“Nope. The marshals have plainclothes pairs combing the area.” I hoped they found him before he moved on and caused more damage. “We’ll know soon enough.”
He nodded and we ate in silence until our plates were empty and our bellies were full. It was the thing I most enjoyed about hanging out with men, they didn’t talk unnecessarily. “Good. The training this weekend should be interesting.”
I laughed. “You don’t have to make small talk with me.”
“Thank god,” he said on a groan, dropping back against the booth. “Ginger talks all the time, but not just to fill the silence—which means I have to listen. It’s exhausting.”
“Keep her naked.” That’s what I did when a woman wanted to talk too much or when she wanted to talk about things we didn’t need to discuss. “Works every time.”
Tyson laughed, and we paid the bill and headed outside. “That’s not our problem, Jackson.”
“Doesn’t have to be problem to have an easy solution.”
He laughed again and clapped me on the back. “No wonder you’re my best detective—your mind is twisted, man.”
I frowned and shoved him away. “I’m you’re only detective.” The only one officially holding the title and the rank, anyway.
“Details,” he said, waving me off. “I’m heading to see Ginger. What are you doing this afternoon?”
“Going to scare the heck out of a couple teenagers selling weed behind Bo’s place after hours.” Life in Tulip was a far cry from life in Milwaukee, size aside, but trouble didn’t discriminate. The difference was that here in Tulip the kids were good, and could be run off by a stern talking-to, which made my job easy. Well, easier.
“Keep me posted,” Tyson said and turned toward the Gazette office with a smile. He was a new man since hooking up with Ginger, and a happy boss was always preferable to a grumpy one.
The afternoon was bright and shiny, and I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my shift in the car with the warm breeze on my skin. Keeping the peace meant something different in this place, and I looked forward to patrolling the streets and showing my face.
Even if it was to a foursome of meddling women with enough sass to fill the entire state. “Afternoon, ladies. Aren’t you late for lunch at Reese’s?”
“Look at him girls, keepin’ tabs on us. Should we be flattered or worried?” Eddy arched a brow and smiled like she wanted to eat me up, which might have been flattering if she wasn’t old enough to be my grandmother.
“Neither, just stopping to say hello.”
Elizabeth Vargas stepped forward and patted my cheek. “You’re a good boy, even if you are a skirt chaser.”
“Not me, ma’am. You must have me confused with someone else.” I didn’t have a thick southern accent to lay on, but I had more than enough charm. So my Ma used to tell me.
She huffed out a laugh and shook her head. “Too much charm and too good-looking, that’s your problem.”
“Is that a problem? Sounds like a good one to have, if you ask me.”
When Helen smiled and patted me on the shoulder, I realized my mistake. They had me surrounded. “I’m glad you said that, because I have a friend who needs someone with just your expertise to show her niece a good time.”
I took a step back, right into Betty Kemp, and groaned an apology. “No, thanks. I’m not even from Texas but I hear this town is full of guys who were born and raised here.” A creepy number, in fact, considering I didn’t still know anyone I went to high school with.
“Nonsense,” Betty said, wrapping an arm around my bicep. “You’re a man of the law, so she knows she’ll be safe.”
“And handsome as sin, just in case she’s got something other than her safety on her mind,” Eddy added suggestively.
And that was more than enough for me. “Have a good day, ladies, and stay out of trouble.” I gave each of them a pointed look that I knew they would ignore, because the four of them were worse than any gang of criminals. Thankfully, their crime of choice was forcing perfectly happy to be single men to fall in love.
It was disgusting, but it wasn’t illegal.
Unless they tried to match me. Then, I’d lock them all up.
Reese
“Anyone ever tell you that this is, hands down, the best potato salad I’ve ever had?” Rafe sat on the counter in my kitchen with an oversized bowl filled with potato salad in his hand.
“You, like five minutes ago. I think maybe you have horseradish-induced forgetfulness.” The man was like a bloodhound, able to sniff out freshly-made food from a mile away. “I’m glad you like it, but I hope the boys in blue love it.”
“Any boy in blue in particular?” Rafe’s attempt at looking innocent was about the funniest thing I’d seen all morning.
“Nope. But the city pays its bills on time, and those are perfect customers. Finish up, I need to get going.” I had about twenty minutes to get enough food to feed a few dozen police officers over to the community center and set up before they made an appearance.
“I’m done. For now.” He jumped off the table and made a big show of wiping his mouth even though he actually didn’t need to. “Let’s go.”
“You don’t have to help me just because you ate a pound of potato salad. In fact, you might slow me down.”
Rafe crossed his arms and gave me the look. “I’m helping, so shut up about it.”
“Fine. And thank you. I guess.”
“The gratitude is astonishing!” He followed me to my beloved BBQ van, two boxes in his arms compared to my one.
It wasn’t easy for me to accept help, not even from Rafe who offered it so easily. So effortlessly. But I was learning. “You know what I mean. Thank you. That’s it, no qualifiers.”
“You’re welcome. And I’m helping because showing off my muscles while doing good helps me with the ladies.” I didn’t believe that for one second, but I let him believe I did.
“Happy to help.” The drive was short but necessary, since it would take at least two trips to get all the food and utensils into the long and winding building. “So, what’s new with you?”
“Not much. Working on my sauces for the cook-off. What about you? Seeing anyone new?”
I let out a loud laugh and pulled into a parking spot right against the community center building. “Where would I find the time? Or the man?”
Living in a small town made dating difficult, since there were almost no new men in town, and when there were… well, they weren’t all they were cracked up to be.
“There’s always time.”
“If you want there to be, yes. I don’t.”
“I know.” Rafe hopped from the van and went to the back to start unloading, where I joined him a moment later. “I’m just curious why. You’re cute and when you show it off, you have a pretty bangin’ body. You’re the best cook I know, which begs the question—why are you single?”
I grabbed two small boxes that contained several of my side dishes and we walked inside. “You remember me from back in the day? Shy and weird and awkward? Still true today, only significantly less charming at our age.” It wasn’t a pretty sight and the boys agreed, keeping a good distance between me and them until… well, let’s just say for a good long while.
“Teenage boys have a very set definition of the kind of girl they want.”
He was trying to be nice and I appreciated it, but I’d made it a rule to never lie to myself. “You mean pretty and popular and charming? How odd.”
“Smart ass.” He bumped my shoulder and opened the door that led into the small utility room the sheriff had booked for meals and rest. “This is it?”
Though I agreed with Rafe’s assessment, I shrugged it off. “All you need is a chair and a table to enjoy Reese’s Famous BBQ.”
“You don’t have to tell me. Just put a stack of napkins and an ice-cold beer beside me and it’s my very own picture of heaven.”
“All of your women will be devastated to hear that.” He gave me an affronted l
ook that made me laugh. “But they won’t hear it from me.”
“That’s my girl.” He flashed his beautiful smile and I grinned back, wishing it did something more than make me wish I was attracted to him in that way. “Where is everyone?”
It was a good question. I looked around the empty room with a frown. Tyson had assured me someone would be here to receive the food. “Anyone here?”
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Rafe snorted under his breath.
“Shut up and go see if you can find anyone. I’ll stay here with the invoice.” When he continued to stare at me, confused, I shooed him away. “Go!”
“You’re bossy,” he complained.
“You’re slow. Imagine if these police boys saw how slowly you dragged ass around here?” I smiled when that lit a fire under him, and he left me alone in the big empty room. It was the perfect time to arrange the food on the long tables that had—thankfully—been set up earlier in the day.
I unloaded the chicken and ribs, each with my signature sauces, along with some side dishes, biscuits, and cornbread. It was the perfect Texas treat, and hearty enough for whatever they’d been doing all day.
“You wanted to see me?”
The sound of Jackson’s voice startled me and I froze, taking a moment to compose myself before I turned to face him. “Are you the person assigned to receive the food?”
He glanced over my shoulder and licked his lips. “I am.”
“Then, yes, you are who I wanted to see. Just sign this and we’ll be on our way.”
“Right,” he grunted and accepted the clipboard and paper to sign. “It was nice of your boyfriend to take time out of his schedule to help you.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Come off it, Detective. We both know that Rafe and I are just friends, unless you’re unfamiliar with the word friend where women are concerned? It’s when two people—”
“I know what it is,” he growled, cutting off my words with his dark stare.
“My bad.” I turned back to the table, stacking plasticware and napkins just as the doors opened and men and women filtered in, wearing athletic clothing bearing the name of dozens of different police departments. “Just sign there, please.”
“The whole town thinks you’re dating. You know that, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “I know the truth and so does Rafe. What everyone else thinks is no business of mine.”
“Could hurt your efforts to find a husband and get your white picket fence.” He was fishing, and trying to get a rise out of me. I knew that. But still, his words bothered me.
“Who says that’s what I want? And if someone can’t accept my friendship with Rafe, then they probably aren’t worth my time anyway.”
Jackson stared at me for a long time, his hazel eyes seeing way more than they should. He seemed to just absorb that information, giving away nothing. “I wonder if he’d place the same value on your friendship.”
“Doesn’t matter. He has plenty of friends and I don’t, but Rafe’s been a true friend to me. Maybe that doesn’t mean a thing to you, Detective, but it means a lot to me.”
“You don’t know me—” he began, and I cut him off.
“And you don’t know me, either. Remember that.” Angry and frustrated, I dumped the towelettes on the table in a heap and stormed off, upset that I’d let him get to me. Again.
“Everything all right?”
I glanced up at Rafe’s concerned frown and nodded. “Just peachy. Ready to go?”
He nodded and held his hand out, wiggling his fingers. “Only if I drive. You seem angry, and I’m not in the mood for blood or stitches.”
“Party pooper,” I groaned and tossed him the keys. “Thanks. Again.”
“No problem. It was worth it just to learn who gets your panties all twisted in a bunch.”
“No one does anything to my panties!” Ever.
“What a pity.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Jackson
I sat in the park doing a good job of pretending to be people-watching when the truth was that I was watching two very specific people. Teenaged people who fancied themselves as gangsters. Wannabe gangsters, anyway. Right now, it was just pills they’d stolen from their parents and the other people in town, but if they went unchecked, it would get worse. A lot worse. The money was too alluring for any other outcome.
I watched and took notes, snapped the occasional photo, and they were completely oblivious—which was just another reason they didn’t have what it took for a life of crime.
“Jackson, there you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Except here,” I muttered under my breath, because Janey was easily excitable. I suspected she thrived on drama. “What’s up, Janey?”
She snorted and took the seat beside me. “You know exactly what’s up. The only Hometown Hero harder to pin down than you is Rafe.”
Rafe. Again. “You found me. Now what?”
She flashed that girl-next-door grin that hid the will of a lioness. “Your assignment, should you choose to accept it—and you will, because you’re a good guy—is to be Reese’s number two in the upcoming cook-off.”
Reese’s number two. “Nothing else I can do?”
“No.” She let out a long sigh as if preparing to combat my rejections. “Don’t worry, Reese won’t be expecting you to actually cook. Just assist.”
“I didn’t think she would, but uh, did you clear this with Reese yet?” It didn’t sound like something she’d agree to, based on my experiences with her. But Janey had a way of making people do exactly what she wanted regardless.
“No, but I will. Soon. Besides, I happen to know Maven has a big project coming up and won’t be able to put in any extra hours.” The fact that Janey knew so much shouldn’t be surprising, but somehow, the way gossip flowed in this town always managed to shock me.
It seemed everything was already settled. “Then I guess I have my assignment, don’t I.”
Her shoulders sank in relief. “Thanks for not being difficult about this, Jackson. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. It’s for a good cause, right?”
“Exactly! And we’re in the home stretch, so close I can already see Tulip all gleaming and proud in the sunlight.” Always the idealist.
“Send me the details and I’ll be there.”
Janey flashed a grateful smile and pushed off the wooden bench, sending me a wave as she bounced her way out of the park.
I didn’t know what the hell it entailed to assist Reese, but I’d take any one-on-one time I could get with her—maybe I could change her mind about me. Definitely get another night with her, and possibly even find out what I did to piss her off so badly. That was for another day. Now, my focus was on Tobias Slater and Mack Murray, wannabe gangsters in training.
Except my phone chose that exact moment to ring and it was a ringtone I didn’t hear often, which meant I had to answer it. “Ma. What’s up?”
There was a long pause, just long enough to make me wonder what had prompted today’s call when I hadn’t spoken to her in six months. At least. “It’s Steve. He’s had a heart attack.”
Good. I know it’s not exactly the response you’d expect when a man hears his stepfather was gravely ill, but Steve was Ma’s husband. End of story. “I’m sorry to hear that, Ma. How are you holding up?”
“Fine.” She said it on that exhausted sigh that’s been her tone ever since Steve came into our lives. “He comes home from the hospital tomorrow and I’ve spent the day getting things ready.” Which meant she’d been cooking his favorite dishes, cleaning, and probably making sure to record all the sporting events he’d missed yelling at while he was laid up.
There was nothing I could say to make her slow down, but I had to try. “Just make sure you don’t run yourself ragged, Ma, or there will be no one to take care of either of you.”
“I went for a long walk this morning to clear my head and stretch these old bones.”
“Good to hear. If you need anything, Ma…”
“Thank you, Jackie. Maybe, I don’t know, maybe you could come for a visit soon?”
I laughed, but it wasn’t mean-spirited. “I’m pretty sure the doctor told Steve to take it easy, and we both know a visit from me won’t help him with that.”
We never got along, Steve and I, not from the moment he walked into our two-bedroom apartment thinking he was the king of our castle when he barely kept a job to help pay the bills.
“I just wish you two would get along.”
I knew she did and if I could, I would. But the guy was intolerable. “That ship has sailed, Ma. How are you? Really?”
She sighed, and the sound was heavy and tired. “I’m all right, I guess. Thought I might enjoy retirement a little more than I am, but otherwise I’m good.”
She could enjoy her retirement more if Steve wasn’t a lazy piece of crap who spent all the money and never made any. But I couldn’t say that.
“If you need something, Ma, just for you, I’m here. Always. I hope you know that.”
“I’m fine, Jackie,” she insisted, with a little too much of a tremor in her voice. “Tell me about you. How’s Texas? You have a girlfriend down there yet?”
I smiled and shook my head, even though I knew she couldn’t see me. “I don’t have time for that right now, Ma. We’ve got a bad guy on the loose, so things are crazy right now.”
She snorted. “I don’t believe that for one second. You’re just too busy down there, sowing oats or whatever.”
“Ugh, Ma. Please.” I needed to think of something else to talk about. Fast. “The calendar is just about done and I found out I’m helping a local chef in a county-wide cook-off.”
“Oh, the calendar! I’ve already pre-ordered five for me and the girls and I can’t wait to see you and your friends. Based on the Facebook page, they sure grow them handsome down there.”
“Ma,” I groaned, but I was happy to talk about something, anything other than Steve. Or my love life.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m just happy to see you settling into life in Tulip, even if it is so far away.”
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