Murder And Mistletoe

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“Then we’re wasting our time here like I said before.” There was anger in his voice now as he spoke to the sheriff. “If you won’t believe a detective, I have no chance of convincing you. Besides, I tried once and we both know how that turned out.”

“These cases aren’t related,” Sawmill said.

“Really?” Dalton took a step back. “Same method. Same tree. Same knot. Hell, it was the same day at around the same time. Are you planning to look me in the eye and tell me this is a coincidence?”

Sawmill stared at him but said nothing at first.

And Leanne figured she and Dalton were about to be escorted out the way they had come in when the sheriff lifted his gaze to meet the handsome rancher’s.

He stared for a long moment without saying a word.

And then he issued a sharp sigh. “I owe it to you to take this seriously, Dalton. One of my deputies will pull her cell phone records. We’ll see who she was talking to leading up to last night. There are a few other pieces of evidence I can have processed. If anything comes up to change my initial opinion, you have my word I’ll open a criminal investigation. Between now and then, I’d like to keep this as quiet as possible.”

This was a huge win and she had no plans to push her luck. “Thank you, sir.”

“Let’s see if there’s anything there to be concerned with.” He held up his hands, palms out.

“Anything you can do is appreciated,” Dalton said before escorting Leanne out of the building.

Neither spoke until they reached the safety of the sport utility.

“It’s obvious that you two have history. Do you plan on telling me what any of that was about?”

The doors were locked and the windows were up.

Dalton turned the key in the ignition. “I’d rather talk about our next step. You shouldn’t leave your car at the lot today.”

“What are the chances we can go back to get it unnoticed?” She wondered how much damage there’d be if her name was linked to the case.

“Slim. Especially now that the sun has come up.”

“Did he get my license plate?” Leaving her car there could pose a problem, too.

“Not that I could tell. I was a little preoccupied.” She could’ve sworn a small smirk dented the corner of his lips.

If it did, he suppressed it just as quickly.

She’d been thinking about that kiss, about the contrast of his hard, muscled chest and the tenderness he’d shown when he pressed his lips to hers. About how good he tasted, like coffee and mint...and she shouldn’t be thinking these destructive thoughts right now.

“Where should we go?” She bit back a yawn.

“I’ll drop you off anywhere you want,” he said.

“Can we talk through what happened while the details are fresh?” she asked.

“The ranch needs me,” he said.

What was he up to?

“I can drop you off at your sister’s,” he said.

“After the way we left things, I doubt it,” she responded. “And since I’ll be sticking around a few days, I’ll need a recommendation for a place to stay while my sister cools off.”

There was no way Bethany was going to give Leanne access to Clara’s room after everything she’d said to her half sister.

Besides, Gary had most likely torn it apart already.

* * *

THE BLACK COFFEE burned Dalton’s throat as he took a sip. It felt good. Reminded him that he was alive. He took another, still trying to figure out what he was doing with Leanne West when he should’ve dropped her off so he could examine the photos on his phone in privacy. But then a part of him realized she had a right to know if he found something there. Besides, with her trained eye, she could be useful in evaluating them.

“Thanks for not dropping me off and leaving,” the detective said. “And for everything you’ve been doing to help so far. I never would’ve gotten that far with the sheriff on my own.”

Dalton nodded.

The detective ran her index finger along the rim of her coffee cup. She took hers with cream and two packets of raw sugar. He didn’t want to notice those details about her. She wasn’t a date. And even the women he’d spent time with never stayed long enough for him to figure out their coffee habits. He knew very little about the woman sitting across the booth from him in the empty café off the highway.

There were other details he’d cataloged about her. The fact that she didn’t wear a wedding ring. He told himself the only reason he noticed was because of the kiss—a kiss so hot he didn’t need to think about it, either—and a necessary apology that would have gone to her husband if she’d had one.

Dalton set his cup down. He also noticed that she’d picked at the hem of her navy blazer four times since sitting down and figured she was nervous. Was it because she was with him?

“If we’re going to work together, we should probably know some basics about each other, Detective,” he started, figuring information might come in handy if they somehow separated.

The detective blew out a burst of air. “Okay. First things first, call me Leanne.”

He nodded.

“I’m from Dallas, but you already know that. I have a six-month-old daughter.” She paused long enough to pull out her cell phone and show him a pic of a partially toothed little girl. “Mila.”

“Cute kid,” he said. His newly found half brother, Wyatt, had a six-month-old kid.

“There’s no father,” she said with an awkward half smile. “I mean, there was a father, but he’s not...around.”

“He’s an idiot,” Dalton said before he could stop himself. He probably shouldn’t insult a man he didn’t know, but anyone who could walk out on a face like the one on the cell phone and not look back had to be a first-order jerk.

Leanne shot a warning look, which surprised him and told him there was more to the story. “My neighbor has been a gift. She loves kids, has more grandkids than I have fingers on one hand and she’s keeping Mila for a few days.”

“Sounds like a good setup.”

She nodded. “Other than that, there’s not much to tell. I worked my butt off to make detective before thirty. I’ve been on the job two years, so still earning my stripes to some.” And then turned the tables on him. “What’s your story?”

“You already know my name is Dalton Butler. I have a twin, Dade. We’re identical, so if you bump into someone who looks a helluva lot like me but says he’s not, he’s not lying.” He chuckled at her wide eyes. “What? You’ve never met twins before?”

She made a gesture. “I guess I have. Haven’t known a lot personally.”

“My father was fairly famous in Texas.” He paused before adding, “Infamous in some circles.”

“I heard a lot of good things about him,” she said casually, like it was common knowledge.

She obviously didn’t know the real man. But then, who really did?

“I’m one of six kids, unless someone else comes out of the woodwork before the reading of the Mav’s will on Christmas Eve.” He tried to suppress the anger in his voice and figured he wasn’t doing a great job based on the look she shot him. “Four of us grew up under one roof and had the same mother.”

“Do you work on the farm?” she asked.

“It’s a ranch. And the answer is yes,” he said indignantly, picking up a packet of sugar. He should’ve realized a Dallas detective wouldn’t know much about ranching but calling Hereford a farm was a lot like calling a horse a cow. “All of us do in some capacity, including the new ones.”

A moment of silence passed between the two of them before Leanne’s gaze intensified.

“Why do you care so much about this case?” She pinned him with her stare, and he couldn’t tell if she was looking at him or through him. “Who did you lose?”

“It’s been fourteen years, so the number fourteen might be important,” he said, redirecting the conversation. He tossed the sugar packet on top of the table.