Page 59 of Seaside Cowboy's Fairy Tale

We didn’t need to always stay strong, because God was the strong one. It was okay to need someone. It was okay to surrender part of oneself to them. It was okay to admit he needed her help. He drew a deep breath. It wasn’t justokay. It was a blessing.

It wasn’t a sign of weakness. And even if it was, so what? He was a human being with faults, not a cartoon action hero.

The light of the intercom lit up, and the beep made him wince, throwing him out of his thoughts into the present. He forgot he wasn’t alone. Usually, at this point, he was the only person in the building. He pressed the button.

“Anne Tandy is here to see you,” Brady said.

Tex’s eyes widened. “This late?”

“She says she recalled something important about the ring theft.”

The dear lady might be thinking she recalled something when she’d only imagined it. But Tex could be wrong. And he couldn’t just send her away. “Please ask her to come in.”

Tex rubbed his eyes that were getting heavy from the lack of sleep. And Jennifer wasn’t here to make him coffee.

But he missed Rachel much more than he missed coffee. Or sleep. His life without her felt as empty as one of the atrociously expensive antique vases in the corner, another item carefully chosen to impress visitors. Or impress himself with how far he’d come. On the other hand, Rachel didn’t try to impress anyone, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

The door opened, and Anne Tandy shuffled into the room. Her white hair seemed to be freshly styled, and a ring sparkled on each finger. He did his best to switch from thinking about Rachel into business mode.

“Good evening, Mrs. Tandy. Please take a seat.” He strode toward the lady and offered her the crook of his arm to lean on. When she did, he led her to one of the leather armchairs that would undoubtedly excite Tiny Tim. “It’s kind of you to help in the investigation.”

She smiled sheepishly as she lowered herself into the armchair. “Thank you. I should’ve remembered it already. Well, I don’t know if it’s important.”

“Any detail can be very important.” He did his best to assure her. They were overdue for a breakthrough in this investigation.

Her eyes looked sad. “Have you ever had a time in your life when you had to correct a mistake? And then there was a difficult decision to make.”

What was this about? Puzzled, Tex raised an eyebrow as he sat in his chair behind the desk. “Um, I’m not perfect. I made my share of mistakes. And sometimes, I had to make difficult decisions.”

“I admit it. I love and admire beautiful, expensive things. I love it when others admire beautiful expensive things I have. I’ve had people disappear from my life, especially lately, but those beauties are with me forever. I’m sure you can relate.” She waved toward the hand-carved cherrywood desk, then to the oil paintings by famous artists.

Could he? And where was she going with this? Unease clenched his stomach. “I guess they are a sign of success to me.” A suspicion started needling him. But maybe she was just a lonely woman with insomnia who wanted to chat. “What was it you remembered about the ring theft?”

“I’ve lived a long life. And I want to spend the rest of it in luxury.” Her faded eyes hardened.

He tensed, and his hand moved toward the phone. “Nobody stole your ring at the charity gala. You made false accusations.”

A gun appeared in her hands, making his jaw drop. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. And yes, that was what I remembered about that night. Not that I forgot it to start with.”

Blood turned to ice in his veins. But Brady was just behind the wall. He’d help once he knew the situation.

His gut twisting, Tex leaned forward. “Why did you do it? Why are you doing this? You have everything.”

“Not everything. I didn’t have that amazing diamond necklace. Nobody was supposed to get hurt. Nobody.” The corners of her mouth turned downward.

Tex didn’t consider himself a nobody, and she meant for him to get hurt.

Could he throw something heavy at her? Tackle her? She’d fire first, and from such close range, most likely she wouldn’t miss. His heartbeat turned frantic. There had to be a way out of this.

He wanted to see Rachel again, to tell her how much he loved her. And now, when he was at risk of losing his life, he had an absolute clarity that he wanted a lifetime with her.

“I didn’t intend to hurt anyone, until you and that woman started digging too deep. In fact, I was doing Vanya Patel a favor.” She spoke with a surprising conviction.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

She sighed but didn’t lower the gun. “It was a win-win situation. The family received an insurance payout. I got the necklace.”

Thwack! He leaped to his feet, making the chair drop. “That’s not a win-win situation! That’s stealing and insurance fraud!”

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