personal safety would be ensured.
“Okay,” she finally said against her better judgment. “I’ll meet you at the café at noon.”
He nodded, flicked the reins and then took off galloping back to the pasture. She watched him go and realized she’d just agreed to meet a murderer for lunch.
Nick walked into the Bitterroot Café at ten to twelve and was greeted by owner Daisy Martin, who stood behind the cash register. Normally, when he came here for lunch with fellow ranch hands, they all sat at the counter. In recent months, he had often sat in Wendy’s section, but today, he headed for one of the few empty yellow vinyl booths.
He found one toward the back and slid into the side facing the door then placed his hat next to him. He had no idea if Adrienne Bailey would show up or not, despite the fact that she’d said she’d be here.
There was no way to second-guess the actions of a crazy woman, and she’d definitely been crazy last night. He raised a hand to touch his eye, wincing not because it hurt, but because she’d managed to sucker punch him.
He had no idea if he could change Adrienne’s mind about him, if he could convince her that the real killer was still out there somewhere, for now flying under the radar. He had no idea if she’d even listen to a word he had to say.
Jenna Lankford approached his booth, wearing the yellow T-shirt that identified her as a waitress. Jenna was an attractive woman about Nick’s age, and before Wendy, she had always been one of his go-to waitresses because of her warmth and sense of humor.
“If it isn’t one of my favorite cowboys,” she said with a bright smile. She eyed him intently. “At least it’s not as bad as I imagined when I heard the news.”
“What’s not as bad?” Nick asked.
“Your face. Rumor is that you got into a bar fight last night and a woman made mincemeat of your handsome mug.”
“As you can see, the rumors are vastly exaggerated,” Nick replied with a wry grin. “She did manage to hit me once in the eye, but the damage is minimal. In fact, I’m meeting her for lunch. She’s Wendy Bailey’s sister, Adrienne.”
Jenna’s smile faltered, and her blue eyes glistened overly bright. “That poor woman. She must be in such pain. I can’t believe what happened to Wendy. She was one of the most popular waitresses here and made coming to work such fun.” She paused for a moment and then continued, “So you want something to drink while you wait for your guest?”
“I’ll take a root beer,” he replied. What he probably needed was a good stiff drink before interacting with Adrienne again. Unfortunately, the café didn’t serve booze. Besides, he needed to have his wits about him.
“Coming right up.”
He watched Jenna as she walked away from the table, her blond hair caught up in a ponytail that swung side to side with each step she took.
She was also one of the more popular waitresses for plenty of people in town, not only pretty but also friendly and open. As far as Nick knew, she didn’t date much and lived on a small ranch just outside town that had been left to her when her parents had died in a car accident a year before.
Thoughts of Jenna immediately left his mind when the front door opened and Adrienne walked in. She hesitated just inside the door, gazing around the café. Her lips pressed together tightly and her eyes narrowed when she spied him.
Even though Nick’s nerves tightened up and he knew this meeting would probably be unpleasant at best, he couldn’t help but notice that Adrienne was a very attractive woman.
Her reddish-brown hair was in a tidy knot at the nape of her neck, emphasizing her delicate features. Her blue-and-white blouse made her blue-green eyes appear bluer than they had the night before.
He rose as she reached the booth and slid into the seat across from him with an upthrust of her chin.
“Just so that you know, I’m not afraid of you, Nick Coleman,” she said firmly.
Nick lowered himself back down to sit. “There’s no reason for you to be afraid of me. We’re both on the same side.”
Once again her eyes narrowed, and he noted her thick, long eyelashes. Adrienne was definitely a looker. She picked up the menu, and he noticed that her fingers trembled, belying her announcement that she wasn’t afraid or at least nervous about being in his company.
“Why don’t we order first, and then you can tell me exactly how and why you killed my sister,” she said.
So much for being on the same side, Nick thought drily. He didn’t need to look at a menu. The food at the café hadn’t changed much in the past almost fifteen years that he’d been eating here.
Not wanting to stare at her and make her even more uncomfortable, he gazed around the café and wondered who, like Adrienne, believed he’d murdered Wendy.
Certainly, he knew he was a person of interest in the case. He and Wendy had spent far too much time together for him not to be on a list of potential suspects.
It was only when he heard Adrienne’s menu hit the table that he once again looked at her. “Ready to order?” he asked.
She gave him a curt nod, as if she begrudged him even asking her the simple question.
He motioned to Jenna, who had just finished serving another table. Jenna gazed at Adrienne and then at Nick with amusement. “She’s a little thing to have managed that colorful shiner you’re sporting.”
Adrienne’s cheeks immediately turned pink. “I’ve already apologized to him,” she said. It was obvious to Nick that she wasn’t sorry at all.
“Good, then the two of you should have a nice lunch together,” Jenna said brightly. “Now, what can I get for you?”
Adrienne ordered a house salad and iced tea, and Nick ordered a bacon cheeseburger and fries. Once Jenna left to fill their orders, an uncomfortable silence settled in and grew to painful proportions.
“I didn’t kill Wendy.” Nick finally broke the tense silence.
“She talked about you in every text and phone call I received from her. You were the only man she talked about. You were her lover and something went wrong between the two of you and you killed her,” Adrienne said with finality.
Nick stared at her in disbelief. “Do you write fiction for a living?”
“Actually, I work as a publicist for authors, but that has nothing to do with what I think happened between you and Wendy.”
“You’ve definitely come up with a story that has nothing to do with reality.” Nick stopped talking as Jenna returned with their food.
After Jenna left the booth once again, he continued, “Let me tell you my story, the reality of my relationship with Wendy.”
Adrienne jabbed at a piece of carrot, and the force she used made Nick wonder if she were imagining stabbing the fork in his already wounded eye.
