“Hey, Ashlee,” Jensen greeted. “How are you?”
“I’m just fine. And yourself?”
“Doing great. Just paying the knucklehead a visit, but I’ll get out of your hair. See you later, Walk.”
“Bye, Little J,” I called after her as she headed out. She looked back at me and stuck out her tongue, showing her disapproval of the nickname. I chuckled and turned my gaze to Ashlee. “What’s up?”
“Barry Stevens is here to see you. He wanted to get an update on Caitlin’s case.”
I instantly sobered. I couldn’t imagine what the poor man was going through and hoped I never had to experience it myself. “Show him on back.”
Ashlee nodded and escaped down the hall.
I put away all the sensitive files on my desk and locked my computer screen. Just as I shut a desk drawer, Barry’s harrowed face appeared in my doorway. “Come on in, Barry. Can I get you anything to drink?”
He moved slowly as if he had aged decades in the past few weeks. “No, thank you. I just wanted to come by and see how things were progressing. We got a call that they were finally releasing Caitlin’s body to the funeral home.”
Sympathy filled me, but I fought against the urge to let it show on my features. A man as proud as Barry Stevens wouldn’t want to see that now. “Unfortunately, there’s not a lot I can tell you at the moment. We are pursuing every avenue available to us to find out who did this.”
It was true, we were doing everything we could. There just wasn’t much to show for it. Tuck and I had finally tracked down Frank Pardue, but after hours of questioning, there was nothing we could hold him for. He was still the number one suspect in my mind, but he claimed that he had been off hunting dozens of miles away when Caitlin was killed. With nothing to prove or disprove his story, we’d had to let him go.
Barry gave a stilted nod. “Well, I just had to check.”
“I understand. You come by anytime you like, but I promise I’ll call as soon as we have anything we can share.”
He stood slowly. “Thank you, Walker. You’re a good man.” My chest hurt at those words, guilt swamping me as I remembered my last encounter with his daughter. “You’ll come to the funeral, won’t you? It’ll be this weekend.”
I swallowed against the sudden dryness in my throat. “Of course, I will.”
Barry gave another nod. “I’ll see you then.”
“See you,” I replied, leaning back in my chair as I watched his pained footsteps lead him out of my office. I had to find the monster who destroyed this family.
32
Taylor
I eased myself back on the double lounge chair on Walker’s back deck, tucking my feet under the wool blanket he left out here just for me. The view was amazing. During the day, you could see all the way to the town below. Tonight, I could see rolling hills and fields in the twilight as glimmering stars began to appear in the sky.
Inhaling deeply, I soaked in the crystal-clear night air. It was amazing just how relaxed I felt here. How at home. If I was honest, it freaked me out a bit. But I pushed those thoughts aside, deciding instead to focus on gratitude for this night—this moment.
A plank in the deck creaked. “What are you thinking about so hard over there?”
I turned my head to see Walker striding towards me, two open bottles of beer dangling from his fingers. “Just thinking how much I love this spot.”
He settled next to me on the lounge, handing me a beer and casually throwing an arm around my shoulders. I snuggled into his side, soaking up his warmth. “I’m glad you like it. I had the architect orient the house so the back deck and master bedroom would have this view.”
I tilted my face up towards Walker, drinking in the shadow on his cut jaw and his sharp features in the moonlight. “I don’t think I knew you had this built.”
“My parents gave me and my sister each a couple hundred acres to build on, hoping it would be lure enough to keep us close.” He absentmindedly ran his fingers through my hair as he spoke, sending small shivers down my spine.
“But Jensen lives at the guest house next to the ranch house,” I said, thinking of the adorable two-bedroom cottage Jensen and Noah lived in.
“She just keeps her horses on her land for now. It was easier when she got pregnant and while Noah’s still young. She’s close to my parents and Gran so they can help out. But you never know. If things keep progressing with Bryce, she might be building a house before long.”
I shot up, spilling a little of my beer. “Are things getting serious between them? She hasn’t said anything to me.”
Walker grinned. “Don’t go getting too excited. They’re taking things slow. Jensen did say she wanted us to go on a double date with them.”
“You told her about us?” I fought the urge to duck my head, feeling suddenly shy about it all. He hadn’t pushed for us to go public in any way. I hadn’t been sure if it was because he didn’t want to rush me, or if he wasn’t sure we would last. There was even a small part of me that worried he was somehow ashamed of me.
Walker must have sensed my thoughts like the psychic sorcerer he was, because he tugged me to him, taking my beer and putting it next to his on the side table. He positioned me directly on top of him, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hold. “I love that you’re mine.” I relaxed the smallest bit. “If it was up to me, I’d be screaming it from the rooftops. I just haven’t wanted to ask for too much, too soon.”
I let the beat of his heart and the warmth of his words ease the rest of the tension in my body. “We can tell people.” My stomach flipped. That meant his family would know. The town. People would want to know my business because he was one of Sutter Lake’s golden sons, one the entire population claimed as their own. “What if people don’t like me?”
Walker’s arms tightened around me. “I think everyone will adore you. But if anyone’s mean to you, I’ll beat them up.”