Her gaze singed the air between them. “When I want your advice, I’ll ask for it.”
His eyes turned cold, his expression hardened. “Don’t take that tone with me.”
A battle of titans, and Tessa didn’t back down.
“It’s irrelevant.” Rex stretched to his feet, effectively breaking the standoff. “Tessa.”
He swept his hand toward the recliner, inviting her to sit. She cast her gaze downward, lashes feathering her cheeks, and did as he asked. Nate moved off to the couch with Kevin. Perched once more on the edge of the love seat, Rex leaned with his forearms on his knees.
“While Tyler and I appreciate your offer to sell, there is simply no way we could afford to purchase it.”
There, Rex had said it out loud, putting nails in the coffin of a business they’d worked on for most of their adult lives.
Her eyebrow arched. “Not even for a dollar?”
“Tessa!” Nate was on his feet again.
Rex lifted his palm, and to Tyler’s shock, the man sat. “That’s quite an offer,” Rex said.
“One made in haste,” Tyler added.
She was on her feet in a second, kneeling in front of Rex but with her hot fingers resting on Tyler’s knee.
“How could you think I would take a dime? It’s yours. You earned it. This place wouldn’t be what it is today without your efforts.”
God, he loved her. If he’d told her that a year ago, would it have made a difference? He slipped his hand over hers, curled his fingers around her hand, and gently tugged, urging her closer. She resisted.
“Your boyfriend’s right. Don’t be hasty,” Rex said. His voice was low, precise, the one he used for hard-line negotiations.
“Nate isn’t… Very well.” Her nose twitched.
Tyler got the feeling they’d been dismissed, and he didn’t take kindly to it.
She eased away to return to her seat. “This is all a bit much. Apparently I need time to explore my options. Anything else, Kevin?”
The skid of tires grinding to a stop out front kept him from answering.
“They wouldn’t dare come back, would they?” Rex shot to his feet and rushed to the door.
Tyler took the window for a peek. “It’s the sheriff.” Tito Llano, to be specific, and he didn’t look happy. Tyler caught a glimpse of him removing his hat as he trudged up the steps. Sweat trickled off his bald head and into his collar. Whatever he had to share, it wasn’t good news. He could tell that from Tito’s frown. Anxiety churned Tyler’s stomach.
Rex opened the door as Tito approached. “Has the medical examiner finished? Judging from the scowl on your face and the hat in your hand, it can’t be good news.”
“I need to talk to you and Tyler.” Tito’s high-pitched voice trilled across the room, higher than usual, another sign this wasn’t good news. “They told me at the inn you’d be here. You can come out, or I can come in.”
“I’d prefer you come inside, Tito.” Tessa walked toward them. “If it’s something to do with Derek, I want to know.”
Tito’s eyes widened a bit when he saw her, and for a second, Tyler thought he was going to turn tail and run the other way. But the sheriff quickly put his professional mask back on and gripped his hat in his sweaty hands.
“Good to see you again, Tessa.”
“How unfortunate it’s not under better circumstances.” Her semblance of a smile was on the surface, for show only.
Rex shut the door behind Tito. “Come in.”
Tito swiped his sweaty palm on his tan trousers, leaving a damp smear behind.
“Have a seat.” Rex tried to steer Tito toward the living room seats.
Tito remained rooted in place. “I’m good.” Both hands secure on the brim of his hat, Tito turned the hat around and around, his gaze flitting among the objects in the room, not the individuals. He cleared his throat as a red flush darkened his too-pale features that boasted more of his Germanic roots than his Mexican ones.
“Medical examiner did a preliminary look today at Derek. He found a hole in Derek’s head. Since there was only one bullet missing from Derek’s gun, I’m thinking that the shot that took out the horse went through Derek’s head first.”
“That would have to be one hell of a bullet to go through a man’s head and then take out his horse as well.” Tyler forced the words out with a calm he didn’t feel. “Maybe you better think again.”
“Well, there’s…” Tito’s flush deepened. “Like I said, there’s only one bullet missing from his Colt, Tyler. What else am I supposed to think?”
“That someone else shot him,” Tessa said. “And your number one suspects just passed you on the road.”
The look on Tessa’s face suggested she wasn’t averse to hunting them down and bringing them to justice.
And Tyler was ready to do whatever she commanded. Enough was enough.
Chapter Four
Rage shook Tessa from head to toe. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to lock her emotions inside, hide her anger, and quash her tears.
Tito Llano had the nerve to look surprised over her revelation. Alarm replaced his expression, and he squeaked instructions into the radio attached to his shoulder for a deputy to waylay “persons of interest.” Then he leveled his bloodhound eyes back at them.
“There’s a little more.” He gripped the rim of his hat again, his fingertips white.
Tessa touched his biceps and gently—firmly—pushed him toward the living room. “Come sit.”
An order, not a request. He followed without pause. So did Rex and Tyler. Nate stepped to one side as they passed. Kevin appraised the sheriff from the sofa where he sat. She was beginning to wonder if the stick up his ass nailed him in place. Until yesterday, she’d never heard of him and couldn’t help wonder why Derek hadn’t used his father’s attorney.
“Would you like something to drink, Tito?” She asserted her role as hostess, doing her best to ignore Rex’s glower. She could almost read his mind—This isn’t a fucking social call. No, but it put Tito off guard. Tessa didn’t trust the man. She never had. He said one thing, yet his body language said another. “No, ma’am. ’Preciate it, though.” The dining room chair groaned with his weight. Tito was a big man, six-four at tops with a growing paunch and silver-shot black hair shiny with whatever product he used to slick it down. Unfortunately, his demeanor suggested he lacked the balls to back up his size or his position as sheriff. How he got elected was one of those great unsolved mysteries, but she was certain deep pockets were somehow involved. Tessa just never knew whose. He’d always been so anxious to prove his worth that he repeatedly jumped the gun rather than waited for solid facts. Why would Derek’s death be any different?
“Very well.” She sat down and leaned back into the recliner, steepled her fingers, and crossed her legs. It helped tether her roiling emotions. “Continue.”
Tito’s gaze drifted over her shoulder to Nate, then flicked away. They’d all spread out, consciously or subconsciously, making it difficult for Tito to focus on one person. She’d like to think it was consciously. That would make them all of the same mind, like before. She loved that their staging put Tito in a subservient position. The fact he didn’t fight it said a lot about the man. Nothing good, in Tessa’s opinion. Lawmen were supposed to man up, take charge, aggressively pursue justice. Tito Llano was a mouse of a man.
Nate touched her shoulder, a silent reminder to calm down. So much for keeping her emotions locked in. She glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. Rex’s scowl darkened, his gaze riveted on the fingers barely grazing her shoulder. Want stabbed through her. It stirred an ache that beat at her defenses. Few things got her motor running at warp speed faster than a man more dominant than she. They’d been so damn good together, the three of them, laughing, loving, planning.
“Come on, Tito,” Rex snapped. “Spit it out. Someone killed Derek. What else?”
Tessa forced her daydreams of yesterday away. Here and now w
as all that mattered. Finish this nasty business and go back home where she belonged, away from the place that ruined her life.
“Umm…” He drummed his fingers on the hat perched on his lap. “We’re going to need the bullet from the horse for ballistics.”
Tyler shook his head. “The men buried her yesterday.”
“Then you buried evidence.” Tito’s attempt to assert himself stirred Tessa’s anger.
“Well, we didn’t realize that yesterday. Now did we?” Rex stood, looming over everyone.
Now this was assertion. Tito might want to pay attention. Every part of Tessa was fully engaged.
“Yesterday, by your people’s assessment, it was an accident, and we were told Derek had broken his back or neck. Now you say that’s not true. That’s on you.” Rex jabbed a finger toward the man.
“Don’t be shoving blame in our direction.” Tyler’s tone was calmer but no less deadly. “Rosie served this ranch for twenty years and didn’t deserve to be lying out there to rot and be picked apart by javelina.”
Tito flushed. “No. But you had no problem letting Derek lay out there for six hours being pig food. There wasn’t much left of him to do a proper assessment yesterday, now was there? How were we to think it would be more than a fall?”
Tessa was on her feet and in his face before he could blink. She was conscious of a force behind her—Rex and Tyler—and didn’t know if they were there to hold her back or back her up.
“How dare you.” She pushed out each word with deadly precision. Tito had the good sense to lean back. Trapped in his chair, there wasn’t much else he could do. She hoped it broke and he toppled to the floor. “I’m waiting for an apology, Sheriff Llano.”
His flush deepened. Sweat dotted his brow. She could smell fear mixed with the unmistakable stench of sour sweat. Tessa fed off the testosterone wrapping around her from behind, helping her enforce her will on the weaker man.
“Well?” The word promised retribution should he disobey.
“My apologies, ma’am. Derek was my friend too. I’ve known him all his life. The loss cuts deep.”
He had no idea. His Adam’s apple dipped when she gave him a little breathing room. “Then maybe you’d better investigate rather than go off half-cocked and jump to conclusions. Or better yet, wait until the full autopsy is done before you go stirring things up.”
“This isn’t an easy case to investigate. Normally we’d look for gunpowder residue on Derek’s palm, which we would expect if he’d put the horse out of her misery. But without the…I mean…the pigs and all tainted the scene.” Tito cleared his throat.
Good God, the pigs ate his fingers off, maybe even his hands. “Go on.” She tried to push the horror from her mind when all she wanted was to scream or bawl or something other than sit here and be calm, cool, and collected.
“Medical examiner says he thought Derek had been shot in the head because of the hole he found. A hole not made by a javelina tusk. But there’s no bullet. I want to know if the one in the horse’s head matches the weapon. Farfetched as it might seem. I need to discount possibilities.”
“What’s to discount? Derek was murdered.” Tessa didn’t want to give voice to anything else. Derek wouldn’t have done this to himself, and he wouldn’t have killed Rosie unless he’d had no other choice. And to have a bullet go through both their heads was impossible. The image of javelina surrounding him brought up bile. If he’d been disabled, maybe he would have chosen the only route left. Although killing the pigs would have been the better option, and there were bullets left in the Colt.
She felt fingers on her arm as she moved away from Tito and glanced over her shoulder at Rex. A tornado of emotions crossed his face. Her heart raced with every flicker of his expression. And she thought Nate could be scary. She regretted using Nate as a barrier between her and them. It was a low blow. Lower than walking out on Rex and Tyler? Tessa cursed her conscience. It always attacked when she was most vulnerable. She’d thought Mike’s news was a low point in her life, but this? Derek murdered, her estranged from the men she…
Pulling in a breath, she scuffed her hand over Rex’s upper arm. Muscle rippled under her touch. Tessa took a stance beside him, facing down the half-assed sheriff. Tyler took her other side, arms crossed, legs astride. They were united once more, at least in this. Derek would be over-the-moon happy. Her leaving had hurt him too.
“I look forward to the medical examiner’s full and thorough assessment. You’ve got quite the mess to unravel, Sheriff Llano.” She stared the man down, letting the sarcastic inflection on his rank sink in. “I suggest you get to it. I’m sure you can find your way to the murder scene?” Because it was murder, pure and simple.
“Yes, ma’am.” He fumbled with his hat again as yet another flush crawled over his face.
“You will not touch Rosie’s grave without just cause and a court order,” she added.
“Yes, ma’am. I…” He flushed deeper red. “Once the medical examiner’s done, I’ll do that. I’ll be off, then. Recheck the scene and such.” He took a step toward the door, nearly bumped into Tyler, then darted around him.
No one moved until they heard his truck drive away. When it did, they released a collective breath. Tessa fought to quell her shaking, to will some measure of peace to filter into her body. The sound of yet another vehicle arrival ruined that hope.
“Now what?” Tyler charged to the window and snapped the drape aside. “It’s Ethel Turnbauer.”
“Again?” Rex stomped toward the door. “I hope to hell she’s not bringing another one of her god-awful casseroles.”
Tessa cut him off before he could reach the door. Granted, Ethel wasn’t one of her favorite people in the world. The woman wore the term busybody like a badge of honor. She had her nose in everyone’s business. Her family had roots here that ran as deep as the Ford family’s. Her job at the bank put her in contact with everyone. She had her fingers in everyone’s pies, and her nose in everyone’s business. Always with a smile, though. It’s what Turnbauers do. Tessa had heard the phrase much too often and couldn’t help wondering if Ethel planned to have it on her tombstone.
“You know the drill by now,” Tessa told the men. “Ethel always has to be the first one in line to offer her condolences.”
“She offered them yesterday at the inn with her disgusting casseroles.” Rex snapped up two fingers. “Two of them. I thought Hannah was going to puke at the sight of them.”
God help her, Tessa tried not to laugh. She couldn’t help it. Hannah prided herself on serving good food to Rustlers’ guests. In the realm of what Turnbauers do, cooking wasn’t one of those things. Rumor had it that Ethel had a freezer devoted to casseroles. When someone passed, she was ready to go.
“We had a hell of a time getting rid of her. I don’t know how she found out so quick. We played hell scooting her out before the guests overheard mention of Derek’s death.”
“You know news travels fast in a town like this. She paid her condolences to you, not to me. You know her protocol would compel her to come here today.” It wouldn’t surprise Tessa to know Ethel posted a lookout somewhere to find out exactly when Tessa arrived. Maybe even Ethel herself. It wouldn’t be hard. Turnbauer land was adjacent to the ranch, and the bank was closed on weekends. “We’ll let her say her piece and be done with it.”
Rex muttered a few choice curse words and returned to the love seat. Tessa waited for Ethel’s knock and for Tyler to quit hovering before she answered the door.
“Tessa, honey, I’m so sorry for your loss,” Ethel burst out the second the door opened.
“Thank you, Ethel.” Tessa placed her age at around fifty, but that was only going by what she’d heard from others. Ethel was trim and fit. Not a gray hair marred her brunette pixie cut. “Now’s not a good time. Derek’s attorney is here.”
Something akin to a sneer flashed over Ethel’s mouth, then quickly disappeared. “I understand. I know you must be tired out from your long trip. But I
had to give you my sympathies in person.” Sad blue eyes backed up her words. “And to bring you this.” She lifted a large aluminum pan. “Nothing much. Just homemade macaroni and cheese. Comfort food.”
Tessa pushed the screen door open to accept the offering. “Thank you. You’re always so thoughtful.”
“You need anything just let me know.”
“I will.” She exchanged an awkward embrace with the woman and waited at the door until Ethel drove off.
“Now…was that so difficult?” she asked the men when she went back inside.
“No, but that will be.” Rex pointed to the disposable pan in her hands.
“Ever consider feeding it to the javelina?” Nate asked. “It might help get rid of them.”
“Don’t tempt me.” Tessa tossed the pan into the kitchen trash, then returned to the living room to find the men on their feet, pacing about. The only exception being Kevin, who shuffled his papers into smaller piles. “So, what now?”
“Want me to see what I can find out?” Nate asked.
Some measure of relief finally filtered into her bones. Good thing Nate had come along. Or was this the reason he’d insisted in the first place? Maybe he suspected something or his network of connections had hinted at a problem.
Tessa shoved the rambling thoughts aside. “Yes, thank you.”
“I’m presuming you’re qualified to snoop?” Rex braced his hands on his hips as Nate slipped his sunglasses in place.
“I am.” He left it at that and poked Tessa’s shoulder. “You good?”
She gave him an absentminded nod. “Just need a little privacy.” Time to order her jumbled thoughts and emotions.
Nate pulled a stick of chewing gum from his jeans pocket, peeled off the foil, and popped it into his mouth. “Got any transportation I can use?”
Rex pointed toward the kitchen beyond the adjacent dining room. “Derek’s pickup is out back. Keys are on a hook by the kitchen door.”
Tyler crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “The heat dried up things fairly quick after the storm, but there are still muddy spots a truck might not manage. Even our backhoe loader had a hell of a time yesterday burying Rosie. Taking a horse is better if you’ve got the expertise.”
Lies That Bind Page 4
