Elusive Echoes (25 page)

Chuckling, Sean touched the mug. "You know
this here loop thing is a handle, right?"

Mel simply settled her hands more tightly
around the outside of the mug and stared at him over the rim as she
took another drink.

Sean smiled and pulled on his jacket. "I'm
running over to Blackstone's now. I'll give Ry a call to come get
me. Maybe I'll see you later? Tonight for sure."

"I can give you a ride out to the ranch if
you want." Mel took a longer drink. "I need to see Joe if he's out
there, anyway."

Sean's gaze was suddenly sharply alert. "Has
something happened?"

Mel chewed her lip, took another drink.

"Mel?"

"Denny came by the bar yesterday."

"When did you plan to tell me?" he asked
sharply.

Irritation flashed, then was gone. She kept
her voice even. "I'm telling you now."

Sean stared at her, shaking
his head. "You don't think—
maybe
—you should've told me a little
sooner?"

Stunned at his reaction, Mel had no idea how
to respond. So she didn't. She set her mug down on the counter and
walked slowly to her closet. She didn't even pay attention to what
she chose. Grabbing the first shirt she came across, she let her
terrycloth robe drop to the floor.

Behind her, Sean coughed. "Still here, Mel.
Why didn't you tell me last night?"

Mel shrugged into a pink button-up shirt
without doing it up, then slid a pair of jeans from a hanger.
Silently, she tugged them over her feet and shinnied them up her
legs. She was fastening the buttons on her shirt as she turned
around.

"When do you think I should have told you,
Sean? When I was training you how to wait tables? Or maybe when you
were kissing me against the bar? I know! When you were asking me to
push the wedding date up! Or, how about when we were sharing cocoa
on the couch?" She tucked her shirt and pulled the edges of her
faded jeans together. With a small sense of defiance, she pulled on
a canvas loop-buckle belt and cinched it tightly. She drew on first
one sock, then the other, and then stepped into her boots because
they were handiest.

Finally, Mel grabbed an oversized hoodie,
jerked it over her head, then grabbed her purse and keys on her
march to the door. She tugged the door open and stood waiting for
him.

Sean preceded her through the door and
stomped down the stairs without waiting for her. "You could have
called when he showed up. Or how about right after he left?" he
tossed over his shoulder.

"Sure, that would have been convenient,
since I already had you on the phone because I was worried about
Ricky." She realized she was shouting. Clamping her mouth shut, she
turned and locked her door. "It slipped my mind because Ricky is
more important to me."

Sean stopped at the foot of
the steps to greet Charlie, who was just getting out of her
car.
Oh, just great. Let's make this a
public argument
. Mel kept her mouth closed,
hoping the cook hadn't heard anything. No way would her protective
mama bear keep out of it if she did.

"Charlie, what are you doing here?"

The cook clucked sympathetically and shook
her head, then explained carefully as though Mel had gone soft in
the head. "It's Friday, honey. Food order's coming in so I'm here
for my split shift."

Mel frowned. "It is, isn't it? The week went
by so fast."

Charlie smiled. "Since I'm here, why don't I
get some breakfast going. Maybe some hotcakes and ham?"

"Thanks, but I don't eat breakfast." Mel's
stomach rumbled. She felt more than saw Sean's glance at her
abdomen and peeved with it, shifted her stance to angle away from
that look. They didn't even know if she was pregnant, and he was
already considering every little influence. She was more than a
freaking baby factory. If she didn't want to eat, she would darn
well not eat.

Even if Charlie's hotcakes did sound
appealing.

Sean didn't take his eyes off Mel as he
spoke. "Miss Charlie, whatever you can whip up in that kitchen
would be most appreciated. I'm just going to run over to Walt's to
see about Ricky's truck."

He sent Mel a look that said they'd talk
when he got back, and then stalked across the parking lot toward
Blackstone's Auto Repair. Fine. She had a few things she felt like
talking about. Grumpily, she moved to unlock the rear door to the
bar, frowning when she found it was already unlocked.

"Charlie, were you already inside?"

The cook shook her head. "I just got here as
you two were coming out."

Mel pushed the door open with one finger and
peered over the threshold. In the dim light, nothing appeared out
of order. Moving with caution, she reached around the edge of the
door to turn on the light. Charlie eased in behind her. When she
pulled a baseball bat from just inside the door, Mel blinked in
surprise.

Charlie shrugged. "My equalizer. In case
things ever get too rowdy."

Mel didn't have to ask if the cook knew how
to use it to defend herself. She was holding the bat like a martial
arts expert.

Inching forward, Mel entered the bar and
flicked on the main light. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary
there, either, and she eased out a breath. That left the office
just down the hallway toward the rest rooms. Mel could already see
from where she stood that the office door was wide open. And she
distinctly remembered closing and locking that door. She pulled out
her cell phone, ready to dial the sheriff's office as she moved
toward the hallway.

The hand on her shoulder startled her, and
she would have screamed, but another hand clamped over her mouth.
Mel struggled until she recognized Sean, then went still. He tugged
her backward, propelling her through the kitchen, outside to where
Charlie was pacing fretfully.

Sean's face was dark red with anger. "Are
you out of your mind?" He kicked the gravel. "You don't go
investigating a break-in by yourself!"

That was it! She was done with his caveman
tactics. Stiffening her spine, she positioned herself toe-to-toe
with him. But as she opened her mouth, he yanked her against him
and took her mouth in a not-quite-savage kiss.

Wires crossed in her brain as his kiss
sparked her own emotional response, and she forgot what she'd been
going to say.

Sean broke the kiss abruptly, taking her by
the shoulders and looking into her eyes. His own eyes seemed almost
crazed. "Jeez, Mel. You scare me sometimes. We don't know if anyone
is still in there or what they might have done, or left in
there."

Gasping for breath, she
stared at him. "
Where
did you come from?"

"I asked Walt to look at Ricky's truck then
came back here for breakfast and almost got clocked by Charlie's
baseball bat."

Mel opened her cell phone. "Fine, I'll call
the sheriff. Satisfied?"

Sean took her phone from her, closed it, and
handed it back to her. "I called. The point is, you should have
called when you saw the open door."

Mel shoved her phone back into her pocket
and rubbed her tired eyes with the heels of her hands. As her
adrenaline dispersed, she also felt lightheaded and very dizzy.
Abruptly, she sat on the ground.

"Mel!" Sean immediately crouched next to
her, supporting her with an arm around her shoulder. "What is
it?"

Charlie handed him an open bottle of water
and he held it to Mel's lips.

She took a sip then pushed
it away. "I'm okay. I'm just so tired and so—scared and—"
Oh, crap.
She felt like
she was all of six years old again, and sporting a skinned knee.
Tears filled her eyes and she sniffed back her runny nose. Reaching
into her bag, she pulled out Denny's note and shoved it into Sean's
hands. "Here. Denny left this stupid note on a napkin when he was
here yesterday. I need to get it to Joe but now DC may want to see
it because it was probably Denny who broke in here.
Just—
please
—go
away for a while."

"Mel." His voice was soft and caring. "I'm
not leaving you alone."

"I won't be alone. I'll be here with
Charlie. Just go away. And take the Jeep. You own half of it
anyway." She looked into his eyes, challenging him to deny the
truth, letting him see the hurt she'd felt since he'd snapped at
her earlier over keeping Denny's latest visit to herself.

Sean seemed to sag. "You weren't supposed to
know about that. Who told you?"

Mel cupped his cheek and sighed lightly. Her
smile softened her words. "Oh, Sean. Haven't you ever heard the
saying that you can't con a con? I knew something was up, then DC
was here when Colt delivered the car and he mentioned the original
price was twelve hundred. No one drops their price that far. All I
had to do was think about what five hundred was going to get me
from the classified ads to know I was getting a deal. I put the
pressure on Colt and he admitted you matched my funds."

Sean looked away. "You didn't say anything.
I thought you'd be miffed."

Her laugh held no humor. "Oh, I was livid.
But Colt talked me down and he made sense. You're just trying to
keep me safe and I'd do the same for you."

He touched his forehead to hers. "I'm
sorry."

"Don't do it again." She pulled back and met
his eyes, giving him a smile. "Please?"

The sheriff's patrol car pulled in to the
parking lot and came to a stop nearby. Sean stood, offered Mel a
hand, and when she took it, easily pulled her to her feet.

Deputy Penny Sherwood climbed out of the
cruiser. "Mel. Sean. Hi, Miss Charlie. Someone broke in?"

"The door was unlocked and open when we got
here this morning." Mel brushed the last of her tears away. "I
locked up myself last night. I've been inside to check things out,
and noticed that the office door is open and that's always locked
at night, too."

Sherwood unsnapped her gun holster and
stepped toward the back door. She returned in less than ten
minutes. "It's clear. Mel, I need you to go through and let me know
if anything's out of place. So far, I don't see any damage."

Mel handed Sean the key to the Jeep. "I mean
it. Go away for a while. I'm not leaving today. I don't want to
leave Charlie alone. You'll find a way to get it back to me."

"I'll see you tonight," said Sean.

Mel sighed. "You will if you get here and
don't close your eyes." She followed Penny into the bar.

****

Sean watched her walk away without saying
goodbye or giving him a kiss. He sighed, knowing he'd screwed up
with her again. Would he ever get his junk together and stop
stepping on his own feet with this woman?

He looked at the napkin Mel
had pushed into his hand. The note from her half-brother.
In case you forgot, Nick's girlfriend when you
had your baby was Vicki Forrester. More where that came from.
–D!

Not the usual content for a cocktail napkin
note.

What did Denny want? It was
apparent from his message that he was holding back, so he obviously
wanted something. Sean frowned. Something about the writing was
weird, even allowing for the fact it was written on a cocktail
napkin. Almost perfect, straight not slanting, evenly spaced, boxy
block letters, each one perfectly crafted seemed to mock him for
his helplessness. The writing hid behind anonymity, and Sean
frowned. The letters Denny had mailed to her had been typed and he
hadn't signed his name, but the note written on the napkin was
signed with a hyphen next to the letter
D
, followed by an exclamation point.
Something about that nagged at him. Where the heck had he seen that
signature mark before? It must have been on one of the letters. He
laid the napkin on the seat next to him and started the
Jeep.

Chapter Fifteen

Mel closed her eyes and tilted the old
leather chair back, resting her feet on the antique oak desk. She
enjoyed talking shop with Sandy again, even if it was just over the
phone.

"I may be on maternity leave but I can make
a few phone calls," said her partner. "I'll have a security company
out by the beginning of next week. I can't help with roundup
anyway, so Bethany and I can come in and spend some time
there."

"In the meantime, I'll run out and make a
night deposit of some of the evening's take earlier in the evenings
instead of waiting until the next day," said Mel. "It'll be a
change in script that Denny might not expect."

"You make sure Sean goes with you," Sandy
advised.

"Yes, ma'am." Mel planned to take the
proceeds from the latter half of the evening home until the next
morning. Sandy would worry sick if she told her, so Mel kept that
part of the plan to herself.

"So, Sean didn't come home again last
night."

"He didn't?" Mel feigned shock. "Where on
earth could he have gone?"

Sandy chuckled. "You sound happy."

Mel stared across the room, but instead of
seeing the ancient office furniture, Sean's face floated in front
of her.

"Mel?" Sandy's sharp voice brought her back
to the office and the phone call.

Of its own accord, her mouth began speaking
without first engaging her brain. "He wants us to move our wedding
up and get married right away."

"What?" Sandy drew the word out. "Why? You
two've waited so long already. He can't wait another few
months?"

She might as well finish what she'd started.
"I said yes."

"You said—why? Mel! You're pregnant!"

Mel's heart jumped. "No!" she said quickly.
With a sigh, she sat up straight. "That is, we don't know. It's too
soon. But he swears that's not why he asked."

No sound came from the other end of the
connection and Mel looked at the receiver before tapping it on the
desk. She put it back to her ear. "Sandy? You there?"