spouses, friends and children, but relaxation and sharing were the last two things on his mind. The only person who looked unhappy was the cook, who glanced back with a half scowl when Zach slid onto the stool.
“Mind if I join you?”
A voice sounded behind him and he turned just as Carter sat on the stool next to him.
Before he could answer, a perky brunette stepped in front of them. “What can I get you two?”
Zach glanced at the menu printed on the wall behind the counter then looked over at Carter. “How’s the chicken-fried steak?”
“Fantastic,” Carter replied. “Make it two of the chicken-fried steak. And two beers. On me.”
“That’s not—”
“No arguing,” Carter said. “It’s the least I can do your first night in town. Might as well have a good meal and general conversation before you have to head to Amos’s cabin and spend the rest of the night bored to tears. How anyone lives without a television and the internet is beyond me.”
Zach smiled. “Well, I appreciate it—the food and the conversation.”
“Did you get your supply list?” Carter asked.
“No. I got interrupted and we called it a day.”
Carter frowned. “What kind of interruption?”
“A couple of boxes fell off the desk in Purcell’s office. It shook Danae up a bit.”
Carter’s jaw flexed and he stiffened on the stool. “You sure they fell?”
“Far as I could tell. We checked the doors and they were all locked from the inside. No one was in the house besides Danae and me, and we were both downstairs at the time.”
Carter studied him as he delivered the information, and Zach wondered why the sheriff looked so concerned over something that sounded so simple. Suddenly, he had the overwhelming feeling that both Danae and Carter were keeping something from him, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“Any reason why you think they didn’t fall?” Zach asked.
Carter stared at him for several seconds, and Zach could tell the other man was deliberating whether or not to tell him something. Finally, Carter nodded.
“I wasn’t at the house today just to check in on Danae. She called me because she thought she’d seen someone in Purcell’s office. She found the back door in the laundry room unlocked, but Danae was certain she’d checked it earlier and it was locked.”
“I see.” Finally, Danae’s edgy behavior began to make more sense. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“She asked me to keep it quiet, and besides, I didn’t really know you then.”
“You don’t know me now.”
Carter grinned. “That’s true, but I could tell you were bothered by the noise and you took her seriously about checking for an intruder. That tells me you have a problem with people who might try to scare women, and since you’ll be in the house all day, I figure it doesn’t hurt to have you paying attention.”
“You think someone is trying to scare her?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure how much you heard about the business with her sister Alaina.”
“Only the little that Danae told me—that she was attacked in the house and you shot and killed her attacker.”
“That’s the short version, but there’re a couple of things that still don’t sit right with me.”
“Like what?”
“One night someone broke one of the downstairs windows.”
“I saw the window you’re talking about when I was making my list. Danae assumed Alaina’s attacker got in that way.”
“He wanted us to think that, but the window was broken from the inside, and it was still nailed shut. He didn’t do his homework on that one, and I didn’t let that information leak out.”
“Then how did he get in?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say he was already in there when we arrived. I changed the back door and patio locks that night, but he could have been hiding there already. Quite frankly, he could have remained hiding there even after I went looking for him.”
“It wouldn’t be hard to remain unseen in that mess,” Zach
“Mind if I join you?”
A voice sounded behind him and he turned just as Carter sat on the stool next to him.
Before he could answer, a perky brunette stepped in front of them. “What can I get you two?”
Zach glanced at the menu printed on the wall behind the counter then looked over at Carter. “How’s the chicken-fried steak?”
“Fantastic,” Carter replied. “Make it two of the chicken-fried steak. And two beers. On me.”
“That’s not—”
“No arguing,” Carter said. “It’s the least I can do your first night in town. Might as well have a good meal and general conversation before you have to head to Amos’s cabin and spend the rest of the night bored to tears. How anyone lives without a television and the internet is beyond me.”
Zach smiled. “Well, I appreciate it—the food and the conversation.”
“Did you get your supply list?” Carter asked.
“No. I got interrupted and we called it a day.”
Carter frowned. “What kind of interruption?”
“A couple of boxes fell off the desk in Purcell’s office. It shook Danae up a bit.”
Carter’s jaw flexed and he stiffened on the stool. “You sure they fell?”
“Far as I could tell. We checked the doors and they were all locked from the inside. No one was in the house besides Danae and me, and we were both downstairs at the time.”
Carter studied him as he delivered the information, and Zach wondered why the sheriff looked so concerned over something that sounded so simple. Suddenly, he had the overwhelming feeling that both Danae and Carter were keeping something from him, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“Any reason why you think they didn’t fall?” Zach asked.
Carter stared at him for several seconds, and Zach could tell the other man was deliberating whether or not to tell him something. Finally, Carter nodded.
“I wasn’t at the house today just to check in on Danae. She called me because she thought she’d seen someone in Purcell’s office. She found the back door in the laundry room unlocked, but Danae was certain she’d checked it earlier and it was locked.”
“I see.” Finally, Danae’s edgy behavior began to make more sense. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“She asked me to keep it quiet, and besides, I didn’t really know you then.”
“You don’t know me now.”
Carter grinned. “That’s true, but I could tell you were bothered by the noise and you took her seriously about checking for an intruder. That tells me you have a problem with people who might try to scare women, and since you’ll be in the house all day, I figure it doesn’t hurt to have you paying attention.”
“You think someone is trying to scare her?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure how much you heard about the business with her sister Alaina.”
“Only the little that Danae told me—that she was attacked in the house and you shot and killed her attacker.”
“That’s the short version, but there’re a couple of things that still don’t sit right with me.”
“Like what?”
“One night someone broke one of the downstairs windows.”
“I saw the window you’re talking about when I was making my list. Danae assumed Alaina’s attacker got in that way.”
“He wanted us to think that, but the window was broken from the inside, and it was still nailed shut. He didn’t do his homework on that one, and I didn’t let that information leak out.”
“Then how did he get in?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say he was already in there when we arrived. I changed the back door and patio locks that night, but he could have been hiding there already. Quite frankly, he could have remained hiding there even after I went looking for him.”
“It wouldn’t be hard to remain unseen in that mess,” Zach
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