by Jodi Thomas
He smiled. “Maybe, but I’m not interested in the sisters, mothers and cousins.”
She pulled her foot from the oversize snow boots Rose loaned her and stretched her leg across to his side of the booth. As her sock rubbed against his thigh, she said, “No one knows you want to walk on the wild side except me.”
He laughed. “Doesn’t seem to be working for me, but I’m still hoping.”
Brandi pulled her foot out of sight when the waitress dropped by to take their order.
“Two coffees, two pies,” he ordered without looking at the menu.
“Got it, Sheriff.” She tapped her pencil against her cheek until he looked up at her. “Word is Thatcher is somewhere safe. You wouldn’t happen to know where? Everyone is guessing. Some say he’s down at your place on the lake. Some say he’s in a real jail a hundred miles away. Some even say you drove him to a safe house during the storm late night.”
The sheriff didn’t bark at the nosy waitress. His words were calm and even. “Tell all the ‘somes’ that Thatcher is okay. You’re right, he is at a safe house, under guard, and I’m not bringing him back until we catch whoever tried to hurt him.”
“I’m thinking...”
“Sorry, Sissie, I have to interview Miss Malone right now. You mind if we talk later?”
“Oh, of course.” The waitress smiled at Brandi. “So you’re Brandi Malone. I heard all about the fire at the Nowhere. A trucker who stopped here for lunch yesterday said he drove slow past it but couldn’t see much, except that the whole back side of the building was on fire. Who do you think did it?”
“Sissie, coffee,” Dan reminded her.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
When she vanished, Brandi studied him. “You brought me here on purpose, didn’t you, Sheriff.”
“Maybe. I told you I’m not ashamed of being seen with you. You’re a beautiful woman, and someone I’m looking forward to knowing completely.”
“But you won’t come up to my room tonight.” She wasn’t asking; she already knew the answer.
“Right. I want what happens between you and me to be private, and I know it wouldn’t be in the Franklins’ house.”
She loved the way he looked right at her when he talked. “Let me guess. You’ve never gone out with a woman in this town since your wife left you. You’ve never put your arm around one in public, or even flirted with a lady for all the world to see.”
“Correct.”
“And that kiss on New Year’s Eve was the woman’s advance, not yours, right?”
“Right.”
Brandi leaned back, trying to understand the man before her. It wasn’t her he refused to touch in public, it was anyone. He’d brought her here to let her know he didn’t mind being seen with her.
“So tell me, Sheriff. What do you plan to do with me in private?”
He smiled. “Everything.” His gaze never wavered from hers.
“I think I’ll wait around until you keep that promise. Then I’ll move on after we make memories neither of us will ever forget.” She raised three fingers as if giving a Girl Scout salute. “Nothing in public and everything in private. How can a girl turn down an offer like that?”
Sissie delivered the coffee and pie but didn’t interrupt what she thought was an interview.
Brandi took a bite of the chocolate pie. “You didn’t tell the waitress what kind of pie, and I saw several in the case when we walked in.”
“I like chocolate. I guess after ordering it a couple times a week for twenty years, they probably figured it out.”
She took another bite. “What if I didn’t like chocolate?”
“Then I’d eat both and order you what you want.” He ate a third of his pie in one bite then added, “Anything you want, Brandi?”
She had a feeling they were no longer talking about dessert. “We’d better get back to the interview, Sheriff. I’m starting to get the feeling I might be on the menu.”
Dan finished his pie and then asked her several questions about the night of the fire. Who she saw. What she heard. What employees left before her. Who she thought remained in the building.
She moved her foot back beside his leg and felt his hand gently stroking her calf. The man turned her on simply by looking at her. And she could so get used to his touch.
When they got back in the car and the doors were closed, she looked at him and said, “I want you so badly I feel like I’m starving, Sheriff.”
He didn’t say a word; he just drove through the snow that was quickly turning to slush. He parked in front of the county offices. She followed him into his office to look at mug shots. Miss Pearly never left her side. Dan sat at his desk, thumbing through notes, but Brandi could feel him watching her.
“I’m so starstruck. I’ve never met a real singer,” Pearly gushed.
“It’s just a way to make a living,” Brandi said, as she turned the pages of mug shots.
“I bet it’s real exciting. I’ve seen how music folks live. One wild party after another. Did you ever trash out a hotel room? I’ve heard that’s almost expected of bands.”
“I’m not in a band. It’s just me and my guitar on stage.”
Brandi was polite. The sheriff professional. Thirty minutes later, when they left, Brandi felt like she was trapped. “Am I ever going to be alone with you?”
Dan laughed. “We’ll find a way.”
When he pulled into his lake house drive, though, he was silent.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Brandi asked. “You could take me to the grocery store, then we could go back to the B and B and I’d try to sneak you in the back door. We could eat junk food in bed and forget about dinner.”
“No. I’m fine.” His gloved hands gripped the steering wheel. “I just don’t know if I can keep this up much longer either. Since you kissed me at lunch a few days ago, all I’ve thought about is being with you. If we’d never met, I think I could have gone on with my life the same way forever, but now...”
“I know,” she whispered. “Keep it private, remember? Your words, not mine.”
“All I’ve thought about is the way I touched you yesterday morning. It was like one perfect moment.”
He cut the engine.
“Me, too,” she said. With the car turned off, she could see his outline in the pale sunset. “You tell me one of your thoughts about me, and I’ll tell you one I had about you. Then, when we’re inside, we can think about them even if half the town comes to dinner.”
“I don’t usually talk about things like this,” he said.
“You just do them?”
“No. I don’t do much of the doing either.”
She thought of saying she also didn’t. Now and then she’d imagine having a sexy time with a movie star filling in as a lover. But she couldn’t tell him the truth. She was wild, remember. And the fantasy of her would always be with him when she left. “I’d like to watch you take off your uniform,” she began. “When your shirt is gone, I want you to stop so I can move my fingers over your chest for a while. Until you grow used to my touch and want more.”
“Really? I promise you taking my shirt off won’t be exciting, but I could get into the touching.” Dan turned toward her and lowered his voice. “I wouldn’t mind watching you, though. When you were singing the other night, I kept wishing you’d touch me with the tenderness you do your guitar.”
She loved the way his voice sounded, low and sexy. “I have a tattoo you’ll have to examine.”
“Where is it?”
“You’ll have to explore to find it. Would it bother you if we leave the light on when we make love? I’d like to see your face when I drive you mad.”
“No, I don’t mind. I’d have more to remember. Give me a hint where the tattoo is.”
B
efore she could answer, something moved across the windshield, brushing the newly fallen snow aside. A gloved hand.
“Pop. You all right? You didn’t come in,” a slender blonde in her early twenties yelled. Her hair was up in a braid around her head, almost like a halo.
Dan opened his door. “We’re fine, just waiting for the snow to let up a little. I brought someone home for dinner, since you were making chili.”
Brandi climbed out of the car. “I hope it’s not any trouble,” she said as she offered her hand. “Lauren, right? I’m Brandi Malone.”
“No trouble.” The sheriff’s daughter had her father’s honest eyes. “I rounded up a few strays, too. I mean, I invited a few people, too, friends from high school.”
Lauren led the way up the steps. “Nice to meet you, Miss Malone. I’ve heard you’re a great singer. Sorry someone set fire to the Nowhere. Tim and I were talking about going there one night while I’m home.”
“Call me Brandi.”
The angel of a woman gave a quick nod and hurried to the door.
There was no doubt Lauren was nervous. Another hint that Dan had never brought a woman home before. The guy lived like a monk. She was going to have a grand time taking him to the edge of sanity, assuming they ever had time alone.
Brandi wasn’t surprised at Lauren’s comment about the fire. She probably knew more about what was going on with the investigation than Brandi did. Once Hank found out his insurance would cover all the damages, he stopped talking about the fire and gave all his attention to planning the remodeling. Backstage was really the only part of the place he hadn’t mentioned redoing for the grand opening.
Dan took Brandi’s arm and steadied her across a wide porch and into his home. She was amazed at how welcoming the lake house seemed. It wasn’t big, but it felt lived in.
Dan pulled off his service belt while Brandi stepped out of her snow boots and left them at the door. She followed Lauren through the living area, which had a fireplace mantel covered with pictures of Lauren at every age. A worn recliner sat directly in front of a TV. There was a desk, almost as cluttered as the one in Dan’s office, a great stereo system along one wall, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on the other side of the room that seemed to wrap around and continue into the hallway.
Two young men stood on either end of the kitchen. Neither looked happy. These must be the strays Lauren had brought home.
Dan took over the introductions. “Brandi, meet Lucas Reyes, the finest lawyer in Crossroads. He was a great help looking for Thatcher last night. We were afraid he fell into or was tossed down the canyon. Lucas worked with me all night searching, and we were both very relieved to hear he was safe this morning.”
“He’s the only lawyer in Crossroads,” the man at the far end of the kitchen said. “And he’s only passing through. Lucas lives in Houston.”
Dan introduced the other man, who also looked to be in his midtwenties. Tall, very thin, with a red beard that gave him a pirate look. “Tim O’Grady, who lives down the shore a few hundred feet.”
“Tim’s a writer, Brandi, and I think he looks like a young, redheaded Hemingway, don’t you?” Dan seemed more interested in the hot sauce and chips than talking, but he’d done his duty as host by introducing everyone.
Tim barely gave her a nod before he turned to the sheriff. “You said Thatcher’s safe, but where is he?”
Dan’s face hardened. “He’ll be safest if no one but me knows that answer.”
“So you’re leaving me, your daughter and even the great Lucas Reyes out of the circle, Sheriff?”
“I am, at least until we find the men who attacked Thatcher. I’ve got two investigations keeping me busy right now, and the last thing I need is a crowd of people interfering.” Dan’s voice softened. “What’s the matter, Tim, something bothering you? You usually have a little more patience with investigations.”
Brandi didn’t miss the way Tim’s gaze darted to Lauren. As an outsider guessing, she’d say “lovers’ quarrel,” but Dan had mentioned that his daughter wasn’t dating anyone.
Later, when she saw Lucas brush Lauren’s side as he passed her, she reconsidered. A love triangle was more likely, and the sheriff was totally unaware. For a smart man who made a habit of knowing details, Dan Brigman had a blind eye where his daughter was concerned.
All three were obviously friends. They talked of growing up together, but tonight there was something between the two men. A tension. An anger. She’d bet a month’s pay that it had to do with Lauren. The sheriff’s daughter might be shy, but she was the only one in the room who knew exactly what was going on.
Brandi did her best to fit in. When she asked Tim a question about his occupation, Lucas’s dark eyes flashed at the redheaded man. “Tim O’Grady is the only writer in town, so I guess that makes him the finest. But don’t look for his books in print. They’re only made of air.”
“They’re ebooks, man. Where have you been?”
Dan looked at Brandi and raised an eyebrow, as if to say he had no idea who the two men having dinner at his table were or why his daughter had invited them.
Brandi grinned and tilted her head toward the sheriff’s daughter, who was busy collecting dessert and not looking at either of her guests.
He shook his head slightly as the two men continued their discussion of what counted as a real book. Dan moved his chair closer to Brandi.
“They’re not fighting over books, Dan, they’re fighting over your daughter,” she whispered.
“Impossible.”
“I’ll bet you.” She watched Lauren, shy and adorable. She seemed to ignore both Tim and Lucas as their argument grew.
“You’re on.” Dan bumped Brandi’s shoulder, well aware that no one in the room was paying any attention to them. “Name the bet.”
Brandi leaned closer and whispered, “Loser has to strip completely while the winner watches.”
“You’ve got a bet.” His honest eyes had sparks of fire dancing in them. “I’m going to love every minute of watching you.”
“You’re losing this bet, Sheriff.”
He turned back to the kitchen and yelled over the argument. “How about Brandi and I do the dishes and you three take your dessert with you? I know you kids want to go over to Tim’s place and watch movies.”
Lauren laughed. “Pop, we haven’t done that since we were in high school.”
“Well, then, you’ve got lots of shows to catch up on.” He looked from Lucas to Tim. “I remember when you were hurt, Tim. Lucas used to come visit you every day and help you with your homework.”
Both the young men settled. They’d been friends once, good friends, and the sheriff was reminding them of that before the argument turned into a fight.
The redhead nodded at Lucas. “I only agreed to dinner because we all need to put our heads together and figure out how help Thatcher. Not only is he ruining his chances at getting into a good school, the kid’s only eighteen and there are two kidnappers looking for him. Somehow I have a feeling the jail attack is related to the incident at the truck stop. It’s just too much of a coincidence that both things happened within a few days of each other.”
Lucas nodded. “I agree. We get to the bottom of one, and we solve the other.” Lucas looked straight at Dan. “We’re going to help, Sheriff. You might as well know it.”
Dan gave a quick nod as if giving in to the fact he’d have help whether he wanted it or not. “Thatcher’s got more survival skills than all of us put together,” he admitted as he pulled Brandi’s chair out and brushed her shoulder by accident as he stepped away.
The sheriff was smiling at Brandi until he noticed the other two guests at dinner were fighting over who would pull Lauren’s chair out.
Lucas asked Lauren if she wanted to go for coffee to discuss helping Thatcher. She didn’t look to
o interested.
Then Tim said he’d tag along. If possible, she looked even less interested.
“Go on.” Dan ended the speculation. “You three go and talk it out, or you can stay here and I’ll take Brandi home while you three wash up.”
Suddenly everyone under thirty was pulling on coats and hats. In less time then Brandi would have imagined, all three were out the door.
Dan watched them drive away. “You’re right. Something is going on with those three.”
“Both men either are or want to be sleeping with your daughter.” Brandi laughed. “And from her body language, she doesn’t like either one of them right now.”
Dan shook his head. “I’ll never understand women and I raised one. When she was little, it was so easy. Even from the first after her mother left, she was always trying to take care of me.”
Brandi moved behind him and gently placed her hands on either side of his waist. “Dan, we’re finally alone and you lost the bet.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A SILENCE SEEMED TO settle on the little lake house like velvet lace. Brandi could hear herself breathe. She’d wanted to be alone with Dan Brigman since she’d first seen him, but the time was either too short or people were too close.
Now finally, it was just the two of them.
He slowly turned, reached around her and clicked off the kitchen light. The glow from the living room made the small space, even with dishes everywhere, seem romantic.
“How about we stop talking altogether?” He leaned against the counter and tugged her to him.
“I’m just fine with that,” she said, moving into his arms without hesitating.
Their first kiss was tender, almost too gentle to be real. When he pulled away, he stared down at her. “You fit perfect against me. I love the feel of you. The way you move.”
“I thought we weren’t going to talk.”
“Right.” He kissed her again. A little deeper this time. They were settling into one another, and she knew he felt the same as she did, just right in his arms. From the first time he’d touched her when he’d helped her put her boot on, she’d craved the stroke of his fingers.