Diamond in the Rough (Precious Gems) (8 page)

Chapter Seven

One Week Later

              A week had passed and Maria had not been seen nor heard from.  Cheyenne had tried to call her several times but her phone always went straight to voicemail.  Cheyenne was slightly worried that Maria would miss the funeral.  Brian assured her that all was well and that there was no need for concern.  She tried to put her apprehension out of her mind and carried on with her day.  She knew that Maria had seemed unstable when she left a week ago and found it hard not to worry about the older woman.

Since Brian’s arrival, l
ife had really settled into a nice even rhythm and Cheyenne was enjoying it.  She had never had a man around the house before and it felt good.  Blaze was healing nicely and was enjoying his late evening walks through the back field along with his extra rations of hay.  Cheyenne had avoided the pasture where she was shot at. 

B
rian was diligent, but there were no suspects in her attempted murder.   The thought of that afternoon sent chills up her spine.  She had come so close to death and still had no idea why it had happened.

The evening before, Cheyenne and Brian had ventured off of the property to eat at a local
steak house.  The food was delicious but she could not shake the feeling that it felt like a date.  He had pulled her chair out for her and made eye contact throughout the evening.  Their conversation had flowed easily and before either one knew, it was ten o’clock.  When they arrived home he brought her a glass of wine while she sat beside the fire pit. 

“Brian, why haven’t you been snatched up yet?” she asked with all sincerity.
  The evening of alcohol had lowered her inhibitions.  He chuckled under his breath and rolled his eyes.  He was clearly flattered but avoided the question. 

“Why haven’t you?” he replied. 

“Well, I haven’t ever found anybody that I would let get that close to me.” She explained. 

“You’ve let me get pretty close.” He said as he held his hand up to the fire to warm. 

“With you it’s different.  There’s no pressure, you’re here to protect me and that has made it easy to get close to you.” She said as she gazed up at the stars. 

When
Cheyenne looked back down, Brian was by her side, wrapping his arms around her.  He pulled her close and kissed her soft lips.  He pulled back and Cheyenne opened her eyes.  She smiled at him as she snuggled into his embrace.  It felt nice to be one with nature as she lay back against Brian’s chest.  They had ended their night in separate rooms but both knew that the pull was becoming strong.  They knew that they wouldn’t be able to ignore it for much longer.  The memory of the night gave her butterflies in her stomach and had been on her mind since it occurred. 

On this day,
Cheyenne was looking around the house, wasting time.  She had finished clearing out the office and now there was only one room left to go through.  Her father’s room remained untouched and would for the foreseeable future.  She couldn’t bring herself to explore it.  It would wait for her until she was ready, of that she was sure.  Cheyenne found many things of interest in his office but none more so that his personal notes.  Written by his hand and crinkled by his reading, they were something of his that had a very personal meaning to her.  She tucked them back away into the top desk drawer and knew that she would visit them later. 

Her father’s funeral would be the next day.  Not looking forward to the proceedings
or the hoopla that surrounded events such as this, dread had overtaken her body.  Cheyenne dreaded many things about the next day but there was one thing she was looking forward to.

Although, to most
, it would have seemed morbid, she would finally get to see her father in person, even if it was in death.  If she could bring herself to, she may even touch his hand.  In all of her daydreams this had not been how the encounter was supposed to happen.  She had always dreamed of being a daddy’s girl but finally she had to tuck those hopes away as now she knew it would never happen.  Cheyenne knew that she would feel self conscious around everyone in attendance almost as though she was an interloper. 

Throughout her life, she had suffered from a lack of confidence.  Upon entering a room of people, there was a likely chance that Cheyenne Wingate would exit quickly, unable to breathe and crying with no explanation.  Her mother had always been infuriated by this quality but despite all of Cheyenne’s attempts, she had never discovered how to control that
particular emotion.             

“Cheyenne, we need to talk,” boomed Brian’s deep baritone voice.  The tone in his voice told her
that the conversation wouldn’t be good.  In the short time they had been pushed together, she had come to learn his moods and tone of voice.  Her intimate knowledge had not been intentional but had innocently happened.  Seated at the table, she braced herself for the news. 

“Charles’s toxicology report came back today.  He had a minimal amount of alcohol in his system and a few other things that gave the coroner cause for concern.  He had a large
amount of an over the counter sleeping aid and Xanax in his system.  I have checked with his doctor and he said that he had never prescribed Xanax for Charles.”

“Brian, wasn’t that the pills that Maria was searching for?  The ones that she claimed Jason stole?”

              “What does this all mean? “ Cheyenne questioned.  “Well, we have a theory but I’m not sure that you want to hear it,” he said. 

“I don’t want to
, but I need to,” Cheyenne stated, near tears. 

“We believe that he was working late at the office when someone he was familiar with came in.  We know he was drugged at the office shortly before his death because the medical examiner found an undigested, partially dissolved pill in his stomach contents.” He said as Cheyenne interrupted. 

“Why would anyone drug him if they were going to shoot him?” she asked apparently confused by the theory. 

“Whoever killed him, drugged him first to make him more manageable.  His filing cabinet was ransacked and at
the time we could not tell if he had done it or the murderer.  Our theory is that they needed to be in control of him for one reason or another.  We really haven’t figured that part out completely yet.  When they were finished or had given up, they shot him once in the temple.”

Cheyenne’s mind was spinning.  “Could Jason really be that dangerous,” she questioned herself. 

“Do you still think that Jason is the murderer?”
 

Brian face tensed.  “Yes, we suspect it
but we are having a hard time tying up the loose ends.  All we have right now is circumstantial evidence,” he confessed. 

“Do you think that you will ever be able to prove that Jason killed my father?” Cheyenne asked, catching Brian off guard. 

“Cheyenne, I’m not sure, but with you as my witness I will not stop trying.”

             
Cheyenne knew that he spoke the truth.  He would continue to try but what worried her was whether he would be trying to convict an innocent man.  She tried to put the conversation out of her mind and decided to check on Blaze.  Cheyenne had finally gotten the courage to go to the stable alone.  Before she could approach the stall she was grabbed from behind.  A strong hand went over her mouth and held her tightly.  She was against a hard muscular body and could not move. 

Into her ear the man whispered,” Cheyenne, it’s me, Jason.  Don’t scream and I’ll let you go.  Slowly, as though testing the waters, he removed his hand from her mouth.  She stood still but realized that she was not afraid. 

Spinning around to face him she whispered, “How did you get here?” 

He looked worried and tired as he answer
ed,” I snuck in through the pasture.  I need your help Cheyenne” 

“Just tell me what y
ou need,” she said as she took a step away from him. 

“I
’m being framed by someone and what is even worse is I think I’m being followed.  My attorney told me that I’m days away from being arrested for Charles’s murder and I promise you that I didn’t hurt him.  I couldn’t have ever murdered him.  He was my friend.  I need to find out who did this and I need to know quickly,” Jason exclaimed. 

“Jason, what do you want me to do?  I don’t see
how I can be of any help to you.  There are plenty of people convinced that you committed this murder and that you may have been responsible for trying to kill me. ” she said. 

He looked defeated.  She felt such empathy for him but truly did
n’t know what she could do for him. 

“
I need for you to help me prove I’m innocent.  I don’t know how just yet but when I do, I need to know that you’ll be there for me.  I didn’t try to kill you.  Until today, I was not aware that anyone had.” He said, full of concern.  Cheyenne nodded her head in agreement just as she heard footsteps coming up the walk.  She turned to see who was coming and when she turned back, Jason was gone. 

             
The footsteps turned out to be Brian.  She’d been gone a while and hadn’t realized it.  She didn’t share his belief that Jason had killed her father but she also knew that she would never convince him that he didn’t.  When he did finally make an arrest, she wanted to make sure it would be the right person.  She was a good judge of character and just didn’t see Jason committing such a heartless act although she had admitted to herself that she didn’t know him well enough to make that judgment unilaterally.  Of course she knew that there was room for error in her judgment but her gut told her that she was right.  Confusion sat in when she began to contemplate what she could do to help Jason.  Cheyenne had only just arrived on the scene.  Not knowing the people involved nor her father would prove to make his request difficult to say the least.

             
“Cheyenne, I heard voices when I walked up, who were you talking to?” Brian asked, already knowing the answer.  She paused for a moment before blurting out the truth, “It was Jason.  He said that he needed my help to prove his innocence.”

Brian stood, stone faced in front of her
for what felt like an eternity but soon he started to grow red with anger.

“There are a few things you need to know about Jason
Turner.  Cheyenne, I interviewed him a few days ago.  As convinced as you are of his innocence, I am equally as convinced of his guilt.  You think that he is some sort of a gentleman and I know for a fact that he is not. He bragged to me about having sex with you in the stable on the day of your father’s will reading.”

“What!!!” Cheyenne exclaimed, furious.  “He has
n’t had sex with me.  He held me when I cried and I view that as just one person comforting another.  I’m not cheap enough to have sex with someone after just meeting them.  Have I rolled in the hay with you?  NO!  I have not.  That should answer your questions regarding my virtue,” she steamed with tears in her eyes. 

“I
could make the mistake of thinking you are crying, but I know that you are pissed.  I’m sorry for repeating that, but I felt you needed to know what he has said.  I personally think that he has played on your sympathy and used your grief to further his agenda,” Brian stated. 

He stepped close to
her and gently took her face in his hands as he wiped the tears away from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb.  She tried to turn her head away but he held her firmly.

“I’m sorry,” he mouthed.  She w
asn’t sure that she wanted to accept his apology, but she did realize that she had to give him credit for trying.  Nodding her head, Cheyenne acknowledged his attempt and vowed to herself to confront Jason sooner or later.

Chapter Eight

The walk back to the house was quiet.  Neither trusted themselves to say a word.  Cheyenne was especially upset but knew that she should not take her frustrations out on Brian.  After washing her hands and drying them, she turned to find Brian standing at the door.  He was looking at her as if he had just seen her for the first time.  She blushed under the intensity of his stare as he turned and walked back to the living room.  Cheyenne was not sure if she could handle what was developing between her and Brian.  She knew that she wanted him but also knew that once he had a chance to think things through, he would realize that his career had to come first.  If she was going to allow him into her heart, there would have to be room in his life for her and his career and she wasn’t sure that would ever be the case.  Brian had made it crystal clear that his career would never be derailed by a relationship and she would not accept anything less than a relationship from him.  If she could not have that, then she wanted nothing at all. 

             
She decided to go for a cool swim to put some distance between her and Brian.  After changing, she walked down to the pool and stepped in.  The water felt refreshing to her overwhelmed body.  Cheyenne languished in the water until her fingers began to prune.  As she walked up the steps of the pool the water cascaded from her body.  She got out, dried off and decided to lie in a lounge chair and take a nap.  Cheyenne used her towel as a makeshift pillow, enjoying the sun warming her body.  Soon, she settled into the overstuffed cushion and fell asleep.