by Roma James
I frowned. It was perfectly reasonable for her to want some things here, of course. But honestly? I didn’t love the idea of her on the road every weekend by herself, driving between places. Especially once the winter months rolled around.
“You can always feel free to leave whatever you’d like behind if it’ll make things easier for you,” I said. “But…”
I looked across the table at Cole, wondering if he was thinking the same thing I was.
Yep.
He gave me a subtle nod.
“But?” Daisy Lynn asked, looking a little confused as she glanced back and forth between us.
I took a deep breath. I didn’t know how she’d react to what I was about to say. Would it be too much? Too soon? Too pushy?
Maybe.
Probably.
But I still had to ask.
“I think Cole and I were hoping you’d, ah… want to stay here? I mean, I know it’s probably too soon to even ask, but—”
“Really?” Daisy Lynn’s eyes went wide as she looked from me to Cole and back again. “That’s really what both of you want?”
Cole’s grin stretched from ear to ear as he nodded. “Do you even have to ask, beautiful? It’s what I’ve wanted since the first time I laid eyes on you.”
“It’s definitely what I want,” I said. “As a matter of fact, if we’re really going to do this, I don’t see why we can’t all live together. We already know we’re going to get along—and my place is obviously big enough for the three of us.”
Cole looked a little surprised at the suggestion but seemed to warm up to it pretty quickly. “My lease is up in a month. I’d planned on renewing, of course, but… hell, if you’re going to cook breakfast like this more often, I’ll move in tomorrow.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I’m only cooking if you both agree to move in. No more breakfast without our girl.”
Daisy Lynn nibbled at her lip. “I honestly didn’t think you’d be ready to take that step yet, but if you’re sure? I… I would love that. I was already starting to dread the thought of being apart for days at a time.”
“Yeah, no.” I shook my head. “I don’t want you to be gone for days. Or hours. Or minutes. I want you right here with us.”
“This is the only place I want to be,” she said, her eyes bright with emotion. “I can’t believe how perfectly this is all working out.”
“And this is just the beginning, babe,” I said. “I really feel like we have something amazing here. Something I never would have believed if it hadn’t happened to me. I never even would have dreamed it.”
“And we want to make sure you’re happy every step of the way,” Cole added. “Anything you want or need—all you have to do is let us know.”
“You both make me happy,” she purred, getting up out of her chair to give me a hug and a kiss before walking over to do the same for Cole. “The only thing I need is to be with the two of you.”
I smiled and nodded, feeling more than a little emotional myself. “Then you’re in luck, baby. Because we’re yours. And we aren’t going anywhere.”
“That’s right.” Cole nodded. “You’re stuck with us now.”
“Perfect,” she answered, smiling beautifully. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Thank God.
Because now that we were finally, officially together?
I didn’t want us to ever be apart again.
Chapter 18
Daisy Lynn
After the night and morning I’d just spent with my guys, I was certain nothing in the entire world could wipe the smile off my face. My cheeks were hurting from all the non-stop smiling I’d done through breakfast, but I didn’t mind. It was the best sort of pain.
I still could hardly believe this was real life. We were going to be together. It was crazy and amazing and wonderful, and I couldn’t wait to get back to Triple J and tell the girls.
And then the call came in.
I hadn’t realized how serious it was at first—Prescott’s expressions were always difficult to read, even on the best of days, and he stayed perfectly still and quiet for several seconds even after the call had ended.
“Everything okay, buddy?” Cole asked, a crease forming in his brow as his own smile slipped for the first time all morning. “Who was that?”
“Doc Thompson, from the hospital,” Prescott said, taking a deep, ragged breath.
I looked back and forth between the two men. I vaguely remembered the doctor they were talking about from my stay in the hospital, but I still couldn’t figure out why he’d be calling Prescott.
“Was it… something to do with me?” I asked, trying and failing to keep from jumping to conclusions. “Was it those tests they ran on my head?”
“No, sweetheart.” Prescott leaned over from his chair and kissed me on the forehead. “Thank God it has nothing to do with you or those tests. I don’t even want to think of something like that.”
Okay.
O-kay.
Now that I knew it wasn’t about me, I could actually start breathing again. But if not me, then… who?
“It’s about Isaac—the guy from the USGS,” Prescott said, finally. He paused and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again he looked sad. Completely different from just a few minutes earlier. “He died this morning.”
“Oh, my God,” I gasped, sitting back in my seat. I didn’t know the guy at all, but I’d heard Cole and Prescott talk about him enough to feel like I still knew a lot about him. “That’s horrible. Did the doctor say what happened?”
“They’d been trying to alleviate the swelling on his brain from his injury.” Prescott shook his head. “The doc said it had seemed to be stable for the past couple of days, but… I guess he took a turn for the worse.”
“Jesus,” Cole muttered. “That’s some serious shit. Do we know if he has any family? Anyone to notify?”
“The doc is gonna get back to me later. But I feel like we should probably tell Nora. I don’t want her hearing about it from anyone else.”
Cole nodded. “Well… if Nora did have anything to do with Isaac’s injury, she’s going to shit a brick. Because now? This case just went from assault to—”
Prescott cut him off with one quick word that took my breath away all over again.
“Murder.”
I had a knot in the pit of my stomach from the moment we left Prescott’s house, and that knot only grew larger as we got closer to Nora’s. Once the three of us were finally standing in front of her door, I was pretty sure I might throw up at any moment.
I didn’t even want to think of how she might take the news, but I knew it wouldn’t be good. Prescott and Cole had offered to drop me off at Janessa’s house first, but I insisted on going along with them.
The moment she answered the door, her face fell. “Good afternoon, sheriff. I hope you’ll forgive me, but I’m expecting some friends over soon, and I really don’t have time to chat. So unless you have something—”
“Nora, I need to tell you something, and I need you to listen.” Prescott’s voice was quiet but firm, and Nora’s mouth closed with an audible snap. “May we step inside for just a moment? I won’t take up much of your time. You have my word.”
For a second, she looked as if she might refuse. She finally sighed and opened the door wider for us. “I plan on holding you to your promise, sheriff, so whatever it is, please say it quickly.”
The three of us stood awkwardly in Nora’s foyer as she gave Prescott an impatient look. He took a deep breath and then nodded, as if steeling himself for the task in front of him.
“Have you spoken to anyone from the hospital today?” he asked.
Nora’s face clouded. “No. They’ve been refusing to tell me anything lately. After all the money my late husband gave them, they really should be ashamed of the way they’ve been treating me. I actually planned on filing a complaint with the hospital administrator today, but—”
“Nora, I’m afrai
d you might want to sit down,” Prescott said, interrupting her again with his too-quiet, too-calm tone. “I have some unfortunate news, and I wanted to tell you before you heard it from anyone else.”
“Oh, I see…” She looked from Prescott to me, then to Cole, as if she was noticing the two of us for the first time. “News about… about Isaac?”
The last word came out as just a whisper, but it seemed to echo in the grand foyer.
Prescott nodded. “I’m sorry, Nora. Isaac passed away this morning at the hospital.”
She swayed on her feet, and I rushed around Prescott to stand next to her, steadying her with my hand on her back. Every time I’d seen her before, Nora had been larger than life and fully in charge. In this moment, though, she felt thin and frail. Broken. I could feel her heart beating—so fast it made me think of a hummingbird.
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “Are you… are you sure? There might have been some sort of mistake, or–or a mix-up or…”
Her voice trailed off, and I wanted to hug her as the reality sank in, but I felt frozen in place. The best I could offer was to lightly rub her back and hope that she stayed upright.
“I’m sorry,” Prescott repeated. He reached out to her, but she flinched away, then pulled away from me as well. “I know that he meant a lot to you and that this must be difficult, but if you have any other information about that morning—anything you might have seen or heard, something he might have said in conversation, anything that—”
“No.” She shook her head and took a step back. “No. I won’t do this right now. I can’t. You don’t know anything about Isaac—how gentle and sweet he was. He didn’t deserve this, and I refuse to talk about him like he’s just some sort of statistic or, or…” She took a ragged breath and pointed toward the door. “Just leave. Now. Please, just go. If you have anything else to say to me about this matter, you can contact my lawyer.”
Prescott looked at me and then over to Cole. I held my breath, not knowing what was going to happen. They wouldn’t arrest her over this, would they? Not without more evidence, right? Not right now, at least… right?
I could tell that Cole and Prescott were doing that thing again—that thing where they could communicate with just a look between them. Whatever the question was, they must have agreed on the answer. Cole gave a curt nod and then motioned for me to follow them as we walked outside without another word to Nora. I looked back over my shoulder just in time to see the first tears spilling down her cheeks as she slammed the door behind us.
“Wow,” was all I could say. “That was… intense. I think I might throw up.”
My nerves had thankfully taken a back seat to all of the drama in the foyer, but they were back with a vengeance now that we were outside in the fresh morning air again.
Before I could take another step, both men had their arms around me. Slowly, step by step, the three of us walked to the car.
“Come on, babe,” Prescott said, planting a kiss on the side of my head as he and Cole helped me into the car. “Let’s get you back to see your friends. Just close your eyes and try not to think about all of this, okay?”
It was an impossible request, of course. How could I not think about everything that had just happened? But I knew his intentions were good, so I nodded. He cared about me. He didn’t want me to be upset.
And I loved him for that. I loved both of them for how they took care of me without even being asked.
They were good men, and I was a lucky woman. This wasn’t the time or place to smile, and I don’t think I could have anyway under the circumstances, but just knowing that I had these guys on my side, on my team, made my heart feel better.
We had each other. We were going to be okay.
I wished the same could be said for Nora Statler.
Prescott was right.
Being able to see and hug Janessa and Becca helped. It helped a lot.
“I’ve missed you guys,” I said, finally smiling for the first time since we’d left Nora’s house.
The sun was shining and the breeze felt good against my skin. My nerves and nausea were gone, but I was still trying to sort through everything that had happened that morning.
“We’ve missed you, too,” Janessa said, smiling back at me and then tossing a wink to Cole and Prescott. “Seems you’ve all been pretty busy lately.”
I looked back at my guys, who were both blushing—blushing!—so adorably that it took every ounce of my willpower not to run over and jump into their arms right then and there.
“You guys are just in time for some lemonade,” Becca said, pointing to a tray of drinks behind her on the porch. “Fresh squeezed—like, I actually squeezed the lemons myself. So, you’d better drink some.”
“That sounds like an order I can follow,” Cole said, grinning.
“Sounds delicious,” Prescott added.
Janessa ushered us all over to sit on the large front porch, and I took a moment to appreciate the space in a way I hadn’t before. I had always thought the spacious, wrap-around porch with its tables and chairs lining the house was pretty, of course, but I’d never thought of having something like that for myself before.
Until now.
Now, I could picture me and my guys out on the land Cole would someday inherit. We’d sip lemonade and talk and laugh, watching the sun set over the mountains…
It was a nice image, and I was grateful to my guys that they’d given me the opportunity to see it—to want it.
Only after we’d all sat down and had a couple of sips did I realize there weren’t as many of us as usual. “Where are your guys?” I asked Janessa. “And your uncle?”
She gave me a half-smile, then sighed. “It’s strange not having them here, isn’t it? Cade and Boone had to go back to their ranch to check up on things. They should only be gone for a couple of days, but…” She paused, then sighed again as she rolled her eyes. “I miss them already. I know it probably sounds dumb, but I can’t help it.”
“It doesn’t sound dumb at all,” I said, looking over at my guys. Even the thought of being away from them for days at a time made me want to scoot my chair closer. “I get it.”
“Yeah,” Prescott said, glancing back at me with the hint of a smile on his face. “I think we get it, too.”
“And your uncle?” Cole asked. “Is he around?”
“He’s down at the barn waiting for Logan,” Janessa answered.
“Did something else happen to the animals? Do we need to go down there with him?” I started up out of my seat before she shook her head and gestured for me to sit back down.
“No, no, nothing like that.” Janessa gestured toward the barn. “Logan just wanted to come back for a check-up, and Uncle Justin and I agreed that was probably a good idea since this whole mess is still going on.”
“Oh, right.” I nodded, sitting back in my chair again with a frown. “It seems to be getting worse by the day, actually.”
“Oh, God. Please don’t tell me something else has happened…” Janessa and Becca both looked at each other and frowned.
I realized this was impacting all of us in different ways. I was just thankful that everyone here—along with Cade, Boone, and Justin, of course—had managed to stay out of harm’s way. I prayed that our luck would hold out.
“We stopped by Nora Statler’s place on the way here,” Cole said. “Her… friend… from the USGS passed away this morning at the hospital.”
“That’s awful,” Janessa said. “That poor man. Even if he was mixed up with Nora somehow, he didn’t deserve that.”
“And we still aren’t any closer to figuring out how it all connects,” Prescott said. “I was hoping Nora’s reaction to the news would give us some insight, but… not so much.”
“Do you still think she had something to do with it?” Becca asked. “With the… the guy’s death?”
“I don’t,” I answered before either of my guys had a chance to speak. I knew they were probably still skeptical, bu
t I wasn’t. Not really, anyway. Not after seeing her this morning. “I was right there next to her, and I thought she was going to pass out. Her heart was beating like crazy. Like a hummingbird. And I honestly don’t think she’s a good enough actress to pull off that reaction.”
“No,” Janessa smirked. “She might have some talents that I don’t know about—or care to know about—but acting is not one of them.”
“Exactly,” I said. “She seemed just as genuine as when she was talking about her horse the last time we were there. It doesn’t seem like she cares about much, but she does obviously care about some things.”
“Isaac, her horse, her dead husband, Zachary…” Janessa counted them off on her fingers. “Yeah, that’s probably about it. But I’m with Daisy Lynn on this one. I think she cared about the guy.”
I could see Cole flinch at the mention of Zachary’s name. Everyone else seemed to notice, too, since everyone slowly turned to face him with puzzled expressions.
“Sorry,” Cole said. “I know I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but I couldn’t stand that guy. My grandpa always swore he was no good—something to do with my Uncle Merle, I guess.” He exhaled slowly, then gave a smile that was too weak to be anything but forced. “Anyway, I don’t guess that has anything to do with all of this. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“We weren’t getting anywhere anyway,” Prescott said, giving Cole a sympathetic look. “We’ll figure it out, though. Every new clue, every new piece of evidence is a step in the right direction. The person behind this has been careless too many times—and now they’ve killed someone. They’re gonna get desperate, and that’s when they’ll get caught.”
“I hope so,” Cole said quietly.
“I hope so, too,” Janessa added. “I know I’ll sleep easier once that maniac is behind bars.”
