In the Heart's Shadow
Page 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cast of Characters
Also by T. L. Haddix
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
About the Author
IN THE HEART’S SHADOW
T.L. HADDIX
Streetlight Graphics Publishing
A division of Streetlight Graphics
Copyright © 2012 by Tabatha L. Haddix. All rights reserved.
First Kindle Edition: November 2012
Visit www.tlhaddix.com for updates, news, bonuses and freebies.
www.facebook.com/tlhaddix
Cover and Formatting: www.streetlightgraphics.com
Editor: Stefanie S. Buswell of Red Adept
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Streetlight Graphics Publishing, a division of Streetlight Graphics.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Galen Gordon – AKA Gordon. Former FBI agent, widower. Trying to figure out what to do with himself after losing his job with the FBI.
Stacy Kirchner – Detective with the Olman County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Department.
Garrett Gordon – Galen’s baby brother.
Ethan and Beth Hudson Moore – Detective with the Olman County Sheriff’s Department, and reporter for the Olman County Journal, respectively. Beth is sister to Chase and Jason Hudson.
Chase Hudson – Lawyer, brother of Beth and Jason. Gordon’s future law partner?
Jason Hudson – Detective with the Olman County Sheriff’s Department. Brother to Chase and Beth.
Wyatt and Maria Dixon – Sheriff of Olman County, and IT Director for the Sheriff’s Department, respectively. Wyatt is a mentor of Stacy’s, and Maria is her best friend.
Robbie Bailey – Deputy with the Sheriff’s Department.
ALSO BY T. L. HADDIX
The Shadows Collection:
Secrets in the Shadows
Under the Moon’s Shadow
Shadows from the Grave
Hidden in the Shadows
Granny Theft Auto (A Leroy/Shadows short story)
Domestic Disturbance (A Leroy/Shadows flash fiction)
Other Novels
Firefly Hollow
CHAPTER 1
February…
“ANOTHER ONE, PLEASE.” GALEN GORDON signaled the bartender for a refill. The aged scotch went down with a smooth burn, much as the two before it had. Sonny Rutherford, owner of the Lighthouse Bar and Grille, where Gordon was drowning his sorrows, raised an eyebrow when Gordon pushed the now-empty glass across toward him, but he filled it again without comment.
The bar was quiet, as few people had ventured out in the icy February weather that had swept in from the north earlier that day. Thursdays were generally slow anyway, so Gordon almost had the place to himself. The isolation suited his mood just fine.
“You’re not planning on driving home tonight, I hope,” Sonny commented.
“Nope. Called a taxi to bring me here. Planning on doing the same to get home. You cutting me off?”
“Not yet. But I would advise you to slow down a little. That’s fine scotch you’re swilling down like it’s water. Shame to see it put to such use.”
“Point taken. I’ll nurse this one.” Gordon saluted Sonny with his glass, and the bartender moved down to a woman seated at the end. Blond hair shining and curled, lips painted bright red, she knew how attractive she was. When she saw him looking, she sent Gordon a smile full of invitation. He answered with a regretful shake of his head and turned back to face forward. Apparently deciding to ignore the message, she slid off her stool and started toward him.
Gordon cursed under his breath and kept track of her progress in the mirror behind the bar.
Before she got halfway to him, a petite brunette came in from the restaurant side of the building and eased onto the barstool beside him. “Hey, stranger. What brings you here tonight?”
Gordon studied her with a lopsided grin, half wondering if he’d conjured her up. “The scotch. You?”
Detective Stacy Kirchner’s answering smile was soft. “Dinner with Wyatt and Maria.” She laid her purse on the bar and draped her coat over the empty stool beside her. Gordon looked her over from head to toe as she ordered a cappuccino. Barely tall enough to come up to his chin, Stacy’s delicate build was deceptive. He knew that she could fell a man twice her weight without even blinking. Her hair was caught up in a soft twist, and understated gold winked at him from her earlobes. The neckline of her dark blue sweater left the nape of her neck appealingly bare, and Gordon looked away, resisting the urge to place a kiss there.
“Haven’t seen much of you around lately. Did you decide to go back to Louisville?” she asked as Sonny delivered her drink.
“No. I’ve been hibernating. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with myself. What about you? Been staying busy?”
“Of course. Things are finally starting to calm down after the holiday blitz, thank God.” She took a sip of coffee, her eyes half closing with pleasure. When her tongue came out to swipe a smudge of whipped cream from her lips, Gordon swallowed—hard.
“So how’s the happy couple?” Feeling more than a little buzzed, he finished off the scotch and pushed away the glass.
Stacy’s smile widened. “They’re good. Enjoying being married.”
Wyatt and Maria Dixon had been married only a couple of weeks. The sheriff and his IT director had been planning a late spring wedding, but Maria’s pregnancy had put a rush on things.
“Good. I’m glad.” The mention of marriage reminded him of what had driven him to the bar that evening. He tapped his glass. “Sonny, one last round, please.”
“You okay?” Stacy’s soft question pulled him back to the present, and he looked down at her. She had a good poker face, but her concern was evident.
“Yeah. So do you need to get back to them?”
She wrapped her hands around her mug. “Nope. They headed out. I saw you sitting here. Thought I’d come harass you. If you’d rather be alone, I can go.”
“No. I didn’t mean it like that.”
They sat in silence for a little while after that. Stacy finished her coffee, and Gordon his scotch.
“I couldn’t stand being at home, staring at four walls any longer,
” he finally admitted. “Sometimes, an empty house is worse than one that’s too crowded.”
Stacy tilted her head to look at him. “Memories getting to you?”
Gordon was surprised by her intuitiveness. “What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because you keep rubbing your ring finger.”
He looked down at his left hand, where his thumb was stroking the bare skin where he’d once worn a wedding band. “Damn. I didn’t even realize I was doing that.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Today’s the anniversary of when we lost her. It’s been a bad week.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. It’s been five years. You’d think I’d have learned to live with the way things are by now.”
“Oh, not necessarily. And I think you should cut yourself some slack. It’s one day that represents a very bad time of your life. You’re allowed to grieve.”
“I’ve always had work to keep me busy before,” he admitted with a yawn. “I think that’s why it’s hitting me so much harder this year. I have nothing to do to keep myself occupied.”
“You look like you haven’t been sleeping much.”
“I haven’t. I figured if I self-medicated a little, I might be able to get some rest. I didn’t want to stay home and do it.”
“Well, now that you’re ‘medicated,’ why don’t I give you a lift home?” Stacy asked.
“I don’t want to go home. I really, really don’t want to go home. Even though she never lived here, her ghost is very present tonight.”
Stacy raised an eyebrow. “You know, if I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were trying to pick me up. Or get me to pick you up.” She shot him a mock frown.
Gordon grinned. “Would it work?”
“Not tonight, big guy. Tell you what, though. I have a nice comfy guest room. You can stay there if you want.”
“I don’t want to impose on your privacy.”
She touched his arm. “You aren’t. I’m happy to make the offer.”
He considered his options. His mind was pleasantly muddled, thanks to the top-shelf scotch, and a warm fatigue was making its way through his limbs. “Then if you’re sure, I’d appreciate the hospitality.”
Once the tab was paid, he followed her to her car. The slap of cold air blowing off the river was sobering, but wasn’t enough to undo the effects of the alcohol. He had never been in Stacy’s personal vehicle, and he looked around the car with curiosity. The inside was scrupulously clean.
“You ever think about marriage?”
Stacy glanced at him, clearly surprised by the question. “Um, I guess. Why?”
“Just curious. You should try it sometime. I highly recommend the institution.”
He thought he caught the sound of a muffled laugh, but her expression was neutral.
“Well, it isn’t as simple as going out and picking someone up off the street, you know. Although, I swear I think half the people who get married these days do just that.”
“Yeah, me too. Chase wants me to go into practice with him. I told him I’m not handling divorces, if I do.”
Chase Hudson was Gordon’s best friend. The two had gone to law school together, but they’d lost touch after graduation. Gordon had gone to work with the FBI, and Chase had returned to the small southern Indiana town his family called home to start a private practice. They’d reconnected a little over a year ago during a case involving Chase’s sister, Beth.
At loose ends after deciding to leave the FBI the previous fall, Gordon had moved to Leroy and taken over Chase’s condo. The Hudson family had enfolded him like a long-lost son, and though the warmth and heart had been nice, he was struggling. Not used to being unemployed, he was still trying to figure out what to do with himself.
“Do you think you’re going to do that? Join Chase’s practice?” Stacy brought him back to the present.
They’d left the lights of town behind, and the empty fields on either side of the road fell away under the bright moonlight that shone down. The desolate landscape suited his mood perfectly. “I don’t know. Some days yes, some days no. I’d have to retake the bar. Since I haven’t been actively practicing in Kentucky, Indiana won’t license me until I do.”
“Yeah, and it probably doesn’t hurt that they’ll get more fees out of you if you retake it, either.”
Gordon grinned. “True.”
The rest of the trip was made in comfortable silence. As they pulled into Stacy’s driveway, a security light came on, lighting up the homey front porch and walkway.
“You have a nice spread here, you know?”
She smiled at him as she turned off the car. “I know. It’s not the biggest, fanciest house in the world, but it’s mine, and I love it.”
“It shows,” he told her as they got out of the car. “How many acres do you have?”
“Just under two,” she answered as she unlocked the front door. A soft mewing sounded from the other side, and as the door swung open, a half-grown black-and-white cat peeked around the corner at the end of the hall.
“Hey, baby girl. Mommy’s home.” She took Gordon’s coat and hung it up alongside hers as he closed and locked the door behind him. Chloe, her tail raised in greeting, edged down the hall and meowed softly again.
“She’s getting big.”
“Yes, she is. I think she’s going to be a huge cat when she’s grown. Probably upwards of fifteen pounds.” Stacy scooped up the kitten and cuddled her. A rumbling purr filled the hallway.
“She’s probably twice as big as she was at Christmas. What’ve you been feeding her?” Gordon stepped in and let Chloe sniff his hand. Once she was satisfied, she rubbed her face against his fingers with a loud purr.
“Kitten food. The good stuff. And she eats like a horse.”
“That’s not very nice, is it, Chloe?” Remembering the awed look that had crossed Stacy’s face when she’d been presented with the kitten during the Hudsons’ Christmas gathering made him smile. Her solicitousness over the cat caused Gordon a deep twinge of longing, and he rubbed his chest. She would make a good mother if the way she treated Chloe was any indication. The direction of his thoughts wiped the smile off his face.
Stacy huffed. “It might not be nice, but it’s true. She’s a teenager, in cat age. Like human teenagers, she’s always hungry. Come on back to the kitchen. I need to feed her. Do you want anything?” she called over her shoulder as she walked.
“Just the restroom.”
“End of the hall. It hasn’t moved since you were here last.”
After using the restroom, Gordon went to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway to watch Stacy, now in her sock feet. She’d taken her hair out of the clip, and it fell halfway down her back in a dark, silky curtain. He sucked in a breath. He’d never seen her before with her hair down in such a private setting, and it made her appear even more vulnerable and appealing.
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” he muttered under his breath. Fortunately, Stacy didn’t hear him over the noise of opening the dishwasher.
“Did you say something?”
“Talking to myself.”
“As long as you don’t answer,” she teased. “Let me wash my hands, and I’ll show you to your room. I have to be up at six-thirty tomorrow morning. Do you want me to wake you up or let you sleep and call a cab later?”
Gordon smothered a yawn and glanced at his watch. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet, but it felt much later. “Wake me up, please. If you have time, I’ll catch a ride back to town with you.”
She led him down the hall to one of the house’s three bedrooms. Leaning into the room, she flipped a switch. The lamp on the bedside table bathed the room in a soft glow. “Here it is. Is the bed going to be big enough? It’s a queen.”
“Yeah, I’ll make it work. I appreciate this.”
“Don’t mention it. We’ll be sharing the bathroom. Towels are in the closet behind the bathroom door. Extra blankets are in there.” She gestured to t
he cedar chest at the foot of the four-poster bed. “Do you need anything else? I’ll get out of your hair if you don’t.”
Gordon toed off his shoes and stretched. “I think I’m good. Thanks again for letting me crash here.”
She waved away the words. “Holler if you need anything. Good night.” She gently closed the door behind her.
More tired than he could remember having been in a long time, Gordon sighed and undressed, laying his clothes in the chair beside the bed, then turned back the sheets. Somehow, he didn’t think asking Stacy to share the bed was what she meant by “anything.”
After climbing into bed with a groan, he turned off the lamp. After the nights he’d been having lately, he expected to be staring at the ceiling all night. He wasn’t sure if the alcohol, the fact that he was dog-tired, or some combination of the two made the difference, but thankfully, he dropped right into sleep.
As she got ready for bed, Stacy kept asking herself if she was crazy. “I can’t believe I brought him home,” she told Chloe in a low voice. The cat, watching her from the back of the toilet, just blinked. Her eyes were a deep emerald green, eerily similar in color to those of the man down the hall. “What was I thinking?” When she’d seen Gordon alone at the bar with a lonely, melancholy expression on his face, she wanted to help.
They’d built a friendship of sorts over the last several months, with Gordon stopping by the sheriff’s department at least a couple of times a week to say hello. He wasn’t always there to see Stacy specifically, but he made a point of seeking her out during every visit. The attention hadn’t gone unnoticed in the department, either, but so far, no one had made too big of a deal out of it. Given her coworkers’ penchants for teasing, that was astonishing in and of itself.
Finished with her bedtime preparations, Stacy turned off the light and headed into her own room. She waited for Chloe to join her, then reluctantly closed the door. She couldn’t lie to herself; she was seriously tempted to go across the hall and join Gordon.