Taming a Texas Devil - Katie Lane Page 0,74
her badge. He didn’t want her anywhere near the sheriff until he was behind bars. Willaby might not have started out as a cold-blooded killer, but fear of being caught could turn him into one.
Lincoln pulled back one door of the garage. While he was there, he might as well look around for more evidence. The only thing he found of interest was an empty gasoline can. But there would be no way to prove it had been used to start the Dailys’ fire.
The sound of a vehicle pulling into the yard had him sliding his gun from the holster and moving back against the wall of the garage. It wasn’t the sheriff who came strutting in. It was Maisy. She froze when she saw him standing there with a gun pointed at her.
She held up her hands. “Now’s your chance to get rid of me. Not a soul would suspect a Texas Ranger.”
He holstered his gun. “What are you doing here?”
“I followed you. I’m through waiting for you to tell me what’s going on with my father’s case. If you won’t keep me in the loop, I’ll just tag along after you and be annoying. Which happens to be my specialty. Now why are you snooping around the sheriff’s house?”
“How do you know it’s the sheriff’s?”
“Because I came here one day to ask him if he’d found anything else out about my daddy.”
The thought of Maisy coming out here alone freaked Lincoln out. “Don’t you know that curiosity killed the cat?”
“Only because she wasn’t packing. But don’t worry, cowboy. I’m not going to shoot you . . . yet. So answer the question. Why are you—” She glanced at the gas can in his hand and her eyes widened. “You think the sheriff started the Daily fire, don’t you?”
He had to give it to her. She was a smart little thing. He set down the gas can. “I’m not going to make any assumptions until I have all the facts. But I want you to stay away from the sheriff until I get things figured out.”
“You think the sheriff is responsible for Sam’s disappearance? Or are you just trying to frame the sheriff for his murder?” She paused. “He’s dead, isn’t he? My father.”
He nodded. “I think so. I’m sorry.”
She swallowed hard as if fighting tears. She wasn’t just smart. She was also tough. She had to be growing up without a father to watch out for her. “Did you kill him?” she asked.
“No.”
She stared at him as if trying to read the truth on his face. Her eyes might be the same color as her father. But other than that, they were completely different. Sam’s had been cold and cruel. Maisy’s were warm and kind. Something Lincoln should’ve realized sooner, instead of seeing only what he’d wanted to see.
“I didn’t kill Sam, Maisy,” he said. “I give you my word.”
“Then why didn’t you come clean about your mama’s relationship with Sam?” she asked.
The question took him by surprise, but it shouldn’t have. He should have known Maisy would be smart enough to figure it out. Especially when she had done enough investigating on Sam’s previous life to bring her to Simple.
“How did you find out?” he asked.
“When I talked to Sam’s sister—I’d call her my aunt but she made it clear she didn’t want to be my aunt. She didn’t like my daddy either.” It looked like Lincoln wasn’t the only one who had judged Maisy by who her father was. She shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but he knew it did. “Anyway, when I called her, she thought my mama was Tonya Hayes. I guess your mama was the woman Sam was dating the last time his sister talked to him. Sam’s sister didn’t know anything about my mama or Sam getting married or me. She just knew about Tonya and her son, Lincoln. I guess he had sent a picture of the three of you to his mama before she passed away.”
Lincoln shook his head. “I don’t know why he sent a picture of me. He couldn’t stand me.”
“At least he hung around you for a while. He left as soon as I was born. Before he even got to know me. Maybe that’s why I’ve been so determined to find him. I wanted to give him the chance to . . . love me, I guess. Which is just plain stupid.”
“It’s not stupid.” Lincoln knew what it felt like to desperately want to be