But, before he could decide if that was a good idea or not, she seemed to find some source of inner strength. She straightened her shoulders, tilted her chin up and smiled.
“Well, this has been interesting. How about I make some coffee and we talk about it,” she said.
Nothing she had done or said over the past week earned as much of his respect as she did at that moment. With her eyes shining overly bright and her lower lip trembling slightly, she nevertheless displayed a core of strength he couldn’t help but admire.
“Coffee sounds great,” he said. He had a feeling she wasn’t ready for him to leave, but she couldn’t know he didn’t intend to go anywhere, at least not until after he told her about Lauren. She had a right to know what his past might have brought into her life.
He sat at the table and watched silently as she busied herself making a short pot of coffee. When it began to drip into the glass carafe, she turned and looked at him, her eyes less haunted than they’d been moments before.
“The redness in your jaw is fading,” he observed. “I don’t think you’re going to bruise.”
She reached up and touched the spot, then dropped her arm to her side. “I’ve got to tell you, even though the attack lasted only a couple of minutes, they were the scariest minutes of my life. At first I thought maybe it was you, that you’d decided to come back. When the covers were pulled up over my head, I thought you were playing some sort of a joke on me.”
Again a fierce protectiveness filled Joshua, along with a healthy dose of anger. “I’m sorry, Savannah. I’m sorry I left you alone and vulnerable.”
“It’s not your fault.” Her eyes darkened as she looked at the board covering the broken window. “You think you’re safe locked in your own home, then something like this happens and it shakes up any sense of safety you have.”
She turned back to the coffeepot and poured them each a cup of the fresh brew. She set his cup in front of him, then joined him at the table and curled her fingers around her cup. “I guess I should be grateful that Winnie arrived home when she did and that whoever attacked me used fists instead of a knife.”
The visual picture of her trapped in the sheets while somebody stabbed her over and over caused Joshua’s heart to stutter in his chest. This night could have ended so differently. It could have ended in tragedy.
“Could you tell if your attacker was a male or female?” he asked.
She sat back in her chair and looked at him in surprise. “I just assumed it was a man.” She frowned thoughtfully. “Why would you think it might have been a woman?”
He took a sip of his coffee, then drew a deep breath. “You asked me after the night of the shooting who I might have pissed off since returning home to Cotter Creek. As far as I know I haven’t made anyone mad since I’ve been back home, but I left somebody in New York who would love to hurt me and whoever she thinks I might care about.”
Savannah’s frown deepened. “And you think that person might have come here to Cotter Creek? That she might be the one who attacked me tonight? My God, Joshua, what did you do to her to inspire such hatred?”
He sighed. Failure, a little voice whispered in his head. “Her name is Lauren Edwards. I met her at a club one night. She was gorgeous and smart. She told me she worked at a law firm as a paralegal and was considering going to law school to become an attorney.”
He scooted his chair back and stood, too restless to sit as he thought of how badly he’d screwed up. “Anyway, we hooked up that first night and I thought we were both on the same page. I thought she understood that I wasn’t looking for anything permanent. I thought we were both wanting the same things, just a little bit of fun and nothing serious.”
“But she wanted more?”
“Apparently.” He began to pace the small confines of the kitchen, his mind going back over the last couple of weeks he’d spent in New York. “Anyway, we saw each other for about a month and I thought everything was cool. We hadn’t talked about an exclusive relationship. Hell, we hadn’t talked about a relationship at all. We weren’t seeing each other on any regular basis.”
“But she thought of it as something more than it was?” Savannah asked.
“She started planning a wedding and that’s when I called a halt to things. I tried to be nice and let her down gently, but I sure as hell wasn’t prepared to marry her after a month.”
“I’m guessing she took it badly?”
“That’s an understatement. A couple of nights after I broke it off with her, I met a female coworker for dinner. We were in the middle of our meal when Lauren burst into the restaurant like some crazy person.”
He stopped his pacing and leaned with his back against the refrigerator. That night had been the most embarrassing that Joshua had ever experienced in his life. “She came in screaming about how I’d betrayed her. She called the woman I was with a slut and tried to fight her. She was escorted out of the restaurant, but when my coworker went to leave, she discovered that the windows in her car had all been broken out.”
He began to pace again. “Then the next day while I was at work, my apartment was broken into.” He still remembered the stunned shock he’d felt when he’d stepped into his apartment. “Everything was destroyed, slashed with a knife, smashed beyond repair. It took a tremendous amount of rage to do the kind of damage that was done.”
“She wasn’t arrested?” A tiny frown raced across Savannah’s forehead.
“I knew she did it. The police questioned her, but unfortunately one of her girlfriends provided an alibi.”
“And you think maybe this Lauren followed you here? That she might have been the person who tried to beat me up tonight?”
He returned to the table before answering. “I think it’s possible,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Lauren ever since the night of the shooting, but she’s not answering her home phone. I couldn’t remember what law firm she worked for, but I finally got a hold of a mutual friend who told me. The receptionist at the law firm where she worked said she’d taken some vacation time, but I don’t know if she’s still in New York or not.”
“Isn’t there somebody you can call to see if she’s still in town?” Savannah asked.
“I tried. I spoke with several of our mutual friends and nobody has seen her for the past week or so.”
“But that doesn’t mean she isn’t still in New York.”
Joshua shrugged. “True. But I figured it was best I tell you about her, just in case.”
“So, basically I should watch my back for a love-crazed New Yorker who has claimed you as her man.”
The lightness of her tone irritated him. Didn’t she understand that he’d somehow screwed up? That he’d misjudged the entire situation?
“It’s not funny,” he said with a scowl. “I don’t know what this woman is capable of, I don’t know how dangerous she might be.”
Her eyes darkened once again and one slender hand reached up to touch her jaw. “I guess she’s dangerous enough if she’s the one who attacked me tonight.” She finished her coffee, then got up and carried her cup to the sink.
She rinsed out the cup then turned to face him. “I’ll keep an eye out for women I don’t know, but you realize it’s equally as possible that whoever attacked me tonight did so because we’re making somebody nervous with all our questions about those deaths.”
“How many people have you talked to about your suspicions?” he asked.
Her cheeks pinkened slightly. “You should know by now I like to talk. I told anyone and everyone who would listen that I thought something bad was happening. I talked to waitresses and sales clerks, the mayor and members of the city council.”
He also took his cup to the sink, rinsed it then turned to her. She looked tired and although her jaw wasn’t as red as it had been, it still held a touch of color. He reached out and placed his fingers against the redness. “Are you sure you’re all right? Were you hurt anywhere else?”
She leaned to
ward him as if to welcome his touch. “I took a punch to the stomach and a few to the back, but I’m okay. I was terrified when it was happening, but the moment you walked in here I knew it was all going to be okay.”
Her words both touched and concerned him. He didn’t want her depending on him. He obviously didn’t have the tools to judge people and their intentions, which was an integral part of being in the personal protection business.
He dropped his hand from her face and stepped back, needing to distance himself from her. “We just need to be smart and understand that for whatever reason you’re at risk.”
She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. She looked small and vulnerable. “I’m sorry you missed the rest of the party.”
He smiled. “There will be other parties. You need to go to bed. It’s late.”
“And I’m beyond exhausted.” She glanced over to the boarded-up window, then back at him, her gaze holding a dark whisper of fear. “You don’t think the attacker will come back again tonight, do you?”
“If it would make you feel better, I’ll sleep here on the sofa for tonight.”
“I hate to ask you to do that, but it would make me feel better.” She flashed a tight smile. “I’ll bet you’re sorry you ever got involved in all this,” she said as they left the kitchen.
“If it’s Lauren, then I’m sorry I got you involved,” he replied. It had been easier to tell her about Lauren than he’d thought it would be. In fact, he had a feeling he could talk to Savannah about anything.
“I’ll just get you a pillow and some blankets,” she said as they moved into the living room. She disappeared down the hallway and returned a moment later with the bedding in her arms. “Are you sure you don’t mind staying here?” Her brow wrinkled with worry.
“It’s fine,” he reassured her. “I wouldn’t have offered if I minded.” He took the bedding from her arms. “Now, you’d better get some sleep.”
She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. The imprint of her lips shot heat straight to his heart. He backed away from her, confused by his reaction, vaguely irritated by a quick whip of desire that swept through him.
“Goodnight, Joshua.” She walked to the stairway but before she took a step up she turned back to look at him. “The thing with Lauren, at least you know you managed to inspire tremendous passion in somebody. That’s something I don’t expect to do in my lifetime.” She didn’t wait for his reply, but instead climbed the stairs.
He watched her until she disappeared from his sight, then he unfolded the blankets and made his bed for the night on the sofa. Whatever he’d inspired in Lauren, he didn’t believe it had anything to do with real passion. It had everything to do with sick obsession.
As he placed his gun on the coffee table in easy reach, he thought of what she’d said about his being sorry he’d gotten involved.
The truth was he felt more alive, more vital than he had since he’d left Cotter Creek almost one and a half years before. The problem was he didn’t know if it was the woman or the potential danger that had his blood pumping and his adrenaline flowing.
Chapter 10
“Don’t forget the security code if you get home before me this afternoon,” Winnie said over breakfast Monday morning. “I’m having my hair and nails done today.”
Winnie had arranged for a security system to be installed the day before, insisting that she should have done it years ago when her husband had first passed away and left her all alone.
Savannah had to confess, the new alarm system definitely gave her a sense of security that had been stripped from her with the attack. “I won’t be home until later this evening. First thing this morning Joshua and I are heading to City Hall to see Lillian. We want to find out who owns the property of the ranchers who died. Then, I have an early dinner date with Sheila Wadsworth.”
Winnie wrinkled her nose. “Now that’s a woman who doesn’t know the meaning of subtle.”
Savannah laughed, thinking of Sheila’s penchant for glitter and sequins. “She certainly hasn’t been subtle about wanting me to interview her for my column.”
“Sheila will do almost anything for attention or money,” Winnie said. “She’s been like that all her life. Rumor has it that she met her husband when she joined some dating service. Of course, I try not to listen to rumor.” Winnie smiled slyly.
Once again Savannah laughed and carried her breakfast dishes to the sink. “This town runs on gossip. It’s the favorite pasttime of everyone.”
Winnie’s smile increased. “And I know the latest piece of gossip that’s making the rounds.”
Savannah rinsed off her dishes, placed them in the dishwasher, then turned and looked at her landlady. “And what would that be?”
“Everyone is talking about how quickly you managed to snap up the most eligible bachelor in town.”
“I didn’t snap him up. We’re just working together, that’s all,” Savannah exclaimed, her cheeks warming with a blush.
Winnie raised an eyebrow. “You two might just be working together, but that doesn’t account for the sparks that fly in the air whenever the two of you are in the same room.”
“Nonsense,” Savannah scoffed as she felt her blush deepen, spilling heat into her cheeks. “There is absolutely nothing personal going on between Joshua and me.”
Except she hadn’t been able to forget what it felt like to be held in his arms, to be kissed with his lips, to feel his body taking hers. “And speaking of Joshua, he should be here anytime. I’m going to run upstairs and grab my purse and notebook.”
Alone in her room, she sat on the edge of the bed and thought about what Winnie had said. If there were any sparks in the air between her and Joshua it was only because of the physical attraction she felt for him and nothing else.
It had been almost impossible for her to fall asleep Saturday night knowing he was downstairs on the sofa. She’d wanted nothing more than to go downstairs and get him and bring him into her bed.
She’d wanted his strong, warm arms holding her through the remainder of the night. Her desire was so intense it had frightened her. She told herself it was because of the trauma she’d suffered, but she suspected it was something deeper and more profound than that.
He’d left the next morning after the alarm system had been installed and they had only spoken on the phone once during the day to set up a time for him to pick her up this morning.
Despite that she had known him less than two weeks, in spite of the fact that they’d made love only once, he was getting beneath her defenses, making her wish for things she’d never wished for before.
“Savannah Marie, get a hold of yourself,” she said aloud. She had sworn to Joshua that she wasn’t going to get all mushy and romantic where he was concerned and she was determined to keep her word.
She grabbed her purse and notebook and left the bedroom. She’d just hit the bottom of the stairs when the doorbell rang.
It was Joshua. She tried to ignore the expanse of her heart at the sight of him. Clad in a pair of jeans, with a blue and gray sports shirt and dark gray sports coat, he threatened to take her breath away.
“All set?” he asked.
She nodded. “Winnie, we’re leaving,” she yelled toward the kitchen.
Within minutes Savannah and Joshua were in his truck and headed toward City Hall. She drew a deep breath, enjoying the scent of him, that wonderful blend of sunshine and clean male.
“What happens if we don’t see anything suspicious about the sale of those properties?” she asked.
“Then I guess you just have to suffer through an interview with Sheila and write a column about her.” He flashed a quick glance at her, his eyes lit with humor.
She smiled. “I guess that’s not the worst thing in the world. So, what did you do on your day off yesterday?”
“I moved.”
She looked at him in surprise. “You moved? Where?”
“There’s a little two-bedroom cottage down the l
ane from the big house. It used to be used by a variety of ranch managers, but for the past several years Zack lived there. Since he and Katie got married, the place has been empty.”
“Is there a reason for the move?” She couldn’t imagine leaving the love and support that brimmed to the top at the West ranch for isolation in a cabin.
He hesitated a long moment before answering. “I just got used to being alone in New York and prefer to be by myself.”
She didn’t believe him. There was something more to it than that. It surprised her how much she wanted to know everything about him, all his thoughts, his worries, his dreams.
She told herself it was only because she was a reporter and he was an intriguing man from a powerful family, but she knew she was only fooling herself. She was beginning to care about Joshua West, and that scared the hell out of her.
Maybe she was just feeling unusually emotional because of the attack and it was only natural she’d turn to Joshua for comfort and support. She had nobody else to turn to.
A wave of loneliness suddenly overtook her. She had parents who had never really bonded with her, a friend who had either committed suicide or been murdered and a man who had slept with her but had made it clear he wanted nothing more from her than a booty call. If she thought about it for too long she’d get downright depressed.
“It’s not like you to be so quiet,” he observed, breaking into her somber thoughts.
“Are you implying that I normally talk your ear off?”
He grinned. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.” He pulled into a parking place in front of the brick one-story city hall. He cut the engine, then turned to face her, the smile gone. “Are you okay? Did you sleep all right last night?”
“I slept fine,” she assured him. “It’s amazing how much a little thing like a state-of-the-art alarm system can do for your peace of mind.” She unfastened her seat belt. “And now let’s go inside and see how many cages we can rattle today.”
She’d just stepped out of the truck when a male voice called her name. She whirled around to see Larry Davidson hurrying toward her. She smiled at the rugged cowhand who wore his black hat at a jaunty angle.
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