Читать книгу The Guardian's Mission - Shirlee McCoy - Страница 13

Chocolate. Cinnamon. The warmth of family mixed with the cool, crisp fall breeze.

Tristan had smelled more exotic perfumes, but none had tugged at his awareness the way Martha’s scent did. It hovered around her as he escorted her through the church parking lot and made him want to inhale, to hold the fragrance deep in his lungs, let it fill the part of him that had been emptied during the months he’d worked undercover.

A time of renewal.

He needed that as much as he needed to get the cast off his arm and get himself back into working shape.

“I’ll be fine from here.” Marti spoke quietly as they approached the church’s open front door. It seemed she actually thought he was going to leave her there.

“I know, but I think I’ll join you anyway.”

“You might want to rethink that. I’m planning to volunteer in the toddler nursery.” They might not need her there, but at least closed in the nursery, Martha knew she could avoid the questions her women’s Sunday School class was bound to ask.

“And you think that will scare me away?”

“I’ve seen lesser men felled by the prospect.”

Tristan laughed, the sound dry and a little harsh. It had been a while since he’d found anything to be truly amused about. Life as Sky Davis hadn’t been something to laugh at. “Good thing I’m not lesser men.”

She leaned back, giving him a slow appraising look that was more joke than flirtation. “Yes, it is.”

He laughed again, hooking his good arm around her waist and tugging her the last few feet to the church door. “Thanks for the laugh, Sunshine.”

“Thanks for playing bodyguard. Of course you know that as soon as church is over, I’m sending you on your way.”

“I know you’ll try.”

“Martha!” The strident male voice greeted them as they stepped into the building. The speaker, a lean blonde with hard eyes and a weak jaw, hurried toward them, his gaze on Martha. “I’ve been trying to call you all weekend.”

Marti stiffened as he approached, but her smile was pleasant. Unless Tristan missed his guess, this was the fiancé. The ex-fiancé.

“Yes. I know.”

“And you didn’t think it necessary to answer the phone, or to return the calls?”

“A lot of people were calling me, Brian. I couldn’t get to everyone.”

Brian. Yep, the ex-fiancé.

“If you organized your time better that wouldn’t be a problem. What you should have done was make a list and—”

“Prioritize. Yes, Brian. I know. Fortunately, that’s not something you need to concern yourself about anymore.” Marti smiled again, her teeth gritted in an obvious effort to keep from saying something she’d regret.

Tristan had no such compunction. “I’m sure you did prioritize, Sunshine. There’s no doubt in my mind you managed to contact the people who warranted it.”