Page 57 of Everyone Loved Her

“Hey,” I said, giving her a half-hearted smile.

“Coffee?” Mom extended a second mug, mixed to the exact color I preferred.

I nodded, taking it from her. “Thank you.” I paused as she took a seat in the rocking chair, wrapped up in a black cardigan. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been.” I blurted out the words as emotions welled up in my chest. “It’s like I’ve just become one-track minded, and I shouldn’t have done that.”

She peered up at me, a soft expression on her face. “Honestly, even with the mess I feel like you’re in, I’m just glad to pass by you. It’s nice to have you around. The house doesn’t feel so empty when you’re here.”

“Well, I can do better than that,” I told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to start working out the finances here and getting a plan.”

“So you can leave?” She tipped her head back to look at me.

I hesitated, but then shook my head. “I’m not leaving for a while. I knew that when I came home. There’s a lot to get sorted here.”Especially if Blaze leaves.“Nothing permanent, but I think it’ll take longer than I first expected.”

Mom sighed. “I’m sorry you have to deal with the financial mess of the ranch. I really am. I never wanted that burden to fall on you.”

“I don’t mind.” I smiled at her, and then cast my gaze out to the barn, where Blaze’s truck fired off. He slung open the driver’s side door and climbed in, eyeing the two of us. He gave a quick tip of his hat, and then disappeared into the cab.

“He’s a mysterious man, isn’t he?” Mom mused, her eyes on the truck as it backed out of the driveway. “I think your dad hired him because he knew Blaze had his own past he was running from. He was good at that kind of thing—he could tell the quality of soul in someone. It was a gift. I was envious of it.”

I squeezed her shoulder. “Yeah, he did. He saw the good in everyone. That’s probably why he continued to visit Garrett after everything, when I couldn’t stand the thought of setting foot back in this town.”

“You did what I would’ve,” Mom said softly, placing her hand over mine and giving it a squeeze. “I was a runner, too, but then I realized that it never really made anything easier. It just puts off the inevitability of facing whatever you’re running from. You can never outrun your problems or feelings, no matter how far or fast you go.”

I take a deep breath, taking in the rolling hills, the grass losing its summertime luster. “I think I’m finally starting to understand that for myself, but still… While I think there’ll always be something there from the past, it’s time to let it go...or at leasttry.”

Mom tipped her head back to look at me, a somber smile on her face. “He’s paddling upstream right now. I’ve heard them talking in town—even at my bible study last night. I think you’re making the right decision to step back, but just because you’re stepping back, doesn’t mean you’re giving up. It just means you have to love him from a distance for now.”

Just like I’ve been doing the last sixteen years.

Chapter 27

Blaze stared at the calendar.It’d been over a week since he’d called Daniel asking for help on the case.Nothinghad moved in that time. Sure, everyone walked around like they were doing something, but they weren’t—and based on the hushed whispers in Sheriff Myer’s office, he knew that something was transpiring behind the scenes.

He’d left a business card at Outlaws for Lauren to contact him, but she hadn’t. Apparently, she’d taken some kind of vacation right after that whole conversation with Beth, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the disclosed secret had something to do with it. Was someone threatening her, too?

Tapping his pen on his desk, he mulled the whole thing over, mentally noting that Beth had seemed to take his advice, staying home and spending time with her mom. He hadn’t seen Garrett around, either, which had him thinking his family had him laying low somewhere.

Probably a good move.He sighed as his computer chimed with a new email, and he double clicked it, opening it up to anotification from the state lab. His heart started to thump with adrenaline immediately.

“What the…” His inaudible mumble trailed off as he read the words.

It appears the victim tested positive for envenomation from a pit viper. The timing of the bite was prior to the time of death. To answer your question, yes, we do believe that Caroline Murphy was bitten by a venomous snake prior to death, causing cardiac arrest.

Blaze couldn’t breathe as he shoved himself back from the desk, jumping to his feet. He stormed to Sheriff Myer’s office, feeling sick to his stomach. Knocking on the door, he rocked back on his heels, already starting to sweat.

“Come in,” the sheriff called out.

Blaze swung the door open. “I just got an email with a lab report about some snake bite on a victim? What the hell is that about?”

Sheriff Myers furrowed his brow. “Uh… Yeah? We just had to get the cause of death done for a woman who died outside of Huntersville a few months ago. They just wanted confirmation.”

“A fewmonthsago?” Blaze was choking on his words now, trying to wrap his head around it. “How did I not know about this?”

The sheriff looked confused. “Because it wasn’t a crime? Someone found her up north on the edge of a field. You were off helping Peter or somethin’. So, I sent Dylan and a couple others up there to take care of it. No foul play suspected. Wefound some kind of bite… Probably a snake, by the looks of the email you got. Looks like we can close it.”

Blaze’s heart hammered in his ears. “And you’resurethere were no signs of foul play?”

Sheriff Myers raised a brow. “Uh,yes.You wanting to play TV detective and assume there’s a serial killer or something?” He chuckled, shaking his head. “You can just print off the report and give it to Dylan. He’ll put it in the file and close it.”

---