Small Town Justice. Valerie Hansen

eased away and looked as if he might be blushing.

      “I meant, maybe I can treat you to a nice dinner out once they spring me from this place,” she explained. “And your family, of course. The more the merrier.”

      “It’s just me and my son, Kyle,” Shane said. “We’d love to go out to eat with you. If you’re well enough, how about this Sunday after church?”

      “Well, I... I mean I don’t usually go to church. I used to when I was little but...”

      He raked his fingers through his wavy, light brown hair. “No sweat. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

      Jamie was about to reply when he handed her a business card.

      “I have your truck. Take this so you’ll know how to reach me when you’re ready. Are you planning to be in Serenity long?”

      “I’m not sure,” she said, continuing to smile. “I’ve rented a room at the motel.”

      “Great. When the doctors release you, the sheriff or I can give you a lift. He’ll need to take your statement, too.”

      “I can’t imagine what I might be able to tell him that he doesn’t already know.” She sobered. “Has he tracked down the arsonists yet?”

      “I don’t think so. But he will. We both grew up here, so we know everybody in Serenity.”

      It was then that Jamie Lynn glanced down at the card he’d given her. His last name was Colton?

      She repeated it aloud. “Colton? Any relation to the man who used to be sheriff?” she asked, wondering if her voice would have sounded so shaky without the throat irritation.

      “Yeah. Sam was my dad. He was quite a guy.”

      He sure was, Jamie thought, clenching her jaw and wondering what strange quirk of nature had put her in such an untenable position.

      She now owed her very life to a man whose family had destroyed hers, one lie at a time.

       TWO

      Shane brought his personal pickup to a stop under the hospital’s front portico and let it idle while he stepped inside. As Harlan had promised, the woman he’d rescued the day before was waiting. When she glanced up and saw him, she was clearly surprised. And not terribly pleased.

      “I thought the sheriff was coming to pick me up.”

      “He was.” Puzzled, Shane ventured a smile. “He got another call and asked me to stand in for him. I’m a volunteer. Hope that’s okay.”

      “Oh.” She got to her feet, shouldered her purse and reached for a small plastic bag.

      “Let me get that for you.”

      “I can handle it. It’s just laundry.” Although her words sounded brusque, she did add, “Thanks.”

      “So that’s why you’re dressed in scrubs.”

      “Yes.”

      Shane lost his chance to hold the lobby door for her because it was automated, so he hurried to his pickup to open the passenger side.

      As soon as she was settled, he smiled again. “I thought we’d stop at the vet and get Useless before I took you to your motel.”

      Her eyes narrowed. “What did you call him?”

      “Useless. That’s his name, isn’t it?” He chuckled briefly. “I must say, it fits.”

      “His name is Ulysses,” Jamie Lynn told him flatly.

      That sounded so funny in contrast to what he’d been told, he laughed again. “If you say so, ma’am.”

      “I certainly do.”

      “Okeydokey. Do you need help with your seat belt?”

      “No, I can manage.” She turned aside to cough, and Shane was sorry to hear the raspy breathing that accompanied it.

      “How are you feeling?”

      “A lot better than I sound. Thanks for asking. I’m supposed to follow up with my family doctor in a few days.”

      “Will you be leaving, then?”

      “No. If I don’t stop wheezing soon I’ll find a local practitioner.” She sighed audibly, triggering another bout of coughing.

      “We’re not short on doctors around here,” Shane told her. “Pharmacies, either. Didn’t they prescribe anything for you?”

      “Just over-the-counter syrups. I’ll be fine once I get Ulysses back and you’ve repaired my tires.”

      “They’ll all need to be replaced,” Shane stated flatly. “Did you look at what was done to them?”

      “I saw a man stabbing them with a knife. I was too far away to tell how badly they were damaged.”

      “Let’s just say they wouldn’t even make a good planter in a hillbilly’s front yard.”

      “That bad, huh?”

      “Actually, worse.” Shane could tell she was worried. “I’ve got a buddy in the tire business. Want me to ask him if he has a new or used set that will fit your truck?”

      “As long as you two don’t try to sell me oceanfront property in Arizona or something like that.”

      Shane held up a hand as if taking an oath. “No tricks. I promise. This is a small town. Our reputations are very important.” He began to grin. “Besides, we all trust each other around here.”

      “Is that why you left this pickup running in front of the hospital? If you tried that most places it wouldn’t be there when you came out.”

      “Serenity isn’t most places.”

      To his surprise, his passenger averted her face and muttered, “You can say that again.”

      * * *

      Jamie Lynn’s reunion with her dog was tearful yet joyful. When neither the veterinarian nor the groomer who had washed him would accept payment she was astonished.

      “Told you so,” Shane said on their way out.

      She buried her face in Ulysses’s soft, clean fur. “I don’t get it. Those people don’t know me. Why should they waive their normal fees?”

      “Maybe because I explained the situation when I left Useless with them.”

      “You’re determined to call him that, aren’t you?”

      Looking at his profile, she could see half of a wide grin. “Yup. I like to see steam shoot out of your ears.”

      “Fine. Suit yourself. I don’t imagine you and I will have much reason to talk again after you’ve fixed my truck, anyway.”

      “Oh, I don’t know.” He shrugged. “It’s a pretty small town. If you hang around, we’re bound to run into each other.”

      What Jamie wanted to say was, Not if I can help it, but she kept that thought to herself. It seemed impossible that a man as astute as Shane Colton had not yet put together enough clues to guess her former identity. Or had he? she wondered. It was remotely possible that he’d figured out her lineage and was toying with her. Was he the kind of man who would be purposely devious?

      She honestly didn’t think so, not that she considered herself the best judge of truthfulness. After all, Aunt Tessie had lied to her for years about what had become of her parents and she’d believed every word.

      Clutching Ulysses, she murmured endearments and let him lick her under the chin. He was clearly so glad they were reunited he could hardly sit still. Jamie Lynn sympathized.