Somebody Like You: A Sugar Shack Novel
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Deputy James Harley.
His intense gaze perused her body like he was on the cruise of a lifetime and enjoying the trip. He’d looked at her that same way just a few months ago—braced above her on arms thick with muscle while the rest of his hot, hard body did the talking.
A tingle ignited from her head, sizzled like a fuse down the front of her shirt, and detonated beneath the zipper on her jeans. Her skin turned hot and a flush crept up her chest. All thanks to the memory of one night in James Harley’s bed.
As a deputy sheriff he’d sworn to serve and protect. During the hours she’d spent rolling in his sheets, he’d done both. At least from what she remembered.
The night of Kate’s wedding reception, Kelly knew she should have stayed focused on carrying out her maid-of-honor duties. But one too many glasses of exceptional champagne had dislodged a few of her bolts and screws and she’d completely given herself over to whim and mind-bending orgasms. Afterward, she’d made a promise to herself to get a serious handle on the sometimes uncontainable urges that never ceased to embarrass the hell out of her. Even if they did provide a real jolt of excitement.
She blinked away the sweaty memory of the hot, sexy man on the opposite side of the counter, sucked in a breath, and stepped up beside Kate. “What do you need me to do?”
“Could you box up that chocolate cake and then fill James’s lunch order?”
Crap. “Sure.” Kill me now. Please.
Her hands uncharacteristically trembled as she opened a pastry box and lifted Dr. Robinson’s double chocolate birthday cake from the display case. She didn’t know why her stomach was so keyed up. She’d spent the last seven years in the heat of the spotlight, prosecuting some of the dirtiest criminals in the state of Illinois, and she’d never once been nervous.
So why did taking a lunch order seem so damned intimidating?
With a smile she handed the pastry box over the counter to Dr. Robinson’s nurse and rang up the bill on the register. She closed the cash drawer and wiped her hands down the front of her apron, leaving a streak of chocolate. When she looked up hot cop was standing at the lunch counter. Muscled arms expanded from beneath his short uniform sleeves while the fitted shirt hugged his wide chest and slim waist. Kelly knew that beneath all that khaki fabric was a talented body of pure strength and muscle. A very talented body.
God, her thoughts were a train wreck.
She grabbed the pencil and order pad. “Can I help you?”
A smile crinkled the corners of his brown eyes and a slow blink swept long, dark lashes across his cheeks. “You’re back.”
“Apparently.”
He chuckled. “And you’re not happy to see me.”
“I’m not not happy to see you.”
“Okay then. I’ll take that for starters.”
Oh, no. His days of taking from her were over. She was on a save your soul and sanity mission. No boys allowed. “And what would you like to eat?”
The spark in his eyes guaranteed she wouldn’t need a Geiger counter to detect what he was thinking. “Sandwich, Deputy Harley. What kind would you like?”
“I’d like two tuna subs. No tomato. Two iced teas.” He settled a lean hip against the counter. “And your phone number.”
A laugh escaped before she could stop it. “That will be nine fifty-six.”
“Is that a no?” He reached into his back pocket, withdrew a worn leather wallet, and handed her a twenty.
Her fingers curled around the money. “I’m sure you have all the numbers you can handle.”
James held onto the cash, just to be able to touch her for half a second. “I’d be willing to throw all those numbers away in exchange.”
Since she was a pro and could read a lie a mile away she probably thought he was bullshitting her. But he’d never been more serious.
One night with Kelly Silverthorne hadn’t been nearly enough. Once she’d hightailed it out of town he’d tried to discount the hours he’d spent with her in his arms but it had been impossible. Now here she was again. And everything inside of him was buzzing with awareness.
As expected she looked up and studied his face like he’d been named a prime suspect. He knew that look. On the job he’d used it himself once or twice.
“Without all those phone numbers what would you do on a rainy day, Deputy?” Her head tilted just slightly and her ivory hair fanned like silk across her shoulder. “I’d hate to be the cause of your ultimate frustration.”
“Nice jab, Counselor.” James steadied his breath as he watched her delicate fingers punch the amount into the register and slide the cash into the drawer. Kelly Silverthorne was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. And he’d seen plenty. From the second grade he’d watched her, admired her, and had probably had a crush on her even though the only glances she’d ever returned had been rife with warnings to keep his distance.
The night she’d ended up in his bed? No one could have been more surprised. Oh, he wasn’t about to complain. No way. The counselor was hot. And sweet. And way out of his league. Though he knew he’d had his one and only shot with her, he craved her like a decadent dessert or a fine wine. One taste was just not enough to satisfy.
He watched as she grabbed the sandwich rolls, cautiously sliced through them, and spread a thin layer of mayonnaise across the surface. She topped the bread with perfectly rounded scoops of tuna salad and carefully placed leaves of crunchy lettuce on top. Every movement was smooth and calculated, as if she’d be judged on her placement and presentation.
In an attempt to gain control over his body and all the odd stirrings around his heart, he looked away. A quick glance at the two sisters revealed the vast differences. Kate, his best friend’s new wife, was a bit taller and looked as if in a scrap she could hold her own. Her straight auburn hair displayed a meager reflection of her fiery personality. Whereas Kelly, a few inches shorter, teetered on the more delicate side. She looked like a woman a man would jump to protect. Her long ivory hair had a soft curl that made her glow like sunshine.
He smiled.
At least she’d lit up his world. For a night.
“So what made you leave the Windy City and come all the way back to our little town?” he asked as she wrapped each sandwich in white paper as carefully as if she’d been swaddling a newborn.
“Just needed a break.” She slid the packaged sandwich into a crisp white bag.
“Most people who need a break hit a tropical beach. Not some dusty back road to nowhere.”
“Maybe nowhere is exactly where I want to be.” She shoved the second sandwich into the bag a little less carefully.
Whoa. Was it his imagination or was he detecting some underlying aggression?
“Well, I’m sure your family will be happy to have you around for a little while,” he said, watching her graceful fingers fold down the top of the bag.
She gave him no response as she set the bag on the counter, grabbed two paper cups, and began to fill them with iced tea.
“So . . . exactly how long of a little while will that be?” he asked.
The glass pitcher thunked on the counter and tea sloshed up the sides. “The length of my stay is really no concern of yours, Deputy Harley.”
“True. But I’m more than willing to change that if you are.”
A smile tilted her soft, full lips. “You really are incorrigible.”
He mirrored her expression. “It’s a cross I bear.”
She set the cups of tea down in front of him and pushed plastic caps over the rims. “I hope you enjoy your lunch, Deputy Harley. Please do come again soon.”
“Is that an invitation?” Say yes, Angelface.
Her delicate brows pulled together over sea-green eyes. “Are you serious?”
“As a tortoise trying to cross the road.”
“I’m sorry, Deputy—”
“I think we know each other well enough to be on a first name basis, don’t you?” Her slight hesitation gave him hope.
James smiled. He knew exactly how loudly Kelly lost control. And exactly what made her lose it. Then again, he was more than willing to invent new techniques to make that happen too. Even if it took all night. Please God, let it take all night.
If Princess Prosecutor imagined him as a man who gave up easily, she’d be very wrong.
“You know . . .” He leaned closer and spoke low, for her ears only. “If you give me your number you might just have a little fun losing a little control for the little while you’re here.” He lifted the bag and cups from the counter, stepped back, and gave her a good long appreciative once over. “Or is that what you’re afraid of?”
CHAPTER THREE
Whether she’d intended to or not, Kelly found herself immersed in the high-energy swing of things. She didn’t mind helping out her family, but she hadn’t come home to push pastries. Yet, in a matter of minutes after she’d stepped through the door of the Sugar Shack, Kate had her packaging up cakes and taking orders from a certain tall, sexy, smart-aleck customer who made her want to reconsider all those stringent rules she’d imposed on herself.
Eventually she’d found her escape and slipped out the back door of the old red brick building and into the alley that ran behind Buck’s Gun Shop and the Once Again Bookstore. She flipped through the minivan keys on the keychain she’d snagged from Kate’s purse and tried to soak in the oddity that her sister had traded in her BMW for a minivan. If there was a single person on the planet who did not fit the minivan mold, it had to be Kate.
Behind her, a low rumble bounced off the walls of the surrounding buildings. Kelly turned as Dean, her ex–NFL superstar brother, pulled up into the alley, rolled down the window of his SUV, and flashed her a gotcha grin.
“Car theft is against the law, you know.”
She held up the cupcake-shaped charm on the ring and jingled the contents. “Not if you have the keys.”
“I know a good attorney who could prove otherwise.”
Yeah, and that would be one of the easier things she’d ever have to do in her career. “Are you stalking me or did you really just happen to be driving by?”
“Emma sent me down to the True Value to pick up some new gloves. She wore a hole in hers planting the garden.”
Kelly leaned her arms on the SUV’s window sill. “Wow. It’s really weird to see you so domesticated.”
“Tell me about it. And I don’t even have the ring on my hand yet.”
“You’re loving it. I can tell.”
“Seriously loving it.” His handsome face broke into a grin. “To think just four months ago I was sweating it out, wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Today, I’ve barely got time to think about football.”
“So you don’t miss it?”
“Every once in a while. But then I look at Emma and everything we’re building together. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“Congratulations, big brother.”
“Thanks.” He reached across the seat and moved a bag and stack of papers from the passenger seat. “Hop in. I’ll give you a ride.”
“What about Kate’s keys?”
He laughed. “Just open the back door of the bakery, toss ’em inside, and run like hell.”
Kelly did just that and within seconds they were out on Main Street whizzing past the Blue Moon Café. Her stomach rumbled. During her visit, she promised to treat herself to one of the restaurant’s to-die-for Monte Cristo sandwiches they served with homemade huckleberry jam.
If she thought Dean was just being a good brother and giving her a ride home, she’d be wrong. As crafty as he’d been with a fake pass on the football field, he sneaked past the street that would take them to their parents’ house.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m kidnapping you.” With a laugh that fell short of evil, he headed straight to the Clear Creek Lodge, the beautiful mountain resort home he and Emma would share once they were married in a few weeks.
When they arrived, Dean gave her a tour of the place and showed her the recent changes they’d made to the guest cabins. The Letty Silverthorne Sunshine Camp had already had two groups of special needs campers come through. Dean told her both had been successful and that they had a third group coming in a few weeks after he and Emma returned from their honeymoon. From there he ushered her into the huge house where he proceeded to corner her in his office with a Diet Pepsi and a stack of organizational documents. One of the things she admired most about her brother was the passion he’d put into the camp for special-needs kids he’d created in honor of their late mother. As an attorney and a board member of the Letty Silverthorne Sunshine Camp, Kelly was more than happy to give the documents her professional once-over. Tomorrow, after a good night’s sleep, would have been better. But today would do.
“So things have been pretty rough lately in the Windy City,” Dean said, leaning back in his executive leather office chair.
“Well, there’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.”
“What happened?”
She shrugged. “It’s possible to get a murder conviction without a body, but not probable. Everyone knows Andrew Colson is guilty. We just didn’t have enough solid evidence to go beyond a reasonable doubt. I don’t think the jury found him innocent, just not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“There’s a difference?”
“For a jury that’s been instructed to follow the rules? Yeah. A big difference.”
Dean ran his hand through his hair. “Just doesn’t seem fair.”
“It’s not.” Anger and guilt coiled inside her stomach. “There’s now a killer running free while Alicia Colson’s body is God-knows-where and her children are without their mother. As you know Andrew Colson is a high-profile politician. So all we can hope for now is that somehow he’ll slip up and we can get him on another charge. But we’ll never be able to try him again for Alicia’s murder.”
“Double jeopardy.”
“Yeah. Whoever thought up that rule was crazy.” If it was up to her, she’d try the bastard ten times over until she could get a conviction.
“If it’s any help, I know how you feel. Like you’ve let everyone else down.” He paused. His expression darkened. And Kelly knew he was thinking about the shoulder injury that ended his NFL career. “Like you’ve failed.”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t let it take you down, Kel. Life is big. And sometimes control slips through our hands. But that doesn’t mean you failed. And that doesn’t mean there isn’t something equally as important for you to do.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “Stick your hand in the bag and see what you come up with.”
Frustrated, she lifted her glass of soda from the coaster on her brother’s desk.
“You want something a little stronger in that drink?”
She sipped, crunched a chip of ice between her teeth, and shook her head. “I just need some sleep. Maybe indulge myself in a really good book, and relax a little before I have to go back to the mines.”
“Well, don’t get your hopes up for too much R&R. I thought the same thing and look what happened to me.”
True. However, this was Deer Lick—a place where she’d spent eighteen years of her life. A place she’d always viewed as little more than a journey down a gravel road to complete and utter tedium.
Strangely, she couldn’t wait to get started.
Three hours later, as the sun hovered low over the ancient pines, Kelly had finally wrapped up the document review. Her eyes burned. Exhaustion tangled around her spine. And drowsiness spun a web around her brain. She may have dreaded crawling into her old twin-sized bed, but now it sounded like absolute heaven.
La-la land was far away as she stood inside her brother’s English cou
ntry kitchen and glanced out the huge windows that overlooked a wood deck and the lake beyond. While she’d offered to go inside and grab another bottle of Cabernet, the rest of the clan stood outside where thick slabs of sirloin sizzled on a huge stainless grill. An impromptu party atmosphere had begun to take hold and it appeared she wasn’t about to get those much needed Z’s anytime soon.
Kate and Matt stood arm-in-arm, while Dean and Emma took turns flipping the steaks. Tonight wasn’t the first time in her life Kelly had found herself the odd girl out. It was a role she’d become accustomed to over the years. Not that she always liked to be the spare tire, but more often than not her relationships never seemed to gel. Since most of her dating selections came from the legal pool, conflicts in time management and opinionated incongruities often put a big spike in the middle of her ability to find Mr. Right. Or even Mr. Right Now.
In any case, right now all she wanted or needed was to find a little peace of mind. To find a way to overcome her guilt. And to spend a little time with the people who meant the most in her life, but with whom she seemed to spend the least amount of time.
Finding Mr. Right couldn’t be further down her to-do list.
Pushing away from the counter, she went to the built-in wine rack and pulled down a bottle of Beringer Private Reserve. Then she went on the hunt to find a corkscrew.
“Third drawer on the left.”
Kelly jumped at the deep voice. She turned to find James Harley standing just inside the door of her brother’s kitchen. He’d traded in his khaki uniform for khaki cargo shorts that hung low on his lean hips, and a black T-shirt that fit snug across his wide shoulders, nicely defined chest, and narrow waist. He’d also traded in his spider-stomping boots for flip-flops. His thick sandy blond hair ranged somewhere between wind-blown and finger-combed. And from across the kitchen, Kelly caught the fresh clean scent of his recent shower. He smelled good enough to eat. Or lick.
The female part of her shot into sensual overdrive—until she noticed the Kim Kardashian clone clinging to his arm.