The Sheriff Meets His Match (7 page)

L
aurel spent a surprisingly entertaining
morning getting to know Jack’s daughter. They had a lot in common; from a love of old-time rock ’n roll, bright colors and fashionable accessories—to Jack.

While they took turns painting each other’s nails, one fluorescent pink, the other cherry red, Tina told her about growing up in a single parent household. It was obvious how much she adored her father, even if he did drive her crazy from time to time, especially now that she was old enough to date.

Laurel would have loved to be a fly on the wall the first time some poor kid showed up on their doorstep and was vetted by a glowering Jack Garrett. She could almost hear his warning growl, “Just remember, anything you do to my daughter, I’m going to do to you.”

Tina was lucky to have a dad to put the fear of death into her dates. Laurel hadn’t been as lucky. A couple of bad episodes had taught her it was safer to keep her distance where the male population was concerned. Until Jack.

Right from the start she’d been attracted to the lawman. His big rangy build and caramel colored eyes softened her from the inside out. He liked to portray a tough guy image, but she’d learned inside was a man who cared deeply for his family and his town. A man who would do anything he had to in order to protect them. Admirable qualities. More than anything Laurel craved a chance to be a part of his life. To care for him the way he cared for others and give him the love he deserved. To be his safe place.

But it could never happen. At least not until she found out what occurred to her cousin’s missing ex-boyfriend. Pray God her uncle had nothing to do with it. He’d been acting strange even before Jack dropped that little bombshell. It made her nervous. He wouldn’t actually kill anyone—at least she hoped not—but he had some connections that could make Joe’s life, shall we say, less than pleasant. Although, if that were the case Max could have made that call from the onset, and saved them all a lot of misery. No, this was something else. She just didn’t know what. Yet.

“Do you want me to get that?”

Tina’s voice drew Laurel out of her morose thoughts. Her phone sang out her favorite tune of,
“Raise a Little Hell” and she smiled. Her brother liked to check on her now and then. After their father died he’d taken on the male responsibilities for their little family, which more often than not ended with him butting heads with Uncle Max. He’d ended up moving out when he turned sixteen, and managed to find a place to stay above a mechanic’s garage. The owner took him in, showed him the secrets of the trade, and Gabriel never looked back. But he always remembered to keep in touch with his little sis.

Laurel reached out and hit the speaker button on the phone, careful not to ruin Tina’s hard work on her nails.

“Gabe?”

Rough masculine laughter flowed around the room and into her heart. “Still haven’t changed my ringtone, huh?”

Laurel grinned at Tina’s bemused stare, her hand held mid-motion over the bottle of polish remover. “No, big brother, I think it suits you more now than when I picked it out.”

“Ha, ha, very funny. A guy can’t get in trouble once with the cops or he never lives it down.”

Laurel sent a quick glance across the table, but Tina had slipped away to give her some privacy. Good kid.

“What’s up, Gabe?” She hadn’t heard from him since he worked on her car before she made the trek up north. Something told her this wasn’t a social call though. Her chest tightened. “Is Mom alright?”

Ever since her bout of pneumonia while the kids were still young, Laurel’s mom had never quite regained her strength. Throughout their formative years, she’d been in and out of hospitals for various related illnesses. The kids had learned perseverance first-hand. She’d remained positive, no matter what was thrown in their path. Her prognosis?
This too shall pass.
And she’d been right, they’d managed. Sometimes by the skin of their teeth, but they still got by.

“She’s good, don’t be such a worrywart.”

Easy for him to say. No, she took that back. Gabe was almost as bad as Jack for bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“I’m calling about Bethany,” he added.

Oh no, he’d heard.

“I think I’d better come up to…what is it, Tipping Stream?”

Tina snorted from her spot beside kitten little, her hand hurrying to cover her mouth as she stared at Laurel with widened eyes.

“It’s Tidal Falls, Gabriel, and no, you are not chasing up here to watch over me.” She blinked away the moisture clouding her vision, darn allergies. “I’m fine. There’s no reason for Joe to come after me, and besides, the police are already looking for him.”

For a moment the only sound was the clanking of tools in her brother’s garage, then he sighed. “What about Uncle Max?”

Laurel glanced at Tina, and then away, hurrying into speech before he said anything incriminating, “He’s fine, I was surprised to see him.” She didn’t want to lie in front of Jack’s daughter, but what choice did she have? They had to continue this charade until Joe was stopped. “He heard of a new treatment in Seattle and decided to stay here while he waits on the results of the tests.”

“Tests? What te…”

She rushed to cut him off, “Listen, I have company right now, the
sheriff’s
daughter. I’ll call later and catch up with the family news, okay?” Her finger hovered over the end call button. “Love you, brother of mine. Take care of yourself, bye.” A slight press later and he was gone, leaving a melancholy hole in his wake.

“Your brother sounds nice.” Tina said hesitantly. Her earnest gaze searched Laurel’s face. “You guys are pretty close, huh?”

Laurel nodded and swiped under her eyes. Yeah, they were. They’d never been the type of siblings who fought over every little thing. Their lives were littered with enough obstacles; they didn’t need to add to the drama.

She rose, intending to make a light lunch for the three of them—Ted should be arriving soon. Just then the doorbell rang for the second time that day and Laurel watched Tina’s face flare with color, her eyes bright with anticipation. She smiled and waved a hand in the direction of the front hall.

“Can you grab that? I’m going to start lunch.” The final words were barely uttered before Tina scrambled to her feet, startling the kitten into snapping awake with a hiss and raised fur. Torn, Tina gazed moved helplessly between the frightened animal and the solid front door.

Laurel let her off the hook. “I’ll see to Satan here, you go let Chris in, he must be darn near frozen by now.”

Tina took a last look at the spitting mad cat and hurried down the hall. Laurel shook her head. How did she get into these situations? She grabbed a slice of cheddar off the plate and eased closer, hoping to coax the animal into trusting her.

“Okay, you little rodent, it’s just me and you. How about cutting me some slack, huh?”

The kitten eyed the hunk of cheese as though it was a T-bone steak and he was a newly minted vegan suffering withdrawals. Wary green eyes watched her every move as Laurel broke off a tiny piece and set it down as close as she dared.

“C’mon, you know you want to,” she coaxed, and sure enough, a white-tipped paw with razor claws extended, reached out and hauled the booty in. Happy, now that he’d won the battle, the kitten settled to enjoy his prize, purring contentedly.

“You fraud,” she scolded. “You act all tough, but you’re actually a sweetheart, aren’t you, baby?” She was breaking up the remainder of the cheese when Tina called her from down the hall, her voice a husky plea.

“Laurel, um, can you come here for a minute?”

Laurel frowned. Couldn’t she get the door unlocked?

She rose and stepped around the cat before hurrying down the hall, slowing to a halt when she caught sight of what awaited. The cold breeze hit her in the stomach, freezing the fear threatening to choke the breath from her body.

Tina faced Uncle Max in the open doorway, but that wasn’t what scared Laurel. It was the nine-millimetre handgun pointed at the teen’s head.

J
ack was too
antsy to head into the office, so he called in and took first patrol. The streets were quiet for now, but that would change when Church services came to an end. He tried to attend once a month or so, more for Tina’s sake than anything, though he had to admit when those gospel hymns were sung with enough devotion to raise the rafters, even he felt the Spirit.

Between his mom, sisters, Aunt Tess and various nieces, nephews and cousins the Garretts made up a good portion of the congregation.. Even his atheist brother, Ty, had started showing up with his blushing bride, Katy, at his side. Jack never thought he’d say it, but he actually looked forward to those family Sundays. Quite often after church they’d all head over to Ty’s house for brunch. Served up potluck style, everyone would bring their favorite dish to share.

The rest of the afternoon would get spent in a variety of ways. Either tag football in the backyard during the warm summer months, or tobogganing in the winter. He knew of a number of families who only came together at weddings and funerals, so he was proud of how close his own were.

The sun was a bright orb glinting off the freshly fallen snow. In his opinion, winter was the most beautiful season of the year. Jack adjusted the polarized lenses on his face. He could easily pass on spring’s mud and flooding rivers. Summer’s heat, while welcome, made more work in the form of fire watch, especially with the past couple of year’s drought—Jack was also a volunteer firefighter—and teenage kids testing out their newfound wings. Fall was nice with its mantle of autumn hues, but nothing compared to Father Winter in Jack’s mind. From the lacy perfection of a snowflake, a compliment to the bluer than blue skies, to the majestic Cascade Mountains made him glad to be alive.

So why then, was he so…restless? Pictures of Laurel popped into his mind. Her did-I-just-do-that look when she beaned him with that snowball; decorating the office Christmas tree with Tina while singing off-key carols guaranteed to send any would-be criminals running for cover. He remembered the taste of her lips swollen from his kisses, and her eyes soft with the same overwhelming desire that he could no longer deny.

She tempted him more than any woman had in a very long time. Aunt Tess and Grace had cornered him at the restaurant and warned him not to let her escape.

“You’re too good a man to let that bi…” Grace tripped over what she really wanted to say, “bitter woman you married stop you from finding true love.”

And when he’d grimaced, Tess had clouted him on the shoulder. “We’re serious, you big oaf. Don’t waste another minute on the past, the future is staring you in the face, son. Laurel is the real deal, don’t let her get away.”

He’d be lying to himself if he said April hadn’t ripped a hole in his heart when she left. Their affair had been hot and heavy—while it lasted. Unfortunately, she’d only wanted the dream. When reality stepped in and bit her in the ass, first with an unwanted pregnancy and then the loss of his football career, the rosy glow disappeared from her eyes. Jack couldn’t afford a loss like that again; it hurt too fricken much. And it wasn’t only himself that he had to think about. Tina needed stability in her life. It took her a long time to get over missing her mother. They were a good team, he and his daughter.

But, what if they could make it work with Laurel? Just the thought of waking up every morning with her in his bed was enough to increase his heart rate. She was so vital, a breath of fresh air in his staid world.

He cranked the wheel and headed down the newly plowed street. He needed to see her, talk to her. Then he could get rid of the ache that was making him think crazy thoughts. His hand clenched the wheel. Maybe it was time to take a second chance.

* * *

L
aurel couldn’t draw a breath
. Her heart was threatening to jump right out of her chest and join the kitten that had just scurried by and slithered under the straight-backed chair near the door.

She’d seen guns before, of course.
Castle
was one of her favourite television shows, lots of guns there. But it was vastly different seeing one on T.V. and having the muzzle of one pointed at someone you truly cared about. Time slowed. Everything became sharper, clearer, precious.

Why had she waited so long to tell Jack how she felt? She might not ever get a chance now, because there was no way Laurel was going to allow anything to happen to Jack’s daughter. Which meant she needed a plan. And fast.

Her uncle looked pale, but composed. A far cry from how she felt at the moment. If this were the mall she’d be pulling the fire alarm and screaming the place down. Unfortunately, there were no bells nearby, and yelling for help would only get one of them shot if the look in her assailant’s eyes were anything to go by.

“Where’s the cash?” he snarled, his gaze that of an ice-cold killer, or so it seemed in her agitated state of mind.

“My purse is right there—on the table. Take it and leave.” Laurel tried to inject a dominant tone into her voice, but it ended in a squeak when he turned the pistol in her direction.

“Do you think I’m fucking around here?” Spittle formed at the corners of his mouth like the rabid dog that he was. “I got nothin’ to lose. Either get me the money, now, or I’m going to make you rue the day we ever crossed paths.”

Too late.

Tina’s teeth were audibly clicking together, but at the same time Laurel caught a glimpse of her father’s integrity in her gaze. Please, God, don’t let her do something they’d all regret.

Laurel slowly raised her hands in a show of submission, her brain working feverishly to find a way to get them out of this. “Calm down. I’ll give you what you want, but the girl gets to leave. That’s my deal.”

He laughed. The prick.

“Do I look stupid to you?”

Rhetorical question, right?

“The kid stays where she is, that way you’re more likely to pay attention. After all, she is your sweetheart’s spawn, isn’t she?” His grin was demonic.

Laurel shivered. How long had he watched them moving around their daily lives like pawns on a board? Now he was ready to make his move and sweep them all aside in the process.

Unless she stopped him.

“I need time. Do you honestly think I’d keep that kind of money laying around?” She emphasised the money part, hoping to keep the interest focussed on her instead of Tina.

“Look, it’s in a safety deposit box downtown. You and I can take a drive and withdraw it from the bank, but if we all go traipsing in there they are going to look at us pretty suspiciously. Is that what you want?” Laurel held her breath and prayed for a miracle.

It came in the form of one half-wild, freaked out kitten. He suddenly emerged out from under the chair and decided to take a run for the open door—between the thief's legs. He must have figured it for a mouse, or worse, because as soon as he saw the animal racing toward him, he screamed like a school girl, threw his hands up in the air and danced a jig worthy of any competition.

“Uncle Max, now,” Laurel cried.

Max turned, and seeing his opportunity, leaped for the gun, wrestling with a spazzed out psychopathic idiot, Joe London.