“Not Skip! Anderson. And Travis,” she added.
“The boys are fine. Upstairs sleeping it off. Anderson had too much to drink to drive himself back to his place and bunked in his old room for the night. But it’s not like them to drink that much.” Lindsay gave her an accusing look. “I could have used your help. Where were you? Are you okay? And why did the sheriff bring you home?”
“Technically it wasn’t the sheriff,” she said cautiously.
“That’s not the point.” But then she said, “So who was it?”
“Russ Campbell.”
“Who?”
“I’ve told you about him. The detective from Kalispell PD who comes in to the Ace in the Hole.” And acts as if I’m invisible, she thought.
Lindsay looked puzzled for a moment, then the confusion cleared. “Yeah. The really cute cop who doesn’t know you’re alive?”
He does now, Lani thought. After what they did, he would have a hard time ignoring her from now on. But she only said, “That’s the one. He was working a shift for Gage Christensen because of the holiday and wedding reception in the park.”
“Smart,” Lindsay said. “It was crazy out there. I still can’t believe I had the guts to get between our brothers and Skip Webster. It’s weird. And all I had to drink was the punch from the reception.”
“Weird, all right,” Lani agreed.
“And you still haven’t explained where you were tonight.”
“Oh, you know—”
“Not really. And that’s why I’m asking.” Lindsay’s blue eyes narrowed.
Lani wasn’t up for this. “Look, just because you’re in law school and working in Dad’s office this summer doesn’t mean you can cross-examine me.”
“And just because I’m the baby of the family doesn’t mean I’m not entitled to know what’s going on. If you won’t tell me where you were, I’m sure Dad can get it out of you. We both know how good he is.”
Her sister half turned, as if to head upstairs and make good on her threat. “Wait,” Lani said. “Don’t wake him. It’s late.”
“Okay, then, spill.”
She took a deep breath and said, “I was arrested.”
“What?”
“I was dancing in the park fountain. Singing, too. When Russ Campbell tried to pull me out, I pulled him in.” Lani shrugged. “I forced him to take me to jail.”
“Why would you do that?” Lindsay blinked, completely at a loss.
“Seemed like a good way to keep Detective Campbell from arresting Anderson for assault and battery.”
“So you took one for Team Dalton?” The younger sister shook her head. “That fight was no big deal.”
“But Skip Webster was demanding someone be arrested, and Russ seemed more than happy to oblige.”
“But there was no real harm done. Surely Dad would have gotten Anderson out of jail and smoothed it over.”
“I figured it would go easier for me. Being a woman. And being a public nuisance is less serious than punching someone.”
“You do realize,” Lindsay started, “that Dad would say you should have let our intoxicated brothers suffer the consequences of their actions?”
That sounded about right for Ben Dalton, Lani thought. But she couldn’t reveal the real reason it was necessary to keep Anderson’s record spotless. When their brother was ready, he would tell the rest of the family.
“At the time, it seemed like a good idea to keep Russ distracted.”
“Russ? Sounds like you got pretty chummy with him in the clink.” Lindsay stared her down. “You’re not saying anything, and I know that look on your face.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” She knew exactly what her sister meant. They were close enough that the sisters knew if one wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“Then I’ll put a finer point on it.” Lindsay moved closer. “You just said you had to keep Russ distracted. That sounds premeditated to me. And you’re on a first-name basis with him. Just what did you do to keep him distracted?”
Lani felt heat creep up her neck and settle in her cheeks. If only she could have put a bag over her head.
Lindsay’s eyes grew wide even though Lani hadn’t said a word. “You didn’t.”
“Of course I didn’t sleep with him.”
“I didn’t say you slept with him. What makes you think that’s what I meant? Why is that the first thing that popped into your head?”
“Good gravy, Lindsay.” Lani had no doubt her sister would be a very good lawyer someday. “You sound like a prosecutor.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” There was a pleased expression on her pretty face just before her eyes narrowed. “But I’m not stupid, sis. Something happened between you and Russ. You were gone for hours, and I’d like an explanation.”
“It’s not a big deal.” Liar, she thought. She would throw her sister a bone and get her off that line of questioning. “We were in the locked cell together. I managed to take his keys and hide them. And before you start, I didn’t want him to dump me there just so he could go back to the park and arrest Anderson.”
“This just gets better and better.” Lindsay shook her head. “I’m speechless.”
“That’s a first.”
“How did you finally get out?”
“Gage came looking for Russ. He let us out. When Russ wanted to keep me in jail, the sheriff talked him out of it and said there were bigger problems to deal with.”
“That’s true,” her sister said. “But I can’t believe how underhanded you are.”
“You say underhanded, I say resourceful. The good news is that Anderson is in the clear.”
Lindsay met her gaze. “You’re the one I’m worried about. He didn’t get arrested. I hope Russ doesn’t change his mind and press charges.”
Lani hoped so, too.
* * *
When her alarm clock went off at zero-dark-thirty, Lani felt as if she’d just closed her eyes. But the holiday was over and she had to work at the ranch today. The cows and horses still got hungry and needed attention even if their humans got only a couple hours of sleep. As motivational speeches went it wasn’t great, but she didn’t have the energy to kick herself in the ass.
She dragged on jeans, shirt and boots. Pulled her hair into a ponytail, brushed her teeth, washed her face and put on sunscreen. On her way downstairs she smelled coffee, and her attitude perked up a little, no pun intended. No one in this house but her was ever up this early and brewed coffee, so there must be a God.
She walked into the kitchen and saw Anderson grabbing the bottle of Tylenol from the cupboard above the coffeepot. She was happy that he was here and not in a jail cell.
“Can I have a couple of those, too?” she asked.
He held out the bottle. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks. So do you.” Lani shook some of the white caplets into her palm. “I feel as if there are teeny, tiny elves hammering a Sousa march on the inside of my skull.”
“Me, too.” He poured coffee into a mug and held it out. “Can you give me a ride to my truck?