Small Town Justice(20)

“Maybe I can help you.”

“Really? You’d do that? For me?”

“For you, and to get justice for my Sam. That is your goal, isn’t it?”

“Yes!”

“Then let’s finish up these dishes and go talk to Shane.”

That suggestion dampened Jamie’s enthusiasm the way a bucket of ice water being dumped over her head would have. “He’s not exactly in my corner, if you know what I mean.”

“I do, and it saddens me.” Marsha smiled, clearly lost in thought for a moment. “I had hoped I’d raised him better.”

“He had a traumatic childhood,” Jamie Lynn offered. “We both did. Things like that can affect people their entire lives, whether they recognize the negative influence or not.”

“I know. Right now it’s Kyle who worries me most. I do the best I can but he needs a mother.”

Curiosity made Jamie ask, “What happened to Shane’s marriage?”

“After Kyle was born, Roz decided she preferred the single life over being a wife and mother. Shane was devastated when she left them.”

“I can imagine. Tessie became my lifeline after my family fell apart,” Jamie told her. “I still miss Mom, but when I have fond memories of growing up they usually center on my great-aunt—great in more ways than one. She was a lot older than my parents, yet she’s never failed to love and encourage me. That’s what kids need most. I told Shane the same thing this afternoon. Remember?”

“Yes, I do. I think that was when you won me over.” Drying her hands on a dish towel, she said, “Let’s get going. I want to catch Shane while he’s in a good mood.”

As long as one member of the Colton family was on her side, that was enough—and more than she had hoped for.

As she rinsed and dried her hands, hung the damp towel next to the sink and followed Marsha, she grew more and more unsettled. Strange. If she didn’t know better she might suspect it was being near Shane that had her so agitated, rather than the expectation of difficulty in clearing her innocent brother. That was ridiculous, of course.

And yet, a little voice in the back of her mind kept reminding her that the man who supposedly didn’t even like her had repeatedly come to her rescue.

Saving her life by dragging her out of a burning building wasn’t exactly a small thing, was it? Nor was the physical protection he’d been providing since then. If she were totally honest with herself, she would have to admit that she had begun viewing him as her anchor, her stronghold. A haven to seek when fear threatened to overwhelm her.

Looking past Marsha, she studied Shane as they entered the living room. His brief glance passed over his mother first, then drifted to her. Their gazes locked as if welded together. Where Jamie Lynn had expected animosity, or at the very least, discontent, she found something else. Something almost tender.

Be sensible. He’s been playing with Kyle and my dog so of course he looks happier, she told herself.

Unfortunately, that conclusion didn’t begin to explain why she was so happy to see him.

* * *

Shane had no trouble reading his mother’s expression. She was up to something. What the Henderson woman was thinking, however, remained a puzzle. How she could look so appealing and off-putting at the same time was driving him crazy.

He left Kyle sitting on the floor, petting Useless, and got to his feet to face them. “What?”

“Don’t scowl at me like that,” his mother said. “We just need a little favor.”

“Uh-huh.” He crossed his arms on his chest and stood firm, feet slightly apart to complete the image. “Like what? Should I brave gunfire and battle criminals again? Or did you have something a tad less dangerous in mind?”

“This is safe. Definitely safe,” Marsha told him with a grin. “Remember all those boxes of your father’s that you stored for me when I married Otis and moved over here?”

Shane regarded her with caution. “Yes...”

“Well, I need them. At least I need some of them, and since I can’t be sure which is which, I’d like you to bring them all to me.”

“Why?” When he glanced back at Jamie, he realized she didn’t know, either.

“Because I want to look at Sam’s old notebooks, particularly the ones from the period right before he was killed,” Marsha explained.

“What good will that do? It’ll just upset you.”

“If it does, it does,” she replied decisively. “While Jamie Lynn was telling me about her parents receiving threats, it occurred to me that your dad had, too.”

“That’s not news.”