Her Grave Secrets (Rogue River Novella Book 3) (5 page)

“He’s in his late seventies.”

“Oh, Zane. And he lives alone? That breaks my heart.” The thought of Zane’s father living by himself and rarely hearing from his only son stung deep. Not everyone was as interactive as her family, but sometimes family was all you had. She wanted this fixed. Now.

His jaw flexed again. “I’ll think about it. He’s not a helpless old man sitting alone in the dark staring at the phone. He’s very busy with his ranch and community. He’s got all sorts of buddies he talks to. Can we not talk about this right now?”

She agreed but made a mental note to talk to her mother about it. Zane and his father were the only people left in his family. No wonder her parents had half-adopted Zane. Did her mother know something about Zane’s relationship with his father that she didn’t? She realized it was best to let it go. For now.

“Help me take the stuff outside,” she requested. For a small apartment, she had a huge deck, and it had a lovely view of the river. It’d been the selling point for her. She could overlook a cramped bedroom and minuscule bath because of the awesome outdoor space. Zane grabbed the tequila bottle and balanced all the taco fixings in his big hands. She followed with the shrimp and spicy coleslaw. They sat in quiet companionship as they loaded up their corn tortillas. Zane took a bite and sighed.

“How did I not know these existed two months ago?”

“I know, right? One of the few things I miss about LA is the variety of food and, of course, the sunshine.”

Zane cleared his throat and opened his mouth. Then closed it.

“What?” Stevie asked. “You were going to ask me something.”

He looked slightly sheepish. “You still haven’t unpacked your boxes. It looks like you’re not sure if you’re staying.”

Stevie glanced around at her cluttered place. “I’m not going anywhere. Yes, I miss the sun, but not enough to balance out the crowds and cost of living down there. Solitude is home. I see that very clearly now.”

“Your mother once told me she knew you’d have to leave Solitude to see this is where you need to be.”

Stevie tried not to choke on a bite of taco. “You two talked about me? She said that?”

Zane gave her an easy grin that made her heart skip. “She loves you. I do too. Why wouldn’t we talk about you?”

She didn’t know what to say and settled for another bite.

“But my question about your boxes was more self-centered. What would you think about moving into my place?”

The question was casually delivered with his eyes on his food, but Stevie knew he’d laid his heart out on the table. She put down her taco and slid her hand into his, waiting until his blue gaze met hers. “I love you and I love us together, but I’m not ready for that yet. That feels a little too fast for me right now.” Images of the apartment she’d shared with her ex-boyfriend flooded her mind, and she shoved them away. When their relationship had crumbled, she’d felt homeless and desperate. She’d had to bunk at a friend’s until she’d packed up to move back to Solitude. Her current apartment stood for independence, something she still needed to cling to.

He broke eye contact. “I knew I’d asked too soon.”

“But I’m thrilled to know you want it. I just need more time. It’s only been a few months.” She gripped his hand harder, hating to disappoint him, but the insecurity from her last relationship was too fresh. Zane wasn’t overbearing like her ex. Not one bit. But she couldn’t take the step yet.

“I’ll wait. I’ve got all the time in the world,” he said. “Especially when I’ve got something worth waiting for.”

“Stay away from my family!”

Zane stepped out of his office, listening for the source of the loud male voice. He’d been hearing low voices rumble from the mayor’s office for the last few minutes, but had tuned them out as he tried to get through some paperwork before everyone else showed up for the day.

He opened the back door that led into the small offices of the attached building. The mayor’s office and a small city business and tourist info center filled the ancient space. The carpet was thin and patched. The tourist info was sadly sparse. A large forestry map of the southwest corner of Oregon hung crookedly on one wall. There were pamphlets for a struggling winery, jet boats further down the Rogue River, and the animal safari over an hour away. There wasn’t much directly in Solitude to attract tourists and entice them to stay. Including this tourist information center.

Zane had high hopes but low expectations for Faye O’Rourke’s resort.

“You know you don’t want this to end!”

Oh, crap. Katelyn O’Rourke.
Zane pushed open the door to the mayor’s office. Sure enough. Stevie’s brother James was face-to-face with Katelyn. She was dressed for yoga. Tight pants, tight top, and a high ponytail.

If yoga classes were taught in Solitude, Zane hadn’t heard about it.

“You two are loud for seven in the morning,” Zane announced.

James looked away, but Katelyn whirled around, her chin up. “This doesn’t involve you.” Faye’s daughter was attractive; that was a fact. But her attitude rarely was.

“No, it doesn’t. Unless you’re harassing someone, and then it’s my business. Did I hear James tell you to stay away from his family? That sounds like something I might need to be involved in.” He held Katelyn’s gaze.

James stepped up. Which was a good thing, because Zane’s estimation of James had dropped ten points for every second he’d been in the room. “Katelyn was just leaving.”

She turned to look at James. “You started this.”

“No,
you
started this,” James said. “I made some bad decisions, and I immediately told you
months
ago this had to stop. I don’t know what your goal is, Katelyn, but you’re simply digging yourself a bigger hole. Go hit on some single guy and stay away from my wife.”

Katelyn swallowed hard and looked coolly at Zane. “How’s it working out with Stevie, Zane?”

“Time to focus on someone else, Katelyn.”

She huffed and strode past him out the door.

Zane glared at James. “What the fuck did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Bullshit. You’ve been moping around here for months. Was it Katelyn all this time?”

James looked away. “This is personal.”

“Damn right it is. But your sister is my business now, and I care about the people in her family even though I currently want to kick you in the head. How could you do that to Debra?”

“I didn’t!” James insisted, glowering at Zane. “I kissed Katelyn once.
I was drunk.
”

“Do you know how many times I’ve heard ‘I was drunk’ as an excuse?”

“It didn’t go further than that. I told her the next day it was a big mistake and apologized. But she keeps coming around. Yesterday she went to my house to ‘drop something off’ for me. She gave Debra a package for me that had her underwear in it. Can you believe that?”

“Does Debra know what happened?”

“She does. I told her after dinner at Patsy’s . . . you were there; you saw how upset she was. I came clean, and she forgave me after giving me hell. But Katelyn keeps doing these little things to harass me. It’s giving me an ulcer.” He rubbed at his stomach. “I’m not sure why, but she scares me.”

“I know what you mean. I go on high alert when she comes in the room,” Zane agreed. “She’s like a starving panther looking for something to eat.”

“No shit. I admire the man who falls for her one day and manages to keep her satisfied.”

Zane wasn’t sure that was possible. “This is what’s been on your mind since last spring? It’s just been Katelyn?”

“Isn’t that enough?” James plopped down in his desk chair as if he’d just run a marathon. He waved at a seat for Zane. “It’s exhausting when she has you in her sights.”

“Nothing else on your mind?”

James stared at him. “What’s going on?”

“Even your dad knew something was up. He mentioned it in his May journal.”

James withered in his chair. “He tried to talk to me about what was bugging me, and I pushed him away. I thought I could handle her on my own. Shit.”

Zane studied him. “He was also concerned about Roy. Your father said he was taking a lot of time off and didn’t have a good reason. I think he was worried Roy had a medical issue he didn’t want to discuss.”

“I’m glad you found his journals and got them to my mom. She was concerned they’d disappeared.”

“Yes, I recall you looking in my office for them.”

James gave a half-grin. “Yeah, I might have stepped over a line with that. Sorry about that.”

“Did you know of anything going on with Roy? Was there a medical issue?”

James frowned. “I agree he wasn’t himself last spring, but he didn’t give me any hint of an issue. Does this have to do with his death? Shocked the hell out of me to find out he’d been shot. I figured we’d discover him in a beach hut in Mexico somewhere.”

“He wanted to go to Mexico?”

“Beats me. Don’t people go to warmer climates when they retire?”

“He had the funds for that?”

“I don’t know. I guess not. He’d have to sell his place first, I assume.” James wrinkled his forehead. “Why do you ask?”

“You ever see him with a new boat or fishing equipment?”

James thought for a second. “Nah. He’s always said he wanted a boat but couldn’t afford one.”

“What if I told you there’s a shiny new boat on his property? Along with other new toys?”

He stared. “I’d ask where he got the money.”

“Me too.”

Stevie glanced at the small dog in the front passenger seat of the patrol car. The dog was delighted with the car ride, and Stevie could have sworn she was smiling. It was quite a change from the cowering, terrified pooch she’d coaxed out from under the abandoned trailer on the edge of town fifteen minutes ago.

Someone had called in a stray dog, concerned because he’d seen the dog cross the highway three times. This was out in the country. Usually a loose animal was a common sight and generally everyone knew what animals belonged to whom, but this was a stray that the caller said had been in the area for a few days and that he didn’t recognize. He’d tried to catch her and given up. He didn’t have leftover shrimp to tempt the dog.

One whiff of Stevie’s shrimp and the small black-brown-and-white dog became her best friend. She had the look of a teenager, with awkward long limbs, making Stevie wonder about her age, but that skinniness could have been from lack of food. The stray gave a doggy sigh and curled up on the car seat, laying her head on her paws, but keeping full attention on Stevie. Every time she glanced at the dog it was staring at her with its large black eyes.

Uh-oh. Mom will know what to do with her.

Her mother’s barn of animals always had room for one more. Patsy kept some of the animals, the different or difficult ones that no one wanted, but placed several of the animals in other homes. She had a knack for pairing dogs and boys, horses and teenage girls, and cats and senior citizens. She always seemed to know who had a bit of love to spare and room in their heart.

Stevie stole another glance at the dog. She was a pretty one with long silky ears and inquisitive eyes. Patsy would find her a home within the week. Stevie swallowed.
You don’t have time for a dog.
This dog needed children to play with and adore.

She continued to stare at Stevie.

Stevie pulled up in front of her mother’s long driveway, let Sheila know where she was, and tucked the dog under her arm. A sense of déjà vu washed over her as she climbed the steps. How many times had she brought home lost or hurt animals for her mother to care for? One time she’d stolen a pig from a neighbor two farms over, convinced the animal was going to be slaughtered for a meal. Yes, she had recently read
Charlotte’s Web
.

Her father had returned the pig with deep apologies and received a solemn promise from the owner that the pig would never see a knife. Stevie had checked several times over a few years, and the owner had kept his promise.

She pushed open her mother’s door and headed for the kitchen, catching Carly with a beignet in her hand. Carly set the pastry down and held her hands out for the dog. “Ohhhh! She’s so cute.”

Stevie released the dog, who eagerly slobbered on Carly’s sugared fingers. A small wave of jealousy swept through Stevie. Carly had always been the one whom animals adored.

“Where’d she come from?”

“Found her out at the west end of the highway. She’d been hiding down there for a few days. Do you recognize her?”

Carly shook her head. “Doesn’t look like any dog I’ve seen around here. Should be easy to find her a home, but Lord, she needs a bath first. I’ll assign that to Brianna today.” She eyed Stevie. “Unless you’ve formed an attachment to her.”

“I don’t need a dog.”

“Everybody needs a dog. Your place has got to be really empty. A dog makes a house a home. Have you unpacked
yet
?”

“I’m getting there.”

“I saw how few boxes you brought. You should have been unpacked the first day. What’s wrong?” Sharp sisterly eyes studied her.

“Nothing.”

“I call bull on that one.” Carly moved closer, looking Stevie up and down. “Light makeup, hair in perfect ponytail as usual. A bit of dog hair on your uniform, but I consider that normal on most people.” She narrowed her eyes. “But you’ve got huge bags under your eyes that you tried to cover up. Either Zane kept you up all night or something’s eating at you.”

Stevie snorted. Carly didn’t have her mother’s gift of insight, but she was very skilled at reading between the lines. Probably from working with children who were scared to talk to adults.

“Zane and I had a bit of a disagreement last night.”

“So? Only expecting rainbows and ponies with him?”

“No, I just wonder what it means about his core values.”

Carly wrinkled her nose. “Core values? Zane? That man has the straightest core I’ve ever seen. Remember, I’ve known him for five years and you’ve only known him for a few months. Trust me when I say there’s nothing to worry about there. What happened?”

“I asked him to invite his father to Mom’s barbecue. She’d offered one of the empty bedrooms for him to stay since it’d be a long trip. I thought it’d be a nice way to get to know Zane’s father.”