He wasn’t sure what to tell her exactly. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just been crazy around here. How’re you?”
“I’m good, too. I’ve missed seeing you.” She hated to sound like she was trying to cling to him. But she was. Rafe made her feel like she was special and she’d never had a man who left her so satisfied after an evening of love making.
He still didn’t know what to say to her. He finally opted for at least part of the truth. He could tell her about Raale, but would not mention that since he’d seen Mesa again, he hadn’t even thought of sex with anyone else. Hell, he didn’t even want to admit that to himself. “Lynn, I guess I need to tell you what’s going on here. I’ve just recently found out that I’m a father.”
“Really?” she gasped.
He grinned at the thought of Raale. “Yep. She’s five years old, and to be truthful, I’ve been spending as much time with her as I can.”
Lynn realized immediately that he was proud of his child and thrilled at being a father. “I’m so happy for you, Rafe. I’d love to meet her.” Although they had agreed that their relationship would never involve any strings, she’d become comfortable with Rafe and would like nothing more than to be the wife of the sheriff of Morgan county.
He frowned, not even noticing that rain was beginning to fall in earnest. He wasn’t about to involve Raale in their...whatever it was. His relationship with Lynn had never been more than a casual, convenient connection. He’d never even considered letting it become more than that. “I don’t know. Her mother…. I’m trying not to rock the boat. It’s just…”
“It’s alright.” Lynn broke in. “I understand. I probably shouldn’t have called you. I just wanted to make sure you’re not sick or anything.” She felt her temper rising and wanted to get off the phone without saying more than she should. “Just give me a call when you wanna get together.”
“Sure Lynn, you take care of yourself, okay?” Rafe experienced a flush of relief when he hung the phone up. He didn’t need any more complications in his life right now. Maybe seeing Lynn for those last few months had been a mistake. He’d enjoyed her compa….No, he corrected his thoughts, forcing honesty into his musings. What he’d enjoyed was her convenience. She’d been an uninhibited partner in bed, but staying honest with himself, he knew it was more the uncomplicated appeal of not having to put any effort into maintaining a relationship. He was free to simply take what was offered without any investment on his part. A little ashamed of admitting his obvious selfishness, he shrugged. It wasn’t like he ever left Lynn unsatisfied. She’d said from the start that all she wanted was a simple, straightforward physical relationship and he’d been more than willing to agree. Hell, he was thirty-four years old and for now, all he wanted was to concentrate on his job and his child.
A knock on his door preceded Levi’s entrance. “Morning, Rafe,” the deputy greeted. He walked across the floor and settled his body into the chair across the desk from his friend and boss. “Have you heard about the celebration that Mesa’s planning to throw for Rance?”
Rafe shook his head negatively. “I haven’t talked to her in a while.”
“Really?” Levi sounded amazed. “You’re in and out of her place all the time. I was sure you’d know about it by now.”
Rafe shrugged, hoping his voice sounded coolly uninterested. “I go there to pick up Raale, not to see her mother.”
Levi shrugged. “Well, the only reason I bring it up is because I wanted to know if you were planning on entering the jackpot.”
Rafe shook his head. “Probably not. Since I haven’t been invited, I doubt I’ll be there. If you want to take Hammer and go, feel free.” He suspected that was Levi’s reason for bringing it up but curiosity niggled at him. “What’s she planning?” Thunder rolled outside and the rain fell harder, but neither man seemed to notice it.
Levi grinned. “She’s not sending invitations out. She’s putting flyers up in the feed stores, over at Jefferson’s Grocery, and Krystal and John saw it in the paper. She’s inviting all Rance’s friends and neighbors to a big, Bar-B-Q/JackPot Team Roping with a live band and dancing at the end of the day. It’s to celebrate him coming home from the hospital and his birthday.”
Rafe smiled. “She always was crazy about that old man. I’m glad she’s doing that for him. He’ll enjoy it more than anyone else.”
“She’s adding a thousand bucks to the jackpot. I was hoping we could be a team, you and me.” Levi lifted the Resistol cowboy hat that was a part of his uniform and raked one hand through his thick black hair.
Rafe shook his head negatively. “I don’t know, I’d feel like I was pushing in. I don’t want to get in Mesa’s way.”
“Her way of what? Like I said, she ain’t sending out invitations. It’s posted in the newspaper, for crying out loud. That sounds to me like an open invitation to everybody in the county.” Levi knew if he stood much of a chance of placing high in the roping, he needed to partner up with as many top headers as he could, and Rafe was one of the best.
“When is this supposed to happen?” Rafe finally asked, shuffling some papers on his desk idly. He wasn’t sure how he’d handle a whole day with Mesa in view, but he didn’t want it to appear as if he might be avoiding her either. After all, he was Raale’s father. They needed to maintain the appearance of civility between them, for their daughter’s sake, even if it didn’t exist.
“It’s still two weeks off. Rance’s birthday is on that Saturday and that’s when it’ll be, and you know Rance might be hurt if you didn’t show up. He’s always thought a lot of you.”
Rafe grinned at Levi’s subtle package of guilt. “I’m making no promises. I’ll have to see what happens between now and then. Hell,” he tilted his head to the sound of a steady downpour falling outside. “If this weather keeps up, it’ll probably rain that day.” Then he was struck with an afterthought. “Have you looked at that mare that Henry Dunn has for sale over in Lawtey? I heard she’s a damned good heeling horse.”
“Yeah, I heard that, too. Have you heard how much he wants for her?” Levi shot back at his boss. “I’d have to take on a second job to buy her.”
The phone at Rafe’s elbow rang and as he lifted it, Levi pushed out of the chair. “See ya later.”
“Storm Horse,” Rafe spoke as Levi closed the door behind him.
Day to day work kept Rafe busy for the next few days and he pushed all thought of Rance’s birthday celebration to the back of his mind. There were the usual B&Es and domestic disputes to keep the office hustling all over the county and the almost daily rain provided a steady supply of fender benders to keep the staff busy.
He spoke to Raale daily and picked her up on his days off. They’d progressed to her bringing an overnight bag and sleeping over at the ranch with him and Uci when his days off were consecutive. They’d transformed Jenny’s old room into Raale’s dream room. She’d selected the colors she wanted it painted and Rafe had proudly coated the room with the pink and purple paint she’d decided on. The three of them, Raale, Uci and Rafe had ventured into Liberty and selected the new furnishings together. He enjoyed those times, picking out girly furniture and accessories with Uci and his little girl.
Now there was no stress to get her home by a certain time and no concern about dealing with Mesa. So far they’d managed a strained courteousness, but it took all he could do to manage that. He was still filled with fury at her for having kept all knowledge of Raale from him, but in spite of that, he wanted her in a way he’d never wanted any other woman. She was often the focus of his dreams and it wasn’t unusual for him to wake up aching for her and with all the cold showers he was taking lately, he figured he was saving a bundle on his power bill. He didn’t understand how a man could feel two such strong, yet opposing emotions for another human being.
Rance’s birthday celebration was still a week away when Shirley was pulled out of her car unconscious after she’d crashed into a tree on a long stretch of road between town and her house.
The neighbor who’d found her called 911 and Rafe responded. As usual, the roads were wet and he was sure that had contributed to the accident.
He beat the ambulance by only a few minutes and was there when she began to regain consciousness. He’d smelled alcohol in the car and experienced a sense of disappointment that she’d lost a round in her never ending battle for sobriety. A sizable lump had developed on her forehead and she had numerous cuts and lacerations from flying glass.
He knelt beside her in the wet grass as she opened her eyes, blinking at the brightness of the sun that managed a brief appearance. “How much did you have to drink, Miz Howell?” He asked.
A frown knitted her brows. She ached all over and swiped one hand up to wipe away blood from a cut on the side of her jaw. “Wh…what?”
“I asked how much you’ve had to drink.” Rafe repeated patiently.
She struggled to sit up, but he pressed her back down. “Stay still. The ambulance is on the way. Don’t try to get up.”
Her eyes stretched wide. “I wasn’t drinking, Rafe. A truck ran me off the road!”
A skeptical arch appeared in his dark brows. “Really? How’d that happen?”
She lifted her hand to her head. “Damn, I’ve got a headache.”
They could hear the wailing of the approaching siren of the ambulance. “Oh, God,” she groaned. “Make them stop that noise!”
He stood up and facing the oncoming vehicle, he drew his fingers across his throat, in a hurried swipe.
The driver killed the high pitched alert and before Rafe could talk to her anymore, she was loaded into the emergency vehicle and on her way to the hospital. Rafe began his slow methodical investigation of the accident scene and was surprised to see the driver’s side of Shirley’s front fender was crushed in a way that could not have happened during the head-on impact with the tree. Looking closer, he found brown paint flecks embedded in the scratches around the dents. Taking pictures of the scene, he also noticed boot prints in the soaked ground from the highway to her car and back to the highway. It could have been the neighbor who found her or not. He radioed the hospital and requested a blood alcohol test be done on Shirley as soon as she arrived. Was she being truthful? Had someone really run her off the road? Why?
Rafe measured marks and photographed where Shirley had obviously applied her brakes to try to avoid the accident and shook his head. Why would anyone want to hurt Shirley Howell? Then he frowned. Admittedly, she was never a popular person, but it was impossible not to see how hard she was trying to change all that. Could she have made an enemy who would want her dead? Who would profit from her death? A knot drew tight in his stomach. Mesa would profit. Mesa and Rance. It was public knowledge that the two had fought with Shirley like cats and dogs all their lives. Hell, Shirley had called him out to throw Mesa off the place the day she arrived.
Great, he thought silently, all he needed was for his only child’s mother to be a suspect in an attempted murder investigation. He returned to his car as the sun disappeared and rain began to fall again.
He called a wrecker to tow the car and make sure it was secured in the sheriff’s department impound yard. He’d need to see if he could get some forensics tests done on the car before he could release it for repair. Shirley would have a fit about that.
When he appeared at the hospital later, the doctor confirmed that there had been no trace of alcohol in Mrs. Howell’s blood. None at all. She had a concussion, bruised ribs, a badly sprained ankle and numerous cuts and abrasions. She would be sore for some time and might have dizzy spells, but that wouldn’t last long and she’d be fine. Rafe continued on to the room and was surprised to see Raale sitting on the side of Shirley’s bed and Mesa standing facing the door. He almost groaned.
“Daddy,” Raale exclaimed, always excited to see him. She slipped off the bed and ran to him, her arms lifted. He scooped her up into his arms and hugged her close. It helped pull his attention from Mesa. He walked across the small room, Raale still in his arms. He nodded at Mesa, acknowledging her presence.
“Mesa.” He looked down at Shirley. She rested in the bed, slightly reclined, her eyes closed. “Is she asleep?”
“No,” Shirley spoke softly. “The light hurts my eyes. Dr. Foster said that wasn’t uncommon. What did you find out?”
Rafe stood Raale on the floor and tried to motion for Mesa to take her outside the room, but she remained beside her mother’s bed, looking across at him stubbornly. “You might want to take Raale down to the gift shop for a few minutes. I need to talk to your mom,” he finally said, just managing not to growl.
As if by magic, Jory pushed the door open and walked in. He carried a large bouquet of pink roses in a vase. Rafe’s brows arched in surprise as the older man walked over and smiled down at Mesa’s mother. “Can you open your eyes for just a minute?”
Shirley did and smiled up at the flowers. “Jory,” she exclaimed. “How thoughtful!”
“They’re from the three of us. Now close your eyes before it makes your head hurt worse.” He sensed the tension in the room and looked from Mesa to Rafe and back again. Without speaking, he took Raale’s small hand in his. “Come on Pocahontas, let’s go down and see what else your G’ma might like.”
“I bets she’d like a teddy bear to sleep with while she’s in the hospital,” Raale began, then paused and looked at Rafe. “Are you staying?”
He shook his head negatively. “I just need to talk to…your G’ma about the accident. Then I have to go back to the office. I’ll call you tonight.” He was smiling at her as he always did. She just had that effect on him.
She pulled away from Jory and gave her dad a quick hug around his hips. “I lub you.”
His grin tilted more on one side than on the other, giving his smile a touch of added humor as he patted her back. “And I love you, too, baby birl.” He watched as she left the room before he turned back to Shirley. She was looking up at him, her eyes softened slightly.
“Alright, Miz Howell, there was no alcohol in your blood, and I was happy to hear that. Wanna tell me exactly what happened?” He’d have preferred talking to her in private, but Mesa was her daughter and had the right to be there.
“I was coming home from town. I’d been in to pick up some stuff for Rance’s party. I noticed the truck following me and he was too close, so I waved for him to go on around, but he bumped the back of my car.”
Rafe couldn’t avoid noticing how Mesa’s face paled and she grasped her mother’s hand. Guilt or fear? He wasn’t sure.
Shirley continued, “I don’t mind telling you that scared the hell out of me. I tried to outrun him, but he stayed right on my bumper.”
“Could you see the driver at all?” he asked.
“I could see a figure in the seat. That’s all. Couldn’t tell anything about him.”
“You keep saying him,” Rafe said. “You could tell it was a man?”
She shook her head slightly from side to side, and then groaned. “No. I just figured it was.”
He couldn’t help the quick glance at Mesa. “Could it have been a woman?”
Shirley shrugged. “It could have been my Aunt Tilly’s old grey mare! I couldn’t see who it was. I already said that!” She was tired and her head felt like it was splitting open.
“Alright, go ahead with what happened. He was too close on your bumper and bumped you.”
Shirley took a deep breathe. “He bumped me several times and I didn’t know what to do so I just tried to stay ahead of him. Then he pulled out like he was going to pass me and cut in way too soon. He clipped my fender and it pushed me off the road. Once my tires caught that soft mud, I had no control. It just sucked me off the highway. I went across the ditch and hit that tree.”
“He didn’t stop?” Mesa asked, her voice weak as she looked down at her mother.
Shirley shook her head slightly then groaned again. “I don’t think so.”
“But you don’t know for sure?” Rafe asked.
“No,” she snapped. “It looks like I don’t know anything for sure! Everything just went black!”
Rafe knew it wasn’t good for her to get agitated. “I don’t mean to upset you, Miz Howell, but I only have a couple more questions, and then I’ll leave and let you rest.”
She nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Since you weren’t drinking, why did your car smell like alcohol?”
Shirley shrugged. “I’d picked up some beer for Gibby. Maybe a can broke open from the crash? I just don’t know.”
Rafe nodded. “Do you know anyone who’d want to hurt you?”
Shirley’s eyes flew open. “You think someone was trying to kill me?”
“I don’t know what to think, Ma’am. What do you think?”
“Why would anyone try to hurt me?” Then she frowned. “Alright, I know I’m not a candidate for person of the year in Morgan County, but I don’t know why anyone would want to hurt me.”
Rafe nodded, but something niggled at him, making him feel she wasn’t being one hundred percent truthful with him. “Alright, Miz Howell. You just rest and I’ll see if I can find out who did this. Don’t you worry, but if you remember anything else, you call me. Alright?”
She waved him away and he was only mildly surprised when Mesa followed him out the door. He took her arm and led her to a quiet area away from her mother’s room, being careful to keep his touch light and impersonal, in spite of the heat surging up through his arm.
“What is this all about, Rafe?” she asked when he stopped and she turned so she faced him. She was relieved when his hand dropped away from her, her skin steadily tingling with fire and her heart racing.
He shrugged. “I don’t know, Mesa, but someone worked real hard at running your mother off the road. Do you know anyone who’d hurt her?”
She shook her head. “No, but I can’t believe it was more than an accident.”
His eyes dropped and he tried to sound casual when he spoke.
“How’d you get here so fast?”
“I was in town and Mom called my cell,” she frowned as she spoke. “Am I a suspect?”
Sweet Talking Lawman Page 11
