That Unforgettable Kiss

by Tamara Ferguson

  Of course, it was better that Amada hadn’t. Murphy might’ve actually ended up marrying her, then.

  Grinning, Kate nodded her agreement.

  * * *

  “Murphy has tried to talk to me about all of this, you know. I’ve just been too unbending – I see it now. I’m beginning to realize, to continue to remain successful – I’m going to have to make some big changes in the future.” Sitting outside on the deck, Mark Ryland was sipping from his cup of coffee. “There’s a big demand now, for contemporary design.” He gave her a rueful grin. “I’ve just been having some trouble accepting it.”

  “Callahan Construction has really come into its own over the last five years. Mostly, we’ve done well with the traditional plans, too. But there’s beginning to be a big demand for the minimal. And our clients aren’t only thinking about themselves when they’re building anymore, either. They’re using their vacation homes for investment properties, making extra money from their rentals.” Kate stared out at the lake. “And it’s all about the location.”

  Mark nodded. His gaze was thoughtful as he stared across the lake. “This home is certainly beautiful, Kate, with its lovely views.”

  Kate became aware of the sound of crunching gravel.

  Steps echoed from the living room, before Murphy strode out through the open doors onto the deck. “Kate? Mark?”

  Mark stood up.

  Reaching over to shake Mark’s hand, Murphy waved him back into his seat. “It’s good to see you, sir.”

  Mark lifted a brow. “Is it?” But his grin belayed the sting of his reply.

  Murphy frowned. “I’m sorry to have left you shorthanded, Mark.”

  Mark sighed. “I can’t say that I blame you, son, considering all the circumstances. I only just discovered the real truth about what happened between you and Amanda today.”

  Murphy turned to look sharply at Kate.

  But Mark held up his hand. “No, Kate didn’t tell me – not directly, anyway. Amanda talked me into confronting Kate today, and I overheard their conversation.” Mark’s eyes met Murphy’s. “I can’t say I’m proud of myself, son, for believing Amanda’s version of the truth.”

  Murphy nodded. “If it’s any consolation, sir, I’ve always wanted to believe Amanda, too.” His eyes held Mark’s. “It sure beats the alternative,” he added, grimly.

  Kate decided it was time for her to cut in. “Michael, Mark, would you like some coffee?”

  “Sure,” they answered in unison.

  Kate grinned.

  When she came back out to the deck a few minutes later, Murphy was staring in astonishment at the magazine. He turned as she came through the door. “Kate?”

  Kate smiled. “I did it for you, Michael.” For a moment, their eyes were only focused on each other. “I was always hoping you’d come back to me,” she said, simply.

  He stared at her heatedly.

  With a knowing chuckle, Mark deliberately cleared his throat.

  He was still smiling when Murphy turned away sheepishly, and Kate handed over Mark’s coffee.

  “Well – I have a proposal,” Mark said. Sipping on his coffee, he gazed over at Murphy. “I definitely don’t want to lose you, son. And I’m willing to make concessions to keep you – some very broad concessions,” he added, turning his eyes toward Kate.

  * * *

  Mark left the house over an hour later, to visit with Crystal Rock’s premiere architect, Brian Johnson. He had a proposition for him. He’d have to check out the financials, of course, but Mark had decided he’d be willing to buy into Brian’s company as a partner.

  Along with Kate and Murphy.

  Mark was offering Murphy an investment opportunity to have him remain a partner at Ryland’s. Kate would also draw a paycheck as Murphy’s consultant for each job. She would work out the details for the finish work and suggest needed changes for any of Murphy’s plans once he’d drawn them up.

  But, most importantly, Kate and Murphy would be working together. She could still manage Callahan Construction. Murphy could work from Crystal Rock, occasionally travelling and working in his office in Chicago when necessary. Kate would also have her own office at Ryland’s, too.

  It was dizzying, all the details. That very day, Murphy had intended on telling Kate about the offer he’d had from Brian Johnson to work with him.

  The plan had also satisfied Kate’s recent desire to travel and see more of the country. As much as she loved running Callahan Construction, she’d being growing increasingly restless over the last few years.

  “Everything couldn’t be more perfect, Michael.”

  “Ah, Kate. Everything is pretty perfect, isn’t it?” His arms were wrapped around her as they sat together in the lounger. They both gazed out at the beauty of the descending sun. Blazing like a ball of fire, the sun literally seemed to be dropping from the edge of the horizon. The lake was awash with the colors of the sun, and shimmered like molten fire.

  Kate wore a mischievous grin when her hand began to explore.

  Murphy spoke hoarsely, “Kate?” He finally cleared his throat. “What’re you doing?”

  Kate stared hard at Murphy. “What do you think I’m doing, Michael?”

  His glittering green eyes burned with an intensity that sent fire shooting straight to Kate’s core.

  “You’re not gonna...?”

  Gently squeezing his bulging erection, she playfully raised her brows. “What, Michael?”

  He peered out across the lake uneasily, still wary after the events of earlier that morning. He suddenly shot up from the chair with Kate in his arms. “We’d better take this inside.” He carried her into the living room through the sliding glass doors.

  “Michael, I’m a little heavy for you to be carrying around like this,” Kate protested.

  Murphy grunted, immediately dropping her down to the couch. His hands began to fumble at his waist, as he swiftly attempted to remove his jeans.

  Kate reached over calmly, and pried his hands away. “Let me.”

  When she slowly drew down the zipper of his jeans, and carefully pulled out the length of his rigid erection, Murphy sucked in an unsteady breath.

  With long, exaggerated movements, she taunted and teased with her tongue, and his arousal intensified when she gently cupped him with her hands. When she finally covered him with her mouth, she could sense Murphy’s pleasure along with his pain. He let out a long ragged groan when he ultimately went over the edge.

  He was shivering, when he collapsed beside her on the couch. “Oh, Kate.”

  Kate smiled. She just loved the way he reacted and responded to her. And she always had so much fun. Anywhere, anyway, any form – making love with Murphy was pure unadulterated bliss. “Let’s take this upstairs,” she suggested softly.

  “You won’t get an argument from me.” There was fire in his eyes when Murphy jumped up from the couch and yanked her by the arm through the living room, towards the staircase.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-ONE

  The next morning, Kate reluctantly admitted she needed to catch up on her work. Deciding to give her some time to focus, Murphy gave Kate’s father a call and asked if he wanted to meet them in town for breakfast, and then spend the rest of the day on the lake with Murphy, fishing.

  When Dylan walked into the Crystal Rock Tap when they nearly finished eating, Murphy immediately sensed his agitation. “What’s wrong, Dylan?”

  “Hi, Murphy. Cal – thank God you’re here. I couldn’t find Kate anywhere.”

  Sitting in the booth across from Murphy, Cal glanced up from his breakfast. “You just missed her, Dylan. She went to pick up a few things from the office, and then she was going home to work from there today.”

  Dylan hesitated. “I meant to discuss this with Kate, first. But, Cal – since I’m here, there’s something that I should probably tell you.”

  Murphy motioned with his hand. “Sit down – have some coffee.”

  Dylan slid into the boo
th next to Murphy. Reaching over for the carafe, he flipped over a cup and poured himself some coffee. “I’m thinking about driving into the regional office after we talk. I need to file a report of misconduct.”

  Cal frowned. “That’s too bad. Who’s in trouble?”

  “Jim Dupree.”

  Cal slammed down his coffee cup. “What’s going on Dylan?”

  “I don’t know – maybe I should be talking about this to Sam first, since he’s the chief of police?”

  Murphy frowned. “Obviously, you discovered something big, when you followed Jim around?”

  Cal sighed, turning his gaze from Dylan to Murphy. “What have the two of you been up to, Murph?”

  Dylan immediately responded. “This was totally my doing, Cal. I’ve been having a lot of trouble working with Jim. His behavior’s been growing increasingly erratic, and he’s been resentful of me, ever since I became his deputy.”

  “Yeah.” Cal grimaced. “He’s always been a hard one to get along with, I’ll grant you that. He’s never been very sociable either – even back in high school.”

  “Well, keep it under your hat, you two. But he’s got a big-time gambling problem.”

  Cal became thoughtful. “Yeah, that might explain it.”

  “Well, at first, I assumed that that was all there was to it, too.” Dylan hesitated, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “But...”

  “But, what?” Murphy asked impatiently.

  “Look – I was already there – and Jim had just taken off in his speedboat.”

  Cal was obviously curious. “Spit it out, Dylan.”

  “He’s got a brand new house on the lake, two brand new cars, a top-quality cruiser he takes out regularly on the lake – it’s gotta be a gas guzzler too.”

  Cal sat considering. “In other words, how in the hell can he afford it all? Especially if he has a gambling problem? I didn’t realize he had a second car – I’ve only seen him driving around in one. As far as the cruiser, I didn’t even know about it. I figured he built the house because he’s always been single, and he finally managed to save up for it. Besides, Jim inherited a bunch of money from his father after he died, so who would question how he spent it?”

  Dylan remained ominously silent.

  Suddenly suspecting the truth, Murphy studied Dylan keenly. “Is there something else you needed to tell us, Dylan? Like maybe why this concerns Callahan Construction?”

  Hesitantly, Dylan turned to Cal, shrugging his shoulders. “I know that legally, I was trespassing. But he’s got a huge combination storage shed and garage on his property.”

  Cal gave him an encouraging nod, as he sipped his coffee.

  “The padlock was unlatched. He must’ve forgotten about it when he left. Something’s really had him flustered over these past few weeks, which is why I decided to follow him in the first place.”

  “Keep talking, Dylan. No one needs to know you went inside that shed.” Cal was calm, his voice reassuring.

  Dylan inhaled sharply. “That’s just the thing, sir. I’m not exactly sure how to handle this. I’m probably gonna have to tell Sam that I trespassed.”

  “Why? What was inside, Dylan?” Murphy’s voice was impatient as he eyed Dylan speculatively.

  “I’m pretty sure that what I saw in there was some of your missing construction materials, Cal. I think that Jim’s your thief.”

  Cal’s coffee cup crashed into the saucer.

  * * *

  After Dylan told his story to the chief of police, Sam Danielson stared at him, long and hard, before he responded. “Why am I not surprised? I’ve learned the hard way that people aren’t always who you think they are.”

  Sam sighed heavily. Standing up and crossing his arms, he leaned against the edge of the desk. “You realize we need more evidence, Dylan? Just because you thought you saw the Callahan Construction tags still stapled to the lumber, doesn’t mean we have just cause to search Jim Dupree’s property. Even though you were trespassing, I think I can manage to keep that fact quiet as long as we have something else to go on.”

  “I was gonna file a complaint of misconduct at the regional office. Wouldn’t that be enough to open up an investigation?”

  Sam sat on the edge of his desk. “I’m afraid not, Dylan. That would probably only involve an investigation into Jim’s work performance.” He hesitated, thinking quickly. “And, I’d actually prefer you hold off on filing that complaint. We might have to put surveillance on Jim. He might change his routine and get rid of those materials before we have a chance to come up with a plan of action.”

  Dylan nodded in acceptance.

  Murphy met Cal’s gaze, and they shared a moment of silent contemplation, before Murphy shrugged, turning back to Sam. “So, what do you suggest we do for now, Sam?”

  Sam grimaced. “The problem is, we need some other kind of evidence to base a warrant on. Since you’re around Jim on a daily basis at the office – I need you to think about his routine, Dylan.”

  Dylan nodded.

  “If he’s selling those materials, our best chance at proving it would be discovering records or receipts of the sales.”

  “But wouldn’t he keep those at his house?” Dylan questioned.

  Sam sighed. “Maybe. But, he’s had an awful lot of people in and out of that house. I’ve been watching him build it, and it’s only been finished for a couple of months.”

  Cal nodded. “When he began building, I remember how surprised I was that he’d never even asked us to make a bid.”

  Sam nodded. “Me too, Cal. But the guy’s always been weird – secretive, actually, so I just dismissed it. Now, I’m thinking, that he might’ve had something to hide from you.”

  Dylan hesitated. “Maybe I should try to search the office sometime, when Jim isn’t around? Jim won’t let me touch anything otherwise. Everything’s completely disorganized. But every time I mention getting the filing system and records whipped into shape, Jim has a fit.”

  Sam shrugged. “It might be worth a try. Maybe he’s got something hidden inside the office?”

  Murphy snorted. “Or the guy’s just paranoid, and doesn’t like sharing his office with Dylan.”

  Dylan grimaced, nodding his agreement.

  Sam looked at Dylan. “Where’s Jim now?”

  “Supposedly, out on patrol. The problem is, he has a habit of popping back into the office when I least expect it.”

  “So why don’t we just go try to search the office right now?” Sam stared at his watch. “It’s ten a.m. When’s he due back?”

  “About noon,” Dylan answered.

  “Murphy, Cal and I can just hang around outside while you’re searching. We’ll try to delay him if he shows up early.”

  * * *

  Murphy checked his watch, before staring out worriedly at the lake. Dylan had been inside, now, for almost an hour. The game warden’s office was situated in an isolated location, a few miles south of town along the edge of Crystal Rock Lake.

  As the roar of a motor resounded from around the curve that led into the narrow bay, Murphy’s eyes met Cal’s. Sure enough, Jim Dupree materialized from around the bend in his patrol boat. He seemed slightly taken aback to see Sam, Cal, and Murphy standing outside the office.

  After maneuvering the boat into its slip, Jim calmly jumped onto the pier and began loosely tying off the boat. “Something I can do for you, Sam?” he asked, ignoring the other two men.

  Murphy almost snorted at Jim’s obvious indifference. Yeah, the guy was definitely an ass.

  “Oh, just the usual, Jim.” Sam reached out and shook Jim’s hand. “Just wanting to know if you’ve seen anything suspicious around the lake?”

  “Not really, Sam.” Jim sighed, exaggerating the movement. “Nothing much different than usual, I’m afraid.”

  The guy was a cool one, Murphy had to admit. No wonder he’d always remained above suspicion.

  Sam continued calmly, “Would you like to join us for lunch, Jim?”

&nbs
p; Obviously, Jim wasn’t normally at the receiving end of Sam’s invitations. He stared at the three of them, somewhat suspiciously. “Uhh...thanks, but I’ve got some paperwork to catch up on inside the office. Maybe some other time?”

  “Sounds good.” Sam nodded, glancing at his watch. “We’ll see you later, then, Jim. Thanks for keeping an eye on the traffic on the lake for me.”

  There wasn’t a whole lot more Sam could do to delay Jim. The first thing Dylan had done when he went inside the office, Murphy had noticed, was to open up a window. After hearing them talk, he should’ve had plenty of time to regroup before Jim came inside.

  Sam led the way back to his truck. “Well. All we can do now, is wait to hear back from Dylan.”

  Cal and Murphy nodded grimly.

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, when Dylan came scrambling into the Crystal Rock Tap, Murphy could tell by the look on his face that Dylan seemed to think that he’d discovered something.

  Dylan began unbuttoning his shirt and Murphy watched him in disbelief.

  Grimacing at Murphy, Dylan pulled out the notebook and a flat sheaf of papers that he’d tucked in under his shirt. “Jim would’ve known something was up, right away, if I’d tried to take a notebook or clipboard with me – especially since I wasn’t even on duty.” After laying the notebook and paperwork on the table, and buttoning his shirt back up, Dylan tucked the tails of his shirt back into his pants.

  Sam began thumbing through the paperwork. “So – what do you think you’ve found?”

  “I haven’t a clue. But I remembered that Jim has always spent a lot of time opening and closing his lower desk drawer. Even though he keeps his desk locked, I saw him hiding his keys one day, when I slipped into the office.” Dylan sat down at the table and continued, “I didn’t find anything in the file drawer except Jim’s copies of his weekly reports. I’m not really sure what made me decide to look under the drawer. This wasn’t even half of what was there.” Dylan grimaced. “I’m worried that Jim’s suspicious, though. Usually I don’t come into the office on my days off. I was sitting at my desk with my paperwork – I pretended I’d forgotten to finish up Thursday’s report.”