Fatal Inheritance

by Sandra Orchard

  The computer and desk lamp were on in the otherwise darkened living room, but there was no sign of Josh.

  She tiptoed to the desk to see what he’d been working on. His internet browser was open to a page about an antique-car theft. Did Josh really think some sort of theft ring had targeted Gramps’s car?

  She skimmed the article but couldn’t see any similarities between that theft and her situation.

  A beam of light flashed across the window.

  She flicked off the desk lamp and peered past the curtain.

  A tall figure disappeared around the corner of the house.

  Was that Josh?

  The kitchen door banged open.

  She shrank deeper into the shadows. It had to be Josh. An intruder wouldn’t be so noisy. The glow of the computer screen cast eerie shadows on the walls.

  Tripod bounded into the room, tongue lolling, followed by Josh, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “Hey, Hunter, can I borrow your game cameras for a couple of weeks?” He walked to the desk and flicked on the lamp. His gaze abruptly veered her way. As his eyes landed on her bare toes, his eyes widened, then quickly traveled up to her flaming cheeks.

  “Huh?” He half turned and lowered his voice.

  “Yeah, the one with night vision and motion trigger,” Josh muttered into the phone. “No, not animals.” He pushed back a corner of the curtain and stared out into the deep blackness of the country night. “I’m looking to catch a human.”

  A human! Becki tugged her bathrobe together more tightly. Why hadn’t she stayed in bed?

  At least there she could have blissfully deluded herself into imagining there was nothing to be afraid of.

  * * *

  Becki woke early the next morning. She might have let Josh evade her questions last night, but today she intended to get answers. She dressed quickly and tiptoed to the stairs. Halfway down, the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee greeted her, reminding her that early had a whole other meaning in farm country. She should’ve paid more attention to that rooster crowing before the crack of dawn.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” Anne chirped as Becki meandered into the sunbathed kitchen. Anne handed her a mug of coffee. “How’s the head?”

  “Good.” If she didn’t count the gazillion questions that had raced around it all night after overhearing Josh’s plan to catch her prowler. “Josh doing chores?”

  “They’re long done. He only has chickens to feed these days. He’s changing my oil. Probably almost done with that, too.”

  “Will he have to do anything in the fields today?”

  “No, he doesn’t farm.” Anne set a covered platter on the table. “The farmer down the road rents the land.”

  “But I thought... Josh always talked about running the farm one day.”

  “Sometimes childhood dreams don’t look so rosy when you grow up.”

  Becki sank into a chair. Her sister had said the same thing. She stiffened her spine. Gran and Gramps’s farm was the only place she’d ever felt truly happy. Sure, it wouldn’t be the same without them, but she couldn’t bear to lose it, too.

  “By the time Josh resigned from the military,” Anne continued, “Dad had sold off too much of the farm for Josh to make it profitable again.”

  Becki envisioned him wrestling down a burly drug dealer instead of an ornery cow. “So that’s why Josh became a cop?”

  “He wanted—”

  “To serve and protect,” Josh finished for his sister as he strode into the kitchen and plopped a small cage on the counter.

  The “criminal” he’d protected them from emitted a tiny peep, and Becki couldn’t help but giggle.

  “What have you rescued this time?” Anne peered around his shoulder.

  He stepped aside, allowing them both to see. A tiny sparrow with a broken wing huddled in a corner of the hamster cage.

  “Oh, the poor thing.” Becki snagged a piece of toast from the breakfast Anne had spread on the table and sprinkled crumbs into the cage. “Where did you find it?”

  Anne rolled her eyes. “The strays always seem to find him.”

  “What am I supposed to do? Ignore them?”

  His sister tipped onto her toes and planted a kiss on Josh’s cheek. “Nope, you’d never. That’s why I love you.”

  Josh pulled Anne into a fierce hug, revealing a depth of feeling that caught at Becki’s heart. His eyes lifted to hers. More brown than green this morning, they held a warm familial affection that Becki could only dream of now that Gran and Gramps were gone.

  Anne ducked out of his arms and grabbed her purse from the counter. “If my car’s done, I need to go. Enjoy your breakfast.” Anne shook a finger at Becki. “And no heavy lifting. If you get dizzy or your headache persists, have a doctor check you over.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  After seeing his sister out, Josh lifted the lid from a pan of bacon and eggs on the table. “Shall we?”

  “Farm-fresh eggs. Mmm. I haven’t had a breakfast like this since the last time I visited Gran and Gramps. Your sister outdid herself.”

  Josh spooned out a plateful of scrambled eggs and bacon. “She likes to stay on my good side so I’ll keep her car running.”

  “I think you’d do it anyway. You always loved to work on cars.”

  “Shh, don’t let her hear you say that.” He raised a jug of OJ. “Juice?”

  “Uh, sure.” Suddenly Becki’s insides felt as scrambled as her eggs. To think she was sharing breakfast with Joshua Rayne!

  Not only was he more handsome than she remembered; he was as kind as ever. She bet the three-legged dog had been another rescue effort.

  She fiddled with her silverware. Obviously the blow to her head had crippled her common sense for her to be thinking up more reasons to still have a crush on the guy. She stabbed at her eggs. It wasn’t as if she would ever be anything more to him than another needy stray.

  Her mind flailed about for another topic of conversation. “Funny that I don’t remember you fussing over animals as a teen. That was more my domain.” She struggled to restrain the smile that suddenly tugged at her lips. “Seems to me you were more interested in fussing over my sister.”

  He choked on his orange juice.

  She batted her eyelashes ever so innocently. “Am I wrong?”

  He tipped back his head and laughed. “Nothing got by you.”

  Becki shrugged. “If not for you, I doubt Sarah could have stood being away from the malls for two whole months.”

  “Not at all like you. You were a farm kid through and through.” Amusement danced in Josh’s green-brown eyes.

  The color reminded her of the grassy meadows she’d loved to run through as a child. “No. Not like me.” She shoveled a forkful of eggs into her mouth and then focused on buttering her toast and the non-Joshua reasons she loved being in Serenity. “If Sarah had her way, I wouldn’t stay.”

  “These old houses can be a lot of work to upkeep.”

  Her butter knife halted midspread. “You don’t think I should stay, either?”

  “Not at all. The Becki Graw I remember could do anything she set her mind to.”

  “Thank you. That hasn’t changed. So why don’t you tell me about your plan to catch my prowler?”

  “Finish up your breakfast, and I’ll show you.”

  Becki finished before Josh and started on the dishes.

  “Leave those,” he said, tossing the dog his last piece of bacon. “I’ll wash them later.”

  “Nonsense. I’ve put you out enough.”

  He reached around her and dropped his plate into the soapy water, his outdoorsy scent teasing her nostrils. “No imposition. I enjoyed the company.” He picked up a tea towel and began drying. The graze of his hand as he reached for the mug she’d just rinsed
unleashed a flutter of butterflies in her stomach.

  Oh, boy. She seriously needed to get over this schoolgirl crush. She’d seen enough failed marriages to know they never lasted.

  Marriage? She shook her head. Clearly, no worries there. In Josh’s eyes, she was still little Becki. She let the water out of the sink and pictured her silly girlhood crush swirling down the drain.

  Little Becki grew up a long time ago...the day her parents had announced their divorce.

  “Okay, let’s go.” She dried her hands on the edge of his towel. “Show me what you plan to do with those cameras. I need to start unpacking.”

  He tossed the towel on the back of the chair and reached over her head to hold open the door. Tripod raced past and out ahead of them. “I’ll carry your boxes into the house.”

  “No need. I can handle them.”

  “You heard what my sister said.” Josh’s stern tone dared her to argue. “No heavy lifting for a few days.” He led the way to the barn, where he stopped and scanned the nearby trees. “I’m going to set up a couple of motion-triggered cameras so if your car thief comes back, we’ll catch him in the act.”

  “Then what?”

  “I’ll arrest him for trespassing and attempted robbery and whatever else I can think of.”

  “Hmm.” She grinned. “Pretty handy having a police officer for a neighbor.”

  His expression sobered. “No telling what time of day or night this guy might show up. If I’m not around, call nine-one-one and stay locked in the house. Don’t try to confront him.”

  “Don’t you think he’d run off if he realized he’d been spotted?”

  “Some guys would just as soon shoot a witness as run away.”

  She planted her hands on her hips. “Are you trying to scare me?”

  “Prepare you.” Tripod bounded up to them, barking happily. “Maybe we should get you a dog.”

  Her heart leaped at the suggestion. “What a great idea. I’ve always wanted one. Maybe a big lovable golden retriever who—”

  “The idea is to get a dog that will scare a robber off, not show him to the silver.”

  She laughed. “Oh, like Tripod here?”

  “Yeah.” Josh tousled the scruff on the dog’s neck. “He’s not what you want.”

  “I like him. He’s sweet.”

  “Sweet won’t scare away a prowler.” Josh rolled open the barn’s big sliding door. “And you definitely have one. I found a couple of footprints.” He pointed to the dirt-crusted floor. “See those? Too big for your grandparents or you, and the tread pattern doesn’t match anything I wear.”

  “You were already over here this morning?”

  “The sun rises early.” He winked.

  For the first time she noticed dark shadows under his eyes. Had he even gone to sleep last night?

  An hour after she’d headed back up to bed the night before, she’d heard the screen door clap shut and figured he was doing another scan of her grandparents’ property. Her property. That trek probably hadn’t been the only one.

  A cat bolted from the corner of the barn, and Tripod took off after it.

  “Won’t see him for a while.” Josh strode toward the car, which sparkled in the sunlight beaming through the gaps in the boarded walls. “It looks like the guy gave the car a thorough going-over. Both the gear stick and emergency brake lever had been shifted. The toolbox under the seat had been rifled through. Looking for a key, maybe. Best-case scenario, it was a kid playing around.” His tone sounded grim.

  “But you don’t think so?”

  He shook his head. “I dusted for fingerprints on the door handles, gear shift and steering wheel. They were clean.”

  “Clean? As in not even Gramps’s prints were on them?” She failed to keep the wobble out of her voice. No prints meant someone had wiped them away.

  “Your grandfather was pretty meticulous about keeping it polished. But kids don’t usually think to wear gloves. Not in the middle of summer.”

  She swallowed, forcing calm into her voice this time. “So worst case?” She opened the passenger door, and memories of riding proudly around town with her gramps flooded her thoughts.

  “If it’s a professional, he’s got to realize he wouldn’t get far driving this thing out of here before being spotted. So I’m guessing next time, he’ll stash a trailer nearby to drive it into.”

  “You really think someone would go to that much trouble?”

  Josh raised an eyebrow. “The last Cadillac of this vintage I saw sell at auction went for eighty-five thousand dollars.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Trust me.” He buffed a smudge from the hood with a fond smile. “If I could have afforded to buy this car from your grandfather, I would have made him an offer.”

  Becki bit her lip. If Sarah found out what the car was worth, she’d demand it be sold for sure.

  Becki’s heart lurched at the thought. She didn’t care about the money. The car had been Gramps’s pride and joy. How could she let it go?

  She had sat for hours on the backseat with her notepad and pen as Gramps tinkered with something or the other and recounted adventures he’d had driving the car as a boy. She whirled toward Josh. “We can’t let it be stolen!”

  “I don’t intend to.”

  His confident tone quelled her alarm. Embarrassed she’d let it get the better of her, she gave him a lopsided smile. “Would you show me how it works, too?”

  “Be happy to. First, I’ll need to figure out what’s wrong with it. Your gramps and I never did get it running reliably again. I’ll take a look at it this afternoon, after I get those cameras up. If I can get it working, we can take it out after church tomorrow, if you like.”

  Becki gave him an impulsive hug. “Thank you!”

  Josh folded his arms around her. “My pleasure, Bec.”

  The tender sound of his pet name for her momentarily stayed her instinct to pull back. Since learning of her grandparents’ deaths, she’d felt so alone. Josh was the only one to comfort her who really cared.

  “Maybe you and I could work on it together, like your gramps did with me after my dad died.”

  Reluctantly, she eased her arms from around him, questioning the wisdom of jumping at reasons to spend more time with him. But one look at his red-rimmed eyes and she squeezed her own shut and laid her head against his chest. “You miss them as much as I do.”

  He rested his cheek against her hair. “Yes, I do.”

  Remembering the secret Anne had shared about how Josh blamed himself for her grandparents’ deaths, Becki hugged him harder.

  “Well, well, well,” a familiar voice drawled from the direction of the door. “Settling right in, I see.”

  Becki sprang from Josh’s arms. Smoothed her hair. “Neil? What are you doing here?”

  “I thought you might need some help moving in.” His muddy-blond hair was moussed back, his shirt and pants perfectly pressed, his polished shoes not the least bit appropriate for traipsing across the overgrown yard. His gaze drifted up Josh’s full six feet and narrowed on his face. Neil pushed up his glasses with a single finger to the bridge. “But I see you’re covered.”

  Was it her imagination or were the two of them puffing out their chests like rival birds fighting over a mate?

  Yeah, right. She let out a choked snort. Definitely her imagination.

  “How did you find me? I mean...” She hadn’t given anyone from work her new address. The dusty barn air seemed to close in on her.

  “Looked up the address on the internet. I remembered you mentioning your grandfather lived in Serenity.” Neil stepped closer, arm outstretched toward Josh. “Neil Orner.”

  Josh gave Neil’s hand a swift shake. “Joshua Rayne.”

  “Josh is my new neighbor
and an old family friend,” Becki rushed to explain. “He was just comforting me over my loss.” She squirmed at how defensive that sounded. She didn’t owe Neil an explanation. They hadn’t dated for over three months. “Um, Neil is a colleague from work,” she said to Josh.

  A muscle in Neil’s cheek ticked, but what did he expect her to say?

  Josh hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans. “I don’t think Bec ever told me. Where is it you work?”

  Neil inhaled, appearing to grow another half inch. “We work at Holton Industries.”

  Josh’s jaw dropped a fraction, his eyes widening as he turned his attention back to her. “Industry?” He sounded skeptical. “I always figured you’d go into something to do with writing or graphic arts.”

  He thought about her?

  “You never went anywhere without a pad and paper.” A far-off look flickered in his eyes and a smile whispered across his lips as if he was picturing her as that tagalong girl again.

  “That’s fine for a hobby,” Neil interjected. “But one can hardly make a living—”

  “I don’t know. If you’re doing something you love, the rest seems to take care of itself.”

  Becki’s chest swelled at Josh’s defense, but his quiet confidence didn’t seem to convince Neil. Of course, Josh had never needed much to be content, whereas Neil always wanted whatever seemed just out of reach. He’d admitted to being a bit of a runt growing up and seemed determined to put the ridicule behind him by latching onto the latest status symbols, which before they broke up had started to include an obsessive interest in her career decisions. That thought made her jittery all over again.

  She closed the Cadillac’s door, willing steel into her backbone. “Well, with any luck I’ll find a job I love right here in Serenity.”

  Josh rested his hand at her waist, and his touch calmed her instantly. He urged her toward the barn door. “No luck needed. We’ll pray you do.”

  The confidence in Josh’s voice raised goose bumps on her arms. Stepping outside, she turned her face to the sun, wishing she could believe prayer would make a difference.

  She once had. All those summers here, God had seemed so real. Even when He didn’t answer her prayer that she be allowed to stay with Gran and Gramps after the divorce, she’d clung to Gran’s assurances that God worked all things together for good. But how could any good come from letting Gran and Gramps die of carbon-monoxide poisoning?