Deadly Texas Rose. Lenora Worth

he was fishing again, and Julia refused to give him any more information than necessary. “I think he’d be crazy to do that, but…I want to feel safe. I did feel safe here until this happened.”

      He leaned back against the porch railing, his quiet gaze moving over her face. “Want to tell me about…your past? Where’d you come from?”

      “I don’t have to answer that.”

      “Anyone in your past who might want to do you harm?”

      She glanced away, then back. Should she tell him the truth? But what purpose would that serve? Until they found this man, if this was the right man, who knew why he’d come to the diner? Maybe it had just been a random robbery and maybe she was just imagining things because of her husband’s horrible death. She didn’t want to relive all of that unless she had to.

      Finally, she said, “I don’t think so.”

      His harsh gaze made her edgy. “But you’re not sure?”

      Dropping her hands to her sides, she asked, “How can I be sure? I’ve tried to live a quiet, normal life. I don’t have anything to hide. I just need to protect my daughter.”

      “From what?”

      Impatient, she said, “From the press, from the police asking too many questions. I don’t want Moria to worry about me. She’s been through enough.”

      He latched on to that. “Because?”

      Letting out a sigh, Julia said, “Her father died last year, okay? Surely you’ve heard I’m a widow and she’s lost her father. We’re both still trying to cope with that, but Moria is having a very hard time. I moved here to start over and to help her get through her grief. I just didn’t need this on top of everything else. So could you just go, please?”

      He stepped back, palms up. “I understand and I’m sorry. Did you tell—”

      “I told the sheriff’s investigators, the police officer who questioned me yesterday, and…Cat knows, of course. I didn’t tell the newspapers and television crews that my daughter has horrible nightmares about losing her father, because it’s none of their business. Can we just leave it at that?”

      “They’ll keep digging.”

      “I’m afraid of that.” She ran her hands through her hair. “And I know you can keep digging. You are a lawman, after all. You can find out anything you want about me. Which means I’ll probably have to pack up and move again.”

      He went on full alert now. “Why would you do that?”

      Wishing he hadn’t pushed her so much, she let out a bitter laugh. “I just want to get on with my life, and I thought I’d be able to do that here. But I won’t have my daughter being harassed because I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

      He lifted off the railing then, his eyes moving over her with suspicion and concern. “Or…maybe you were the right person in the right place at precisely the right time. Maybe that robber knew exactly where you were and how to get to you. Which is why, if you have anything else you’d like to tell either me—off the record—or the official investigators for the record, you’d better do it, and quick. Or you won’t be able to protect yourself or your daughter.”

      With that he turned to leave. But he stopped on the steps to look back at her, then pulled a card out of his shirt pocket to shove toward her. “Take this. And call me if you need anything. Anything at all, okay?”

      Julia took the card, her fingers moving over the etched lettering that included his name and work number. “Thank you.”

      “My home number and cell are written on the back,” he added. “Again, off the record since technically I’m off the case.”

      She turned it over to scan the scrawled numbers. “Are you always this prepared?”

      “I do my homework, yeah.”

      That sounded like a warning. As in, he wasn’t going to give up on this. And how could she expect him to? The authorities were trying to find a man who had tried to commit armed robbery. And she was caught right in the middle. It only made sense that every area of her life would be scrutinized and analyzed until they found some answers. But…she wasn’t the criminal, she reminded herself. She just prayed they’d find the man and this would end before she had to bare her past to all of them.

      “I hope you find that man,” she said as he headed down the steps. “And I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more.”

      He turned one last time, his fingers on the door of his car. “And I hope you learn to trust me, so I can help you.”

      Julia watched as he got in a big black truck and drove away. Could she trust him? She remembered how she’d looked toward him the day of the robbery. His strength had given her courage. The connection she’d felt that day as their eyes had locked had stayed with her, making her think she had found a champion. But she was still afraid to tell him the truth. What should I do, Lord?

      It was just too dangerous, too risky. Or was she afraid of more than her past? If she poured out her heart to Eric Butler, she could lose a part of herself all over again, the way she had with Alfonso. And she refused to give control of her life to another person ever again. She wanted to be the one in charge this time around. And that meant protecting her child.

      Julia went inside where Moria had her coloring book and crayons out on the kitchen table. “Want a snack, honey?”

      Moria bobbed her head. “Is that big man gone?”

      Julia had to smile at that description. Eric Butler did cast a tall shadow. “Yes, he’s gone.” She sat down across from Moria. “Mr. Butler is one of the good guys, Moria. He’s very nice and he works hard to help people every day. You don’t have to be afraid of him, okay?”

      “Okay.” Moria’s dark eyes looked solemn and unsure. “I wish he could have helped Daddy.”

      “Me, too, honey,” Julia said. “Me, too.”

      “Will that nice man keep them away?”

      Julia’s heart went still at her daughter’s innocent question. “Keep who away, darling?”

      “You know, the mean people.”

      Wondering if Moria was beginning to remember something, Julia tried not to show the terror holding her heart like a vise. “What mean people, Moria?”

      Moria kept right on coloring the picture of flowers in a big basket. “The ones I heard that night Daddy and I played hide and seek. They were shouting.”