Maybe something would turn up on her, maybe something wouldn’t. Eileen had been willing to cooperate, maybe too willing, and Amy had been apprehensive and had the hardened persona to go with a Tina Mueller past. Eileen was much more refined and a lot more successful. Not the makeup of a woman capable of killing a man. Or men, if she had, in fact, killed her stepfather and then Walsh.
He didn’t want to think about all that anymore tonight. All he wanted was to go home to Lily. Unfortunately, he still had things to wrap up at the office. With any luck, he’d get home by ten or a little after. Lily said she’d wait up for him. He hoped it wasn’t too late when he got home.
Chapter 10
Lily took the rolling cooler from the passenger seat of the Jeep and pulled it toward the sheriff’s office. Her heart beat in tune with her nerves. Maybe this impulse was too much too soon. It was his phone call. It was so sweet. She hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind ever since. So she’d packed dinner for two and driven to his office where he’d said he had to finish up. She wasn’t even sure he’d be here yet, but she wanted to surprise him.
Inside, the office was quiet. Tugging the cooler along, she moved around the front counter and headed for the only office with a light on.
At the entry, she stopped. Wes stood behind his desk, stuffing a folder into a narrow, soft leather briefcase. The sight of him stole over her, like an electric current of love.
He looked up and grinned. “I was just thinking about you.”
The warm gush that greeting gave her nearly made her face heat up.
He glanced down and saw the cooler. “I was about to leave and come home.”
Should she have waited for him? “Have you already eaten?” As busy as he was, she didn’t think he had.
Moving around the desk, he shook his head. “No. I haven’t had time.”
God, he was sexy. She wheeled the cooler into the office, stopping in front of him.
His eyes took in her face. “There’s a table in the conference room.” His voice was all gravelly and made her tingle.
“Here’s fine.” She knelt to unzip the front compartment of the cooler. Inside, she took out a blanket and spread it on the floor, glad to have something to keep her busy.
“That’s handy.” He knelt down beside her and then sat, leaning against the office wall. “Guess there are some parts of the old Lily that haven’t changed.”
She looked over at him and was relieved to see he was teasing.
“Your adventurous part,” he added. “That’s all I meant.”
Smiling, she unzipped the top compartment of the cooler and took out the bagged sandwiches and a container of crab salad. Next came a bag of chips.
“In case you can’t tell, I don’t cook much,” she said.
“Looks like we’ll be spending most of our money at the deli counter then.”
“I can cook some things. Boiled eggs. Hamburgers. Hot dogs.”
When she’d finished arranging everything, she leaned against the wall beside him. Handing him a roast beef sandwich on a paper plate, she dished him up some crab salad. Next, she took care of her own plate.
After they’d eaten for a few minutes, she asked, “Don’t you get tired of working so much?”
“It isn’t always like this. There’s just a lot going on right now.”
Meaning Mark Walsh’s murder. The fire in the library…
“I feel like I’m partially to blame for that.”
“Not to blame. I want you safe. It’s my job.”
“I feel safe with you.” She smiled and loved how he noticed.
“Good. That’s quite a compliment.”
“Why do you say that?”
“A woman with your history? It can’t be easy.” He bit into his sandwich.
He meant the rape. “No, but I don’t want to be treated like I’m helpless, either.”
Looking at his face while he chewed and swallowed, he said, “I can tell that about you. And it’s commendable.”
“There are some who wouldn’t agree.” She took another bite of her own sandwich.
“Like who?”
She waited until after she swallowed her bite. “Like the victims’ officer at the parole hearing. She was awful.”
“She meant well. She cares about you.”
Lily thought that was an odd thing to say. “How do you know that?”
“She told me.” He put his sandwich down, abandoning another bite.
Lily froze. “What did you say?”
Slowly, he met her eyes.
A chill of foreboding chased her euphoria away. “When did you talk to her?”
He hesitated. “After I met you.”
“After?” She put her sandwich down on her plate.
“Lily, don’t be upset. I knew you were lying about why you were at the prison and I just wanted to know why.”
“So you…you…you went behind my back? You…you checked up on me?” Without telling her? Why had he kept it from her? That stung. Disenchantment swirled inside her. And here she’d been beginning to think he had real potential.
She removed her plate from her lap and put it on the blanket, no longer hungry.
“I wanted to know why you were at the prison.”
“That was none of your business.”
“I made it my business. I’ve been interested in you since the first day I met you.”
“So you wanted to…what…make sure I wasn’t involved with a criminal?”
He didn’t answer. “Lily, please. It was a harmless inquiry.”
Harmless? Her rape was an intensely personal matter. “What did she tell you?”
“That you testified at Brandon Gates’s parole hearing.” He paused. “And why.”
Lily’s now bloodless face felt cold. “You knew. All this time, you knew.”
“I…”
She felt betrayed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted you to be ready to tell me on your own.”
“And I did.” She remembered how much it had meant to her, to unburden herself, to trust him enough to do so. And the whole time, he’d already known. She felt humiliated. She’d bared her soul to him and he’d already known. A lump of hurt gathered in her throat.
“How could you?” Absurdly, she felt like crying. She didn’t want to be a baby about it.
He put his plate down next to hers and propped his weight on one hand as he leaned toward her. “Lily, I was only being respectful. I knew how hard it was for you to confront it.”
His face was too close to hers. “I’ve confronted it.”
“No, you haven’t. You can’t stand it that the town knows. You can’t stand it that anyone knows. Including me.”
“It’s personal.”
“You aren’t over it yet.”
“Yes, I am. I went through years of therapy. I’m fine.”
Wes studied her face. “Usually when a woman says fine like that it means the opposite.”
She was starting to get really mad.
He held up his hand. “All I’m saying is you tell yourself you’re fine when you aren’t.”
“That’s because his release bothers me, and why shouldn’t it? It would bother anybody. But I’m over being raped. I’m past that. He doesn’t hold that over me anymore.”
“Then why do you have to keep it a secret?”
That stopped her. He already knew why. It was her Jezebel past. She understood his point even though she didn’t want to. He was right.
“It isn’t your fault,” he said in a deep, gentle voice that strummed her feelings for him.
But he’d betrayed her. “Why did you let me go on when I told you about it? Why didn’t you stop me? Why didn’t you tell me you already knew?”
“Lily…” He ran his fingers through his wonderful hair and sighed. “I’m sorry. I wanted you to tell me when you were ready.”
He’d already told her that. “I trusted you.”
“You still can. Nothing’
s changed.”
“Talk about keeping secrets. How many others are you keeping from me?” She sprang to her feet and looked down at him, deep hurt engulfing her.
Wes stood, too.
She turned and would have left the office had he not taken hold of her arm just above the elbow and stopped her.
“Please. Let’s not end the day like this,” he said.
“I’m going back to your house to pack and get May and my dad.”
“Lily…” But he released her arm.
“I’m going home, Wes.” She turned again and once again tried to make it to the door, not caring that she left the cooler behind.
Wes took hold of her arm again, a little firmer this time, pulling her around to face him.
“I can’t let you do that,” he said.
Tugging her arm free, she stepped back and sent him what she hoped was a mean look. “What are you going to do? Force me to stay with you?”
“I don’t want you alone right now.”
“I have my dad and May.”
“Two people who depend on you, not the other way around.”
So many things were bouncing around in her head she couldn’t keep up. How he’d pursued her. How careful he’d been with her. Because he’d known. And he hadn’t told her.
He hadn’t forgotten her past, either, the one that painted her reputation red. It’s the reason he’d felt compelled to seek out the victims’ officer. Instead of asking her, he’d gone behind her back. Because he didn’t trust what she’d tell him.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “I never questioned your integrity. That’s not why I went to the victims’ officer.”
“No?” Her eyes began to sting with moisture.
His grew imploring. “Okay, maybe that was part of it. But you lied, Lily. I didn’t think you’d tell me the truth if I asked you.”
He was right, she probably wouldn’t have. The realization of that only upset her more. Maybe she wasn’t over what happened to her. If she was, she wouldn’t care so much that her secret had gotten out.
Fifteen years.
After all this time, she still wasn’t over it. She’d done a great job of convincing herself that she was, but the truth wasn’t going to change—no matter how much she wanted it to, no matter how much she tried to be strong. Her efforts were merely a smoke screen.
Wes moved closer, and in her distraction, she didn’t think to escape him as he slipped his arms around her and pulled her close. “You’re not the same woman you were when you left this town.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “That’s not what you thought when you checked up on me behind my back.”
He held her face between his hands, using his thumbs to wipe her tears—silent, unwanted tears.
“No. I knew you had changed. I knew that the day I met you, after I started talking to you.”
She shook her head within the embrace of his hands. He couldn’t have. He would have questioned her personally. Instead, he hadn’t trusted her, Honey Creek’s wayward wild child.
“We met at a prison, Lily.” He sounded pleading. “I had to be sure.”
She refused to let him break her resolve. His actions told her more than his words ever could.
“Then you should have told me after you were sure,” she said quietly.
Pain and regret shadowed his eyes. This time when she slipped free of his arms he didn’t stop her as she turned and headed for the door. But he followed her all the way to the Jeep.
When she opened the driver’s door, he moved to stand beside her. “Wait for me at home. At least do that much. I’m right behind you.”
She didn’t agree, nor did she disagree. She didn’t know what she’d do. If she went back home, he’d no doubt have constant surveillance on her. Maybe he himself would provide the service. Continuing to stay with him would be hard, though. Knowing how he’d betrayed her trust, something that was already so fragile.
“Don’t stop anywhere on the way home and keep your doors locked,” he said. “After I pack up our things, I’ll meet you there.”
She looked straight ahead through the windshield.
“Lily?”
He wouldn’t move unless she assured him. Finally she looked at him. She didn’t want to assure him and she didn’t want the sight of him to melt her.
“If I have to come after you, I will,” he said.
And she knew he meant it. “It’s just a little vandalism. No one is out to hurt me.”
“I’d be inclined to believe that if the acts stopped with your truck. But someone tried to set the library on fire with you in it. That’s a lot more serious.”
Yes, it was serious, but she wasn’t fooled. He was concerned out of more than his responsibility as sheriff. He had feelings for her. And that churned up conflict in her.
“Wait for me,” he said again.
She met his eyes and didn’t answer. It would be hard to pack her things and drag her daughter and her dad back to their house at this hour.
It wasn’t until he shut her door that she realized the way he’d spoken. Home. Our things.
She looked at him through the driver’s window. He stood with his arms at his sides, his face an expression of hard determination. She was the center of all that emotion.
Love and hurt waged a battle in her chest. More tears filled her eyes. She wiped them when they slipped free and put the Jeep into gear.
After throwing all the picnic paraphernalia back into the cooler, mentally kicking himself the entire time, Wes drove home faster than an off-duty sheriff should and finally pulled his SUV to a stop in front of his house. Leaving the cooler in the garage, he went inside.
It was surprisingly quiet. The Jeep was still in the driveway so he knew Lily hadn’t left yet. He went upstairs to his room, hoping beyond hope that she’d had a change of heart and was there waiting for him. She wasn’t. He went to her room door, wanting to knock.
“She’s in there.”
He turned to see May standing there.
“She was crying when she came home. She didn’t see me.”
Wes sighed hard and heavy and rubbed his tired eyes with his fingers.
“What happened?” she asked.
He lowered his hand. “Nothing. I just made a mistake, that’s all.”
The girl didn’t look placated. Wes wondered if she was worried about Lily or something else.
“How much longer you grounded for?” he asked.
“Another week.” She rubbed the toes of her right foot over the carpet, fidgety.
He looked from there to her face. Slowly May looked up at him. “Is she upset because…because of what everyone is…”
Dawning came over him. “It isn’t your fault the rumors started in town, May.”
Just as he’d thought, that was the crux of the girl’s troubles. Her face sagged and her lower lip quivered.
“It was bound to get out sooner or later,” he added.
“Yeah, but if I’d have kept my trap shut at that party…”
“You mean the party you should have never gone to?”
Her face reddened, probably more because he was a figure of authority rather than embarrassment over being caught at a party.
“I’m sure you didn’t mean to hurt your mom.”
“No.”
“She’s already over it.” That wasn’t true, but May didn’t need to be bothered with that.
“Is she still mad at me?” May asked.
“She isn’t mad at you for that. She’s mad at you for lying and going out without telling her.” And until he found whoever started that fire in the library, he wanted to make sure she didn’t do it again.
“You still seeing that boy?” Lily had told him all about it. “I see him at school.”
“Are you going to go out with him again?”
She rubbed her toes over the carpet again, as though drawing an invisible line there. “I don’t know.”
“What will you do if he ask
s you to another party?”
“Tell my mom.”
Good girl. “What will you do if she says no?”
She grunted and angled her head with growing annoyance. “It’s stupid for her not to let me go out like all the other kids.”
“It’s not stupid. People haven’t accepted her coming back here yet. She’s concerned for your safety.”
“Levi wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”
“What will you do if your mom says you can’t go out with him?” he asked again.
She grunted cynically. “I won’t go.”
“Good, because if you don’t listen to your mom, it’ll be me coming to get you.”
With that, May pivoted and started for the stairs.
“May?”
She stopped at the top of the stairs.
“I mean it.”
The annoyance trying to make its way onto her face eased and she conceded with a nod before going downstairs.
Wes hoped to hell she’d do as her mom asked from now on. Otherwise, he was going to have his hands full.
Late the next day, Wes took the background checks on Amy Fordham and Eileen Curtis from Ryan and went into his office to start reading. He’d asked for a detailed search. Copies of everything. Birth certificates, Social Security numbers, marriage certificates. All of it. And it didn’t take long to discover Eileen had some serious discrepancies in her past.
Eileen Curtis had grown up in a mountain town in southern California and had married in her early twenties. Wes found the marriage certificate which confirmed her married name—Williams. He looked through the file for a divorce decree and found none. Nowhere in the file could he find any indication that Eileen had divorced and taken back her maiden name.
If Eileen was really Tina, she was about the right age. Whoever had devised the ghost identity had known what they were doing except for the issue with Eileen’s maiden name. Had Mark Walsh been that man or had he solicited the help of someone else? Wes would bet the latter.
He checked the file on Amy Fordham and confirmed what he thought he’d find; everything was in order. She’d had a rough go of things so far in her life, but she was an honest citizen with no criminal record.
It took him an hour to study the documents. When he’d absorbed all he could, he dropped his pen down onto the stack and leaned back for a stretch. It was hard concentrating when his mind kept drifting to Lily.
The Librarian’s Secret Scandal Page 15
