“They’re black.” He made that comment and my eyes dropped to my underwear. They were one of my nicer pairs, but not a thong. Some girls swore by them, but unless I was showing, I stayed away from thongs while riding. The main point was they were not my period panties. Or my lounging panties. He wasn’t contemplating how big my butt had to be to fit into them. I didn’t need to bury myself out back and never be seen again.
But he kept staring.
Was the color important? Was black sexier? What would he say if he noticed they were satin? Turn around, Lark!
“Yep.” My mind was still screaming, trying to break the moment and get in control of my body, but my hormones had taken over. As long as Brecken stared like that, I wasn’t going to move. Instead, I nervously focused on how dry my lips were. As I licked them, his eyes swung up, giving my lips the same focus. I felt my body want to sway toward him, toward the pull of his eyes and the longing I was hoping I wasn’t misreading, but fear kept me still. I had only kissed one man in the past ten years. A decade of only one man, touching me, kissing me. What if I did it wrong? What if I read his interest wrong? What if…
“Brecken, do you have a minute? I’m sure that Lark can get her stuff together by herself.” John’s voice came from the hallway and the moment was broken.
Brecken shook his head, turning a deeper red when he realized he had been staring, and then nodded to me before slipping out. As soon as he had left I sagged to the floor. I hadn’t been prepared for what just happened. I wasn’t prepared for these… feelings. I brought a hand up to press against my lips. Maybe I might be ready sooner than I thought.
Well, maybe I would wait until sometime after Hailey graduated from high school. That would be soon enough. Once she was taken care of, that was when I could think about these emotions again.
Resolved to ignore my weakness and embarrassment, I went back to packing. Maybe not those panties. Grabbing a new pair, one that was substantially less sexy, I went to work. I had everything packed and was zipping up the bag when I realized the black underwear was still sitting on the side of the bag. I hesitated, staring at them. In a moment of weakness, I grabbed the zipper and threw them in, closing the bag before I could change my mind. It was never a bad idea to have another pair, right?
Throwing the bag strap over my shoulder, I headed back to the front porch to check in with the detectives. I wasn’t looking forward to lugging it around the bar, but life happened. When I got to the end of the hall, both were leaning over the arm, inspecting the limb from different angles like it might all make sense if they just caught it from the right view. Or they were just looking for evidence. But the second option was less dramatic, so I stuck with my first thought.
“Scrubbed clean again. Just like the leg,” John commented quietly to Brecken. I strained to hear them from my hiding place.
“You think they cleaned before or after the amputation? And when’s the coroner going to get back to us on his findings?”
“Should be this evening. Maybe tomorrow morning. The county is a little backed up.”
“This arm isn’t going to give us much more information.” He sighed, then looked a little closer. “At least there’s a little powder like the last time, maybe from transport? White powder makes me want to guess drugs, but we won’t know anything for sure until we get that report. So far, the only lead we have is the drugs. Damn it.”
I waited, hoping to overhear more information, but both men went silent, contemplating the arm. ‘Possible drugs on the limbs from transport’ was all I was getting right then. I could work with that. I thought hard.
Maybe not.
“Okay, I’m off. You guys need anything else? Can I lock up the house?”
“We’re good. Go ahead and lock up and I’ll catch up with you tomorrow with more questions,” Brecken replied with a short nod.
My heart fluttered when he said he would come see me but crashed by the end and I remembered why I didn’t date. This attraction thing was annoying. And a serious threat to my cardiac health.
“Yeah, okay, whatever.” I slipped around them and headed down the path, closing my eyes at my response. Whatever? My inner teen seemed to have come out. I guess that kind of made sense since I met David when I was 20. Maybe my flirting skills just stopped there. Oh god. What if I flirted like a teen? How would I even find that out? I couldn’t try when I was in town, or Lindsey would write an article about it. This was why I didn’t date. Yeah. No dating. Not even detectives with blond hair, blue eyes, and cool shields.
The last one may have been a projection.
Chapter 6
Walking from my house, it took about ten minutes to get to The Pub on a normal day. Today it took me five. I wanted to get as far away as possible from the arm, the detective that was driving my hormones crazy, and John, who I suspected enjoyed watching it all happen. The Pub wasn’t far enough from my house to satisfy my need to escape, but it had cheap ciders, a huge wine list, and great food. All things that made me happy.
I noticed Jen flirting with a man who I assumed was the new bartender. Then, to my dismay, I got a good look at the town’s newest addition. Okay, I had to admit it, she was right. Had I not just been reminded of what a fool I was, I might have been tempted to ignore his age and try my luck anyways. He was over six feet, blond, and had amazing, big blue eyes. Wait… I squinted to get a better look at his face. He had to be wearing eye makeup for them to be that big.
I found a table across the bar. Away from Blue Eyes. And Captain America. And any other man who I didn’t have time for or want mucking up my life. What had happened to my little town? Three days ago, Bryan was the hot man in town. Now we had two men that made Bryan look average. Would have made Bryan look average. Guilt at my thoughts made me pause. Poor Bryan.
I sat down, throwing my bag under the table, and texted Jen where I was. I may not have wanted any of Blue Eyes, but there was no reason she couldn’t try. She wanted a man, even after her cheating ex. Go figure. I guess she was braver than me. I hadn’t noticed my surroundings, which was unfortunate when, seconds after I sat down, so did Lindsey.
“Lark! Just the person I wanted to see.”
“No comment.”
“Oh, please. I’m just here drinking. Like you.”
“No comment.” But I did give her an ‘are you kidding me’ look. I had already learned my lesson with Lindsey.
“Off the record, Lark.” She held up both hands. “I promise.” I studied her face to try and tell if she was being truthful. Hmm…
“No comment.”
“Oh, please. Like you know anything I don’t. You didn’t send yourself body parts, and there’s nothing about you that’s interesting enough to warrant threatening.”
“Someone disagrees,” I shot back, then mentally kicked myself. Why was I arguing this? Had I really just gotten upset about Lindsey saying that I wasn’t interesting enough to threaten? She got under my skin too easily.
“Really? Why do you think that?”
That earned her another look. I knew what she was doing.
“No comment.”
“So, the police think that someone is threatening you with body parts. Interesting, interesting. You didn’t have much of a relationship with Bryan. I mean, everyone knew he asked you out, but you turned him down. Just like you turned down every other eligible male in this town.”
“I’ve only been asked out by two men since I moved here a year ago. That can’t be every eligible male in this town.” Then I thought about it.
She may have a point.
“Either way, you don’t date. You don’t stay out late or party. All you do is raise your child and ride your horses. It’s boring.”
“It’s called being an adult. You might want to try it.”
“Please.” She waved her hand dismissively. I felt an overwhelming urge to bite it when it came too close to my face, but that would have undermined my adult argument. “I make more than most of the people in this town throug
h the advertising on my blogs. I adult just fine.”
The grammar police would disagree.
“That’s nice.” I had already learned not to ask Lindsey about her blogs. Any of them. Everyone made that mistake once, but only the most desperate guys did it twice. It may be unkind of me, but there was a reason why someone as pretty as her was still single.
“As one of the few other female business entrepreneurs in this town, you have to know how it intimidates men.” Lindsey preened a little as she pointed out her success.
Good, then they stayed away. But it didn’t seem to be intimidating Captain America. Or the butthead who kept leaving me body parts.
“I can’t say I’ve noticed.” I scanned the room, looking for an escape. Where was the waitress? Or Jen? The bartender couldn’t be that cute. I looked again. Maybe he was. I would not be getting Jen’s attention anytime soon.
“That’s the only reason I’m still single. Men can’t handle it when they find out I make more than them.”
Okay, in my experience that was also true, but it was likely not the only reason.
“Did you ever date Bryan?” I asked. Now that I thought about it, it was weird I hadn’t heard any rumors about the two of them. Lindsey’s name had been linked to most of the single men in this town at one point or another. And some of the married ones as well.
“Please. We went to school together before his family moved to be closer to his mother’s sister.” She got my full attention again.
“Really? I thought he was a transplant like me.”
“Nope. Born and raised, mostly. He left senior year and came back when he was—” She squinted trying to remember. “Twenty-five? Wait, I was just getting my blog going after the newspaper closed, so more like twenty-four. Right after he got out of the Marines.”
“So, you grew up with him?” I asked.
“Yep. His family lived down the street from me.”
“What was he like in high school?”
“A cheater. He cheated on girls, at school, and in life. A loser, through and through.”
“So super popular.” I knew the type.
“You got it.”
“Huh. Was he dating anyone recently?”
“Yep. I would guess multiple people, but the only one I saw was that girl from the resort. The night manager.”
“The resort?” This was getting good.
“Yes. I know her from the last time Laura came to talk to me about advertising. Laura brought her along. Anyway, I saw them out on a date last week. All hot and heavy. Posted a picture on my blog, even. They were out in Misne. You know, the small town in the mountains? They probably didn’t want anyone knowing about them, but I saw them anyway.”
“What were you doing in Misne?” I figured asking more questions might keep her talking.
“That’s where I meet up with my programmer for my website. She won’t drive all the way out here, but she loves Misne.” Lindsey sniffed at the thought anyone could like another town over Barrow Bay. She may have many, many faults, but she was loyal to the town.
“Interesting. I wonder if she knew his reputation.” I certainly hadn’t. Then again, I wasn’t interested to begin with, so it wasn’t information I cared about.
“Probably not. He didn’t date a lot within the town once he came back,” she told me. “And most people excuse behavior like that in high school.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope. Once a cheater, always a cheater.”
“Here, here.” We clinked our glasses. Well, she clinked her glass. I stole a used one that hadn’t been cleared from the table.
“Not that any man would cheat on all this.” She gestured to her body, which was amazing, showcased in a tiny black dress that pushed her boobs almost to her chin. I sighed internally.
“Can I get you anything?” Josie, the waitress, interrupted us. Her curly hair bounced back and forth with the speed of her stop. Thank the pizza gods. Escape!
“Can I have a pineapple cider and a pepperoni pizza?” It had been a hard day. I deserved it.
“That’s it?” she asked, eyeing Lindsey. They also went to school together, and I remembered rumors of some bad blood between them. Supposedly, Josie accused Lindsey of trying to move in on her man. Lindsey hadn’t denied it.
“I’m out of here. The atmosphere doesn’t seem to agree with me anymore.” Lindsey got up with a sniff and downed the rest of her drink before walking towards the door.
“Was she bothering you, Lark?” Josie asked as we watched Lindsey ‘accidentally’ bump into the new bartender as he was coming out from behind the bar to help a waitress, earning her a glare from Jen and a long boob glance from the new guy. To my jaded eye, the glance looked less admiring and more reproachful about how much boob was showing. But my man-reading skills sucked. With a shake of my head I turned back to Josie.
“She was surprisingly civil for someone who is making money off my misfortune,” I said, smiling at her.
“Yeah, we all read about your body parts issue. Do they know who it is and why they keep landing on your door?”
“Nope. No comment.” I winked to take the sting out of my refusal. Let her think I was joking about Lindsey.
“Hah. Not giving up any of your secrets, huh? That had to drive Lindsey mad.”
“She took it okay. She was the one telling me about her high school.” Josie gave me a surprised look before it turned thoughtful.
“That’s right. We all went to school together. Wow, I had forgotten about Bryan until now. He left before Senior year.”
“Lindsey told me he was super popular.”
“He would have been prom king if they had let us have a junior prom. He was the big man on campus.”
“And dated a lot of girls?” I prompted.
“God yes. I’ll never forget the fight in the cafeteria. Who was it, again? Wait! I think it was between Laura and Lindsey! What a small world. I only remember because the names were so similar. One of the guys even made a rhyme out of it. Laura must have loved having him crawl back and ask her for a job. Wow. That seems like a lifetime ago.”
“I know what you mean,” I murmured, hoping she might go on, but she didn’t.
“Well, I got to get back to work. It’s slammed tonight.”
“Yeah, I noticed you seem a little busy,” I commented. She looked at me and then after glancing around to see who was looking, slipped into the chair beside me.
Leaning in close, she asked, “You know Becky, right?” She waited for my nod before continuing with a glare in Lindsey’s direction. Lindsey was still flirting with Blue Eyes and Jen’s body was rigid with rage. “She took tonight off. She was dating Bryan and just couldn’t stop crying about everything.”
“Becky was dating Bryan?” I whispered back.
“Yeppers. For five months now. He wanted her to keep it quiet, but you know Becky. She couldn’t keep a secret if the President himself came down and asked her to.”
“Wow. Poor Becky.” Lucky Bryan. Two girls at the same time? And I couldn’t even talk to one ridiculously handsome man. Dang.
“I know, right? Don’t tell Lindsey. We’re trying to keep Becky’s name out of her clutches.”
“As Lindsey’s latest victim, I know how you feel.” She smiled at my sarcasm and got up to go put my order in.
“I’ll be back with your drink. Food shouldn’t take long. We started the pizza when we saw you come in.”
“I love you. Divorce your husband and marry me.”
“Ahh, honey, you don’t make enough for me.” She winked at me before sashaying away. It was sad I was so predictable. I also needed to start eating healthier. More salads, maybe some fish. I’d start another day.
Jen finally sauntered over, a frown on her face and two drinks in her hand.
“I hate Lindsey.”
“That’s a pretty big club.”
“Stupid double-D’s.” She looked down at her boobs and fluffed them. “When did a C cup become defic
ient?”
“Coming from someone who only got boobs after pregnancy, I have no idea.”
“Yeah, but you have the whole ‘skinny waif’ thing going for you. You could be a model. The rest of us have to work for it.”
“I work out for a living,” I pointed out with a glare. I did not look like a waif. She just ignored me in favor of complaining about her body.
“I sit all day and my butt shows it. Maybe I could put the bike pedals under my desk? That way I could work and workout at the same time?”
“Will you be stable enough to work without falling out of the chair?”
She thought about it. “Probably not.” She finished her drink in one gulp and slammed it down. “I made a decision.”
“Okay.”
But instead of continuing, she took a deep breath, then deflated and grabbed the other drink. This must be big news.
“I’m going to try online dating,” she announced.
I stared. “That’s it?”
“What do you mean? That’s huge! It’s online dating! With men. Outside of Barrow Bay!” she cried.
“Well, I would assume so since there are only three hot guys.” I winced. “Two hot guys.” We both sobered slightly at the reminder.
“Poor Bryan.”
“You know, other than Becky and Laura, no one else seems to be taking his death very hard,” I commented. Then I felt bad. I had missed his presence at the coffee shop but I wasn’t mourning him at all. Other than to wish his body parts would stop showing up at my house. I was really a horrible person. But his body parts now stood between me and my daughter. Wait. The leg wasn’t standing. Sat? Laid? Unimportant. The point was that I wanted my daughter back. Immediately.
“Well, what do you expect? He was a bad influence in these parts.” Joe, the owner, commented as he slid into the bench beside Jen. She nodded at him but went back to contemplating her drink. “What’s her deal?” he asked me. Jen pretended to ignore him. Or maybe actually was, as she didn’t even blink at his comment.
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