Dana R. Lynn - Plain Target

Plus, she reasoned, Seth signed, which could help. As well as she read lips, she sometimes needed to see the words to be sure she understood them. And interpreters were hard to find. She could be here hours if she waited for one.

Sergeant Jackson cleared his throat. “Miss McGrath, the fire department investigated the fire at the stables. It’s their inspector’s opinion that the fire might have been deliberately set.”

A shiver worked its way up her spine. Her day had just gotten much worse.

* * *

Gravel crunched under the tires of Seth’s Ford pickup truck as he turned into the driveway of River Road Stables the next morning. Water splashed up on his tires. The heavy scent of wet hay slipped through the inch-wide crack in his window. It had stormed the night before, and puddles were everywhere. His front tire hit a particularly deep puddle, and he was jarred by the motion as his truck bounced. Man, they really needed to fix the potholes on this driveway.

A yawn crept up on him. He had barely been able to sleep last night. The image of Jess’s distraught face haunted him. A queasy sensation settled in his stomach as he realized that the only reason she wasn’t being investigated for possibly causing the fire was because of her injury. Yet. He had seen the look in Gavin Jackson’s eyes. And he had been around cops enough to know that often arson was committed for insurance fraud.

He expected to continue up the lane to find Jessica in her one-story ranch house where she should be resting, as per doctor’s orders. His plan shifted when he spotted her brown ponytail swaying as she walked into the barn. Pressing his lips together, he parked his truck in front of the barn. Frustration and worry mingled. As hard as it was to believe, she didn’t have a concussion from her accident yesterday. Still, he was sure she probably was feeling some aches and pains. Enough to convince most people to take it easy and rest. A sigh escaped. Not that he was surprised that she refused to slow down. She always had pushed herself harder than others around her. In his mind, he had always wondered if she felt that being deaf, she had to overachieve in order to prove herself.

To be fair, she had probably been right. He could remember the one class they had together—biology. The teacher had tried to convince her to drop the class, telling her in front of her peers that he didn’t have time to waste trying to keep her caught up.

But she had been stubborn. And the guidance counselor had asked Seth to tutor her, to ensure her success. He’d agreed, reluctantly, knowing it would look good to the teachers and guidance counselors who would eventually write him college recommendation letters. And soon found that they had all underestimated her. Had started to admire her, to like her—and that was where the trouble had begun.

He winced. Those were memories he didn’t want to relive.

Parking the truck, he grabbed the wallet he had found on his floorboard that morning. If she had noticed it missing, she might be panicking about now. It gave him the excuse he needed to pay her a visit, although he refused to think about why he was so anxious to see her again. He was a paramedic—it was his job to worry about people, particularly people who had just been injured. He had been skeptical when she had agreed to follow the doctor’s directives. Something told him that she wouldn’t be able to sit still. He had seen the stubborn look in her eyes.

Obviously he had been right.

Didn’t she know she needed to rest? He admitted to himself that he was concerned. Working alone in the barn was not safe for her. And she had said the day before that no one would be coming in until after lunch. It hadn’t struck him until he had dropped her off that someone—meaning her—would have to come out to take care of the horses in the morning. All alone like that, she would be an easy target if the person who’d attacked her stables came back. He shook off the thought. For all he knew, the fire was a random act by a group of kids. Yeah, right.

The stable door was standing open. He headed that way, pausing just inside it. Jessica stood outside the office door, her arms closed tight against her belly, her eyes squeezed shut. He started, ready to rush in and...what? Comfort her? He wasn’t sure, but he knew he didn’t like seeing her so vulnerable. Never had, even though their association had been so brief. Which made what had happened even more contemptible. When he had betrayed her trust, he had left her open to the cruelty of others. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been a part of the actions they had taken against her. He knew what a soft heart she had. And that she had a crush on him. But instead of protecting her, he’d stepped back and allowed her to be hurt in a disaster which ended with her being pulled from the school.

He drew himself away from his painful memories. Then he noticed her lips were moving. She was praying. Okay, now he felt really uncomfortable. He wasn’t big on prayer. Not that he minded other people praying. He just hadn’t had much experience with it personally. And to be honest, he rather doubted it did any good.

A few seconds later she opened her eyes. They widened as she saw him poised in the doorway.

“Seth! What are you doing here?” Her voice was low and pleasant. Although her inflections were slightly irregular, most people probably wouldn’t even pick up on that.

“You left this in my truck.” He waved the bright pink wallet at her.

Jess’s hazel eyes widened. “Oh, no! I hadn’t even noticed it was missing.”

“No worries. It was safe. And I’m even a little glad ’cuz it gave me an excuse to check up on you. Make sure you were taking it easy.” He gave her a pointed look.

She bit her lip. Dropping her gaze to the floor, she scuffed the toe of her boot in the dirt. When she flicked her glance back up to his face, he was momentarily distracted by her wide hazel eyes. He hadn’t let himself feel attracted to a woman for a long time. His behavior in high school, and his poor judgment six years ago with his former fiancée, had taught him that he was not husband material. As bitter as it made him feel, he had been forced to acknowledge that he was too much like his father. Selfish and prone to hurt those close to him. Shaking himself out of it, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

He held his breath while he waited to see if she would answer. He wouldn’t blame her if she brushed him off. She had no reason to trust him. Past events would tell her not to. But he really hoped she would.

Finally, she sucked in a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

“You know that the police are toying with the idea that I started the fire?” She waited for him to nod before she continued. “What I couldn’t tell the officer last night was the fire wasn’t the first accident.”

“What?” He hadn’t meant to shout, but her words terrified him. He wanted to sweep her into his truck and drive her to a safe place. The feeling surprised him. And made him uncomfortable.

Jess squirmed. Then she lifted her chin and seemed to collect herself. “I didn’t realize at first that they were anything more than accidents. I put it down to carelessness. Until last week. A new ladder broke when I took it out to paint. That’s when I started to wonder if someone was behind the accidents. Then this happened.”

“How long has this been going on?” He kept his voice calm with an effort.

“About three weeks.”

“You should have mentioned it to Sergeant Jackson last night,” Seth admonished her.

Hazel eyes blazed up at him. “And you think he would believe me? Just when my barn suffers extensive fire damage and I’m a person of interest?”

She had a point. It would have looked like she was lying to cover her tracks.