Watch Me (Last Stand #3)(81)
Author: Brenda Novak

Maybe he wasn’t the type to marry and settle down, but he was a good man, Sheridan thought. Regardless of their history, she hoped they could be friends—

She caught Skye watching her with a quizzical expression. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” she whispered. “I think he’s handsome, too.”

Considering how passionate Skye felt about her husband, that was quite an admission.

Sheridan didn’t respond because Pastor Wayne was talking about how terrible it was to lay Amy to rest at such a young age. A few people around her were already sniffling, and Ned had broken down again. His wife put her arm around his shoulders to console him. Then it was Cain’s stepfather’s turn to talk.

“I lost my son twelve years ago. And now I’ve lost a daughter,” he began. “Amy was sweet and unselfish and made Whiterock a better place for having lived here. The most difficult part of this for me, for all of us, is the one question no one can answer at this point. Why?”

When he choked up, Sheridan felt a lump in her own throat. Everyone was taking it so hard.

“He seems like a nice guy,” Skye murmured. “Why don’t he and Cain get along?”

That was something Sheridan had asked herself many times. “I’d say he blames Cain for Jason’s death,” she whispered back, “but whatever the problem, it started long before that.”

Sheridan noticed Tiger staring at her. His face was puffy, but he wasn’t crying, like almost everyone else. He sat there stoically, looking uncomfortable in a new suit that was a bit too tight, waiting his turn.

When Cain’s stepfather finished, Tiger got up and said, “I loved Amy and I’m going to miss her. Probably more than anyone. But the only person she ever truly loved was Cain Granger.”

This bald admission was hardly the “life portrait” anyone had expected to hear. Or maybe it was too true to life. Most of the congregation began to murmur and twist in their seats to see Cain’s reaction.

Cain remained where he was, eyes glittering with determination as he withstood their scrutiny.

Then Tiger went on. “Maybe he got sick of her and shot her. I don’t know anything about that. But I know she had no business being where she was that night. And I can tell you that he didn’t kill Jason.”

The movement and noise grew so loud, Tiger held up a hand so he could be heard. “She told me on a number of occasions that he didn’t do it, that he’d never do such a thing. And I believe she knew him better than anyone, especially back then.”

Ned was on his feet. “This isn’t a testimonial for Cain! This is my sister’s funeral, for God’s sake.”

“That’s why I said what I did,” Tiger told him. “I know she’d want her true thoughts on the matter to come out at last.”

With that, he sat down and Skye leaned close. “I don’t care whether he drove by the house fifty times that night. It’s not Tiger,” she said.

Sheridan finally let go of the breath she’d been holding. “I know.”

Ignoring all the speculation in the church around him, Cain’s eyes sought his stepfather’s. Surely after what Tiger had just said, he’d have to believe Cain was innocent. But it didn’t matter. John had something else to blame him for.

He knows…. Karen’s words from last night came back to Cain. At least he was actually guilty of what John held against him now.

Turning his back on the whole congregation, Cain stalked out, hanging his tie on a tree branch as he wound his way down the path to the parking lot. He didn’t need John Wyatt, or Owen or Robert or Marshall. He didn’t need anyone. Even Sheridan.

Especially Sheridan, he decided. She threatened him on a level no one else could.

Karen stared at herself in the mirror. She hated missing Amy’s funeral. But she couldn’t go looking like this. John had hit her hard enough to bruise her cheek, and her eyes were red and swollen. Everyone she saw would want to know what was wrong. And the mere question would make her cry. That was why she couldn’t go to school, either. She’d taken a personal day just to sit at home.

Using the last of her tissues, she blew her nose for the umpteenth time and turned away from her blotchy reflection. What was going to happen next? She was afraid to find out. She wanted to believe that John would come to his senses and forgive her, but deep down she knew he wouldn’t. Her confession had severed the bond they’d formed. She’d seen a side of him she hadn’t known existed and no longer felt sure he was the man she’d thought he was. Even if they managed to patch things up, it couldn’t last. Cain made him too crazy. John would watch every nuance between them, read far more into their relationship than was there. And he’d use her past sins against her every time he got angry. What he knew would eat at him until the contempt she’d witnessed last night rose to the surface again.

She couldn’t expect them to pick up where they’d left off. But she had to at least try to talk him out of ruining her reputation. After so many years, she doubted any D.A. would prosecute her. But if John told anyone, she wouldn’t be able to hold her head up in Whiterock. The school board wouldn’t allow her to continue teaching. And once the word was out, she suspected she’d never get a job in any other school system, either.

The clock said it was almost two; John should be back from the funeral. Grabbing her purse, she wiped her face one last time and headed out.

As impatient as Sheridan had been with Skye’s reaction to Cain, it wasn’t easy to let her friend leave.

“You’re going to be okay in Whiterock without me, right?” Skye said as Sheridan helped unload her bags.

“Of course,” Sheridan said. But she wasn’t so sure. She’d driven separately so Skye could return her rental car to the airport, which meant she still had her own car for transportation. They’d found a cell phone store along the way so she had a new charger. She also had the gun Skye had insisted she keep, still tucked under the cushion of her couch. Even better, she was stronger and wiser.

And yet she had plenty of misgivings. Was she foolish for staying? Did she really believe she could solve a crime with no real leads?

“Sheridan?” Skye angled her head to look into her face.

Sheridan blinked. “What?”

“Are you having second thoughts? Because if you are, I’ll gladly return to Whiterock and help you pack.”

“I am having second thoughts,” she admitted. “But…I don’t think I can walk away from what’s happened. As soon as I get home, I’ll only want to come back. Maybe it’d be different if I had some confidence in Ned and his force, but…”