“So, there you have it, Pete,” Detective Lewis Tomlin was saying.
“Carl Knight, who is serving time in prison for armed robbery, claims he buried his loot in Ms. Katherine’s backyard underneath that storage shed while he was hiding out from the Feds. It’s my guess that he shared that information with a fellow inmate who passed it to someone on the outside who’s trying to scare her into selling the house.”
Pete nodded. “Did you question Ms. Katherine about anyone trying to buy her house in the last year?”
“Yes,” Lewis said, “she did say that someone had shown up twice inquiring if she wanted to sell and both times she told them she didn’t. Said he was a nice man and that he gave her his business card in case she changed her mind.”
“Knowing Ms. Katherine, I bet she still had that card.”
“Yes. We put a trace on it and the name is connected to a trust. But I’m on it. Hopefully in a week I’ll have the name of the person that trust belongs to.”
Pete leaned forward in his chair. “Okay, and since we’re talking about money missing from a bank robbery, at some point we’ll need to get the FBI involved.”
When Lewis left his office, Pete leaned back in his chair. When would people learn that crime didn’t pay? He knew Lewis wouldn’t leave any stones unturned. But if whoever owned that trust couldn’t scare off Ms. Katherine, then what? He didn’t feel good about this entire thing.
He pressed a button on his desk phone. When his administrative assistant came on the line, he said, “Monica, find deputies Anderson and Sims. I want to see them.”
“Okay, Sheriff.”
He would instruct them to drive by Ms. Katherine’s home more frequently, especially at night. They were squad leaders and would make sure it was done. Standing, he walked over to the window and looked out. He would never tire of this view of the mountains.
Glancing at his watch, it seemed the day was dragging by. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet. He shook his head. He’d never been a clock-watcher when it came to his job, but now there were two special females waiting for him. Namely, Ciara Higgins and Myra Hollister.
It was hard to believe it had been almost two weeks since the night he and Myra first made love. Things had certainly changed since then. They now shared the same bed every night, and his day would start with them making love every morning. She also joined him for breakfast, usually preparing him pancakes...made of wheat of course...and turkey bacon and sausage. Her kind of food was beginning to grow on him, and he did feel healthier.
What he enjoyed most was at night, after they’d put Ciara to bed, when over dessert he would share with Myra how his day had gone. It felt nice having someone to come home to and share details with. Then they would go down to his man cave and watch a movie or football. When they retired for bed, it was together. He enjoyed sleeping with her at night and waking up with her in his arms every morning.
They spent their time talking about several subjects. However, the one thing they never talked about was the time when she would be leaving. He’d heard from Jason that Myra had approached Bella about staying at the inn after Bonnie came back. He intended to tell Myra she didn’t have to do that. He certainly had enough room at his ranch.
Bottom line, he wasn’t ready for her to leave and doubted he ever would be. However, he had to face the fact she was leaving. Therefore, he would do the only thing he could, which was to make every moment count.
He turned at the sound of his phone and then moved to click it on. “Sheriff Higgins.”
“Pete, this is Pam.”
He smiled as he settled into the chair behind his desk. “Hey, Pam, what can I do for you?”
“Dillon’s birthday is coming up and he doesn’t want us to make a fuss since a lot of the family will be here for the Westmoreland Charity Ball. But I wanted to at least prepare a special meal for this Friday’s chow-down. I’d love for you to make it, and please bring Myra and Ciara. I appreciated Myra’s help at the Wild West show.”
“Ciara and I will be there and I will let Myra know the invitation extends to her, as well.”
“Okay, thanks.”
He hoped Myra would attend with him. It’d be another moment to cherish.
“So, how are things going with that nanny gig?” Wallace asked Myra, after she’d put the casserole in the oven and sat down at the kitchen table to call him.
She’d just put Ciara down for her nap after feeding her lunch. From where Myra sat, she could see the Christmas tree in the living room. She would never forget the day they’d gotten it. And because this would be Ciara’s first Christmas with Pete, and he’d never thought of having a tree before, that had meant shopping for ornaments, as well. The two of them, with a little help from Ciara, had decorated it. Myra would never forget the look of happiness on the little girl’s face when Pete had switched on the lights for the first time. Even now, whenever they lit the tree, Ciara would sit in front of it and stare at the blinking lights.
“Myra?”
Wallace had asked her a question that she had yet to answer. “It’s going great. Ciara is wonderful.”
“And Ciara’s uncle?”
She wondered why Wallace would ask her about Pete. She wasn’t sure who knew that her and Pete’s relationship had changed. They seldom went out. They now had a reason to stay in. She certainly hadn’t breathed a word about anything to Wallace.
“Why would you ask me about her uncle?”
He paused and then said, “Well, you did say that early on he hadn’t wanted to hire you because he thought you were too young.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the memory. A lot had certainly changed since then. “Well, once I began working here and he saw how competent I was, his opinion changed.”
“I knew it would. I figured you would eventually win him over.”
Myra had news for Wallace. Pete had won her over, as well.
She had fallen in love with him.
That fact couldn’t be disputed even though she wished otherwise. But she lived with the evidence every day—when she looked forward to him coming home, when he found her in the kitchen, when he would pull her into his arms with a kiss...
“You don’t have long now.”
Wallace’s words pulled her back into the present. “I don’t have long for what?”
“To work for the guy. Won’t the regular nanny be back in two weeks?”
Yes, Miss Bonnie would be back and Pete wouldn’t need Myra anymore. She and Pete never talked about her leaving because it was a foregone conclusion that she would be. She needed to go to Charleston and claim the company back and then turn it over to Wallace. But what then?
Pete was very much aware of when her last day would be. He hadn’t shown any inclination that he’d want to see her again after she left. She doubted he knew she planned to remain in Denver until the day after Christmas. If he knew, would he invite her to spend Christmas with him and Ciara?
She’d known she had to leave, but she had fallen in love with him anyway.
On top of that, his heart still belonged to a dead woman.
“Myra?”
Again she’d left one of Wallace’s questions hanging. “Yes, Miss Bonnie will be back in two weeks.” Then, deciding to change the subject, she said, “How are things going at the office?”
“So far, okay, but I have a feeling Baron and his friends are up to something. I don’t know what, but it’s not good. They have been whispering a lot amongst themselves.”
“They’re probably trying to come up with a plan for stopping me from reclaiming the company. I talked to Lloyd the other day and he assures me there is nothing they can do. All I have to do is show up.”
Lloyd Kirkland had been the company attorney for years and one of her father’s close friends. He’d been appalled at how Baron had managed to manipulate the stockholders into putting him in charge and replacing Wallace.
“According to Irene, they still think you’re out of the country. Baron has hired someone to find you.”
Irene was one of the department heads and, like Lloyd, had worked for the company for years. She was loyal to Wallace and tried keeping him abreast of what Baron was up to.
“Let them try. I covered my tracks well. They will see me when it’s time for them to see me.”
When she ended the call with Wallace, Myra decided to grab a nap for herself while Ciara slept. She and Pete made love every night before they went to sleep and in the mornings when they woke up. She wasn’t used to such a vigorous routine.
She smiled when she thought about all they’d done together since making love that first time. Once he’d gotten over the fact that she was inexperienced, it was as if he intended to give her all the training she needed. She couldn’t keep up with all the positions they’d tried and the rooms where they’d made love. Her favorite spot still remained on a blanket in front of the fireplace.
Myra walked out of the kitchen the same time the front door opened and Pete walked in. “Pete! I didn’t know you were coming home for lunch. Had I known, I would have made—”
“I didn’t come home for lunch,” he said, tossing his Stetson on the rack with perfect aim, all while walking toward her.
“Oh?”
“I came home for you.”
The combination of what he’d said and how he’d said it caused the pulse at the base of her throat to throb. And she could only stare as he walked toward her, the epitome of masculinity.
When he came to a stop in front of her, he placed his hands at her waist and a surge of longing ripped through her.
“So what do you have to say to that, Myra Hollister?”
She started to speak and felt her breath wobble. So, instead of saying anything, she leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth against his. That was another thing she was in training for. Kissing 101. She took her time brushing her lips over his full and sexy ones. And then she used her tongue to lick the curve of his mouth and lower to his jawline.
Myra heard the way he was breathing and decided to exert a little pressure with her mouth and tongue. She was convinced that she hadn’t been properly kissed until Pete. She continued to let her lips roam over his while teasingly licking, sucking and nibbling, loving how he let her do her thing while he fought for control. The hands holding her at the waist tightened as she greedily sucked his lower lip.
It didn’t take long for Pete to grow impatient with her playing around with his mouth. Suddenly he crushed his mouth to hers. His hands plunged into her hair, as if to pull her head even closer so he could consume her.
Then, with the same intensity, he released her mouth, only to sweep her into his arms and head toward the bedroom.