Renegade (Tin Star K9 Series Book 1) by Jodi Burnett (literature books to read .txt) 📗

“I could sure use some of that.”

“You know I’ve been working as Colt’s deputy for the past week.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, he offered me the job for real, as soon as I go through the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy. I think I’ve finally found work I love.” She laughed. “And of course I enjoy the paycheck, too.”

“About time you got a real job.” Dylan smirked at her. “You’re a terrible waitress.”

“Shut up.” She laughed. “I didn’t really need a steady job before. My place is paid for in full. I was managing fine on the cash I earned at the café and from what I had left over after buying my cabin. I don’t have a car payment, and I haven’t even been on the hook to feed my horse.”

“Oh, you’ll be getting my bill.” Dylan winked.

“Good. That’s only right. But listen, I have an idea.” Caitlyn sat back in her saddle, and Whiskey slowed to a stop. Dylan turned to her in question and halted Sampson. Caitlyn stared directly into Dylan’s eyes. “I’m going to use my paycheck every month to pay the mortgage on this ranch. At least until we have a good market year for the cows.”

Dylan blinked at her, unable to speak. He swallowed several times. His eyes grew moist, and he scrunched his brows. He ground his teeth against his obvious emotion.

“It’s the right thing to do. I want to do it. And I’m going to do it. Okay?” Caitlyn held her breath.

Dylan nodded once and turned his horse toward home. Caitlyn understood. If he spoke, he’d reveal his feelings, and that would never do. Not for Dylan. Caitlyn smiled to herself and nudged Whiskey to take her home. Renegade trotted through the fields in front of the horses, leading the way.

31

Monday morning, Colt was the first to arrive at the Sheriff’s Office. He was still getting used to taking his position behind the main desk, but he liked how it felt to be the one in charge. He settled into the big leather chair and leaned back, propping his feet on the corner of the work surface. He heard Caitlyn’s voice calling out to Renegade, and he smiled as she came in through the front door.

“Good morning, Deputy.” Colt grinned at her.

Caitlyn smiled back. “Good morning, Sheriff.”

Hearing his new title and greeting his beautiful new deputy would never get old. “You’re here just in time. I wanted to go over all the case details with you and make sure we haven’t missed anything.”

“Okay.” Caitlyn hung her cowboy hat on the rack.

“Eleanor Smooter, faces charges as an accessory to murder after the fact. Even though she had little to do with the crime, she knew about it. She’ll also be charged with assault with a deadly weapon. I don’t know what kind of sentence she’s looking at, but she could face up to fifteen years.” Colt closed the file he was referring to and opened the next one. “Bruce Tackett, on the other hand, is in big trouble. His charges will include accessory to murder after the fact, along with, interfering with an investigation, conspiring to robbery and assault, and assault with a deadly weapon. If he’s convicted for all those charges, he’ll be going to prison for at least twenty years, and as you know, lawmen don’t do well in prison.”

Caitlyn filled a bowl with water for Renegade and set it next to her desk. He lapped it up like he was dying of thirst, splashing all over the floor. She pulled out her chair and sat. “I gather both Maribel and Jim are being charged with first-degree murder?”

Colt tapped a pen on his desk. “Yes, though it was Jim who actually pulled the trigger while Maribel held Wendy. Poor girl, with the Rohypnol in her system, Wendy didn’t even know what was happening to her.”

Caitlyn shook her head. “The whole situation is terribly sad. Wendy was so upset over the fact that she was pregnant and that Jim was going to leave her, she felt like she wanted to die. But she didn’t mean it. She was just scared and depressed. I can’t believe Jim used that as an excuse to solve his problems—that he thought the easiest way out of his mess was to kill Wendy.”

“It’s tragic.”

“No kidding. It’s pure evil. I can’t believe Maribel manipulated her dad into covering up a murder.”

“Yeah, but when I talked to him, he intimated that Jim threatened to hurt his daughter and the baby if he didn’t help them.”

“I guess it shows how far a parent will go to protect a child.”

Colt lowered his feet from the desk and sat forward in his chair. “Jim was stupid though—trying to attack you with Renegade around.” His fingers responsively curled into fists at the thought of the man’s hands on Caitlyn.

“Both he and Tackett are complete idiots if they thought they could get away with trying to hurt me.” She reached down and scratched her dog behind the ears. “Isn’t that right, buddy?” He licked her hand in response.

Caitlyn looked up at Colt with a broad smile spread across her face. “You should’ve seen him, flying through my living room window, shattering the glass to save me. It was a terrifyingly awesome sight.”

“He’s an exceptional dog.” One he owed an enormous debt of gratitude to.

“For sure. He’s wicked smart and his instincts are dead on, but he needs some work on discipline.” She got up and moved around to the front of her desk to lean against the corner. “And frankly, I need some training too—if we want to be a sharp K-9 police team, that is.”

“I love the idea of having our very own K-9 unit in our little department.”

Caitlyn’s smile was radiant. “I found a trainer online. She lives in Florida, and trains police dogs for a living. Normally, I’d have to send my dog to her for several weeks, but she’s attending a competition in Utah next month. And since Ren just needs some fine tuning,