McCord drew himself up and stepped back. “Not at all. Just letting you know how we take care of legal questions in Chance County these days. Trying to save you the wasted effort.”
With the sheriff’s foot out of the doorway, Colt stepped back, too. “I’d say your trip here today was the wasted effort. And we’ll just have to see how the legal system is handled in Chance County these days, won’t we?”
As the door slammed in the sheriff’s face, Colt paced toward the kitchen, determined to stem his anger and direct the energy toward solving the crime. It was time to draw up an action plan. The sheriff was hiding something. And now Colt felt more curious than ever.
* * *
“I think the first thing we’ll need is a list of people who might have had a motive.” Lacie jotted a note on the yellow pad sitting on the table in front of her.
Colt’s anger had almost settled into resoluteness six hours after the sheriff’s visit. He and Lacie had joked about the sheriff’s nasty warning and about her own confrontation with her stepfather. Colt knew he would find his answers—all of them—no matter what or who stood in the way.
But when he glanced over at Lacie across the table, he couldn’t help wondering if she was the one big question that would never adequately be answered. Why had she left town so suddenly right after high school?
She looked delicious today, dressed in her casual jeans and T-shirt. He could almost gobble her up like an ice cream sundae. She made his mouth water. The auburn hair he remembered as being soft and silky was still as big a temptation as ever, even though it was cut shorter. His fingers itched to touch. To glide through that sensuous silk.
But he sat on his hands. While they worked together on this cold case, he wanted the two of them to grow to be friends again. At some point, he hoped they’d be close enough that she wouldn’t mind if he asked the most difficult personal questions.
But he would have to work up the nerve first. When she’d disappeared without saying a word to him, she’d broken his heart. He’d been positive the reason must have had something to do with him.
He planned on making sure they became friends again. But then did he have the guts to chance having his heart handed to him all over again?
“Colt? What do you think? Since we can’t get to the old case file yet, should we work on finding other suspects?”
“Yeah, we should. Neither you nor I were old enough at the time to remember my parents’ contemporaries. We need to check with people who were around at the time.”
“Do you remember the names of any of your parents’ friends?” Lacie turned her beautiful hazel eyes in his direction and the sympathy in them worked to calm him down.
“Not really.” He turned his head away when her expression suddenly became more sensual than sympathetic.
He couldn’t keep his hands to himself while she looked at him like that. “But we should go see my aunt June. She wasn’t living in Chance when the murder happened, but she hadn’t been out of town for long. And she was my father’s sister—only a couple of years older. She’ll remember who was who.”
“Good idea. Can we go to your aunt’s house now?”
Lacie’s gaze seemed so earnest and hopeful he nearly reached out to pull her close. But he checked himself and folded his arms over his chest instead. She’d pushed him away the last time he’d tried getting close, saying it was too soon.
Maybe she’d been right, but it didn’t feel too soon to him. He vividly remembered their past and the way she’d felt in his arms back then. Time and another opportunity were all he needed to make her remember, too.
He stood, telling himself to have patience.
“Now that you’re on your feet, let’s go.” She smiled, grabbed their notes and headed for the door.
A little unsteady, he braced himself and followed. He’d worked for hours this morning on strengthening his leg muscles, but it seemed he still couldn’t keep up with her. Damned spectacular woman.
* * *
Lacie sat quietly as Colt drove them into town to visit his aunt. She’d volunteered to drive because of his injuries, but he would have no part of that. Darned stubborn man.
“You sure you don’t want to duck down while we head through town?” He kept his eyes trained out the window, but his tone was full of concern.
“I already told you I don’t care if anyone sees us together. We’re not doing anything wrong.” Folding her arms across her chest, she lifted her chin. “If the sheriff thinks he can fire me for simply seeing you, let him try.”
“Stubborn.” Colt’s voice might be hard but the grin on his face told another story.
Funny, she’d just been thinking the same thing about him. Maybe they had more in common than she’d thought. Turning to look out the window, she found herself grinning like an idiot the very way he had.
A few minutes later Colt’s aunt June let them into her two-story clapboard house and led the way into a gigantic old-fashioned kitchen.
“I’m so glad to see y’all,” June said and pointed to chairs around a huge table. “Have a seat. I’ve been meaning to come out to your mother’s old office and check on you, Colt. But it looks like you’re doing fine.”
“Not exactly fine,” Colt began as he sat in one of the chairs. “But better every day. You remember Lacie McCord?”
“Of course. I remember that you and Lacie went to school together. And these days I keep running into Lacie around town now that she’s a deputy. Nice to see you again, sweetheart. Are you two hungry?”
“No, thanks,” Lacie answered.
“Yeah, we could eat,” Colt said at the same time. “Something smells good.”
“That’s rude.” Lacie elbowed him in the side.
June laughed and shook her head. “Nonsense. I have a brisket sitting on the counter that’s done and resting. I was going to slice and freeze it, but I’d rather serve meat right after it’s been cooked. Give me a few minutes.”
“Can I help?” Lacie asked.
“Set the table, please. Silverware is over on the other counter with the napkins.”
Spinning, Lacie set to work. “Can I get you something to drink, Colt?”
He grimaced and drew a breath. “Just a glass of water. We can talk while you work, can’t we, Aunt June?”
Lacie had a feeling Colt wasn’t thrilled about sitting while the two females worked around him. He rubbed absently at his thigh and made a face.
“Sure,” June answered as she opened a bag of lettuce greens. “What’s up?”
“We’ve decided to review my mother’s murder case. We...”
“Not for one minute did I
