Cowboy Cool: Book 5 (Cowboy Justice Association) (17 page)

They walked the rest of the way in silence and Reed pressed the doorbell of the large Victorian house. Linda had recently completed renovations on the home and the outside looked freshly painted in light blue with white trim. The heavy wooden door swung open and Linda was standing there with a welcoming smile. She’d gone all out for the party and was wearing a scarlet cocktail dress and heels. It was a far cry from her usual sweater sets and slacks.

“Come in. Come in. Make yourself at home. We’re almost ready to start.”

“You look amazing,” Kaylee said. “I feel underdressed.”

Kaylee had dressed more for comfort and warmth although she’d left her usual jeans at home. Tonight she’d chosen an antique blue jersey dress that went down to her ankles paired with boots.

The party looked to be in full swing as they stepped in and Linda stowed their coats in a room off to the side. There were probably about thirty people total standing and chatting in the living and dining areas. A long table that would easily seat ten or twelve was the centerpiece of the evening. Decorated with jack-o-lanterns and orange and black tulle ribbon, it was weighed down with food for every taste including some delicious-looking desserts.

“Thank you. I love dressing up. Let’s get you something to drink. I know Kaylee wants wine, but how about you, Reed?”

“Beer,” he responded as Linda fluttered back to the kitchen, smiling gaily the entire way. She looked to be excited about having her mystery acted out this evening.

“I didn’t know you drank wine.” Reed’s gaze scanned the room as usual. Used to his overprotective nature now, Kaylee didn’t automatically freak when he checked every place they walked into for threats. When she’d asked him about it he said it was the cop in him.

“I don’t very often,” she sighed. “I don’t know why Linda thinks I do. Maybe she’s mixed me up with someone else. I’ll thank her nicely and then go get a soda or something.”

Reed’s eyebrow lifted. “Not a Cosmo? How disappointing.”

“I don’t need the false courage now. I have you wrapped around my little finger and begging for more.”

If only that were the case but she could still dream.

“I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘begging’,” Reed laughed and placed his arm around her shoulders. “But I will say I’m enthusiastic.”

They both were. After that first night together she’d barely been able to walk the next day. Not that she was complaining.

“Here you go,” Linda sang with a bright smile. “One beer and one red wine. Enjoy! Now Kaylee, remember not to leave without getting a copy of my new book. I signed it just for you. Excuse me while I talk to the actors. It’s almost time.”

She was gone in a flurry and that gave Kaylee a chance to study the room of partiers. As a writer, people-watching was one of her favorite things to do and tonight was no exception.

“Brent’s here,” Reed intoned. “Is the entire writing group attending?”

“They’re all invited but I don’t know if they’re all coming.” Kaylee raised the glass but wrinkled her nose at the dark ruby contents. “If it was white I could have sipped at it. Red gives me a headache.”

“It’s the sulfites. Let’s get you something else.”

Reed preceded her to the kitchen and she placed her glass on the counter while he fixed her a soda from the vast choices on the table. There were several varieties of soda, wine, and even flavored water and tea.

“Here you go. Root beer.”

Kaylee took a drink and smiled. “Thank you. You take good care of me.”

“I aim to please.”

He did that in spades.

Walt strolled into the kitchen and nodded to Reed while he gave her a hug. “Kaylee, it’s good to see you. I wasn’t sure if you were coming tonight.”

“I wasn’t sure you were coming either. Have you ever been to a party like this before?”

Walt’s gaze was roaming the room but he nodded absently, his attention resting on her discarded glass. “Linda has these parties about once a year although this is the first Halloween themed. Is this your drink?”

“Yes and no. Linda poured me a glass of wine but I don’t really drink red. I was just wondering what I should do with it. I hate to see it wasted.”

Walt’s eyes lit up. “No sense letting a perfectly good red go to waste. I’ll take it off your hands.”

Kaylee had noticed that Walt was fond of both grain and grape but she couldn’t think of one good reason he shouldn’t have the wine. He was a grown man after all and no one would be getting behind the wheel for hours.

“Of course, please take it. I swear I didn’t drink out of the glass or anything.”

He took it from her hands and studied the delicate crystal. “I knew that already. You’re wearing a very distinctive red lip gloss and there’s none on the rim.” He raised the glass in salute, took a sip and grimaced, then dumped the contents into the sink. “Disgustingly sweet. If you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to Brent.”

“Don’t tell me…he writes mysteries,” Reed said as Walt pulled Brent onto the patio for what looked like a serious discussion. “And from what I’ve seen, very little alcohol is wasted around your friend Walt.”

“He does write mysteries, and yes, he does drink but he never seems to get falling down drunk so I guess he can handle it.” Kaylee rolled her eyes. “Unlike me. One drink and I’m under the table.”

Reed tapped her on the nose and gave her his best smile complete with dimples. “I’m very fond of you tipsy. I have good memories of that first evening.”

She shuddered and placed her hands over her face. “I have humiliating ones, thank you very much.”

He tugged her hands away and made her look up at him. “I wanted you that night so–”

Whatever Reed had been about to say was drowned out by shouting in the living room. They both hurried to see what was going on and came to a halt near the fireplace and about five feet from the two men who were yelling at one another. One shoved the other in the shoulder and then that man shoved him right back. Reed moved to separate them but she caught his arm.

“I think this is the floorshow,” she whispered. “Look at Linda’s face. She’s smiling.”

Linda was indeed beaming as she stood next to Cheryl and Brent. It looked like Cheryl had also brought her latest boyfriend as well, her arm hooked cozily through his. An older gentleman, he appeared to be enjoying the show while Brent looked uncomfortable watching the two men skirmish with their booming voices and dramatic acting. Their argument had managed to silence the crowd of partiers and the actors clearly relished being the center of attention as they argued about one owing the other money.

“It’s a mystery party, right?” Reed’s voice was low so no one else would hear. “One of these guys is going down.”

A third character, this time a female, intervened and the two men went their separate ways into the crowd while two more actresses sauntered into the middle of the room talking about the men.

“This must be the clues part,” Kaylee said although her mind was honestly elsewhere. It was the first time she’d been in a room with all her friends since Reed had investigated them. It was strange to know all the personal details of someone’s life. Details her friends thought were safely tucked away where no one would find them.

Just because they had a skeleton or two in their closet didn’t make them a stalker. But it didn’t make them innocent either. Was one of her friends really trying to scare her? And if so, which one and why?

Chapter Sixteen

T
he party seemed to drag on forever. More actors joined the two actresses and a few of them spoke in scathing terms about the original two men. Reed hooked his arm through hers and pulled her off to the side as the “play” continued to add conflicts and motive between the characters. It wasn’t a surprise when one of the two original men staggered into the room holding his chest where a large crimson stain was blooming on his white shirt.

The dying man made quite a show of fading away, enough to earn some titters from the audience as he sank to the floor in a climactic heap. One of the actors approached the “dead” man and pulled his jacket away from his body.

“Shot,” he pronounced. “Looks like a twenty-two caliber through and through.”

“He can tell just from looking at the body?” Reed asked cynically. “If he can do that I ought to hire him. He didn’t even take off the guy’s shirt to see the bullet hole in the back.”

“Shhhhhh,” Kaylee warned. “It’s just for fun.”

“Not for the guy who was shot. Now he has to lie there all night while the rest of us find his killer.”

Reed made a good point. The poor man’s job was to lie there motionless while the party went on around him. What if he had to use the bathroom?

The actors were busy pointing fingers at each other and dropping clues. Kaylee was only half listening when a tap on her shoulder caught her attention.

“I thought that was you.” Cheryl gave Kaylee a hug and Reed a thorough perusal despite having her own date. Reed did look handsome as hell in dark blue denims, an oatmeal-colored sweater with a white collared shirt underneath, and his favorite cowboy boots. She’d convinced him to leave the cowboy hat at home although secretly she thought he looked pretty hot in it. “Have you figured out who it is yet?”

“Not yet.” Kaylee shook her head, noticing that Cheryl’s date was now deep in conversation with Brent. “Honestly I haven’t been paying enough attention. There are too many suspects to keep straight.”

“It is easier when you only have one or two.” Cheryl’s attention swiveled back to Reed, her finger rubbing the rim of her glass in a seductive manner. “How are you enjoying our little city? Are you thinking you might stay?”

“Your little city is actually much larger than where I’m from. We have less than ten thousand in my town.”

Reed hadn’t answered her question about staying which wasn’t a surprise. Cheryl, on the other hand, wasn’t about to give up.

“There’s so much to love about this area. Great sports teams, good restaurants, and a well-educated and diverse population. Doesn’t that tempt you?”

Kaylee could feel the tension radiating off of Reed. He hated to be questioned but any onlooker wouldn’t be able to tell. His expression was perfectly bland. “Montana is home.”

A simple statement that said so much and Cheryl seemed to get the message, turning her attention back to Kaylee.

“How did release day go on Tuesday? I bought your book of course. You must be making bank on this one.”

Kaylee hated talking about sales and numbers. She loved talking books but the business side was better left to herself. She was a Midwestern girl, born and raised. Her mother and grandmother had told her that talking money was bad manners, and bragging about yourself was even worse.

“It went well. I was happy with the launch.”

Brent and Walt walked up and joined them, the latter looking red in the face. Cheryl’s date had moved on to chatting with other guests.

“I was just asking Kaylee about her book release. Have you seen its rankings?”

Both men nodded vigorously and Walt downed the last of his wine. White this time.

“It was in the top one hundred, wasn’t it?” Brent asked. “How many a day is that?”

“Do you think you’ll make New York Times?” Walt asked, scanning the room for something, perhaps another drink. “I want to do that someday. Just once so I can say I did.”

“Do you think you will?” Cheryl persisted. None of them had let her get a word in edgewise, their questions coming one after the other in rapid succession. It didn’t matter though as Kaylee didn’t have any plans to answer their questions. As a rule she didn’t ponder making bestseller lists as that was something she couldn’t predict or control. The only thing she could concentrate on was to write the very best book she possibly could and hope for the best.

“I’m very pleased with the book launch. So far the reviews are positive,” she replied, the words deliberately neutral. “But it’s back to the grindstone. You’re only as good as your last release.”

“You’re such a workaholic,” Cheryl laughed. “If my books sold the way yours do, I would take a month off and visit Fiji or cruise around the world.”

The secret was it didn’t feel like work to Kaylee. Even when she planned to take vacations she couldn’t seem to stop writing. She and Reed had that in common—they loved their work.