You're Busting My Nuptials (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 2) (13 page)

Everything Jinx said made perfect sense and Tizzy almost cried. She appreciated his help, but for him to truly believe in Ridge warmed her heart.

“Where did Ridge keep his guns?” Jinx asked.

“Under the kitchen sink, in a lock box.”

“It’s empty. I checked. He kept all his weapons there?”

Tizzy swallowed hard. “No, he stashed his ankle gun either in the bedside table or in the kitchen on top of the cabinet.”

“If there’d been a gun in the bedside table, Gwynn would have taken it. But she wouldn’t have known to look above the cabinet, and with ten-foot ceilings, Ted Mitchell may not have found it in his search. Let’s take a look.”

Tizzy led the way and shined her light up to a basket of artificial ivy.

Jinx hoisted himself up onto the counter and aimed the light behind the greenery. “Bingo.” He took his handkerchief from his back pocket and retrieved the gun. “This may not be absolute proof, but the discovery will be enough to start an inquiry. A lawman would never leave his weapon behind. We can go to Dan and he’ll start an investigation.”

Tizzy mulled the idea over for a minute. “No.”

“Why the hell not? I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“I do want help, but not from Dan. Not anymore. We’ll call Captain Reynolds. Ridge is a Ranger, so Rangers should investigate. If they want to bring the county in, fine. But Dan won’t hear about this from me.”

Jinx swung his feet back to the floor. “Tizzy, you’re being unreasonable. Dan needed proof and the gun is definitely an indication Ridge didn’t leave on his own.” Jinx laid his handkerchief out and wrapped the weapon. “Dan’s between a rock and hard place. He can’t start an investigation because someone
thinks
a crime has been committed. You’ve got enough background in law enforcement to understand his position.”

Tizzy wagged her head. “It’s not only that, Dan doesn’t like Ridge and he knows it hurts me and yet he doesn’t even try to pretend to like him for my sake.” Her voice cracked. “And don’t forget about the pre-nup. That was all Dan’s doing.”

Jinx moved to stand next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Hey, don’t cry on me, now. I don’t do well when a woman cries. Besides, a few hours ago, you were a real badass getting Synola to use that pink gun of yours. Which is a total contradiction.”

“Don’t underestimate me. I’m a good shot. Passed all my tests to carry concealed.”

“After tonight, you may need to use that skill.”

Tizzy leaned against the counter. “I’ve been thinking about what happened tonight. I don’t have it straight in my head yet, but I think our trouble started at Double D’s. That’s where we picked up the first tail, and the place was full of clowns. Since bozos were chasing us, there must be a connection.”

Tizzy opened a drawer, fished around for a plastic baggie and held it open for Jinx to drop the gun inside. “I agree with you. I don’t have all the dots connected just yet. But if we keep following the clues, at some point everything will come together.”

He sealed the bag and handed it to Tizzy. “The sun will be coming up soon. First, you should call the Rangers and get them down here. I doubt they’ll agree to drag the lake on the word of an old fortune teller, so you need to be prepared for that.”

“I don’t intend to tell them about Eldora. I’ve learned my lesson.” She figured the Rangers would think she was as crazy as Dan did. She looked down at the gun. “Oh, and Ted Mitchell texted me earlier. He’s faxing a full report to the police, but he wanted me to know there weren’t any other body fluids on the sheets except mine and Ridge’s.”

Jinx cocke
d his head. “Are you relieved?”

Tizzy shifted her shoulders and laid the gun on the small table by the door. “I never doubted it.” She could see in Jinx’s eyes, there was another question coming.

He cocked his head to the other side. “Then, why did you have him test them?”

“I didn’t wan
t anybody else to have doubts.”

Jinx hugged her. “Ridge is a lucky man.”

“Thank you for helping me,” she said, thinking that didn’t begin to express her true gratitude.

“Hey, just like when we were kids, I got your back.” He nudged her. “Oh, and sorry I didn’t step in and keep Dan from making you kiss that frog.”

Tizzy rested her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Jinx.”

“So, I’m forgiven for the frog thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, now my conscience is clear and I can sleep nights. And by the way, I love you, too.”

Tizzy didn’t know the first thing about arranging to get a lake dragged, so at seven o’clock, she called her dad. An hour later, Saint called back to say the men would start ASAP.

At eight o’clock, she called Frank Reynolds’s office and told him about the gun. Frank agreed it was enough proof to start an investigation. She didn’t mention the lake.

At eight thirty, she tied on an apron and started a batch of Pecan Tassies. She needed something to fill her time before the arrival of the Rangers and the lake being dragged. Baking always soothed her soul.

Tizzy’s kitchen made her happy. White cabinets gleamed against oak paneling and stainless steel appliances. No matter what time of day, if the sun was shining, the marble countertops glowed in the soft light that filtered through the windows. The layout furnished a view of the back yard. If Gracie played outside, Tizzy could bake and keep an eye on her at the same time.

By nine o’clock, she had the cream cheese pastry divided in the mini-muffin pans and the filling mixed.

Jinx stayed over, caught another couple hours’ sleep and occupied the shower.

As she put the dessert in the oven, Synola arrived.

“You look beautiful,” Tizzy said, eyeing her pale blue angora sweater.

“Yes, you do,” Jinx said from the doorway, a wicked smile in place. “All fuzzy and soft like the Easter Bunny.”

Jinx wasn’t half-bad either. Dressed in jeans and a denim shirt, not yet buttoned, it gaped enough to show his muscular chest and flat belly. His hair was still damp from the shower and he was barefoot.

Synola eyed him up and down, swallowed hard, and bit her lip.

“What?” Jinx asked. “No smart comeback?”

“I could come up with one, but you gave me a compliment, so I think I’ll accept it and say thank you. Besides, you did sorta get us out of trouble last night. Who were your partners?”

“A couple of friends.” He sat down and pulled on his socks and cowboy boots.

Synola took a deep breath. “It smells delicious in here.”

“I’m baking tassies. Ridge loves them,” Tizzy said, missing him even more than she thought possible. “They’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

Jinx crossed the room to Synola and stood inches away from her. “
You
look delicious,” he said into her hair.

Synola backed up until she bumped the counter and Jinx moved with her. He placed a hand on each side of her, rested his palms against the bar and leaned in close.

She leaned as far away from him as possible. “Why are you being nice to me?”

“Baby Cakes, I’ve been nice to you from the beginning, but you haven’t been paying attention,” he said, his lips brushing hers.

Synola took another breath, ragged this time, placed a hand flat against his bare chest and pushed. “Back off, slick.”

Jinx laughed. “Admit it, I had you there for a second.”

“Smartass, I should’ve known you were playing me.”

“I wasn’t playing you. I was playing around. But, just so you know, I meant the part about you being beautiful and delicious.” He went to the fridge and took out a carton of orange juice.

Tizzy smiled and watched the scene play out. She wondered how much longer Synola would be able to resist Jinx. She gave her twenty-four hours.

The timer dinged. Tizzy removed the pans and put them on the cooling rack. She inhaled the scent of pecans mixed with brown sugar and thought about the last time she baked them. She’d fed them to Ridge, shoving the whole tassie into his mouth.
His mouth. Lord, she loved kissing him.

“I’ve been thinking,” Jinx said, knocking Tizzy from her daydream.

“Oooh, don’t hurt yourself,” Synola snipped.

Thankful for the distraction, Tizzy smiled at Synola’s remark.

Jinx grinned at Synola. “As I was saying. I’ve been thinking we should go back to the Skylar house and search Gwynn’s room. There could be notes or phone numbers important to the case.”

“Won’t the Rangers check that out?” Synola asked.

Tizzy glanced at Jinx, then back at Synola. “They’ll need a search warrant because I don’t think Ramona will let them in. But, I bet she’ll let us in.”

Jinx nodded. “Yeah, while the Rangers are conducting their investigation, Tizzy and I agree we shouldn’t drop ours.”

“They have rules.” Tizzy rested her hand on Jinx’s shoulder. “Jinx and I are willing to break rules in order to find Ridge. How about you?”

“Sister, are you kidding me? Last night, I was willing to blow a clown’s ass off with a pink gun. I’m all up into breaking the rules.”

Jinx laughed again. “Okay, now that we’re all on the same page, this is what I think we need to do. We’ll go back to Ramona’s and Tizzy can ask to see Gwynn’s room.”

“Since Bubba’s off today, Rayann won’t be coming, so I’ll need to hang back, because Ramona will go nuts if three of us show up.”

At ten thirty, two white unmarked cars pulled into the drive. Captain Reynolds and another man got out and strode across the lawn. They stepped onto the porch as Tizzy opened the front door.

Frank embraced her. “Tizzy, I’d like for you to meet Officer Hunter Fisher. He’s gonna be the lead in the case.”

Synola peeked around Tizzy to size up the flinty-looking tall drink of water in the cowboy hat. “Hi, I’m Synola Harper. What’s your middle name . . . Golfer?”

“Don’t mind her,” Tizzy said, “she can’t help herself. Please come in.”

At eleven-thirty, Tizzy finished telling Captain Reynolds and Officer Fisher about Gwynn Skylar, the two trucks, and their occupants. She didn’t mention Eldora, clowns, black SUVs, or the Big Eddy.

Jinx thought it best to let the Rangers go about their own investigation without the influence of a fortune teller and a car chase. Tizzy agreed.

At noon, as the lawmen were leaving, a bronze-colored Cadillac wheeled into the drive at Browning House. Tizzy’s stomach did a flip when Ridge’s sister, Erica, and mother, Hazel, got out of the car and walked across the lawn.

“Oh, hell,” Tizzy muttered under her breath.

“I’m sorry, Tizzy. It was my duty to call her,” Frank said. “She’s next of kin.”

Tizzy suppressed a scream. “I understand. I don’t have to like it, but I understand.”

As Erica and Hazel made their way toward the front door, Tizzy couldn’t help but think they appeared to be from two different centuries. Erica, wearing jeans tucked into winter boots, and a gray sweater topped off by a bright red blazer, looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine.

Wearing a black pant suit with a white collar, Hazel appeared to have just stepped off the Mayflower.

Tizzy cemented a smile in place and waved to them. Erica smiled and returned the greeting. Hazel’s expression, on the other hand, looked as if she’d just smelled a really bad fart.

To avoid offering the accommodations to Hazel and Erica, Tizzy suggested the Rangers stay at Browning House. Even though the old home only had one bathroom, the three bedrooms easily accommodated Capta
in Reynolds and Officer Fisher.

After getting the two men settled, Tizzy stood on the porch and stared until the Cadillac
’s tail lights disappeared from view, as Hazel and Erica headed to Tyler to find a hotel for the next few days. Then Tizzy went back inside to join Jinx and Synola.

Tizzy attempted to convince herself Hazel’s curt attitude wasn’t directed at her personally. But as hard as she tried, she failed. The woman hated her and that’s all there was to it.
Nothing that a good stiff shot of Tequila wouldn’t fix—or another night with Gracie. Somehow, wrapping her arms around her child’s little body, hearing her giggle and stealing her kisses, fixed just about anything.

Before she could tell Jinx and Synola her plans, someone knocked. She hoped it wasn’t Hazel returning. It dawned on her she and the woman didn’t have a thing in common, except Ridge. Maybe that’s why his mother disliked her. She was afraid Tizzy would take him from her.

She swung the door wide and was surprised to see Walter Engles, a Bible in one hand, and a bundle of papers in the other. “Mr. Engles, how are you? Please come in.”

“Thank you, Tizzy. I wanted to drop by and find out if you made any progress with the clubs I mentioned. Did you locate the stripper?”

“We haven’t actually found her yet, but we did learn who she is, so thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, laying his Bible on a small table by the door. He licked his thumb and separated three papers from the stack. “I’d like to invite y’all to the Holy Ghost Revival we’re having this weekend.” He passed a flyer to Jinx. “I’ll be speaking at Friday night’s service.” He handed one to Synola and then to Tizzy. “My topic will be “Negative Jesus, Positive Jesus.”