Lorelei woke and panicked for a moment, thinking she was late for work. She hadn’t gotten to sleep until very late last night. It had taken her a while to process everything. James had kissed her. He’d called her Lori in a way that made her heart race. No one had ever given her a nickname. She hadn’t been that kind of girl. Until James.
And that was the problem. He’d upset her orderly world. He’d made her burn inside with a need she knew only he could fulfill. He’d made her want to throw caution to the wind.
And then he’d been a perfect gentleman, unlocking her front door, handing her the keys and leaving.
She’d been shocked. But mostly...disappointed. She hadn’t planned to invite him in. But he hadn’t even tried. A man with his reputation? Surely, he had to know the power he had over women. He would know she was vulnerable after a kiss like that. So why hadn’t he asked to spend the night?
Lorelei knew it was ridiculous that she was angry with him for not hitting on her. Everything the man seemed to do made her angry with him, even when he was well-behaved. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe it was her who was the problem. Maybe he didn’t find her attractive.
Those thoughts had her tossing and turning and losing sleep because of him. That too annoyed her with him.
She told herself that her life had been just fine before he’d showed up next door. Her stepmother was right. Having James Colt living next to her shop was a bad idea. The man was too...distracting.
As daylight crept into the room, she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling reliving the kiss, reliving the way he’d cupped the back of her neck, the way he’d buried his face in her hair, the way he said Lori.
“Oh, for crying out loud!” she snapped and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She was acting like a teenager.
The thought actually made her smile. She’d been so driven from middle school on that all she’d thought about was excelling in her school work so she could get into a good college. Then at college she’d worked hard to get top grades so she could get a good job. She hadn’t let herself be a teenager and do what a lot of other teenagers did—like James Colt.
She’d missed so much. No wonder she’d never felt like this, she realized. Until now. Now she wanted it all. And she wanted it with James.
He had wanted her, hadn’t he? That kiss... She’d seen the desire in his blue eyes. So why had he just walked away last night?
Because for the first time maybe in his entire life he was being sensible, something she’d been her whole life? Oh, that was so like him, she thought angrily as she stepped into the shower. Now he decided to be responsible.
JAMES THREW HIMSELF into work the next morning. His thoughts and emotions had been all over the place from the moment he’d opened his eyes. The cold shower he’d taken hadn’t helped so he’d left the office early to avoid seeing Lori.
He knew it was cowardice, but after that kiss last night he didn’t trust himself around her. That had been a first for him. Normally after a kiss like that, he would only avoid a woman if he didn’t want to see her again. But Lori wasn’t just some woman and that was the problem.
Because it was Montana, the drive to the next town gave him plenty of time to think—more than an hour and a half. In this part of the state, the towns were few and far between.
Alice Sherman’s ex worked as a maintenance man at the local hospital. As it turned out, today was Sean’s day off. A helpful employee told him that the man lived only a block away in a large apartment house.
James walked, needing to clear his head. On the drive over, he’d had plenty of time to think. Too much. He’d finally turned on a country station on the radio. Not that even music could get his mind off Lori Wilkins.
He went from wishing he hadn’t come back to town to being grateful that he had because of her. He went from wishing he could get right back on the rodeo circuit to being too involved in not just this case to want to leave now. He knew the best thing he could do was give Lori a wide berth, but at the same time, he couldn’t wait to see her again.
Now as he shoved open the front door of the large apartment house, he tried to focus on work. According to the mailboxes by the door, Sherman was in 322. He turned toward the large old elevator and decided to take the stairs.
The man who answered the door at 322 was tall and slim and nice-looking. He was nothing like James had been expecting. Nor was the man’s apartment. It was neat and clean, much like the man himself. “May I help you?”
“I’m James Colt. I’m a private investigator in Lonesome.”
“Did Alice hire you?”
“No. I believe my father, Del Colt, was hired by you to look into the death of your son. As you know, he died before he finished the case. I’ve taken it over. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Sean Sherman seemed to be making up his mind. After a moment, he stepped back. “Come on in. I’m not sure how I can help,” he said after they were seated in the living room. “Alice and I were separated at the time and in the middle of a divorce. I was fighting for joint custody, but I would imagine she already told you that.” She hadn’t, but James had read as much in his father’s notes.
“Were you in Lonesome that night?”
The man hesitated a little too long so James was surprised when he finally answered. “Yes.” That definitely wasn’t what Sean had told Del.
“You were?”
Sean sighed before he said, “I lied to your father about that. I had my reasons at the time.”
“Then why tell me the truth now?”
“Because if it will help you find out who killed my son, then nothing else matters.”
“But that wasn’t the case nine years ago?” James asked.
“Other people were involved. It was a very traumatic time in my life. The divorce, arguing over Billy. I don’t know if Alice told you this or not.” He met James’s gaze and held it. “I was having an affair. Alice found out and our marriage was over. The affair was a mistake, one I will always regret. I didn’t want all of that made public and having it thrown in Alice’s face. We’d lost our son. We were both devastated. The rest of it wasn’t important.”
“I understand drugs were involved?”
“I’ll be honest with you. I couldn’t take the pain of what I’d done, blamed myself for not being in the house with my family that night and I turned to drugs. It’s taken me a long time to climb back out of that. Being honest is part of my recovery.”
“If you were in Lonesome that night, but not at your house, where were you?” James asked.
Sean looked away for a moment before he said, “I was at Karen Wilkins’s house.”
He couldn’t help his surprise. “She was the woman you were having the affair with?”
The man nodded. “I was in the middle of breaking it off with her.”
“Were you there all night?” James asked.
“I think so. Things got very emotional. Karen left. She ran out into the storm. I started to go after her but turned back.”
“She left on foot?”
He nodded. “But not long after that I heard her take her car and leave.”
“What time was that?”
“I think it was about ten.”
“You didn’t go after her in your car?” Sean shook his head. “When did she come back?”
“I don’t know exactly. I got into her booze, got disgustingly drunk and passed out; and when I woke up, she was standing over me distraught, screaming, crying and telling me to get out. It was daylight by then. I left and the only time I went back to Lonesome was for my son’s funeral. I tried to mend things with Alice but...” He shook his head. “That’s it.”
James thought about it for a moment. “When you woke to find Karen home again what kind of shape was she in? I know she was upset. There was a thunderstorm that night. Was she still wet from being out in it?”
The man frowned. “No. Her clothes must have dried because they weren’t wet. Stranger was the fact that she’d fixed her hair. She had to have been home for a while, I guess.” He shook his head. “You can tell how out of it I was.”
“She was wearing the same clothing though?”
“She was. She had to have been home for a while before she woke me up. I could tell that she’d had a shower.” He shrugged. “I liked the smell of her shower gel.”
James shook his head. If he knew anything about women who felt scorned, it was that they didn’t calmly come home shower, fix their hair, put on the same clothing and then decide to wake you up to throw you out. So where had Karen been that she’d spent the night, taken a shower and gotten her clothes dried? He supposed it was possible that she’d gone to her exercise studio. They probably had showers there. Karen could even have a washer and dryer down there for all he knew. Still, it seemed odd.
“Did you hear any more from her?” he asked.
Sean shook his head. “That night pretty well ended everything in Lonesome for me.”
“She’s never tried to contact you?”
“Never. Nor did I ever contact her. It was over almost before it started. We both regretted it. I’m sure I could have handled it better than I did.”
James thanked the man and showed himself out. He couldn’t help being surprised about Karen. But at least now he knew why she was on his father’s list. She’d been upset and out driving that night in the storm. Had she done something? Had she seen something?
He felt a start. But how had Del found out about her possible involvement in Billy’s death? Sean hadn’t told him and Karen certainly hadn’t shared the information when James had tried to question her.
Had someone seen her that night?
LORELEI DID WHAT she always did on Sunday morning. She went to church; only today she was asked to help with the toddlers in child care during the service and jumped at it. She loved the job, especially toddler age. They were so much fun as they raced around, laughing and screaming and keeping her on her toes. Seriously, she later thought. What had she been thinking volunteering for this since she had thirteen toddlers between her and another volunteer? It was wonderful madness.
For several hours she forgot about everything, especially James.
Then it ended, parents picked up their children and she was facing what she did at home each Sunday after church: cleaning house. Today, the place got an extra good scrubbing even though it didn’t need it. Her house was small—just the way she liked it since she spent so little time there.
She’d just finished when her doorbell rang. Her first thought was that it was probably her stepmother. They often did something together on a Sunday every month or so. But when she opened the door, it was James standing there. She blinked in surprise and then horror as she realized what she was wearing. Leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that hung off one shoulder. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. She never wore much makeup, but now she wore none. And she smelled like cleaning solution.
“We need to talk,” he said without preamble as he stepped in, seemingly not even noticing her appearance.
“Iced tea or beer?” she asked as she followed him into the kitchen.
“Beer.” He looked around. “Nice house.”
“Thanks.” She took two beers from the refrigerator and handed him one as she led the way into the small living room and curled up on one end of the couch. He took the chair next to it, looking uncomfortable.
“If this is about last night—”
“No,” he said too quickly. “I mean.” He met her gaze. “No. It’s about your stepmother.” Lorelei groaned inwardly and thought, Now what? “I drove over to Big Timber and talked to Sean Sherman this morning.”
She frowned. “Billy’s dad?”
He nodded. “He told me something. Are you aware that your stepmother was seeing him nine years ago?”
James could have told her almost anything about her stepmother and she wouldn’t have batted an eye. Karen had proven to her how little she knew about the woman who’d raised her.
“What do you mean ‘seeing’ him?” When James merely looked at her, she let out a cry and shot to her feet. “If you’re trying to tell me that my stepmother is a serial philanderer with married men...”
“It might be worse than that,” he said. “Sean told me he broke up with her that night. Upset, Karen left the house in the storm, at first on foot, but later came back for her car.”
Lorelei had moved to the fireplace but now put her free hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears as her heart dropped like a stone, bottoming out.
“We don’t know that she was the one who hit Billy—” he choked out. “But she went somewhere. When she returned to her house, she’d either gone straight to the shower, fixed her hair and dried her clothing and put on the same outfit before confronting Sean who’d passed out after being into her booze, or...”
She rolled her eyes. “Or what?”
“She’d been somewhere and showered and fixed her hair before returning to the house to make it look as if she’d been home longer than she had.”
Lorelei removed her hand from her mouth and took a drink of her beer without tasting it. She thought she might throw up. “All you have is Sean’s word for this, right?” she asked, already looking, hoping, for a way that none of this could be true.
“He’s on the wagon, in a program that requires him to be honest, he said, which is why he was willing to talk now. I called Alice on my way back. It’s true.”
“What am I supposed to say?” she asked, her voice breaking.
“I’m worried about your stepmother. Do you have any idea where she is?” She shook her head. “I’ve been trying to reach her. From what I can tell she hasn’t been home. Neither has the senator.”
“Maybe they ran away together to celebrate his divorce,” she said. “She thinks he’s going to marry her.”
“I hope she is with him. I would hate to think that she’s alone. It might be my fault that she’s left town. I need her side of the story.”
Lorelei couldn’t believe this and yet she could. It explained why her stepmother had gotten so upset that James was digging into the old hit-and-run case. Because she had a whole lot to hide. But Lorelei couldn’t let herself think that her stepmother had killed that boy. She wouldn’t.
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you,” he said, sounding as miserable as he looked. “I wish...” He shook his head. He didn’t need to say it. She had her wishes too.
She put down her half-full beer. “I’ll let you know when I hear from her.”
James finished his beer, set the empty bottle on the small table by the chair and rose. He had taken off his Stetson when he’d come in. It now dangled in his fingers by the brim. She couldn’t help but think about those fingers on her face, in her hair, last night as he’d kissed her. He’d been so gentle, his caress soft, his callused fingertips sending shivers through her.
He took a step toward her. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. She felt her eyes widen as he leaned toward her and brushed his lips over hers. “About last night,” he said, his voice low. “It was the best date I’ve ever had.” He drew back, his gaze locking with hers before he turned and left.