Wade (Big Sky Lawmen Book 2)

by Vanessa Devereaux

  “No, it’s not how this works,” Wade told her. He saw what he thought was the beginning of a tear forming in her left eye. He wanted to hug her but knew they’d already been more than lenient in letting him be with her in the booking area, so physical contact was probably a no-no.

  “Now don’t you worry. We’ll get you out on bail, and then we can sort everything out,” Wade said.

  “Can I hire you? I mean as my private eye?”

  “Sure, I’m already on the job, and it’s on the house.”

  “No, I have to pay you. You have a living to make just like everyone else.”

  Wade knew Emily would argue with him because she’d always believed in fairness.

  “How about I give you my family and friends’ discount?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Is there an attorney I should call, because you’re going to need one for your arraignment hearing?”

  “Richard Martin’s handled everything connected to the legal side of Mountainview, and I’ve always been pleased with his work.”

  He knew him well. In fact, Wade had gone to school with Richard’s son, Aaron.

  “He’s a start, but you’re going to need a criminal lawyer. Richard might know of a good one. How about I give him a call as soon as I leave here?”

  “Good idea. Oh, and there is something else you can do for me.”

  “You name it.”

  “Sophie, would you call her? In fact, I have her cell phone number on my desk at Mountainview. That’s the best way to reach her these days. Could you let her know what’s happening? In fact, I think it best she come home to run the B and B while I’m gone.”

  “Will do.” It was the only two words that would come out of his mouth after Sophie’s name was mentioned.

  He walked out of the police station and got back into his vehicle and sat looking out. His heart beat faster just thinking about Sophie. He’d offered to help out Emily, and that meant calling Sophie. Seeing Sophie.

  She’d be back in town.

  Wade rested his head back and took a deep breath. She was the reason he’d left town and gone to Cheyenne. Glacier Valley held too many memories of her and memories of them being together. He’d thought it would be safe to come back to town, start over, begin dating a woman like Cathy Moran and put the past behind him.

  He sat up and started the ignition knowing he had to head to Mountainview to get Sophie’s cell phone number. Wade pulled out of the lot and headed back on the main road. He hadn’t seen Sophie since she’d broken his heart.

  Chapter Two

  “So the bottom line is you can’t deliver any of the furniture until late tomorrow afternoon,” Sophie said, doodling on her notepad.

  She’d been put on hold fifteen minutes and two seconds ago when she’d been informed that her clients wouldn’t be getting the sofa and two loveseats like they’d been promised. She sat down at the kitchen table. She’d been recommended to the Roberts by another designer, and she didn’t want to let anyone down. They lived in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, and Sophie knew one good recommendation about her design services could mean big things and lots of referrals for her business.

  The man on the other end of the phone was rattling on about why they couldn’t get the furniture out today, but Sophie didn’t really care about his logistic problems. Her clients were all that mattered.

  She heard a beep and hoped it wasn’t Jane or Bob Roberts asking for an update. Not that it was her fault, but nevertheless she didn’t want to disappoint them.

  “Could you hold on one minute because I have another call coming in?” she said, hoping it wasn’t more bad news about the other items that were supposed to be delivered by 5 p.m. that evening.

  Sophie rang her finger over the screen on her phone.

  “Hello, Sophie Richardson speaking.”

  “Sophie, it’s good to hear your voice again.”

  Sophie took the phone from her ear, looked at it and squinted. Maybe she was dreaming. Yes, that was it. She was having a dream about the furniture not arriving on time. It was completely understandable because she’d been pent up about this particular job for days, and she hadn’t slept well the night before. It wasn’t too surprising because a lot was resting on her pulling off the perfect redesign job for the Roberts. For some strange reason, and after all these years, she was imaging that Wade Linley was calling her. Guess she really was stressed out.

  That was his voice I just heard, right?

  “Sophie, are you there?”

  She hadn’t been concentrating so hadn’t seen her carpet sample book and design notes teetering on the edge of the table. They suddenly fell and hit her on the left foot.

  “Ouch,” she said, hopping around the room. Do you usually feel pain in your dreams?

  “Sophie, are you okay?”

  “Yes, Wade, I’m here, and, yes, I’m okay. It’s just I was expecting a call from one of my suppliers. You caught me off guard.”

  “I know it’s been a long time since we’ve spoken,” Wade said.

  Eight years, three months, four days. Sophie stopped herself. “Grans tells me you came back from Cheyenne.”

  Sophie sat on the floor trying to get her notes back into order, but it was impossible with Wade on the other end of the line. While she tried to scoop them up she cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder, intrigued by this out of the blue call. Unless of course…

  “It’s Grans, isn’t it? I know something’s wrong with her. She’s had a heart attack or something, hasn’t she?”

  “Sophie, no, just calm down. There’s nothing wrong with her health.”

  Sophie drew in her breath and then let it out. Even if her grandmother was okay, it reminded her that she needed to visit Glacier Valley and soon. Grans wasn’t getting any younger. However, now that Wade was back things might be difficult and not to mention awkward, too, should they run into one another. In a town as small as Glacier Valley that was more than likely.

  “Sophie?”

  “Yes.”

  She’d been daydreaming again.

  “This call is about your grandmother.”

  Her heart picked up its pace again. She knew something wasn’t right at home.

  “I don’t know how to tell you this. Well, I’m not sure if you’ll believe me. I didn’t at first, but let me just say I’m not playing a joke on you.”

  “You’ve got me all worked up. What’s going on?”

  “She’s been arrested.”

  “Arrested for what?”

  “Are you sitting down?”

  “Yes.”

  Just what was he about to tell her that might send her into shock? Maybe Grans had been arrested for prostitution or lewd behavior! Now she was being downright silly.

  “She’s been arrested for first degree murder.”

  Sophie swallowed twice, and then the phone, without her realizing it, slipped from her hand and fell onto the carpet.

  “Sophie, you there? Are you okay?”

  Her mouth was still wide open as she heard Wade calling to her. She grabbed the phone.

  “Grans wouldn’t hurt anyone. There has to be some mistake,” she said.

  “I know that, but the murder victim is a guy from out of town, and he was found at a local motel with a knife in his back. It came from your grandmother’s kitchen and had her prints all over it.”

  “Of course it would. It’s her knife.”

  “There’s more. A dining room full of people heard her arguing with him a while back, and she threatened to kill him.”

  Sophie gripped the phone, turning her knuckles white. “Is she in jail?”

  “Afraid so. I left her about an hour ago. In fact, I’m calling from Mountainview. I came here to get your number. She wanted me to call and ask if you’d come home and run things while this mess gets sorted out.”

  Sophie had her business, her clients, but that didn’t matter now. Grans was her first priority.

  “Sure, ye
s, I’ll be home as soon as I can get a flight to Missoula. I’ll hire a car at the airport.”

  “No, you won’t. I’ll come pick you up.”

  She almost dropped the phone again.

  “That would be great. I’ll call the airlines right now and then call you back with my flight number and arrival time.”

  “I’ll be waiting here at the B and B. And, Sophie, don’t worry about Emily because you know I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.”

  “I know, Wade, and thank you for letting me know. I’ll call you right back about my flight, okay.”

  Sophie pressed the end call button and held the phone to her chest.

  Wade picking me up at the airport.

  She wondered what he looked like now. If she’d recognize him. What she’d feel like when she set her eyes upon him.

  What’s he going to feel like when he sees me?

  She squeezed her eyes shut and once again suddenly felt horrible about what she had done to him eight years ago. She only hoped he’d forgiven her because he really had been her one and only love.

  Chapter Three

  Wade spilled some of the coffee Julie had just handed him after Sophie had called him back. She’d be arriving at Missoula airport at 10:10 that night. After all this time of trying desperately to avoid her, some bizarre misunderstanding with Emily would be reuniting them. The thought of seeing her had made his hand shake and hence the spilled java.

  He reached for a sheet of paper, hoping that would clean up the mess, but it just spread it around more. Some coffee began to run down the side of the desk with a few sprinkles hitting the floor.

  “Who’s been clumsy?” asked Julie.

  “Sorry about the mess.”

  “No problem as long as you didn’t burn yourself. I’ll go get some paper towels to mop that up.”

  Julie walked away, and Wade took a sip from the now half empty mug. He looked at the clock on the wall. He’d have to leave Glacier Valley in a couple of hours to get to the airport in time to meet Sophie’s flight. His stomach acid churned again. This time not from shock but excitement. He couldn’t deny how great it would be seeing his childhood buddy, his teenage sweetheart. His…

  Julie suddenly returning with a wad of paper towels stopped his mind from continuing along that train of thought. She pressed them down on the spill, and they ate up the brown liquid immediately.

  “Do you think the judge will set bail for Emily?” she asked as she cleaned up the last of the coffee.

  “I hope so. I think he will, knowing that she’s not been in any trouble before. He’ll also take her age into consideration.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be so happy knowing Sophie is coming home. She was planning on taking a trip to Seattle this fall so she could see her new townhouse.”

  “Which reminds me I should go because I want to get a haircut before I head to Missoula.”

  “It looks fine to me.”

  “Nope, feels a little on the shaggy side.”

  Julie smiled. “I think it’s just an excuse so you can go see your girlfriend.”

  Wade swallowed the last of the coffee and put the mug back down. He’d like to think that was true, but it wasn’t. Sadly for Cathy, that hadn’t entered his mind. Looking good for Sophie had.

  *****

  “Spread those legs, big boy.”

  Cathy placed her hands on both Wade’s knees and pulled his thighs apart so she could get closer in order to cut the front of his hair. She wiggled her body nearer to his crotch, and now he couldn’t see a thing other than her breasts spilling over the top of her tight and low cut t-shirt.

  The beauty salon was packed. Cathy had squeezed him in between a perm and going to pick up her four year old son, Max, from the daycare center. The topic of the day in the beauty parlor was Emily’s arrest. The questions had been coming hard and fast the minute they’d found out Wade had been at Mountainview shortly after the police had arrived.

  “I’m in total shock. Can’t they do a DNA test or something?” asked a lady getting her nails painted fire engine red.

  “They will. I know it’s all a mistake,” Wade said.

  “Emily Richardson wouldn’t hurt anyone, and I’ll testify to that,” said a lady reading a magazine while her color processed.

  “So Sophie is coming home. I can’t wait to see her,” said another woman soaking her feet in the pedicure spa.

  “Me, too,” Wade said, looking up at Cathy and watching her smile turn to a frown.

  “It’s nice of you to volunteer to pick her up. I mean driving to Missoula,” said Cathy clipping the front section of his hair. “In fact, I can’t wait to meet her.”

  “You’ll like her. I know you will,” he said.

  “Hold still because I’m almost done with you.”

  Cathy gave one last snip and then ran her hand down his stomach and over his crotch.

  Wade grabbed it before she reached his cock. “Hey, stop that,” Wade whispered.

  “You didn’t say that at the hotel.”

  “That was different. This is a public place.”

  She leaned over and put her arms around him before giving him a quick kiss. “I’ve arranged for someone to babysit Max the night of the police fundraising dance, so we can have a whole night without any disturbances just like we did in the hotel room.” She rubbed her nose across his forehead.

  Weeks ago that news would have thrilled him, but with Sophie back on his mind, he couldn’t quite feel the same level of excitement.

  “I have to be on my way just in case I run into traffic,” Wade said, taking off the robe from his shoulders. “What do I owe you?”

  “Just a night of non-stop sex,” said Cathy. She blew a few stray hairs from his collar before taking the robe from him.

  Normally he would have fired a sexy one liner back at her, but today for some reason nothing sprang into his head.

  Wade stood and checked his appearance in the mirror.

  “Drive carefully,” Cathy said, walking him to the door.

  “Wade, say hello to Sophie for me. Tell her to be sure to visit with me while she’s home,” shouted a lady.

  “And me, too,” shouted another.

  “I will.” Wade waved to everyone before making a swift exit just in case he got delayed by anyone else.

  He walked to the parking lot out back and hopped into his SUV. He’d filled it with gas right before he’d gone to get his hair cut. Once he pulled on his sunglasses he was ready to hit the road.

  Wade waved to a few folks as he drove along the main street. He then spotted his father heading out of the bakery carrying a box, no doubt housing his dad’s favorite cupcakes. He pulled over and pressed the button to lower the SUV’s window.

  “Dad, I left a message on your machine. Have you been home yet?”

  His father was old school and didn’t believe in cell phones, so Wade wondered if he’d heard the news about Emily yet.

  “I sure did. However, I heard the news about Em long before I played your message. What the shit’s going on, Wade?”

  “I don’t know. There’s obviously been some horrible mistake, or someone’s framing her.”

  “Who would do that to that sweet old lady?”

  “No one in Glacier Valley, that’s for sure.”

  “You going on a date with Cathy? I mean I noticed you’re dressed up, and you’ve gotten yourself a haircut by the look of it.”

  “Nope, going to pick up Sophie from Missoula airport.”

  “Sophie?”

  “Yes, Emily wanted her to come home and look after Mountainview while this misunderstanding gets sorted out.”

  His dad pushed his cowboy hat to the back of his head and looked Wade in the eye.

  “And you’re going to be okay with that?”

  “With what?”

  “Seeing Sophie and being around her again?”

  “It’s water under the bridge. I’ve moved on after all this time.”

  “If you sa
y so. Oh, be sure to have Sophie come over and see me while she’s home. You know how I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for her.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ve got to be on my way, or I won’t make it the airport in time.”

  Wade waved to his dad, hit the gas, and headed back onto the road before turning onto the main highway.

  He turned up the volume on the radio and heard Faith Hill singing. By coincidence she’d always reminded him of Sophie. Wade eased back in the car seat and tried to relax as he set the cruise control and sang along to the music.

  *****

  One plus to not being allowed to greet passengers at the gate anymore was you had time to head to the nearest bathroom and check your appearance before they saw you.

  Sophie dug in her makeup bag, searching frantically for her blusher and lip gloss. The flight from Seattle to Missoula had taken longer than she’d remembered. Maybe it was because it had been crowded and she’d been squeezed into a middle seat between two oversized ladies who had struck up a conversation early in the flight. The plane had also been an hour late arriving in Montana.

  She glanced at her watch. She needed to get a move on because the delay had probably been a pain in the butt for poor Wade. She hoped he’d found some way to entertain himself at the airport.

  Sophie leaned closer to the mirror and swirled some lip gloss over her lips before smacking them together. She stepped back, taking a comb and running it through her hair. It looked a mess from sitting in that cramped seat for so long. She rummaged through her bag and found an elastic band. She quickly pulled her hair back and secured it into a ponytail. Sophie picked up her bag from the countertop, made a mad dash for the door, and headed for the baggage claim where she hoped Wade would be waiting to drive her to Glacier Valley.

  Her heart beat faster with each step she took anticipating what he’d look like. What they’d say and also what they’d talk about on the journey home. A group of older women obscured her view of the baggage claim area, but as they parted ways she could a glimpse of a man holding his cowboy hat in both hands while leaning against a wall in the car rental area. He was standing in profile, but she knew it was Wade. She’d recognize that fine looking bone structure anywhere. Time hadn’t changed or taken it away. She stopped walking, wondering if she could actually face him again.