Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton #2)(2)
One
Felicity Parker sat at the table and picked at the bowl of cereal her mother had insisted she eat before heading to her friend’s house. Dying to read her messages on her phone, she huffed out a long sigh. Her parents hated cellphones at the table, and if she broke their stupid rule, it would mean no phone or social media for an entire long boring week.
Summer vacation meant one thing: the rodeo at the local fairgrounds and the arrival of cowboy stars Lucky Briggs and Storm Crawley. Sure, she had asked her parents—no, begged them—to let her go to the rodeo dance with her friends, and in fact she had made a point of doing extra chores to show her appreciation. Of course, the idea of them being at the dance to watch every move she made would be embarrassing. She had to persuade them that at sixteen she was old enough to attend a dance with her friends alone.
She glanced at her father, who was engrossed in reading a pile of documents. “Dad, have you thought over letting me to go to the dance with Aimee and Kate?”
“Are you planning to go with Derick?” Her father’s gaze remained fixed on the papers spread out before him.
Felicity stood and took her bowl to the sink. “No, we had an argument last night and he isn’t speaking to me right now.”
“I’m not sure why you want to go.” Her father lifted his annoyed gaze and looked at her. “It will be a rowdy crowd of cowboys and who knows how many criminals with the number of drifters in town. I’m not sure I’m happy for you to go. Why you are so set on having no adult supervision?”
Felicity gave him her best tragic stare. “Please, I’m sixteen and Aimee is nearly seventeen. If I don’t go, the other girls will make fun of me. It is only one night, from seven until ten. What could happen in three hours? Please, Daddy, let me go.”
“She has been doing her chores.” Her mother leaned against the counter and sipped a cup of coffee. “Maybe if we drop her at the dance and pick her up it would be okay. I know quite a number of people going who could watch out for her.”
“We’ll discuss it when I get home.” Her father stood and gathered his papers then glared at her. “Don’t bother your mom about this again today—understand?”
“Okay. Can I go now, Mom?”
“Yes.” Her mother smiled.
Felicity dashed upstairs to her room and dressed quickly. The moment she turned on her cellphone it rang, and to her surprise the caller ID told her it was Derick. “Calling to apologize?”
“Nope. I don’t want you mixing with Lucky Briggs. Don’t you know that young girls like you are just another notch on his belt? He’ll forget you the moment you walk away.”
Felicity wound a strand of hair around one finger and giggled. “You jealous?”
“Maybe. Look, can we talk some more about this? I’m going to be close by in ten minutes or so. I have to drop off a car for a customer and pick up the loaner.”
She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I don’t have time. I’m meeting Aimee and we’re going into town.” She huffed out a sigh. “You’re acting too serious, like we’re married or something. I’m going to the dance without you, and if Lucky Briggs asks me to dance, I will so get over it.”
“I don’t want us to break up but it’s him or me. Make up your mind.”
She smiled. No matter what she did, Derick would come back to her. He was like a little puppy dog that needed a home. “Have it your own way. I’ve gotta go.” She disconnected and headed out the bedroom door.
In the hallway, she called out to her mother, “I’m going over to Aimee’s house then we’re going into town to hang out.”
“Okay, will you be back for lunch?”
Felicity opened the front door, inserted the earbuds into her ears and turned up the music. “No, but I’ll be home for dinner.”
Two
Sheriff Jenna Alton tipped back her chair and yawned. Stepping out of life as undercover DEA Special Agent Avril Parker and into the “safe” role of Sheriff Jenna Alton had not been easy. Since David “Dave” Kane arrived in Black Rock Falls six months previously, life had been interesting to say the least. They had solved four gruesome murders together and she had appreciated his expertise. She had picked him as ex-special forces from the get-go, but whatever his reason to be off the grid in Black Rock Falls she did not care. Having him around as backup was a bonus in spades.
Her new deputy had changed considerably since his arrival. He now sported collar-length hair to cover the scar left from the metal plate in his head courtesy of a gunshot wound received in the line of duty. She had not heard him complain once of the headaches that obviously plagued him, and she hoped the pain had eased with the warmer weather. She liked Dave Kane, and his considerable skills added another asset to the team she needed to do her job. She had learned from the best that in a crisis, a good leader delegated the work to keep sane.
After dealing with psychopaths last winter, and losing Pete Daniels, the rookie her team, her job and that of her deputies had deteriorated into negotiating neighborhood squabbles and finding lost cattle. Life had slowed to a relaxed hum. Cowboy hats and open-neck shirts had replaced the thick winter gear, and women in town wore splashes of color. Summer had arrived with warnings of a crime wave from the impending visit of the rodeo circuit cowboys.