"Here. Hold out your hand." He dumped the pills into my palm.

I popped the pills in my mouth and snagged the water bottle he'd wedged through the biggest slat. I drained the whole thing and pa.s.sed the empty back to him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. You want some food brought down? Kiki said you didn't eat earlier."

"I'm not hungry."

We stared at each other in the utter silence.

"I thought you might like to know I talked to Hope."

"She's awake? How is she?"

"Bandaged up, but okay. She's worried about you."

"Did you tell her... ?" I hadn't thought how I'd break the news to her that I'd killed Theo. A big part of me worried she'd think I belonged in jail.

"Yes. She knows about Theo. She isn't upset with you, Mercy."

How had he learned to read me so quickly? "She knows he killed Levi?"

"That, too."

"Is she by herself?"

"No. Jake and Sophie are staying with her."

At least she wasn't alone. Not like me. I squeezed my eyes shut as I rested my forehead against the cold metal. I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't feel desolate. I wouldn't feel go G.o.dd.a.m.n isolated. G.o.d. I should be used to it by now.

Rough, but warm and gentle fingers tentatively caressed my cheek through the bars. I couldn't make myself pull away. I needed simple human contact, if only for a minute or ten.

"Dawson," I said hoa.r.s.ely. "The camera. Someone might see."

"I don't care."

His breath drifted across the top of my head in a soothing, steady stream. He continued the tender strokes up and down my jawline until I finally retreated, even when I didn't want to.

He stepped back. "You'd better crawl onto the cot before the meds kick in and you crash on the floor."

Only after I'd stretched out did he make any move to leave.

"Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." The buzz of the doors unlocking sounded, and he was gone. I had the strangest feeling he hadn't gone far.

I laid there staring at the ceiling until the painkillers made me sleepy. Dawson hadn't apologized for arresting me. It was weird to think I would've thought less of him if he had.

The next morning I was first on the docket at the courthouse, so there wasn't time to completely cleanse myself of the filth still clinging to my hair and skin. As a soldier it bothered me not to have the time to spit and polish myself for the bra.s.s.

Mike O'Brien, the state's attorney, summarized the situation for Judge Brunson. I listened to him read Hope's statement. Dawson read my statement and added his own observations. He carefully explained his reason for arresting me. I didn't fault him, but I seemed to be the only one. My friends in the courtroom were rife with animosity.

In the end, I wasn't charged. Theo Murphy's death was ruled justifiable homicide by self-defense.

I went home.

EPILOGUE.

Two weeks later...

My duffel bag was nestled in the dirt and weeds next to my feet. I slouched on the bottom porch step, taking it all in. I heard Sophie and Hope chatting through the screen door. Across the yard, Jake and TJ took advantage of the cool morning and readied the old wooden machine shed for a coat of paint.

Things were better between Jake and me. Being forever tied to a dark secret has an upside, apparently. He'd taken my advice, reached out to Hope, and she'd latched onto him like a lifeline. Consequently, he and Hope shared the news with the Viewfield community and Eagle River County about their impending bundles of joy. Hope's ultrasound during her stay at the hospital in Rapid City revealed twins. No one said a word about paternity, including me.

They were helping each other through the grief of Levi's murder. They'd moved into the main house. I'd even given up my bedroom. Once Vivi cleaned Dad's rooms, I hauled my few belongings downstairs and didn't feel like a squatter who'd get kicked out when the real owner returned. Dad wasn't coming back, but his presence was everywhere and always would be.

As I listened to the crescendo of the cicadas, and the wind chimes pinging in the sweet morning breeze, an Eagle River County patrol car crawled up the drive and parked.

Shoonga started to bark. I wrapped my hand around his collar and shushed him.

This was the first I'd seen of Dawson since my court appearance. Wasn't the first I'd thought of him. He'd been busy wrapping up cases-starting with Albert Yellow Boy's.

Estelle had stopped by. Learning Albert's death had been accidental like Dawson suspected hadn't eased her mind; in fact, it seemed to anger her. She'd made an offhand comment about how things were different (read better) for Hope, because Levi's murder was resolved, unlike Albert's death being chalked up to just another Indian kid's dumb mistake. Sophie shooed her off before I'd had a chance.

Geneva called daily to apologize and I let her calls go straight to voice mail. I'd talk to her eventually, just not while I was emotionally and physically raw. We'd been friends long enough that she had the right to earn my forgiveness.

Even Molly had swung by to plead her mother's case and she'd come bearing kittens. An entire bucket of the little purring furb.a.l.l.s. I'd like to claim I wasn't moved by her sweet and over-the-top gesture, but truthfully, I was. I kept the biggest kitty as a barn cat. The male tabby didn't follow me everywhere like Shoonga did. It amazed me how quickly I'd gotten used to that dog demanding my attention and affection, and how easily I gave it. I even let him sleep in my room, just because it drove Sophie crazy.

Four days after I was released from jail, someone reported Iris Newsome missing. When her abandoned car was discovered a day or so later, Dawson organized a search party. It took them two days to find her remains, which were nearly unrecognizable after wild critters snacked on her bitter old skin and bones. Still, the coroner ruled her death suspicious. Dawson hedged when locals questioned him on his investigative findings, and it was the first time I hoped he'd slack off investigating a homicide. Rumor had it members of the LifeLite Church were on the top of his suspect list, due to the pet.i.tion Iris had been circulating, which gained posthumous momentum.

Iris Newsome was buried between her beloved daughter, Jenny, and her husband, Merle. Jake and I attended the ceremony, although neither of us wanted to. Oddly enough, without heirs, the Newsome estate was in limbo. I had every intention of using the money from Dad's life insurance policy to buy that small acreage the instant it went on the market, if for no other reason than to screw with Kit McIntyre. He and I weren't done. Not by a long shot.

Dawson ambled toward me, wearing his uniform, sans ugly hat, sans dark sungla.s.ses. "Mercy."

"Sheriff. You just cruising by, or are you here on official business?"

He ignored my smart question and hunkered down to my eye level. He smoothed his fingers over Shoonga's coat in a manner that let me know he was a dog person. His shrewd eyes swept over me, lingering on my sling. "How's the shoulder?"

"Annoying."

"I'll bet."

Jake whistled and Shoonga took off.

Traitor.

Dawson jerked his chin toward my duffel bag. "I heard you were leaving."

"Yeah."

He shifted his stance, looking everywhere but at me. Finally, he said, "You coming back?"

Silence.

"Yeah."

"Good." He ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I wanted to-"

I couldn't deal with whatever he needed to get off his chest. "I wanted to drive my Viper to Denver and fly out from there like I usually do. It's just another d.a.m.n thing I can't do with a broken wing."

"Better than a broken neck," he muttered.

"True."

"Need a ride to the airport?"

"No. Rollie is picking me up in a little bit."

He lifted both brows. "Rollie?"

"Seems strange, huh?"

"Very."

Rollie had inserted himself into my life on a regular basis. I was still sorting out my feelings about that, too, not sure I needed him to act like a surrogate father.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Three weeks." I lifted my sling. "I'm hoping this will get me the sympathy vote and speed up the process."

"Good luck. If that administrative bunch at Fort Bragg is anything like the marines, they'll take however long they want with the outprocess paperwork."

"The army is more organized than a bunch of jarheads, who just bull their way through everything." That caught his attention.

Dawson's eyes tapered to fine points.

"I'm kidding, Sheriff."

His gaze narrowed farther. "I thought we'd moved beyond you calling me Sheriff, Mercy."

"That was before you arrested me."

He didn't defend himself, but I sensed his patience stretching as he fought to stay polite. "So what are your plans when you get back?"

"Riding, roping, and arithmetic. I'd better learn everything about how to run a ranch. Jake already has his hands full."

"Maybe you should tell that to Rollie. Since you two are so chummy, he's been hinting to anyone that'll listen you'll be working for him as a PI."

Rollie. What a troublemaker. I still owed him a favor. I wondered how long before he'd collect. "Or maybe..." I floated a dramatic pause. "I'll run for sheriff."

That steely blue gaze collided with mine again. "Are you serious?"

"Why? Does the thought of me running against you make you nervous, Dawson?"

He snorted and snapped the stem on a fat yellow dandelion growing out of a crack in the cement.

I could let him off the hook, or I could make him squirm.

Guess which one I chose?

"Besides, a little friendly compet.i.tion would be good for you. No one else has announced their candidacy, have they?"

Another snort.

"I wouldn't want you to think you've already sewn up the election this many months out."

"Sewn up. Right."

"Plus, it might be fun. Fighting with you has been... interesting so far."

Lightning fast, Dawson inserted himself between my thighs and curled his warm palms over my knees. His face was inches away; his body not nearly close enough. "Here's something to remember if you decide to run against me; I don't fight fair. So if you think the fact that you are a g-"

"Girl?" I supplied with a hint of venom.

"No." He lightly b.u.t.ted his forehead to mine. "I was going to say a grunt. Actually, I was going to say a lowly army grunt, but you outrank me."

"Yep." I c.o.c.ked my head. "Clever, having your old CO try to crack my service files."

No surprise or remorse crossed his face. "That didn't take long to get back to you."

"Uncle Sam likes to keep a close eye on his investment." I smiled. "Maybe you should start saluting me, Marine."

"Like that'll ever happen." Keeping our eyes locked, Dawson brushed his lips over mine. Softly. Teasingly. Repeatedly. Never fully connecting our mouths.

A quiet, disgruntled sigh escaped from me.

He angled back. That s.e.xy cowboy grin appeared. "Heal up, Sergeant Major. Then I'll take you on, anytime, anyplace. Officially or unofficially."

My heart thumped.

Dawson gently tucked the wilted dandelion behind my ear. He leisurely traced the outline of my jaw from my temple up one side of my face and down the other with his knuckles. "I'm glad you're sticking around, Mercy. Eagle River County is more... interesting with you in it."

For all the cowboy swagger Dawson packed into his exit, he should've been wearing chaps and a white hat, and riding a horse.

I looked around at the historic place that for better or for worse, had always been my home. I listened to the bawling calves. I smelled manure and warm earth and marigolds and Sophie's lemon sponge cake.