Three years of trust that had been so difficult for her to give, and he’d trampled all over that after one single kiss. She was going to get over the sting of losing Max, even if it killed her.
But now, it was time to focus. They were going to…Masterson. Wyoming.
“That’s Miranda Talley’s hometown. I’ve been there a few times.” That was one of the few places Jac had felt welcome. It was a beautiful place with wonderful people. She’d been back three times with her friend. She’d even fantasized about returning to Masterson when she retired from the FBI in a few decades. Buying a little cottage of her own near the inn, maybe growing a garden. Getting her own dog and just enjoying the world for once.
Max nodded. “This case has a definite personal twist. Dr. Talley was born and raised in Masterson. We’ll be staying at her family home. She and Agent Knight are already there.”
“At the Talley Inn? It’s a beautiful place. Miranda’s grandmother runs it,” Jac said.
Max glanced at her quickly, then looked away. “It is the only building in town large enough to accommodate us all. The requesting detective on this case is an old friend of Dr. Talley’s.”
Jac flipped open her case file. It was time to get started. By her calculations, they’d arrive in Masterson by eight or so in the morning. Plenty of time to get started on what they had to do.
10
Knight beat her to the breakfast room. He fought the irritation at that. He’d heard her in the bathroom that pressed against his suite. It hadn’t been a huge room, typical of the age in which it had been built, but it was clean and comfortable.
He was filling a plate when the woman in question strolled in. She didn’t ever rush when she walked; she strolled, those long legs eating up the floor with a steady, fluid pace that had a man snapping to attention to just stare. Miranda Talley had one of the sexiest walks he’d ever seen. A grace he had to admit drew him like a moth to a flame. He had to get ahold of himself.
The woman was going to drive him insane if he didn’t. This was the worst time for his long-dormant hormones to suddenly come back to life.
“Good morning, Agent Knight. Sleep well?”
“Just fine until I heard the dog barking.” He waved a hand toward the window and the pond. Her gaze followed, and her face softened as she saw the dog now sunning herself on a rock at the pond’s edge, with the half-dozen ducks swimming nearby.
“Yeah, Chloe is at that age where she barks at shadows. She slept in my room last night and got scared when the moonlight shone through the open window. I’m sorry about that. I just don’t get many opportunities to be with her any longer.”
He grunted. It was just a dog, after all. There were plenty more in St. Louis if she wanted one. He was just about to say something when someone called her name. He turned. A handful of PAVAD agents stood in the entryway, a small, darker-haired redhead at the front.
Dr. Talley smiled. “Great. Our team has arrived.”
Goodie. Now the fun could begin.
Knight finished filling his plate. He was hungry. He’d eat while she filled them all in on what had happened to Helen Caudrell. It was her show, after all. He was just there to observe.
11
Miranda looked around the Masterson police station. It was just as she remembered it. With one notable exception.
That donkey Clive Gunderson wasn’t sweating all over the nicked wooden desk. No, now there was a tall, handsome cowboy with broad shoulders and one of the best asses she’d ever seen.
There was no denying this man was a Masterson.
His young, pretty wife was right next to him, giving him a lecture about something. Phoebe Tyler Masterson was a distant cousin of Miranda’s grandmother. Phoebe had a little boy next to her who looked enough like her to be one of her brothers, and a tiny blond girl on her hip.
Phoebe smiled at Miranda, then shot a wary look at the man next to Miranda and at the crowd coming in behind her. “Hello, Miranda. It’s nice to see you again.”
Miranda accepted Phoebe’s hug gently. Phoebe and her sisters had always been a bit shy, especially around strangers. Miranda had known their mother before she’d been killed in a wreck a few years earlier, and had babysat for Phoebe’s younger