Chapter 3
Delaney closed her laptop and stared at the lake. A large boat cruised up the shore, creating rolling waves that crashed against the break-wall. A group of children pranced down the yard and onto the docks while a group of women scolded them for running. The noise created a calmness inside her, but didn’t give her the ability to concentrate on her book. The sky burned red and orange as the sun’s rays collided with the oncoming dark of night. She tried calling her brother again, but his phone went straight to voicemail. Tapping on the Contacts app, she pulled up a number she should have removed a long time ago.
The sound of heels clicking on the wood steps behind her saved her from making a huge mistake. She set her phone beside the chair.
“Hi,” a familiar female voice said.
Delaney spied Patty with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.
“Delaney, right?”
“Yes.” She snatched her feet from the small coffee table in front of the rocking chairs facing the lake.
“I’m Patty. I don’t think we’ve officially met, and I like to meet all our guests.” She set the bottle and glasses down. “May I buy you a drink?”
If Patty were any other woman, Delaney would have been rude and said no. “I’d love that.” Besides, maybe she could get some inside information on how to get Josh in bed.
Did she just think that?
“I couldn’t help noticing that you spent the day with Josh,” Patty said.
Think quick, but be as honest as possible. “He took pity on me, sitting alone in a restaurant reading a book, so he offered to show me around.”
“He’s a good man.” Patty poured two generous glasses of wine. “He told me you’re an aspiring writer.”
“Emphasis on ‘aspiring,’” Delaney said, swirling the white liquid around the tall glass.
“I’m surprised such a beautiful young woman doesn’t have a boyfriend.” Patty tilted her head.
“I’m surprised Josh isn’t married.” Delaney didn’t want the focus on her, even though she got the impression Patty was going to continue with the twenty questions.
“The date was that good?” Patty arched a brow.
Delaney smiled.
“Now you have to tell me all the details.” Patty set her glass on the table as she shifted in the chair, tucking her legs underneath her.
“I have no idea how to describe it because it wasn’t even so much where we want, but the way he’s so attentive and sweet, never once expecting anything but maybe a kiss.”
“Chivalry isn’t dead yet.”
“The men I usually meet…” Delaney glanced at Patty then down to her own fingers. “Most men I know try to get you in bed right away.”
“That’s not Josh’s style,” Patty said, smiling, “but I slept with Reese on our first date.”
“Really?”
Patty laughed. “I’d known him for a couple years. He used to be a Trooper and was my cousin’s partner, so we’d been flirting, kissed a few times. Reese only dated women for a few weeks, then moved on. He had issues with commitment, and I’d been so relationship-focused that I thought a one-night stand seemed like a good idea. Only that one night turned into a year before we broke up because I’d fallen in love with him, but didn’t think he felt the same way. Two weeks later I had to tell him he’d knocked me up.”
Delaney’s laugh came out more like a nervous chuckle. “I take it he loved you after all.”
“He did, but men can be such morons sometimes.”
“I don’t think anyone could call Josh a moron.” Bile rose from the pit of Delany’s stomach. She swallowed the wretched taste.
“When it comes to women, all men can be idiots.” Patty looked over her shoulder at the main building. “Reese and I have owned this place for almost six years, and any new Trooper coming into town or being stationed here, we put up for free for a couple of weeks until they find a place to live. We even built a special cabin for it. Josh was no exception. When he first arrived, he’d been healing physically. Not my place to say what happened. But—”
“The shooting,” Delaney said. “He told me he’d been shot, but didn’t give me the details.”
“He nearly died, and it’s taken him a while to get back on his feet, so I was glad to see him with you.”
“Why do I feel a ‘but’ coming?”
Patty smiled. “I don’t think it’s a ‘but.’ Josh, on the outside, is this confident, “nothing bothers me” kind of man, but inside, he’s tender, sweet, kind, and a little broken.”
Perspiration beaded across Delaney’s forehead. She was about to destroy this kind, wonderful man for a brother who couldn’t bother to show up for Thanksgiving dinner. “And you’re afraid I’m going to hurt him.”
“That’s part of it,” Patty said, “but if you do sincerely like him, you’re going to have to fight his mule-like male stupidity. He’s got a brick wall stacked so high, you’re going to need to parachute in.”
“I just met him,” Delaney said. “I have no idea what I want, if anything.”
“Mommy!” a little girl yelled from across the yard.
“Oh, good Lord, this should be interesting.” Patty sat up, downing her glass of wine. She waved to her husband, who held the girl in his arms while she wailed, and a young boy ran ahead.
“She’s such a brat!” the boy said.
“Be nice to your sister.” Reese set the little girl down, and she took off running, falling at least three times before crawling up the stairs, her brother and father taking their sweet time.
“How old is she?” Delaney asked. Her heart pounded so fast she thought the blood circulating through her body could punch a hole in her veins.
“She’s two.” Patty scooped the child up. “And she loves to give her father a hard time a little too much.”
“She’s adorable. What’s her name?”
“Emily.” Patty laughed. “Not adorable at all when she acts like this.”
Emily wrapped her arms and legs around her mother. Her high-pitched crying settled down to sniffles as she buried her face in her mother’s neck.
“I didn’t mean to be so forward, and it’s none of my business,” Patty said, “but Josh, in the year I’ve known him, hasn’t taken out a single woman.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Nope,” Patty said.
“Hey, honey.” Reese sat in another chair before taking his wife’s wine glass and pouring himself a drink. “You two girls look like you’re having fun.”
“More fun than it looks like you just had.” Patty smiled, batting her eyes at her handsome husband. “You could have kept this little family temper tantrum at home.”
“Yeah, well, it started with me not wrapping the towel around her right, then I messed up the story, and then she—”
“Emily ruined my Lego building!” the little boy said as he plopped himself at his mother’s feet. “I was working on it all day with Nana.”
Delaney gripped the sides of the chair. The crazy normalness of this family collided with the insanity of her life in the last two weeks. Actually, since her parents had died. All she wanted was to live life, be happy, and maybe, a few times, feel like she had when jumping off that cliff.
“We can rebuild it.” Reese patted his son’s head. “Justin, say hello to Delaney.”
He waved. “Hi.”
“I am sorry to have interrupted,” Reese said, “but there seems to be a plumbing problem in one of the cabins, and I thought you’d rather deal with this, than that.”
“Good call, babe.” Patty laughed. “It was nice talking to you. Let’s have a drink another time.”
“I’d like that.” Delaney watched the family as they walked toward their big house on the far north side of the property, knowing she was never going to be able to show her face anywhere near this place again.
Her phone buzzed. Josh’s face flashed on the screen.
Time to get this over with, and get out of this town before she fell in love with it and everyone who lived here.
* * *
Josh fiddled with his phone, bringing up Delaney’s number, staring at her picture, and contemplating asking her to join him for a drink.
“You’re in a seriously bad mood,” Tristan said. “You should be happy that she doesn’t have any kind of record.”
“I am, but I need to know if she has any connection to Craypo.”
“Her employment checked out, and everything else she told you has been confirmed.”
“But that doesn’t tell me anything about her family, and it doesn’t mean she’s not hiding something,” Josh said. “I’m thinking of hiring that private investigator who helped Jake last year. It’s too much of a coincidence that a chick from New York hits on me the same month Craypo gets out.”
“Do you have any idea how many single women from downstate come up here every year for vacation?” Tristan asked.
“Not the point.” The screen on Josh’s phone dimmed. He tapped it and tried to hide a smile when Delaney’s face lit up the screen again. “What about the car across the street that keeps showing up?”
“I ran the plates. It’s a rental.” Tristan poked Josh in the arm with his beer. “You really are too paranoid. Lighten up, man.”
“If I had the name of whoever rented it, I’d lighten up.” Josh opened the text message app on his phone.
“No, you wouldn’t, so don’t do something that will get you in trouble with the boss.”
“I might be cautious, but I’m not stupid,” Josh said.
“Viv gets off in a half hour,” Tristan said. “Why don’t you have Delaney join us for drinks, and we can ask probing questions?”
“Might not be a bad idea.” He tapped his phone. “But seriously, man. You really should work on your skills with women.”
“I got Viv to go out with me. That’s progress considering I sort of made fun of her the other night.”
Josh shook his head. “Where are you taking her?”
“Thought we’d hang here,” Tristan said.
“You’re pathetic.”
How’s your evening? Josh texted to Delaney.
He’d lost all his confidence when it came to women. No. He’d lost all trust in women.
Been writing most of the afternoon and evening.
About what? I never asked you what you write.
Talk about pathetic. Just ask the damn woman out for a drink.
Fantasy novels.
That’s interesting. What are you doing right now?
Sitting on the deck. I had a drink with Patty. She just left. You?
Josh stared at his phone, the cursor blinking. He knew Patty would find a way to chat Delaney up, but he hadn’t expected it to be so quickly.
“How long does it take to ask a girl for a drink?” Tristan leaned over the bar and ordered another round.
“I’m wooing her.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means, I’m getting to know her. Finding out what she likes, doesn’t like. In a nutshell, I’m letting her know I’m interested in her and not just in hooking up.”
“You do all that to get her in bed?”
“I’m not even going to respond to that.”
At the Boardwalk with my buddy who is about to crash and burn with his date. Want to come have a drink and watch?
He paused, the sensation in his gut unfamiliar. He didn’t get nervous around women. He did, however, have difficulty picking the right ones.
I’d love to. ☺
He smiled.
I’ll walk down and get you.
“I’ll be back in fifteen,” Josh said.
“So, I take it she’s joining us?”
Instead of answering, Josh stood and left the table, making his way through the crowded deck onto the sidewalk. It was a typical summer night in the village. People lined the main drag, going from one place to the next. A mixture of sugar, pastry, meat, and whiskey filled the air, making it smell like a carnival. He had kissed a girl for the first time at a small county fair at the ripe old age of fifteen. The knots in his gut felt about the same as right before that first kiss. As much as the paranoia grew, something intoxicating about Delaney fascinated and drew him in. She possessed a sweetness, coupled with a raw, passionate desire she had no idea how to use. He wondered what might have happened to stifle the hot-blooded woman she could have become.
About fifty paces down the sidewalk, he saw Delaney wave. Her long blond hair bounced over her bare shoulders, showing off a red strapless sundress. Her smile brightened the evening sky and made his insides tumble and roll like he was a teenage boy.
“I’m glad you texted,” she said.
“Not as much as I am.” He leaned in, kissing her cheek before looping his arm around her waist. “I hope you don’t mind, but we’re going to have—”
“Hey, Josh!” Tristan had pulled his convertible to the entrance of the Boardwalk. “Hurry up. We’re going putt-putt golfing.”
“I have never done that before,” Delaney said. “Are we going with them?”
“Do you want to?”
She nodded.
“Let’s go.” He took her hand, and they jogged toward the car. Once tucked inside, he made the necessary reintroductions.
He held her hand in the back seat and watched her golden hair blow in the wind. Everything about her checked out, and yet, here he sat, wondering what she hid because when something was too good to be true…it wasn’t true.
It took all of five minutes to pull into the parking lot of the miniature golf place, right next to the best ice cream shop on the planet. He watched Delaney as she picked out a red golf ball to match her dress. Viv picked out the blue one, the color of her eyes. Tristan told the guy behind the desk to pick his. Josh thumbed the pink ball, because it reminded him of Easter, and his mother.
“I need to use the little girls’ room,” Delaney said.
“Me, too.” Viv and Delaney looped their arms together and laughed as they practically skipped off to the ladies’ room together.
“Women are a weird breed,” Tristan said. “I mentioned you two were joining us for drinks, and maybe we should go somewhere else, and Viv got all excited…a little too excited. At first, I thought she had the hots for you. But now, I’m thinking maybe she bats for the other team.”
“That, right there, is why you never last longer than a gallon of milk with a woman.” Josh tossed his pink ball in the air, catching it with his left hand as he waltzed to the first tee. “Viv probably showed enthusiasm because instead of having a date where she works, she got to go somewhere else. It had nothing to do with me or Delaney.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
Josh found himself smiling again as Delaney glided toward him, her red dress swaying with her hips.
“Am I the only one who has never done this?” Delaney asked.
Josh laughed. “Watch all of us, and you’ll see how easy it is.”
“Let’s make this a little interesting,” Tristan said. “Me and Viv against the two of you, for a round of ice cream cones after.”
“I get to help Delaney.” Josh brushed her silky hair so he could rest his hand on her soft skin, fanning his thumb at the base of her neck.
“Only the first five holes. Viv goes first, then you, me, and then Delaney. After that, it’s golf rules.” Tristan leaned toward Viv then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Come on, babe, let’s kick their ass.”
“You got it.”
While Viv lined up her ball, Josh stood behind Delaney, wrapping his arms around her middle. “Hold the putter like this.” He demonstrated the proper grip, then gently guided her hands and helped her swing the putter back and forth. “Spread your legs a little.”
She tilted her head and gave him a narrowed stare.
“Your mind go to the gutter again?” He pressed his lips on her bare shoulder, reminding himself to take things slow, which he suspected would be impossible. “Watch how Viv taps the ball. The hardest part will be gauging how hard to swing.” He’d intended to focus on teaching Delaney, but found himself ignoring everything but how her body shivered a little as he kissed her earlobe.
“You’re up,” Tristan called.
Josh stood at the tee, looking down the green carpet to the hole. A small bank to the right, with an uphill putt to a flatter surface. “Just have to get it up the hill and close to the hole.” He tapped the ball, then realized he hadn’t hit it hard enough. “Shit.”
“You suck.” Tristan took his turn, landing his ball just a few inches from the hole.
“Ready?” Josh nudged Delaney to the tee box. “Just aim right—”
“Can I try this myself?” The way she chomped down on her lower lip made him want to toss his putter, throw her over his shoulder, and take her back to his place.
“Sure.” He took a step back, watching her eye the green before setting her ball down. He noticed she aimed for the back of the green, as if she planned on banking the shot. He was about to say something when she hit the ball.
“I think that is going in the hole,” Tristan said as he scratched his head.
Not only did she get a hole in one, but she managed to hit Tristan’s ball, and it rolled down the other side of the hill.
“Beginner’s luck,” Viv said. “It won’t last.”
But it did, and by the fifth hole, Delaney was three under par with the low score. Collectively, they were way in the lead.
“You’ve played this before,” Tristan said with a clipped tone. The man did not like losing.
“Nope.” She smiled like a big kid. “But I am a master pool player, and when I was younger, I played in a few tournaments. This isn’t that much different. I’ve always been told I have great eye-hand coordination.”
“You’re a little hustler.” Josh held his hand out for a fist bump. Part of him thought what she’d done was sexy as hell, but another part—the suspicious part—thought it a bit too devious. She should have told him.
“Well, I had no idea if it would be similar, so that first hole was just to test the waters. Who knows? My strategy might not hold up, especially considering this next one with the Mexican hat. You can’t see where the hole is, so we’re kind of hitting blind.”
The next few holes proved to be more difficult for Delaney, but they were still in the lead by one stroke by the time they came to the last hole.
“This one is nearly impossible,” Josh said. “Last time I was here, it took me five tries to get the ball into the hole.” Since he won the last hole, he was first up.
“You got this.” Delaney’s fingers circled his biceps, sending a warm shock across his skin.
“How about a good luck kiss?”
She rose up on tiptoe, her eyelids fluttering as her soft, plump lips landed on his for a brief but powerful kiss.
He hit the ball, but it went over the hump and back down the other side. “Maybe I need a longer kiss.”
She laughed. “I’m distracting you.”
He hit the ball five more times before it went in.
It took Delaney three times, and Viv five.
“You’ve got to get it in the hole in two,” Viv said to Tristan.
“Easy peasy.” Tristan lined up his shot then cursed when the ball rolled back to his feet. His second shot wasn’t any better. He picked up the ball then tossed it in the hole.
“We won!” Delaney did a little dance that sent Josh’s mind off into a world that he knew, once he entered, he’d never be able to leave.
“That’s my girl,” he said, pulling her in for a wet, slow kiss.
“Come on, Romeo,” Tristan said. “Let’s get this over with.”
“He doesn’t like to lose.” Josh looped his arm around her waist.
“I can see that.” Delaney slipped her arm under his, resting her hand just above his ass.
“I’m feeling like an extra-large banana split,” Josh said. “And maybe a chocolate shake.”
“No way,” Tristan said. “You can only order what you can actually eat.”
Josh laughed, but the sound stalled in his throat when he spotted a dark sedan parked across the street. He poked Tristan on the shoulder and cocked his head toward the car.
“I noticed it,” Tristan said.
“Noticed what?” Vivian asked.
“An old friend of ours might be here.” Josh glanced across the street once more, trying to see if anyone sat in the car. “Order me a medium-sized fudge ripple in a waffle cone.”
“Where are you going?” Delaney looked up at him with questioning eyes.
“To see if that’s actually our friend’s car.” He kissed her nose. “I’ll be right back.” He jogged across the street, still unable to see if anyone was indeed in the car. Wishing he had his weapon on him, he inched closer to the vehicle.
It was empty. He glanced at the meter, noting it had only fifteen minutes left.
By the time he made it back to the ice cream shop, Delaney was perched on top of a picnic table, holding his waffle cone. He sat down next to her, taking his cone while he eyed the car and everyone walking up and down the street.
“What did you get?” he asked.
She held up her small dish. “Almond chocolate chunk.”
“Let me taste.”
Scooping a large, creamy dollop onto her spoon, she held it to his mouth. He kept his stare fixed on her, with the car in his peripheral vision. “Not as good as mine.” He held his cone in front of her face. Her pink tongue licked her lips before she lapped at his ice cream, sending visuals to his brain that weren’t very gentlemanly.
“That is good,” she said softly.
“I hate to be a party pooper,” Viv said. “but I have to open tomorrow, which means I have to get up at four, so I need to head home.”
“Not a problem,” Tristan said. “So, you get off early tomorrow?”
“I do,” Viv said.
“What time? Maybe we should do something.”
Josh cracked a smile. It was amazing that Tristan got any women with his lack of skill.
“I’m off at two, so if you think of something, let me know.”
Josh took out his phone, then texted Tristan a few good lunch date ideas. He showed it to Delaney, who smiled and nodded.
“Do you like horseback riding?” Tristan asked Viv.
“I might be into doing that.” Viv smiled.
“Good. My buddy owns a horse farm,” Tristan said. “We’ll go there.”
Josh laced his fingers through Delaney’s, tugging her back through the parking lot, giving Viv and Tristan a moment alone. Hopefully, Tristan wouldn’t ruin the moment.
“That was nice of you to help him out like that,” she said, leaning against the car.
He planted his hands on her hips. “He can usually get a girl to go out with him once, but it never lasts long.”
“It’s too bad. He seems like a good guy.”
“The best.” Josh leaned into her, spreading her legs with his knee. “I hope you had a good time tonight.”
“I did.” Her arms looped over his shoulders, pulling him closer, but the moment was broken when Tristan slapped him on the back.
Tristan jerked his head across the street.
A tall man wearing jeans and a black T-shirt slipped into the driver’s seat of the sedan, but Josh didn’t see his face. He was tempted to wave or jump out in front of the car before it pulled away, but decided against it with Delaney around.
Josh opened the car door for Delaney before pulling out his phone and sending group text to a few of his trooper buddies, including Tristan, about keeping an eye out for the sedan. Once in the backseat, he pulled Delaney so close she practically sat on his lap. He slipped his hand under the hem of her dress, his fingers gliding over her soft skin. He kissed her neck, inhaling the sweet smell of her floral perfume. “You’re gorgeous,” he whispered in her ear.
“Thank you,” she said.
He palmed her cheek, drawing her lips to his in a slow, tender dance with the promise of something more....and he wanted so much more.
“You two can stop sucking face now, we’re here,” Tristan said.
“That was rude,” Viv said under her breath.
Josh helped Delaney out of the car and didn’t even bother to say goodbye to his buddy as he grabbed her hand, tugging her up the porch stairs of the main building of The Heritage Inn. “Wasn’t as good as the last date, but I’ll make it up tomorrow night.”
“It was a great date,” she said, leaning against the door. “Want to come up for a drink? I have a bottle of wine that I haven’t cracked yet.”
He lowered his forehead to hers, arguing with himself on the various reasons why it wasn’t a good idea. “It’s not that I don’t want to, because I do. Only if I go up, I don’t think I could stop myself.”
“That’s okay.”
He kissed her temple. “I want you, but it’s late, and I’ve got an early meeting before I go out on patrol.”
“I understand,” she said, but her voice shook.
“I don’t think you do,” he said before pressing his mouth against hers. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Walk home safely.”
He waited until the lobby door closed and clicked before turning on his heels, walking back to his apartment, on the lookout for the dark sedan that seemed to be everywhere he’d been lately.