Only By Your Touch (7 page)

Longtree straightened, took a glass from the cupboard, and stepped to the refrigerator. “I’ll pour you each some lemonade. You can powwow at the table. Decisions are always easier to make if you can sit somewhere and think things through.” After refilling Jeremy’s glass, he set one for Chloe beside it, then returned the pitcher to the fridge. “There’s a pad on the counter with my number on it. If you decide to leave the pup, jot down your phone number and take mine so we can keep in touch. While you talk it over, I have work I need to be doing. The IV is easily removed. Just undo the tape, pull it out, and redo the bandage to apply pressure so he doesn’t bleed.” He smiled at Jeremy and thrust out his hand. “Jeremy, it’s been a pleasure. With your mom’s permission, I hope you’ll come see me again.”

Jeremy solemnly shook hands with the man. “Does this mean you aren’t gonna make Rowdy well for me?”

Ben flicked a hard look at Chloe. “That’s up to
your mother. If you decide to leave the pup, I’ll do everything I can for him.”

Chloe was beginning to feel like a worm. Oh, how she wished she’d never met Lucy Gant and listened to her stories. “If we leave the pup, I will expect to pay you, Mr. Longtree. Can you give me an idea of the cost?”

“You can’t afford me,” he said icily. “Fortunately, Jeremy can, and we’ve already agreed on the terms. Right, Jeremy?”

“Yup. It won’t cost any money for medicine or anything, Mom.”

Ben Longtree ruffled the child’s hair and grinned. The smile transformed his face. “Good-bye, Jeremy.” His voice turned chilly again when he addressed Chloe. “I wish I could say it’s been a pleasure, Mrs. Evans.”

As he left the kitchen, he snapped his fingers. The wolf and cougar rose from their respective positions to follow him to another part of the house. Chloe gazed after the unlikely trio. Never had she felt quite so ashamed of herself.

“Mom?” Jeremy leaned around to make her look at him. “Please, can’t I leave Rowdy here? Mr. Longtree will take real, real good care of him. I know he will. And it won’t cost us any money.”

After the way she’d behaved, Chloe cringed at the thought of accepting the man’s charity. On the other hand, she was in no position to refuse. She went to stand over the puppy. His breathing was rapid and shallow. She could tell just by looking that he was hanging on to life by a thread. If she removed the IV, how could she be sure he would make it to the clinic?

Decision made, Chloe jotted down her phone number. She signed off with two words,
I’m sorry
. As apologies went, it was inadequate. Maybe, as an olive
branch, she could bake Ben Longtree a cake or something. It was the least she could do. He’d even given her son lemonade. God, she felt like such a witch.

She had just laid down the pen when a feminine voice rang out behind her. “Well, I’ll be! He actually did it.”

Chloe whirled. A slender woman in a floral dress entered the kitchen. Her short brown hair was threaded with silver, and her blue eyes shone with warmth.

“Hello,” Chloe found the presence of mind to say.

The woman smoothed her bodice and patted her hair. “Isn’t it just like a man not to mention someone’s coming? I would have prettied up if I had known.”

Chloe thought she was lovely as she was. This must be the demented Nan Longtree. Only she didn’t seem crazy. She looked sweet—and embarrassed to have been caught with her dress wrinkled and her hair mussed.

“Actually, I dropped in unannounced.”

“Oh. That explains it, then, and no matter. It’s glad I’ll be to have some female company once a week.”

Bewildered, Chloe just smiled.

“Has he shown you through the house?”

“Oh, no, we didn’t get so far as that. I, um, think we have our wires crossed, Mrs. Longtree. I just—”

“Why am I not surprised?” Nan flapped her hand. “It’s just as well that I do it. He’d never in the world think to tell you all that needs done.”

Even with the glass office doors closed, Ben heard his mom’s voice. He cocked his head.
Great.
Just what the situation needed, a performance by his mother.

Pushing up from his caster chair, he left the office. As he strode to the main part of the house, he heard Nan ask, “Do you do windows?”

Chloe Evans laughed, the sound light and airy. “I’ve scrubbed a few.”

“No store-bought stuff. Vinegar and newspaper. It never leaves smears.”

“That’s how my mom cleans windows.”

Nan replied, “It’s the only way to do them properly.”

Just as Ben reached the kitchen, his mother jerked open a drawer. “Will you look at this?” She clucked her tongue. “With all these critters, we’ve got hair everywhere. In my day, I kept a spotless house. I can’t anymore.”

“This is a large home,” Chloe said sympathetically.

“Yes. I’m so glad Ben finally hired someone. To his credit, I have to say that he tries. But he’s so busy, he only gives the house a hit and a miss. The drawers are driving me crazy.” Nan opened another one. “Isn’t this awful?”

Ben descended on his mother. “Mom?” Heat crawled up his neck. She might as well show off his soiled underwear. “What are you doing?”

Nan smiled up at him. “I’m walking Chloe through, dear. You run along and see to your business. I’ll get her all lined out.”

Chloe arched her russet brows. “There seems to be a bit of confusion.”

“Mom, Mrs. Evans isn’t a cleaning lady.”

Nan kept talking. “It won’t be necessary to clean drawers weekly. Just vacuum them out with the crevice attachment a couple of times a month.”

“Mom?”

Nan waved him away and opened the silverware drawer. “He keeps this one wiped out, thank goodness.” She dampened her finger and chased a lone raccoon hair. “Mostly, anyway.” A speck of something on the front of a cupboard caught her attention, and just that quickly, her voice trailed away. The next instant, she was humming a lullaby.

Ben stared at the back of his mother’s head. In the
beginning, it had broken his heart to see her like this, but now he just bled a little each time.

“I’m sorry about this,” he told Chloe. “A few weeks ago, I said something about needing a housekeeper.” He shrugged. “She has Alzheimer’s.”

Ben half expected Nan’s dementia to send Chloe Evans running, but instead she turned a compassionate gaze on Nan. “It’s fine. I understand.”

If Ben lived to be a hundred, he would never get women. She was looking at him now as though he were almost human.

Touching a hand to Nan’s shoulder, she leaned around to say, “Nan, I’m leaving now. It was lovely talking with you.”

Nan turned, her expression vacuous. Still humming, she wandered from the kitchen, took up her usual station in the family room, and set her chair to rocking as she began to crochet. Chloe gazed after her, her bottom lip captured between her teeth.

“I really am sorry,” Ben said again. “She drifts in and out. She probably felt embarrassed. Stress of any kind seems to trigger it.”

Chloe nodded. “I realized something was—well, not wrong, exactly, but not exactly right.” Her gaze clung to his. “Mr. Longtree, I want to apologize. My behavior has been deplorable, and I—”

Ben cut her off with a lift of his hand. “It’s not necessary. I’ve heard the stories in town, too. Why don’t we leave it at that?”

Her face flushed crimson, whether with anger or embarrassment he couldn’t say. In that moment, he didn’t really care. He just wanted her gone. His mother’s illness was something private and painful that he shared with no one.

C
hloe’s feet were dragging when she got to work. The security system chimed as she pushed open the front door. Sue Baxter, her coworker—a chubby brunette with laughing green eyes, a warm smile, a wonderful husband, and five little Baxters to keep her busy—waved as she ended a conversation on the phone.

Waving back, Chloe circled her desk to stuff her purse into its cubbyhole. “Oh, Sue, you’re a saint!” she cried when she saw the take-out latte on her blotter. “I can’t wait to lock my lips on that. I’m so exhausted, I can barely see.”

Sue rocked back on her chair, keyed the mike, and said, “Dispatch, calling all deputies.” She flashed Chloe an impish grin. “Old Sylvia Patterson is doing a striptease in front of her window again. Joe doesn’t want her arrested, but he would like her to get a boob lift before she strips for him again. Over.”

Chloe burst out laughing. “For a second, I thought you were serious.”

“You looked a little down.”

“
Down
isn’t the word.” Chloe uncapped the cup, breathed in, and sighed. Every evening, Sue went to the espresso stand and bought them each a latte.
Today she’d evidently stopped by on her way to work. “What do I owe you?”

“The next round is on you.”

“You’ve saved my life. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night, and I’ve been on a dead run all day. Maybe this will perk me up.”

“What on earth kept you up all night?”

Chloe was about to answer when one of her phone lights started to blink. By the time she slipped on her headphones, took the call, and radioed out, another line was blinking. Before she knew it, she was swamped.

Two hours later, she and Sue got their first lull. Chloe’s latte was stone cold, but she took a grateful sip anyway. Sue propped her feet on her desk.

“Wednesdays. Don’t you love them? I swear it’s a middle-of-the-week syndrome. People cause trouble so they won’t die of boredom.”

“Full moon.”

“That, too, I suppose.” Sue rubbed her temples. Then she kicked up, lowered her feet to the floor, and fixed Chloe with a curious look. “So why didn’t you get any sleep last night? You never got a chance to say.”

Chloe launched into the story about her son’s sick puppy. She had just described Jeremy’s emergency bicycle ride to Cinnamon Ridge when Deputy Schuck entered by the front door. Every afternoon, shortly after five, he stopped in to do paperwork. There was a back entrance, but he never used it, preferring to pass through Chloe’s work area to reach the glass cubicle behind her.

“Evening, ladies.”

Chloe broke off and pasted on a smile. Bobby Lee seemed like a nice guy, but for reasons she couldn’t pinpoint he made her uncomfortable. She guessed it
was a chemical reaction of sorts—a wary, very
dis
interested female reacting to an interested male’s pheromones. She had no intention of complicating her life with a sticky situation at work.

He drew his sunglasses low on the bridge of his nose to look at her over the rims. He had a high-voltage grin and gorgeous baby blues lined with thick, black lashes. The effect was wasted. The only man in Chloe’s life was her son. Bobby Lee’s khaki uniform shirt, worn a half-size small to showcase his muscular chest, didn’t hold a candle to Jeremy’s freckles and curly cowlick.

“Did I hear you say Cinnamon Ridge?”

Red alert. Chloe was relieved when her phone started to blink. She went to line three, hoping Bobby Lee would start doing paperwork and forget the question. Unfortunately, while she handled the call and dispatched out to a deputy, Bobby Lee cornered Sue. By the time Chloe got off the radio, he had heard about the sick puppy and Jeremy’s mercy flight to Cinnamon Ridge.

Hooking his glasses over his shirt pocket, he turned a questioning look on Chloe. “So what did you see up there on the ridge?”

Because Jeremy had told her about his agreement with Ben Longtree to tell no one about Methuselah, and she had promised to keep the secret as well, Chloe couldn’t possibly answer that question. A deplorably bad liar, she stuck as close to the truth as possible. “Mostly Ponderosa pines. No wonder the place is called Cinnamon Ridge.”

“I know you saw trees, Chloe. I’m more interested in what else you saw.”

She drew her eyebrows together in what she hoped was a bewildered frown. “The manzanita bushes are losing their blooms, and there’s a great view of the
mountains from up top. Not that I had time to appreciate it.”

“You must have seen something more than trees and bushes.”

“I saw Longtree’s house.”

Bobby Lee raked a hand through his hair, the very picture of a frustrated male. “Did you see any animals?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. What kind?”

“A wolf.” Chloe didn’t have to fake a shudder. “Have you ever seen that thing? It has fangs an inch long. Yesterday at the feed store—”

The deputy cut her short. “A hybrid and perfectly legal. I’m more interested in any wild animals you saw, particularly any in cages.”

“Why would anyone want to keep wild animals in cages?”

Bobby Lee settled a wondering gaze on her. His expression said more clearly than words that he thought she had a room temperature IQ. “Did you see any? That’s the question.”

“I didn’t see a single cage.” That wasn’t precisely a lie. She’d seen several cages. “Lots of chipmunks everywhere. They’re so darling.”

Bobby Lee braced a hand on the edge of her desk and leaned down to look deeply into her eyes. She half expected him to say, “Is anyone home in there?” Instead he asked, “Did you by any chance see a cougar?”

“A
what
? My goodness!” Answering a question with a question was a strategy Jeremy used. Chloe wasn’t proud, but at least she was still taking the high road and not lying through her teeth. “Are there a lot of cougars around here?”

“We’ve got a fair number.”

“That’s spooky.”

“I’ve heard rumors that Longtree keeps one as a pet.”

“You’re not serious. A cougar? Oh, my. Does he have a death wish?”

“I’m not concerned with his motivations, only with the possibility he’s breaking the law. I need a warrant to check it out, and they aren’t easy to get. Butter-worth is a picky bastard when it comes to that.”

It sounded to Chloe as if the judge was merely observing the law. Citizens had a right to their privacy. “Mr. Longtree is a vet. If he’s providing care for wild animals, isn’t it safe to assume he’s doing them no harm?”

Wrong thing to say.
A flush crept up Bobby Lee’s neck. “Any time
anyone
messes with wild animals, he’s doing potential harm.”

“Oh?”

“If he’s doctoring animals up on that ridge, he could be saving the genetically inferior ones and weakening the gene pool.”

He launched into an explanation about gene pools, and how the natural order culled out the weak. Chloe’s eyes had glazed over by the time he wound down. “Save the weak, and they propagate. Pretty soon, the whole damned population has that weak set of genes. Along comes a virus, and bad news.”

“I see.” Chloe folded her hands on her lap. What Bobby Lee said was true—but genetic inferiority wasn’t the issue. Unless one was speaking of the sadistic human being who was going around shooting animals. “I never really thought about it like that. I had no idea you were so knowledgeable.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, well—in this country, we’re surrounded by wilderness areas. A law enforcement official has to keep abreast of the game laws and
understand the reasons for them in order to do his job effectively.”

“I see what you mean. One thing, though. Wouldn’t a vet know even more about gene pools and all that stuff than we do?”

The hard glint that entered Bobby Lee’s eyes sent a chill up Chloe’s spine.

“Ben Longtree is a fruitcake,” he bit out. “He’s on a mission to save the animals, never sparing a thought for the damage he may do.” He pressed closer until they were nearly nose to nose. “Did you see a cougar? If you did, tell me. Your position here demands that of you.”

Her duty as a mother took precedence. She wouldn’t break a promise to her son, not over a job or for any other reason. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t see a cougar.”

Sue left the room to use the copier. Bobby Lee gazed after her, then shoved things out of the way to prop a hip on Chloe’s desk. She bit back a protest. Everything had a place, and Bobby Lee’s rump wasn’t in the lineup. She grabbed her paperweight before it toppled off the desk. The Japanese lantern had been a gift from her dad, a memento of a day they’d spent beachcombing in Brookings, Oregon. She’d treasured it ever since.

“You know, Chloe, it wouldn’t be wise to let your boy hang around up on the ridge. If you need a loan to pay for a vet, I’ll happily front you.”

“I, um—thank you, Bobby Lee, but that wouldn’t be appropriate. We work together. What if something happened, and I couldn’t pay you back?”

“I’m sure we could work something out.”

Chloe fiddled with her notepad. “Be that as it may, it’s unwise to mix personal and professional. It’s less complicated that way.”

“And a lot less fun. Loosen up, Chloe. Live a little.”

Here went nothing. “Please, try to understand. I’m still reeling from my divorce. I’m not ready to loosen up yet. You know what I’m saying?”

“That you’re still hung up on your ex?”

“I’m just not ready yet. It’s nothing personal. Please don’t think that. I just need some time.”

He touched a finger to her cheek, and his eyes went cloudy with concern. “You know how to cure that problem?” He winked at her. “It’s high time you had a little fun occasionally. All work and no play. Take a chance on me.”

Not in this lifetime.
“I’ll think about it. Some people just take longer to regroup and heal. I’m afraid I’m one of them. Right now, I only want to focus on my son and my job. The rest will come with time.”

“In the interim, can I give you a piece of advice, one friend to another?”

“Sure. I’m always open to good advice.”

“Don’t accept favors from Longtree. The man’s unstable.”

“I’ve heard that about him.”

“But you don’t buy it?”

“I didn’t say that.” She picked up a stack of papers and moved them out of his way. “To be perfectly honest, though, he seemed sane enough to me.”

The moment Chloe said that, she knew it was true. She’d entered Longtree’s house, expecting to encounter a lunatic. Instead, she’d found her son safe and sound, happily polishing off a glass of lemonade. Ben Longtree was a little odd—okay, extremely odd—but that didn’t mean he was nuts.

“Longtree killed a fellow a few years back. Have you heard that story?”

Chloe had almost forgotten. “Yes. Lucy Gant mentioned it.”

“Imagine hitting a man with enough force to kill him with one blow.”

For just an instant, in her mind’s eye, Chloe glimpsed a fist coming at her face. Her skin went cold, and she felt a little sick. Bobby Lee didn’t know what crazy was. Not really. “There must have been more to it than that.”

“There wasn’t,” he assured her. “I read the police report myself.”

“Why did you read the report? It didn’t happen here, did it?”

“I like to keep tabs on the riffraff in my county. The man’s a killer.”

“Wasn’t he found innocent?”

“High-priced attorney, rinky-dink court. Our judicial system is far from perfect. The man’s over the edge. I’ll feel better if you stay clear of him.”

She straightened her pens. “I know this may sound bad, but even if Longtree is crazy, it’s nothing to me. My son isn’t going up there again.”

“Good.”

“As for accepting favors from the man, Ben seems willing to treat the puppy free of charge. I really can’t afford to pass up a deal like that.”

“Ben? Sounds to me like you’ve gotten pretty cozy with the guy. You don’t have a thing for him, do you?”

Chloe almost laughed, but the look in Bobby Lee’s eyes dampened her amusement. “Ben Longtree is a little too eccentric for my taste. In answer to your question, no, I don’t have a thing for him.”

“I’m glad to hear it. If you’re going to let him doctor your dog, and I really wish you wouldn’t, you need to keep your distance. All that stuff I just told you about genetic tendencies? Take it to heart with him.”

“Meaning?”

“His father was a violent drunk. Like father, like son?”

Chill bumps rose at the nape of Chloe’s neck.

Bobby Lee took Sue’s return to her desk as his cue to proceed into his office. Chloe was relieved. Had she imagined that burning look in his eyes when he questioned her about Cinnamon Ridge? She didn’t think so. She had a feeling there was bad blood between him and Ben Longtree.

Not my problem
, she assured herself, and she intended to keep it that way. She’d moved here to build a new life for herself and her son. Getting involved in other people’s feuds wasn’t on her agenda. After this, she would make sure Bobby Lee was nowhere around when she mentioned Ben Longtree.

At twenty of eight, Bobby Lee left to go back out on patrol. Soon Chloe was swamped. When she got a break, she ate her supper while Sue chatted on a separate line with her husband, Jerry.