Free Shane by Vanessa Devereaux Page B

hair and got
out of bed. “Sorry if that call woke you.”
    “No, I understand you’re the sheriff. Duty calls.”
    “I won’t be long. Try and get back to sleep, okay?”
    Lacey nodded. He hadn’t confirmed that it was sheriff’s
business. She watched him pull on his jeans and sweater and head out of the
bedroom. Next thing she heard was his truck backing out of the driveway.
    She bit her fingernail. She was jealous. That meant
only one thing. She’d fallen hard for the cowboy.

 
    Chapter
Eight
     
    Shane wished he’d taken a mug of coffee along for
the ride. He yawned several times, even cranked open the window in his truck
hoping to let the cold Montana night air help keep him wide awake. Wouldn’t that
be embarrassing if the sheriff got into an accident and was found in a ditch?
    Sarah Halesby had been
crying when she’d spoken to him on the phone. In fact, it sounded like she was
close to a total breakdown. Maybe it was because of her husband and the
accident with John. Maybe he was having problems coping with what he’d done,
and she was worried about him.
    Guess he wouldn’t know for sure until he got to the
house. He turned onto Main and then onto Fifth Street, and pulled in the
driveway, noting that the light was on in the front of the house. He got out
and headed to the door. Sarah must have been watching and waiting because she
opened it before he even reached the first step.
    “Thank you for coming all this way in the middle of
the night. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do, like sleep,” she said
    And
snuggled up in my bed with a beautiful woman.
    He stepped inside the house and took his hat off.
    “Come through to the kitchen. I’ve made some
coffee.”
    He sat down, set his hat on the stool beside him and
took the mug of coffee from Sarah. Her eyes were red. Bags hung under them, and
she looked like a woman fifteen years older than her true age. She sat down,
the contents of the mug spilling slightly onto the countertop where her hands
were shaking so much.
    “I can’t keep this to myself any longer. I was having an affair with John.”
    Well now, that admission had opened up a can of
worms for his investigation. Shane took a sip of coffee, almost scolding his
lips on it. He blew across the top of it before attempting another one. “How
long had this been going on?” he asked.
    She drew what looked like scribbles with her nail on
the countertop.
    “Since the beginning of summer, Memorial Day, I’d
say.”
    “Todd know about it?
Did John’s wife?”
    She shook her head. “Not while he was alive, but I
told Todd when...” she paused for a second, “…I told Todd right after the
accident.”
    “You think maybe Todd knew and pretended he didn’t?”
    A tear ran down her cheek. “We were as discreet as we
could be, but I guess not quite enough.”
    “Being discreet in a town this size isn’t always
easy.” Shane finished the sentence for her. “Where’s Todd now?”
    “Gone to a motel. Shane, I never meant for anyone to get hurt.”
    “Are you thinking that maybe your husband knew you
were sleeping with John and planned the whole thing, pretended to taking him
hunting and then shot him?”
    She burst into tears. “God, no, I can’t imagine the
man I’ve been married to for ten years would be capable of something so cold-blooded.”
    Shane reached across and took her hand. “Sarah, I
think you did the right thing by calling me and owning up to all this. You know
I’m going to need to bring both Todd and Richie in for questioning now?”
    She nodded.
    Shane dug into his pocket for his cell phone. He’d
have Mike pick up Richie, and he’d bring Todd to the office. Looked
like he wouldn’t be snuggling back in bed with Lacey any time soon.
    ****
    Lacey had tried to get back to sleep. She was tired,
but all she could think about was the woman’s voice and Shane going off in the
middle of the night. Giving up on the idea of getting any shut eye, she got out
of bed