“No.” God, it felt good, having both arms around her, breathing in the tang of her hair, being able to close his eyes and see the stunned belief on her face. “Trust me, Cait.”
“I do.” She snuffled, gulped and repeated more strongly, “I do.”
* * *
AT HER SUGGESTION, the morning after Noah’s surgery, Colin had spread the word at city hall that it would be a few days before the mayor would be ready for visitors. He’d been flooded with cards and flowers. Three-quarters of the bouquets had been distributed to other rooms. His PA, a really nice woman, had timidly appeared but not-so-timidly refused to tell him about any city business going undone, any phone or email messages.
“If I can’t deal with it, it will wait,” she said firmly. Seeing Cait’s expression, she winked.
Noah glowered, but he couldn’t move her.
Colin was the second-most frequent visitor. Cait was amazed he could find the time, since two days ago he had announced his candidacy for sheriff. She suspected that, from there on out, he would be campaigning every waking moment when he wasn’t at work, trying to make up for so much lost time spent protecting her. Poor Nell. Although Cait was grateful she hadn’t cost her brother too much. He still had almost five months until the election.
Obviously a whole new can of worms had been opened by the discovery that someone in the district attorney’s office had been taking bribes either to throw cases or come up with excuses not to prosecute them in the first place. Colin kept Noah apprised of the continuing investigation, reminding her that not only had Noah almost been killed, his father had been the murder victim who’d started all this.
Thinking that felt surreal. All those years ago, as the curious child peeking between fence boards, how would she have imagined what the fallout would be? Or that she would end up in love with the son of the man whose grave was covered by newly poured concrete?
“Yeah,” Noah said, when she told him what she was thinking. “It feels like a circle. I’d never have come to Angel Butte if this wasn’t Dad’s last known address. I’m here because he died here. You’re here because of your brother and he’s here for the same reason I am. Which means he and I have something in common.” He grimaced. “Much as I hate to admit it. He’s a stubborn son of a gun who wanted to clean up this town and stayed even when a lot of other senior officers in the department left.”
Touched by his admission, she stroked his forehead. “Are you sorry you didn’t hire him as chief?”
He hesitated, then grinned when he saw her bristle. “Yes and no. Do I think he’d have done a hell of a job? That I could have worked with him? Yeah, I do. But if he wins this election, he can accomplish even more. So I’m thinking it’s worked out for the best.” He tried to see into the future and shook his head. “If he and Raynor are able to cooperate, they can transform law enforcement in this county.”
Her forehead crinkled. “You don’t think they can?”
“You know better than I do. Raynor is a closed book to me. And your brother and I still have a ways to go.”
She opened her mouth to tell him about the two men walking the hospital corridors, deep in conversation, but didn’t have a chance. There was a rap on the half-open door, and the curtain rings rattled as someone started to push them aside.
To her horror, three people walked in. Earl Greig, Beverly Buhl and Kevin Alseth, the unlikeliest trio of city council members she could have come up with.
Cait snatched her hand out of Noah’s, which earned her a sardonic glance from him.
She studied them arranging themselves around the foot of the bed. Earl, suspicious, conservative and pragmatic; Beverly, full of boundless optimism, always ready to leap without knowing where she’d land; and Kevin, far and away the youngest, a newcomer to town, an attorney who was politically liberal. Cait would have guessed that Earl and Kevin didn’t speak when they weren’t absolutely forced to. Was it chance they had arrived at the same time?
“You’ve certainly put Angel Butte on the map,” Kevin said. His tone was dry.
Cait winced. When she’d shown Noah the copy of People magazine with an article about them, he’d been livid. Unfortunately, despite her refusal to answer questions and Colin’s wooden statement representing the police department, the reporter had pieced together a reasonably accurate story.