Roxanne Rustand - Murder At Granite Falls

True to form, Murphy chased after the ball for Robbie several times, and then Danny, until both boys were grinning and cheering Murphy on.

“Nice job,” Carrie said quietly. “You handled that very well.”

Logan turned and found her perched on the top of a picnic table in front of the boathouse. He reined in his automatic flash of pleasure at seeing her there. “I didn’t know you were out here.”

“You were occupied. Very well, by the way. You could’ve been a great teacher. Or a counselor.”

“Thanks. I once thought about teaching at a university—livestock production or horse management, maybe. But…well, things changed at home and my sister and I both headed back to the family ranch after we graduated from college.”

“So where is home?”

“An hour or so from here.” He hitched his shoulder a little, brushing aside the raw memories of struggling to save the ranch. “My mother won a fierce battle with cancer, but my dad ended up having to sell out to pay off her medical bills.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. She’s in remission, and my dad would’ve given the earth to make her well.”

“Where are they now?”

“Florida. She’d always dreamed of retiring there but never thought it possible. Now Dad manages a quarter horse breeding farm south of Tampa, and Mom has a part-time job in a gift shop. They say it’s like living a second honeymoon every single day.”

She smiled at that. “Sounds like a happy marriage.”

“It is.” He angled a rueful look at her. “Kinda hard to follow an act like that. They still hold hands at sixty.”

“So you’re one of those guys looking for perfection?” she teased.

“I’m just not looking,” he shot back, softening his words with a quick grin. But it was the truth. He’d stored away his wounded heart long ago, after Janie died, and he had no intention of getting into any conversations about it. How had they gotten onto this topic?

He shifted uneasily, thankful to hear the sound of a vehicle coming up the lane. As it came into view, he could see Montana plates—and from the duet of groans from the two boys, knew it probably belonged to their mother.

The SUV pulled to a hard stop, and a slender woman stepped out, her jaw rigid. “Boys—get your bikes over here right now. We’ll put them in the back.”

With a faint nod in Logan’s direction, she marched to the rear, lifted the tailgate, and helped the boys load the bikes. Their eyes were downcast as they climbed in, though Danny braved a quick, longing glance toward Murphy before he pulled his door shut and slumped into his seat.

Their mother paused at her own door, clearly unhappy and torn between a swift getaway and common manners. The manners won when she finally looked up at Logan for a split second before her gaze darted away. “The boys will not bother you again.”

“They weren’t a bother. I just want parents to know when their kids are out here. I can’t be responsible for them while I’m working, and that river current is dangerous.”

“As I said, they won’t be back.” She slid into her seat, hesitated, then her gaze locked on his. “Sheryl Colwell was a friend of mine. I’m sure you understand.”

The SUV left in a cloud of dust.

The other kids had wandered back to their fishing poles as soon as Murphy tired of fetching and plopped down under a tree.

Now Logan could feel Carrie’s curious gaze on his back. He could sense that she was turning the woman’s words over in her mind, wondering what it all meant.

Unless she knew already, in which case this just confirmed whatever gossip she’d heard in town.

“When I walked over here, I saw you studying the raft. What’s going on?”

Surprised at the change of topic, he looked over his shoulder. “Damage. Tina and Penny don’t remember hitting any sharp boulders on the river during the evening float trip yesterday. They couldn’t have reached the landing site downriver unless it happened during the last few minutes anyway. And when they hauled the raft back here, it was still fully inflated.”

“So it happened here. On the shore.”

“Vandalism.”

She moved closer to the raft and bent down to inspect it. She reached out to touch the damaged area and her hand brushed against his.

She jerked her hand back as if she’d touched fire, a flash of confusion crossing her face, and he knew she’d felt it, too—an electric sensation that had shot up his arm and landed somewhere in the vicinity of his heart.

“Um…” She blinked. “A knife, maybe?”

“That’s my guess.”

Frowning, she straightened and shaded her eyes with her hand as she studied the boys along the riverbank. “Think it was any of those kids?”

“The four here now all come from the Sundown Trailer Court—and that’s not the trailer park with the fancy security fences and beautiful landscaping. Sundown is shabby, with beer bottles and trash thrown around. It doesn’t sound like the boys get much parenting, so they’re probably just glad to have a free place to hang out.”

“Still…”

“Nope. They hang around quite a bit, and they’re all good kids. Now, anyways,” he added with a grin. “We had to discuss manners a few times early on.”

Carrie bit her lower lip, her eyes troubled. “If not them, then who? Why would anyone want to cause you trouble?”

“Believe me, this wasn’t the first time something happened here during the past year. And it probably won’t be the last.”

She appeared to be oddly relieved at the news. “I thought the prowler on Monday night was stalking me, but maybe not.”

“Stalking you?”

“I know, it probably sounds silly. But my ex-husband, Billy, wasn’t all that happy about our divorce, even though he initiated it. I get threatening calls from him now and then.”

Logan frowned. “Worrying about something like that doesn’t sound silly at all.”

“But he couldn’t know where I am right now.” She flipped a hand dismissively. “I made sure of that when I left my brother’s ranch.”

“Still…”

“So, do you think that prowler was the one who damaged your raft?”

“Nope.” He ran a hand over the damaged surface. “We would’ve noticed yesterday when we tried to put it on the river. But it was fine.”

“What if he was just scoping things out, and came back last night?”

“Maybe.”

She pulled a cell phone from the pocket of her khaki slacks and offered it to him. “You should call the sheriff’s department.”

He sighed, thinking of the other suspicious events on the rafting company property and his cabin over the past twelve months. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not? You’ll need a police report to file an insurance claim, right?”

He laughed at that. “I took photos, but my insurance company has become a little testy when I call.”

“But that’s their job. Answering your calls. Taking care of your claims.”

“Within reason.”

“Well, if I were you—” Her eyes widened with sudden understanding. “This isn’t the first time you’ve had trouble.”

“No, ma’am.”

“But…why?” Her gaze swept the dense forest of pines crowding in on three sides of the clearing. “And why doesn’t the sheriff’s department help?”

He thought about all the ways they’d failed to properly investigate. The morning after someone shot out a window in his cabin. Or the day he’d found his tires slashed. Or the other, more subtle events that illustrated exactly what local opinion was regarding his character.

Given the offhand attitude and smirk on the face of the deputy who’d responded to his calls, any amount of trouble at Wolf River Rafting Company was what Logan deserved, and more.