Chapter Nine
By lunchtime the following day, Noah was ready to give up hope he’d ever find Brandon. He wasn’t at his parents’ place. Noah had checked last night and come back again several times today. Brandon’s parents didn’t have a clue where he’d gone either.
And they didn’t seem in much of a hurry to search for him.
Noah had texted Olivia twice. Once to say good morning, and again to tell her he was still looking for Brandon and hadn’t even gotten to talk to Jed about the water. He hadn’t gotten an answer, and he wondered where she was, but before he could try to track her down, he needed to find Brandon, or the man might run off the rails for good.
He was nearing the end of his patience when he ran into Cab at the sheriff’s station, where he’d hoped to find Mahoney.
“Just the man I’ve been looking for,” Cab said.
Noah wished he’d avoided the place, but it was too late now. He followed Cab into his office and sat on one of the hard wooden chairs the sheriff indicated. Cab took a seat behind his desk.
“If this is about the other night…”
“Of course it’s about the other night. I can’t have my parole officers beating up people at the local bar,” Cab said.
“I know.” Noah hung his head. He did know. He wasn’t one for starting fights. Usually.
“No one’s pressed charges. Not even the owner. Everyone knows there’s tension between your families. There always is. The question is, can you get your people under control?”
“Yes.” Noah tried to sound far surer than he really was. Truth was, controlling Jed was like trying to control the wind. As for Liam, his brother was getting more trigger-happy by the minute. He wasn’t sure why. He’d grown up like the rest of them hearing stories about Coopers being the enemies, but Liam seemed to have it out for Lance in particular.
“I’ve got this under control,” he said again.
Cab shook his head but didn’t press him, and when Noah didn’t get up to go, he leaned back in his chair. “Something else on your mind?”
“Yeah,” Noah finally answered. He filled in Cab on his progress—or lack thereof—with Brandon. “I’m afraid he’s going to reoffend,” he finished. “He’s desperate for cash to impress Christie, and he can’t find work. It’s a dangerous combination.”
“I’ll let my deputies know, and we’ll keep an eye out. Maybe he’s holed up with Christie somewhere.”
“I checked her house, too.”
“Maybe he took her out of town.”
“Could be.” Noah sighed. The puzzle was wearing him down. He wanted answers. Now.
“Listen.” Cab sat forward. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m going to say it anyway. You’re doing your job, and at some point you’ll have to sit back and let Brandon make his own mistakes.”
“But—”
Cab held up a hand to stop him. “No buts. It’s his life, not yours. His choices. Things don’t always line up all nice and neat.” He nodded to the edge of his desk, and Noah realized he’d been lining up everything on it. Cab’s pencil holder, stapler, calculator…
“Sorry.”
“No problem. But you need to hear what I’m saying. You can’t control Brandon. You can’t control Jed or Liam, either.”
“You just asked me to,” Noah pointed out.
“I asked if you could. You said yes. Which means you’re delusional.”
“Hell, what do you want me to do then?” Noah had the urge to get up and start pacing. Only Cab’s calm gaze kept him in his seat.
“I want you to control your own actions. Even if Jed or Liam start something. Hell, even if the Coopers start something—you need to hold back. Be the calm one in the middle of the storm. Got that?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
But he didn’t know if he could follow through.
A half hour later, he parked his truck in front of his family’s home and slowly made his way up the front steps. Inside all was quiet. He went upstairs to change into work clothes, but when he came back down, he heard a noise. Noah stopped. It was coming from the living room. As he stepped into the doorway, a blur of movement caught his eye, and he reached out instinctively—
And caught Olivia around the middle, hauling her back against him as she flailed around trying to get free.
“Olivia! What are you doing here in the middle of the day?” He glanced at the mantel. There was the clock. She hadn’t gotten it.
But she’d been trying. Again. Less than twenty-four hours since they’d made love. And she looked… haunted.
“I brought it back. I’ve got to go—Caroline’s in the car.”
“Brought it back? From where?”
“From Thorn Hill. Virginia stole it. Noah, I have to go—”
“Virginia hasn’t set foot on the Flying W in decades.” He didn’t know what Olivia was up to, but he didn’t like the idea she’d come here and lie to his face. Bad enough she’d been trying to take the clock again. Didn’t she know Liam would turn her in if he caught her? He couldn’t bear the thought of Olivia in trouble like that. “Liam’s out to get you. You know that, right? You want to end up in jail like your dad?”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “You think I stole it—after we—are you kidding?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said quickly. “Look, the clock is where it belongs, so no harm, no foul, but you have to get out of here before—”
“I didn’t take it!”
“Shh! I just said it doesn’t matter—”
“Wow,” Olivia said. “Just… wow. Fine. I’m out of here.” She yanked her arm out of his grip.
“Olivia, wait—”
“Hell, no. I’m not sticking around for this. I tried. Remember that when you’re wondering what happened to us. I tried. You’re the one who refused to give us a chance. What is wrong with men? You’re all insane!”
And she was gone.
“It really was an accident,” Caroline said for the tenth time when Olivia parked in the Chance Creek Reformed Church lot. She didn’t know where else to go. After collecting Caroline from her house last night, she’d brought her back to Thorn Hill, guided her past Virginia, who was awake and crowing about successfully stealing back her clock, and put her to bed in her room, where Caroline had sobbed her eyes out before finally falling asleep.
She’d spent the morning trying to convince Caroline to go to the sheriff, but Caroline refused. Her eye was swollen shut, and dark bruises marred her arms, but she wouldn’t budge, and Olivia knew she couldn’t force Caroline to press charges against Devon. When Virginia forced Lance to drive her to the Prairie Garden to visit friends—more like intimidate them, Olivia thought—Olivia knew the chance had come to return the clock.
She’d brought Caroline with her. With that errand accomplished, Olivia had driven to the church. Now Caroline sat buckled into the passenger seat of Olivia’s truck, refusing to get out.
“Why are we stopping here?” she demanded.
“Because we’re going to talk to Reverend Halpern. He’ll know what to do.”
“There’s nothing to do,” Caroline cried. “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have yelled at Devon. I was the one who started it.”
Olivia wasn’t sure she could stand much more of this. “He’s the one who hit you! Caroline, what he did isn’t right. You know that, don’t you?”
“I wish I’d never won that money.” Caroline huddled into the seat, and Olivia lost what composure she had remaining.
“He’s going to kill you sooner or later!” Olivia snapped her mouth shut. Had she gone too far?
Caroline stared at her in shock.
“Men who hit women don’t stop.” She had to press forward now. “They keep on hitting. And they do worse.”
“I—it wouldn’t come to that.”
“What if it did? Is that what you want? Do you want him to kill you?”
“No!” A tear streaked down Caroline’s face. “But I don’t know what to do.”
“Leave him.”
“And go where? He’s living in my house.” Her voice rose as she spoke, and Olivia understood. Caroline thought she was in too deep; she didn’t think she could get out. Now they were making progress.
“It’s your house. You can kick him out.”
Caroline shook her head, her tears falling faster. “I put him… I put him on the title. And on my credit card. My bank account. On everything.”
Olivia let out a ragged breath. She didn’t know what to say to that. This was legal territory she didn’t have answers for.
“He took all the money out of the bank,” Caroline sobbed. “He took the lottery ticket. Everything. It’s all gone. I can’t leave; I have nothing.” She was losing control, and Olivia ached for her friend.
“You still have to go. Now. Today, Caroline.”
“I can’t even pay for a plane ticket!”
“I’ll take care of that.”
“You don’t have any money either.”
“Do you trust me?” Olivia demanded, making up her mind what to do. She was done letting men call the shots.
Caroline nodded.
“Then no more questions. I know what to do.”
“What took you so long?” Liam asked when Noah joined him at the Burger Shack an hour later.
“I was doing something.” Noah wasn’t going to elaborate. He’d spent the last thirty minutes pacing a trail around their living room, going over and over his conversation with Olivia, wondering how everything had gone so wrong. Cab was right, he told himself for the twentieth time. You couldn’t change people. Olivia was who she was. She’d spent the night with him, then tried to steal his clock. It didn’t matter if Virginia strong-armed her into doing it or if she thought she deserved it because once it had belonged to her family. She hadn’t knocked on the door and asked for it; she’d walked into his house and tried to take it.
He was a parole officer. A man who believed in the law. Could he be with someone who flouted it so openly?
Liam led him to a table, and they both sat down.
“I got Coach Latham coming to talk to us. You remember him, right?” Liam asked.
Noah forced himself to focus. Coach Latham had run the Chance Creek football team like a military unit. Noah had appreciated his orderliness. The predictability of practice. You always knew where you stood with the man.
“He’s going to write a letter?”
“I’m still trying to convince him. That’s why you’re here. He’ll listen to you.”
Maybe, Noah thought. He still didn’t like this letter campaign, though. What would Olivia think if she knew what they were doing?
And you call me the thief, he could hear her say. She’d be right to condemn him. Working against them this way wasn’t any more honorable than stealing a clock.
Noah stifled a groan. God, he’d been a self-righteous prick back at the Flying W. Who cared if Olivia was trying to steal the damn clock? Hell, it should belong to the Coopers. He had to find Olivia and apologize.
It was too late to leave now, though. Coach Latham was coming through the door.
“There’s the man who took us to Regionals,” he boomed when he spotted Noah. “Noah Turner. Best running back a coach could want.”
“Hey, Coach Latham. How are you?” He wished he’d slipped away. He couldn’t stand what this feud was doing to him—making him participate in undermining something so good for Chance Creek. It bothered him even more to be helping get other people involved. “You know, Coach—”
“Call me Daniel. You’re not a kid anymore, are you?”
“No.” Even though sometimes he wished he was. Life had been a hell of a lot easier back then.
“What’s this about a letter? Writing’s not my strong suit, you know. Give me a ball to throw, and I’m your man…”
“It’s about the school.” Liam gestured to the booth, and Coach Latham sat down, blocking Noah’s way out. Liam went on to explain what they were doing and what they wanted from him. Noah, more uncomfortable by the minute, looked for a way to excuse himself but failed to come up with one.
“Well, boys, I guess I can jot down a memory or two,” Latham said when Liam was done. “But I got to say, this upgrade sounds like a great deal.”
Liam shot Noah a look that said he’d better jump in and seal the deal. Noah opened his mouth, closed it again, tried desperately to think of what to do and was grateful when the door burst open again and Virginia Cooper strode in.
“Where is she?” the old woman shouted.
The hum of conversation in the restaurant faltered, then surged again as people craned their necks to see what was happening.
“Olivia? You here?”
Noah half stood, his present predicament forgotten. Had Virginia gone right over the edge? He wondered why Virginia thought Olivia would be in the Burger Shack, but taking in the old woman’s appearance, he guessed this wasn’t the first place she’d looked. Her tidy bun had slipped to one side. Her face was flushed, her hands shaking.
“Coach, let me out, would you?”
Latham stood up, and Noah brushed past him.
“Virginia? You okay?” A glance over her shoulder told him she was alone. How had she even gotten to town?
“No, I’m not okay. She stole it! That girl just up and stole it, and I bet you put her up to it, you Turner weasel! After all my work—”
“Stole what?” Noah pulled out his phone but wasn’t sure who to call. Would Olivia even pick up if she saw his name? He couldn’t call her brothers. Cab? Maybe—
“My clock!”
Noah faltered. “Clock?”
“You know exactly what I mean, you stupid… Turner. My clock. The one your ancestors stole from my family. The one Jed wouldn’t give back.”
“You stole the clock?” Noah’s heart sank. Hell, Olivia had been telling the truth?
And he’d accused her of being a thief. Driven her away.
“Of course I took it. Didn’t you see my umbrella?”
“Umbrella?” He couldn’t keep up.
“I left its broken shards on the mantel so you’d know justice had been served.” She lifted her chin. “When I find Olivia, I’m going to—”
“Virginia, calm down. Liam, get her a glass of water or something.” Noah urged her over to their booth, where Coach Latham helped her into a seat. He hadn’t seen a broken umbrella, but Olivia had been carrying a purse—a normal-size one, not the tiny thing she’d carried at Camila and Carl’s wedding. Maybe she’d shoved the pieces in there.
Virginia sat down, still sputtering. “Don’t even bother to look for her when I’m done. You won’t find a trace of that ungrateful—”
Noah wanted to kick himself. He’d jumped to conclusions, hadn’t listened to a thing Olivia said.
He was such an idiot.
Would Olivia ever forgive him?
Liam came bearing a water glass and a look on his face that said Noah had to have lost his mind, but Noah didn’t have time to explain.
“Where have you looked for Olivia so far?” he demanded of Virginia.
“Everywhere! The grocery store, the hardware store, the feed store, Linda’s Diner, DelMonaco’s, even that foreign place.”
“Fila’s?”
“That’s the one.” Virginia sniffed. “She’s not at any of them.”
Noah went over the list in his mind, then nodded. It was a long shot, but he knew one place Virginia hadn’t looked. “Gotta go,” he said, already on his feet again. “Liam, Coach, make sure she gets home.”
“Are you out of your—?”
Noah didn’t wait to hear Liam out. He had to find Olivia and make things right between them.
“Looking for this?” Lance held out the key to the gun safe but lifted it high when Olivia grabbed for it.
“That’s exactly what I’m looking for.” She slammed shut the drawer she’d been pawing through, the one that usually held the spare key. They’d long ago figured one of them would be in the kitchen if the house was ever broken into. Someone was always in the kitchen.
“Finally come around and realized those Turners need shooting?”
“Not the Turners.” Olivia jumped up, but Lance held the key out of her reach. “Come on. I don’t have time for this.”
“Who?”
Olivia hesitated.
“You want these keys, you’re going to have to tell me.”
“Promise not to get involved. No matter what.”
Lance made a face. “Fine. I promise.”
“Devon Host.”
Lance gave her the keys and followed her into the study to the gun safe. He watched her fumble the keys into the lock. “What’s he done?”
“Beat the shit out of Caroline and stole her money.”
“So you’re going to kill him?”
Olivia got the door open and pulled out the shotgun. “I’m going to get her money back.” She gave him a quick recap of the situation as she locked the safe again and grabbed a handful of ammunition.
“Why the hell aren’t you getting Cab involved?”
Olivia turned on him. “You’re telling me to the get the sheriff involved? That’s rich.”
“Look, you aren’t me. You’ve got a future—”
“Lance, you’ve got a future, too. You’re a rancher, for God’s sake. With a ranch. How many people can say that these days? I get that it’s hard. I get you need more help. I’m trying. But right now I need to get Caroline’s money and get her out of here.” She pushed past him and made for the front door.
“I think this is a mistake.” Lance followed after her.
“It won’t be the first one I’ve made.” She faced him one last time. “Remember—you promised. Stay out of this.”
Noah’s heart sank when he scanned the library parking lot and didn’t see Olivia’s truck, but he persevered and went inside. Marta was nowhere in sight, but he recognized Caroline Selwich sitting nearby, bent over her phone. Wasn’t she a friend of Olivia’s?
She looked up as he approached, and his breath hitched when he saw the large bruise swelling one eye. Hell, how had that happened?
“Hi, Caroline,” he said awkwardly. “I’m looking for Olivia. Have you seen her lately?”
She nodded. “She was here about an hour ago.”
Noah knelt down beside her chair. “You look like you could use some help. Have you seen a doctor about that eye?”
“I’m okay.”
“You don’t look okay.” Noah’s phone shrilled, and he grabbed it from his pocket. It was a number he didn’t recognize, but he sure knew the name.
Lance Cooper.
He accepted the call. “Noah here.”
“Olivia’s in trouble.”
A chill traced down Noah’s spine. He got to his feet. “Where is she?”
“Caroline Selwich’s house. She’s going after Devon, Caroline’s boyfriend. Says he hit her.”
Noah turned, paced away and lowered his voice. “I’m looking at Caroline right now. She’s got a shiner like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Olivia says he took Caroline’s money. I promised I wouldn’t interfere.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Good.” Lance hung up. Noah faced Caroline. “I’m going to go get her.”
“I don’t know where she is—”
“I do. Sit tight. I’ll be back soon.”
This was no time for niceties, Olivia decided as she walked up to the front stoop of Caroline’s little moss-green house. With its white shutters and picket fence, it was cute as a button. Caroline kept the front yard neatly trimmed, and rose bushes edged the fence. It made Olivia sick to think of Devon taking it over.
She grasped the knob of the front door firmly, turned it, but it didn’t open.
Was Devon not even here?
There was a truck in the driveway but no lights on in the house that she could see. Caroline’s place was with walking distance of downtown Chance Creek, though, and there were a dozen places Devon might have gone on foot. Olivia let herself through the gate into the fenced backyard. The back door was locked, too, but a screened window was open beside it.
Olivia cradled the shotgun, reached into her purse and pulled out her pocket knife. Her father had given it to her when she was six years old and taught her a little whittling, although she’d never been good at it. The knife itself came in handy all the time, though. It was sure handy now, she thought as she slit a hole in the screen big enough to step through.
Inside she found herself in a neat bedroom she guessed was a spare one. The door was open, and she listened for a moment before moving into the hall. Five minutes later she’d assured herself no one was home. Olivia wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. With Devon out of the way, she could look for the money, but if he’d taken it with him, she was hooped.
She kept the shotgun at the ready as she picked her way through the house again, opening drawers and looking through Devon and Caroline’s possessions, but finding nothing out of the ordinary.
She pocketed as much of Caroline’s jewelry as she could when she found a box of it in the master bedroom and stuffed in her purse a small photo album she found on her friend’s bedside table. Where was the money, though? Olivia tried to think like Devon would.
He’d claimed it as his own, which meant he’d put it somewhere he identified as belonging to him, too. Olivia looked over Caroline’s pretty bedroom. Not here.
She crossed to a window and spotted a shed in the backyard. She’d bet Devon had taken that over when he moved in. Back out in the hall, Olivia was headed for door when another room caught her eye. She carefully pushed the door open wider.
An office.
It looked like Devon had claimed this room. Papers were spread over the desk. A jacket had been tossed on a chair, and a pair of work boots Olivia was sure Caroline would never allow in the house lay on their sides on the carpet.
Olivia hurried to search the desk, leaning the shotgun against it and using both hands to paw through the drawers.
She didn’t find the money, but when she gave up in frustration and scanned the room a second time, she noticed the wooden box on the bookshelf near the window. It was handmade. Rough. Like a project a kid might complete in high school shop class. A kid who wasn’t very good at woodworking.
Had Devon made this himself once upon a time? She bet he had. It was locked with a small padlock, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. She looked around for a way to break it, and her gaze lit on a big stone studded with fossils. That would do.
She smashed the stone down on the lock and busted the box wide open.
Bingo.
Caroline’s lottery ticket and a slim stack of hundred dollar bills.
Olivia shoved all of it in her pocket, closed the box again, picked up the shotgun and turned to go. This was the most dangerous part. If Devon arrived home now, he’d catch her red-handed. She slipped through the house and out the back door, closing it carefully behind her, and made her way to the gate, going up on tiptoe to make sure no one was on the other side before she opened it and went through.
Almost there.
As she came around the house, she stopped, taking in two vehicles in motion on Caroline’s street.
A man in a silver pickup spotted her and quickly pulled away. Lance. He’d followed her.
Before she could fully take that in, a Ram pickup pulled in right behind her blue Chevy. The front window rolled down and a head poked out.
Olivia swore.
It was Noah.
“Olivia, are you all ri—”
Noah watched in shock as Olivia burst into a run, threw her shotgun through the open window into her truck, scrambled up after it and wriggled through the window herself, her boot-covered feet the last to disappear before a second later the truck’s taillights came on, the engine roared to life and she drove away.
“Hey!” Noah yelled after her. He turned his own truck back on, put it in gear and floored the gas pedal. “What the hell, Olivia!” he called out the window, although he knew she couldn’t hear him.
He looked back, wondering if Devon had been chasing her, but no one followed her out of Caroline’s house, so what had she been doing with that shotgun? And why had she run away?
He had to let up on the gas almost as soon as he floored it. In the middle of town, traffic just didn’t go that fast. Olivia didn’t stop long enough for him to catch up to her, but she was obeying the traffic laws. When she turned into the library parking lot, he breathed a sigh of relief.
By the time he parked his truck, she was already racing inside the building—without her shotgun, he was glad to see. He followed her inside and caught up just as Caroline put her purse down on her chair and threw her arms around Olivia.
“Thank you,” she said. “I was so worried. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”
“It’s nothing,” Olivia said.
“I was worried, too.” Noah gave a hard look at another patron who was watching the proceedings. The man turned back to browsing the stacks. “Olivia, what were you doing back there?”
“Caroline needed something. I went to get it.”
“Alone? Armed?”
“Everything’s fine.”
Noah couldn’t believe her nonchalance. “Lance called me. He was afraid you’d get hurt. What did you need to get?”
“Lance called?” She huffed out a breath. “He followed me, too. After promising he wouldn’t.”
“He thought you were in danger.”
“Well, I wasn’t. Like I said, Devon wasn’t there.” She opened her purse. “I found some of your jewelry, too,” she told Caroline. She handed her a tangle of necklaces, bracelets and more, and Caroline gasped. “And this.” She pulled out a small photo album.
Caroline took it from her. “It’s my parents’ wedding album. Thank you!”
“I thought it had to be special,” Olivia told her.
“What about Devon? You need to call Cab,” Noah demanded, still trying to calm down. When Olivia had appeared around the corner of Caroline’s house with a shotgun, his heart had nearly stopped.
“We will. Right now.”
“We will?” Caroline didn’t look at all sure about that.
“We will,” Olivia confirmed. “It’ll take time to work things out and get him out of your financial affairs, but you have what’s important, right?”
A smile tugged at the corners of Caroline’s mouth. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Noah decided he’d never understand women. How could a pile of jewelry and a photo album be worth risking your life?
“Olivia—”
“Look, I know I took a chance, but it paid off, so just leave it, all right?”
It wasn’t all right. He could have lost the woman he loved. “What would you have done if Devon had been there?”
Olivia grinned. “I would have done the world a favor and shot him.”
Thank God for libraries, Olivia thought as she pushed a metal cart laden with books between the aisles. This felt like coming home in an even more visceral way than it had to open Thorn Hill’s front door when she’d moved back three years ago. The smell of the books, the dust motes dancing in a beam of sunlight, the murmuring of a patron asking Marta for help.
Why hadn’t she volunteered earlier?
Shelving books ordered her mind and gave her something to do while Cab interviewed Caroline at one of the tables in back. Soon they’d have to go to the station, and then probably to the hospital to get Caroline’s eye checked out, but for now Olivia was in her favorite place—
With her favorite man trailing her.
Noah hadn’t let her more than three feet away since he’d followed her here. She figured he was suspicious about what had really happened at Caroline’s house, but as long as Caroline had her lottery ticket and cash tucked away in her purse, all was well. She could start again, whether or not she was unable to untangle Devon from her old assets. Olivia wasn’t sure if Caroline would have to sell her house and split the proceeds with Devon since he was on the title. That would be a crying shame, but at least Caroline had only owned the place a few years and didn’t have much equity in the property.
Equity. Caroline had to explain the term when she first mentioned it to Olivia a year or two back. Olivia didn’t know much about buying and selling property. There were a lot of things she needed to learn. Olivia was determined to start. She was ready to grow up. Ready to make something of herself. Volunteering at the library was the first step. She and Marta had talked it over, and Marta agreed she could start right away—while she was waiting for Cab to talk to Caroline. Through all of it, Noah had stuck close.
“Why did you run from me?” Noah asked again. He’d already put the question to her twice.
“Like I said, I was afraid what would happen if Devon came home. You’d have stepped in. Maybe gotten hurt.”
“You could have gotten hurt.”
“I had a shotgun,” she pointed out. “Besides, I got away before Devon came home. If I was thinking straight, I would have called a locksmith and gotten the locks changed on Caroline’s house, though.”
“How did you get inside? Did she give you her keys?”
“Something like that.”
“Olivia—”
“Noah, this is between me and Caroline, okay? You need to back off.”
“Did you break into her house?”
“She sent me to get her things.” Olivia bit back her exasperation. “I was helping my friend.”
“But sometimes—”
“Are we seriously going to do this again? I didn’t take your clock—I was returning it!” In all the excitement she’d forgotten Noah thought she was a thief. She spotted something down the row—something out of place. Olivia pushed her cart toward it, grateful to leave Noah behind.
“I don’t know where I put it. I can’t find it anywhere!” A woman’s voice pierced through the quiet of the library.
“I’m sure we’ll find it if we look for it,” Marta assured her.
“I swear I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached,” the woman went on. “I’m so scattered these days.” It was Fila Matheson, if Olivia wasn’t mistaken.
“We all are, honey. Let’s go look again.”
Olivia reached the object she’d spotted—and had to smile despite her irritation. The small pocketbook had been inserted into a row of books at one end of a shelf. She imagined Fila had been engrossed in a novel when she’d done that and forgotten it when she moved down the row. She herself had done something similar countless times in this library.
Ignoring Noah, who was still trailing behind her, she left her cart where it was, pulled the purse off the shelf and walked toward the front of the library just in time to see Fila and Marta disappearing into the nonfiction section.
“Fila? I found it!”
Fila reappeared. “Thank goodness. I thought I’d lost my mind.” She rushed over and took the purse. “This thing needs to stay attached to me at all times. I’m constantly setting it down and losing it.”
“Glad I could help.”
“Good thing you spotted that,” Noah said.
Olivia bit back a sharp retort. He’d just accused her of breaking and entering her best friend’s house. He didn’t get to pretend all was well with them. “You’d better check if your wallet and credit cards are still in there,” she said to Fila.
Fila’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you think someone got into it?” She opened it immediately and pulled out her wallet.
Olivia caught Noah’s gaze and held it. “There’s a Cooper present. Can’t take too many chances when one of them is around.”
Noah sighed.
Fila paused, wallet in hand. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You haven’t lived in Chance Creek long enough. You don’t know I’m a hardened criminal.”
Fila’s gaze slid from her to Noah, and one corner of her mouth quirked up. “Glad you warned me. Here I thought you were just a nice woman who worked at the library.”
“I never said you were a hardened criminal,” Noah said.
“But you thought it,” Olivia told him. “And that’s enough.”
Fila backed away. “Thanks again for finding it, Olivia, you’re a life saver.” She went to check out her books.
Noah waited until Fila had moved to the counter. “I probably deserved that.”
“You did.”
“I know,” he admitted. “And I don’t blame you for being pissed. You’re right. I thought you were stealing the clock, and I didn’t give you a chance to explain.”
“You changed your mind?”
“Yeah, even before I ran into your aunt, and she set me straight.” He shook his head. “She shouldn’t have needed to, though. I don’t know why I was being such an idiot.” He took her hand. Rubbed his thumb along her palm. “I think I’m just not used to trusting anyone to get too close. Outside my own family, that is. And even then…”
“Yeah, I know.” For a moment neither of them said anything. Then Olivia bit back a smile. “Virginia will be so pissed I brought it back.”
“Why did you?”
Olivia blinked at him. “Because we don’t need things any worse between our families than they already are.”
Noah nodded. “I don’t know what to do,” he confessed. “Nothing’s going right these days. My job doesn’t earn enough. My ranch is facing a drought. My family’s about to lose its chance to win the Ridley property, you keep taking chances you shouldn’t and I can’t see you without starting a riot.”
Olivia chuckled. “Yeah, that last part is a drag.”
“I want to see you again, you know.” Noah moved closer. “You’re all I think about.”
Olivia caught Fila grinning as she scooped up her books and left the building. Marta busied herself behind the desk.
Olivia touched Noah’s arm. “I think about you a lot, too.”
“I think we need to—”
When a bit of plaster dropped down from a discolored patch in the ceiling nearby, they both jumped.
“Everything all right over there?” Cab called.
“We’re okay,” Noah called back.
“Oh, my goodness,” Marta said, hurrying over. She peered up at the damp patch. Noah squeezed Olivia’s hand and hurried to join her. Olivia followed close behind.
“That doesn’t look good.” Noah peered upward, too.
“I don’t know what to do anymore,” Marta said. “If the ceiling is going to come down, we’ll have to close the place. That’s dangerous!”
“Can’t you call someone in to fix it?” Olivia asked.
“We don’t have enough in petty cash to cover something like that. If I was younger, I’d climb on the roof myself, but—”
“I’ll take a look,” Noah said.
Cab and Caroline joined them. “Looks like the place needs a bit of work,” the sheriff said.
“Noah’s going up on the roof,” Olivia told him. “Caroline, are you okay?”
Caroline nodded. “We’re heading to the station.”
“Want me to come?”
“That’s okay. When we’re all done, Cab’s driving me to Billings. I’m going to stay with my sister and her husband for a while until everything gets straightened out. I should have done this a long time ago. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You never expected the man you loved to become a monster,” Olivia told her. “It’s not your fault.”
“I feel like a fool.”
Olivia hugged her. “I’m going to miss you. Can I come visit?”
“Definitely. Someday I’ll get my life back, but until then thank you for everything you’ve done.”
A half hour later, Olivia held the ladder as Noah climbed down after doing a thorough examination. “Well?” she asked.
“It needs more than a patch. I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear.”
“It’s not fair. This place means everything to Marta.” Olivia tried to get a hold of her emotions, but there were too many problems to deal with at once.
“And to you, I think,” Noah said softly. He leaned against the ladder and reached for her. “I am really sorry. I’m more than happy to organize a work party, but the library needs to cover the cost of the shingles.”
“Where is Marta supposed to get the money for that?”
The strangest look came over Noah’s face, and he bent forward and kissed her, catching her off guard. “I think I know.”
“Where?” she asked again.
“Give me a week.”
“To do what?”
“Trust me, okay?”
“But—”
“One week!” He kissed her again.
And refused to tell her anything more.