You talk, and I’ll give you coverage in this week’s paper. I can still get it in before tomorrow’s deadline, along with an editorial in opposition to the development.”
The sheriff slapped him on the back. “I had a feeling I could count on you.”
As they walked toward the school, where council meetings were held in the auditorium, Ryan cast a sideways look at him. “Heard you and Emma had quite a little chat over at Stella’s today. Looked real cozy.”
“Who’s your source?” Ford asked.
“Now a newspaperman ought to know better than to ask a question like that,” Ryan taunted. “Were they right?”
“Emma and I talked. I don’t know how cozy we were. Having a conversation with that woman is like dealing with a porcupine. You never know when she’s going to take offense and come after you with a sharp barb.”
“You look to me like a man whose hide is tough enough to take a few pointed remarks and to give back as good as you get.”
“There is a certain amount of intellectual stimulation involved, but it can take a toll. I must admit, though, she’s a more complicated female than I first imagined.”
“Complicated, huh?” Ryan grinned. “Watch yourself, pal. Complicated women have a way of getting under a man’s skin and staying there.”
“Emma Rogers is not getting under my skin,” Ford insisted, but even as the words left his mouth, he knew he was lying through his teeth.
“The last man who said that wound up married to her.”
Ford regarded him with surprise. “You knew her husband?”
“We’d met. My sister knew him better.”
“Teddy’s mom?”
“No, my oldest sister, Adele,” Ryan explained. “She dated Kit Rogers for a while at college. That’s how he and Emma met. Kit was here visiting over the holidays one year—we were all at the same party. Then he got one look at Emma, and that was it for him and Adele. They broke up that same night. Can’t say I was sorry. For that matter, neither was Adele. She told me he had ‘control issues,’ which I took to mean that he was a possessive son of a gun.”
Ford digested that news with a sense of astonishment. “I can’t imagine any man controlling Emma.”
“Not for long, that’s for sure,” Ryan said. “Emma hasn’t said, but I suspect that’s what broke up their marriage. She might have tolerated it for a while, but she’s too strong willed to be anybody’s doormat.” He slanted a look at Ford. “A word to the wise.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Ford said. “If I were interested, which I’m not, I’d know better than to think there was a single submissive bone in that woman’s very attractive body.”
Ryan hooted. “All right!”
“What?”
“You noticed that Emma has a fabulous body. I was beginning to worry about you.”
“I noticed,” Ford said, then added firmly, “not that I have any intention of doing anything about it…even if she’d let me…” He met Ryan’s gaze. “Which she won’t. She’s none too crazy about my profession, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“And that’s enough to scare you off?” Ryan asked indignantly. “You’re not even going to try to get her to see past that?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then maybe I’ll give her another shot,” Ryan said, his expression innocent. “We were pretty tight back in high school.”
Ford scowled at him. “Whatever.”
“You wouldn’t care?”
“It’s not up to me.”
“But you wouldn’t feel even the tiniest little twinge if I asked her out?” Ryan persisted.
A twinge? He’d probably want to slug the man, sheriff or not. He refused to admit it, though. “Nope.”
“Liar,” Ryan accused.
Ford sighed heavily. “You got that right.”
“Emma, sweetie, wake up!”
Emma heard her mother’s voice, and for a moment thought she must have been caught up in a dream. Then she felt her mother’s hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her.
“Emma!”
For the first time in months she had actually been in a deep, restful sleep. She came to slowly. “What is it, Mom? Caitlyn’s not sick, is she? Is it Dad?”
“No, no, it’s Lauren. She’s on the phone. She needs to talk to you now. She says it’s urgent.”
Emma tugged on her robe and raced down the hall, heart pounding. Lauren would never call in the middle of the night unless it truly was urgent. Was she sick? Were the tabloids about to break some story that could destroy her career? Had there been an accident? Or was it one of the other Calamity Janes? She had spoken to most of them during the day. They’d all seemed fine.
Clutching her robe around her, she picked up the phone. “Lauren, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, Emma, it’s so horrible,” Lauren said, her voice choked. This wasn’t the sexy huskiness she used on screen, but real emotion. “There was another fight between Donny and Sue Ellen. I had the windows open, and I could hear it all the way over here at the hotel. Donny chased her out of their house, screaming and cursing. I called the sheriff, but before he got over here, I heard a shot.”
“Oh, my God,” Emma whispered. “Please tell me Donny didn’t shoot Sue Ellen.”
“No, she shot him. He’s dead, Emma.”
Emma’s heart sank. “Where is she?”
“Ryan just took her down to the jail. He told me there wasn’t any point in my coming along, that he couldn’t let me see her. Can you go over there? Please. She needs an attorney, a really good one. I doubt she has any money, but I’ll pay for it.”
“I’m on my way,” Emma said at once. “And don’t worry about the money. This one’s on the house.”
Emma yanked on her clothes, explained the situation to her mother and raced to the jail. She was only moderately surprised to find Ford Hamilton there ahead of her. He was arguing with Ryan, demanding to see the sheriff’s report on the shooting.
“Settle down,” Ryan told him. “This isn’t Chicago. We take our time and get things right. We don’t jump to conclusions. You’ll see the report when I have all the facts.”
“I wasn’t suggesting—” Ford began.
“Whatever,” Ryan said, waving off what was obviously the beginning
