Saving Grace (Madison Falls) (32 page)

She smiled, weary from spending the last two hours answering the sheriff’s questions. He’d been so kind, nothing at all like the big city detectives she’d dealt with in the past.

Her clothes still reeked of smoke, and her skin felt greasy. Without thinking, she reached her gauze-covered hand to her face, wincing as pain shot up her arm.

Sam looked concerned. “You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”

“It’s not a serious burn.” She raised her hand. “You must have been a boy scout.”

He nodded sagely. “I’ve built a campfire or two in my day.”

The door eased open and Sheriff Drew walked in, rubbing his temple. “There’s news, Miss Addison.” He stopped, catching himself. “I mean, Miss Fontaine. My boys pulled your car out of the river. It’s a good thing you got out when you did, because it was completely submerged. Would have been darn near impossible to fight your way to shore against that current, especially at night.”

Grace’s stomach jolted. She gave Sam a pained glance.

As if reading her thoughts, he spoke up. “What about Kirk? Did they find him?”

Sheriff Drew stroked his chin, his eyes sorrowful. “Oh, they found the body, alright. Didn’t look too pretty after a few hours in the water.”

A surge of nausea pressed at her gut. What an awful way to go. Then a horrible thought made the queasiness worse. “You won’t need me to…
identify
him?”

He shook his head, his eyes rimmed with sympathy. “He matches your description right down to the diamond stud. I don’t see any reason to put you through that.”

Sam reached over to give her arm a reassuring squeeze, and she returned a weary smile.

The sheriff took his jacket from a hook on the wall. “Now why don’t you go home and see if you can get some rest. There’ll be plenty of time for questions in the light of day.” He peered out his office window as he slipped his arm into the jacket sleeve. “Which will be in about three hours if I don’t miss my guess.”

Sam’s chair scraped against the cracked linoleum. “Come on.” He took her elbow. “I’ll drive you home.”

“You know,” she said, pulling herself onto still-unsteady legs. “I could really use the walk.”

He tipped her a sideways glance. “You sure?”

She nodded. It had been one thing allowing him to drive her back to town earlier. Now that she had her wits about her she was a little afraid of the vulnerability she’d feel alone in his truck with him.

A few minutes later, Grace wrapped her arms around her middle to stave off the night chill. Sam removed his Levi’s Trucker jacket and placed it over her shoulders. Too exhausted to refuse, she slid her arms into the warm sleeves.

“That Kirk was some character,” he said as they started up the sidewalk.

“You could say that.” She fell into pace next to him.

“I still can’t believe he threatened you with a switchblade. Where did he think he was going, to a rumble?”

Grace shrugged. “When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way.”

He tipped an ear to his shoulder. “I’m guessing you weren’t a part of his
gang?
”

She angled a sideways smile. “Very funny.”

“I try.” His tone turned somber. “At least now I understand why you said you wouldn’t be hanging around Madison Falls.”

Her face fell slightly. She
had
said that.

When she didn’t respond, he continued. “You must be anxious to get home to see your friends.”

“Yes. Well. I don’t have that many friends.” She considered. “Or
any
, actually.”

He shoved his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. “Except Sinclair, of course.”

“Right. Of course. Except Devon.”

His words seemed calculated. “So, you
want
to go back.”

“Of course I do. It’s all I’ve wanted since I got here.”

“And I guess you’d have no reason to stay.”

She tilted him a glance. What was he getting at? “No reason at all.”

He nodded, his eyes set on the dark sidewalk ahead. “So, you think you’ll go back with Sinclair in the morning?”

Her tired nerves pinched. Would she? She looked at her watch. “He’ll be leaving in a few hours.” Anxiety fluttered in her stomach. “I can’t even think after what just happened to me.”

“Right. Sorry.” They kept walking. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. You must have been terrified.”

How could she describe it? “It was like being in a
Die Hard
movie, only John McClane stood me up.”

His stance turned rigid. “I should have gotten there sooner.”

“Gotten there
sooner?
” A niggling question worked its way to the surface. “How did you even know where to look for me?”

They stopped on the corner of Pine View and Main. “After I talked to my dad, I realized I’d left my guitar at the theatre. On the way back, I noticed your car wasn’t in your driveway.”

She turned to him in mock dismay. “Don’t tell me you were spying on me.”

“Not
spying
.” He held up a hand in defense. “Just concerned that you’d gotten home safely. Anyway,” they started across Main. “It was right about then that I heard the sirens.”

She shuddered, the terror returning in spite of her attempts to suppress it.

“Don’t tell the sheriff, but I made it from that corner to this one in record time.”

“Oh?” Her eyes sharpened on his moonlit face.

“Andretti would have been jealous.” He tossed her a soft look as they reached the curb. “From this vantage point…” He turned, nodding toward the theatre. “I could see the flames through the windows.”

He didn’t look at her, but she could see his eyes glistening under the streetlamp.

“It had only been, what, fifteen minutes since I’d left you there.” A tremor crept into his voice. “I thought my heart was going to beat a hole in my chest.”

She felt a little breathless. “My, that’s a vivid image.”

“Yeah.” He turned, and they started to walk again. “Anyway, I saw your car was gone from where you’d been parked. I was so relieved.”

“Relieved?” Warmth wafted through her. “Really?”

“Of course.” He eyed her tenderly. “Now, if I had known what was really going on…”

“How could you possibly have known?”

“I don’t know.” He held a beat. “Bruce Willis would have known.”

“True.” She tipped a smile. “So, what happened then?”

“I got out of my truck and ran over there.” He pointed back with his thumb.” Nancy ran up to me in a panic and asked who the man was that you’d left with.”

She jolted. “She saw?”

He blinked a nod. “Good thing too. I figured it must have been Sinclair but that just didn’t make sense.”

“So, you followed us.” A warmth radiated from her chest in spite of the night chill. “But how did you know where my car went down?”

“I didn’t at first. I must have driven past right after it happened. When you weren’t parked at the falls, I started back. I was praying all the way that you were safe, and I don’t know. Something just told me to stop when I did. I heard a noise and when I walked over to the edge I looked down and saw your hands.” He paused, softening. “Sorry if I scared you.”

She fought back a lump in her throat. “You have a way of doing that, you know.”

“I could wear a collar with a bell on it.”

She chuckled, relieved that he’d broken the seriousness of the moment. She looked at the street ahead, then stopped in her tracks and held up her unbandaged hand. “Wait a minute. Are you walking me home?”

“You noticed.”

“But isn’t your truck back there—in front of the sheriff’s office?”

He gave a slow nod.

“You mean you’re going to walk me home, walk back downtown, then drive home right past my house? What’s the point of that?”

He looked at her sideways. “I guess I just feel sorry for you because you don’t have any friends.”

A sardonic smirk found her face as they started walking again. “Thanks a lot.” Her voice turned quiet. “I’m really sorry Sam, but the painting burned. I saw it.”

He shook his head. “I figured. It’s not your fault.”

“It was my fault for not insuring it.” A thought struck her. “Maybe your business insurance…”

He shook his head. “My dad has no use for insurance.” He held up a hand toward her. “I told him we needed full coverage, but our policy is pretty bare bones. We’ll be lucky if it pays ten percent of the value of what was lost.”

“Oh.” Her heart sank. “So, what are you going to do?”

“It looks like we’re at Langley’s mercy again. That is if I haven’t totally alienated his yes-man.”

“You mean Devon? I could talk to him for you.”

His face turned somber. “If I had my way, you’d never talk to that guy again.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“Since you brought it up.” He stopped, facing her full-on. “Grace, I just wish you’d reconsider your involvement with him before you get hurt.”

“I don’t want to talk about Devon.” She looked away. “Whatever he did to you—”

“Not to me,” he said. “To Colleen.”

The fatigue jolted from her body. “Colleen?”

He paused, a cavalcade of emotions plying for top billing across his forehead.

Her heart warned her not to ask. “What did he do?”

“What didn’t he do?” Emotion welled up in his voice. “Swept her off her feet, lavished her with gifts. Promised to take her ‘away from all this’.” He waved his arms, mocking the sentiment.

Grace’s throat clenched in incredulity. “But, he wasn’t even in town all that long.”

His whole face had turned stony. “A testament to his speed. The guy’d be a shoo-in at NASCAR.”

“So…” Acid bubbled in her throat like a third grade science experiment. “What exactly happened?”

“He wined and dined her to get to Dad. Along with all the fine cuisine, he fed her a convincing argument which she passed on to us. We never would have taken Langley’s offer seriously if she hadn’t been so persuasive on that Casanova’s behalf.”

“But, you said she was deadset against it.”

“She is—now. Funny how much clearer things are by the light of day.”

“Meaning?”

“As soon as Devon had Dad on the hook, Colleen apparently didn’t look so enticing. See,” he turned to her, “my sister’s an old fashioned girl and Devon is, like I said,
speedy
. Why waste time hanging with the pit crew when there are so many pretty little cars willing to go for a spin?”

Her mouth contorted.
What a cute analogy
. “But your dad could have just dropped the deal. He wasn’t committed.”

“No, but by that time he’d pinned all his hopes on it. Colleen was so humiliated. We couldn’t burden Dad with the sordid details.”

“Oh.”
Poor Colleen
.

“So, you see why it’s hard to stand back and watch someone I…” His voice was soft and disarmingly intimate. “To watch
you
get mixed up with him.”

Her heart suddenly cooled. What concern was it of his when he had a girlfriend who was probably lying awake at this very moment wondering where he was? She clenched her jaw. “Thanks for your concern but it’s really none of your business.”

“It
is
my business because I care about you.”

She tried to ignore her pounding heart. “Yeah, well maybe you should start caring a little more about your own life and leave me alone.” She increased her pace.

He stepped up his own to keep up. “Why would you think I don’t care about my own life?”

“Well for starters…” She wanted to scold him for betraying his girlfriend, but the words wouldn’t come. “There’s your music. You’re keeping your gift hidden. ‘Under a bushel’—isn’t that the term?”

His voice betrayed his pain. “It’s not exactly hidden.”

“Bringing it out once a week at church. Is that really what you want?”

“What if it is?” He was holding back his anger, she could tell.

“If that’s true, great,” she snapped. “I just think you’re kidding yourself.”

Anger was clear on his face. “Look, I’m just a small town guy—”

“So you don’t like cities, is that it?” Her pitch went up a half-step.

“Not a big fan. Besides, my dad needs me here—”

“You just don’t want to leave Madison Falls.”

“Is that so terrible?”

She felt flustered. Why did this suddenly matter to her so much? “I think you’re wasting your talent.”

“Okay, I get that.” He steadied his voice. “But what did you mean, I should leave you alone?”

She pulled in a breath. Stilling her pace, she faced him. “You say you care so much about me not getting hurt, but what about
Jill?
”

His brow creased. “Jill? You think I’m not doing everything in my power to protect her too?”

“Oh.” Her diva fire was back. “Like she won’t get hurt as long as she can’t see you walking around in the dark with other women?”

“I don’t walk around in the dark with other…
other
women?” A wave of realization rolled across his face. “Wait a minute. You don’t think that I’m…”

She folded her arms, bracing herself for his rationalization.

He almost smiled. “You think I’m involved with Jill.”

Her gaze dropped to the sidewalk, then back to his face. “You mean, you’re not?”

“No.” His eyes entreated. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Well, I…” She dove deep into her memory. Where
did
she get that idea?

He held up a hand like a professor at the lectern. “Let’s get this straight. Jill is married to Caleb, my best friend.”

“
Oh
.” Her head suddenly felt much as it had a few hours ago, when it slammed into the dashboard of her car. “So there’s nothing between you?”

“Nothing. She’s Caleb’s girl.” His voice now dripped with emotion. “That’s why she was so bent on going after him that night you saw us outside the bar.”

Another puzzle piece snapped into place. She’d assumed the guy in the park was there to score a deal, but now she understood. “And why she acted the way she did at the potluck when he showed up.”

“You saw us at the potluck?” He smiled. “What have you been doing, surveillance work?”

“Sorry. It’s a small town.”

“And we wonder why small town gossip is such a cliché.”