Hard Evidence by Roxanne Rustand Read Free Book Online Page B

met with surly defiance.
    Michael tried another tack. “So, did you check with Janna about horseback riding?”
    Ian lifted a shoulder.
    “Janna said you could ride Frosty around here, if you’d like.” He found it easier to interrogate a suspect than to initiate a conversation with his son when Ian wasn’t in the mood, and the good times were few and far between these days. “Didn’t she say her sister would be back from a pack trip on Saturday? We’ll have to go on some long trail rides.”
    A faint tinge of pink rose in the boy’s face. “Whatever.”
    Realization dawned, too late. “You know, we wouldn’t go far—just an hour or so. If you were comfortable, then we’d go a lot longer the next—”
    “Don’t treat me like some cripple,” Ian snarled. He vaulted awkwardly out of the porch swing, staggered at the sudden weight thrust onto his bad leg and caught himself against the porch railing. “Just leave me alone .”
    Michael automatically launched forward to help him, then froze, knowing it would only make matters worse if he interfered. “Ian—”
    “No, Dad,” Ian bit out. “I don’t need your help.”
    He straightened, squared his shoulders and managed to affect a casual saunter the length of the porch, then disappeared into the lodge, letting the screen door swing shut behind him with a resounding smack.
    Michael rubbed his face, then leaned forward and rested his forehead against his palm as guilt, coupled with a deep sense of failure, settled in his midsection.
    The screen door squealed, and he looked up to find Janna approaching with two tall glasses.
    She walked to the end of the porch and handed him one, then leaned a hip against the porch and saluted him with the other. “You look like a man who could use a good, stiff iced tea.”
    “You overheard?”
    “No, but I saw him stomp through the lobby and go up to his room. He looked upset.” She tilted her head toward the windows looking out onto the porch. “And then I noticed you were out here.”
    “Just another successful conversation,” he said wearily. He took a long, slow swallow of tea. “One of many that have ended exactly the same way.”
    “It has to be tough.”
    “The poor kid’s life totally changed the day of the accident. He’s been through more surgeries and more pain than anyone should have to bear.”
    “And it has to be awfully tough on you, too.”
    Surprised, Michael looked up and found her eyes warm and understanding. “I’m not the one who got hurt.”
    “But I know you feel every bit of his pain, and that it has to be tough dealing with his emotional issues.” A corner of her mouth lifted in a wry smile. “I remember all too well how stormy teen years can be. Coupled with everything else, well…I know it can’t be easy. I think you’re doing a great job with him.”
    Her words bit deep. “Tell that to his grandparents.”
    “Are they…quite involved?”
    “You mean overbearing?” He closed his eyes briefly against the memory of their most recent visit. “No. They mean well. They’re good people. If they could, they’d wrap him in cotton wool and never let him out of their sight. Since Elise died…well, Ian is all they have of her now.”
    Janna drew in a sharp breath. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”
    “My wife and I separated three years ago. I tried to reconcile many times, but…” He hesitated, wanting to honor her memory despite the fact that she’d certainly never honored her own marriage vows. “She wanted more in life than to be the wife of a homicide detective, and I suppose I can’t blame her for that.”
    Janna rubbed at the condensation on her glass with a thumb. “Poor Ian…and you, too. How did she die?”
    He’d known the question would come up, sooner or later, but as many times as he’d had to answer it, he still felt his throat thicken and his heart wrench over what Ian would have to carry for the rest of his life.
    “The car accident.”
    “Oh,