Texas Forever (The Tylers of Texas 6)

Kyle’s mother didn’t answer. Since Will Tyler’s death had come on the news, she’d seemed to shrink into herself. Kyle suspected that she’d had a thing for Will. But if she had, it had been nothing more than a harmless crush. She would never have been bold enough to act on her feelings—although if she had, he wouldn’t have blamed her.

Hellfire, he couldn’t wait to get out of this house and away from his shitty parents. Right now, marrying Erin sounded like a great idea—big house, control over a ranch, and doing all the things with Erin that he’d done with that blond whore.

He would have to work on that—and he would start by giving Erin a friendly call.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

DEPUTY ROY PORTER’S FUNERAL WAS HELD TWO DAYS LATER. MOST of Blanco Springs’ citizens turned out to honor their fallen hero, killed in the line of duty. Officers from other local branches of the law formed a procession to accompany the casket to the cemetery. Though it wasn’t a military funeral, a bugler from the high school band played taps at the graveside, leaving folks dabbing at their eyes.

Kyle had invited Erin to attend the service with him. Since they had both known Roy, she’d seen no reason not to go. It wasn’t really a date. They would be out in public. And being seen with him, especially by the sheriff, would help quell the idea that she was still involved with Luke.

As they stood with the crowd at the graveside, a few yards behind Roy’s distraught parents, Kyle kept a possessive grip on her hand. Erin let him. It was a show—a lie for the sake of appearances. She didn’t like herself much right now, but she would do anything to protect the man she loved.

She blinked away a tear as Roy’s casket was lowered into the grave. It was against all justice that a promising young man should lose his life in such a senseless way.

Erin had known Roy since the year she was in kindergarten and he was in first grade—a nice boy, quiet and well behaved. Once when she’d dropped her library book, he had picked it up and handed it back to her. Otherwise, they’d had little direct contact, but Roy had been there. She’d watched him grow up, change from a gangly, freckled boy to a polite young man. He’d been an Eagle Scout and played baseball, though he’d never been a star. She couldn’t recall his ever having had a steady girlfriend. Only when he’d joined the county sheriff’s team as a deputy did he seem to have found himself. Roy had clearly loved being a cop. And now he was gone.

Life was a throw of the dice. Some people got what they wanted, whether they deserved it or not. Others had to settle for what they had. Still others, like Roy, got everything snatched away just as they were about to grasp it.

Life was a gamble. Not death. Death took everything.

The medical examiner had released Will’s body to the mortuary in Lubbock. The funeral would be held two days from now. Maybe when she saw him laid to rest, next to her mother, the reality of her father’s death would sink home, and she’d be able to move forward. Now it was as if he’d just left the house, and she was waiting for him to come back.

People were walking away from the grave now, headed for their cars. Kyle was still clasping Erin’s hand when the sheriff approached with a purposeful stride.

“Erin, I just wanted to check with you.” Cyrus Harger was never one to waste time on polite chitchat. “Is Luke Maddox still at the Rimrock?”

Erin pulled her hand away from Kyle’s. “He is. He’s been working, shoeing our horses to get them ready for the roundup.”

“Any trouble from him?”

“Absolutely none. He keeps to himself, minds his own business. Why? Is everything all right? Have you learned any more about who shot Roy and my father?”

“You’re assuming it was the same person. Abner thinks the sonofabitch who broke into the Blue Coyote and shot Roy had known about the inside stairs, maybe from years ago, but not about the door at the bottom. He got trapped in the stairwell and, when Roy showed up, he had to shoot his way out.

“The motive at the Blue Coyote was robbery. Shooting Will was a whole different can of beans. The killer knew him, and had reason to want him dead. Sounds to me like two entirely different crimes, committed by two different people.”

Erin’s heart contracted. So Luke was still a suspect in her father’s murder.

The sheriff might even be planning to lock him up again.

“Luke had nothing against my father,” she said. “He had no reason to kill him.”

“That’s not what I heard,” the sheriff said. “Going by what those two cowpokes told me, you and Luke must’ve had something pretty hot going on.”

Erin was conscious of Kyle standing next to her, hearing every word. She could sense the tension in him, hear the rush of his breathing.

“That’s not true, Sheriff,” she said. “Luke and I were friends. We liked each other. But it’s over now. He left the ranch because he didn’t want to cause trouble for me. By the time my father was killed, Luke was miles away.”

“So he says. But he can’t prove it.”

Desperation surged. “Why are you so set on Luke? Ask Sky about his cousin, Marie Fletcher. She’s out of prison and hasn’t checked in with her parole officer. I took a photo of a boot print I found near the ranch. Sky thinks it’s hers.”

The sheriff brushed away a fly that had settled on his mustache. “Roy did mention that to me. I’ll look into it.” His cell phone rang. “We’ll take this up again later,” he said, turning away to answer the call.

Kyle caught her hand as they walked to the beat-up ranch pickup he was driving in place of the wrecked SUV. His grip was hard and possessive, his mouth a thin-lipped line. He didn’t speak as he opened the door of the cab to let her climb in.

Erin waited as he walked around to the driver’s side. Maybe this was a bad idea, riding home with him. Last time he’d been angry with her, he’d almost gotten them both killed. The sheriff should have waited to speak with her alone, but Cyrus Harger was about as sensitive as a buffalo bull at a tea party.