“Yes.” Duncan frowned. “We talked about it. Haven’t you talked to her about it?”
Jared nodded, remembering the times he’d asked about it. “Yeah, but I didn’t quite believe her. She always comes back from Tulsa real excited about what she’d seen or done there. I guess seeing her with that attorney just made me wonder.”
“That’s been bothering me a bit, too.” Reese poured himself a cup of coffee from the fresh pot. “Her entire demeanor changed as soon as she saw him.”
Stiffening, Jared shoved the plate he held into the cupboard, inwardly wincing that he’d made more noise than he meant to. “Changed how?”
Reese shrugged and dropped into a seat at the table, taking a sip of coffee before answering. “I don’t know. She looked…harder. Less emotional. Colder. I don’t know. Different. She carried herself differently. Even her eyes changed. She looked kind of the way she looked when we met her.”
After taking another sip of his coffee, Reese smiled faintly, but a muscle worked in his jaw. “I hadn’t realized how much she’d changed until today. She didn’t seem worried about Stark at all.”
“Unless she’s hiding it from us.” Jared reached for another plate, lost in thought as he dried it.
His wife seemed happier. She laughed with them. Played with them. Teased them.
Love had softened her hard edges, but at times, she still had the ability to surprise them, and he wondered if he could read her as accurately as he’d thought.
The uneasy sense that she was hiding something from them made Jared edgy again.
After refilling his cup, he joined Reese at the table. “She’d damned well not be keeping something from us. Damn it. Why the hell do I feel like she is?”
It felt better to say it out loud, but it also made it more real. “She’d hide her fear of Stark from us because she thinks we’re too over-protective.”
Shaking his head, Reese leaned forward, eyeing both Jared and Duncan. “No. She wouldn’t do anything to endanger the baby. If she was scared, she’d tell us.”
Drying his hands, Duncan turned from the sink. “Maybe she really believes this guy’s gonna head out of the country as fast as he can.”
Tossing the towel aside, Duncan braced a hand on either side of the counter behind him and leaned back against it. “Something doesn’t feel right. Erin wasn’t as friendly to Cramer as she should have been. After all, he came all the way from Texas to warn her about Stark.”
Jared had wondered about the same thing. “There’s something there. A history that she hasn’t told us about, maybe?”
Reese finished his coffee and rose to his feet. “I just hope like hell our stubborn wife hasn’t made a decision to take care of things herself.”
Jared smiled and leaned back. “I’ve already thought of that. There’s no way she can get around us to deal with this guy on her own.”
The thought that she might try sent a chill through him.
* * * *
Fixing breakfast the next morning, Erin shook her head as she turned from the stove. “Stop fussing. I told you that Stark’s long gone. You all need to be there when the wood’s delivered, so just go. You can drop me off at the shop. We have a shipment coming in, and Rachel’s going to meet me there.”
They all turned at the knock at the back door, and since only strangers used the front door, Jared raised his voice slightly to call out for their visitor to come in.
Erin smiled, unsurprised when the door opened to admit Ace Tyler.
“Good morning.” Dressed in his crisp uniform, the sheriff came through the back door with a grin, immediately crossing to the bassinette Jared had brought to the kitchen. Bending low, he touched William’s tiny fist. “He looks bigger every time I see him. How’s he doing?”
Erin’s heart lurched with pride. “He’s great. He sleeps good and eats like a little pig. The doctor’s thrilled with his progress.”
Straightening, Ace turned, frowning as he studied her, his gaze sharp. “How are you?”
Smiling, she met his gaze squarely. “I’m fine. Do I look as if something’s wrong with me?”
His lips twitched. “Of course not. I just didn’t want you to worry about Stark.”
Shaking her head, Erin scooped the last pancake from the pan. “I’m not worried about him at all. These three are. Are you hungry? While you’re eating, you can tell us why you’re here.”
Reese jumped up to take the platter of pancakes from her. “Sit down, Erin. We need to talk.”
Careful not to show anything more than mild interest, Erin turned away to pour a cup of coffee for the sheriff. “Oh? What about? Let me guess. This has something to do with Wes Cramer.”