by Barb Han
With kids, that little voice quickly added.
“What are you doing here?” Skylar asked, fist planted on her hip like she was owed an explanation. Kids were so straightforward.
Chelsea sighed, wishing the same was true for adults.
“Your grandmother called and asked to see me,” he answered.
Chelsea’s cheeks burned from embarrassment because she suspected her mother was up to no good. “Mom. Is everything okay?”
“Better now.” Her mother’s cheeky smile told Chelsea everything she needed to know about what was happening.
Chelsea shot Linda a warning look when Nate’s gaze dropped to Skylar.
“I was only saying this gentleman was a big help.” Her mother gave a not-so-innocent shrug. “Someone threw a rock through the living room window and I was too scared to sit here alone until you got home.”
“You should’ve called me, Mother.” Chelsea held back from scolding the woman.
“I didn’t want to bother you and this nice man did say this morning that I should call if I needed anything,” her mother said.
“I meant it, too. It’s not always easy being the new kid in town,” Nate noted.
Especially one with an ex who seemed intent on bringing her down.
As she thought about the broken window, a question begged an answer.
Had Travis figured out where she lived?
Chapter Five
Chelsea tried to mask her panic as she shivered against the cold. “Someone threw a rock through the window?” She hadn’t noticed any broken glass.
“Yes. At least, I believe it was a rock,” her mother supplied. “It just happened.”
Chelsea had already started toward the living room.
“I didn’t want to upset you and I thought we could have this all fixed up before you got home so you wouldn’t worry,” her mother said. “It’s no big deal.”
Those words banged around in Chelsea’s head. Sure, it was nothing to worry about if a couple of kids were playing a prank by tossing a rock at a window and running away. Her mother had no idea that Travis had resurfaced. Chelsea couldn’t bring herself to mention him in front of Skylar. Instead of dwelling on the fact that a four-year-old had never met her father, Chelsea marched into the living room and scanned the floor for an object hard enough to break glass.
The window that had been broken was on the east side of the house, facing the parking pad. It was the bottom right panel. Chelsea didn’t see that when she’d driven up. Dark grey clouds covered the sun even though it wouldn’t officially be dark outside for another couple of hours.
The trail from the broken window to the location of the rock was an easy trajectory. Chelsea dropped down to her knees with a little more force than she expected. She started to pick up the rock, struggling against the onslaught of emotion threatening to unravel her tight grip.
“Hold on.” Nate’s calm, compassionate voice washed over her and through her and all she could think about was that it had been too long since she’d been on a date. Her stomach quivered at his voice and she could only imagine what would happen if he touched her.
Chelsea quashed the inappropriate thought.
“Whoever did this should be prosecuted. I’ll call the sheriff.” Nate palmed his cell phone as Chelsea stood.
“I’m hungry, Momma,” Skylar said.
“I’ll take her into the kitchen and fix her something to eat,” Linda said, taking Skylar by the hand.
“Thank you. I’ll be right in as soon as I figure out how to board this window up before we freeze tonight,” Chelsea said.
Nate shot a look of apology and it dawned on her why. She couldn’t touch that, either. There might be fingerprints.
“I’ll stay right here,” Nate said into the phone after providing the details to the sheriff.
Those words kept Chelsea from complete panic. She liked Nate and maybe it was because she needed her faith restored in men. After Travis, and then later her boss, she wasn’t thrilled with the opposite sex.
“Thank you for sticking around,” she said to Nate. “I promise we’re normally pretty boring people.”
He looked at her like he was looking through her. “Somehow, I doubt that.”
She started to ask what he meant but he cut her off by putting his hand in the air.
“You’re a great mother to that little girl. It’s easy to see that she’s loved and well cared for. If rumors can be trusted, you’re about to open a gourmet pizza restaurant in town. You’re smart. I take one look at you and can see that you’re beautiful. I highly doubt that your life is boring,” he said.
Did he just call her beautiful? Chelsea flushed red-hot. She hated that her cheeks always gave her away.
A knock sounded at the door, interrupting her embarrassing moment. Her mother would laugh if she’d heard the silence after Nate’s remark.
“I’ll be right back,” was all she could muster to say as she held up her finger like she was telling him to wait right there.
Chelsea walked out of the room and to the front door. She stood at the closed door and for a split second feared Travis would be standing on the other side. Now that he’d returned, she wondered if she’d always have the feeling he could be on the other side of every unopened door. A chill raced down her back.
She tamped down her unease and opened the door. Thankfully, the sheriff stood on her porch.
“Good evening, ma’am. I’m Zach McWilliams.” He stuck out his hand.
Chelsea took the offering and introduced herself. She could feel Nate’s presence behind her and that frustrated her. She didn’t want to have a visceral reaction to this man or any other.
“Come on in, Sheriff.” She stepped aside.
“Thanks for coming, Zach,” Nate said. She wondered if everyone in town was on a first-name basis. She liked the thought of neighbors who knew each other. That was a large part of the appeal of moving to a small town. She envisioned people helping each other and not throwing rocks through a window.
Nate and the sheriff resembled each other enough for her to do a double take.
Nate must’ve caught on to her confusion. “Zach is my cousin.”
In her estimation, Nate won the genetic lotto between the two of them. Zach was good-looking, just not in the same manner as Nate. There was something extra special about Nate. She shelved the thought as she led Zach into her living room.
“Rock came through that window over there.” She motioned toward the east-facing window.
“You’re new here.” Zach stated the obvious.
“That’s right,” she confirmed.
“That’s no way to be welcomed to Jacobstown,” Zach said. “We’re normally a friendlier town than this.”
Zach and Nate exchanged glances.
What was that about?
* * *
“WE’VE HAD SOME trouble at a couple of ranches.” Nate picked up on Chelsea’s hesitation.
“Oh, yeah? Like what?” She stopped in the middle of the room and folded her arms. A look of fear passed through her eyes.
Nate picked up on the look and decided to ask more about what caused it later.
“Animals have had hooves butchered,” Zach told her.
“Nate mentioned that. Who would do that? Teens?” she asked.
“This is gruesome and cruel. It’s happened enough times and at enough places to put people in town on edge and make them worried there’s more to come,” Zach said. “It’s way over the head of teens.”
“Is that why you wanted to call the sheriff over my broken window?” She looked from Zach to Nate.
“Something like this is unusual here. Most folks are friendly and welcome strangers. No one used to lock their doors. Heck, half the town would leave keys in their car while they were parked to run into a store or into the count
y building. Not anymore. We have a panic mentality going on with a few and others are nervous. They aren’t as accepting of new people. We’re keeping an eye on anything out of the ordinary that happens. This qualifies,” Zach informed.
There was something about this rock business that rubbed Nate the wrong way. Sure, people were on edge and, sometimes, they did something stupid. But folks in Jacobstown didn’t pick on strangers. The town had a reputation for going out of its way to make others feel welcome.
Chelsea moving to town had nothing to do with the heifers.
“Are you from Texas?” Zach began the routine-sounding questions that Nate had heard from his cousin during investigations.
“Yes. Houston,” she added.
Nate bowed his head and pulled out his cell, pretending he wasn’t too interested in her answers.
“What about a spouse?” Zach continued.
“I was married once.” Chelsea lowered her voice when she spoke. Nate glanced up and saw that she was staring at the floor. “I’m not anymore.”
“Have you been in a fight with anyone or does anyone have a reason to want to harm you?” Zach asked.
A pair of footsteps came from the hallway. The heavy pair, Nate noticed, belonged to Skylar. Nate always marveled at how heavy someone three or four feet tall could walk in comparison to an adult.
Linda had her granddaughter’s hand.
“I’ll take her upstairs and give her a bath,” the older woman said.
“Thank you, Mom.” Chelsea looked to Zach as she shivered. “Any chance I can board up that window soon?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Zach pulled out his phone and sent a text. “I just let my deputy know to drop what he’s doing and come dust so you can cover the window.”
Under different circumstances, Nate wouldn’t mind offering to keep her warm. The thought was totally inappropriate given the current situation. Besides, he couldn’t see himself trusting another woman for a while. He needed a cooling-off period after Mia.
Normally, Nate could spot a liar from a mile away. Mia had put on a convincing show. He was still disappointed in himself for allowing the relationship to go on as long as it had. He’d developed a soft spot lately that he didn’t care much for. Mia had toyed with his emotions and used that weakness against him. Between that and the mutilated heifers, Nate had been in a lousy mood.
Little Skylar had changed that this morning. Being around Chelsea and her family was different than what he was used to. But then, Nate didn’t normally do overnight stays or meet-the-families. Even more reason to be frustrated with his lapse in judgment when it came to Mia.
Zach’s questions were a low murmur in the background. Nate’s ears perked up when his cousin asked where Chelsea’s ex-husband lived.
Chelsea’s gaze shot up from staring at the floor to the staircase.
“I have no idea,” she said, her voice low, like she didn’t want her daughter to hear. “He disappeared while I was pregnant and I haven’t seen or heard from him in four years. And then a few hours ago, he showed up at my restaurant out of the blue. No warning. He just appeared and started making demands.”
Zach perked up with this information, too. Nate had a feeling their piqued interest in her response was for very different reasons.
“Did he say what he was doing there after all this time?” Zach’s brow knitted together.
“Yes. He said that he wanted me back and wanted to see his child.” Her tone sounded incredulous.
Nate couldn’t help but look at her. What did he expect to see? For some strange reason, part of him wanted to know if she was still in love with her ex. Based on the tense lines across her forehead, the answer was no.
That shouldn’t give him pleasure. This was a family, and that should always take precedence over everything else. If there was a way to heal one, Nate would be the last person to stand in the way. There were a few exceptions to that rule. A man who physically or emotionally abused a woman or child didn’t deserve to have either.
“Did he say why he left in the first place?” Zach asked after taking down the name she supplied.
Chelsea looked like answering would put her in physical pain.
Zach apologized for the line of questioning before continuing. “I need to assess any threat to you, your daughter, and anyone else in town this person could see as a barrier to getting what he wants.”
“He didn’t give an excuse as to why he disappeared that day. I was in the hospital giving birth to our daughter while he cleaned out our bank accounts and bankrupted my successful small business. He did say that he wanted a reunion. I made my position clear on that.” Her fisted hand on her hip coupled with the stress creases around her eyes made her stance clear to anyone who paid attention to body language.
“My apologies, ma’am. Can you tell me what happened next?” Zach asked.
“I got in my truck, made sure he didn’t follow me and then drove to my daughter’s school to pick her up. I was late on her first day.” She looked to the right and high. She was being honest. Knowing if someone, anyone, was lying to him had taken on a new importance since Mia. He’d been watching for signs of truthfulness every time he listened to someone speak. Honesty meant even more to him.
“Approximately how long did it take to pick up your daughter?” Zach asked.
“Enough time for him to come here and throw a rock through the window,” she stated. “He was my first thought.”
“Is there anyone else?” Zach asked.
“My former boss threatened me if I quit. He’s also sent a few texts since I moved, asking to come visit.” She pulled her cell phone out and placed it on her flat hand. “I haven’t answered because I’d like to move on from that part of my life.”
She was beautiful. It was easy to see why someone would ask her out, but what Nate was hearing sounded like downright harassment. He clenched his back teeth. Give him five minutes alone with those jerks and they’d come out with a new respect for all women.
Zach took down the name and information of the kitchen boss she’d worked for. “What made you decide to move to Jacobstown?”
“This house was a gift,” she said. “My great-aunt, Maddie Barstock, owned this house and the downtown property where I’m opening my restaurant. She left them both to me in her will. It seemed like a great way to start over, so we packed up and moved. She also gave me her business downtown.”
“You and your great-aunt were close?” Zach asked.
“Strangely enough, we weren’t. I mean, I didn’t really know her. She and my mother weren’t close and my mother’s been sick the past few years. I didn’t even realize I had a great-aunt on my mom’s side.”
“She must’ve remembered you,” Zach stated. He looked up at Nate and it was clear the two were thinking the same thing.
“Didn’t Ms. Barstock move to assisted living in Austin to be closer to family?” Nate asked.
“It’s been a few years, but I remember hearing something like that.” Zach pinched the bridge of his nose. It was a habit he’d picked up in the last couple of years when he tried to reach back in his memory. He seemed to pick up on the earlier conversation thread. “It’ll be nice to have a new place to eat. That end of the square has been empty too long and I’ve had to watch out for teenagers there.”
“I plan to put the building to good use,” Chelsea said, and there was so much pride in those words.
There was something special about Chelsea and Skylar. Nate found himself wanting to help the single mother. With an ex showing up—an ex who was a criminal—and a former boss who seemed hell-bent on keeping tabs on her, she could use an extra set of eyes to keep her safe. Nate would be there as much as she wanted him to be because he’d also picked up on the fact that she wasn’t the most trusting when it came to the opposite sex.
A knock interrupted the conversation.
Chelsea gasped and then apologized for her nerves.
Zach and Nate followed her to the foyer just in case her ex had decided to pay a visit, but Deputy Long stood on the porch when she opened the door. She let him in and he went right to work in the living room, wearing his gloves and using fingerprint powder to lift a print from the window.
“I’ll check outside.” Zach excused himself. Rain threatened and it was dark outside, making it feel much later than it was. Nate and Chelsea stepped out onto the porch.
Chelsea’s little girl ran outside. “Momma, I can see my breath.”
“Okay, sweetie. Go inside and I’ll be right there,” Chelsea said.
“Nanna said I had to go with her to her room to play.” The little girl frowned.
“That’s probably a good idea. Don’t you agree?” Chelsea’s smile twisted Nate’s insides. She was being strong for her daughter and it sounded like she’d been through a lot. From her statement, she’d grown a business that had been bankrupted right under her nose. She’d then gone to work for someone else, who’d also turned out to be a total jerk.
And that brought Nate to another line of thinking. Her ex was in town. He might be trying to scare her by tossing a rock through the window. Or maybe the chef had taken a ride to Jacobstown and was outside waiting for everyone to leave. He’d ask Zach to check into the whereabouts of the Houston chef tonight. It would be easy enough to call the restaurant where he worked. If the guy had taken the day off, he could’ve made the drive.
Reality crashed down. This wasn’t Nate’s case or his business. Once he helped board up her window and arranged for a replacement, his job would be done here.
In fact, it was late, but he was owed a favor by Bill Staller, a local contractor. Boarding up the window would let out too much heat. The house was old, drafty.
Nate excused himself. He walked over to his truck to make the call.
Bill answered on the first ring. “What can I do for you?”
