by Carmen Cook
Regan inhaled the pepper she’d been nibbling on. She started to cough. There was no way she could maintain her dignity while tears spilled down her cheeks. Once she stopped sputtering, she realized he was no longer in his chair. He was rubbing her back in gentle circles.
His voice was soothing. Steady. Without looking, she knew his eyes were a warm chocolate brown she could melt into, promising untold delights. Knowing he could deliver on them sent chills that didn’t have anything to do with the howling wind outside.
She shifted in her seat again, wincing. She’d forgotten about being hurt for a second, forgotten about everything except sitting here in this lovely little cocoon Gavin had created. “What makes you think I’m nervous?”
He continued to study her. “Maybe because you tried to leave like you had bees in your pants earlier. Maybe because you keep shifting your weight onto your bad hip, then cussing under your breath when it hurts.”
She flushed. “Maybe you’re reading too much into things,” she countered. “Why did you tell your ex-wife I was your girlfriend?” It was time to go on the offense in their little chess match.
Gavin shook his head, a small grin on his lips. “I did it because it pissed her off,” he admitted. “She was thinking it and wanted to believe it, so I just let her.”
Regan blinked at the admission, unable to comprehend why he wouldn’t just set his ex straight. Seeming to sense her confusion, he shrugged and helped himself to another skewer. “It was easier than trying to explain everything to her.”
“What was there to explain? Becca got sick, so I took over.”
“It’s never that easy with Kathy.” Gavin shook his head again, cutting off all the questions she was dying to ask. Why was it easier? Where had they met? What happened after she left?
It was clear he didn’t want to talk about his ex-wife any more than she wanted to delve into her past. The silence stretched for several seconds and Regan realized that she wanted those answers. “Here’s an idea,” she said when she couldn’t stand it any longer. “How about we start over?”
Gavin’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he looked at her. “Start over, how?”
“Start over. We don’t know each other, not really. And let’s face it, we didn’t really get to know each other before…” she paused.
Luckily, he took pity on her this time, his amusement evident that she couldn’t seem to find the words to describe their heated encounter. “When I came home from the Army and then you left for college, you mean?”
“Yes. Then.”
He regarded her quietly for a moment before giving a brief nod. “Okay. We can start over.”
Regan’s breath whooshed out. “Great.”
“You know what that makes this, if we’re starting over, right?” Gavin had a twinkle in his eye that had warmth spreading through Regan. She shook her head, not trusting her voice not to give her away. “Our first date.”
“Our first… How do you figure that?”
He leaned toward her and the light washed over the lean planes of his face, highlighting the laughter in his eyes. “Well, if we’re starting over, that means we get to do all the getting-to-know-you stuff, right?” At her nod, he continued. “We’re having a not-quite-candlelight dinner.”
“Only because you insisted,” she interrupted.
“Candlelight, if I’d had candles. Dinner. Sounds like a perfect first date to me.”
Regan laughed at how pleased with himself Gavin sounded. “Okay, fine. It’s an official first date.”
Gavin leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him. He did that a lot, she realized, reclining and stretching out to fill all the space around him. Good lord, he was sexy. His sleeves were shoved up his muscular forearms, his legs crossed at the ankles. Her fingers itched to touch his hair, to see if it was as soft as she remembered. He didn’t say anything to her head-to-toe observation, just smiled that sinful smile that made her gut clench again.
Squirming in her seat, she couldn’t help but wonder how she’d ever thought to resist him when she came back to town.
Well, she’d thought he was married. That would do it.
But now? Knowing he wasn’t? Warmth pooled in her lap and her limbs felt heavy. Why had she been running away from him? Again. Running away again, she reminded herself. That had been her one regret and here she’d been about to do the same thing all over again. No more. Whatever it was that sparked to life around him was bringing her back as well.
She’d promised herself to start living the life she wanted to live, which meant facing her fears. No more running. She just hadn’t thought it would happen so soon.
Once she’d given herself that little lecture, the emotions of her old crush came flooding back. She felt awkward and unsure, something she hadn’t felt in years. If she was honest with herself, she hadn’t been feeling much of anything this past year. The rush of emotion swept over her. She didn’t like it. “So.” She winced when her voice sounded unusually loud after the quiet of the previous few minutes. “What happens on first dates now? It’s been a while since I’ve been on one.”
“Yeah?” His eyes skimmed over her, lingering on her lips, which had that damn heat climbing her cheeks again. She hoped the shadows from their not-candlelit dinner hid her blush. “I find that hard to believe.”
If he could play it easy, so could she, she decided. She pushed her plate away and leaned back, only shifting a little when she eased weight on her hurt hip. There had to be a heck of a bruise back there, but she didn’t want to put the ice pack on it right now. She had her pride, after all.
“How do you suggest we start over?”
Regan tilted her head and thought about it for a second, searching for something to say other than what she was really thinking. “We could play twenty questions.”
“Twenty questions? Seriously?”
“Why not? I could just ask Gwen everything I want to know. But the point of getting to know each other is to hear about you from you, not your sister.”
The ghost of a smile was still dancing around his mouth. “What do you want to know?”
Excitement flooded Regan at the possibilities. “I can ask you anything? Nothing’s off limits?”
His eyes smoldered and caught her gaze, holding it for a heartbeat before he finally answered, his voice that rough caress again. “Only if the same applies to you. Anything goes in terms of questions.”
Regan shivered, but it wasn’t with longing. Could she answer anything he asked? Open herself up to his judgment? Squaring her shoulders, she nodded. “Fair enough. But I go first.”
She started to ask her question when something caught her attention outside the window. With the wind still pounding against the house, the tiny movement shouldn’t have drawn her attention, but…she couldn’t help feeling as though there was something—or someone—out there.
She’d almost convinced herself that her mind must have been playing tricks on her when she saw it again out of the corner of her eye.
“Gavin,” she whispered, trying not to let her fear leak through her voice, which was stupid, really. There was no way the peeping tom could hear her over the howling wind.
“Don’t tell me you’re chickening out before we even get started.” His voice was playful. A stark contrast to the fear icing Regan’s veins.
She shook her head. “Gavin, there’s someone outside. Looking in the window.”
Chapter Six
Gavin froze at Regan’s words. His eyes darted to the mirror above the fireplace in the other room just in time to see a form step back from the window and fade into the shadows. “Stay here,” he told Regan as he made his way to the door.
He hadn’t heard anyone knocking, but with the wind blowing the way it was, knocking a couple of branches into the side of the house in a steady rhythm, and the fact that he had been completely wrapped up in the fact that Regan was sitting across from him, he could have missed it. Hell, a marching band could have walked through
the house and he might not have noticed.
With Regan still clouding his thoughts, Gavin pulled open the door and jerked back, almost getting a fist to the face.
“Sorry about that.” Jason lowered his hand from where he’d been about to pound on the door. “Did you know there’s a tree in the middle of the road?”
“Kinda hard to miss.” Gavin waved his partner inside and closed the door. “What are you doing here?”
Jason paused while shrugging out of his jacket. “It’s poker night. How could you forget? It must have something to do with the blonde.”
Before Gavin could reply, the door opened again and Connor, his younger brother and newly appointed chief of police of Sapphire Creek, walked in. “Damn, the wind is something. Whose car is under the tree?”
“Is that why the blonde’s here? Was that her car?” Jason asked.
“What blonde?” Connor wanted to know, not letting Gavin answer before he continued. “Why didn’t you call it in? Does she need medics?”
Gavin looked back and forth between the two feeling like he was in the middle of a comedy show but no one had bothered to give him a script.
“The blonde in Gav’s kitchen,” Jason said over his shoulder as he headed that way, leaving both Gavin and Connor standing in the entry. “She looked healthy when I caught a glimpse of her through the window.”
Connor hung his coat on the hook before raising his brow in question.
“It’s Regan Sinclair,” Gavin said before Connor could ask. “She’s back in town and showed up here to watch the kids when Becca got sick.”
“How long has she been back?” Connor moved to the hall closet and typed in the combination to pop open the gun safe, placing his police-issue side arm inside. “It can’t have been long or I’d have heard about it.”
“Not long. I don’t have all the details yet,” Gavin admitted, leading Connor into the kitchen and finding Jason stuffing his face with a kabob, “but I plan to find out.”
“Connor!” Regan leapt up from the table, flinching only a bit when she grabbed Connor for a big hug. Before he could warn his brother about her bumps and bruises, Connor wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, drawing a high-pitched squeak from Regan.
Gavin jumped forward just as Connor released her. Regan stumbled back and Gavin quickly steadied her. “You okay?”
“What happened?” Connor demanded. Even Jason stood up, a kabob still in his outstretched hand.
Gavin ignored everyone but Regan, gently turning her around and cradling her face so he could look into her eyes. “You okay?” he repeated.
Her ponytail fell over her shoulder as she nodded, but he could see the pain in her eyes.
“Regan was outside, about to get into that toy car when the tree fell on it,” Gavin said, his voice low. “She’s a little banged up.”
“Shit. Regan, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” she said. Her voice was hoarse, but she offered them all a smile. “Really, I’m okay.” She stepped away from Gavin and went to the cupboard to pull out another plate. “I guess it’s a good thing the kids and I made so much, huh?”
Jason grinned as he slid another piece of meat into his mouth. “It’s good,” he said between bites. “You made this?”
Regan nodded while she piled some kabobs onto a plate and slid it in front of Connor. “Gavin’s kids and I made it this afternoon while I was watching them.”
“When did you get back?” Gavin’s younger brother asked, nodding his thanks for the food. “I’m sure if it had been more than a day Bethany would have told me,” he said, referring to his wife. She and Regan had been friends in high school. Hell, Regan had been friends with practically everyone back then. Being four years older, Gavin had been on the very fringes of the circle, so he didn’t count himself as part of the group. Didn’t want to be, really. But watching her easy camaraderie with his brother, he couldn’t help but feel a little left out.
Gavin listened while Regan told everyone about her crazy drive from Chicago, getting lost in the middle of the Dakotas with no cell service and no landmarks on a road that seemed to go on forever. She’d been terrified of running out of gas before she hit the next town.
As she talked, some of the tension left his muscles. A tension that he hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying around just oozed out of him. She was at ease with his friends, asking them questions and telling them bits about herself and her recent stint in Central America. It wasn’t until then that he realized that Kathy never had been comfortable with them.
Connor had been in the military for most of the years Gavin and Kathy had been together. He was rough around the edges and didn’t have time for the social niceties that Kathy held so dear. The times he was home he wanted to spend time with his own wife and kid, not getting to know his brother’s new wife.
And when Gavin and Jason had decided to start up the security firm, Kathy had had a fit. She’d tolerated him being a cop so he could put himself through law school, but she hadn’t liked being a cop’s wife. Gavin hadn’t thought much about it at the time because no one in their right mind would want to be married to a police officer. His dad had been the chief of police for most of his time growing up, so he’d seen firsthand how difficult it could be. And even though Sapphire Creek was small, there was still plenty of danger in the valley. It wasn’t until she revealed that she’d fallen in love with one of the partners in a law firm from Missoula that Gavin realized it wasn’t being married to a cop she objected to—it was being married to him.
He wasn’t the man she’d wanted him to be. And watching Regan laugh with Connor and Jason, he admitted that she hadn’t been the woman he’d needed her to be either. They got along a lot better now that they weren’t together, and his kids were happy and healthy. In the end, that was what mattered. But it had been lonely.
Regan’s yawn pulled Gavin from his thoughts. “I’ll give you a ride home, whenever you’re ready,” he told her.
The smile she sent him sent his heart thumping. Damn, she was pretty.
“Thanks. I am tired. Those kids never stopped moving the whole time I was here. I have a whole new appreciation for parents.
“Do you think we could maybe get a few things out of the car? I don’t know if it’d be possible, but I have some papers I need in there.”
“We can try.” Gavin rummaged around in the hall closet and pulled out a black duffle bag to tuck her torn clothes into and so she could carry whatever they could salvage from the car, assuming they could even get into the thing, before moving back to the dining room where she was saying her good-byes.
“It was really great to see you again, Connor, and to meet you, Jason.”
“Sorry I freaked you out. I swear I knocked before I peeked in the window.”
Regan laughed at that and turned back to Gavin. “Maybe you should grab our candle for our search.”
He smiled. “Yep,” he answered, holding out the duffle for her to take. “No point in searching without candlelight. While I take Regan home, you guys can set up the table. I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t hurry back on our account,” Connor told him, following them into the kitchen to take care of his plate.
Gavin held the door for Regan and idly flipped his brother the bird behind his back.
Regan woke to a pounding on her door. At least she thought it was the door. Her head ached, the dull throb more annoying than painful. It was like a hangover without the fun of a party the night before. Closing her eyes, she held her breath, taking stock of all her various aches and pains. Starting with her toes, she gave them a wiggle. All good there. She worked her way up to shaking her knees—ouch. Yeah, she’d banged those pretty good when she hit the ground. Her hip was stiff too. The banging started again and Regan sighed before she slid out of bed, tugged on a robe, and padded to the living room.
Sun was starting to creep through the gauzy window coverings, casting everything in an orange glow and making her realize she’
d overslept. Not that she’d needed to be up for anything, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept past dawn.
Reaching the door of the little house, Regan yanked it open and was immediately blinded by a bright smile of the petite strawberry blonde on the other side. “I missed you so much!” Bethany cried, thrusting a go-cup of coffee into Regan’s hands. “I can’t believe you came back to town and didn’t call me right away.”
The aroma of rich coffee tickled her nose and Regan let out a blissful moan. “Bless you. I might just forgive you for waking me up.”
Bethany’s smile brightened even more, if such a thing were possible. “You have secrets,” she accused. “And I’m not talking about slinking into town like a thief under the cover of night.”
“It wasn’t night,” Regan objected. “I arrived in the middle of the day, a few days ago. I think. I’ve lost track.”
The growl of an engine cut through the frigid morning, drawing Regan’s eyes to the curb, where Connor was leaning against a small city-issue police sedan. He lifted his own coffee cup in a silent greeting before turning to the truck that had paused in front of Regan’s little house. She couldn’t drag her eyes away from Gavin as he casually strode from the truck, ignoring his brother completely and starting up the walk to where Regan and Bethany stood.
It should be flat-out illegal to look that good this early in the morning. His jeans rode low on his hips and looked soft and worn. His black parka was unzipped, showing the striped rugby shirt he was wearing underneath. The cold didn’t seem to faze him at all, she thought with a shiver.
Regan let out a breath and watched the puff of air dissipate in front of her face. Damn it. So much for being cool.
“I wasn’t talking about when you arrived,” Bethany said. “I want to know how you wound up with Gavin last night. Connor said he interrupted a cozy scene.”
Regan snorted. “Yeah. Cozy. Right up until Jason showed up and scared the crap out of me. I thought he was a peeping tom.”