Safety In Numbers

by Carla Cassidy

  Dalton laughed and clapped him on the back, and once again a wave of guilt shot through Chase. He hoped he could complete this assignment and get back to Kansas City and Dalton would never know about his role in investigating the West family.

  “I thought you had a date tonight,” Chase said.

  “I do. I’ve got to go pick her up in half an hour. In the meantime, how about I buy you a beer?” Dalton gestured toward the cash bar in one corner.

  “You know me, I never turn down a beer.”

  The two men got their drinks, then joined the rest of the family at the table where Smokey and Kathy were arguing about what ingredients made the best coleslaw dressing.

  Chase had learned quickly that Smokey Johnson was a stubborn, opinionated old cuss, but as he watched Kathy hold her own, he suspected the old man had met his match. He’d never seen his partner look quite so animated.

  She had dressed up for the evening, wearing a blue dress that sharpened the blue of her eyes, and a touch of blush colored her cheeks. She looked like a small-town woman eager for a night of fun rather than the seasoned FBI agent she was.

  People continued to arrive, everyone looking as if they’d donned their Sunday best for the dance. He wasn’t surprised to see Bill Wallace and Roger Tompkins arrive. He didn’t acknowledge the fellow FBI agents’ presence in any way.

  The band began to play and within minutes the dance floor was filled with twirling couples. “I think it would be nice if you asked me to dance,” Kathy said to Smokey.

  He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Dancing is for kids.”

  She smiled and stood, her hand extended to him. “You’re only as young as you feel, and right now I feel like a kid.”

  “But I’ve got a bum leg,” Smokey protested.

  “And I have arthritis. I figure we can lean against each other and make it around the dance floor.”

  Smokey looked helplessly around the table, as if seeking some kind of support. Red offered a benign smile and Dalton merely shrugged his shoulders.

  “You might as well go ahead,” Chase said. “When she gets her mind made up about something, she doesn’t take no for an answer.”

  With a frown that would have daunted most women, Smokey rose to his feet and took Kathy’s hand. She was really working it, Chase thought. It wouldn’t be long before Smokey Johnson didn’t have a thought in his head that Kathy didn’t know about. If he had anything to do with the death of the ranchers and the land scheme, Kathy would ferret it out.

  Before the dance had ended, Zack and his wife, Kate, and Tanner and his wife, Anna, arrived and joined them all at the table.

  Chase was beginning to wonder if perhaps Meredith wasn’t coming, that maybe his indifference to her the past couple of days had made her change her mind. That was fine with him. He didn’t like the hunger she stirred in him.

  He saw Sam Rhenquist across the room and walked over to speak to the old man. “Hello, Sam.”

  “Chase.” He nodded his head.

  “How you doing this evening?”

  “Same as I do every evening. My bones ache, I worry about world peace and heart palpitations and wonder if I’ll wake up in the morning.”

  “I have a feeling you have lots of mornings left,” Chase replied. “Good turnout for tonight.”

  “Nothing this town likes better than a party, especially after all that’s happened the last couple of months.”

  Chase looked at him with speculation. “I figure a man who parks himself on Main Street for most of the day hears things, maybe sees things that others don’t hear or see. What do you know about what’s been going on?”

  Sam looked at him for a long moment, his brown eyes wary. “I reckon I know that the last person who opened her mouth to talk about what was going on here in town wound up dead.” He didn’t wait for Chase to respond but instead walked off in the direction of the cash bar.

  Meredith stood just outside the door to the community center, trying to get up her nerve to go inside. She hadn’t been to a town dance in several years, but that wasn’t what made her nerves dance in her stomach like overactive jumping beans.

  Never had she dressed the way she looked this evening. Never had she put on makeup the way she had tonight. She had no idea what had gotten into her when she’d chosen to borrow the emerald-green dress from Libby.

  Okay, she had a little bit of an idea. She suspected it had been irritation with Chase McCall that had prompted her to pick a dress that showed more cleavage than she’d ever displayed and hugged curves she hadn’t even known she possessed.

  As she thought of Chase, a new flash of irritation swept through her. The man had kissed her, then ditched her. He’d seemed to go out of his way over the past two days to avoid her, and that had fed every single insecurity she had as a woman.

  Tonight, for the first time in her life, she’d wanted to look like a woman. She smoothed the silky green material over her waist, then drew a deep breath and stepped into the crowded community center. She was going to try her best to act like a woman.

  It didn’t take her long to find the table her family had commandeered. As she approached, she was aware of several of the men eyeing her up and down and equally aware of the scowls that suddenly decorated her brothers’ faces.

  “Did you forget to put on the rest of that dress?” Zack asked darkly when she reached the table.

  Kate elbowed him hard in the ribs. “Shush up,” she demanded, then smiled at Meredith. “You look absolutely stunning.”

  Tanner frowned. “Any of those drunken cowboys make a move toward you, then I’ll be spending the night kicking some cowboy butt.”

  Meredith sighed and sat next to Anna, Tanner’s wife. “This is why I never come to these things. There’s nothing worse for a woman’s social life than overprotective brothers. Where’s Smokey?”

  Anna pointed to the dance floor where Smokey and Kathy were dancing. “Aren’t they cute?” Anna said. “This is their third dance.”

  Meredith nodded, shocked at the smile that curved Smokey’s mouth upward. She wasn’t sure she could remember the last time Smokey had smiled so much.

  Everyone was accounted for except Dalton and Chase, not that she cared where Chase might be.

  She’d only been seated for a few minutes when Buck Harmon walked over to her. “Evening, Meredith.” He nodded to everyone else at the table, his gaze darting first left, then right with obvious nervousness. “I was wondering if you’d like to dance with me.”

  At forty years old Buck was a divorced man. He was nice, but with his long, pointed nose and small eyes he’d always reminded Meredith of a ferret.

  “I’d love to dance,” she replied and stood.

  “Just don’t hold her too close,” Zack warned, and Buck’s face changed to the color of a ripened tomato.

  “’Course not,” he replied.

  Meredith shot her brother a dirty look, then allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor.

  “You look real pretty tonight,” Buck said as he held her at a respectable distance from him. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you look so pretty.”

  “Thanks,” she replied.

  “I’m cutting in.” The deep familiar voice came from behind Meredith. Buck instantly dropped his hand from her waist and stepped back as Chase dismissed him as if he were nothing but an irritating fly.

  He took her hand and pulled her into his embrace with a possessiveness that renewed her irritation with him. It didn’t help that he looked positively amazing in his black shirt and tight jeans.

  “What makes you think I wanted you to cut in?” she asked peevishly.

  He smiled, but the gesture didn’t quite reach the depths of his eyes. “Because you had the look of a deer in the headlights. That guy wasn’t your type at all.”

  “And you are?” He smelled wonderful, a hint of shaving cream and woodsy cologne. An utterly male scent that seemed to envelop her.

  “I am for the length of this dance.
” He pulled her closer, so close her nose came precariously close to his shoulder. “Was it your intention to start a riot tonight?”

  She leaned back and looked at him once again. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about that dress.” His eyes now held a hint of emotion, something dangerous and simmering just beneath the surface that caused her heart to beat erratically.

  “What’s wrong with my dress?”

  This time there was no mistaking the spark that lit his eyes. “Absolutely nothing.” Once again he pulled her closer. “You’ve got every man in this room wanting you and every woman in the room hating you.” His voice warmed the air near her ear.

  A breathless wonder filled her. Was being a desirable woman really as simple as putting on a form-fitting dress and a little bit of makeup? Was this all that it would have taken to make Todd happy? Somehow she didn’t think so. Besides, the wonder was short-lived as she thought of how Chase had avoided her after kissing her.

  “I’ve never much cared what people thought of me,” she replied with a touch of coolness to her tone.

  “Does that include me?” he asked.

  “You’re at the top of my I-don’t-care list.”

  He laughed, as if he didn’t believe her, as if he could feel the throb of her heartbeat against his muscled chest. It’s true, she told herself. I don’t care anything about Chase McCall. He’ll only be in my life for the length of his vacation, then he and his mother will be gone.

  But as his muscled thigh pressed against hers and his hand tightened around her back, she found it hard to convince herself that he didn’t affect her on any level.

  He danced well. He was a strong lead and managed to make her feel graceful as he moved her around the dance floor.

  “You’re angry with me,” he said.

  “Why on earth would I be angry with you?” she countered.

  “Maybe because I haven’t spent any time with you the past couple of days. Maybe because I kissed you and have barely talked to you since then. Or maybe because I haven’t kissed you again.” His eyes sparked with a touch of humor.

  “Get over yourself,” she scoffed. “What are you doing, Chase, looking for some excitement by playing head games with me? Bored with your vacation? Might I suggest you enter a local bull-riding contest to alleviate any boredom you might be suffering.”

  He laughed again, then sobered. “I’m not trying to play head games with you.” His gaze intensified. “I’ll admit that I’m very attracted to you and there’s nothing I’d like more than to act on that physical attraction, but I’m not looking for any kind of relationship so I figured it was best if I backed away.”

  “And what makes you think I’m interested in any kind of relationship except a physical one?” she asked, surprised at how his blatant confession of wanting her thrilled her.

  He looked at her in surprise. “Because every woman I’ve ever known wants more than just a couple of rolls in the hay from a man.”

  “I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I’m not like most women,” she replied. At that moment the music ended and she stepped out of his embrace. “Thanks for the dance, cowboy. The next move is up to you.” With these bold words she turned and walked away.

  She went directly toward the ladies’ room, unable to believe her own audacity. She’d practically given him an open invitation to seduce her. What on earth had gotten into her?

  As she stood at one of the sinks and dabbed her warm cheeks with a damp paper towel, she realized exactly what had gotten into her. Loneliness.

  Other than Savannah, Meredith had no close friends. Savannah was warm and funny and great to spend time with, but she wasn’t a significant other. She wasn’t what Meredith was lonely for…a man.

  The brief relationship she’d had with Todd seemed like another lifetime ago and in the short time that she’d been with Todd she’d discovered that she liked sex. Of course, at the time she was having sex with Todd she’d believed they were building toward an I do. Instead he’d been working up his nerve to tell her No thanks.

  At least if she decided to have a physical relationship with Chase she’d have no illusions of how it would end. It would end with him going back to Kansas City and her no worse for the experience. Her loneliness would be alleviated for a short time, and that in itself was appealing.

  She tossed the towel into the nearby trashcan and left the restroom. As she walked out, she was immediately greeted by Doug Landers, a man who’d been a classmate all through school.

  “Meredith,” he said and slung an arm around her shoulder. He smelled like too little deodorant and too much whiskey. “Darling, who knew that beneath those ugly shirts and jeans you wear was the body of a goddess?”

  “Let me go, Doug. You’re drunk,” she exclaimed.

  “I’m not too drunk to appreciate a fine piece of ass when I see it,” he replied.

  She tried to move away from him, but he tightened his arm around her. She was vaguely aware of Chase coming out of the men’s room. As he saw her, his pleasant expression transformed into something dark and dangerous.

  “Doug, I’m warning you, let me go,” she exclaimed.

  The drunken cowboy laughed, his breath potent enough to stop a raging bull in its tracks. “I’m not letting you go until I get a little kiss.”

  Meredith acted purely on instinct. In one smooth move she grabbed his arm from her shoulder, whirled out of his embrace and yanked his arm up behind his back.

  He yelped in pain. “Let me go, you bitch,” he exclaimed.

  She gave his arm a final yank upward, then released him and pushed him away. As he stumbled off, she saw the stunned surprise on Chase’s face and she felt slightly sick to her stomach.

  She had a feeling this was exactly what Todd had been talking about, her inability to allow a man to help her, her lack of helplessness and charming softness that every woman was supposed to embody.

  Suddenly tired, all she wanted to do was go home. It depressed her, the fact that she knew how to be a great bodyguard but didn’t know anything about being a woman.

  “I’d ask if you were okay, but it’s obvious you can take care of yourself,” Chase said as he approached.

  “Growing up with all my brothers, I had to learn a little self-defense,” she said as they walked in the direction of the table. To heck with her promise to Dalton to babysit his friend, she thought crossly. “I think I’m going to head home. I’ve had enough Fall Festival for one year.”

  “But I’ve only gotten to dance with you once,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, a touch of concern darkening his eyes.

  “I’m fine. Just tired.” They reached the table and she said her goodbye to her family, then grabbed her purse and headed for the nearest exit.

  As she wove through the people to reach the door, she was aware of Doug’s malevolent glare following her progress. He was obviously angry with her, but he’d probably get over it when he sobered up.

  She hadn’t realized how noisy it was inside until she stepped out the door and into the still night. The unusually warm air wrapped around her, banishing the last of Chase’s scent that had lingered in her head.

  Maybe a brief, hot affair was exactly what she needed. No expectations. No disappointments. Just a momentary respite from her loneliness.

  Pulling her keys from her purse, she realized she couldn’t wait to get out of the dress, couldn’t wait to wash the makeup off her face. She’d tried to be something she wasn’t this evening, and she wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  Eventually she might find a man who cared about her, who could fall in love with her as she was, and if that didn’t happen, then she would live her life alone.

  As she approached her car she frowned, noticing something white sticking out from under the driver’s windshield wiper. When she got closer she saw it was a piece of paper folded several times. She plucked it out and opened it.

  “I’ve been waiting for you
for a very, very long time. You are my destiny.”

  The words were printed in block letters and the note wasn’t signed. She unlocked her car door and slid behind the steering wheel, the note clutched in her hand.

  The creepy feeling returned, raising the hair on the nape of her neck, dancing goose bumps along her arms. A secret admirer?

  Maybe some women would be thrilled by the very idea. Meredith wasn’t. She didn’t like secrets. She looked around the parking lot, seeking the source of the note. But while the lot was crowded with cars and trucks, she saw nobody standing in the shadows, nobody crouched down next to a car.

  She tucked the note into her purse, started her car engine, then on instinct did something she’d never done before in Cotter Creek. She locked her car doors.

  Chapter 5

  Chase awakened late the next morning with the hangover from hell. A long hot shower eased most of his misery, and by the time he left his room he suffered only an irritating headache that he hoped a gallon of coffee would banish.

  He rarely drank too much. He had far too many memories of his old man, drunk and mean, and a deep-seated fear that at any minute he might become the same kind of man.

  But last night after Meredith had left the dance, he’d drunk to forget how good she’d felt in his arms. He’d drunk to erase the feel of her long, slender legs against his, the press of her breasts against his chest and the challenge in her eyes when she’d told him that the next move was up to him.

  He’d just come down the hall and into the living room when he heard a knock on the front door. Seeing nobody else around he walked to the front door. A young man stood on the porch clutching a long, white florist box.

  “I have a delivery for Meredith West,” he said.

  “I’ll take it.” Chase took the box, gave the kid a tip, then closed the door and went to hunt down Meredith. It was obvious somebody had sent Meredith flowers. It surprised him how much he didn’t like the idea. However, it didn’t surprise him that she’d managed to garner some man’s attention the night before.