Will stared at the crude carving on the handle. His dark eyebrows came together in a puzzled scowl. “I’ll be damned. Those are your initials.”
“I know. I carved them myself.”
“You’ve already lost me,” Beau said. “I hope you’re going to fill us in on the whole story.”
Sky took the knife from Will, balancing it on the flat of his palm the way he’d done years ago. Except for the fact that his hand was bigger now, it felt much the same.
“I was in third grade when I found this on the way home from school,” he said. “It was lying in the road, like somebody’d dropped it. Just a cheap little knife, but I’d never had anything much of my own. To a boy like me it was a treasure. I scratched those initials on it and kept it hidden so my older cousins wouldn’t take it.”
“Your older cousins? You mean Lute’s brothers?” Beau asked.
Sky nodded. “They were big enough and mean enough to take anything they wanted. Lute was just a toddler when I found the knife, and his sister, Marie, the only girl, named after my mother, wasn’t much older.”
Sky had always felt protective of the two young ones and tried to shield them from the brutality that was life in the Fletcher family. Not that it had done much good. Lute was dead now, and the last he’d heard of Marie, she’d run off with a boyfriend.
“I hung on to the knife till I was fifteen,” Sky said. “You already know some of this. My uncle had whipped me pretty bad, and I’d had enough. I packed my clothes and a little food in a pillowcase and waited till the middle of the night when the family was asleep. Then I snuck through the house to the back door. I thought I’d made a clean getaway, but I was wrong.”
The story was interrupted by the waiter with their orders. The cheeseburgers were hot and fresh, the men hungry after a long day of work. For the first few minutes they enjoyed filling their bellies in silence.
Finally Beau spoke up. “So tell us the rest.”
Sky downed the last of his chocolate shake. “I was about to unlock the kitchen door when I heard a noise. I turned around and there was little Marie in the old ripped T-shirt she wore for a nightgown. Tears were running down her cheeks. ‘Don’t go, Sky,’ she begged me.”
“Let me guess,” Will said. “You gave her the knife to keep her quiet.”
“And that’s the last you saw of the knife till you found it this morning,” Beau finished.
“You two really know how to ruin a good story,” Sky said. “She’d always wanted that knife. She promised to take care of it and not to tell anybody she’d seen me leaving.”
“So you’re thinking she could be the one who shot Jasper?” Wi
ll had never been one to beat around the bush.
“I don’t know.” Sky stared down at the knife in his open hand. “I saw boot tracks small enough to be a woman’s. But I can’t imagine Marie shooting an old man. Maybe somebody else had the knife. Maybe she wasn’t even there. I know I could be wrong, but . . .” His voice trailed off. He shook his head.
“You were wrong about Lute,” Beau reminded him.
“I know. This time I just want to be sure before I ruin somebody’s life.” Sky laid the knife on the table again. “When I found this I knew I’d have to tell you about it. But I’m hoping you’ll give me some time before you call in the law. I need to learn the truth, and I can best do that on my own.”
Will and Beau exchanged glances. Beau gave a barely perceptible nod.
“Since the law around here is Abner Sweeney, it’s an easy choice,” Will said. “But Jasper was almost killed by these people. Promise you’ll be careful and that you’ll keep us in the loop. If we cut you some slack, we’ll need to know what’s going on.”
“And promise you’ll ask for our help if you need it,” Beau added.
“You’ve got my word on it. Thanks for understanding.” Sky rose from his seat in the booth. “I’d like to wander over to the Blue Coyote, maybe see what I can find out about who’s new in town. Will, can you stop by and pick me up on your way back to the ranch?”
“Sure. But be careful. Some folks might not take too kindly to your asking questions.”
“I mostly just plan to keep my ears open. Call when you’re there, and I’ll meet you outside. That way you won’t have to leave Erin alone in the truck.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Will was protective of his daughter. Now that school was out, Erin was spending most of her vacation with him on the ranch.
After leaving his tip on the table, Sky walked out of the Burger Shack and into the summer dusk. Beau would be spending the night with Natalie, who’d drive him home in the morning. The two planned a fall wedding but had yet to figure out where they were going to live. Beau had his responsibilities on the ranch. Natalie had her clinic in town and didn’t want to give up her practice.
Doubtless they’d work it out. Natalie and Beau were too much in love to let that kind of roadblock stand in their way. Sky had noticed the secret glances they exchanged and wondered idly if a woman would ever look at him with that kind of tender passion. Not likely, he conceded. But if he had to settle for something less, the naked lust that had flashed in Lauren Prescott’s copper-flecked cat eyes wasn’t a bad substitute. She’d looked at him as if she wanted to eat him alive. And she damn near had. He wouldn’t mind giving her another chance. But chasing after a woman wasn’t his style. Any rematch would be up to the lady.
With the sun gone, the night air was, if not cool, at least tolerable for walking a few blocks down Main Street to the Blue Coyote at the far end. There wasn’t much traffic, either on the road or on the sidewalks. Probably some big sporting event on TV, which would mean customers crowding around the 52-inch screen above the bar in the Blue Coyote. At least he’d be able to circulate without drawing much attention.