Safety In Numbers

by Carla Cassidy

  “What’s his story? He’s not part of the family, right?” Although Chase had no idea what financial benefit Smokey Johnson might get from conspiring with MoTwin, he knew that not all motives revolved around money.

  “He’s family. He might as well have been born a West,” Meredith replied. “He worked as the ranch manager for years, then took a nasty spill from a horse and crushed his leg. He was still healing from that when my mother was murdered.”

  “That must have been tough on everyone.” He watched the play of emotions that crossed her features, a flash of pain, a twist of anger, then finally the smooth transition into a weary acceptance. She’d be an easy mark at cards. She didn’t have much of a poker face.

  “From what I understand, my father was devastated. He and my mother had one of those loves that you only read about in novels. They were best friends and soul mates and Dad crawled deep into his grief. Smokey stepped in to help with all of us kids and he never left. He’s a combination of a drill sergeant and a beloved uncle.”

  She pulled into a parking space in front of the Wild West Protective Services office. She shut off the car engine and unbuckled her seat belt. “Why don’t I meet you back here around noon and we’ll head back to the ranch.”

  “Why don’t we meet back here at noon and I’ll buy us lunch at the café?”

  She looked at him in surprise. “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” he countered. “It’s not every day I get the opportunity to buy lunch for a pretty lady.” He watched her, fascinated by the pink blush that swept into her cheeks.

  “I guess it would be all right to have lunch before we head back,” she replied.

  They got out of her car and she murmured goodbye, then headed across the street. “What are you doing, Chase,” he muttered to himself as he watched her walk away.

  Once again, she was dressed in an old flannel shirt and a pair of worn jeans. She intrigued him. She acted and dressed like a woman who didn’t much care about a man’s attention, and yet the blush that had colored her cheeks had spoken otherwise.

  She was unlike any woman he’d ever been around before. Most of the women he dated were girly girls, high-maintenance savvy singles who cared even less about a committed relationship than he did. Meredith West blushed like a woman who wasn’t accustomed to compliments or attention.

  He watched until she disappeared into a storefront, then he turned and went into the Wild West Protective Services office.

  “I don’t care how difficult the client is,” Dalton said into the phone receiver as he raised a hand in greeting to Chase. “You do what you have to do to make this right. You know how to do your job, just do it and try not to make people angry.” He hung up the phone with a groan. “I think sometimes it’s easier to have a boss than to be one.”

  Chase sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and grinned at his friend. “As one who has a boss instead of being one, I’d argue the fact with you.”

  Dalton laughed and leaned forward in his chair. “How about one night you and I make plans to shoot some pool and drink a few beers?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Chase agreed. Maybe knocking back a few brews would get thoughts of Meredith West out of his head.

  The two men visited for a few minutes, then Dalton got another phone call and Chase left the office to wander the sidewalks and see what kind of vibes he picked up.

  Being around Dalton was almost as difficult as being with Meredith. The deception of his friend didn’t sit well. But Chase had a job to do and work had always been the one thing he could depend on, the only thing he clung to.

  Cotter Creek was a pleasant little town with sidewalks and shade trees running the length of Main Street. Benches every twenty feet or so welcomed people to sit a spell.

  An old man sat on the bench outside the barbershop, his weatherworn face showing no emotion as Chase sat on the opposite end of the bench.

  “Nice day,” Chase said.

  “Seen better,” the old man replied.

  “My name’s Chase, I’m here in town visiting the West family.”

  “Too many strangers popping up here in Cotter Creek for my comfort and I’m Sam Rhenquist.”

  Chase leaned back against the bench. “Nice town.”

  “Used to be. Lately everybody’s been looking cross-eyed at each other, wondering who might be guilty of some things that have happened around here.” Rhenquist eyed him with a touch of suspicion and clamped his mouth closed, as if irritated that he’d said too much.

  For the next few minutes Chase tried some small talk, but the old man was having nothing to do with it. Finally Chase rose, said goodbye and headed down the sidewalk with no particular destination in mind.

  He knew the best place to pick up information would be the café or wherever Dalton intended to take him for the night of beer and pool. People talked when they ate, and people really talked when they drank. No telling what little tidbit he’d be able to pick up that might help the investigation.

  Eventually he wanted to touch base with Bill Wallace and Roger Tompkins, the two agents who were actively working the case here in town. He wanted to know who they had in their radar and what they might have discovered in the brief time they’d been in town.

  It didn’t take him long to walk the length of the businesses on Main Street, then he crossed the street and headed back the way he’d come on the opposite side of the street. As he walked, his mind whirled.

  He’d already learned two important things since arriving in town. The first was that Meredith West was sharp and he’d have to be more subtle with his questions than he’d been when they’d gone to the stables that morning.

  The second was that for some crazy reason he was intensely attracted to the tall, dark-haired woman. If he allowed that attraction to get out of hand, he’d risk complicating his job here.

  He’d share a simple lunch with her, then head out to the ranch and hope that Kathy had managed to glean some sort of helpful information about the rest of the West family.

  He made it back to Meredith’s car and leaned against the driver’s side to wait for Meredith to return from whatever she was doing. It was damned inconvenient not to have a car at his disposal.

  It had been Kathy’s idea to ride the bus into town. She’d thought being at the mercy of the West family for transportation would afford them more time to chat with the various members of the clan.

  He should have put his foot down and told her it was a dumb idea, but he found it difficult to argue with Kathy about anything. Those twinkling blue eyes and sweet smile of hers hid a stubborn streak that always surprised him.

  He straightened as he saw Meredith in the distance coming toward him. As she drew closer, he realized she looked different…softer…more feminine. It took him a minute to realize it was her hair.

  Where before it had hung without rhyme, without reason in various lengths, it now feathered around her face, emphasizing the classic beauty of her features. She carried with her a large file folder bound with several rubber bands.

  “Wow,” he said when she was close enough to hear him.

  Her cheeks reddened slightly and she reached up to self-consciously touch a strand of her hair. “It’s just a haircut,” she said with a touch of belligerence.

  “No, it’s more than that. It’s a total transformation,” he replied.

  “It’s not a big deal,” she replied, obviously not wanting him to make it a big deal. “You ready for lunch?”

  He nodded. “What have you got there?”

  “Just some paperwork I want to read.” She opened the car door, set the papers on the seat, then locked the doors and gestured toward the café. “Shall we?”

  The Sunny Side Up Café was in full swing serving a surprisingly large lunch crowd. They found an empty booth toward the back and settled in, but not before Meredith was greeted by half a dozen people.

  She’d been attractive before, but with the new hairstyle Chase
was having trouble keeping his gaze from her. “Is the food good here?” he asked as he opened a menu and forced himself to look at it. But it couldn’t hold his attention the way she did.

  “Excellent,” she replied. She looked ill at ease, her gaze darting around the room then back at her menu.

  “Is everything all right?”

  Her bright green eyes met his gaze in surprise. “Yes, everything is fine.” Once again she made a quick sweep of the room with her gaze.

  “So, tell me about your work,” Chase said after the waitress had departed with their orders. “It must be fascinating to be a bodyguard.”

  “It has its moments,” she replied, then frowned. “Although lately there haven’t been as many moments as I’d like.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She picked up her napkin and placed it in her lap. “Business has been slow. None of us are working as much as we like.”

  The conversation halted momentarily as the waitress appeared to serve their drinks. “You mentioned that before. What’s made things slow down?” Chase asked when they were once again alone.

  “Who knows? I’ve talked about it some with Tanner, my oldest brother, and even he isn’t sure what’s caused the slow down. I guess people not needing bodyguard services doesn’t necessarily translate to lower crime rates in the city. You must stay very busy.”

  Chase grinned ruefully. “Definitely. In the war on crime, the bad guys still seem to have the upper hand.”

  Her gaze held his for a long moment. “Speaking of crime, did Dalton tell you that our mother was murdered years ago?”

  She had the kind of eyes that could swallow a man whole and make him forget his surroundings. At the moment they radiated a soft vulnerability, a wistful need he immediately wanted to fulfill, no matter what it entailed.

  It was he who broke the eye contact, disconcerted by his own reaction. “Yeah, Dalton told me about it.”

  “Those papers I left in the car are copies of the reports concerning her murder. It was never solved and lately I’ve been thinking about it, about her a lot.”

  There was an unspoken question in her gaze as he looked at her once again. “I thought maybe by looking at the files I might see something that was missed in the initial investigation. I’m not telling my father or my brothers that I’m looking into Mom’s death. I don’t want to upset anyone.” She paused a moment, then continued, “How long have you been a homicide cop?”

  He suddenly knew what she wanted from him. “You want me to take a look at those files?”

  She flashed him a grateful smile. “Would you mind? Maybe you’ll see something important, something that I’m not trained to look for.”

  “Sure, I don’t mind.” He’d take a look at the files. It was the least he could do.

  A few minutes later, the waitress delivered their food and Chase’s mind worked to process his thoughts and impressions. And the one thing that kept coming back into his mind was the fact that business was slow at Wild West Protective Services.

  Somebody in Cotter Creek had worked with the men at MoTwin to identify the weak in town, the ranchers without family, the men who could easily be killed and their deaths look like accidents. Money had certainly changed hands…a lot of money. Had Meredith or one of her brothers panicked about the financial status of Wild West Protective Services and made a deal with the devil?

  Yes, he’d look at the file concerning her mother’s murder and hope that in the end he didn’t take another family member away from her.

  Chapter 3

  Dinner was chaotic. It always was when the entire West family broke bread together. Meredith let the conversation swirl around her, grateful that for the moment nobody was focused on her.

  She’d had enough attention when each of her brothers had arrived at the ranch. They’d teased her unmercifully about her new haircut until her father had insisted they stop picking on her.

  Red West had gazed at her for a long moment, a softness in his eyes. “You look exactly like your mother did when I fell in love with her,” he’d said, then hugged her. “She would have been so proud of you.”

  His words had merely renewed her desire to get to the bottom of the crime that had stolen her mother. She and Chase had agreed to go over the file that evening, after her family had left and her father went to bed.

  She cast a surreptitious glance across the table at Chase, who was in the middle of a conversation with Zack. There was no denying the fact that she was attracted to the Kansas City cop.

  It had been over a year since Meredith had enjoyed any kind of relationship with a man. At that time she’d been working in Florida and had fallen into a relationship with a local man. It had lasted over two months, until her job in Florida had ended.

  Todd Green had been a terrific guy and she’d hoped when it was time for her to return to Oklahoma that he’d beg her not to go, that he’d tell her he couldn’t live without her.

  But he hadn’t. Instead he’d told her he’d had a lot of fun with her, but when he finally decided to settle down for a long-term committed relationship it would be with somebody softer, somebody less capable…a real woman who needed him.

  She’d been devastated. Not so much because she’d been head over heels in love with Todd, but rather because his hurtful words had pierced through to a well of doubt and insecurities she’d secretly harbored.

  How could she know what it meant to be a real woman when there had been no woman in her life? She’d learned martial arts and self-defense like her brothers. She’d been taught how to shoot a gun and how to assess a situation for danger. But nobody had taught her how to be a real woman.

  Since Todd there had been nobody else. Until Chase McCall with his piercing blue eyes that for some reason made her feel oddly lacking whenever he gazed at her.

  The talk at the table turned to the Fall Festival dance in three days. “The whole town shows up for the dance,” Tanner said. “Except Meredith, she always heads home before the band starts to play.”

  “We’ve all decided she must have two left feet,” Zack added with a teasing grin. His wife, Kate, elbowed him in his side.

  Despite the teasing, there was no denying the sense of unity at the table, the fierce loyalty and love they all felt for each other was on display, no matter who the guests of the house might be at the time.

  Chase gazed at Meredith from across the table. “Surely this time you’ll stay. If fact, I insist you save me a dance or two just to prove to your brothers that you don’t have two left feet.”

  The idea of being held in his arms even for the length of a song caused a stir of warmth to seep through her blood. She wanted to protest, to tell him that she never went to the local dances, but try as she might, the protest refused to rise to her lips and she found herself nodding her assent.

  Chase and his mother had only been in town for three days, but each day had increased the annoying tension in Meredith. She’d tried to keep her distance from him, but it was difficult in the confines of the house.

  After dinner there was another hour of small talk, then everyone began to leave. “Meredith, will you walk me to my car?” Dalton asked.

  She looked at him in surprise. “All right,” she replied. Together brother and sister left the house and stepped outside into the chilly night air. Darkness had fallen and the only light was the faint glow of the moon drifting down from the cloudless sky.

  “I assume you wanted to talk to me alone?” Meredith said as they crossed the expanse of yard to where Dalton had parked his car.

  “I’ve got a favor to ask you,” Dalton replied. “About the dance on Saturday night. Even though you said you’d be there at the dinner table, I thought you might sneak out early. I know dances aren’t your thing, but could you hang around and entertain Chase and his mother for me?”

  Meredith had already decided to skip the evening festivities despite the fact that she’d said she would save a dance or two for Chase. Her experiences at the occasional t
own dances had never been pleasant ones.

  “Why do I have to babysit your guests?” she asked, a touch of irritation deepening her tone.

  Dalton grinned, leaned over and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Because you’re the best sister in the whole world and I have a date with Melanie Brooks for the dance.”

  She wanted to decline, she so didn’t want to do this, and yet Dalton had never asked her for anything. She also knew he’d spent the past month working up his nerve to ask pretty Melanie out on a date. “All right. I said I’d go, so I’ll go and make nice to your friend and his mother.”

  “You’re the best.”

  “That’s what you guys always tell me when you’ve managed to talk me into doing something I don’t want to do.”

  Dalton laughed and got into his car. She watched as he drove down the lane, his headlights eventually swallowed up by the darkness of the night.

  She wrapped her arms around herself and remained standing in place for a long moment. She frowned as she thought about the dance and rubbed her hands along the soft flannel of her shirt.

  She didn’t even have anything to wear. Her closet was filled with jeans and shirts, and the only dress she owned was the bridesmaid dress she’d worn to Clay and Libby’s wedding. It was floor length and far too fussy for a town dance.

  Maybe she’d talk to Libby tomorrow about borrowing a dress for the night. The two women were about the same size, and Libby had a closet full of clothes she’d brought with her when she’d moved from California to make a life with Clay.

  A night breeze blew a burst of chilly air through the nearby trees. Dying leaves swished against one another and a chill that had nothing to do with the night air swept up her spine. Once again she felt that creepy feeling, like somebody was watching her, like she wasn’t quite alone in the night.

  She told herself she was being foolish, but turned on her heels and hurried back into the house. She went into the kitchen to see if there was anything she could help Smokey with, but Kathy stood at the sink next to him chatting as she dried the dishes he washed. Smokey wore a long-suffering expression, as if her chatter was about to drive him insane.