“Brick, if you would pour the iced tea,” she said as she took her seat on her husband’s right. She always sat close to the kitchen in case anyone needed anything. He knew that one of the reasons she stayed in such good shape was that she kept so busy taking care of all of them.
And yet as the food was passed around and his mother kept the conversation going, he was reminded that both of his parents were at the age where they had started to slow down. He was glad that he’d come home to stay and could help out more.
“Interesting how you two met,” his mother was saying.
“I sprung her from jail,” Brick said. “Will make a fun story to tell our children.”
MO KICKED HIM under the table and said, “He is such a kidder, isn’t he?”
“Isn’t he though?” the marshal agreed, joining the conversation for the first time. “Are you about done with your...investigation?”
“We’re getting it narrowed down,” Brick said. “Tonight we’re going to a cocktail party up on the mountain. Jeffrey Palmer Sr. is putting it on. Are you familiar with him?” he asked his father.
“Only by reputation.”
Mo noticed that this part of the conversation had definitely piqued the marshal’s interest, though.
“He’s a very powerful man,” the marshal said. “I hope—”
“That we’ll be well behaved?” Brick said and laughed. “Always.”
“Brick,” Dana began, but was cut off.
“I’ve had the charges against Mo dropped,” Hud to his son. “I believe the charges against you in Billings have also been dropped? I was hoping that would be the last of your combined jail times.”
“Our hope, as well,” Brick agreed.
Mo saw that the marshal’s gaze was on her. “You still believe that your sister was murdered?”
She nodded, sorry that the conversation had taken this turn. She was enjoying the wonderful meal and pleasant conversation with Dana. She had liked her at once. What a warm, loving woman. No wonder Brick was the man he was.
“And where does Jeffrey Palmer fit into this?” the marshal asked.
“His son, JP, was having an affair with my sister,” Mo said.
Hud sighed. “He’s a suspect, but his father...?”
“His father knew about the relationship and disapproved,” Mo said. “If he wanted my sister out of his son’s life badly enough...” She didn’t add what Elroy suspected about the financial papers Tricia had left for her. He was having a friend look at them and would get back to her.
The marshal leaned back in his chair, pushing his nearly empty plate away. “You two are scaring me. If you really believe either of these men is capable of murder...”
“We’ll be careful,” Brick said.
His mother rose to take their plates, announcing that there was chocolate cake for desert. Mo could see how nervous she was with this kind of talk. After all the years her husband had been in law enforcement, Mo would have thought that she’d gotten use to it. She got up to help with the cake.
“It’s a cocktail party,” Mo said, trying to relieve her concerns as she came into the kitchen. “There will be lots of people there. I’m sure there won’t be any trouble.”
Dana turned to look at her. “You know that I’m not delighted with Brick joining the marshal’s department.”
Mo nodded, seeing that she also wouldn’t be delighted with having another cop in the family. “Brick and I aren’t...in a romantic relationship.”
The ranch woman smiled at her, the skin around her eyes crinkling with humor. “I was going to say that I’ve accepted that Brick wants to follow the path his father took. I’ll never get used to the discussions we’ve had around my dining room table, but I’ve also never seen Brick happier. Thank you.” Dana reached for her hand and squeezed it. “We’d better get this cake out there and save my son from his father’s interrogation.”
Mo wanted to tell her that she wasn’t responsible for Brick’s happiness, but before she could, the woman pushed four dessert plates into her hands. Dana picked up the most beautiful chocolate layer cake Mo thought she’d ever seen before leading the way back into the dining room.
It wasn’t until after dessert that Mo found herself alone with the marshal. She felt she had to say something into the heavy silence that had fallen over the room in Brick’s and his mother’s absence.
“I’m sure you’re angry at me for getting your son involved in this,” she said and waited.
Hud studied her openly for a moment, then shook his head. “Brick is his own man. He’s always been determined to finish what he started. What worries me is that he’s never brought a woman home. That he brought you home for one of his mother’s meals... He’s falling for you.” He must have seen her surprise. “He jokes around, yes, but I know my son. All I ask is that you not break his heart since this is a first for him.”
Their conversation ended abruptly as Brick and his mother returned from helping his mother with the dishes, something he’d insisted on. Clearly the two had been in silent alliance.
Mo had trouble following the rest of the conversation before she and Brick left for the cocktail party at Jeffrey Palmer Sr.’s. She kept thinking about what the marshal had said and wanting to deny—even to herself—how close she and Brick had gotten.
THE PI MADE the call earlier than he’d planned when another case took precedence. After the client wired him the extra fee, he said, “She returned to Big Sky.” He held the phone away from his ear as his client let out a thunderbolt of curses.
“Why would she do that?”
Jim had to assume it was a rhetorical question since he didn’t know the woman.
“Is she still with that deputy?”
“I can only suppose so. I just know that they returned to Big Sky. If you
