Hidden in the Shadows (14 page)

She smirked. “I know. I can feel how hard it is.”

“Maria!” With a startled laugh, he pulled back and looked at her. “You little devil.”

Her grin widened. “Well, it is.” Turning serious, she touched his face again. “What is the right thing, Wyatt? You leaving here and us pretending this never happened? Pretending for the rest of our lives we aren’t attracted to each other?”

“I don’t know. Yes, probably.”

She nuzzled his cheek. “Is that what you want?”

He swallowed. “No, not by a long shot. But just because I want something doesn’t mean I can have it. It isn’t as simple as just us. There are consequences we have to consider.”

Fighting back the tears that threatened, she nodded. “I understand. Damn it.” With every ounce of willpower she possessed, she made herself release him and stand. Gathering their empty glasses, she headed for the kitchen and then into the laundry room to retrieve his shirt from the dryer. She held it to her face, inhaling, even though it smelled like fabric softener now instead of Wyatt.

In a few moments, she had her emotions under control enough to return to the living room, where he stood putting his gun belt back on. She handed him the shirt without speaking.

“Maria…”

She stepped up to him and placed two fingers across his lips. “Don’t, please. Don’t apologize. Don’t try to explain it away. Let’s just let this be what we said it was, okay? A moment out of time.”

His eyes closed, and he nodded. “Okay.” He slipped on the shirt and quickly buttoned it, but left it hanging loose. Picking up his coat, he slipped it on over the shirt and followed her to the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sheriff.”

“Will you at least call me if you need me?”

“I can’t imagine that I’d need anything, but thanks for the offer. Drive safely, okay?” For a brief instant, she thought he was going to change his mind and argue, but he stepped through the door instead.

When he was a few feet down the walk, he stopped and turned back. “Your car. It’s at the warehouse.”

She waved a hand. “I’ll have Stacy swing by and pick me up in the morning.”

He took a step back toward the door. “You’re sure?”

“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Without waiting for a response, she closed the door. The behavior was rude, yes, but she knew that if he lingered much longer, there was a very real danger she would throw herself at his feet and beg him to stay.

Chapter Eighteen

By the time Wyatt got back to the office the next afternoon after his meeting with the county prosecutor, he was in a foul mood. He’d left Maria’s house frustrated, out of sorts, and thoroughly disgusted with himself. As a result, he’d slept very little. His mood, not great to begin with, had only deteriorated throughout the rest of the day.

He was finishing up paperwork he’d put off earlier when the phone beeped. He hit the speaker button. “Yes, Gretchen?”

“Sheriff, Dr. Richard Hudson is here to see you.”

“Okay. Send him in.” He took of his reading glasses and stood, a little surprised as he moved around the desk to greet the tall man. They shook hands as Gretchen left, closing the door behind her.

“Hey, Richard. What brings you here today?”

“I have a little problem.”

Wyatt felt a whisper of foreboding chase across his shoulders, and he waved a hand toward the chairs in front of the desk, taking one for himself. “Have a seat. What’s going on?”

“Nothing good, I’m afraid. My brother John advised me to come talk to you.” Richard sat down, pulled a folded envelope out of his jacket pocket, and handed to Wyatt. “We got this in the mail at the office today.”

With a sigh, Wyatt took the letter. He stared down at it for several seconds, then looked up at Richard. “Please tell me this isn’t a blackmail letter.”

Richard’s mouth tightened, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Sorry, but that’s exactly what it is.”

Wyatt cursed. Reaching across the desk, he grabbed his glasses and put them back on. His eyebrows came together as he read the letter, which accused the doctor of covering up several malpractice lawsuits. “Okay. Don’t take this the wrong way, but is it true?”

“No. Not even remotely close to being true.”

“Well, you’re the first, then. Congratulations.” When Richard shot him a questioning look, Wyatt shook his head. “You aren’t the only one who’s received a letter.”

“Ouch. So what do we do about this?”

Leaning back in his chair, Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his hair. “I’d say let me get a detective in here to take your statement, then we’ll send the letter to the lab and go from there. How’s that sound?”

“Frustratingly unsatisfactory, but if that’s what you’d advise, that’s what we’ll do. Ethan or Stacy?”

“Do you have a preference?”

Richard shook his head. “No, not really, but I don’t want Ethan to think I don’t believe in his abilities, since he’s my son-in-law. So I guess I do have a preference, after all.”

Wyatt chuckled. “Okay.” He moved around the desk to use the phone, dialing Ethan’s extension. “Hey, can you come up here? We have another letter.” He listened for a minute. “Okay. In that case, we’ll meet you in the small conference room.” He hung up the phone. “You got lucky, and you got them both. Mind if I ask why didn’t you just go straight to Ethan to begin with?”

Richard made an expansive gesture. “Because then Jason might feel slighted, or Chase. Or Beth. I figured coming to you was either the neutral way to handle things, or I’d at least tick them all off equally. Jackie and I try to not play favorites.”

Laughing, Wyatt shook his head. As he led the doctor downstairs to the conference room, he remarked, “You’ve got a solid family. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“We do have some pretty good kids. Oh, before they get here, good job with Maria’s wounds.”

Ignoring the flush that heated his face, Wyatt flipped on the lights and waved Richard into the room. “So she came to see you? She’s okay?”

“She’s fine. You know, she had a similar look on her face when your name was mentioned,” Richard said, studying him.

“Really? Gee, that’s interesting, Doc. Hmm.”

Richard laughed. “I thought her reaction was interesting, yes.” When Wyatt glowered at him, the doctor held up his hands. “My lips are sealed.”

“There’s nothing to tell, thank you very much.”

“Of course there isn’t,” Richard agreed, his hand forming an ‘okay’ symbol.

Stacy and Ethan came in then, and as the conversation moved on to the letter Richard had received, Wyatt knew his words hadn’t convinced the doctor that nothing was going on with Maria, any more than they had convinced him.

Chapter Nineteen

When Ethan knocked on her office door, Maria was gathering her things together, ready to call it a night. A glance at her watch showed that it was almost six o’clock. Outside, the sky was already dark, and she was beyond tired. Between her wounds and the stress of everything that had happened yesterday, she had tossed and turned all night.

She was also a little hurt that Wyatt hadn’t kept his promise to let her know how things had gone, though she tried to convince herself that she had no right to feel that way. She was very much afraid that the kiss had ruined their friendship, and had been a huge mistake.

“Hey, what brings you this way so late?” she asked.

He held up a piece of paper. “This. We’ve got another one. This is your copy.”

She set down her purse, her jaw dropping with disbelief as she reached for the letter. “Who now?”

Ethan’s face was grim. “My father-in-law. The accusation is that he’s covered up malpractice lawsuits.”

Maria just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Any other doctor, sure, but not Dr. H. There’s no way.”

At her staunch defense, he relaxed a little. “He’s the first victim we know of whose accusation isn’t true. I’m not sure if that means something, or nothing.”

“Aren’t you detectives always saying that changes in behavior or patterns are significant?”

“We are.” He checked his watch. “If you’re leaving, I’ll walk you out.”

Purse and coat in hand, Maria locked her office door and walked down the hall alongside him. “How’s Beth?”

“Looking forward to the weekend. We’re both off and have absolutely nothing planned save a birthday dinner on Saturday for my stepfather. If we go.”

“Are things better there?”

He shook his head. “We haven’t really talked. James did call and apologize, but that’s pretty much it.”

“I still just can’t imagine Stella saying those things to Beth.” Changing the subject, she asked about something less somber. “How are the wedding preparations coming?”

They’d reached the door that opened onto the parking lot, and they both paused to put on their coats. Ethan held the door open for her. “Jason’s starting to get nervous, and Chase is impatient to get it over and done with. Hannah and Annie both have their hands full dealing with them.”

Both of Beth’s brothers had recently become engaged. Jason, a deputy in the sheriff’s department, would be getting married the weekend before Thanksgiving, and Chase a few weeks later in mid-December.

Maria laughed at Ethan’s gleeful expression. “And you get to sit back and gloat because you didn’t have to wait.”

“Something like that. There’s something to be said for eloping. Beth’s enjoying the show, too.”

As they reached her car, she dug her keys out of her purse. She was a little envious of the close relationship Ethan and Beth enjoyed and couldn’t help wishing she had someone waiting at home for her with open arms. “Thanks for walking me out.”

“No problem. By the way, Wyatt asked me to give you a message. He said he hasn’t forgotten his promise, and that he’s sorry. He got held up with the mayor as soon as Richard left.”

She felt her face flush, and something tight inside her started to loosen. “Oh, okay. Thanks for telling me.”

He shot her a curious look. “Notice that I’m behaving here? Not demanding to know what the mysterious message means? And I’m plenty curious; don’t think I’m not.”

She rolled her eyes. “And you deserve a reward, too, for being so reserved.” She got into the car, leaving the door open so they could talk. “Let’s just say I’m considering your advice and leave it at that.”

To her surprise, Ethan pumped a fist into the air and gave a small whoop as he started walking to his truck. “Hallelujah.”

“You know, you’ve practically turned into a Cupid since you got married. You’re almost as bad as Jason.”

“It’s the result of being blissfully happy. I’ll see you tomorrow. Drive safely.”

Still smiling, she pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward home. She needed to stop by the grocery store and grab a few things, but she was just too tired. She’d dropped her prescription for antibiotics off at the pharmacy earlier, though, so she had to stop. If she was going to do that, she figured she might as well grab a few things while she was there.

The message from Wyatt kept going through her mind. It was probably for the best that he hadn’t sought her out earlier. She had no idea what she would say to him, not after last night’s kiss.

As she wheeled her cart through the grocery store, she winced. Not only were her wounds starting to really itch, but the sharp, heavy pain in her right side that she had been experiencing sporadically for the last several months returned, throbbing with a strange pulse of its own.

“I should have mentioned that to Dr. H.,” she muttered as she bagged some apples. She had been putting off getting the pain checked out, knowing there would probably be tests required for a diagnosis. Given her phobia, she’d have to be in much more pain than she was in order to endure the poking and prodding. Trying to put the pain to the back of her mind, she picked up her prescription and made her way to the front to pay for her purchases.

As she loaded her purchases in the car, a particularly sharp twinge shot through her side, and she gasped. “Okay. That’s unpleasant.” She held onto the edge of the trunk until the pain passed. “Soon. Very, very soon, I will get that checked out. Just not today.”

Chapter Twenty