“Are you kidding? I’m not going back there until I know my father is sound asleep in bed. ”
He wrapped her in his arms. “I know it’s not your fault. Not even a little bit. ”
She relaxed into him, sighing deeply. “Thank you. Though I can’t imagine how something like that happened. ” She pushed back enough to meet his eye. “There’s no grease dripping from a Dutch oven, and Sully keeps a spotless kitchen. So, what happened? Usually, the most exciting thing that happens in this town is when old man Ziegler has one nip too many and drives his snowplow off the road. ”
“Actually, that sounds dangerous. ”
“Yeah,” she admitted, “it kind of was. But that was back in Christmas ’95, and he hasn’t done it again. I think the whole episode was why Marshall finally became a deputy when he got back from Iraq. ”
Billy chuckled. “That explains a lot. ” They grew silent, thinking. There’d been severed freezer lines, a roof cave-in, one downed tree, and now this. Fire was nothing to mess around with, and it shot his concerns to a whole different level. But how to address it with Sorrow without scaring the wits out of her? “Your dad thinks it’s all just a run of bad luck…”
“A lot of bad luck. ”
“All at once,” he said.
“To a crazy degree. ”
Their gazes locked, each reading the uneasiness in the other’s eyes. She slowly shook her head. “These aren’t accidents, are they?”
“There’s no way they are,” he said. “I just can’t figure out who’d want to harm you. ”
“Harm me?” She gave a weak laugh. “Have you noticed how all this stuff started to happen when Laura showed up? Maybe I can blame her. ”
He couldn’t help but laugh at her suggestion. “You’re remarkably droll about this whole thing. ”
She sighed. “If that means I’ve got a sense of humor about it, then yeah, it’s either laugh or cry. ” She dropped her forehead against his chest.
“You’re a remarkable woman, Sorrow Bailey. ”
“So, what do we do now?”
“Without a suspect or clues, there’s nothing we can do. The best plan of action is to keep you close. ” He slid his hands down her back. “You know, there is something we can do to deal with the stress. ”
Her head sprang up, and she mimicked a grave nod. “And the uncertainty. There’s a lot of uncertainty. ”
Wrapping an arm around her, Billy steered Sorrow to the door, plucking her coat from the rack on the way out to his car. “Let’s go. ”
“Whoa, cowboy. ” She halted to lock up. “I thought you were on duty. ”
“This is my duty. ” But then he paused—it’d been an intense night for her. He needed to be certain she wanted this as much as he did. “Unless you want to stay home, hang in for the night…”
“Believe me, Billy. You’re all I want. ”
Hearing her resolve, he urged her back into a walk. “Then we’re a pair, Sorrow. Because I happen to want you back. A lot. ”
She chuckled. “But what about all those speeders and lawbreakers?”
He ushered her into his SUV and walked around to the driver’s side. “Calls get routed to Silver City dispatch starting at ten P. M. Until then, Marshall has one ear tuned to the radio and will call if anything comes up. ”
“I thought the deputy was sick. ”
“I offered him a raise. ”
She turned to give him a perplexed look. “So this is how a sheriff figures out who’s up to no good?”
“No, Sorrow. ” He reached over and squeezed her thigh. “This is how a sheriff gets up to no good. ”
* * *