“Well now, that depends. Do you think she likes fish or turkey better?”
Ebony sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“Neither do I. How about we get four—” she held up four fingers “—that way we can figure out which one she likes best before we come here again.”
Ebony counted four cans of cat food into the shopping basket. “Biscuits too?” She looked up hopefully.
“Sure, why not?” A bag of dry food went into the basket as well. Ryder looked toward a couple of ladies that were watching the show and whispering together. She smiled their way knowing the conversation was probably about her and hoped they found her daughter as endearing as she did. They pressed their lips together and glanced away before stalking down the aisle away from her. Guess not then. Weird. I really must ask Jake what the heck is going on around here. I feel as though I’m missing something.
As soon as they got home, Ebony wanted to take the cat food out to the barn and try to entice the cat down to eat. Ryder gave her a bowl full of biscuits and one of tinned meat and watched her walk out the door. “Only until I have dinner ready, understand? When I call you, its time for a bath.”
“Yes, Mummy.” She toddled off down to the dusty driveway with every intention of taming the poor abandoned cat.
Ryder walked to her bedroom, unlaced her work shoes, and kicked them under her bed. She stripped off her uniform and pulled on a pair of track pants and an old worn T-shirt, and padded barefoot back to the kitchen. With a flick of a switch, music filled the old house from her stereo and the tension dropped from her shoulders with each rising note. She’d known it wasn’t going to be easy coming back here and starting over again but it was starting to feel like the right decision.
Ebony had fitted in at day care, loved living on the farm, and wasn’t fretting for her grandmother. Too young to remember her father, she had one less thing to grieve over compared to her mother. Ryder poured herself a glass of chilled white wine, standing at the kitchen window while she took the first bone-easing sip. She could see the barn from here and watched Eb fluttering around the bales of hay, no doubt talking ten to the dozen trying to convince the cat what was good for her.
Chapter 5
Jake sat at his computer and began the search he should have done before Ryder started work. He didn’t think there’d be a problem or it would have shown on her resume or been picked up by the intake board when she applied to join the police force. What he wanted to know was more personal and he thought it responsible for the haunted look in her eyes.
“Night, Jake.” Lillian, the daytime receptionist, popped her head inside his office. “Shouldn’t you be going home by now?” She leaned against the doorframe—a sign Jake knew meant she was settling in for a talk.
He smiled. “As soon as I finish what I’m doing, I will be.” He typed in Ryder’s name and watched the list of sites come up.
“Anything I can do for you?” She made a move toward him and Jake held up his hand to stop her. Not against the law, but he didn’t want anyone knowing he was digging into Ryder’s private life if he didn’t have to.
“Nope, almost done. You head on home to your family and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay then. Don’t stay too late.” She waved her fingers at him and left, her high heels clipping a sharp tone on the linoleum floor on her way out.
Jake read the highlights on each site until he found one that looked a little more interesting than the rest. Officer Quinn in botched robbery. FBI Officer killed as he attempted to talk down a hostage situation and robber turned gun on himself as officers stormed the building. Oh shit. A photo headed the newspaper story. He scanned it, hoping he wasn’t going to find anything too damning. When he finished, he shut down the computer and sat with his hands clasped in front of him turning over what he’d found. Husband was a negotiator, he’d known that. But what he didn’t know until now was that he’d died on the job, a job Ryder had a major part in. No wonder she had the haunted look in her eyes when he mentioned Gabe Quinn. She’d seen him die in front of her and subsequently fatally shot the man that killed him.
All justified according to the report and he believed it otherwise he’d have been told. Nothing would take away that memory of seeing a loved one die in front of you and Jake understood that. Ryder deserved breathing space and he’d give it to her because he believed she was a good cop and the town would benefit from having her around. Throwing her a bunch of cold case files might not have been the most delicate way to get her to use the skills she’d learnt from her husband. They were skills he had to make the most of and he was aware there was always the risk of burnout if she got swamped with work.
It also cleared up her marital status which shouldn’t interest him, but it did. There was a big difference in finding interest in a widow compared to a married woman. With a swagger in his step, Jake headed out of work toward home. A steak and a beer on the back deck sounded like the perfect way to end the day. He might even ring his father and tell him he’d take the pup when it was ready to go. Damn it. He hadn’t mentioned it to Ryder. Oh well, something
