Mary Jo frowned. "So?"
Ma looked at her. "Mary Jo, did ya ever think Mr. Monroe might be one of them thar under cover detectives?"
Mary Jo stared at her mother. It had crossed her mind earlier. Was it possible? She frowned. "What would he be investigating?"
Ma looked at her like she should be able to figure that out.
"Drugs? A drug ring?"
"Well," Ma said. "If he is, you know we gotta help him."
"Why?"
Ma gave her a stern look. "Fer Jim Bob's sake."
In her room, Mary Jo studied on the problem. She didn't want to believe that Monroe was an undercover police officer. That would mean disregarding everything he had told her about himself. Of course, he could have made it all up, but he seemed so sincere. Maybe that was because she wanted to believe him. Still, there was an uncle Del, and he did own a lumber company…but that could have been made up too. It would be easy to make a magnetic sign and stick it on the side of the car. Then there was the gun - not a hunting gun, but a pistol with a shoulder holster where the gun could be hidden.
If she believed he had made everything up, she'd have to believe he feigned interest in her as well. - just when she was starting to feel warm and cozy about him.
He could have said he owned the lumber company. Why bother to spin a long tale when a short one would have worked as well? Then there was the artificial leg. He sure wasn't faking that - or the accident and concussion. If he was going to pretend he was looking for trees, there would be no point in running off the road. He said his career as a forest ranger had been destroyed by the loss of a leg. Wouldn't the requirements for a policeman be similar?
She glanced out her window. She still had an hour or so before it got dark. She'd ride over there and ask him. Surely he was back by now.
Ma saw her as she started out the back door. "I thought you did the chores all ready."
Mary Jo paused with her hand on the door knob. "I did, but…I keep thinking about Mr. Monroe. I don't believe he lied to me. I want to talk to him."
Ma's brows came down. "Now Mary Jo, it ain't proper for a lady to go chasin' a man. It gives them ideas."