He hadn’t given her the time of day back then, but she thought he’d hung the moon.
She still did, dammit. He’d only grown more handsome and stronger in her eyes.
Suddenly a board squeaked and a man’s voice boomed from the doorway. “What are you doing, Ms. Boulder?”
Tawny-Lynn swung her head toward the lieutenant. “Just cleaning out my old room.”
“Stop.” He strode forward and snatched the notebook from her, raising his eyebrows in question at her silly teenage scrawls. She didn’t realize Chaz was with him until she heard his quick hiss of breath.
Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “That was a long time ago, in high school.”
“This house, the property, it may have been the scene of a crime. Are you trying to get rid of evidence?”
Shock slammed into Tawny-Lynn. “No, of course not. I told you, I’m getting the property ready to sell.”
“We’ll need to search your room, your father’s and sister’s,” the lieutenant said.
Tawny-Lynn froze. “I...already cleaned out their rooms.”
“Really. First you throw things out, then you report a body.” Lieutenant Gibbons’s eyes flared with suspicion. “It sounds like you’re trying to get rid of evidence.”
Panic fluttered in her belly. “That’s not true.” She stood, bracing her hands on her hips. “I didn’t know that body was out there, Lieutenant. I only came home because my father died and I wanted to sell this place.”
The lieutenant indicated the notebook. “Were you jealous of your sister, Ms. Boulder? Did something happen between the two of you and things got out of hand?”
“That’s enough,” Chaz cut in. “My sister and hers were alive when they boarded the bus after the softball game that day. Tawny-Lynn was seriously injured and transported to the hospital from the scene. There’s no way she could have—or would have—hurt either Peyton or Ruth.”
Tawny-Lynn gave Chaz a grateful look, but she sensed the lieutenant wasn’t satisfied. “Maybe not, but she could have covered for her father all these years.”
Anger railed inside her. She’d heard those accusations before.
“I suggest you wait on the porch until my men search the house.” He gave her a warning look. “And tell me where your father’s and sister’s things are. My men will need to search those, as well.”
Tawny-Lynn glared at him. “I took the trash to the dump, the clothes to the church.”
He spoke into the mike at his lapel and ordered one of his guys to go to the church.
“Come on, Tawny-Lynn.” Chaz took her by the arm and escorted her down the steps and onto the front porch, while the men went to work in her house.
She fell into the porch swing and stared at the sky while the crime team searched her house and toolshed and went to confiscate the items at the church. The hours dragged by while the men from town combed her property.
Emotions pummeled Tawny-Lynn, and by the time the team had finished and left, dusk had long set and night had fallen. She felt defeated, numb, helpless.
And furious that once again her life was being turned upside down, her innocence questioned.
“It’ll be morning before we receive the M.E.’s report, if then,” Chaz said as the last of the search party left. Thankfully they hadn’t found another grave or body.
He handed her a drink, a shot of scotch from the only bottle she’d saved because it hadn’t been opened. She willingly took it and downed it, needing the warmth of the alcohol to stir her blood.
He brought her another and kept one for himself, then sank onto the porch swing beside her. The creak of the swing rocked the night as they finished their drinks in silence.
“I’m going to shower,” she said, suddenly feeling dirty and as if a bath could wash away the shame of what had happened today.
He nodded. “I’ll keep watch.”
“You don’t have to stay, Chaz.”
“I’m not leaving you tonight,” Chaz said gruffly.
She didn’t have the energy to argue. Worse, she didn’t want to be alone.
So she headed up the steps, dropped her clothes on the floor by the bed, then grabbed her robe. But as soon as she climbed into the shower, the floodgates unleashed. She cried for Peyton and her father and herself.
And for Chaz and what she wanted between them that could never be.
* * *
C
HAZ
HEARD
T
AWNY
-
L
YNN
crying after he’d locked up and walked upstairs. Finding the body had shaken them both up, but having Gibbons accuse her of protecting her father had obviously resurrected bad memories of the past and driven her over the edge.
He removed his holster and placed his weapon on the nightstand, the rational side of his brain ordering him to go back downstairs. Tawny-Lynn needed rest, sleep, to be alone.
But he needed to be with her. To hold her and assuage her pain.
The sound of the shower water faded, then seconds later, the door squeaked open. Steam oozed from inside, then Tawny-Lynn appeared in the doorway, her damp hair hanging in ringlets around her pale face, her eyes haunted.
She looked so beautiful, though, that his gut clenched.
She glanced at the bed, then into his eyes. “What are you doing?”
He stood and walked over to her. “I told you I wasn’t leaving you tonight.”
Her lower lip trembled, then hunger flared in her eyes. That moment of raw emotion was all he needed.
He pulled her into his arms and closed his mouth over hers. She clawed at his shirt, popping buttons in her haste, then raked her hands over his chest as he plunged his tongue into her mouth.
Chapter Fourteen
Chaz cradled Tawny-Lynn’s face between his hands, deepening the kiss as he backed her toward the bed. Her damp hair brushed his cheek as he lowered his head to nibble at the sensitive shell of her ear, then he dipped lower, trailing kisses down her neck.
The bruising from her attacker angered him, and he traced a finger gently over the imprint of the man’s fingers.
No one would ever hurt her again. Not as long as he was around.
She threaded her fingers into his hair, need igniting between them, and he raked a finger across her nipple through her robe. She whispered a pleasured sigh, then pushed his shirt to the floor.
Breathing in her feminine scent was intoxicating and stirred his hunger to a burning fever. He parted the top of her robe and kissed her delicate neckline, dipping lower to tug one bare nipple between his teeth.
She groaned and arched her back, then reached for his belt. Her fingers made quick work of unfastening it, then she unsnapped his jeans. His length hardened, bulging against his fly.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been with a woman. But even then, he hadn’t wanted her the way he wanted Tawny-Lynn. He laved one breast, moving slowly to the next and suckling her nipple until she cried out and shoved his jeans down his hips.
He pulled away long enough to step out of them, one hand working the belt of her robe. He slipped the knot free, his breath catching as he stripped it and feasted on her naked body.
“You’re lovely,” he whispered.
Tawny-Lynn blushed. “Chaz—”
“Shh. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.”
“Me, too.”
Her whispered confession sparked a fiery heat in his belly, and he eased her down on the bed and climbed on top of her. Her skin felt silky soft and tasted like berries as he kissed her again, tracing his tongue from her neck down her breasts to her center. She pulled at his arms, but he parted her legs and dove his tongue into her core.
Tawny-Lynn’s fingers dug into his hair and she moaned, her body shuddering as she succumbed to the pleasure. Her sweet release dampened his tongue, making him even more desperate to be inside her.
She shivered, twisting at the sheets as he shed his boxers and grabbed a condom from his pocket. Desire flared in her eyes as she helped him roll it on, then she curled her fingers around his thick length and stroked him.
He grabbed her hand, determined to prolong their pleasure, then pushed her legs apart with his thigh and settled between her.
“Chaz,” she murmured in a hoarse whisper.
“I want you, baby.” His fingers toyed with her sensitive nub for a moment, then he deftly replaced his fingers with his sex and guided himself to her damp center. She arched her back, lifting her hips to accommodate him as he thrust inside her.
She was warm, soft, sensational.
Fire rose inside him, creating a burning ache that only she could quench, and he pulled out and thrust into her again, filling her over and over until she cried out his name again, and he lost himself inside her.
* * *
T
AWNY
-L
YNN
’
S
BODY
quivered. She’d had sex a couple of times, both meaningless encounters, but none that had aroused her emotions and stirred her body to the heights Chaz had.
Because she was falling in love with him.
Panic tightened her chest. She couldn’t be in love with Chaz. She had to leave Camden Crossing soon, and he...would stay here with his family.
But he rolled them to the side, wrapped his arms around her and she nestled into him and closed her eyes.
Tomorrow she’d face reality. Tonight she wanted to lie in his arms, hold him and pretend that they had a future together.
But in the back of her mind, the truth gnawed at her. The M.E. would determine the identity of the body found on White Forks. They still had questions. Answers to find.
A killer to track down.
But Chaz kissed her again, and she forgot about the body and murder and all the reasons she and Chaz shouldn’t be together. She wanted him tonight and he wanted her.
That was all that mattered.
So she gently stroked the side of his jaw and teased him with kisses along his neck and chest. Moments later, the passion ignited between them again, and they made love a second time—this time long and slow, exploring each other’s bodies.
And when she finally fell asleep, she dreamed about a happy time, where she and Chaz were riding on horseback across the ranch with the wind blowing, flowers blooming and their future bright and happy—a future they would spend together.
* * *
T
HE
SOUND
OF
his phone buzzing woke Chaz long before he wanted to get up or leave the bed. He reached across Tawny-Lynn and retrieved it from the nightstand, his stomach knotting at the sight of the M.E.’s number.
Dragging on his jeans, he walked to the window and looked out as the call connected. “Sheriff Camden speaking.”
“This is Dr. Sagebrush. I have some news about the body.”
Chaz glanced back at Tawny-Lynn and watched her roll over and stretch. Her long hair was splayed across the pillow, her beautiful breasts exposed as the sheet slipped down to reveal nipples, tight and begging for attention.
He wanted to hang up the damn phone and go back to bed with her. To make love and bury themselves in each other until they forgot about the past.
But he couldn’t do that.
“Yeah?”
“Maybe we should meet, Sheriff. I hate to give bad news over the phone.”
“Look, Tawny-Lynn and I have both been in the dark for years. Just tell me—did the body belong to her sister?”
Tawny-Lynn must have heard him because she sat up, rubbing her eyes with a frown.
“No, I checked dental records, Sheriff. The body is not Peyton Boulder.” He paused and Chaz’s heart hammered.
“Then who was it?”
“It was your sister, Sheriff.”
The room seemed to spin out of control. Hot air swirled around Chaz, nearly suffocating him.
He blinked, swallowed hard, leaned his head against the windowpane. Outside the sun was shining, but he couldn’t see anything but those bones.
Then his sister’s face when she was ten and had bounced into the room to beg him to take her fishing. Pain, deep and raw, immobilized him as more images of Ruth flashed through his head.
Ruth at six with her gap-toothed smile, holding her doll and standing in front of the Christmas tree. Ruth at twelve when she’d taken up in-line skating and broken her arm. Ruth at her first school dance where he’d watched over her like a hawk to make sure the boy she was with didn’t make a play to get her behind the bleachers.
All these years he’d hoped...what? That Ruth would be alive and living somewhere doing what? He’d known this was probably the outcome.
Except, why the hell had her body been found on White Forks?
“Sheriff?”
He scrubbed a hand down his chin, struggling for composure. “Yeah, I’m here. You’re sure about this?”
“Yes. I have both dental and medical records. She had an old injury, a broken arm?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, Sheriff.”
His detective skills finally breached through his shock. “Do you know how long she’s been buried there?”
“About seven years.”
So she had never really escaped or left Camden Crossing. “What was the cause of death?”
“Judging from contusions on the skull, she died of a blow to the head. It looks like from a sharp object.”
“A sharp object?”
“Yes, but I can’t say whether it was accidental or intentional.”
“But the force was hard enough to kill her?”
“In my opinion, yes.”
Chaz choked back grief. He’d considered telling his parents about the body but hadn’t wanted to panic them because they’d all assumed Peyton and Ruth were together. “Thank you, Dr. Sagebrush. I’ll talk to my parents and we’ll be in touch.”
Then they could finally lay Ruth to rest the way she deserved.
Still, as he ended the call, the questions pummeled him again.
He didn’t realize Tawny-Lynn had gotten out of bed until she touched his arm. “What’s wrong, Chaz?”
His gaze raked over her. She’d pulled on her robe again, but she looked rested, and her lips looked swollen from his kisses. His first instinct was to drag her back to bed and lose himself inside her, to chase away the darkness eating at his soul.
But something shiny sparkled in the sunlight, catching his eye. Something on the floor by the bed...
Realization suddenly hit him and he pushed past Tawny-Lynn, knelt and picked it up. A charm bracelet.
Ruth’s charm bracelet.
“Where did you get this?” he asked, his throat so dry he nearly choked on the words.
“Chaz—”
Anger seared him as his gaze met hers. “Where did you get it?”
“Yesterday, outside,” she said, her voice cracking.
“By the grave?”
She nodded, her hands digging into her robe. “Chaz, was that the M.E.? Was it Peyton’s body?”
“You know what he said.” Chaz’s voice turned cold. “You found this, you knew it was Ruth in that grave instead of Peyton, didn’t you?”
“No...that’s not true.” Tawny-Lynn shook her head, her face paling.
“Yes, you did.” He dangled the bracelet in front of her. “You knew yesterday and you let me believe it was Peyton.” His fingers dug into her arms. “Or did you know before that?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Is that what you forgot seven years ago? That Ruth was buried on your ranch?” A muscle tightened in his jaw. “Did you know she was here all along, Tawny-Lynn? Is that why you left town, because you knew and you were lying to everyone?”
“No,” she said, although her voice sounded weak, defeated.
“You
did
know. What happened? Did Ruth and Peyton drag you from the crash, then leave?”
“No— I don’t know,” Tawny-Lynn whispered. “I told you I don’t remember. I didn’t see the person’s face.”
“Then why was Ruth buried here? How did she get from the crash to your ranch?”
Tears blurred Tawny-Lynn’s eyes. “I have no idea,” she murmured.
Chaz struggled to piece together the facts, for some scenario that made sense. “You said Peyton was involved with a married man. Maybe she saw the accident as a way to escape. Or—” his mind took a dangerous leap “—maybe he caused the crash, then Peyton was going to run off with him. Ruth could have tried to stop her and the man...or Peyton...hit Ruth, then buried her here so we wouldn’t find her.”
“But,” Tawny-Lynn said, her eyes filled with denial, “Peyton loved your sister. Peyton would never have hurt Ruth or have left her.”
He released her so abruptly she stumbled backward. “Then tell me what happened, dammit!”
“I told you, I don’t know. Maybe whoever killed Ruth forced Peyton to go with him.”
“Or—” he said between clenched teeth. “Hell, your father was a drunk. Maybe Ruth came to tell your father that Peyton was running off, and they argued—and he killed her.”
“Chaz, you’re jumping to conclusions.”
Chaz dropped his hands from her, wishing he’d never touched her. “Or Peyton ran away with her lover and left my sister here in the ground.”
“How could you believe Peyton would do that?”
“Where is she?” he barked. “Where’s she been all these years?”
“I don’t know!” Tawny-Lynn cried. “If I did, don’t you think I would have told you?”
His stomach was churning, his eyes blurry. He didn’t know what to believe anymore. What to think.
Whether he could trust Tawny-Lynn or not.
So he finished dressing, grabbed his gun and holster and headed to the door.
He had to bury his sister and give her the rightful memorial she deserved.
But first he had to tell his parents. And that would be the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life.
* * *
T
AWNY
-L
YNN
BRUSHED
away tears as Chaz stormed out the door. Her heart was breaking.
How could Chaz believe that her sister had killed Ruth? Or that her father had?
He had no reason to hurt Ruth.
But she had no answer for how Ruth’s body had come to be buried at White Forks.
Still, she hadn’t lied to Chaz....
But he thought she’d covered up for Peyton. If he believed that after the intimacy they’d shared the night before, then everyone else would.
If only she knew who Peyton had been involved with.
She paced the room, racking her brain, then remembered that Chaz had mentioned that Keith Plumbing had been a suspect years ago. He would have been in his early twenties and was nice looking.
What if he and Peyton had been in love?
Maybe her sister had pushed him to leave his wife, and he’d flown into a fit of rage and killed Peyton? Maybe Ruth witnessed the murder, or she’d known about him, and he killed her to keep her quiet, then buried her on White Forks to throw suspicion off himself and onto her father.
They hadn’t found Peyton’s body on the ranch.
That didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
Determined to uncover the truth, she quickly showered and dressed, then looked up Keith Plumbing’s address. She could confront him at work, but she’d probably get more information if she faced him in person at home.
And his wife... If he’d cheated on her with Peyton, odds were that he’d cheated another time. Maybe more.
Twenty minutes later, she parked at Plumbing’s house, an older, brick ranch in a moderate subdivision near town. The community was run-down and needed some landscaping, but most of the houses looked decent with his repair and renovation business. Plumbing probably did odd jobs in his own neighborhood.
She parked in the drive, noting the tricycles in the yard. Apparently the Plumbings had young children.
* * *
A
MORNING
BREEZE
stirred, lifting her hair as Tawny-Lynn walked up the steps to the front door. She rang the bell, anxiety plucking at her at the sound of children screeching inside. If she accused Plumbing of an affair and his wife didn’t know, she might be tearing apart a marriage.