Текст книги "Playing With Fire"

Автор книги: Alison Bliss

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

Chapter Three

It was all so bare.

No flowers. No trinkets left in his honor. No proof of the lives he’d impacted. Only unruly weeds and climbing vines that had taken over the gravesite, covering the bottom half of the granite marker.

I avoided the stinging bull thistle while carefully clearing the other invading weeds, then removed the vines that clung to the solid gray headstone, revealing the rest of the sandblasted letters beneath his name that had been enhanced with black lithichrome paint.

In honor of a husband, a friend, and a hero.

Saddened by the words, I lifted myself from the ground and trudged ten feet away to gather some wildflowers into a nice bouquet. White heath aster and blue-eyed grass were the closest, but I bypassed them, opting for the Indian blankets I had spotted a yard away. They looked similar to a sunflower, but were smaller and had bright reddish-orange petals with yellow tips. I took my time gathering a small bundle, and with my gaze trained on the grass in front of me, solemnly strolled back to the grave.

I kneeled down once more, arranging the flowers neatly together before placing them at the base of the stone. I’d been there for almost half an hour and hadn’t cried once, but that one little good deed filled my heart with sorrow and had my eyes brimming with blinding tears. The only reason I’d chosen those particular flowers was because they were also sometimes referred to as “firewheels” and I thought it was a gesture Chief Swanson would appreciate.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, kissing my fingertips and pressing them lightly to his gravestone.

It wasn’t until that moment I felt his presence behind me. Or maybe I’d detected the vibrations of his irritation. Because when I glanced over my shoulder and shaded my eyes from the sun, Cowboy was standing there, holding his white Stetson in a death grip, and frowning at me like I’d just slapped his mother.

“What are you doing here?” he growled.

I pushed myself off the ground and straightened, dusting my hands together to remove any loose debris. “Just paying my respects.”

“Oh, really?” He nodded to Chief Swanson’s grave. “Thought you’d only been in town for a few weeks? Last night, you failed to mention you knew the chief.”

“That’s because I didn’t know him.” Not really, anyway.

He gave me a strange look, one I assumed meant he wasn’t buying it. “I just saw you kiss the man’s grave and tell him you were sorry.”

Christ, how long had he been standing there? “I am sorry. Sorry something so tragic happened to him. Is that a crime?”

Cowboy’s brow raised in suspicion. “No, but do you normally visit the graves of people you don’t know?”

“When I feel it’s necessary, yes.” I moved past him, heading in the direction of my car. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go home and change my clothes before I go to work.”

His stride was much longer than mine, so it didn’t take him more than a second to catch up to me. “If you know anything about this case, you need to tell me.”

I kept walking as he slowed his pace to match mine. “I told you already. I didn’t know Chief Swanson.”

“Yet I still find it odd that you’re at a cemetery visiting a man you claim you didn’t know.” Cowboy placed his hand on my arm to still me. “I’m looking for his brother, Anna.”

“Good for you.”

“I’m serious, damn it!” His grip tightened, and my gaze lowered to his hand clasped around my elbow. With a frustrated sigh, he released me and ran his fingers through his thick sand-colored hair before slapping the white Stetson back onto his head. “Look, I promised the chief if something ever happened to him I would find Ned Swanson and hand deliver a letter to him. If you know anything—”

I scowled at him. “I told you I don’t. I don’t know this Ned guy, and I didn’t know Chief Swanson. Why do you keep pushing me? I have no reason to hide anything from you.”

“Oh, yeah? You didn’t show up at the station this morning like I’d asked.”

I rolled my eyes and started walking again with him on my heels. “That’s funny, since I don’t recall being asked. I believe it was more of a direct order.” I gave him a nonchalant shrug and silently thanked my lucky stars I had a good reason for not showing up. Answering his questions wasn’t something I looked forward to. “I was busy. Sorry.”

“Don’t seem all that sorry,” he stated, just as we reached the entrance to the cemetery. Our vehicles were parked in the grass of the circle drive, his massive pickup bullying my tiny Cavalier from behind. “If anything, I’d say you look relieved.”

His accusatory tone sent my frustration swarming like bees fresh out of a fallen hive. “And you, Captain, shouldn’t be so surprised I didn’t show up. You knew I had to fix the tire on my car.” I stopped when I reached my driver’s side and cocked my head at him. “Am I right?”

“You are,” he agreed.

“Then you know why I didn’t show.”

Cowboy glanced down and gave the new front tire a light kick. “Well, it’s fixed now, it seems.” He circled around me from behind, then leaned against the rear door next to me, allowing his mere proximity to smother me. “Who took care of it for you? One of the guys from Tony’s shop over on Main Street?”

“Not exactly,” I said, shaking my head. “I called Bobbie Jo to give me a ride into town, but she was already at the pediatrician’s with Austin. So she called Jake and asked him to help me. He took the old tire off and drove me into town to buy a new one. Even put it on the car for me.”

“Is he okay?”

My eyes widened. “Now you’re accusing me of doing something to Jake?”

He grinned with amusement. “I imagine Jake’s a big enough boy that he can take care of himself. I was talking about my godson,” Cowboy clarified. “Austin’s not sick or anything, is he?”

Oh. Right. “No, I guess not. Bobbie Jo said it was just a well-baby exam.”

“That’s good.” But Cowboy’s words didn’t match his expression as his brows knitted together. “Last night I gave you a card with my cell phone number. Any reason why you didn’t call me instead of Jake?”

I shook my head again. “I didn’t call anyone. Bobbie Jo did, remember?”

“Well, why didn’t she call me?”

“I don’t know. I guess that’s a question for Bobbie Jo.” I pulled my door open and moved closer to get in.

His arm shot out across the doorway, blocking me from sitting down. I turned my head to look at him and watched another grin tug at the corner of his mouth. “You have a little something…” He lifted his free hand and swept his calloused thumb across my bottom lip. “Right there.”

My mouth fell open involuntarily at the intimate gesture. At first, I thought he’d made the whole thing up—possibly trying to charm me once again—but then I remembered touching my fingers to my lips at the gravesite. I glanced at my hands, which were still dirty from pulling weeds and picking flowers.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a tissue and dabbed at my lips. “Um, thank you.”

He dropped his arm and straightened his posture, suddenly looking very official. “We still need to go over what happened last night so I can add it to the report.”

Guess he was trying to charm me, after all. I glanced at the thin gold watch on my left wrist. “I can’t right now. I’m going to be late for work.” I slid into the driver’s seat of my car and closed the door, looking back at him through the open window.

“It’s only going to take a few minutes.”

“Sorry,” I said, starting my car. “The director is only covering for me until noon, and I still have to go home and change.” The denim overalls I wore were comfortable, but way too casual to be deemed professional work attire.

He huffed out an irritated breath. “That fire happened only minutes after you put something in the dumpster. I have questions that need answers.”

“No, what you’re really saying is you think I started the fire last night.”

Cowboy’s jaw tightened as he gritted his teeth. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“But I am your number one suspect, correct?”

His eyes burrowed into me and a muscle twitched in his jaw. “Look, this isn’t some sort of witch hunt. I’m just doing my damn job.”

“Fine. I’ll get in touch with you…after I’ve spoken to a lawyer. In the meantime, I’m going to work so that I can do my job. Good day, Captain.”

As I pulled away, he cursed under his breath, but I sighed with relief. At least he hadn’t called me Sparky again. How did he even know about that terrible nickname, anyway?

After driving home to change and grab a quick sandwich, I made it to the library right on time. The director had a meeting at City Hall she needed to attend, so the moment I arrived, she made a beeline for the door.

Only ten minutes passed before Cowboy stormed into the library, hands fisted at his sides and a sour expression on his face. “Would you quit running away from me while I’m trying to talk to you?”

“As far as I was concerned, we were done talking. I told you I had to change and get to work.”

His hard gaze immediately lowered, taking in the sight of my calf-length yellow sundress and white canvas tennis shoes, before darting back up to my face. “Do you always dress like this?” The way his eyes widened told me he hadn’t meant to verbalize his thoughts and he was just as surprised by the unintentional insult as I was. “I mean…er, sorry.”

So what if my work clothes looked like something out of Sandra Dee’s closet? It wasn’t like I dressed to please him. Actually, it was just the opposite. I dressed this way to keep men like him away from me. It was an added bonus that it was for his own safety…even if I kept that information to myself.

I shook my head passively, then started past him, insulted by his comment. “It’s fine,” I said drily.

He reached out and gently touched my arm to stop my movement. “Anna, I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I just meant you have a good figure. I can see it, despite your clothes.”

Silently, I glared at him.

“Uh, I mean…I can see through your clothes.” Then he cringed and breathed out a few expletives.

“Good to know,” I told him, my tone suddenly drought-worthy. I snatched up the book on the counter that he’d given me to hold the night before and shoved it into his chest. “Here’s your book, superhero. Now maybe you can use your telepathic abilities to read my mind.” I walked away from him and kept going until I’d crossed the room and put some distance between us.

From there, I studied him inconspicuously as I pretended to straighten the books on the shelf before me. I rolled my eyes. Good with the ladies, my ass!

Cowboy rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head as he carried the book to the nearest table and sat down. He opened it to where he must’ve left off the night before. Once he looked determined to focus on the task at hand, I reluctantly circled back and returned to the circulation desk…and to my own work. The stack of romance novels I’d devoured over the past week and brought back to the library were piled high on the desk, waiting to be checked back in.

During my teen years, romantic fiction had become my favorite genre, mostly because it was so much better than my own reality. The library’s shelves brimmed with romance-filled tales of brave heroes slaying fire-breathing dragons and sweeping fair maidens off their feet. But I didn’t need a dashing hero on a white horse to save me from anything. I could ride my own damn horse, thank you very much.

I’d given up on finding love. Not that I’d ever done much in the way of searching for it. With love, came loss. And I wasn’t willing to lose—or readily give—another piece of myself to anyone. I’d seen for myself what kind of damage a man could do to a woman’s mind, body, and soul. Much less a girl’s heart.

A half hour went by before an elderly lady from the Genealogy Society approached my desk to schedule their monthly meetings for the Rotary Room. I smiled at her, then spotted Cowboy leering at me from ten feet away. Somehow, I had unknowingly blipped back onto his radar. My stomach twisted with nervousness as my trembling fingers wrote down the meeting dates the woman gave me.

After she walked away, I busied myself by filing forms into the bottom cabinet. Okay, so maybe I was ducking to keep him from looking at me. Whatever.

A few wispy strands of my hair slipped free from the clip on the back of my head and hung down in my face while I worked. As I pushed one back, I remembered the way Cowboy’s fingers had grazed my cheek the night before and shivered. His slight touch had left me with a pleasant feeling, but it wasn’t something I could allow myself to indulge in. Part of why I was steering clear of him and coming off downright antisocial like an ungrateful shrew. It was easier that way.

As heavy footsteps approached, I straightened in my chair, bumping my head on the desk. I winced and gave it a quick rub, glancing over to see if anyone else—basically Cowboy—had noticed. He tipped back in his chair, an amused grin playing on his perfectly stupid lips. The prick.

Ignoring his smug look, I smiled sweetly to the gentleman standing at my desk and offered my assistance. He was one of our regular card-holders and I’d seen him almost daily since I’d started there. Once I finished helping him check out a crime novel he’d reserved, the kind old man gave me a quick pat on my hand to thank me and moved along.

I glanced back to Cowboy and caught an odd look on his confused face. It was a what-the-hell expression, if I’d ever seen one. Setting his teeth, he rose from his seat, picked up his book, and headed in my direction.

My gaze immediately darted back to my computer screen.

“Mind if I pester you for a minute?” he asked.

“Did you have a question…about the book?” I kept my eyes forward and my tone polite and professional.

“I have a lot of questions, actually, but none are book-related.”

“Then I’m busy,” I replied, not showing even marginal interest in him.

“Anna…?” When I didn’t answer him, he reached across the desk and brushed my arm, sending my nervous system into overdrive. I jolted out of my chair, which made his mouth contort into a perplexed frown. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, I just…don’t want you to touch me.” Jeez. When did I become such a liar? “Now if you’ll excuse me…” I walked away from the counter and headed down one of the aisles before he had a chance to follow me. I weaved through the maze of bookshelves until I came to a dead end in the back corner of the library.

Breathing heavily, I hid behind a bookcase, monitoring him discreetly through the shelves as he combed the aisles searching for me. I knew it was silly to hide. Like a child, really. But I needed a moment to calm my nerves and build some much needed courage, which only made me feel more foolish.

It was the same reaction I’d had at eighteen when I’d spent two weeks working as an activities coordinator at a nearby summer camp. Bobbie Jo had been a counselor, as well as one of my bunkmates, and the two of us had hit it off.

That’s where I’d met Cowboy.

The guys’ quarters sat on the opposite end of camp, but first chance Bobbie Jo had, she introduced me to “her boys,” as she called them. Jake had been her boyfriend at the time, but the others—Ox, Judd, and Cowboy—were her best friends. It wasn’t until later I found out she’d roped them all into applying as a counselor so they could spend their last two weeks together before Jake left for college.

Upon meeting them, all of them were nice, of course. But Cowboy had been the one who stuck out in my mind all these years.

Right after I’d stammered my way through the mortifying introductions, one of the other female volunteers had stopped by with a camera and asked us all to smile for a group photo. Without hesitation, Cowboy had winked at me, slung his heavy arm over my shoulders, pulled me close into his warm body, and grinned devilishly for the camera. That was the moment I’d fallen for Prince Charming himself.

After the photo, when he tried to disengage his arm, his gold watch had caught on my shirt sleeve, lifting it slightly and revealing a small patch of red skin on the inside of my arm. With heated cheeks, I’d quickly yanked my sleeve down and tried to hide it by fidgeting with my clothes. It was too late.

Cowboy had noticed and said, “What’s wrong with your arm? You get into some poison sumac or something?”

When I didn’t respond, he shrugged it off and flirted with the cute blonde behind the camera. I’d wanted to talk to him, make him see me, but hated the idea of drawing attention to myself. So I said nothing.

After that incident, I’d clammed up whenever he was near, which had only been a few more times. I decided avoiding him altogether would be my best option if I wanted to form coherent sentences for the duration of my stay. But that didn’t stop me from spending the next two weeks stealing glances at him from the shadows of my cabin window while every girl at camp threw themselves in his direction.

When camp had come to an end, I’d exchanged information with my new friend, Bobbie Jo, and over the years we’d kept in touch, sending pictures and letters back and forth. That’s how I’d received my own copy of that very photo—the same picture that had sat on my nightstand in a wooden frame for the last ten years.

Ridiculous, I know.

I’d told myself I kept it out where I could see it because it was the only picture I had of Bobbie Jo and I together. But in it, I’d gazed up at Cowboy with wide, admiring eyes and a full-on smile, while he looked straight ahead, unaware of the pitiful, lonely girl at his side. God, I’m pathetic. The arm slung over my shoulders in the photo had meant nothing to him.

Forcing out a deep breath, I slouched against the shelves and shook my head. So what if I felt foolish. Maybe I was a fool. After all, what woman in her right mind would still get butterflies in her stomach from just being near a man she’d had a crush on ten years earlier? Especially when the same man all but accused her of arson.

I sighed. Me, that’s who.

“Do I have bad breath or something?”

I jumped, flailing my arms, then clutched my heaving chest. I wheeled around to see Cowboy leaning lazily against the shelf as he eyed me curiously. “Good Lord. Don’t scare me like that!”

A triumphant grin played on his lips as he stepped closer. In an evasive maneuver, I tried to hurry past him, hoping to escape with my dignity somewhat intact, but he stepped in my path. “Anna, wait. I just want to talk to you for a minute.”

I stopped, but refused to look him in the eye. “What do you want?”

“Well, to start off, I’d like to know what I did to deserve the cold shoulder from you. If I upset you by calling you Sparky last night—”

“No,” I said, glancing down at my feet. “It has nothing to do with that.”

It wasn’t like Cowboy even knew the significance behind the camp nickname the other counselors had teased me with. He hadn’t been there to witness my freak-out the night of the bonfire. Thank goodness.

Instead, he’d been sucking face with Kelly Deter in the woods. With both hands up her skirt, according to her testimony the next day. Bobbie Jo hadn’t been at the bonfire, either. Probably because she’d been doing the same thing with Jake.

“If I offended you last night by asking you to come down to the station…”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t offended. I just found the whole thing unnecessary. I didn’t start the fire.”

“Never said you did.”

“No, but you insinuated I could have, which was close enough. I have no idea why you’d even think that, anyway. Do I look like the kind of person who goes around starting fires?”

He held up his hand, showing me the book on household fire accelerants. “You knew exactly where this book was located. The exact location.”

“It’s my job to—”

“I also remembered where else I’ve seen you,” he interrupted, crossing his arms. “Last week, you were at the big brush fire we had out on County Road 320.”

I sighed. I hadn’t realized he’d spotted me. “I was driving past when I saw the smoke. I hardly think that’s a crime, though. Lots of other people were stopping to take a look as well.”

“Yeah, but you’re the only one who climbed on the hood of her car with a pair of binoculars. Let’s just say you stood out in the crowd.”

I mentally cringed, but kept my face even. “So what? I was just curious. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Well, add all of those things in with you dodging my questions and refusing to come down to the station, only to have me find you at the cemetery visiting a grave of a man you supposedly didn’t know—one who happened to be my chief—and I think you can see why anyone would be a little suspicious.”

“I didn’t know him!” I whispered loudly.

He shrugged. “Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t. But since you’re avoiding my questions, it’s not like I would know that, now would I?”

My eyes narrowed. “Fine. You want to ask me something? Then do it.”

“Anything?”

I couldn’t stop the irritation from leaching into my voice. “Yes, anything.”

Cowboy didn’t hesitate. “Why would you visit a dead man you don’t know?” He lifted a brow, waiting for my answer.

My heart pounded furiously against my rib cage, as if it were sounding an alarm to alert my brain to Cowboy’s underlying motive. He was obviously trying to make a connection between me and the chief. As suspicious as he already was, I’d be an idiot to give him any ammunition to use against me.

But I had said I would answer, and if anything, I was a woman of my word. Here goes nothing. “I—”

A loud siren suddenly pierced the air, rendering me silent. It was coming from the black pager on his belt loop. Thank heavens. His cell phone chirped three times in a row, and Cowboy glanced at the information on the screen. He cursed under his breath and handed me the book he held. “There’s a bad accident out on the highway. We’ll finish our conversation later.”

He turned and, not looking back, hurried for the exit. As I watched him disappear from sight, only one thought entered my mind.

God, I hoped not.