Sam flashed her a sexy half smile that did a lot to allay her fears, and gently caressed her arms. “Depends on the stakes, I guess,” he confided softly as he dropped his hands from her shoulders and moved away. “If something’s at risk that can’t be got back if the worst happens, like the love of a family member, then it’s time for me to step in and do what I can, as a relative or a friend, as a fellow citizen, as an officer of the law, to preserve the peace and patch things up, and keep everyone happy and safe.”
Nora watched him go over to the fax machine and briefly check the messages in the tray.
Guilt warred with fear. It was all she could do not to check her pocket for the fax she had stolen, folded and hidden there.
Feigning a nonchalance she couldn’t begin to feel, Nora slipped to the window and stared out at the snow falling in steady white sheets. There was nothing excessively forgiving or easy about Sam Whittaker. And she sensed that there never would be. He was who he was, take him or leave him. Trying not to think how much they had in common that way, Nora drew a steadying breath. “So, in other words, you’re part cop, part social worker.”
Sam shrugged and shoved his hands through his shaggy mane of hair. His gaze was completely without apology. “In a town this size, it’s a necessity,” he said firmly. He strode to the window and leaned one shoulder against the glass. “Someone’s got to keep the peace,” he stated, looking down at her.
Nora supposed that was so as their glances met and held.
“I don’t want anyone losing a loved one on my watch,” he confided, a hint of remorse coming into his eyes.
Nora found herself gliding toward him as their voices dropped.
“And that goes double in situations like this, where it can easily be avoided.”
“I understand your reasoning,” Nora remarked. I might even think it’s gallant. She paused and bit her lip. “I suspect there are still some who think you might be going a tad overboard.” Especially if you were to try and do the same thing to or for me, Nora thought.
Sam inclined his head slightly to the side and smiled. “I suspect you’re right.”
Nora sighed. “But it doesn’t change your opinion about what your job here is, does it?”
“No,” Sam replied, “it doesn’t.
Again, their eyes locked, and Nora felt something she didn’t need—or want—to feel as sparks of awareness ignited and danced all around them. He was exactly the kind of interfering, overly protective man she did not need in her life right now, and all she could think was that they didn’t make men like this anymore. He was a knight in shining armor—warm, rough, and unutterably masculine…
The phone rang, breaking the spell, and jarring them apart. His eyes still locked with hers, Sam reached for the phone reluctantly. “Sheriff’s office.” He listened, his expression first baffled, then cheerful. “All right,” Sam said finally. “We’ll be right there.”
“Right where?” Nora asked, wondering what was up now.
“My grandparents’ home, two streets over,” Sam confided, already handing Nora her coat. “Apparently, Gus’s surprise—the pretty lady—has arrived.”
Chapter Four
“GUS SENT A BOAT!” Nora said, stunned, as she and the Whittakers gathered around the huge cabin cruiser parked in front of the Whittakers’ clothing store. It was roomy enough for a dozen people and had The Pretty Lady painted on her bow.
“No wonder he wanted us to keep her ‘warm and safe,’” Harold murmured, as he braved the snow pouring down from the sky to lift the protective tarp that had been tied over the top of the boat and inspect the un expected delivery. “Snow and ice could do a lot of damage to the finish on a fine boat like this.”
Clara nodded and turned up the wool collar on her coat. “We’ll have to put her in the warehouse behind the store and then dry her off.”
Sam nodded, and he and Harold went to tell the tractor-trailer driver where to go with his cargo. The problem of what to do with the boat settled, the three women trooped back into the warmth and shelter of the now deserted store.
“I guess this means you aren’t Gus’s fiancée after all,” Kimberlee said sadly.
Nora flushed, embarrassed, as she inched off the gloves she’d purchased there earlier in the afternoon. “I tried to tell you.”
“We want you to stay with us anyway,” Clara said as she went around the store, locking the cash registers and turning off the lights.
Nora thought of the steamy kiss Sam had already delivered. To have the two of them under the same roof? Or even have him dropping by a lot? Seeing her at all times of the day and night? “No, really,” Nora told Clara and Kimberlee, “I can’t possibly impose—”
Sam strode in from the back and came up to join in the conversation. He narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t think you have a choice—there are no hotels or boardinghouses in Clover Creek.”
“Not even a bed-and-breakfast?” Nora asked, doing her best to contain her distress. She was having trouble catching her breath, standing so near to him. And, realizing that it was ridiculous for her to be reacting that way, she stepped away. And promptly and embarrassingly backed into a display of men’s shirts.
Sam reached out to steady her. “The closest hotel is back at the freeway interchange and, according to the tractor-trailer driver, those are all full now.”
Deciding she had looked into his eyes long enough, Nora turned her eyes from him and addressed his grandmother.
Clara Whittaker said soothingly, “Don’t worry. We’ve got plenty of room, and you won’t be our only guest for the blizzard. Sam will be there, too.”
Like that was supposed to help persuade her? Nora thought, all the more distressed.
Looking not at all displeased by the latest development, Sam explained, “My place is five miles outside town. For obvious reasons, I’m going to need to stay in town until this storm blows over, in order to do my job. Speaking of which—” Sam was interrupted by his beeper. “Looks like I’ve got another call.” He excused himself and went off to take it in private.
“Meanwhile, we ladies have some errands to run,” Clara explained.
“Can I be of help?” Nora asked.
“If you wouldn’t mind waiting for Harold to finish with the boat?” Clara replied with a smile.
“Not at all.”
That settled, Kimberlee went to the market to get extra milk and bread. Clara went off to the post office to collect the mail. Nora went out to the warehouse to watch as the truck driver and his assistant began unloading the Pretty Lady from the trailer bed.
“What’s up?” Harold asked Sam, when he joined them a couple of minutes later. “Nora said you had a call.”
Sam nodded, his concern evident. “That was Boots McKinney. His golden retriever, Clementine, is missing. He let her out about four this afternoon, and she hasn’t come back. Boots is out of his mind with worry.”
Sam turned to Nora, explaining, “Boots is still recovering from a broken hip and can’t go out and look for Clem himself.”
“He must be frantic.”
“And then some,” Sam conceded grimly. He sighed and shook his head, his frustration at the situation evident. “I have a feeling Clem’s in trouble, too. Otherwise, she would’ve been back, ’cause she’s absolutely devoted to Boots.”
His mouth set determinedly, Sam buttoned his coat. “I’m going out to look for Clementine, and do what I can for Boots.”
Nora looked at the sky. Snow was still coming down with ever-increasing intensity. It would be dark in another hour or two. She hated to think of any pet out on a night like this, and knew Sam could probably use her assistance. Besides, if they didn’t find the beloved retriever before darkness set in, Clementine probably wouldn’t survive the night.
Nora looked at Sam, her worry over the possibility of him making another pass at her subdued by this greater emergency. “Do you need help?” she asked.
Sam nodded, his mind solely on the task ahead. “I
’d appreciate it. So would Boots, I’m sure.”
IF ANYTHING, Sam thought, the seventy-nine-year-old Boots McKinney was even more frantic by the time he and Nora showed up at his rustic cabin in the woods. “Sam, you’ve got to find her,” Boots said.
I’ll do my best, Sam thought. Although in this weather, with the snow coming down harder with each moment that passed, and darkness descending more swiftly than usual, it was hard to guarantee results. “Any idea which way she was headed when she took off?” Sam asked the retiree.
“No, and she’s never been gone this long when it’s this cold out.” Boots gripped either side of his metal walker until his knuckles turned white. “I keep thinking I hear her barking, but it’s so faint, I can’t be sure—” Boots stopped, too choked up to continue.
Nora moved in beside Sam and looked at Boots kindly. “Which way do you think the barking is coming from?” she asked gently.
“Back behind the house, fairly deep in the woods. She may have been on the scent of something.” Boots paused to wipe his eyes as he told Nora, “Retrievers are hunting dogs, you know.”
Sam cast a look over his shoulder at the dark, silent woods. Anxious to get started before any more time elapsed, he took Nora’s elbow and led her toward the door. “We’ll let you know what we find,” Sam told Boots over his shoulder.
Flashlight in hand, Sam and Nora bundled up against the blowing snow and frigid air and headed off. As they trudged through what appeared to be six or so inches of accumulated snow, Sam took a dog whistle out of his pocket and began to blow into it, emitting a pitch that was too high for them to hear. To his relief, they soon heard the faint but unmistakable sound of a dog. Unfortunately, Clementine was not barking, but whimpering.
“She sounds hurt,” Nora said worriedly as they topped a steep hill and stood looking down into an even steeper incline, peppered with huge pine trees.
My feelings exactly, Sam thought, as he flashed his light down the ravine. Clementine was at the very bottom. When she saw them, she tried to leap forward, only to let out a high-pitched yelp.
“Her tail’s trapped beneath that fallen pine tree,” Nora said.
“If it’s only her tail, she’s probably not hurt.”
carefully they made their way down the snow-slick incline. More than once, they nearly lost their footing, but working together and holding on to trees, they both managed to stay upright until they reached the bottom of the steep incline.
Clementine whimpered pitifully as they approached.
“Hello, girl…” Nora knelt in front of her and held out a gloved hand, palm up, for her to sniff. Talking softly all the while, Nora petted the overgrown pup gently on the head and rubbed behind her ears, while Sam went around to investigate the downed tree that had landed on her tail and trapped her on the snowy slope for the past six hours or so.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to lift it,” he announced grimly, “but I think we can free her if we dig some of the snow and leaves out just beneath her tail.”
Together, Sam and Nora worked on opposite sides. Short minutes later, Clementine let out a joyful yelp and scrambled free. She landed against Sam’s chest, and he caught her in his arms, petting her softly and crooning to her. “Easy, girl, you’re all right now, you’re all right.”
Nora grinned from ear to ear as she checked out Clementine’s tail, which did indeed seem to be fine. “We did it!” she exclaimed happily.
Sam looked at Nora, unable to help but think what a good team they made, as he held out a hand and helped her to her feet. “We sure did,” he said with a grin, thinking that despite all the extra work the blizzard was sending his way, it had also sent someone very special. And for that he was very glad.
Nora dusted the snow off her knees. Then reached up and brushed off his shoulders, too. “Guess we better get back to Mr. McKinney,” she said, almost shyly.
Sam nodded. Whatever it was he was feeling, it was clear that Nora was feeling it, too.
Together, the two of them and the dog made their way carefully up the slope and back to the rustic cabin.
Wary of the changing weather’s effects on the roads and concerned about their ability to return to town, Sam and Nora stayed just long enough to see that Boots and his beloved pet were reunited and carry in a new load of wood for Boots’s fireplace and then were on their way.
Though they’d only been away an hour, Sam’s truck was already covered with several inches of snow. He helped her up into the passenger seat, went around and started the engine, then got back out and cleared away the snow that had accumulated on the windows with a long brush. Finished, he hopped back in. Nora was huddled in her seat, shivering in spite of the lukewarm air blowing out of the vents. She bit her lip worriedly as she studied the snow-covered road. “Are you going to be able to drive in this?”
Sam reassured her. “No problem. The snow’s still pretty soft, and my wheelbase is high enough off the ground to maneuver through it.”
Tomorrow morning may be another story, though, he said to himself. Depending on how hard the rest of the coast got hit, Nora could be stuck here for days before she was able to get back on the freeway again. That thought didn’t bother him as much as it should. Maybe because he sensed that she needed his help.
Sam put the truck in four-wheel drive and carefully maneuvered his way out of the McKinney driveway. He drove slowly and cautiously through the snow; nevertheless, his truck slid several times in the first half mile or so. Each time it did, Nora held on all the tighter.
Sam knew they’d make it to their destination, though the normal ten-minute drive back into Clover Creek was bound to take two or three times as long. He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Hang on. We’re going to get there.”
Nora’s fingers curled tightly beneath his. “I know. You’re doing an excellent job of driving, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Not about to take any chances with his precious passenger, Sam withdrew his hand from hers and put it back on the steering wheel. “I’ve had a lot of practice driving in snow and ice.”
“Me too,” Nora said, watching the road as intently as he was. She jerked in a breath as the wheels on the truck temporarily lost traction and they skidded a little to the right, then relaxed slightly as they got back on course. Sam wished he could pull over to the side of the road and hold Nora in his arms and comfort her, but he knew the best thing to do was get them both back to town before the roads got any worse.
Nora sighed heavily. “Ever wish you didn’t have to deal with it and could live somewhere warm and sunny year-round?”
The answer to that was easy, Sam thought. “No, West Virginia is home. I haven’t always lived here—I went to college in Kentucky and spent seven years working for the Chicago Police Department—but now that I’m back, I plan to stay.”
“You don’t mind that Clover Creek is so small—populationwise?” Nora asked, holding her hands out to the warm air flowing through the heat vents.
Sam only saw one problem there—the close attention paid by the small town might put a crimp in his attempts to romance the woman beside him. He didn’t want anything or anyone getting in the way of that. “It’s sometimes like living in a fishbowl,” Sam acknowledged sagely, “with everyone minding what is going on in everyone else’s life, but when you consider it’s done out of love and not mean-spiritedness, it’s not so bad.”
“The lack of privacy might bother me,” Nora allowed with a frown, before her voice turned wistful once again. “But everything else…the close-knit ties…the safe, bucolic atmosphere of small-town life…seems very appealing. Before I decided to marry Geoff, I was considering getting out of the rat race altogether and living in a small town.”
This was a surprise. “How did your family feel about that?” Sam asked curiously, turning his attention back to the road. The snow was coming down even harder now, and the darkness of night was now a factor. He figured they had ten yards’ visibility, at best.
; Nora was silent a long moment. “Both my father and Geoff were adamantly against it,” she said softly at last. “My father wanted me in the family business, right alongside him and Geoff.”
Geoff again. Sam was beginning to dislike that guy a lot. “But you weren’t interested?” Sam probed, as they passed the Culpepper farm’s mailbox. Only two more miles and they would be in town again, he thought, relieved.
“No.” Nora’s voice was firm. “The restaurant business is not really for me.”
So what was? Sam wondered as they crested a hill and the driveway and mailbox of another farm came into view. “Any chance you’ll go back to the New York City advertising world where you met my brother Gus?”
Nora shrugged as they reached the edge of town. “I thought about it for about five minutes after I called off my wedding, and then I decided to go back to my original plan and do something completely different. Drop out of the world I knew, settle somewhere new and work in a business of my own.”
“Those are some mighty big changes you’re talking about.” Sam wasn’t sure she knew how big.
“I know,” Nora said seriously.
Sam parked in front of the sheriff’s office. For the first time all day, Main Street was completely deserted. There was not a single other vehicle in sight. Sam cut the engine and turned toward Nora. “How do you think your father is going to react to your decision to drop out and relocate?”
Nora regarded Sam as if he were a chastising sibling. “I imagine my father will be surprised, but then—” Nora sighed reluctantly “—life is full of surprises. And they always—always—hit you when you least expect it.”
That was certainly true, Sam thought as he circled around to help her down from the passenger seat. They walked back inside the sheriff’s office. As adults, they were entitled to do as they pleased with their lives. But that did not mean they should also disregard the feelings of those close to them, out of pique or anything else.
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