She harrumphed as she scooped up a healthy serving of the cobbler into a bowl. “Probably got the recipe from one of those space aliens of his. I don’t know why you have taken that man under your wing. You’re too soft, Benjamin. That’s always been your problem. All Walt Tolliver needs is a stern talking-to.” She placed the bowl in front of him and then went to the refrigerator and pulled out the jug of milk.
“Maybe his granddaughter can talk some sense into him. She arrived in town today.”
“Really?” Margaret placed a glass of milk in front of him and then sat across from him. “That would be Julie’s girl.”
“Edie,” Benjamin replied. “Her name is Edie Burnett.”
“That’s right. Julie married that no-account Kevin Burnett. He was a drinker, that one, and a womanizer. The marriage lasted just long enough for Julie to get pregnant. It was a shame, her dying like that in a car accident. So, what’s Edie like?”
Hot. With tantalizing eyes and a body that could make a man weak in the knees. He spooned some of the apple cobbler in his mouth in an effort to think of a more reasonable response.
“She didn’t seem to know what’s been going on with Walt and when she realized he thought Black Rock was being invaded by space aliens, she seemed a little overwhelmed by it all,” he finally replied.
“She in town to stay?”
“No. I imagine she’ll just be here long enough to figure out what needs to be done with Walt and then she’ll go back home.”
“What’s she like? Julie was a pretty woman and sweet as that cobbler.”
“She’s nice-looking,” Benjamin conceded, “but I think she might have a little bite to her.” He thought about how her gaze had frosted over when he’d attempted a little light flirtation.
If he were a man who liked a challenge, he might have pursued a little more flirting just to see if he could melt that frost. But Benjamin was a man who’d never felt enough passion to work too hard for anything. Except this ranch.
“She’s got her work cut out for her in straightening out that old man,” Margaret said as she rose from the table. “I’m going to head to my place. It’s time for this old broad to call it a night.”
Benjamin smiled. “Good night, Margaret.” The old woman had the heart of an angel and the saltiness of a sailor, but she helped to keep the ranch and Benjamin’s life running smoothly.
Once she was gone the silence of the house pressed in on him. Growing up with all his siblings in the house, he’d longed for silence.
But lately the silence in his life had felt oppressive, ushering in a loneliness he’d never felt before. His brother Jacob had closed himself off in the cabin in some form of self-imposed isolation. Brittany was missing and Tom and Caleb now had beautiful bright women to fill the silences in their lives.
He got up from the table and carried his bowl and glass to the sink. As he rinsed the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher, he thought of all the things he needed to get done in the next couple days while he was off-duty.
Of course, the law enforcement team in Black Rock was so small that all of the men were often called in on their time off. He left the kitchen and doused the light, then headed toward the master bedroom.
As always, when the silence pressed in the heaviest, his thoughts turned to Brittany. A little over two months without a word, without a clue as to what happened to her. They’d found her car hidden in an abandoned barn a month ago and it was at that moment that any hope he might have entertained in seeing his sister alive again had died.
With intentions of rising before dawn to start the catch-up on chores around the ranch, he shucked his jeans and shirt and got ready for bed. Tiny sat next to the bed and looked up at him expectantly.
“You know you have your own bed to sleep in,” he said to the dog, who cocked his head as if he didn’t understand. Benjamin pointed to the dog bed in the corner. “Go on, get to bed.”
Tiny remained in place for a long moment and then finally slunk slowly to his bed. He got in and then looked at Benjamin with mournful brown eyes.
“I don’t know why you look so sad,” Benjamin said. “We both know you’ll be curled up in my bed at my feet before morning.”
Minutes later, as he eased down onto his king-size bed, his thoughts returned to Edie Burnett. She’d been quiet during the meal but he had a feeling quiet wasn’t really in her character.
He burrowed down and closed his eyes. It was just his luck that the first woman in a long time who had stirred something inside him was only in town for a couple days.
From what she’d told him, she’d have a mess on her hands when she got back home. She had to find a new job and another place to live. He didn’t want to think about what she was going to do if Walt’s problem wasn’t a quick fix.
He drifted off to sleep with visions of lush lips and green eyes playing in his dreams and was awakened some time later by the ringing of his phone on the nightstand.
He was awake instantly, his heart drumming a rapid beat. He glanced at the clock as he fumbled in the dark for the receiver. Just after midnight. Nothing ever good came from middle-of-the-night phone calls.
“Yeah,” he answered as he sat up.
“It’s me,” his brother Tom said. “I’m at the hospital. Somebody beat the hell out of Walt Tolliver and he won’t talk to anyone but you.”
“I’m on my way.” Benjamin hung up as he climbed out of bed. As he pulled on his clothes he wondered what the hell had happened to Walt and where the hell Edie had been.
Edie rolled over and looked at the clock next to her bed. Just before midnight and she still hadn’t managed to fall asleep. When she’d come back into the house after Benjamin had left, she’d grabbed her keys and then moved her car into the garage. When she’d returned she’d wanted to ask Poppy more questions about the space aliens he thought were trying to take over Black Rock, but she was afraid to indulge the delusion. She was hoping to talk to his doctor and ask how she should handle the situation.
Even if she’d wanted to talk to him about it, the opportunity didn’t arise. Immediately after, Poppy had gone to sleep in the bedroom just off the living room.
She’d climbed the stairs to her room, but knew that sleep would be elusive. She’d taken a long hot shower and tried not to think about Benjamin Grayson. But thoughts of the man kept intruding.
She’d been rude to him with her little remark about being too fast for a small-time deputy, but even though she’d just met him, she’d felt an inexplicable need to distance him from her. His smile had been far too warm, his eyes had been too brown and for just a moment, she’d been afraid that he might make her forget that she’d sworn off men for the rest of her life.
She’d been an accident waiting to happen when she’d met Greg. Reeling with grief over her mother’s unexpected death, she’d met him in a bar two weeks after the funeral. It had been love at third drink.
They’d dated for two months before he’d moved in with her and she realized now she’d been far too naive, hadn’t asked enough questions and instead had believed everything he’d told her about himself.
They’d talked of marriage and children and he’d filled the loneliness that the absence of her mother had left behind. He’d told her that he was an entrepreneur between projects and that his money was tied up in his latest endeavor. God, she’d been such a fool.
One thing was clear, she didn’t need anyone in her life. When she got back home she’d focus on finding a new job, a new place to live and cleaning up her messes. She would be just fine all alone for the rest of her life.
She must have fallen