the gaps for stuff like this and, considering the situation, I guess that would apply to me, too. A victim is a victim.”
“There’s no need for anyone to pay,” Cain said. “If I take you home it’ll be free.”
“But her doctor will never go for it,” Ned said.
“I’ve already spoken to him.” Cain leaned against the side of her bed. “He agreed with me. He believes she might actually recover more quickly in a homelikesetting. And he’s willing to have Owen check on her and report back to him.”
Amy was visibly struggling to hide her anxiety at that suggestion. Obviously, Cain’s ex-wife didn’t want Sheridan anywhere near him. “If she can be moved, why not send her home to California?”
“She can’t travel that far,” Cain said. “Not yet.”
“And I’m not leaving Whiterock,” Sheridan told her. “Not until the man who hurt me is behind bars.”
“So you’re going to Cain’s?” Ned asked.
Sheridan pulled the blankets higher, seeking their reassuring warmth. “It’s my best option.”
Ned sent Cain a sly look. “Why are you taking such a personal interest?”
“I want closure, as badly as she does,” he said. “I want to know who tried to frame me by putting that rifle in my cabin.”
“There’s a chance her memory won’t come back,” Amy pointed out. “She won’t be any good to the investigation unless she can remember what happened.”
“Excuse me?” Sheridan was about to explain that she’d dealt with over a hundred criminal investigations in the past five years, that she’d have something to offer regardless of what she remembered. She probably had more experience dealing with violent crime than the whole Whiterock police force combined. But Cain had already answered, and Sheridan knew Amy didn’t care what she had to say. She cared only about Cain.
“At least she won’t be vulnerable,” he said. “She’ll have a safe place to heal.”
“Who’s going to keep her safe from you?” Amy snapped.
Cain rolled his eyes. “I’m no threat to her, and you know it.”
She glared at him. “You’re a threat to every woman, Cain.”
He ignored the comment. “I’ve got a quiet place that’s away from roads and buildings. And I’ve got the dogs. They’ll tell me if anyone’s coming.”
Ned exchanged a glance with his sister. “I don’t like it,” he said. But his tone had changed, and Sheridan sensed that he was only trying to support Amy. His professional objections had been neatly overturned.
“Someone could shoot your dogs. And then where would you be?” Amy asked Cain.
“Anyone who shoots my dogs had better pray I don’t catch them.”
Ned touched Sheridan’s arm. “You’d be safer with a guard.”
“Your doctor’s willing to release you. You don’t need Ned’s permission,” Cain said.
“My brother knows what he’s talking about.” The distress on Amy’s face almost made Sheridan feel sorry for her. She wanted Cain so much she couldn’t even take a pity project in stride.
But if Sheridan couldn’t go back to Sacramento, Cain was all she had. She certainly didn’t know anyone as capable of keeping her safe. He was the one who’d pulled her out of the forest, who’d saved her life. Besides, she’d been through too many battles since she left Whiterock to run from this one.
“I’m not afraid of Cain,” she said. But she wondered, even as she made the decision, if she wasn’t asking for the same kind of heartache Amy had endured since high school. There were times, even while she was making love with the man she’d nearly married, that she thought of Cain.
Maybe she’d never gotten over her own infatuation.
Cain stood at the entrance of Sheridan’s late uncle’s house, which was obviously furnished just the way it’d been on the day he died, despite the interim renter. The door had been locked, but the key was stashed under the mat, so anybody could get in. He saw no sign of forced entry. Whoever had
“There’s no need for anyone to pay,” Cain said. “If I take you home it’ll be free.”
“But her doctor will never go for it,” Ned said.
“I’ve already spoken to him.” Cain leaned against the side of her bed. “He agreed with me. He believes she might actually recover more quickly in a homelikesetting. And he’s willing to have Owen check on her and report back to him.”
Amy was visibly struggling to hide her anxiety at that suggestion. Obviously, Cain’s ex-wife didn’t want Sheridan anywhere near him. “If she can be moved, why not send her home to California?”
“She can’t travel that far,” Cain said. “Not yet.”
“And I’m not leaving Whiterock,” Sheridan told her. “Not until the man who hurt me is behind bars.”
“So you’re going to Cain’s?” Ned asked.
Sheridan pulled the blankets higher, seeking their reassuring warmth. “It’s my best option.”
Ned sent Cain a sly look. “Why are you taking such a personal interest?”
“I want closure, as badly as she does,” he said. “I want to know who tried to frame me by putting that rifle in my cabin.”
“There’s a chance her memory won’t come back,” Amy pointed out. “She won’t be any good to the investigation unless she can remember what happened.”
“Excuse me?” Sheridan was about to explain that she’d dealt with over a hundred criminal investigations in the past five years, that she’d have something to offer regardless of what she remembered. She probably had more experience dealing with violent crime than the whole Whiterock police force combined. But Cain had already answered, and Sheridan knew Amy didn’t care what she had to say. She cared only about Cain.
“At least she won’t be vulnerable,” he said. “She’ll have a safe place to heal.”
“Who’s going to keep her safe from you?” Amy snapped.
Cain rolled his eyes. “I’m no threat to her, and you know it.”
She glared at him. “You’re a threat to every woman, Cain.”
He ignored the comment. “I’ve got a quiet place that’s away from roads and buildings. And I’ve got the dogs. They’ll tell me if anyone’s coming.”
Ned exchanged a glance with his sister. “I don’t like it,” he said. But his tone had changed, and Sheridan sensed that he was only trying to support Amy. His professional objections had been neatly overturned.
“Someone could shoot your dogs. And then where would you be?” Amy asked Cain.
“Anyone who shoots my dogs had better pray I don’t catch them.”
Ned touched Sheridan’s arm. “You’d be safer with a guard.”
“Your doctor’s willing to release you. You don’t need Ned’s permission,” Cain said.
“My brother knows what he’s talking about.” The distress on Amy’s face almost made Sheridan feel sorry for her. She wanted Cain so much she couldn’t even take a pity project in stride.
But if Sheridan couldn’t go back to Sacramento, Cain was all she had. She certainly didn’t know anyone as capable of keeping her safe. He was the one who’d pulled her out of the forest, who’d saved her life. Besides, she’d been through too many battles since she left Whiterock to run from this one.
“I’m not afraid of Cain,” she said. But she wondered, even as she made the decision, if she wasn’t asking for the same kind of heartache Amy had endured since high school. There were times, even while she was making love with the man she’d nearly married, that she thought of Cain.
Maybe she’d never gotten over her own infatuation.
Cain stood at the entrance of Sheridan’s late uncle’s house, which was obviously furnished just the way it’d been on the day he died, despite the interim renter. The door had been locked, but the key was stashed under the mat, so anybody could get in. He saw no sign of forced entry. Whoever had
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