Page 35 of Everyone Loved Her

“What?” She tilted her head in confusion.

“Do you think Garrett could’ve killed Sarah?” The question left my lips just as Blaze stepped out onto the back porch, his eyes widening.

Mom paused, before blowing out a sharp breath, the rocker creaking beneath her. “I don’t know. That would be a great question for your dad. I feel like he would know where Garrett was at better than I could guess. Your dad looked at him like a second son—even after everything. I never thought Garrett was capable of hurting a fly though, and he took Sam’s death so hard…”

I nodded, a lump growing in my throat. “Maybe I should talk to him,” I said, my hands beginning to sweat. “See where his head is at with all this. Lucas has always run his mouth, and if it starts getting around…”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Blaze cut in, his voice stern. “You might be a lawyer, but you’ll just impede the investigation—or put yourself in danger. You need to just leave the guy alone. I already warned you, Beth.”

I narrowed my gaze at him, the dried tears on my cheeks feeling sticky. “I know not to impede an investigation. I do this stuff for a living. Besides, for all you know, I could get information to help with the case.”

“Are you sure?” Blaze’s lips curled upward as he continued. “Because rumor has it that you’ve started a new career as a stunt driver.”

There was a moment of silence between all three of us there on the porch, and then I burst into laughter, Mom and Blaze joining me... After all, if I didn’t laugh, I might just keep crying.

And I had already made my mind up.

I wanted answers…

Abouteverything.

Chapter 17

I stared at my phone,knowing that what I was about to do would throw me headlong into the past—and that wasmychoice. I was the one seekinghimout this time. With a deep breath, I hit the call button. The phone rang twice, and then connected.

“Hello?” Garrett’s voice brought back an instant flood of emotion, and I bit down on my lip, reminding myself of Blaze’s words. Hecouldbe dangerous.

“Hey, it’s Beth,” I began, closing the door of my childhood room. It had been turned into a guest bedroom but being on the phone with Garrett within its four walls almost felt like de ja vu. “I was wondering if we could talk again.”

He was silent for a few beats. “How did you get this number?”

I frowned. “You gave it to me.”

“I watched you throw it away.” His tone was flat, almost monotone. “So, I gotta say, I’m surprised you’re calling me—and trying to run over people, apparently.” The influx in his voice brought a small smileto my face.

“For the record, I didn’t try to run him over, but where are you? I can come to you.”

“Uh, home. You probably don’t know where that is though.” He stumbled over his words, and I couldn’t tell if he was drinking or nervous for whatever reason. “I’ll send you the address.”

I ran my hands down the front of my jeans. “Maybe we should meet somewhere in public.”

“Why? I mean, I can come to your place? Would that be better for you?”

“No,” I said quickly, thinking of Blaze, who was somewhere on the ranch. The subject of me speaking with Garrett hadn’t been brought up again since the moment on the porch, and while I didn’t know Blaze all that well still, I couldn’t see him satisfied with being a bystander.

“What do you want to do then?” Garrett’s voice was tinged with exasperation. “We can just talk on the phone, if that’s what you’re more comfortable with.”

“I…” My voice trailed off as I sighed. “I’ll just come over. Text me the address.” With that, I hung up, tossing my phone down on the bed. It immediately pinged with a text message, and I flipped it over, reading off the unfamiliar information.

I left the phone on the bed while I changed, trying to decide what to wear. I ended up choosing a pair of dark wash jeans and a black T-shirt, deciding casual was a better idea. The last thing I wanted him to think was that I was…interested.Though, that hadn’t come up yet. Sure, there was admission of having loved each other, but that was it.

And that was past tense.

I threw on a pair of my tennis shoes, smoothed out my hair, and headed downstairs, scanning the area for annoying cowboysas I hit the bottom floor. Much to my relief, no one was around—not even my mom. I slipped out of the house and this time, went for my black SUV instead of the old truck. I wanted toquietlyexit the ranch, not draw attention to my leaving.

The lights of the arena cast an eerie glow across the yard as I popped open the driver’s side door, and for a moment, I wondered why they were on, given that the riding area was empty. However, as I stood a little longer, I heard laughter coming from the barn. Glancing down at my watch to see it was nearly nine-thirty, I took a deep breath, and climbed in my car.

Thankfully, the drive to Garrett’s house only took about ten minutes, and that was taking main roads only. It would’ve been faster to cut across on the backroads, but something in my gut was telling me that was a bad idea for whatever reason.