aside, Emily, keep thinking. It’s important. Could it have to do with your business?”
“I take pictures of kids and families—there’s nothing in my work that should anger anyone. I’ve never had an irate customer.”
“I’m sure you haven’t—you’re a damn good photographer.”
“The result wasn’t what Maverick intended, so let’s not worry too much about it right now,” she said, placing her hand on Tom’s knee in a gesture that at one time would have been casual. It wasn’t now. He turned to stare at her, and she saw his chest expand as he took a deep breath.
She removed her hand and looked out the window, turning from him and trying to make light of the moment. She was thankful he couldn’t hear or feel her racing heart.
“I’ll try to think, but I’m blank. I know I’m overlooking something or I wouldn’t have received that email.”
“That’s right, so work on it,” he said, and they lapsed into silence as they drove toward Royal.
She thought over what Tom had said. What enemies did she have? “Tom, maybe Maverick was getting at you through me.”
“That occurred to me, and I’ve been trying to think of anyone in these parts I could have really annoyed. Frankly, Emily, I can think of some. I’ve fired cowboys who didn’t want to work. I was in the military—there are people in the area who don’t like that or what I did. Politically, they don’t agree with me. There are guys I competed with in college and high school sports. There are guys I’ve competed with in rodeos. I’ll talk to Nathan about it. He’s got to catch this troll. It has to be someone really low-down mean to hurt you after what you’ve been through.”
“I haven’t been through any more than you have,” she said, and he was silent. His jaw was set and she suspected he was frustrated and angry.
“You have been through more than I have,” he said quietly. “You lost Ryan, you lost your uncle, your dad split when you were two, your mom died when you were nine, the man who raised you and the last close member of your family died this past year and you haven’t had another child. You don’t need more anguish, much less to get hassled by a rotten coward.”
It hurt to hear Tom say that she couldn’t have more children, but everything he said was the truth. As their conversation trailed off, she was acutely aware of him so nearby. She had been doing fairly well when she didn’t see him or talk to him on a regular basis, but now to be with him, to joke around with him, even just this tiny bit, drew her to him. And the memories were tormenting her. They had been so wildly in love when they were dating and first married. Her world had crashed and would never again be the same. She had been slowly adjusting to life without Tom, and now he was coming right back into it. Would she be able to cope with living in the same house again? Could she resist the intense, scalding attraction she always felt for him? What would happen if he tried to seduce her?
The questions came at her constantly, and there were no answers.
When they got to town, Tom parked in front of the sheriff’s office and carried the CPU inside. Nathan greeted them and shook Tom’s hand. “We don’t have much in the way of good leads and I don’t expect to get anything from your computer, but I need to check it out. I hope both of you will go to the meeting Monday.”
“We plan to,” Tom said. “I’ll help in any way I can. Just let me know.”
“Thanks,” Nathan said. The sheriff was tall and had friendly brown eyes. “I’d like to talk to each of you, one at a time. Emily, want to go first?”
“Sure,” she answered, smiling at him. He was slightly older than Tom and she, but she knew him and his wife, Amanda, who owned the Royal Diner, which was a town fixture.
Emily went into his office and tried to answer his questions. She was with him only a short time and then he talked to Tom. Their session was also brief.
Soon both men came out of Nathan’s office. “If either one of you think of anything to tell me, just call, no matter what the hour is. I want this Maverick caught.”
“I think most of the people in Royal probably want him caught quickly,” Emily said.
“Sorry we weren’t more help, Nathan,” Tom said. “I’ll keep thinking about any possibilities.”
“Sure. Both of you try to make the meeting Monday. I’m shocked that Emily was a target. And it could have been to get at you, but why you? You don’t have any real enemies around these parts.”
“You never know—you can aggravate someone without even knowing it. Since there are several people now who’ve received these Maverick messages, I’d say this is a sour character who has a lot of grudges.”
“You’re right. I want to catch him—or her. I’m sure Emily’s computer will be the same as the others—we can’t trace where the messages originated. Maverick may be mean, but he’s not stupid.”
Nathan followed them outside, and the three of them stood for a moment in the late-afternoon sun. “Emily, since you’ve moved into your uncle’s house here in town, if you need us at any time, just call. I’m glad Tom is there now, because that takes away some worries.”
“We’ll keep in touch,” Tom promised as he took Emily’s arm lightly. He was saying goodbye to the sheriff, paying little attention to her, but with each of Tom’s touches, the contact was startling. How could he still do this to her when they were no longer in love and headed for divorce? They had no future together, she was annoyed he had taken charge of her life and was staying with her, yet the slightest contact was electrifying. She hoped her reaction didn’t show.
They told Nathan goodbye and walked to the car. As they drove away, Tom glanced at her. “Let’s stop at the diner and get a burger.”
“Sure,” she answered, knowing Tom was probably hungry, but suspecting he wanted people in Royal to see them together.
Everything they did reminded her of old times with him, which made her sad, but at the same time, she couldn’t keep from enjoying his company.
They drove the short distance down Main and stopped at the Royal Diner for burgers. Too many things she did with Tom reminded her of their life when everything was exciting and they were in love. The reminders hurt and made her realize how her expectations had been destroyed and there wasn’t any putting their marriage back together. They might fool Maverick, but it was going to cost her peace of mind to have Tom hovering around.
They sat down in a booth upholstered in red faux leather. “How many times have we eaten burgers or had a malt here?” she couldn’t resist asking Tom.
He smiled at her. “Too many to keep track, but my mind was never on the burgers or the malts.”
“I doubt mine was, either,” she said, remembering how exciting he was to her. “This is the first place you asked me to go with you—to get a malt.”
“I remember,” he said, focusing on her with a direct gaze that made her warm. “After you ran into my car.”
