"How did you sleep?" he asked. "You look tired," he added before giving her an opportunity to reply. His gaze was intent on her face, creating a hot pool of desire in her stomach as she threatened to fall into the beautiful gray depths of his eyes.
Her mind exploded with the memory of being in his arms the day before, of feeling his heart beating strong and steady against her own, the very scent of him both an intoxicant and a soothing balm.
Before he'd shown up the day before and she'd thrown herself in his arms, she'd felt hauntingly alone, with only the visions of Candy to keep her company. His presence had banished the horrid visions and his embrace had warmed all the cold areas inside her.
"Lizzy?"
Heat filled her cheeks as she snapped back to the here and now. "Oh, I slept fine," she said after remembering what he'd just asked her. "Courtney and her baby stayed in my cabin with me. If I look tired it's because I've been here working since a little before eleven today."
"Is Courtney staying with you again tonight?"
Lizzy shook her head and picked up her fork. "No. Last night we were both a little freaked out by everything, but we're both feeling better … stronger today." She cut into the tender roast. "Talk to me about normal things, Daniel. Tell me about things at the ranch." She'd heard about nothing but murder all day and was hungry for something else, something of Daniel's world.
"Molly told me to tell you hello," he said as he picked up his fork.
Lizzy gave him a rueful smile. "It seems like it's been months since I took that ride with you, and it's only been three days." She shook her head and popped a piece of carrot into her mouth. "Tell me more."
"The sunrise was nice this morning. I drank my coffee on the back deck and watched it rise. It was peaceful." He looked at her as if surprised. "It was the first time I've felt peaceful in a long time." He leaned back in the booth and averted his gaze out the window. "Anyway, it wasn't long and the chickens were squawking and morning had arrived and there were chores to be done."
Lizzy gazed at him, noting the strength that radiated in his features, a solid capability that rode his broad shoulders. "I had a terrible time getting to sleep last night," she said. His gaze swung back to meet hers. "And the one thing that finally made me fall asleep was thinking about that beautiful clearing you took me to. Thank you for that."
"You're welcome." He cleared his throat, and for the next few minutes they focused on their meals. As they ate they compared notes about the rumors each of them had heard throughout the day.
"I've heard everything from a crazed psychotic drifter to her parents hired a hit man who was responsible for Candy's death because she moved here," Lizzy said.
Daniel raised a dark eyebrow. "I hadn't heard the parent theory."
"I'm hoping that particular rumor has a swift death," Lizzy replied. "Can you imagine being a grieving parent and hearing nonsense like that?" She shook her head and looked up as a tall, beautiful blonde woman and a broad-shouldered, dark-eyed cowboy came toward their booth. Immediately Daniel's shoulder stiffened and he sat up straighter in the seat.
"Daniel." The blonde nearly sneered his name. "Unusual to see you here on a Thursday evening," she said.
"The food is good here no matter what day of the week you eat it," he replied.
The woman's gaze flicked over Lizzy as if she were a piece of lint that marred the beauty of an expensive black dress. She returned her gaze to Daniel. "I'd say it's nice to see you, but you know better than that." She turned to her tall male companion. "Come on, Denver. Let's get out of here." The couple headed toward the front door.
"Wow, who was that?" Lizzy asked after the two had disappeared from sight.
"The woman is Maddy Billings and her friend is Denver Walton."
"She doesn't appear to be much of a fan of yours." Lizzy saw the tension slowly releasing from his shoulders.
"She isn't. Maddy was close friends with Janice and Cherry," he replied.
Lizzy frowned. "So, why is she so mad at you?"
He released a small sigh. "It's a long story."
"You're the second person to tell me that in the last twenty-four hours," Lizzy said, thinking that Courtney had told her the same thing when talking about Nick Benson. "Doesn't anyone have a short story to explain things?" she added in frustration.
"The short story is that Maddy never wanted Janice to marry me and she blames me for Janice's and Cherry's deaths." He shoved his plate aside, finished with the food and apparently finished with that particular conversation. "Since you came in early today, is Mary letting you off early?"
As the bell over the door tinkled to announce new arrivals, Lizzy looked around the place and then shook her head. "It's doubtful. Everyone in town seems to be making their way here to find out if anyone else has heard anything about the murder. I think the dinner rush is going to be massive, and we'll probably stay busy until closing time."
"Maybe what you need in the morning is to get out of here and take another ride with me at my place. I could pick you up around nine and have you back here for your two o'clock shift."
She shouldn't accept the offer. He was getting too far under her skin, too deep into her heart, and it would only make it more difficult when she left here, when she left him.
"That sounds wonderful," she said, despite all her misgivings to the contrary. She told herself that she didn't have to worry about getting in too deep with Daniel. After all, it took two to tango, and Daniel was still emotionally dancing with his dead wife.
He wasn't offering her anything more than a horseback ride and friendship. The fact that she felt all kinds of crazy emotions and desires for him was her problem, and surely she could control herself where he was concerned until the time she left town.
"Good, then I'll pick you up around nine," he replied. "Maybe we'll have a picnic lunch in the clearing."
"That would be terrific."
The meal was finished and Lizzy knew it was time for her to get back to work, but she was reluctant to leave him. Get a grip, Lizzy, she thought to herself. It wasn't as if she wasn't going to see him again. She'd see him first thing in the morning.
With a burst of adrenaline, she slid out of the booth and reminded herself she had a bucket list to complete and this was just a stop along the way. "Then I'll see you in the morning," she said briskly as she gathered their empty plates in her hands.
By the time she'd taken the dishes into the kitchen and returned, Daniel was gone, and for the next two hours Lizzy worked a dinner rush busier than ever before.
Lizzy saw several unfamiliar faces, men and women who probably rarely dined out or had never been in the café before. She figured they were probably there to get the latest facts about Candy's murder. But, there were no facts to disseminate. Neither Cameron nor any of his deputies had made any appearances in the café all day long.
It was just after nine when Cameron finally came through the door, the wear and tear of the day evident in the tired lines that creased his face.
He flashed Lizzy a weary smile as he made his way to the counter, where Mary poured him a cup of coffee. Lizzy moved to join them, obviously eager to hear what the official news was from the lawman.
"After everyone pounding the sidewalks all day long, interviewing everyone in this one-horse town, I still just have one potential suspect … Kevin," Cameron said with obvious frustration.
"Then why don't you just arrest Kevin?" Lizzy asked.
Cameron turned to look at her with tired eyes. "Because right now I don't have any concrete evidence to do so. It's all circumstantial at the moment. He has an alibi, and I don't even have the murder weapon."
"So, what happens now?" Mary asked.
"We keep digging. Sooner or later if Kevin is guilty, he'll tell somebody what he did, or we'll find the weapon or we'll be able to destroy his alibi. It's just a matter of time before we get a real break in the case."
"You look exhausted," Mary said, and Lizzy saw the softness of her boss's eyes as she gazed at him. Lizzy moved away from the counter, giving the two people time to speak alone.
By nine-thirty the café had begun to clear out. Exhaustion weighed heavily on Lizzy's shoulders, and for the first time since she'd been working at the café her feet hurt. For nearly eleven hours she'd been dashing to serve and clean up after the diners. It had definitely been a long day.