Mia laughed. “For me. He’s into you for me. He tried to bow out of the tour today, but I thought it might be good to have a pair of strong arms in case any more floors collapsed.”
“Good idea,” Sawyer said. “He was a big help with the pulley. Glad I had someone around to drag me up quick. I’m not a big fan of dead bodies.”
“I’m so sorry,” Mia said again. “I can’t believe—” She broke off, turning toward the gate.
This time, Sawyer heard the sirens, and within a few minutes, saw the red and blue flashing lights as the police cars veered off the main road, kicking up dust as they steered toward the fenced off part of Old Town. The sight reminded him of a different murder scene years ago, one a hell of a lot more personal. His stomach twisted and his throat went tight, but he forced his thoughts back to how much he was looking forward to his date with Mia.
By the time Mia’s uncle—a tall, balding man with kind brown eyes, and a soft-spoken voice that seemed to put everyone at ease—arrived at the jailhouse, Sawyer had his emotions under control. He gave Ned his statement, and then helped two of the officers set up the pulley system.
Ned himself volunteered to get strapped into the harness and lowered into the cavern. Sawyer wasn’t sure the sixty-something year old man was up to the job—the climb back up was challenging, even with help from the pulley system—but Mia didn’t bat an eyelash as Sawyer strapped her uncle into the equipment. Ned was obviously in good shape, and if Mia thought he could handle it, Sawyer trusted her.
He lowered the older man down, and manned the pulley while Ned took pictures, made notes on his recorder and occasionally shouted up a code to one of his men. Fifteen minutes later, Ned was back up, and another officer went down. Not long after, the pieces of Mr. X began to be lifted out of the cavern in a series of see-through plastic bags.
Sawyer watched for a few moments, until the tightness in his chest and the memories pressing in from all sides began to be too much. He turned—intending to ask Mia if she wanted to ride back to town on his bike with him—but she was already out in the street, leaning against Bubba, looking pale despite the late afternoon heat. Sawyer moved toward them, his own discomfort forgotten when he saw the haunted expression on Mia’s face.
“Hey there,” she said, with a shaky smile. “We were just getting ready to go. Bubba’s going to give me a ride. I’ll see you at my place, later?”
Sawyer nodded. “Okay. Drive safe.”
“Will do,” Bubba said, tightening his arm around Mia’s shoulders as he led her toward the gate.
A part of Sawyer envied the other man—he wanted to be the one offering Mia comfort, to be the shoulder she could lean on—but the more rational part of him insisted this was for the best. Bubba was one of her oldest friends. He’d always been there for her in the past, and he would be there for her in the future. No matter how much Sawyer was starting to care about Mia, he was just passing through. She wasn’t his to comfort, and no matter how much fun they had together, she never would be.
He knew he was right, but being right didn’t make it any easier to watch Bubba steer his truck toward town, carrying Mia away down the dusty road.
CHAPTERNINE
Thursday morning,Mia had been as anxious as she was excited about her impending date with Sawyer. But after an afternoon spent giving statements to the police and watching Ned’s men bring up plastic bags full of human remains, she was eager for anything that would take her mind off the bad things. She didn’t want to think about crime scenes, or the yellow tape that had been taped across the front door of her apartment for days after Paul broke in through her bedroom window. She wanted to think of good times and new possibilities.
She dressed quickly—throwing on a jean skirt, her favorite peach tee shirt, and a filmy multi-colored scarf that brought out the caramel flecks in her eyes—and hurried out of her too-quiet shop. Outside, the sun was already setting, casting the street in a soothing amber glow. The leaves on the trees along Main Street shushed in a gentle breeze, creating a calming soundtrack that soothed her nerves as she headed toward Sawyer’s hotel.
She was still a block away when the man himself sauntered down the wooden steps leading to the saloon, and her pulse picked back up. In a fresh, dust-free pair of jeans and the same white button-up he’d worn the first time he’d asked her out, he looked as studly as ever.
More importantly, he looked safe.
Sawyer had been a rock the entire afternoon. Even Bubba had hung back when Ned went down to photograph the body, but Sawyer had kept his cool and been a big help to her uncle and his men. Mia knew Sawyer had another fan in Uncle Ned—Ned had given her a wink and a thumbs-up after his goodbye hug—and Mia couldn’t deny that she was impressed. It wasn’t simply that Sawyer had kept his head in a crisis, it was that he hadn’t been too macho to admit that stumbling upon a murder scene was disturbing.
It was getting harder and harder to believe she had ever been intimidated by Sawyer’s size or physical presence. So far, he seemed sweet, sincere, and admirably grounded for a guy who had probably had women throwing themselves at his feet since he was a teenager. He was also kind and helpful and…suffice it to say, he was growing on her in a big way.
“Hey there.” Sawyer smiled when he saw her walking toward him, his eyes lighting with pleasure. “I was just coming to get you.”
“I was ready early, so I thought I’d meet you here.” Mia stopped next to him on the sidewalk, flattered, and a little flustered, that he looked so happy to see her. “It was too quiet in my house.”
Sawyer nodded. “In my room, too. I’ve been down at the bar for the past half hour.”
Mia propped her hands on her hips and glared up at him in mock anger. “So you’ve been pre-gaming without me? Is that what you’re saying?”
Sawyer laughed. “Just a light beer. Nothing serious.”
“Good.” Mia took the arm he offered, relishing the feel of his solid flesh beneath her fingers as they started down the sidewalk toward the square. “Because I hear there’s going to be a tequila tasting booth at the market tonight, and, I’m not going to lie, a shot or two of tequila sounds pretty good after a day like today.”
“How are you holding up?” Sawyer asked, the playful note vanishing from his voice. “You looked pretty pale when Bubba was pulling away.”
Mia shrugged. “I’m okay. I just hope the body is as old as everyone’s guessing. I’d hate to think someone has been dumping murder victims on our land recently. Gram’s already a wreck. I could barely get two words in on the phone this afternoon.”
Sawyer nodded. “She seemed upset when she called me, too. And eager to make sure I didn’t spread the story. I gathered she thought the discovery would be bad for business.”
“If the bones are a couple hundred years old, I don’t think it will be,” Mia said. “But if it’s a more recent murder, then yeah…I guess so.” She shuddered. “I can’t think about it that way, yet. I just want to make sure that it’s no one’s husband or father down there. Which reminds me…”