Page 9

J ohnny Cuba wants to date me!

Ashley’s head was reeling from the discovery as she went through the motions of helping Clint and Tucker hook the first round of dairy cattle up to the milking machines.

Clint eyed her curiously from the next station. “It’s awfully nice of you to help bottle feed the calves.”

She gave herself an inward shake as she forced her wandering thoughts back to the here and now. “It’s the favorite part of my job,” she confessed. “Little Brie has completely stolen my heart. So have the others.”

“Your job, eh?” Clint shot another curious sideways look at her. “Before you came along, Johnny was the only one who did the bottle feeding.”

“Really?” This surprised her. “Who wouldn’t want to feed those precious babies?”

“It wasn’t up for discussion.” He moved to the next cattle milking station and ushered another dairy cow forward. “Johnny has always reserved that job for himself.”

Interesting. “I didn’t know.”

He snorted. “How could you?”

She mulled over the newest tidbit of information about her employer. “Do you think it has something to do with…” She paused to clear her throat before continuing, “you know…what he’s been through?” Her heart ached at the thought of him seeking comfort from tending newborn calves, something he’d been cheated out of as a father due to the tragedy he’d suffered.

Clint was silent for so long that she was afraid she’d offended him. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

“Are you kidding?” His eyebrows shot toward the ceiling. “That’s probably the most sensitive thing I’ve heard anyone say about my brother-in-law since he lost my sister and, er…”

The baby. She finished what he’d left unsaid inside her head. “I’m still sorry for talking without thinking. I know it’s none of my business.”

He shrugged. “It was insightful. You’re clearly a deep thinker.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “It was part of my job for so long that it’s hard to turn it off.” She smoothed a hand over the head of the cow she’d just finished hooking up before moving on to the next one.

Or tried to.

The mama cow mooed and affectionately nuzzled her hand. “Good morning, sunshine!” Ashley petted her some more, stroking a hand down her neck and smoothing it across the long sway of her back.

“Careful,” Clint joked. “Keep that up, and you’ll be at risk of doubling our milk supply.”

“Happy cows make more milk, huh?” Ashley touched her forehead to the top of the cow’s head before moving on.

“Yup.” Clint pushed his Stetson back to get a better look at her as he warmed to the topic. “They’re not so different from us. Give us coffee and breakfast and we tend to work harder, too.”

Her head jerked in his direction at the realization he was referring to the sustenance Johnny had brought her this morning. “I can explain,” she protested.

“I’m sure you can.” His smirk grew more pronounced.

“If you must know,” she pretended to fume at him, “I’m a little short of funds right now, and our marshmallow of a boss figured it out.”

“Marshmallow?” Clint’s jaw gaped.

She ducked her head over the milking station. “I just meant he has a big heart.”

“That he does.” His voice was noncommittal. “If you need me to lend you a few bucks?—”

“I don’t,” she said quickly, feeling her face turn red. “I have a small amount of savings. The only reason my account got overdrawn this month was due to a bank error. They’re fixing it.” Now that Johnny had given her an advance on her first paycheck, however, she was considering letting the error stand. Her partner’s widow could use the extra money.

“You heading to church this morning?”

She blinked at the abrupt change of subject. “I, um…I’d like to.” Guilt swirled through her midsection at the reminder that she hadn’t even started hunting for a new church yet. “Any place you recommend?”

“Yep. I’m heading there right after this, if you’d like to join me.” Clint nodded his head toward the side exit where he usually kept his truck parked. “I’ll even drive.”

Sweet! She wasn’t inclined to turn down a free ride while she was so short of funds. “Any hints about what I’m getting myself into first?”

His grin returned. “It’s a small church. Nondenominational. They just open the Bible and dive in.” He glanced her way and added slyly, “Free coffee.”

She burst out laughing. “Sold.”

He shook his head at her as he moved down to the next milking station. “You don’t have much willpower where coffee is concerned, do you?”

“Very little,” she admitted sheepishly. “I tried to kick the habit once, but my resistance only lasted about an hour.”

He snickered with the kind of appreciation that could only come from a fellow coffee drinker. “Have you ever ground your own coffee beans?”

“No, but I’ve heard it’s a game changer.” She’d never invested in the equipment for that.

“It is.” He sounded pleased by her response. “Whenever you’re ready to change up your game, drop by my cabin and I’ll brew you a cup.”

“Wow! Thanks.” She twisted away from him, feeling a little off balance. She hoped like crazy that his offer wasn’t some subtle attempt at a romantic overture. It almost made her wish she hadn’t agreed to let him drive her to church.

Since she and he were working their way down the row of milking stations in opposite directions, there was a lull in their chatting until they finished the task.

She straightened and stretched her back. “I’ll go get changed,” she called to him.

Clint gave her a critical once-over from the other end of the barn. “No need. Everyone else is gonna be in jeans.”

“Perfect.” Her thoughts drifted to Johnny while she started sweeping the walkway. She wondered if he attended the same church or attended church at all, for that matter. While she daydreamed about her boss, she mulled over their last conversation. A new possibility popped into her head, making her chew on her lower lip.

If Johnny had truly been strong-armed by his higher ups to attend the Valentine event as Caro’s plus one, it was entirely possible he was also the one who’d been tasked with investigating her anonymous tip to the police. From what she’d gathered, the Heart Lake Police Department was a small outfit. It only made sense they might outsource something like this to a local security firm, especially one that employed a retired sheriff.

Assuming her theory was correct, she needed to find a way to feed Johnny more info about Caro, preferably without revealing her own role as a PI.

She put away the broom and pulled out her cell phone, wondering if she had time to call her client for a quick update. “Hey, Clint! What time are we taking off?”

“Thirty minutes, give or take,” Clint supplied, sounding closer than she’d expected.

“Excellent. I’ll be back in a few.” She hurried from the barn without waiting for a reply, and headed for her cabin. After sleeping the last half of the night next to Brie, she preferred to freshen up before heading to church. Though there was no shame in working as a farm hand, she had zero interest in smelling like one in public.

Can Opener was waiting for her on the back porch. “Hey, big guy!” She leaned forward to cup his furry head between her hands. “Miss me?”

He purred and dashed inside the moment she opened the door.

“I hope you’re not expecting breakfast,” she muttered. “I still haven’t had the chance to make a grocery run.”

He raced around the cabin, sniffed a bunch of stuff, then hopped onto his favorite end of the sofa. She kept a fuzzy brown blanket folded in a big, fluffy square for him there. It was a spare blanket she’d found in the closet, and Johnny didn’t seem to care what she did with any of the stuff she’d found.

She watched him knead the blanket like bread dough before curling up in the center of it. “Be good!” She wagged a finger at him. “I’m going to rinse off.”

She sped through one of the shortest showers of her life and pulled on a clean sweater and pair of jeans. It was so nice to have her laundry washed and folded again. It’s the small things in life. She let out a contented sigh, promising herself she’d never take stuff like that for granted again.

Then she dialed her client.

The late Mr. Clark’s daughter picked up on the first ring. “Ashley?” Monica Poet’s voice was edged with anxiety. “Oh, thank goodness!”

Ashley frowned. “Is everything okay, ma’am?” As soon as she asked the question, she wanted to kick herself. Of course, everything wasn’t okay. Her father was dead.

“I found out something new.” Her client sounded breathless. “But you called me, so if you want to go first…”

“Not at all.” Ashley had never met anyone kinder or more considerate. “You first.”

“Okay.” The woman drew a deep breath. “I’ve been going through Daddy’s things. Donating clothes to charity and what not.” Her voice grew choked. She paused to clear her throat. “I ran across some papers that indicate he was in the middle of filing a lawsuit against some big pharma company. I know it may not have anything to do with our investigation, but…” Her voice trailed off again.

“We’re not ruling anything out at this point,” Ashley assured. In her experience, a pending lawsuit was far from nothing. “What was he suing them about?”

“A new rapid cooling process.”

“Tell me more.” Ashley needed context.

“All dairy farmers have a cooling process for the raw milk they produce,” Monica explained. “It reduces the risk of bacteria growing.”

“Makes sense.” Ashley already knew that from her couple of weeks of working at Johnny’s Dairy.

“It involved a control group of cattle inside daddy’s herd.” Monica’s voice grew more animated. “I can’t believe this is the first time I’m hearing about it. Daddy and I were close. He usually told me everything! ” Her tone dissolved into pure bitterness. “But that was before she came along.”

Ashley knew without asking that “she” referred to Caro Madison. However, Monica’s father might’ve had another reason entirely, like a confidentiality clause in a contract to buy his silence on the matter. She steered the conversation back to the lawsuit. “Can we back up a second, please? I didn’t know your dad was a dairy farmer.” It was odd that Monica had failed to mention it before now.

“Oh, he wasn’t,” Monica affirmed hastily. “The cattle belonged to my grandfather, may he rest in peace. Dad inherited his farm a few years ago and didn’t have the heart to sell it. Emotional reasons,” she sighed. “He more or less incorporated it into the rest of his investment portfolio and kept it running. From a distance, of course. He wasn’t what you would call hands on when it came to manual labor.”

That was a lot of information. Ashley was going to need to update her case file right away. “So…” Back to the lawsuit. “What went wrong with the cooling process?”

“According to Daddy’s file? Everything!” Monica sounded distressed. “A new chemical was injected into the milk the moment it hit the express tube. Though it accelerated the cooling process like it was designed to do, the end product produced higher instances of bacteria. The company that manufactured the chemical claimed the process must have been contaminated by an outside source, pointing a finger at my father and the other farmers who volunteered for the experiment. However, Daddy provided documentation that the farm staff had followed the process to the letter. He claimed the new chemical was causing the uptick in contamination.”

“This is huge!” Ashley’s insides tightened over the implications. She needed to find out who the other farmers in the experiment were ASAP. This new development could change the whole direction of the case. Good gracious! This might be the smoking gun they’d been searching for.

“That was my first thought.” Monica’s demeanor seemed to deflate. “Unfortunately, Daddy died before the case was officially filed. No accuser. No case. You know how it goes.”

Ashley wasn’t so sure it was that cut and dried. All she needed to do was locate a live witness — before Caro snuffed the rest of them out. Her thoughts flew a mile a minute over a whole set of new possibilities. What if the case had never been about simply stealing wealth from aging men before “suiciding” them? What if someone had only been making it look that way to fund something even more sinister?

Milk contamination had been all over the news lately. The incidents of salmonella outbreaks had been steadily on the rise. Was there a connection between them and her case? What if she’d been thinking too small? What if her case was much bigger than she or Monica had previously assumed?

“I’m going to need a copy of that paperwork.” She glanced at the clock on her nightstand, knowing she needed to get back to the barn soon. Otherwise, she’d miss her ride to church.

“I’m emailing it to you right now.” There was a tapping sound in the background. “But you called me,” Monica reminded. “Is there anything new on your end?”

“I followed our target into town,” Ashley confided in a low voice. “I also managed to embed myself at a local dairy farm, making it a lot easier to perform surveillance on her and her associates.”

“Watch those precious cows,” Monica begged. “If you see hide or hair of any chemicals being injected into the cooling process?—”

“Then we’ll know it’s all connected.” Ashley was anxious to get cranking on the new lead. “I’ll be watching for your email.”

“Thanks for everything you’re doing.” Her client’s voice grew hushed. “It means the world to me. After the coroner’s suicide ruling, no one else was willing to give me the time of day.”

“We’re going to get your family the justice they deserve,” Ashley promised. She was lost in thought as she ended the call.

On her way back to the barn, Can Opener trotted alongside her like a faithful shadow. “You’re something else.” She reached down to stroke his soft, silky fur before opening the door for him.

He trotted inside, bounded into the rafters, and disappeared.

Clint reappeared, adjusting his Stetson as he gave her a lazy once-over. “You really didn’t have to change.”

She glanced down at her clean shirt and unzipped jacket. “I’m still in jeans, mister.”

“True, but now you smell better than me.” He limped toward the side exit. “You ready?”

She sent him a thumbs up and followed him to his truck. It was a classic Ford pickup with a new red paint job. “Thanks,” she murmured when he held open the door for her. She buckled her seatbelt and got settled in while he climbed behind the wheel. “Does the boss man attend the same church as you?”

“Yep, but he usually drives separately.” He revved the motor and rolled the truck forward. “Last week Caro arm-twisted him into picking her up. Something about her car being in the shop. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where he is now.”

Ashley nodded, still not understanding Caro’s interest in Johnny. Wasn’t she supposed to be courting Farmer Monty for all he was worth? “Question.” She changed the subject. “What can you tell me about the cooling process for raw milk at Johnny’s Dairy?”

He grunted in surprise. “How detailed would you like me to be?”

“Pretend like I don’t know anything.” Because I don’t.

“I can do that.” He launched into a complicated explanation about how milk flowed from the milking machines into something called a plate cooler. From there, the milk was transferred into a bulk holding tank where the cooler temperature was maintained.

It was a lot to wrap her brain around. “Do you inject it with any chemicals during the cooling process?”

“Nope. Why?”

She shrugged, adopting a droll voice. “I overheard someone talking about rapid cooling and immediately pictured them dropping chunks of dry ice into a huge, steaming vat.”

“Bad idea.” Clint drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel as he turned into a small paved parking lot. “The volume of carbon dioxide it would release in a closed container would cause an explosion.”

“Yeah, that would be bad.” She chuckled. “Obviously, I still have a lot to learn about dairy farming.” He parked, and she pushed open her door and hopped to the ground.

The custom steel building rising in front of them was a far cry from the old-fashioned white church she’d pictured in her head. The earth-tone walls and stacked stone accents were cozy and inviting. A matching brown steel cross rose above the covered entrance.

“It’s a new building.” Clint gestured at it as they walked closer. “Only completed about a month ago. We started off meeting in somebody’s basement.”

“This is a big upgrade.” She couldn’t help wondering how such a small congregation had amassed the funds to purchase property and construct a new building so soon.

“We have a few pretty big patrons,” Clint bragged. “One of them is a billionaire. A full-time philanthropist who’s married to one of the docs at the medical center.”

“Whew! Can you even imagine having that kind of money?” She sure couldn’t.

“Who cares?” He reached around her to open the door to the church and ushered her gallantly inside ahead of him. “We’re already living the dream, helping Johnny run his dairy farm. Speaking of Johnny…” He pointed jovially across the crowded entry foyer. “There he is!”

Her heart flip-flopped uncomfortably at the sight of him perched on a stool next to Caro. They were seated at a long coffee bar.

Clint slid a hand under her elbow and guided her in their direction. “Hope you two saved some coffee for us.”

Johnny had his Stetson resting on the bar in front of him. He twisted around and gave Clint’s hand beneath her arm a hard look.

Clint took his time dropping his hand to his side.

Johnny vacated his stool and waved Ashley onto it. “We saved enough for you.” He grimaced at his brother-in-law. “No promises for him.”

Caro looked down her nose at Ashley. “Did y’all come straight from your morning chores?” Her meaning was obvious. She thought Ashley was underdressed, and maybe she was in comparison to her long wheat-colored corduroy dress. A pair of boots with an intricately tailored design of wildflowers peeked out from the hem.

“We did.” Clint lifted his arm and pretended to blow his stench in her direction. “Got that good clean farm boy perfume on.”

She hitched the long skirt of her dress further away from him, making him chuckle.

He edged between her and Ashley’s stools, propping his elbows on the counter between them. “On the way here, I educated our favorite city girl on the rapid cooling process of dairy milk.”

Johnny parked himself on the other side of Ashley’s stool. “Sounds like you bored her to tears.”

Caro grew as still as a statue. She surveyed Ashley in puzzlement, like she’d grown a pair of antennae or something. “Why would you even care?” Though her tone was withering, it was clear to Ashley that she was very much interested in her answer.

Ashley forced a chuckle and dodged the question. “I told him it would be more exciting if they dropped dry ice into the vats.” She wondered what connection the woman had, if any, to the big pharma company that might’ve had a reason for wanting to end Mr. Clark’s life. Was The Black Widow more of a murder-for-hire contractor? It would certainly explain her history of moving around so frequently.

Johnny didn’t look amused by Ashley’s attempt at humor. “You do realize it would blow the roof off my barn?”

“I do now.” She made a face at him. “Clint already set me straight on that. It was still a cool idea. Pun intended.”

Johnny waved a finger at her. “ Ice see what you did there!”

“Knock it off,” Clint shot back with a twinkle in his eyes. “There’s snow joking in church.”

“Wrong.” Johnny gave him a challenging look. “They let you through the front door, didn’t they?”

Clint guffawed. “Why do you think I brought Ashley with me? She was my ticket in the door.”

Both Johnny and Caro gave him sour looks.

Since Caro was already disgruntled, Ashley needled her some more about the lawsuit that had never made it to court. “All joking aside, I’m trying to sponge up everything I can about dairy farming. I read something not too long ago about an experimental chemical being injected into raw milk to accelerate the cooling process.”

Caro’s expression grew marbled.

Gotcha! Ashley’s gut told her that this wasn’t the first time the woman had heard about the experimental cooling process. It was yet another reason to believe she’d been involved in Mr. Clark’s untimely death.

“Never heard of it,” Johnny intoned flatly. He waved two fingers at the barista and ordered both her and Clint a cup of coffee. Then he dropped several one-dollar bills into the tip jar.

“I’ll try to find the article and forward it to you,” Ashley offered.

“Don’t bother.” Caro’s tone was patronizing. “There’s a reason Johnny hasn’t heard of it. Take it from a country gal like myself. Injecting anything unnatural into milk is a bad idea!” It was obvious she was trying to paint Ashley into an uninformed city girl.

“Agreed.” Johnny raised his cup of coffee to her.

Ashley found it ironic that Caro was pooh-poohing a process she may have ended three lives over. Unless, of course, she was deliberately muddying the waters.

The barista returned with Ashley and Clint’s coffees, setting the cups on the bar with a flourish.

Ashley eagerly reached for hers. “Thanks for talking me into coming.” She lifted her cup with both hands and gestured sweetly at Clint with it.

“My pleasure.” He winked at her. “Us farm hands have to stick together.”

“Next topic.” Johnny sounded dry. “When are you moving to Chester Farm, Caro?”

Her expression brightened. “Today, actually.”

What? Ashley’s insides tightened with foreboding.

Caro idly pushed her coffee straw around in her cup. “My apartment manager was kind enough to let me out of my lease early.”

“You’re moving on site?” Ashley gaped at her.

“Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” Caro’s voice was sugary with an edge of bitterness. “Like you, it only makes sense for me to put down tent stakes where I spend the most time.”

Clint leaned companionably closer to her. “Need us to rustle up a moving crew for you?”

She drew back a little, looking like she smelled something unpleasant. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to put anyone to that kind of trouble.” Despite her protest, she gave Johnny a hopeful look.

Of course, you would! As long as it’s Johnny. Ashley’s sniff of disdain was swallowed up by the hubbub around them.

“It’s no trouble.” Clint leaned closer to her, clearly enjoying crowding her space. “I can call a couple of buddies, and we’ll have you loaded up in no time.”

Her lips tightened. “You’re too kind.”

The four of them finished their coffee and moved into the sanctuary. To Ashley’s surprise, Johnny stayed glued to her left side while Clint remained at her right side, anchored between her and Caro.

A small band flooded onto the stage and led them in some worship music. As they sang, Ashley forgot all about who was standing next to whom.

A sense of peace stole over her, chasing away the mental exhaustion she’d been grappling with. Though a lot of things in her life weren’t perfect, her presence at the Sunday morning service made her feel like a ship drifting into a safe harbor.

I needed this.

Johnny angled his body toward her and slung an arm loosely around the back of her chair. Though he didn’t touch her, she was very aware of his nearness. What was he doing? Anyone who saw where his arm was might easily get the wrong impression.

She darted a glance at him and found him studying her with an inscrutable expression.

He leaned her way to speak in her ear. “Old rodeo injury. Hope you don’t mind me stretching my shoulder a bit.”

She nodded instead of answering. No, she didn’t mind, but he had to know how it looked, especially to Caro. Biting her lower lip to hold in a sigh, she returned her attention to the middle-aged cowboy jogging across the stage in jeans and boots. Was he the minister? He sure didn’t look like one. He wasn’t wearing a suit or a tie, nor was there a pulpit anywhere in sight.

“Welcome and thank you for being here. I’m Joe Swanson, a semi-retired rancher who’s honored to serve as one of your pastors.”

One of them? Ashley studied the man in puzzlement. He held a Bible at his side and gestured at them with his other hand. There were no other props on the platform. Not even a microphone stand. He spoke into a thin, wireless mic resting near his mouth. “I know many of you have been up since the crack of dawn, so I’m gonna start off by praying a blessing over you for your faithfulness in showing up this morning.”

He opened his Bible and read an iconic passage from the Book of Numbers. “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.”

Peace. Ashley latched onto the word. She’d experienced so little peace since the death of her partner at the Dallas PD. Or during the subsequent smearing of his good name. She’d had trouble eating and sleeping. At times, the darkness of her memories felt downright suffocating.

The country preacher zeroed in on the word peace by reading a passage from the Book of John next. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled; neither let them be afraid.”

His words struck home since she’d battled both fear and discouragement in recent weeks. It was a reminder that she was part of something bigger.

The minister looked up to scan the audience from left to right. “It doesn’t mean we won’t deal with challenges. Or that we’ll be on some perpetual vacation. Too bad, huh?”

A round of chuckles worked its way across the sanctuary.

He read a third and final scripture to them, also from the Book of John. “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world.”

He closed his Bible. “Our peace is in the Lord,” he concluded simply. “Let us pray.”

That’s it? Ashley’s head swiveled back to Johnny in astonishment. As soon as the prayer ended, she blurted, “That’s the shortest message I’ve ever heard.”

“Isn’t it great? They have a whole team of pastors taking turns so you never get tired of hearing the same one.” Clint gave a gusty stretch, which caused him to bump elbows with Caro.

She visibly recoiled.

“The rest of my day is officially yours,” he chortled, waggling his eyebrows at her.

“Lucky me.” She eyed Johnny accusingly as they made their way to the parking lot.

“ Most of the rest of your day,” Johnny amended sharply. “We’ve got a dairy farm to run, remember?”

Clint didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “I texted Hawk, and he said he’d cover for me.”

Ashley watched Caro sidle closer. However, she drew alongside Ashley instead of Johnny. “I see what you’re doing,” she hissed, “and it’s not going to work.”

Ashley’s heart raced with trepidation. “I beg your pardon?”

Caro’s biting voice jarred her ear. “You can’t outrun what happened in Dallas.”

Ashley’s startled gaze clashed with the woman’s icy one. She was shocked speechless that Caro was threatening her. Actually threatening her!

Clint stepped between them with a steely look, forcing Caro’s attention back to him. “Want to grab an early lunch before we start loading boxes?”

She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “I’m not hungry.”

He inclined his head at her. “Then we’ll start moving boxes right away.”

Before Ashley could make heads or tails of what was going on, he’d maneuvered Caro into the passenger seat of his truck. Caro yanked the seatbelt over her, looking like she had steam coming out of her ears.

As they drove off, Ashley’s heart continued to pound over the odd exchange between her and Caro.

“You okay?” Johnny gave her a worried look as they strolled together toward his rusty brown truck.

“I will be.” The discovery that he’d driven Caro to church in his oldest vehicle went a long way toward restoring her spirits.

“I saw Caro say something to you,” he prodded as he opened the passenger door for her. “It looked like she upset you.”

Ashley blinked at his perception. “I think she feels threatened by me.” She should since I intend to help put her behind bars.

A low chuckle eased out of him. “I think I know why.”

Not for the reason you’re thinking. She shook her head at him. “You were using me this morning.”

“What?” He couldn’t have looked more taken aback.

She narrowed her gaze at him. “The gossip mill has your name paired with hers. Or did,” she amended with another baleful head shake. “What were you thinking?”

“That honesty is the best policy when it comes to things like that.” His voice was flat as he backed from his parking spot and drove from the lot.

“I haven’t made you any promises, Johnny.” It was only right to remind him of that.

“I haven’t asked you to.” He slung a cocky grin at her. “Yet.”

His smile had the usual effect on her — turning her insides deliciously melty. It wasn’t a feeling she’d be wise to indulge in too often while working a homicide case.

“You’re impossible.” She turned to stare blindly out the window.

“Nothing is impossible,” he retorted. “Not with God and not with us. I agree that the timing is off. Assuming my brother-in-law hasn’t already blabbed to you about it, you’re not the only one nursing a broken heart.”

She drew a deep breath before answering. “He blabbed about it.”

“Figured as much.” He sounded glum.

Ashley steered the conversation to safer ground. “What’s with all his buttering up to Caro today? The other day, he said she wasn’t his type.”

Johnny huffed out a breath. “He doesn’t have a type.”

She frowned in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means he doesn’t date anymore. Not since his accident.”

“At all?” That surprised her.

“At all.”

“Why?” She imagined lots of women found him fun and humorous to be around.

He continued staring straight ahead. “Lost his sister. My wife,” he clarified, though she already knew that. “Then almost lost his leg. He’s pretty self-conscious about his limp.”

“He shouldn’t be,” she declared emphatically. “Not only is he an amazing guy, lots of women dig a wounded hero.”

“Maybe in the movies.” Johnny didn’t sound impressed.

“Scarred heroes are a thing,” she insisted with a chuckle. “And not just in the movies.”

“Good to know.” He turned onto the gravel road leading back to his farm. “If you’re looking for scars, most of mine are on the inside, darling.”

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” she said softly. “I truly am.”

“Right back atcha.” He parked and killed the motor, but he didn’t immediately open his door. “If you think for one second I don’t understand how the loss of your partner weighs on you, Ash…”

“I can’t do this,” she muttered, fumbling for the door handle. “I’m still not ready to talk about it.”

“Then we’ll talk about something else.” He swiveled her way, making her hand grow still on the door handle. “Tell me why you sent an anonymous tip to the police about Caro Madison.”

“Johnny!” Her hand fell limply back to her lap.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?” There was a note of accusation in his voice and something akin to hurt.

Her mind swam with confusion. “Is that the whole reason you’ve been getting close to me?”

“You know it isn’t,” he retorted angrily. “Quit dodging the question.”

“I had my reasons for wanting to remain anonymous.”

“And still do, apparently.” His jaw tightened.

She reached for the door handle again. “I’ve already said more than I should.”

“Or not nearly enough?” Johnny bolted out of his door and hurried around the truck to hold her door open for her. He stood in the doorway glaring at her. “You can trust me, Ash.”

“I do trust you.” He was putting her in such a hard position.

“Just not enough to give me the truth.” His voice grew bitter with disappointment.

“Cut me some slack, will you?” Her chin came up. “You of all people should understand client confidentiality!” It was way more than she should’ve divulged to him, but she hated leaving things all wrinkled between them.

A slow grin lit his features. “So, you didn’t resign from the police department?”

“No, I did,” she corrected firmly. “I haven’t lied to you about anything.”

His grin spread. “Then you must have taken a private case.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.” She hopped down from his truck, intending to crowd him out of her way.

He didn’t budge. “You followed her into town. That’s the real reason you’re here.” There was an aha note in his voice. “You’re on one unending stakeout.”

“Please, Johnny,” she whispered.

He searched her face. Then he sighed and stepped back, allowing her to move around him. “Not that you asked for my input, but I’m not convinced Caro’s the villain you seem to think she is.”

Ashley spun back to him. “Do you know what kind of police detective I was, Johnny?” She was very good at what she did, and her gut was telling her that Caro was involved. Some way. Somehow.

“Homicide.” There was no hesitation in his response, telling her he’d done his homework on her.

Though she was secretly thrilled about his interest in her, she pinned him with a hard look. “I successfully closed every case except the last one.” The one that had cost her partner his life.

“But you intend to.” It wasn’t a question. He knew it wasn’t a question.

Ashley studied him bleakly. There was no point in denying it.