Chapter 17

 

 

Sam stood near the French doors at the back of the house the next morning, sipping her first cup of coffee. Beau had actually slept past sunrise and by the time they came downstairs, she could see Danny out at the barn with the feed bucket for the two horses. Their breath made white clouds in the morning air as he dumped feed into the trough for them, and he stood by as they began to eat, stroking each of their foreheads in turn. She smiled at his kindness toward the animals.

“I toasted you an English muffin,” Beau said, walking up behind her.

“Did you get something?” She took the plate from his hand.

“Oatmeal. That should hold me for the morning. I’d better grab my coat and get outside.” He ruffled her hair and gave her a kiss.

She set her plate and cup on the dining table, thinking about the day ahead and how, for once, she didn’t have a half-dozen duties awaiting her attention.

“Huh.” Beau’s attention was drawn to the driveway out front. “One of my guys is here.”

Sam turned and spotted the blue lightbar of a sheriff’s department vehicle. She smiled at Beau’s words. Despite his adamant claims that he’d completely given up law enforcement, he would always think of the deputies as ‘his guys.’

But this time it was Sheriff Evan who stepped out of the cruiser and walked up the porch steps. Beau had the door open before the knock came.

“Hey, Sheriff.”

“Hey, Sheriff.” Beau smiled at Evan’s acknowledgment of his old status. “Come on in.”

Evan stomped his boots on the doormat and walked in, smiling at Sam across the room. He and Beau shook hands before he spoke. “Unfortunately, folks, this isn’t a social call.”

“What’s happened?” Sam had crossed the room, prepared to take Evan’s jacket and offer coffee.

“The new murder case—the victim, Lila Contreras, has direct ties to Danny Flores. I need to talk to him about her. Based on items we found in her hotel room—including a map and directions to your place and a phone number she’d jotted down, she was in touch with your ranch hand.”

So, here it was, the interview. She’d done her best to warn Danny. The way Evan presented the news, Sam guessed Danny hadn’t yet gone forward with Lila’s phone. Now, he would have to simply tell the truth, and she could hope he didn’t implicate himself.

“It’s cold out there,” she said. “Shall I invite him inside?”

“Not necessary,” Evan said. “I’m dressed for it, so I’ll just step out back and find him.”

Beau was already putting on his own coat. “He should be in the barn.”

Sam stayed behind. No need to overwhelm Danny now. She would simply have to grill Beau later about the interview. She closed the French door and watched anxiously through the glass.

Danny stepped out of the barn as the two men approached. When he saw Evan’s uniform, he halted in his tracks and watched them.

It took all she had to turn away, but Sam couldn’t be of help by staring out the windows. She went into the kitchen to clean up the breakfast dishes and check the coffee supply. If Evan lingered, coffee would be a way to keep him around long enough to ask questions.

As it turned out, she had no such luck. Less than ten minutes later, Beau was back in the house and Evan was driving away. She cornered her husband at the coat rack.

“So? What happened? What did Danny say?”

He kept his coat on and reached for his Stetson. “Not much. He gave Evan her cell phone, which he said she left behind at a coffee place where they’d met for dessert. Evan asked him about the relationship. Danny admitted knowing her, said they had a relationship for a short time before he came here. He said he’d been very surprised that she tracked him and came to Taos, but he agreed to meet her for coffee and talk things over. He says he told her, quote, ‘Once and for all, Lila, it’s over between us.’ He says she took it well, and he told her she ought to just go home and pick up her life. Then he says she left.”

Other than the direct quote, it went along with what Danny had told Sam. She pondered it all as Beau went back outside to begin his day’s work.

Back in the kitchen, she hung the dish towel over the handle on the stove. All she could do at this point was trust that Evan would find all the facts and they would match with Danny’s actions that evening. For now, she had other work to attend to. She picked up her coat, locked the front door, and went out to her SUV.

Since the big scare when she nearly lost Beau, Sam had sold her fine-chocolates business and curtailed her hours in the bakery. Becky was a skilled decorator now, and she handled nearly all the custom orders. During wedding season and busy holidays she called in a couple of extra helpers. Jen met with clients and helped design their cakes, as well as running the front sales counter with speed and efficiency. Julio, the Harley-riding baker, remained a man of few words but the man could turn out every one of Sam’s recipes as well as she could do them herself.

Her routine, nowadays, was to check in with the crew a couple of times a week, take care of a select few of her old-time clients who insisted she be the one to make their cakes and pastries, and afterward pick up a new book for Ana at the bookshop next to the bakery. It had been going this way nearly four years, and Sam was only now beginning to feel a hint of discontent. She needed to stay busy.

A chill March wind channeled down the alley behind Sweet’s Sweets, gripping Sam’s ankles as she got out of the car. She picked up her pack and whisked up the two steps as quickly as possible. The warm kitchen smelled of cinnamon and chocolate, comfort scents that counteracted the harsh breeze outside.

“What have we got?” she asked, automatically, as she crossed the kitchen area and hung her jacket on a peg near her desk.

“The Salazar wedding is your big job of the week,” Becky said, not raising her eyes from the intricate white lace she was piping onto a background of yellow. “I’ve got this bridal shower under control. The party is tomorrow but they want to pick up the cake this afternoon.”

She attached the end of the delicate icing strand in place, then straightened her shoulders and glanced at the stack of orders on the corner of the heavy stainless worktable.

“Two kid birthdays and one for a great-grandmother tomorrow. That should be easy enough.” She picked up an order sheet from the stack and handed it to Sam.

Sam looked at the Salazar order’s specifications. Five tiers, basic ivory fondant coating, spring flowers in ivory, peach, and yellow. She could pre-make the daffodils and lilies so they had plenty of time to set up. The wedding was in three days—Julio would bake the cake layers tomorrow, and Sam could assemble and decorate it the next day. A reasonable schedule. She could remember a whole bunch of times she’d had to work on three or four cakes of this magnitude, with a lot less time to finish them.

Yeah, and I turned to the magic box a lot of those times, too.

She tamped down that thought and went to wash her hands.

Two hours later, Sam set the last of the flowers aside, checked on the sales room, said goodbye to the crew, and headed home with a sense of satisfaction.

Her peace was shattered when she pulled up to the ranch house to discover a cruiser out front with lights flashing. What the hell? She practically leaped out of her SUV before it had rolled to a stop.

The front door opened and out came Deputy Rico, escorting Danny Flores by the arm.