Alice Sharpe - Cowboy Undercover

“Explain one thing to me,” Chance said.

Lily had been staring out the dark passenger window, her eyes gritty from fatigue. She’d asked Chance to take the wheel because she’d been driving for hours and knew her judgment was impaired. She turned her attention to Chance whose strong profile was undeniably spectacular, a fact she found irritating. She didn’t want to like him or need him or want him around and the fact that she felt all those things to some degree just plain irked her. “What do you want to know?”

“Last summer when Block sent Jodie Brown to take you, he had murder on his mind. If he had a warrant and had established custody of Charlie, why didn’t he just turn you in? Why all the drama and hysterics? Why take such a risk?”

She shrugged. “How am I supposed to know that? All I can figure is that he doesn’t want to share custody with me. Maybe Jeremy has the police in his pocket but if we end up in court, twelve ordinary people will get to hear my side of things. That might bring out distasteful facts about his true character. Plus, he’s no doubt looking ahead to his future campaign for governor. That’s his goal, you know. I could pose a liability to him.”

For a second she heard her father’s voice in her head. In a moment of sporadic sobriety he’d warned her not to look back, to keep focused on the future. You can’t change the past , he’d said, and he was right.

But you couldn’t run from it either and that’s exactly what she’d done.

“Does Block know about those papers you gathered?”

“Probably. I raided his file drawer that last day. Maybe he’s afraid I have something on him. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I actually did? I need to get them out of my safe-deposit box and take a look.”

“Before you see Block?”

“I have to have some kind of ammunition.”

Lily closed her eyes, hoping to find a few minutes’ respite, but Chance had other ideas. “If he had murder on his mind before, why did he take Charlie this time and leave you free to continue causing trouble?”

Weariness had long ago seeped into every cell of her body. Talking was a struggle. She cradled her forehead with her hand. “I don’t think that was his plan,” she said. “Remember I told you about all the mishaps that made me late? I think he was not only making sure he could nab Charlie but that I would arrive home alone. But I didn’t go home. I called a neighbor who promised to call immediately if Charlie showed up. For hours I just drove around and then I thought of your father.”

“One more question,” Chance said.

“Please, I’m exhausted.”

“I know you are, Lily.” He put his hand on her arm and even through the sweater, his touch made a warm spot that spread toward her shoulder.

“One more,” she agreed.

“Where did you go when you left the ranch?”

“Reno. I figured hiding on a remote ranch hadn’t worked, so I decided to try a bigger city. I drove to Reno because I had a friend there who said she was leaving town for a few weeks to visit her boyfriend in Florida. She said I could use her apartment and sub at her old job as a waitress at one of the casinos outside of town. Now I’m wondering if my friend ran low on funds and told Jeremy where I was to collect a little quick cash.”

“She’s like that?”

“She could be. For all I know Jeremy set the whole thing up with her just to nail down my location. I don’t know. I try not to be paranoid.”

“With a warrant out for your arrest, you probably shouldn’t have taken Charlie over a state line.”

“I didn’t know about the warrant,” she said. “You just told me about it. It wouldn’t have made any difference though.” She turned in the seat. “I think that’s how Jeremy found me this summer. He must have accessed Idaho school records. My decision to send Charlie to summer school could have gotten me killed.”

They fell silent. She leaned to the side until her forehead rested against the passenger window and closed her eyes. For a few moments she waited for Chance to think of something else he wanted explained, and then she stopped worrying about it. The next thing she knew, Chance was shaking her shoulder.

“We’re here,” he said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What now?”

They were in Boise, downtown somewhere. She’d been gone for almost a year but she’d lived here most of her life. She finally recognized the café on the corner and placed their exact location. “My credit union is a few blocks that way,” she said, pointing north. “I want to get that stuff out of my safe-deposit box.”

Chance glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “It won’t be open yet. Let’s grab something to eat.”

“Not in this district,” she said. “Jeremy’s office is pretty close to here.”

“Just give me directions.”

Despite commuter traffic, they were soon approaching the suburbs and a plethora of fast-food establishments. Settling on one, Chance ordered himself a full breakfast but she stuck to coffee, knowing her nervous stomach wouldn’t take kindly to food.

What was Charlie doing right that moment? Had Jeremy employed someone to help him take care of him? Was Charlie afraid he’d never see his mom again? The poor little kid had a fragile spirit that she’d no doubt fostered by putting up with Jeremy’s abuse for so long. She wanted him to be braver about life than she’d been.

Chance plowed his way through half the menu, proving what Lily knew from months of cooking on the ranch: Cowboys could eat. As he was wadding up wrappers and tossing them into the bag, he met her gaze. “You should have something besides coffee,” he said.

“Maybe later. Is it still too early for the credit union to be open?”

He turned the keys and the clock flashed on. “Yeah. Let’s stay right here in the back of this dark little parking lot until it’s time.”

“I guess,” she said. What else were they going to do?

“Great.” He smothered a yawn with his fist as he pushed the lever to half recline the seat. “I’m going to catch forty winks. You okay?”

Did he mean beyond the gnawing nerves and the constant worry? “I’m fine,” she said.

With a little smile, he tipped his dark brown Stetson down over his face, crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to go to sleep in about thirty seconds flat.

For a while, she stared at the comings and goings in the parking lot. Who knew so many people bought their breakfast at a drive-through? That made her think of Charlie who loved fast food and her eyes burned. She wanted to be on the move, not stuck here waiting.

She looked over at Chance when he made a soft little sound as his hand slipped from his chest. She caught it before it landed on the gearshift, carefully returning it to rest beside his other hand.

In a way she wanted to remove his hat and gaze at his sleeping face. Without the cynical glint in his dark eyes that often caused her to look away, would she glimpse the man she’d felt pull at her heartstrings so many months before?

She allowed herself to remember the night last April when they’d been walking alongside the river. Wildflowers had perfumed the air and the still-cold water gurgling against the rocks sounded like music. They’d stopped beside a tree and she’d leaned against it and before she knew it, he had cupped her face with both of his hands and told her she looked beautiful in the moonlight. His gentle voice and soothing caresses had been a balm to her broken spirit so that when he finally kissed her, she was flooded with feelings she’d given up hope of ever experiencing.

Eventually, he’d unbuttoned her blouse and lowered his head to kiss her throat, his lips warm against her cool skin. She’d wanted him with every fiber in her body, yearning for the moment when he stripped her bare. That moment never came because she’d been yanked back to reality when the plaintive call of a coyote rose from the ridge. The terrible decisions she’d made concerning men and desire all seemed to storm through her head as the lonely cry echoed over the valley. She’d withdrawn emotionally and he hadn’t been so far gone that it escaped him. With a sigh, he’d raised his head and looked down into her eyes and she’d bolted, running back to the ranch house like a scared rabbit.