Small Town Justice. Valerie Hansen

puppy!” Kyle was squirming in his arms and pointing at the waiting room. “Let me go see!”

      It took Shane a second to realize why the boy was so excited. “That dog belongs to the lady who’s holding him.”

      “Okay.” He continued to struggle against Shane’s restraint. “I wanna pet him. Can I, Daddy? Can I? Please...?”

      Taking the child’s hand, he cautioned him, “All right. Just go slowly and don’t yell or you might scare him.”

      “Puppies love kids. Everybody says.”

      “Well, that dog isn’t a pup. He’s all grown up. And sometimes little dogs bite because they get scared. We need to ask the lady if you can pet him and do whatever she says. Understand?”

      “Uh-huh.”

      The five-year-old was leaning forward, dragging his reluctant father along as if he were towing a semitruck behind a tricycle. Shane saw his customer gather up her pet and stand. Although she had looked wary when Kyle had screeched, she was currently smiling.

      “This must be your son,” Jamie Lynn said.

      The child beamed. “I’m Kyle. I wanna play with your dog!”

      “Can you play nicely and be careful you don’t hurt him? He’s getting kind of old.”

      “Daddy told me.”

      “Kyle thinks every small dog is a puppy,” Shane explained. “I told him that Useless was all grown up.”

      She cradled her beloved fur ball as she sat again, placing the wiggly white mound on her lap. “Let him smell your hand before you try to touch him so he knows you’re friendly.”

      Ulysses sniffed, then started to lick the boy all the way from his fingertips to his wrist.

      Kyle broke into gales of laughter. “It tickles.”

      “What did you have for lunch?” Jamie Lynn asked.

      “Um, a burger and a corn dog.”

      “Both? What about vegetables or fruit?”

      “I hate bedj-tables. Yuck.”

      Shane could tell his customer wasn’t pleased with his son’s apparently haphazard diet. He knew he didn’t need to make excuses to a stranger, yet for some reason he wanted her approval.

      “We were in a hurry this morning, partly because I still had a man out sick and was handling the tow truck again, so I fed him a corn dog,” Shane said. “I assume the burger was part of his school lunch.”

      “Uh-uh,” the boy said. “Memaw bought it for me when she picked me up.”

      Marsha piped up. “I have a hair appointment.” She patted her short locks and began to grin at the other woman. “You don’t approve of fast food?”

      “Sorry. I have a degree in early childhood development and sometimes advice just slips out. Proper nutrition is critical, especially in the formative years.”

      Shane had heard enough. “Look. I’m a single parent and I’m doing the best I can, okay? He’s happy and healthy.”

      “It’s actually more than that,” Jamie Lynn said.

      He watched her eyes begin to glisten. She had to be one of the most changeable women he’d ever met—more unpredictable than Ozark weather.

      Just as he was preparing to defend himself further, she sighed and added, “I can see that you’ve given him something else that many children lack.”

      “And what would that be?”

      “Love,” she told him, speaking softly. “All the vitamins in the world can’t take the place of that.”

       THREE

      The rush of emotions the little boy had triggered had almost destroyed Jamie Lynn’s self-control. When he’d wrapped his arms around her neck to thank her for letting him pet her dog, she’d had to fight to keep from weeping for the loving family she’d lost so long ago.

      It was this town, she reasoned. That was what was bothering her. She’d not only cheated death since arriving in Serenity, she’d done it in the very place where she’d spent her childhood. Of course she’d be upset. Confused. Perhaps a tad emotionally unstable. There was nothing disturbing about that. Instead of wasting energy dwelling on what she’d lost, she should be trying to figure out who wanted to get rid of her. Given the seriousness of that, all her other worries paled.

      “I guess I’ll give up and head over to the motel,” she announced to Shane after he had settled his son in his private office with crayons and a coloring book.

      She glanced at her truck, still sitting on flattened tires. “I don’t imagine you’ll be able to get me back on the road today.”

      “Nope.”

      “How far is it to the motel?”

      His noncommittal shrug gave her the notion that she may have used up her chances to hitch a ride. “I can walk. Just point me in the right direction.”

      Shane sighed. “I’ll take you. But right now I have to finish this job and line up tomorrow’s schedule.” He glanced at his watch. “Give me forty-five minutes.”

      “It’s okay. Really it is. I walk all the time to exercise Ulysses.”

      The stern look he gave her was unexpected. “Look, lady, you spent the night in the hospital after somebody disabled your truck and tried to barbecue you. Since Harlan has no idea who’s to blame, don’t you think it would be wise to keep a low profile?”

      Jamie Lynn tried to mask the shiver that shot through her by gathering up her purse. “I thought the sheriff was convinced those guys were just local boys acting reckless. That’s the impression he gave me.”

      “He may be convinced, but I’m not,” Shane said quietly. “Now sit down and wait for me the way I waited for you all afternoon.”

      An urge to snap to attention, salute and shout, “Yes, sir,” came over her. With effort, Jamie was able to nod and appear compliant. She hated taking orders, particularly from folks she hardly knew, and her offbeat wit was overly fond of lightening that burden with problematic humor.

      This time, however, she held it in check. Shane Colton had been nothing but nice to her and the more she let him do on her behalf, the more guilt piled up on her side of the equation. He was bound to be livid by the time he learned she was R.J.’s sister.

      Nevertheless, she reasoned, limited options were keeping them together. If there had been anywhere else nearby to have her truck repaired, she’d have gotten away from him immediately. Even the tire store was thirty miles south. It made no sense to have her vehicle taken there when it was already in good hands.

      Shane’s hands were good, she affirmed without hesitation. Judging by all the business he had coming and going, his reputation was sterling.

      A perverse part of her wished he were not quite so honest or approachable or considerate. It would be a lot easier to work against the prejudices of this town if she didn’t have to worry about hurting such an amenable man.

      Remember what the people here did to you and your poor family, she reminded herself. They banded together to convict your brother—and Shane Colton is one of them.

      Jamie Lynn raised her eyes to watch him working. As little as twenty-four hours ago she’d had no trouble classifying Shane as just another narrow-minded local. Somehow, in that short span of time, she had begun seeing him as almost a friend, almost a potential ally. That was ridiculous, of course.

      Trembling, yet decisive, Jamie Lynn snapped the leash on Ulysses before picking him up, got to her feet, smoothed the hem of the hospital