by T. L. Haddix
She grinned at him over her shoulder. “Yeah, you say that because you know I don’t know exactly where you live. Out off Highway Eighty somewhere, that’s all I know.”
“Stormking Road,” he said “I’m the last house on the road, a quarter mile past the gate that has the No Trespassing signs up.”
“How much land do you have?” she asked as she showed him the dining room.
“About a hundred acres.”
Sydney’s eyebrows lifted. “A hundred acres? Wow. I had no idea you had that much.”
“I got really lucky, got a good deal on it. And getting it in shape has been a good project. It’s kept me busy for ten years now.”
“I’ll definitely have to come check it out. Now I’m curious.”
“Like I said, door’s open.”
As she got the coffee and sweets ready, she asked him about the property. He had the same peaceful air talking about the spread that her grandfather did when he spoke about his place.
“It’s your sanctuary, isn’t it?” she asked. She settled in on one end of the couch, pulling a blanket over her bare legs. When his lips twitched with amusement, she made a face at him. “Don’t you start. It’s a habit—shorts and a tank top in the summer, cover up with a blanket. Or in this case, a sleeveless dress. Regardless, it’s one of my quirks.”
“I didn’t say a word,” he responded. “And yeah, I guess it is a sanctuary. I’ve got a small pond and a dock with a nice tree hanging over it, and I’ve used that spot more than once in the last decade to go and get some mental clarity. In the line of work I was in, I had to have something.”
“I’m glad you had it. You know how Grandpa and Noah feel about the farm. Ainsley feels the same way about her place in Lexington. Shoot, after the divorce, I hid out at the farm. I can’t imagine what it would be like not to have had someplace like that to go.”
He took a sip of his coffee. “It helps.”
“Are you glad you retired?” she asked softly. “Or do you miss it?”
“I don’t miss most of the job. Some of it, yes. But most of it? No. People have always been… well, people. There’ve always been bad seeds to interact with, evil to contend with. That sounds dramatic, but I mean it in a very matter-of-fact way. Evil exists in this world. Ask anyone in law enforcement. But the last few years, things have deteriorated. I’d gotten to where I didn’t enjoy it very much, to be honest. So I’m glad to be out.”
“What about the badge bunnies? Do you miss them?”
He sat forward, setting his mug on the coffee table as he shot her an amused grin. “Sydney, you’re something else. Badge bunnies.”
She worked her foot out from under the blanket to nudge him on the hip. “Don’t even try to tell me you didn’t get chased by badge bunnies. I know better.”
He laughed, his cheeks turning a bit red. “Persistent much?”
“Evasive much?” she came back with, putting her own mug on the table. She came to her knees and edged closer to him before sitting back down. This time, she poked him in the ribs with a finger. “Now I’m convinced there’s a story there. Give it up.”
Sawyer captured her hand, watching her with a sidelong look. He kept her hand in his, tangling their fingers together even as she tugged against him. As he answered, he traced the tips of her fingers.
“I tried to ignore the badge bunnies as much as I could, especially after I got a little older. Maybe not so much when I was young. I don’t do relationships, you know that, but I also wasn’t much interested in women who were only after me because of the badge and uniform.”
“Is that no-relationship rule because of the infertility?” she asked quietly. “Or because you still love her?”
He spread his hand out, palm up, hers on top of his as though comparing their sizes. “At first it was both. I did meet someone a few years after the divorce, but it didn’t work out. She had a couple of kids from a previous marriage, and we got pretty close. Her ex didn’t like that, and he started causing trouble between me and the kids. We decided to go our separate ways. It wasn’t fair to put the kids in that position.”
Sydney wondered just how seriously he’d been interested in the woman. “That was her loss, you know.”
“Ah, I don’t know. I kind of look at it as a lucky escape on my part. I found out how things were going to be before I was in too deep. If we’d ended up married or something, it would have been a disaster. He did the same thing to the guy she ended up with after me. They got divorced because of it.”
“You’ve never tried again?”
He shook his head. “No. It was safer not to.”
Taking a chance, Sydney reached out and touched his shoulder with her free hand. She let it rest there for a moment, then trailed it down his arm to rest on the bend of his elbow. “You never considered adoption or fostering as an answer to the question of children? Or did you only want kids if you were their genetic father?”
He turned to stare at her, his expression solemn and contemplative. “The few times it came up, the woman in question wasn’t interested. In the case of my ex, it was out of the question. She had this fear of not having a perfectly healthy, happy child, and she saw adopted kids as damaged goods. And the other woman… she didn’t really want any more kids. Said something to the effect of not taking on another child of her own, much less someone else’s problem.”
Sydney was appalled. “Sawyer, that’s awful. Oh, my God. You did get lucky getting them out of your life. Damaged goods? Are you kidding me?” As much as the sentiment was revolting, it was also hurtful. “Thank God not everyone feels that way.”
“More do than don’t,” he said. “To answer your question, I don’t. But it wasn’t just me in the relationship.”
She squeezed his arm, then stood to pace, needing to move. Arms crossed under her breasts, she muttered curses. “Why didn’t you just adopt or foster on your own?”
He sat back, crossing his ankle over his knee. “High-risk job, single parent? There’s not an agency out there that would let me sign up for that. And now… I’m not a spring chicken.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. You’re like Grandpa—you’ll still be running around doing whatever you want even when you’re in your eighties. And you’ve got more years than I’ve been alive to go before you get to that mark.”
Sawyer laughed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. If you knew how much getting out of bed hurts some days, you might reconsider that.”
“Bull. Not that don’t you hurt, I don’t mean that. But I don’t see age slowing you down much.”
“I’ve gotten used to being on my own. It’d be hard enough to add a woman to the mix, much less a kid or two or three.”
“I guess I understand that. I know there are a lot of people out there who are perfectly content living solitary lives. I just don’t think you’re one of them.” She raised her chin, daring him to contradict her.
Sawyer stood and came to stand in front of her, not stopping until less than two feet separated them. “You have got to be one of the most stubborn women I’ve ever met in my life.”
“I’m perfectly meek and pliable,” she quipped back. “You’re just projecting your own flaws onto me.” She tempered her words with a wink.
“Impertinent imp.”
She couldn’t hold her laughter back. “Guilty as charged.”
The evening had grown dark, and the only lamp on was the one behind the sofa. The room wasn’t completely shadowed, but the atmosphere was decidedly intimate. As they stood there watching each other, tension built. The ringing of Sydney’s cell phone broke the spell, and she sucked in a breath as she moved to answer it.
“Molly, hey.”
“Are you busy? I’m here by myself and I’m going nuts. Mom and Dad are out on date night, all my friends are w
orking, and I need something to do. Do you mind if I swing by?”
Sydney wanted to scream that yes, she was busy. She was on the verge of jumping Sawyer’s bones and taking him to the floor. But she couldn’t. Some tiny sense of self-preservation reared its head.
“No, that’s fine. You can head on over.”
“Great! I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
She ended the call, staring down at the phone for a few seconds before turning to face Sawyer. “That was Molly. She’s home alone and needs a friend. I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “It’s fine. I need to go, anyhow.”
Regret warred with disappointment. “I figured as much.”
She walked him to the door, wanting to grab him and tug him back with every step. “Thank you for looking out for me, for the shoulder, the… the friendship,” she said softly as she rested her hand on the doorknob. “I’m glad you were there tonight.”
“So am I. And if you need me, I’m just a phone call away. Even if it’s the middle of the night.”
Sydney tilted her head and met his eyes. “That works both ways, lawman. Now that I know how to find you, just call. I’ll bring brownies and coffee and we’ll solve the world’s problems.”
When he lifted his hand to cup her face, his thumb brushing across the fullness of her bottom lip, Sydney lost the ability to breathe. The sound of a car pulling up outside stopped him from doing anything else, however, and he took a step back.
“See you Monday.”
She could have wept with frustration, but she managed to hold it back. She swung the door open, instead, as Molly was coming up the walk. “Unless I show up on your doorstep with goodies.”
The heated look Sawyer gave her made her toes curl. He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. “Impertinent. Hey, Molly.”
“Hey, Sawyer. What are you doing here?”
“He gave me a ride home,” Sydney answered. “Goodnight.”
“Ladies.”
They watched him walk to his truck, Sydney holding on to the door for support. After he left, she sighed.
“He’s so hot,” Molly said as she came inside. “Please tell me I didn’t interrupt the two of you.”
“You didn’t interrupt anything that didn’t need to be interrupted,” Sydney assured her. “So what kind of trouble are we going to get into?”
“Mani/pedi? And gossip?”
“Sounds good to me. Let me get into some jammies first. You want to spend the night?”
“I was hoping you’d ask,” she said as she held up an overnight bag. Molly grinned, looking more like the wholesome redheaded urchin who was John and Zanny’s miracle baby than the femme fatale nursing student who’d captured Sydney’s brother’s interest.
While she changed clothes, Sydney bit her lip, imagining she could taste Sawyer’s touch. She loved Molly like a sister, and she knew the timing of her call had been fortuitous, but damn, she wondered what might have happened if that phone hadn’t rung.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sawyer tried valiantly to forget his Friday night with Sydney. By the time the Fourth of July rolled around a week later, he’d convinced himself he’d done it. At least half the time, anyhow.
Once again, an invitation to join the Campbells had been issued. And this time instead of trying to figure out an excuse as to why not to join them, he accepted without hesitation. He didn’t examine why. He knew he wouldn’t like the answer to his query.
When everyone sat down shortly after five o’clock to eat dinner, Sydney lobbed the first salvo in a teasing game. “So are you looking forward to your conference? He has to go Knoxville next weekend for an investigators’ convention,” she told everyone around them.
“That sounds like fun,” Danny said. He saluted Sawyer with his lemonade.
“It’s okay. And it’s in Gatlinburg, not Knoxville.”
“That does sound fun,” Rachel chimed in. “All that shopping. Em, we should tag along.”
“Oh, no,” Sydney told them, her grin full of mischief. “Sawyer has plans. He’s already gotten calls from three ladies confirming his arrival. Charlene, Monique, and Laurie. And that nice state trooper, Lee? The one who lives across the street from Aunt Rachel? He’s going, too.”
Sawyer glowered at her across the picnic table as everyone laughed.
Noah whistled. “Make sure you take some ties to hang on the doorknob,” he joked.
“That is not funny,” Sawyer said, half serious. “And Lee isn’t going. The conference starts Friday, so we’d have to leave Thursday afternoon. He’s scheduled for court both days.”
“Uh-oh,” Rachel teased. “Three to one? Forget the ties, better take your vitamins.” When Sawyer narrowed his eyes at her, she held her hands up. “What?”
“Vitamins, hell. Take a video camera,” Easton said.
“Easton Michael!” Rachel smacked him on the head, causing most everyone at the table to laugh.
“What? Geez, Mom, I’m joking!”
“You’d better be.”
Sawyer blew out a slow breath. “You’re going with me,” he told Sydney, the words slipping out before he had a chance to consider their implications. “No way I’m going down there on my own with those three calling. Nope. I was going to throw Lee to the wolves. You’ll have to take his place.”
That caused more laughter, but not from Sydney, who was staring at him, incredulous.
“What? I can’t go with you. I’m not a PI or a cop.”
“I’ll get you in. You might enjoy it. And yes, you are too going.” He forked up some of Sarah’s excellent potato salad with a triumphant grin. “Job requirement. If you don’t go…” He left it at that. He’d never fire her for not going, but she didn’t need to know that. Not right this moment.
“Now, wait just a minute, buddy—” she started.
Archer interrupted her. “You should go, Syd, have fun. It’d be educational.”
Beside Sawyer, Rachel almost choked on her drink.
Easton had to slap her on the back. “You okay?”
“Mm-hmmm. Just swallowed wrong.”
Sawyer turned his attention back to Sydney. “You can keep ‘em off my back. Lee made the reservations for us, and he got a suite. You’ll have your own room, but you’ll be right there where I can use you as an excuse.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me? You can’t say ‘no’ to these women on your own?”
He shrugged. “You never know what might happen. They could take advantage of me. No, the only answer is that you have to be there to protect me.”
Her jaw dropped, and she was clearly struggling for something to say. “Take Rachel,” she finally got out.
“I would love to go,” Rachel said. “But I’m tied up. Isn’t Charlene the one who was so pushy last year?”
“She is. Very nice woman, extremely competent detective with a small town in Alabama. But she drinks, and when she drinks, she gets grabby. If I hadn’t been on crutches, who knows what would have happened?”
The hell of it was, he wasn’t joking about that. He’d been appalled at the woman’s lack of ability to take no for an answer. Lee had been with him for that trip, and he’d stepped in, calling the woman’s partner in to manage her and stop the harassment.
“I know men can be assaulted,” Sydney said, “so please don’t think I’m downplaying the seriousness of the potential situation. But you can’t really want me along as a chaperone. Can you?”
“I can protect myself, but I think it’d be beneficial for the job, yes. I wish I’d thought of it sooner.” He stubbornly stuck to that explanation, flat refusing to admit even to himself there might be another reason he wanted her along.
“You should do it, Syd. Free vacation,” Danny told her. “You
know you love the Smokies. How long does the conference last?”
“Until Saturday night. We’d have a lot of the day on Sunday that we could explore since it’s only four hours from here,” Sawyer said.
Sydney pushed her glasses up with a sigh. “Fine. But if I don’t have fun or I come back with scars, I’m holding you accountable. Are these women anything like Myrtle?”
Sawyer winced. “I don’t think anyone’s quite like Myrtle.”
“Fair enough.”
Later that evening, everyone had spread out, taking seats here and there across the sloping yard to wait for the fireworks to begin. Thanks to the way the land rolled and the tree line fell, most of the fireworks displays from towns within thirty miles of Hazard were visible on a clear night from the vantage point on top of the mountain. Sawyer had stepped in the house to visit the restroom, and he met Sydney on his way out the door.
“Are you serious about next weekend?” she asked, leaning up against the newel post at the foot of the stairs, her hands clasped behind her.
“Unless you have a major objection, yeah.”
She sighed. “It might be awkward if you decide you don’t want to reject some of their advances.”
Sawyer stepped closer to her. The only light came from a single lamp on the table beside the door. Even knowing there were thirty people around the house, it felt like they were the only two in the world.
“I won’t. You have my word.”
Amelia’s daughter, Sadie, came rushing in. “‘Scuse me, gotta go!” she said, passing between them on her way to the bathroom.
“I’d feel a bit out of place,” Sydney persisted after she’d gone.
“If you’re really uncomfortable, I won’t make you go. But after seeing the way you handled the Grainger project, I think you’d like it.”
“I’ve never carried a badge and gun.”
“You won’t be the only one there who hasn’t. Say yes.”