Cowboy Cool: Book 5 (Cowboy Justice Association) (29 page)

“Sleep, honey. We’ve got all night to live out your fantasies.”

What she could never tell him was this was her greatest fantasy. That he would hold her like this forever.

Chapter Twenty-Six

R
eed was in the kitchen the next morning nibbling at the leftover bacon when the phone rang. Since Kaylee was in the shower he reached for the receiver automatically.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Mitchell? This is Detective Dale French. Is Ms. Carter available?”

The detective had turned out to be a knowledgeable lawman and a pretty good guy. He’d taken Kaylee’s case seriously and appeared to be determined to bring the offender to justice.

“She’s not available to come to the phone,” Reed replied, not sure if Kaylee would be okay with him saying she was in the shower. Women could be funny about those things. “Can I take a message?”

The detective hesitated for a moment but then must have decided it was okay. “Sure. I know this isn’t going to make you very happy but we didn’t charge Brent Sharp last night. Frankly we didn’t have enough evidence to do so. When we looked at the note the handwriting didn’t match any of the other letters. Plus, his fingerprints were all over the paper and the envelope as if he wasn’t trying to hide his identity like the other ones. Listen, after talking to him I just don’t think he’s our guy.”

Bitter acid filled Reed’s throat and he had to swallow hard to keep the disappointment at bay. “Are you sure? He definitely wants Kaylee.”

And hadn’t bothered much to hide it even when Reed came on the scene.

“He admitted he’s had a crush on Ms. Carter. He also admitted that he felt like he needed to make a bold move now that you were dating her. I told him that it probably wasn’t the brightest thing to do since she’s being stalked and he agreed. He offered up his DNA to match to the adhesive on the envelopes without a fight. In fact he seemed to welcome it. He said it would exonerate him once and for all. I know you wanted it to be him but he sure as hell didn’t act like any stalker I’ve ever talked to.”

That meant Reed was back at fucking square one with no suspects and no leads. It was a goddamn nightmare but more for Kaylee than for him. She’d been so carefree since the police had led Brent away in cuffs.

“It sounds like you’re right,” Reed admitted, hating every second of this conversation. Kaylee was going to be devastated when he told her. “The fingerprints are a telling piece of evidence. He wouldn’t change MOs after all this time. I appreciate you calling personally, Detective. I’ll let her know.”

“What will you let me know?”

Kaylee breezed into the kitchen as Reed hung up the phone. He wasn’t the type to sugarcoat news and she deserved the unvarnished truth. There would be a part of her that was relieved it wasn’t her friend Brent.

“That was the detective leading up your case. They didn’t charge Brent last night. The detective said there was not enough evidence, and in fact the evidence made him look innocent. They let him go.”

Her eyes went wide and then went bright with tears, her lips trembling. “It’s not over? Someone still wants to hurt me?”

He couldn’t stand the fear in her expression. Pulling her into his arms, he stroked her hair as tears spilled over and onto her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, honey. Brent’s fingerprints were all over the note and envelope. That’s not at all like before. In addition he offered to give his DNA without any issue. It just doesn’t look like he’s the one.”

She leaned back so he could see her tear-stained face. “But you said it was him. So you were wrong? I thought you were some great lawman, but now I find out you have no idea what you’re doing.”

The arrow she’d shot pierced him right in the heart as she’d known it would. He prided himself on being a good sheriff and until a few days ago it had been the most important thing in his life.

“Sometimes we get it wrong. But I can assure you I do know what I’m doing. I can keep you safe until we find the right person. I promised you that before and I promise it again. Have you stopped trusting me?”

“No. I trust you,” she answered softly. She’d had so many people abuse that trust and he hoped to hell she hadn’t placed him in that dubious company. “I’m just disappointed, that’s all, and took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

He’d fucked things up royally but it wasn’t too late. He’d do what he always did when a case took a turn like this. It was back to the basics. Evidence. Motive. Opportunity. He needed to widen his search of suspects to casual acquaintances and perhaps even strangers. It was unlikely but he had to cover all the bases.

“I won’t let you down. We’ll find this guy, and in the meantime I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

She swiped at her cheeks and nodded. “I know you will. I was just so happy it was all over.”

“Look at the bright side. Brent didn’t betray you,” Reed pointed out, although he still wasn’t a fan of the guy. Any man who would come on to another man’s woman wasn’t the stand-up type.

“That’s true.” She grabbed a tissue from the box on the counter. “I was so angry with him last night I couldn’t even speak to him. I wanted to scream and yell but in the end I didn’t say anything.”

“I was glad you didn’t. Between my questions and the police we didn’t need anyone getting emotional. It was best that it stayed professional.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Look at the evidence again. Look at the statements of the people at the party especially. Maybe people assumed someone was in the house when they really weren’t. We need to look at opportunity closely. We’ll also take another look at that first list of people you’ve had contact with, see if there’s anyone you might have missed.”

“It sounds frustrating. How can you do this every day?”

“I don’t do this every single day. Just some days. Tough cases like this are a bitch to solve but when you do…it makes you feel ten feet tall.”

That got a smile from her. “Explains your bossy, alpha male attitude.”

“Naw,” he shook his head. “I was born that way. Comes natural.”

“You don’t have to sound so proud of it,” she retorted, back to her usual exuberance. “It’s not something to crow about.”

“I’m certainly not ashamed. I told you in the beginning if you just did as I told you to everything would be a lot simpler.”

Kaylee rolled her eyes over her shoulder as she pulled open the refrigerator, snagging two sodas. She handed one to him and popped open her own. “I was not put on this earth to make things easy for you.”

“In no way would I ever call you easy, honey.”

She looked up at her through her lashes. “Are you sure? I did sort of come on to you when you first got here.”

“Did you? I don’t remember.”

“Damn, you are good. That was the perfect answer.” She giggled and took a drink of her soda. “So what do you want to do today?”

“Work,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “You need to write and I need to look at everything. No fun and games today.” He leaned down and kissed her on the tip of her adorable nose. “But tonight is a whole different story.”

He had a few fantasies of his own he wouldn’t mind living out with Kaylee. Of course one involved a boat but the other was completely doable.

He wanted to eat dessert off her delectable body.

*   *   *   *

“You worry too much,” Kaylee scolded Reed. “I’ll be fine here with Cheryl. Go for a walk, or get a cup of coffee at the shop at the corner. Maybe go to the mall or something.”

Kaylee needed some quality writing time and Reed wasn’t making it easy. He’d driven her crazy all day yesterday with his questions every five minutes about the people on her list. At this rate she was going to launch a heavy object at him by dinner time.

Reed shook his head, the set of his jaw stubborn. “I don’t like the thought of leaving you.”

“You’re not leaving me.” Kaylee used her most reasonable tone but she was fast losing patience. “Cheryl will be here and you’ve already cleared her as a suspect, right?”

Reed nodded but his jaw was tight. “Sure I did. She was in the house when the car tried to run you down.”

“Exactly. So if the two of us are locked in Fort Knox, oops, I mean my home, everything should be fine?” He still didn’t look convinced. “Listen, I’m at an important juncture in the book. I need some quiet writing time badly.”

“Cheryl will be here,” he argued. “That’s two people, not just one. It should be twice as bad.”

“Except she’ll be working too. We’ll do writing sprints and I’ll get tons done.” She softened her tone. “I need to feel like there’s some normalcy in my life, that I’m not in prison. I don’t want to let this guy make me feel that way.”

“Fine,” he conceded, although clearly not happy. “But don’t answer the phone or the door and stay away from the windows.”

“Do you really think a stalker is going to ring the doorbell?” Her tone came out sarcastic but she couldn’t help it. He was acting like she was a total idiot. “This guy has gone to great lengths to keep his identity a secret. I don’t see him walking up to the house and announcing himself.”

Reed said something under his breath she couldn’t hear but it sounded something like “stubborn, mouthy woman.”

Yes, she was.

“I don’t know what this guy would do and neither do you,” he argued. “Until we have a better handle on this I think we should err on the side of caution.” The doorbell rang interrupting him, thank heaven. He’d just been warming up and she would have been the recipient of quite the lecture. “I’ll get the door.”

She sighed as he checked the camera feeds. It was Cheryl, of course. He strode to the door and let her visitor in, greeting her with friendliness despite his opinion. He found Cheryl a tad too obvious in her interest in him.

Cheryl set up her laptop while Kaylee walked with Reed to the door. “Be sure to take my house keys so you can let yourself in. Since I’m not allowed to answer the door and all.”

She smiled to soften the words and it seemed to help. The side of his mouth quirked up and then a full smile. “Am I being overprotective? I just don’t want anything to happen to you, honey.”

“The only thing that might happen is me getting a little tipsy if the two of us have a good word count and we decide to open a bottle of vodka.” She leaned forward so only he could hear. “And you know how I get when I drink.”

“Sounds promising. I’ve got one or two fantasies we could work on.”

“I’m all ears.”

Reed looked up and she followed his gaze to Cheryl watched them intently. She probably couldn’t hear anything being said but her and Reed’s body language spoke volumes.

“I guess I’ll go up to the coffee shop at the end of the street. I’ve got some calls to make and I can take the file up there too.”

“See,” she teased. “You do have somewhere to go. Don’t worry about me. We’ll be working for hours.”

“I won’t be gone that long,” he warned before heading to his truck. “Two cups of coffee and a couple of phone calls and I’ll be back.” He waved as he swung into the driver’s side and fired up the engine.

“Where is Reed going?” Cheryl asked as Kaylee watched Reed drive away.

“He’s headed to the coffee house up the way to make a few calls. Hopefully he’ll stay out of our hair for awhile.”

Cheryl smiled but it seemed off in some way, not reaching her eyes. “That’s good news.”

She reached into her laptop bag and pulled out a handgun, pointing it at Kaylee. “Have a seat. We have so much to do. This has been a long time in coming.”

Stiff with shock, Kaylee stood rooted to the spot, her mind unable to process what was happening.

“Do it and things will go nicely for you. Give me trouble and—well, this will get ugly.”

Somehow her feet unstuck from the floor and she made it to the couch on trembling legs, still staring down the barrel of a gun. Held by a supposed friend. And she’d just kicked Reed out of the house for what could be hours.

Write yourself out of this one.

Her brain was beginning to work again and her stomach knotted and churned as she realized what was happening.

Brent wasn’t her stalker. It was Cheryl.

“Why?” Kaylee asked. She had an idea but she wanted to hear it from Cheryl’s own lips.