Page 70 of For the Birds

Jed hesitated. “He hasn’t been right since he got shot last winter. He’s been hotheaded and argumentative. He was chompin’ at the bit to string Reynolds up for Scooter, and I barely got back from Oklahoma in time to stophim.”

“He really would have killed Buck Reynolds with no proof?”

“He’d already decided he was guilty and was well on his way to convincin’ Skeeter.”

“James would have fallen forit?”

“Merv can be persuasive, and Skeeter was already out of sorts over you. Add in Scooter’s disappearance and the fact that he was pissed atme . . .”

It was a recipe for disaster.

Jed found my gaze in the mirror. “Merv’s never been a fan of yours. Ever since the parley, Merv’s been usin’ the situation to his advantage, tryin’ to poison Skeeter againstyou.”

There was no love lost between Merv and me, so that didn’t come as much of a surprise.

“You need protection, Rose,” Jed said. “What’s to stop the person behind the kidnapping from tryin’ again?”

“That’s presumin’ those two guys were workin’ with someone else.” I paused. I’d already figured asmuch.

“I think we should make that assumption. I’m gonna stick tight to you and Neely Kate until this is resolved.”

I shook my head. “I understand why you want to watch over Neely Kate, but you can’t be watchin’ over me. I’m tryin’ to distance myself from James, and you’re too closely tied tohim.”

“You think you’re goin’ around town without a bodyguard?”

“No,” I said, thinking of an impromptu plan that wasn’t half bad. “I know someone who would be perfect.”

---