Tyler Anne Snell - Credible Alibi

Yet there they were.

“Well, I can’t really tell you not to do it,” Chance said. “Just that you might want to think it over a little. I can’t say my track record with women has been outstanding but even I’d be a bit worried about rolling into town unannounced. You haven’t talked since you left. That’s a lot of time between then and now. A lot could have changed.”

Julian knew better than anyone how different life could be from one moment to the next. He knew how just one second could irrevocably change everything. He also knew that dropping in after all this time could be construed as too much.

“Listen, I’m not going to go there and stand outside in the rain with a stereo over my head and hearts in my eyes,” Julian deadpanned. “I’m just going to see if there’s an opening at the inn for the night and, if there is, see if she wants to grab a quick meal to catch up. Last we talked she was worried about the inn doing well and I was on the way to a job interview.” He shrugged. “Nothing more or less than a conversation or two. Then I’m back on the road tomorrow. No harm, no foul.”

“And if she doesn’t want you there?”

Julian shrugged again, though he had to admit he didn’t like the thought.

“Then I’m back on the road tonight.”

Chance nodded, conceding to the logic. Plus, he was right, there wasn’t much he could do to stop Julian from taking the detour.

“Well, here’s to hoping she’s not married and keeping your time together a secret from her husband,” Chance teased. He clapped Julian on the shoulder and went back to his truck. Before he got in he paused and grinned. “And if she’s happy to see you, well, then I guess I’ll see you Monday morning.”

Julian watched his friend take off down the road before he got back into his own truck. There he sat and stared at the sign for a moment. It had been over half a year since Julian had seen Madi Nash. For all he knew she could absolutely be married. She could have sold the inn. She could have moved.

She could be happy to see him.

She could wish he hadn’t shown up at all.

Julian scrubbed a hand down his face and exhaled. He’d been deployed six times in his career, three of those in combat zones. He’d set boots down in the dusty heat of Iraq. He’d navigated the islands of Japan with little more than a partially busted radio. He’d even, to the chagrin of their spec-ops commander, fought his way through a bar brawl in Germany. And yet here he was, in small-town Tennessee, actually nervous that a golden-haired, freckled-skinned bed-and-breakfast owner was going to put him in his place.

How the mighty had fallen.

Not that he’d counted himself as mighty.

Julian finally turned the engine over and got back onto the road. He marveled at the fact that he remembered the town as well as he did. The streetlamps across the main strip cast light on the same businesses he remembered, just as the moonlight shone across the houses and landscapes he’d passed before. Not much had changed. He knew plenty of people, including those he’d served with, who would have been bored by the lack of change. Julian welcomed the familiarity. It was everything he was hoping to have for himself when he finally got settled in his new job. Roots. Ones that grounded him. Ones that centered him.

A life that would start after the detour.

The GPS on his phone remained off as the houses turned to fields, the fields turned to trees, and the trees started to open up to the inn’s property, which he’d recalled countless times in the last half year. Despite all of his resolve, he was starting to feel something like nerves when the drive curved, indicating the inn was almost in sight. In his mind Julian had already pulled into one of the spots, gotten out of the car with calmness and determination and bounded up the stairs with a smile on his face.

However, what really happened when the road straightened and the inn came into view was drastically different.

Blue and red lights were strobing from the tops of two parked deputy cruisers. One had two uniforms standing next to it. They were talking to a man Julian recognized from pictures in Madi’s room as one of her triplet brothers. A truck was pulled up on the grass next to him, and in the far corner of the lot was something that made Julian even more uneasy.

It was a coroner’s van.

Julian coasted to a stop far enough away from the closest cruiser so everyone could still drive around him. By the time he cut his engine, one of the deputies was on his way over. The other seemed to be in deep conversation with Desmond Nash. Neither of them looked his way.

“Howdy there,” the deputy greeted. His voice was tight. As was his body language. “How can I help you?”

Julian wished he were a people person, but he knew better. Sure, he prided himself on being a good friend, but putting strangers at ease had never been in his wheelhouse. He didn’t have the patience, especially now.

“I’m here about a room,” he stated without any preamble. “What’s going on?”

The deputy looked like a man who very much did not like what was going on. His jaw hardened.

“There’s been an incident that we’re investigating.” He cast a look back at the inn. Jenna, Madi’s friend and employee, shut the front door behind her with enough vigor to draw the attention of everyone outside. She didn’t look sorry for the force. Though when she swept her gaze across her onlookers as she stepped off the porch, she stopped with obvious surprise at Julian.

Neither had a chance to explain.

The door behind Jenna opened. A dark-skinned woman with a badge swinging against her chest came out. Her face was impassive, frown set so deep that Julian tensed even more than he thought was possible.

That was when he saw Madi.

In the distance between them the glow of moonlight mixed with the whirls of blue and red. It was unsettling.

But what put fire in Julian’s gut the most?

Madi’s hands were handcuffed in front of her.

A uniform led her out, hand against her back. Her eyes stayed on the porch as she walked to the steps.

“What’s going on?” Julian asked, his voice becoming an octave too low. The deputy tensed in return. His hand moved near the butt of his service weapon. Julian made sure not to move another inch, but couldn’t stop himself from yelling when she was waiting for her escort to open the back of the closest cruiser. “Madi?”

For a moment Julian was worried she hadn’t heard him. But then she turned, first her face and then her entire body. From the side Julian noticed something he hadn’t seen when she’d first walked through the front door.

Her stomach.

Her pregnant stomach.

Part of Julian’s mind went into overdrive; the other, cool-under-pressure part gave him the patience to stay still.

Madi’s eyes widened in surprise, just as Jenna’s had.

“I didn’t do it,” she yelled. “I swear!”

Then, in a movement that was neither harsh nor easy to watch, Madi was ushered into the back seat. When the door closed behind her, all Julian could do was stare.

* * *

GRANDMA MADELINE NASH had always said a person was never given more than they could handle in life. She’d said it when their house was destroyed in a flood, when the ranch fell on hard times, after her husband passed away, when the triplets were abducted and right through the aftermath of the attack, leading up to her only son’s death.

Madi put her head in her hands. She had a hard time believing she could handle everything like her namesake had. She’d been at the Wildman County Sheriff’s Department for almost five hours. In that time she’d been handcuffed to a metal table in the interrogation room before being uncuffed and brought a rolling office chair because it had more padding. During those five hours she’d only spoken to three people.