Colorado Cowboy - Includes a bonus novella

by Sara Richardson

  Dev ignored her and focused on her nephew. “The person who called in the accident said the truck was driving erratically. Was your aunt driving erratically, Bodie?”

  Panic gripped the kid’s expression. “Uh, maybe? I guess. Kind of.” He shot Charity a desperate look.

  She stepped in front of him. “I was distracted. Like I said, my phone rang.”

  Wow, she was really committed to this whole story. Didn’t take a genius to figure out she was covering for the kid. And while Dev admired her loyalty, he couldn’t let her get away with it. He couldn’t let Bodie get away with it. “Who was on the phone?” he asked with a glare that wouldn’t let her hide.

  She shrugged and looked away. “Wrong number.”

  “Mind if I take look at your phone?”

  “Yes, I mind.” Charity stumbled back a step. “My phone is none of your damn business, Dev. You need a warrant for that kind of thing.” And there was the fierce Charity everyone knew and loved.

  He simply stared back. Her iciest glare didn’t ruffle him. “I’m gonna need you to give me a few minutes alone with your nephew,” he informed her. “I’d like to ask him a few questions.”

  “You can’t interrogate him.” She guided her nephew to stand behind her. “He’s a minor. You have no reason to question him. I already told you what happened.”

  “I’m not interrogating him. I just want to ask a few simple questions.”

  “Fine.” She crossed her arms, still blocking him from looking at the kid. “You can ask him anything with me standing here.”

  “Okay.” If that’s how she wanted to play it. He sidestepped her. “Bodie, were you the one driving the truck when it crashed?”

  “I already told you he wasn’t,” Charity answered for him. “It was my fault. I crashed. So just give me the damn ticket and we can all go back to bed.”

  See, this is why he’d wanted to get Bodie alone. If that guilty expression on the kid’s face was any indication, he would crumble faster than the sugar-free, whole-grain muffins Everly sold at the café. Dev looked past her. “Bodie, do you know what the penalties are for lying to a police officer?”

  “He’s not lying!” Charity stepped up toe-to-toe with Dev. She stood so close he could smell a subtle hint of tart cherry mixed with something sweeter.

  “Let. It. Go.” Her eyes blazed.

  Dev shifted his gaze to Bodie, who now looked downright scared. His hands had squeezed into fists at his sides and the poor kid seemed to be hyperventilating.

  Damn it. During his training he’d always assumed that, when he got out on the field, things would be either right or wrong, black or white, legal or illegal, but that was before he’d considered the gray areas caused by desperate people who were stuck in situations he couldn’t possibly imagine. He’d faced it more times than he cared to admit—that feeling of indecision, that dilemma between upholding the law and leniency. It never got easier.

  He assessed Charity again. She was a force, that was for sure. And he usually admired her grit…except for when it was directed at him. “Can I have a word with you?” He nodded toward the truck.

  “I’ll be right back, Bodie.” She gave the boy’s shoulder a quick squeeze before marching to the other side of the truck.

  Dev followed her, already feeling a chink in his armor. He wanted to help people—sometimes to a fault—but with Charity that tendency ran even deeper.

  “I need you to let this go,” she said as soon as he stood across from her. “Give me a ticket and move on.”

  “I have to do my job, Charity.” He brought his face in line with hers so she’d see he meant no harm. “Covering for him won’t help him in life. You know that, right?”

  “No one has ever covered for him.” She stared straight ahead. “No one has ever helped him. No one has ever given him a chance. He drew the joker card when he got stuck with my sister.”

  Well, she might suck at lying, but she sure knew her way around guilt trips. “I know he’s had it rough.” He softened his voice. “But he has to be held accountable or he’ll never learn anything.”

  “I was driving the truck.” Her gaze drove straight into his. “Please, Dev. I need you to trust me.”

  “Then I need you to trust me, too.” She might insist she didn’t need his help, but from the looks of things here, she was in over her head. “I can—”

  Headlights careened around the corner and came straight for them. Dev shielded his eyes, trying to see past the glare.

  Charity spun toward the car, which had screeched to a stop near the downed statue. “Who is it?”

  With the headlights now off, Dev didn’t even have to squint. He knew only one person who drove an ancient Oldsmobile that big. “That would be our fine mayor.” Which meant things were about to get a lot more complicated for them both.

  Chapter Five

  Hank Green was absolutely the last person on earth Charity wanted to see right now. And considering how many disreputable men she’d met on the circuit, that was saying a lot.

  She made a quick scan of the scene and winced at the damage to the statue. If there was one thing the mayor hated, it was anyone messing with his town. Last year, when a group of teenagers had spray-painted the bathrooms at the city park, Hank had launched an all-out inquisition, getting the town so riled up that the teens finally confessed out of fear they’d be sent to the gallows if they got caught. Now the man was walking toward her and Dev wearing a vulturelike scowl.

  “Do you trust me?” Dev turned her to face him, his eyes searching hers.

  Now was not a good time for loaded questions. Everything she’d seen had told her Dev was a trustworthy person, but life had already taught her she couldn’t trust anyone. “Why?” she asked instead of answering.

  “I need you to trust me, Charity.” The deputy whipped his handcuffs off his belt. “Turn around.”

  “What?” Her heart lurched, forcing her back a step. “Are you serious? You’re arresting me?”

  “Not arresting,” Dev corrected. “Detaining. Trust me,” he said again.

  “But—”

  “What the hell happened out here?” Hank Green demanded, his voice booming.

  “Everything’s under control.” Dev’s voice held firm. “Turn around, Ms. Stone, and clasp your hands behind your back.”

  He was serious. He wanted to cuff her!

  “It’ll be in your best interest to cooperate while I conduct the investigation.” Dev gave her shoulder a careful nudge. “Trust me.” The whisper was so faint she almost didn’t hear it. “Now please turn around and clasp your hands behind your back.” His voice went all official again.

  Every fight instinct she’d so carefully honed went crazy, but she gritted her teeth and did what he said.

  Dev cinched the cuffs around her wrists. “This shouldn’t take long, Ms. Stone. But seeing as how there’s significant damage to public property, we need to cover all our bases. I’m sure you understand.”

  The only thing she understood was that Dev would hear about this later. Pretty much the second Hank Green left, Dev would hear about this.

  “Aunt Charity?” Bodie jogged over. “What’s going on?”

  Dev took her arm and prodded her away from Hank Green and toward his SUV. “I’m detaining the driver while I conduct a thorough search of the vehicle.”

  “It’s okay, Bodie.” Charity peered over her shoulder and tried to smile, so her nephew wouldn’t confess that he’d been the one driving. Calm. She had to stay calm, even though her heart hammered with the need to rip away from the deputy. No one confined her. No one forced her into anything…

  “You’re damned right you’ll conduct a thorough investigation.” Hank Green followed behind them as though supervising Dev’s every move. “That statue was a landmark in this town. Took us two years to raise the funds to have it made.”

  “It was an accident. I already told you. I missed the turn.” Charity pulled out of Dev’s grasp so she could walk by herself. “I
’ll pay for the stupid statue.”

  Dev went ahead of her and opened the back door of his SUV. “Let me handle this,” he said, his voice low and cautioning. He guided her to slide into the back seat. “I need you to wait here until I’ve searched your truck.”

  Another round of resistance sparked her temper. “Search my truck? What the heck are you looking for, Dev?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Hank answered for him. “Drugs. Alcohol. No one hits a statue that big unless they’re under the influence.”

  Or unless they’re thirteen. “I’ll have you know that I have never been drunk. Not once.” She wriggled to the edge of the seat and dangled her legs out the door, ready to stand up and get in Hank’s face. “And even when I broke my collarbone, I refused any painkillers and took over-the-counter medications instead. So you can kiss my—”

  “Enough.” Dev stepped between her and Hank. “From everything I’ve seen, this looks like an innocent accident.” He faced the mayor. “Most likely a case of distracted driving, but I will do my job and make sure.” He shot Charity a look that clearly told her to keep her mouth shut and slammed the car door.

  Of course the man’s car would have to smell absolutely divine. A lot like him, actually. It had to be some kind of cologne. A heady mix of spice and something outdoorsy…masculine. No wonder some of the women in town purposely entrapped him by speeding so he would pull them over.

  Charity squirmed to loosen the tension that had built low between her shoulder blades. He’d actually cuffed her. The man had put her in handcuffs and stashed her in the back seat of his car like some kind of criminal. Her temper flared. She had half a mind to completely trash the neat interior of his little justice mobile—she could do a lot of damage with her legs. But if she got officially arrested, what would Bodie do? He couldn’t be left on his own overnight. Hold it together. She peered out the window.

  Bodie had stationed himself right next to the SUV and was peering into the window with a worried expression. He looked too grown-up. She could still see traces of the chubby toddler she’d held on her hip. Back then he used to giggle and clap and sing and find joy in the smallest things. Now he was standing at the scene of an accident because he’d stolen her truck. It shouldn’t be like this. He shouldn’t be standing out there on his own, worried and afraid. Grrrr. Why couldn’t Dev see that Bodie just needed someone to stand with him? She fisted her hands and strained against the cuffs, but Dev had locked those things on tight.

  Helpless to do anything but stare out, Charity scooted closer to the window. Hank stood next to her truck with his arms crossed while Dev searched inside. They wouldn’t find anything. She kept her truck much cleaner than she kept her house. Tapping her foot, she waited for the inspection to end. Finally, Dev emerged and said something to Hank. The two of them walked to Hank’s car. After another lengthy discussion, the mayor climbed into his Oldsmobile and drove away.

  Charity leaned against the leather seat with a sigh. With Hank out of the way, maybe she could finally convince Dev to let Bodie off the hook for this. She watched the deputy saunter back to the SUV. As a matter of principle, she purposely ignored the way his body moved, the way it filled out his uniform so that the button-down shirt stretched tight across his broad shoulders. She would not appreciate it. Not when she was sitting handcuffed in the back of his SUV.

  When the door opened, she snapped her head forward and looked straight ahead, bracing herself for the possibility that Dev would tell her he’d decided to charge Bodie.

  Without saying a word, Dev opened the door, reached in, and took a hold of her arm, gently tugging until she slid out of the car.

  When he stepped behind her to unlock the handcuffs, she peered over her shoulder. “What’re you doing?”

  “I’m taking off the cuffs.” He pulled them away from her wrists and clicked them back onto his belt. “And then I’m going to write you a ticket.” He moved away from her, opened the passenger’s side door, and pulled out a clipboard.

  Charity slid a surreptitious glance over to Bodie, who kept his distance. Wait, was that a smile on his face? She’d expected that scared expression he’d worn earlier, but instead he gave her a thumbs-up. “So you believe me? About Bodie not driving the truck?”

  “Not even a little bit.” Dev focused on filling out a form on the clipboard, his handwriting neat and precise.

  Right. Because Dev wasn’t stupid. “But you’re not going to do anything about it?”

  “What can I do?” He paused from writing to look up at her. “Bodie gave me the same story you did. There are no witnesses to refute it. So I guess I have to trust you.”

  The way he said it—like he knew he couldn’t trust her in this case—stung. She’d always been trustworthy. She’d made sure she’d risen above her own mother’s lies and deception. But tonight, she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t let Bodie take the consequences for this. “Well, good,” she muttered, finding it hard to look at Dev. “I’m glad you finally believe us.”

  Amusement perked up the corners of the deputy’s mouth. “I didn’t say I believed you. I said I have no choice but to trust you.” He scrawled a signature on the bottom of the form and handed it over to her. “This one’s gonna hurt, though. Destroying public property is a serious offense.”

  “That’s fine. I can handle it.” She’d never even gotten so much as a traffic ticket before. One infraction wasn’t going to take away her license.

  Dev still looked amused. “I doubt your insurance will think it’s fine once they realize they have to pay for the statue.”

  “Then I’ll find new insurance,” she said defiantly.

  The man sighed and looked at her. “I do trust you, you know. You’re a good person, Charity.”

  And there went all of those hostile feelings for the whole handcuff thing.

  “I know you’re trying to do what’s best for the kid,” Dev went on. “But driving without a license—and destroying public property—is a big deal. I’d hate to see him try it again because there were no consequences this time.”

  “It won’t happen again. Because you’re going to find my sister and she’s going to come back and get him. And they’ll go back to Oklahoma.” She hadn’t realized her voice had gotten shaky until that last sentence. In fact, her whole body had started to shake again. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t be a parent. She didn’t know the first thing about nurturing a child. She wasn’t enough for him.

  Dev looked at her in his thoughtful, considering way. “Are you sure going back to his mom is the best for him?”

  “Yes.” Look at what had happened in twenty-four hours with him being under her supervision. If she hadn’t woken up, he’d probably be on his way to juvie.

  “All right then,” Dev murmured, turning back to his SUV. “I’ll go ahead and call out the tow truck. Then I’ll give you two a ride home.”

  “Thank you.” If Dev heard the sincerity in her voice, he didn’t acknowledge it. He simply walked away and pulled out his phone.

  Guilt chased her across the parking lot to where Bodie stood. It was a new feeling. Typically, she made sure she had nothing to feel guilty about.

  “Did he buy it?” her nephew asked, as if they were coconspirators in some dangerous scheme.

  “No.” Charity paused to freak him out a little. She wasn’t sure she liked the excitement beaming from his eyes. That wasn’t the point of this cover-up. The point was to make sure he didn’t have to deal with legal trouble on top of being abandoned by his mother. “But he’s letting it go. He wrote me a ticket.”

  “It’s bad, isn’t it?” Bodie turned to look at the statue. “It’ll cost you a lot of money.”

  “That’s an understatement.” Not to mention, her truck was likely totaled as well, which meant her premiums would go through the roof.

  “I’m sorry, Aunt Charity.” There was the remorse she’d been looking for. His eyes were as repentant as a puppy’s. And aunt. He’d called her aunt.

&
nbsp; “I wasn’t thinking,” he mumbled. “I want to go home, that’s all. I want to be with my friends. I never wanted to leave in the first place.”

  “I know.” She knew what it felt like to get uprooted with no warning. Her own mother had done it every time she broke up with one of her boyfriends. Charity waited until Bodie looked at her. “But you messed up, Bodie.” She was supposed to be in charge here, so she’d better act like it. “I bailed you out this time. But it won’t happen again. And if you ever lie to the cops—ever—I will personally make sure you regret it. Got that?”

  “Got it,” he said solemnly.

  “And,” she continued while she was on a roll, “there are a few things you could help me with around the house to pay off some of the debt you now owe me.”

  “I will,” he promised. “I’ll help.”

  “You two ready to get home?” Dev sauntered over. “Tow truck’ll be here in about an hour, but I gave him your information, and he said you can deal with it tomorrow.”

  “We’re ready.” Ready for this night to be over. Though things hadn’t been nearly as horrible as they could have, thanks to Dev. “Come on, Bodie.” She put her arm around him and he didn’t try to shrug her away.

  They all climbed into the car in silence. Bodie’s uncertain expression had returned. Hopefully this whole fiasco would be enough to scare him away from any more criminal acts in the future.

  Charity moved to strap on her seat belt while Dev started the car. He looked so official sitting there in his uniform. She couldn’t help but slide her gaze down from his broad shoulders to his firm waist, where his gun sat snugly in its holster.

  “It’s a Glock 22,” Dev informed her, guiding the SUV out of the parking lot and onto the road.

  “Oh.” She startled. He’d caught her looking. “It’s…nice.” Yeah, sure. She was totally checking out the gun and not his body.

  “I actually prefer the old Smith and Wesson, but the boss likes the new ones.”