“No, sir. I just had a frog in my throat.” She lifted her head and the porch light spilled over her face. Val was momentarily struck speechless. He had met—and dated—a lot of beautiful women, but none as stunning as Deputy Meriwether. She flashed a set of perfectly even, white teeth as she rose to her feet and held out a hand. “Deputy Dixie Leigh Meriwether. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sterling. I’m more of a romance girl myself, but my daddy loves your books. And I would sure appreciate you signing a copy for—”
The sheriff cut her off. “This ain’t a social call, deputy. And like I told you before, a deputy’s job is to be seen not heard.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll just wait for you in the car.” She winked one sea green eye at Val before she gracefully walked down the steps of the porch.
When she was gone, Val turned to the sheriff. “Get to the point of your visit, sheriff.”
“Maybe I just came by to see the big celebrity everyone in town has been talking about. And if they’re not talking about you, they’re talking about how wonderful it is that a big city lawyer has opened up shop here in Simple and is helping folks with their legal needs. Or what fine upstanding men the Gardener sisters married.” Sheriff Willaby snorted. “No one seems to remember all the trouble you six juvenile delinquents caused while you were here.”
Since the Double Diamond boys hadn’t exactly been angels, Val couldn’t argue the point. “Kids will be kids. So now that you’ve seen me, I need to get back to my writing.” He started to turn, but Sheriff Willaby stopped him.
“Do you remember Sam Sweeney?”
He hesitated for only a second before turning back around. “Sam Sweeney? The name does sound familiar.”
“He worked at the Double Diamond ranch for a short time, including the time you and the other boys were there.”
“Ahh, yes, I remember him. He left only a couple weeks after I got there.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “You’ll need to talk with Chester and Lucas about that. I wasn’t responsible for the ranch hands.” He smiled. “I was just a fat delinquent.”
The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember you being the smartass of the bunch. It was Cru Cassidy and Sawyer Dawson who were the mouthy punks.”
“I guess they rubbed off on me. Now if you’ll excuse—”
Sheriff Willaby cut him off. “Sam’s daughter showed up at my office today.” So that was the appointment Maisy had been talking about. “Seems she’s looking for her daddy. She said the last place she could find any proof of him being was the Double Diamond ranch. Said that Chester and Lucas told her Sam had up and quit. Which seemed strange to me. I can’t see a drifter like Sam quitting a paying job when ranch work wasn’t easy to come by.”
Val shrugged. “Maybe he just didn’t like working with a bunch of troubled teenagers.”
“Or maybe he didn’t quit at all. Maybe one of those troubled teenagers didn’t like working with him.”
It was one thing to try and bully him. It was another to try and bully his friends. He took a step closer. “Exactly what are you saying, Sheriff Willaby?”
The sheriff started to take a step back, but then checked himself. He did, however, undo the safety on his gun and rest his hand on the butt. “All I’m saying is that I find it a bit suspicious that Sam Sweeney hasn’t been heard from in fifteen years and the last anyone saw or talked to him was when he worked at a boys’ ranch owned by two gun-toting old cowboys and six criminal teenagers.”
He put his tan cowboy hat on and pointed a finger. “And I’ll tell you one thing. I don’t care how much the town has forgotten about everything the Double Diamond boys did. I haven’t.”
Chapter Nine
“Good morning.”
Reba froze in mid-whisk and turned to see Valentine standing in the doorway. This morning, he wore faded blue jeans and an old plaid western shirt without a speck of black in it. His hair was damp as if he had just taken a shower and he had on the tortoiseshell glasses she’d seen him wearing the morning she’d interrupted his writing. They gave him a sexy, nerdy look that made her feel a little lightheaded.
Or maybe it was embarrassment that made her feel lightheaded. The