Sweet Talking Lawman (12 page)

Rance came home and was soon
settled.  Raale loved him with all the intensity of a five year old, and
Jory found himself admiring the old cowboy for his kind disposition and his
quiet inner strength.  The four of them spent hours together.

Mesa came back from the barn
one morning and found Rance in his wheelchair sitting on the back porch reading
to Raale.  She was amazed.  She’d never known her only uncle to pick
up a book and here he was reading to her child with such comfort and expression
in his voice.  Raale was enthralled in the story he was reading, and Mesa
quickly recognized it as one in a series of books by C. W. Anderson who had
been her favorite writer/illustrator when she was a child.  The pony,
Blaze and his boy, Billy, shared such great adventures.

Barely three weeks had passed
and she couldn’t believe the changes in her life already.  The modestly
gowned singer who had charmed customers at Howell’s Hideaway with her friendly
smile and soft, sultry voice had been replaced by a jeans and boots clad
cowgirl.  A cowgirl who worked alongside the cowboys during the day and cherished
the role of mother in the afternoon and evening.

The role of fatherhood
brought joy to Rafe’s life.  Raale became the center of his universe and
he spent every minute he could with her.  Luckily, Mesa didn’t stand in
his way and even though he wouldn’t admit it, he was grateful to her for that.

He was slightly surprised
that Mesa’s mother seemed to welcome the role of grandmother and when he did
complain to Uci that he feared Shirley was taking too much of the child’s time,
she scolded him.

Raale seemed to accept
Shirley’s role easily enough along with Rance, whom she had loved without
hesitation.  Her love for Rance, Rafe could understand.  Rance had
always loved children but had never had any of his own.  He’d loved and
looked after Mesa as she grew up, until she ran away, and having Raale in his
life and Mesa back in his life now, it seemed that the old cowboy was growing
younger.

It was having the constant
connection with Mesa that drove Rafe to distraction.  He’d always made a
point of avoiding physical relationships with any of the single women around
Oak Ridge, but he’d dated a divorcee over in Lancaster off and on for a few
months.  Lynn didn’t expect more from him than a few hours of
companionship and an occasional evening of mutually shared pleasure, but since
Raale had come into his life, he spent every spare minute he could with his
child.  Still, he was only a little shocked when Lynn called him at the
office one afternoon.

Beth had hesitated to
transfer the call to start with because she didn’t recognize the caller’s name,
but Rafe assured her that it was fine.

When he heard her make the
transfer, he eased a smile onto his face.  He was a little amazed to
realize that it had been three weeks since he’d learned he was a father, three
weeks since Mesa had come home and he hadn’t even thought of Lynn the first
time.  He hadn’t been much of a friend, he decided, listening to the
distant rumble of thunder.

“Hey, Lynn.”  He hadn’t
thought he’d feel so uncomfortable talking to her.

“I’ve been worrying about
you.  Are you alright?”  She was trying not to let it sound like a
censure.

He wasn’t sure what to tell
her exactly.  “Yeah, I’m fine.  It’s just been crazy around
here.  How’re you?”

“I’m good, too.  I’ve missed
seeing you.”  She hated to sound like she was trying to cling to
him.  But she was.  Rafe made her feel like she was special and she’d
never had a man who left her so satisfied after an evening of love making.

He still didn’t know what to
say to her.  He finally opted for at least part of the truth.  He
could tell her about Raale, but would not mention that since he’d seen Mesa
again, he hadn’t even thought of sex with anyone else.  Hell, he didn’t
even want to admit that to himself.  “Lynn, I guess I need to tell you
what’s going on here.  I’ve just recently found out that I’m a father.”

“Really?” she gasped.

He grinned at the thought of
Raale.  “Yep.  She’s five years old, and to be truthful, I’ve been
spending as much time with her as I can.”

Lynn realized immediately
that he was proud of his child and thrilled at being a father.  “I’m so
happy for you, Rafe.  I’d love to meet her.”  Although they had
agreed that their relationship would never involve any strings, she’d become
comfortable with Rafe and would like nothing more than to be the wife of the
sheriff of Morgan county.

He frowned, not even noticing
that rain was beginning to fall in earnest.  He wasn’t about to involve
Raale in their...whatever it was.  His relationship with Lynn had never been
more than a casual, convenient connection.  He’d never even considered
letting it become more than that.  “I don’t know.  Her mother…. I’m
trying not to rock the boat.  It’s just…”

“It’s alright.”  Lynn
broke in.  “I understand.  I probably shouldn’t have called
you.  I just wanted to make sure you’re not sick or anything.”  She
felt her temper rising and wanted to get off the phone without saying more than
she should.  “Just give me a call when you wanna get together.”

“Sure Lynn, you take care of
yourself, okay?”  Rafe experienced a flush of relief when he hung the
phone up.  He didn’t need any more complications in his life right
now.  Maybe seeing Lynn for those last few months had been a
mistake.  He’d enjoyed her compa….No, he corrected his thoughts, forcing
honesty into his musings.  What he’d enjoyed was her convenience. 
She’d been an uninhibited partner in bed, but staying honest with himself, he
knew it was more the uncomplicated appeal of not having to put any effort into
maintaining a relationship.  He was free to simply take what was offered
without any investment on his part.  A little ashamed of admitting his
obvious selfishness, he shrugged.  It wasn’t like he ever left Lynn
unsatisfied.  She’d said from the start that all she wanted was a simple,
straightforward physical relationship and he’d been more than willing to
agree.  Hell, he was thirty-four years old and for now, all he wanted was
to concentrate on his job and his child.

A knock on his door preceded
Levi’s entrance.  “Morning, Rafe,” the deputy greeted.  He walked
across the floor and settled his body into the chair across the desk from his
friend and boss.  “Have you heard about the celebration that Mesa’s
planning to throw for Rance?”

Rafe shook his head
negatively.  “I haven’t talked to her in a while.”

“Really?”  Levi sounded
amazed.  “You’re in and out of her place all the time.  I was sure
you’d know about it by now.”

Rafe shrugged, hoping his
voice sounded coolly uninterested.  “I go there to pick up Raale, not to
see her mother.”

Levi shrugged.  “Well,
the only reason I bring it up is because I wanted to know if you were planning
on entering the jackpot.”

Rafe shook his head. 
“Probably not.  Since I haven’t been invited, I doubt I’ll be there. 
If you want to take Hammer and go, feel free.”  He suspected that was
Levi’s reason for bringing it up but curiosity niggled at him.  “What’s
she planning?”  Thunder rolled outside and the rain fell harder, but
neither man seemed to notice it.

Levi grinned.  “She’s
not sending invitations out.  She’s putting flyers up in the feed stores,
over at Jefferson’s Grocery, and Krystal and John saw it in the paper. 
She’s inviting all Rance’s friends and neighbors to a big, Bar-B-Q/JackPot Team
Roping with a live band and dancing at the end of the day.  It’s to
celebrate him coming home from the hospital and his birthday.”

Rafe smiled.  “She
always was crazy about that old man.  I’m glad she’s doing that for
him.  He’ll enjoy it more than anyone else.”

“She’s adding a thousand
bucks to the jackpot.  I was hoping we could be a team, you and me.” 
Levi lifted the Resistol cowboy hat that was a part of his uniform and raked
one hand through his thick black hair.

Rafe shook his head
negatively.  “I don’t know, I’d feel like I was pushing in.  I don’t
want to get in Mesa’s way.”

“Her way of what?  Like
I said, she ain’t sending out invitations.  It’s posted in the newspaper,
for crying out loud.  That sounds to me like an open invitation to
everybody in the county.”  Levi knew if he stood much of a chance of
placing high in the roping, he needed to partner up with as many top headers as
he could, and Rafe was one of the best.

“When is this supposed to
happen?”  Rafe finally asked, shuffling some papers on his desk
idly.  He wasn’t sure how he’d handle a whole day with Mesa in view, but
he didn’t want it to appear as if he might be avoiding her either.  After
all, he was Raale’s father.  They needed to maintain the appearance of
civility between them, for their daughter’s sake, even if it didn’t exist.

“It’s still two weeks
off.  Rance’s birthday is on that Saturday and that’s when it’ll be, and
you know Rance might be hurt if you didn’t show up.  He’s always thought a
lot of you.”

Rafe grinned at Levi’s subtle
package of guilt.  “I’m making no promises.  I’ll have to see what
happens between now and then.  Hell,” he tilted his head to the sound of a
steady downpour falling outside.  “If this weather keeps up, it’ll
probably rain that day.”  Then he was struck with an afterthought.  “Have
you looked at that mare that Henry Dunn has for sale over in Lawtey?  I
heard she’s a damned good heeling horse.”

“Yeah, I heard that,
too.  Have you heard how much he wants for her?”  Levi shot back at
his boss.  “I’d have to take on a second job to buy her.”

The phone at Rafe’s elbow
rang and as he lifted it, Levi pushed out of the chair.  “See ya later.”

“Storm Horse,” Rafe spoke as
Levi closed the door behind him.

Day to day work kept Rafe
busy for the next few days and he pushed all thought of Rance’s birthday
celebration to the back of his mind.  There were the usual B&Es and
domestic disputes to keep the office hustling all over the county and the
almost daily rain provided a steady supply of fender benders to keep the staff
busy.

He spoke to Raale daily and
picked her up on his days off.  They’d progressed to her bringing an
overnight bag and sleeping over at the ranch with him and Uci when his days off
were consecutive.  They’d transformed Jenny’s old room into Raale’s dream
room.  She’d selected the colors she wanted it painted and Rafe had
proudly coated the room with the pink and purple paint she’d decided on. 
The three of them, Raale, Uci and Rafe had ventured into Liberty and selected
the new furnishings together.  He enjoyed those times, picking out girly
furniture and accessories with Uci and his little girl.

Now there was no stress to
get her home by a certain time and no concern about dealing with Mesa.  So
far they’d managed a strained courteousness, but it took all he could do to
manage that.  He was still filled with fury at her for having kept all
knowledge of Raale from him, but in spite of that, he wanted her in a way he’d
never wanted any other woman.  She was often the focus of his dreams and
it wasn’t unusual for him to wake up aching for her and with all the cold
showers he was taking lately, he figured he was saving a bundle on his power
bill.  He didn’t understand how a man could feel two such strong, yet
opposing emotions for another human being.

Rance’s birthday celebration
was still a week away when Shirley was pulled out of her car unconscious after
she’d crashed into a tree on a long stretch of road between town and her
house.  The neighbor who’d found her called 911 and Rafe responded. 
As usual, the roads were wet and he was sure that had contributed to the
accident.

He beat the ambulance by only
a few minutes and was there when she began to regain consciousness.  He’d
smelled alcohol in the car and experienced a sense of disappointment that she’d
lost a round in her never ending battle for sobriety.  A sizable lump had
developed on her forehead and she had numerous cuts and lacerations from flying
glass.

He knelt beside her in the
wet grass as she opened her eyes, blinking at the brightness of the sun that
managed a brief appearance.  “How much did you have to drink, Miz
Howell?”  He asked.

A frown knitted her
brows.  She ached all over and swiped one hand up to wipe away blood from
a cut on the side of her jaw.  “Wh…what?”

“I asked how much you’ve had
to drink.”  Rafe repeated patiently.

She struggled to sit up, but
he pressed her back down.  “Stay still.  The ambulance is on the
way.  Don’t try to get up.”

Her eyes stretched
wide.  “I wasn’t drinking, Rafe.  A truck ran me off the road!”

A skeptical arch appeared in
his dark brows.  “Really?  How’d that happen?”

She lifted her hand to her
head.  “Damn, I’ve got a headache.”

They could hear the wailing
of the approaching siren of the ambulance.  “Oh, God,” she groaned. 
“Make them stop that noise!”

He stood up and facing the
oncoming vehicle, he drew his fingers across his throat, in a hurried swipe.

The driver killed the high
pitched alert and before Rafe could talk to her anymore, she was loaded into
the emergency vehicle and on her way to the hospital.  Rafe began his slow
methodical investigation of the accident scene and was surprised to see the
driver’s side of Shirley’s front fender was crushed in a way that could not
have happened during the head-on impact with the tree.  Looking closer, he
found brown paint flecks embedded in the scratches around the dents. 
Taking pictures of the scene, he also noticed boot prints in the soaked ground
from the highway to her car and back to the highway.  It could have been
the neighbor who found her or not.  He radioed the hospital and requested
a blood alcohol test be done on Shirley as soon as she arrived.  Was she
being truthful?  Had someone really run her off the road?  Why?

Rafe measured marks and
photographed where Shirley had obviously applied her brakes to try to avoid the
accident and shook his head.  Why would anyone want to hurt Shirley
Howell?  Then he frowned.  Admittedly, she was never a popular
person, but it was impossible not to see how hard she was trying to change all
that.  Could she have made an enemy who would want her dead?  Who
would profit from her death?  A knot drew tight in his stomach.  Mesa
would profit.  Mesa and Rance.  It was public knowledge that the two
had fought with Shirley like cats and dogs all their lives.  Hell, Shirley
had called him out to throw Mesa off the place the day she arrived.