He hoped he hadn’t blown it with her. This morning he’d called home to make sure she hadn’t packed and fled. When he discovered she hadn’t, an overwhelming urge to see her hadn’t left him alone. After he’d ordered her a dozen lilies delivered to the library, he’d had to force himself to stay focused on work. But now he was finished and all he wanted to do was see her. He also wanted to know if the note he’d sent along with the flowers had made any impact.
He checked the time on his computer. Five-forty. Her dad had said she was working until six tonight.
Grabbing his keys, he left.
When he entered the library ten minutes later, he searched for her. She wasn’t in her office and he didn’t see Emily. In fact, the library was nearly empty tonight.
He found her in the nonfiction section with a rolling cart of books she was putting back on shelves. She saw him as she turned to lift another one, going still, her eyes widening.
“Lily.” He went to stand closer to her, the cart between them.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, resuming her task.
“I was going to see if you wanted to go get a bite to eat.”
“Dad and May are cooking tonight.”
Stiffness radiated from her. She was turning her back on him, but it took some effort. He almost smiled at that. Maybe the flowers had done some good.
“I’m sure they’ll manage without us,” he said.
She slid her eyes his way for a glance.
“Let’s go out for dinner.”
She put another book onto the shelf. “By the way, thanks for the flowers.”
Okay, so she wasn’t ready to agree to dinner. But she hadn’t shot him down yet. “Don’t mention it.”
“I appreciate you apologizing, too.” She rolled the cart farther down the aisle, seeming indifferent, or pretending to.
He followed, leaning a shoulder against the shelving, watching her beautiful profile. “Does that mean you won’t move out?”
She looked at him. “I haven’t moved in.”
Not yet. Not technically. But now wasn’t the time to tell her that’s what he wanted. She’d only shoot him down, the way she was so good at doing.
“I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. You know that, don’t you?” he said.
After sliding a book onto the shelf, she bent her head.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Lily.”
“Well, you did.”
“I’m sorry. I meant what I said on the card.” He’d written that he’d done what he thought was right, what he thought she needed, but he was wrong and he was sorry. Would she please forgive him?
Her hands hadn’t moved off the shelf after putting the book there. Slowly her head lifted and she met his eyes.
Touching her face with his hand, he caressed her soft skin with his thumb. “Please. Give me another chance.”
Her eyes closed for a long blink. Then she opened them. “You’re such a man.”
“Thanks,” he teased, but he knew what she really meant. Men could sure be stupid sometimes. When it came to women, sometimes they just didn’t get it.
His cell phone started ringing. Bad timing. He didn’t want to answer, but when he saw it was Ryan, he knew he had to. “Sheriff.”
It was Ryan and he could tell something was wrong. “Yeah. What have you got?”
“Just got a call from Kelley’s Cookhouse. Damien’s causing trouble with Amy Fordham.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Apparently he got in her face about a woman named Tina Mueller. Her boyfriend is with her and it doesn’t look good.”
“I’m on my way.” He disconnected and looked at Lily. “Will you come with me?”
Her brow lifted. “To break up a fight?”
“No, I’ll break up the fight. You wait for me and then we’ll have dinner.”
“There?”
She needed to face the world someday. The more time he spent with her the more it convinced him that’s what would cure her once and for all of her past. She’d taught May to hold her head high, but she wasn’t following her own advice. Avoiding places where the gossipmongers frequented was a sure sign of that.
“It’s as good a place as any,” he said.
She searched his face. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m working.”
“It’s six.”
A tiny smile inched up on her face. “Let me guess—my dad told you that’s when I got off.”
He grinned. “He did.”
“I wonder whose side he’s on.”
“Mine for sure.”
She laughed softly. “Then how can I resist? When the men gang up on the women…”
“The women gang up on the men. Come on, let’s get going before Damien tears the place down.”
Leaving the cart, she walked toward the front. Emily was behind the counter.
“Call if you have any trouble closing,” Lily said as she passed.
Wes followed her to his SUV. His heart burgeoned with gratification at her easy agreement in going along with him. He was making headway with her.
Getting there ahead of her to open the passenger door, he let her in first and went to the other side. Then he drove fast to Kelley’s.
After parking in front of the restaurant, he got out and headed for the door, Lily right behind him.
Kelley’s sounded more like a bar when they entered. People were shouting and talking loud and fast. Wes spotted Damien in a brawl with someone. Amy Fordham stood nearby, tears streaking her cheeks. Another Colton brother, Finn, was there, too, trying to talk to Damien. The two must have come here together while Finn was in town for a visit. An E.R. doctor in Bozeman, Finn was too brainy and congenial to do anything as Neanderthal as getting involved in a physical fight. He dressed impeccably and spoke well. His thick, light brown hair was a mess on top of his head, but he still managed to look groomed.
“Wait here,” Wes said to Lily.
Watching the scene unfolding before her, she nodded.
Nudging people aside to get through the throng, Wes reached Damien and pulled him off a man.
“You’re as crazy as your sister!” the man yelled at Damien, blood smearing on one side of his mouth.
Damien tried to yank free of Wes’s grip, but Wes held firm. “What happened here?”
“Nothing. I heard her tell her boyfriend that you questioned her about Mark Walsh. All I wanted to do was ask her some questions.”
“I don’t know anything about Mark Walsh!” Amy yelled, and the man he’d fought with moved toward her, taking her into his arms. She cried against his chest while the man glared at Damien.
“What the hell, Damien?” Wes demanded, letting go of his arm.
“I didn’t come here to fight. I asked Amy if I could talk to her and her boyfriend got between us. He said I couldn’t talk to her, and I asked her if that’s how she felt. Before she could answer for herself, her boyfriend shoved me and told me I should go back to prison. I shoved him back and he punched me.”
“So you hit him back.”
“Yes. He hit me because he knew who I was, not because of what I said to Amy.”
Wes let that slide. “I already cleared Amy, Damien.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t tell me.”
“I was going to. You didn’t give me a chance.”
Damien looked over at Amy, who eyed him warily, a look that was becoming common whenever he appeared in public. The town didn’t know what to think of him, and when he cornered people like this it didn’t help. No doubt Amy would say he’d harassed her, the ex-convict who was supposed to be innocent now.
“It didn’t get ugly until her boyfriend interfered,” Finn pointed out.
“He got in her face!” the boyfriend snapped. “Amy told me all about him after you interrogated her.”
Wes held up his hand, not liking the man’s temper. The boy was new in town and obviously hadn’t taken any time to question the gossip. Then he looked at D
amien.
“That’s true,” Damien said. “Nothing would have happened if he hadn’t lost his cool.”
Wes looked over at the boyfriend. “That’s bull crap,” the man snapped.
“I was sitting at the table right next to them,” said an older man, standing just behind Amy and her boyfriend. He pointed at Damien. “That man walked over to her and told her who he was and then asked her if she minded if he asked her a couple of questions. Her boyfriend got up and told him to get lost.”
The boyfriend glared at the older man. Amy’s sniffles began to ease.
Damien turned to Wes. “I just wanted to know what was going on.”
Why hadn’t he waited to talk to him? Did he doubt his abilities as sheriff? “You could have waited and asked me.”
Damien’s face eased into resignation.
Wes turned to Amy and her boyfriend. “I’m sorry about all of this. You can go now.”
Amy looked indignantly from him to Damien, and then her boyfriend led her to their table, where they gathered their things and headed for the door.
Wes faced the crowd. “That’s it, folks. Time to break it up.” The people who’d gathered dispersed. Wes spotted Donald Kelley returning to his position behind the bar.
“Everyone’s going to love that he’s as crazy as his sister part,” Finn said, earning a warning look from Damien.
Wes faced Damien. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Good to see you, Finn.”
Finn angled his head in acknowledgment, ever the gentleman, but clearly amused by the evening’s happenings.
Wes turned and headed toward Lily. She smiled softly as he approached and the sight of it melted him all the way to his core.
He located the hostess. “Could you get us a booth?”
The slim blond woman nodded hesitantly. “Right this way.”
At a booth, Lily slid onto the seat and he sat beside her. Damien appeared across from them, making room for Finn. Wes sent him a questioning look.
“You still have some explaining to do,” Damien said. “And I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.”
“Mind if we join you?” Finn asked with a touch of sarcasm. He looked at Lily.
“I don’t mind,” she said, looking up at Wes.
Wes checked on Donald Kelley standing behind the bar, who nodded his consent. Apparently, the fight hadn’t gotten too violent, or Donald would have wanted Damien to leave.
“Lily—Damien and Finn. Damien and Finn—Lily,” Wes introduced them.
“Good to meet you, Lily. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Finn said.
Wes inwardly grimaced at the innuendo.
Lily looked warily from him to Damien, who slouched against the seat, lazy and content. If Finn’s comment bothered her, she did a grand job of hiding it. Instead of responding, though, she removed her silverware from the rolled napkin.
Damien eyed her before looking at Wes. “You never mentioned you had a girlfriend.”
“It never came up.”
Wes checked around the restaurant. Some people still glanced their way and talked, but others had resumed their evening. At least Damien hadn’t busted anything.
“What do you do, Lily?” Finn asked.
“She took over for Mary Walsh over at the library,” Wes answered for her.
“Lily Masterson. Yeah, now I remember you,” Damien said.
Lily fingered her fork and lowered her gaze.
“Don’t worry, I know what it’s like to have the whole town talking about you.”
“You have such a way with words, Damien,” Finn said.
And Damien scowled at him. “And you don’t?”
Finn looked perplexed.
A waitress arrived at their table, looking at Damien as she handed each of them a menu and put down four glasses of water.
Damien caught it and turned his scowl on her.
“I hope she doesn’t spit in our food,” Finn said.
He ignored his brother and turned to Wes. “Why don’t you think Amy is the one who killed Walsh?”
“Her background checks out. There are no suspicious gaps and her maiden name checks out.” He contemplated how to say what was next. “But Eileen Curtis’s background gave me some different results.”
“Eileen?”
“The real estate agent?” Finn asked, straightening in his seat. “Are you sure?”
Wes agreed Eileen was the most unlikely suspect. Her reputation was pure and everyone liked and respected her. She also fit the bill for someone motivated to ghost her identity. If she was, in truth, Tina Mueller, she had a criminal record from her youth that she wanted to escape. She wanted to assume another person’s identity and live a normal life. But if she’d recently killed Mark Walsh, she hadn’t deviated from her criminal ways and that made her dangerous.
“No, I’m not sure. Not yet.” He looked pointedly at Damien. “I’m going to question Eileen again. Once I’ve done that, I’ll call you.”
“Thank you.” Damien turned away and went a little still.
Wes followed that gaze and saw Lucy Walsh enter with three other people.
“Perfect,” Damien muttered.
Lucy smiled as she talked to the man beside her. He was tall and lean with medium brown hair, and was dressed in jeans like her. Craig Warner and Jolene Walsh followed behind them. They were seated across the restaurant, but in plain view. Lucy happened to look their way and her smile drained when she saw Damien.
“I thought you didn’t care about her anymore,” Finn commented.
“I don’t.” But he sounded contemptuous.
The waitress returned to their table. “You folks ready to order?”
They did, with Damien still watching Lucy.
Lily turned to Wes, a question in her eyes. He wondered the same. How did Damien really feel about Lucy? He put his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, wishing they were alone and he could just stare at her.
Finn looked from their hands to Lily and then Wes. Wes ignored him and turned his attention to the table that had Damien so riveted.
Lucy leaned close to the man beside her. Steve Brown. Wes was pretty sure that was his name. Craig caught Wes’s gaze and gave him a nod of acknowledgment. Wes tipped his water glass before taking a sip.
Steve said something to Lucy, caressing the top of her hand on the table and taking her hand in his.
Jolene’s turn came. She noticed that everyone else at her table was looking somewhere so she did, too. And then her mouth opened and her eyes grew rounder. She seemed scared out of her skin. Wes didn’t like the way the Walsh family had shunned the Coltons after Mark Walsh’s debauched murder trial, but he also understood its source, and he knew with time that would all pass. Damien was innocent. They had all thought Damien killed Mark, but now things were different. Jolene had helped Wes by turning over the tape, and though he was inclined to believe she’d done it to protect herself, she’d also done the right thing.
A few minutes later he noticed Lucy say something to Steve, who glanced toward Damien and then said something in return. What had them so skittish? Or was it something else? Maybe Lucy didn’t know how to handle Damien’s return now that she knew he was innocent.
“Is he worried you’re going to take her away from him?” Finn asked.
“I wouldn’t take her back if she was the last woman in Montana.”
“I wonder what she thinks of you now?”
“She probably feels bad for thinking you killed her father,” Lily said.
Damien glanced over at Lucy, catching her staring at him. “She’s probably afraid of me. She was so quick to accept the verdict, and she knew I was angry, and now, all these years later, come to find out she was wrong. Everyone was wrong.”
Their food arrived and Wes dug in. Beside him, Lily did the same.
“What if Lucy does feel bad?” Finn asked. “Maybe she wants to talk to you, but doesn’t know how to approach you?”
Damien turned his irritation on his brother. “
That would be her problem. I forgave her a long time ago. And I’ve moved on.”
“Yeah, it sounds that way to me,” Finn quipped.
Wes knew that Damien felt betrayed by the town in which everyone had so easily believed his guilt, and Lucy’s betrayal had been perhaps the hardest for him to take. Seeing her for the first time in fifteen years had to be a blow, whether he was over her or not. It had to dredge up old emotions and memories he likely didn’t want cluttering his head.
No wonder he was irritated. Wes would be irritated, too.
“You both were so young back then,” Lily said. “People change over fifteen years. And no one can call you a guilty man anymore.”
“Maybe she’s afraid you’ll ruin her newfound happiness,” Finn said. “She might think you still have feelings for her. Or maybe she still has some for you.”
“I don’t think so. If she cared at all for me back then, she would have believed me.”
Finn shrugged, chewing and swallowing before he spoke. “Well, all I’m saying is seeing you might bring a lot of memories back.”
“I was in prison for fifteen years, Finn. I know that’s easy for you to forget, but it isn’t for me.”
“I wasn’t implying—”
“She’s probably afraid I’ll break into her house and strangle her,” Damien said without waiting for Finn to finish, popping a French fry into his mouth.
That’s how he thought the whole town perceived him, Wes thought. He couldn’t stand that people couldn’t accept his innocence. He was especially angry with their dad, who had barely done anything to help him. It was as if Darius had agreed with the jury like everyone else.
Darius Colton was a powerful man who liked to have his way and to have everyone in the family obey him. Some would call him selfish. Egotistical, even. But Darius Colton was also smart and relentlessly driven. Maybe success had made him callous. Wes didn’t know. He was their father, that’s all, whether or not any of them liked it. He had his redeeming qualities, but mostly he was just plain hard to please. Damien going to prison had only exacerbated that quality.
Lily leaned toward him and her scent reached him. Instantly, his attention floated to much more pleasant ground.
The Librarian’s Secret Scandal Page 16