Olivia marched out, letting the door slam behind her without waiting to hear whether Hank made any reply. Reyn appeared at her passenger’s door as she tried to crank her Chevette. If nothing else, Reyn’s insistence to accompany her to class gave them time to discuss the new information they had.
He opened the door but didn’t get in. “You’re gonna flood the engine.”
“Huh?”
“Sniff. You smell that gas?”
She sniffed. He was right, damn it. In her snit over Hank’s betrayal, she’d pumped too much fuel to the engine as she tried to start the car. “Great.”
“Just as well. I wasn’t looking forward to chewing my knees all the way to Monroe. I’ll get my truck and be back in a sec.”
Leaning her head back on the seat, she sighed and watched him head toward the woods, stooping long enough to pat the beagle that loped along beside him. Reyn’s tall, muscular body moved with a controlled power and confidence. He’d employed that same cool control to rein in his passion this afternoon, to stop himself when his body was on the brink of no return. Closing her eyes, she imagined what it might be like to have him finally unleash all that raw energy and feel his body fuse with hers in fast, frantic abandon.
For months she’d studied his provocative picture in the firemen’s calendar and wondered what kind of lover he would be. Today she’d had a sample of her fantasy, and just a little of the flesh and blood Reyn blew her fantasy to smithereens.
Yet she was no closer to breeching the wall he kept around his heart, getting him to open up to her with his innermost secrets and dreams. She still didn’t feel she knew the real Reyn and what made him tick. Her heart told her he was a good man deep down, and she’d seen plenty of proof of that. His rapport with Katy, Sara and Lila demonstrated his kindness. He had integrity and honor. Courage and convictions. But his determination to shut her out, to fight the attraction growing between them baffled her, frustrated her.
She was falling for him without the assurances she needed to protect her heart. Just because she knew he was attracted to her didn’t mean he would fall in love with her or that her love would be enough to make him want the things she wanted.
Family. Home. Commitment.
A knot of cold despair lodged in her stomach. A little voice inside her said she was asking too much of Reyn. He’d made his feelings about getting involved with her clear. His life had been very different from hers. He’d had no father. He’d lost his mother while young. He’d been separated from his home, his grandmother at a turbulent time in his life. No wonder his priorities didn’t include starting a family. She couldn’t force him to change. She’d already seen the strength of his iron will.
But neither could she give up without trying. She still wanted to reach him somehow, help him quiet the ghosts haunting him about his past. Maybe he’d come around. Please, God.
She only hoped she didn’t lose her heart in the process.
Despite Olivia’s protests, Reyn went in to the pharmacy the next morning, determined not to give whoever had grabbed her a second chance to hurt her.
“You should be at the hospital with Lila, not babysitting me.” She frowned at him and sidled up to the computer to start processing orders.
“I called the hospital this morning and explained what happened. Lila agrees with me.” He picked up a pamphlet on heart disease lying on the counter and gave it a cursory glance. “Besides, she starts her physical therapy today and doesn’t think she’ll be in the mood for visitors afterward. So I’m all yours.”
“Swell,” she said with fake enthusiasm. Arching one eyebrow and casting a furtive glance at Lou, Olivia gave Reyn a sultry grin. “Too bad we have an audience. I could think of lots of ways to pass the time.”
Heat flashed through him, remembering the press of her naked flesh against his.
Her eyes brightened, along with her smile. “Maybe later?”
Oh, yeah! his body screamed.
Don’t even think about it, his head warned.
He milled about in the store aisles to avoid engaging in her sexual banter. Such repartee only heightened his awareness of her and drew the vise of longing tighter. He was already coiled tight and ready to spring, and his cold shower that morning had done little to relieve the frustrating ache. Knowing she was a virgin, he should be running the other way. He couldn’t touch her again. He’d done enough damage as it was, had her thinking they’d started something they would finish. Yesterday’s interlude had been a mistake, and his body was paying the price.
He sat at the back of the store in a folding chair, reading the newspaper for a while. When business slowed, he chatted with Olivia and Lou, deciding to use the time to milk the head pharmacist for information.
“I guess by now you’ve heard about the attack on Olivia?” He watched Lou carefully, gauging the man’s response.
Lou flicked a brief glance from the solution he was mixing. “Hmm. No, I—” His head whipped back around, and his eyes widened, as if he just realized what Reyn had said. The syrup he was pouring dribbled on the counter. “Attacked? Olivia, what—”
“I’m okay,” she assured her boss, holding up a hand and scowling sideways at Reyn. “A guy grabbed me in the woods behind our house, tried to suffocate me, but Reyn heard me scream and scared the guy off when he came running.”
“Land sakes, girl! Who’d want to do a thing like that to you?” Lou noticed the spill and grimaced.
“Thought maybe you could tell us that.” Reyn crossed his arms over his chest.
Olivia sent Reyn another dirty look, but he ignored her. Instead, he focused on the small-framed man, who grumbled to himself as he wiped up the mess he’d made. Perhaps Lou didn’t fit the physical description of the man who’d jumped Olivia, but he could know something.
“I have no idea why anyone would hurt—” Lou paused and furrowed his brows. He took off his glasses and pinned a worried look on Olivia. “Do you think this is because you’re asking questions about Reyn’s mama? Seems to me some folks would rather you not be diggin’ around in that garden.”
“Oh? Like who?” Reyn propped a hip against the register counter and crossed his legs at the ankle.
“Like Betty Smith was in here the other day, sayin’ Charlie was fuming about your confronting the volunteer firemen at the diner. And like Frances Skinner mentioned she’d heard you were receiving death threats or some such.” Lou faced Olivia. “Can’t say I’m too pleased about you re-opening Claire’s death either.”
“Why?” Olivia tipped her head in query.
Lou took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Just seems that poor woman deserves to rest in peace. She suffered enough scandal while she was alive.” He sent Reyn an apologetic look. “No disrespect, son, but your mama had quite a reputation.”
Reyn tensed.
Lou raised a hand to forestall Reyn’s protest. “Some of it was just talk, I’m sure. Petty jealousy and all. She was a real purty lady. Always was popular with the fellas from the time we were in junior high on up. Heck, even I had an eye for her.”
Olivia sent Reyn an unreadable look. He didn’t like the direction of Lou’s reminiscences. He didn’t want to hear about the reputation his mother had or that she might have earned it. Hell, he’d spent most of his childhood defending her for that very reason. A familiar restlessness skittered through him and knotted his gut.
“Your mother could have had her pick of men. I don’t know a man in the parish who didn’t stand a little straighter when she’d walk by.” Lou’s expression sobered. “Of course, she dated George Russell steady for the last two years of high school so none of us other fellas had a chance.”
“She dated George Russell?” This news stunned Reyn. His mother had never mentioned her connection to George.
“Yep. The prom queen and the basketball star. A story as old as time.” Lou shook his head. “It was a real tragedy, her dying so young like she did.”
Reyn’s chest constricted with grief, and he
struggled not to show how Lou’s comment affected him.
“If you ask me, she got what she had coming.”
Reyn jerked his head around to face the woman behind him who’d spoken. The sharp tone of the woman’s voice, not to mention her harsh judgment, set him on edge.
“Excuse me?” he asked in a low, foreboding tone.
“Mrs. Horton.” Olivia moved to the register, pushing Reyn aside with her hip. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Obviously not. Is my refill ready?”
“Let me check.” Olivia sent Reyn a warning glance, then stepped over to flip through the bags waiting to be picked up.
Mrs. Horton turned to Reyn, a haughty expression on her pinched face. “My husband had the dubious honor of serving as assistant principal at the high school when your mother was there. She was as much trouble in school as you were…though in different ways. Seemed like he’d just gotten rid of one thorn in his side when you came to the elementary school where he’d transferred as principal.”
“I don’t see how that makes her deserving of death in a house fire.” Reyn worked hard to keep his tone modulated, though what he wanted was to punch something. It seemed Mrs. Horton had the same pious attitude her husband had.
“If she had controlled you, put a stop to your pyromania the first time Vance warned her about your trouble with matches at school, then you might not have gotten as far as burning down the Russells’ barn and your own house.” Helen Horton lifted her beak-like nose higher. “But she didn’t do anything to stop you. That’s why it’s fittin’ that she should die by her own mistakes.”
Fury rose in Reyn’s throat, and he nearly gagged on the taste of bile as he swallowed his anger. Nothing would be served by getting into it with the arrogant and scornful woman. Just let him finish his business here and leave town without causing Gram more shame. He balled his trembling hands into fists.
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re perfect. Right, Mrs. Horton?” Olivia’s overly bright tone and smile matched her too-chipper tone. “Why, if we all got what we deserved and died by our mistakes, then you could live forever.” She punched a key on the register with a vicious poke. “That’ll be twenty dollars even. Ma’am.”
Reyn’s own anger quieted a notch as he watched Olivia’s barely controlled rage. Her body quivered, and her teeth clenched in a tight, grim smile.
Mrs. Horton sent Olivia suspicious glances as she scribbled out a check. “Don’t be flip with me, young lady.” She thrust the check toward Olivia and frowned. “Vance is right. You’re just like Claire. Prancing around town in your short skirts and stirring up the menfolk. You’re nothing but trouble.” Mrs. Horton jabbed her pen toward Olivia, and Reyn stiffened.
Reyn leaned toward the older woman, glaring at her, and she drew back with a gasp. “You and ol’ Vance deserve each other. Tell my favorite principal hi for me, won’t you?”
Mrs. Horton backed away from the counter, her mouth puckered with disdain. “I’m going to have a word with the preacher about you two. The likes of you shouldn’t be allowed at church. You’re nothing but trouble. Devil spawn!”
Still sputtering, she backed through the pharmacy door.
“Olivia, where’d we put that disinfectant spray?” Lou asked, looking under the counter. “I’d sure hate for any of our customers to catch whatever nasty bug she’s been infected with.”
“Lou, with her and Vance it’s more of a birth defect. A genetic trait for meanness. No wonder their daughter ran away at sixteen.” She shuddered dramatically as if shaking off a residue the sour woman left behind.
“Sad thing is, Vance used to be a pretty likeable guy. He hung out with my oldest brother way back when. Helen changed him.” Lou shook his head and went back to work.
Reyn tried to dismiss the woman’s comments as well, but the cutting remarks reminded him too clearly of the judgmental town he’d grown up in, the accusations following the house fire, the reasons he hadn’t been back in twenty years. His heart ached for his mother because of the pettiness she’d endured raising an illegitimate son, facing the rumors and innuendo every day, struggling to make ends meet. Why had she stayed in the face of such cruelty? Why not move on? Why not start over in Shreveport or Monroe or Alexandria?
And did he really want to know why? Just scratching the surface of his past, of his mother’s life back then and the troubles she’d faced left him raw inside. He didn’t want to dig deeper, didn’t want to face the harsh truths about what his mother had endured for his sake. Already the guilt and anguish over her death were eating him alive. He drew a deep breath, but still felt as if he were suffocating.
“I’m going outside for a minute. I…I need some air.” God, his voice sounded awful. Gritty and rough like sandpaper.
Olivia gave him a worried look. “Reyn? Are you all right?”
“Fine. I just—” He didn’t finish. Yeah, he’d be just fine. As soon as he could get out of Clairmont and lock the past away once and for all.
“Do you have to go?” Katy whined to Reyn.
“Afraid so, fair lady.” He gallantly kissed Katy’s hand like the prince he’d been playing with the little girl. “I must go with Princess Olivia to ensure her safe passage to class. But I shall return this evening.” He bowed with a flourish.
Katy giggled. “Okay.”
Olivia grinned at her sister. “Why don’t you play on the swing till Daddy finishes heating up dinner?”
Katy clomped outside, and Olivia turned to Reyn. “You really don’t have to go to class with me again.”
“Yes, I really do.” He pulled his keys from his pocket.
Olivia sighed as she gathered her books for class. For the last few days, Reyn had stuck to her like fly paper. Not that she minded his company. He was easy on the eyes, and every minute together was a chance to get closer to him. If he’d let her. But for all his physical proximity, he’d been more distant than ever. His withdrawal had started after their aborted lovemaking on the dock. The day she’d been attacked in the woods. And he pulled farther into himself after Mrs. Horton’s verbal attack at the store. Dang the bitter woman’s hide.
Yet despite his somber mood and unwillingness to talk about what bothered him, Reyn had endeared himself to her in numerous ways. She admired his teasing rapport with his grandmother when they visited Lila on Olivia’s lunch breaks and after church on Sunday. He’d charmed Katy with his willingness to play dolls when the little girl asked.
Sunday evening, he’d even accompanied her to choir practice at the church. He’d sat in the back pew, staring at the stained glass with an odd expression darkening his face, and waited patiently for her to finish her rehearsal. Monday night he’d helped prepare dinner and stayed through the meal, even though Olivia swore no one could hurt her in her own home with Hank right there. After dinner, they’d retreated to her front porch. In the gathering dusk, as the mosquitoes buzzed around them, they’d talked about nothing specific yet found a comfortable camaraderie, as if they’d known each other for years. Reyn had proven an interesting and intelligent conversationalist—as long as the topic centered on the historical accuracy of recent movies and stayed off him.
They’d hit a wall in their investigation of the fire. Reyn seemed reluctant to dig further, ask more questions, unearth a motive for someone to kill his mother. The search for answers was clearly painful for him, and Olivia was ready to turn all their information over to the sheriff, if it would spare Reyn more pain. But running away from the things that haunted him wouldn’t resolve anything for Reyn, and she was determined to find a way to help ease his pain.
The phone rang as they were walking out the door to drive to her class, and Olivia groaned. “Just a minute, Reyn. Let me get rid of whoever this is, and I’ll be right there.”
He propped his shoulder against the doorframe and watched her as she answered the call.
“Olivia, is Reyn there? I’ve called and called to the house, and he doesn’t answer.” Lila’s voice sounded p
anicked.
“Yes, he’s here. You just caught us. We were headed—”
“Please, dear. I must talk to him. It’s important.”
Apprehension prickled up her spine. “Sure. Here he is.” She held the phone out to Reyn. “It’s Lila. She sounds upset.”
Concern furrowed his brow, and he snatched the phone. “Gram? What is it?” He listened for a minute. “What’s wrong?”
She watched his face and chewed a hangnail, wondering what had upset Lila.
“Of course. I…I’ll be right there.” Reyn disconnected the call, and his face grew pale. “I have to go to the hospital. She said something’s come up, but wouldn’t say what it was. I need to take care of it, whatever it is.”
“Then let’s go.” Olivia put her books down on the coffee table and headed for the door.
Reyn caught her arm. “No. You go on to class. No point in missing. I’ll talk to Gram alone, and then fill you in later.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but when she saw the blaze of determination in Reyn’s eyes, she swallowed her protest. “Okay.”
An odd disappointment niggled in her mind that he was pushing her aside to do something else. Until she reminded herself that the something else was his grandmother. This was the kind of thing she wanted from Reyn, wasn’t it? An obvious case of putting his family’s needs first? Proof of his love and loyalty? Evidence his priorities matched hers?
Perhaps it was the worried tone of Lila’s voice that had her feeling out of sorts. Maybe it was a prick of jealousy that she wouldn’t have his companionship on the long, lonely drive to Monroe. With a sigh and a mental shake of her head, Olivia pushed the strange feeling aside.
Following him outside, she cast an eye to the gray clouds rolling in from the west. Reyn’s countenance matched the dark sky as he cranked his truck and shot her a glance.
“Have someone walk you to your car after class, and drive carefully. Looks like a storm’s blowin’ in.”
“I will. Give my best to Lila.”
He gave her a quick nod, closed his car door and drove off in the direction of the gathering storm.
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