Page 14 of Mystery at Rescue Ridge (Rescue Ridge #5)

T he kids had eaten breakfast and were happily watching cartoons, giving Evie a moment of peace to sip coffee at the kitchen table.

Dark circles cradled her eyes, making Owen wonder if she’d gotten any more sleep than he had last night.

The elephant in the room, the kiss, sat between them, and they’d managed to stay in separate rooms so far, after a short interaction in the kitchen to make breakfast.

Gravel crunched underneath tires on the lane leading up to the house. Owen forced his thoughts from the kiss to check out the window and verify it was the sheriff. Before Travis knocked, Owen opened the door. “Come in,” he said to his brother-in-law.

“Morning,” Travis said to Evie after greeting Owen with a bear hug.

“Coffee?” Evie asked.

“No, thanks.” Travis’s expression said he was ready to get down to business. He paused long enough to give the kids a smile as he crossed the living room toward the table.

Luca looked up at Travis in awe. Owen made a mental note to play cops and robbers later.

The brief look of longing that came over Travis’s features reminded Owen that his brother-in-law was medically unable to have kids of his own.

He was, however, the best father figure to Chloe’s three-year-old son, Grayson.

Travis looked at Evie. “I hope I’m not out of line suggesting this, but my wife and I have a boy about Luca’s age. It might be nice to get them together to play sometime.”

A glimmer of hope and excitement danced in those emerald eyes. “I think Luca would like that very much. And maybe your wife could give me a few tips on taking care of little ones.”

Travis smiled. “Chloe is a wonderful mother.” He’d found true happiness as a husband and father without having children of his own. And yet, the look a few minutes ago said he wished it could be different.

Had Owen made a mistake that he might regret?

“I’ve had all hands on deck working this case,” Travis said, interrupting Owen’s thoughts. “The quicker we figure out who the hiker is and why he’s following you, the better.”

“I agree,” Evie said, glancing over at the children. “I’m all they have.”

Owen stopped himself from saying the kids had him, too.

That he would make an amazing uncle to them.

Plus, he stood to inherit more money than he knew what to do with.

What better way to spend it than to give it to someone who needed it more than he did?

He could work with a lawyer to set up trusts for the children.

Evie wouldn’t have to stress about finances.

Would she let him help? Evie was prideful.

He understood her because he was the same way.

“Everyone on your list checks out so far,” Travis said. “No one has a bad word to say about you. You’re a dedicated employee. You’ve never been late on rent, according to your landlord. You haven’t been in a relationship at all in the past year or even dated.”

Evie’s gaze shifted to the table where she was working her fingers into a knot.

Her cheeks flushed when Travis talked about her dating life—or lack thereof.

Owen shouldn’t be relieved that she was single with no prospects as much as he was.

What could he say? There would always be a piece of him that would be overprotective when it came to Evie.

“So, where does that leave us?” she asked, clearly ready to shift the conversation away from her personal affairs.

Travis frowned. “With more questions than answers, I’m afraid. You work for a lifestyle brand in Dallas and do a lot of promotions for the city. I’ve searched the blog for any signs a company might have been harmed by the work you do.”

“Seriously? I arrange the photo shoots and take care of scheduling, et cetera. I don’t decide who we feature or anything of the sort.”

“I’m trying to look at this investigation from all angles,” Travis said, “to find the angle that no one has been looking at.”

“Makes sense.” Evie exhaled.

“Has anyone reached out to you that you denied highlighting?”

“Not me personally,” she said. “My boss would be a better person to ask.”

Travis nodded. His reaction said he’d expected her answer.

He was thorough, which Owen appreciated.

He didn’t want to need the sheriff as much as his family had recently, but there were a lot of things out of his control, like having a half-sibling show up out of nowhere.

Owen hadn’t been the first to welcome Beau into the family.

Of course, Beau had come in guns blazing, ready for a fight.

His attitude pushed everyone away. Owen knew what it felt like to be the quiet one in a loud family.

His lack of communication had made the others believe he didn’t have an opinion.

Owen did. He wasn’t one to jump to form his opinion before evaluating all the facts.

He mulled things over while the others made snap decisions.

Neither was wrong, but he went about things differently. Was that part of the reason for the tight bond between him and Evie? She’d been an outsider in her family, too.

“You have no other living relatives?” Travis asked.

“None that I know of.” Evie shrugged and glanced around. “I was the only one around to inherit this place. Though I’ll pass ownership along to these two,” she said, nodding toward the children, “should they want it. Heaven knows, I don’t.”

Travis nodded again. “If you think of anything else we haven’t already covered, call my direct line.”

“Will do, Sheriff,” she said.

“It’s a good idea to bolster security.” Travis stood up. “Keep the doors and windows locked.”

“Already on it,” Owen said. “We’re picking up a few cameras and recording devices for the front and back doors.”

“I have a handgun, but I have no clue how to use it.” Evie walked the sheriff to the door.

Travis glanced back at the little ones, more protective this time. “Be careful with that. I’d rather you keep a shotgun under your mattress than a handgun.”

“My brother-in-law was military,” she said. “He must’ve taught my sister how to use it since he was deployed.”

Owen was reminded that people changed. Simone was one of the last people on earth he would have suspected to have a gun, let alone know how to use it.

After saying their goodbyes, he said as much to Evie.

“I know,” she agreed, then shrugged. “I guess she didn’t want me to worry about her out here all by her lonesome with the kiddos.”

“Until recently, Saddle Junction wasn’t on the crime map at all.

” He could see why an absent husband might want to teach his wife how to handle herself should the worst case occur.

Families had secrets. Between having a surprise half-brother and learning about some of the deals Beaumont had made with wealthy investors, Owen shouldn’t be caught off guard by anything at this point. “All families have secrets.”

What were Evie’s?

Evie cut across the room, careful not to distract the kids from their show.

There were a few moments of peace throughout the day.

Morning cartoons for forty-five minutes gave her enough of a break to clean up after breakfast and figure out what to do next.

Most of her days involved a whole lot of wiping dishes, hands, and backsides.

“I see the way Luca looks at you, and now Travis. Do you think he misses having a male figure in his life?”

Owen nodded. “What do you think about playing videos of him with his dad? There must be some that we can plug into the TV while the kids play in the living room.”

“That’s a great idea, actually.” She smiled, impressed by his thoughtfulness. She should have expected it coming from Owen. He’d always put others’ needs first. The problem was that she’d spent too much time with people who were nothing like him. What could she say? The man broke the mold.

The world would be a lot better place if there were more people like him.

“It would have helped me a lot to see my mom’s face,” he said. “It would’ve helped me feel like I still had a connection with her while growing up.”

“Beaumont would never have allowed that,” she said, reaching out to touch his arm in a show of empathy. He knew what it was like to grow up without one of your parents. Owen never talked about his mother, and the fact had never crossed her mind until now.

Physical contact was a bad idea. Sparks flew. Her fingertips burned from the desire to roam over his muscled chest, abs, and other places she probably shouldn’t think about with babies in the room, considering the heat warming her in places that had been long dormant.

Evie wasn’t a prude by any stretch of the imagination. Dating hadn’t been a priority.

“No, he pretty much erased our mother’s entire existence when she left,” he said, pouring another cup of coffee. “Which is why I know how important it is to leave all the family pictures up.”

“I wondered about taking them down.” She had thought they might be painful reminders of losing those closest to the children. “I decided to keep them up.”

“You can always add to them over the years. In a way, it can make them feel like the family changed and expanded while keeping memories alive.”

“She won’t have many of either of her parents.” Evie motioned toward Olivia.

“No, but she’ll have you.”

“Looking at her mother’s face in the pictures might be making her sad,” she said. “Olivia doesn’t have words, crying might be her only release.”

“Makes sense to me.” He joined her at the table as she retrieved her sister’s laptop. “Being able to talk to express feelings is something a whole mess of adults haven’t quite learned to do.”

For that, she laughed.

“Truer words have never been spoken.” She sat at the head of the table so she wouldn’t be sitting directly next to him. This spot left a little more room in between them—room that made it easier to control her physical response to him. “I don’t have any idea what her password is, so…”

Much to their surprise, the screen lit up and no password was required.

“That’s shocking.” She studied the icons on the screen.

“People left their cars running to drop a package off at the post office until recently.” He glanced around the room. “Who around here is going to open her laptop and snoop around for bank information?”

“Okay, good point.” He was right. Why would Simone have protected the password to her computer when she’d been the only adult in the house?

The kids wouldn’t be able to use one for years, and even then, Simone had been the most squeaky-clean person in the world.

She would’ve handed over her laptop without question to her kiddos when they were old enough to use one.

“I need to go through my sister’s personal belongings. It’s just been…hard.”

“Take your time,” he said. “You don’t have to rush it, unless you plan to go back to your job sometime soon.”

“I went on leave, letting my boss believe I’d be back.” She didn’t look up from the screen. “In part, because I couldn’t imagine resigning and making this my life. The other part was that I need to keep an income and benefits coming until I figure out my next moves.”

“No need to rush.”

“Spoken like someone with a trust fund.” She regretted those words the instant they came out of her mouth.

“Is that what you think? That I’m tainted because I have an inheritance I don’t want or need?” His tone was sharp, pained, even though he tried to cover that last part with an angry overtone.

“No, I didn’t mean it that way, Owen. It came out before I had a chance to think about it.

You’re honestly the nicest, most caring person I’ve ever known.

” She locked gazes with him despite how it made her insides knot and her throat dry.

“I’m sorry for saying that. It wasn’t fair to you.

Can you forgive me?” Those last words were loaded.

She wanted him to forgive her for what she’d just said, as well as for how much she’d hurt him years ago.

Back then, she’d only been able to focus on how she’d felt about their situation.

“I don’t know, Evie. You still haven’t told me what I did wrong before, and I can’t figure it out.

I thought we were friends.” He stood up and started pacing.

“Best friends. I missed you like crazy after you left. Maybe it was because I thought more of the friendship than you did. I assumed we were on the same page, but I never could have…” He shook his head.

“Let’s just say that I should’ve reminded myself of that old saying: When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. ”

It broke her heart into pieces that he believed he’d done something wrong. “It wasn’t you, Owen.”

“Right.” He compressed his lips. “It wasn’t you. It was me. Is that what you’re going to say next? Save it. I’ve heard that bullshit line before.”

With that, he set down his coffee mug hard enough to draw attention from the kiddos and then stormed out the back door.

Evie wanted to jump to her feet and follow, tell him how much leaving had nearly killed her, how she couldn’t be around the man she loved without them being together. How she’d missed their late-night talks and how she could tell him everything without worrying about being judged.

Where would that leave her? Them?

Right now, he was a lifeline of friendship she couldn’t bring herself to let go of. She needed his help, needed him, more than she wanted to.

Emotions battled each other, vying for control.

Losing Owen a second time would shatter her tightly gripped control.

Her emotions already ran high due to the loss of Simone. Old feelings for Owen were inevitable because they’d never been resolved. The intensity of how she felt reflected those two facts, nothing more.

She’d gotten over Owen a long time ago.

Right?