by Nancy Naigle
“I don’t eat a whole lot of meat anyway.”
“You one of those save-the-animal vegetarian types?”
“No. I figure I can get most of what I need from veggies. Besides, it seems like half the meat doesn’t even have any flavor anymore. Trust me, doesn’t stop me from chomping on a juicy burger now and again.”
“Good to know.” He took a bite of the chicken and had to agree that there wasn’t much use in eating anything that tasteless.
Savannah giggled.
“What?”
“Your face when you bit into that. Priceless. Hey, at least you didn’t have to cook it.”
“I don’t mind cooking. In fact, I’m a good cook. I darn sure could have done better than this. Jacob’s Diner might have the best fried chicken for miles, but I grill the best steaks around. Not a bad chicken either. I’ll have you over sometime before you leave town.” He watched intently for that wall to go up. He’d grown accustomed to it, but this time instead of tensing up, she relaxed a little. Maybe it was just being on her stomping grounds, but whatever the reason it was nice to see this side of her.
“Thanks. I think I’d like that,” she said, clearly surprised that he’d asked her.
“You’re on.” He hadn’t planned it, but now that it was out there, he was already thinking about what a night out, or rather in, might be like with her.
They finished dinner and enjoyed small talk with the others at the table until the governor took the podium to begin the ceremony.
Savannah leaned over to Scott and said, “I’m going to step off to the side to get a few pictures. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” He watched as she wove between the tables to the edge of the room. She was the girl in blue who had caught his eye earlier, and what he wouldn’t do to have her in his arms on the dance floor right now.
He forced himself to turn his attention to the governor, and good thing because he called Scott to the podium.
Thank goodness they didn’t expect him to say anything in response to the award. Music began playing from the back of the room, and the press snapped a few pictures. It was a short fanfare. Couples took to the dance floor. He watched Savannah talking with a group of people. Her eyes met his. He’d been staring. His mom would have said it was rude, but he didn’t care.
She waved to him, and he gave her a nod. She looked comfortable in the crowd. He watched her excuse herself from the group and begin making her way across the room in his direction.
He couldn’t wait to take her out on the dance floor. But then someone else interrupted his little fantasy. “Sheriff Calvin, I’m head of a special task force. I’d like to talk to you about an opportunity.”
Scott looked from the man back toward Savannah. “I—” He wanted to say he had plans, but he knew it wasn’t a request he could deny.
The man’s voice was firm. “It’ll just take a few moments of your time. Can you join us in the next room?”
What could he say? They hosted the event. They’d made him the guest of honor. “Of course, yes. Thank you.” He turned and mouthed “Sorry,” with a shrug to Savannah as the man whisked him away.
Savannah hung around until most of the people had gone, mostly in hopes that she’d run into Scott again, but she hadn’t seen any sign of him once he’d left with the group of prestigious men, including the governor and three guys who had important written all over them. Staying any longer would just look weird, and Franklin was still hanging around. She had no intention of getting into it with him again tonight.
She walked outside. Scott’s car was still in the parking lot. Clearly, they’d decided to take advantage of having him in town to talk business. She walked over to her car and got in. It was a short drive to the hotel, but she’d have rather been riding back with Scott.
The night clerk was a different one from the one she’d acted like a nut with earlier this afternoon, thank goodness. She stopped in at the bar and got a diet cola to take up to her room.
She changed out of the dress and got into her pajamas.
A diet drink, her laptop, and pajamas. She wished she’d brought prettier pajamas. If Scott stopped by when he got done, she wasn’t going to make a big impression in these PJs.
She forced herself to focus on the story about the award ceremony for the County Gazette. It was a short piece, but it read well. “Jack, I think you’re going to be happy with this.” She grabbed her camera and flipped through the tons of pictures she’d taken. You just never knew what you were going to need. More is better.
She picked her two favorites and e-mailed the article and pictures to herself so she could send them to Jack in the morning after she reread it.
After checking through her e-mails, she shut down the computer and turned off the light, but her mind wouldn’t turn off so easily.
She got up and padded to the window. From here she could see the spot where Scott had parked before. Someone else was parked there now, and she didn’t see Scott’s car in the lot. She stood up on her tiptoes, trying to get a view of the whole parking lot, but there was quite a bit she couldn’t see from here.
She pulled the curtains closed and got into bed, thinking about Scott.
It was after three when she finally fell asleep, and with the blackout curtains in the hotel room, she slept until nine o’clock, something she hadn’t done in years.
She gathered her things to head back to Adams Grove.
There was no sign of his car in the parking lot when she left either. Maybe he’d gone straight home.
She got on the road feeling tired but reflective. Scott Calvin wasn’t the grump she’d pegged him as. The girls were right. He had a quick wit and he was nice. Very nice. All the people at the table at dinner seemed charmed by him, and she was too. He’d sparked her interest, and now she couldn’t get him off her mind.
The ride back went by fast, but she didn’t risk speeding once she got close to Adams Grove. She stopped at the Walmart to pick up a pack of writable CDs in case that would make it easier for Jack to review the pictures from last night’s event. Besides, this way he wouldn’t have to know she hadn’t used his camera. She’d have had to carry a hobo bag to hulk that sucker around all night, and that would not have gone with her dress.
It was just after noon when she made it back to the apartment in Adams Grove. She’d barely finished transferring the pictures and the article from her computer to the CD when she heard voices in the hallway. Was it her imagination, or was that Scott’s voice?
She ran as quietly as she could to the door, but the wood floor snapped and popped under her feet. She peeked out the peephole.
Scott was talking to Mike on the landing.
He turned and rapped on her door. She sucked in a breath and ducked, feeling like she’d just been caught. She could hear her blood pulsing like those bass drums in the parade. Why was she freaking out? It wasn’t like he could see her peeking through the peephole.
They were still talking. Her heart pounded so loud she could barely hear what they were saying on the other side of the door now. She dropped to the floor and crawled back about five steps and then got up and yelled, “Coming.”
She opened the door and tried to act surprised. “Hi. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“You busy?”
“Yes. No. I was just . . .” She swept her hand through her hair. “Come on in. What’s up?”
He walked inside. “Looks exactly like it did when Connor lived here.”
“Yep. Fully furnished. It’s a bargain.”
“Compared to northern Virginia, I’m sure it is.”
“Yeah. So congratulations again on last night. And thanks for inviting me to join you at your table. I had fun.”
“Thanks, but actually I came by to thank you for last night.”
“Me? I didn’t do anything. But come take a look at the pictures.
They turned out pretty good.”
He followed her over to the table by the window.
She sat down and clicked a few keys, and the pictures popped up on her screen.
He moved in close behind her. Her skin tingled and she could feel his warm breath just over her shoulder.
“Wow, those are good. You’ve done this before. You make me look pretty good,” Scott said.
She smiled, but didn’t confirm or deny.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about the way you took up for me . . . for all small-town cops . . . to that guy at the award dinner. I appreciate that.”
She turned toward him. Her face just inches from his, and that mouth. Doggone, he had a sexy mouth. “It was nothing. I was just telling it like it was.”
“I heard him. I heard your response. Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes I did. He was being a jerk. Besides, you kind of opened my eyes since I’ve been here. I’d made some similar assumptions. I guess I was a little bit of a jerk too.”
“Well, I did almost give you a ticket.” He laid a hand on her shoulder.
“But you didn’t.” You could kiss me, though. I’d like that. Plus, my heart is racing. Does that qualify for extra-special attention?
“And you didn’t do that to repay me. You were just being nice. I like that about you.”
She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly feeling dry.
“Can I take you to lunch?”
She wanted to have lunch with him. She really did, but she wasn’t looking for what he wanted or what his mom wanted him to want. It was all wrong and complicated, and when he learned about her past, he wouldn’t understand. She opened her mouth to explain, but her heart was pounding so hard she could barely urge one word out. “I . . .”
He cut her off. “You know, just as a thank-you. To repay you for getting sucked into spending a precious day out of your vacation on that story for our little local paper. It’s just lunch.”
“It was my pleasure. I got dinner last night. Really, that was payment enough.” No, it wasn’t. Why am I fighting this?
“That wasn’t real food.”
She laughed out loud. “It was pretty bad.”
“Lunch?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On if you’re still going to make good on treating me to real grilled chicken. Calvin-style. I’ve got to work on something this afternoon, but if you wanted to barbecue me some of your famous chicken or steak one night, I’m all yours.” Her body was wanting a lot more than she was willing to admit, but boy, if she hadn’t just laid it all right out there.
“Tonight?”
“I’d love it.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
“I can drive over.” Then she could leave if she needed to.
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
She sucked in a quick breath. “Okay.” Live a little, she heard Evelyn say in her mind. No escape route. How bad could it be? He knew she was leaving town soon. They were adults, after all.
They walked to the door together.
He reached for the knob, then stopped and turned, pausing kind of awkwardly.
Was he going to kiss her?
He stepped toward her and she felt herself pull in a breath and hold it, but he didn’t come in for a kiss. He gave her arm a gentle squeeze, then walked out, closing the door behind him.
She wasn’t sure which was louder, her heart pounding or his footsteps as he descended the steep stairs. She raced over to the window that faced the street. He was already walking down the block.
She’d probably have to run to keep up with him, but darned if she wouldn’t mind trying.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Savannah walked over to the couch and plopped back on it like a lazy teenager. Only she wasn’t lazy, and she wasn’t a teen. But she felt as giddy as one. Dinner with the sheriff.
The grin that stretched across her face pushed her cheeks so high that her bottom lashes tickled them.
Her tummy spun just like it had the first time she ever spoke in front of a group. Nervous. Excited. And not sure whether to hoot or puke.
Her days in Adams Grove were dwindling and everyone knew it, so it wasn’t like there was any promise of something serious. She hoped he wouldn’t tell his mom, though. It wouldn’t do for the nice lady to get her hopes up when there was no chance of it ever being anything long term. Savannah would be leaving in a week to go back to the city, and they’d probably never speak again. That was okay. It could be fun for now.
Even though everyone had told her Scott was a great guy, she hadn’t recognized even a hint of it until last night. Not that it wasn’t there, but because she’d been very careful to never let herself see anything that might lead her to care too much. About anyone. But since last night, Scott Calvin was all she could think about. Evelyn was always telling her to loosen up and just have a good time. She’d tried yoga, and it wasn’t so bad. Maybe a little test drive of the handsome sheriff wouldn’t be so bad either.
His great pride in his work made her feel proud for him. She’d been wrong about the small-town cop stuff. She’d made the mistake of generalizing, and she should know better.
Was it the award that had made her look differently at him?
That was silly. She wasn’t the type to be impressed by that kind of stuff. But something had changed the way she saw him. Or maybe she’d been holding on to that old protective mode that kept her from seeing any man as a potential partner, and last night there was just enough wine and fun for her to let her guard down. If you didn’t care, you couldn’t get hurt. So far, she’d gotten through eight years since Momma and Dad died without ever feeling the kind of loss and betrayal her hometown had cast on her. That plan of attack had suited her just fine . . . until now.
A sudden flash of panic hit her and sent her zooming to an upright position.
That first article that she’d e-mailed to Evelyn was not going to go over well for Scott. What if those bigwigs that honored him last night saw it? They were totally in the GINN demographic. He didn’t deserve the blast she’d dished out in that article.
Plus, the people of this little hick town might be savvier than she gave them credit for, and if word got out that that article was about their sheriff here in Adams Grove, that could be very bad for him.
A lump stuck right in her throat. She pressed the number for Evelyn on her phone. No answer. She was probably in the sales meeting right now.
“Evelyn. It’s me, Van. I need you to pull that article I submitted. I’ll send you something new. I got something terribly wrong and I have to fix it. Call me if there’s an issue. Thanks.”
But there was no telling if or when Evelyn would listen to that message, and the deadline for the issue was looming.
Savannah’s stomach gripped the worry like a vise.
She shot off an e-mail to Evelyn and copied the guy in charge of production, just in case. He owed her a favor or two.
Watching the clock, Savannah paced around the room wishing for a phone call, a text, an e-mail. Heck, she’d take a smoke signal . . . anything to let her know that her message had been received.
She sat down at the computer and refreshed her inbox. Nothing. She couldn’t waste any more time waiting to hear. She opened up a blank document and started trying to think of a replacement story. Closed her eyes and sat there.
Nothing came. All she could think about was getting a hold of Evelyn.
She clicked back over to the Word document. The cursor blinked at her like a momma shaking her finger at her kid for being bad.
There was no way she was going to relax until she heard from Evelyn. She carried her phone with her to the bedroom and started unpacking the clothes she’d brought back with her. She hung them one by one, sending a little prayer out to the
universe for a story idea as she hung each hanger.
Finally, a rattling set of typewriter keys broke the silence.
“Yes!” Savannah shouted as she grabbed her phone. “Finally. Hey, Evelyn.”
“Good afternoon, Savannah. Thanks for dropping off those letters for Andrew. I just went through them. They’re perfect. This will give us a great jump-start. I’m so sorry I missed you, though. How are things going?”
“Did you get my message? About the article?”
“I did. Honey, that article is fine. Just work on the next one.”
“No!” She couldn’t let it run the way it was. “I’ve got a different angle, and one of my facts didn’t exactly check out.”
“There wasn’t much in the way of fact-checking to do on it, Van. It’s great, and it’s already formatted for production.”
“Evelyn, you don’t understand. I really need to fix it. If I get it to you by four—same word count—will you replace it? Please?”
Evelyn’s pause made Savannah worry. She didn’t have even an inkling of an idea of what she was going to write to replace it, but she really had no choice. She’d have to come up with something.
“What’s this all about?”
“Please. Just do me this favor.”
Savannah heard Evelyn sigh. That wasn’t good. She knew that meant she was aggravated. That sound was usually reserved for the pains in the butt at GINN, never her! “I need it by four. You know that’s the drop-dead.”
“Thank you. I owe you!”
“Yes, you do. How’s everything else going?”
Savannah could hear the irritation in Evelyn’s tone. “Okay. I’m trying to figure out how to get rid of all these letters you sent over. I might have to go buy a shredder.”
“What’s the big deal? Just toss them in a trash bag and throw them away. They do have trash cans in that little town, don’t they?”
“Of course they do, but this is a lot of letters.”
“So it’ll make for some interesting reading if they poke through your trash. Big deal.”