Deadly Texas Rose. Lenora Worth
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Lying back, he tried to think things through, but something just wasn’t right about the situation. Before he could figure it all out, his father walked in.
“You awake?”
Eric looked toward the end of the bed where his broad-shouldered father stood with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I’m fine, Dad. How’d you get in here, anyway?”
“I still have some connections. Managed to sweet-talk a nurse.”
Eric grinned at that. “Some things never change.”
Harlan didn’t dwell on hospital procedure. “Bullet skipped right through you, did it?”
“Yep. I don’t know why they even brought me to the hospital. I could have gone home and poured some alcohol on it and been good as new.” In spite of the jovial tone, Eric could see the worry in his father’s eyes. “Bullet went straight in and out, Pop. Probably still stuck somewhere in the café wall.”
Harlan kicked one boot against the other, as if he had mud on his shoes. “Good. That’s evidence now.”
“Yep. I’m sure they’ll find the bullet. I just wish I knew why that guy chose lunchtime to go and rob the place.”
“Yep, that is kinda odd. Most wait until closing time.” He stood silent for a couple of beats, then added, “Mighty strange how he got clear out of town so fast, too.”
“I’m gonna figure it out,” Eric said. “I shot the man, but I need answers.”
“Just be careful,” Harlan replied, rocking back on his worn cowboy boots. “You’ll need to rest up for a few days at least.”
“I’ll be on leave until the department finishes its investigation. Did they call in the Rangers?”
Harlan nodded. “Standard procedure. But you could use a rest, anyway. You’ve been burning the candle at both ends for a while, now.”
“I guess I have at that,” Eric replied, tiredness sweeping over him. And today, of all days, he’d planned on having a nice, leisurely lunch with his friend just so he could enjoy watching Julia Daniels go about her work. No rest for the weary. “You okay?”
“I’m good,” Harlan said, clearing his throat. “Just waiting for them to put you in a room. Then I’ll go on home and check on the animals.”
“You don’t have to come back tonight. I’ll probably sleep the night through, then be home tomorrow.”
Harlan nodded, his white-haired head down. “That waitress came and sat with me for a while during your surgery. She’s mighty grateful.”
“Julia? She’s a nice woman.”
“Do you know much about her?” Harlan put both hands on the steel footboard of the bed. “I mean, it struck me how she didn’t want Mickey to put her picture in the paper, didn’t even want to talk to him about the robbery and all. Either she’s real shy, or she really doesn’t want any publicity. Mighty odd to me.”
Eric moved his head, his eyes locking with his daddy’s. They were both probably wondering the same things. Instincts and natural curiosity made both of them good lawmen.
“No, I don’t know a whole lot about Julia Daniels, except that she’s related to Cat,” Eric replied. “But I aim to find out everything I can.” For more reasons than he wanted to explain to his clever father.
He’d been very aware of Julia since she’d started working at the café, mainly because she was pretty and pleasant and, well, he was single and lonely. But now that awareness had changed into concern and suspicion. Eric couldn’t answer why, except that today’s event had certainly put Julia in the spotlight. And like that nosy Mickey Jameson, Eric had some questions of his own. He didn’t want a story for the front page, though. He wanted the truth, especially since it occurred to him that even the usually talkative Cat hadn’t given up much information about her pretty cousin.
“I think that’s wise,” Harlan said, satisfied they’d cleared up that little matter of concern. “Might need to know what all we’re dealing with here.”
Eric lay back against his pillows, watching as his father threw up his hand and headed out the door.
“You can count on that,” he said to himself.
THREE
“C’mon, honey. Time for bed.”
Julia tugged on Moria’s hand, the sweet soapy smell surrounding her daughter causing her heart to swell with love. Glancing out the window where the streetlight illuminated the whole backyard and Cat’s big rambling white Victorian house just beyond, she wondered for the hundredth time today if they were truly safe here.
She should feel safe, since Deputy Sheriff Adam Dupont had come by not an hour ago to check on them, and to give her a report on Eric. They would only allow his father in to see him after his surgery. Adam had assured her Eric would be home in a day or so.
He’d also assured her that Eric didn’t want her to feel bad about things. It wasn’t her fault, Adam kept saying. Eric wouldn’t want her to worry at all. He’d be up and about in no time. But not back on the job just yet. His injury and an internal investigation of the shooting would see to that.
“Eric will get in some fishing, at least, while he’s on leave,” Adam had quipped. “He can toss a line and catch fish with just one hand, easy.”
“Easy,” Julia said now as she tried to put her uneasiness out of her mind. She focused instead on getting her daughter to bed.
Moria, dressed in a frilly pink nightgown and clutching her favorite doll, stood just inside her bedroom door, her big dark eyes surveying the dainty, feminine room. “I’m not sleepy, Mommy.”
Julia prayed this wouldn’t turn into another stand-off. True, it had become increasingly easier to get Moria to bed since they’d moved here, but every now and then Moria still had a bad night. The rental house that had been originally built for Cat’s late grandmother was purposely small, with just a den/kitchen combination across the front, a short hallway with a bath and laundry room to one side and two bedrooms on the other side. There was a clear view of both the well-lit front and back yards. No hidden nooks and crannies, no big deep closets or long winding stairways like those in the house back in San Antonio. She’d sold that gaudy dwelling for way under the appraisal value just to have moving money and a small nest egg to go with Alfonso’s life insurance, most of which she’d tucked away for her daughter’s future.
Small and safe, Julia reminded herself, glancing around at the clutter-free house. Simple and uncomplicated. Secure. No hiding places. Back at the big house, Moria had loved to play hide-and-seek with her daddy. But here, Julia discouraged that particular game.
Now Julia prayed they weren’t about to enter another kind of hide-and-seek. But the man who’d held her at gunpoint was still out there somewhere, she reminded herself. How could he have just disappeared in broad daylight? And where was he now?
“Moria, it’s past your bedtime,” she said, looking back over her shoulder to make sure the solid front door was dead-bolted.