She heard the old anger in his voice and slipped an arm around his lean waist. “Colby, even if you’re right, you’re overlooking something. The prank was played on me, not you.“
“I hate to break this to you, Diana, but you’re a logical target.“
“Why?“
“Because everyone in town knows you belong to me.“
“Don’t be ridiculous!“ Indignantly, Diana started to pull away from him. His arms tightened, drawing her firmly back against his side. “I don’t belong to anyone.“
But Colby wasn’t paying any attention to her protest. His brows were knit together in a frown of concentration. “It would be easy enough for almost any of these turkeys around here to figure out that the surest method of getting back at me would be through you.“
“Colby, that is an illogical assumption, but even if we go ahead and assume it for the sake of argument, we’re still stuck with the question of who would do such a thing.“
“Well, for starters, we know it’s someone who read Shock Value.“
“Hah. From what I understand, that includes just about everybody around here. Why, even this morning Margaret Fulbrook told me she’d read one of your books---“ Diana floundered to a halt as Colby pinned her with a sharp glare.
“You talked to Margaret Fulbrook today?“
“She was just coming out of the post office as I was going in. We exchanged a few words.“
“About the weather?“
“No, damn it, not about the weather.“ Diana sighed. “She wanted to know if I’d met her grandson.“
“What did you tell her?“
“The truth, of course. I told her Brandon was a very charming, intelligent young man.“ Diana paused and then added tentatively, “I think she’d like to meet him, Colby.“
“I’ll see her in hell before I let her near Brandon.“
“Oh, Colby, be reasonable. She’s an old woman and she doesn’t have much left.“
“That’s her problem. Don’t waste your pity on her, Diana. She doesn’t deserve it.“ Colby swallowed more beer.
“But I suppose we could start our list of possible pranksters with her. God knows she thinks she’s got reason enough to hate me. And she knows about you.“
Diana winced, remembering the woman’s warning to her earlier. Stay away from Colby Savagar. He has no right to happiness of any kind. No point mentioning that bit of vindictiveness to Colby. He’d pounce on it as evidence of Margaret Fulbrook’s guilt. Diana went for logic.
“She’s an old woman, Colby. Whoever did this had to rush out here while I was in town.“
“She’s got Harry to run her around. Harry always felt honored to run errands for the Fulbrooks. Old man Fulbrook sent him after me when Cynthia said she was pregnant. Harry was real happy with the job.“
Diana’s eyes widened. “Fulbrook sent Harry after you? Why?“
“Why do you think? To beat some sense into me. Get me to leave town. Harry was twenty years younger then and built like an ox. And he never did like me in the first place.“
“What happened?“
“He caught up with me outside the old Rawlins place. I’d been out talking to Eddy Spooner, and I was on my way back to Aunt Jesse’s. Harry blocked the road with one of the Fulbrook trucks and when I stopped, he got out and pulled me out of my car. Said he was going to give me what I had coming to me. Then he started swinging a length of pipe at my head.“
“My God, Colby.“
“Fortunately he missed on the first swing, and I didn’t give him a chance to get lucky with the second one. He was big, but he wasn’t very fast on his feet. The trick to handling guys like Harry the Ox is to have a sucker punch up your sleeve. I managed to kick him where it would do the most good. He went down yelling. I jumped in the car and got out of there. Nobody could catch me in a car in those days.“ Colby paused reflectively. “Sucker wrecked my windshield with that first swing of the pipe, though. I never collected from him for the damage.“
Diana was shaken. “Maybe we have to add Harry to the list.“
“Uh-huh. I’m afraid he’s one of many.“
“Colby, for Pete's sake, what did you do as a kid? Run around getting into fights with everyone in town?“
He flashed her an outrageous grin. “From my point of view, it was the other way around. Everyone was always trying to pick a fight with me.“
“And you obliged.“
He shrugged. “Sure. Why not?“
Diana lightly punched his shoulder. “You big macho idiot. You enjoyed your reputation, didn’t you? You liked being a local legend. No wonder you’ve got a list of non-friends a mile long. How are we ever going to figure out who put those weeds in my vase?“
“Violence will accomplish nothing. At least, not violence against me.“ Colby made a production out of rubbing his wounded shoulder. Then his eyes grew thoughtful once more. “That’s a hell of a good question. Gossip travels fast in a town like this. Eddy Spooner may have heard something down at the gas station. I’ll talk to him. In the meantime, whenever I’m not around, make sure you keep that stupid hound of yours close. He should be capable of defending you against the kind of creep who plays practical jokes.“
Specter wrinkled his nose.
“I think you’ve offended him,“ Diana said.
“Not a chance. Dog’s not smart enough to figure out when he’s been insulted. Now, about dinner tonight.“
“What about it?“
“I was hoping you’d help me baby-sit. To tell you the truth, things are a little tense over at my place. Dear little Robyn is not happy with me.“
“Why not?“
“Probably because she knows what you already figured out. My son isn’t all that enthusiastic about marriage. I think you’re right, Diana. I think he’s gotten himself into a tangle, and he’s looking for a polite way out. We had a long talk this morning.“
Diana frowned. “If Robyn thinks she’s losing Brandon, she’s bound to be upset.“
“Tell me about it. The kid looks at me as if I were an ogre. She’s stopped telling me how fabulous my books are, too.“
Diana grinned. “Ah, the fickle public.“
“You’ll come over for dinner?“
“Why don’t the three of you come over here? Maybe a change of scene will relieve the tension. You think Robyn and Brandon will like stir-fry?“