Page 51 of Colton First Responder (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Their discussion morphed into the kinds of TV shows and movies they were fondest of. “So what do you think I like best on television?” she asked him.

“Sitcoms,” he said decisively, and he was right—but that wasn’t all.

“Add news specials to that,” she said. “And some talk shows, depending on the host.”

“Got it.”

She told him more. In theaters, her favorites were romantic comedies, even though she knew they were all fiction, especially the ones where the main characters fell in love and anticipated, at the end, a happily-ever-after.

A happy few minutes, maybe, or a few days. Or even a year. But she’d married a guy she believed she loved, and who claimed to love her. And what had she gotten? A torment-ever-after, as long as they were together. Once they were divorced, she had assumed that would be the end of thinking about Zane and his infidelity and everything else about him.

And it was, for a brief time. Until he’d framed her for his murder, probably just to get even with her for divorcing him.

But she didn’t want to think about that now.

As Grayson probed for her likes and dislikes, she turned the tables on him. She wasn’t surprised that he liked cop shows and superheroes, and he didn’t even mention shows with romance in them.

Which was as she’d anticipated. Sex was one thing. Staying together? That wasn’t on his agenda either, she felt certain. All the more reason to just enjoy his company—and maybe his body, too, again sometime. Meanwhile, she would hope he continued to help her as long as she was unable to help herself.

And expect he would soon be gone from her life one way or another. With luck, by then she would be free and exonerated.

But until she could find out how to clear herself, the burden of potentially being convicted of Zane’s murder—and now Ian’s—was hanging over her head.

Their conversation wound down. Savannah tried to figure out something else to talk about, but she was actually getting tired.

Not that she would mention that to Grayson.

She didn’t want to encourage him to leave. She liked his company too much.

She needed his company, someone to talk to and to help her feel a good ending to all of this could—would—occur.

Not that they were discussing any of that. Not now.

But she wasn’t surprised when Grayson stood up. “It’s getting late,” he said.

All she could do at first was nod and look in his direction without meeting his gaze. “Yes, it is,” she finally agreed.

“I think we need some sleep, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she said again, feeling a bit puzzled. Why hadn’t he said he was about to head home?

He must have seen something in her expression that concerned him, for he sat back down again. “I mean, let’s head to bed here, okay? Together—and I’m not talking about having fun to keep us awake again. Not now. But I can sleep here, stay till tomorrow morning. I’ll go back to town then, to my office, and get some work done. And find out how other things are going in town, too.”

“Like the investigation into the latest murder,” Savannah said, not making it a question. He—they—could find out more tonight, she realized, on their phones.

Not that they were likely to learn that way the motive for someone to have killed Ian. She assumed it had been Zane or Schuyler, but why?

And maybe they should, or at least she should, learn all she could to make sure that potential number one suspect—her—hadn’t been discovered here in this cabin.

Although if she had been, there’d be some activity outside, and probably inside, too.

“That’s right,” Grayson agreed. “I’ll determine what else we need to do, then head to another town to finish picking up your disguise materials. And come back here with it. Okay?”

“Sounds good,” she responded as casually as she could, but her insides almost melted in relief. Although she recognized she couldn’t, shouldn’t, count on anything, not even his return as promised, until it happened.

But oh, how she hoped he was serious. Because her latest problem was that she was becoming much too serious about him.

“So, let’s go to bed now, shall we?”

---