Her Homecoming Wish

by Jo McNally

  She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Danny? Danny Adams?”

  He spread his hands. “I go by Deputy Sheriff Adams these days.”

  That didn’t seem to compute.

  “You’re a cop? You?”

  As Dan studied the look on her face, he couldn’t blame her for whatever mix of anger and shock she was feeling. If he’d seen teenage him do some of the things she had seen growing up, he wouldn’t believe it, either. But that was a different time. A different Dan. He took another step back, but he had to ask.

  “Mackenzie, seriously.” He looked down at long, bare legs. “Are you naked under that hoodie? What are you doing in here at two o’clock in the morning?”

  Her voice chilled. “What are you doing in here at two o’clock in the morning, Deputy Sheriff Adams? Besides assaulting innocent women on their own damn property?”

  He understood why she was ticked off. He’d scared her. But he hadn’t done anything wrong. “I drove by, saw someone moving around in here with a flashlight and investigated. Your dad gave me a key years ago. I had no idea you were back in town.”

  “I didn’t know I had to check in with the sheriff when I arrived.” Sharp words, but some of the fire left her voice. Mackenzie rubbed her wrist, and Dan felt a stab of guilt.

  “I’m sorry, Mack. You had the hood up, I had no way of knowing...”

  “Was that a gun I felt against my neck?”

  “Was that a baseball bat I saw swinging at my face?”

  She gave a short laugh, and Dan felt something shift a little in his chest. It was the husky laughter of a grown woman, not the giggle of the cute little pigtailed girl from his memories. She nodded, running her fingers through her hair to push it off her face.

  “Fair enough. I couldn’t get to sleep, and Dad didn’t have any good stuff upstairs. So I figured I’d pull a Ryan and help myself.”

  “That’s definitely something your brother would do.” Dan frowned into the darkness. Ryan and Mack had always been as different as night and day, with Mackie being the Goody Two-shoes to Ryan’s wild ways.

  “I don’t suppose you can join me while you’re on duty?”

  “Join...?”

  “There’s an open bottle of very expensive scotch on the counter, just waiting for someone to enjoy it.” She laughed again, softly this time. “And I’d really like to hear the story of how Danger Dan turned into a lawman.”

  Dan grimaced. He hated that stupid nickname Ryan made up, especially coming from Mack. Even if he had earned it back then.

  “Is your husband waiting upstairs?” Dan wasn’t sure where that question came from, but, to be fair, all Mack ever talked about was leaving Gallant Lake, having a big wedding and a bigger house. The girl had goals, and from what he’d heard, she’d reached every one of them.

  “I don’t have a husband anymore.” She brushed past him and headed toward the counter. “So are you joining me or not?”

  Dan glanced at his watch, not sure how to digest that information. “I’m off duty in fifteen minutes.”

  Her long hair swung back and forth as she walked ahead of him. So did her hips. Damn.

  “And you’re all about following the rules now? You really have changed. Pity. I guess I’m drinking my first glass alone. You’ll just have to catch up.”

  He frowned. Mackenzie had been strong willed, but never sassy. Never the type to sneak into her father’s store alone for an after-hours drink. Not the type to taunt him. Not the type to break the rules.

  Looked like he wasn’t the only one who’d changed since high school.

  Chapter Two

  Mack willed her hand not to shake as she poured two fingers of Macallan into a second glass and slid it across the counter in Dan’s general direction. He hadn’t moved from his spot at the end of the hall, where he stood—watching. Damn. Danny Adams.

  Danny, of the dragon tats, hard-drinking and wrong-side-of-the-law escapades in high school. Danny, who’d spent most of his waking hours upstairs with her brother, Ryan. Smoking pot and playing stupid video games in Ryan’s room. If they weren’t hanging out upstairs, they were racing around the countryside in Ryan’s souped-up Nissan, looking for trouble. And one night, they’d found it. At least, Ryan had.

  She’d lost track of him after the accident. Ryan had been in the hospital for ages, and she didn’t remember Dan coming around much. Then there was the trial. Then Mom got sick. And the life hits just kept on coming, until Mack finally made her escape from Gallant Lake, burning all her bridges on the way out.

  Now she was back. And there was Dan. In a sheriff’s uniform. Never saw that coming.

  “Are your fifteen minutes up yet?” She gestured toward his glass. “I doubt your boss is wandering the streets to check up on you...”

  Dan held his wide-brimmed hat in one hand and ran the other through his sandy brown hair. He stared at her like he’d just stumbled across a unicorn.

  “It’s not about getting caught, Mackie. It’s about being responsible. If I get a call in the next few minutes, I need to be ready.” Well, wasn’t he a good little scout? He looked around the store. “How’s your dad?”

  “Tired and grumpy, but on the mend. You’re really going to count down to your quitting time before you drink? The Danny Adams I knew would have crawled over broken glass to get to alcohol.”

  A weird shadow crossed over his face before he leveled a pointed hazel-eyed gaze at her. This was clearly his stern law enforcement officer face. “One—I’m not the Danny Adams you knew. High school was over twenty years ago. Two—don’t call me Danny. Ever. Three—I’m a sheriff’s deputy, and I take my job seriously. I’d like to keep it. Of course I’m not going to drink on duty.”

  She leveled a gaze right back at him, but her fingernails were tapping rapidly on the counter. She’d known Dan since she was in grade school. Hell, she’d crushed on him back when his hair was long and shaggy and his attitude had been pure bad boy. But he’d never stopped being Danny, the kid who’d roughed her hair and thrown popcorn at her during movie nights. Cop face or not, he wasn’t going to intimidate her now. She took a long, slow sip of scotch. “Tell you what—I’ll try not to call you Danny if you’ll promise not to remind me how long ago we met.”

  He nodded, his mouth sliding into a half grin. Some of the tension left his stance, and she realized her own fingers had stopped their nervous tapping. The adrenaline rush of their violent encounter was fading for both of them. Dan walked toward the counter, his eye on the very expensive scotch. He glanced at his watch, then up at her.

  “It really has been a long damn time since we first met, Mack. A lifetime ago. You were just a kid.”

  “So were you. And you just failed your promise... Danny.” He rolled his eyes, reminding her again of that high school kid he’d been. He and Ryan met in freshman detention and became fast friends. Mack was in...she paused to think. “Oh, my God, I was in fifth grade when you and Ryan became partners in crime. How is that even possible?”

  Dan propped his hip against the counter across from her. Now that they were closer and the lights were on, she could see the deep lines next to his eyes. As if he’d seen a lot of sun. Or a lot of trouble. He was looking at the counter, but she had a feeling he was a million miles away.

  “Are you okay?”

  His head rose sharply at the question. “Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know. You look tired or stressed or something.”

  Dan grunted in response. “Or something.” He looked at his watch, closed his eyes briefly, then reached for the glass of amber liquid. He downed it in one gulp, then gave a loud sigh of satisfaction. “Not my usual end-of-shift choice, but you can never go wrong with Macallan.” She held up the bottle to pour a refill, but he shook his head. “I may be off shift, but I’m in uniform.”

  With a start, she realized she had no idea what kind of
life Dan Adams lived these days. He wasn’t wearing a ring, but that might be an in-uniform thing. The guy had to be almost forty, so he probably had a wife and family. She took in his intense composure, his square jaw, broad shoulders and calm—if tired—eyes. Yes, this looked like a man with a Sunday school teacher of a wife, a couple kids and probably a dog, too. She couldn’t help thinking that was a damn shame. She splashed more scotch in her own glass and lifted it in a mock toast.

  “I don’t have that problem, since all I have to do is crawl up the stairs. Did you settle down with anyone I know?”

  He lowered his brow. “Settle down? Oh, you mean family? I married Susanne Buckley. You might have known her—she was between our grades, a couple years behind me. Cheerleader. Class president. Homecoming queen.”

  Mack started to laugh. “You landed a homecoming queen? With your reputation? How did her parents let that happen?” She had a vague memory of Susanne—cute, perky and popular. No match for Danger Dan.

  That odd shadow crossed his face again. He didn’t seem to like being reminded of his teen adventures. “We didn’t get together until after college, so her parents couldn’t do anything about it.” His voice dropped so low she barely heard him. “But it didn’t stop them from trying.”

  Silence fell in the store again. Her long day started to catch up with her, and she couldn’t stifle the yawn that came out of nowhere. Dan straightened with a smile.

  “It’s late...or should I say early? Between our little adventure and the booze you’ve had, I’m guessing you’ll get to sleep now.” He started to turn away, then stopped. “It wasn’t a gun, by the way.”

  “What?”

  “You asked me before if you felt a gun to your head. It was my baton. Cops don’t make a habit of blowing people’s heads off for burglary.”

  She considered that for a moment before nodding solemnly. “Good to know. But that was a baseball bat I was swinging.”

  He huffed out a laugh. “Never thought I’d see the day when sweet little Mackie would try to take me out with her daddy’s bat.”

  “I’m done being sweet little Mackie, Dan. Being sweet got me nowhere.”

  The truth was, she hadn’t ever been sweet. She’d acted the part, but only as a means to an end—to make other people think better of her. Being that calculated couldn’t really be sweet, could it? It certainly hadn’t made her a lot of friends. And it didn’t help her hold on to a husband.

  Dan studied her, and she had a feeling he was trying to put together a profile, cop-style. Trying to figure her out. Good luck with that. His slanted smile returned. “It got you back to Gallant Lake, helping your dad. That’s exactly what I’d expect from the sweet little Mackie I knew.”

  She grimaced. It wasn’t like she’d had anywhere else to go. Mason had kept both the house and the condo in the divorce. She hadn’t had the stomach to fight him. She’d taken the cash and left. She lifted her chin. “I’m turning over a new leaf. One that doesn’t include ‘little.’” She gestured down to her well-rounded figure. “And especially doesn’t include ‘sweet.’”

  He pursed his lips, tilting his head to the side with a skeptical grin. “Yeah. Okay. Whatever you say. Get some sleep, and don’t forget to lock up after I go. In fact...” He picked her phone up from the counter and handed it to her. “Unlock it.” She followed his order without question, not realizing she’d done so until he was taking the phone back from her and started tapping. “Here’s my number. Text me when you’re locked in upstairs.”

  “Yes, sir. Officer, sir.” She gave him a mock salute, realizing the scotch might just be kicking in. “Say hi to Susanne for me.”

  He’d started walking away but hesitated on that last line. He gave a quick shake of his head, then kept on going. The back door gave its usual groan as he left. It wasn’t until then that Mack noticed the atmosphere change. Dan seemed low-key, but his presence had still brought a definite energy to the place. Energy that evaporated as soon as he left. She thought about that for a minute, then dismissed it as nothing more than her adrenaline letdown from being shoved hard up against the wall by a guy she’d once known as a pimple-faced kid. She closed up the store and headed back upstairs.

  She shoved the still-annoyed cat off her bed pillow and crawled under the covers after sending a quick text that all was well. Mack had a hunch her dreams were going to be filled with golden-green eyes that had more of a story to tell than just “I’m not that Danny anymore.” And damned if she didn’t want to know more about it.

  * * *

  “So let me get this straight.” Asher Peyton turned away from the dresser he’d been building and sat on the bench next to Dan. His best friend looked puzzled. “You knew Carl’s daughter when she was a kid? And you accosted her last night in Carl’s store?” Asher chuckled, rubbing the dark beard he was sporting these days. “Good luck getting any more first-responder discounts from Carl, man.”

  “I hope to God she doesn’t tell him.” Dan took a swig of the cola Asher had given him. He was on duty soon, so he’d had to turn down the beer he’d been offered. Asher always had a supply of both on hand for him. “But I didn’t accost her. There was a person with a flashlight in Carl’s store in the middle of the night. I apprehended her, at best.” Sure, he’d been rough with her, but damn. He gave Asher a pointed look. “And let’s not forget that baseball bat she swung at my head.”

  “Yeah, that would have hurt. Makes total sense you’d have a drink with her after.”

  Dan didn’t respond. Mainly because he couldn’t explain it. He’d seen Mack a few times since high school, but not up close and personal like last night. Probably the closest they’d been as adults was when he shook her hand at her mom’s funeral years ago, but she’d been a shell-shocked college freshman with hollow eyes that day. She probably didn’t even remember him being there. Once in a while he’d seen her in the liquor store, visiting with her dad. But Dan had never stopped by. Why would he? He was part of the reason her family—the family that for years had felt like it was his—had spiraled into tragedy. He’d supplied the alcohol the night Ryan and Braden crashed, and Braden had died. It was just dumb luck that Dan hadn’t been in the car with them.

  “Hello? Earth to Dan?” Asher’s voice broke into his thoughts, almost making him flinch. But Dan had learned long ago not to show that kind of reaction to anyone around him. Calm and steady was the lawman’s mantra. Never let them see you blink. He held in a steadying breath, then released it slowly, grinning at Asher.

  “Sorry, man. My little run-in with Mack aside, last night was a hell of a shift. Stupid kids drag racing out on Hilton Road. And another damn overdose. It took two doses of Narcan to bring the guy back.” The nasal spray superdrug made him feel like some kind of god, bringing the dead back to life. But there was something about the look in the person’s eyes when the Narcan kicked in and jolted them back to planet Earth. They’d taken the opioids to escape, and here they were, waking up to flashing lights and yelling voices and all the chaos they’d been trying to get away from. In last night’s case, Kyle Alderwood had OD’d in his car, sitting in his parents’ driveway in one of the nicest neighborhoods in town. His mom, Barb, was screaming and crying in a panic in the front yard while neighbors tried to comfort her. What a scene. He’d felt everyone’s eyes on him. This scourge had come to Gallant Lake under his watch.

  “He made it?” Asher asked. Dan nodded, staring into his glass and wishing it was something other than soda.

  “How many overdoses does that make in the last month or so?” Asher looked up as a customer walked in.

  “Too many.” Dan answered. “Too damn many.” He needed to figure out who was distributing opioids laced with Fentanyl in Gallant Lake, and why they’d picked his quiet little town, but he hadn’t managed it yet. The stuff was everywhere all of a sudden, but the path back to the suppliers was a cleverly knotted mess he hadn’t been able to unravel
. He just had to hope the new interdepartmental task force would figure it out. Soon.

  Asher spoke with the woman who’d come in to check on a sideboard she’d ordered the previous week. He explained that the curly maple she’d requested hadn’t even arrived yet. And there were three orders for his custom-built furniture ahead of hers. But he promised her she’d have it in time for her daughter’s wedding shower in two months. Reassured, the woman left. Asher stood at the café table he used as a checkout counter, looking out the window at downtown Gallant Lake.

  “Does Carl’s daughter have lots of blond hair? And a bang-out figure?”

  Dan stood, scowling at his friend. “Maybe. Why?”

  “I think she just bought out the sports section at Nate’s hardware store. She must be into hiking and stuff, huh? Like you?”

  Dan ignored the speculative look Asher gave him. Ever since Asher married Nora Lowery, he’d turned into Cupid, trying to help Dan’s nonexistent love life. But Dan had two strikes against him with the ladies. He was a cop, with all the stress and weird hours that entailed. And he was a single dad.

  He walked toward the window. “Can’t be Mack if she’s buying hiking equipment. She never did anything that might get her nails dirt—” His voice trailed off. Because hell if that wasn’t Mackenzie talking to Nate Thomas on the sidewalk outside Nate’s store. She was holding hiking poles under one arm, with a biking helmet dangling from her fingers. Her other hand was holding a... Was that a kayak paddle?

  “So that isn’t your girl?” Asher asked.

  Dan pressed his lips together. “You’ve been watching too many of those mushy movies with Nora on the romance channel.” He looked back out the window. “No one is ‘my girl.’ But yeah, that’s Mack.”

  There was no mistaking her figure, full and curvy. And that thick mane of blond hair, pulled back into a ponytail instead of being carefully styled as usual. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Back in the day, Mack always looked like she was ready for tea with the queen, no matter what she was doing. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw her in denim. Not even in high school. Dan stiffened at the sight of Nate’s hand on her shoulder as they laughed about something together.