Tried & True (Mayfield Cozy Mystery Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

lip and studying the scenery. Des kept darting worried sideways glances at me.
    Finally, he spoke. “So you and Walt—you, uh, make a good pair.”
    “Oh no.” I frowned at Des’s profile. “I do not plan on ever having to respond to a kidnapping again. We’re not some commando recovery team. That episode was way outside my comfort zone.”
    This time Des’s glance was both quizzical and slightly amused. He stretched the fingers of his right hand then rewrapped them around the steering wheel. “I wasn’t talking about that. Walt’s the right age for you.”
    The right age for what? I shifted in my seat and brought my stare fully to bear on him.
    Des always looks a little weary. But this time, when his mossy green eyes swung in my direction, they held sadness behind the smile he gave me. And the realization hit me like a punch in the stomach.
    “I don’t want to be treading on another man’s territory,” he murmured.
    Clarice and Loretta had teased me about Des’s attentions, but I’d brushed off his motive as neighborliness. And the fact that he was concerned about the safety of his county’s residents, of which I was one—the one who probably demanded more of his law enforcement efforts than all the others combined.
    I’d also been counting on my married status to act as a sort of immunity to romantic interest. Not that my husband was present or available to truly function as a marriage partner.
    My mouth was open for a long time before I could actually speak. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I was desperate that I had disappointed Des. I respected him far too much to intentionally trifle with his emotions.
    But why had he mentioned Walt? If anything, this conversation should have been about Skip.
    Des shrugged. “Wishful thinking on my part.” He reached over and squeezed my knee. “A woman like you doesn’t come around too often. It’d have been stupid not to at least throw my hat in the ring. So, did you ever get a handgun?”
    I blinked to clear the hurdle of this shift in topics. “Um, I have a gun, yes.” I had no idea if it had been obtained legally, but it was on the top shelf in my bedroom closet, courtesy of Josh.
    “Good,” Des said firmly. “I’m going to teach you how to shoot. We’ll start tomorrow.” He told me where the shooting range was.
    Trees are gorgeous. I mean real trees—not the kind that are dwarfed by drought and the decorative whims of landscapers, but the kind that grow wild and free in a crowded forest. All different shades of green, shapes, bark textures, needle lengths, scents. There’s as much variety in trees as there is in humans. But they had the advantage that you couldn’t hurt their feelings. I pressed my lips together and returned to staring out the window at the wall of trees on the edge of the highway.
    To say I’d been blindsided by Des’s remarks would’ve been an understatement. Walt? Like Des, Walt had only treated me honorably. I didn’t think the fact that Skip had returned his wedding ring to me was public knowledge. Besides, I wasn’t even sure what—if any—symbolic meaning that act portended.
    But rumors get around. Boy, do they ever. The tiniest details moved at light speed to tickle every ear in May County.
    By the way,” Des cleared his throat, “that switchblade you and Walt used to cut your way out of Ace Trailer Repair’s storeroom—it’s illegal. I’m not going to ask where you got it. But in Washington a knife like that is only approved for members of law enforcement and the military, while they’re on duty and for use in an official capacity. You can’t get a concealed carry permit for it. Which is kind of crazy since it’s no more or less lethal than a gun. So there you go—” Des directed an amused tilt of his chin toward me, “another one of the laws I have to uphold. Which means if it’s in your bag, don’t let me see it. And definitely don’t try to take it into SCORE with you.”
    “I don’t suppose