Page 14 of Everyone Loved Her

“It’s okay,” I told her, forcing a smile to cover the deep concern in my chest. “I’ll talk to Greg and we’ll figure it out… But what doyouwant to do, Mom?” I asked the question, my own emotions suddenly all over the place. I couldn’t imagine the ranchnotbeing a part of my family, but if the finances were reallythatbad... The landwasworth a lot—millions, probably.

“Oh, Beth,” she waved me off. “It doesn’t really matter what I want. I just want to set you up for a future that suits you. If that means sellin’ the ranch, then so be it. I can move to town. Lord knows I can’t keep up with all the management of this place without your dad. If it wasn’t for Blaze, your father and I would’ve drowned three years ago. He works here for much less than he should—and works part-time as a deputy for the county to make up for it.”

So, Blaze is a saint, too. Good to know.

I chewed the inside of my cheek, not even sure what to say to her. “I’ll just have to go in and look at it, but just so you know,” I paused, my heart squeezing. “I’ll figure out a way to keep you here on this ranch if possible. As hard as it is for me to be in this town, there’s no way I can handle moving you off to some house in town, just so I can put some cash in our pockets.”

She gave me a grateful smile, however, it quickly faded as the sound of sirens filled the air. “What in the world...”

I whipped my head toward the ever-growing noise, which was quickly accompanied by the sound of tires on our gravel drive. My heart rate skyrocketed, my pulse thudding wildly in my chest.What in the world?My head whipped back toward the corrals, where the guys had ceased their training session, all eyes looking past the back porch to the front—which was out of Mom and I’s line of sight.

Oxygen felt as though it has been sucked right out of my lungs as a county sheriff’s truck came careening around the back of the house, stopping to park in the gravel, not far from the blue truck I had driven home. Mom and I watched in silence as Sheriff Myers stepped out of the vehicle. He had a grim look on his face as he adjusted his Stetson cowboy hat before heading in our direction.

“Do you know what this is about?” I turned to Mom, giving her a curious look. “Does he come here just to see you?”

“No...” Mom’s voice trailed off as she glanced over at me, and then out to where Blaze was opening the corral gate. “If anything, Sheriff Myers only ever comes by if it’s to talk with Blaze... But he would’ve seen Blaze out in the arena… I don’t know… I really don’t.”

My chest tightened as I took in the county sheriff, who I also hadn’t seen in years. He looked an awful lot like Garrett, though his hair was lighter in color and gray now beneath his hat. The tall, brawny sheriff gave us a nod as he approached the old back porch. He climbed the steps in a way that was almost painful to watch, the boards giving under his weight. “Good morning, ladies.”

“Sheriff Myers,” Mom said to him,her voice cautious. “What can we do for you? Blaze is right out there.” She gestured to the cowboy watching us from afar.

“Well,” he began, his gray eyes surrounded by matching dark circles on his weathered skin. “I was wondering if I could have a word with your daughter.”

“Me?” I asked stupidly, pointing to my chest.

He gave me a hardened look, like he hadn’t ever met me before. “Yep,you.”

Chapter 8

I followedSheriff Myers back toward his truck, pausing to look back at my mom, whose eyes were nearly as wide as her slender face. It made me feel sick to my stomach, and all I could think about was Garrett, staggering around behind the bar last night.Did something happen to him?

“Um, would you mind telling me what this is about?” I turned back to the sheriff, who walked with a slight forward lean, favoring his left leg. He had always had that gait, and I wrung my hands to keep the memories at bay.

He stopped when we made it to his truck, and turned around, leaning his body against the hood. “Well, for starters, why don’t you tell me where you were last night, Beth.”

There was something in his voice that rang my lawyer alarm bell, and I proceeded cautiously. “I went out for some drinks with Sarah Armitage, and then I came home.” My gaze flickered over to Blaze, who had joined my mom on the porch, his eyes trained in my direction. “Is something wrong, Sheriff Myers? I spoke with Blaze when I got here.”

He let out a heavy sigh before removing his cowboy hat andsetting it on the hood. “Yeah, actually somethingiswrong, Miss Young. What time did you leave the bar last night? And what time did you get home?”

My stomach began to churn at the routine questions. “Um, somewhere around ten-thirty, I think. It might’ve actually been a little before or after that. I was here by eleven though. I know that.”

“And can anyone confirm your arrival time home?”

I bit my lip. “I-I mean, yeah. I told you that I spoke with Blaze when I first got home. They were working some horses in the arena, and he asked me to come watch. I didn’t though. I was tired. I don’t really get where you’re going with this though,” I added quickly, my voice shifting from nervous to stern. He may have caught me off-guard, but I wasn’t going to stay that way.

He was silent for a few beats, and my heartbeat throbbed in the moment of quiet. Finally, he folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. Sarah Armitage’s body was found under Hollow Creek Bridge, just a mile and a half from here. Now, according to some of the fellas in town, they said they saw you with her at Outlaws last night.”

I blinked at him a few times, still trying to process what I was hearing. “Wait, Sarah is...dead? Is that what you’re saying?”

His eyes bore into mine, mirroring that of his son’s—though not reddened by alcohol. “Thatiswhat I just said, Beth. Now, I just need you to tell me anything and everything that you can remember about last night, and don’t leaveanythingout. Smallest detail might be helpful.”

I swallowed hard, replaying the events in my head. “Uh, I met Sarah for drinks around eight-thirty. I was early. We chatted for about an hour? I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I justknow that her phone was going off like crazy and she kept silencing it.” Sheriff Myers nodded, jotting things down on a notepad. “After that, it was probably like nine-thirty when she randomly said that she needed to go to the bathroom—and then she never came back.”

That last bit caught his attention and his head jerked upwards. “So what? She just left?”

“Um, well, I watched her walk down the far hallway at the back of Outlaws. I never realized that wasn’t where the bathroom is. When she hadn’t returned for like twenty minutes, I went looking for her and realized the only thing at the end of the hallway was an exit to the back.” I could feel myself beginning to ramble, but I kept myself in check. I was a lawyer for heaven’s sake. I knew how to handle the police...

Though I’d never been the one being questioned about a crime.

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