All Through the Night (Liar's Web) (10 page)

“
Sheriff, don't let a little lovers’ tiff get you down,” she said in a loud whisper.

“
Huh?” he asked, unwilling to believe he'd heard Arma correctly.

“
We don't mean to pry,” Rosa Lee added, “but we saw Miss Dawkins stalk off. It reminded me so much of my courtship with Roscoe. We used to fight something awful, Sheriff. But we had so much fun making up.” She gave an exaggerated wink. Arma jabbed him in the side as the two women burst into a round of giggles.

Although his brain was screaming TMI, he knew he had to rid Arma and Rosa Lee of their misassumption about his love life. “There's absolutely nothing romantic going on between Dar--Miss Dawkins and myself,” he corrected in the same stern voice he used in the sheriff's office.

Arma and Rosa Lee exchanged a sneaky glance, small smiles curving their lips as they seemed to share a secret language only they understood. Arma delicately cleared her throat. “Pardon us, Sheriff, but from where we were standing, it looked like a whole lot of nothing.” With their deli meat in hand, the two women sauntered off arm-in-arm, tittering and whispering like two jay birds in the trees.

He stood there at the deli counter with his mouth hanging wide open. He was absolutely dumbfounded. What had possessed two septuagenarians to give him advice in the love department? God help him! No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to stop people from gossiping about him and his non-existent love life.

* * * *

Shortly after they arrived back at Trueblood's house, he announced he was going out and Bodine was coming to watch her this evening.

“
Why? Where are you going?” she asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

“
I'm meeting up with some buddies at Tumbleweeds.”

Tumbleweeds. Cold beer, good music, lively dancing, and the best buffalo wings in the state. After being cooped up inside for most of the day, Tumbleweeds sounded like an oasis in the desert. She could almost feel the crisp beer sliding down her throat, the spicy kick of the wings as they landed on her tongue, and the pulsing rhythms of the blues band as people rocked the dance floor. It sounded a little bit like heaven.

“
I guess it's out of the question for me to tag along? I'm going a little stir crazy.”

His dark brows furrowed, and he shook his head. “Absolutely out of the question. That's why Bo is coming over to keep watch over you.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That's the second time you've used the word watch. I'm not a toddler, in case you hadn't noticed,” she said in a testy voice.

“
Yes, I've noticed,” he replied dryly. “Although at times you do act like one.”

She didn't trust herself to respond without giving him a can of whoop ass, so for once she kept her mouth shut.

“
Going to bed without your supper, jumping on my back, opening the windows when I told you to keep ‘em closed,” he continued. “And you called me a stupid raging ass-tool. Or something like that.”

She couldn't help but smile. “I'm not ashamed of those things. You pissed me off, I reacted.”

“
Well, go easy on Bodine. He thinks you hung the moon.”

“
He's sweet,” she said in a gushing voice. “And he's pretty easy on the eyes.”

He shot her a scathing look then shook his head at her. “Don't play with him either. He has a mad crush on you. If you flirt with him, you'll get his hopes up.”

“
How do you know I'm not into him?” she asked coolly.

“
Are you?” He gave her a menacing look.

She waited a few beats before responding, “No, I'm not into Bo. He's like a little brother to me.”

She saw a look of relief wash over his face, and she wondered what it meant. Did he think she was going to break Bo's heart? Or was he still convinced she was the wicked witch of the west?

After Bodine arrived, Trueblood excused himself to change his clothes, at which time she began to dig through a pile of DVDs neatly placed on a bookcase. While she opted for a romantic comedy, Bodine gravitated toward action movies starring actors who were known more for their muscles than their acting chops. In the end they compromised on an action-packed comedy starring Will Smith.

When Trueblood came back downstairs he was wearing a fresh pair of crisp Levis, a black button down shirt, and a pair of snakeskin cowboy boots. His midnight-colored hair hung sleekly around his shoulders and he smelled like a delicious mix of spicy and earthy musk. She felt a pang of disappointment as he walked out the door. She immediately stuffed the feeling down, not even wanting to address it with herself. It was none of her business what he did or who he did it with.

Spending time with Bodine was a huge departure from passing time with his boss. Bo was easygoing and friendly, jovial and polite. There was no tension hovering in the air between them, no scornful glances or accusations about her character. Bodine actually liked her. If she wasn't mistaken, he seemed to have a little bit of a crush on her, which made him even more adorable. They watched the movie, ate popcorn, and chatted up a storm, even gossiping a little bit about break-ups, hook-ups, and love connections in town.

“
Your boss seemed mighty eager to go to Tumbeweeds tonight,” she said conversationally.

“
Yeah, he seemed a little wound up if you ask me. Ronnie Devlin's murder is really weighing on him, ‘ya know?”

“
I used to go to school with Ronnie. We were in the same class at Liberty Elementary,” she said wistfully. Although she'd had no use for the criminal-minded Ronnie as an adult, she couldn't help but reflect on his innocent days when they were classmates. He'd been somewhat of a goofball, always playing practical jokes and getting into mischief.

“
Was he always in trouble?” Bodine asked.

“
Yeah, pretty much. He and his twin brother Andre were nothing alike though. Ronnie couldn't stay away from trouble, and Andre wanted nothing to do with it.” She smiled as she remembered better times when they were simply kids playing double dutch on the playground. “I wonder how Andre and his family are dealing with the news.”

“
It was Andre who went down to the morgue to identify him. From what I heard, it was heart-wrenching stuff.”

Goosebumps broke out over her body upon hearing Bodine's words. She couldn't imagine how painful it must be to identify the body of your sibling in a cold, dank morgue. It was her worst fear in life. The thought of losing a family member in a random tragedy pulled strongly at her heartstrings. She didn't know if it was because she was adopted, but she always reacted very emotionally to family tragedies. Although she hadn't respected the way Ronnie was living his life, she hated the fact that someone had brutally taken it away from him.

Bodine patted her on the knee. “Don't worry about Trueblood. I'm sure Miss Grace will get him in a better mood.”

The fine hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle. “Miss Grace?”

Bodine started to blush. “I shouldn't have mentioned her. The sheriff likes to keep his personal life private. He'd have my hide if he knew I'd said anything.”

“
He won't hear a thing from me,” she assured smoothly.

Miss Grace? There was only one Grace in town, Darcel realized. Grace Wheeler, a brassy blonde with a pair of double D boobs and a fondness for anything in a pair of pants. She owned a lingerie shop in town called Seductions, and if the rumors were to be believed, Grace was very fond of seduction herself.
So that's the type of woman he likes! Cheap, blonde, and easy.

She could just imagine Grace jumping Trueblood's bones the minute he strode into Tumbleweeds. Right about now she was probably grinding him on the dance floor and feeling up his package. The very thought of it made Darcel sick to her stomach and left her feeling flushed. She picked up a magazine from the coffee table and began fanning herself with it.

“
Are you feeling all right, Miss Darcel?” Bo's kind face was full of concern.

“
I'm fine,” she lied. “Just a little tired. I think I'm going to head off to bed.”

“
Night. It's time for me to do a patrol of the grounds anyway. Sleep tight, Darcel.”

As she lay in bed reading a book, she couldn't help but get distracted by thoughts of Trueblood and Grace. Did he really find her attractive with all that gaudy blue eye shadow and her low-cut tops? Did he like bottled blondes? Was he staying the night at Grace's house? Or was he going to dip out after sexing her up? She knew she was being ridiculous, but it bothered her that Trueblood was out on the town with a scandalous woman like Grace. And it bothered her even more that he might not make it home tonight.

Chapter Six

He'd been well on his way to getting shit-faced when he'd decided to call it a night. When Grace invited him back to her place he'd turned her down flat, citing the fact that he had to get up in the morning for work. If she only knew, he thought, that his work entailed keeping tabs twenty-four/seven on the hottest woman in town.

Grace had done her best to get him hot and bothered on the dance floor, but even her sultry moves and her slinky black dress hadn't turned him on. Hooking up with Grace had been the last thing on his mind. He hadn't been able to keep his mind off Darcel all evening. What was she doing back at the house? Was Bo entertaining her, making her laugh? More importantly, was he keeping her safe from harm? Had he made the right decision to assign his deputy the task of watching over his star witness?

He cringed upon remembering the way Grace had looked at him with hurt and surprise in her eyes when he turned her down flat. It was all there on her face, the feelings she had for him that he could never reciprocate. Although he'd enjoyed their friends-with-benefits relationship in the past, he'd always known it could never be anything more. He just wasn't feeling her like that. Well before his usual departure time, he'd decided to call it a night.

“
You wanna come over to my house for some cherry pie?” Grace had asked suggestively.

“
Nah, Grace, not tonight,” he'd said gently. “I've got to get up early in the morning.”

“
It's not like you to turn me down, Trueblood.” She'd pouted.

“
Don't take it personal, hon.” He'd glanced at his watch to check the time. Although it was only eleven o'clock, it felt like two in the morning. The evening had gone by at a snail's pace. On several occasions he'd had to force himself not to leave early and head home. He wondered what Darcel and Bodine were up to back at his place.

“
Can't help it,” she said with a shrug. “It feels personal.”

“
Maybe I'm getting too old for…cherry pie,” he'd said bluntly.

 
Grace's blue eyes began to get watery as she asked, “What's her name?”

“
It's not like that, Grace,” he explained as a tingle of awareness shot through him. He pushed the feeling away, choosing instead to focus on Grace's wounded pride.

Grace looked at him with knowing eyes. “When a man turns down cherry pie after months and months of eating cherry pie, it usually means he's got a new favorite pie.” She cocked her head to the side and quipped, “Apple pie maybe.”

“
Goodnight, Grace.” He leaned into her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. She'd placed her arms tightly around him and burrowed her head against his chest, making soft sniffly sounds with her nose that made his gut wrench.

He felt like a bastard for hurting her like that, but he couldn't continue to sleep with her when he knew damn well she was catching feelings for him. Despite the fact he was horny as hell, he hadn't even been slightly tempted by Grace's charms. Lately he'd been feeling restless, and even though he'd never considered himself the settling down type, he was starting to wonder what it would feel like to belong to someone.

Although he'd had some good times in the bedroom with Grace, he didn't kid himself there would ever be more between them. It just wasn't like that.

Bo had been all smiles when he'd arrived at the house and relieved him of his bodyguard duties. When he'd taken Bonkers outside so he could do his business, Bo had walked around the yard with him, regaling him with all the minute details from the evening. He'd bent his ear with endless babble about Darcel this and Darcel that.

His deputy was making a love-struck fool of himself, Trueblood decided, and it was starting to piss him off. He'd suppressed the urge to punch him in the face, reminding himself Bo was a friend and an all-around decent guy. Truth be told, he wasn't really annoyed with his deputy. The source of his irritation was a five-foot four scrap of nothing with a mouth that wouldn't quit.

For some reason Bo thought butter wouldn't melt in her mouth and she was sheer perfection. He didn't know why Bo raving about Darcel bothered him so much, but it had gotten under his skin like crazy. Sure, so far she'd been low-maintenance and pleasant, but it didn't excuse her past actions. It didn't get her off the hook.

At the moment he was horny, hot, hungry, and tired. And he still had a decent buzz on. He unbuttoned his shirt and ripped it from his body to relieve the heat, tossing it on the couch where it could sit until he did a load of dirty clothes in the morning. He was starving. He had no doubt a few scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese would take the edge off his hunger pains.