Naomi nodded in solidarity. “Dropping them off the first day is always the hardest. I remember when I took Gracie to kindergarten. I cried all the way home.”
“She was six.” And Bodie was thirteen. But she’d never had to do this before.
Naomi stirred her coffee wearing a knowing look. “Well, it sure doesn’t get much easier. I still worry. I still miss her when she’s gone all day.”
Yeah, that was weird. That missing feeling. Charity had been alone so long she’d forgotten how it felt to have someone in the house, but it was…nice. Even though her nephew didn’t exactly exude cheer and warm fuzzies, she was getting used to having him around.
“I know how we can take your mind off it.” Darla held up her iPad. “Let’s look at pictures from the party.”
“Oohh, fun.” Naomi leaned over the table. “I’ll bet you got some good ones.”
Charity doubted the pictures would take her mind off Bodie, but she glanced at them as Darla swiped through. She had to admit, she was shocked by her own appearance. She actually looked like she was having a good time.
“It was such a fun party.” Everly turned to Charity. “Why’d you have to leave early? I hardly even got to see you.”
She hadn’t seen much of anyone that night…mostly because she’d been too occupied with a certain deputy. “Bodie wasn’t feeling well,” she said quickly. Over the last few days she’d done her best not to think about Dev. About how he’d held her close when they’d danced or how he’d looked at her like he saw something special.
“Oh, man, I felt so bad,” Naomi said across the table.
Uh-oh. Charity knew where this was going. She tried to signal for Naomi to zip it, but her friend continued.
“I hated to interrupt you and Dev.”
“Interrupt?” Darla paused the picture slideshow. “What exactly did you interrupt?”
“Well…I’m not entirely sure.” Her friend raised her eyebrows in Charity’s direction. “But it looked like something.”
“We were talking,” Charity lied. She couldn’t do the squeals and questions right now.
“Mm-hmm,” Darla murmured. She swiped through a few more pictures and stopped on one that had caught Charity and Dev in the middle of their dance. Someone had snapped it right when he’d had his hand low on her back…
Charity’s legs got all tingly again just looking at it.
“Whoa, baby.” Everly leaned in closer. “Look at his eyes in this one. He’s totally captivated.”
“No. It’s the lighting.” Charity reached over and swiped to the next picture, which happened to be another of her and Dev. “Geez, what creepy person was going around taking close-up shots like this anyway?”
“Me.” Darla took back control of the iPad. “It was my birthday. I wanted to capture the memories.” She shot Charity a brassy grin. “Not my fault if you’d rather not hold on to the memories. I for one had a great time. It’ll be tough to top it next year.” She scrolled through more pictures.
“Wait.” Another image of Dev caught Charity’s eye. “Go back to that one.”
“Which one?” Darla swiped back a few and stopped on one where Dev was dancing with some woman Charity had never seen. She didn’t care. Okay, she shouldn’t care, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Who’s that?”
“That’s my friend Reba. From Aspen. She’s awesome. Works as a sous chef at a fabulous new restaurant there.”
Charity’s gaze sharpened on the picture. In addition to being a sous chef, Reba from Aspen was also the kind of gorgeous that made her jaw drop. “And I thought my dress was low-cut,” she muttered, rolling her eyes at the woman’s generous cleavage. “She’s really putting herself out there, huh? Trolling for cowboys?”
“Actually, she’s gorgeous and smart and funny.” Darla set down the iPad and folded her hands neatly on the table. “Did you or did you not tell Dev to leave you alone?”
“Yes. I did.” She just hadn’t thought he’d go off and find the next woman less than a half hour later.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“There’s no problem.” Red-hot jealousy reared to life inside her. But she had no reason to be jealous. She didn’t have feelings for Dev. Not real feelings. “Actually, it’s a relief to see him dancing with someone. Maybe he really will leave me alone then.” Like she wanted. Then things in her life could go back to normal. She could stop thinking about him and get her head back in the game with her training. Since Bodie had shown up and all this kissing business had started she’d already lost too much time, and the competition season wasn’t that far off.
“You do realize your face is redder than a smacked bum right now, don’t you?” Naomi asked gently.
“It is not.” She reached up to touch her cheeks. “I got sunburned the other day.”
Everly gazed at her with a look of sympathy. “If you like Dev, why did you tell him to leave you alone?”
Because the man terrified her. Actually, maybe that wasn’t exactly true. The things he made her feel terrified her. “I don’t like Dev. Not that way.”
Unfortunately, Darla always managed to see right through her. “He asked me if I thought you meant it, and I told him yes.” Her friend tilted her head. “Did you mean it?”
How was she supposed to know? Things in her life weren’t exactly smooth sailing right now. Her sister was gone. She’d gone from living alone to having a thirteen-year-old to take care of. Dev had kissed her twice, and now suddenly she felt like something was missing from her life, but instead of trying to figure out what it might be, she wanted to run, to feel free. So even if she didn’t quite mean it yet, she would eventually. “Yes. I meant it.”
“Then do me a favor and don’t bitch when you see more pictures of Dev and Reba,” Darla said, all snippy-like.
More pictures? How many more were there? Charity couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “Dev and Reba. So what, they’re an item now?” He met the love of his life right after he kissed her?
Darla answered with an exasperated glare.
Yes, it was ridiculous. She had no business getting pissy because Dev had enjoyed himself with a woman at Darla’s party. But it turned out jealousy was more like a reflex than a manageable emotion. She’d never experienced it quite like this before.
“If it makes you feel any better, he didn’t seem that into her,” Naomi offered. “They danced and hung out for a while, but at the end of the night they went their separate ways.”
It did help, but Charity didn’t want to explore why.
“Yeah, you can see it in the pictures,” Everly added. “He doesn’t exactly look thrilled.”
“And look at this one.” Darla swiped through a few more, stopping on one where Dev was looking away from the woman he was dancing with. “If you ask me, it looks like he’d rather be with someone else.”
“Totally,” Everly agreed. “Look at this one.” She shuffled through more pictures, but Charity had had enough.
“I don’t have time to look at any more pictures.” She needed to get her mind off Dev and this wasn’t helping. “I have to get out to the ranch and get in some training hours before Bodie comes home from school.” She had to get back on her horse, where everything made sense.
Just when she thought the day couldn’t get any worse, she found Levi, Ty, and Mateo standing outside of the corral chitchatting like a group of old biddies when she arrived at the Cortez ranch. She wasn’t in the mood to chitchat. She wanted to climb onto Ace’s back and ride until the overabundance of worries she’d suddenly accumulated rolled off her in drops of sweat.
Hoping they would take the hint, Charity kept her head down and her eyes focused on the stables beyond them.
“Hey Calamity Jane.” Ty had never been particularly skilled at taking hints. “How’s it going?”
She kept right on moving, sweeping past them. “Not my best day.” It wasn’t even nine o’clock and she’d already had her heart ripped out twice. Once when she had to le
ave Bodie at school and again when she’d seen those pictures of Dev cozying up to that woman.
“What’s up?” Levi asked, walking over. He was married. Hadn’t he learned when to steer clear of a woman?
“Rough morning with the kid?” Mateo asked, coming to join them.
Lovely. It looked like she would be forced into a round of chitchat after all.
“I had to drop him off at school this morning. And he definitely wasn’t excited about it.”
“Can’t say I blame him.” Ty ambled over to join the circle. “Middle school is about as fun as prison.”
“Well, if he doesn’t go to school he’ll likely end up in prison someday.” And she couldn’t let that happen. If Melody wasn’t going to guide him to a better path, she’d have to do it herself.
Levi’s eyes narrowed. “So dropping your nephew off at school sucked, but you look pissed. You sure that’s all it is? Or did some poor schmuck hit on you at the bar again?”
“Yeah, that looks more like your man-hating glare,” Mateo agreed.
“You need us to rough the guy up for you?” Ty asked, pushing up his shirtsleeves.
“No thanks.” That would be difficult, because she wasn’t mad at a man. She was only mad at herself. But it was better to let them think she’d merely had another encounter at the bar. They could never find out about her and Dev. She’d never hear the end of it. “I can handle things myself.”
“Okay. Sure. Yeah. You’re fine all right.” A healthy dose of sarcasm laced Levi’s tone.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Levi glanced at Ty, who glanced at Mateo.
“You’ve seemed more stressed lately, that’s all,” Mateo said, taking a healthy step back.
Ty gave her some space too. “There’s a lot going on. We know you’re tough and all, but sometimes it’s okay to let people help—”
“I don’t need help.” They were as bad as Dev. “What I need is for people to stop—”
Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, sending a rush of panic through her. Was it Bodie? She yanked it out and stared at the screen, but it simply said unavailable.
“Bodie?” she answered breathlessly, darting away from the guys.
A pause stretched on too long, making her heart leap for her throat. “Hello? Bodie? Is that you?”
“Char?”
A weight fell on her chest, crushing the air from her lungs. She wasn’t sure if it was relief or fear. “Melody.”
Static blipped on the line. “Yeah. Hi.”
Hi? Charity braced her free hand on the fence and gazed out at the peaks towering in the distance, trying to let the view fill her with a sense of calm. “Where are you?” Hearing her sister’s voice, she now realized that was all that really mattered. Charity’s sole focus had been on Bodie, but she’d been worried about Melody too. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” The words had a hollow ring. “Just calling to check in. Is Bodie okay? How’s he doing?”
For a second, Charity was too stunned to respond. How could her sister call and chat like this was something they’d planned? Like she’d taken a vacation and Charity was babysitting for her? “How do you think he is?” The ache in her heart put a rasp in her voice. “God, Mel, you left him on my doorstep with no explanation. What is he supposed to think?”
“I needed time to figure out a couple of things, but I’ll come back for him. I swear. Tell him that, okay?”
“Why don’t you tell him?” He needed to hear that from his mom. That she hadn’t abandoned him, that she loved him. “Where are you?” Charity asked before Mel could hang up. “Do you need help? I can come and get you. I can help you figure out whatever you’re dealing with.”
“I just wanted to get a few details straightened out before Bodie and I move,” Melody said. “I should’ve talked to you first, but I didn’t know if you’d take him, and—”
“Of course I would take him. He’s my nephew.” Emotion rattled her throat. “And you’re my sister. I want to help. Tell me what I can do.”
“Just take care of him for me.” Desperation edged into her tone. “I’m not sure when I’ll be able to come back for him. But I will. I have to. Tell him I love him. Please. Tell him everything will be okay soon.” Before Charity could respond, the line went dead.
She shoved the phone back into her pocket and rested her forearms on the fence, hunching slightly while she took a few deep breaths. It didn’t help to relieve the sudden queasiness.
Boots clomped nearby, kicking up dust, and Charity didn’t have to turn her head to know that Levi, Mateo, and Ty were headed her way.
They gathered around her in a supportive formation, but still gave her a wide berth.
“Everything good?” Levi asked, edging closer to her.
That was a complicated question, so she opted to answer with, “It was Melody.” She looked out at the mountains again, not wanting any of them to see evidence of tears in her eyes.
“What’d she say?” Ty asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“That things are fine and she’ll be back for Bodie soon.”
Mateo awkwardly patted her shoulder. “That’s good, right?”
“You don’t believe her,” Levi said when Charity remained silent.
“Things aren’t fine.” She knew from the bad feeling that had burrowed itself deep inside her chest. All those years of fending for herself had taught her to rely on instinct and intuition, and she just knew.
“So she’s not coming back?” Ty asked.
“She wants to.” Charity had heard that longing in her sister’s voice. She straightened and turned around so she could lean her back against the fence.
“But you don’t think she’ll actually do it.” Levi didn’t phrase it as a question.
“I don’t have high hopes that she’ll be able to.” What if Dev was right? What if her sister was in some kind of trouble? So many what-ifs, and she couldn’t do anything about them. She definitely wouldn’t tell Bodie about the phone call. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t want the kid waiting around the same way she had all those years. For her mom to show up, to step up, to be who she needed her to be. Look what all that waiting had done to her. Eventually she’d given up hope that anyone would step up, so she’d walled off her heart from the rest of the world. Now it was impossible to let anyone in.
“What’re you going to do?” Mateo asked.
“I’m going to take care of Bodie.” And she was going to do everything in her power to make sure her nephew didn’t end up as damaged as she had.
Chapter Ten
Not this again.
From his hiding spot off the west side of the highway, Dev watched a familiar blue Buick sedan steadily increase in speed as it approached his SUV. Sure enough, the car flew past him going at least twenty miles per hour over the limit.
Tempting as it was to let Vera McDougal continue on at her high rate of speed, he sighed, flicked on his lights, and tore out after her. He wasn’t about to give her the siren though. She’d enjoy that a little too much.
He tailed her until she pulled onto the dirt shoulder and then brought the SUV to a stop behind her. He’d pulled her over three times in the last two weeks. The funny part was she only started to speed when she saw his car. And then every time he stopped her, it was the same thing—a friendly chat while she tried to flirt with him. She was pretty good at pouring on the charm, which shouldn’t be surprising. She was in her seventies, and clearly had had a lot of practice.
Dev bumped open his door with his shoulder and took his time getting out of the car. Vera had already cut the engine and was waiting for him with her window down. It looked like she’d just come from the beauty shop. Her white hair was styled and stiff, completely intact, even with the breeze.
“Hi there, sugar.” A glossy coat of red lipstick overpowered her lips…and a few teeth. “Was I goin’ a little too fast back there?”
“We’ve been through this, Vera,” he started,
striving to hit the note between stern and polite. “You can’t speed because you want to chat. One of these times I’m gonna have to give you a ticket.” If he wasn’t so worried about her plowing into someone, he wouldn’t even bother to pull her over anymore.
The woman flicked down her cat-eye sunglasses and trailed her gaze over him. “Well, I wouldn’t have to speed if you’d take me up on my offer to come over for those fresh chocolate chip cookies I’ve promised to bake you.” She shot him a sultry gaze. “It’d be a good way to secure my vote for the election, if you know what I mean.”
Not her too. “I’m not concerned about votes.” Maybe he should be but he couldn’t seem to make himself care. “And I don’t think Chuck would like me coming over to see you.” Although knowing her husband, he’d be relieved to have the time to himself.
“Oh, I don’t think it would be a problem.” A lengthy sigh made her shoulders sag. “Chuck and I aren’t making love anymore.”
“Uh…” Suddenly his uniform felt like an oven. They were not having this conversation. He’d gone through firearms training, self-defense training, defensive driving training, but he wasn’t trained to discuss a senior citizen’s sex life. “That sounds like a personal matter, and—”
“I want to,” Vera interrupted miserably. “But it seems like he’s not interested anymore. I mean, I know I’m not twenty-five, but the girls are still perky.” She shimmied her chest and Dev averted his eyes to the ground at his boots. Lots of nice dirt. Some shiny rocks. Damn it to blue blazes. He really had to consider a move to the big city, where he could storm buildings and take down drug lords and murderers instead of offering little old ladies sex advice on the side of the highway.
“What do men want anyway?” the woman lamented. “I’ve cooked and cleaned and taken care of his kids, and now after all that, it’s like he doesn’t even want to touch me!” Those last words dissolved into tears.
“All right now, Vera. Don’t cry.” Dev patted her shoulder in what he hoped was a benign, friendly way. “You need to talk to Chuck.” Not that he was qualified to be giving relationship advice, but it seemed to him a whole lot could be solved by talking through things.
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