Cowboy Cool: Book 5 (Cowboy Justice Association) (5 page)

“I’m heading to Florida.” Reed tipped his head back and drained his coffee. “By myself it will probably take me a couple of days. I don’t like driving sleepy. When I stop I’ll just try for a place that has some local flavor. Do some sightseeing. I’m in no hurry.”

“That’s smart,” she said, trying to sound more pulled together than she actually was. “Driving tired—that is when accidents happen.”

He placed his cup in the sink. “I know. I’m a cop, remember?” he teased. “I’ll call Logan and Ava this morning and let them know that everything is fine. Be sure to call the police and file a report. Today.”

“Yes, Sir.” Kaylee wasn’t planning on arguing with him. That would only delay his departure. “I’ll do it this morning.”

“Good. If things escalate, I want you to promise that you’ll give me a call.” He was holding out a card he’d pulled from his pocket. “You can call me on my cell day or night.”

She took it from him but frowned. “If you’re in Florida what would you be able to do?”

“Advise you at the very least. Are you going to promise me?”

He was being so stubborn she really didn’t have much choice. She nodded in agreement and set the card on the countertop. It wasn’t like she was ever going to need it in reality.

“I guess I’ll say goodbye then. It was very nice meeting you, Kaylee.”

He walked toward the front door and she followed right behind. It was sweet of him to lie like that. She was sure it hadn’t been nice meeting her and then having to babysit to make sure she didn’t die in a pool of her own vomit.

“It was nice meeting you too. Have a safe trip and enjoy your vacation. Thank you for everything.”

Dear God, he was so slow in leaving. Couldn’t he let her wallow in mortification privately?

He finally strode down the driveway to where his huge truck was parked. Waving, he slid into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and pulled out of her cul-de-sac. She watched him leave until he was out of sight and then closed and locked the door behind her. Resting against it, she groaned and scraped her fingers through her partially dry hair.

“That was the most embarrassing thing to happen to me in years. Thank God he’s gone.”

*   *   *   *

“So everything is fine with Kaylee.” Reed lifted the soda can from the cup holder and took a long drink. He was cruising down I-57 toward Kentucky and talking to Logan. “I turned her house into a fortress—well, a fortress for what can be done in an afternoon and made her promise to report the emails to the police. They were nasty but nothing personal. I gave her my cell number as well if the situation should get worse.”

“Ava’s talking to Kaylee right now as a matter of fact. I’m sure she’s saying the exact same thing. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. Hopefully Ava can relax a little bit now. Her blood pressure has been too high and all she’s been talking about is Kaylee. I’ve been trying to distract her with deciding on nursery decorations and names.”

Somehow Reed doubted that Ava was going to forget about the whole situation, and even if she did she might well just find something else to obsess about. His own sisters loved to talk about birth scare stories when they’d been pregnant.

“She can set her mind to rest about this,” Reed assured him. “From what Kaylee said she gets email like this fairly often. She ignores them and they go away.”

“Smart,” Logan chuckled. “Kaylee’s a bright girl and if she isn’t worried then I’m sure everything is okay.” Logan’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Ava’s just plain bored. She’s gotten to the point she’s been asking me to bring home case files so she can review them with me. No way am I letting my pregnant wife start looking at crime scenes. Hell, no.”

“Isn’t she working on a book?”

From what Reed had heard Ava was always working on a book.

“That’s just it,” Logan sighed. “Apparently Mark and Melissa aren’t talking to her right now. She’s difficult to live with when the muse isn’t flowing.”

There was a screeching sound in the background and Logan cursed in frustration. “What, honey? Can you hold on a minute, Reed? Ava’s yelling something from the bedroom.”

Logan must have put his hand over the microphone on his cell as Reed could only hear muffled voices.

“Reed? Are you still there?”

Logan sounded as if he were at the end of his rope. Reed wasn’t too damn sure the man was going to make it until the birth of those twins.

“I’m here, buddy. What’s going on?”

“Apparently Kaylee just told Ava that she received a letter again today. A real snail mail letter that said the usual crappy things but there was also a drawing of a red heart with a knife through it. Ava’s about to blow a blood vessel.”

“If she hasn’t already called the police she should call them now. It looks like they know where she lives. This was the escalation I was worried about. He’s starting to make it personal.”

There was a small silence and then Logan sighed heavily into the phone.

“Listen, I hate to ask this but can you turn around and go back? Ava’s terrified something is going to happen to Kaylee and she said that Kaylee is pretty frightened as well.”

Son of a bitch.

“I’m already over an hour out of Champaign, Logan. Greg is expecting me at his place in Vero,” Reed said desperately. He did not want to get involved in this. The police were perfectly capable of dealing with the situation. She didn’t need a babysitter. Hell, she’d practically kicked him out of her front door this morning she was in such a hurry to see the backside of him, and Reed wasn’t about to tell Logan about that kiss.

“I know you’re supposed to be on vacation. But shit, I need you to go back, buddy. If anything happens to Ava I don’t know what I’ll do. She’s worried about Kaylee, and honestly I can’t say that I blame her. If this was happening to Ava I’d be going out of my fucking mind. It’s not Kaylee’s fault she doesn’t have someone to look after her.”

Aww fuck. The guilt card. Reed steeled himself to ignore it.

“I doubt Champaign’s finest will be happy about me sticking my nose into their investigation. And to be honest, I’m not sure Kaylee would be happy about me hanging around either.”

“You two didn’t get on?” Logan asked. “Kaylee gets along with everyone. So do you, for that matter.”

“We got along fine but she’s pretty independent.”

“Exactly. That’s what Ava’s afraid of. That Kaylee won’t accept any help and something will happen to her. If I could do it myself I would, Reed. But I can’t leave Ava.”

Shit. Just…shit.

“Logan, I–” Reed broke off, not sure what to even say. He didn’t want to get involved. If he went back it wasn’t going to be just another case. He was going to have to
care
about what happened to her. On a personal basis. One on one.

“I know this isn’t the vacation you pictured.”

That was the truth.

“But I’m begging you, buddy, to go back and help Kaylee. Find this guy and get him out of her life. You’re the only one I can ask—hell, the only one I’d trust with her life.”

A sign for an exit a half-mile up the road flashed past. Reed knew he was beaten.

“I don’t like the fact that this person knows where she lives either,” Reed conceded. “I’ll go. But it will take me a little while to circle back. She needs to call the police in the meantime. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“I knew you would. Thanks. Ava will sleep easier knowing you’ve moved in and are guarding Kaylee until this nut is found. So will I, honestly.”

Logan sounded exultant and it took Reed a moment for the words to penetrate his brain.

“Move in? What do you mean ‘move in’? I can’t move in with Kaylee.”

“How else can you make sure she’s safe?” Logan scoffed. “Don’t worry, Kaylee is an awesome cook. You’ll probably gain five pounds by the time you catch the guy. Call me later after you see the letter. I can’t wait to tell Ava that you’re staying. Thanks again.”

Just like that Logan was gone and Reed was left holding his cell phone. Swearing under his breath, he maneuvered the truck onto the off-ramp of the exit so he could turn around and head north. He needed to call Greg and tell him that he didn’t know when the hell he’d get to Florida. Then he’d start trying to trace those emails, and at the same time try and keep things with Kaylee on a purely casual, friendly basis. If that was even possible.

But one thing was for sure, if someone was threatening Kaylee, Reed would find them and put a stop to it once and for all.

Chapter Five

E
verything was going to hell in a hand basket.

The police had shown up and they were currently questioning Kaylee about the emails she’d received. While one was very friendly, his partner looked slightly judgmental. Apparently he equated erotic romance to straight-on porn. She wasn’t in the mood to enlighten him. After receiving that letter she wasn’t in a good mood at all.

“You don’t know anyone who could have sent these letters?” the judgmental one asked again for about the sixth time.

“No,” Kaylee answered firmly. “No one has ever said anything like that to me face to face.”

She wasn’t dumb enough to think that everyone loved her writing but she hoped no one wanted to hurt her over it. It was just a damn story, for heaven’s sake. This wasn’t world peace.

Her attention was pulled from the two officers when the front door swung open without so much as a knock or a ring of the doorbell. Reed Mitchell stood in her foyer. Heat flooded her cheeks as her behavior from the night before came rushing back. Why was he here? She’d watched him drive away almost three hours ago. Seeing him again was so humiliating.

“Reed? What are you doing here?”

“The door was half-open so I just came in,” he said, not bothering to answer her question. He strode into the living room looking completely confident and totally the opposite of how she currently felt. The letter this morning had turned her well-ordered life on its ear.

“Of course you did. Did you forget something?” she asked again, although she had a sneaking suspicion as to why he was here.

Ava.

If only Kaylee hadn’t been on the phone with her friend this morning when the mail had arrived. She’d been sifting through it as she chatted with Ava and hadn’t been able to cover up her very real alarm at what she had received. Reed had warned her about escalation and this appeared to be a giant step up in intensity.

This person knew where she lived and that was frightening.

“No. I got a call from Logan. Where’s the letter?”

One theory confirmed. Kaylee pointed to the table where it sat in a plastic bag the officers had brought. She’d known they would take it with them so she’d snapped a few photos of it with her cell before they’d arrived.

“It’s right here. You didn’t need to turn around and come back.”

Reed looked at her for a minute and then turned to the two policemen and began firing off questions one after the other. By the time he was finished both cops looked like they’d rather be any place but right there talking to him. It was clear Sheriff Reed Mitchell knew proper procedure and he was making sure these men knew he’d be watching over their investigation.

Kaylee walked the men to their car and promised to let them know if she received any more communications. Reed stood next to her, tall and imposing as the officers drove away down the tree lined street. When they were out of sight she turned on him and scowled.

“You were rude. They were trying to help.”

“Questioning their standard operating procedure is not being rude, it’s being informed. If someone knowledgeable questioned me I wouldn’t be insulted—hell, I’d be glad that someone had a clue as to what was going on.” He walked over to his truck and pulled a bag from the back seat. “I’m starving. Do you want to go out for lunch or eat in?”

He brushed past her into the house and she followed on his heels with a growing sense of foreboding. Just what was that suitcase for? What in the hell had Logan and Ava said to him?

He was standing in the middle of her living room when she joined him inside. “I rarely even eat lunch but I guess we can go out. I need to stop at the grocery store anyway. Will you be here for dinner?”