Her Colton Lawman

by Carla Cassidy

  “I’m surprised nobody has moved into the Miller house,” Mike said.

  “Too obvious,” Flint replied. “Either man would know we’d be keeping an eye on the place. Put on your gloves and let’s get all of this stuff out of the shed and into the car. We should be able to pull a fingerprint off something that will let us know which man was here.”

  While Patrick and Mike got to work, Flint walked the general area, looking for anything that might provide further clues. They’d found one mole hole, but how many more were there in these woods?

  Was Jimmy now so desperate that he’d have the guts to hit an officer over the head? Was it possible the two men were now working together to keep hidden?

  They had talked to every friend and acquaintance of both Jimmy and Hank. They’d checked all the abandoned or empty storefronts in town. They’d even begun a search of sheds and outbuildings on properties of the people in town, although that particular search was far from over. But this incident today told him that both fugitives were hiding out here, in the vast woods.

  Flint entered a small clearing between the house and the shed, his frustration at a peak. The lead from Harvey had been solid. They should have somebody in custody, and the fact that they didn’t burned in his gut.

  He looked up at the trees, wondering if whoever had run from them had been in the branches and had seen their approach. He gazed down at the ground, looking for any kind of footprints that might have been left behind.

  He froze as he saw a small black box on the ground. It was a familiar velvet box. His heart squeezed tight as he leaned down to pick it up. This was the jewelry box that contained the Colton heirloom ring.

  The odds were good that Jimmy had been staying in the shed, and when he’d made a dash for it, he’d dropped the box. At least Flint would be able to soothe Molly’s devastation about the missing ring.

  By that time Patrick and Mike had gathered up the items from the shed and joined Flint. “What did you find?” Patrick asked.

  “The Colton heirloom ring that Jimmy stole. He must have dropped it when he beat tracks out of here,” Flint said.

  “Molly will be happy that you got it back,” Mike said.

  “I’m happy to have it back,” Flint replied. He opened the box and his heart fell to his feet. Where there should be the glittering gem of the Colton ring, there was nothing.

  * * *

  “You covered all of Main Street?” Nina asked Abe.

  “And up and down Oak and in every storefront along the way,” Abe replied. “Trust me, nobody can go five steps without seeing a flier for the Thanksgiving celebration here.”

  “Great,” Nina exclaimed. Despite her breakdown of the night before, she’d awakened with her usual excitement and optimism. Of course, making love with Flint the night before might have had something to do with her exceptionally cheerful mood this morning.

  She sent Abe off to the kitchen to help Charley, even though the lunch crowd had already left, and she went into her office where Wilma and Molly were carefully unpacking the centerpieces onto a long table she’d set up so that they could be cleaned and shiny for the big day.

  “How’s it going, ladies?” she asked.

  “These are going to look so pretty on the tables and booths,” Molly replied as she unwrapped one of the candle displays from the brown packing paper.

  “We’ve got half of them unpacked, and so far we’ve only found one candle that’s broken,” Wilma said.

  “Let me know what you find broken when you have them all unpacked and I’ll call the Home and Hearth to make sure they replace anything that arrived damaged,” Nina said. “You two keep working on this, and I’ll watch the front of the house. I’ll call you if I need you. You never know when we might have a big rush of customers,” she said.

  She ignored Wilma’s snort as she left the office and returned to the dining room. Today was Grace’s day off so Billy wouldn’t be coming in after school today.

  With no customers, Nina made herself a cup of tea and took a seat at the counter, her thoughts instantly going back to Flint and the incredible experience of making love with him.

  She’d known instinctively that he’d be a giving, generous lover, and he had proven that and more. He’d made her feel incredibly beautiful and treasured. What she hadn’t expected was the intensity of his passion, the breathtaking abandon of his desire.

  She would never be able to wear those hot-pink panties again without remembering the fiery burn of his green eyes as he’d slowly removed them from her. She had nearly fallen to her knees with the very sensuality of that single act.

  If she let herself, she could love him, but she wouldn’t allow it. A vision of her father’s angry face filled her head, and the sound of fists against skin rang in her ears.

  Her father beat her mother on a regular basis, and then his buddies would come and take him away for a couple of hours until he cooled down. But he always came back and the cycle continued.

  Throughout her years on the road, Nina had dated, but she’d never allowed any man to get close enough to hurt her physically or emotionally. She refused to be vulnerable to any man.

  Her father could be charming and loving then brutal, and the lasting effect on Nina was that she wasn’t sure if all men had two faces and the ugly, mean face was only shown to those who were closest to them.

  She sipped her tea and pulled herself from thoughts of her distant past. She was a here-and-now kind of woman, not prone to dwelling on old history. She was mentally strong and didn’t need a mate to fulfill her. She didn’t want a man who would demand her complete trust.

  And in the here and now, it was much more exciting to think of being in that bed with Flint. She’d almost asked him to stay, to spend the night with her in her bed so she could wake up in his arms as dawn broke.

  But she was glad she’d fought the impulse. She and Flint had been playing house for a little over two weeks, and it was beginning to feel far too comfortable, far too normal.

  She looked forward to him walking through the diner door to take her home; she loved cooking and eating with him in the evenings. More than anything she enjoyed the time when they sat in the living room and drank a little wine and just talked about anything and everything.

  She admired how close he was to his brother, Theo, and his sister, Gemma, and she prayed every night that his grandmother would rally from the virus that had her so ill.

  The diner door opened, and she was surprised to see Flint walk in. It was only a little after two, far too early for him to be here to take her home.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she asked as he walked over to the counter where she sat.

  “Is Molly working today?” he asked.

  “She’s in my office unpacking the centerpieces. Has something happened?” Nina couldn’t help but be curious. “Did you catch Jimmy?”

  “I wish,” Flint replied. “Unfortunately, I need to tell her something that isn’t going to make her happy.” He sighed and took off his hat and set it on the stool next to Nina. “Should I just go on back?”

  “Wilma is in the office with her.” Nina slid off her stool. “I’ll tell Wilma to take a break and that way you can talk to Molly alone.”

  “Why don’t you stay with me when I talk to her? She might need a little female support.”

  “Whatever you want,” Nina replied. She was surprised when he grabbed her hand as they walked back toward the office. He obviously felt like he needed his own support when he spoke to Molly.

  He must have some sort of bad news, Nina thought, and her stomach twisted in knots. Had Dottie died? Was that what he had to tell Molly?

  “Hey, Flint,” Molly greeted him as they walked into the room. “What are you doing here in the middle of the day?”

  “Wilma, could you take a break? Flint needs t
o speak to Molly.”

  Wilma nodded and left the room while Molly’s blue eyes shot from Nina to Flint in alarm. “Has something bad happened?”

  “We almost caught Jimmy this morning,” Flint said. He explained about searching the shed and finding the items that indicated somebody had been staying there. “We thought we had him but he managed to slip away, but we know it was Jimmy because in a clearing nearby I found this on the ground.”

  Flint pulled out of his pocket a black velvet ring box. Molly gasped, an ecstatic smile sweeping over her face, a smile that instantly fell when Flint opened it to reveal that it was empty.

  “I’m sorry, Molly. It was empty when I found it,” Flint said as tears began to fill Molly’s eyes. She shoved a strand of her long red hair behind her ear, and her tears fell down her cheeks.

  “I thought for a minute that at least you’d gotten the ring back. That’s all I really cared about,” she said and began to sob.

  Nina quickly moved to place an arm around Molly’s shoulder. “Don’t you worry, Molly. Sooner or later Flint will get Jimmy in custody, and you’ll get the ring back.”

  Molly buried her head against Nina’s shoulder, and Nina held tight as the young girl cried out her bitter disappointment. Flint shifted from one foot to the other, obviously upset that he’d had to bring this news to his cousin.

  Jimmy Johnson was just another creep who had managed to put on a good face to fool the soft-hearted, loving Molly. Once he had her believing that he loved her, that he wanted to spend his whole life with her, he’d shown his true face of greed and selfishness.

  Nina hugged Molly tighter until finally the young woman’s tears halted. She stepped out of Nina’s arms and looked at Flint. “What if he’s lost the ring?”

  “He hasn’t lost it,” Flint said with certainty. “It’s worth too much money for him to be careless and lose it. I’m sure he’s got it in a safe place so that once the quarantine is lifted, he can take it with him out of town and sell it.”

  “I just don’t understand how I could have been so fooled by him,” Molly said. “I thought he was the man of my dreams, but he wound up being a total nightmare.”

  Flint threw an arm around her shoulder. “You’re young, Molly. You’ll find that special someone who will love and adore you. You just have to be patient and not let this experience with Jimmy make you close yourself off.”

  Molly offered him a small smile. “And what makes you so smart on matters of the heart? You’re thirty-two years old and still aren’t married.”

  “Don’t you worry about me.” Flint gave her a squeeze and then released her. “When I’m ready and I know exactly who I want, I’ll go after her.”

  His gaze lingered on Nina, and it made her feel hot and bothered and a little bit disturbed all at the same time. She didn’t want Flint falling in love with her. The last thing she wanted to do was break his heart.

  Maybe the look he cast her had nothing to do with anything more than their night spent together in bed, she consoled herself. Certainly she hadn’t been able to get it out of her head throughout today.

  “Molly, why don’t you take a break?” Nina suggested. “Get yourself something to drink and just relax for a little while.”

  Molly nodded and left the office.

  “I can’t tell you how much I was dreading telling her about the missing ring,” Flint said when it was just him and Nina in the office.

  “You’re right in that I don’t believe Jimmy would be careless enough to lose the ring. When you find him, he’ll have it on him,” she said with certainty. “He’ll need whatever money he can get from it if he manages to get out of town.”

  He raked a hand through his dark brown hair. “I’ve got to say, this morning has been one of the more frustrating we’ve had lately. We were so close to getting him, and I still can’t believe he managed to slip away.”

  “At least you know he probably won’t return to the shed. You flushed him out, and now he’ll have to find another place to hide. Maybe he’ll get sloppy or stupid and make a mistake that will allow you to finally grab him.”

  “I’d like to grab Hank, but we can’t seem to find a source to give us any hint where he might be in town. None of his old friends are talking, and there hasn’t even been a sighting of him by anyone that we know of until today.” He told her about Mike being attacked and believing that Hank had been the person who attacked him.

  “How is Mike now?” she asked worriedly.

  “I had him go to the clinic where the doctor basically told him he has a big lump on his head but no concussion. I sent him home for the rest of the day.”

  “One day at a time, Flint. Sooner or later you’ll have them both behind bars.”

  He smiled at her gratefully. “You make me feel like I can do anything. By the way, I saw posters advertising your Thanksgiving Day event all over town.”

  She leaned against her desk and smiled. “I had Abe hit the streets first thing this morning to get them up. Hopefully, it won’t sleet or snow between now and Thanksgiving so they’ll stay in good condition.”

  “The last weather report I heard was for clear and cold for the rest of the week and into next week. And that reminds me. You didn’t buy a coat when we shopped for things for you. I could swing by the store and get one for you if you’ll tell me your size and what you want.”

  She told him her size. “Just a warm black coat, and I’ll pay you for it when we get home this evening.”

  “I think I can manage buying you a coat without you worrying about paying me back,” he said. And now I’d better get out of here. I’m heading to the clinic to check on things there, but I should be back here by five.”

  They left the office together. “If you’re a little late in getting back here, don’t worry about it. I’m not going anyplace without you.”

  “And that’s the way I like it,” he replied. He grabbed his hat from the stool and with a wave of his hand, he disappeared out the door.

  “That man looks at you as if you’re his favorite piece of pie,” Wilma observed from her perch on a chair behind the counter.

  “Don’t be silly,” Nina scoffed, but there was no question that even though she had wanted the night with Flint, she was starting to believe that making love with him had been a huge mistake.

  Chapter 8

  Flint headed toward the clinic with a heavy heart. It had already been a crappy day. Losing Jimmy in the woods had been bad enough, but having Mike attacked and then having to break Molly’s heart all over again about the missing ring had been even more difficult. All he could hope for now was that when he got to the clinic his grandmother would still be fighting, still be holding her own against the virus.

  He’d just stepped out of his car when he was met by Dr. Rafe Granger. “I need to get out of here for a while,” he said to Flint. “Are you on duty or can you take me to the Dead River Bar where we can get a couple of beers and share a little talk?”

  Flint was surprised. While he and Rafe had been close as teenagers, they’d hardly had time to really reconnect since both of them had returned to Dead River.

  “Get in. You can get a beer, and I’ll grab some of Sally Jean’s terrible coffee,” Flint replied.

  Flint got back in the car while Rafe slid into the passenger seat. “Before we leave, I need to tell you we’ve had a hell of an afternoon here, and your grandmother’s condition has worsened.”

  Flint gripped the steering wheel and stared at Rafe. His heart squeezed so tight he could barely manage to speak. “Is she going to be all right?”

  “I wish I could tell you yes, but at this point, I honestly don’t know. We managed to get her stabilized once again, but she’s weaker than she’s been.”

  Flint started the car and headed out toward Main Street. “Did something happen to change
her condition?”

  “Last night Lucas thought he’d come up with a serum that would cure the virus. He decided to test it on three patients—your grandmother, Tyler Miles and Wiley Simms. He gave them each the serum last night and then just after noon today all hell broke loose. Your grandmother’s fever spiked, Tyler Miles regained consciousness and Wiley Simms died.”

  Rafe’s voice was heavy with emotion. “The worst part was that we couldn’t get Lucas off Wiley. Even after the man had been dead for fifteen minutes, Lucas continued to work on him in an effort to bring him back. It took three of us to finally pull him away and get him out of the isolation ward.”

  The two men remained silent until Flint had parked in front of the Dead River Bar. They entered the dimly lit establishment, and Rafe led the way to a booth in the back even though there were no other customers in the place.

  Sally Jean Mabry, part owner and occasional bartender sashayed her way to the booth. She was an older woman, but you wouldn’t know it by the tightness of her jeans or the coquettish smile that greeted them. “Well, if it isn’t two of the most handsome men in the entire town.”

  “I’ll take a beer,” Rafe said, cutting short any opportunity for Sally to do her usual flirting.

  “And I’ll have a cup of coffee,” Flint added.

  Sally, obviously getting the message that neither man was in the mood for any fun, headed back to the bar to fill their orders. It took her only moments to set a cold frosted mug of beer in front of Rafe and a hot cup of coffee before Flint.

  “So, Rand’s magic elixir killed one, made one worse and made one better,” Flint said.

  “Which means it isn’t the magic elixir we’ve been searching for.” Rafe raised his mug and took a drink and then continued, “Lucas was devastated by Mimi’s death. Even though she divorced him, I think he still loved her. He took her death so hard and has been so frantic to come up with something to help. He’s in that lab day and night. Sooner or later he’s going to crash and burn and be no help to anyone.”