Page 8 of Ranger Belief
Especiallywith Jonah.
FIVE
Jonah groaned as a wet nose touched his cheek. He opened one eye to find Scout staring intently. She took advantage of his prone state to swipe a kiss over his mouth and cheek. He gently pushed the dog away. “Gross. Scout, we’re friends, but we’re not that close.” Squeezing his eyes shut against the daylight streaming through his window, he buried himself under the blankets. “Go back to Laney.”
His cell phone blared from the nightstand.Happyby Pharrell Williams. Laney’s special ringtone, which she’d programmed into his phone. The tune was irritatingly positive, and he kept meaning to change it, but never remembered to.
He grabbed the cell phone. Hitting answer without cracking open an eye, he growled. “What?”
“Good morning to you too, Sunshine. Time to wake up. We’ve got lots to do.”
He squinted at the time on his phone and groaned. Seven in the morning. He’d planned to be up at six but must’ve slept through his alarm. Three hours of sleep was all he'd had, most of it spent at the hospital while they photographed Laney's injuriesand a doctor examined her throat. It was going to be a rough day. Jonah rolled over on the lumpy mattress. “I’m up.”
“Liar.”
Scout jumped on the bed and licked his face again. “Scout!” He held up an arm to ward her off before sitting up. “I’m awake, okay. Call off your dog.” He glowered at Scout, who wagged her tail. “How did you get into the cabin anyway?”
“I have an extra key.” Laughter filled Laney’s voice. “Hurry up. Your coffee is getting cold.”
She hung up. He grumbled as he untwisted the blankets from his legs. Scout hopped off the mattress and pranced toward the doorway. He shook his head. “Hold on, pup. Gotta take care of business first.” He used the bathroom. His hair stuck up in spikes, and his cheek still held a crease mark from the pillow. He studied his reflection blearily while brushing his teeth. Good grief, was that a touch of gray in his stubble? On days like these, he felt far older than thirty-six.
Barefoot, he exited the bathroom and followed Scout through the small living room to a tiny kitchen. She waited patiently for him to open the back door and then bounded off the porch into the backyard where Laney waited. She was dressed for the day in a fresh uniform, the silky strands of her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. A touch of lip gloss was her only makeup. The bruises on her neck were darker now—deep purple fingerprints that made his jaw tighten. Jonah stuffed his feet into his boots and stepped outside.
“Your coffee.” She pointed to a mug perched on the railing. “I made it thick enough to be soup and strong enough to grow hair between your toes, just the way you like it.”
Jonah ignored her teasing. He took a long drink from the mug, letting the dark brew spark his brain awake. The grass was damp with dew, the air moist against his bare arms. Light cloud cover hid the brightest rays of the sun, which keptthe temperature pleasant, but humidity was already building, promising another sweltering Texas day. Below the slope of the yard was the lake. Dragonflies flitted on the surface.
He breathed in the pine-scented air before taking another sip of coffee. Laney picked up a ball and tossed it. Scout took off running. Her tail bounced as she dove into some bushes.
For a moment, it almost felt normal. Like any other morning they'd spent together over the years.
Then Laney's expression shifted, and the illusion shattered.
“I have something to show you, and you're not going to like it.” She glanced at him. “I debated leaving it until after breakfast, but you'd be angrier if I waited.”
His muscles tensed. “What is it?”
“Early this morning, around four, Scout was agitated. She kept pacing in front of the back door. She’s never done that before, so I knew something was wrong. Initially, I thought it was an animal. Maybe a deer coming up close to the cabin.” She led him down a small path through the woods to the lake, coming to a stop next to a willow tree. The moss hanging from the branches swayed in the light breeze. “But then on my morning walk, I found this.”
She pointed to the tamped-down grass and clear drag marks leading from the water's edge. “Someone brought a small canoe or kayak onto shore here. Could be from last night, could be more recent. But given Scout's behavior and the timing…”
“Someone approached your house.” The words came out flat, but fury coiled beneath them. Jonah scanned the shoreline, then the open water. A few small boats and scattered kayaks dotted the glassy surface—fishermen out for a morning catch, pontoon boats prepping for family outings, rowers squeezing in exercise before the heat became unbearable.
The lake was man made, a reservoir fed by the Colorado River, and crossed several jurisdictions. Part of it belongedto Piney Woods State Park, but other sections were privately owned or accessible through county-managed parks.
He turned back to Laney. “You should have called me the second Scout alerted. At four in the morning.”
“First of all, I wasn’t certain there was trouble. Second, you were dead on your feet and needed the sleep. And third, I’m a law enforcement officer too.” Her chin lifted. “Former military, I might add. I can handle myself.”
“I know what you are.” The words came out sharper than he’d intended. Jonah pulled in a breath and tempered his tone. “But after what happened last night, you should have called. I was fifty feet away, Laney.”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek and then blew out a breath. “Okay. Maybe I should have called out of an abundance of caution.” Her gaze narrowed. “But you’re also being overprotective.”
“You got that right. And I make no apologies for it.”
She threw up her hands in exasperation. “You’re the most infuriating person to argue with. Can we focus on what’s important? If this was the killer, he knows the area well enough to have brought his boat up to shore and found the trail that leads to my cabin. He’s a local. Probably a frequent camper or outdoorsman. Someone who spends a great deal of time in the park.”
An icy finger of dread touched the back of his neck. “Someone you might know.”
