Leather and Lace

by Jessie Evans

  Sawyer had intended to take a look around, and do a few sketches to send back to Felix so they could start brainstorming the best way to reinforce the foundation over the cavern. Now, his exploration was going to end with a call to the police.

  “I’m good, but this guy isn’t,” Sawyer called up to the surface. “There’s a body down here.”

  Mia’s head appeared at the edge of the hole in the floor a moment later, her curls wild around her face. “What?”

  “Get back from the edge,” Sawyer said, heart chugging at the thought of her falling into the cavern. “Those boards could give any minute.”

  “Did you say a body?” Mia asked, ignoring him.

  “Yes, a body,” he said in a more heated tone. “Now get back from the edge, before you give me a heart attack.” He tugged the rope. “I’m ready to come up.”

  The tension on the rope tightened, and Sawyer’s harness dug into his waist and thighs as he began climbing up the rocks, out of the cavern. When he reached the top, he swung one leg over and rolled across the floor to where the pulley system was set upon the more solid boards near the door.

  Before he had a chance to stand up, Mia was kneeling beside him, her hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

  He nodded, grateful for her calming touch. He’d seen his share of dead bodies, but it never got any easier. “I’m fine, but we should call the police. The bones looked old so I doubt the murder happened recently, but we can’t know for sure. Desert insects can pick a skeleton clean pretty quickly.”

  Mia’s hand came to cover her mouth, muffling her voice. “I can’t believe this. I wonder who it could be?”

  “There was that Wallace girl who went missing,” Bubba said, leaning down to unhook the rope from Sawyer’s harness. “She disappeared a few years before we graduated high school.”

  “Judging by the size of the skeleton and what’s left of the clothing, I think it’s a man’s body.” Sawyer came to his feet, and began unbuckling himself from the harness. “I can’t be sure, but I think he was stabbed before he was pushed into the cavern. There’s a knife still wedged between his ribs.”

  Mia shook her head. “I can’t think of any men who’ve disappeared, but my uncle will know. Uncle Ned’s been the chief of police since I was a little girl. I’ll call him, and see what he wants us to do.”

  While Mia stepped out to the street to place a call to her uncle, Sawyer and Bubba dismantled the pulley system, fitting it back into Sawyer’s equipment case. They were quiet, the upbeat mood that had followed them as they’d inspected the rest of the town evaporating in this haunted space.

  Speaking of haunted, now that Sawyer knew there was a body hidden beneath the jailhouse floor, the ghostly touch he’d felt the other day took on new meaning.

  “I don’t believe in ghosts,” he said, exiting the building with Bubba close behind him. “But that place makes my skin crawl.”

  Bubba grunted. “Glad to hear it. I was afraid it was just me. I didn’t want to admit I was about to wet my pants, and lose manly points.”

  Sawyer smiled, but his grin vanished as Mia ended her call and crossed to meet them at the base of the stairs. “What’s up?”

  “Ned’s going to be out here with a team in the next half hour,” Mia said. “He said he’ll need us to give a report. I told him we could leave your pulley system for them to use to get down to the body. Is that okay?”

  Sawyer nodded. “Of course. It won’t take ten minutes to set it back up. And I’m happy to stay and help haul people up and down.”

  Mia sighed and a smile flickered briefly across her lips before vanishing. “Thank you so much. I’m so sorry about this.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Sawyer said. “I doubt it’s the fault of anyone who’s still alive. The Old West wasn’t a gentle place. People met bad ends every day.”

  Mia shook her head. “But not here. From everything I’ve read in Amelia’s journals, Lonesome Point was a haven from that kind of thing. I mean, it was still rough, and far from perfect, but Amelia and her friends maintained order. People who would do something like this weren’t welcome in town, and they never stayed long.”

  Sawyer nodded, squinting into the sunlight streaming from behind the butte. “I’d be interested in taking a look at those journals, if I could. Sometimes old journals and letters can help fill in the blanks during a restoration.”

  “Of course.” Mia crossed her arms as her loose tee shirt threatened to blow up in the wind. In a tee shirt and battered jean shorts, she looked every bit as sexy as she had the other night in her tight jeans and silky shirt. He’d been looking forward to being alone with her tonight all day, but now, he didn’t know if she’d be up for keeping their date.

  “Gram had them scanned into a digital file a few years ago,” Mia continued. “I can get everything to you on a flash drive when we meet up tonight.”

  Their eyes met, and Sawyer smiled, the knowledge that they were still on for later enough to lift his spirits, even at a time like this. He couldn’t wait to put this unexpected darkness behind them and spend the night with Mia. He’d had a good time with her and Bubba as they toured the property—she told the hell out of a story, and the banter between the two old friends had been fun to witness—but he was ready to be alone with her.

  Their talk last night at the bar had only made him more intrigued. He loved that Mia had a strong hold on what she believed to be right and wrong, but was also capable of compassion, even when she didn’t know the entire story. Holding her hand last night had been…intense in a way he hadn’t expected. The rush of feeling he’d experienced as he looked into her soft brown eyes should have been a warning to keep his distance, but he didn’t want to stay away. He wanted to get closer, as close as two people could get.

  Even now, meeting her gaze in the harsh sunlight only moments after finding a murder victim, Sawyer’s breath still came faster and the air between them felt thick with possibilities.

  “I think I hear sirens,” Bubba said, heading toward the gate. “I’ll let Ned in.”

  Sawyer turned, straining his ears, but heard nothing but the wind whipping through the gaps in the wooden planks of the old saloon.

  “He’s giving us space,” Mia said, coming to stand beside him. “Bubba’s into you.”

  Sawyer glanced down at her, lifting a questioning brow.

  Mia laughed. “For me. He’s into you for me. He tried to bow out of the tour today, but I thought it might be good to have a pair of strong arms in case any more floors collapsed.”

  “Good idea,” Sawyer said. “He was a big help with the pulley. Glad I had someone around to drag me up quick. I’m not a big fan of dead bodies.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Mia said again. “I can’t believe—” She broke off, turning toward the gate.

  This time, Sawyer heard the sirens, and within a few minutes, saw the red and blue flashing lights as the police cars veered off the main road, kicking up dust as they steered toward the fenced off part of Old Town. The sight reminded him of a different murder scene years ago, one a hell of a lot more personal. His stomach twisted and his throat went tight, but he forced his thoughts back to how much he was looking forward to his date with Mia.

  By the time Mia’s uncle—a tall, balding man with kind brown eyes, and a soft-spoken voice that seemed to put everyone at ease—arrived at the jailhouse, Sawyer had his emotions under control. He gave Ned his statement, and then helped two of the officers set up the pulley system.

  Ned himself volunteered to get strapped into the harness and lowered into the cavern. Sawyer wasn’t sure the sixty-something year old man was up to the job—the climb back up was challenging, even with help from the pulley system—but Mia didn’t bat an eyelash as Sawyer strapped her uncle into the equipment. Ned was obviously in good shape, and if Mia thought he could handle it, Sawyer trusted her.

  He lowered the older man down, and manned the pulley while Ned took pictures, made notes on his recorder and occasionally
shouted up a code to one of his men. Fifteen minutes later, Ned was back up, and another officer went down. Not long after, the pieces of Mr. X began to be lifted out of the cavern in a series of see-through plastic bags.

  Sawyer watched for a few moments, until the tightness in his chest and the memories pressing in from all sides began to be too much. He turned—intending to ask Mia if she wanted to ride back to town on his bike with him—but she was already out in the street, leaning against Bubba, looking pale despite the late afternoon heat. Sawyer moved toward them, his own discomfort forgotten when he saw the haunted expression on Mia’s face.

  “Hey there,” she said, with a shaky smile. “We were just getting ready to go. Bubba’s going to give me a ride. I’ll see you at my place, later?”

  Sawyer nodded. “Okay. Drive safe.”

  “Will do,” Bubba said, tightening his arm around Mia’s shoulders as he led her toward the gate.

  A part of Sawyer envied the other man—he wanted to be the one offering Mia comfort, to be the shoulder she could lean on—but the more rational part of him insisted this was for the best. Bubba was one of her oldest friends. He’d always been there for her in the past, and he would be there for her in the future. No matter how much Sawyer was starting to care about Mia, he was just passing through. She wasn’t his to comfort, and no matter how much fun they had together, she never would be.

  He knew he was right, but being right didn’t make it any easier to watch Bubba steer his truck toward town, carrying Mia away down the dusty road.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Thursday morning, Mia had been as anxious as she was excited about her impending date with Sawyer. But after an afternoon spent giving statements to the police and watching Ned’s men bring up plastic bags full of human remains, she was eager for anything that would take her mind off the bad things. She didn’t want to think about crime scenes, or the yellow tape that had been taped across the front door of her apartment for days after Paul broke in through her bedroom window. She wanted to think of good times and new possibilities.

  She dressed quickly—throwing on a jean skirt, her favorite peach tee shirt, and a filmy multi-colored scarf that brought out the caramel flecks in her eyes—and hurried out of her too-quiet shop. Outside, the sun was already setting, casting the street in a soothing amber glow. The leaves on the trees along Main Street shushed in a gentle breeze, creating a calming soundtrack that soothed her nerves as she headed toward Sawyer’s hotel.

  She was still a block away when the man himself sauntered down the wooden steps leading to the saloon, and her pulse picked back up. In a fresh, dust-free pair of jeans and the same white button-up he’d worn the first time he’d asked her out, he looked as studly as ever.

  More importantly, he looked safe.

  Sawyer had been a rock the entire afternoon. Even Bubba had hung back when Ned went down to photograph the body, but Sawyer had kept his cool and been a big help to her uncle and his men. Mia knew Sawyer had another fan in Uncle Ned—Ned had given her a wink and a thumbs-up after his goodbye hug—and Mia couldn’t deny that she was impressed. It wasn’t simply that Sawyer had kept his head in a crisis, it was that he hadn’t been too macho to admit that stumbling upon a murder scene was disturbing.

  It was getting harder and harder to believe she had ever been intimidated by Sawyer’s size or physical presence. So far, he seemed sweet, sincere, and admirably grounded for a guy who had probably had women throwing themselves at his feet since he was a teenager. He was also kind and helpful and…suffice it to say, he was growing on her in a big way.

  “Hey there.” Sawyer smiled when he saw her walking toward him, his eyes lighting with pleasure. “I was just coming to get you.”

  “I was ready early, so I thought I’d meet you here.” Mia stopped next to him on the sidewalk, flattered, and a little flustered, that he looked so happy to see her. “It was too quiet in my house.”

  Sawyer nodded. “In my room, too. I’ve been down at the bar for the past half hour.”

  Mia propped her hands on her hips and glared up at him in mock anger. “So you’ve been pre-gaming without me? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Sawyer laughed. “Just a light beer. Nothing serious.”

  “Good.” Mia took the arm he offered, relishing the feel of his solid flesh beneath her fingers as they started down the sidewalk toward the square. “Because I hear there’s going to be a tequila tasting booth at the market tonight, and, I’m not going to lie, a shot or two of tequila sounds pretty good after a day like today.”

  “How are you holding up?” Sawyer asked, the playful note vanishing from his voice. “You looked pretty pale when Bubba was pulling away.”

  Mia shrugged. “I’m okay. I just hope the body is as old as everyone’s guessing. I’d hate to think someone has been dumping murder victims on our land recently. Gram’s already a wreck. I could barely get two words in on the phone this afternoon.”

  Sawyer nodded. “She seemed upset when she called me, too. And eager to make sure I didn’t spread the story. I gathered she thought the discovery would be bad for business.”

  “If the bones are a couple hundred years old, I don’t think it will be,” Mia said. “But if it’s a more recent murder, then yeah…I guess so.” She shuddered. “I can’t think about it that way, yet. I just want to make sure that it’s no one’s husband or father down there. Which reminds me…”

  Mia slipped her hand from the crook of Sawyer’s arm, and fished her flash drive from the front pocket of her jean skirt. “I skimmed through a few sections of Amelia’s journal while I was putting it on the drive. I looked for any entries about men who had disappeared around the time the jail was being built, but I couldn’t find anything. The jail, hotel, and saloon went up around the same time, just a few days after Amelia’s husband died, and she was kind of preoccupied with the funeral arrangements and everything else.”

  Sawyer slipped the drive into his front pocket before capturing her hand and tucking it back into his arm, making Mia’s pulse flutter. He obviously enjoyed her touch as much as she enjoyed his. It made her wonder how much touching they were going to get around to tonight, but she pushed the thought from her head.

  She wasn’t going to overthink things this time around. She and Sawyer had agreed to have a good time together, without any strings, and that’s what she was determined to do. Dwelling on her relationship with Paul hadn’t done a damn thing to protect her from a world of heartache. It was time to see how flying by the seat of her pants worked out when it came to the opposite sex.

  “Thanks for this,” Sawyer said. “I was poking around at the library this morning before I met you at the site, but I couldn’t find many intimate details about Old Town. I did read some interesting things about your great great whatever grandmother, though.”

  “Oh yeah?” Mia curled her fingers into his arm and swayed a little closer, enjoying the way they fit together as they walked.

  He smiled down at her, flexing enough for it to be adorable, not cheesy. “It said she joined the wagon train to Lonesome Point with her father, but became Rupert’s lover after her father was killed along the trail. Reading between the lines, it sounded like Rupert wasn’t the type to buy the cow when he was already getting the milk for free, if you know what I mean. It seemed their wedding a few months after the company arrived in Lonesome Point came as a surprise to most people.”

  Mia hummed through her closed lips. “Yeah, I’ve heard that version of the story. The way Gram tells it, Rupert and Amelia became engaged along the trail, but didn’t consummate the marriage until their wedding night. Though it’s hard to believe Amelia got pregnant with her son after sleeping with Rupert only once. I mean, it could happen, I guess, but the odds are against it.” Mia shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I preferred to believe the more romantic version of the story.”

  “Romantic or not, it’s still tragic,” Sawyer said, hesitating a moment before he added in a too casual tone. “Especiall
y that business about the curse.”

  Mia stiffened, and her steps stuttered for a moment before she picked up her pace.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Fine,” she said, waving a breezy hand in the air. “Tripped on the sidewalk. We need a new one. I’m going to bug the betterment society about that the next time they get a hair up their butt to make new banners for the Fourth of July picnic instead of filling in all the cracks around here.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about the curse?” Sawyer asked, obviously not the kind who was easily distracted. “It seems like you usually enjoy telling your family’s stories.”

  Mia shrugged again, keeping her eyes on the lighted booths of the farmer’s market at the end of the block. “It didn’t seem relevant to the restoration, I guess.”

  “But you’re the first born daughter of your generation, aren’t you?” Sawyer pressed. “So wouldn’t you be next in line to suffer the curse?”

  Mia forced a laugh. “You don’t believe in stuff like that, do you?”

  “No, I don’t.” Sawyer stopped at the edge of the square, before they entered the throng of people gathered for Third Thursday. “But I wonder if you do. Is that why you haven’t dated anyone since you moved back to town?”

  Mia rolled her eyes, but avoided making eye contact with him as she said, “Of course not.” She lifted an arm, waving to Tulsi and Clementine, who were heading toward the dance floor with Tulsi’s parents, before turning back to Sawyer with a grin. “I’ve decided that you’re not allowed to talk to Bubba anymore. I assume he’s the big mouth who told you how long I’d gone without a date?”

  “He was just looking out for you,” Sawyer said. “He wanted me to know I needed to play it straight with you, and not jerk you around.”

  “Did you need that kind of warning?” Mia asked, lifting a brow.

  “No, but I respected him for giving it.”

  Mia sighed, finding it hard to stay mad when confronted with the double sweetness of her best friend looking out for her, and her date being chivalrous and awesome. “Bubba’s a solid guy, but this really isn’t a big deal. And even if it was, it’s not like we plan on getting hitched, right?” She grinned up at Sawyer, determined to put this awkward moment behind them. “So don’t worry, cowboy, you’re safe.”