Colton's Lethal Reunion (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

“I have to take th

is,” he said, uneasy as a Colton pierced his Kerry time.

“Hey, I just got an email from Dee,” Colton Oil’s new CEO said, referring to Dee Walton, Payne’s administrative assistant, who was keeping the flow of the office going while Payne was in the hospital. “She says she belongs to some self-help organization here in town, the Affirmation Alliance Group. You ever hear of them?”

“Nope.” But then he wasn’t into that kind of thing. Self-help, by the very nature of the word, meant you did it yourself, not as part of a group.

“Apparently the founder, a Micheline Anderson, is pretty gifted at boosting morale. I guess she travels to various corporations and gives talks, including grief and healing workshops. She did wonders for the grief group Dee joined after her husband died last year. Anyway, she thinks it might be a good idea to bring Ms. Anderson in to give a talk to Colton Oil employees, you know, just to ease some of the tension from Dad’s shooting. Especially since the guy is still out there. And help everyone to adjust to Ace’s leaving and to me taking over the helm. It’s a ton of traumatic change in such a short time...”

“You know I don’t go for that kind of stuff, but if you think our employees would benefit...the funds to hire her won’t be a problem, obviously. I’d make attendance on a volunteer basis only for employees, though...if you really think it’s necessary.” Because he did not.

But Rafe had discovered long ago that he wasn’t like most people. While others seemed to take things to heart, to be emotionally stumped for a time when tragedy struck, he was more apt to take things on the chin and go about his business. It was a trait Payne admired in him.

One the Colton siblings counted on.

Something he’d always considered one of his gifts...

Kerry took a turn, and then another, going a good ten miles over the speed limit as she turned onto the road leading out of town to Mustang Mountain. Her chin was tight. Her knuckles on the steering wheel white, as she listened to Colton business.

“I think I’ll back-burner it for now,” Marlowe was saying. “Dee says that Micheline will come if asked, but no worries, either way. I like that she’s being proactive,” Marlowe added, opening up another chain of conversation.

“I agree,” Rafe said, adding nothing more, hoping Marlowe would get the hint from his formality. She knew him well enough.

“You’re with someone?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you say so? You really need to get better at communicating, Rafe. I’ll talk to you later,” she said, and hung up. As did he.

“That was Marlowe,” he said, noting the tightness around Kerry’s lips. She’d been fine until the phone call, so clearly it had upset her.

Thing was, he understood why. He just didn’t know how to make things right. The day had been going so well.

“She was talking about getting someone in to talk to the staff,” he said. “To help them deal with Payne’s shooting and the executive changes.” It wasn’t confidential information. And she was the cop on the case.

He hated that he was justifying to himself what he could talk to Kerry about.

Hated that Marlowe’s call had interrupted his time with her.

“Might be a good idea,” Kerry said, her tone as distant as it had been that first day when he’d gone to the station to see her. More pleasant, but just as distant.

The more time they spent together, the more he realized how much he needed to keep seeing her—and the further apart they seemed to be getting.

“You think so?” he asked, interested in her opinion and wanting to keep her talking to him.

She shrugged, took one hand off the wheel to adjust her rearview mirror, which had him looking behind them. A newish-looking white SUV was coming up on them, then passed them.

“Guy’s gotta be going at least twenty over the limit,” Kerry said. “He’s lucky I’m not in a squad car. I’d radio him in.”

Because they were out of town jurisdiction at that point, so she couldn’t pull him over? He was just glad they weren’t being run off the road.

“I spent some time this morning going over all of the old claims that have been registered on Mustang Mountain,” she said next, almost without taking a breath in between her last sentence. “I figured we might as well start there, because a compass will take us to them. And then, once we know what we’re looking for, maybe we’ll be able to spot others,” she said. “And Dane and the chief know we’re out here. They’ll be keeping tabs on us, so we have to check in anytime we have service.”

That was it. She was going to take care of business and ignore the rest. He got her message. Just couldn’t accept it. His time was running out.

“Ker, you think, after this is over, we can stay in touch?” All morning long he’d been revisited by memories of her tears the night before. They made him ache in deep places he hadn’t felt since he was a kid. Places he’d thought were a figment of a lonely child’s imagination.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, staring straight ahead, both hands on the wheel again. With all the gear on her belt, she looked so tough.