Deanna was familiar with the older, prettier courthouse next door, but what reason would she have ever had to come into this annex and see the sheriff? She glanced around the fluorescent-lit room. Could they trust whoever was in here? It was doubtful that Sean believed her about the Jeep. He was too much of a Sheriff Johnson fan. He’d never believe this department could be anything but on the up and up if it meant implicating his best friend.
“Can I help you?” a female voice asked from behind a bank of dispatch equipment.
“Um, yes. We need to report—” Deanna began.
“Sean!”
The plump, ginger-haired woman hustled around the desk, brushing past Deanna in her haste to wrap Sean up in a warm embrace. Deanna closed her mouth, not bothering to finish the sentence she’d started.
The woman held Sean at arm’s length, appraising him. “Oh my goodness, sweetie, what happened? You look beat up.”
Sean gave her a warm smile and said, “You should see the other guy.”
“I can imagine,” she said, embracing him a second time.
Deanna stepped away from them and tucked her thumbs into her back pockets. She looked up at the ceiling to avoid watching them. Was she jealous? She didn’t have any claim on Sean, and it wasn’t like this matronly woman would be any kind of rival even if she did. But the obvious loving connection between the two of them left her hollow. This other woman was in her spot. Sean’s arms around her at the crash site had been warm and comforting. He’d protected her from watching Rex’s truck plunging to the bottom of the ravine. Deanna wanted back in those arms, where she could pretend that this day had never happened. Where she could feel safe again.
Deanna clenched her teeth, disgusted with herself. She was just shaken up and missing Gram, that’s all. She shouldn’t be jealous; she should be annoyed. This was Sean’s idea of “in and out”? This woman looked like she was winding up for a long-winded walk down memory lane, and they didn’t have time for that.
“Good to see you, Sue,” Sean said. “We need to report an accident and possibly a new fire.”
“You mean that crash site out on Tunk Road? That was reported a bit ago. Already sent men out there.”
Deanna’s nostrils flared and she glared at Sean. They could have skipped this stop altogether.
“I hope they get that fire put out before it gets close to your place,” the dispatcher said.
“Me, too,” Sean said.
That thought hadn’t occurred to Deanna. Sean’s ranch was already threatened from the east. The last thing he needed was to worry about new flames coming from the west. That ravine had been a tinderbox. It could easily blow up the hill. It was more evidence of how selfish she was. She had been so focused on what coming here first was costing her. She’d never bothered to consider what it was costing Sean.
He put a hand on the small of Deanna’s back, pulling her into the conversation. A thrill traveled through her at the touch and at the thoughtfulness it represented.
They’d never be a good match. Sean was too laid-back to put up with a hothead like her. She’d end up walking all over him, and he’d end up resenting her for it. But when Sean did find the right girl, whoever she was, that woman would be treated like a queen. Deanna couldn’t help but admit to herself that she was jealous of that girl.
“Deanna, this is Sue Lloyd. Sue’s a friend from church,” Sean said. “We’re in a home group together.”
Deanna stuck her hand out to shake, but instead of gripping her hand in return, Sue folded her up into a voluminous hug. Deanna awkwardly patted the woman a few times on her back. As a rule, she did not hug strangers. She met Sean’s eyes, begging him to take charge and hurry things along.
Sue held Deanna out at arm’s length. Her turn for inspection. “Oh, honey, you look a little worse for the wear yourself.” Sue’s forehead creased. “Are you guys okay?”
A lump formed in Deanna’s throat. The concern in Sue’s voice was too much for her to handle. They’d reported the fire. Could they go now?
“We’re actually hoping to see Jim,” Sean told Sue. “Is he in? It’s important.”
Before Sue could answer, a honeyed voice from behind them spoke. “Sean Loomis and Deanna Jackson. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a little high school reunion going on here.”
Deanna rolled her eyes. She’d know that lazy drawl anywhere. Sure enough, when she turned, she found Austin Mills, a guy she’d dated in high school, leaning against the doorjamb.
Austin was dressed for the part of deputy, but the official uniform looked more like a costume on him. Deanna almost laughed out loud. Austin a deputy? She’d never be able to take him seriously.
Sean mumbled a halfhearted greeting. “Austin.”
There had never been much love lost between the two men. They were polar opposites. But between Deanna and Austin—that was a different story. There had been plenty of love lost there. Dating him had been a huge mistake.
Sue frowned. The look she gave Austin told Deanna that she wasn’t much of a fan, either.
Without acknowledging Austin, Sue said, “Sorry, Sean. Sheriff’s not in the office much these days. But he’ll be at the high school gym at seven tonight for a town meeting. There’s going to be a press conference about the fires.”
She glanced at her watch. “You’ve got about an hour and a half or so.”
Good. Now they could get out of there and get to Gram. They’d done their duty. Time to go.
Still leaning in the doorway, Austin crossed his arms and flashed his “my daddy bought me expensive braces” smile, never breaking eye contact with Deanna.
“In the meantime, looks like you’re stuck with me,” he said. “What can I do for you, Dee?”
Deanna glared at Austin. In her mind, she pronounced his name like she was spitting out sour food. “I think we’ll come back later...”
Sean maneuvered Deanna toward the door. “We’ll come back when Jim’s here. Deanna’s got to get to The Hangar and check on her grandmother anyway.”
Austin stood to full height. “What’s wrong with Arlene?”
“Nothing. I hope. We just had a crazy...” Deanna looked to Sean to finish the sentence. How could she explain everything they’d been through?
Sean hesitated. “It’s a long story.”
“They were up at the Tunk crash site,” Sue said.
“Whatever you have to do, it can wait.” Austin gestured with a nod of his head. “Come on back.”
He led them down a hallway to a conference room. He waited for them to sit and then said, “So tell me this story.”
Sean and Deanna made eye contact. Where did they even begin? They both spoke, talking over each other. Deanna waved at Sean. “You start.”
Sean’s mouth quirked to the side, his brows furrowing. Deanna could imagine his brain sifting through the afternoon’s events, trying to figure out the relevant details. She was doing the same thing. “I had a valuable horse go missing, and Deanna took me up in her plane to look for him.”
“So you want to report a missing animal? You’ll need to contact the state brand inspector,” Austin droned, already bored.
“No. That’s not it,” Sean said, clearly frustrated. “It’s what we found while we were looking that we need to talk to you about.”
“We found a hidden landing strip,” Deanna added.
They attempted to piece together the crazy story. They told Austin about the drugs and the guns, about Sean being knocked out and the two of them tied up. They told him about their narrow escape and the unorthodox landing in Sean’s alfalfa field. They finished with Rex Turner’s crash and their concern for Gram’s safety.
Austin’s chair squeaked as he lounged back in it, raising his long quarterback arms behind his head. His styled sandy curls and his too-perfect, symmetrical face made Austin look like he belonged in a Hollywood soap opera instead of sitting here in a small-town sheriff’s department.
“Wow. Rough day,” he said.
The dry tinder of Deanna’s temper sparked. She popped up from her chair. “Yeah. Rough. Did you even bother to write any of that down, Deputy Mills?”
Sean’s hand covered hers. He could try to calm her down all he wanted, but it wouldn’t work. She wouldn’t let Austin demean them like this.
“I don’t need to write it down.” Austin smirked and tapped his temple. “Like a steel trap.”
He leaned forward on his forearms. “Look, I understand. You’ve been through a lot today. You’ve got a right to be freaked out, but I’m not getting all worked up about it, because you didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. It’s already been taken care of.”
“How?” Sean asked, leaning forward to mirror Austin’s posture, his eyes set in a steely stare. Something flashed between the two men that Deanna couldn’t decipher. As Sean sat up to his full height, they looked like two bucks about to lock horns.
Austin continued, “You can rest easy tonight because we’ve already made arrests.”
Arrests? Deanna sat back down, relaxing a bit. So that Jeep up in the hills had been one of the good guys? She was grateful that she’d misjudged the situation. Maybe this nightmare was about to be over after all. Maybe there was no threat to Gram. It was over.
“Who?” Sean asked. He didn’t sound as relieved.
Austin stood. “Can’t discuss an ongoing case with you, Sean, but I will assure you that the two of you are safe now. This smuggling operation has been cut off at the knees. After the DEA gets involved, they’ll all be too busy defending themselves to worry about you two.”
He slapped paper and pens in front of them and said, “I’ll just need your statements, and as soon as things calm down with the fires, I’m sure Sheriff Johnson or a detective will be in touch.”
“That’s it?” Sean said.
“That’s it.” Austin walked toward the door. Before he left the room, he turned and said, “Frankly, Loomis, I’m glad to hear you weren’t involved with all that illegal activity on your land. You’re fortunate to have a friend like Sheriff Johnson to defend you. He kept insisting that you were one of the good guys.”
Austin’s face looked doubtful.
It was Sean’s turn to stand. “Don’t give me that, Mills. I’m the same guy I’ve always been, and you know it.”
Austin’s mouth moved up in a slow smirk. “Been a while, Sean. People change. Most aren’t the same person they were in high school.”
“Well, I am,” Sean insisted.
“Good to know,” Austin answered. He made eye contact with Deanna and winked. “Wait here. I’ll be back.” Then he walked from the room.
Fuming, Deanna grabbed a black ink pen and started scribbling her side of the story. She needed to get it all out and her blood pressure down. Who did he think he was treating them like this? Using that infuriating, condescending tone? And then he thought he could wink at her like the good ole days? He had another thing coming if he thought that. Austin Mills had used up all his charm in high school. Sean might not have changed since then, but Deanna certainly had.
Her handwriting was loopy and passionate, her story filling up both the front and back of the page. When she reached the end, she slammed the last period into place and tossed the pen and paper away from her as if they burned her hand.
“There.” She crossed her arms.
“What’s wrong, Deanna?” Sean asked, his voice calm. He set his pen down, finished. His tiny, neat writing only covered the front of the paper. How had he kept the story so short?
“Austin,” Deanna huffed. “I can’t stand him.”
Sean chuckled. “You used to like him just fine.”
“Well, not anymore. Unlike you, I am not the same person I was in high school.”
“Yes, you are.”
How could he say that? “No, I am not!”
“Yes,” Sean insisted, his dark eyes locking on hers across the table. “You are.”
Her voice rose in volume, shrill to her own ears. “Do you really think I could be interested in a guy like Austin Mills now?”
“No,” Sean agreed, grinning. “At least, I hope not.”
He tapped the paper in front of him with the pen. She could see he was weighing his words carefully, something she never did. Thinking before speaking her mind? Not her strong suit.
“Okay. So your preference in men might have changed—we can both agree that’s a good thing—and you might have matured since then.” He paused. The pen tapped harder, bouncing out of his reach. Deanna leaned forward, shocked by just how much she wanted to hear what he would say. To know how he saw her.
Sean retrieved the pen and held on to it with both hands. “Who you are at the core is exactly the same girl you’ve always been,” he said, his intense, dark gaze connecting with hers. “Smart, tough, talented.”
His smile lines crinkled around the corners of his eyes as he added, “Too good for a bum like Mills.”
His words stunned her. She didn’t want to blink and break the eye contact. She wanted to search his eyes for more. All the compliments she had ever heard from men in the past had always been about her appearance, but Sean had just said that he saw a smart woman, a woman with depth and value. She wasn’t that woman but she wanted to be. Realizing how much she cared about his opinion of her surprised and scared her. So she moved on.
“What are we going to do now?” she asked. “Forget about all that happened today? Move on like Austin wants us to do?”
Sean pursed his lips and slowly shook his head. “Of course not. I don’t trust Austin Mills as far as I can toss him. Let’s get out of here before he stops us and go pick up your grandmother.”
“And then what?” she asked.
“Then we find the sheriff and get some real answers.”