The Lawman's Second Chance

“Yes,” Lisa agreed.

“In English, Jack.” Alex had no clue what they were talking about, and he couldn’t bark at Lisa so Jack made a handy target.

“Lisa’s ponds. The trees surrounding the house and barns. The water spillways she’s created and the state-designated wetlands are over there. You could drive heavy equipment up and down this field at night right now, and no one would likely hear it. The frogs and spring peepers are that loud.”

Alex shifted his gaze to Lisa. A tiny smile softened her jaw...a sweet, touchable jaw that could go stubborn in a flash. “He’s not serious. Is he?”

She answered, but didn’t turn away from Jack. “He is. So hearing anything even with windows open is unlikely in May.”

Concern climbed a notch higher. “You don’t leave the windows open at night, do you? The correct response would be ‘no.’”

“To cool things down as the days get hotter. Of course we do.” She shrugged, ignoring his concerns as if he hadn’t dealt with every level of crime imaginable for the last fifteen years. “And last night was the first bogeyman in thirty-plus years, so I think the odds are with us.”

Except crime didn’t sleep. Alex knew that. And he understood her small-town cavalier attitude, but after last night’s theft, he figured a dose of reality might daunt her Sunshine Sue outlook.

It didn’t and that spiked an internal lecture he had no right to give.

He turned his attention to Lisa’s father. Ozzie still looked miserable and Alex understood the older man’s angst. Missing equipment at the height of their selling season? A rough go. “Have you called your insurance company?”

Ozzie shifted his gaze to Lisa, then shrugged. “If we make a claim this big, our rates will skyrocket. We’re hoping to find the equipment.”

“But...” Alex would love to find their stolen equipment and return it quickly, but the likelihood of that was slim and they had work to do. Wouldn’t calling in the claim make more sense? That’s what insurance was for, right?

“We’ve got an old small tractor in the barn,” Lisa explained in a cool, polite voice. “Not as useful as the ‘cat,’ but we figure it will buy us some time.” She addressed the group in general, not him specifically. They’d been there twenty minutes, and not once had she met his gaze.