Chapter 2
2
T ravis carefully chose his next words as he leaned forward and took Chloe’s hand. An electrical current vibrated through his fingers and up his arm at contact. He dismissed the reaction as static electricity even though a little voice in the back of his mind said he knew better.
Since when had he started thinking of Chloe as anything but Kade’s baby sister? Not to mention, Travis was ten years older than her, and she wasn’t interested in him as anything other than a friend of her older brother’s.
A crash sounded in the hallway. Chloe hopped to her feet and disappeared in two seconds flat. He’d meant every word of the you’re-a-great-mom speech. Chloe was amazing and had no idea. Considering who her father had been and the fact her mother had ditched the family when Chloe had been a little kid, she’d beaten the bad parenting odds.
Chloe brought the two boys into the living room, turned on the TV, and got them settled onto the couch with their favorite blankets and toys. “Are you hungry?”
Both boys shook their heads in unison, eyes glued to the TV.
“We’ll hold off on breakfast for now,” she said before pressing a kiss to each forehead, then returning to the kitchen to reclaim her seat. After a sip of coffee, she set the mug down. “Something weird happened last night.” She locked her gaze with his. “I don’t drink on the job. Ever. And yet, by the time I made it home, you would have sworn that I’d done six shots.”
His mind immediately snapped to ketamine. “Did you keep track of your drinks all night?”
“No.” Her blue eyes widened after a beat. “You don’t think…”
“Date rape drugs aren’t exactly uncommon at a bar,” he muttered.
“I’ve known Jep for years.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “He wouldn’t do anything like to me.”
Jep Kruger, the owner of Boots and Buckles, also tended bar every night. “He’s honest, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t slip something in your drink when no one was looking. Was it busy last night?”
She sucked in a breath. “Yes.”
“Do you bring your own travel mug to work?”
“No.” She released her grip on her arms and then tapped the table with the flat of her palm. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t start.”
“If you take something with a smooth surface, my job of lifting prints would be a lot easier.” Even the slightest smudge could make the prints unreadable, but it was a place to start. And maybe they’d get lucky.
“I’m sure I can find a tumbler to use from now on in a cabinet somewhere in the kitchen,” she said. “You’re talking about being able to pick up fingerprints, right?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “How were you feeling on the drive home?”
“Sleepy, but that’s not unusual after a shift.” She tapped her index finger on the wood surface. “Come to think of it, drowsy might be a better term. By the time I made it inside the house, I was downright loopy. I barely made it through the shower and onto my bed before dropping face first on top of the covers.”
The fact she hadn’t heard the kiddos crying this morning made a whole lot more sense now. When someone acted in an uncharacteristic manner, there usually was a reasonable explanation. This one sent all his warning signals firing. This meant another criminal could be preying on his county. “Considering the gravity of recent events, I’d like to request your permission to keep a close eye on you.”
“I’d prefer it, Trav.” She flashed a grateful smile at him. “Sorry, that should be deputy.”
“I’d rather you call me Trav.” He leaned forward and clasped his hands. “This job means more to me because I grew up here—because I care about the people in this county. And because I care about you.” Staring into those beautiful blue eyes, he realized just how much that statement covered.
“Do you believe in karma?” Chloe asked, changing the subject. He noticed the slight crack in her voice as she cleared her throat.
“I guess so,” he said. “If you treat people poorly, you’ll be treated poorly in return. Seems more like common sense than a woo-woo belief like some would classify it.”
“I ran away from home to be a groupie for a fly-by-night musician at seventeen years old,” she said with a solemn expression. Chloe had gone off the grid for three years before returning to Saddle Junction, pregnant and alone. As far as Travis knew, she’d never spoken to anyone about that part of her life.
“Did you feel like you had a choice given your situation?” he asked.
“Not really. I was the last one left at home, and Beaumont was meaner than a provoked copperhead. I viewed it more as an escape than anything else. Took off the first chance I got.”
“Not unlike any one of your brothers,” he pointed out.
“Kade served his country,” she said. “That’s not exactly the same thing.”
“It was his way to escape.”
She dragged her teeth across a full, pink bottom lip. Travis had no business noticing, so he lifted his gaze. When had Kade’s little sister become a woman? And a beautiful woman at that. She brought her gaze up to his and locked on. “Am I bringing all this bad luck on myself?”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” He couldn’t imagine how someone as kind and genuine as Chloe could convince herself that she’d done something to deserve what was happening in her life. Everyone had bad luck. If you were alive, you probably had bad luck at some point.
She blew out a slow breath. “I hope you know that I wouldn’t trade Grayson for the world, but bringing him up on my own has been hard. I don’t know what I would’ve done without Kade’s help—or Guy’s, for that matter.”
Travis dropped his gaze to study his coffee mug. He wasn’t a fan of the neighbor who dropped in on a regular basis despite Guy being Annmarie’s friend. He was too quiet. “Grayson’s a great kid, Chloe. You’re doing an amazing job with him. He’s happy. You’re not making the same mistakes as Beaumont.”
She shot him a look that said she wasn’t feeling it. On the heels of what had happened this morning, he knew better than to keep going down that track. She wasn’t in a place to hear the words. He knew all too well because he was guilty of feeling the same when he was frustrated with himself.
Back to the case. “Who was at the bar last night?”
She gave a slight nod, acknowledging the change in topic. “A few of the usuals. Timmy Connor. Jason Renee. Ralphie Sterling. Pat Jamison.” She paused a beat. “You know, that whole friendship group.”
He did. They had been a year behind him in school. All decent guys who worked alongside their parents in various businesses in town or small nearby farms and ranches. “Anyone you didn’t recognize?”
“There are always some, right?” She paused as her gaze became unfocused as if she were looking inside herself. “A handful showed up, like usual. They generally sit alone at the bar. Jep would know better. He usually serves them directly.”
“What about women?”
She shot him a confused look.
“It’s a mistake to think only a man can spike a drink or that they only commit such an act for sexual purposes. Women can target other women.”
“I haven’t been in any disagreements with anyone. Wouldn’t there have to be a fight?”
“Not really,” he said. “A beautiful woman like yourself working in a bar could draw jealousy from girlfriends or wives, especially if any of their men seem to pay too close attention to you.”
“Oh,” she said, like he’d surprised her on more than one level with the assessment. Her gaze had widened for a split second when he’d said the word beautiful .
Were there no mirrors in this house?
A thrill of awareness skittered through Chloe at the word beautiful. She shook the inappropriate reaction off. Her brother’s friend was most definitely not attracted to her. Not in that way. In Trav's eyes, she was nothing more than Kade’s kid sister and probably always would be.
She rattled off the names of the couples in attendance last night.
“It’s creepy to think someone might spike my drink to get revenge on their boyfriend or husband,” she said with another involuntary shiver. They were racking up today. “Is it hard to trust people considering what you do for a living?”
“You’d be surprised at what folks are capable of.”
“I can only imagine,” she said.
“It gets easy to identify the red flags when it comes to dealing with the worst in humanity,” he admitted. “But if I lose sight of why I do this and look for the bad in everyone, then I fail to remember my reason for doing the job.” He paused a beat. “Being in a position to protect the community of people I care about means a great deal to me.”
When he put it like that, he sounded heroic.
She smiled.
“You’ll make a great sheriff.” He would. She had no doubts.
“We’ll see if I get the job first,” he said with a half-smile. The momentary break in tension was welcomed. “But thank you anyway.” The coffee was cold by now, but he took another sip anyway. “Have you been in a disagreement with anyone recently?”
“No, but you’re aware of what’s going on with my family.” The conflict unfolding with the inheritance and what to do with a racehorse ranch kept everyone on edge.
“Do you suspect your half-brother Beau of wanting to cut down the number of heirs?”
She had to think about that one for a second. “No. Not really. He was the first one to volunteer to take shifts at the hospital when Bree’s life was in danger.” She shrugged. “It’s only been a couple of weeks, though.”
“Do you trust him?”
“I don’t know him well enough.” She glanced over at Grayson. “The kids took to him, which is something.” She was still forming her opinion of Beau. “Conrad seems to like him. As you well know, he’s the least talkative of the Sturgess family. Kade is put off by their friendship. Beau swears he just wants to be part of the family, and yet he came in like a bull in a china shop.”
“Chip on his shoulder?” Trav asked.
“Wouldn’t you have one? His father never truly claimed him even though his mother named him after Beaumont.” She tapped the table with her index finger as Trav made a note in his cell. “I guess that’s the bit that makes it difficult to believe Beau’s intentions are pure. For one, he came in with an attitude. Secondly, he is Beaumont’s son.”
“Are you saying that automatically makes him suspect?”
She had to think about that for a second. “I guess so. It might not be fair, but you know my family’s history and who my father was.”
“Is this a case of you being afraid the apple didn’t fall far from the tree?”
“Yep,” she said without hesitation. “Which is probably hypocritical to some degree, considering I love the rest of my brothers. They all turned out to be good people.”
“None of them could get away from this place fast enough,” he said.
“Maybe that’s the problem.” She steepled her fingers. “We all ran away while Beau is running toward.”
He nodded. “Who else comes to mind as someone who might benefit if something happened to you?”
“All my brothers since the inheritance would be split six ways instead of seven,” she said. “But I trust each one with my life, save for the one I don’t know.”
“Fair enough.” Trav handed over his coffee mug. “What days do you work?”
“Wednesdays through Saturdays.” Which meant she’d be back on the clock tonight.
“When does your shift end?”
“Anywhere between two and two-thirty,” she said. “Usually later tonight.” It was Saturday. The bar would be hopping.
“I’ll throw on plain clothes and wait for you to come out,” he said. “You know my personal vehicle.”
“The Jeep,” she said. “Yes, I do.”
“Good.” Her answer seemed to satisfy him. “I’ll hang back and see if you pick up any followers tonight.”
Chloe bit back a yawn. The caffeine hadn’t made a dent in her tired bones, let alone cleared her still-foggy brain. Tomorrow night, she could go to bed at the same time as Grayson to catch up on her sleep.
“Do me a favor…” she said, following Trav to the door.
He turned before reaching for the handle.
“Don’t say anything about this to Kade. He has enough on his plate with a newborn. I don’t want to stress him out if there’s nothing happening here.” Still, a voice in the back of her mind warned her to take this threat seriously, and she had every intention of doing so.
“I doubt I’ll see him, but I won’t bring it up if he doesn’t,” Trav promised.
She placed her hand on his forearm. The magnitude of the electrical jolt caught her off guard. It seemed to do the same to him because his muscles tensed.
“Thank you, Trav.” She pulled her hand back.
“Anytime, Chloe,” he said. “I hope you know that I mean those words.” The sudden husky quality of his voice had her wondering if he thought of her as more than just a case.
She shook off the thought. Her brain was playing tricks on her. She was still groggy.
After thanking the acting sheriff, she followed him onto the porch.
Guy waited two trailers down, leaning against his own porch, gaze fixed on her and Trav. Arms crossed over a seriously broad chest, ankles crossed. Guy had never looked so intensely at Trav.
“Hey, Chloe,” Trav said, turning his face to the side. “Be careful who you let inside your home. Okay?”
“You know I will,” she said, wondering where that was coming from. Guy had been nothing but kind. Sure, he might be quiet, but since when did that mean serial killer?
Chloe glanced over at her other neighbor. She should probably apologize to Ms. Bouche.
As soon as Trav got inside his service vehicle, Guy started walking toward Chloe. She opened the door wide and headed to the kitchen.
“What’s going on with you and the sheriff?” she asked as she scrambled a couple of eggs and threw two slices of protein bread into the toaster. Grayson and Miguel loved strawberry jam, so she slathered it liberally onto the bread after it popped. It dawned on her that she was already referring to Trav as the sheriff. She stood firm on her choice of words. Trav deserved the job.
She paused when Guy didn’t answer.
He motioned toward the coffee machine.
She nodded.
After setting the small table that was the perfect height for a pair of three-year-olds, she poured milk into sippy cups and set them down before calling the boys over. The timing with the end of their favorite cartoon worked out perfectly. They came running without protest. Those two raced everywhere. They had two speeds—balls to the walls or passed out.
After refilling her cup and pouring a fresh mug for himself, Guy said, “Let’s just say we have history and leave it at that. Okay?”
Well, now Chloe really wanted to know what had gone down between Guy and Trav.