“You sure?” She shot him a quick look.
“I decked him once, and he dropped like a rag doll. Believe me, he’s not as tough as he appears.”
“Six, Cubby, we were six, and I wasn’t looking.” Jake forced himself to relax.
“Still took you, bud.”
Jake bared his teeth, but said nothing further.
“You can start now, Branna. He’s subdued.”
“There’s not much else to say. The garden was ruined. Belle took pictures, and then she, Mikey, and I fixed it up.”
“All right, Branna, that will do for now. Tomorrow, I want to question you further, just to see if there’s anything else you remember. I have my deputies at your place now, fingerprinting and taking photos.”
“They’re taking photos now, at this time of night?” Branna asked.
Cubby nodded. “Needs to be done now.”
Jake rose along with Cubby. “I’ll be back soon, Branna,” he said, managing a smile for her before following the sheriff outside.
“Spit it out, Cubby. I know something’s on your mind,” Jake said, when they reached his cruiser. The night settled around them, the absolute quiet that he loved, but tonight it didn’t calm him as it normally did.
“This is a strange business, Jake, and the truth of it is, I think someone’s targeting that little lady. First the garden and now this, it smacks of someone trying to frighten her, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why.”
“Why her? She’s been away for years and hasn’t been back long enough to make trouble. It doesn’t make any sense, Cubby.”
“I’ve been to the house, Jake. It’s not good. In fact, it’s downright nasty. Tomorrow we’ll all go there with her. She’s going to need the support. But before I leave, I need to ask you to look out for her, because I don’t have enough deputies to do it. If this isn’t random, which I can’t see my way to thinking it is, then she needs watching, and if I’ve read the situation correctly, she’s tugging at your heart strings.”
She was, Jake couldn’t deny it, although it scared him spitless.
Jake watched Cubby’s taillights leave his drive minutes later. Then, with a final look to the stars, he headed back to Branna.
Chapter12
Branna watched him walk inside, his big body coiled so tight she could see the muscles in his chest clenching. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as the memory of his anger played over and over again in her head.
“Are you all right, Branna? Can I get you anything?” He headed for the kitchen.
“It’s been so long since someone cared about me, Jake. Thank you for saying the words.”
He stopped and turned as she spoke, then leaned back on the wall to look at her.
“What words?”
“That you cared enough to want to help me.”
“You’re a very special lady, Rosebud. I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to protect you.”
“I’m not special, but you make me feel that way.” Branna held his eyes. “I-it felt so good to have you angry on my behalf, which is probably wrong on many levels, but right now it makes me feel warm.”
“I want to find out who did these things to you and rip them apart.”
The anger inside him hadn’t lessened, and she marveled again that it was there because of her.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the garden. It’s just that I’m not used to doing that… sharing with anyone. I always fight my own battles, and you seemed to leave pretty quickly that day after we…” She waved her hand about. “Then, last night you wanted to”—more hand waving—“and I walked away from you.”
“How sorry?”
