Page 59 of Silent Deception
Because he really didn’t want to hear what she had to say.
* * * *
FOR OVER A WEEK, KRISTINcalled Buddy daily, asking if he’d found anything that could have been a part of her father’s truck.
On Monday morning, he left a message for her at the clinic while she was busy with a physical, and by noon she was nearly biting her nail in anticipation.
“Wish me luck,” she called out to Max as she grabbed her purse, reached inside for her keys, and started for the door. “I should be back in forty-five minutes. Call my cell if you need me.”
“Uh...before you leave...” Max hiked a thumb toward the waiting room. “There’s someone else here to see you.”
Kristin sighed. Buddy had promised to meet her at twelve, but then he was going out of town for two weeks. She couldn’t stand the prospect of waiting that much longer. “A drop-in?”
“Of sorts.” He winked at her. “Better go check him out.”
In his lab coat embroidered with romping kittens, Max really was the most adorable man. Despite his burly frame and all those tattoos, he’d proven to be a gentle soul...rather like a congenial grandpa who just happened to be a bodybuilder on the side.
Rolling her eyes, she dropped her purse on the counter in the lab on her way back down the hall. “I don’t have much time,” she whispered as she passed him.
But even before she reached the waiting room she felt a shivery awareness. And sure enough, she found Ryan, his Stetson at his side.
During the past week, he’d invited Cody over after school every day, so her son had taken the school bus home with Hayden, and the three of them had spent an hour or so practicing football passes. She’d come for Cody as soon as she finished at the clinic.
She and Ryan had been cordial. Even friendly. But neither one of them had mentioned the night of the rodeo or the fact that he’d spent most of it in her house because of Garrett.
She had only wanted to comfort him with a warm embrace, but he had sharply pulled away as if she was a toxic remnant of the past. Lesson learned.
“I need to talk to you, without the little cowboys underfoot. I hoped you might have some time over lunch,” he said, a corner of his mouth lifting in a faint grin. “I’ll buy.”
She shot a swift glance at her watch. “I...can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Max told me you were just leaving. If you have other plans...”
“An errand. But it can’t wait.”
“I know things have been a little...awkward, this past week or so. You come by to pick up Cody, and then you’re gone in a flash.” Lowering his voice, he regarded her with troubled eyes. “I want to apologize for what happened after the rodeo. You were just being kind, and I overreacted.”
She looked away and felt warmth rise into her face. “I...um...figured it was my fault.”
“Fault implies you did something wrong, Kris. And you didn’t.” His gaze veered toward the receptionist’s desk. “Maybe I’d better come by another time. I also need to talk about your father.”
She glanced over her shoulder at Max, who was now working on medical insurance forms, and swiftly debated what to do. “Look, I need to get to Buddy’s within the next half hour. I could meet you at the café for lunch afterward if you’d like.”
“Or I could just tag along.” He grinned and jingled his truck keys. “Four Aces Chauffeur, at your service.”
He was a Gallagher. One of the enemy camp, and his dad might’ve had something to do with her father’s death, for all she knew. But she’d also heard Ryan express doubt about Nate’s guilt and his determination to uncover the truth.
Maybe she’d had to walk out on him years ago, but she’d never doubted his integrity or absolute conviction about doing the right thing.
“All right, then. It might be easier to talk in your truck instead of the café, anyway.”
* * * *
BUDDY MET THEM IN FRONTof his shop. He gave her a quizzical look when he saw Ryan, but she just shrugged.
“I think you’ll be interested in this,” he said. “Come on around back and take a look.”
She followed him through the rubble, cautiously sidestepping sharp bits of metal protruding from the various heaps of junked parts.
