“I have never seen a person sitting in that lobby. Not once, not in two weeks.”
“Even if she heard you, so what? She’s a tourist.”
“How do you know?”
“You didn’t see her whip out a cell phone and call Marge at the diner, did you?”
Grace grinned. “You have a point.” She dug her key out of her pocket and immediately dropped it.
He scooped it up and opened her door. “Here.” He pressed the cold metal against her palm. “Lock up once you’re inside,” he said.
“Well, what do you think? I was planning an open house?” Now she was cranky. And very confused.
The condescending curve of his mouth didn’t help. “Good night, Grace. Sleep well.”
“I should’ve stayed at The Watering Hole,” she muttered as he turned to go. She pushed open the door, and he was right behind her, following her into the room.
“Don’t go back there,” he said in a curt tone.
“Why not? Roy and Danny are probably still there.” She tried to recall the name of the tall, dark-haired cowboy...Jim? No, Jay. “Maybe someone will show me how to play pool.” She stepped back, and he advanced. “I thought you were leaving.”
“Grace.” He captured her hand. “Promise me you won’t go back there tonight.” Something flared in his eyes, something dark and intense. Something that excited her.
She tipped her head back. “Why should I?”
“Because I’m asking.”
It almost worked. She was so mesmerized by his hazel eyes that she nearly gave in to him. “Oh, please. Just go.”
He caught her chin as she turned away and gently brought her face back to his. “We want the same thing. Just not like this.”
“Like what?” she asked cautiously, not convinced they were thinking along the same lines. Then it registered. “You do think I’m drunk.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, a trace of hesitation in his voice. “I don’t.”
“Tipsy?”
“Yes.” He brushed the hair away from her eyes. “No crime in that.”
“I drank two beers in two hours. I’m relaxed. That’s all.” She closed her eyes, enjoying his gentle touch, melting as his fingers moved to her scalp. “Just so you know...I decided when I got your text.”
He stopped massaging. Let silence stretch until it almost snapped. “Decided what?”
She lifted her lashes. “Stay and I’ll show you.”
Ben’s quick inhale held no warning.
His lips came down on hers. She opened her mouth, and he swept his tongue inside with an urgency that left her breathless. He moved his hands to her shoulders, then ran his palms down her arms. The feel and scent of his warm skin blurred her senses. She leaned against his hard chest, shivering when he closed his hands around her wrists.
His sudden and swift withdrawal caused her to stumble. He held her away from him until she’d secured her footing, then released her.
“Not now,” he said, his voice harsh.
Harsh enough to make her wince. She had to resist the impulse to cross her arms over her chest. Hide her tightened nipples. Abrupt as he might be now, he’d been aroused only a moment ago.
“Look, I have someplace I need to be.” He couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Too embarrassed, too confused by what had just happened, she said nothing. She simply watched Ben walk away, out the door, leaving her alone and humiliated.
* * *
BEN STOOD OUTSIDE The Watering Hole, trying to regain his composure. The bar was about the last place he wanted to be, but he had to do this for Grace’s sake. He owed her this much after nearly giving in and taking her to bed. Oh yeah, he wanted her all right. But not when her judgment was the slightest impaired. Or while everyone in the bar assumed he’d spent the night with her.
The moment he stepped inside, he realized that showing up was the easy part. Stopping himself from slamming Roy and Danny against the wall—now that tested his self-control.
He spotted a vacant stool at the end of the bar and headed straight for it without glancing in the deputies’ direction. But he knew they were still there.
A minute later, Sadie appeared in front of him, eyebrows drawn. “Didn’t expect to see you back here. I sure hope you’re not planning on busting up my place.”
Slowly, he unclenched his jaw. “Now why would you say that?”
“I’ve been tending this bar for over thirty years. I know trouble when I see it. You’re pissed off about something.”
He smiled, not bothering to deny it. “I won’t start anything. You have my word. How about another whiskey?”
Still frowning, she grabbed the Jack Daniel’s off the shelf. “Just remember, you so much as break a glass or throw a punch and you won’t be welcome back here. That’s my number one rule, and it goes for everybody. No exceptions.”
“I understand.”
Without taking her eyes off his face, she free-poured him a perfect shot. “This have anything to do with Roy and Danny?”
He reached for the glass, paused, then picked it up. He’d sure hate it if Sadie had known what was going on without putting a stop to it. “Did you know what they were doing?”
“Not for certain. After you left, Gretchen told me something mighty disturbing. I was hoping she’d misread the situation.”
Ben tossed back the whiskey, savored the burn. “They were spiking Grace’s beer.”
“Dumb bastards.” Sadie glared at the deputies. “Gotta say I’m surprised at both of them, but Roy especially. Wade must be rubbing off on him.” Her frown deepened. “I bet Grace could press charges if she wanted. Not that I can see her doing that.”
“Grace doesn’t know, and I’d like it to stay that way. At least for now.”
Sadie nodded at the door. “Well, speak of the devil.”
Without being obvious, Ben turned just enough to see who she meant. Wearing a uniform shirt that was too big for his thin frame, Wade sauntered in as if he owned the place. He stopped to shake hands with a table of old-timers. Likely already campaigning for the sheriff’s job.
Ben faced Sadie again before Wade saw him. “Is he on duty?”
“Yep. He’s walking over to Roy and Danny. I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts it was Wade who put those boys up to that mischief.” A young cowboy at the other end of the bar called for a beer, and she nodded at him.
She poured more Jack Daniel’s in Ben’s glass before grabbing a mug and filling it from the tap.
Keeping his head down, Ben reminded himself he wouldn’t let his temper get the best of him. He’d already done what he’d set out to do. Those guys had seen him. They knew he’d walked Grace out and that was it. Tomorrow, after he cooled off, he’d have a talk with them. All he needed to do now was get square with Sadie and blow out of town for a while. Maybe head to Kalispell. Burn off some energy and frustration.
“Ben. Ben Carter, you ol’ son-of-a-gun.”
He didn’t recognize the voice coming from over his right shoulder, but he could guess. He swiveled slowly around. Ignoring Wade’s extended hand, Ben leaned back, propping his elbows on the bar. “You must be Wade.”
“Come on, you’re messing with me.” Wade glanced at the guy sitting a stool over, then rested his hand on the butt of his holstered Glock. “You really don’t remember me?” he murmured in a low, offended voice.
“It might be coming back to me.”
“I was a grade behind you in school. We played football together.”
Ben made sure his smile left no doubt that he remembered Wade as a benchwarmer. “So what are you up to these days, besides playing deputy?”
Wade still had the same nervous tic in his jaw. “Not for long. You probably heard Noah’s leaving.�
�� He hooked his thumbs in his gun belt and squared his shoulders. “I’m next in line to be sheriff.”
“Won’t that be decided by vote?”
He snorted. “It’s a no-brainer.” Wade glanced at the two deputies sitting at the table. He leaned closer and said, “Between you and me, Roy’s not ready. Danny’s too young and one shy of a six-pack. Gus is already semiretired. He only works part-time to get away from his wife.”
“What about Grace?” Ben asked with deceptive calm. “Did you forget about her?”
“Hell, who’s gonna want a woman sheriff? Nah, she won’t last long here.” Wade propped a boot on the rail running along the foot of the bar, settling in, making it seem as if they were old friends catching up. “What are you doing sitting here, anyway? Here I had the boys get her all primed and ready for you. She get too sloppy for you, bro?”
Ben’s blood pressure surged. “So you told them to spike her beer with shots.”
For a lawman, Wade’s instincts weren’t worth a damn. The dumb bastard grinned. “Of course, I know you got your pick of all those hot Hollywood babes, but I figured Grace isn’t so bad. She’d do in a—” He met Ben’s eyes and paled.
“The only reason I haven’t laid you out cold is because I promised Sadie I wouldn’t cause any trouble.” Ben shifted, and Wade jerked back. “If I were you, Deputy, I’d climb in your truck right now. As for your buddies...” he said with a small, controlled nod “...they might want to get a head start home before I finish my drink.”
Wade’s boots seemed frozen to the floor. He studied Ben a moment and then said, “I hope you didn’t mean that as a threat.”
Ben just smiled.
“I’ll remind you we’re all officers of the law,” Wade muttered, his voice hoarse. “If I misunderstood you, no hard feelings.”
“Let me make it real clear. I wouldn’t lose a minute’s sleep putting any one of you in the hospital.”
Wade’s fingers clenched around his gun like he was getting ready to whip it out, but Ben knew a coward when he saw one. Taking a step back, Wade glanced around, saw that no one was listening. “You watch yourself, son...” After another scowl, he turned tail, briefly stopping at Roy and Danny’s table. Then he was out the door. The other two hurried shortly behind him.
“Better not be running out on your tab,” Sadie called to them from behind the bar, then chuckled.
She could see as well as Ben that they’d left a wad of cash on the table in their haste to leave. Ben didn’t smile. No use stirring up everyone’s curiosity. He’d purposely kept the conversation with Wade low and private. Not to save the man from embarrassment. He didn’t give a shit about Wade. Ben wanted to spare Grace.
So he kept his mouth shut and pretended he was just enjoying a drink, then dug into his pocket for money.
After filling a pitcher for the waitress, Sadie returned with the bottle of Jack Daniel’s. “Hell, if I’d known you wanted to tune Wade up a bit, I might’ve overlooked my no-fighting rule.”
Ben stopped her when she tried to pour him more whiskey. “That’s enough for me.”
“You’re not going after them,” Sadie said when he laid a large bill on the bar. It wasn’t a question.
He shook his head.
“You kick up a fuss and it’ll come back on Grace.”
“I know.”
Her gaze sharpened. “Now it makes sense why you came back here,” she said, her eyes warming with approval. “That was a kind thing you did. Around here, tongues wag about nothing. Grace doesn’t need that kind of gossip.”
“No woman does.” He slid off the stool and checked his watch. He nixed the idea of driving to Kalispell. He was keyed up and feeling the effects of the liquor. Probably could use some food in his belly.
“Wait. Take your money.”
“Keep it,” he said, pausing to stretch a kink out of his neck. He needed a good workout. He rarely let three days go by without one.
“Ben?”
He was tempted to keep walking to the door. For whatever reason, he had a feeling Sadie was about to say something he wouldn’t like. Out of politeness, he looked at her.
“You’re a good man, Ben. Your mama must be mighty proud.”
Ben bit back a curse. Sadie was dead wrong. If his mom was so proud of him, she would’ve trusted him with the truth.
9
LATE THE NEXT MORNING, Grace walked a jittery couple and their two kids out of the Sheriff’s office and promised she’d call them with an update. Understandably, they were still upset. While camping in the foothills, they’d been awoken by gunfire. It wasn’t hunting season. Grace and the father agreed that the shots might have come from poachers. Not aimed at the family, but the situation was still dangerous.
She stared at the schedule board, trying to decide how to proceed. For two weeks, it had been nice and quiet. Figured she’d be alone for the first serious incident report. She had no problem jumping in. She just wished she knew the area better. The campers were from Butte and hadn’t been much help narrowing the location of the shots. Though from their description, she suspected they’d been fired above Weaver’s Ridge.
Noah wouldn’t return until evening. Roy’s shift started in an hour. Danny was off and Wade had the swing shift. Gus was a mystery. She never could figure out his hours. Much as she hated bothering Roy, she called him. If it were her, she’d want to know what she was walking into.
“Roy, it’s Grace,” she said when he answered. “Got a minute?”
“What do you need?” he asked, his voice tentative. Was he annoyed because she’d left early last night?
“Sorry to call you at home, but campers reported shots being fired in the foothills. It’s a family. They aren’t local, so they gave me a vague location.”
“Oh, okay. Probably poachers,” he said, sounding oddly relieved.
She hoped that didn’t mean he’d take the incident lightly. “That’s what I’m thinking since no BOLOs were issued from other counties.” Grace paused, but decided he must know the term meant to be on the lookout. “No reason to believe someone is hiding out up there. But according to the mother, the shots were close enough to their campsite that one of them could’ve been hit.”
Roy snorted. “She all hysterical over it? What did the husband think?”
“They had two kids with them, Roy,” Grace said, hanging on to her temper. “They had every right to be concerned.”
“Yeah, okay. So what do you want from me?”
She frowned at his reaction, though, should she be surprised? While she wasn’t looking to have her hand held, if the situation were reversed, she would’ve been out the door already to assist him. “Where’s the best place for me to start looking and for us to meet up?”
After a long pause, he said, “Are you kidding me?”
She lifted the truck keys off the wall hook, hoping this conversation wasn’t going the way she feared. “Your shift starts soon. No point in you coming to the office first.”
“Don’t go after them. That’s crazy. Whether they’re poachers or not, those guys have to be long gone by now.”
“And if they just robbed a bank?”
“That’s a lot of territory to cover.”
“So basically you’re saying we don’t care about poachers or criminals in general. They have a free pass in Salina County because the sheriff’s department isn’t willing to get off their asses.”
“Ah, hell.” Roy sighed. “Don’t go getting in a snit. If Noah were here or we had another man on duty, we could’ve set up checkpoints on the highway to catch them when they came down. But your campers likely spooked them and they took off.”
A snit? She really had to let that one go. For now. She privately admitted the checkpoints made sense. But that wasn’t an option at the moment. “Mr. Anderso
n thought the shots came from a distance. From his description, I think he meant Weaver’s Ridge. And isn’t April a weird month to go camping? It’s still cold at night, so if our perps are poachers, they probably didn’t expect anyone else to be up there.”
“Perps?” Roy snorted. “You ain’t in the city anymore, Deputy Dawg.”
Yeah, no kidding. Sighing, she rubbed her left temple. “Can we get back to the case?”
“Case? We have no case. Grace, I’m telling you to forget it. Let’s just figure the shots were fired on BLM land—that’s Bureau of Land Management.”
“I know what it means, Roy,” she said, her patience strained.
“Well, then call Fish and Wildlife. Let them worry about it.”
“Is that what Noah would do?”
After a long, awkward moment, Roy said, “You wanna be stubborn? Then you’re going up there by yourself.”
She glanced at the large area map taped to the back wall. “Thanks,” she murmured and hung up. If Roy wasn’t willing to search the foothills, the others wouldn’t join her.
Peering at the map, she spotted Weaver’s Ridge. Nikki had mentioned that she and Trace were fixing up a house somewhere near there, so Grace had a vague notion of the area. And hadn’t Ben said something about...
Oh, no. She squashed the thought. Even thinking about him was off-limits. She’d spent too much time fighting humiliation over his rejection last night. And then he’d lied about having someplace to go, probably to avoid hurting her feelings, but that didn’t help. According to a nice older rancher who’d been eating his eggs and bacon at the diner when she’d stopped for a cinnamon roll, Ben had returned to The Watering Hole. If Ben had found some company, Clyde hadn’t said.
She removed her Glock from the drawer and holstered it. She checked the ammo in the Remington and grabbed extra magazines. Ideally, her cell phone would work, though she knew there were pockets where service was spotty. She’d have to rely on the radio if she needed help. And she prayed Roy would be around to answer.
* * *
HALFWAY TO THE SUNDANCE, Ben turned on the Porsche’s air conditioner. He was starting to sweat, both literally and figuratively. And because of two different women, of all the damn things. Lena still hadn’t returned his calls. And then Grace—hell, he couldn’t figure out why she was getting under his skin.
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