Tangled Hearts (17 page)

“I’m going home. I told you I had a headache.”

“If you would eat something besides popcorn, you’ll feel better.”

“When I need a mother, I’ll let you know. I want to go home.” She knew she sounded childish, but she couldn’t help it. She just wanted to be away from this place, away from his friends, away from Diane.

“Too good for the grill? These people not intellectuals like college professors?

She blinked at the comment, staring up at him. Was that really how he interpreted her actions?

“It’s not that,” she said, suddenly feeling guilty. She really hadn’t given them a chance. Mainly she didn’t want to be around Diane. It was too painful.

“It sure looks like it. Where are your manners? Certainly you can bear up long enough to eat. After all, Tyler and Liza are here. They’re from your world. Talk to them if that makes you feel any better.”

“It’s not that,” she mumbled. Her gaze dropped to his chin. She couldn’t tell him. Yet she didn’t want him to think she was such a snob that she didn’t like his friends and co-workers.

“What is it, then?” He leaned over until his nose almost touched hers, his hand beneath her chin, tilting her face to meet his. “If it isn’t that, what is it?”

She didn’t want to have to say it. It made her seem so petty. But it was true.

“I’m jealous,” she whispered.

“What?” He stared at her for a long moment. “Are you nuts?”

She shook her head, embarrassment flooding her.

He cupped her chin and his thumb caressed her jaw. She hated looking at him, afraid of the disgust she’d see or the laughter.

But she saw only confusion.

“Why are you jealous? Or is the question who are you jealous of?”

“Whom.”

“Brianna.”

“Diane.”

He stared down at her for long moments. The wind whipped around them, cold and harsh. Brianna didn’t feel it. The heat of embarrassment threatened to consume her.

She didn’t want to feel this way. He’d made it clear there was no future in a relationship between them. And he was certainly free to see anyone he wanted.

But she felt raw with jealousy. She bitterly resented the fact he had invited Diane to spend New Year’s Eve with him. Bitterly resented the fact he’d been dating while she had been so lonely since he’d gone. Bitterly resented the fact she loved a man who didn’t love her in return.

“Diane is a friend. She works in dispatch and sometimes we go out. Just for fun. There’s no need for you to be jealous of her or anyone else.” His voice was soft and husky.

“Jake?” Tyler peered around the door. Laughter and light spilled from the opening. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. The cold air cured her headache. We’re coming back in now,” Jake said, his eyes never leaving Brianna’s.

“The waiter's finally ready to take our orders.”

“We’ll be right there.”

The door closed and they were alone on the sidewalk again.

“Coming?” he asked softly.

“What, refuse to return and make a cop out to be a liar?” she asked. Her heart ached, but there appeared to be nothing to do but go on with the evening.

Brianna was relieved to find Diane had left the group by the time she and Jake returned. Once the early dinner arrived, the others drifted away until only the four of them remained at their table. Despite the rocky beginning, she relaxed and began to enjoy herself. Tyler and Liza were a funny couple, had been together for several months and were discussing marriage. This was from Tyler—Liza kept flirting with him, yet holding him off.

When she and Brianna went to the rest room at one point, Liza admitted she was crazy for the guy. “But I don’t want him to become too complacent—even after we marry. How will he appreciate me if I fall too easily?”

Brianna nodded, but wondered if she could ever play games like that. She would want her husband as secure in her love as she would wish to be in his.

When they finished eating, Jake asked if she wanted to leave. She shook her head. She was having fun.

Again the numbers at the table swelled. Tyler was in seventh heaven, arguing social problems with cynical policemen. Jake leaned back and watched Brianna discussing the current college art exhibit with Sergeant Leroy Burns. Leroy’s hobby was oil painting and he and Brianna compared reactions to the exhibit.

It was late when they left.

“I liked your friends,” she said with a yawn as he settled her in the car.

“Good.”

She was pleasantly tired. The evening had turned out much better than she had thought at the beginning. Diane had not reappeared and that helped.

When Jake stopped the car at her place, she rolled her head against the back of the seat and looked at him.

“Which brother did you talk to and what did you two discuss?” she asked. She couldn’t let the evening end without knowing. She suspected it might be important.

“Drop it, Brie. It’s old news and changes nothing.”

“Jake, I want to know,” she insisted.

He opened his door and walked around to open hers. “Sometimes we don’t always get what we want,” he said as he helped her out onto the sidewalk. “Give me your keys and let’s get inside. It’s cold.”

She went to her room and tried both brothers again. Jase answered on the third ring.

“Hey,” Brianna said.

“What's up?” Jase asked.

She debated telling him about the break ins and the fall down the stairs, but decided against it. He'd only worry and she couldn't have better protection than Jake.

“I have a question for you and for Josh. Haven't reached him so you're first.”

“About?”

She heard Shannon murmuring the background.

“Did you ever meet Jake Morgan?”

“Who is he, someone at the college?”

“No he's a cop.”

“Why do you know a cop?”

“It's a long story and starts almost three years ago. Do you or do you not know him?”

“Nope. Does he ride rodeos?”

“Hardly.” She thought a moment. That only left Josh. What had he done?

“Know anything about Josh challenging a man I was dating?”

“Nope. Was it the cop?”

“I'll know once I talk to Josh. How's Shannon doing?”

Her new sister in law was already pregnant and both she and her brother were delighted.

“Good, want to talk to her?”

“Yes, I do.”

Brianna told some of the situation to Shannon, with the warning not to tell Jase. Then asked about how the early stages of pregnancy were going. Except for morning sickness, Shannon was feeling great.

When their conversation ended, Brianna debated going back to the living room with Jake, but was too frustrated with Jake’s refusal to answer her question. She knew she could question him from now until the cows came home, and if he chose not to respond, he wouldn’t.

“There are always ways to find things out, Mr. Hotshot Detective. You are not the only one who can interrogate people. If you won’t tell me, I’ll find out from the source.”

She tried Josh again. No answer. Where was he?

Jake drove the next morning, placed a police emblem on his dash and parked in her slot at the college. He walked her to class and sat in the back, alternating watching Brianna and the students.

When class was over, the students filed out. A young man entered the room and went to where Brianna was packing up her papers.

“Can I talk to you, professor?” the man asked.

“What's up?” she asked.

Jake came to the front of the room and stood to one side—alert and ready, but not interfering.

“I uh, thought, I uh, would get a better grade. I aced the midterm and the final. Did I uh, miss any assignments or something? I uh, got a C and I really expected an A.”

She glanced at Jake. “Which class?”

“Calculus, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Umm, my friend Janey Howell did better than a C, too.”

“You're Jim Smithers, right?”

He nodded.

“Did you hear my grade book was stolen?”

He nodded. “Does that mean nothing can be changed?”

“No, it means something is definitely wrong and you might be the clue to what it is. Do you have time to come to my office?”

“Sure.” He glanced at Jake.

“He'll come, too,” Brianna said.

She pulled up the grades for last fall's calculus class. Slowly she reviewed the grades again, trying to picture each student, trying to remember what the grades have been.

“I have my tests if you want to see them,” Jim said, pulling a bunch out of his backpack and offered them.

Brianna reviewed them quickly remembering how well this student had grasped the class.

“Who is Margaret Albert?”

“That's Peggy,” Jim said.

Wait a minute. This is wrong. Peggy Albert failed the course. Yet this printout shows a C. I know she failed because she’s on a scholarship and I hated to have to give a failing grade, but she didn’t do the work and failed all the tests. Her final exam score was higher than anything she’d done all year, but not enough to raise the grade.”

“So three students that you can remember now have different grades. Two lower than you remember, one higher,” Jake summarized, looking over her shoulder.

She nodded, studying the lists. “Why didn't I see this yesterday?” Frustrated not to have her grade book, she tried to recall what each student had earned. Shaking her head in defeat, she looked up. “That’s the best I can do. Where are the lists I sent into administration?”

“According to the woman I talked with in Administration, they keep them for a week after they send the grades out, then toss them. The theory is the professors still have the list of grades if any conflicts arise.”

“Well, the college would be swamped with paper if it kept every piece,” she said reasonably.

He stood and took the list she’d marked. “I’ll give these to Don. He can start checking. We’ll start with these two girls.”

“Neither are as tall as I am. I can’t see either one as the person on the stairs.”

“I’ll let you know if we turn anything up.” He sketched her a small salute and headed for the elevators.

She smiled at Jimmy. “I'll make sure we correct this. I don't know what happened or how, but I can correct your grade. I appreciate your coming forward.”

“Thank you, Professor.” He nodded his head and left.

Could those two girls, with help, have changed the grades? What other classes might be affected?

She called the administration office and discussed the situation with one of the women who could help her. Satisfied all was being done, Brianna called her friend Susan. She had a brother to see.

The sun hovered on the horizon by the time Susan and Brianna turned onto the long road that led to the Rafter C.

Jase had convinced her he truly hadn't a clue who Jake was.

That left Josh. Suspecting her bossy brother had interfered when he had no business being involved, she decided to confront him face-to-face rather than try to nail him down over the phone.

She didn't want to drive, so enlisted her friend Susan.

It had been several months since she’d been home and she felt the same surge of homecoming and delight she always felt when on the Rafter C.

You could take the girl off the ranch, but you couldn’t take the ranch out of the girl. No matter how much she enjoyed teaching, she always felt at home here. Suddenly she was anxious for summer to return. She usually spent a few weeks in July riding, helping with the chores, renewing herself.

Josh was out when they arrived. It would be dark in another hour. He’d be back by then. Susan had visited before, and knew the layout of the house. She parked in back and they entered through the kitchen.

Brianna shook her head at the mess on the counters and in the sink. Since their former housekeeper had left to care of her invalid mother, Josh had not been able to keep a replacement.

And if anyone needed someone else to do housekeeping chores, it was her brother!

Susan giggled. “Typical bachelor, right? I can clean up.”

“My family, my mess,” Brianna said.

“You sit. Your wrist isn't fully healed and you need to stay off the foot as much as you can.

“Tell me more about Jake,” Susan invited as she began running warm water into the sink. She'd been Brianna's confident when Jake had stopped coming around and wanted to know all the latest now.

“Brianna! I didn’t know you were coming.”

Josh entered the kitchen two hours later. Tall and lean, he looked tired and dusty. Shedding his shearling jacket and cowboy hat, he gave his sister a quick hug, and greeted Susan. When he glanced around the kitchen, his face lit up in a genuine smile.

“Thanks for cleaning up. And—” he drew in a deep breath “—from the tantalizing aroma coming from the oven, I’d say I’m more than glad you two came by. What did you fix?”

“Susan made meat loaf. You didn’t have anything else. When are you going to get another housekeeper?”

“I’m working on it. Is it my fault none of the ones the local agency sends out will stay? Who wants to come to work on a remote ranch in the dead of winter? The last one only left a couple of days ago. I’ll get someone soon. What’s the occasion for the visit? What’s happened? How did you get hurt?” he asked, spotting the support on her ankle.

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you over dinner.” And get a few answers in exchange!

They fell into a familiar routine. Susan served up dinner; Josh handed the silverware to Brianna to set the table. He brought the plates to the table from the kitchen. It reminded Brianna of evenings when she was growing up after her parents had died.

For so long it had just been Josh, Jase and her. The three against the world.

She didn’t want her brother to have done anything that would alter their relationship. Glancing at Josh, she hesitated, then decided to withhold her questions until after they ate. No sense in ruining the meal Susan had prepared. Time enough for indigestion when they were finished.

As they began to eat, she explained how she had hurt her ankle.

“And the police haven’t found out who did it yet?” he said, scowling.