scar above his right eye.
“Oh, God, I can’t believe you’re here!” I pressed my face against his and clung to him as if my life depended on it.
“That makes two of us,” he said, one big hand caressing my back. “I had one hell of a time getting rid of Tricia and Tanya.”
I raised my head and rolled over slightly. “How did you do it?”
“By beating Tricia at her own game. I started by saying that maybe I shouldn’t have spent the money to send her and Tanya to Hawaii. Seeing all those happy couples on the beach might’ve caused a setback for Tanya. Maybe it was my fault for not thinking it through.”
“Devious,” I murmured, unaccustomed to Milo playing games. “It was her idea.”
“You don’t know Tricia,” Milo said after kissing the top of my head. “She’s never been wrong in her life. Her latest crazy idea was to put Tanya in RestHaven. I told her that was really smart. Then I mentioned that the shrink Tanya had been seeing in Bellevue couldn’t be much good or she wouldn’t have tried to kill herself. I knew damned well that Tricia had handpicked the guy. Of course she started defending Strudelblob or whatever his name is, and she decided he was still the one to save Tanya. They took off after Sung signed the release papers.”
I grinned at Milo. “You don’t feel kind of guilty?”
“For what? I didn’t do anything to create this whole mess. Last night Tricia and I searched her room to see if Tanya had any more pills. She didn’t. In fact, there were no pills at all. The Celexa came from a bottle that had been for a med prescribed by the Bellevue shrink. Tricia knew it’d just been refilled, so Tanya must’ve gottenthe Valium somewhere else. Maybe it backfired on her or she took both.”
“But,” I said, “shouldn’t she be closely supervised? Do you trust Tricia to do that?”
“I talked to Bran today. My son’s got more sense than Tricia and Tanya put together, though where he got it from, I’ll never know.”
I poked the sheriff in the chest. “How about from you, big guy? Even Vida admits you’re the only Dodge who has good sense.”
Milo made a face. “Maybe. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not sure I was totally fair with Tricia, but she was the one who walked. Or ran, given that she was so hot for Jake the Snake. Too bad she couldn’t see that while snakes might shed their skin, they don’t change their habits.”
“You did well with the situation. I’m unused to you being crafty.”
I felt him shrug. “I have to go that route with perps sometimes. Make them feel we’re wrong for busting them in the first place.”
I rolled over onto my back. “Hungry?”
“Not anymore,” Milo said, running his hand from my thigh to my chin. “But I wouldn’t mind eating some dinner. Maybe I’ll try putting the new bed together later on. Should we store your old one at my place, or are you still thinking about putting it in Adam’s old room?”
“I don’t know,” I hedged, reluctantly getting out of bed and wondering where my clothes had ended up between the front door and the bedroom. “The twin in that bedroom is small, my son is not, but that room’s crowded. Adam has most of his worldly goods stored in there. He has no extra space in his village rectory.”
“Maybe I can get together with Scott Melville over the weekend about putting on the addition,” Milo said. He yawned and stretched before getting to his feet. “And don’t argue. We can afford it.”
“I can’t,” I said. “Those crabs will keep me broke until I pay myself out of what’s left for my staff at the end of the month.”
“Damn it, Emma, don’t worry about it. I’m going to sell my house.”
“That may not happen right away. Besides, you told me you had to do some basic maintenance. And cleanup,” I added archly as I put on my good bathrobe. Even Milo had finally despaired over the ratty blue one I’d worn for most of my years in Alpine. Maybe that was because one
“Oh, God, I can’t believe you’re here!” I pressed my face against his and clung to him as if my life depended on it.
“That makes two of us,” he said, one big hand caressing my back. “I had one hell of a time getting rid of Tricia and Tanya.”
I raised my head and rolled over slightly. “How did you do it?”
“By beating Tricia at her own game. I started by saying that maybe I shouldn’t have spent the money to send her and Tanya to Hawaii. Seeing all those happy couples on the beach might’ve caused a setback for Tanya. Maybe it was my fault for not thinking it through.”
“Devious,” I murmured, unaccustomed to Milo playing games. “It was her idea.”
“You don’t know Tricia,” Milo said after kissing the top of my head. “She’s never been wrong in her life. Her latest crazy idea was to put Tanya in RestHaven. I told her that was really smart. Then I mentioned that the shrink Tanya had been seeing in Bellevue couldn’t be much good or she wouldn’t have tried to kill herself. I knew damned well that Tricia had handpicked the guy. Of course she started defending Strudelblob or whatever his name is, and she decided he was still the one to save Tanya. They took off after Sung signed the release papers.”
I grinned at Milo. “You don’t feel kind of guilty?”
“For what? I didn’t do anything to create this whole mess. Last night Tricia and I searched her room to see if Tanya had any more pills. She didn’t. In fact, there were no pills at all. The Celexa came from a bottle that had been for a med prescribed by the Bellevue shrink. Tricia knew it’d just been refilled, so Tanya must’ve gottenthe Valium somewhere else. Maybe it backfired on her or she took both.”
“But,” I said, “shouldn’t she be closely supervised? Do you trust Tricia to do that?”
“I talked to Bran today. My son’s got more sense than Tricia and Tanya put together, though where he got it from, I’ll never know.”
I poked the sheriff in the chest. “How about from you, big guy? Even Vida admits you’re the only Dodge who has good sense.”
Milo made a face. “Maybe. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not sure I was totally fair with Tricia, but she was the one who walked. Or ran, given that she was so hot for Jake the Snake. Too bad she couldn’t see that while snakes might shed their skin, they don’t change their habits.”
“You did well with the situation. I’m unused to you being crafty.”
I felt him shrug. “I have to go that route with perps sometimes. Make them feel we’re wrong for busting them in the first place.”
I rolled over onto my back. “Hungry?”
“Not anymore,” Milo said, running his hand from my thigh to my chin. “But I wouldn’t mind eating some dinner. Maybe I’ll try putting the new bed together later on. Should we store your old one at my place, or are you still thinking about putting it in Adam’s old room?”
“I don’t know,” I hedged, reluctantly getting out of bed and wondering where my clothes had ended up between the front door and the bedroom. “The twin in that bedroom is small, my son is not, but that room’s crowded. Adam has most of his worldly goods stored in there. He has no extra space in his village rectory.”
“Maybe I can get together with Scott Melville over the weekend about putting on the addition,” Milo said. He yawned and stretched before getting to his feet. “And don’t argue. We can afford it.”
“I can’t,” I said. “Those crabs will keep me broke until I pay myself out of what’s left for my staff at the end of the month.”
“Damn it, Emma, don’t worry about it. I’m going to sell my house.”
“That may not happen right away. Besides, you told me you had to do some basic maintenance. And cleanup,” I added archly as I put on my good bathrobe. Even Milo had finally despaired over the ratty blue one I’d worn for most of my years in Alpine. Maybe that was because one
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