by Beth Andrews
Nothing even remotely close to the flash that had, briefly, arced between Jack and Kelsey a few minutes ago.
He rubbed a hand over his face. “Upon entering the premises, I discovered Miss Reagan inside. She claims the door was unlocked—”
“It was unlocked,” Kelsey called. “And if you’re going to keep talking about me, you might want to either lower your voices or go into another room.”
Jack took hold of Allie’s arm and moved her farther away from the bar. “Is that true?” he asked quietly.
Allie shrugged out of her red leather jacket. “I didn’t lock the door when I left, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“How do you expect to run a business when you can’t even remember to lock the door?”
“I didn’t forget to lock it,” Allie whispered, “I left it open because I didn’t know when Dillon would be back.”
He glanced back at Kelsey. “I think it would be a good idea for you to check around, make sure nothing’s missing.”
Allie frowned. “Why? I only ran out for a few minutes.”
“In those few minutes, you could’ve returned to find half your stock gone and your cash register empty.”
“The stock’s still here,” she said, motioning to the bottle-filled shelves behind the bar. “Was she emptying the cash register when you found her?”
A headache began to form behind his eyes. “No. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t help herself to your petty cash.”
“It doesn’t mean she did, either.” She laid her coat on the table. “Remember that pesky little constitutional amendment? The one about a person being innocent until proven guilty?”
Spoken like the defense lawyer Allie was. Or had been until she’d chucked eight years of higher education, quit her job and returned home to buy this run-down bar.
Talk about your less-than-stellar career moves.
“Let’s save the debate on criminal rights for another time. Just do me a favor and check the cash register. Please,” he added, knowing Allie would balk at anything she construed as an order.
With a resigned—and to Jack’s mind, overly dramatic—sigh, Allie crossed the room and went behind the bar. Sending Kelsey an apologetic look, she opened the cash register drawer, glanced down and shut it again. She shook her head at Jack.
“I told you I didn’t steal anything,” Kelsey said with a smirk. And if he thought the smirk was sexy, no one had to know but him.
“Ignore my brother,” Allie told her. “He’s a bit overprotective.” She smiled. “I’m Allie Martin. Jack says you’re looking for Dillon?”
“That’s right. I thought he’d be working here today.”
“He ran out for some lunch,” Allie said. “But he should be back any minute. Can I get you something? A soda, maybe?”
“Uh…” Kelsey’s eyes darted from Allie to Jack, but then she slid onto a stool. “A soda would be great. Thanks.”
Allie filled a glass and placed it in front of Kelsey. “Is Dillon expecting you?”
Kelsey twirled her straw between two fingers. “I doubt it. I was in the area and thought I’d drop in to see him.” She sipped her drink. “So…uh…you own this place?”
“I do.” His sister’s pride was unmistakable. And, if you asked Jack, unwarranted.
Not that he wasn’t thrilled to have Allie back in Serenity Springs where she belonged, but why couldn’t she have opened a law practice instead of mixing drinks for a living? Or at least bought a place that hadn’t sat empty for the past year?
Allie leaned her elbows on the bar, her chin in her hand. “Actually I’ve only had it a few months. Dillon just started the renovations and he figures it’ll be at least two months before we’re done.”
“Have you thought of moving the pool table there?” Kelsey pointed to the far corner by the kitchen. “It would open the flow of traffic and leave you room for more seating.”
“You think?”
Kelsey nodded. “Yeah. That way you could put in a small dance floor as well. You could even add a dartboard.”
Jack sat two stools down from Kelsey and zoned out of their conversation before they started swapping decorating tips and cake recipes. His instincts went into overdrive when he looked at Kelsey. It was more than just her looks, her clothes and her bad-girl vibe.
He’d been brought up to never judge a book by its cover. Helen and Larry Martin had raised their four children to be fair and nonjudgmental. His liberal mother insisted on tolerance and compassion, and his father—Serenity Springs’ previous chief of police—truly believed justice was for all.
Nice sentiments, but Jack knew better.
Nine years working the streets of New York City, working his way up to detective, had wiped away any idealistic beliefs his parents had instilled in him. Tolerance and compassion were no match against the endless stream of violence and ugliness so many people faced day in and day out.
He’d learned to look beyond the obvious. To count on his instincts. At the moment, those instincts were telling him there was more to Kelsey Reagan than met the eye.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Jack turned to see Dillon Ward standing in the doorway. Ward’s usual cold, flat expression had been replaced with a dark scowl. And that dark scowl was aimed at none other than Kelsey Reagan.
Jack glanced at Kelsey. Gone was the cocky, go-to-hell attitude. Instead she seemed apprehensive. Nervous. Almost…vulnerable.
What was that about?
Kelsey got to her feet. “I…I wanted to see you.”
Her statement was met with silence. Not the comfortable kind, either. More like the oppressive, somebody-say-something-to-break-it kind.
“Well,” Allie said brightly, doing her part to ease the tension in the room. “I’m starving. I think I’ll just go make some lunch. Come on, Jack.”
“I’m not hungry.” He kept his eyes on Ward.
Allie walked around the bar and stopped in front of Jack. “I said—” she grabbed his arm and pinched, hard “—let’s go.”
Ow. Damn, that was going to leave a bruise. “Fine.” He twisted out of her reach knowing he could keep an eye on Kelsey and Ward from the kitchen. Allie grabbed her coat while Jack picked up her groceries.
“What was that for?” Jack asked when they were in the kitchen.
“What do you think?” She unloaded her groceries onto an old, large farm table. “They don’t need us watching their every move.”
“Wanna bet?”
She sent him an exasperated look. “You’re overreacting, Jack. Just because you don’t like Dillon—”
“He’s a convicted felon. A murderer.”
Allie’s expression darkened and she slammed a can of tomatoes onto the table with more force than necessary. “Dillon has paid his debt to society, and he’s been an exemplary citizen since he moved here. Besides, whatever’s going on between him and Kelsey is none of our business.”
“As chief of police, everything that happens in this town is my business.” He edged toward the doorway to watch the couple in question. “But, as long as Ward and his sister keep their noses clean, they won’t have anything to worry about, will they?”
KELSEY MET DILLON’S HAZEL EYES and emotions surged through her, too numerous to name, too frightening to acknowledge. The only solid thought she could grasp and recognize was that after so long, she was finally face-to-face with her brother again.
Too bad she’d only been fooling herself all these years thinking time would heal their wounds.Maybe she shouldn’t have come. She barely recognized Dillon as the young man who’d given up his future for her. In his place stood a broad-shouldered stranger who looked at her with cold, emotionless eyes.
Well, one thing was for sure. He hadn’t been expecting her.
Guess she should’ve remembered how much he hated surprises.
“What do you want, Kelsey?”
“Leigh’s dead,” she blurted out as she twisted her fingers together. “She di
ed in her sleep three months ago. The coroner said it was heart failure.”
“I know.”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “You do?”
“Yeah.”
And here she’d thought the news of their mother’s death would be the perfect excuse for tracking him down.
“If that’s what you came here to tell me—”
“I just wanted to see you. To talk to you.” No response. Not a flicker of emotion crossed the hard planes of his face. “Uh, how have you been?”
“You mean since the last time you saw me?” He stuck his hands in his front pockets and shrugged. “Hard to get much worse than being in federal prison, isn’t it?”
She flinched at the bitterness in his voice. At the accusation. Of course he had every right to accuse her. After all, he wouldn’t have gone to prison if he hadn’t been protecting her.
She wanted to beg him to forgive her for what happened. To throw herself into his arms and never let him go again. Instead, she took several deep breaths and wiped her damp palms down the front of her jeans.
“I can’t believe it’s been ten years,” she said. “It’s taken me so long to find you.” Silence. She forced her lips into a smile. “You’re a hard man to track down.”
“That’s the way I wanted it.”
She dropped her pseudo-grin. Okay. Things weren’t going quite as well as she’d hoped. Not only had she forgotten how much Dillon disliked surprises, but she’d also forgotten how bullheaded he could be.
She glanced toward the kitchen, not surprised to see the cop watching them from the doorway. “Is there somewhere we could go to talk?” she asked Dillon.
“I’m working,” he said flatly.
“Dillon, please—”
“No. I’m not interested in anything you have to say. You shouldn’t have come.”
She willed back tears. She kept her voice low and fought the urge to turn and run away from the hatred in his eyes. “I just want a chance to talk to you, to apologize—”
“I don’t care what you want. Not anymore.” He met her eyes. “I want to be left alone. To forget everything that happened.”
Though it hurt—God did it hurt—Kelsey forced herself to ask, “Does that include me, too?”
“Yeah,” he said after a long moment. “It does.”
It was like being punched in the gut. She was shocked to find she was still standing, still on her feet and able to breathe when all she wanted to do was slide to the floor and cry. “Please, I—”
“No.” He pinched the bridge of his nose before letting his hand drop. “Look, I don’t blame you or hold you responsible for what happened, but the past is over. And I want it to stay that way.”
“It doesn’t have to be over. We can work through this. Start again.”
He shook his head and turned to leave.
She reached out, her fingers grazing his hand. “Dillon, wait. We could—”
He whirled around and grabbed her by the upper arms. She gasped as he raised her onto her toes. “Damn it, Kelsey.” He shook her once. Though it was the barest of movements, it made her stomach turn. “Don’t you get it? I’m through with you.”
“Is there a problem, Ward?”
Kelsey shut her eyes at the sound of the cop’s commanding voice. When she opened them again, the cop was standing behind Dillon, his expression downright frigid.
Dillon dropped her arms and stepped back. “No problem, Chief Martin. Kelsey was just leaving.”
She pressed her lips together. “You want me gone? Fine. But we aren’t done yet.”
Kelsey spun on her heel and stormed out into the bright sunshine. Crossing the paved parking lot, she passed a run-down pickup truck, a snazzy red SUV and the cop’s car—a black-and-white Jeep. When she reached her ancient gray hatchback, she bowed her head and inhaled shakily. She rubbed her hands over her arms where Dillon’s fingers had been, unsure if she was shivering because of the cool October breeze or Dillon’s anger.
“You okay?”
She stiffened. “Fine.” She swiveled to face the cop. “Don’t tell me I’m breaking some sort of city ordinance by standing in one spot too long.”
He studied her silently and she could’ve sworn he looked…concerned. For her.
“I wanted to see if you were okay,” he said. “All part of the job.”
The job. Of course. What, had she honestly thought he’d been worried for her? Ha. Fat chance.
“Well, thanks. I guess.”
When he didn’t say anything else, she turned back to her car, pulled her key out of her front pocket and inserted it into the lock with an unsteady hand. The urge to escape, to run away, almost overwhelmed her. Had her pulse racing, her palms sweating. She didn’t want to stay, didn’t want to face her mistakes or her brother’s disgust.
But she couldn’t run. Not this time. She wouldn’t give up. No matter what Dillon said or how many times he pushed her away, she wasn’t going anywhere until she got what she came for.
It wouldn’t be easy, she’d known that much before she’d left New York. What she hadn’t taken into account was how much it would hurt to look into Dillon’s eyes and realize the truth—he hadn’t forgiven her. For putting him in the position where he’d had to take a man’s life to save hers. And for abandoning him.
How could she ever forgive herself?
CHAPTER TWO
JACK COULDN’T HELP BUT WONDER what was going on in Kelsey’s head. He’d only been in her company less than twenty minutes but he already knew she was a puzzle.
He always did like solving puzzles.Hell, the biggest mystery at the moment though was why he had followed her out here in the first place. Sure, he’d told her he was just doing his job, and after seeing Ward manhandle her, that was partly true. But he was also there because, to be honest, he didn’t like the vulnerability he’d seen in her any more than he’d liked the sight of that SOB grabbing her.
She slid him a sideway glance. “Quit looking at me like that.”
She sure was prickly. Come to think of it, prickliness and defensiveness were two of Ward’s more irritating traits as well. Guess there was a family resemblance after all.
“How am I looking at you?” He hoped it wasn’t with anything other than professional interest. He hadn’t given himself away, had he?
She faced him, her pretty green eyes flashing. “With pity.”
“I don’t pity you.” Though he hadn’t liked how she’d clearly lost her confidence and spirit when Ward had stepped into the room. “I don’t think Ward’s worth it.”
“Not worth what?”
Not worth the tears he’d seen in her eyes or the dejection in her expression.
“Not worth getting so upset over,” he said. “I’ve seen Ward’s kind before. You’re better off without him.”
Her mouth opened. Then shut. She shook her head. “You don’t know Dillon or me. And I don’t need, or want, your opinion.”
He probably deserved her curt tone. Even it he’d only been trying to help. But if she wanted to waste her time with the likes of Dillon Ward, it was no concern of his.
“I apologize if I was out of line,” he said, unable to keep the stiffness out of his voice. With a slight nod, he put on his sunglasses, turned and walked away.
He wasn’t going to apologize for distrusting Dillon Ward. Of course, it was true that Ward had managed to stay out of trouble since being released from federal prison, but Jack wasn’t about to let his guard down. Especially while Ward was working for Allie.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Kelsey called, exasperation clear in her voice.
Jack stopped by his Jeep and slowly turned around. She was still at her car, her arms crossed at her chest, her mouth turned down at the corners.
“Was there something you needed?” he asked when she remained silent.
Her frown deepened and she sighed heavily which, for some crazy reason, made him want to smile. He must really be losing it.
The sun pic
ked up the copper highlights in her spiky hair as she trudged across the parking lot toward him. “I need directions to a place to spend the night.”
“Planning on staying in our fair town long?”
“Don’t worry, Sheriff. I’ll be gone in the morning.”
He wasn’t worried. Much. “Depending on what you’re looking for—”
“Just a clean bed and bit of privacy.”
“You might like the B and B over by the lake. The Bee Hive.”
She snorted. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Afraid not.” He opened the Jeep’s door, pulled out his citation book and ripped out a ticket. After scribbling directions on the back, he handed her the paper. “It’s clean and not too far from here.”
She hesitated a moment before taking it, careful not to touch him.
“Thanks,” she said, avoiding his eyes. Jack leaned back against his car as he watched her march away. She climbed behind the wheel of an older model gray compact and took off like a redheaded bat out of hell.
He blew out a breath, climbed into his Jeep and told himself he was glad Kelsey was leaving in the morning. Though there might have been a small spark of attraction between them, it was only temporary and superficial. Not that he minded superficial when it came to sex, but even if Kelsey did stay in town, he’d keep his distance from her.
The last thing he needed, he thought as he started the ignition, was to get tangled up with Dillon Ward’s sister.
KELSEY STAGGERED INTO HER ROOM, turned the lock on the door handle, crossed the small space and fell facedown onto the plush bed. The room was sparsely furnished but clean. There didn’t seem to be many other options in town. At least not many she could afford. Which Chief Martin had obviously figured out or else he wouldn’t have suggested this place.
She sighed. It was one thing to be down and out. It was another to be obvious about it. Not that she cared what he thought of her. He was just another guy in uniform.She turned her head to the left and wrinkled her nose. Oh, all right—the cop was gorgeous. In a law-abiding sort of way. And yeah, there had been a moment when she’d felt a definite…connection. Not one of those eyes-locked-across-a-crowded-room moments or anything. More like an awareness. And she was pretty certain he’d felt it, too.