Читать книгу Forbidden: A Shade Darker – The Complete Collection - Leslie Kelly, Kira Sinclair - Страница 24
ОглавлениеKIT WAS HAVING a bad morning, and that was an understatement.
Erin was remaining tight-lipped and distant, stewing in her own amnesiac juices. She’d been like that for the past few days. She’d come in for the morning and worked on abusing more plants before she lit out with barely a goodbye. Something was going on, but Erin wasn’t about to tell Kit what. In addition, her other part-timer hadn’t shown up today, having had to go to the hospital because her daughter had their second grandchild.
The bell rang as her next appointment arrived. After spending two hours with an almost-impossible-to-please bride whom Kit had finally managed to quell—while handling the counter—she took a breather. Luckily, that wedding account alone would keep her afloat for another month.
Kit sighed, gathering up the flowers that Erin had savaged earlier in the day. Before she could try to redo the arrangements, her cell rang.
“Hey, Kit.”
“Walt. What’s up?” It was her delivery guy.
“I’m stranded. Something in the engine blew on the van, and I’m out past Baldwinsville. I called for a tow, but they’re not here yet.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, but there’s no way I’ll get all these deliveries done today.”
Kit closed her eyes. She had known she needed a new van for some time. Money, of course, was the issue. And there’d be no money if those flowers didn’t get delivered.
She heard the bell out front and pulled her shoulders up straight. No one said running a small business was easy. She’d have to try to catch Erin, and if possible, have her pick up the flowers for delivery. That could save the day.
“Thanks, Walt. Go with the van and see what the repairs are—take it to Ike’s, and I’m going to try to contact Erin to come by and grab the remaining deliveries. Tell the garage not to make any repairs until I know exactly how much they’ll cost.”
“Will do, Kit. I’ll let you know.”
Kit hung up the phone and went out to the front. The first thing she saw was a large, strong male back. The man leaned down to smell a bouquet of Gerbera daisies. As she caught his profile, she knew exactly who it was.
“Hank?”
He spun abruptly, nearly upsetting the vase of flowers, but he was quick and caught it before it fell.
“Hey, Kit. How are ya?”
She swallowed hard, raising a hand to smooth her hair and wishing she wasn’t wearing her work apron. She’d had a fantastic time with Hank the other night, dancing the whole evening away. He’d walked her to her car and kissed her until her toes curled before he said good-night.
He hadn’t asked or pushed for anything more than the kiss, and she’d been awake for hours, like a teenage girl, thinking about it.
“What are you doing here?”
“I thought you might like to get some dinner. You know, with me. I’m on my three-day-off rotation.”
“Oh, I really can’t. I’m alone here today, and my driver just called. The van broke down, and I have to try to get a hold of Erin to see if she can be there in time to pick up the remainder and get them delivered, or I have to close and go get them myself.”
She hated to close, but the flowers that needed delivering were money in the bank, and she probably wouldn’t have much more walk-in traffic today.
Hank stepped up close, reaching out to take one of her curls and rubbing it between his fingers. Then he slid his hand behind her neck before he lowered to capture her lips in a kiss.
For one beautiful second, Kit forgot everything—the flowers, the van, Erin and all her troubles—as Hank’s mouth worked some magic on hers. He pulled her up tight against him, and there was no mistaking that the kiss was working on him, too.
When he broke away, they were both breathless.
“Sorry, Kath, but I’ve been thinking about nothing else but kissing you again since the other night.”
Kit was wordless. He was the only one who ever called her anything but Kit and she liked it. But she also didn’t have time for it.
“I had a lot of fun the other night, but I don’t have time for this right now.”
He watched her closely, and his friendly gaze took on a special, masculine warmth as it traveled over her face.
“What can I do to help?”
“Huh?”
“You’re having a tough day. How can I help?”
Kit was taken off guard. If she couldn’t name the last time someone had made her toes curl, she really couldn’t remember when someone had asked to help, and out of the blue.
“Oh, that’s not necessary.”
“C’mon, Kath,” he said softly, turning her around as his strong hands rubbed her neck in a heavenly way that made it hard to think. “You have a lot of fires to put out today, and guess what? That’s what I do. I put out fires.”
She smiled. “You’re good at starting them, too, I’d say.”
She was flirting. She couldn’t resist.
Hank chuckled. “Where is Erin?”
“She left earlier, but I can try her cell. Hopefully she has it on, though she was in a mood earlier, so probably not.”
She grabbed her phone. Hank stopped her.
“Let her be. I’ll do it.”
“What?”
“Tell me where to go, what to do, and I can get your deliveries done.”
She turned back around, facing Hank, and couldn’t help but be skeptical. “Are you joking?”
“Nope. I’ve never delivered flowers, but I did a stint delivering pizzas in college. How different can it be? Give me the rundown, and I’ll go finish your deliveries. I can do tomorrow, too, if you need me to. My SUV should handle whatever you’ve got.”
“You must have better things to do on your days off.”
“Not really. I coach peewee baseball, but that’s not until tomorrow night.”
Kit wasn’t sure what to say. She liked Hank, she truly did—and she could fall for him. It would be easy enough. But she didn’t want to do that. He might be charming and attentive now, but his heart belonged to his job.
But she also needed her flowers delivered.
“Is this your way of angling for a date?”
“No. I thought that was a given.”
When he smiled like that, she lost track of everything. But what he was offering was better than sex—well, almost.
“Okay. Yes, thank you. I’d appreciate it. And it’s not complicated. Just a few basic rules.”
“Tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do my best to give you exactly what you need.”
He had that mischievous look in his eye again, and Kit felt it warm parts of her body that should know better. She blinked, snapping out of her minifantasy.
“Um, here, let me give you copies of the delivery sheets just in case, and you can get the rest from Walt. He’ll be at Ike’s Garage. You know where that is?”
“I do.”
Kit busied herself getting the materials together for Hank, and then called Walt to let him know about the change.
“Okay, he’s on his way to Ike’s now. You can meet him there.”
“Will do.”
Hank headed for the door.
“Hank,” she called, stopping him. “Thank you. I owe you for this.”
The look in his eye set her day right again.
“I’ll keep that in mind, honey. See you later.”
* * *
ERIN HAD EVERY intention of driving home. Instead, she found herself at the home improvement store a few miles from her house, where she was spending too much money and fiercely concentrating on paint colors and new bathroom tile. It kept her from going crazy thinking about Bo.
Two days.
It had been two days since he’d had sex with her and then left her hanging. Maybe he’d gotten everything that he wanted. Maybe she’d not been what he wanted or—her secret fear—maybe she hadn’t been any good. His response to her seemed to contradict that, but maybe he’d even been lying about going to a fire. Maybe he’d needed to get out. Maybe he’d just wanted to have sex with her one more time before he left her, evening out the score.
The last part, she knew, was her imagination throwing darts at her. Bo wasn’t like that—she didn’t think so anyway.
But he hadn’t come back and he hadn’t called.
She had too much pride to chase him, so instead, she discussed the combination of earth tones and brighter colors for her first-floor rooms, the lighting, and how it would all work together.
Then she carted it all home, spread drop cloths everywhere and started to work. There seemed to be so few things she could control in her life, but the color of her walls was one that she could.
Thankfully, since she’d never really hung anything on the walls, they didn’t need any fixing or repair, and they were already painted the dull beige, so she didn’t need to prime. She was good to go, and the tension that had been dogging her began to ease as she rolled on a nice cinnamon-brown that reminded her of Bo’s eyes.
Cursing, she wrenched the roller away from the wall and ended up splattering paint down the front of herself, including on her face.
Safety glasses hadn’t seemed necessary for painting, but good thing she’d worn them anyway.
Sighing, she sat down on the plastic-covered floor, using a rag to wipe some of the splatter off. As she looked at the huge array of paint cans she’d brought home among the other various supplies, her head dropped into her hands.
What had she done?
She wasn’t sure the question was about the paint binge—not completely.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and she popped to her feet, peering out the window before she opened it. She wasn’t expecting anyone.
Bo.
She seriously considered not answering the door, but he’d seen her look from the window and offered a short wave.
Pulling open the door, she stood in the open space rather than inviting him in.
“Hi.” His smile was warm. Sexy.
Sure it was.
“Hi.”
Long. Awkward. Pause.
“Um, can I come in?
“Sure.”
He stepped inside, moving past her. Normally, a guy might kiss his girl hello when he showed up at her house, but they weren’t like that, were they?
“Painting?”
He took in the supplies and drop cloths with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah. I thought it was time to personalize the place a bit.”
He checked out her face and her clothes, visually tracing the cinnamon-brown streak from cheek to thigh.
“The paint fights back?”
She smiled stiffly and crossed her arms in front of her. “Why are you here?”
He blinked, looking slightly taken aback by her abruptness.
“To see you. And also to see if you had time to go somewhere with me.”
A date?
“Where?”
“A fire site. I’d like you to look at it with me.”
Okay, so not a date.
“Why?”
“I’d rather not get into details, but do you have time?”
He looked at the paint again.
“I have to clean up.”
His gaze followed her curiously but he didn’t stop her as she stepped around him, heading for the stairs. She didn’t want to acknowledge the disappointment that he hadn’t come here to see her. It was only business.
She put it aside and took a quick shower, washing the paint off and putting on clean jeans and a shirt. She didn’t worry about what she threw on, as it obviously didn’t matter.
When she returned downstairs, not more than a half hour later, the entire wall she’d been working on was painted. A first coat anyway. Bo was sealing up the paint can.
He didn’t have a speck of cinnamon-brown on him.
“You finished it.”
“There wasn’t much left to do on this wall. Nice choice of color. Warms up the room. There are enough windows in here so it doesn’t darken it down too much.”
“Thanks, I liked it, too.” She felt stupidly pleased that he approved of her color of paint. “I’m ready if you are.”
“Are you okay?”
He stood in front of her, blocking her route to the door.
“Sure, why?”
“You’re not making eye contact, and you’re being very...cool. Even for you.”
Erin blinked. Even for her? What did that mean?
She put her hands on her hips and looked him fully in the face, making sure she made total eye contact.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I was wondering why we had this big talk three days ago, then you slept with me and ignored me ever since. You haven’t even picked up the phone.” She shook her head, disgusted. “Other than that, nothing’s wrong at all.”
He actually had the gall to look mildly surprised. Maybe more so at her frankness, but Erin wasn’t in the mood to be coy.
“I’ve been at the office or at the fire site for the past few days and most of the evenings. I... You never would have noticed before. You knew about the work. It was never a question when one of us was working. There were no expectations. And now... I just, well, I didn’t even think about it.” He shook his head, still seeming perplexed. “I’m sorry about that. I got into the job, and I didn’t think.”
Erin was unsettled at how quickly her anger dissipated, confusion and anxiety taking its place. She didn’t know what to think because he knew the rules, and she didn’t. She’d thought they’d fight, but that was what couples did. And they weren’t a couple—not really.
“You’re right. I have no claim on you that way. You don’t have to explain anything to me. It was just...confusing.”
He came up behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back against him. She still held herself stiffly, though, as much as she wanted to curl into his warmth.
“I’m sorry, Erin. I got to the site, and work took over. It’s like that. I have to immerse myself in it to do the job well. But I should have called, at least. Though to be honest, I didn’t think you’d care.”
“I don’t. I mean, I cared, but for all the wrong reasons. I feel so stupid. I thought it was me. That you were avoiding me, or that you changed your mind.”
“No way. I’m sorry you thought that,” he said as his arms came around her in a tight squeeze.
She was embarrassed that her eyes stung as he held her. His body was solid and safe, and Erin accepted the comfort. Needed it.
That probably wasn’t a good thing, but it was what it was.
“This sucks. I hate feeling this way.”
“How?”
“I don’t even know myself. I think, if I could remember, I’d really be angry at myself for being this needy. I don’t think I was like that.”
“No, you weren’t. Ever.”
The way he said it sounded like there was more there.
“I had to have needed you.”
“I think you did, in some ways.”
Again, a note of ambiguity in his response, but Erin didn’t know if she had the right to push for more.
“But I would never have called you needy,” Bo continued. “And you aren’t now. Or, if you are, it’s understandable,” he said, turning her back around to face him.
As if to prove his point, he dipped down and kissed her. Erin clung to him, letting him in, all of her doubt washed away as he stoked the heat inside her quite effectively.
Then he slowed and stopped. “Anyway, as good as it was the other night, I was thinking that what could be more effective for helping your memory would be revisiting some of the things we did, places we went, that kind of thing.”
“Like reliving my past?”
“I guess you could look at it that way. I think you can remember, Erin. You’ve already had some things come back and the rest has to be there waiting under the surface. I think we really can do this, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
Erin stepped back, considering him more closely. She was heartened by his apparent commitment to help her, but her gut told her that there was more going on. Studying him, she started to notice the bleariness in his eyes and the shadows underneath. He looked as if he hadn’t shaved for at least a day. He’d obviously been working hard while she was wrapped up in her own self-indulgent worries.
“This fire you were at...it was bad?”
He pulled himself up, looking away as he answered. “Yeah, it was.”
“Let me get you a beer, and you can tell me about it.”
He hesitated, as if apprehensive.
“What’s wrong?”
“It would be easy, Erin, to lose track of what this is between us. To forget that we aren’t together. We used to do that a lot, sit down and talk over the day, what happened at a fire or at the station. It’s hard to know where to draw the lines.”
She paused, trying to understand. This had to be hard for him. She let out a heavy breath.
“I know. But I think we need to be all-in, right? We need to act like we are together, like it was, if this is even going to work. But I also know that’s asking a lot, and if you want out, I can see why. I’ve been selfish, only thinking of myself.”
It was difficult for her to say, because she wanted this more than anything—to get her memory back. But some part of her railed at causing him any more pain. She couldn’t continue to do that in good conscience. She had to at least offer him an out—though she hoped he wouldn’t take it.
“No, I don’t want out. This is bigger than either of us, really. I need you to remember, too. And you’re right. We do need to be all-in. We’ll deal with the end of it when we have to.”
Erin frowned as she sat down in the chair near her, at the dining-room table, such as it was. Running her hand over the cheap laminate top, the thought of changing it threaded through her mind as Bo sat, too.
“What do you mean that it’s bigger than either of us?”
“Listen, why don’t we go somewhere to talk? We can skip going to the fire site—it’s getting late anyway. Want to head over to the park?”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
As they walked out to the truck, her mind revolved around the emerging image of who she was before. Someone who didn’t seem to connect with others very well, it seemed. She clearly hadn’t been there for her sister, and she’d even kept her lover at a distance—or at least, she’d kept him a secret. All so that she could save face in her work?
A lot of the guys were married or involved, so why had she needed to keep her personal life a secret? Bo had admitted it could be different for women in the department, but...something didn’t ring true.
The idea was an uncomfortable one. It circled around in her mind as they drove. She stared out the window, trying to clear her head. There must have been reasons for her being so emotionally unavailable. If only she could remember them. It was like seeing only half of a picture, other people’s impressions, and not being able to see the whole.
They stopped across the street from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, a Syracuse landmark. The place was hopping.
“I need something to eat. I’ll be right back,” Bo said and was out the door before she could get her seat belt off to join him.
The man was definitely antsy. Or maybe he was simply hungry.
She watched him jog to the restaurant and saw several women who stood by a line of parked motorcycles watch him, as well—he was impressive in his uniform. And out of it.
He emerged ten minutes later with a bag under either arm, and Erin wondered exactly how much food he’d ordered. Still, when he opened the backseat and put the bags in, the aromas made her mouth water.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said with a grin as his eyes met hers.
Her mind went right to the gutter. She was definitely hungry.
Bo got them back out on the highway and before she knew it, they were pulling into the Green Lakes State Park. They carried their bags over to an available picnic table near the lake. Some families were also eating out, though it was a weeknight, but it wasn’t too crowded this early in the season.
“I come here to run sometimes, though it’s a bit of a drive from my house. But the lakes are so pretty. I can never get over how still they are, and the green-blue color, though I know it’s reflecting sediment in the water,” she commented as she helped him get the food out of the bags.
“You say that every time we come here,” he said absently with a smile, surveying the table.
“Do I give you the lecture on how they are meromictic, probably formed by plunge waterfalls fifteen thousand years ago when the glaciers came through here?”
“Not if I say it first.”
She laughed. “We’re such geeks.”
The food looked great and she began eating, the fresh air making her hungrier than she expected.
“This is such a treat. Thank you. We did this kind of thing often?”
“Yeah, in the warm weather. It reduced the risk of someone seeing us out together.”
Erin’s easy mood crashed, and she set the juicy rib down that she’d started munching on.
“Was it always like that? Sneaking around and trying to avoid everyone?”
“I told you why. You had your reasons.”
“You didn’t like it.”
“I understood. Especially when we both worked in the station. When I moved out into investigation, I hoped we could be more open, but—”
“That’s when things fell apart,” she finished. “I can’t remember it, but I feel like I need to apologize for it.”
“Don’t,” he said, leveling a look at her. “Let’s just enjoy the evening.”
She nodded, though her appetite diminished somewhat. His did not, and she realized he probably hadn’t had a decent meal in days, either. Was he always this consumed by his work? In relative quiet, they finished their meal as the sun started lowering behind the trees that surrounded the lake.
“So tell me about the fire. What happened?”
He finally relented. “It was a bad one. Three houses, several families with nowhere to go now, and two dead by the time it was done. One of them a teenage mother who must have gotten trapped. Luckily, the baby was elsewhere with her grandmother. Another older man died of smoke inhalation later at the hospital, and four firefighters were injured, though not critically.”
“That’s tragic,” she said, reaching over to put a hand on his arm. He paused and covered her hand with his.
“There’s more. The signatures of the fire resemble the ones from some previous incidents.”
“So it wasn’t an accident?” Suddenly her hands turned cold.
“No. And the evidence so far very closely resembles the methods used in the fire that hurt you and killed Joe—the location is completely different, but we’re beginning to suspect the buildings were booby-trapped to injure firefighters going inside.”
Erin covered her mouth in shock, astounded. “Oh, no...someone did this on purpose? To target firefighters? And that could have been what happened to me and Joe, too?”
He was tense again, his face drawn into tight, tired lines. “Maybe. Though your fire completely demolished the building so there’s not enough evidence to make sure—this time, we had reports from the guys who were hurt and more evidence of the tampering.”
She drew her hand back and closed her eyes for a second, digesting that someone had actually planned this. That they had been targeting firefighters and had killed her colleague while nearly killing her.
“So that’s what you meant about my remembering being about more than us. I might know something that could stop this.”
“Or that could shed light on it, yes. We don’t have much to work with, and there are enough differences between the two fires that perhaps they aren’t the result of the same arsonist—and if you know that what happened to you was different, that changes things, too. Or you might know something that could help us catch a serial arsonist. A killer.”
Erin reeled, standing up from the table and starting to pace, her hands shaking. If she’d felt pressure to remember before, now it was tenfold. Hundredfold.
She was lost in her own panicked thoughts when Bo interrupted her pacing, stopping her in place.
“What if I can’t remember? What if nothing happens and more people are hurt?”
Bo shook his head resolutely. “There’s no guarantee your case is connected, or that you could remember anything that would help. It’s just a chance. I didn’t know if I should tell you—the pressure might hold you back.”
“Maybe it will, but it also makes me want to try even harder. I want you to tell me everything. We used to talk about work a lot, right? So we’ll do that. Tell me everything about the fire.”
Bo’s mouth flattened as he looked down into her face. She tipped her chin up, showing him that she was fine—and that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
He relented. “Okay, but let’s go for a walk while we talk. I could use the fresh air.”
She agreed, helping him pack up the remains of their meal before they started out on the trail. He was quiet until they got farther along the lake, and then he started telling her all of the awful details. Many that she didn’t want to hear, but she listened anyway. Erin was determined to see this through to the end, no matter what. As Bo’s hand reached out and clasped hers as they walked, it was good to know she wasn’t alone.
