Be Mine Forever (Detectives Kane and Alton)

Jenna shook her head. “No, I’ll call Rio or Rowley, they’ll be home tonight. Don’t worry, both men are more than capable of backing me up if needs be. Ty will be going home soon. Spend some time with him while you have the chance to do guy stuff. We spend all our downtime together and you need some male bonding.” She laughed. “I’ll set the alarm when you leave and keep my weapon handy, plus I’ll have Duke and Pumpkin to keep me company.”

“Great.” Kane smiled. “Are you ready to go? Maggie will be here until Walters arrives to take over.”

“Yeah, I’ll just grab my keys.” She stood and collected her things. Happy she’d made Kane smile again she hummed some tunes all the way to her cruiser.

Forty-One

Thursday

The sun streaming through a crack in the drapes woke Jenna and she jumped out of bed, checking the clock. She gasped and pulled on clothes. It was six-thirty and she usually woke at five. She rubbed Pumpkin’s ears. “I’ll have to start setting the alarm.”

Forgoing her morning coffee, she dashed out the front door and ran to the stables. Duke bounded up to her and then ran alongside, long ears flapping in the wind. She stared at the empty garage outside Kane’s cottage and frowned. She’d expected him home by now but never mind, she could handle the horses just fine. After moving them to the corral, she mucked out and emptied the wheelbarrow before heading back to the house for a shower. One thing was for sure, she didn’t need a workout.

Dressed and ready for work, she pushed bread into the toaster and poured coffee. The perimeter alarm sounded and she headed for the front door in time to see Kane emerging from the trees. She opened the front door and gave him a wave. The truck stopped in front of her porch and Kane slid out. She smiled at him. “Morning.”

“Sorry I’m late. I was waylaid.” Kane stopped at the bottom of the steps. “I’ll go and do my chores and get ready for work.”

Jenna walked down the steps as Duke rushed past her and did his happy dance at seeing Kane. “No need. I’ve tended the horses and I’m just making breakfast.”

“I already ate but I’ll need to clean up.” He rubbed his bristled chin and stared into the distance as if he didn’t want to meet her gaze.

Stifling the amusement at seeing him lost for words, she chewed on her bottom lip. He must have had an entertaining evening out with Carter. It was hard to miss the bright red lipstick kiss on one unshaven cheek or smell the stale perfume wafting from him. “Oh, yes, so I see.” She turned and walked back up the steps. “You’ll need to feed Duke. I’m all out of his food.”

“I’ll drop some by before we leave.” Kane removed his Stetson and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll see you later.” He hoisted Duke into the truck and followed him.

As Kane was not a one-night stand type of guy, the lipstick and perfume didn’t worry her at all. Although, he’d changed in many ways in the last six months; after finally laying the ghost of his dead wife to rest, they’d become inseparable. She sighed. Ty Carter was a man’s man, a confirmed bachelor, who was enjoying life to the full, so it wouldn’t surprise her in the least to imagine women had taken some part in his idea of a guys’ night out.

Before she had time to finish her toast, the phone chimed. It was the 911 line. “Sheriff Alton, what is your emergency?”

“Ma’am, there’s a body sitting up against a dumpster, outside the home supplies depot on Main.”

Jenna grabbed a pen and notepad from the counter. “I’ll need your details. Don’t touch the body and keep people away.”

“I drive a garbage truck, ma’am. Ian Morrison. I’ve blocked the alleyway and I’ll wait in my truck until you arrive.”

Abandoning her toast and coffee, Jenna headed for the front door. There was no time to wait for Kane and he wouldn’t hear his phone in the shower. After setting the alarm, she dashed to her cruiser. “I’m on my way.” She disconnected.

Turning on lights and sirens, she used the Bluetooth phone connection in her vehicle to contact Rowley and after he’d assured her Sandy was fine, she’d called Wolfe, giving them the same information. They would likely arrive before her and secure the crime scene. She accelerated onto the highway and a rush of excitement tingled through her as she harnessed the speed of her vehicle. Being a passenger for so long, she’d missed the thrill of dashing to a crime scene and into the unknown alone. The highway into town carried the normal flow of traffic but in town people had arrived early to set up for another day of the festival, which would culminate on Saturday with the crowning of the fall queen and the usual dance at the showgrounds.

With the wide blue sky and sunshine, it should have been a beautiful day but someone had spoiled it with murder. As she crawled down Main, she couldn’t miss the garbage truck and parked behind it. Across the road, Rowley’s SUV was sliding into the curb and Wolfe’s white van had parked on the sidewalk. She made her way around the van and looked at Wolfe. “What have we got?”

“I’m not really sure.” Wolfe moved to one side. “Take a look.”

Jenna stared at the woman, recognizing her at once. She swallowed hard. Had she stepped into a nightmare? The dead eyes staring at her belonged to Laurie Turner’s mother. She was sitting against the dumpster, naked, with a pompom in one hand.

Forty-Two

Kane had heard Jenna’s cruiser tear out the front gate. He checked his phone and shrugged. No missed calls and no messages. He looked at Duke. “What’s stuck in her craw?”

The dog whined and crawled into his basket. Kane smiled at him. “It looks like it’s just you and me today.”

He made his way into the bathroom, dumped his clothes in the laundry basket, and sighed. He’d avoided getting too close to Jenna for good reason—he smelled like a perfume store. Last evening, Carter had decided to entertain every eligible woman in town and they’d spent a good deal of their time at Antlers listening to the band. Not to be unsociable, he’d danced with the friend of the woman Carter had taken a shine to, but had drawn the line at extending the party overnight. He’d spent the night in the spare bedroom in Carter’s suite but after breakfast, he’d had been obliged to give Carter’s friend a ride home as Jo had taken the rental car.

Carter being Carter had slapped him on the back, collected his fishing gear, and left him with the woman before climbing into Atohi Blackhawk’s truck for a day on the river. Kane took out his shaver and stared into the bathroom mirror

. He touched the bright red kiss on his cheek and cringed. Carter’s friend had leaned over and pecked him on the cheek when he’d given her a ride home. “Darn, Jenna must have thought I was doing the walk of shame coming home like this.”

Ten minutes later, he set out for the office. When he hit Main, he slowed at the sight of Jenna and Rowley’s cruisers and pulled to the curb. Crime scene tape stretched across the alleyway and Rowley was standing to one side, while Jenna observed Wolfe and his team work on the body of a woman. He went to Rowley’s side. “Did you call this in?”