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“Anything country,” she replied.
“Favorite flower?”
“Pink roses. When I went to my first school dance, my date didn’t know he was supposed to get me a corsage. My dad ran to the florist and got me a beautiful corsage of pink roses. They remind me of love.”
“Favorite place to hang out in Bitterroot?”
She frowned thoughtfully. “The courtyard in the center of town is a nice place to sit and relax.”
Then it was her turn to fire questions at him. She learned that spring was his favorite season and he loved the sound of a redbird’s song. His favorite time of day was evening and he’d broken his arm when the other guys had dared him to ride a bull named Cowboy Crusher.
They spent a half hour firing all kinds of questions to each other. She was disappointed when their cups were empty and it was time to leave. But she knew work time came early for him at the ranch.
As she got into his truck, nervous butterflies took flight in the pit of her stomach. Now was the time of reckoning. She had to tell him that nothing had happened between them last night.
“This has been nice,” he said when they were a block away from the bar. “I feel like we sort of jumped the gun last night and now we need to work backward and get to know each other better.”
She gazed at him in the illumination of the dashboard. “Sawyer...about last night,” she began. She turned her gaze out the front window, unable to look at him while she made her confession. As his headlights splashed across the back of the bar, she gasped in horror.
* * *
Sawyer stared at the white paint sprayed across the dark wood of the building. The letters were huge—Janis Little is a Whore.
What the hell? Was this because of what had happened last night? Who else had known that he’d spent the night in her bed besides a couple of his friends?
Janis began to cry. “Oh, my God...wh-who would do this?” she said between her gulping sobs. “I... I’m not a whore. I’m not.”
She turned to look at him and in her eyes he saw not only shock and hurt, but also a fierce denial of the characterization the words gave her.
“Janis, of course you’re not...” he began in an attempt to calm her down. He turned off his headlights so the words were no longer visible in the darkness of the night.
“I’ve only had one lover in my whole life. Only one, and I’m thirty years old. You’re the one and only man who has ever stayed in my room overnight. I wasn’t a whore when I was growing up and I’m not a whore now.” Anything else she might have had to say was made impossible as she buried her face in her hands and wept in earnest.
“Janis, nobody believes you’re a whore,” he said. “I mean, nobody I know believes that.” It was true. He had never heard any hint or whisper of a rumor about Janis being loose and wild. “This is the work of some no-count creep. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s cleaned up before morning, but first we need to call Dillon.”
Dillon Bowie was the chief of police for the small town. More recently he had become the husband of Cassie, who owned the ranch Sawyer called home.
“And I should call Gary,” she said as she drew in several deep breaths in an obvious effort to push back her tears.
Gary Runyon owned the bar and Sawyer agreed that he should be called, as well.
The minute the calls had been made, Janis got out of the truck. Sawyer quickly followed her. She stood with her back to him and stared at the building where the letters were faintly visible in the illumination from a nearby streetlight.
He could hear that she was still softly crying and could see that her entire body visibly trembled. “Janis,” he said softly as he grabbed her by one arm and turned her around to face him.
She instantly came into his arms and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her in an effort to somehow comfort her.
“Nobody will see this except us and Dillon and Gary,” he said. “I’ll make sure it’s painted over by morning. I promise.”
“But why would somebody do this to me?” Her breath was a warm caress against his neck. She released a small laugh that had nothing to do with her being amused. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think my mother was behind this.”
“Your mother?” Shock swept through him.
She shook her head. “Never mind. Like I said earlier, it’s a long story for another time.”
What kind of story could make a woman believe her mother was capable of doing something like this? Sawyer couldn’t imagine. “Come on, let’s get back in the truck to wait. It’s cold out here.”
They got back in the truck, where he started the engine to get some heat blowing from the vents.
“I’m sorry, Janis,” he said.
She turned and looked at him in surprise. “Why are you sorry?”
“I feel partially responsible for this. It probably wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t spent the night with you last night.”
“I’m a grown woman and I have a right to a personal life without somebody judging me for it. This is just so embarrassing...and...and it’s vile. I hope Dillon finds the person responsible,” she replied.
Sawyer didn’t want to tell her that he seriously doubted Dillon would be able to catch the culprit. In any case, at that moment Dillon arrived, his lights whirling blue and red across the building.
Sawyer and Janis got out of the truck as Dillon departed his police car. “Nasty piece of work,” he said in greeting. He looked at Janis. “Any idea who might be responsible?”
She shook her head. “None. I can’t imagine who would do something like this.”
“I, uh... I spent the night with Janis last night,” Sawyer said. “Maybe that has something to do with it?”
“Janis’s business should be nobody else’s business,” Dillon replied. “You’re both consenting adults.”
“Wait...maybe I do know somebody who would do something like this. Last night at work I poured a beer in Zeke Osmond’s lap,” Janis said.
“Was it an accident or on-purpose spill?” Dillon asked.
“On purpose,” she replied. “He kept grabbing my backside and I’d finally had enough.” Her gaze went back to the building. “He was definitely angry enough at me to do something like this.”
“Or maybe you have a secret admirer who didn’t like the idea of you being with Sawyer,” Dillon said in speculation. “I’m going to look around to see if I can find a paint can that might have been discarded. But, honestly, there isn’t much I can do about this.”
Gary Runyon’s van pulled into the parking lot. Gary was a big man, with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. He and his wife, Abigail, had recently celebrated their twenty-seventh wedding anniversary. They had two daughters.
“Gary, I’m so sorry,” Janis said. “Please don’t let me go.”
“Let you go? You mean fire you?” He shook his head. “Janis, honey, did you paint the back of my building?” he asked.
“Of course not,” she replied.
“Then why on earth would I let you go? You’re the best damned bar manager anyone could have.” The big man nodded at Sawyer and then walked over to Dillon, who had begun his paint can hunt.
Sawyer flung an arm over Janis’s shoulder. “You okay?” he asked.
“As okay as I can be,” she replied as she moved even closer to his side. She looked over to where Dillon was walking around and Gary was on his cell phone. “Dillon isn’t going to be able to find out who did this, is he?”
Sawyer hesitated a moment and then replied, “Probably not. But somebody who has the mentality to do something like this will possibly brag to a friend, or get drunk and say something incriminating. Zeke Osmond isn’t the brightest star in the sky.”
Gary walked over to where the two of them stood. “I’ve called in Miguel and James to repaint the building. They should be arriving within the next half hour or so.” He smiled at Janis. “Don’t you worry, honey. This will all be gone well before morning.”
Sawyer knew both men in passing and they had always been friendly. Miguel Gomez was one of the cooks and James Warner worked as the bar’s janitor.
“Dock my pay,” Janis said. “I know those two will expect to be paid for working on something like this in the middle of the night.”
“Don’t you worry about it. I’ve got this,” Gary replied. “Why don’t you get out of the cold and get inside where you belong?”
She took Gary’s advice.
Minutes later she sat on the bed inside her room with Sawyer seated next to her. They had taken off their coats and hung them on hooks on the wall next to the door. “You sure know how to make a date exciting,” Sawyer said in an effort to lift the darkness from her eyes.
She gave him a small smile. “I like a little excitement on my dates, but not quite this much.” The smile lasted only a minute and then fell away. “Sawyer, you don’t have to stay any longer. I’m fine.”
“I just thought I’d hang around until Miguel and James show up to get things cleaned up and then I’ll head home.” He wanted to ask her about her mother. He also wanted to know if she always smelled so good and if he’d really been a good lover the night before. But now wasn’t the time or the place for those kinds of conversations.
“At least I can thank you for a wonderful evening before you brought me home,” she said. She wiped at her cheeks. “And I suppose I look like a raccoon now from all my blubbering.”
“A very pretty raccoon,” he replied. It was true that some of her mascara now rested beneath her eyes where it didn’t belong, but even that didn’t detract from her natural prettiness.
Unexpected desire surged inside him and he got up from the bed. “Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee before I leave?” He gestured to the machine she’d used that morning to make him a cup of brew. “Although I imagine you could probably use something stronger.”
“I don’t drink alcohol.”
He looked at her in surprise. “You work here and you don’t drink?”
“Maybe it’s because I do work here that I don’t,” she replied. “I’ve seen a lot of people act the fool because of too much alcohol and it’s just really never interested me.”
A wave of uncomfortable guilt swept through him. He was one of those fools. He’d been so foolish last night he’d made love to a beautiful woman and had been so addled by alcohol he didn’t even remember it.
Before they could say another word, a knock sounded on her door. It was Gary letting her know the men had arrived and were already at work on painting over the ugly words.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Sawyer asked as he grabbed his coat from the hook.
“I’ll be just fine. Go on and get out of here. I know you have early mornings on the ranch.” She got up and joined him at the door.
“Janis, don’t let this get to you.” Anger on her behalf suddenly rose up to course through his veins. “If I find out who did this, I’ll beat their hide clear out of town.”
“My hero,” she replied with a smile.
It was a smile that stirred a hunger for her inside him and told him it was time to leave. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He was about to open the door to exit when she said his name and stopped him.
She gazed at him for a long moment and then shook her head. “Never mind. Good night.”
He walked outside to see the two men painting over the spray-painted words. They nodded to him and kept working. He got into his truck and pulled away, his thoughts in chaos.
Who all had known he’d gone into the back room last night with Janis and had spent the night there? The cowboys from the Holiday Ranch would have known because they hadn’t had to get him home and into his bunkroom. There was no way any of them would have done something like this.
But you thought you knew Adam and he turned out to be a serial killer, a little voice reminded him.
He clenched his hands a little tighter around the steering wheel as he thought about Adam Benson.
Adam had been one of the lost boys who had wound up at the ranch with the others. Sawyer had grown up with the man, worked side-by-side with him and had never seen a hint of the monster hiding inside the man.
It wasn’t until Adam had decided in his sick mind that Cassie had to die that all his crimes were uncovered. Thankfully, Dillon had shot Adam just before he’d killed Cassie with an ax. Adam had not only tried to kill Cassie, he’d also killed a new hire at the ranch.
But most horrifying of all was the discovery that, years ago, he’d killed seven teenagers because he hadn’t thought they were good enough to work for Big Cass Holiday.
So, was one of his “brothers” hiding a dark side? Did one of them have a secret crush on Janis and had spray-painted the building because she’d hooked up with Sawyer? He just had trouble believing that of any one of them.
So, who else had been in the bar at closing time to know?
It was definitely possible Zeke Osmond had done it as a childish attempt to get revenge on Janis for dumping a beer on him. That would be in keeping with the nasty personality of the man.
Zeke worked on the Humes’s ranch next to the Holiday property. All the men who worked for Raymond Humes shared the common trait of being nasty troublemakers. The bad blood between the Humes and the Holiday Ranch cowboys was the stuff of legend.
If Zeke was responsible for this, Sawyer would have no problem taking him to the woodshed, so to speak. No man should do something like this to a woman...ever.
He could only imagine the gossip that would have fired through the small town if morning had come and the spray-painted words had been seen by everyone. Bitterroot was a place that loved its gossip.
He didn’t know who was responsible and he was confused about his feelings toward Janis.
Normally, Sawyer was a man who took his time when it came to romancing a woman. Sometimes he took so long the woman lost interest. But he intended to only be married once, so it was important that he got it right.
Lately he’d been thinking a lot about love and marriage. Maybe it was because so many of his friends had gotten hitched in the past year. And he wanted children. He wanted to be the kind of father he used to dream about having as a little boy.
Was Janis his forever woman? He had no idea. Everything had happened so fast with her. He’d invited her out to dinner because he’d felt obligated after the night before.
But he’d enjoyed her company throughout the evening. He’d noticed that she was pretty before, but having her all to himself instead of seeing her in the bar had been surprisingly exciting.
Something about the sparkle in her caramel-brown eyes drew him in. Her smile and her easy laughter were more than a little bit sexy. There was no question he was attracted to her in a way he hadn’t been before.
And he’d already slept with her and didn’t remember it.
When he reached the Holiday Ranch, he pulled his truck into the oversize shed that held all the cowboys’ personal vehicles. In the distance was the big, two-story house where Cassie and Dillon lived. In the opposite direction was the bunkhouse.
The bunkhouse was set up like a motel with twelve small units that housed each of the men. At the back of the building was the dining and rec room. Cord Cully, aka Cookie, provided three meals a day for the ranch hands.
It had been in the dining room that Cassie and Dillon had gotten married on Valentine’s Day. All the cowboys and their wives and girlfriends had been invited. Sawyer had attended the event alone.
Janis was right. Love and marriage had definitely been in the air in Bitterroot over the past several months. Maybe that’s what had Sawyer thinking more and more about marriage.
He entered his bunk and tossed his hat on the bed. The room was small, with a single bed against one wall and a chest of drawers on the other. There was a closet and an adjoining bathroom. The only things decorating the walls were pictures of Sawyer with his mother that he’d taken with him on the night he’d run away.
He sank down onto the edge of the bed and dragged a hand through his hair. Janis Little is a whore. Yes, it was very possible Zeke had done it, a bit of childish revenge for a dropped drink. Hopefully this would be the end of it.
But if it wasn’t Zeke, then who in the hell would do such a terrible thing?
