“Well, yes,” Sassy answered. “Isn’t she the woman who saved your life?”
Unconsciously, Evan’s fingers rose to the fresh scar above his ear. Noelle had done more than save his life. She’d jerked a few scales from his eyes. Even so, he wasn’t at all sure he should get involved with her. Hell, he wasn’t even sure she’d let him pursue her in a romantic way. Not after she’d run from his kiss like a rabbit from a fox. And what if she did allow him to pursue her? Would he want something lasting to come of it? He’d been so wrong about Bianca, he wasn’t sure he could trust his judgment about women anymore.
“Yes, but— Never mind. I’ll be there one way or the other. Now I’ve got to get back to work. Thanks for the invite, Sis.”
“Okay. See you Friday,” she said cheerily.
Swiveling the chair back toward his desk, Evan hung up the telephone while Vincent studied him with a wry expression.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than to sit around eavesdropping on my phone calls?” Evan asked. “We’ve got a load of cases to solve!”
“Yes, sir!” Vincent snatched up a fistful of papers from his desk. “I’ll get right to work. I won’t even ask you about this Noelle—whoever she is.”
Thankfully, Vincent decided to go quiet, and Evan tried to resume his study of the notes he’d made on the Watson evidence. But after five minutes, his mind was still refusing to focus. All he could think about was Noelle being alone out there on those windswept hills with no one to help her do anything, much less celebrate her birthday and Christmas.
With a groan, Evan left his desk and reached for the jacket and hat he’d left hanging on a coat rack.
“Where are you going?”
Evan levered his Stetson onto his head. “I have something to do. I won’t be long.”
“You don’t need your partner to help you?”
“Not this time. This is personal.”
* * *
Later that evening, shortly before dark, Noelle had just finished her chores and was at the barn unsaddling Lonesome when she heard a vehicle approaching.
Curious about who it might be, she balanced the weight of the saddle on her hip and turned to gaze toward the house. The sight of Evan’s truck rolling to a stop in the front yard pushed her heart into a rapid rhythm. She’d never expected to see him again. What was he doing here?
Her mind whirling with questions, she put the saddle in the tack room and left the barn. By the time she’d walked up the hill to the house, Evan was at the front door, holding a huge red poinsettia. The sight of him and the festive plant was like a dose of warm sun after a long, cold winter.
“The door is open,” she told him. “Go on in.”
At the sound of her voice, he whirled around to see her standing a few feet behind him.
Smiling, he asked, “Where did you come from?”
“The barn. If I’d been a bear, you would’ve been in trouble.”
To her surprise, his expression turned sheepish. “I’m probably already in trouble with you.”
She crossed the few feet of bare dirt until she was standing next to him at the door. It was all she could do to stop herself from looping her arm through his and jerking him into the house. He smelled so wonderful. Like a clean mountain meadow full of grass and sunshine. And the apologetic grin on his face warmed the cold, lonely spots inside her.
Stepping around him, she opened the front door and gestured for him to enter. “What makes you think you’d be in trouble with me?”
“I haven’t called or been around.”
She followed him into the house, then turned and shut the door behind her. “You never promised to call or come. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you or see you.” But she’d been hoping, she thought. Hoping far too much.
“Well, you didn’t exactly give me a chance to promise anything.”
“I know. And I’m sorry about that, Evan,” she said ruefully. “I wasn’t running away from you. But I guess it looked like that, didn’t it?”
“Pretty much. But I didn’t come here to talk about that.” He handed the plant to her. After she’d taken it, he pulled another long box from beneath his arm and waved it at her. “I thought you needed the flower to make the house look like Christmas. And this is to give you energy.”
Laughing, she placed the beautiful poinsettia on the coffee table. “Energy? I realize I look tired, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“You don’t look tired,” he corrected her. “But I figure with all the work you do, you must be.”
Shaking her head, she accepted the box from him and opened the lid to reveal several rows of fancy chocolate candies.
“Oh, yum. I’ve been building fence all afternoon. I think I can afford to eat at least three.” She carried the box over to the couch and sat down. “Want to join me?”
He eased out of his jacket, then placed it over the arm of a chair and added his hat on top. As Noelle watched his easy movements, she was reminded of how it had felt to be crushed against his rock-hard muscles and have his mouth consuming hers. After she’d been hurt and deceived by Phillip, she’d believed she’d never be able to feel passion again. She’d never met another man she wanted to sit next to, much less kiss. Having Evan wake up all that sleeping desire had left her both stunned and worried.
Sitting beside her, he rested his arm across the back of the couch behind her. “Don’t tell me you build fence, too. I thought you told me you hired hands from the Double X when you needed extra work done.”
“I do hire them when it’s time to work the whole herd with vaccinations and castrating. Building fence isn’t what I consider extra work. It’s a fairly frequent chore. And I’d been putting off repairing that stretch of fence over by the gulch, the one you crossed over on Lonesome the day of your accident.”
His eyes suddenly went dark and narrow. “You’ve been way out there today? Fixing fence?”
Confused by his reaction, she shrugged. “That’s right. I’m a long way from finished. There was more of it down than I thought. But if the snow holds off, I should get most of it done in the next few days.”
He took the box of candy from her lap and placed it on the coffee table, then reached over and pressed her hand between his.
“I’d rather you didn’t, Noelle.”
Frowning, she shook her head. “Listen, Evan. I’m a big, strong girl. I know how to dig a posthole and stretch wire. I learned that from my uncle Rob years ago. It’s no big deal.”
“That’s not the problem. I’m concerned about you being out there alone. Remember? I told you the body we discovered was only a mile or a little more from the gulch.”
“He didn’t die on my property.”
“We’re not sure where he died, exactly,” Evan informed her. “We know only where his body was dumped after he was dead. That’s what I was doing the day you found me—trying to figure out what direction the killer had come from and why he’d chosen that spot.”
“Killer? Body dumped? So it was a homicide,” she said with surprise. “What happened to him? Or are you allowed to say?”
“I’m sure the cause of death will be released at some point in the future. And I don’t expect you’d be repeating whatever I say to anyone else.”
Frowning, she said, “Other than Jessi at the Grubstake or my neighbor to the south, I don’t do much chatting. And even if I did, I don’t reveal things that are said to me in confidence.”
“You have a neighbor to the south? How far from here?”
“Oh, maybe five miles. Bernice Stivers. She’s seventy-five. Her husband died about six years ago. She lives alone now. But she’s in good enough health to take care of herself, and she has a nephew who comes by frequently to check on her. Or so she says. I’ve never seen the guy. Why? What does my neighbor have to
do with all this?”
“Nothing. I just wasn’t aware there was another house near here. Mrs. Stivers must be over in Douglas County, otherwise I would’ve already questioned her.”
“I believe her place is in Douglas County. But I’m not sure. I rarely ever drive over in that direction.”
He stared thoughtfully at a spot across the room before he finally turned his gaze back to hers. “Sorry, Noelle. I was just trying to piece a few things together. As for the victim, he died from being injected with a lethal dose of bute.”
Noelle’s mouth fell open. “Are you talking about phenylbutazone?”
Evan nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Oh, my. I have a bottle of that stored away in the kitchen. The vet prescribed it for Driller when he hurt his ankle. Now you’re going to get the notion that I could be a murderer.”
“Why on earth would I think that?”
Realizing how ridiculous she sounded, she glanced away from his probing gaze. “Well, you are a lawman first and foremost. Just because I have some of the drug, you could be thinking I found a trespasser on my land and got so angry that I shot him full of the stuff.”
Squeezing her hand, he let out a short laugh. “You really should try your hand at writing fiction, Noelle. You have quite an imagination.”
She’d not had an imagination before Andy had been shot by that policeman. But after her brother’s senseless death, it was easy for her to picture a lawman jumping to the wrong conclusions. Until she’d met this man sitting close to her side. Evan was doing something to the confusion and hate and resentment she’d been carrying around for all these years. He was forcing her to ask herself exactly why Andy had wound up in that deadly situation in the first place. A lawman certainly hadn’t forced him to ride around with a car full of criminals who’d already been in and out of the court system.
Clearing her throat, she said, “Sorry. Please finish the rest of your thought.”
“What I’m concerned about, Noelle, is that you live on this isolated ranch with no one else around. Right now I’m only guessing, but I have a gut feeling the crime might be related to cattle rustling. If it is, you could be a vulnerable target.”
An uneasy shiver rippled down her spine, and she rose and walked across the room. She rarely ever worried over her own safety, but when it came to her cattle, that was another thing. “Damn it, Evan, is this the only reason you came out here tonight? When I first saw you with the flower, I was—well, I was happy. Now I think all you wanted was to scare me with this stuff that has no bearing on me.”
With her back to him, she didn’t know he was anywhere near until his hands closed around her upper arms. She sighed as he pulled her back against him and pressed his lips to the top of her head.
“Forgive me, Noelle. I didn’t mean to get carried away. None of that is why I’m here. I wanted to see you. I wanted to tell you how much I’ve missed you these past few days. And I wanted to invite you to drive into town with me tonight and watch the Christmas parade.”
Her heart was suddenly spilling over with emotions that had no rhyme or reason. She knew only that whatever she felt was warm and wonderful, and she never wanted it to end.
Turning to face him, she rested her hands against the middle of his white shirt. The fabric was stiff with starch, but the barrier couldn’t prevent the warmth of his chest from permeating right through to her fingers.
“Really?” she asked.
He smiled. “Really. Why does that surprise you?”
She let out a long breath. “Everything about you surprises me, Evan. After the other night, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. I was afraid everything I’d told you about myself had put you off.”
Groaning, he cradled her head against his chest and stroked his fingers through her hair. “Oh, Noelle, I’ve been telling myself that I should forget you. That I don’t want to get serious about you. And that you don’t want to get serious about me. I’ve even been trying to tell myself those kisses we shared meant nothing. But it hasn’t worked. I want the chance to be with you. I think we deserve to give each other a try. Don’t you?”
Her throat too thick to speak, she rose up on tiptoes and answered his question with a hungry kiss.
Once their lips finally parted, Evan murmured, “If you keep this up, I’m going to forget all about the Christmas parade.”
Laughing softly, she pulled away from him. “Then I’d better go change clothes so we can be going.” She started out of the room and tossed impishly over her shoulder, “I’ll hurry.”
She’d hurry back to the first real joy she’d felt in a long, long time, she thought. And deal with her worries tomorrow.
Chapter Eight
By the time Evan and Noelle arrived in town, the night had turned very cold, but the weather hadn’t discouraged a large crowd from gathering along the streets. Evan found a parking spot two blocks over from the parade route, and they walked the distance until they reached the sidewalks crammed with people young and old.
Eventually, they found a place to stand where both of them had a decent view of the street. As Noelle sidled close to Evan, she looked up at him with excitement.
“I can’t remember the last time I saw a parade. I’d almost forgotten the anticipation that hangs over the crowd. Can you feel it?”
Even though his arm was already wound tightly around her waist, he somehow managed to pull her even closer. Bending his head to her ear, he said, “I can feel how good it is to have you next to me.”
This man was making her feel like a vixen. Something about the touch of his hand and the warm, husky sound of his voice reminded her what it was like to flirt with a man and invite him to make love to her.
Flashing him a wicked little grin, she said, “You’re here to watch bands and floats and see Santa Claus. Remember?”
“Oh. How could I have forgotten that?” he teased her.
She was about to give him a playful reply when a siren sounded in the distance. A group of nearby kids began to jump and shout with eagerness.
“Here it comes,” Evan announced. “Can you see? Or do I need to set you on my shoulders?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Listen, Detective Calhoun, I’ve already taken you to the emergency room once. I don’t want to have to take you again with a broken back.”
He laughed loudly and then once again lowered his mouth to her ear. “I think I’m going to have to show you that I’m not a weakling.”
The suggestive tone in his voice left no doubt where his thoughts were heading. Suddenly, after all the years, the idea of being intimate with a man seemed good and natural. Yet at the same time, she couldn’t stop herself from wondering how she would feel when everything ended and they’d gone their separate ways.
Don’t think about that tonight, Noelle. Just think about the pleasure of being with Evan and let the rest take care of itself.
“Maybe I ought to show you that I’m not an Amazon,” she murmured.
He said nothing to that, but the smile on his face was full of promises.
For the next half hour, they watched school marching bands playing Christmas songs, floats representing local businesses and charities, and a large group of horses and riders. Finally, at the end of the procession, Santa and several elves appeared riding in a sleigh pulled by four white burros.
As the sleigh passed by Evan and Noelle, the elves showered the onlookers with pieces of wrapped candy. Laughing, Evan helped her scoop some up and stuff them into her pocket.
“The horses will love the peppermints,” she told him. “I’ll share the other flavors with you.”
“I have a better idea.” Grabbing her hand, he led her out of the crowd. “Now that the parade has ended, let’s go eat supper.”
* * *
He took
her to a tiny Mexican café on the outskirts of town. After a simple meal of tamales and rice, they headed back to Noelle’s place.
Once he stopped the truck in front of the house, he cut the motor and turned toward her. In the dim glow of the dashboard lights, he could see her studying him with soft, watchful eyes.
“If you don’t invite me in tonight, you’re going to see a grown man cry,” he murmured.
A tiny smile tilted the corners of her mouth, and it was all Evan could do to keep from groaning. Just looking at her lips made him hungry, made him forget that she was still trying to get over being hurt and disillusioned by a man she’d loved and trusted.
“I can’t bear the thought of that,” she said. “Come on and we’ll dive into that box of chocolates.”
Inside the house, Evan took off his jacket and hat while Noelle removed her own coat. As she headed out of the room, she said, “I’ll be in the kitchen making coffee.”
After he’d put his things on an armchair and run a hand through his flattened hair, he plucked up the box of chocolates from the coffee table and carried it to the kitchen. As he looked around the quiet room, he noticed there were no dishes piled in the sink tonight. Everything was neat and in its place.
Probably because she hadn’t done any cooking and eating today, he thought wryly. She’d been out by that damned gulch repairing the fence. But there was little he could do about that. She was the epitome of an independent woman. He couldn’t tell her what to do or where to go on her own ranch.
That thought and what it meant to him was still rolling around in his head when she entered the room and walked straight over to the coffeepot.
Before she had a chance to pop in a filter, he said, “You don’t have to make that especially for me.”
Her brows arched in question. “Aren’t you staying long enough to drink a cup?”
Leaving the box of treats on the table, he strode over and rested his hands on her shoulders. “I’m not leaving anytime soon. I’m just not wanting coffee or candy. I’m wanting…you.”
The sharp intake of her breath told him that he’d shocked her with his bluntness, but he didn’t understand why his feelings had come as a surprise to her. The moment she’d kissed him, he’d known something had changed in her. Instead of snatching at what she thought she shouldn’t have, her kiss had been confident and full of promises. And all evening long, he’d been feeling the electricity building between them. Now desire hummed inside him like an overloaded power line.
The Lawman's Noelle (Men of the West Book 31) Page 11