adjust her hair and caught another flicker of amusement in his eyes. “What?”
“Great outfit.”
“But you knew me, even in that bad lighting,” she said in disgust. “I wonder if anyone else did.”
“I doubt it, but it would take more than a wig and caterpillars on your eyelids for me to miss someone like you,” he said with a faint, enigmatic smile. “I’d recognize your profile and your attitude anywhere.”
“Thanks.”
“I kept an eye on things once I saw you because you seemed to be stirring up an awful lot of masculine interest over the ‘floozy’ in their midst. But don’t worry—if anyone had recognized you as a deputy, the word would’ve spread fast.”
“Because of the smoking violations and some underage drinkers in there, I suppose. And I can only imagine what else.” She sighed. “Not exactly what I was after, but I’ll make sure Ewan follows up. It’s his territory.”
She suddenly knew that Scott had been the man she’d sensed watching her back there, not the unknown killer she’d hoped was marking his next prey. If the insurance guy and the surly rancher didn’t pan out, then the night had been a failure. Well, it had been a long shot, anyway.
“Since the boys inside must assume that I’m the mysterious fiancé I heard about, I don’t suppose it’ll look strange if I walk you to your truck.” He cracked a smile and tipped his head toward the unlit perimeter of the lot, where she’d parked. “Do you mind?”
“I don’t need protection.” She started for her truck and he fell in step with her.
“Never thought you did. I just figured it would be better to get you out of there before you blew your cover, and had that jerk belly down on the floor with his hands cuffed behind his back.”
“Now there’s a pleasing thought.” She knew he was just honoring her pride, though he’d truly thought she needed help. If it had been Hal, Ewan or any of the other guys, she would have been offended. But from Scott the interference felt different, and now a small, warm ember started to burn deep in her heart.
And with it, a measure of guilt.
“I’m sorry.”
“About what?”
“For jumping to conclusions, back there.” She bit her lower lip. “For questioning you about why you were here.”
He shrugged. “It’s your job to cover all the bases. Sometimes the most serious offenders can appear to be as innocent as lambs.”
“But I should know better. You have no priors of any kind. And I know what you do—or did, in your career before coming here.”
“When you make a career of investigating people, it’s hard to put the doubts and suspicion aside.” Something akin to pain flickered in his eyes, gone almost too quickly for her to catch. “Sometimes it’s safer not to.”
A couple of cowboys ambled out of the tavern and headed for opposite ends of the parking lot. These two, at least, looked as if they were steady on their feet.
Scott glanced down at what she held at her side. “Souvenir?”
“Sort of.” She lifted a shoulder. “Since it’s been such a lovely night, and all.”
With luck, she’d be able to lift Lane’s prints off his beer bottle and find some sort of record on him in the national AFIS registry. The knowing look in Scott’s eyes told her he knew exactly what she planned to do.
He walked with her, casually making conversation until she was in her pickup, the doors locked and the driver’s side window rolled down. “Take care, you hear? Stay out of trouble.”
“My job is taking care of trouble, Anders. Not avoiding it.”
“No insult intended. Just…take care.”
“I appreciate your concern, and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. But please understand that I don’t need help, and I don’t need someone to watch over me. I’ve done my job for years now, as well as any man in the department—and better than some.”
He lingered briefly, as if he wanted to say more, and in that silent, breathless moment she had a
“Great outfit.”
“But you knew me, even in that bad lighting,” she said in disgust. “I wonder if anyone else did.”
“I doubt it, but it would take more than a wig and caterpillars on your eyelids for me to miss someone like you,” he said with a faint, enigmatic smile. “I’d recognize your profile and your attitude anywhere.”
“Thanks.”
“I kept an eye on things once I saw you because you seemed to be stirring up an awful lot of masculine interest over the ‘floozy’ in their midst. But don’t worry—if anyone had recognized you as a deputy, the word would’ve spread fast.”
“Because of the smoking violations and some underage drinkers in there, I suppose. And I can only imagine what else.” She sighed. “Not exactly what I was after, but I’ll make sure Ewan follows up. It’s his territory.”
She suddenly knew that Scott had been the man she’d sensed watching her back there, not the unknown killer she’d hoped was marking his next prey. If the insurance guy and the surly rancher didn’t pan out, then the night had been a failure. Well, it had been a long shot, anyway.
“Since the boys inside must assume that I’m the mysterious fiancé I heard about, I don’t suppose it’ll look strange if I walk you to your truck.” He cracked a smile and tipped his head toward the unlit perimeter of the lot, where she’d parked. “Do you mind?”
“I don’t need protection.” She started for her truck and he fell in step with her.
“Never thought you did. I just figured it would be better to get you out of there before you blew your cover, and had that jerk belly down on the floor with his hands cuffed behind his back.”
“Now there’s a pleasing thought.” She knew he was just honoring her pride, though he’d truly thought she needed help. If it had been Hal, Ewan or any of the other guys, she would have been offended. But from Scott the interference felt different, and now a small, warm ember started to burn deep in her heart.
And with it, a measure of guilt.
“I’m sorry.”
“About what?”
“For jumping to conclusions, back there.” She bit her lower lip. “For questioning you about why you were here.”
He shrugged. “It’s your job to cover all the bases. Sometimes the most serious offenders can appear to be as innocent as lambs.”
“But I should know better. You have no priors of any kind. And I know what you do—or did, in your career before coming here.”
“When you make a career of investigating people, it’s hard to put the doubts and suspicion aside.” Something akin to pain flickered in his eyes, gone almost too quickly for her to catch. “Sometimes it’s safer not to.”
A couple of cowboys ambled out of the tavern and headed for opposite ends of the parking lot. These two, at least, looked as if they were steady on their feet.
Scott glanced down at what she held at her side. “Souvenir?”
“Sort of.” She lifted a shoulder. “Since it’s been such a lovely night, and all.”
With luck, she’d be able to lift Lane’s prints off his beer bottle and find some sort of record on him in the national AFIS registry. The knowing look in Scott’s eyes told her he knew exactly what she planned to do.
He walked with her, casually making conversation until she was in her pickup, the doors locked and the driver’s side window rolled down. “Take care, you hear? Stay out of trouble.”
“My job is taking care of trouble, Anders. Not avoiding it.”
“No insult intended. Just…take care.”
“I appreciate your concern, and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. But please understand that I don’t need help, and I don’t need someone to watch over me. I’ve done my job for years now, as well as any man in the department—and better than some.”
He lingered briefly, as if he wanted to say more, and in that silent, breathless moment she had a
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