Man of Honor, A

by Tina Leonard

  The sheriff focused his gaze on her like a snake about to strike.

  "Do you know where he is?" he asked softly.

  "No, I don't." She held up her head as the sheriff's gaze lowered to her stomach, gauging the term of her pregnancy. "But Hunt did not do this. You need to focus your investigation

  elsewhere."

  "Really." The sheriff raised his brows. "How's your mother, Tessa?"

  "My... mother?"

  "Did your mother think highly of your liaison with Hunt Greer? Pardon me for speaking in the past tense as I'm assuming the relationship is."

  She bridled.

  "It is in the past. And no, my mother did not like me seeing him."

  "Why not?"

  Tessa hesitated. No way was she going to confess to this nasty sheriff that her mother had referred to Hunt as Spy-boy. That would set him off on the wrong path.

  "Look," Cord interrupted. "I've already told you, someone camped in my woods, and that's where you should be searching for a suspect. "

  The sheriff looked over his shoulder at the deputies detailing the crime scene.

  "It seems to me like there's a lot of searching going on, but sadly, no evidence of any intruders in the woods. Anything to corroborate your story might have been in the tree house you sawed up. Maybe I should take a look at it, though." He sighed as if he didn't think much would come of it.

  "I've been using it for firewood."

  "Firewood. That's real good, Mr. Greer." The sheriff shifted more deeply into his jacket.

  "Well, I'll be talking to you both again real soon, and the old lady, so you folks stick around. And if you see any more vagrants in your woods, do me a favor, huh? Call us. One of our many talents is retaining evidence properly."

  The sheriff moved away, and Tessa felt her muscles go slack. She melted into Cord's arms, laying her head against his chest.

  "You don't think Hunt did it, do you?" she whispered.

  "Hell, no. I know he didn't. It was those damn trespassers, but I have no idea where they could be hiding now, the bastards." He itched to wring their necks for killing the colonel Hunt had been so fond of, who had tried to do their family a favor out of loyalty.

  "It really scares me what will happen when Hunt hears that John is dead. John meant a lot to him. He molded Hunt into a man and tunnelled his love of country into something Hunt was proud of."

  Alarmed, Tessa raised her head.

  "What do you mean, it scares you what will happen when Hunt hears? You don't mean he might return for revenge?"

  Cord flexed his shoulders.

  "It's a possibility, knowing my brother. What they wouldn't have achieved by using me or you to flush him out, they may very well have done by murdering his mentor. He'll take this assault personally, not just out of loyalty to the country and to the military, but because

  John was a good friend to him."

  "Poor Colonel West." Tessa felt so sorry for him. A sudden deep fear struck her. If they could kill someone just because he was paying a visit to the Greer household, then her own life had a very cheap price tag, as well. She could just as easily wind up murdered, her baby

  never having a chance to breathe its first breath.

  "I'm scared," she whispered.

  He held her tightly, rubbing her back in calming circles. "I figure it's one of two things. Either anyone who may know something about Hunt is in danger, or they thought the colonel knew something, maybe thought he was warning him of their presence. If they were part of the assassination attempt in Spain Hunt was warned about, then maybe they thought the colonel was going to warn him that they were here. They wouldn't want to lose their chance at finding Hunt a second time.

  That's what I think, not that Sheriff Grimes would care to hear my theory."

  "I don't think you can tell him about the attempt on Hunt in Spain, can you? Wouldn't that start to touch on the gray area of classified information?"

  "I wouldn't care," Cord said, his voice grim, "if I thought the sheriff could help my brother. I'd tell him anything I believed he needed to know. Unfortunately, with the way the sheriff's

  mind works, I think Hunt is better off if I keep his personal details to myself. "

  Tessa closed her eyes for just a moment.

  "Cord, can I ask you something? About Hunt?"

  "Sure."

  He kept her folded in his arms, and Tessa enjoyed the sense of security. The puppy didn't squirm between them, providing a solid barrier to an embrace that would feel very intimate.

  "What exactly did Hunt do?"

  His expression turned guarded as he stared down at her. "What do you mean? You knew Hunt as well as anybody. What is it you're asking?"

  Heat crept up her neck.

  "We didn't spend much time talking about his job."

  Cord nodded after a lengthy moment.

  "Hunt wouldn't."

  She lowered her gaze.

  "I thought he was still in the military. I assumed he was doing something classified, so I didn't ask a lot of questions. And I only saw him for such short periods of time that sightseeing and having fun was all we did. Not talk about his job. I know that may sound silly, but we just didn't have that kind of relationship."

  "I don't think it sounds silly at all to be in a place like Spain and be more interested in having a good time than anything else. Come on, let's get you inside."

  "Cord, wait." She tugged at his hand so he would face her. "You didn't tell me what Hunt does. Are you deliberately avoiding it? Because if you are, I think at this point I deserve at least some explanation." She drew in a deep breath.

  I don't think it's unreasonable for me to know exactly what's going on because I get the feeling the stakes are getting high." Unconsciously, she gestured toward the spot where the colonel was being placed in a black body bag. "If Hunt is retired, why is everyone associated with him at risk?"

  Cord looked at her long and hard, his demeanor indecisive.

  Then he took her hand, pulling her close to him as they walked away from the crime scene. He kept his voice low, for her hearing only.

  "Cord was recruited by John to be in Special Ops, which is why I told the sheriff Hunt was retired from the military. It's true, in a sense."

  "I still don't understand."

  "Hunt is trained and very experienced in covert operations."

  She stopped in her tracks.

  "So he's not a code breaker?"

  "Not exactly, although I'm sure that falls into his talents at some level."

  "And he's not a spy?" The fact that her mother's most derogative term for Hunt might be applicable wasn't comforting.

  "I'm sure he has been in possession of documents and knowledge other countries would rather he not acquire."

  Tessa took a deep breath.

  "Is that why assassins are after him?"

  "Maybe. He might have had one piece of information too many. To be honest, I don't know everything Hunt does. "

  "If he's getting a new face..." She looked at him, her body suddenly chilling. "Are you dancing around telling me that Hunt is an assassin? I mean, when they send him in to steal documents or people or whatever, I'm assuming he's not invited in through the front door and greeted with open arms, especially if he's dealing with hostile countries."

  Cord shook his head, turning to walk toward the house.

  Tessa's lips parted with surprise before she hurried after him, putting Ellie down on the porch. She took hold of Cord's sleeve. "Silence is damning."

  "So is knowing too much. Tessa, I've said all I can about my brother. I'm sorry you didn't know him as well as you would have liked, but I can't tell you any more than I have without breaking confidence."

  She was shocked.

  "Are you saying I got myself knocked up by a man I didn't know very well, and it's too bad I'm in danger, but I played with fire and God knows it's hot in the center, so don't start asking questions now?"

  Cord shrugged.

  "I'm saying
we both love Hunt, and you have to expect that I love him enough not to talk about his work with anyone. Including you."

  "Because if he'd wanted me to know, he would have told me himself," she snapped.

  "Because he didn't want you to know, because he couldn't tell you,"

  Cord shot back.

  "That's what words like 'covert' and 'classified' and 'top secret' mean, Tessa. And even if you didn't know what Hunt was involved in, you knew you were in above your head. Even your mother knew, which is why she constantly tried to warn you off. "

  "Maybe I should have listened to my mother!"

  "Maybe you wanted to get away from your mother, and Hunt was in love with you. So you closed your eyes to the danger and jumped in with both feet. But I can't play information relay."

  He went inside. The door slammed behind him. Tessa lowered her head, staring at the hard white steps of the chilly porch. Then she jerked the door open, following him inside.

  Nan sat up, still in the recliner, though she appeared much more alert.

  "I don't think it's that cut-and-dried," Tessa told Cord. "It doesn't matter what I should or should not have done, although I will say I don't regret the time I spent with Hunt at all. God help me, I don't even regret being pregnant by him, though maybe I should. It's a gift of life, and like Hunt, I've always wanted more out of life." She put her hands on her hips, staring at him resolutely. "Maybe you're the one with regrets. And questions. You stay on this ranch, never leaving this town, doing all the family work. Perhaps you're mad at me for asking questions because you envy Hunt's adventuresome way of life. Don't make it sound like I'm Little Miss Country Gingham who was too ignorant to know what I was getting into but wanted a little international flair in my life. I cared about Hunt. That doesn't mean I expected murder and stalking to play into the equation. And neither did you."

  He blew out a breath.

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of what I did. This ranch is my home. I keep it secure. I take care of my livestock. I didn't expect to be worrying about Hunt and his girlfriend and his child, or his mentor being murdered. I want to protect all of you - and it's damned

  frustrating to know I can't." He spread his palms wide. "I'm a little scared myself. But I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

  Tessa nodded.

  "I appreciate your honesty."

  "Well, now that's settled, I guess I'll get myself home." Nan eased herself out of the recliner.

  "I don't think you should leave just yet," Cord said automatically.

  Tessa flashed him a nervous glance. Did he think Nan might be the next victim?

  "Why not? I shouldn't have burst in on you two in the first place." Nan's wrinkle-lined face was slightly pink. "Got enough going on without me being around."

  "I was leaving," Tessa said hurriedly. "It's time for me to go home, so you might as well stay a while longer."

  "I don't think you should leave, either," Cord told her.

  "We've already discussed the fact that the people who murdered John don't know where I live, but they must know I'm here," Tessa protested. "It doesn't make sense for me to stay." She glanced at Nan. "We can't all stay here. Cord, just because you want to watch out for

  all of us."

  "Until they find the murderer or murderers, I think it's best if you do. The sheriff will have more questions I'm sure, and with police crawling all over the area, I believe you'd both be safer here. No one would try to do anything with the cops so close."

  Tessa stared at him, hearing the validity in his argument but not wanting to. She didn't know how much longer she could be under the same roof with Cord and not start falling for his kindness, his solid sexiness. Her gaze roamed from jeans that fitted just right to a blue

  Western shirt that covered a narrow waist and broad chest. A strong chin and granite eyes were set off by jet hair that skimmed his collar, falling neatly at an angle on his forehead. There was similarity between Hunt and Cord - but her love for Hunt had been sparked by a

  desire to see the world. Cord had called that pretty squarely. There had been no risk in the beginning with Hunt, just an easy relationship that breezed to exciting destinations.

  But her feelings for Cord were ignited by something altogether different, an attraction for a man with just as deep convictions as his brother, but much more compatible with what she knew and understood.

  Maybe their love for Hunt somehow connected them at a deeper juncture, an empathetic bonding that pulled her closer to Cord all the time.

  She liked his caring; her heart hoped that he liked her as much as she realized she liked him.

  Which was all wrong. She came with baggage he would have to accept, a dowry of obligation and responsibility. She didn't want Cord to see her as the mother of his brother's child. She wanted him to know her as a woman with feelings and hopes and dreams all her own, who could take care of herself. She wanted him to want the woman she was becoming - not the Tessa who had left Crookseye Canyon because she couldn't wait to escape the town and her mother.

  "I'll stay," she said softly.

  "Reckon I will, too, if you think it'll make you sleep better. Cord," Nan said on a sigh.

  "Supposedly there's safety in numbers."

  Cord nodded, then left the room.

  Tessa picked up the puppy, snuggling it to her chin. "Nan, will you do my hair?"

  "Be glad to. Might as well do something to keep busy. Anyway, you've heard the old line about washing a man right out of your hair. " She got up to run an assessing hand through the twenty-four inches of fine straight, golden hair.

  Tessa shook her head.

  "Cut it off, please, Nan. All of it."

  Nan's cigarette dangled from her lips.

  "Cut... it?"

  "Yes." Cord cut down the tree house that symbolized his boyhood, saying goodbye to the past. It was time for her to leave behind the girl she'd been, as well.

  "But it's so beautiful. It's stunning. It catches everyone's attention wherever you go."

  Tessa smiled a little reminiscently. Especially in Spain, her hair had drawn attention. But that seemed long ago.

  "Maybe it can be made into a wig for a cancer patient or something. Someone who needs it." Ellie licked her face, and Tessa smiled. "It's dead. Dead cells, dead weight. And from now on, I'm going to be alive."

  Chapter Eleven

  The woman staring back at Tessa in the bathroom mirror had a new look of confidence about her, an attitude of vitality.

  She ran her fingers through the short, cropped waves that feathered jauntily across her jawline and in layers all over. The length ended at her nape, and for a second, her hand lingered there, enjoying the feel of her bare neck.

  "I love it," she told Nan. "I feel free."

  "Of course you do." Nan nodded at her handiwork.

  "Your hair was stunning because no one had any that long - long hair doesn't look good on many people, plus yours was in fabulous shape. However, you're not going to have time for all that hair once the baby is born, and this look is sexy as hell on you."

  Sexy. I wonder if Cord will think so.

  "I wonder if Cord would care if we walked over to my house so I can get my good scissors. There's just a spot or two I want to even up, and I need something better than what we used."

  "I don't think he'd have a problem if we walked together." Tessa's gaze went to the lengths of blond hair lying in a neat swath. "I feel like I'm putting so much behind me. Nan. I wish they'd catch whoever killed the colonel so we can get on with our lives. Poor Colonel West," she finished on a whisper.

  "Very strange." Nan gathered up the hair, busily tidying up the fallen strands. "I just don't know what to make of the whole incident. It was just the three of us on the property, so I can't even imagine who might have done it."

  Tessa's attention turned from her reflection to the woman beside her. How much should she tell her? Nothing, Cord would likely say. Nan had a tendency to drink, and her beauty parlor was a
hotbed of gossip. Yet couldn't Nan end up like the colonel just as easily if she wandered unsuspecting into something?

  The woods, for example. Nan was fond of walking through the woods, enjoying the birds and the different flora. Tessa bit her lip, indecisive.

  "Why don't I ask Cord if he minds if we drive his truck to your house?" she murmured. The police had looked it over, and then Cord had brought it home. It would be safer to drive from driveway to driveway than risk getting caught by a murderer. Her scalp prickled at the

  thought.

  "I'll be right back."

  She left the bathroom and headed down the hall to Cord's room. The door was closed, so she knocked softly.

  "Cord?"

  "Come in."

  Her heart suddenly beating faster, Tessa eased the door open. Cord sat on his bed, staring out the window. He was a big man, so he had big furnishings: a large bed with a mahogany headboard, a triple dresser, two big lamps on either side of the bed. Instantly, she saw the

  photograph of the three of them, her, Hunt and Cord, taken long ago.

  She went over to pick it up.

  "Were we really this carefree in high school?"

  "I think the same thing. Tessa, turn around. Please."

  She put the picture down, slowly revolving, her eyes searching his gaze.

  "You are so beautiful," he said huskily.

  Pleased shock mesmerized her.

  "You like it?"

  He stood, running his fingers through the careless locks.

  "It makes your eyes look huge. And your face is framed just the way it should be."

  She didn't know how to respond to the compliment. His tone was longing, wistful, just as she felt. Their gazes touched, lingered, remained.

  "Nan knew what she was doing," she murmured. But his fingers left her hair, gently stroking the place where it ended and her cheek began, and she could tell his mind was no longer on his neighbor's handiwork.

  She knew she shouldn't, but the temptation to relax into his palm was too soothing, too alluring. His touch against her skin was warm and sensual, and she closed her eyes even as she felt the heat growing in her body.

  "You're so soft," he said gruffly. "Your skin is like satin."