she dated him.”
Beth almost rolled her eyes at Camilla’s words. “Truthfully, neither can I. I never told her I didn’t like him. There was something about him I didn’t trust him. Turns out I should have believed in my instincts. He’s as bad as—”
Camilla sighed. “You can say it. He’s as bad as Evan. Over the last few months, I’ve come to realize my brother isn’t the man I believed him to be. I practically worshipped him when we were growing up. He was always so…perfect. Guess it’s hard finding out your idol has feet of clay.”
“I’m sorry. I never stopped to think how Evan’s actions impacted you.”
“It doesn’t matter, as long as I know everything between us is still okay. Anyway, I’ll see you in a couple of days, and we’ll catch up on everything. Give Jamie a big hug for me. Love you guys!”
“Love you too. See you soon.”
She disconnected the call and slid the phone in her pocket. It would be nice to see Camilla again, and while she was still furious with Evan, deep inside it didn’t feel right to exclude the rest of his family from Jamie’s life. Blaming them for her ex-husband’s actions wasn’t fair, but she also wasn’t a fool. She’d watch out for her daughter. Jamie was the center of her world, and nothing and nobody was going to harm her. Not while Beth still had breath in her body.
“Come on, Jamie. We’ve got work to do if we want to have beds to sleep in tonight.”
“Yay! I love it here, Mommy. Is Aunt Tessa coming to spend the night?”
Beth smiled, running her hand over the top of her daughter’s head. “No, baby, Aunt Tessa is going to be sleeping at the Big House with Douglas and Ms. Patti until she gets married, remember? It’s just you and me living here, kiddo. Now, come on, let’s go make the beds.”
Jamie bounded through the front door with all the enthusiasm of a four-year-old, and Beth envied her ability to adapt to new situations. Change wasn’t easy, but sometimes taking the easy way out wasn’t the answer. Walking the harder path meant forging a new life, one where she didn’t risk her heart every again. Especially when her heart kept telling her it wanted one tall, sexy Boudreau named Brody.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Brody pulled in front of the sheriff’s station at the crack of dawn. Might as well get some work done, since he’d barely slept the night before. And the few precious hours he did sleep had been filled with dreams of Beth. Why couldn’t he keep her out of his thoughts? Now she was haunting his dreams, leaving him irritable and unfulfilled.
He hadn’t even stepped out of his truck before Rafe’s pickup pulled up, parking behind his. Figured his brother would be in early, too. From the time he’d been elected county sheriff, Rafe took his job seriously, working extra-long hours, making sure the good citizens who’d elected him were never in doubt about his commitment to keeping them safe and secure in their homes.
“Morning, bro.” Rafe held up two cups of coffee from the little place that had opened up across from Daisy’s Diner a few months ago.
Brody grabbed one out of Rafe’s hand and took a long drink. “You are a lifesaver.”
“Figured you’d be in early to pick up the stuff from the Summers’ place and drive it into Austin. A good dose of caffeine seemed in order.”
Together they strode through the front door and headed toward Rafe’s office. The evidence was locked up tight in the office safe, one less thing Brody had to worry about. He’d contacted the lab in Austin, notifying them he’d be bringing in multiple evidentiary items for processing from a suspected arson scene.
“Until I’ve got confirmation of arson at the Summers’ place, can you have Dusty and a couple of the other deputies drive by and make sure nobody’s out there messing with the barn? I doubt anybody will, but just in case.”
“I’ve already talked with Dusty. He’s on duty this afternoon. He’ll make a sweep by there.” Rafe shook his head. “I’m still trying to wrap my brain around somebody intentionally setting fire to that old barn. I mean, what’s the point? Nobody’s lived on the farm for years, and even before that, it wasn’t more than an empty shell. Some nice wood, true, but other than that? Not a whole lot of value.”
“I’m waiting to hear back from Ben or Greg Summers to see