she could definitely talk a man to death.”
“Are you going to help her?”
“I told her I’d talk to Ramsey, get a copy of the reports of each incident and take a look at them for any red flags.”
“You might want to talk to Zack. When Kate’s father was murdered he did some investigating into some of the other deaths.”
“Did he come to any conclusions?” Joshua asked.
“Apparently not.”
“He told me he’s thinking of running for sheriff in November.”
Clay nodded. “Ramsey has said he intends to retire.”
“According to Savannah he retired a long time ago and just didn’t tell anyone.”
Clay laughed, then sobered as he eyed his brother for a long moment. “You sure everything is all right?”
Joshua forced a grin to his lips. “You can officially report back to Dad that I’m fine. Just taking a little down time before deciding what I want to do.”
Clay rose from the chair. “Don’t forget you have a tuxedo fitting this afternoon. I can’t have my best man looking anything but his best.”
“Don’t worry, I promise I won’t embarrass you by turning up next weekend in anything but a well-fit tux.”
Clay started for the front door. “You coming in?”
“No, I think I’ll sit out here for a while.”
Clay gave him a long, measured look, then went into the house, leaving Joshua alone with his thoughts.
Joshua leaned back and stared out at the pasture in the distance. He’d missed this view. It hadn’t taken him long in New York City to recognize that he was a country kind of man at heart.
For a while the city had been exciting. The nightlife, the fast pace, so alien from what he’d known, had invigorated him. But, after the initial novelty had worn off, he’d missed home.
He’d missed the scent of fresh hay, of green grass and cattle. But, the view wasn’t all that he had missed. He’d been homesick for his brothers and his sister. Maybe because there had been no mother around, the siblings had grown up being unusually close.
But things were changing. Three of his brothers were either married or getting married. His eldest brother, Tanner, had married a princess who had come to Wild West Protective Services when renegade forces had taken over her father’s kingdom.
Zach had found love with the girl next door. Kate Sampson had captured his heart while he’d helped her investigate her father’s death.
And now Clay was about to take the walk down the aisle with the Hollywood beauty he’d fallen in love with. Three down, three to go, Joshua thought. He frowned as his thoughts returned to Savannah.
He needed to know if she’d uncovered something that made somebody nervous enough to take that shot the night before. The thoughts that had plagued him on his ride returned. What worried him was that it might not be about her at all.
It might be about him. He feared his problem from New York had followed him to Cotter Creek.
And if that were the case, then it was possible that just by being with her he’d put Savannah in more danger than she could ever imagine.
Chapter 5
I t was just after nine when Savannah drove toward the West ranch house. She was hoping to talk Smokey into allowing her to interview him for her column. The column was due the next day and she was running out of time. Of course, she’d much prefer interviewing Joshua, but he’d made it fairly clear he wasn’t interested.
Despite the horror of the night before, she’d slept like a baby. She liked to think her peaceful sleep came from the fact that whoever had shot at them had used birdshot and Joshua had told her it was obvious it wasn’t meant to kill. It didn’t hurt that Sheriff Ramsey had mentioned that kids had done something like that in the past.
Still, she suspected her deep sleep had been because she no longer felt so alone. At least for the moment she had Joshua on her side.
Joshua . The man was definitely under her skin, and she wasn’t sure why. Granted he was nice-looking, but
“Are you going to help her?”
“I told her I’d talk to Ramsey, get a copy of the reports of each incident and take a look at them for any red flags.”
“You might want to talk to Zack. When Kate’s father was murdered he did some investigating into some of the other deaths.”
“Did he come to any conclusions?” Joshua asked.
“Apparently not.”
“He told me he’s thinking of running for sheriff in November.”
Clay nodded. “Ramsey has said he intends to retire.”
“According to Savannah he retired a long time ago and just didn’t tell anyone.”
Clay laughed, then sobered as he eyed his brother for a long moment. “You sure everything is all right?”
Joshua forced a grin to his lips. “You can officially report back to Dad that I’m fine. Just taking a little down time before deciding what I want to do.”
Clay rose from the chair. “Don’t forget you have a tuxedo fitting this afternoon. I can’t have my best man looking anything but his best.”
“Don’t worry, I promise I won’t embarrass you by turning up next weekend in anything but a well-fit tux.”
Clay started for the front door. “You coming in?”
“No, I think I’ll sit out here for a while.”
Clay gave him a long, measured look, then went into the house, leaving Joshua alone with his thoughts.
Joshua leaned back and stared out at the pasture in the distance. He’d missed this view. It hadn’t taken him long in New York City to recognize that he was a country kind of man at heart.
For a while the city had been exciting. The nightlife, the fast pace, so alien from what he’d known, had invigorated him. But, after the initial novelty had worn off, he’d missed home.
He’d missed the scent of fresh hay, of green grass and cattle. But, the view wasn’t all that he had missed. He’d been homesick for his brothers and his sister. Maybe because there had been no mother around, the siblings had grown up being unusually close.
But things were changing. Three of his brothers were either married or getting married. His eldest brother, Tanner, had married a princess who had come to Wild West Protective Services when renegade forces had taken over her father’s kingdom.
Zach had found love with the girl next door. Kate Sampson had captured his heart while he’d helped her investigate her father’s death.
And now Clay was about to take the walk down the aisle with the Hollywood beauty he’d fallen in love with. Three down, three to go, Joshua thought. He frowned as his thoughts returned to Savannah.
He needed to know if she’d uncovered something that made somebody nervous enough to take that shot the night before. The thoughts that had plagued him on his ride returned. What worried him was that it might not be about her at all.
It might be about him. He feared his problem from New York had followed him to Cotter Creek.
And if that were the case, then it was possible that just by being with her he’d put Savannah in more danger than she could ever imagine.
Chapter 5
I t was just after nine when Savannah drove toward the West ranch house. She was hoping to talk Smokey into allowing her to interview him for her column. The column was due the next day and she was running out of time. Of course, she’d much prefer interviewing Joshua, but he’d made it fairly clear he wasn’t interested.
Despite the horror of the night before, she’d slept like a baby. She liked to think her peaceful sleep came from the fact that whoever had shot at them had used birdshot and Joshua had told her it was obvious it wasn’t meant to kill. It didn’t hurt that Sheriff Ramsey had mentioned that kids had done something like that in the past.
Still, she suspected her deep sleep had been because she no longer felt so alone. At least for the moment she had Joshua on her side.
Joshua . The man was definitely under her skin, and she wasn’t sure why. Granted he was nice-looking, but
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