Linda O. Johnston - Colton 911 - Caught In The Crossfire

“Same goes for you,” she said, liking his attitude…kind of. He wasn’t meeting her eyes, as if he was embarrassed. But being alone with this man, sleeping alone with him out in the open…well, yeah, it made her uncomfortable, mostly with her own feelings. Damn if she didn’t find this dedicated, uniformed sheriff’s deputy too appealing. Too sexy.

But she wouldn’t act on it, and wouldn’t allow him to, either.

And, in fact, she reminded herself—as if she needed to—she had good reason not to become attracted to him or any other man. Not now, certainly. Not so soon.

And definitely not until she got to know someone well enough to feel sure he wasn’t just playing games with this “country girl.”

“If I get too suggestive with you,” she continued, still trying to keep the conversation light, “or you become uncomfortable for any other reason, well, I’ll keep looking for my cows and you can go home.”

He laughed. “Sounds like a challenge to me. Who’ll get most uncomfortable first?”

“Not me,” Melody lied, already feeling as if, despite everything, she’d have to work hard to control her own attraction to this man.

Casey wished just then that he could read minds. That way he would learn what Melody was thinking.

The idea of their sleeping out in the pasture together didn’t seem to bother her. She’d sounded quite professional. She probably didn’t feel the attraction he felt toward her, which was a good thing.

As they walked quickly, her expressions changed from light and humorous, to dark and apparently introspective and sad, and he was intrigued.

But he never asked her to explain. Figured she wouldn’t answer, anyway. And now, he and the lithe, lovely ranch hand had reached the main house. The single-story, deep red structure had rich-looking wood and a beige roof.

Right now, his work vehicle, a black sedan with Sur County Sheriff’s Department on the front doors and a light on top, was parked out front.

Beside it was a black luxury sedan. Clarence’s? Casey asked Melody. “Yes, that’s his.” Melody looked down at the watch on her wrist. “He usually doesn’t come home until around seven, but it’s only five. I wonder if he’s heard anything or—”

Before she finished, the front door to the house opened and the selectman stepped onto the porch. “Hey, you two. You’re back. Did you find my cattle?” He had changed from the suit Casey had seen him in earlier into a long-sleeved charcoal T-shirt with the OverHerd Ranch logo in white. He clumped down the steps in his boots. Dressed this way, he looked a lot more rustic and older than Casey was used to seeing him. He still appeared relatively slender, but the skin at the corners of his eyes sagged and lines on his forehead were appropriate for his age…or was it stress that caused them to stand out?

“Not yet, sir,” Casey said as the man reached them and faced them on the paved driveway. “But—”

“Then why are you here?” Edison demanded. “Why aren’t you—?”

“I began showing Deputy Colton around, sir, and we went out to the fence,” Melody said. “Since we didn’t see anything helpful except for how the fence was destroyed in that area, we decided to come back for the night and leave early in the morning on a stakeout of the entire ranch and beyond, if necessary, on horseback. We won’t return then till we find the missing cattle.”

“‘We’?” Clarence demanded, glaring at Melody.

Odd that, after wondering the same thing, Casey now felt he had to defend Melody and the fact he had decided not to protest any longer. He understood her rationale. And her presence might cost him time, since he would have to protect her above all else. But she was the ranch owner’s employee. She had the kind of knowledge that could help him, as she’d mentioned. What she was doing could definitely be of assistance.

He noticed she didn’t mention the charm she had found. Well, it might not mean anything, anyway. But he’d take care of checking into it.

“Ms. Hayworth was kind enough to offer to come along,” Casey said. “We’re going on horseback, and I’m sure, with her experience, she’s a lot better rider than I am. Plus, she knows your land better than I do. I hope you’ll allow her to come, sir. I think it will be to your advantage.”

The selectman’s expression changed from hard and angry to…well, resolved—and perhaps inquisitive. “And to yours, too, maybe, Deputy.”

Casey saw the shock appear on Melody’s face, even as he felt himself flush slightly. Had the selectman intended to be suggestive? Maybe not, but just in case, Casey said, “I intend to do my job and do it well, and I appreciate any assistance with it.” He hoped he sounded strictly professional.

“Well, okay,” Clarence said. “Hopefully that’ll work. And I like what you said, Melody. You won’t come back until you find my cattle. Right?”

“That’s right.” Melody looked relieved as she nodded vehemently.

“Right,” Casey echoed. “So now I’ll head back to town and return here early in the morning, around six thirty, okay?” He aimed his gaze at Melody.

But Clarence was the one to answer. “No, stay here tonight. We’ve got some apartments available in our bunkhouse, where our hands stay. And they’re fairly nice, right, Melody? ”

“Absolutely, Clarence,” she responded, which made Casey tilt his head slightly in confusion. She’d called him “sir” before, and now she was using his name.

Informality might be in order at the moment.

“I appreciate your invitation to stay here,” Casey said to Clarence, “but I do need to go home. I’ll need to bring the right clothing to wear on our stakeout, for one thing.” And other appropriate things, as well, particularly since he didn’t know how long they’d be out there.

“I get it,” Clarence grumbled.

Good. But if Casey could have stayed, he would have; maybe he would have met more of the ranch hands. Gained more of their input about what had happened. But that wasn’t in the cards right now.

He thanked the ranch owner and again said he’d be back bright and early the next day.

But Clarence wasn’t buying that. “Nope, that’s not happening. You can go home, get what you need and come on back as fast as you can—now. You’re going to have dinner with Melody and me right here, just the three of us so we can talk, and then you’ll stay here for the night.”

The way he spoke allowed for no argument, but that was okay with Casey. He decided he liked this idea, since they’d be able to get an earlier start in the morning. He assumed that was also why Clarence was so insistent about his staying here overnight. Still, there were a couple of things he’d need to handle first.

“I’m still on duty,” he told the older man. “And this is part of an assignment. I need to check with the sheriff first.” Which he’d intended to do, anyway, although he had no doubt Jeremy would approve this intense way of tackling his investigation.

Staying at the ranch added another level to it, but that was likely to be all right, as well.

Especially if Casey—and Melody—actually found the cattle and the people who’d taken them.

But to do the stakeout as now planned, Casey would also need to pick up the camping gear he had at his home as well as some more supplies at a local store.

When he mentioned that, Clarence put up a hand and moved it as if he was erasing what Casey said. “No need. We’ve got it all here. You’ll get it together tonight, Melody, right?”

“Of course,” she said.

But Casey remained adamant that he needed to get some things. And so, a few minutes later, he found himself in his car driving along the rural ranch-surrounded roads toward town as the sky began to turn dark. There were a few other cars that were heading in the opposite direction, but no one was heading to town, like him.