Myths, Murder & Love

Chapter 11

Leon slowed his pace to match hers. "What did she tell you?"

"That she lived near Moab."

"That's all?"

"Pretty much." Thallia thought back over years of conversations with Evalyn. "She talked about Utah. The desert. The weather. People she knew. But never Olympia Springs."

Leon absorbed that. Evalyn hadn't merely neglected to mention the name of the town. She had kept it from her family.

"What about the Stone House?"

Thallia shook her head. "I didn't know it existed until the attorney contacted my mother."

That stopped him again.

Thallia caught his reaction. "You find that strange too."

Leon chose his answer carefully. "I find it interesting."

"That's sheriff language."

A quiet laugh escaped him. "Maybe."

Thallia resumed walking. "Journalist language would be suspicious."

Leon joined her. "Are you suspicious?"

"I wasn't." She swung her hand between them, nearly brushing his. His glance told her he felt it too.

"And now?"

Thallia looked over at him. "Now I've met a sheriff who knew my great-grandmother, knows the house she never told me about, and seems surprised I'm headed there."

Leon considered the accusation. "When you put it that way..."

Thallia nodded. "You see my problem."

Leon laughed. "I'm beginning to."

Leon liked the answer more than he should have.

They walked several more steps before Thallia spoke again. "What was she like here?"

The question caught Leon off guard.

He had expected questions about the house or Olympia Springs. Instead, Thallia wanted to know about Evalyn.

Leon took a moment before answering. "Much the way I imagine you knew her. Strong and opinionated. Generous when she thought generosity was deserved."

Thallia laughed. "That sounds like her."

"She loved Olympia Springs." He stopped to look in the window of a tourist shop that was closed. Their reflections stood side by side in the glass with the stars behind them. The sight sent a shiver through him.

The laughter faded from Thallia's expression. "Then why didn't she ever tell us about it?"

Leon had no answer for that. At least, none he was prepared to give her tonight. "I don't know."

Thallia studied him.

Leon met her gaze. "That one isn't me avoiding your question. I really don't know."

She accepted that with a small nod. For a while, they walked without speaking.

As they walked, Leon couldn't shake the certainty that Lydia had known Thallia would be in Moab.

Evalyn was harder to understand.

He had known her for years. So had half of Olympia Springs. Yet she had kept the town, the Stone House, and an entire part of her life hidden from her own great-granddaughter.

That wasn't like Evalyn. Unless there had been something she believed needed protecting.

Leon glanced at Thallia. Whatever Evalyn had kept hidden, he was beginning to suspect Thallia was about to find it.

Leon slipped his hands back into his pockets and turned away from the shops, heading toward the park.

Thallia walked beside him for several steps before breaking the silence. "So tell me about the Stone House."

Leon looked over. "What do you want to know?"

She gave him a pointed look. "Considering I didn't know it existed until recently? Everything."

Leon laughed. "That's a fairly large question."

"I'm a journalist. Large questions don't scare me."

"I've noticed."

Thallia adjusted the hat in her hands. "Start with what I'm walking into tomorrow."

Leon considered where to begin. "It's old, but Evalyn took good care of it. River stone, single story, built to belong in the canyon instead of fighting with it."

Thallia listened closely. "And she lived there?"

"For many years."

"Alone?"

Leon hesitated. "Mostly."

Thallia caught the hesitation. "There's a story attached to that answer."

"There are a lot of stories attached to Evalyn."

Thallia glanced down at the hat in her hands. "I'm beginning to realize that."

They reached the edge of the park, where the lights from the shops gave way to deeper shadows and open sky.

Thallia slowed. "Technically, Great-Grandma didn't leave the house to me."

Leon turned toward her. "She didn't?"

Thallia shook her head. "She left it to my mother."

That caught Leon by surprise. "Susan?"

Thallia looked at him. "You know my mother too?"

Leon realized he'd just stepped into another explanation he wasn't prepared to give. "I know who she is."

Thallia studied him for a moment before continuing. "She has no intention of leaving her practice in Chicago, and she doesn't need the money. So she gave the house to me."

Leon considered that. "And what does she expect you to do with it?"

Thallia laughed softly. "Knowing my mother? Make a decision and tell her when it's handled."

Leon chuckled. "That sounds like Susan."

Thallia caught his reaction. "You’re doing the Sheriff face again."

Leon laughed. "I don't have a sheriff face."

She gave him a skeptical look. "You do. It means you're filing that away for later."

Leon couldn't argue with that. "Yeah, I guess I do that."

After a few steps, Leon's tone grew more serious. "Whatever Evalyn's reasons were, you don't have to decide anything about the house tomorrow."

Thallia looked at him. "You think I'll want to keep it."

He winked. "I think you should see it before you decide you don't."

She considered that. The advice was reasonable, even if she'd been prepared to argue. "I'll look before I make any decisions."

Leon nodded. "That's all I'm suggesting."

They continued through the park until Leon glanced over. "When are you heading out tomorrow?"

"Morning."

He nodded. "I'll be going back too."

Thallia looked at him. "Convenient."

A smile touched his mouth. "I do live there."

She studied him for a moment. "I suppose I'll have to take your word for that."

Leon tapped a hand against his chest. "I'm also the sheriff."

Her expression remained perfectly serious but she was laughing inside. "So you claim."

Leon pressed his lips together, also fighting a laugh. "Would you like to see identification?"

Thallia's expression turned thoughtful. "Maybe."

He reached toward his back pocket.

She laughed and caught his arm. "I'm kidding."

Leon stopped. So did Thallia. Her hand was still resting against his arm.

The same warmth from the dance moved between them again.

Thallia felt it.

Leon knew she did because her laughter faded and her fingers went still but neither of them moved away.

This time, Leon understood one thing he hadn't understood on the dance floor.

Whatever Lydia had expected him to find in Moab, Leon was beginning to understand that it had never been about a place. She had sent him here to find Thallia.

The thought should have made him step back. It didn't.

Thallia hadn't moved her hand. Leon looked down at her fingers, then slowly lifted his gaze to hers.

The warmth between them deepened. Thallia's breath caught. She had felt the same pull when they first touched. On the dance floor.

She had felt it when they first touched. On the dance floor. Now it moved through her with enough strength that pretending not to notice seemed ridiculous.

"Do you feel that?" she asked quietly.

Leon didn't pretend to misunderstand. "Yes."

Her heart beat a little faster. "Any idea what it is?"

"Not yet."

Thallia searched his face.

Leon had lost the teasing smile. He was watching her with the same intensity she'd felt during the dance, but he made no move toward her.

He waited. Thallia knew what he was waiting for. The realization sent a different kind of warmth through her.

She could step away. Instead, her hand slid from his arm to his chest.

Leon's breath changed beneath her palm. That tiny reaction settled the last of her uncertainty.

Thallia rose and kissed him. For one heartbeat, Leon didn't move.

Then his hand came gently to her waist and he kissed her back.

The warmth between them flared.

Thallia felt it rush through her, startling and exhilarating, but beneath it was something simpler.

She liked kissing him. Very much.

Leon drew her a fraction closer, and Thallia let herself enjoy the solid warmth of him, the quiet strength of his hand at her waist, and the surprising tenderness of his mouth against hers.

The kiss deepened for only a moment before Leon eased back, but not far. His forehead nearly touched hers as they stood beneath the dark trees.

Thallia opened her eyes.

Leon was looking at her as though whatever had just happened had surprised him every bit as much as it had surprised her.

"Well…" she murmured.

A smile slowly appeared. "That's one word for it."

Thallia laughed softly, still close enough to feel his breath against her cheek. The sound seemed to break whatever spell had settled around them.

She lowered her hand from his chest, but Leon's hand lingered at her waist for another second before he let her go.

Neither mentioned the warmth. Not yet.

They walked back toward the Red Coyote. The easy conversation returned. Their hands brushed twice as they walked, and neither seemed in a hurry to put more distance between them.

When the motel came into view, disappointment tugged at Thallia.

Tomorrow. Then she reminded herself there was a tomorrow. Leon was going back to Olympia Springs and so was she.

They stopped near the motel entrance.

Leon looked toward the parking lot. "What are you driving?"

"The Bronco."

His eyebrows lifted. "The new one?"

Thallia smiled. "Bought it today."

Leon looked impressed. "Nice choice."

"I thought so."

“I've known you a few hours, and buying a Bronco on your way across Utah already seems completely reasonable.”

Thallia decided she liked that answer.

Leon reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Give me your number."

Her eyebrows rose.

His mouth curved. "The road into Olympia Springs can be easy to miss. I'll send you the directions."

"Maria told me people only miss it when they aren't ready to see it."

Leon's smile disappeared.

Thallia noticed. "You know Maria?"

"I know of her." That sheriff face was back.

Thallia pointed at him. "You're doing it again."

Leon smiled and handed her his phone. "Your number, Journalist."

Thallia entered it and handed the phone back.

A moment later, hers chimed inside her purse.

Leon slipped his phone away. "I'll send the directions tonight. If you have trouble tomorrow, call me."

Thallia smiled. "I thought Olympia Springs wanted me to find it."

Something warm entered his expression. "I think it does."

The words landed differently after everything he'd told her about Evalyn.

Thallia looked toward the motel, then back at him. "Good night, Leon."

"Good night, Thallia."

She liked hearing her name in his voice.

Thallia turned toward the motel before she could decide that one kiss deserved another.

At the door, she looked back. Leon was still there.

He lifted one hand. Thallia smiled and went inside.

Leon waited until the door closed behind her. Then he looked toward the dark eastern horizon.

Olympia Springs lay beyond it. So did Lydia.

Leon pulled out his phone.

He stared at Lydia's name for several seconds before putting the phone away again.

No. She had engineered enough of his evening already.

Tomorrow, he would bring Thallia home.

Then Lydia could explain herself.