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“You heard me. If I’m going to stay here, you’re going to show me how to handle a shotgun or something.”
Ian worked his jaw. It was the one thing he didn’t want to do, and she knew it. But for some reason, he wanted her close.
“If you don’t teach me, I’ll call a friend and stay with them.”
“Fine.” He let out a sigh. “I’ll teach you if you promise only to use it for protection. Under no circumstances will you go out and search for trouble.”
“Of course.”
“And you’ll let me sign you up for college.”
Her brows rose. He didn’t just say that, did he? Why was he pushing school so hard? Jessica pressed her lips together. Whenever he brought it up, it was almost like he was telling her she wasn’t good enough. But Ian wasn’t like that. Maybe it was just his way to show he cared about her. She gave a short nod.
Ian pulled her close. “I promise we’ll have this all figured out in the next few weeks. Then I’ll show you some of the courses I found.” He kissed the crown of her head. The silence grew between them. She felt like they were pulling away from each other.
They were just having an off day. Tomorrow things would be better. They’d be less stressed and would be able to see the bigger picture. But that little seed of doubt had taken root. Tucker had never asked her to change. He’d been happy with her just the way she was.
Jessica pushed aside the thoughts that threatened to tear her apart. She rested her head on Ian’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. When they pulled apart, Ian’s features had softened.
He gave her a crooked smile. “We should probably head back downstairs. I’d hate for my brothers to eat all the pie you made.”
She let out a soft laugh. “Of course that’s the only thing you can think about.”
“Can you blame me? It’s been over a week since I’ve tasted that delicious apple pie.”
Jessica reached behind her to untie the waitressing apron she’d worn while making the pie. “You have a problem. You know that, right?”
He laughed. “Totally worth it.”
She finished untying her apron and threw the piece of fabric toward the bed. It landed on the edge of the bed, and a few things fell out of the pockets and clattered to the wood floor. She jumped at the sound and looked down at the mess.
A pile of pens and coins lay scattered. Both Jessica and Ian dropped to their hands and knees, then gathered the items together. A small silver, rectangular object rested alongside everything else.
Jessica picked up the device with her finger and thumb. She turned in in her hand and glanced at Ian. “Is this yours?”
He stopped what he was doing. His attention set on the foreign object. Eyes narrowing, he moved closer and took the item from her hand. With his thumb, he pushed out a silver square-looking piece. It was some kind of electric storage device—a jump drive. Ian shook his head and held it out to her. “Nope. I’ve never seen this before in my life. Where did you get it?”
The apron still hung off the edge of the bed, the pockets upside down. “I guess it came out of my waitress uniform.”
“Do you know where it came from?”
Slowly, she shook her head. “I have no idea.” She frowned as she turned the object over in her hands again. “The last day I worked, I’d pulled my apron from the dryer and filled it with my pens and paper before going to work. Someone must have put it in my pockets while I was at the diner.”
Ian stiffened beside her. He let out a quiet curse.
She looked at him with a confused expression. “What?”
Shaking his head, he got to his feet. Ian retrieved the USB drive and flicked it closed. “We need to get this to the sheriff immediately.”
“What? Why?”
His fist closed around the object as he emphasized what he held toward her. “Tucker. That no-good son of a…” He shook his head. “I’d bet this whole ranch that this right here is what those men have been looking for.”
She stood. “So can we just give it to them? Will they leave us alone?”
“It’s never that easy. Not only did you witness a murder, but you have something they’ve been looking for. For all they know, you opened it up and saw what was stored on it.”
He was probably right. What was she thinking? Of course he was right. If they wanted that USB drive bad enough to come looking for her, it’s likely they wouldn’t stop even if they got their hands on it. “What should we do with it?”
