Page 26 of Dark Side of the River

“Did you get my messages?” he asked.

“I’ve been busy,” she answered without looking at him. Okay, she was still angry about last night. Reminding herself of some of the nice things he’d done in the past, including making her popcorn last night, she turned to him. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

“I don’t want that either.” There was a tightness in his voice. “I was out of line last night about Cooper.”

Interesting. “That’s all?”

“As for you crime solving on your own, damn it, Tilly, I’m the sheriff. I can arrest you for interfering in my investigation.”

“So arrest me, because that is the only way you’re going to stop me.” They locked gazes for a long moment.

“This isn’t a game,” he snapped, angrily running a hand over his short blond hair.

“Don’t you think I know that?” she snapped back. “I also know that you’re understaffed, and you don’t know my sister as well as I do.” He raised a brow at the last and she had to drop her gaze, feeling her cheeks flush. “No, I don’t know what she was doing on the McKenna Ranch or who shot her. I don’t even know who she’s been dating. But I know my sister.” She took a breath. “I think it might have something to do with CH4, the gas company that drilled on our ranch. Oakley was adamantly opposed to the drilling. She and my mother fought over it. I think that’s what was going on that day.”

“That doesn’t really explain why she would have been on the McKenna Ranch. There isn’t any drilling going on there.”

“What was the company plane doing in that area? We talked to the pilot and the passenger. Have you met Tick Whitaker? He’s a good ole boy from the South, a real charmer.”

“Are you saying your sister might have been involved with him?”

“Not in the way you think, if I’m right. It’s just a feeling I have.”

“This is exactly what I’m talking about. I’m the one who needs to interview these people. I’m working the case, Tilly, as fast as I can. I have the lab trying to establish the rifle used based on the slug taken out of your sister. My job isn’t just about interviewing possible witnesses.”

“My point exactly,” she said. “How long before you know who shot her?” When he didn’t answer, she groaned and threw open her door.

He grabbed her arm before she could get out. “I’ll look into the methane gas angle, okay? But it’s not the only one I’m chasing, all right?”

She stared at him. “If you know something—”

“Tilly, trust me. I’m going to find your sister’s shooter, okay? Just give me a little time. I can’t be worrying about you and what you’re up to.” His gaze met hers. “I don’t want you getting shot too. We don’t know if the shooting was an accident or if the person who pulled that trigger was trying to kill your sister. You don’t want to find yourself in the crosshairs of a killer because you asked too many questions of the wrong people.”

She felt as if she’d been doused with ice water. His words reverberated through her. Shehadforgotten that she could be chasing a would-be killer. “Aren’t you worried that the person who shot Oakley isn’t finished? What if he tries to finish the job at the hospital?”

“Don’t you think I’ve thought of that?” he demanded, shaking his head. “She’s in intensive care, where there is always someone on duty. The only visitors she gets are family, and even then, I’ve alerted the nurses to watch family in addition to strangers. I’m doing everything I can.”

“I’m sorry. Thank you.”

“I don’t want this to come between us,” he said quietly.

Tilly knew what he was also saying. He didn’t want Cooper to come between them. “It won’t,” she assured him.

He reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I hope not. I felt like you and I were just getting started.” He sounded so serious. She liked Stuart, had enjoyed going out with him. They’d gotten close—just not as close as he would have liked since they still hadn’t had sex. Her choice.

She had put the brakes on, and she couldn’t say exactly why. Stuart was a good-looking man. Maybe it was because she’d known him all her life and yet lately this was the first time they’d ever gone out. She thought of him more as a friend. Maybe if they kept dating her feelings would change.

“Once this is over...” She pushed her door open and climbed out. “Call me if you hear something?”

“Be careful.” She nodded, then walked to her pickup, thinking back to before Oakley was shot, before Cooper came home, before she’d gotten to see this other side of the sheriff. Had her feelings for Stuart changed? Or had he always just been a friend? A friend who’d been too possessive suddenly?

Whatever it was, she felt different about him, and that made her feel sad. It was like everything had changed the day Oakley was shot. Or was it Cooper coming home that changed everything?

*

HOLLYJOLOOKEDat the hideously pink and frilly room and felt her eyes burn with tears. Angrily, she dared the tears to fall. She’d cried herself to sleep for months after hearing that her mother was sick and dying. She’d sworn that no matter how awful Holden McKenna and his ranch were, she wasn’t going to let him see her cry.

Keeping her tears at bay only made her want to throw herself on the floor, kicking and screaming until she didn’t feel like this anymore. “It’s all part of the grieving process,” the doctor had told her. “I promise that you will feel better. It just takes time.”

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