Chapter Eighteen
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Heather was a short distance from home when her cell phone buzzed. Looking down and seeing Blake’s name she quickly accepted the call.
“Hey, what’s up? Is everything okay?”
“Look in your rear view mirror. Is there a car behind you?”
“Um, yes. But I just turned into the drive and it’s passing by. Why?”
“Was it silver?”
“I think so, though there’s not a lot of light here. What’s this about?”
“I’m probably bein’ paranoid, but I’d feel better if you stayed with me tonight.”
“Why?”
“Darlin’, I was watchin’ you leave and it seemed to come outta nowhere and followed you. I think that was the car we saw parked under the tree just down from the ranch when we were on Smoky Hill.”
“Nooo…”
“I’ve got a bad feelin’ about this. It’s possible someone wanted to find out where you live.”
“But who, and why?” she exclaimed as she picked up her bag and climbed from the truck. “Damn, it’s cold,” she added, starting up the steps.
“I have no idea, and maybe I’m just bein’ paranoid, but can you come straight back here when you finish work?”
“Yes, absolutely. This is creeping me out, but hold on while I let myself in.”
Locking the door behind her, she quickly turned on the heat, then hurried to the window.
“I’m in my place and looking out at the road. I don’t see anything.”
“Good, but Heather, I just had a thought. Has there been anyone strange at the restaurant lately? Any men dinin’ alone?”
“Actually, yes, though I wouldn’t call him strange.”
“Do you remember his name?”
“No, but when I get there I’ll check the credit card record.”
“Please call me and let me know.”
“Okay, and Blake…?”
“Yeah darlin’?”
“Thanks for caring.”
“Hey, I do, a lot.”
“Me too,” she said softly.”
“Be careful and call me when you’re leavin’.”
“I will. Bye, Blake.”
As the call ended she thought back to the conversation she’d had with the man sitting at the window table. He’d talked about a friend who had been at the show. Was that friend Courtney?
Moving into the bathroom she found it too coincidental to ignore.
But what did it all mean?
* * *
Late that afternoon, Joe had been sitting in his car across from Three Oaks Ranch impatiently watching Heather through binoculars. She’d been in a paddock near the barn doing very little except standing next to one horse while petting another through a fence.
The time had dragged, and with every passing minute his anxiety had grown.
Finally, around sunset, she and a cowboy had started taking the horses into the barn. A short time later, when she’d walked up to her truck with another cowboy, Joe had a white knuckle grip on his steering wheel. With only an hour left before visiting hours ended at the hospital he was running out of time.
But it had been worth the wait.
Now he knew where the girl lived, and he had just enough time to give Courtney the good news.
* * *
Staring at the clock, knowing visiting hours were about to end, Courtney was trying to control her growing agitation when Joe walked through the door.
“Thank God! Where the hell have you been?” she whispered, not wanting to draw the attention of the deputy in the hall.
“Sorry, I had to wait for that stupid girl to leave the ranch,” he said softly, standing at her bedside. “The good news is, she didn’t go anywhere. I mean, she didn’t make any stops on the way to her place or I would never have made it here in time. Anyway, it’s easy to find. The house is set back, and there’s a detached garage in front. She lives above it.”
“She lives above a garage? What a peasant,” Courtney muttered. “Are the stairs inside the garage or—”
“No, no, outside. She parked her truck in a carport then walked around it and up the steps from behind.”
“What about lights?”
“There’s one in the carport and one shining onto the staircase. They both went on automatically when she drove in.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Could you tell if the door leading into her place can be seen from the house?”
“Maybe, but it was pretty dark before those lights went on.”
“Perfect,” Courtney said with a satisfied sneer.
“I’m still not sure about—” Joe began, but a knock on the door cut him off.
“Excuse me, visiting hours are over,” a young nurse declared, stepping in with a glass of water and a tiny paper cup. “I’m afraid you’ll have to leave now.”
“I understand,” he replied cordially. “Courtney, you get your rest and I’ll be back tomorrow. Sorry I wasn’t able to get here sooner.”
“Hey, you got here and that’s what matters.”
As Joe kissed her on the cheek and left, Courtney had trouble suppressing a wide smile.
“How are you feeling?” the nurse asked, walking up and handing her the glass and the tiny cup holding two pills.
“Still a bit dizzy when I stand up, and my stomach doesn’t feel good. Not as painful as it was when I first got here, but something’s not right. When will the doctor have my test results?”
“Probably tomorrow afternoon, but if the lab isn’t too busy he’ll get them in the morning.”
“It can’t be soon enough,” Courtney said, taking the glass and holding out her other hand for the pills. But popping them into her mouth, she held them under her tongue as she took a drink.
“I’ll be back to turn off the lights in a bit,” the nurse said. “Do you want any more magazines?”
“No, thanks. In fact, you can turn the lights out now. I’m really tired and I need to close my eyes.”
But the moment the nurse left Courtney spat out the pills, made her way to the bathroom and flushed them down the toilet.
“You’re all such morons,” she muttered, padding back to her bed. “This is so easy it’s laughable.”