Free Showdown in West Texas by Amanda Stevens Page B

mysterious air.” She fluttered her hand in front of her as if trying to conjure that unnamed something. “I suppose that’s why my father never trusted him. That, and the fact that he wasa thief, a liar and a first-class scoundrel. Ran off with my dowry on our wedding day.”
    â€œIf you ask me, ma’am, he must have been a first-class fool.”
    â€œOh, my.” She fanned herself with the feather duster. “You do have that certain something, don’t you? I hope poor Grace knows what she’s letting herself in for.”
    â€œLet’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Cage said. “She hasn’t offered me the job, yet.”
    Miss Nelda peered at him over the feathers. “Who says I was talking about a job?”
    â€œWell, I wouldn’t know what else you’d be talking about, Miss Nelda.”
    She smiled appreciatively at the use of her name, and Cage was glad he’d gotten it right. “I’m sure you wouldn’t. Just as I’m sure it escaped your attention how pretty our new sheriff is.”
    â€œIs she? I hadn’t noticed.”
    â€œOf course, I much preferred her hair the way she used to wear it, but Grace has the kind of face that can overcome an unfortunate style. All the Steele girls are just lovely. It’s such a shame that none of them has ever married. Unless you count Grace’s elopement with that Nance boy, but that ended so quickly, hardly anyone around here even remembers it anymore.”
    There was an elopement in Sheriff Steele’s past? Now that surprised Cage. Spontaneous and romantic weren’t exactly the words that came to mind when he thought of her. She’d struck him as levelheaded and reserved, but then, the only thing he really knew about Grace Steele was that someone had put out a hit on her.
    â€œI’ve always wondered if it had something to do with what happened to their parents,” Miss Nelda mused.
    â€œWhat did?” Cage had flashed back to the previous night and lost track of the conversation.
    Now that Miss Nelda had brought up the subject of Grace Steele, he couldn’t stop thinking about the way she’d looked out on that balcony, her eyes luminous in the dark and her hair all mussed and sexy. He liked the way her lips parted slightly when she smiled and the way she seemed so totally unaware of her hotness.
    He liked a lot of things about Grace Steele, not the least of which was what he’d seen beneath those thin cotton pajamas. Soft, womanly curves…
    â€œWe were talking about why Grace and her sisters never married,” Miss Nelda reminded him. “I was saying I think it must have something to do with their parents.”
    â€œDid they go through a bad divorce or something?”
    â€œDivorce? Oh, dear me, no. Their parents were murdered at home while the two youngest girls were just down the hallway, hiding under their bed. Can you imagine how terrifying that must have been for them? A trauma like that is bound to have long-lasting effects.”
    Miss Nelda had brought him back to the present with a hard thud. Grace Steele’s parents had been murdered and now someone wanted to kill her. Cage wasn’t real big on coincidences, but they did happen. He didn’t want to make too much of this.
    â€œWas the killer ever found?” he asked.
    â€œNo, and for a while after it happened, folks around here spent some mighty uneasy nights. It was horrifying to think that someone in our midst, someone who might live just down the street or go to our same church, could be so evil as to kill innocent folks in cold blood.” She shuddered as she went back to the shadow boxes. “It was a long time ago, but I don’t mind telling you. I still sometimes have nightmares about it.”
    â€œWhat makes you think it wasn’t just some stranger passing through?”
    She stopped dusting. “There were…other incidents.”
    â€œWhat