Her bright blue-painted eyes narrowed into a squint. “You can take that professionalism, roll it into a tiny ball, and shove it right up your keister! You should be ashamed of yourself, Lincoln Sheppard. Lord knows I sure as hell am.”
“It’s not what you think, Roxanne.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, Linc. But it’s not just me. The whole damn town is buzzin’ with this. And that little tart Sue Ellen won’t stop runnin’ her mouth about Eden, spreadin’ her special brand of nasty as far as she can.”
My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth might crack as I growled, “What?”
“Oh please. Like you don’t know that girl’s got a mouth on her. How you were stupid enough to get tied up with her still stumps me to this day.”
“It was one fuckin’ night.”
“Yeah, well, some women can’t let shit go, and clearly she’s one of ’em. I’d bet my paycheck she’s had poor Eden in her sights since she hit your radar, and because of you, she got just the ammunition she’s been lookin’ for.”
My hands curled into fists, and I propped them on my desk and leaned in. “What exactly is she saying?”
“That Eden’s brother’s the one who broke into all those houses and killed Martin Henderson, and that she’s been hiding him away from the police. She’s even insinuated that Eden was in on the robberies.” My vision turned blood red as Roxanne continued to talk. “Mind you, no one who’s spoken five words to the girl believes it for even a second, but that’s not stoppin’ Sue Ellen from tryin’ to drag her name through the mud.”
“I’ll take care of Sue Ellen,” I informed her, my words razor edged with rage. “And I’ll set people straight.”
That seemed to placate her, but only mildly. “Well I suggest you get on that. And get on fixin’ things with Eden, ’cause I gotta tell you, word’s gotten to Bryce, and I can see it in his eyes. He’s itchin’ to make a move.”
Fuck me. Like I didn’t already have enough on my plate as it was, just trying to track my woman down.
“I’ll deal with Bryce.”
She pointed at me in warning. “That man’s your brother, so I suggest you handle with care. Don’t ‘deal with it,’” she said, using finger quotes, “in your usual way that’ll burn bridges in a way you can’t rebuild.”
Standing tall, I crossed my arms. “You give him the same talk? ’Cause I’m not the one tryin’ to move in on another man’s woman.”
“Yeah? Well as far as everyone’s concerned, she’s not really your woman, now is she? And you got no one to blame for that but yourself.”
Then after thoroughly putting me in my place, she turned and left.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lincoln
I pulled into my driveway and killed the engine. I could hear Rocky barking and pawing at the front door, but I had something to take care of first.
Jogging across the street, I headed for Nona’s house, taking the porch steps in a leap before knocking on her front door. I waited… and waited, then knocked again.
When she finally opened up, I could tell by the look on her face that Eden had filled her in on everything.
“What do you want?” Hostility rolled off her and slammed into me with the force of a tidal wave.
“Where is she?”
“Pfft,” she snorted, “like I’d tell you. Now get the hell off my porch.”
My hand shot out to catch the door as she tried to slam it in my face. “Nona, please.” She allowed it to open a little farther and leaned against the jamb, watching me speculatively. “I need to find her. She’s not answering any of my calls.”
“Can you really blame her?” she snapped, pain for her friend stark in her eyes. “You didn’t see her after what you did. She’s not hurt, Lincoln, she’s destroyed. You did that to her.” My chest squeezed so goddamn tight I couldn’t pull in a full breath. “She’s been through so much, and she finally, finally thought she had something good with this town and with you, and in one fell swoop, you took that all away. Do you have any idea how much she liked you? Of course not.” She answered her own question with a bitter laugh. “If you did, there’s no way in hell you would have played her the way you did. The fact that she could even open herself up to you after what those assholes she calls her family put her through all her life is a testament to just how strong she is. But I’m not sure she’ll be able to let this one go.”
“Look, I might have started this whole thing wrong, but I swear, Nona, it turned into something very, very real. I need to find her so I can tell her that.”
“Well I’m glad you were smart enough to appreciate the light you were lucky enough to have her shine down on you,” she replied with heavy sarcasm, “but that doesn’t excuse your fuckup, and it certainly doesn’t undo the damage you caused. There are consequences to actions, Lincoln. You know that. These are yours, and you’ll just have to deal with them ’cause I’m not telling you where she is. She needed time to clear her head, and I’m not gonna let you disrupt that.”
I rubbed at the back of my neck, failing to loosen the tension that had been coiled there the past few days. I could read it on Nona’s face that I wasn’t going to get any answers out of her. All this conversation had done was make me feel like the biggest asshole in the world. I knew I hurt her, felt that particular blade sink deep into my gut when she looked at me back at the station, but understanding just how bad was pure torture.
My voice was low with defeat as I asked, “Can you at least tell me she’s safe?”
Nona hesitated for a second before nodding. “She is.”
That was going to have to be enough for now. I moved to start back down her porch steps.
“Wait.” When I spun back around with hope filling my lungs, she let out a sigh and brushed her red hair back from her forehead. “She’s probably going to kill me for telling you this, but I can’t stand that hangdog face of yours. She’ll be back tomorrow. No idea what time, but there you go.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Fix this,” she ordered. “She’s one of the best people I know, and I don’t want to lose her. So you make this right, or I swear to god, I’ll rip you a new one, Lincoln Sheppard.”
She slammed the door in my face, but that was okay. At least I knew when Eden would be back.
And I could get down to doing what people had been telling me to do all day—fix what I broke and get my woman back.
* * *
Eden
Four days surrounded by nature and its abundance of beauty had done wonders to help center me after being thrown so off-kilter. I’d hike all day long and set up camp somewhere different each night. The views were inspired, allowing me to wipe my mind clean of all the bad swirling around inside of it.
I wasn’t sure I was ready to go back to the real world yet, but adulthood waited for no one, and I had edits I needed to get back to if I wanted such things as heat and food. Plus, I was in desperate need of a shower. I managed to brush my teeth thanks to bottled water, but bathing hadn’t been an option, unless I wanted to freeze my ass off in an ice-cold lake, and die of hypothermia out there all alone, and with all the hiking, I was starting to get ripe. The hikes were beautiful, but the chilly temps and heavy winds had beaten at me, and I was physically drained.
I waited until late in the afternoon before making the hour-long drive back to Hope Valley, hoping Lincoln would be settled in for the evening and wouldn’t spot me getting home. The thing that pissed me off was that the closer I got to town, the more that nagging ache in my chest that came with missing him grew. I didn’t want to miss him, I didn’t even want to think about him, but apparently that wasn’t an option.
My eyes shifted to his house of their own accord as I drove past, and a pang of longing stabbed at my chest. I jerked my gaze away quickly, pulled into my drive, and turned off the car, then hopped out and went to the trunk to get my pack. I barely had a chance to shut it before a familiar bark froze me in place.
“Shit,” I muttered, turning just in time for Rocky to pounce. It was impossible not to laugh as the exuberant pup jumped all around me like a squirrel on crack. “Hey, bud. How you doing?” I crouched down so he could get a few licks in. “I’ve missed you too, monster.” He shoved his snout against me and sniffed everywhere he could reach. “I know, I know. I stink, but four days in the woods’ll do that to you.”
“So that’s where you’ve been.”
At the sound of Lincoln’s voice, my entire body broke out in goose bumps. I slowly lifted my head and stood, against Rocky’s wishes. Lincoln was dressed in a pair of black running pants with two thick white stripes along the sides, and a black long-sleeved Under Armour shirt that hugged every single one of his muscles. A thin sheen of sweat coated his forehead, and his hair was damp from the run he’d obviously just been on.
Just seeing him hurt like hell.
“Uh, yeah,” I answered, wishing I’d had the foresight to at least slap on a bit of mascara, not that it would have helped much. “I’ve been hiking and camping for a few days. To clear my head.”
His green eyes shined with warmth as he stared at me with a soft expression on his face. “Did it work?”
“For a while,” I answered honestly on a whisper. “Then the real world creeped back in.”
“Edie.” His voice was as gentle as his face, and it cut me down to the quick. “Darlin’, we need to talk.”
He came closer and reached out to touch me but stopped when I took a step back.
“Lincoln,” I said on a sigh that felt as heavy as the weight I was carrying around on my shoulder. “I’m exhausted and dirty. I need a hot bath and my bed.” Reaching up, I combed my fingers through my hair and pressed them deep into my scalp. “Please. I can’t do this with you right now.”
His face hardened with determination. “I’m not goin’ anywhere, Eden. I’m gonna get you to hear me out one of these days.”
Letting out a slightly hysterical laugh, I tilted my head back to the heavens and declared, “For Christ’s sake, Lincoln, there’s nothing to talk about! You’re off the hook. The job’s done. You don’t have to pretend anymore.”
“You think I was pretending?”
I should have taken the sharp edges of his words as warning, but I was exhausted and filthy and weary down to my very bones. “Well I didn’t. I mean, you’re pretty damn good at it.” I laughed with self-deprecation. “You know, I actually thought it was kind of sweet that you wouldn’t sleep with me when I propositioned you. I thought maybe you were too good to be true. Turns out you just weren’t interested.”
All the air was forced from my lungs when Lincoln moved, crushing me between the trunk of my car and his body as his mouth crashed down on mine. My lips parted on a startled gasp and his tongue invaded while one of his hands fisted in my hair, holding on tight as he took the kiss as deep as it could possibly go. My back bowed as he pressed in so close that every inch of our bodies touched from thigh to shoulder.
His other arm wrapped tightly around my waist and held on for dear life as we kissed. It wasn’t a battle for dominance; each stroke of our tongues was a give and take. His hips shifted, and when I felt his growing erection against my belly, a needy moan slipped from my lips. He was all too glad to swallow it down.
My hands came to his shoulders, not to push him away, but to hold on as I lost myself in him all over again. It was beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. I never wanted it to end, but I wasn’t sure I could survive this much longer.
Before I had a chance to break the kiss, Lincoln pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, his chest rising and falling like he’d just run a marathon at a full sprint.
“That feel like pretend to you?” He pushed his hips harder into me. “Does this feel like I’m not interested?”
“Lincoln.” My voice came out as a ragged whisper.
“I’ve been goin’ out of my goddamn mind not being able to get to you, not knowing where you were.” His arm at my waist flexed, and his fingers in my hair clenched. “Not being able to touch you.”
He finally released me and took a step back, and I had to press into the car to keep from slumping to the ground.
“I fucked up,” he stated, his tone and expression full of so much contrition that it as hard for me to breathe. “I hurt you, and you’ll never know how much I regret that. But I can’t regret agreeing to work with Hayes, ’cause that led me to you.” Oh god. He was killing me. “I’m not giving up, Edie. And I’m not going away. What you felt between us, I felt that too. It’s not pretend, baby. It’s very fucking real, and I’m not willing to let that go.”
My eyes burned with tears I was trying desperately not to let fall. “Linc, please.” Those two words cracked, letting the tumultuous emotions I was feeling seep through. “I really can’t do this right now.”
“That’s all right,” he said softly. “I can give you that for now. But this isn’t over, darlin’.” Grabbing the back of my neck, he pulled me close and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Get some sleep. Try to relax.”
Then he let out a sharp whistle to Rocky, and the two of them headed home.
I couldn’t peel my eyes away as I watched them retreat, my fingertips pressed to my swollen and bruised lips.
I didn’t have the first damn clue what I was going to do next when it came to Lincoln Sheppard.
What I did know was that my shower just turned into a long bubble bath… with a bottle of wine.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Eden
By the time I finished my hot, relaxing bath, the wine had kicked in and I was feeling nice and floaty.
I’d used a salt scrub to get all the grime and dirt off my body and did a deep conditioning mask on my hair. I’d also applied a deep cleansing mask to my face before climbing in the tub.
The water drained as I climbed out and toweled off before moving to the tiny bench I set up at my bathroom counter so I could lotion and moisturize like I hadn’t in the past few days.
I finally felt normal again as I wrapped myself in my robe and started for the kitchen to wash out my wineglass.
“You dating a cop, little sis?”
I let out a shriek, dropping the glass in the sink and causing it to break into a million pieces as I spun around so fast my damp hair smacked me in my face.
My heart beat frantically against my ribs at the sight of my brother sitting at my kitchen table. “Holy shit,” I gasped, placing a hand to my chest. “What the hell are you doing here, Shep?”
He slowly rose to his feet and lifted his hands. “Eden, just relax—”
“Relax?” I slammed my hands on my hips. “Are you fucking joking? Shep, you’re wanted by the cops!”
“What?”
“They know you’re in town. They have security footage of you. There’s been a string of break-ins all around town that the cops are looking at you for. And I know this because I was pulled in for questioning! That was a whole lot of fun,” I clipped sarcastically. “Being escorted out to the back of a police cruiser in front of all my neighbors so they could take me down to the station, lock me in a room, and grill me for the better part of an hour about whether or not you’re involved and if I’m helping you.”
“Goddamn it!” he hissed, dragging a hand through his greasy hair.
I narrowed my eyes as I took him in for the first time. He was about thirty steps past disheveled and well into dirty. He was in the same clothes he’d been wearing the first time he broke in, only now they were covered in stains I hadn’t seen before, and full of rips and holes. Rings of dirt covered his neck, the same black embedded beneath his fingernails, and a patchy, matted beard lined his jaw.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You broke into those houses.”
“I didn’t have a choice!” he snarled. “You wouldn’t help me, and I’ve got some really fuckin’ bad guys on my ass.”
“You started robbing those houses before you showed up here!” I snapped.
“You aren’t blaming me for this. It was your decision to work with criminals, and your decision to steal money from them, not mine.”
“Look, Eden, I’m beggin’ you. I just need a little cash to make it out of town. Please.”
“What about all the stuff you stole from those houses?”
“I can’t pawn that shit around here!” He was growing more and more panicked, and a panicked Shepley Brenner was a very dangerous thing. “I just need you to spot me some cash so I can get outta town. Then I can pawn all that shit, and I’ll be in the wind. I swear, you’ll never see me again.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at my brother with all the disdain I was feeling. “I’m not giving you a dime. Use the money you took from those assholes back in Philly.”
“I can’t!” he cried, his eyes wild. “I didn’t realize when I took it, but they’re trackin’ me using that cash. I can’t fuckin’ touch it ’til it’s clean and can’t be traced back to me.”
“So not only are you a criminal, but you’re a stupid one. That’s just great, Shep.”
The air in the room was electric with his desperation. “Please, Eden. Please. They’re gonna kill me.”
“Did you kill that man?” I asked quietly.
My brother’s sunken eyes went wide, looking like they were about to fall from their sockets thanks to the dark shadows smeared beneath them. “What?” he asked in a whisper of disbelief. “What man?”
“Don’t do that,” I gritted. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You’re wanted for murder, Shep. The owner of the last house you broke into was stabbed to death.”
“Eden, I didn’t… I couldn’t… that wasn’t me. I fuckin’ swear! I didn’t kill anybody. Only person who was home when I broke in nearly filled my ass with buckshot! I swear, I didn’t kill anyone.”
Out of My League: a Hope Valley novel Page 19