LITMIR.BIZ

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of Chance, Texas. His talk about leaving had given her the backbone to leave town herself at the age of eighteen. But she’d tried the big city and found it wasn’t for her. She wanted to stay in Chance.

      She’d get her questions answered—and now Colt’s questions, too—but after that she would be making a permanent home here. Colt would be long gone.

      Her shift now over, Lacie filed her forms and stretched her cramped limbs. No one was left in the station but her and Louanna. Deputy Robert Lopez, the man who’d been the sheriff’s assistant for as long as she could remember, was in his cruiser, spending his shift making passes through town and waiting for any calls.

      This might be a good time for her to do a little digging for Colt. Earlier today she’d asked the day dispatcher where the old case files were stored. Apparently, when the new station had been built, the old files were either destroyed or put in storage boxes and stashed in a closet. They’d all be put on the computer someday—when the county could afford the help. But as of now, they were just catching dust.

      Heading down the darkened hall and turning on lights as she went, Lacie wondered what she would find in the Chance murder file. She remembered the day of the murder, though she’d been quite young. But she remembered it vividly because things in her own home had changed forever that day, too.

      Flipping on the overhead light in the oversize closet, Lacie glanced around at dozens of cardboard boxes. They didn’t seem to be in any order. No wonder Colt hadn’t had the time to find the file last night. It might take weeks to sort through all this stuff.

      She’d been at it for almost an hour when she heard a noise behind her back. Jumping up, she swung around, expecting to see Louanna.

      “What are you doing, Deputy?” The sheriff’s deep voice startled her.

      “Oh, nothing, sir.” She folded her hands together behind her back and stood at attention to stem her shakes.

      “Your shift is over. And I don’t remember assigning you or anyone else to a cold case. Why are you in here?”

      The sheriff’s face had developed soft edges and craggy lines over the years. His eyebrows grew together over his nose to the point where you couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended. Lacie remembered a time when he’d been handsome. Her mother’s idea of the man of her dreams.

      To Lacie, he’d been anything but a dream back then. Today she wasn’t sure what he was—beyond being her boss.

      “I heard this closet was a mess,” she began as the words just spilled out of her mouth. “I thought I’d spend some of my free time straightening out the boxes and making them ready for entering on a computer someday.”

      “Uh-huh.” The sheriff glanced around the room and then let his dark gaze land on her face. “You know I only hired you because of your mother. Why don’t you spend your free time going to visit her?”

      The nursing home where her mother was a patient was a good two hours away. “She doesn’t know me. She doesn’t know anyone anymore. Even if she did, I doubt she would want to see me. They take good care of her. You shouldn’t worry.”

      “I know what kind of care my wife receives. I do visit her. That’s not the point.”

      Lacie wondered what the point was. And why the sheriff had chosen tonight to return to the station at this late hour.

      “Go home, Deputy.” He swung his arm toward the closet door as though waiting for her to leave ahead of him. “I got a call saying lights were on in the station when no one but the dispatcher was supposedly on duty. I didn’t hire you to help in the storage closet. There’s nothing here of interest. This stuff is ancient history.”

      She scooted out the door and waited for him to follow. “I was trying to be helpful.”

      “Just do your job. That’s enough.” He turned off the lights as they left together. “And go visit your mother.”

      Giving up, Lacie turned to leave, but her stepfather caught hold of her arm before she went very far. “You heard about that Chance boy being back in town? The one you used to be so crazy about in high school?”

      “Yes, I know Colt’s living on the Bar-C.”

      “Well, stay away from him. I didn’t like him when he was kid and I doubt he’s changed much. According to the record, he lost his job over a major screwup. His mistake. And it wouldn’t do your career any good to associate with someone like that.”

      Her stepfather was checking up on Colt? Weird.

      “Do you read me, girl?”

      Angry now, and more curious than ever, Lacie pulled her arm free and fisted her hands. “I heard you, Sheriff.”

      She stormed down the hall and outside to the parking lot, a sense of unease riding high in her chest as she headed for home. Nothing would stop her from helping Colt Chance find his answers.

      Nothing and no one.

      Chapter 4

      Colt heard a vehicle approaching as he stepped out of the shower. Lacie wasn’t supposed to arrive until later this afternoon after her shift. This visitor could be one of his brothers, he supposed, but they were supposedly either working or out of town. And if something bad had happened to his family, they would’ve called first.

      No good reason he could think of for anyone to drive clear out to this remote part of the ranch.

      A chill ruffled the hair on his arms while he quickly dressed and stepped into his boots. Something felt wrong about a visitor coming so early.

      Running a hand through his wet hair, Colt headed for the door just as someone knocked. He took a quick glance out the front window and saw the sheriff’s SUV. What the hell?

      “Hello, Chance,” the sheriff growled as Colt swung open the door. “Heard you were living out here.”

      Colt set his jaw, wondering if Lacie had lied to him after all. But after a moment’s consideration, he refused to believe she could be capable of that kind of betrayal.

      “Nothing to say?”

      Colt had plenty to say but he was trying to hold his tongue. “You drove way out here for some reason. What do you want, Sheriff?” He stood squarely in his doorway, not budging an inch. No way would he invite the bastard inside.

      “Just checking up. I understood you were seriously injured awhile back and that’s why you’ve come home to the Bar-C. You planning on staying in Chance for good?”

      The anger surged from his gut to his throat, but Colt knew better than to let it show. “None of your business.” He stepped back and took hold of the door, ready to slam it in the old man’s face. “Now if that’s all, I’m busy.”

      “Hold on there. I have a couple of things to say.” The sheriff casually laid a hand against the gun at his hip and squared his shoulders. “I’d hoped you’d changed since you left town. But it looks like you’re the same as always. Trying to get your own way, and everyone else be damned. Wanted you to know things are different in Chance now.”

      “Oh?” The old man didn’t scare Colt but whatever he had to say might be interesting. “How so?”

      “For one thing, my daughter is now a deputy sheriff for Chance County. She’s the law. You’d be smart to leave her alone.”

      “You mean your stepdaughter, Lacie? We were good friends once upon a time.”

      “I do remember you dogging around her when you two were in high school.” Though he was shorter by a couple of inches, the sheriff looked down his nose at Colt as though he was eyeing a bug. “She’s changed. Grown up. Stay away from her.”

      “Who I see and don’t see is also none of your business.” Colt tried to close the door again but the other man put his foot out to stop him.

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