by Jude Pittman
“I’m Kelly McWinter,” Kelly said, shaking the offered hand.
“Brad Meyer here. Glad you could make it. Have a seat. I’ve got your file right in front of me. You come highly recommended. They think a lot of you in Fort Worth. Detective Graham said they’d give a mint to entice you back themselves.
“That’s the kind of man we want working for us,” the insurance executive continued. “The cops can only go so far when it comes to digging out information but our investigators—if a case warrants it—will go back to the day a man was born and check out everybody from his grade school teacher to his ex-wife’s father.”
Kelly nodded. He knew American Mutual was a good outfit to work for. They had a reputation for being thorough and they didn’t pinch pennies when it came to getting a job done.
“One thing I need to mention right up front,” Kelly said. “I’m not interested in full- time work. I want the option to pick and choose my cases. I’m impressed with what I’ve heard about AMIE and I’d like to work with you folks but I’m not looking to get tied down to a steady grind again.”
Brad beamed and nodded. “That’s understood. What I was thinking is we’d save you for our more difficult cases. I see from your file you’ve done some undercover work—quite successfully—and you’ve done time with both homicide and narcotics, so you’d know your way around the divisions.”
“That sounds about like what I had in mind,” Kelly said. “I’d like to stay where I am out at Indian Creek and I want the freedom to take on a few things of my own. If we’re agreed, I’d be more than happy to come to work for AMIE.”
“Great!” Brad stood up and offered his hand again. “Welcome aboard. Now let’s go down the hall. I’ll introduce you around a bit and we’ll get some of the paperwork processed.”
Brad introduced him to the office staff, including a couple of the investigators on hand, then turned him over to the human resources department. Kelly spent another two hours filling out forms, having his picture taken for his identification card and taking care of Uncle Sam’s requirements.
It was nearly noon when he walked out of the building. He had a brand-new laminated AMIE Investigations card in his pocket and he felt good about the deal he’d made with Brad. He’d have the strength of AMIE’s organization behind him on any investigation he felt like tackling but he wouldn’t be shackled to a rigid routine.
* * *
The trip back to Fort Worth took just over five hours. He hit the usual amount of road construction but there was no repeat of Friday’s single lane nightmare.
A fair-sized crowd had gathered at the Hideaway when Kelly pulled Old Blue into Cam’s private drive and cut across the back lot to the patio. It was here, on nights like tonight, that Cam and his musician friends gathered to pick and grin for the locals. Cam’s impromptu barbecues were well known around Indian Creek and whenever he held one, the place was packed to the rafters.
On the patio, Kelly spotted Cam taking food out of the smoker and walked over to join him.
“Hey, you made it!” Cam said, grabbing half a chicken and a quarter of cabbage from the smoker and loading it onto a plate for Kelly. “Better get your fixin’s and go rescue your lady friend before Marty talks her ear off.” Cam pointed a spatula at the corner table where Marty Jacobs was flapping his lips at the attractive blonde sitting beside him.
Kelly took his plate over to a long table laden with baked beans, potato salad, stuffed jalapenos and chunky slabs of garlic toast and by the time he finished loading, he needed sideboards.
“Good evening!” he said, coming up behind Marty and setting his plate down on the table.
Gillian, a tall blonde with a deep suntan and clear blue eyes flashed him a smile and slid over to make room on the bench. After Kelly’s experience with Krystal he decided it was time to make a start on his own social life. He’d joined a dance club at the Stagecoach in Fort Worth and Gillian had quickly become his favorite partner. Last week he’d invited her to Cam’s barbecue and she had accepted.
“I’m glad you could make it,” he said, brushing her cheek with his lips.
“I was hoping you’d get back. Bubba said you were down in Houston.”
“Knowing you’d be here gave me extra incentive to hurry back,” he said, brushing his finger along her cheek. “So tell me, how have you been?”
“Bored! I haven’t been to the Stagecoach since the last time we were there together and if I remember right, that was a year ago.”
“We’ll have to fix that.” Kelly gave her a full smile. “How about next weekend?”
“You’re on,” she accepted at once. “And don’t you dare cancel on me, Kelly McWinter. In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve made plans like this twice before and both times you got tangled up in a murder and had to cancel.” Gillian tossed her head in mock indignation and her long blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders.
“Maybe we can get a head start right here,” Kelly said, pointing to where Cam and a couple of musicians were setting up their instruments. “What say I get some of this grub inside me, then we show them a thing or two?”
“Absolutely!” Gillian’s eyes sparkled her pleasure.
For the next few minutes, Kelly concentrated on his plate while Gillian turned her ear back to Marty.
When Kelly finished, he pushed his plate aside and turned back to Gillian. The band had swung into a two-step and taking her hand, he led her onto the floor. For the next hour, they threw themselves into a series of two-steps, polkas and waltzes and even joined the train of a bunny hop. Finally, out of breath, they stopped at the keg for a beer and made their way back to the table.
“I need a beer after that,” Kelly said.
Gillian smiled agreement and snuggled against his chest. Marty had moved on to another table, leaving them alone, which suited Kelly just fine.
“That was a nice start,” Gillian said in her low, husky voice.
Kelly bent his head and brushed the top of her hair with his lips. “How’d you like to wander down to my place?” he asked. “I need to take a peek at my dogs and we could stop at the bridge and watch the ducks.”
“But Kelly—” She batted her eyes. “The ducks have already gone to bed.”
Kelly chuckled. “Let’s go see,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up from the bench.
Walking arm in arm along the road, the night caught them in its magic. Thousands of stars lit up the sky and the muted call of crickets and owls played a melody just for them. Their footsteps swished softly along the grassy path. At the bridge, they stopped, arms entwined and gazed into the water.
“It kind of takes your breath away, doesn’t it?” Kelly said, smiling down at her.
Gillian nodded and slid into his arms. After a long, long kiss, Kelly took her hand again and they continued on to the cabin. When they reached the porch, Kelly opened the front door and switched on the outside light. Both dogs were curled up on the rug and Jake lifted his head to give Kelly a one-eyed stare.
“Sorry, boy,” Kelly said, stepping over to the fridge and retrieving a couple of Budweiser.
Gillian, who’d followed him inside, looked around at the dimly lit cabin.
“This place suits you,” she whispered. “Even the dogs are exactly right.”
“Actually Lucy over there’s a visitor,” Kelly said, pointing to the sleeping female. “She belongs to an old fellow over in Rhome who got jumped by some punks last week. A cop friend asked me to keep an eye on her until the old guy gets out of hospital.”
Kelly caught the flicker of light on his answering machine out of the corner of his eye. He reached inside a closet and grabbed a couple of cushions, then motioned Gillian to follow him outside. “I keep these inside so they won’t get damp,” he said, fitting the cushions into redwood deck chairs and inviting her to sit. “I’ll just be a second,” he said, handing her a beer. “The light was flashing on my machine and I need to check it out in case it’s something urgent.”
&nbs
p; “Oh, oh!” Gillian squinted at him. “I hope this isn’t going to be like the last time. You made a telephone call and I didn’t see you again for a year.”
Kelly chuckled. “Five minutes, I promise.” He stepped back into the cabin, walked over to the machine and punched the button. There was a brief pause before Stella’s voice came over the tape. “Kelly. Where are you? Call me as soon as you get in. Please. They’ve arrested Marcy.”
“Shit!” Kelly reached for the phone.
Chapter Three
“Hello!” Stella grabbed the phone on the first ring. “Kelly here. What’s going on?”
“Thank God you called. I’ve been climbing the walls. The cops came and took Marcy.”
“Took her? Where?”
“A homicide detective from Nashville came with an HPD officer. They gave her a choice. Either she could voluntarily accompany the detective back to Nashville, or they’d book her here and have a hearing to get her extradited to Nashville. She agreed to go along with him.”
“Did she call Mark?”
“I did. He’s meeting the plane and he told me to tell her not to say a word until he joined them.”
“Good. I hope she listens.”
“I think she will. She’s got her head on straight now and she knows this is serious.” “I’m surprised you didn’t go with her.”
“I wanted to but Bud’s at her place and she felt I’d just make things worse. Bud and I clash and it’s going to be tough enough for her without me along to stoke up the flames.”
“She’s got a point there. I hope your brother has sense enough to lay his emotions aside for a bit and give Marcy some support.”
“Oh, Bud’s smart enough once he gets down off his high horse. Right now, I think he’s so damn scared about the possibility of Marcy being involved in a murder that he’ll take her pregnancy without batting an eye.”
“Good. Now how about you? Are you going to be okay?”
“I suppose so. I feel kind of useless but what else is new? Mark wants you to fly down there as soon as you can. You’re still with me on this, aren’t you, Kelly?”
“Of course. I’ll make arrangements in the morning. I’ll have to check with Bubba and see if he can keep an eye on things while I’m gone but that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I was kind of wondering, Kelly. You know I’m going nuts rattling around in this house all by myself. What would you think about me coming up there and sort of holding down the fort for you while you’re gone. I know Marcy doesn’t want me in Nashville but I need to feel I’m at least doing something to help.”
“That might not be a bad idea. I’ve got another pup I’m looking after and I hate the idea of leaving both dogs here by themselves again so soon. In fact, I’ve got another idea. Didn’t you tell me that you used to be a barmaid?”
“Yes, a long time ago. Why?”
“Well, you remember my friend Cam? He owns the Hideaway. He’s got himself into kind of a jam. He and Darlene have split the sheets and she was his evening barmaid as well as his girlfriend. He’s about run off his feet and I was thinking you might feel like giving him a hand. It’d get your mind off things and you’d be a godsend to Cam.”
“You know, that might be kind of fun. I haven’t waited tables in years. Of course, I’ll have to meet him first but the idea of having something constructive to do definitely appeals to me. I’ll pack up tonight and take off at daylight.”
“Terrific! Drive safely and I’ll see you when you get here.”
“‘Bye, Kelly and thanks.”
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Kelly said, returning to the deck and settling into the other chair.
Gillian’s mouth crinkled. “Nice,” she said, making an arc with her hand. The sky stretched ink-black around them and a million pinpricks of starlight turned it into a diamond-studded carpet.
“Hmmm!” Kelly reached out and took her hand. Bending her fingers, he cupped them against his palm. They lay back, silent, connected to a gentle current, their bodies tense, uncertain. A question, yet unframed, hovered between them.
“Well?” Kelly’s voice broke the silence. “Have you decided?”
Gillian’s laughter bubbled up and floated across the quiet space. “Now just how did you know that I was making up my mind about where this was going?”
“Psychic, I guess.” Kelly squeezed her hand and grinned. “So what’s the verdict?”
She leaned toward him across the chair, her eyes smoldering blue to black. “Shall we go inside?” she whispered.
Kelly’s face lit up. Standing, he pulled her to him, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and opened the door. They walked softly past the sleeping dogs, down the hall and into the bedroom. He closed the door behind them and Gillian slipped into his arms. Her body pressed against his, warm and yielding and her breath fluttered hot against his cheek. They both knew what they wanted and laughter gurgled from their throats as they tore away the constraints of clothing and tumbled onto the goose down mattress.
* * *
The next morning Kelly awoke to the scent of frying bacon. Gillian was obviously an early riser.
“How do you like your eggs?” she called from the kitchen.
“Surprise me,” Kelly called back as he headed to the shower. A man could get used to this kind of setup. Ten short minutes later, he walked into the kitchen. “It sure smells good in here,” Kelly said. “Where’s the dog?”
“He made it pretty clear he wanted the door open when I got out here, so I let him out. I figured you wouldn’t want the little lady out by herself just yet.”
Kelly chuckled. “Jake has a way of making his wants clear all right. I’ll put Lucy’s lead on and take her out to do her business. Be back in a minute.”
Snapping the leash on Lucy’s collar, Kelly led her outside and whistled for Jake. Seconds later he raced around the side of the cabin and joined them.
“Why don’t you take her over there in the brush.” Kelly unsnapped the lead, watching as Lucy tentatively stepped over to Jake.
By the time the dogs had finished and the three of them joined Gillian back in the cabin, Kelly’s stomach was growling in anticipation.
“A fellow could sure get used to this,” he said, pulling out a chair at the table and smiling when Gillian approached with the coffee pot.
Gillian’s eyes flashed and her smile dimpled the hollow in her cheeks. “Just to keep things straight, next time it’ll be your turn,” she said.
Kelly grinned.
“You’ve got a deal. I make a mean omelet and I’ll plan on trying it out on you as soon as I get back from a little trip I’ve got to take.”
“Will you be away long?” She filled a plate and set it on the table.
“A couple of days I think. I’ve got a friend coming in later today. She’s going to stay at the cabin and keep an eye on the dogs while I’m gone.”
Gillian lifted an eyebrow and Kelly burst into laughter. “I thought I had an exclusive on that trick,” he sputtered. “I’m working on a case for this friend and it seemed like a good idea to give her something to do, so I’ve got her dog sitting. I’m planning on hitting Cam up to put her to work over at the Hideaway while I’m gone.”
“That’ll keep her occupied all right.” Gillian returned his laugh. “Once you get her tangled up with that crew, she’ll have her hands full.”
“That’s what I figured. Marty and Leroy’ll be in seventh heaven when they lay eyes on Stella and my money says she’ll have Cam whipped into shape within the week. It’ll do him good too. He ruled the roost with Darlene and the truth of it is, they’d both have been a lot better off if she’d told him to take a hike sooner than she did. They just weren’t suited. Cam’s a good guy but he needs a bit of handling and Darlene was too soft.”
“Do I detect a bit of matchmaking?”
Kelly had the grace to look sheepish. “I kind of figured on letting nature take its course.”
“Men!” She reached across
for a slice of toast and dipped it into her yolk. “I’ve got to be at the stables in thirty minutes, so you’ll have to take care of the dishes.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kelly said as he bent over to hand Lucy a strip of bacon, whereupon Jake sped across the room and skidded to a halt at Kelly’s knee. Kelly laughed and handed over an equal portion. “Now that’s it,” he growled, turning back to his plate. “A man could starve to death around this place.”
Gillian cleaned her plate and carried it over to the sink. “I’ve got to run,” she said. She leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Take care of the kids and give me a buzz when you get back.”
“That’s a promise.” Kelly snaked his arm around her waist and drew her against his chest. “We’ve got a date for the Stagecoach, remember?”
“You bet,” she said, hugging him back. Then stepping out of his arms, she stopped to stroke the dogs before letting herself out the door.
Kelly picked up his plate, tossed each of the dogs a last scrap of bacon and moved toward the kitchen. “I’d say we’ve got ourselves a couple of thoroughbreds,” he said to Jake but the dog kept his mind on the bacon.
By ten o’clock Kelly had the cabin shaped up and himself ready for a run to the store. He planned to stock up a bit for Stella, then stop at the Hideaway to let Cam know about the new helper he had coming onboard. Grabbing his jacket, he opened the door and whistled for the dogs. Jake and Lucy bounded past him and leapt off the porch.
Kelly stepped lightly on his way down the hill to Old Blue. He’d taken some major steps in getting his life back on track. Gillian was one hell of a woman and he had a feeling they’d be seeing a lot more of each other.
The dogs ran alongside Kelly until he cleared the gate then veered off toward the creek. No doubt they’d pay Bubba a visit and catch up with Kelly later at the Hideaway.
He didn’t need much from the store, so he opted for the small market. Stella would probably eat most of her meals at the bar, seeing Cam still had the barbecues in full swing and she could run into town if she needed anything that wasn’t in stock.