Brock’s jaw clenched. “I should’ve attended that meeting,” he muttered.
“Yeah.” Leo gave a dry, humorless laugh. “Maybe you could’ve convinced everyone to elect Ace instead. Too late now.”
“You might as well be sheriff,” Loretta said softly. “We’re all treating you like one anyway.”
If Brock could take the job officially, he would. But not yet.
“So, the kindergarten graduation,” Ophelia prompted. “That’s the last time you know for sure you saw her?”
Leo nodded. “It all blends together after that. I may’ve seen her when she came to get the kids, but I don’t remember clearly.”
Her eyes shifted to Loretta. “What about you?”
Loretta’s cheeks flushed as she twisted her hands in her lap. “I saw her at the graduation as well. Leo and I sat together...holding hands. It angered her. She glared at us and flipped me off as she walked out.”
Leo’s eyebrows shot up. “She did?”
“Yes.” Loretta shifted uncomfortably on the sofa next to her husband. “I didn’t say anything because—well, you two already didn’t get along. And I figured seeing you happy...when she hadn’t figured things out yet…probably made her furious.”
“I get it,” Leo murmured. “We’re all human.”
Ophelia studied the two of them carefully. Loretta looked young and fresh beside Leo, her long hair in a neat braid trailing over her shoulder. But Leo’s broad, calloused hands gripped his knees tightly, the muscles tense.
“Did either of you hurt Tamara?” Ophelia’s question was blunt, delivered without hesitation.
Loretta’s jaw dropped, and Leo leaned back in disbelief.
“Of course not,” they said in unison.
Loretta’s eyes glistened with fresh tears. “We would never do that.”
“She has—had—children,” Leo said, his voice cracking. “Even if I was some kind of asshole who’d hurt a woman—which I’m not—I’d never do that to my kids. They always come first.”
The truth in his voice was palpable, but Brock had seen enough in life not to put blind faith in anyone.
“Okay,” Ophelia said, her tone softening. “I need you both to put together a detailed journal of the time between the summer you discovered Tamara cheating on you, your divorce, and her disappearance. Write down everything—every time you saw her, every person who was around her, anything she said or did. Can you do that?”
Loretta nodded silently, wiping at her eyes.
Leo didn’t answer. He just stared, his eyes filled with simmering anger.
Brock held his gaze for a moment, then shook his head and stood. “Questions have to be asked, Leo. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Leo’s face twisted, but he said nothing as Brock stepped past him and escorted Ophelia out.
They made the snowmobile ride back to town in silence, save for the hum of the engine and the occasional rush of wind tearing past them. Brock had insisted Ophelia sit in front of him to shield her from the worst of the cold. He kept his arms braced around her, his legs snug against the outside of hers to keep her steady and as warm as possible. She sagged against him, probably half asleep.
He tightened his hold on her, making sure she stayed somewhat awake.
She nodded, then tilted her head back just enough to clunk the top of her helmet against his. The playful gesture was so unexpected that he chuckled. Even with the cold trying to freeze them both solid, that small movement warmed him more than the layers of gear ever could.
He felt the shift in his blood—an unmistakable heat spreading through his veins like a shot of fine whiskey. Having her this close, her body tucked against his, made him forget for a moment how brutal the day had been. His legs tightened involuntarily as if to pull her closer.
Would he always feel this way around her?
That thought made his chest ache in a way that had nothing to do with the cold. Would there even be analways? He’d been running on autopilot since Hank died, trying to keep his brothers and himself afloat. His life was still a mess. Until he figured out how to patch himself up, he had no right to consider something more with her. But the other night—the way she’d whispered his name, soft and raw—had stitched something together inside him that he hadn’t even realized was broken.
He pulled into town and parked on the curb in front of Sam’s Tavern. Ophelia swung her leg over the seat and stood with surprising grace despite her obvious fatigue.
