Chapter Six
There was the smell of coffee. Rance had to be dreaming. One eye opened and then he realized that it wasn’t a dream, but who could have been up before him? Rance grabbed his clothes and threw them on. Then he went in search of that coffee.
The house was silent. Erin was still in bed. But who had made the coffee? He stepped outside and stopped.
“Hi, Uncle Rance!” The voice belonged to his niece. “Surprise! Aunt Tori and I have been teaching Miss Erin the best place to fish. She has already caught two. She’s cool.”
His gaze searched the riverbank and landed on the woman, jeans rolled up to the knees, a bright yellow T-shirt knotted above her waist, hair tied back into a ponytail.
Was that one of Uncle Joe’s old beat-up fishing caps on her head?
She and his sister Tori were laughing at something.
The woman had a rod in hand and was doing a fair job…
now and then. He had to wonder how she had learned that skill in a courtroom.
“It’s a little early for visiting, isn’t it?”
Tori shot him a grin. “I thought I would bring by some of the pastries and such that Matt’s wife provides over at Tillie’s.
And the coffee was already brewing when we arrived.
We were planning to leave the food in the basket and just leave, but Erin was already out here on the deck.
Wasn’t polite to leave a guest on their own.
But knowing you as we do, we figured we’d best take on the host duties. ”
Rance glanced inside the basket sitting on the patio table.
The pastries did look and smell good enough to eat.
He chose an apple fritter for himself and moved over to watch the trio from the deck’s railing.
The sight of the sedate judge standing in ankle-deep water and seeming to fit right in with the pair’s activities was yet another surprise to add to the list in his head.
“Aunt Tori said you’d clean whatever fish were caught,” Jilliebean teased him with a laugh.
“She did, did she?”
“Don’t look so happy about it, little brother,” she tossed over to him. “There won’t be any fish to clean. Your guest seems to be a catch and release type.”
“You caught them and now they’re free again?” He looked at the woman who was intent of each cast.
“I have an allergy to eating fish, so they get a pardon from me.” She tossed the response over her shoulder without missing a beat in her casting. “It’s the thrill of outwitting the fish that’s enjoyable.”
“Unbelievable,” he said, finishing the last bite of pastry.
“Besides,” she added, “I put them back so you can practice being better at the catching part. Your sister tells me that you’re behind in the number you’ve caught this year.”
“She did, did she? Not nice having people talk such trash when a person isn’t here to defend themselves.”
“It isn’t trash, Uncle Rance,” his niece shot back. “I catch more than you do when we do family fish-offs.”
“Whatever happened to the days when children were seen and not heard? I thought I was your favorite uncle, and you aren’t backing me up here.”
“I’m not a child anymore, Uncle Rance. Only a few people call me Jilliebean…which was fine when I was a child. But Jillie sounds much more mature. And anyway, you’re still my favorite…because you’re my only uncle related to me by blood.”
“You spend too much time with your aunt Tori,” he chose to respond with a stern look that was more comical than anything. She laughed at him.
“Well, we need to get back to town. We’ll leave this fish expert to help you out with some instructions.
And if you can work it into your busy social schedule, we’re barbecuing at Primrose for Ally’s birthday on Sunday.
Erin has volunteered a dish…if you don’t get called back to work.
” Tori sent a wink his way while Jillie was occupied helping Erin put away the fishing rods in their storage cabinet next to the steps leading to the deck.
His sister added a whisper for his hearing only.
“She’s different from the usual women you’ve brought around.
She just might give you a run for your money, little brother.
We like her. So, try to not blow this chance?
” Aloud, she turned to the approaching pair.
“Let’s hit the road. Call if you need anything. ”
Rance received a bear hug from his niece. “Stop growing for a while, Jilliebean,” he said on the last tight squeeze, noting she had seemed to grow a foot taller each time he came back to Destiny’s River. Time he had missed.
“Uncle Rance, I told you that’s my baby name. I’m grown up now.”
“Excuse me,” he said, looking appropriately chastened, “but I don’t believe your dad enjoys hearing that. You will always be our Jilliebean, so get over it, kid.”
“It was great meeting you, Jillie,” Erin said, stepping up and looking surprised when she received a quick hug from the girl.
“Same here, Miss Erin. You’re way cooler than my old uncle here. See you Sunday.”
They watched the pair get in the jeep and shared waves as they disappeared down the road.
“I need to change out of these fishing clothes and grab a quick shower. I’ve worked up an appetite so I’ll see what I can find in the way of something more than pastry in the kitchen when I come out.” She didn’t wait for a response before she disappeared inside the house.
Rance was left to shake his head. Again, the woman had surprised him.
And not in a bad way. She appeared to fit right in with the activity.
That was amazing in itself. Never would he have guessed she would even consider wading into a river or touching something as mundane as a fishing rod and being able to use it…
for the most part. She needed more practice, but it had been a valiant effort.
That was even more astonishing. And she caught and then released fish.
He had to chuckle to himself. The great and tough Judge Latham had a soft spot for fish.
Even though she claimed to be allergic, he had a sneaking suspicion that would have been the case even if she could eat them.
Yet another side to add to the multidimensional picture of the woman that was keeping him adjusting things in his mind.
*
The look on the marshal’s face was priceless.
Erin kept enjoying that fact as she showered and then chose another casual look from the clothing Tori had brought previously.
It was a pleasant bit of enjoyment she was finding in keeping the man with such an ego and straight-arrow-lawman mentality about him on his toes, obviously trying to figure things out as she stepped outside his preconceived ideas of her.
Her father had done that, as had her ex…
and they both had been shocked a time or two as she had found a backbone and her own voice along the way.
The morning had been surprising and enjoyable.
Being an only child, she had often envied those who weren’t alone in their childhood.
It was obvious that the Parkers enjoyed a good relationship.
And it had been easy to join in the smiles and good-natured ribbing.
She usually spent her mornings on weekends quite differently.
Coffee, an egg and toast, and a stack of briefs and sentencing reports to read before next week’s docket could be considered.
Same ritual over and over. She had formed her own work rut.
But she had stepped out of it that morning.
And the freedom was surprising. Her smile stayed with her longer and she kept checking it in the mirror.
“I am here,” she announced, going back into the kitchen area. “I said I would find something for breakfast.”
“I am not exactly helpless,” Rance said, his gaze taking in the contents of the refrigerator, a carton of eggs in one hand, while he grabbed a package of bacon with the other, then used his shoulder to shut the refrigerator door.
In the movement, the package of bacon slipped to the floor.
He overcompensated for the loss in trying to grab for it and the egg carton slipped at the same time.
Erin made a quick dive forward with outstretched hands and managed to stop the eggs in midair.
She straightened, setting the carton safely on the cabinet beside her.
“Yes, I can see that. Perhaps you might want to catch a shower or shave or whatever while I handle all of this. You know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen at one time.”
“I think you’re trying to handle me, Judge Latham.”
“Let’s just say that I’m saving your bacon on this one.” Her delivery was precise, tongue in cheek and she offered an innocent smile to boot. She reached for the bacon and took it from his hand.
“Are you a closet comedian, in addition to all else?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head, “just a person who would like eggs scrambled in a pan on the stove and not in a mess on the floor.”
“I have a phone call to make, and a shower might be good about now, too.”
“Perhaps I might make a call later…to my office assistant? I promise not to give away anything about our location. You can listen in, too. I just need to make some adjustments in my weekly schedule.”
“Nice try.” He smiled in response. “But anything you need can be relayed by me, to my boss, who makes all determinations on what constitutes an emergency. And I believe your schedule has been placed in the dark so to speak for the next few weeks…as far as anyone is concerned. Your assistant has a nice vacation for now.”
She was no longer smiling. “My court schedule is my business…no one else’s. You have no right to—”
“Yes, I have every right… In fact, Your Honor, I have all the rights at this time. Consider that this is a nice country vacation you can enjoy for the foreseeable future…however long or brief it might be.”
He didn’t wait for a response but turned on his heel and left her to debate aiming one of those eggs at the center of his back…or not.
*
“The native is getting restless. Any good news?”
There was a mirthless chuckle on the other end of the phone. Rance was glad that someone still had a sense of humor, even if it was his boss.
“Good news? Well, the other judges are still alive and seeming to enjoy their enforced time away from the courthouse. I’m sensing that your detainee might not be so amiable?”
“Amiable? That is such an ambiguous description, isn’t it? Let’s just say that she’s still able to use her skills in irritating others to her advantage. And she is not on vacation. Any news at all about when she might be delivered back to her bench?”
“Well, you have my sympathy—sounds like you drew the short straw of the group. In fact, the only movement has been in her direction. The clerk went into her office yesterday and there was a piece of white copy paper in the center of her desk…with a large X in the center of it…in blood. That sent her screaming from the room and we’re trying to keep the lid on all of that. ”
“Blood…human, animal, fake? How did it get left there? Cameras catch anything?” He fired off the questions like the investigator he was.
“All is being covered. Your mind is not to worry about that part. You do have to be extra vigilant in case this points to her being next on the list, and that can only make someone more determined.”
“Exactly. I know you guys have it handled. But it is my habit to be doing instead of sitting.”
“The governor has given all assets we need, as have the Feds. You just do your part and keep her safe and happy…so to speak.”
“I’ll deserve a medal if I pull all that off. I’ll wait for that freedom call from you and hope it comes sooner rather than later.”
Rance knew that all hands were on deck, plus a lot more, and working around the clock.
This needed to be resolved, no dangling ends left to chance.
The criminal needed to be behind bars and away from society for there to be a period on the case file.
In the meantime, he would figure out what she needed to know or not.
He turned on the hot water full blast in the shower.