Rafe pulled off his cowboy hat and ran his hand through his hair. “That thought has kept me awake. We need to figure this out, because I don’t want a firebug running around in my county, putting people’s lives at risk.”
“I’m going to run these samples to Austin in the morning. I want to talk with somebody I know, get his advice. I haven’t got a ton of arson expertise under my belt, since Shiloh Springs isn’t exactly a hotbed of fire starters. I’ll deliver the evidence to maintain the chain of evidence, but first, I have to call Ben Summers and tell him the bad news.”
Rafe nodded. “Why don’t you make the call from my office? Because knowing Ben, as soon as he hangs up from you, he’s gonna be calling me, wanting to know what I’m doing to catch whoever burned down his barn. Might as well let him talk to both of us together.”
“It’s a dang shame, too. This is a great piece of land. Thankfully, the house is still standing, and didn’t sustain any damage.” Brody pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you remember—”
“When we snuck smokes up in the loft? How could I forget? I thought we were going to have to haul you to the hospital, you choked so hard. Your first and last cigarette, as I recall.”
Brody laughed at the memory. “I remember Greg daring us. Said I was too chicken to smoke. Being chicken had nothing to do with it. I was too scared of what Ms. Patti would do if she caught me smoking. I think we sprayed half a can of air freshener on our clothes so she wouldn’t know.”
“Trust me, she knew.”
Brody smiled at the memory. “I’m not surprised. She knew everything we ever did. Still does, though I try to pretend I have a few secrets she hasn’t uncovered.”
Rafe chuckled. “You keep thinking that, bro. Might help you sleep better at night.”
Brody lifted the yellow caution tape and stepped underneath, walking past his brother toward his truck. He wasn’t looking forward to the next couple of hours. Informing anybody when their property had been destroyed was never easy, especially when it was a friend. Gently placing the evidence bags on the seat, he turned toward Rafe.
“I’m gonna want to lock these in the safe at the sheriff’s office until tomorrow. Need to keep the chain of custody intact and having them secured overnight at your office makes things a whole lot easier than taking ’em home with me.”
“No problem, bro.” Rafe studied him intently, and Brody started to feel like an insect with its wings pinned to a poster board in some kid’s science presentation. Not a comfortable feeling.
“What?” Well, shoot, that came out a lot louder than I intended.
“I…never mind.”
“Whatever it is, just ask already.”
“Fine.” Rafe blew out a long breath before he continued. “Is everything okay? You’ve been acting—I don’t know—distant. Like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders. Whatever it is, you know I’m here for you, right?”
Brody wasn’t surprised by his brother’s observation. Antonio had pretty much asked the same thing when he’d visited him in Austin, right before the whole thing with Serena. Which was probably a good thing too, because Antonio’s sense of perceptiveness was on par with big brother Rafe when it came to family. As much as he wanted to talk to Rafe about his growing attraction for Beth, he wasn’t ready.
“It’s nothing, I swear. I’ve just had a lot on my plate lately, you know? Besides, you’ve got more than enough to take care of with your fiancée and your wedding plans. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Rafe didn’t look convinced at his words. When he started to speak, Brody held up his hand. “I give you my word, if I need to talk, you’ll be the first one I come to, okay?”
“You better,” Rafe grumbled, before heading toward his truck. “I’ll meet you at the station.”
Brody climbed behind the wheel of his own truck, started it, and followed his brother away from the blackened barn and toward town, wondering how long he could keep fooling himself about his feelings toward Beth. His feelings for his soon-to-be sister-in-law weren’t going away; instead, every time he thought about her, he felt himself slipping further and further into a quagmire of unfamiliar emotions, with no way out.
Maybe his dad was right. It was time he did something about it.
Step number one, ask her out. Yep, sounded like a good start.
CHAPTER SIX
Beth walked out of the house onto the front porch, and sat on the front step, where she could keep an eye on Jamie while she took the call, her mind racing a thousand miles a minute. The last person in the world she’d expected to hear from was on the phone, currently holding while Beth geared up to talk to her former sister-in-law.
“Camilla, thanks for holding. We’re right in the middle of moving into a new place, and I needed to check on Jamie.”
She watched as Jamie spun around in circles on the small patch of front lawn, her arms spread wide as she twirled faster and faster, her infectious giggles making Beth smile. Jamie’s happiness meant everything, and she’d do whatever it took to see her daughter never suffered from her father’s misdeeds.
“How is Jamie? I miss her.”
Beth heard the truth in Camilla’s voice. It wasn’t hard to believe Camilla missed her niece. She’d been the doting auntie, always willing to step in and babysit any chance she got. More often than not, whenever she visited, there was inevitably a new toy or trinket for Jamie. Camilla had been at the hospital when Jamie was born, had been there throughout the long, arduous hours of labor, and had been one of the first people in the room when she’d been allowed visitors.
A twinge
