Page 54 of Once Removed (Blackhawk Security)

Chapter 16

Lainey glanced around the dining room table Tuesday night, thankful she was escaping to her book club after dinner. Brody had been more quiet than usual since Sunday. More reserved. Last night, she’d asked him if something was wrong, and he’d told her no. That everything was great. But he’d been tense since Sunday, and she had no idea why.

He’d also made no attempt to coax her to spend the night with him. And that had alarm bells ringing in her head.

Phoebe had spent most of her time in her room since they’d returned from Bozeman. Lainey hoped it wasn’t because the girl was obsessing about the money Lainey’d spent for the clothes they’d purchased. The total had come to over three hundred dollars, and although Lainey had pointed out that she’d needed a lot of clothes, since most of her old clothes were too small for her, Phoebe had appeared shell-shocked at the amount.

Lainey didn’t want her to worry. She wanted to explain to Phoebe that she could afford the money, but she knew that wasn’t the point. Phoebe didn’t want to take their money, and Lainey understood why. Which was why she planned on talking to Ellie after book club tonight.

One of their members worked for DCFS, and Lainey was going to ask her about getting temporary guardianship of Phoebe. She planned to tell Ellie she was asking for one of her clients, knowing the kind-hearted Ellie wouldn’t push for more information. Brody had been insistent that they not go to DCFS yet, but Lainey assumed asking for ‘a friend’ would be okay. It was information gathering, and it was necessary.

She wanted Phoebe to be safe. Feel secure. And the specter of Art Larsen always hovered in the background.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed away from the table. “Sorry to run off without helping with the clean-up, but I have book club tonight. I need to hurry to make it to the meeting on time.”

Brody swiveled in his chair. “You never said anything about book club,” he said, frowning.

“Sorry, I thought I mentioned it.” I would have if you hadn’t been so closed off since we had sex. So distant. “I should be back around ten. I haven’t seen any of my friends since our last meeting a month ago.”

Brody frowned. “You’ll be careful, won’t you?”

“I’m always careful,” she said brightly. “Even more since Ron died.” Standing, up, she carried her plate into the kitchen, then hurried upstairs to get her book and her purse. Grabbing her coat from the hall closet, she waved. Opened the front door and called, “See everyone later.”

Gripping the steering wheel harder than necessary, she drove toward Helena, noticing that autumn was definitely here. It was still twilight, but it would be dark by the time she reached the town. The nights were cold. The first snow was just around the corner.

She needed to move back to Helena before they got a serious snow. The realization struck her like a blow. She didn’t want to leave Brody’s ranch. She felt safe there. Secure. And, despite the odd way Brody had been acting since their trip to Bozeman, she’d miss him.

As she passed the compound, she glanced toward it. No lights, which wasn’t surprising. She assumed the electricity had been turned off a while ago. As she flashed past, she thought she spotted movement in the dusky light, but she flew past the driveway too quickly. She’d mention it to Brody when she got home.

When she got back to the ranch.

She had to stop thinking of the ranch as home. She wanted it to be. In spite of second guessing herself about taking the initiative in the barn on Saturday, she’d thought there was a chance she and Brody had something solid. Something lasting. But he’d been closed off since Sunday, and hadn’t been willing to talk about why.

She wasn’t going to jump into another relationship where communication was a problem. Where people brooded instead of sharing their concerns. She hadn’t pegged Brody for that kind of man, but he’d sure been acting that way.

As she reached the edge of Helena, she shoved away her thoughts and focused on the book she was supposed to have read. She hadn’t finished it, but she’d skimmed what she hadn’t read, and figured she’d gotten enough from the book to be able to discuss it.

She was really attending to talk to Ellie.

Fortunately, Ellie arrived at the same time Lainey did. Before they went into the house, Lainey asked, “Hey, Ellie. Do you have time for a cup of coffee after book club?”

Ellie looked at her, surprised. “Of course I do, Lainey. Anything wrong?”

“Not a thing,” she said, thinking about Brody and knowing she was lying. “But I have some things I want to ask you. Something a client approached me about.”

“Sure thing.” Ellie smiled conspiratorially. “I haven’t read the whole book. I thought it was way too depressing. Maybe we can wrap it up earlier than usual.”

“I hope so,” Lainey said, reaching for the doorbell. “I didn’t finish it, either.”

After a few minutes, Lainey relaxed. She’d been in this book club for several years, and knew everyone well. They all expressed quiet condolences for her loss of Ron, but the women knew they’d been divorcing, so no one asked questions.

She tried to focus on the book and the discussion, but her mind was back at the ranch. Wondering what was wrong with Brody. Trying to figure out why Phoebe had gone silent.

Book club was finally over, and she and Ellie made their excuses to avoid the social hour afterward. They headed for Lainey’s favorite coffee shop, Common Grounds, ordered their tea and coffee, and slid into a booth.

“What’s up, Lainey?” Ellie asked. “I’m not going to offer my sympathy about Ron, because I know what a bastard he was. But it still had to be hard.”

Lainey nodded slowly. “Yeah. It feels like there’s no closure. And the sheriff still doesn’t know who killed him.” Lainey was pretty sure he still suspected her, but Ellie didn’t need to know that.

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