In Memory's Shadow Read online

  “You can leave the pup here until you’re ready to go home,” Howard offered. He held up a ribbon. “I’ll just write your name on the ribbon and tie it around the little guy’s neck.”

  Steffie looked torn at the idea of leaving her new baby, but the prospect of an evening at the midway beckoned. She slowly relinquished her bundle.

  “How late are you staying?” she asked.

  “Until closing.”

  “I’m not sure whether to thank you or not,” Keely quipped before walking away with Sam.

  “You’ll feel safer with a big dog around,” Howard assured her.

  “He probably has a good point there,” Sam said as they walked toward the midway.

  “Yes, but he won’t be responsible for food and vet bills for the next ten to fifteen years, either.” She paused. “Still, Steffie’s always wanted a dog and her father refused to have one. He said they were too much trouble. And it’s not as if she’s six years old and doesn’t understand what responsibility is.”

  “This only means I’ll have to give in sooner or later,” Sam lamented. He steered her toward the carnival rides.

  “Then I suggest you wait until Ramona has her puppies,” she laughed.

  If Sam was honest with himself he would have said he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. Keely’s sense of humor and way of looking at things was infectious. She obediently laughed and squealed on the roller coaster and the Tilt-A-Whirl. She cheered Sam on while he threw baseballs at milk bottles and offered him a coy smile when he won a large panda bear, which he handed over to her with great ceremony.

  “I keep this up and I’ll feel as if I’m back in high school again,” he said.

  “Oh, my, am I dating the high school quarterback?” Keely cooed, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

  He shot her a quelling look. “Can it, Harper.”

  “Oh, was it halfback instead?” she teased. “I never could keep all those positions straight. But then,” she paused, pursing her lips and making a production of looking behind him. “Perhaps it was tight end.”

  Sam growled something deep in his throat as he grasped her arm and propelled her toward the sheltering trees.

  Before Keely could ask him what he was doing, she had her back against a tree that effectively hid them from the festivities and Sam’s mouth was covering hers.

  He should have known she would taste like this—tangled sheets, the sweetness of sin and the heady spice of pure woman. She fit in his arms as if she had been fashioned expressly for him and her lips molded under his in the same way.

  There were a million reasons running through Sam’s head why he shouldn’t be doing this. And a million more why he should.

  His tongue swept through the dark cavern of her mouth, shuddering when her tongue curled around his, enticing him deeper as he angled himself even closer against hers. The warmth of her body had him thinking about pulling her down onto the grass and finding out how the rest of her felt His hands swept up and down her back, urging her to shape her body against his aroused form. She murmured several incoherent words against his parted lips.

  “If we get routed out of here by any of your deputies, I will never forgive you,” she whispered, tipping her head back.

  The faint lights from beyond highlighted her face. Her eyes were wide, lips shiny with moisture and swollen from his kisses. In his eyes, she never looked more beautiful.

  “If any of my deputies dares to come over here and disturb us, I will personally shoot the guy,” he murmured before capturing her mouth again. He could feel her smile against his lips.

  As they stood among the shelter of the trees, they were unaware of two teenagers watching them with very satisfied expressions on their faces. But there was someone else watching them, someone even further back among the bees, and that person’s expression wasn’t the least bit happy about the scene.

  Keely still felt a little shell-shocked when she and Sam came out from behind the safety of the woods. She knew it was time to go home.

  “There they are,” Sam said, pointing off to the side.

  “Let’s gather up our newest kid and head for home,” Keely said once she caught up with Steffie and Lisa.

  For a moment, Steffie looked as if she were going to protest, but it subsided before it began.

  “Did you two have fun?” she asked.

  “Your mother enjoyed the rides,” Sam replied.

  The two girls exchanged a secret look.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow,” Lisa told Steffie.

  “We’re going to walk them to their truck,” Sam said.

  The adults chose to wait in the background as the girls collected the puppy and Sam picked up the bag of kibble.

  “I thought the town was safe at night,” Keely said archly as they walked to her truck.

  “It is, but it doesn’t hurt for me to look around out here, too.” Sam stowed the bag of kibble in the back of the Blazer while Lisa held the puppy then handed him up to Steffie after she was settled in the passenger seat,

  Keely stood by the open driver’s door looking up at Sam.

  “I must say it was an interesting evening, Sheriff,” she murmured.

  A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Very informative, Mrs. Harper. I’m glad you enjoyed it”

  She let her fingertip trail along his waistband. “Let me put it this way. If there weren’t two impressionable teenagers on the other side of this truck, I would show you just how much I enjoyed it. Good night, Sam.” She climbed up into the driver’s seat and switched on the engine.

  Sam blew out a deep breath as he watched the truck drive off.

  “I’m glad you two guys had fun. Dad,” Lisa said, walking over to him.

  “Yeah, so am I,” he said more to himself.

  But Lisa caught his meaning and merely smiled.

  It wasn’t until they arrived home and Keely climbed out of the truck that she saw the creased sheet of paper on the driver’s seat She couldn’t understand why she hadn’t seen it before unless it was because her attention had been more focused on Sam.

  Her blood ran cold when she read the crudely printed words: Get out, witch, while you still can. Otherwise, you could end up like your parents.

  Chapter I0

  “I want to know what the hell is going on here.”

  Sam knuckled his eyes open to better see the sheet of paper thrust in front of his face.

  “Is this a test?” he asked in a raspy voice.

  Without waiting for an invitation, Keely marched past him and continued walking until she reached the kitchen.

  Sam groggily turned around and walked back the same way. He winced every time he heard a cabinet door slam.

  “Where’s your damn coffee?” He winced again at her shout.

  “In the refrigerator.” He lowered himself gingerly into a chair. “Do you mind my asking what’s going on?”

  Keely spun around. He was stunned to see her wild-eyed and features pulled tight. She spun back around and quickly prepared the coffee. She stood there, hands gripping the side of the counter as she stared at the coffeemaker as if willing the dark liquid to drip faster. He noted her spine was rigid with tension. The paper she had held out to him was crushed in one hand. He settled back, knowing she wouldn’t tell him what was going on until she was good and ready. He would just have to wait

  He stifled a yawn. He just wished he’d had more sleep before this surprise visit had been sprung on him. Getting a police call three am. and not getting back until an hour ago had completely fuzzed up his brain. It was eleven a.m. now, but Sam felt as if it was the middle of the night.

  He rubbed his hand over his face, grimacing at the bristly feel of his morning beard against his palm. He already sensed he wouldn’t get in a quick shave and shower first.

  The moment there was enough coffee in the pot, Keely poured out two cups and carried them over to the table. She set one cup in front of Sam along with the piece
of paper, then sat down in the chair to his right.

  “So tell me, noble sheriff, what do you think this means?” she asked with a sarcastic edge to her voice that could have cut steel.

  Sam’s blood ran cold the moment he read the words. Now he knew for sure the incident when she and Steffie were skating hadn’t been an accident. It wasn’t kids who’d boosted Rick’s truck for a joyride. It was someone who was thumbing his nose at the law by stealing a law officer’s vehicle and trying to run down an innocent person. Which could only mean one thing.

  “Sam!” Her palm slapped down on the table in front of him. “I want to know what the hell this mean!â€�

  He looked up. There was fury in her gaze but also a hint of fear. He hated to think that no matter what he said, he could only compound that fear. He picked up his cup and drank deeply. The scalding hot liquid helped clear his head. He doubted there would be any chance of lifting prints off the note other than Keely’s.

  “Where did you find this?” he asked, gesturing toward the paper.

  Incredibly, her face turned a pale pink.

  “It was on the seat of my truck,” she replied. “I didn’t notice it until we got home last night.” She cradled her cup between her palms as if she needed the heat to warm hands that looked oh-so-cold. “I didn’t tell Steffie. I didn’t want to frighten her.”

  Sam frowned. “Your truck was locked.” He made it a statement since he remembered seeing her disarm the lock.

  She nodded. “I didn’t set the alarm only because I didn’t see any need to. When I arrived home, I found it on the seat when I got out.” When she picked up her cup, her hands trembled so violently she tightened her hold. The cup rattled against her teeth as she drank. “Who could hate me this much?” she whispered, once she’d set the cup back down.

  Sam sighed. “I wish I knew.”

  Something about his tone caught her attention.

  “But you have an idea why, don’t you?” she said sharply. She leaned forward and grasped his arm that had been resting on the tabletop. “Don’t you?”

  The tension in the room was thick enough to qualify as a fog. Keely’s face was so taut, she resembled a marble statue. Her gaze didn’t leave his face as she seemed to search for the answer there.

  Now, more than ever, Sam wished he’d had a decent night’s sleep, so his brain wouldn’t feel so fuzzy that it seemed as if he had to scramble for an answer that would satisfy her. As it was, he had a hunch the only answer that would satisfy her would be the truth. He leaned back in his chair and combed his fingers through his hair.

  “Yes.”

  Keely straightened up. “Tell me.”

  He knew he couldn’t lie to her. Lies would only put off the inevitable.

  “I think someone has a major grudge against you, but I have no idea who.” That was true. He didn’t know who.

  But he was going to check on old Willis and see if he was still in prison or if he was out. Sam would prefer the old man was dead.

  Keely stood up and walked over to the coffeemaker. She refilled her cup and carried the pot over to the table, refilling Sam’s cup also.

  “A grudge? Against me? I haven’t lived here long enough to make any enemies! Why would someone hate me so much?” she wondered, after she’d sat back down.

  He didn’t dare tell her. He had no idea what it would do to her, to discover something she’d locked away in the back of her mind for so many years.

  “There could be any number of reasons,” he said evasively, hating himself for putting her off with a cop’s stock answer. “What I can do is look into this. Talk to people. See if anyone saw someone lurking by your truck last night. This kind of sloppy printing makes it difficult to recognize a person’s handwriting. It doesn’t look familiar to me.” He flicked the edge of the paper with his fingertip.

  Keely’s fury seemed to leave her body at the same time as her bones did. She collapsed back in her chair. She placed her hands together, the fingertips touching in steeple fashion, and rested them against her lips.

  “This has something to do with my parents, doesn’t it?” she asked in a soft voice.

  Sam squeezed his eyes shut, more because he couldn’t bear to see the pain in her face than because weariness was still riding over him in waves.

  “I will see what I can find out,” he said finally.

  That was when Keely had a good look at him and realized he wasn’t wearing anything more than a pair of white briefs. His chest had the breadth of a mature man, a faint sprinkling of gray among the darker brown hair dusting the tanned skin. A round puckered scar marred one shoulder and several white lines scored his skin just under his armpit and across one copper-colored nipple. Her mouth grew very dry. That was when she realized that they were alone in the house. She should know. Lisa had stopped by and picked up Steffie, so they could attend a baseball game at the park. It was so quiet in the room the wall clock ticking was the only sound.

  How foolish could she have been? As it was, she’d paced her room most of the night as the words from the note echoed in her head. She lost count of the number of times she’d stood at the window looking out. She wondered if the person who wrote it was out there watching her, knowing the note had upset her. The moment Steffie left the house, Keely had grabbed her keys and run into the garage. A stop at the sheriff’s station alerted her that Sam was at home, so she sped out here. She just hadn’t expected to find him looking sleepy and tousled. And incredibly sexy.

  She wasn’t sure whether to feel embarrassed or aroused.

  If she was smart, she’d make as graceful, and swift, an exit as possible.

  “Did I come at a bad time?”

  Sam’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Nice time to ask that” He sipped his coffee.

  She fidgeted in her seat. “It might have something to do with it being eleven o’clock in the morning and I obviously got you out of bed,” she said nervously. She wanted to look anywhere but his chest, but her eyes refused to leave such a lovely view.

  “I guess this is when I should apologize for intruding so abruptly,” she said with hesitation hitching her voice. She thought about standing up, but she wasn’t sure her legs would support her.

  Sam shrugged. While his near naked form bothered her it didn’t bother him. “No problem. I was called out last night because of a fight at the tavern. Only got back to bed about an hour ago.”

  Which meant his sheets were still rumpled on his bed. She quickly shifted her errant thoughts back to the subject at hand.

  It’s just that note had me so upset that I couldn’t even think straight” She didn’t think she was babbling. Oh, God, she hoped she wasn’t babbling. Too late, she was babbling.

  Sam shook his head. “I’m hungry. You up to eating something?” He stood up and headed for the refrigerator.

  Keely could only see a very firm male butt encased in white cotton. Her mouth was watering but not for eggs and bacon.

  “I really should go.” Did her voice honestly sound that faint?

  “Don’t worry. I haven’t burned anything in a few weeks.” He pulled out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon.

  Keely jumped to her feet and walked over to him. “Tell you what. I’ll do the cooking while you shower.” She nudged him to one side with her hip.

  Sam grinned as if he guessed her suggestion was more for him to dress than to shower.

  “Yes ma’am.” He sketched a salute and ambled out of the room.

  It took all of Keely’s willpower but she didn’t watch him leave the kitchen. She figured she’d already seen enough and what she saw was definitely all man.

  She would have tried to be a little fancy and whip up an omelet but it didn’t take long for her to realize scrambled eggs would be all she could handle.

  By the time Sam returned with damp hair and cheeks freshly shaved, she had eggs and bacon ready and bread in the toaster. She nodded for him to sit while she set the filled plate in front of him.

&nbs
p; “I couldn’t find any juice,” she told him.

  He grimaced. “Lisa probably finished the last of it this morning. She’s supposed to leave a note when she does, but she never remembers.” He dug hungrily into his food.

  “Do you get called out in the middle of the night often?” she asked, reclaiming her chair. She rested her chin on her palm as she waited for his answer.

  “Not too often.” He slathered raspberry jam on his toast. “But I was on call last night. As soon as I felt Lisa was old enough to be left alone at night, I put myself on the call board for nights. I never believed in having my men do anything I wouldn’t do. When I got down there Fergus was on a roll and not about to be hauled in for the usual drunk and disorderly charge.”

  “Fergus?” she repeated.

  He nodded. “Fergus is a retired logger and he looks like a Sherman tank. He can break a man’s jaw by barely tapping it and he’s broken more than his share of other men’s’ bones. Essentially he’s harmless, but about once a month he remembers Gina, who left him fifteen years ago, and he drowns his sorrows in a few beers too many. He’ll start a fight and we get called in. Right now, he’s sleeping it off in a cell and once he wakes up, we’ll let him out and he’ll go down to the tavern and pay damages.”

  “That’s it? No fine? No jail time?” Keely asked

  Sam shook his head. “No, not as long as he pays for damages. That’s the difference in a small town. We juggle the law a little more out here and take things into account that wouldn’t be considered in the city.”

  She shook her head in wonderment. “I like that idea.”

  “So do I.”

  Keely sipped her coffee as Sam finished his meal.

  “That was great,” he told her as he pushed his plate to one side and reached for his coffee cup.

  She shrugged. “No problem. Steffie’s into cereal bars right now, so breakfast isn’t hot food as much anymore.”

  “And around here cereal bars and cereal period are a fact of life if we want breakfast.” He grinned.