Thatcher decided he must be brain-dead, because he started talking to Tim. He pointed toward the building project in the empty space between the two main streets. The city council said it would look like a grand town square when they finished, but the land was cut by roads into a triangle and who ever heard of a town triangle? Does that look like a bandstand or a gazebo to you? he asked Tim, hoping to avoid talking about jail for a while.
Nope. Tim tilted his head one way, then the other, as if the question would make more sense that way. The framed-out bandstand was covered in snow. It reminds me of a ten-foot-high white spider now, with legs that stretch out thirty feet.
Youre right. Thatcher wouldnt have been surprised if the monster lifted one of its legs and began to walk. You think itll look any better when they get it finished? Folks say there will be grass and benches and maybe even statues.
Tim nodded as if finding a topic to discuss. Sheriff said the construction companies brought in crews to build it and the new baseball field with under-the-stands locker rooms at the high school. Everyone claims the construction crews have caused more trouble than theyre worth. Most of the workers moved into trailers behind the gas station, and word is theres a party out there every night. We got a crime scene waiting to happen out there. The foreman from across the street complained to the sheriff that his crew either shows up drunk or high.
Thatcher almost said he knew that for a fact, but telling Tim anything would be telling him too much. He simply wanted to forget what he saw yesterday when he looked in that trailer window; what was going on in there had nothing to do with the trouble he was in now. He shouldnt have hit Luther.
Thatcher tried to reason it out, but he swore his fist was flying before his brain had time to think about the consequences.
His momma always told him to stay out of other folks crimes unless you want to be a part of the next one they commit. She was right. Of course, she also told him she could see him from wherever he was because they shared the same color eyes.
Mom, if youre watching now, you might want to look away, he mumbled to himself. Tim was too busy talking to notice.
Lauren finally came back and Tim abandoned talking to Thatcher, so he moved over to his bunk and tried to sleep, but questions kept running through his brain. Whyd he get involved yesterday? Why didnt he just mind his own business? If he hadnt tried to help the little girl. If he hadnt followed the kid home. If he hadnt taken the food back, hed be out at the Lone Heart Ranch eating supper with Charley and his wife and Lillie. Hed be teasing her, calling her Flower and shed be talking back calling him That.
Thatcher smiled. Life hadnt given him many breaks, but meeting Charleys family made up for that. Lillie was nine now and thought she knew everything. Only once shed been small like the kid hed tried to help yesterday. That thin little girl was vulnerable. She didnt have parents who cared if she ate, and that was the least of their crimes.
CHAPTER SIX
Tuesday night
DAN BRIGMAN CALLED himself every kind of fool as he walked into the Nowhere Club. Hed asked a woman for a date and then stood her up. He hadnt even called last night. Shed been everything he needed right now. Someone fun, easy to get to know, great to kiss. A wild, beautiful lady he could spend some time with and not worry about getting involved. No strings. No complications. Shed made that plain from the first.
She was the dream hed always wanted and never had.
And, thanks to Thatcher Jones, Dan had blown his one chance. She probably wouldnt bother to speak to him tonight, and all he had was a memory of one great kiss. Maybe the best kiss hed ever experienced, or ever would.
There was the possibility she hadnt thought it was a date. Shed just said that if he could find a place open, shed be hungry. Maybe showing up a day late wouldnt matter. Brandi Malone didnt strike him as a woman who made long-term plans.
By the time hed left the sheriffs office after one final check of Thatcher and his two babysitters and gone home to clean up, it was almost eight oclock. If he was lucky, hed hear her second set, even if she didnt talk to him afterward.
Any plans of taking the lady back to his place had vanished when his daughter showed up this afternoon. The singer he met might be beautiful and wild, but they were both too old for him to even suggest making out in a car. His old Jeep didnt have much of a heater, and he was not taking her out to dinner in the county cruiser.
At least hed switched into civilian clothes and left his gun belt at home. Of course he did have a small revolver strapped to his calf and his badge was tucked into his coat pocket. A lawman was a lawman; it was not just his job.
He almost turned around halfway to the county line. The weather was getting worse. If he stayed a few hours at the bar, hed probably be fighting snow going home.
No, he said aloud as he pushed on the accelerator. He was going. It was about time he made a memory. At the rate he was going, hed head into old age without having that once in a lifetime affair.
Twenty minutes later, Dan climbed out of the Jeep and turned his collar up against the freezing mist. He might as well go in and make a fool of himself. At least hed have something to regret.
Evening, Sheriff, the bartender said with a nod as he shouted loud enough for half the drunks to hear. You coming in undercover tonight?
No. Dan smiled as if the question didnt bother him. Dan never went undercover, even though the club was officially in the next county. Im just here to have a beer and listen to the music. He glanced at the bartenders nametag. You got any objections, Sorrel?
Nope. Sorrel Douglas shrugged his bony shoulders. Would suggest you dont order food. Kitchens backed up. Were getting a lot more folks in here on weeknights since Brandi came. Drunks around here act like theyve never seen a real country singer, so they come in early and eat during the first set, then hang around way too late for a weeknight to catch the last set. Itll be closing time before you get anything but nachos.
Dan ordered a drink and found a table in the back just as Brandi Malone stepped onstage. The crowd settled. Even the drunk whod been drooling on the next table raised his head and grinned.
The sheriff swore the air in the place settled as conversations stopped and people who had been playing pool in the back moved where they could see a woman in knee-high blue boots take the stage. Her skin looked pale in the lights, and her dark curls floated around her like a cape.
Dan held his breath. Even if she never spoke to him again, it was already worth the drive to just see her.
As he always did, Dan measured the crowd for trouble. Mostly couples, a few small groups of girls-night-out types. A dozen men standing at the bar. Cowboys, oil-field workers, truckers and a few bikers. No one in the place appeared to be looking for trouble, but a few were starting to drool in their beer as they stared at Brandi. She wore a long silk shirt over leggings, and the boots hed seen before. Her hair wasnt tied back as it had been yesterday. When she looked down at her hands, she curtained most of her face from view, and he wondered if she did it on purpose.
Dan wasnt sure what he expected, but when she began a song, he was lost in her world. He wasnt even sure she could see him in the crowd, but he swore she was singing just for him. Some of the songs were old favorites that anyone who loved country music liked to hear, but others were new, fresh, almost like she was making up the words as she sang.
For once he didnt watch his surroundings. All he did was listen. Her music drifted around him like a gentle hug, and her words spoke straight to his sleeping heart. The crowd grew quiet as if they all knew just how good the lady was.
Dan caught himself holding his breath, waiting for her to look up, but she rarely did. For her it was all about the music, and he realized something no one else seemed to seeshe was playing for herself, not the audience.
Finally, the spell was broken when she finished the last song and lowered her guitar. A roar went up from the crowd and Dan stood with everyone else.
She took one quick bow and vanished behind the curtain that covered the backstage door. Hank, the owner of the bar, was there as guard, making sure the men who moved toward the stage didnt make it past the door.
Dan remained in the dark corner without taking one step toward her. Part of him was mourning the wild, crazy woman hed thought about spending a few nights with. She was so much more. Not just attractivethere was something deep inside her that poured out in her music. She was one of those rare people who were truly gifted.
The lady was obviously hurting so deep down she might never heal. There was a richness to her that had nothing to do with money or diamonds.
Sheriff? A voice jerked him back to reality.
He frowned and turned. What do you want, Sorrel? The bartenders name matched the color of the few strands of hair left on his head. He reminded Dan of an in-between man. Not tall or short. Not young or old. Not handsome or ugly enough to be noticeable in bar light.
Sorrel Douglas took a step backward as if surprised the sheriff had taken the time to remember his name. Miss Malone said shed like it if youd come backstage. Sorrel looked like he was trying to piece a puzzle together. Probably wants advice about this guy whos harassing her. He comes in a couple nights a week, and by the last set hes drunk and thinks hes going to take her home. The bartenders head twitched to the left, but when Dan turned, the big guy who smelled of motor oil at the next table was rushing for the restroom.
Sorrel stopped trying to point with his head. I know you said youre off duty, but she wants you to come talk to her for a minute. You wouldnt believe the number of losers who want to get their hands on Miss Malone. Last week we had a drunk in a suit say he was going to stand at the bar and cry until she showed up to comfort him. He claimed hed known they were soul mates after two songs. A few boys have even offered me money if Id pass them her phone number.
Right. Dan made up his mind he wasnt leaving until midnight. Ill be happy to advise her. Maybe it would be best not to mention that he was one of those men Sorrel was talking about. He wanted to know the lady, too.
Youll have to go behind the bar. Hank makes sure the stage door is locked after she disappears.
Dan pulled his coat off the back of his chair. Any of those guys make it behind the curtained door? he asked casually.
Youre the first Ive seen. Sorrel laughed as if even the thought of the sheriff going back for any other reason than to answer questions would be ridiculous. But, it being official business, I guess you dont count.
Dan fought down the urge to thump Sorrel in the back of his bald head as he followed the bartender to the sliding door hidden behind the bar. Why was it bartenders and preachers always thought they could read people?
Once Dan stepped through, Sorrel closed the door, leaving the sheriff in almost complete darkness. He felt his way along the littered hallway that smelled of old grease and mold. This part of the club must have been the original space before Hank built on and tripled the size of the place.
The owner had spent money fixing up the front, brought in a polished bar made of solid mahogany, but he hadnt wasted a dime on even lightbulbs backstage. If it wasnt for the country music whispering through the wall, Dan would swear hed fallen into a tunnel. Boxes, trash, an old cot, lawn chairs. Finally he saw a beam of light slicing through a slightly open door just beyond the backstage entrance.
Tapping the wood with his fingertips, he slowly pushed the door open.
Brandi Malone was brushing out her beautiful hair in front of a mirror, so he could see both the back and the front of her at once. Her curly hair hung in waves now. She still wore the wine-red silk blouse and tight leggings that shed worn on stage. For a few minutes he just stared. Women so beautiful didnt walk through his life often, and he wanted to enjoy every second of it.
Finally, she looked up and her gaze met his reflected in the mirror.
Dan had no idea what to do. Apologize? Tell her how great she was on stage? Run like hell before he got involved? If he had any heart left for love, this lady could break it with a feather. She probably shattered a dozen guys fantasies every night.
Brandi stood and walked to him. He loved watching her move. So graceful, as if the music was still in her.
When she stood a few inches away, he breathed her in as if she were the only fresh air hed known in years.
Without a word, she leaned against his chest and kissed him.
Dan felt like hed been frozen for so long that he didnt remember any warmth. Her kiss wasnt a passionate attack, or a friendly embrace. It was pure need, and Dan couldnt have turned away if the building caught fire.
He pulled her close, loving the way the feel of her ran the length of his body. The slow kiss he returned was long and hot. Dan took all she offered. He hadnt kissed a woman like this in years. Correction, hed never kissed a woman like this. All out. An overload of every sense. Paradise.
When she moved away enough to laugh, he couldnt stop smiling. He could feel her laughter against his wet lips.
I missed you, Sheriff, she whispered as her warm mouth brushed over his cheek. I knew youd be back. Weve havent kissed near enough.
Hed missed her, too, this woman hed met once, this lady hed been hoping to find forever. His arm tightened at her waist. Again, he whispered.
She settled against him and gave him what hed asked for, letting the fire build, letting him know she was in no hurry.
Dan took his time moving his hands along her back, molding her closer. Hed felt passion in his life, but hed never been lost to it.
Finally, she straightened to look at him.
He stared into her green eyes as he slowly moved his hands over her hips. You feel so good, he whispered.
She pressed closer and reached around him to close the door, then returned to study him. I like you out of uniform, Dan. You look more like a man I might be able to handle.
He thought of saying hed like her out of everything, but the words wouldnt come. His hands slowly moved up her back and dug into her hair. Handling her was exactly what he wanted.
She winked, as if reading his mind. Opening her mouth slightly, she neared until almost touching his lips. Im thinking youre a little rusty when it comes to kissing. How about we start with a little practice?