“Until now.”
She glanced over to see his gaze was back on the photos.
“What do you mean?”
He continued to study the snapshots. “Just that if you had more information about your father, it might help us get to the bottom of Ray’s will. Do you know how Asa died?”
“In a hospital in California, I think. But I don’t know which one or where. He had some sort of acute blood disease.”
“Hmm. I suppose you’ve searched for information about him on the internet?”
“Yes. I made a few attempts. There were several Asa Parkers obituaries, but none of them matched the information Mom had given me. I also searched for California hospital death records during the months before I was born. Oddly enough that search came up empty. But sometimes information goes unlisted or it gets erased.”
He nodded. “Especially after twenty-four years.”
“Anyway, I felt like Mom told me the most important things I needed to know about the man. About how responsible he was and how much he loved her and their coming baby.”
Frowning, he placed the snapshots on the coffee table then looked around at her. “Sorry, Tessa, but the man’s face is partially shaded in one shot and turned aside in the other. He does have a tall, burly build and the hair looks dark. I can’t honestly say that it’s Ray. But I can’t rule out the possibility it could be, either.”
Tessa didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. She wanted answers, but the truth might upend her whole life. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that sort of upheaval or if she’d ever be ready. “Well, it was a try.”
“Would you mind if I take these to work with me?” he asked. “The crime lab has the capabilities to work on photos. I have a friend who might be able to clear them up a little.”
“I’d be grateful. Thank you, Joseph.”
“You’re welcome, Tessa,” he said softly.
She was telling herself she needed to leave the couch and put some space between them when his gaze suddenly dropped to her lips. Tense silence followed, making it easy for Tessa to hear the rapid beat of her heart pounding in her ears.
“Um, it’s getting dusky outside,” she said in a nervous rush. “I think I—we—should probably go check on Hannah.”
Flattening her hands on the cushion of the couch, she meant to push herself to her feet, but her body seemed to be ignoring the signals from her brain. Then, before she could do something to break the paralysis, Joseph’s face moved even closer to hers. So close, in fact, that she could see the amber flecks in his brown eyes and the faint stubble of dark whiskers beginning to peep through his tanned skin.
“Joseph.”
His name came out more like a breathless plea than a deterrent. And instead of him pulling back, his hand wrapped gently around her upper arm, and then his lips were brushing lightly, temptingly, against hers.
A tiny moan of pleasure sounded in her throat and before she could think about resisting, she was leaning into him, inviting him to deepen the contact. He didn’t disappoint. His hands settled against her back and drew her toward him while his lips opened over hers in a kiss that robbed her breath and rocked her senses.
The kiss they’d shared at the corral on Three Rivers had been hot, or so Tessa had thought. But this one was downright scorching. Heat shot from the roots of her hair all the way to the soles of her feet. Instead of backing away from the fire, she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew herself closer.
Over and over, he kissed her until the room was nothing but a foggy haze and the two of them began to topple sideways. With his hands clamped securely around her shoulders, he started to ease her downward onto the cushions of the couch. Somewhere in the foggy recesses of her brain, she knew she should pull away and give herself a moment to check the sudden rush of passion threatening to overtake her. But it was impossible to resist the taste of his lips, the warm pleasure of his hands touching her, holding her.
“Uncle Joe! Where are you?”
The sound of Hannah’s voice coming from the direction of the kitchen had the same effect as an explosion going off in the middle of the room. Tessa jerked away from him and quickly jumped to her feet, while on the couch, Joseph sat straight up and raked fingers through his rumpled hair.
After a moment he called out, “In here, Hannah. In the living room.”
Tessa hastily smoothed her mussed hair and had just finished straightening the strap of her tank top when Hannah appeared in the doorway.
The girl glanced quizzically from Joseph to Tessa then around the room. “Gee. Don’t the lights work? It’s kind of dark in here.”
Still shaking from the effects of Joseph’s embrace, Tessa hurried over to a table lamp. As she clicked it on, she told Hannah, “We’ve been busy talking and didn’t notice it was getting dark.”
The expression on Hannah’s face was skeptical and Tessa figured the girl had already picked up on the tension in the room. But thankfully she didn’t start asking awkward questions. Instead she strolled over to Tessa.
She said, “I came to the house to see if you have any cat treats. I promised the cats I’d give them both a treat. Is that okay with you?”
Smiling, Tessa curled her arm around Hannah’s shoulders and urged her toward the kitchen. “Sure, it’s okay. Come on and I’ll give you a few. But not too many. Otherwise I’ll have fat cats,” Tessa teased.
They started out of the room and Joseph called after his niece. “Hannah, we have to be leaving in a few minutes. So make sure everything is in your saddlebags. I’ll catch up with you at the barn.”
“Okay, Uncle Joe.”
Moments later Tessa was placing the plastic bag of fish-shaped treats onto a shelf when the sound of Joseph’s footsteps brought her head around to see him standing in the doorway of the walk-in pantry. The sight of his long, lean body silhouetted against the kitchen light was all it took to make her heart start hammering all over again.
“Hannah’s already headed back to the barn,” she told him.
He took a step into the pantry and, for one wild second, she wondered if his intentions were to close the door behind them and pick up where they’d left off when Hannah had innocently interrupted them.
“I know. I heard her go out,” he said. “I wanted to talk with you before I headed to the barn.”
She started to move toward him then decided against it.
“I don’t want us to start analyzing what just happened,” she said bluntly.
“I don’t, either. I only wanted to tell you—I wasn’t exactly planning on things getting so out of hand.”
She looked down at the floor as memories of those delicious moments flood her with heat. “I see. And now you regret it,” she muttered.
“No! I just don’t want you thinking I’m some sort of...wolf out to prey on you.”
Looking up, she pressed fingertips to her burning cheeks. “Don’t be ridiculous, Joseph. I’m not a child. And you’re not a wolf.”
He took another step closer and, if possible, her heart pounded even faster. He didn’t have a clue about how very much she wanted him to kiss her, touch her. Which was all for the best, she thought. Otherwise she might end up falling into bed with him and that could only lead to a broken heart. Namely hers.
“No. But I can see you’re emotionally vulnerable right now. I don’t want to take advantage of that.”
No man had ever kissed her as passionately as Joseph had a few short minutes ago. And no man had ever considered her feelings the way he was doing now. He wanted to protect her, not hurt her. The realization made her want him even more.
Her throat tight with emotions, she stepped over to him and placed her palms against his chest. “I’m stronger than you think, Joseph,” she murmured. “If you seduce me, it will be because I want you to.”
Suddenly his fingers were
gently stroking the stray tendrils of hair away from her forehead. The tender touch made her feel like a princess being courted by a gallant knight.
“Tessa, I can’t explain what’s happening with us—to me. We’ve only known each other a short while and you don’t plan on staying here for long. I shouldn’t be wanting you—but I do.”
A shaky breath rushed out of her. “If I told you that I didn’t want you, you’d know I’d be lying. I mean, after the way I just kissed you?” Groaning, she turned her back to him then practically wilted with desire when his hands came over her shoulders and drew her close to the front of his body. “I’m not some wanton hussy, Joseph. I’ve not even dated that much. Now you must be thinking—”
“I’m thinking you’re beautiful, and young, and that you’re the first woman to come along who’s made me think about things that—well, I’ve pretty much pushed out of my life.”
Turning, she tilted her head back to look up at him. “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen, Joseph. I’m beginning to really like living here—like you. But my life—my friends and the people I call family—are all back in Nevada. I came down here with intentions of staying a couple of weeks at the most. Maybe I need to forget all about figuring out why Ray willed me everything he owned and simply be thankful for it.”
His hands cupped the sides of her face and the tenderness she felt in his touch melted the very center of her heart. Where was she going to find the strength to walk away from this man and the feelings he evoked in her? Why would she want to?
Because there were no promises that anything lasting would ever come out of a relationship with Joseph. No guarantees that she wouldn’t end up with her heart being crushed to tiny, painful pieces. That’s why, she thought ruefully.
“Tessa, you can’t leave here now,” he said softly. “The questions about Ray and the will would always be nagging you. And maybe you’d be wondering about—us.”
Her insides began to tremble. “Us? Are you insinuating we’re a couple, Joseph?”
His fingertips began to caress her cheeks. “We won’t know the answer to that if we don’t give it a chance. You’ve been talking about Ray and the will and all the questions you want answered. But maybe you ought to be concentrating on me and you and what just happened in the living room. I’d like to think that’s enough to keep you here in Arizona—for a while.”
And it was more than enough to send her running right back to the Silver Horn where her heart would be safe from a tall, dark deputy with amber-brown eyes. But was that what she really wanted to do? Run? And then lament about what might have been?
“All right,” she softly conceded. “I promise to stay—for a while longer.”
A happy light danced in his eyes. “That’s what I wanted to hear. So, would you like to go riding again? Just the two of us? I’ll come Sunday and bring a picnic.”
There was no point in trying to slow him down. Not when spending time with him made her feel happy and special and very wanted.
Laughing, she said, “I thought the woman was supposed to do the picnic part.”
He grinned. “This time the man is going to supply dinner. You just be ready.”
Being alone again with Joseph might prove to be her undoing, but she wasn’t going to think about that now. Trying not to sound too eager, she said, “I’ll be ready.”
“Great.” He reached for her hand and pulled her out of the pantry. “Now, come on and walk with me to the barn. I’m sure Hannah will want to tell you goodbye.”
A few minutes later Tessa stood on the rock steps of the retaining wall and watched as Hannah and Joseph rode away toward Three Rivers. And as the horse and riders disappeared into the gathering darkness, she realized their visit had changed her in more ways than one.
Nothing was settled in her mind anymore. Except the powerful longing she felt to be back in Joseph’s arms.
Chapter Six
“Hmm. I can’t be certain. Not from these photos. But—”
Pushing aside a messy stack of papers and two coffee mugs, Louella Jamison, Ray’s longtime secretary, placed the images on her desk and tapped a red fingernail to one of them.
“But what, Louella?”
The middle-aged woman with short blond hair and dark blue eyes peered intensely at the photos Tessa had given Joseph yesterday.
“I was secretary for fifteen of the twenty years Ray served as Yavapai County sheriff. When you’ve been around a man for that length of time, you pick up on a few of his habits.”
After her boss had retired, Louella had chosen to take a lesser desk job at the substation in Mayer, a little town southeast of Prescott, where the main office for the Yavapai County sheriff was located.
Today, Joseph had just happened to be patrolling the southern command and had stopped by during his lunch break to speak with Louella.
“So,” he prodded, “what have you picked up? Come on, woman, am I supposed to wait around here for the cows to come home before you tell me?”
Chuckling, she said, “Yeah, yeah, you deputies are always in a hurry. It’s a wonder you don’t all have bleeding ulcers from gobbling your food too fast.”
Accustomed to Louella’s teasing, Joseph said, “For your information, I took a whole fifteen minutes to eat. That’s ages. So what about the photo? Is that Ray? Or not?”
“As I was saying before—I can’t be certain. But see the way the man is standing? His right leg is slightly forward and sort of bent at the knee. That’s the way Ray always stood.”
Joseph leaned over Louella’s shoulder to take a closer look at the snapshot. “Hey, you’re right. That is the way he often stood. Now that I think about it, I remember him talking about tearing a ligament in his knee once. Some sort of accident in the cattle pen. Hmm. That’s interesting.”
“Might be interesting, but a lawyer would call it inconclusive evidence.” She swiveled her chair around, forcing Joseph to step to one side of the cluttered desk. “Who is the woman in the picture, anyway? A relative?”
A few minutes ago when Joseph had first entered the old redbrick building and found Louella at her desk, he’d not explained anything about the photos. Except that he was trying to discern if the man’s image was that of Ray. Thankfully, there was nothing in the background or about the couple’s clothing that implied it was a wedding photo. And Joseph wasn’t going to volunteer that much information. If any kind of infidelity had been going on with the late sheriff, he didn’t want to be the one to spread such a well-guarded secret.
“I’m trying to find out what connection, if any, she might’ve had to Ray.” He eased his hip onto the corner of Louella’s desk. “I take it you haven’t heard about Ray’s will?”
Leaning back in her desk chair, Louella studied him with faint skepticism. “No. I assumed Sam probably wound up with everything. Ray’s parents died years ago and his only sibling is gone, too. Sam was the only logical person left.”
Joseph absently picked up a small can filled with pencils and rolled it between his palms. “Well, Sam got some sort of monetary gift from Ray. I have no idea what it amounted to. The rest of the estate—the house, his finances, everything—went to Tessa Parker, a young lady from Nevada.”
Flabbergasted, Louella’s mouth fell open. “Joseph, have you been drinking? Ray would never do something that crazy! He was a responsible, caring person. And he was sane right up until he died. If this is true, then some crooked lawyer has pulled a shenanigan of some sort. And why not? There’s not a soul around to make waves about it!”
She was quickly getting heated up about the whole thing and Joseph promptly placed the cup back on the desk and rose. “Just calm down, Louella. There hasn’t been anything shady going on. Tessa is just as confused as you are about this inheritance. That’s why I wanted you to look at the pictures. Ray apparently had some sort of connection to the Parker family. We just do
n’t know what it is. Think, Louella. Did he ever mention that name before?”
Louella’s short laugh was full of disbelief. “Fifteen years, hundreds of cases and files, and an office that was as busy as a bus terminal. You think I can remember one name?”
“I understand it’s a long shot, Louella. But I have to start somewhere and you knew Ray about as well as anyone.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Who are you doing this for? Ray? Yourself? Or the young woman from Nevada?”
He was doing this for Tessa, he realized. Because he’d promised her. And because he could see how the uncertainty and questions were nagging mercilessly at her. Just as questions about his own father continued to plague him.
“A little of all three, I suppose,” he said to Louella.
“Hmm. Well, the only Parkers I recall was Wilma and Rocky, but they lived like hermits back in the canyon. Never had kids, either. Ray didn’t have any sort of connection to that pair. I’m fairly certain they moved out of this area.”
“No. This had to be a different Parker—from Nevada,” Joseph said. “Back before I came on the force, did Ray go out of town much?”
An impatient frown twisted her lips. “Joseph, does a bee make honey? Of course, Ray went out of town from time to time! Just like our present sheriff does. As for Ray, there was always some sort of convention or meeting he needed to attend. I recall him going to Phoenix quite a bit to meet with people at the capitol. Bickering about funding, crime prevention and all that sort of thing took up a lot of his time. He didn’t like it, either. Ray wanted to be out working among the citizens of the county.”
Joseph realized his question sounded inane. He’d asked it in the hope that Louella might have remembered a trip that had seemed out of character for Ray. Apparently she didn’t. Still, that hardly meant that Ray hadn’t had the opportunity to run into Monica Parker somewhere, Joseph thought. The chance that such a thing had happened might be slim, but a lawman didn’t solve a case by following percentages. Hunches were much more productive.
The Arizona Lawman Page 9
