The Cowboy's Claim Read Online Free PDF Page B

deeper than usual and his eyes appeared almost black. “I guess I just wanted to stop by and see that you were okay.”
    “As you can see, I’m just fine.” Even though she wanted to feel nothing for him, she couldn’t help the way her heart squeezed slightly at the thought that he might care about her just a little.
    Not that she cared about him anymore. She’d stopped caring about Nick Benson in the weeks after he’d left when he hadn’t even bothered to call her, when he hadn’t thought her worth any kind of an explanation of why he had left. She’d stopped caring about Nick Benson when he’d shattered her world by walking away without even a backward glance.
    “You look good, Courtney,” he said, his gaze appearing soft in the moonlight. His gaze slid down the length of her. “You look real good.”
    At that moment a cry came from inside the room. Apparently Garrett had awakened. Nick’s features froze as Courtney’s heart crashed to the ground.
    “That yours?” he asked, his voice flat.
    “It is.” Her heart beat fast and furious in her chest.
    “So, I guess you’ve really moved on.”
    “What did you expect? That I’d pine away just because you were gone? I’ve got to go.” Before he could say anything else she slid back into the room and closed the door, then leaned against it and prayed he wouldn’t ask anyone exactly when Garrett had been born.
    * * *
    Mary Mathis sat across a café table from Sheriff Cameron Evans. He almost always ended his nights here, drinking the last of the coffee after she closed the restaurant.
    He was a handsome man, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes that changed with his mood. Tonight they were more brown than green, and his eyebrows were pulled down into a frown.
    “It’s just like Candy’s murder,” he said as he wrapped his big, strong fingers around his coffee mug. “No forensic evidence, no obvious suspect.”
    “What about Kevin Naperson?” Mary asked, knowing he’d been the main suspect when Candy had been killed.
    “I spoke to him first thing this morning and his alibi is that he was in bed asleep, which is going to be pretty much the same alibi of everyone in the entire town. We’ve fixed Shirley’s time of death at 3:12 a.m.”
    Mary raised an eyebrow. “That’s pretty specific.”
    Cameron nodded. “Apparently while the killer was attacking Shirley he managed to pull the cord to her clock radio out of the wall. That’s the time the clock stopped.”
    An edge of grief stabbed through Mary, along with a whisper of fear. It was a fear she could share with nobody, the fear that somehow this was all happening because of her, because of her past sins.
    “You okay?” Cameron looked at her with concern.
    “Yes and no,” she admitted. “I’m trying not to make this personal, but two of my waitresses have been brutally murdered.”
    “There’s absolutely no reason to believe this is about you or the café. Right now we just happen to have two victims who coincidentally worked at the same place. Let’s not make it bigger than it is.”
    For one heart-stopping moment she thought he might reach over and touch her, maybe cover her hand with his big, strong one, and for just an aching moment of weakness, she wanted him to.
    It seemed like a lifetime that she’d felt even the most simple touch from a man, and of all the men in town, Cameron was the one who made her heart beat just a little faster whenever he was around.
    Instead, he rose to his feet with a weary sigh. “I’ve got to get back to work. As always, thanks for the coffee and the moment of sanity in my day.”
    She smiled and rose to her feet, as well. “It’s after midnight. You should just go home and straight to bed and start fresh in the morning.”
    “You’re right, but that isn’t what I’m going to do. I’m heading back to the crime scene at Shirley’s house to see what we might have missed earlier.”
    He lingered at the door, and for a moment she wanted to fall