by Delores Fossen, Rachel Lee, Carol Ericson, Tyler Anne Snell, Rita Herron
Jolene might’ve been happier out there with the protestors, but after the death of Jolene’s father, Wade took the reins of the Nighthawk family and the family members had always been part of the Yaqui governing board. Bad optics for one Nighthawk cousin to be in here cheerleading the casino and the other out there carrying signs.
Clay did his part up there, and then the speeches ended. Both Mayor Zamora and Wade raised their ceremonial shovels and stepped from the stage. Someone came forward with wire cutters and snipped the wires between the posts, creating an opening for the two dignitaries.
They both plunged their shovels into the sand at the same time, as a cheer rose from the crowd and the cameras came out.
Jolene sat stiffly beside him, barely taking a breath.
Sam touched her shoulder. “Did you get anything to eat? Do you want something from one of the food trucks?”
She flashed a smile at him that nearly knocked him off his chair. “Yeah, that would be great.”
He hadn’t expected that response. He figured she’d want to hightail it out of here as fast as she could. He asked Granny Viv if she wanted something to eat and she sent him and Jolene off in quest of some chili.
As they sauntered toward the food trucks, Jolene took a deep breath. “That rain is coming, but I think they’ll be able to start digging before the deluge, don’t you?”
“All of a sudden, you seem anxious for them to get to work.” He shot her a glance from the side of his eye.
“It’s like a bandage. Peel it off all at once.” She jerked her thumb toward a food truck to the right. “I think this one has the chili Gran wants.”
They shuffled in line until they reached the window, and Sam ordered three cups of chili and some bottles of water. He grabbed a straw when he picked up the food, and on their way back to Gran, he and Jolene squeezed their way through the people gawking at the excavators gulping up the sand and spitting it out in big piles.
When they reached Granny Viv, Sam placed the chili in her hands and put the bottle of water with the straw sticking out of it on the empty chair next to her. “Watch out. It’s hot.”
A clap of thunder boomed in the distance as if to emphasize his precaution.
The chatter level seemed to rise with the echoes of the thunder, and a mass of people began to surge toward the build site, knocking over a few chairs in the process.
“What’s going on?” Jolene poked him in the back. “You’re tall. Can you see what’s happening? Something other than the thunder got all these people excited.”
“I’m not sure.” Sam peered above the bobbing heads. “A couple of the workmen are shouting and running toward the stage.”
“I hope nobody’s hurt.” Granny Viv held her spoon full of steaming chili suspended in the air, halfway to her mouth.
Sam placed his food next to the water on the chair. “I’ll check it out.”
“I’m coming with you.” Jolene added her bowl to the collection on the chair and hooked a finger in his belt loop. “Lead the way.”
If she were willing to follow him, he’d lead her wherever she wanted to go.
Sam plowed through the clutches of people, with Jolene right behind him. When he reached the stage, he grabbed Clay’s arm. “What’s going on, Clay?”
“Not sure.” He nodded toward the piles of sand and dirt. “The work crew found something, I think.”
Sam edged closer to a couple of guys throwing their arms around and talking a mile a minute.
One shouted in Wade’s face. “We have to stop. We have to stop.”
A flush rose to Wade’s cheeks. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s nothing. Keep going.”
The driver of one of the excavators dug his work boots into the sand. “I won’t. I won’t continue.”
The other worker crossed himself and said, “Dios mio.”
Jolene called out, her voice rising above the din. “Wade, what’s wrong? What is it?”
Wade’s head whipped around, a scowl marring his smooth face. “It’s nothing. Nonsense.”
The mayor shook his head. “Well, I’ll be damned. Seems like the boys dug up some bones. We might’ve just stumbled on a graveyard.”
Chapter Three
Jolene folded her arms across her midsection. “Bones? Human bones?”
“That’s just it, Jolene, it could be anything, one of those extinct animals you care so much about.” Wade flicked his long fingers toward the two workmen. “Do these guys look like archaeologists to you?”
“Are you?” She slashed a hand through the air, figuratively trying to wipe the smirk from Wade’s face. “Watch your tone. They know what they saw.”
Sam whistled through his teeth and murmured in her ear. “That’s going to put a crimp in old Wade’s plans, isn’t it?”
She whispered. “He’s right. Those bones could belong to anything.”
“Or anyone.” Sam’s jaw tensed. “Didn’t the mayor mention a graveyard? More than one set of bones?”
“Whatever it was, it shook up the crew.” Jolene put a hand on Sam’s back as he made a quick turn. “Where are you going?”
“I figure Clay and I know a human bone when we see one.” He waved his arm in the air at Clay. “Hey, Clay!”
Clay joined them. “Did you hear that? They dug up some bones?”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Let’s go have a look. It doesn’t seem like anyone else wants to investigate.” He squeezed Jolene’s shoulder. “Wait here.”
“No way.” She strode after the two Border Patrol agents. “You don’t think I know animal bones when I see them? Ruling out is as important as identifying.”
Sam cranked his head over his shoulder. “I know better than to try to stop you from doing anything.”
He couldn’t stop her from loving him, either. But then, he hadn’t tried that hard.
The three of them trudged through the sand toward the heavy equipment, its jaws suspended in the air, wide open and frozen. They stopped at the edge of a hole in the ground and peered down into it.
Clay jabbed a finger toward the sand. “There. It’s a long bone. Looks like a femur.”
“Could be a coyote, a sheep.” Sam slapped at a big drop of rain that had fallen on the side of his neck.
Jolene’s gaze darted between the bones in the pit, and then she twisted her head over her shoulder and surveyed the ground to the side of the excavator. A smooth crescent protruded from the sand.
She broke away from Clay and Sam and wandered toward the pile of dirt the excavator had dumped after a few digs. Crouching down, she brushed the sand away from the white dome and called over her shoulder. “You think this is from a coyote, too?”
Both men strode toward her and peeked over her shoulder at the human skull next to the wheel of the excavator.
Clay got on his phone. “I’m calling Paradiso PD. They should have a car out here anyway, monitoring those protestors.”
“I’ll give Wade and Mayor Zamora the bad news. This construction has to stop now. This could be a crime scene.” Sam pivoted in the sand and scuffed toward the stage.
Jolene’s heart pounded, and she tugged on the back of his shirt. “Crime scene? What do you mean a crime scene?”
“Those bones could belong to a murder victim.” His eyebrows snapped over his nose. “You’re the one who found the skull. You know it doesn’t belong to an animal.”
“A murder victim?” She swiveled her head around, taking in the swirl of activity—the colors, the voices, the smells—and tilted to the side.
Sam grabbed her around the waist. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling faint? Did the bones upset you?”
“The crush of people is getting to me. I’m going to collect Gran and get out of here.” As she whirled away from Sam, Wade stormed up to her and pinched her upper arm between his thumb and forefi
nger. “What did you do?”
She yanked out of her cousin’s grasp and stumbled into Sam. “Me? I didn’t do anything.”
“You were out there. I heard you found the human skull.” He jabbed a finger into her chest. “Why do you have to go nosing into everything? I could’ve handled the guys. We could’ve...”
“What, Wade? Swept it under the rug? Kept it hidden?”
Sam had been on the phone during her exchange with Wade and when her cousin had gotten up close and personal, Sam swung around and smoothly stepped between them. “Whoa, Wade. You need to calm down. There was no hiding those bones. Do you think if Jolene hadn’t discovered the skull, Clay and I wouldn’t have seen it? The gruesome discovery shook up those workmen. They never would’ve kept quiet.”
Wade stretched his lips, his plastic smile melting into a sneer. “You have no idea the effect a few bucks can have on a man’s nerves.”
“I wouldn’t be spouting off about your bribery skills if I were you, Wade.” Sam held up his phone. “I called the Paradiso PD, and they’re sending a car back. They’re gonna put yellow crime scene tape up to replace your multicolored ribbons. Then the Pima County Sheriff’s Department is going to send their CSIs out here to collect those bones.”
Jolene swallowed. “What are they going to do with the bones?”
“Test them, measure them, analyze them. Maybe discover the identity of the person.” Sam smacked Wade on the back. “Don’t look so bummed, Wade. Once they clear out those bones and check the area for more, your project should be able to get back on track—in a year.”
“This isn’t going to deter us.” Wade smoothed a hand over his face, putting his calm, unruffled facade back in place. “You should take Gran home, Jolene.”
“That’s what I was just going to do.” A fat raindrop splashed on the back of her hand. “And not a minute too soon.”
“I’ll come with you.” Sam cupped her elbow and guided her through the thinning crowd. “Wade’s a piece of work.”
“He’s a piece of something.” She shook him off. “You don’t have to protect me against Wade—or anything else.”
She’d been getting too comfortable with Sam’s little gestures—the touches, the consideration, the fawning over Gran—scratch that last one. Gran adored Sam and reveled in the attentions he gave her.
When they got back to the chairs where they’d left Gran, two teens were sprawled across them, their noses buried in their phones.
Jolene recognized one of them. “Andrew, did you see my grandmother here?”
He lifted one eyebrow without raising his gaze from his phone. “Yeah, she left with my grandmother. They told me to stay here and let you know when you got back—and they took your car.”
“They took my car?” Jolene peered at the sky. “Why’d they do that?”
Andrew shrugged one shoulder. “Me and my friend wanted to stay, so Granny Viv told my grandma to take your keys and your car so they could leave. I can drive you.”
Jolene snagged her purse from under the chair. “That’s okay, Andrew. I’ll get a ride...”
“With me.” Sam looked down his nose at the boy. “You’re old enough to drive?”
“Got my license and everything.” He socked his friend in the arm. “Let’s go see if we can get a look at those bones.”
As the boys slouched off, Sam turned to Jolene. “Do you mind waiting until I talk to the Paradiso PD? They’ll probably want to talk to you, too.”
“Me?” Her voice squeaked and she cleared her throat. “Why would they want to talk to me?”
“You found the skull.”
“I didn’t find it. The skull was lying on the ground.” She adjusted her purse over her shoulder and folded her arms. The less she was involved with this, the better.
“It wasn’t lying on the ground. Clay and I wouldn’t have missed it if it were.” He placed a hand on her back. “They’re here.”
Jolene glanced up at the officers talking to Wade and the two workmen. Wade had recovered his equilibrium and had the appearance of complete cooperation with the work stoppage. His wife, Cerisse, would get a whole different perspective at home tonight.
Sam greeted the cops and told them how he and Clay had gone out to look at the bones, just to see if they were human. He jerked his thumb toward her. “And the minute Jolene found the skull, we knew what we had.”
The officer didn’t have many questions for them and Jolene convinced Sam to leave before the sheriffs came on the scene.
“We left our names with the officer. If the sheriff’s deputies want to contact us, they can.” She tipped her head back to take in the darkening sky. “Besides, we’re going to be caught in the deluge in a few minutes.”
“At least we don’t have to wait for the shuttle.” He pointed out a Border Patrol vehicle parked behind the food trucks. “I got preferred parking.”
As he opened the door of the truck for her, the rain started coming down in earnest. She ducked in quickly, and he slammed the door.
By the time he slid behind the wheel, his shirt was already soaked.
“It’s going to be another monsoon like the other day.”
“It is the season for them. How was the summer? Any rain then?”
“Not much. Looks like the clouds are making up for the dry months.”
Sam followed one of the shuttle vans down the access road and swerved around it when they hit the highway.
He gestured toward the phone cupped in her hands. “Do you want to call Rosie and see if she and your grandmother made it home okay?”
“I’ll give them more time to get there. I don’t want to distract Rosie if she’s driving. It’s bad enough that her grandson Andrew is out here on the road.”
“You didn’t tell Granny Viv that we ran into each other the night before last.” He slid a glance her way, and then concentrated on the road.
“I didn’t want to worry her.”
“Because she knows how upset you are about the casino going in?”
“Oh, I’m not that upset.” She smoothed her hands over her skirt. “Progress, right? Wade told me how many jobs the casino will bring to the area...and our people. That can’t be a bad thing. I understand Nash Dillon is involved in the project.”
“Yeah.” Sam rubbed his chin. “I think he’s more involved with his job with the Border Patrol than he is with his family’s business, but he was at the ground-breaking with the rep for one of the big financial backers.”
“His family has that silent partner—the one who invested in the pecan-processing plant with them. I think he has a financial stake in the casino.”
“Not him, personally. It’s that Karen... Fisher who’s repping the consortium. Nash has his hands full with the baby he and his fiancée are adopting.”
“Yeah, Nash with a baby.” She stared out the window at the rivulets of water squiggling down the glass—just like tears. She should ask him about his own child, his daughter. Her throat tightened, and she rested her forehead against the window.
“My wife and I are divorced.” He blurted out the words, and they hung in the car between them.
Should she pick them up or let them settle and dissolve?
“I heard that one before.” She put a hand over her mouth to stop any more accusations from flying out.
“Jolene, I never told you I was divorced.” The truck hit a puddle and water splashed the window causing her to jerk back.
“Separated, divorced. You told me they were the same thing.” She held her left hand out to the side, palm out. “I know. I believed what I wanted to believe.”
“I thought my marriage was over, Jolene. I wanted it to be over. I wanted to be with you.” He slammed a fist against the dashboard.
Her fingers plucked at the material of her skirt. “I know you had to choose your daughter over me. I u
nderstand. Neither of us would’ve been happy if you’d abandoned your baby.”
“And yet, here I am.” He cranked on the defroster as the windows started fogging over. “Working out of state, my daughter in San Diego. Babies can’t save failing marriages.”
“You had to try.” Her eyes followed the slapping windshield wipers, their motion almost hypnotizing her. “Wh-what’s her name?”
“Jessica. I call her Jess.” His fingers flexed on the steering wheel, and his tight jaw relaxed. “She just turned two.”
Jolene knew exactly how old Sam’s child was. It had been over two years now since he’d left her and broken her heart. She could’ve stopped him. He’d been waiting for her to stop him, but he would’ve hated himself and eventually he’d have hated her, too.
His own father had abandoned Sam, his brother and mother when Sam was just three years old. He could never do that to a child of his own.
Whatever had happened between him and his wife when he went back to the marriage must’ve been intolerable for him to end it.
She swiped a hand beneath her nose. “Is Jess talking?”
“Nonstop words and babble.” He made the turn onto her street.
“Do you want to come in for a little while? There’s someone who’d like to see you.”
“Chip? You still have Chip?”
“Of course.” She wouldn’t tell him she’d soaked Chip’s fur with her tears every night after Sam had left. Only she and Chip ever had to know that.
He pulled into her driveway, and she hopped out of the truck before he cut the engine. She ran to her covered walkway, holding her purse over her head to deflect the rain.
She stopped halfway to the door and cocked her head. “Do you hear that?”
“Sounds like a wild bear trying to claw his way outside.”
“Chip knows you’re here. He never gets that excited when I come home.” She nudged a flowerpot to the side and stooped down to pick up her house key. As she pounded on the door with the heel of her hand, she said, “You’d better settle down in there. You should be on your best behavior.”
She cracked the door open and Chip thrust his wet nose into the opening. “Are you ready, Sam?”
