Page 60 of Dark Side of the River

“You have no idea who the man could be?” she asked.

“Not a clue. Leann and I were friends. It had never been serious.”

She was glad to hear that. She’d never been serious about anyone she’d dated either. Coop was another story. Just being around him had always made her blood simmer. When she was younger, she’d thought it was because she’d found him so annoying. Now she knew better. There’d always been a spark between them.

“What’s kind of disturbing is the notepaper Leann used to leave me what they thought was a suicide note. Stu had one of their notepads in his desk drawer at the sheriff’s department.”

“What?” Tilly didn’t know what to make of this.

“He pulled it out to show me, saying a lot of people had the notepads. I took the notepad. The last thing he’d written on it was Leann’s name, as if starting a note to her. You see why I need answers? It’s like everything just keeps circling around CH4—even Leann’s death, your sister’s shooting—but for some reason, the sheriff isn’t interested in chasing that particular lead.”

She was almost afraid to ask. “You don’t think Stuart...”

“That he was the man Leann was going to leave town with? I don’t know. It did cross my mind.”

Tilly felt a chill at the thought that the sheriff could be more involved with Leann’s death than anyone knew. “But just because he had one of the notepads...”

“Exactly.”

She couldn’t believe that she’d gone from liking Stuart to being almost afraid of him to not trusting him to the point that she thought he might be dangerous. Might be a killer. She looked over at Cooper. “Do you trust Stuart?”

He glanced at her, then back to his driving. “Right now? Not a whole lot.”

They drove in silence for a few minutes. She could tell that he was mulling over everything too. “Supper was really nice last night,” she said, wanting to change the subject as they drove through badlands, rocky hills dotted with pines, groves of cottonwoods near the Powder River.

It was a beautiful summer day, the kind that made people want to move to Montana. The blue of the sky was almost blinding. A few puffy clouds dotted the horizon. Overhead, the sun lolled in that big sky, promising another hot day. Summers were short. This one was going fast. She couldn’t believe it was almost the Fourth of July.

“I’m sorry about my brother and Holly Jo,” Cooper said, as if he too wanted to change the subject that was nagging at both of them.

“What is the deal with Holly Jo coming to live with you?” she asked.

“Who knows? Dad hasn’t really explained who she is or why she’s there apparently to stay.”

“She and Treyton are so angry.” Tilly thought of her mother this morning. “We knew there would be some resistance when people saw us together.”

He chuckled at that. “You could say that. I heard CJ was waiting when Deacon dropped off you and your horse.”

“I was glad we took his advice, and you didn’t come with me.”

“You do realize we’re fighting an uphill battle if we take this to the next step,” Cooper said.

“I’m up for the challenge. How about you?” she had to ask, half-afraid of what his answer would be.

He smiled over at her. “I have to be, since I can’t seem to stay away from you. All I think about is getting you naked.”

“The feeling is mutual,” she said as she reached over and put her hand on his thigh.

He glanced down at her hand. “You do realize what that will get you,” he joked.

“I can only hope,” she said as Baker appeared on the horizon. “You are talking about the best burger within a hundred miles, right?”

“Right,” he said as he pulled into the lot, parked and unbuckled his seat belt to reach for her. The kiss was full of promise.

But she didn’t deceive herself. Their families would be a problem. They already were. If what she’d heard about Holden McKenna and her mother was true, he’d taken the easy way out by marrying the woman his father approved of instead of Charlotte Stafford, the woman he loved.

If true, she couldn’t bear that history might repeat itself. Yet she could understand how hard it would be, and not just for them, but their children, if the two families continued this feud. Worse, she thought of Treyton and her brother CJ. It could get violent. Someone could get hurt. Or maybe they already had, if Oakley wasn’t shot by the meth dealers but someone from the McKenna Ranch for trespassing.

“Hungry?” Cooper asked as he ended the kiss.

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