Murder And Mistletoe

If it did, he suppressed it just as quickly.

She’d been thinking about that kiss, about the contrast of his hard, muscled chest and the tenderness he’d shown when he pressed his lips to hers. About how good he tasted, like coffee and mint...and she shouldn’t be thinking these destructive thoughts right now.

“Where should we go?” She bit back a yawn.

“I’ll drop you off anywhere you want,” he said.

“Can we talk through what happened while the details are fresh?” she asked.

“The ranch needs me,” he said.

What was he up to?

“I can drop you off at your sister’s,” he said.

“After the way we left things, I doubt it,” she responded. “And since I’ll be sticking around a few days, I’ll need a recommendation for a place to stay while my sister cools off.”

There was no way Bethany was going to give Leanne access to Clara’s room after everything she’d said to her half sister.

Besides, Gary had most likely torn it apart already.

* * *

THE BLACK COFFEE burned Dalton’s throat as he took a sip. It felt good. Reminded him that he was alive. He took another, still trying to figure out what he was doing with Leanne West when he should’ve dropped her off so he could examine the photos on his phone in privacy. But then a part of him realized she had a right to know if he found something there. Besides, with her trained eye, she could be useful in evaluating them.

“Thanks for not dropping me off and leaving,” the detective said. “And for everything you’ve been doing to help so far. I never would’ve gotten that far with the sheriff on my own.”

Dalton nodded.

The detective ran her index finger along the rim of her coffee cup. She took hers with cream and two packets of raw sugar. He didn’t want to notice those details about her. She wasn’t a date. And even the women he’d spent time with never stayed long enough for him to figure out their coffee habits. He knew very little about the woman sitting across the booth from him in the empty café off the highway.

There were other details he’d cataloged about her. The fact that she didn’t wear a wedding ring. He told himself the only reason he noticed was because of the kiss—a kiss so hot he didn’t need to think about it, either—and a necessary apology that would have gone to her husband if she’d had one.

Dalton set his cup down. He also noticed that she’d picked at the hem of her navy blazer four times since sitting down and figured she was nervous. Was it because she was with him?

“If we’re going to work together, we should probably know some basics about each other, Detective,” he started, figuring information might come in handy if they somehow separated.

The detective blew out a burst of air. “Okay. First things first, call me Leanne.”

He nodded.

“I’m from Dallas, but you already know that. I have a six-month-old daughter.” She paused long enough to pull out her cell phone and show him a pic of a partially toothed little girl. “Mila.”

“Cute kid,” he said. His newly found half brother, Wyatt, had a six-month-old kid.

“There’s no father,” she said with an awkward half smile. “I mean, there was a father, but he’s not...around.”

“He’s an idiot,” Dalton said before he could stop himself. He probably shouldn’t insult a man he didn’t know, but anyone who could walk out on a face like the one on the cell phone and not look back had to be a first-order jerk.

Leanne shot a warning look, which surprised him and told him there was more to the story. “My neighbor has been a gift. She loves kids, has more grandkids than I have fingers on one hand and she’s keeping Mila for a few days.”

“Sounds like a good setup.”

She nodded. “Other than that, there’s not much to tell. I worked my butt off to make detective before thirty. I’ve been on the job two years, so still earning my stripes to some.” And then turned the tables on him. “What’s your story?”

“You already know my name is Dalton Butler. I have a twin, Dade. We’re identical, so if you bump into someone who looks a helluva lot like me but says he’s not, he’s not lying.” He chuckled at her wide eyes. “What? You’ve never met twins before?”

She made a gesture. “I guess I have. Haven’t known a lot personally.”

“My father was fairly famous in Texas.” He paused before adding, “Infamous in some circles.”

“I heard a lot of good things about him,” she said casually, like it was common knowledge.

She obviously didn’t know the real man. But then, who really did?

“I’m one of six kids, unless someone else comes out of the woodwork before the reading of the Mav’s will on Christmas Eve.” He tried to suppress the anger in his voice and figured he wasn’t doing a great job based on the look she shot him. “Four of us grew up under one roof and had the same mother.”

“Do you work on the farm?” she asked.

“It’s a ranch. And the answer is yes,” he said indignantly, picking up a packet of sugar. He should’ve realized a Dallas detective wouldn’t know much about ranching but calling Hereford a farm was a lot like calling a horse a cow. “All of us do in some capacity, including the new ones.”

A moment of silence passed between the two of them before Leanne’s gaze intensified.

“Why do you care so much about this case?” She pinned him with her stare, and he couldn’t tell if she was looking at him or through him. “Who did you lose?”

“It’s been fourteen years, so the number fourteen might be important,” he said, redirecting the conversation. He tossed the sugar packet on top of the table.

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