The Marriage Charm (Bliss County 2) (19 page)

When he finished work, he went straight home to his horse and his dog. He needed to unwind, and a long ride was just the way to do that.

He saddled Reb, took him out to the big clear pasture and the river, and ran him full tilt along the bank, giving him his head. The horse understood he could go as fast as he wanted, and at one point they were racing flat out, reins loose, the wind in Spence’s hair. He finally had to pull up, laughing and patting his horse’s damp neck. “Hold on, partner. You seemed to need that and so did I, but let’s walk back. We should both cool down.”

After that... He wanted another night in Melody’s bed, but not one of playing the gentleman.

As for Reb, he might be feeling so frisky because Spence had been neglecting him. With the wedding, the burglaries, the party and Melody, he hadn’t had much time to get in his evening rides.

They splashed through the creek, the pebbled bottom reflecting the dying light, and he pondered the robbery. Melody swore she hadn’t told anyone about the diamond she’d paid a nice chunk of change for, which meant that trail led back to the antiques shop, where she did business fairly often. And yet, he knew the owner was upright and trustworthy, so maybe that wasn’t such a promising lead. The theft might also have been random. It could simply be that the thieves broke in, the diamond was just sitting there and they took it. Spence had the feeling Melody wouldn’t make that mistake again, but the pang of regret he experienced was heartfelt.

“This is an imperfect world,” he mused out loud to Reb. “Full of imperfect people who behave badly at times. I’m supposed to be the one keeping them in line. Tell me, if you were me, what angle would you take with this case?”

In answer, Reb put down his head and drank from the stream, loudly and with horsey enthusiasm. Spence laughed. “A lot of help you are.”

But as he sat there in the saddle, where he usually did his best thinking, he decided that being forced to stop for five minutes while Reb drank his fill actually
was
some help. Horses—and people—went where they knew they could get what they were after. Melody’s house hadn’t been a random target, and the more he thought about it, the more certain he felt.

Follow point A to point B—that was the usual blueprint in police work. But there was also the gut feeling that steered you in the right direction. Finished slurping up water, Reb shook his head, and Spence absently held the reins as his horse meandered out of the creek bed up the embankment.

The thefts were well-planned; in each case, no one was at home and although there had been considerable disruption at Melody’s house, there was a common thread of no real destruction.

Yup, same folks.

The aspens whispered back, agreeing with him.

When he rode back to the house, he found Tripp sitting on his front porch with Ridley and Harley, booted feet propped up on the railing, holding a bottle of beer. He waited until Spence slid off before he said lazily, “That was quite the exit last night, my friend, and now I know why. I heard about the robbery. After I thank you for not making everyone go AWOL on me and spoil the party, wanna fill me in? How’s Melody, for starters?”

“Too damn beautiful for my peace of mind.” No matter what, a decent man never put up a wet horse, so he nodded. “Give me a minute to get Reb taken care of, and by the way, I hope you brought more of those. I might even have one. Mustang Creek’s had enough of my time today.”

“Go take care of Reb. Hadleigh’s with Mel, so I’m footloose and fancy-free. The dogs can stay here with me.”

Those two lazy mutts seemed way too comfortable with the idea of sleeping side by side on the porch instead of making their typical trek to the barn. Spence grinned at that as he unsaddled his horse and brushed him down. Then he gave him some oats as an apology for his recent neglect, not just the usual hay, and opened the gate to the fenced pasture. Back at the house, Tripp took a bottle from the cooler he’d brought, handed it over and said, “I thought I had the best view in our grand state, but yours is mighty fine. Not that I haven’t sat in this exact same chair before, but this is one pretty night. So, what happened?”

He twisted off the cap, took a long swallow of light lager before he dropped into a chair. “Someone broke in and tossed the place, stole from her, scared her cats—and that’s quite an accomplishment since they even scare me—and got away without anyone seeing anything.”

“What’s your hunch?”

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been thinking about it all day—and night, since he hadn’t slept much.

“I was just asking Reb that.” He laughed and felt a fraction lighter. “He didn’t have a lot of insight, but I figure we have someone working the community. These aren’t random burglars. I’m sure of it. They’re going into these houses with a mission because they know what’s there. Any ideas?”

“Glad my opinion’s second to Reb’s.”

“He was handy, that’s all. Sometimes it helps to think out loud. Think this through with me now over a cold one.”

“Don’t have to ask me twice. When I heard about it, I was furious for Mel’s sake. Let’s not even discuss how Hadleigh feels. Anything happens to her friends, and she’s on it, both barrels blazing. If I was whoever broke in, I’d watch for a
High Noon
moment when she finds out who did it.”

Spence surveyed the Tetons and had to admit it was a privileged view. He tipped the beer to his mouth again, took another swallow and said in measured tones, “I agree with Moe. This is a local problem. The thieves are obviously aware of the comings and goings of anyone they target. If you think for a minute that the idea of someone keeping track of what Melody’s doing doesn’t freak me out, you’d be wrong.”

“Ask her to move in with you.”

He turned slowly and gave his friend a direct look. “I was waiting for the answer to another question first. But,” he said with a deep sigh, “I still have to find the right time, the right
way
to ask it.”

Tripp threw back his head. “Ha, thought so. I’m going to win that bet with my wife. But I’m serious. Melody’s house was broken into. Is she safe?”

It was a worry, no doubt about it.

He muttered, “When people bet on my personal life, it annoys me. I also do my best to keep the peace in this town. Mustang Creek is generally a nice place to live. I’m angry on a number of levels.”

“I’m not denying that this is a peaceful town. It’s safe except when people break in and steal your valuables. What if she’d walked in on the crime? She’s a woman living alone. Anything could’ve happened.”

He wished his friend hadn’t brought that up. In fact, he wished Tripp didn’t have a point. He stared over at their boots, perched on the railing. Tripp had much nicer footwear since he had them custom-made, but then again, he didn’t live on the taxpayer’s dime, and Spence was a down-to-basics type, anyway. He exhaled audibly. “I’ll ask you again, since you think you’re so blasted smart. We don’t have a single witness, and the perpetrators of these crimes seem to know the victims and their habits well. So where would you look?”

Brow furrowed, Tripp thought it over. “I’m not a detective, but I agree it has to be local. Makes sense. Pretty much everyone around here knew about the party. Hadleigh and Mel are close friends, so our thief or thieves knew she’d be at the ranch.”

“So far you’re getting about a C in Lawman 101.”

Tripp rolled his eyes. “Hey, if you want to fly a plane, go ahead and give it a try. I’m just thinking out loud—like you asked me to.”

“No, thanks on the plane. My feet stay firmly on the ground whenever possible.” Spence stared at the label on his bottle of beer but didn’t really see it. “I haven’t been able to tie this together yet, and it’s really frustrating. I know the crimes are related, but I haven’t put my finger on the connection. I’ll find it, but—”

“Maybe you should talk to Jim,” Tripp broke in.

“Your father? Why?”

“He’s retired, he lives in town and he knows just about everyone. Maybe he’ll have an idea or two. He’s a man of few words, but when he speaks each word is like gold.

“He’s always been shrewd about people. He sure knew when I’d crossed the line as a kid, no matter how careful I was to hide it,” he said wryly. “Oh, and why don’t
you
ask him about going on that trail ride with a bunch of giggling girls? I haven’t had a chance yet.”

Not a bad suggestion. Spence inclined his head in a nod. “Might just do that.”

“Know what else you should do?”

“What? I wouldn’t bother to ask, but you’re going to tell me, anyway, so why put off the inevitable?”

“Buy Melody a horse. Worked for me. Hadleigh and I ride out every night in this kind of weather. Relax, talk, enjoy where we live. You can keep it here. You’ve got lots of space, and Reb would probably like having a companion. As a wedding gift, seems to be a good one.”

Much as he hated to admit it—because Tripp would gloat—it was an excellent idea.

He drained his beer. “Okay, thanks for that. I’ll start looking around.”

Tripp drained his own beer, set the bottle down with a plunk and said smugly, “No need. I think I can hook you up.”

*

H
ADLEIGH HAD MADE
her a cup of tea. As she’d explained to Melody in the past, her grandmother had taught her to serve tea the “proper” way—in a china cup with saucer—and as a result, she had a plentiful supply of both.

Melody accepted her tea with both hands and took a grateful sip. “Thanks for helping me clean up.”

“Are you kidding? Of course I would!” Her friend sank down on the couch next to her. “It looks almost normal now that everything’s back in place. I can only imagine how you feel.”

“Mad as hell,” Melody said without hesitation. “Spence warned me I’d feel violated, and oh, I do, but I’m also furious. Besides the diamond and my works in progress, they took most of my tools so I can’t even work. The mess, too—that was just spiteful. They didn’t steal my CDs, but they threw them around. Maybe they didn’t like my taste in music.”

Hadleigh touched her shoulder. “I’m so sorry. And I can’t help feeling sort of responsible. If you hadn’t been at the ranch—”

“Don’t make me dump this tea on your head,” Melody warned her. “Like
you’re
responsible? Please. Besides, then I might have
been
here. That would be even worse. Walking into it afterward was bad enough.”

“At least Spence was with you.” Hadleigh’s expression was bland—to the extent that she could pull it off, anyway. “Word has it he was here all night. People talk, you know, and his truck was still in your driveway this morning.”

The cats hadn’t budged from the mantel all day, except to eat and at litter box time. They obviously felt disturbed by the breakin, as well. Melody sent a silent message of apology their way, not that it was her fault any more than it was Hadleigh’s, but she was their human guardian. So, in a way, it did fall on her...

They got the message. They blinked in unison. Did that signify forgiveness? Melody chose to believe that it did.

“I can tell we’re going to talk about that. Spence being here, I mean.” Melody said it with complete resignation. “Should I take out a notice in the paper announcing that nothing happened? I was tired and distressed and didn’t have a kitchen window. He was being nice.”

“He’s in love with you.”

Having someone, especially one of the people closest to her, state that so starkly, made her eyes suddenly burn. “He’s supposedly been in love with me before.”

“Hot damn, you can sure dig in your heels.” Hadleigh set down her cup so hard it rattled in the saucer. “He
was
in love with you before, and he is now. If the entire world can see it, why can’t you? Why are you so blind?”

“He’s in love with sleeping with me.” That came out sounding a little more forthright than she’d intended, but Melody stood by the words. “Everything else is up in the air.”

“Including a certain part of his anatomy? Well, that’s exactly my point.”

She had to burst out laughing, the levity welcome. “You are so bad.”

Hadleigh laughed, too. “I know. Tripp would be the first to agree with you.”

They settled down again, and Melody put her feet on the coffee table. Special circumstances allowed special vices, although the cats looked surprised. No paws permitted on the coffee table. House rule. Melody clarified. “I’m trying to figure this all out.”

“Yeah. I remember the process—excruciating introspection.”

Melody nodded.

“Spence isn’t all that easy to understand. If you take Prince Charming and combine him with Billy the Kid, maybe you’d get it.”

“Can’t disagree with that one.” Hadleigh grinned. “At least this time it was you carted off like a sack of feed.”

“Then you remember the feeling.” Melody didn’t point out that Spence had done that to her once before—after Hadleigh’s wedding. But nobody knew about that—right?—and she wanted to keep it that way.

“How could I forget?” They both laughed again then looked at each other. Hadleigh said quietly, “When Tripp did that, it was the best thing that ever happened in my life—except the day I married him instead of Oakley. You might want to keep that in mind.”

Trouble was, she hadn’t noticed Spence asking her to marry him. “If he’s serious, I think we should get to know each other better.”

Melody’s best friend gaped at her as if she’d jumped into the deep end. “You’ve known him since you were six years old. Check the calendar, sister. That wasn’t yesterday.”

“Thanks,” she said drily. “I’ve seen the forecast, and imminent spinsterhood, if you’ll pardon the old-fashioned term, seems to be the dark, rainy cloud on the horizon. I’m saying that summer nine years ago ended badly, and that’s something I’ve been thinking about. Remember the pact? I want to get married one time and one time only. I totally misunderstood his level of commitment back then. I don’t want to make that mistake a second time. As the saying goes: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”

Hadleigh seemed to consider it and then nodded. “All right, I see your point. What’s your plan?”

There was no plan. And therein lay the problem. Spence was a wild card, whether you were talking poker
or
baseball.