Page 26 of Hero Unbound

“Eva is staying at the Mayor’s Inn,” Theo put in. “Becky hired her a few days ago to help out so she could ease some of her own workload.”

They both looked at Eva. She nodded. “I’m between jobs and thought I could help out a friend. I didn’t break in to the hardware store.”

Callum smiled. “I’m glad I can mark you off the list as a suspect. If you were here with Theo helping with the foaling, that’s about as airtight of an alibi as you can get.”

Eva glanced at Theo but then looked away when he met her eyes.Secrets. Still so many secrets.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ve got work to do around here.” She walked off the small deck, Sugar and Spice by her side.

“You really need to get some rest,” Theo said. “Take the day off.”Come back here and kiss me some more.

She shook her head. “Animals don’t stop having needs just because we had a long night last night. I need to check on Wildfire and the colt. Thanks for letting me catch a nap, Theo.”

“Can I just get your number in case I have any more questions?” Callum asked, pulling out a small notepad.

She grimaced slightly then rattled off the digits. Theo committed them to memory as Callum wrote them down. “Thanks.”

Without another word, she turned and walked toward the barn. Theo and Callum watched her go.

“I’d be a lot more suspicious of her if she weren’t Noah Dempsey’s daughter—that makes her a cousin to the Zimmerman brothers. Gavin, Tristan, and Andrew saved my life more than once back in the day.”

Theo grunted in response, still watching Eva.

Callum glanced over at him. “Her family ties and you providing her with a solid alibi pretty much eliminate her completely from my list. She didn’t do it.”

Theo knew he should mention the time discrepancy, but didn’t. Eva hadn’t been the one who’d broken in to the hardware shop. He was confident of that.

“I guess not,” Theo finally replied.

“Okay, I’m going to head out and look for some bad guys. Such is the life of a small-town crime fighter.” He walked toward his car then stopped and looked back at Theo. “You know I respect you, Theo. You run this place with admirable precision and efficiency. I also know you’re stellar at reading people.”

“Thanks.” He tore his eyes away from Eva as she walked into the barn.

“Eva may not have broken in to the hardware store—”

“She didn’t.”

Callum held out his hands with his palms in front of him—a signal he didn’t want to argue. “Fine. Eva didn’t break in to the hardware store. I believe that. But I can tell you one thing for sure about her…”

Theo already knew what he was going to say because he knew it too. He finished the sentence for Callum. “She’s a woman with secrets.”

9

Three days later, Eva leaned against the fence watching Wildfire and her colt, who had been proudly named Ember by the 4-H club—a perfect fit, given his mother’s name. Both mother and foal were doing fine.

Eva wasn’t sure she could say the same for herself.

Then again, she wasn’t sure shecouldn’teither.

Becky walked over to stand next to her. Today was the first time Eva had seen the other woman since the facilities tour she’d provided a week ago.

“Wildfire is very lucky you were here. Theo told me what happened. If you hadn’t known what to do, they both really could’ve been in trouble. That’s the problem with having so few vets in this area.”

“I was glad I could help.”

“Here.” Becky handed her an envelope. “A week’s pay, plus a bonus for the foaling.”

Money. Eva had to fight back the urge to take it out and count it right there. To know exactly how much she had so she could figure out how far she could stretch it.

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