Page 13 of Engaging the Deputy (Silver Stars of Montana #3)

“I had my lights turned off, so I didn’t get any. Migraine headache. I went to bed early.”

“You often get migraines?” Before she could answer, he said, “I can check with your doctor.”

“My first migraine. Really a bitch.”

“So I’ve heard.” Seeing that he wasn’t going to get any more from her, he put away his notebook and pen and stood. “I hope I don’t have to come back and arrest you for anything, but I will be keeping an eye on you,” he said as he walked to the door.

“Thanks. I appreciate that,” she said sarcastically as he left.

Jaden didn’t have to go far. A few blocks away, he stopped at the home of Jenny and Tom Lee.

Tom’s truck wasn’t parked in the drive and neither was Jenny’s car.

But when he got out and looked in the garage, he found a dark gray SUV.

He’d been bluffing back at Krystal’s about comparing the dirt on her boots with that of the dirt in the barrow pit near Olivia’s mother’s house.

But even peering through the dusty garage door windows, he could see the large SUV’s tires were caked with fresh earth.

* * *

Olivia hadn’t been anxious to go back into the house after the deputy left and her mother went inside.

She’d lived in this community for seventeen years before she’d left for college and hadn’t returned until a few days ago.

She’d never been afraid. But then, she’d never had anyone who’d wanted to run her off the road.

Her cell rang. She saw it was Jaden and felt her pulse jump like it used to when he called, back when they were together.

She had loved the sound of his voice, been lulled by it.

She let it ring again before she picked up, reminding herself that he was probably calling because he was a deputy and she was a suspect.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” he said in a familiar way that set her pulse off again. “I just wanted to let you know that you shouldn’t be having any more trouble from the person who threatened you earlier.”

“You know who it was?” She heard him hesitate.

“It had nothing to do with Starling and what happened up there. Just a jealous girlfriend of Cody’s.”

“The blonde from the hospital. Who is she?”

“Krystal Lee. She’s Tom Lee’s sister, Jenny’s sister-in-law. But I’ve spoken to her. I think that’s the last you have to worry about her,” he said.

Olivia wondered about that, given how aggressive she’d been on the road earlier. “You didn’t arrest her?”

“No, not enough evidence to do that. I warned her. Just didn’t want you to worry.”

Good luck with that, she thought. “Any news about what happened at Starling?” She realized she was trying to keep him on the phone. Just the sound of his voice made her feel better. She’d missed it.

“Not yet. I’m getting another call. If you… Gotta go.” And he was gone.

She stood holding the phone. If you…what? What had he stopped himself from saying?

“You going to stand outside all day?” her mother called from the porch.

Olivia pocketed her phone, turned and headed for the house. She could feel her mother’s questioning gaze on her.

“Who was that on the phone?” her mother asked.

“Jaden. It wasn’t anything.” She stepped into the house, knowing her mother wasn’t going to let it go. She headed for the kitchen to make herself a sandwich, her mother on her heels. “You want a sandwich?”

“I ate in town. What did Jaden want?”

Digging out what she needed from the refrigerator, she said, “Earlier, someone followed me from the hospital, running up behind me like she was going to run me off the road.”

“She?”

“Cody’s girlfriend, Krystal Lee.”

Her mother’s expression told volumes as to how she felt about Krystal Lee. “Cody forgot to mention he had a girlfriend when he asked you out for Halloween night?” Sharon shook her head. “You still worried she’ll come after you again?”

Olivia concentrated on slicing a tomato before she answered. “I’m not worried.” That wasn’t entirely true, but she didn’t want her mother doing something foolish like going over to Krystal’s house and threatening her. It wouldn’t be the first time her mother had done something like that.

“So why do you look worried?”

She spread mayo on the bread, then layered on ham, cheese, lettuce and sliced tomato.

“It’s the whole Starling thing,” she said as she completed her task and reached for one of the small bags of chips her mother kept on hand.

“What if he never finds out who killed Rob and injured Cody?” she added as she sat down at the kitchen table. She took a bite of her sandwich.

“Jaden doesn’t really think you had anything to do with that,” her mother said as she joined her at the table. “He’s just angry at you for breaking off the engagement.”

Olivia looked up, finished chewing and set down her sandwich. “I didn’t break it off. Jaden did.”

“What?”

She shook her head. “He didn’t think I was ready to get married—let alone to him.” She’d seldom seen her mother unable to speak.

“Why would he think that?” Sharon Brooks finally asked.

“I don’t know what he thinks. He was headed to law school. I’d just gotten my job I’d hoped for. We were going in separate directions. I suggested postponing the wedding.”

“Law school? How’d he end up being a deputy in Fortune Creek?”

“Turns out we both changed our minds about what we wanted to do,” Olivia said.

“Was he right about you not being ready?” Before Olivia could answer, her mother said, “Well, obviously, because the first thing you did when you got back here was to go out with Cody Ryan, your high school boyfriend.”

“It wasn’t like that,” she protested, knowing how it looked. She regretted it more than she could say. “We’re just friends.”

Her mother had always preferred anyone over Cody, saying she couldn’t bear seeing her daughter organizing nuts and bolts down at the hardware store for the rest of her life. What kind of life can he offer you? You think Cody and his dad wouldn’t have you working down there in the hardware store?

“I guess it wouldn’t make that much difference, working at a hardware store or being the wife of a deputy and living all the way up there in Fortune Creek,” her mother said now.

Olivia groaned. “Well, that’s not going to happen.”

“But for some reason both men thought you were going to marry them,” her mother just had to point out. “One of them must be the reason you’re back home.”

Pushing her sandwich away, she snapped, “Do we have to talk about my past mistakes?”

“Only if you keep making the same ones,” her mother quipped.

“I just wanted to hang out with some old friends Halloween night. Cody and I used to be friends. He was my best friend for a lot of years. I thought we could have that again. I was wrong.”

“I should say so since now one of your old friends is dead, Cody’s in the hospital and another friend is missing.”

She shook her head, telling herself that her mother had good intentions and was only trying to protect her. “I just came from the hospital. Cody has regained consciousness, but he doesn’t remember anything. He didn’t even remember I was back in town.”

Her mother got up from the table, returning with a knife. Olivia watched her cut the sandwich in two before sitting down to eat it. “I didn’t have much for lunch,” she said, grinning before taking a bite.

Olivia opened the bag of chips, dumping them on the side of the plate so her mother could reach them. She picked up the other half with her one bite out of it. Sometimes she wished she couldn’t remember the past.

“I love them both,” she said between bites. “Cody just as a friend. Jaden…” Her voice broke with emotion. “I can’t seem to get over him. All right? It’s why I came home.”

Her mother nodded, smiled and reached over with her free hand to squeeze her daughter’s. “That’s what I thought. Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out.”

Her laugh sounded more scared than bitter. “If only it were that easy.”

“What a problem. If it’s Jaden you’re in love with, then I guess you’d better let him know you’re serious. If you are…”

Olivia nodded. “But right now, he just sees me as a suspect in a murder investigation.” She didn’t mention that him finding her on a night out with Cody hadn’t helped, and neither did her mother.

She’d been such a fool to think she could recapture the fun times she and Cody had in high school for even one night.

Her phone pinged. It was a text from Emery. He wanted to meet her at the bar. Said it was important.