Page 26 of Meant for Her

“What if we are both in bed, looking pale and weak. Malia could be our go-between when the sheriff shows up. Of course, we would call the sheriff and say we want to give our statement, but that we can’t travel at the moment.”

“That could work, but we’d have to lie low for a bit. Then there is the issue of convincing Malia that I’m not the devil incarnate.”

Here it comes.“What did you really say to make her run out of the house without even putting on her coat? From the way she was strutting to her car and then ignoring me, you must have really pissed her off.”

“I probably did. In all honesty, I was trying to convince her to let us figure out who stole our cows.”

“And how’s that going, Mr. Detective?” Ryan asked with a bit too much sarcasm.

“Obviously not well, but I didn’t want to ask for Malia’s help.”

Just because Luke wouldn’t ask, didn’t mean Ryan couldn’t. He planned to spend the rest of his life with her, and having a ranch that he was proud of would go a long way to keeping her happy. Sure, he could always work somewhere else, but ever since their dad died, Ryan had been content at the ranch. The work had been hard, but rewarding.

“Fine. Don’t. But what if the sheriff stops by? He will eventually, you know. When two of his constituents are shot, the sheriff can’t ignore it. A crime was committed.”

Luke dragged both of his palms down his face and then sat up straighter. “Fine. Your plan has merit, but we can’t let anyone see you. Park on the street outside of the hospital if you have to and wait for her to get off work.”

“I can do that. Too bad we don’t know her work hours.”

Luke tossed him a sickly sweet smile. “Take some coffee and food. You might be there a long time. Just don’t attract the attention of any guards who are there—assuming there are any.”

“I’ll be careful.”

* * *

Malia was furious. There was no way Luke didn’t know they were mates. So why did he have to toss out the insulting comment at the end? She understood he was a proud man. Getting help from a well-established family like the Grangers might stick in his craw, but the man needed help. If there were only two of them, they couldn’t run the ranch and look for the rustlers at the same time. Not to mention they shouldn’t be seen in public for a while anyway.

Hell, if the sheriff had pulled up to their house when Ryan came charging around the corner on his horse, there would be a lot of questions that he couldn’t answer.

Stupid men. Malia had to work tomorrow, but showing up at their place again after work might backfire. She wouldn’t be surprised if Sheriff Hanson stopped by the hospital and wanted to speak with the men. Telling him they’d asked to be discharged would be hard to explain.

Her right front tire hit the berm, and she jerked the wheel back onto the road. This was bad. These men were doing something to her mind. Maybe Tawny could take some time to grab an early dinner unless she already had something planned with Benson and Preston. Malia really needed to talk with someone.

When she entered the Wildwood Rescue Center, Trent was there manning the front desk. He was wearing glasses and looked quite studious.

He looked up, jerked off his new lenses, and smiled. “Malia! Twice in two days. Tawny is out back if you came to see her.”

“Thanks.”

She headed to the back of the rescue center and found Tawny outside supervising the dogs’ playtime. Tawny immediately turned around.

“Hey, girlfriend. Come to give me some news about your two men?”

Malia glanced around, thankful no one else was back there. “Yes. There have been some good developments and some bad. I need your advice again.”

“I’m always willing to give my opinion, though your situation is quite different from mine.”

She was mated to Malia’s brother—an upstanding lawyer. “I know.”

“Let me see if Brett can watch the dogs. I have a feeling this may take a while.”

“Any chance we can grab a bite to eat? Or can’t you get away.”

“Are you kidding? I’ll do whatever it takes for juicy gossip. How about watching the animals while I find my replacement?”

“Of course.”

Two minutes later, Tawny’s substitute came out. “The boss lady will see you now,” Brett said.

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