“He didn’t send me.”

  “We know that. But what if you were that ranch foreman you just faced? He could say you broke into his room and brought your cop friend to aim a gun at him so your brother, who is already out on bail, could show up and accuse him of lying. If you didn’t know us, who would you believe?”

  “You and Finn.”

  Before she had a chance to rethink and rephrase her argument, Finn swiveled and looked over his shoulder. “Because Selena carries a badge, maybe. But, as you already guessed, she and I have a past together. We used to be a couple. Ordering her to guard me is the worst thing the sheriff could have done for either of us.”

  Selena met his somber gaze when he shifted it to her. “It almost seems like he was trying to cause trouble, doesn’t it?” Finn said. “For both of us.”

  She disagreed. “Sheriff Unger and I always got along fine. He wouldn’t try to sabotage your chances of a retrial.”

  “What about your career, then? Does he hold a grudge that you left his department and went over to K-9s?”

  “There was never any indication of that,” Selena said firmly. She did, however, suspect that the sheriff might be playing matchmaker and going about it in a terrible way. It didn’t make any sense for a judge to have put Finn in her custody, particularly since they had been—were—friends. Doing so was far worse than simple nepotism, which is why the hiring of family members or close friends was highly discouraged, even if they weren’t assigned to work directly together.

  Another concern was what Unger would do with Finn once she was called back to headquarters or sent on another assignment. The MCK9 unit team still had potential victims to visit and counsel, perhaps even move into witness protection. Sadly, they’d been too late to prevent Randall’s death at the hands of the serial killer because he’d refused to listen. He’d dodged their attempts to convince him of the danger one too many times and had paid the price. There were, however, other former members of the Elk Valley Young Ranchers’ Club spread across the Rockies who might still be in danger, and it was her team’s job to warn them.

  Finally, Selena addressed Finn. “I feel like I’m failing my team by spending so much time on your case.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she shushed him. “Wait. Let me finish. You didn’t ask for me to be involved, and I didn’t ask to be included in solving the mystery surrounding Zeb’s death, right?”

  “Right.”

  “That’s why I’m going to ask Sheriff Unger to relieve me of this duty.” Although she was mainly watching the road as she drove, she could tell how poorly her announcement was being received. Finn’s jaw was set, and he was staring out the windshield. In the back seat, Sean had covered his face with his hands and, judging by the shaking of his shoulders, was weeping.

  All Finn said was “Don’t.”

  “I’ll be leaving soon anyway. If there are no more sightings of Cowgirl in Sagebrush, my boss will send me somewhere else. It’s inevitable. Might as well get it over with.”

  “Are you that desperate to get rid of me?” Finn asked.

  “No! It’s not like that.”

  “Then why? What can I do to make you change your mind?”

  “Nothing. I’m trying my best to do things right. When they formed the K-9 task force, I was sworn in as a federal agent. That should be—must be—my primary focus. Running around Idaho bailing you and Sean out of trouble is not what I’m here for. It’s not what I swore an oath to support and defend. By giving so much of my time and efforts to your case, I’ve been neglecting my real job.”

  “I thought your real job was defending the innocent and bringing the guilty to justice.”

  Selena had to admit he had a point. “Okay. You’re right about that. The thing is...” Pride almost kept her from revealing the rest of her conclusion, but she bravely continued. “I care too much. I not only remember the closeness we used to share, I admire the man you’ve become despite all the bad things that have happened to you.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, I’m getting too emotionally involved, Finn. You mean too much to me.”

  “And that’s a bad thing. Yeah, I get it. I knew years ago that we weren’t suited for each other. I told you that then. It’s even worse now that I’m a convict and you’ve risen in the ranks of law enforcement.”

  This conversation was not going the way she’d intended, and although she was loathe to express herself more clearly in front of Finn’s brother, the urge to do so was strong.

  “We’ll talk more about this later after we get home,” Selena said. As soon as Finn glanced at her, she rolled her eyes toward the rear seat to explain without words.

  Thankfully, she got a nod of agreement. What she would say, how much she would reveal, once they could speak in private was another conundrum. If she admitted how fond she was of Finn, she’d be contradicting his opinion that they weren’t compatible and perhaps upsetting him. If she kept all that burgeoning affection to herself, however, and they were forced apart by her job, she was the one who would suffer.

  Being totally honest with herself, Selena had to admit she wanted to pull away from Finn as soon as possible because she was starting to fall back in love with him, with the honorable man he had become, and it scared her silly.

  She had loved him once to the depths of her heart, and he had pushed her away. Listening to his current excuses was like watching a rerun of a sad movie. Truth to tell, she was falling for him hard. And he was still insistent they were totally wrong for each other.

  No matter what she told him about her feelings, she would be the one who ended up hurt, she concluded. The only question at this point was, did she want to tell him she loved him and perhaps hurt him, too, or walk away and keep it a secret?

  Selfishness insisted she tell him.

  Love told her otherwise.

  Eighteen

  Finn’s mood did not improve when they got back to Selena’s home, nor was he ready for any kind of personal conversation with her. Being thrust into this situation was like a thirsty man crawling over burning sand to reach an oasis in the desert and finding out the water was bitter.

  That wasn’t Selena’s fault any more than it was his, he reasoned. Circumstances kept throwing them together. Even if his life had been simple and his record clean, he would have hesitated because of his past. Now that he had been convicted of murder, his name would always be tainted, even if, God willing, he was eventually exonerated.

  Sean had his head in the refrigerator when Selena joined Finn in the kitchen. She smiled at the teen, making Finn feel even worse about his planned explanation. He followed as she went to the door with Scout, took off his working harness and released him. “Let’s talk out there.”

  “Fine. Grab me a can of soda if you can get past the hungry kid in the fridge.”

  Glad to have something to do with his hands, Finn brought two drinks with him and joined her on the porch. “Here you go. This is your favorite, right?”

  “Right.” Another smile, this time at him. “You remembered.”

  “Sure.” Shrugging, he opened his can, stalling while he decided how to reason with her. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how self-defeating his argument had been. He was asking her to stay when he should have encouraged her to leave as soon as possible. What was wrong with him?

  He didn’t have to look very deeply into his heart to know that answer. The trick was going to be explaining to Selena without letting on how special he thought she was.

  Leaning against the porch railing while she sat on a swing suspended from the rafters, Finn sipped his drink and accepted the task at hand. “I know it’s been hard on you, and I want to thank you for helping me. And Sean. I hate to think of what would have happened to him if you hadn’t been there.”

  “You’re welcome. Just doing my job.”

  “So you’ve said.” He paused, sorting through his thoughts. “My attitude toward law enforcement has mellowed over the years. I do appreciate what you do.”

  “Thanks.”

  “What I said earlier. I was wrong.”

  “About what?”

  “About asking you to stick around. I know you can’t. And you’re right about wanting to be relieved of watching me.” He lifted his foot to display the electronic monitor. “I’m sure they can make other arrangements. All you’d have to do is hand over the control, right?”

  “Essentially, yes.” Selena sipped, swallowed, then met his gaze.

  Finn was positive he detected unshed tears in her glistening hazel eyes. “Then do it. As soon as possible. This will all work out without you. There was no reason for you to get so deeply involved in the first place.”

  “No earthly reason,” Selena offered, staring past him at the evening sky. “I’ve given the whole situation a lot of thought, and it didn’t me take long to come to the conclusion I was meant to be here for you.” She smiled slightly.

  He opened his mouth to reply. She shushed him.

  “Hear me out. “We were once close friends—and more. You can’t deny that.”

  Nodding, Finn listened. There was a softness, an approachability about Selena that urged him to join her on the swing. He held back.

  “I knew about your original trial, of course. Town gossip saw to that. And I couldn’t believe you were guilty, even after the conviction.”

  “Thank you for that.”

  “You’re most welcome. The thing is, if I had heard about the van wreck and all the trouble you were in now, I’d have wanted to drop everything and come help you. It would have been devastating if I’d been stuck in Wyoming.” She began to smile slightly. “So, as it turned out, I was temporarily assigned to do exactly what I’d have wanted to do anyway.”

  Finn huffed. “Get shot at, crawl through a muddy cave and rescue a wild teenager?”

  “If necessary.” She patted the seat next to her and Finn reluctantly responded, settling himself as far away as the swing would allow.

  “The thing is,” Selena continued, “this whole business is beyond the two of us. It’s about justice, yes, but it’s also about family.”

  “Dysfunctional family.”

  “In multiples,” Selena added. “I was estranged from my parents when they passed, and my sister went before them. I’ll always carry those scars. It’s too late for me to make amends, but it’s not too late for you and Sean and Mary. Just because we think Edward imitated the Cain in the Bible and killed his brother, there’s no reason you and your family should suffer for it.”

  “I’m the reason Zeb is dead. If I hadn’t gone to him...”

  “No.” Selena reached across and laid a warm hand on his forearm. “Edward did it, not you. The blame is all his.”

  “I wish I could accept that.”

  Selena laughed lightly and withdrew her touch. Finn didn’t like sensing the disconnect. He desperately wanted to take her hand, maybe even slip his arm around her shoulders. What if he did? What would happen if he reached out to her? After she’d admitted being fond of him, doing that would be cruel. Nice for him but wrong for Selena. The last thing he wanted to do was affirm a shared affection when he knew she’d be leaving soon, and he would always carry the stigma of his conviction.

  For once, Finn didn’t want to be right even though he knew he was. He got to his feet, moving the swing and nearly spilling her soda.

  “You do see that we’re both on the same page here, don’t you?” he asked. “We accept the odd fact that you’re involved without imagining an impossible conclusion.”

  “Nothing is impossible to God,” Selena said quietly, “but I do understand what you’re saying. We can’t go back. Life doesn’t give do-overs. But why can’t we go forward? What are you afraid of, caring about somebody and then losing them like you did your adoptive dad and Zeb? I can empathize if that’s your problem now, but what about when we were younger? Why did you dump me then?”

  He was taken aback. “Wow. You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

  “I used to,” Selena said soberly. “It didn’t help, so I figured I’d try speaking the truth.”

  “See, that’s your problem,” Finn countered. “Your view of the truth isn’t the same as mine. You’re imagining a rosy future when all I can see is challenges.” He had in the past, and he was doing it now. The future he envisioned for them was fraught with problems and conflict.

  “Both results are possible, even likely, given a long enough time. I’ve never met a man who...”

  When she stopped abruptly he had to ask, “Who what? A man who what?”

  “Never mind. It’s my problem, not yours. You’ve made up your mind that you and I will never be suited for each other, and that’s how it will have to be.”

  “But we’re friends, right?”

  “Always,” Selena said. Getting to her feet she sidled past him to the door and reentered the kitchen.

  Left alone on the porch, Finn wondered why he suddenly felt so alone. So bereft. Being in Selena’s presence had imparted a sense of peace, of belonging, of everything being right with the world despite his misgivings.

  Looking to the west and seeing the setting sun, Finn realized how closely his feelings mirrored that sight. Without Selena, the warmth was waning, and he didn’t have a clue what to do about it without causing her harm. If heaven held the answer, it sure wasn’t getting through to him.

  Closing his eyes, he sent out a silent prayer for understanding and waited. No epiphany came to him. No answers suddenly became clear. His mind was clouded with doubt, and the future remained as tenuous as ever.

  The clicking of Scout’s nails on the porch was all the notice Finn got before he felt a nudge against his thigh and a cold nose poked him in the hand. He looked down. If dogs could smile, which he doubted, that was what he was getting from Selena’s K-9 partner.

  Finn wiggled his fingers to scratch behind the Malinois’s erect ears, and Scout clearly liked it. His bushy tail began to wag, and he shifted to get as close as possible.

  “I wish you could talk,” Finn said gently. “I’d ask you to explain that woman to me.”

  Scout panted. Wiggled more. Clearly the dog had sensed Finn’s mood and was attempting to lift it with affection. He would have wondered about the change in the K-9’s actions if he hadn’t remembered Selena’s explanation of the difference between being in harness or out of it.

  Finally, sighing, Finn smiled slightly. “Okay, boy, I get it. You can stop worrying about me. I’ll cope.” He turned. “Let’s go in.”

  To Finn’s relief, the kitchen was empty. So was the living room. At loose ends, he wandered to a window that faced the street and peered out through the blinds. Selena’s SUV was still there, but her teammates apparently hadn’t returned, nor had they brought back the vehicle Sean had taken.

  The neighborhood was quiet, reflecting a sense of peace, at least on the surface. Anxiety, however, flowed beneath like viscous liquids that ebbed and flowed, bringing levels of unexplained tension that affected him to the core. Never in a million years would he have dreamed he’d one day be reunited with Selena Smith, let alone be forced into close contact with her. This was crazy. Insane. Their circumstances made less sense than Sean’s one-man plans to prove him innocent.

  Finn began to smile slightly and shake his head as he thought of his baby brother. Sean had been about eleven when James Donovan had died and not more than twelve or thirteen during the Zeb Yablonski murder trial. The traumas of those years had undoubtedly left scars on Sean’s undeveloped mind. Of course they had.

  Continuing to absently watch the street in front of Selena’s house, Finn delved deep into his thoughts, trying to sort them into a plan that fit neatly into the little boxes he’d imagined. Had each element been separate it might have worked, he supposed, except there was no way to sever the cords holding everything together. He couldn’t help his mother or his brother unless he first cleared himself, and he couldn’t do that without waiting for a new trial. And without breaking Plumber’s testimony in front of a judge, there was no way to guarantee he’d ever be free again.

  So, what about Selena? Finn asked himself. He huffed in disgust. What, indeed? Time would probably take care of that problem, he reasoned. After all, she no longer spent much time in Idaho, let alone Sagebrush. Once her local assignment was over, she was going to leave, no doubt about it. It was foolish to imagine otherwise.

  What did make sense, however, was using this opportunity to mend fences, so to speak, and make sure she forgave him for, as she’d put it, “dumping her.” She had seen his efforts at being noble and sacrificing his own happiness for hers as a negative act, as cruelty, when it had been one of the hardest decisions he’d ever made.

  Unsure about pressing the subject right then, Finn put those worries aside. Once the other two K-9 officers got home and joined Selena, his chances of catching her alone for a private talk would not be good. Now the only interference he might face was that of his outspoken brother, and he figured he could handle Sean.

  Mind made up, Finn stepped away from the window.

  Suddenly, glass shattered behind him. The blinds shook and billowed in. Shards that weren’t caught by the plastic slats peppered the back of his head and neck like winter sleet. He dropped to the floor.

  In the distance, Scout began to bark ferociously.

  Selena called, “Finn!” at the top of her lungs. Thuds of running feet echoed. Sean began to yell his name, too.

  On his hands and knees, Finn took only an instant to assess the scene. Had he heard a shot?

  He felt warmth trailing across his cheek. Drops of blood landed on the floor in front of him. He gently touched his scalp.

  “Leave it alone,” Selena ordered sharply. “And stay down. I’ll be right back.”

  As Sean slid to a stop in front of him, Finn grabbed his wrist and pulled him aside. “Away from the window.”