The Arizona Lawman

by Stella Bagwell

  “You’re sure right about that. Ray’s first concern was helping the folks of Yavapai County,” Joseph agreed then leaned over and gathered the photos from the desk. As he pushed them into the pocket on his shirt, he said, “Thanks for your help, Louella. If you think of anything else, call me, would you?”

  “Sure.” She leveled a sly glance at him. “So tell me, have you met your new neighbor? The heiress from Nevada?”

  Met her? Oh, Lord, he’d kissed her like there was no tomorrow. At night he went to sleep with her on his mind, only to dream about her. And when he woke in the mornings, she was still whirling around in his head. His obsessive thoughts of the woman were beginning to worry him.

  “Yes, I’ve met her. Mom had her over to Three Rivers for dinner one evening. And before you ask, yes, she’s young and beautiful and single. Oh, and smart, too.”

  Louella’s smile suddenly turned calculating. “Hmm. Maybe she was smart enough to figure out how to con the legal system. Ever think about that?”

  Tessa a con woman? The idea was laughable. She was soft and innocent and obviously very confused about her inheritance. No, if something shady had gone on with Ray’s will, Tessa would be the first person to want to give everything back to his estate.

  “You’re barking up the wrong tree, Louella. Ray and the Parkers were connected. And I’m going to keep digging until I figure out how.” He started out of the small room then, pausing at the doorway, looked back at her. “Let me know if you think of anything—no matter how trivial.”

  She held up an A-OK sign with her thumb and forefinger. “See you later, Joe.”

  Outside, on his way down the steps of the former two-story schoolhouse, a voice called to him from behind.

  “Hey, Joe, going to lunch?”

  Turning, he saw fellow deputy, Connor Murphy, hurrying to catch up to him.

  “Done been to lunch,” Joseph told his old friend. “I just stopped by to say hello to Louella.”

  The tall blond man slipped a pair of sunglasses over his blue eyes. “Well, darn. I thought we might grab a burger together. It’s been a while since you’ve been over this way and I’ve not heard your voice on the radio. What have you been up to?”

  Joseph shrugged. “Traffic violations. A few home break-ins. Poaching on the Broken Rafter and some fisticuffs at the Fandango.”

  Connor chuckled. “In other words, the usual.”

  Yes, work had basically been the norm, Joseph thought. But nothing else about his life had been the same. Not since Tessa had moved onto the Bar X.

  “The past couple of weeks I’ve been working the northern command,” Joseph told him. “The captain sent me down here today—something about Pete being off duty for a while.”

  Connor nodded. “Poor guy was riding his ATV on his day off and wrecked it in a ravine. Broke a couple of ribs, but managed to walk out. Nothing like being housed up with twin toddlers to recuperate,” he added with a sardonic laugh. “I’d think dragging myself in to work would be easier.”

  Connor would think in those terms, Joseph decided. The guy’s motto was to date a different woman every week and stay single the rest of his life. Being housed up with a wife and young children would be torture for a man like him.

  “I’m sure Pete will be fine.” Joseph pulled one of the photos from his shirt pocket and handed it to Connor. “Does that guy look like anyone you know?”

  Frowning, the young deputy studied the snapshot. “Not that I can say. You need to get the lab to clean that thing up for you.” He started to hand it back to Joseph then suddenly decided to take another look. “Wait a minute. You know, he sort of reminds me of Sheriff Maddox—back before his hair got so gray. Who is it, anyway? Some criminal with a long rap sheet?”

  Sheriff Maddox before his hair had grayed. Yes, Connor would remember back to those days. He and Joseph had both come onto the force when Ray was still in office. Joseph’s mind was suddenly spinning with all sorts of possibilities.

  “No. I don’t think he’s a criminal,” Joseph told him then decided it wouldn’t hurt to give Connor a partial explanation. “Actually, I’m trying to decide if the man in that picture is Ray. And, Connor, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention this to anyone right now. It’s sort of a private matter.”

  The deputy handed the photo back to Joseph. “Sure, Joe. It’s already forgotten. Hope my opinion helped in some way.”

  Help? What would it do to Tessa if she did learn Ray had known her mother? And if the man in the picture was actually Ray, how did that explain a wedding at a Las Vegas chapel? In 1994, Ray had already been married to Dottie for several years.

  You’re the only person I know of who might be able to unearth the truth. Tessa’s words slipped through his thoughts like a haunting whisper. She was looking to him for help. But now he was beginning to wonder if the truth would be the best thing for her.

  “It helped, Connor. Thanks.” Joseph returned the photo to his shirt pocket and started down the steps. “I’d better be going. I have miles to go.”

  “Maybe we can get together sometime soon,” Connor called after him. “Let’s take some beer over to the lake and do some fishing.”

  “Sure. I’ll call you when I get some extra time off.” Joseph tossed the words over his shoulder while thinking two weeks ago the idea of an afternoon at the lake with his old buddy would sound like fun. Now the only thing he wanted was to spend every spare moment he could find with Tessa.

  If that made him crazy then he’d just have to be crazy. At least until she moved back to Nevada.

  * * *

  “Sam, drop me off at the drugstore and I’ll gather up what I need while you go to Jackson’s Feed and Ranch Supply. There’s a coffee shop down the block from the drugstore. When you finish, you can pick me up there,” Tessa told the old rancher as he drove the two of them down a two-lane street in Wickenburg.

  “That suits me.”

  He slowed the truck then wheeled it into the first empty parking spot he could find near the drugstore. Tessa opened her purse and pulled out several large bills.

  “Will this be enough to pay for the feed and hay?”

  He took the bills and jammed them into the front pocket of his frazzled jeans. “Plenty and some left over.”

  “Then you might as well buy cat food, too,” she told him. “And anything else you think we might need.”

  Sam nodded. “I’ll do it. But I think you ought to know the Hollisters don’t expect you to buy feed for their horses.”

  Frowning quizzically, she said, “Why, Sam, that’s ridiculous. They’ve loaned me the horses. The least I can do is feed and care for them properly.”

  Sam tugged on the brim of his hat, a habit Tessa noticed the older man displayed whenever he was vexed about something.

  “Tessa, they have bins of feed shipped in to Three Rivers. They’d never miss two hundred pounds or a half dozen bales of alfalfa.”

  “That’s beside the point, Sam. I’m not a moocher. And, anyway, buying a little feed isn’t going to break me.” She unbuckled the seat belt holding her in the worn passenger seat of Sam’s old truck and quickly climbed down from the cab. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  Inside the old-fashioned drug emporium, she gathered up the things she needed, plus a few toiletries that caught her eye. After paying for her purchases, she walked down the street to the coffee shop where she planned to meet Sam.

  Since this was only her third visit to the quaint desert town, Tessa was still learning where certain shops and restaurants were located. For the most part, it was a cowboy town with the buildings and landscape all done in a Southwestern flavor. On her last visit, she’d discovered Conchita’s coffee shop. The little pink-stucco building was located on a quiet side street and nestled beneath the branches of two large mesquite trees. A wide overhang sheltered the entrance, which was a simple
wood-framed screened door. To one side of a stepping-stone sidewalk, small tables and chairs offered customers a place in the cool shade to enjoy their drinks.

  Inside, Tessa walked up to a varnished wooden counter where a young auburn-haired woman by the name of Emily-Ann was sitting on a tall stool. As soon as she spotted Tessa, she placed the tablet she’d been holding in her lap on a shelf behind her and stood.

  “Well, hello,” she said with an easy smile. “Nice to see you again, Tessa.”

  Tessa laughed. “Wow, you remembered my name. I’m impressed. With all the tourists passing through here, I’d have everyone’s face and name mixed up.”

  Still smiling, Emily-Ann shook her head. “You’re giving me too much credit. Most of the tourists who come in never bother to introduce themselves. And as soon as you told me you’re living on the Bar X, I knew you’d be sticking around.”

  Sticking around. For some reason folks around here were quick to assume she was here to stay. It was true she was beginning to love the ranch more and more and this town was quickly charming her, but that didn’t mean she was destined to live the rest of her life here. Joseph didn’t seem to think so. Not when he was often mentioning the fact that she’d be going back to Nevada.

  Shaking away that annoying thought, she said, “Well, I will be sticking around—for a while.”

  “Looks like you’ve been doing some shopping? Have you tried the new dress shop over on Apache Street? She has some adorable retro-looking things. Like 1950’s stuff. I don’t have the waistline for that sort of clothing. But you’d look great.”

  Tessa dug into her shoulder bag and pulled out her wallet. “Thanks, but I hardly have a pencil-thin waist, either.” She handed her a small bill. “I’ll take a plain coffee today with just a bit of cream and no sugar.”

  “Coming right up.”

  As Emily-Ann made the coffee in a quick, one-cup brewer, Tessa gazed longingly at the pies lined on the shelves in a glass showcase.

  “Why don’t you have a piece to go with the coffee?” Emily-Ann suggested. “The blueberry is to die for. Just make sure you brush the stain off your teeth whenever you get home, though. Or you’ll be going around with a blue smile.”

  Tessa laughed. “I’d better pass this time.”

  The young woman was handing her the foam cup filled with coffee when the door over the shop opened and an older man and woman walked in and ordered lattes. Tessa used the interruption to make her way outside to one of the little tables beneath the mesquites.

  She was sipping her coffee and enjoying the cool breeze drifting across the quiet patch of yard when the customers emerged from the shop and walked on to their car. A moment later Emily-Ann left the building and joined her at the table.

  “Mind if I sit with you?”

  “Please do,” Tessa insisted. “I’m waiting on a friend. But it might be a few minutes before he shows up.”

  “Oh, boyfriend? If it’s any of my business,” she said slyly.

  “No. Just a friend,” Tessa explained.

  “Actually, I wasn’t thinking,” Emily-Ann admitted. “For all I know, you could be married with kids.”

  Tessa groaned inwardly. She had Joseph. Sort of. But she had no right to even call him a boyfriend. Just because the guy had kissed her senseless didn’t mean he was attached to her. “I don’t even have a special guy, much less a husband or kids,” Tessa told her. “What about you? Are you married?”

  “Goodness, no!” She let out a short laugh. “I’m independent. I’ve watched too many of my friends end up with broken hearts and major cases of depression. I can depend on my dog much more than a man.”

  “Dogs are nice,” Tessa agreed. “And some men.”

  Emily-Ann laughed. “I’ll take your word for it.” She leveled a thoughtful glance at Tessa. “The Bar X is on the way to Three Rivers. Have you met the Hollisters yet?”

  Surprised, Tessa asked, “You know the Hollisters?”

  With another easy laugh Emily-Ann said, “Tessa, most everyone in this area knows the Hollisters and Three Rivers Ranch. They’ve been a big, important family around here for many years. As for knowing them personally, I’m friends with Camille—the youngest of the kids. But she’s living down by Dragoon now and I rarely hear from her. It’s like she’s gone into hiding.”

  Joseph had vaguely mentioned that his younger sister had gone to their other ranch for emotional healing. Tessa figured Emily-Ann knew exactly what had prompted Camille to leave Three Rivers, but she wasn’t about to prod the other woman for information. That would be gossiping about Joseph’s family and she didn’t want to disrespect him in such a way.

  “I have met the Hollisters,” Tessa told her. “They’re a very nice family. I’m lucky to have them for neighbors.”

  Nodding in agreement, she asked, “Is your family renting the Bar X? I guess your father must be a rancher.”

  Emily-Ann’s assumption caught Tessa off guard. But she quickly realized it was only natural that Emily-Ann would assume she was living with her parents. Owning a ranch at her age was a bit out of the ordinary.

  “Um, no. My parents both died when I was much younger. I happen to own the Bar X.”

  The young woman’s mouth fell open and Tessa was bracing herself for more questions when she suddenly spotted Sam’s truck pulling into a parking spot in front of the coffee shop.

  “Oh, there’s my guy.” Grabbing up her bags, she rose. “Thanks for the coffee and the chat. See you next time.”

  “Sure. Make it soon!”

  By the time Tessa reached the truck, Sam was standing by the passenger door, waiting to help her into the cab.

  “Why, Sam, you didn’t have to bother. I can climb up on my own,” she told him.

  He grinned as he took her by the elbow and helped her into the seat. “I’m practicing up on my manners. Who knows, I might get married someday.”

  Tessa looked at him in shocked wonder. “Are you serious? You’re thinking about getting married?”

  Sam chuckled as he shut the truck door. “Hell, no! But it sounded good there for a minute, didn’t it?”

  “Sam, you old joker!”

  Tessa was still laughing as he climbed behind the wheel, but her laughter sobered somewhat as he started backing the truck out of the parking slot and she just happened to glance out the windshield. Emily-Ann was still sitting at the outdoor table and, even from a distance, the young woman’s expression looked incredibly forlorn.

  How odd, Tessa thought. Only moments ago Emily-Ann had seemed cheerful and happy.

  Once Sam had turned onto the main street leading out of town, Tessa asked, “Do you know the young woman I was sitting with back there at the coffee shop? Her name is Emily-Ann.”

  A grim frown caused the wrinkles on Sam’s face to deepen. “Only in passing. I knew her parents—folks by the name of Smith. Her mother is dead. Happened a few a years ago. After that, her father left for California. Never seen him again. He was one of those big blowhards. Always talking about the things he was going to do. But that’s all he was, just talk.” He shook his head. “Poor little thing. She hasn’t had it easy, that’s for damned sure.”

  “Why, Sam, you’re just a softie.”

  A sheepish look replaced his stern expression. “Sorry, Tessa. I said a lot more than I should have. And I don’t mean to be judgmental, but I expect folks to live up to their responsibilities. That’s all.”

  As they traveled back to the Bar X, Tessa thought long and hard about Sam’s remark.

  Did she have a responsibility to Ray Maddox and the Bar X? She’d not asked for the man’s gifts, but perhaps she owed him more than just gratitude and respect. And then there was Orin Calhoun. He’d taken her in and given her a wonderful home when she’d needed it the most. He’d made her a part of the Calhoun family. And he’d also made it very clear that he wanted her ba
ck in Nevada, near him and the family. Did she have a responsibility to him? Or was she wrong in thinking she owed either man anything?

  And what about Joseph? He might just be the most important man in your life right now, Tessa. Orin and Ray have kindly and generously provided for you. But they can’t provide you with the things you’ve always wanted. A loving husband and children of your own. Maybe you need to quit worrying about showing your gratitude and start following your own dreams.

  Mentally shaking away the voice going off in her head, Tessa glanced thoughtfully over at Sam.

  “Sam, do you think the two of us could turn the Bar X back into a working ranch?”

  She’d thought her question would elicit a look of surprise from the ranch hand. Instead his expression never wavered as he kept his gaze firmly on the highway in front of them.

  “Sure do. Wouldn’t take us long, either.” He darted a glance in her direction. “You thinking about doing that?”

  “Hmm. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. If I did decide to do such a thing, could I count on your help? Or is that a silly question?”

  “Damned silly.”

  She smiled at him and suddenly an unexpected lump of emotion filled her throat. “Thank you, Sam.”

  * * *

  Midmorning the next day, Joseph arrived on the Bar X to find Tessa patiently sitting on the bottom step of the retaining wall. A few feet away Rosie and Rascal were already saddled and tied to the old hitching post beneath the shade of the mesquite tree. The sight of her lifted his spirits more than anything he could ever remember, making it impossible to wipe the eager smile off his face.

  As soon as he stopped the truck, she walked out to greet him and, as she approached, Joseph noticed she was dressed in jeans and boots and a black long-sleeved shirt printed with tiny yellow sunflowers. Her long hair was bound in a single braid that rested on her right shoulder. She looked so fresh and sweet it was all he could do to keep from pulling her straight into his arms.