“You are? I should have guessed. And it looks interesting so I’m up for it. It’ll pass the time faster if nothing else.”
And the time passed. Two hours later, it was the marshal who called it quits.
“You want to quit,” she challenged him. “Just because I won the two out of three games that you said determined the champion. This is a fun game. Sorry that the pupil beat the teacher, but skill is skill.” She smiled at him as he was clearing the board and placing the marbles back into their box.
“Why do I have the feeling that I might have gotten played? By a marble shark. You must have played before.”
She shook her head. “Promise. Swear. Cross my heart,” she said, making a big X across her chest. “Do me a favor—if we are ever in a situation where you might go up against my sisters in a game, don’t let them know you have skills. I would enjoy that immensely.” He picked up the board and put it on the shelves with the other games.
“I might have to find one of those boards for my own den. Wouldn’t that be a different activity for some of my fellow jurists?” It would turn the quietly boring dinners we have once a month into fun for once. Where can you buy one of those?”
“Like this? You can’t. Uncle Joe made us all our own board one Christmas. It was a great gift.”
“That’s too bad. As I said before, your family seems like one most people might envy.”
Rance stood up, stretching a bit after being seated for so long. He smiled. “Thanks. I take it that your family wasn’t into game playing?”
That was an understatement. She shook her head. His hand went out automatically to help her stand up. Without a thought, she placed hers in his and she went to her feet easily. “They were into games,” she elaborated, “just not the fun ones. Yours are much better.”
“I see.”
Silence stretched and then each seemed to realize at the same moment that their hands were still joined. Erin dropped his as if it were a hot poker, placing her freed hand inside a pocket of her slacks.
“What is the latest from Austin? Any indication when I get to head back to my life?”
Rance shook his head. “They’re chasing down two or three possible leads. If they have any questions for you as they progress, then they’ll be in touch.”
“Have any other judges been harmed?”
“No. Either the perpetrator got his target already or they’re lying low as the police presence is all over the case. Possibly waiting until things calm down.”
Erin added her own take on that theory. “Or busy searching for me…the target that got away.”
“We aren’t ready to say who the target is or isn’t. This is going to take time. In the meantime, you’ll need to be patient.”
“I’ve never been accused of being patient,” she admitted. “But I will give it my best effort. I’ll go ahead and apologize now for whatever I might say or do, if patience becomes a rare commodity. And on that note, I will say good night.”
“Goodnight—and if there is anything else you need, just let me know.”
*
That sounded really lame, even to Rance. He couldn’t blame her. It had to be difficult at best to be yanked out of your office, taken away from your home, which is supposed to be your own safe place, and stuck in the middle of nowhere with a stranger in charge of what you can and cannot do. Much the same as a prisoner who might appear before her, and one she had sentenced to much the same experience as she now faced. Although her surroundings weren’t as discomforting as a jail cell, it was a similar analogy. He realized that he had never given much thought to the person he was often responsible for bringing to justice and the court system. It was all part of his duty as a law enforcement officer…what he had sworn to do. It wasn’t lost on him that in that moment he had finally looked at a different perspective.
While his brain was in that mode, he also looked at the moment they had just shared. What was that about? When had he ever held a protectee’s hand? Of course, it also begged the question from the other perspective. She had held his hand, also. Neither had seemed to mind. Until the instant they realized they were still joined, and the moment vanished like smoke. Neither had said anything. She had made a quick escape and here he was, left with strange thoughts. Fresh air—that was what he needed. As he stepped out onto the deck, the sound of the water moving over and around the larger rocks in the riverbed a few feet away had become a natural balm on his nerves, allowing his mind to relax and then refocus on thoughts…mostly concerning his job. But there were times when he needed to refocus also on more personal things like family and his personal future away from the job.
For example, his sisters were becoming increasingly worried over his lack of marital status. They were happy, as was his brother, and that left him alone and to be pitied and worried over. And the fodder for their forays into matchmaking…all of which had failed miserably. He was centered on his job. His career was taking him upwards in promotions and until this special ‘job’ had kept him on the fast track with interesting cases. He settled back into one of the loungers on the deck, hands behind his head, and contemplated his place in the universe beginning to unfold above his head and through the tree branches. The night sky was darkening nicely, and the night sounds were soothing.
He missed this place increasingly after each time he came and had to leave it again. There was a nice piece of land just above the lake that his brother-in-law had offered him at a good price. Build a house, raise some livestock, and fish to his heart’s content. More and more that thought had played into his days. But he pushed it away. A place like that would be a home…for a wife and children when and if that time came. But he hadn’t been so moved yet by any of the women he had dated. Finding the perfect mate, such as his siblings all had, was something that eluded him. Perhaps he never would.
His brain surprised him. While he was intent on the brightening stars above his head, an image floated through the night sky to trigger his attention. Judge Erin Latham was a surprise wrapped inside a mystery shrouded in the black robes of Lady Justice. Uptight, righteous, above mere mortals seated on her throne above all lessers. That was his first impression. And then he added stubborn and fearless. That could also border on reckless given her stunt with the phone at the airfield. But there had been no theatrics, no tears, no hysterics. And all she wanted to do was get the bad guy and get back to work…putting those bad guys away.
Rance had known spoiled rich girls. He had dated more than a few. Their glitz and depths were superficial. Something told him that she could put on the glitz and glamour with the best of them and even better. Yet, the fishing camp clothing he had found for her had not fazed her. She donned the baggy clothing, and her personality never took a hit. Her meeting with his eldest sibling was sincere and open. Her smile appeared natural and caught his attention the first time she had shown it during the introductions. And there were glimpses of normalcy as she took glee in beating him at the game he had taught her.
What did he know of her besides her reputation on the high court? She had been married into an old-money family and divorced their shining son who was being groomed for high political office. There had to have been something fairly bad involved in that union for her to have no problem cutting him and his wealth loose. While her father’s death had provided an entryway onto the bench in a shorter route than most, she had evidently achieved a reputation on her own in being a no-nonsense dealer of equal justice for all. He had to admire that.
And he didn’t need to get carried away in singing her praises. Just remember that she was a responsibility and his job. Nothing more, nothing less. Tomorrow they could be back to their own worlds, and he needed to get some shut-eye to keep his brain sharp and on the task at hand.
He would deliver Erin Latham back to her courtroom and he would move on to the next assignment. Period.
