Chapter Nine
“We can check the phone numbers in Denver,” Cam suggested, but Alexa could tell he wasn’t hopeful. Still, with one arm came around her waist, he hugged her tightly for one breathless moment before releasing her.
Alexa sighed, missing his touch but glad he’d found a little comfort in her hug. “The phones are probably disconnected or bogus numbers.”
Cam shook his head. “Maybe not. Jess Parker told us she called and checked the references. Someone vouched for those two men.”
After calling officers to dust the apartment for fingerprints, the sheriff drove them back through town to the hotel, where they’d eat lunch. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll have paid the Denver phone bill by check.” Noel wrote down Cameron’s cell phone number and promised to let them know about the drugged wine, the fingerprints and the phone numbers as soon as he had any information.
After lunch, Cam borrowed a car from the real-estate agent who was selling him the medical building. He made a brief stop to check on the site, but soon pulled onto a road heading north out of town.
With a cocky set to his jaw, he tuned the radio. “I thought we’d pay Bodine a little visit.”
“He isn’t still working, is he?” Alexa asked, thinking back to the last time she’d seen the foreman that morning. He’d been busy overseeing the reconstruction of the bridge. Bodine had seemed determined to finish the job today.
But then, Colorado seemed filled with determined men, none more so than her husband. Despite their problems, he never lost an opportunity to brush against her, touch her hand, take her elbow, constantly reminding her that he found her attractive. She didn’t believe he was acting to convince others their marriage was real. She could see the need simmering in his eyes, feel the tension radiating off him, knew that even a man with Cameron’s patience couldn’t hold back his passion forever.
But she had no idea what she wanted to do about it. She would be leaving soon after the trial. If she became any more attached to Cameron and the twins, leaving would be impossible. For just a little while, she could step into another woman’s role and be a mother, a wife. This opportunity might never come again. Perhaps she should accept the invitation in Cameron’s eyes and touch, and make the most of her time here. She could worry about paying the price after she was gone.
Cameron’s husky voice interrupted her thoughts. “Bodine and his crew started at five this morning. They quit at three and that’s a ten-hour day.” Cameron checked his watch. “He should be home by now.”
“See if you can work in a way to ask the man if he’s ever been in the military or in mining,” Alexa suggested, refocusing her thoughts on the problem with effort.
“Why?”
“Whoever blew up that bridge was familiar with explosives.”
“Not necessarily. Remember the charge went off too soon?”
Cameron’s patience to consider every detail annoyed her, but she couldn’t fault his logic. He seemed so calm and methodical. Didn’t he know how much his touches raised her pulse? Did he have any idea how much she enjoyed working with him? In all the years she’d known him, he’d never lost his temper, never raised his voice in anger. In fact, the only time he showed real emotion was when he played with his boys. And when he kissed her.
On the scale of one to ten, the man’s kisses were a definite twelve. But it wasn’t just his touch that sliced away at her reserve, it was his genuine courtesy. Cameron’s thoughtful, simple gestures were as much a part of him as those searing kisses. Yet it wasn’t manners that attracted her, but the core of the man they revealed. He thought of others with a generosity of spirit, without taking away time or love from his family. He hadn’t even blamed the Senator or Jess Parker for not checking out the security guards more carefully.
Alexa knew many important men. Many were so consumed with business that they didn’t have time to worry about their children. And the men who didn’t strive to succeed had never interested Alexa. However, Cameron was a complex mix of hard businessman and compassionate father. He clearly adored medicine and yet he had no compunction about putting off starting his practice until he’d assured his sons’ safety. She admired that trait in him most of all—his commitment to family.
And she liked the entire family. The oldest brother, Tyler, was quiet, but he’d made her feel welcome. Chase was like the brother she’d always wanted—steady, a good father and totally in love with his wife—while Rafe was the charming youngster who would someday fall hard for some lucky woman. And the Senator, a class act all his own, ran the family with an iron hand and a soft heart.
The twins couldn’t have a better family to grow up in. The judge would have to see the boys belonged here with this vibrant family. And Alexa would always be glad she’d taken the time to get to know them.
Cameron pulled up to a barbed-wire gate and stopped the car. While he got out and opened the gate, she slid behind the wheel and drove through, then waited for him to close the gate and return to the car. Unlike the Sutton ranch that had the luxury of extra acreage, the majority for pastures and small ribbons of land set aside for roads, Bodine’s ranch was more modest. Every inch of acreage was used for grazing, right up to the front yard of his trailer.
Boasting exaggerated eaves, the trailer ran parallel to the front yard and had a carport with saddles hanging from the ceiling at one end and a prefab fireplace at the other. The front end had a basic open-air stoop and nearby squatted a thousand-gallon cattle-watering tank that could double as a swimming pool.
Next to a row of puny poplars, a big satellite dish sat in the backyard and provided shade for cows. A faded green pickup truck was parked in the drive. Clearly little time went into the trailer’s upkeep.
At the Suttons’ ranch, Bodine kept a paddock of perfectly groomed horses, saw to dehorning steers and worming calves with meticulous efficiency, but inside his home, dirty laundry overflowed the hamper and dozens of marks marred the coffee table.
“Excuse the mess.” Bodine’s housekeeping apology, like big-belt buckles, seemed pretty ubiquitous on a small ranch. He gestured for them to take a seat on the sofa beside a dead plant. “Just move that rope and those spurs to the coffee table. I wasn’t expecting company.”
“I wanted to ask a few more questions about your knife,” Cam said, sitting so close to Alexa that her leg and hip and shoulder were plastered against his hard muscles.
Bodine set out a bowl of chips and handed them each a beer. “Ask away, Doc.”
Cameron twisted off the cap, took a long swallow and then played with the icy bottle. “Did any of the men who worked for us ever take special notice of your knife?”
“Not that I can remember.”
“That blue handle is very distinctive,” Alexa said, hoping to prod Bodine’s memory. She kept inching away from Cam on the sofa but sliding right back.
The foreman scratched his head. “Now that I think on it, Cody once offered to let me bet the knife, instead of a ten-dollar ante, in a poker game.”
Alexa frowned. “Cody isn’t old enough to play poker.”
Cameron and Bodine shared a long look and shrugged in unison. Alexa chose to ignore their mockery. Gambling was illegal, and for the ranch hands to let the teenager participate just wasn’t right.
“I take it you didn’t wager the knife?” Cameron asked, casually looping an arm over Alexa’s shoulders.
“No, sir. Ray Potter borrowed it once to fillet a fish, but he returned it that same evening. I kept good track of it. My daddy gave me that knife. And his daddy before him.”
“You know the doll seemed old, too. Like an antique,” Alexa commented, trying to ignore Cameron’s physical closeness and his warmth seeping into her.
“What are you getting at, ma’am?”
“I’m not sure. It may mean nothing.” She couldn’t think with Cam sitting so near. She needed air, needed space, but he wasn’t giving her any.
“All right, let’s try another angle,” Cam suggest
ed. “Which men at the ranch have a military or mining background and also had access to my house yesterday?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at, Doc. Almost everyone had access to your house. It’s near the stable, and you never lock it. During the wedding, anyone could have sneaked inside.” Bodine paused. “As for the military background, I was a Navy SEAL.”
“So you have knowledge of explosive devices?” Alexa asked, trying to figure out whether or not Bodine’s freely made admission made him appear less guilty.
“Some.” Bodine held her gaze, and she couldn’t believe a Navy SEAL would sell out his employer for a few bucks. Cameron was right. Bodine had more sense than to stab a doll with his own knife and expect to get away with it.
“Have you heard any of the hands complaining about work lately?” Cam asked.
“No more than usual.”
“Anyone speculating overly much on my personal business?”
“No, Doc.”
“Have any of the hands been spending more money than normal?” Alexa asked, unwilling to let Cam do all the thinking. She crossed her legs, letting her calf rub suggestively against his leg. If he wanted to play touching games, she knew how to play, too.
Bodine’s eyes narrowed, and for the first time, he seemed unsure of his answer. “What do you mean?”
“Anyone buy a flashy new car? Or gamble too much? Or uncharacteristically buy a round of drinks at the local bar?” Cameron elaborated.
Bodine closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. “Actually, that new cook, Leo Harley, just bought a spiffy new saddle. One of those expensive ones with silver inlay. And Cody’s mom traded in her old Chevy for a newer model. And I just bought another hundred acres to connect to my back forty.” Bodine tipped up his beer and downed the rest of the bottle. Then he wiped his mouth delicately with a cocktail napkin. “So what?”
Alexa leaned forward, letting her hair fall onto Cam’s shoulder. “We think my grandparents may be paying off someone to make Cameron look foolish when he goes to court to try and keep custody of his boys.”
Bodine’s eyes widened in surprise. “You think your own grandparents would—”
“They think they would be better parents than Cameron,” Alexa explained. “So we’re looking for someone who might take a little money on the side. Maybe this person doesn’t even realize the stakes. He may not intend to hurt anyone, may have been paid just to scare me away.”
“No one is that dumb,” Bodine said. “One other thing I should tell you, Doc. I hate to mention it, but under the circumstances…”
“What?”
“That day, when the bridge blew up…”
“Yeah?”
“I saw another horse and rider out there.”
Alexa leaned forward again, practically holding her breath. “Who was it?”
“I didn’t get a good look.”
“Who do you think it was?”
“I can’t be sure. That’s why I didn’t want to say anything, but I thought…”
“Thought what?” Alexa prodded as she gritted her teeth, thinking pulling information from Bodine was worse than from the twins.
Bodine finally spit out the words. “It looked like the Doc’s sister-in-law. Laura Sutton.”
Alexa gasped. Her beautiful sister-in-law couldn’t have had anything to do with blowing up the bridge.
“Maybe Laura was out on an innocent ride,” Cam said. His stiff shoulders, tight lips and narrowed eyes said a lot more. Clearly he didn’t believe Laura Sutton capable of doing such a thing, either.
“The rider would have heard the explosion,” Bodine insisted with a speculative look. “And if so, wouldn’t it have been normal to investigate?”
“Maybe Laura didn’t hear it. Sound can travel funny over pastureland. Or maybe she was in a hurry,” Cam suggested.
“Or maybe it wasn’t her,” Alexa said, taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze of support before asking Bodine another question. “What made you think it was Laura? Are you certain the rider was female? Did she have long blond hair?”
Bodine slumped in his chair. “I’m not sure. The rider was galloping, but doing a slow lope, the kind that eats up the miles, not the hell-bent-for-leather riding that winds a horse fast. The horse was dark, a deep chestnut or a black.”
“That’s not much to go on. Why did you think it might have been Laura?” Cameron asked, his tone even, but Alexa heard the edge of tension beneath.
“I’m telling you the truth, Doc. I just don’t know. It was a fleeting impression, and that’s why I hesitated to say anything at all. It could have been a man. I don’t specifically remember hair color, but it may have been blond.”
Cameron stood and pulled Alexa up with him. They hadn’t learned much, but the more they spoke to Bodine, the more convinced she became of the man’s honesty.
Cam shook the foreman’s hand. “Thanks for the information and for the beer. If you think of anything else…”
“I’ll let you know.”
“ARE YOU GOING to question Laura?” Alexa asked Cameron once they were back on their horses and riding home, knowing they didn’t have much time before they went to court, and they still couldn’t prove anything.
“No.” Cameron’s tone turned hard. “A few years ago, Laura was accused of murdering my brother, Brent. Eventually, it all got sorted out and she was completely exonerated. But those were hard times for her and Chase. I won’t cast one iota of suspicion on her.”
“She could have been out there having an innocent ride,” Alexa said, drawing her horse closer to his.
“Exactly.”
“So wouldn’t it help to know if she was out there alone or if she saw someone else?”
“We are looking for someone else. The subject is closed.” His face, hard as flint, had a stubborn cast to the jaw, gray eyes determined to treat his family his way. For an intelligent man, he could be remarkably stubborn and close-minded when it came to his family. Usually she saw this quality as a strength, but it could also be a weakness.
Alexa reached over and touched Cam’s shoulder. “Maybe Laura saw something that could help us.”
“We aren’t going there. Laura is a Sutton.”
“And as a Sutton, she’d want to help.” Alexa sighed, thinking how easily Cam could ignore her touches. “I’m not saying we have to accuse her of anything.”
“We damn well won’t.” He moved his horse closer to hers as if his dominating presence would make her give in to his argument.
Alexa wouldn’t be intimidated. “Did Laura fall apart when she was accused of murder?”
“Of course not.”
“She didn’t have a nervous breakdown?”
“She’s a strong woman.”
“And didn’t your brother stand by her even when things looked their worst?”
“Of course.”
“So neither of them would fall apart if we asked a few simple—”
“I said no.” Cam increased the pace to a canter, his horse kicking up clouds of dust.
Alexa dug her heels into her horse, encouraging the animal to stay even with Cameron’s mount. “You’re being unreasonable.”
“And you’re being argumentative.”
“That’s because you’re wrong.”
“It won’t be the first time,” he said so mildly she wanted to slap him. How could she argue with him when he’d just agreed with her?
Damn him! He’d been touching her all day, making her edgy as hell. Then he tried to avoid the conversation, and when she wouldn’t let him, he’d just ended it by saying he’d made the decision, and that was that. While Alexa admired his absolute faith in Laura’s innocence and his determination to protect his sister-in-law from anything unpleasant, she didn’t agree with his thinking.
“Maybe Laura saw something and didn’t realize it might be important to us.” Frustration made her reckless, and she cut off his horse, forcing him to a stop.
“We’ll
manage without questioning Laura.”
Slightly out of breath from anger more than exertion, Alexa glared at him. “Does anyone ever win an argument with you?”
When he reached over, grabbed her waist and plucked her from the saddle, she was too astonished to do more than sputter. “Just w-what—”
His mouth came down on hers, cutting off her words. Her palms slammed into his hard chest and she jerked her head back. “I’m not kissing you back.”
He gathered her closer. “Sure you are, darling.”
“I’m not your darl—” His hands came up over her breasts and she responded immediately. Not only did he notice, his thumbs tweaked her aroused nipples maddeningly.
She couldn’t stop her physical reaction, and that only increased her anger. How dare he treat her like this? He couldn’t win the argument, so he wanted to kiss her into submission?
Not this woman. But why did he have to feel so good? He knew exactly what she liked—seemingly instinctively, his fingers found sensitive spots, his mouth was magic, and her thoughts spun dangerously out of control. Her back arched and she barely bit back a soft moan of delight.
“You want me as much as I want you.” His mouth came down on hers again, taking, demanding, and shooting darts of pleasure through her.
She wanted him, all right. But she couldn’t decide if she wanted to kiss him or kick him. Out of nowhere, he had her hot as a branding iron ready to burn, and that he could affect her so easily was downright humiliating.
She twined her fingers into his hair, yanked his head back and locked gazes with him. “Are you out of your mind?”
“That’s the effect you have on me. You’re making me crazy. Crazy for you.”
“I’ve married a lunatic.”
He nibbled on her ear. “Lucky for you, they haven’t locked me up yet.”
“Arrogant man.” His tiny nibbles were doing odd things to her erratic pulse. She actually felt light-headed and excited. “I’m not making love on a horse.”
Little Boys Blue Page 13
