Chapter 43 Safe Haven – Ruth B.
Safe Haven – Ruth B.
Wilder
The night had been long, neither me nor Tally had gotten much sleep.
Sheriff Jackson and one of his deputies came over and dusted for fingerprints and asked for the CCTV footage.
I’d offered to sit up through the night and go through it, but he insisted.
I had an idea that he knew I’d go on a rampage if I found out who it was.
I’d been to check on the cow with the broken leg, once Tally finally fell asleep. As I paused in the front hallway to toe off my boots, I looked through to the kitchen to see her sitting at the kitchen table nursing a mug of coffee as she stared off into the distance.
“Hey, sweetie.” Lily was padding down the stairs, a pile of textbooks in her arms. “You look exhausted.”
“We didn't get much sleep. Tally was tossing and turning all night.” My stomach flipped as I thought about what could have happened if I hadn't taken her out to dinner.
If she'd been alone in the cabin. The image of her standing there vulnerable, unprotected, made my lungs seize.
Every creak of the house had jerked me awake, my hand automatically reaching for her in the dark, needing proof of her warmth beside me. “How's she been?”
Lily looked over to the kitchen before giving me a small smile. “Quiet. A little nervous every time there's a knock on the door or a noise outside.”
A fist tightened around my heart. That wasn't my Brownie, the woman who faced down horses twice her size, who'd driven nineteen hours alone to save Dream Maker, who squared up to life with her chin lifted and her spine straight.
Someone had stolen that from her, and the rage that sparked hot and fierce in my chest made my hands curl into fists.
“You kept the doors locked, though?”
“Didn’t you need to use a key to get in?” Lily shook her head, but grinned.
“Yeah, I did.” Running a hand over my face, I groaned. “I hate this, Lil, not knowing who it was. Why would they do that?” Nausea rolled and rose to my throat as I considered what might have been. “Sick bastard.”
Lily’s hand cupped my elbow. “I know but the sheriff will find them.”
“He better find them before I do because I swear, Lily, I’ll kill them with my bare hands.”
“Remember that Tally needs you here, not locked up. Okay,” she said, glancing toward the kitchen. “Now you’re here I’m going over to the kid’s camp to check on some of the school equipment that’s been delivered. You’ll be okay?”
Nodding, I kissed her cheek and then moved past her toward the kitchen and Tally. As I walked through the door she looked up.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Brownie. How you feeling?” I dropped a kiss to the top of her head before smoothing my hand down her hair.
She was wearing it loose today, her long, dark auburn waves cascading over her shoulders and down her back.
I fucking loved it in braids but loose was my favorite.
It was how I liked it when we were in bed.
“Tired, scared.”
I pulled out the chair next to her and dropped into it, taking her hand in mine and bringing it to my lips. “We will find whoever did it, I promise.”
“I know. I just wonder if…” She sighed as her gaze trailed to the window.
It was a cold, blustery day and the wind had picked up and it was good to be inside in the warmth for once.
“What do you wonder?”
Her gaze whipped to mine. “You think it could be someone other than Declan?”
It felt great to have her voice the same niggling feeling that I’d been having all night. It had gnawed at my head that it didn’t seem like his kind of deal.
“It crossed my mind,” I told her. “He’s a little weasel but he’s got an ego. An ego that makes me think he’d want you to know everything that he was doing to you.”
She wet her bottom lip and nodded. “I know. He was brazenly open about coming for Dreamy and not signing the divorce papers. Sneaky little messages just aren’t his style.”
“And trashing your underwear?”
“No.” She blinked rapidly and shook her head. “He hated how messy I was. You’ve seen my bathroom. It was his worst nightmare, so to leave a mess like that is just…not him.”
“He could have got someone to do it. Someone to scare you.”
“But why? What does it achieve? It scared me but if anything, it’s made us closer.”
She was right. It made me realize that I would do anything to protect her. For her.
“He ain’t getting you back that’s for sure.” Dropping a kiss to her forehead, I breathed her in. “I’m not letting you go, Brownie.”
She snuggled into me and let out a little moan that sounded like it might be happiness, or maybe relief.
“I don’t want to go anywhere.” She looked up at me, her huge green eyes soft and gentle. I was seeing that look more and more. I loved the feisty, fire that she showed but the softness was beautiful.
“Good, because one, the sheriff still has your phone and I don’t want you going anywhere without it,” I pointed a finger at her, “which means you’re definitely getting a new one now and two, I don’t want to have to come looking for you and bring you back here.”
She giggled and dropped her cheek to her shoulder, fluttering her eyelashes at me and making my chest go tight.
She was so fucking beautiful. Full and deep pink lips, with a little freckle the top of her cupid’s bow and a cute little nose with a tiny bump on the bridge that I always itched to run my finger down.
And her eyes, wow those eyes. They were the kind of green you only see deep in the woods after a storm, soft, rich, and wild all at once.
And those lashes… damn. Long and dark like they'd been painted on just to mess with me. When she looked up through them, it hit me in the chest every damn time. Like she saw through the bravado, through the jokes and the swagger, and straight into the part of me I didn’t show anyone.
“Want to go for a ride?” I asked, brushing her hair from her eyes. “Maybe go out toward the mountains. I mean it’s pretty windy and cool outside, but it might just blow some cobwebs away.”
“Sounds good.”
Getting up from the table, I held my hand out to her, offering to lead her wherever she wanted to go. I was reaching for Tally’s coat when there was a sharp knock at the door. She flinched beside me, her eyes wide as she stared at the huge oak door.
“It’s okay, I’m with you.” Tucking her behind me I opened the door, taking a step back when I saw it was Sheriff Jackson.
“Hi Wilder, can I come in?”
I looked over his shoulder to see two of his deputies leaning against the squad car. Three of them couldn’t be here just to tell us that there was nothing on the CCTV footage.
“Sure, come on in.”
Tally took a step back with me, letting the sheriff join us inside.
“Miss. Brown, how are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m fine and please call me Tally.”
“Do you want to sit in the lounge?”
“It’s fine, Wild. I just need to ask you where Glenn Cameron is right now.”
Tally gripped my hand as she stumbled a little. “Glenn?”
“He’s on the maintenance crew so should be checking all the water butts on the north side of the property. He’s about a forty minute ride away. Why?”
“Is it okay if we go check his stuff in the bunkhouse?” The sheriff pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and passed it to me.
It was a warrant. “Sure. No problem, but what is it you’ve found?”
“We don’t have a definite reason to believe he was the one who broke into Tally’s cabin. But, apart from you driving to and from the cabin, he’s the only person it picks up. He’s seen hanging around, watching it after you left. He walks toward it but then we don’t see him again.”
“How do you know it was Glenn?” Tally whispered, her voice barely audible as he turned to me. “How long has he been watching me?”
“I don’t know Brownie, but it stops today.” Sighing, I turned to the sheriff. “How did you identify him?”
“My deputy had a run in with him last week.” When I raised my eyebrow, Sheriff Jackson grinned.
“Guess he didn’t tell you that Delaney had to throw him out of the bar.
He was getting a little too familiar with a lady who let’s say wasn’t feeling the same way.
Deputy Payne put him in an Uber and made sure he came back to the ranch.
He did check but the lady didn’t want to press charges.
She said he was just a little too insistent and kept trying to put his arm around her. ”
My hands clenched into fists at my sides as the anger inside of me was pulsing in time with my heartbeat.
Loud and furious. The thought of him putting his hands, unwanted, on any woman made my blood boil.
Knowing that maybe he’d been inside Tally’s cabin, though, and touching her stuff made me want to tear him apart.
“Were any of my other guys with him?” I asked.
“Nope. Bit of a loner in town from what I can gather. Delaney said he drinks there a couple of nights a week, but always alone.”
Even if he wasn’t the one responsible for Tally’s lingerie, he was getting fired.
It was part of the hand’s contracts that they didn’t get in trouble with the authorities in any way, and him getting handsy with a woman who didn’t welcome it was not acceptable to me even if she didn’t press charges.
It told me the kind of guy he was. The kind who watched my woman and touched her stuff.
“Do you think that’s enough evidence to prove he broke into my home?”
“Not on its own but he may have taken something, and you didn’t realize it.”
“What about the messages? Did you manage to find anything?” Scrubbing a hand through my hair, I was desperate to get out there and throw Glenn off our property. He had access to every place here. He knew our routines and schedules, so if this was him he needed to be gone as soon as it was possible.
“Sorry, nothing as yet. It’s a burner phone, well in fact, it’s a couple of burner phones.
Whoever sends them alternates the number they send them from.
” He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a plastic bag with Tally’s phone and handed it to her. “You can have that back now.”
“What about Declan?” Tally asked. “Did you check him out?”
“He had an alibi for last night.” He gave a resigned shrug. “Cast iron, so if we don’t find anything in Mr. Cameron’s stuff then we’ll have to follow other lines of investigation
He then turned to me. “Could you come with us to the bunkhouse, Wild?”
“Sure. Can I just get someone to come and stay with Tally?”
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “I’ll keep the door locked.”
Looking at her pale face, I made a silent promise that Glenn Cameron would never go near her again. He’d never even share the same airspace as her. He was still out there, and I didn’t want to leave her, but I had no choice, I really needed to take the sheriff to the bunkhouse
“Lock it straight after I leave.” Wrapping her in my arms, I kissed her forehead. “Promise.”
“I promise.”
“Okay Sheriff, let’s go.”
As we heard the door lock behind us, I hoped we found what we were looking for. I also made a promise that we would extend the trip to get the bull by a couple of days because I was going to make sure Tally could relax in the knowledge that she was safe.