if she wasn’t ready. He had a stern look on his face and it made her think he was expecting the worst. Well, she was expecting something pretty awful, too. And it would be happening to her, not him.
She didn’t see Conrad take a few steps closer to her, but she heard him. She looked up and saw him standing next to her with the same resolve in his face as the lawman had on his. Only Conrad was directing his glare toward the sheriff instead of her.
She took a deep breath. Maybe she had two friends to stand beside her.
“It could be that the plates are stolen,” she said to the sheriff. She tried to keep her voice from pleading. “Maybe the car thieves took Leanne’s plates and put stolen ones on her car just to confuse things.”
“It could have happened that way,” Conrad said.
The sheriff raised his eyebrow in surprise and looked at Conrad for a second before bringing his eyes back to her. “Those boys said you promised them money if they’d come with you today. Did you cross any state lines?”
“No, and I was only going to give them quarters. One for each picture I took with them in it.”
She tried to smile at the sheriff.
He didn’t return the courtesy. “The oldest one seems to think he’ll have enough money to buy something called a Guzmoo or Gazmoo. Sounded like a military tank.”
“It’s a video game and I assure you he isn’t going to make that much.”
Katrina realized that might not make her look good, either, so she added, “I never told him he’d make enough for one of those things. He just got carried away. Besides, they’re my nephews. My sister’s boys.”
“The sister with the car?” the sheriff asked.
She nodded. “Leanne Britton. Well, Rain Tree now. She’s married to—”
“Walker Rain Tree,” the sheriff filled in with a nod. “He sent word through a friend that the car was stolen. Walker lives down on the Crowe reservation. I’ve seen him here and there. Used to work construction in Miles City. Big guy.”
Katrina had only met her brother-in-law once and that was before Leanne married him, but she didn’t want to bring that up right now. She couldn’t imagine why he’d report that Leanne’s car was stolen. Or why Leanne hadn’t stopped him.
“Jobs have been hard to find,” Katrina said. “My sister says he hasn’t worked much in the past year.”
“That’s got to be difficult,” the sheriff said, studying Katrina. “You got employment somewhere yourself?”
Conrad stepped so close she could feel his arm next to hers. “Having a job—not having a job. It’s not a crime.”
Katrina was glad to have Conrad beside her.
The sheriff looked at Conrad again, his eyes narrowing this time. “I thought you didn’t know this woman.”
“He doesn’t,” Katrina said. “He just worries about justice being done and—” She waved vaguely. “Things in general.”
The lawman grunted. “That’s Conrad, all right.”
Then the sheriff turned his attention back to her. “These boys, they don’t seem too sure about you. They say they just met you yesterday. Aunts usually know their nephews, at least by the time they’re six.”
She heard censure in his voice.
“Well, I’ve been busy. And, my sister and I have had our problems.” She looked at the sheriff. She didn’t want to say those problems involved Walker. Katrina had opposed the marriage and her sister hadn’t forgiven her. That didn’t have anything to do with the car anyway. “We really just need to call my sister and straighten this all out. Like I said, these probably aren’t even her license plates.”
“Since Walker is the one who had someone report the car as stolen, I need to clear it with him,” the sheriff said. “You’ve got the phone number?”
“Of course,” Katrina said. “It’s the house number. Neither one of them have cell phones. But my purse is in the car and the number is in there on an old receipt. I’ll get it for you.”
“I’d rather have someone else bring your purse out of the car,” the sheriff said. “If you don’t mind, that is?”
Katrina got the feeling it didn’t matter if she minded or not.
“I’ll get it,” Uncle Charley said as he walked over to the open door leading to the garage.
“There’s some sandwiches in the front seat,” Katrina called out to him as he walked through the doorway. “Those boys are probably hungry. Tell them I’ll bring them some juice in a minute or two.”
She hoped the sheriff noticed that she was trying to take care of her nephews.
“I’ll bring you your coffee back, too,” the older man said from inside the garage.
“Those boys will want a hot meal,” Conrad said quietly beside her. “When we finish here, I’ll take the three of you to the café for breakfast. My treat.”
Katrina felt her eyes grow damp again. Really, this man was being very nice.
Then Conrad said, “The sheriff can’t take you to jail until someone comes for the boys anyway. If he can’t reach the parents, he’d have to call Children’s Services in Billings.”
Well, that was an effective douse of cold water, Katrina thought, as she stepped away to look up at her betrayer. Instead of having his eyes aimed at her, though, Conrad had them focused on the sheriff.
It was clear from the twist to the sheriff’s mouth that he hadn’t given any thought to what would happen to the boys if he arrested Katrina. Of course, she knew Leanne would be over here in a few hours once they called her, but the sheriff didn’t.
He just stood there.
“I don’t think I’ve ever arrested someone who had kids with them,” the lawman finally said. “I wasn’t really planning to put her in jail right now anyway. At least not without checking out her story. We have to pay Miles City for room and board every time we give them a prisoner. It adds up.”
“Don’t worry, Leanne will vouch for me,” Katrina said and then stopped. It had already occurred to her that Leanne and Walker might be off somewhere together. Or maybe they’d had a fight and that’s why Walker said the car was stolen. Maybe Leanne was in the Lexus and Walker in his pickup. Either way, they might not get back to answer the phone until late tonight.
“The children seem to check out,” the sheriff conceded. “And I’m not keen to pay Children’s Services. Travel. Meals. And they always take their time. We’re over our budget as it is.”
Conrad pressed his point. “Then while you make your calls, you won’t object to me taking Katrina and the boys to the café for something to eat?”
The sheriff shrugged. “It’s your dime.”
“I can pay,” Katrina said.
“Don’t let her convince you to let her go free, either.” This command was given to Conrad. “That’d be a mistake.”
“Of course not,” Conrad said. “I’m just doing what needs being done.”
Katrina tried not to let that sting. She should know he was only doing his duty by her. He probably had something in his code of honor that said he had to stand by any weeping women who faced the law in his gas station. She couldn’t worry about that now, though.
“And be sure she doesn’t call anyone on that phone of hers,” the sheriff continued.
She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out her cell phone. “Here. It’s not even on. Keep it if you need to.”
The