by Susan Stoker
She sat down in the chair and looked at him, really looked at him. “I believe you.”
“And do you accept my apology?”
She sighed. “I want to, but I’m going to have to give myself some time to recover from this conversation.”
Laz nodded. “So will I. Last thing I expected when I woke up today.”
“Damn straight.” She pointed at his notepad. “Let’s get the rest of your questions done and I’ll put the footage on a memory stick for you.”
Unbelievable as it was, Bea felt better. Like a cork popping after years of being shaken up. She was more comfortable with him.
Something she would have never expected in her lifetime.
Laz’s gut was in knots. To be brought to the mat by Bea was embarrassing. Less than he’d done to her when he was an arrogant little shit. He had treated people as though he was better than them all his life. He’d never considered anyone until the day his mother died.
He’d been out riding his favorite gelding, drinking beer although he was only eighteen. No one dared not give a Graham liquor even if he was too young to buy it. He’d ignored his father’s calls on his expensive cell phone. He drank until he passed out by the very same pond he’d seen Bea swimming in five years before. Her curves had stunned him, and he’d lashed out, confused and flustered by his response.
At the age of eighteen, he was at the height of his miserableness as a human being. Then he arrived home hours after his father had tried so hard to call him, only to find his mother had died. She’d fallen from a ladder and hit her head. The bleeding in her brain couldn’t be stopped and she couldn’t wait for her drunk son to come to the hospital. She’d left a note for him at home before she’d left in the ambulance, one he had never shown another human being.
That was the day he shed the skin of Lazarus Asshole Graham and turned into the kind of man his mother would be proud of. A ranger. An honorable person who always did the right thing. Staying away from Brier Creek meant he didn’t have to face whom he’d been.
Returning for Bea was poetic justice. She was the one he’d wronged so many times he could hardly count. She was right to be angry and he wouldn’t blame her if she never forgave him. Laz had been hiding from the ugly truth of who he’d been. Now he had no choice but to own up to it.
He and Bea worked another thirty minutes going through everything that happened the week before the burglary until Laz felt like he had all the information he needed.
“Bea, are you back here?” A woman’s voice came from the front of the shop.
“Yeah, I’m—”
Laz put his hand on Bea’s arm. “Who is it?” he whispered.
“Kim Raeford. Remember, I told you about her earlier?” She shook off his hand. “She’s armed but only because I taught her how to shoot, helped her pick a gun, and certified her for a concealed carry permit.” Bea’s brows went up. “May I go now, Ranger?”
“Sorry, force of habit.” He got to his feet. “I think we’re done here for today.”
“Give me a minute and I’ll meet you out front with the memory stick.” Bea dismissed him while she fiddled with her laptop.
Laz had a few ideas about the crimes now that he’d been able to speak to a shop owner who was smart as hell, had good business acumen, and kept impressive records. He pushed the curtain aside to find two women standing in the middle of the store. One of them had purple hair.
The other one was his sister Rose.
Shit.
Chapter Three
‡
Laz had always had an awkward relationship with his three sisters, especially Rose. She was two years older than him and had tried all his life to boss him around. He had done his best to resist all measure of control and kept his distance from her. As a consequence, the older they got, the farther away they got until they were almost strangers. He’d seen Iris and Violet a few times since he’d left Brier Creek, but not Rose.
The very last thing he expected when she saw him was for her to gasp and press her hand to her mouth. “Laz?” Her eyes filled with tears and she launched herself into his arms.
The sensation of hugging Rose was startling and foreign, but Laz found his arms wrapping around her. It had been at least fifteen years of being apart, not even sitting beside each other. In an instant, they moved past the separation. He realized the last person he’d hugged had been his mother. Ten years without any affectionate human contact. Casual sex didn’t count.
Well, it counted, but not like this. Not even a little.
Emotions ricocheted around him and he wondered if maybe his kindergarten teacher might walk in. Or possibly the governor. Donald Duck maybe. Nothing would surprise him now. His entire life had taken an extreme right turn and he was reeling from the last hour.
She pulled back and cupped his face. “I’ve missed you.”
No recriminations or accusations, just a simple statement. Laz didn’t deserve a pass for what he’d done, however he wouldn’t turn it down.
Her hair was longer, the dark brown waves accented by the red that lay deep in the strands. She was the only sibling with pure blue eyes and they were framed by a pair of turquoise glasses.
“You look really good.” His smile was an easy one.
“So do you. Bigger than Pa.” She squeezed his arms and he had to let the comparison to their father pass without comment. Rose might not know the specifics of the feud between father and son, but she had to realize it was beyond serious to last more than ten years. “I heard you were a ranger.”
Laz wasn’t surprised she knew about his career. The Grahams were a big family with plenty of cousins, some of which he still kept in touch with.
“Was it Samuel or Grant?” The two of them and Laz were the closest, the three Musketeers, or the three Stooges depending on the foolishness of what they got into growing up.
“Samuel. He runs the auction now and I was there looking at the stock last month.” She glanced behind him. “Are you working on Bea’s break-in? It’s big enough for the rangers to step in?”
“I am.” He let his sister go and stepped back. “Sometimes little things can be part of something much bigger.”
She nodded and squeezed his hand. “I’m very glad to see you. Iris and Violet will be upset to have missed you.”
His younger sisters had been girls when he left. All awkward and knobby kneed. Now they were in their early twenties. The harsh truth was, he might not recognize them if he saw them on the street. Shame swept through him at how he’d punished his sisters over his own guilt and feud with their father.
“My job keeps me on the move. I barely live in my apartment.” He looked at Bea, who watched the siblings with more than a casual interest. “I need to review and compile all my notes. I’ll keep you updated as I investigate and probably be back next week sometime.”
Bea’s expression darkened. “I don’t think so.”
He was keenly aware of Rose and Kim listening to the conversation. Laz didn’t want to air every piece of his dirty laundry in one morning.
“If you give me your cell phone number, I can text you updates.”
“Nope.”
“Phone calls? Daily?”
“No.”
Laz scowled at her. He thought they’d moved past the worst of their history. Maybe he was wrong.
“What is it you want, Beatrice?” He didn’t like the sharp edge to his voice, but dammit, the woman was like a changeling.
“I’m staying with you until you solve it.”
He stared at her. “Pardon?”
“I’m your partner until you solve the crime and find out who did this. I get first crack at his nuts too.” She sipped at the coffee the purple-haired Kim had given her. “This is personal.”
“Every business owner feels threatened when a crime is committed. It’s norm—”
“That’s not what I mean.” She waved her hand in the air and looked at the other two women. “You know what I mean, don’t you? Whoever th
is was, they didn’t break in to steal. They wanted to hurt me.”
Laz didn’t like the notion that someone wanted to hurt Beatrice for any reason.
“It was damn destructive.” Rose glanced around. “I don’t think they missed a single piece of glass.”
“Maybe it was Lenny Redman,” Kim offered. “He is the only glass guy in town.” Everyone ignored her.
Laz agreed with all of them, but it didn’t mean he was going to let Bea stick to his side. “I can’t ride around with you in the car unless you’re in the backseat, and I’m guessing you don’t want that.”
Bea glanced skyward. “No, I don’t, but I also don’t want to be left here with no answers and a burning need for Texas justice.”
“That’s why I’m here, so let me do my job.”
“She’s pretty smart. I’ll bet she could help.” Kim almost sounded serious.
“Perhaps you could listen to what she has to say?” Rose suggested. “She does know everyone in town, and you’ve been gone a long time.”
Laz was outnumbered and outgunned. He put his hat on and nodded to Kim, gave Rose a quick hug.
“I have an appointment at eleven.” He took Bea’s elbow and led her outside, away from the prying ears and not-so-helpful comments. “Look, I appreciate your need to want to solve this. And I agree you are someone with a vested interest in the capture of the perp.”
She looked at him over the top of the coffee, her eyes narrowed. “I’m not going to like the rest of what you have to say, am I?”
“I don’t know.” He crossed his arms, needing to get away from her, from town, to clear out the nest of confusion in his brain. “I promise I’ll be back tomorrow. Give me time to do some research and compile all the information.”
“What time?”
He glanced at his watch. “Eight. I’ll bring breakfast and coffee and you can help me go through it all.”
“And then what? You ride off tomorrow and ne’er return? I’ve read that story and it sucks.” She sipped at the coffee again, the breeze lifting stray curls and making them dance. “I’ve had too many things in my life be half-done or abandoned. I made a promise to myself that I would take care of this store. It’s what my parents would have wanted. This crime is personal, no matter what you think. They spit on me and my family, and all the hard work that has been put into this store.”
The passion in her voice spoke to his soul. He wanted that kind of commitment, that kind of connection to something substantive. Oh, he liked his job and was good at it, but it wasn’t the same.
“I’m sorry this happened, but I’m not sorry to see you again.” He wanted to be honest with her at all times from now on, no matter if she believed him or not.
“Let me help you. Don’t dismiss me as an uneducated redneck who knows too much about guns.”
“That’s not who I see.”
She appeared startled by that comment. “Then you’ll let me help. Please?”
It was one of the words he never expected to hear from such a proud woman, which lent it that much more weight.
He should say no. His boss would set his ass on fire if he knew what Laz was contemplating. Civilians weren’t supposed to be privy to case details, but since she was also a victim, there was a gray area.
Bea tossed the coffee cup in the trashcan to her right and stepped up close to him. Too close. “Lazarus?” She hadn’t called him by name the entire time he’d been at the store. The sound of it caressed his heart and he felt ten times a fool, but he found himself giving in.
“Yes, you can help, but you need to do as I ask. This is my job, and I take it as seriously as you do this store.”
“Hot damn!”
To his shock, she yanked him into a hug. She must’ve been trying to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and their lips almost met. Before he could react, she stepped back.
Her eyes widened as though she was as surprised as he was. “Uh, see you tomorrow, Ranger.”
Bea could hardly concentrate. After she sent Kim and Rose on their way, she spent more time cleaning. Or attempting to clean. If anyone watched her, they might think she’d been dropped on her head as a child. She walked around the store starting to do something, then abandoned it to do something else, and so on. She forgot to eat, banged her head no less than three times and stubbed her toe hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.
It was all his fault. Lazarus damn Graham. The man had come back as a different person. One who was contrite, apologetic, courteous, and damned if the incident with Rose didn’t make Bea all mushy inside.
Then she’d hugged and nearly kissed him, for pity’s sake. What in the blooming hell was wrong with her?
She was so confused. Since third grade, she had hated Lazarus at the same time she had been attracted to him. Always. There was never another option. Until now. Until he apologized, quite nicely, and worked with her on the details, convincing her he was serious about solving the crime.
Who was he? Certainly not the arrogant, spoiled brat she’d known. No, he was something else. The old Laz was still there, but the intensity had shifted to be a responsible adult instead of a devil-may-care prince.
Lazarus had always been beautiful, but now he was handsome and, she reluctantly admitted, she was attracted to him. Given their past, there didn’t seem to be any reason why and certainly she shouldn’t allow that attraction to grow. For God’s sake, her romantic life had been a combination of mama’s boys, vapid fools, a couple of creeps, and the occasional nice guy.
She was only twenty-eight. She didn’t need a man in her life, but seeing Laz reminded her of something she was missing. A hole somewhere inside her she hadn’t realized was there.
Damn him.
Bea finally got the glass out from under the display case and swept all of it into the trash. That was one accomplishment, albeit one that shouldn’t have taken her four hours to do. Lenny finally came by and took all the measurements for the replacement glass, assuring her he would get everything in within two to three days.
After the glazier left, her stomach yowled at the lack of food. Bea couldn’t leave the store yet. Not until she secured the inventory that hadn’t been stolen, which consisted of gun parts, slings, cleaning materials and such. Not big money, per se, but it was all part of her financial investment. She told her stomach to stop whining and finally focused her efforts. The air conditioning was off since there were no windows in the front of the store; she wasn’t going to waste electricity trying to cool down the entire state of Texas.
She pulled a couple of fans out and turned them on, moving the hot, sticky air around. Bea stood in front of a fan for a few minutes, letting the air rush past her. It wasn’t much but it was something. She put the fans on oscillate and got back to work sweating.
After another two hours of moving, locking cabinets, and stuffing the safe as much as she could, Bea was finally done. Until the glass could be replaced, she couldn’t sell anything. What she needed to do was go buy some plywood to put up on the front of the store with a sign notifying people she was temporarily closed.
The idea of boarding up her parents’ store made her heart hurt. Cartwrights had been in Brier Creek for thirty-five years. Her grandfather had started the business with her father, a partnership that evolved into a successful family business. Bea had grown up in the store. Admitting it was no longer open to its customers was almost like conceding defeat.
Yet it was just regrouping. Bea would come back swinging, even if it was with a baseball bat and a snarl. She printed a sign that said “TEMPORARILY CLOSED. WILL REOPEN SOON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE. CARTWRIGHTS.” She used a staple gun to hang it on the wall beside the front door. Her anger at the senseless crime simmered in her gut like acid. She needed to step away from the store and get the plywood.
The afternoon heat washed over her like a hot, wet washcloth when she stepped outside. To make things worse, the sun was midway down the sky. It turned the world into shadows and painful shards of
bright light. She shaded her eyes but it didn’t help.
“A damsel in distress?”
Bea whirled around to find Samuel Graham standing on the sidewalk. The cowboy was the biggest of the lot with massive arms and shoulders, the same blue-green eyes as Laz, and a scar on his jaw from a horse kick when he was twelve. He was a charmer, sweet as honey and more dangerous than any of the Grahams.
He smiled at her and held out his arm. “I’m yours to command, darlin’.”
“Pfft.” She waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m not a damsel and I sure as hell aren’t in distress, Sam. Why are you here?”
“Rose tells me Laz was around. I came to see if it was true.”
She shook her head. “You’re a gossip and I have things to do.”
He glanced at the store. “I’m sorry about this shit. Laz will find whoever it is.”
“I’m on my way out. Is there something you need?” She frowned at him. “I won’t be selling any inventory for a few days.”
“I came into town early to get some ammo and pick up a few things at the feed store. I’ll come back after you’re open.” He smiled, tipped his hat and walked back to the enormous, shiny black pickup parked nearby.
She shook her head. He came by to find Laz and for no other reason. Sam might be charming but he was trouble walking. There was a reason he was on the hunt for his cousin, not that it was Bea’s business. She didn’t want to be involved with the Graham men. They were nothing but trouble.
Then why had she hugged Laz or tried to kiss his cheek?
Momentarily lack of reason. Temporary insanity. Full-on stupidity. Any of those reasons would suffice. If she dug deep and examined the why, it might have been because she’d always been attracted to him, no matter if he’d been a jerk. Bea hadn’t been with many men and even then, she was super picky.
Or she might have hugged him to keep him off balance and to control their relationship, in whatever form it took, for once. She wanted the power and the ability to guide her fate.
No matter where it took her.
