Her friend looked confused, her gaze darting around, landing on the one man who always brought a spark to her eyes.
She sighed. “Doesn’t he look heavenly?”
Melanie studied her friend and knew at that very moment Paul Nadar meant the world to Kay. She just wouldn’t admit it to anyone—including herself.
Somehow Melanie had to get the two back together. She wasn’t sure how. The two were perfect for one another and Melanie had to find a way to help them come to terms with that.
* * *
Knox sipped his beer, admiring the ice sculpture in front of him. A bald eagle depicted in flight. Beautifully done. Crystal clear, sparkling like a multifaceted diamond. The man who created it clearly was an artist in his own right.
“It’s amazing isn’t it?” A female voice asked from beside him.
Knox glanced over to find Melanie’s friend standing next to him.
“The name’s Kay, by the way.” She extended her hand to Knox.
He shook it. “Knox Manning.”
“Yes, I know.” Her eyes connected with his. “She only does these sculptures to pay for her painting supplies.”
Knox was confused. Who was she talking about? Was he supposed to know? “She?” he asked, glancing back at the eagle.
“Melanie, of course. She’s made them for the last three centennials. Last year’s was a mermaid diving into the ocean. It was gorgeous.”
Knox’s looked at the eagle again. Melanie had done the sculpture? What a talented artist she was. He’d never dreamed she could create something so lifelike out of a block of ice.
“Painting is her true passion. She has her first showing at Shavendoah’s Gallery in Chicago next week. A goal she's been working toward for years.”
“She’s talented.” Knox's mind wandered to an image of Melanie’s hands creating a piece of work. Those capable hands on him, her feathery touch gliding over every inch of his body. The mere thought sent a bolt of desire shooting through him and made his cock respond with a rigid salute. Damn. The woman was driving him crazy. He wanted her with every breath he took. Tonight she’d be his if he had to tie her up with a fire hose and kiss her senseless.
“Where’d Melanie go?” he asked, too impatient to wait any longer. At this point they’d be lucky if they made it to his apartment. He might just make love to her in his truck, in the parking lot of the County Mart. Who gave a shit if his ass was seen by all bystanders making their way to their cars for the night? He was about to explode. He wanted Melanie and he wasn’t waiting for her to come to him.
“She went to get a sweater out of her car. It’s parked behind the thrift store.”
“Thanks. Oh and, Kay, if she doesn’t come back, don’t worry. She’ll be in capable hands.”
Kay smiled. “Yes, I’m sure of that.”
Knox grinned back at her. Melanie’s friend seemed as jaded as he was. She knew the score and had no problem with what he had planned for her friend.
He walked past the platform and headed down the path toward the small strip mall where Barton’s only thrift store was located. A montage of flattering observations pinged around in his brain. Women loved to hear how beautiful they were, how terribly appealing you found them. But Melanie didn’t seem to be the typical vain type. He might need to use a different tactic with her. Tell her how he found her art moving. And while he was at it, ask if they could go to her place to check out her etchings.
God, what the hell was he thinking? No way was he going to say something so lame. Besides, she’d know it was a line. She wasn’t dumb. He’d have to handle Melanie with kid gloves if he wanted her to go to bed with him.
A woman’s angry voice interrupted the silence, drawing Knox out of his thoughts of seduction.
“You’d just better stay away from him or I’ll make sure you pay,” the female voice said, a determined air to her tone.
“Like I said, I don’t have any intentions toward your husband. He’s the one who keeps pursuing me.”
Knox stopped in his tracks. No way. It wasn’t Melanie. Was it? What the hell was going on? Who was this other woman and had Melanie been messing around with her husband?
“Dean told me you keep calling him. Telling him to leave me. I know about everything, you little bitch.”
“No, you know nothing,” Melanie’s voice rose an octave, “Your husband won’t leave me alone. As soon as I found out he was married I refused to see him again. He’s the one who won’t let go.”
“Right! Like I’d believe anything you say. You’re nothing but a skinny-assed home wrecker. Did you ever once think of our children? They’re just babies. They need their father.”
“Believe me, I don’t want your husband, Mrs. Grainger. If you want someone to blame, look to Dean for that. I had no idea when I met him that he was married. Now I’m going. Please just leave me alone.”
Disillusionment wrapped around Knox’s shoulders like a heavy wool blanket, weighing him down. The ramifications of what Melanie had said quickly sank in. She knew Dean Grainger—had dated the man—and lied to him about the whole sordid mess. Which now meant she had a motive for arson, a big reason to extract revenge against the Grainger family. An affair with a married man, one who refused to leave his wife for her, was a pretty good reason to set fire to their home.
The desire for Melanie vanished and was quickly replaced with anger.
Knox turned and retraced his steps to the dance floor. How could he have been so stupid? Falling for a woman who burns down houses for revenge.
Never again would he allow his personal feelings to get in the way of his job.
Melanie Sharp had once again become the prime suspect in his arson case and that meant she was null and void in any other capacity.
* * *
Melanie weaved her way through the crowd of people, mortified by what had just happened. Tracy Grainger had no idea about her husband’s twisted personality. Was blind to the man’s lies. Melanie wasn’t. She knew who Dean was. An opportunist. If she had been willing to continue to see him then he would have left his wife. But since she hadn’t been, he’d told Tracy that Melanie was the one instigating their relationship. That she wouldn’t leave him alone.
Why were men such pigs?
Dean Grainger was as rotten as they came. She’d need to steer clear of that whole family.
She crossed the dance floor and made her way to Kay, who leaned on the refreshment table, a glass in her hand. When she saw Melanie coming she frowned. “What are you doing back?” Kay’s voice was almost accusing.
“I just went to get a sweater. What did you think I was going to do? Leave?”
“Yes,” Kay shot back. “With Knox. He went looking for you. What happened?”
Melanie's eyes widened. She hadn’t seen him. Suddenly the encounter with Tracy Grainger resurfaced. Had Knox overheard their argument?
She played it back in her mind. Oh God! She’d admitted to dating Dean. Just the opposite of what she’d told Knox. She’d said she didn’t know the Grainger’s. Now he knew she’d lied and would use it as a motive for her to have set the fire. “Why was he coming to talk to me?” Melanie asked Kay, a sick, sinking feeling now in the pit of her stomach.
“He planned to take you home with him. The man had passion shooting from his eyes. It was clear he had designs on you. What the heck happened?”
“Tracy Grainger happened. She cornered me at my car. Told me to stay away from Dean. Knox must have overheard the conversation and changed his mind. From what was said, he now knows I was seeing Dean and that I lied to him when he came to discuss the fire. I told him I didn’t know the Grainger’s.”
Kay shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mel. I wish I hadn’t told him where you were.”
“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.”
“Now what?” Kay asked.
“I guess I’ll be on the top of his list of suspects again. He’ll be especially vigilant now that he knows I lied about Dean. He’ll probably
even believe what Tracy said. That I was in love with Dean and wouldn’t leave him alone.”
Kay sat her cup on the table and grasped Melanie by the shoulders. “You’ll just have to tell him the truth, prove to him you have no interest in Dean Grainger. Use your feminine wiles. Show him that his firemen’s pole is the only one you’d like to slide up and down. And if that doesn’t work, prove it to him.”
“You mean—”
Kay nodded. “Yes. You do what you have to, to get him hot.”
“I can’t do that, Kay.”
“Yes you can. I know you want him and, up until a few minutes ago, Knox wanted you. Do what you have to, Mel, or you just might end up in a maximum security prison, in a cell block filled with love-starved women vying for your affection.”
The awful image took shape in Melanie’s troubled mind. She refused to go to jail. She had to do something. Would seducing Knox prevent her incarceration? Would she even be able to lure him into bed?
She cringed at the thought of rejection.
Rejection or not she had to do something and fast before she found herself in a prison cell with Kay’s scenario a high probability.
Chapter Seven
Knox tapped lightly on his sister Tara's front door and waited. He needed something to ground him today and she'd always been able to do that in the past.
When no one answered he knocked again.
A few seconds later the door eased opened, a small pair of fingers reaching around the doorframe. A little boy’s cherub face popped out, his green eyes lighting up with excitement. “Uncle Knox!”
The boy charged toward him and leaped into his arms. “Cody. How’s my superhero today?”
The exhilaration on the little boys face faded. “Mommy said I can’t be Spidey anymore. She said I’d get hurt.”
That sounded like his sister. Since Tony went on the lam, she’d been overly protective of the boys.
Knox smiled. “Well, have you decided what you’re going to be now?”
“I wanta be a fireman like you, Uncle Knox.”
Knox’s heart swelled with pride. “You do, huh? What would your mom think of that?”
The boy’s eyes grew huge. “Don’t tell her. She won’t let me do anything anymore.”
“She’s just being a mom. Like Grandma was with me. She’s scared you’ll hurt yourself.”
“I wanta be a fireman bad. Maybe you can talk to Mommy. Tell her I won’t get hurt.”
“I’ll see what I can do, okay? Where is your mom anyway?”
“She went to put Ty in bed. He has the sniffles. He’s been real icky.”
Knox loved both his nephews and hated when either was sick. “Has he? Are you getting a cold, too?”
“Nope. I’m tough.” Cody flexed his stick arms. “Mommy said she hopes I don’t get it. She said she needs to get some sleep tonight.”
Knox carried Cody into the house and placed him in front of the entertainment center in the living room. “You think you might tell your mommy I’m here without waking Ty?”
“Yep, I can.” He puffed out his chest. “You promise to ask Mommy if I can be a fireman.”
Knox ran his hand over the boy’s dark buzz-cut hair. “Sure thing, buddy.”
When Cody ran from the room Knox glanced around. Even with a sick child, Tara kept the place looking like an ad from Good Housekeeping. How his sister had time to breathe, let alone clean, was a surprise to him. His apartment was a mess and he was never there. Tara had two rambunctious boys and her place looked like a shrine. She’d clearly gotten the clean gene in their family.
“Knoxville, what are you doing here?” a soft voice asked from behind him.
Knox snapped around. “Don’t call me that,” he snarled. “You know I can’t stand it. I don’t care if I was conceived there. They didn’t have to give me the name to immortalize the event.”
Tara laughed. “You know Dad and his love of history.”
“Yeah, unfortunately I know Dad. Is he still seeing that waitress in Wagner? Or has he moved on again?”
“I know you don’t like Dad’s lifestyle, Knox, but remember, he’s your father. You need to show him some respect.”
“When Mom can walk freely in town without everybody whispering about how blind she’d been to his philandering, I will.”
Tara’s eyes narrowed. “Mom doesn’t care what people think. Neither should you. Besides, you’re no angel according to what I’ve heard.”
“I’m not married,” Knox said in his own defense. “Dad was.”
“Mom and Dad had problems for years. You were just too busy with sports to see that.”
“We’ve been over this a thousand times, Tara. I don’t want to get into it again. So Cody told me Ty’s sick. What’s wrong?”
“He’s got the sniffles. He’s better today. I’m just praying Cody doesn’t catch it. You know how he gets when he’s not feeling well.”
Knox nodded. Cody didn’t deal well with being sick. He was an active child, and when he couldn’t be, it didn’t sit well with him.
“So what brings you here? Usually there’s a reason for your visits.” Tara arched a questioning brow. The look reminded him of their mother. Barbara Manning always graced him with the same expression when she was trying to extract information from him. His sister had learned how to play him with equal skill.
“Well,” Tara prompted. “I’m waiting.”
Knox shrugged. “The chief’s been on my back about Sandra. She won’t stop calling and…I’ve got an arson case that’s been bugging me.”
Tara pointed to the couch. “Sit and tell me who she is.”
“What do you mean?” Knox stared at his sister, flabbergasted that she read him like a book. Then again, he did the same with her. Instinctively he knew if Tara was troubled. She obviously had the same gift when it came to him, knew something beyond work and his ex was on his mind.
He sat on the sofa and tried to organize his thoughts.
Tara plopped down in the chair across from him and Knox noticed how tired she looked. Maybe if he took the boys out when Ty was feeling better it would give his sister some much-needed rest.
“So tell me about her.” Tara’s eyes lit up at the prospect of hearing something juicy. Clearly she needed to get a life. Quit living through his.
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“Right. You forget who you’re talking to. I know you, dear brother. I can see that for once a woman is on your mind instead of a fire.”
Knox frowned, shifting uncomfortably on the sofa. “How can you see that?”
Tara placed her hands firmly on the arms of the chair and leaned forward. “I just can. Now tell me who she is.”
She wouldn’t stop hounding him until he told her about Melanie. He knew that. He might as well spill his guts. Maybe his sister would have some clear answers as to why he felt so drawn to a woman who he shouldn’t be.
“Okay, okay. There is a woman. Though I have no idea why I’m even thinking about her. She’s the prime suspect in this arson case I’m working on.”
“Wow, talk about a conflict. Do you think she did it?”
“I didn’t until last night.”
Tara frowned at his remark. “Last night? What happened to change your mind?”
“She was screwing around with the married guy who owned the house. So she had a motive.”
His sister’s eyes narrowed again. “That would be a motive. Why are you interested in this woman? She sounds like an awful person. Having an affair with a married man? Especially with how you feel about Dad and what he did to Mom.”
“I found out last night. Before that she’d told me she didn’t know the family in question.”
“So she lied as well.” Tara shrugged. “What’s the problem?”
What was his problem? Hell if he knew. “I guess the problem is I can’t stop thinking about her.”
Tara’s hazel eyes grew enormous and from the look on her face, she was trying hard not to smile
.
“What’s so funny?” Knox’s tone was sharper than he’d intended it to be. Why would his sister think this situation amusing? He’d always felt her pain, had been there after Tony had knocked her around and stood by her when she’d decided that she’d had enough of his abuse.
“I’m sorry, Knox. I’ve just never seen you like this. It’s a nice change.”
“What do you mean, a nice change?”
“Well, it’s good to see that you actually can feel something for a woman, though this one doesn’t sound like the right lady to get involved with. What about your career? She might put a damper on any advancement, especially after Sandra.”
“I know that, Sis. It’s just that no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get her off my mind. She pops into my head when I least expect her to. I was seriously considering sleeping with her last night before I found out about the affair.”
“How did you find out?”
“I overheard her arguing with the guy’s wife.” Knox shifted on the sofa again, replaying the women’s argument over in his head. Melanie hadn’t denied seeing Dean Grainger, though she did say she had no idea he was married at the time. As soon as she found out she ended it.
She ended it?
Was that right? Could she have been a victim in this, too?
Knox didn’t know what to think. There was only one way to find out the truth—one person who knew the answers to the questions plaguing him.
“I gotta run, Sis. I have to see a girl about a fire.”
* * *
Melanie dipped her brush into a glob of black paint and swept it across the empty canvas.
She was in a dark mood and it was getting darker by the second.
Knox Manning was the cause. He was the reason she had a storm cloud hovering and it was about to rain all over her. Without even giving Melanie a chance to tell her side of the story, he’d heard and misread only one side, choosing to believe what Tracy Grainger had said. He thought she was a home wrecker and an arsonist all rolled up into one person.
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