“What are you doing in at this hour?” Sergeant Harmon asked. The rookie stood at attention just one step into Jared’s office.
“Would you relax?” Jared said, rolling his own shoulders as if that would relieve the newly formed tension.
“Sorry, sir.”
Jared blinked. This kid was going to drive him nuts. “Do me a favor and run a background check on Thomas C. Grady.”
“Am I looking for something specific?”
“Just a general check.” Jared snagged a sheet from the top of the crumpled papers. The Warren County Sheriff’s Department had filed their report, but nothing would come of it unless Ryan was somehow injured. A thought that sent his heartburn into overdrive.
His friend in Auburn, New York, had spoken with George, but George claimed he didn’t know anything. The warden assured Jared that they’d keep a close eye on George. So the question remained: who sent the rose? And could Jared find the culprit before he left for Rochester?
“I’ll get right on it,” Harmon said. “Will you be sticking around?”
Jared stood. Normally he preferred the comfort of his bland office to the big empty house on the lake. “Just call my cell if you find anything.”
Two weeks and he’d be on his way to a more challenging and demanding post. He slipped his arms into his coat when a vision popped into his mind of Ryan lounging in some silky black number waiting for him with a glass of wine. He shook his head, then slammed the station house door and headed toward his pickup. He tried to remember when Ryan had turned into a woman.
Not many cars were out this Saturday morning. Jared weaved his way through the twisted roads in record time.
He pulled into his driveway and parked in his spot, right next to Ryan’s shiny, white SUV. He stared at it for a moment before stepping from his truck. She’d always been such an independent kid. What choice did she have? Her childhood had sucked, but somehow she’d managed to make the best of it.
She’d always been strong and stubborn, and deep down he’d known she would make it. Determination should’ve been her middle name. A trait that scared the crap out of him. When she wanted something, she went for it, both barrels loaded.
He pounded on her door, then turned his back and waited. But no one answered. “Ryan?” He banged one last time before taking out his key. It was early for a Saturday morning, but he’d never known her to sleep past eight.
The key didn’t slip in easily, but when he turned it, the lock clicked. He pushed back the door, but something stopped it. He chuckled. At least she’d used the chain. “Ryan,” he said into the small crack. “It’s me, Jared.”
“Damn you.” She scurried from the hallway in her robe, with a towel on her head. “You scared me.”
She almost shut the door in his face when she released the chain, then pulled back the door. “I had started dialing 911 when I heard your voice.”
“Sorry, but I wanted to let you know what George had to say.”
She tightened the red terrycloth that covered her damp, creamy flesh. When her eyes locked with his, blood rushed throughout his body.
“And?” She lifted the towel from her head, releasing her hair. She ran her hands through the wet, light brown strands, letting it fall past her shoulders, before she tossed the towel on a kitchen chair. “Are you going to stand there and stare at me, or tell me what George had to say?”
“Sorry,” he said, forcing his gaze to her face. “George claims he didn’t even know it was your birthday.”
“Yeah, right. You want some coffee?” she offered with a forced smile. The slight tremble in her voice hadn’t gone unnoticed.
For months after George had attacked her, she’d been withdrawn, and Jared feared she’d be forever tainted. “I’d love some.” He pulled a chair out, spun it around, and straddled it. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
She rested her hand on his shoulder. “I know.” Briefly, her eyes caught his. “I won’t let him get to me.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“You hungry?” Her sparkling blue eyes couldn’t hide the internal scars her stepfather had left behind. She might have the drive and determination of a pit bull, but he knew her better than anyone, and she still hurt. He understood that pain, more than he cared to admit. He also understood how important it was for her to be seen as a strong, independent woman. Well, no denying the woman part anymore.
“Nope.” She’d turned her back to him, and his eyes automatically darted to her toned legs. “Damn,” he whispered.
“Damn, what?”
“Damn legs,” he admitted, unable to look at anything else.
“Excuse me?” She twisted and turned, looking down at her legs. The robe barely reached the middle of her thighs and when she moved, so did the robe.
“You realize you’re serving me coffee practically naked.” He tried to line his voice with a hint of sarcasm, but it didn’t work.
“You realize you’re an ass.” She adjusted the robe high around her neck before lifting two mugs, setting one down in front of him.
“Just trying to make you laugh.” He sipped the strong black liquid.
“Thanks.” She graced him with a broad grin, then laughed.
“When do you want to go the cemetery?” Visiting her mother’s grave every year had become a ritual. One he would miss after he moved.
“I need about half an hour. Does that work for you?”
“Sure.” He glanced at her, annoyed that he couldn’t keep his mind from wondering what she looked like under that damn robe. “You do have nice legs.” He scowled. This certainly wasn’t the time or place.
“Thanks.” She eyed him suspiciously.
“Just thought you should know.” Forgetting the world around him, he rose and strode over to her. “I think you’re beautiful.”
“I’m fine, really.” She leaned back, tilting her head and looked at him with a puzzled expression. “You don’t have to keep trying to distract me.”
Only
he
was the one who was distracted. He lifted her hand and kissed the hollow of her palm, then placed it on his shoulder. “You sure opened an interesting can of worms the other night.” She smelled like a combination of soap and exotic fruit. The room spun and he couldn’t see past her.
“I did?” she questioned with wide eyes. Her breath sounded raspy and he felt her wild pulse beat against his chest. Her pink tongue peeked out and smoothed over her full lips. He moistened his own, while her radiant sky-blue eyes rolled closed in anticipation. Then the phone rang, and she jumped, knocking him in the nose with her forehead.
He stumbled backward, his eyes watering. “Damn. That hurt.”
“Sorry.” She winced and reached for the phone. “Hello?”
He stepped away, rubbing his nose and giving himself a mental lecture. Since when didn’t he know how to charm the pants off a woman? Since when did he want to with this woman?
“Hello?” she repeated loudly. “Who is this?”
He glanced up from her sexy, bare legs and frowned. “What’s the matter?”
She stared at the phone and shook her head. “I hate hang-ups. This is about the tenth one this week. Even if you dial the wrong number, you should apologize before you hang up.” She slapped the phone on the wall cradle, and it rattled. “People can be so rude.”
“Don’t you have caller ID?”
“Blocked number.” Once again, she adjusted her robe, and then inched toward him.
The closer she got, the stronger the smell of peaches affected his already tense body.
“Sorry about your nose.”
“Sorry I scared you,” he said.
“You don’t scare me.”
“Don’t tease a man when you’re wearing nothing but a robe,” he whispered. The cold countertop pressed into his back.
She lifted herself up on tiptoes, leaning into him. “You started it, and who says I’m teasing?”
His gaze dipped below her luscious mouth, to the red material puckering open across her chest. She didn’t have cleavage, just a sexy space between two perfectly rounded breasts. “You’re playing with fire, babe.” He toyed with the belt holding her robe closed, easing her closer, their mouths a half-inch apart.
Her feminine curves pressed against his body in all the right places. A single spark ignited the moment his lips brushed against hers, shocking him in an erotic dance he couldn’t resist. He darted his tongue into her mouth and let the purest form of passion take over.
She tasted of coffee and sugar, and she smelled like heaven. He ached to find out how her skin felt beneath his fingers. When he cupped her face, her hair tangled in his hand. Releasing a few strands, he glided his fingers down her neck and rested his palm above her breast. Abruptly, he pushed her back. “We shouldn’t do this.”
“Do what?” She narrowed her eyes. “Thought you said I was beautiful?”
“Your beauty has nothing to do with it. You’re much younger than I.”
She glared at him with hurt in her eyes. “I’m not a kid. If you don’t want me, that’s fine. But don’t play games with me. I hate that.” She stepped from his clutches.
“I think you’re the one playing games.” He stumbled toward the door, raking a hand across his head. “I’ll meet you by my truck in a half hour.” With a hand on the door handle, he said, “And I want to know if you get any more hang-ups. Could be the same guy who sent you that rose.”
Once safely outside, he marched toward the lake. He stood at the end of his dock and focused on the waves crashing against the shoreline across the bay. The swirling wind did nothing to cool him off. There was no mistaking how much he wanted her, but having her would be insane. Stupid. He felt responsible for her because he was the one who’d arrested her stepfather. He knew exactly what George had intended to do to her. Jared shook out his hands.
He’d taken on the role of protector. Always making sure she had everything she needed, and then some. Even when her brother came back to take care of her, Jared couldn’t back away. She’d been just a kid and didn’t deserve what had happened.
She sure as hell didn’t deserve to be used and dumped. And that’s what would happen if he got involved with her. No matter what she said she wanted. A goodbye thing? What the hell was that? Nope, the only thing he planned to do was pack up and get the hell out of town before Ryan unglued him completely. But not before he figured out who’d sent that damn dead rose.
* * * *
The following evening, Ryan perched herself at a table in the back corner of the Mason Jug. She fiddled with her cell phone and waited for Penny, who was late. Nothing new there. Penny would be late for her own funeral.
Ryan looked around the bar. All the regulars and a few new faces filled the room. A couple of guys she knew from high school waved, then continued with their pool game. The music wasn’t too loud, but it drowned out the voices around her.
She’d worked her butt off to graduate from high school early. Then she crammed a four-year degree in business management into three intense years. She took a full load each semester and every summer, spending what little free time she had waiting tables.
She noticed her brother behind the bar. He gave her a glancing nod, then smiled as a waitress yapped in his ear. Against all odds, she and her brother had come out on top. She was finally in charge of her own life.
“Hi.”
She sloshed her water before she looked up, trying not to cringe. “Tom, you scared me.” Going on a date with him the other night had proven to be a huge mistake. One she didn’t plan on repeating. He had been irritable toward her all day at work, no matter how nice she’d been.
“Sorry. Mind?” He tipped his head toward the empty chair.
Oh, she minded all right, but she had to work with the numbskull. “Actually…” Looking around the room, she smiled when Jared stepped through the main door.
He strode across the floor in that cocky, arrogant cop stroll, like he owned the place. She wished she could take her eyes off him. But all she could do was stare at the sexy thing moving effortlessly toward her.
“Hey, babe.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Tom, right?” He extended his hand to Tom.
Must have been quite the handshake considering how Tom’s face scrunched as if he were in pain. She tried not to smile, but gave up as Jared sat down. Normally she hated it when he came to the rescue. Any other day she’d make it perfectly clear it annoyed her. However, considering what she had planned and the short time she had to achieve her goal, she’d put up with his interfering ways.
“I’ll see you at work.” Tom had the nerve to pat her shoulder.
She gave him a slight smile, reminding herself that being nice was always the best way to deal with people like him. “See you later.” Slowly she turned to face Jared, knowing he’d have a huge scowl on his face.
“Something’s off with that guy.” Jared arched a brow. The lines on his face were set and hard.
She gave Jared a knowing nod, but couldn’t respond because his damn greenish eyes caught her attention and now she couldn’t look elsewhere.
“Glad you agree. Now you need to stop being so sweet to guys like that.”
“Being mean is only going to make working with him harder.”
“Dating him is what made working with him a bitch.”