by Bess George
“No, nothing else.”
They drove and made small talk until he pulled into a Mexican restaurant and parked. “This is one of my favorite spots.” His tone held a teasing note. “I hope you can handle spicy food.”
She grinned. “Hey, I’m from Texas. I’m addicted, and the hotter, the better.”
Bold pinks and greens adorned the walls and the familiar aromas wafting through the air eased her nervousness. The hostess led them to a small booth back in the corner. They were both long legged and had to squeeze in.
Not usually one to drink, she studied the menu and decided to order a beer. Maybe a little liquid courage would help calm her jittery nerves. The waitress arrived and it surprised her when Bode ordered a soft drink.
She glanced over at him. “You didn’t get anything from the bar. Are you on call tonight?”
He inclined his head. “I am on call, but I don’t drink.”
An awkward silence followed his simple statement. Her hands nervously shredded a napkin while she changed the subject. “How long have you been a detective?”
“I’ve been here in Redding four years, but before that I worked SWAT out of Los Angeles. Law enforcement is in my blood. My dad was a cop, and it rubbed off on me and my three brothers. I don’t remember ever wanting to do anything else. We drove our mom crazy growing up. We’d play cops and robbers, practicing our skills on anything that stayed in one spot for too long.”
“What a wonderful way to grow up.” Her breath caught in her throat when he gave her a real smile.
He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s just say that I learned at an early age how quick a situation can go bad when a pet doesn’t want to participate. I have scars, both physical and mental, from playing with my brothers.”
“It sounds like you’re pretty close to them.”
“Yeah,” he answered, “my dad was strict but the kind of guy who would listen to your side of things. Mom doesn’t quite hit the five-foot tall marker, but she can bring a grown man to his knees with one glare. She raised us to be able to take care of ourselves.”
“Do you get to see them often?”
“Shawn, my oldest brother is a Fed out of the Sacramento field office. Jason works for LAPD. Then, last but not least, there’s Chad, and he’s with the highway patrol. We all tend to be pretty busy, but still try to get together once or twice a year.”
They talked about ordinary day-to-day stuff, and she relaxed even further. His leg would brush hers, and she tried not to let it rattle her. He reclined back against the seat in a casual pose, and she worked to emulate his calm demeanor.
“So, you and David grew up in foster care. What about your family?”
She picked up her glass and gulped down a swallow. This was the part where things always got tricky. It was a simple question that people always asked. After hearing the horrid details of the truth, one of two things tended to transpire. They beat a hasty, awkward retreat or tried to fix her. Bode didn’t strike her as the nurturing type, so she figured this might be the shortest non-date in history.
“My father bludgeoned my mother to death and then used his service revolver on himself.”
His body sat up straight in the seat. “He was a cop?”
She worked to keep her cool. Distance yourself and pretend it’s someone else’s sad story. “He didn’t like her going shopping without his permission. I remember how excited I was to show him the new dress she bought me. He flicked me off like a piece of lint and started in on my mother. I tried to stop him, but he was too strong.”
“How old were you?”
“I just turned four. We didn’t have any other relatives, so they placed me in foster care. I was so shy and introverted they labeled me with behavior issues. The more they moved me, the worse it became. When I was seven, I ended up in a group home, and that’s where I met David.”
He nudged her leg under the table. “He was a good kid and tucked you under his wing.”
Laughter burst out of her at the absurd notion. “Hardly. He was a hellion, wild and hard for even Ann to handle. He did whatever he wanted and roamed the neighborhood.”
She wiped her eyes and became serious. “His mom passed away from cancer, and his dad was in prison, so David went into the system. He came from a rough part of town and learned at a young age how to survive. But after a while, he let me follow him around and before I knew it, we were inseparable.”
“For some reason, I can’t picture you as a street tough.”
“I was so afraid they would separate us because of his behavior, I overcompensated by being the stereotypical good girl.” She grimaced at the recollection. “It’s embarrassing now to think about it.”
The corners of his lips twitched in amusement. “Now that I believe. I can just see you, running around in your little buttoned up suits and bun.”
Was that a giggle? When have I ever giggled like a school girl?
“How did you end up as an attorney?” Bode asked.
“It began with Ann, I guess. David started hanging with a bad crowd, and she grabbed him by the ear one day and dragged him into her office. I was already there cleaning the wastebaskets out, one of his chores, by the way, when they came in. This little five-foot woman got up in this six-foot teen’s space. Throw your life away if you want, but what’s going to become of her? Is this the kind of life you want for her?”
The enormity of that conversation still rattled her. Mere words with the power to change people’s destinies. David met her eyes that day, and an already strong bond became forged in steel. They’d never talked about it since.
“From that day on, he got a job and worked his tail off to save enough money for college. When he aged out of the system at eighteen, he applied to a local school. He refused to leave me behind.” Her voice trembled on those last words, so she coughed to cover her discomfort.
He must have understood she needed a moment to compose herself because he changed the subject. Regaling her with tales of fast motorcycles, mountaineering, and water escapades, she gasped at their outrageousness. This man thrived on excitement.
She entertained him with some of David’s antics he’d performed as a teen. The stories about the two men made her feel as plain as good old vanilla. Their food arrived and they both tucked right into sizzling fajitas.
Bode took a long swallow of his drink. “Were you and David ever an item growing up?”
Her face twisted into a comical expression. “Yuck! That’s disgusting.”
His lips broke out into a devilish grin that caused her to have a spine-tingling response. After the waitress had left the check, he stood and held his hand down to her. She peered up at him in confusion.
“Come on, Princess, I know you’re some big basketball hotshot, but the real question is, are you any good at pool?”
“Pool?” she managed to squeak out.
“Pool. I’ll show you.” He hauled her out of the booth to her feet. She picked up her drink while he dropped money on the table for their meal and steered her toward the bar.
They entered the back, and Bode went straight to an empty pool table. She waited to the side while he slid coins into the slots and proceeded to rack the balls. He strolled over to the wall mount that held the cue sticks and found two he liked.
She eyed him with suspicion. “If you think I’m betting with you, think again. I don’t know the first thing about this game.”
He handed her a stick. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you all you need to know. Here, put your drink down and I’ll help you get started.”
Questioning her sanity, she followed his instructions. Her cheeks heated when he reached his muscled arms around her. His big hands covered hers, and when he leaned over her, his body pressed against her back.
“You place one hand
down to use as a brace and then rest the stick on your thumb as you line up your shot. Once you’re lined up the way you want, just pull back this arm holding the cue and let it go.” His warm breath tickled her ear as he showed her what to do.
She tilted her head to peer up at him. “Does this routine usually work when you’re out chasing women?”
“Most times. There you go. A smooth stroke. Now, you try.” He rewarded her with a sexy grin that made her knees go a little squishy.
She concentrated on the directions he gave and squealed when she connected to send the ball into the pocket. They continued, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun. Quite a few of her balls went in, but she suspected Bode held back. On the third game, a two out of three series, he came up behind her.
“Okay, this is it,” he drawled. “Let’s make this interesting. We’ve played basketball and now pool. We’ll say the winner gets to choose the next thing we do.”
“Hmm.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Come on. You’re a natural. You won one and I won one.”
“If you win, it better not be one of those death-defying sports you call fun. I refuse to try and climb a mountain using just my teeth and my toes. It’s not normal.”
He laughed and then proceeded to sink every ball on the table. She stood with her jaw hanging down. When the last one fell into the cup, he strolled over and placed his cue in the rack. He seized the stick out of her hands and laid it down.
“I believe that would be winner’s choice.”
His sexy voice made her insides turn to mush. “Okay, if I haven’t verbalized this, then I know I’ve thought it on several occasions already. Jerk.”
He grunted an acknowledgment and ushered her toward the entrance. “Let’s get out of here and go for a ride. I want to show you around.”
They drove until civilization ended and trees lined both sides of the road. The sheer beauty of the scenery mesmerized her.
Hundreds of vibrant colors dotted the landscape, heralding in a change of season. The vast difference in seasons was new to her. In Dallas, there were two. Summer or winter. Fall was just a bunch of pictures that you admired on a calendar.
Bode exited onto a side road, and the view of the lake before them was spectacular. The water’s smooth surface reflected the orange fireball of the setting sun. She opened her door and slid out before he could help her.
The pungent aroma of fresh pine trees hit her and she breathed in the mingled scents of earth and water. After spending most of her life in the city, the woodland scenery overwhelmed her, with its breathtaking colors. They stopped at the front of the truck as twilight settled around them.
A bird’s cry floated on the cold breeze coming off the water. Crickets sounded loud in the stillness. She tipped her head back to stare up at a sky where the first few stars of the night twinkled so near she could almost reach out and touch them. The temperature had dropped from the day’s warmth, and she found herself shivering.
“Here, take my jacket. The weather isn’t too bad for late October, but it’s still in the low forties and a little cooler than what you’re used to.” He placed his coat around her and she inhaled the spicy male scent of him.
Settled back against the hood, they enjoyed the beautiful sights in companionable silence.
“Okay, you told me how David knuckled down. How did you get from UT basketball star to a big-time prosecutor?” he asked.
“I guess I experienced a light bulb moment when I got to high school.” She gave a theatrical shudder that made him laugh. “After David graduated, I became fair game.”
His shoulder bumped hers. “It couldn’t have been too hard for a pretty girl like you.”
She bumped him back. “Ha. Some detective you are. Let’s just say I found out firsthand how cruel kids can be. There I was, taller than most of the guys, wearing hand-me-down clothes, and so shy I couldn’t string two sentences together. Talk about an easy target for the mean girls. So, I mimicked David and put everything I had into succeeding. Basketball became just a means to an end.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what kind of attorney you are, but that was incredible watching you play today.”
“I dreamed of being a coach for a while but opted to follow in David’s footsteps instead. My goal was to make him proud of me and do some good in the world.”
“I imagine he would have been proud of you no matter what you decided to do. He loves you.”
His voice was deep. Sexy. She raised her head to find him staring at her. Warm brown eyes met hers and her pulse played a game of hopscotch through her veins. He’s going to kiss me if I don’t step away. Her feet refused to listen and remained rooted in place.
He faced her and placed one hand on either side of her body. Barely enough light remained in the day for her to see him. His eyes glowed with an inner fire as he stared down into her upturned face, his mouth a scant few inches from her own.
The rise and fall of his chest brushed hers with every breath. His sheer magnetism made her mouth dry as a desert, and she licked her parched lips. Her heartbeat quickened as she recognized the desire in his eyes.
Lust slammed through her, strong and all-consuming. It scared the heck out of her. Embarrassment crept up her neck at how caught up she’d been in the night. How much she wanted that kiss. But this was wrong. He was wrong for her. Every instinct within warned that he was too bold and full of life ever to fit in her world.
“Bode,” she stammered. “I need to go. Please take me back.”
After a deep breath, he placed his forehead against hers. “We could take this slow, see where it takes us.”
All she could manage was a silent shake of her head.
He reached out, lacing their fingers together. She followed him back to the passenger side. Once she got in, he didn’t move away from the open door. One of his big hands brushed her hair back. “Are you okay?”
How could such gentle hands be a part of this big man? He was the embodiment of a gutsy cop, the type of person who would always run toward danger instead of away. A man much like her father had once been before he became consumed with dominating her mother. She needed to squash this physical attraction.
“That was—”
He gave her a wolfish grin. “Almost combustible. How about we try it again. And again.”
The impulse, to roll her eyes, could not be denied. Okay, gone was the sensitive, sweet man, who absorbed her every word with genuine interest.
Laugh lines crinkled at the corner of his mouth when he grinned at her. “Sure you don’t want to change your mind about going back?”
The temptation to finish what they’d almost started overwhelmed her. For the first time in her life, her hormones wanted a say in the decision. And they were saying, yes, yes, yes.
His arched brow irritated her and good sense returned. “I’m sure, Prince Charming not-so-much.”
Laughter rang out as he shut her door. Her flushed cheeks in the side mirror mocked her. This was what she wanted.
Right?
Bode drove back to town while casting quick peeks at Kelsey’s profile. She appeared pale in the dim light from the dash and held her hands clasped together in her lap.
He didn’t understand what had occurred tonight. At the start of the evening, he was determined to keep things casual and friendly. He’d planned a simple, welcome-to-the-neighborhood kind of dinner.
Then, as the night wore on he enjoyed her sense of humor so much, he forgot why she was off limits. Jokes and laughter flowed so natural between them, it slipped his mind to maintain a cool distance.
They had approached the first street lights in the city when a vibration on his hip made him sigh. He plucked his cell phone from the clip. The number listed on the caller ID made him sigh a s
econd time.
“Taggert.” He listened to the conversation and grunted his agreement. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” After hanging up, he looked over at her. “I’m sorry. I need to drop you off and go to work.”
Her upper body slumped as if in relief. There was no reason for her actions to aggravate him, but they did. He was attracted to her beauty. What surprised him was how much he liked her. Once her walls came down, she was funny and easy to talk with.
“Okay.”
His stomach dropped at the flat tone of her voice. At the hotel, she opened her door and jumped down to the ground without waiting for him. He hurried to catch up so he could stop her.
“Kelsey, wait.” Her eyes glistened with tears, and the angst staring back, shook him to the core. “Don’t be afraid of me. I would never hurt you.”
Her nose scrunched up as if she wanted to cry. The strong compulsion to wrap her in his arms brought him back to reality. What was he doing here with a woman so vulnerable? He didn’t want a long term relationship. Hell, he didn’t even want short term. After everything she’d been through, she needed a man she could count on.
The smart thing for him to do would be to extract himself from this situation as quick as possible. He had a job that he needed to get to. They both remained silent all the way to her room. She slid the key into the opening. Once she stepped inside, he followed before she could shut him out.