snowed the evening before—he’d heard her borrow the coat from one of her cousins. It was dark purple and made the red in her hair far more noticeable. The tight braid she’d pulled the ridiculous mass of hair into emphasized her face.
Even the glasses highlighted the prettiness of her eyes. When she smiled at Sheriff Karr, Knight’s gut tightened. The other man didn’t seem affected by her at all.
He knew exactly what it meant.
He was attracted to Miranda Talley. No denying it any longer.
Knight’s fingers went to the scar as his irritation deepened. His best bet was to avoid Dr. Miranda Talley as much as humanly possible. Before he did something absolutely stupid.
25
Sheriff Karr locked up the Olde Thyme Flea Market and offered to transport Pauline the long drive to Masterson County.
Jac was digging into Paula Smith’s finances. She hadn’t paid taxes under her social security number in fourteen years. Nor, apparently, had she paid taxes on the false social security number she was using, either. Jac had made noises about tax fraud and even identity theft. Jac was on the trail, and she wouldn’t stop until she had answers she wanted.
Pauline wasn’t going anywhere.
Miranda was more than glad to let the sheriff have that little duty. Pauline hadn’t shut up since she’d finished Mirandizing her. And it all had to do with how horrible Miranda’s family had been to hers.
Pitiful.
If anything, Miranda’s grandmother had been perfectly cordial to the Beises, welcoming Monica into her home every time. Miranda’s grandmother had even bought Monica’s softball equipment when they’d been fourteen, and Luther Beise hadn’t been working due to an injury.
Maybe that was it? The resentment of having to ask for that kind of help? Whatever it was, the vitriol spewing from the woman was starting to fray Miranda’s last nerve. Someone railing at her, she could deal with—but bad-mouthing her grandmother was something she didn’t tolerate well at all. She turned and started toward the other woman abruptly.
“Shut up, Pauline. You really want to stop talking now.”
Max shot her a pointed look, then jerked his head.
Miranda got the hint. She took a walk. A short one, of course. She kept Pauline, Max, and Knight in sight at all times, until the long, lanky sheriff waved her back over.
Matt Karr had that rugged cowboy thing going for him all the way. They really did grow them well in Wyoming.
Max agreed to ride along with Sheriff Karr to preserve any evidence gained from Pauline that she might confess to in the vehicle on the drive. Pauline kept talking. Well, ranting. Miranda was glad it wasn’t her stuck escorting Pauline back to Masterson.
Miranda climbed back into the borrowed truck and waited for Knight to take the driver’s seat. He had control issues. He didn’t like others driving him. That wasn’t hard for her to see.
She waited until they were back on the road to look at him. “First impressions of our…verbal…friend?”
“That shop was the little shop of horrors.”
Miranda laughed. That had been the last thing she’d expected him to say. “Wasn’t it? I’ve been in worse, but not in recent memory.”
“She has a serious case of resentment against your family. That always true?”
Miranda closed her eyes as memories assailed her. “She was never welcoming, never friendly. That was one reason we spent most of our time at the inn.”
“I have to say I would too, now that I’ve seen most of the town.”
“I think that’s the most positive thing I’ve heard you say since we landed.”
He just grunted.
“You know what, Agent Knight—”
“It’s actually Dr. Knight. I got my PhD in sociology probably before you were even out of high school, Dr. Talley.”
“Why don’t you go by doctor?” Miranda had been curious about people from as far back as she could remember. People, both individually and in groups, had always fascinated her.
A man who’d suffered such an obvious traumatic brain injury as Dr. Allan Knight had was a puzzle she would love to figure out one day.
She’d been one of the agents who’d first helped canvas his neighborhood after he’d been shot. Miranda had seen his apartment, with his blood still on the wall of his entryway, had been arriving on scene as the paramedics were loading him into the ambulance. He’d barely survived. No one had thought he would. The sight of him like that was something she’d never forget.
At the time, everyone had thought Knight had been the one who had been targeting her team leader, Malachi Brockman. Thought he’d been a