He wouldn’t hire Smith now, though. Not after what he’d learned. No way in hell would he offer a job to a known thief.
Grady had discovered everything he needed to know about Laredo Smith in his short conversation with Earl Chesterton. He wanted Smith off his land as soon as possible and as far away from Savannah as could be arranged. Frank would understand, and because the sheriff was fond of Savannah, he’d be eager to help Grady send him packing.
His sister’s words—Don’t ruin this for me—echoed in Grady’s head, and although he believed he was making the right choice, he felt a sense of guilt. The last thing he wanted was to see Savannah hurt. He wanted to get rid of this drifter, but he had to manage it in such a way that Savannah would agree it was the only prudent course of action.
For that he needed Frank Hennessey’s help.
Grady considered it his duty to protect his sister. She claimed she knew everything necessary about Laredo; Grady doubted that. A thief was a thief, and if Smith had stolen once, he’d steal again. Grady strongly suspected this cowboy had tangled with the authorities on more than one occasion. That was what he intended to find out from Frank Hennessey. Faced with the raw truth, Savannah would have no qualms about sending Smith on his way.
Grady found Frank Hennessey relaxing at his oak desk, feet propped on the edge and hat lowered over his eyes as he enjoyed a midafternoon snooze. Frank had represented the law in Promise for as long as Grady could remember, and while an able lawman, he took business in his stride.
Grady closed the door a little harder than necessary and Frank used his index finger to lift his Stetson off his forehead just enough to let him take a peek at his visitor.
“Howdy.” Frank greeted him lazily with the familiarity that years of friendship allowed. “What can I do for you, Grady?”
Grady hesitated, unsure how to begin. At last he blurted, “I’ve got trouble.”
The older man’s smile faded and he slowly straightened. “What kind of trouble?”
Grady removed his hat and rubbed a hand across his brow. “I need to ask a favor of you, Frank. Now, I know you wouldn’t normally do this sort of thing, but it’s the only way I can think of to save Savannah.”
“What’s wrong with Savannah?” Frank asked abruptly, gesturing toward the hard wooden chair that sat alongside his desk.
It gave Grady no pleasure to drag family business into the open; however, he had no choice but to involve Frank. “You’ve heard about Savannah hiring a drifter to work in her rose garden?”
Frank’s mouth angled into a half smile. “The story’s been all around town twice by now, and Dovie was full of the news.” He paused to chuckle appreciatively. “Apparently Dovie didn’t think Savannah had it in her to stand up to you.”
Grady hated the thought of folks talking about Savannah behind her back and let Frank know his feelings on the matter with a dark scowl.
Apparently Frank got the message because he cleared his throat and looked apologetic. “You know how women love to gossip,” he said with a disapproving frown—although it was well-known that the sheriff wasn’t opposed to indulging in the habit himself.
The fact that the news had spread all over town complicated things. Grady figured all he could do now was get to the point and leave the problem in Frank’s capable hands.
“I don’t trust him. First off, I’ve got to think Smith’s a phony name.”
“He might have picked something more original than Smith if that’s the case, don’t you think?” Frank asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Why he chose that name isn’t the point,” Grady argued. “‘Laredo Smith’ sounds about as real as a three-dollar bill.”
“Other than not liking his name, have you got a reason not to trust him?” Frank asked next.
“Plenty.” Surely Frank didn’t think he’d come to him over something trivial! “Smith mentioned that he last worked for Earl Chesterton on the Triple C over in Williamsburg, so I called Earl and talked to him myself. Found out Earl fired Laredo Smith for stealing.” He spit out the last word. Even saying it left a bad taste in his mouth.
Frank’s eyebrows lifted. “Why didn’t Earl press charges?”
“I asked him that myself.” The other rancher would have saved Grady a great deal of trouble if he had. “Apparently it was one man’s word against another’s and no way to prove who was telling the truth and who wasn’t. Earl fired them both.”
“I see,” Frank murmured. “Seems to me that if Smith had something to hide, he wouldn’t have mentioned working on the Triple C.”
Grady sighed and wondered why no one else viewed the situation with the same concern he did. “I’m asking you to do a background check on Smith,” he said, and realized he was expecting a great deal of their friendship. Frank had every right to deny his request, but Grady hoped he wouldn’t.
The sheriff frowned and his chair creaked noisily as he leaned back and considered Grady’s request. “I understand you’re worried about Savannah and I can’t say I blame you. Your sister is one of the most kindhearted people I know, and if this saddle bum hurts her, he’ll have me and half the town to deal with.”
“You’ll do it, then?” Grady said with relief.
“I’ll check him out,” Frank said reluctantly.
The two exchanged handshakes and Grady left. On his way out of town, he decided to stop off at the post office and talk to Caroline. If he couldn’t get through to his sister, maybe her best friend could. Reversing direction, he headed down Maple, then sat in the parking lot, debating the wisdom of his decision. In the past year or so he’d begun to notice Caroline Daniels. She was younger than Savannah, and while they’d been friends for several years, he’d always thought of her as a kid. For some time now it’d become difficult to view Caroline as anything but an attractive woman.
However, Caroline was also opinionated and headstrong. More often than not, her views clashed with his own, and as a result, they argued frequently. Another problem existed, as well.
Maggie.
Grady enjoyed the five-year-old, but for reasons he didn’t understand, the little girl was terrified of him. Savannah babysat her on Monday nights while Caroline did volunteer work, and it had reached the point that Grady stayed out of sight rather than intimidate the little girl.
Things being what they were, it was a risk to ask for Caroline’s help, but one he was willing to take. More than anything, asking Caroline to join forces with him proved how desperate he’d grown to get Savannah to see reason.
Thankfully Caroline was alone when he approached the front counter.
“Hello, Grady,” she said, glancing up from the mail she was sorting.
“Have you had lunch yet?” he asked.
Her eyes widened—but she was no more surprised by his invitation than he was himself.
“It’s three-thirty.”
“Coffee, then,” he suggested gruffly, feeling gauche for not looking at the time. No wonder his stomach growled; he’d missed lunch entirely. Which also went to show how desperate he’d become.
“I don’t suppose it’d hurt if I took a few minutes off,” she said, and set the mail aside.
Definitely curious, Caroline invited him behind the counter. She located a clean mug for him in the back room and filled his cup and her own. “What’s on your mind?” she asked.
“Savannah.” Grady couldn’t see any need to beat around the bush. “I’m worried about her and that drifter.”
“He has a name,” Caroline said, stirring a spoonful of sugar into her coffee.
“Sure. Smith.”
“Laredo Smith.”
“All right, Laredo Smith,” he said impatiently. Grady didn’t know what it was about Caroline that attracted and irritated him at the same time. Lately he found it difficult to carry on a decent conversation with the woman, although he did actually like her.