Page 34 of Dark Side of the River

“Water.”

Hurriedly, she pushed the button for a nurse, then struggled to raise the bed enough that she could put the paper straw to Oakley’s lips. A nurse rushed in. “She just woke up,” Tilly told her, excited as she wiped her tears.

“I couldn’t take any more of your blubbering,” her sister whispered hoarsely.

Tilly stood back to let the nurse check Oakley and realized she needed to call her mother and let her know. She felt caught between laughing and crying again. Oakley was awake and her old self. The sheriff would have to be notified too, she thought as she called her mother first with the news.

For a moment, she’d forgotten that now that Oakley was awake, her sister could tell them who had shot her. There was no longer a reason for Tilly and Cooper to play detective. It would be over.

Her heart tumbled at the thought, but she quickly tried to rise above it. Cooper would be glad. So would Stuart. Not that any of that mattered. Her sister was going to live; that was all that she cared about right now. Oakley’s would-be killer would be caught and put behind bars. Justice would be done. Tilly began to cry again.

STUARTKNEWHEwas about to make an ass out of himself. When he’d seen Cooper drop Tilly off at this late hour of the night, he’d felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. This after seeing them together earlier?

He’d hoped that Tilly and Cooper butting into his investigation had been a one-off. But he knew now it hadn’t been, though he’d never expected to see the two of them coming back to town this late. Whatever they’d been up to, they weren’t trying very hard to keep it on the down-low.

That should have relieved his mind. Instead, it made him angry. They were rubbing it in his face. Everyone in town was talking about seeing them together. Cooper hadn’t even been back to town for a week, and he’d already come between him and Tilly.

As he walked toward his once–best friend’s pickup, he balled his hands into fists, then released them as he neared the driver’s side. All the way, he kept telling himself he shouldn’t have pulled Cooper over. He shouldn’t get into it with him, not like this. However, it was as if he wasn’t listening to his logical, sensible self. He was risking his job right now.

But this mix of anger and regret and disappointment was too powerful. Cooper had his window down, waiting behind the wheel, no doubt not looking forward to a confrontation. He was probably hoping this didn’t turn into something ugly. Stuart was hoping that himself, and that was what really scared him, because he couldn’t see how it wouldn’t get ugly the way he was feeling.

“How was your night?” he asked as he reached the cowboy’s open window, although that wasn’t what he’d planned to say.

“Fine.” He could see that Cooper was playing this straight even though he knew that being pulled over had nothing to do with the law. But there was a man in uniform with a gun standing at his window.

“Have you been drinking?”

“I had half a bottle of beer hours ago. You’re welcome to do a breath analyzer test if you don’t believe me.”

Stuart looked away for a moment. “What the hell’s going on, Cooper?” He took a breath, trying to hide how upset he was, but knowing he was failing. This was his friend. Once his best friend.

“Nothing’s going on, Stu.”

“You moving in on Tilly?”

“Nope. Just trying to keep her out of trouble.”

“I believe that’s my job,” he said from between gritted teeth.

“Does she know that?” Cooper asked, and met his gaze.

He swore and slammed his fist against the side of the cab. “Damn it, Cooper. I let you have Leann, but you can’t have Tilly.”

COOPERFELTHISheart miss a beat. He wasn’t drunk, but the sheriff had definitely had more than a few. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“Which part? That I let you take Leann away from me? Or that I’ll fight you for Tilly?”

He shook his head. “Let’s give this a rest for tonight.”

“I’m not going to feel any different tomorrow.” His voice sounded hoarse with emotion and rough with whatever booze he’d consumed. He also looked dead on his feet. This case had to be taking a toll on him.

Cooper’s heart went out to his friend. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to make your job harder or come between you and Tilly.”

“But you are, Coop. I’m betting you didn’t mean to come between me and Leann either.”

“I’m not doing this.” He started his pickup engine and started to close his window.

Stuart grabbed for him, but the window went up too fast and he had to pull his arm back. They stared at each other through the dusty glass for a long moment before Cooper pulled away. He hoped Stu didn’t come after him and was relieved when he looked back to see the sheriff standing in the middle of the road. It was the defeat in his stance that tugged at Cooper’s heart.

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