go out for dinner with me tomorrow night.”

  Now she was hearing things. “What did you just say?”

  “Will you please have dinner with me tomorrow evening? You . . . you intrigue me.”

  Hardy wanted to take the invitation back as soon as he’d issued it. Haley could see it in his eyes. Maybe that was what compelled her to give him the answer she did.

  “I’d love to. What time should I be ready?”

  Conflicting emotions warred in his eyes as he held her clothes out to her. “Six-thirty. You’ll have to tell me where you live, though.”

  She gave him her address and the general directions for how to get there.

  It wasn’t until she was halfway home when it sank in. She was going on a date with a man she knew absolutely nothing about. What was she thinking?

  She would talk to Mitch first thing in the morning. He knew what was going on with Hardy, and even if he wouldn’t tell her why, he’d tell her if she shouldn’t go out with the man. She felt better immediately.

  Haley had a date.

  Chapter 17

  “Now why’d you let me go and do that, Clarence?” Hardy asked the dog. “You just stood there and let me ask her out when I
had absolutely no intention of doing so. You could have jumped on me or stepped between us, or I wouldn’t have even cared if you bit me. You know why I can’t get involved with anybody, especially a woman like Haley.”

  Instead of hearing Clarence’s excuse, the sound of a car reached Hardy’s ears a minute before the squad car pulled to a stop right in front of him. He stood, warily waiting, as Sheriff Landon got out of the car.

  “I still can’t help you with your animal clinic.” Hardy had thought long and hard and convinced himself it was merely a coincidence. It was like he’d told Mitch before. If he had been located, he wouldn’t still be breathing air.

  Mitch stopped and stood in front of him. “I’m not here just about that. I came to pick your brain about something else.”

  “What’s that?” He didn’t feel like he had much brain left to pick, but if the sheriff wanted to try, who was Hardy to throw water on his sandcastle?

  “We had another break-in. This afternoon, while Clay Richmond was at a meeting, somebody broke into his office and trashed the place. The cash he kept on hand and a few expensive pieces of art were taken.”

  “What do you want from me?” Hardy was going against the strong inclination he felt to help.

  “Shadow is a quiet town. We’ve had maybe five break-ins over the past five or six years. Now, I’m dealing with the third one in less than two weeks. I need somebody outside my circle to take a look at this and tell me if I’m seeing something that isn’t there. Because I’m wondering if somehow, we’re dealing with the same people in each case.” Mitch shifted his feet and stared into Hardy’s eyes. “You’ve got a strong background in organized crime. Do you see any red flags here?”

  Hardy wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t this. He fought his work-honed instinct and shook his head. “You want to talk to a man who doesn’t exist anymore, Sheriff.”