I’d almost lost control. That wasn’t me. I was always in control, but Jenny Nance was getting under my skin. Kissing her had set my blood on fire, and I’d come close to taking her down to the floor of the balcony with me. I’d almost called her and canceled tonight. The sour taste still in my mouth with how I’d strong-armed the mayor to get my budget on Thursday night’s agenda, topped by catching Moody stealing the department blind, had put me in a bad mood.

As if that wasn’t enough, I hadn’t slept well. I’d gone so far as to take out my phone to call Jenny before remembering I didn’t have her number. So here she was, and I was glad. Already my mood had improved, and not just because I’d kissed her. Being with her soothed me.

“Want some music?” I asked, letting go of her hand when we walked into the kitchen.

“That would be nice.”

She opened the refrigerator, pulling out the makings for a salad. I liked that she didn’t wait to be told what to do, and there was another thing I realized I liked about her. Jenny Nance was comfortable in her own skin, knew who she was and what she wanted. Like her travel-the-world dream. Nothing was going to get in her way of that. Good for her.

It also meant that she wasn’t looking for a man to put a ring on her finger, which made being with her for however long we enjoyed each other’s company easy. I wouldn’t hurt her, and she wouldn’t hurt me.

When she’d told me about her twin sister, I’d wanted to wrap her in my arms and take the hurt away. But I knew firsthand that there were no words or actions that could ease the pain of losing someone you loved. I understood why she was so determined to see the world. She had an unbreakable promise to keep.

“Jazz, blues, or R&B? Sorry, I don’t have any bluegrass CDs.”

“I can only listen to bluegrass at a festival. You pick.” She rummaged in one of the kitchen drawers. “Where’re your knives?”

“Second one down.” I went into the living room and put on some blues. “What’s your favorite music?” I asked, coming back into the kitchen. And please don’t say country.

“Some country, and I also like southern rock—you know, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band, ones like those. Oh, and soft rock and love songs.” She glanced up from dicing a tomato. “Really, there’s not much music I don’t like… except rap. Not crazy about that.”

“That makes two of us.” Conversation was easy with her, and by the time we finished dinner, I knew her favorite color, purple, her favorite food, lobster drenched in warm butter, and the food she hated the most, green peppers. She had me laughing with her stories of some of the residents of Blue Ridge Valley.

“Here’s another one,” she said, amusement lighting up her green eyes. “Every Sunday, Preacher Seamus calls on someone to open his service with a prayer. One time he asked Old Man Pickens. Everyone bowed their heads and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Then people started peeking their eyes open just in time to see the ass end of him crawling out the window.

“He’s never been seen at the Baptist church again. He converted to Methodist with a promise from Reverend Joe that he’ll never be called on to speak a prayer. Now Preacher Seamus claims Reverend Joe owes him one parishioner. Reverend Joe asked for a volunteer to switch to Baptist, but none of his people want to change because the Baptists don’t dance or drink.” Her lips twitched. “At least not in public.”

“That’s hilarious, Red. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of your hometown stories.” I was definitely glad I hadn’t canceled our dinner. She insisted on helping me clean up the kitchen, and we had that done in short order.

“You cook a good steak,” she said as I poured her a glass of wine after we’d returned to the balcony.

“That’s about the extent of my cooking abilities. Wait, I can make a mean omelet, too.” I glanced over at her. “You ever decide to stay over, which is my greatest wish, I’ll prove it.”

“No green peppers?”

“For you, I’ll leave them out.”

She laughed. “You’re sweet, you know that?”

“I’ve been called a lot of things, but sweet has never been one of them.” I noticed that she was snuggling up into herself. The temperature had dropped considerably since we’d been out earlier. “Cold?”

“A little.”

I patted my leg. “Come over here.” Without hesitation she set down her wine and then straddled my lap. “Hello,” I said, my gaze on her mouth.

“Hello to you. Want to kiss me?”

“Silly girl.” I slipped my hand under her hair, cradling her neck, and tugged her to me. She nestled against my chest as I claimed her mouth. I let go of her neck and wrapped my arms around her back. She was soft and warm, and tasted like the wine she was drinking. It wasn’t long before I was burning for her, but I didn’t know how far to take this. If she wasn’t ready yet, then I needed to stop now.

“Jenny…” When she started to unbutton my shirt, I caught her hand. “Are you ready for this? For us?”

Her gaze locked on mine. “I think so.”

I had no idea what her hesitation was all about, but I think so wasn’t good enough. “No, Red, we’re not doing this until you know it’s what you want.” I pulled her head to my shoulder. “The second you’re sure, you call me. I don’t care if it’s four in the morning, okay?”

“I’m sorry, Dylan.” She picked at the top button of my shirt. “I honestly don’t know why I’m hesitating. I want you. I really do. It’s just that… well, it’s different with you.”

“How so?” I wrapped a lock of her hair around my finger while wondering if I’d ever walk normal again.

“You’re different from any man I’ve been with before. Not that there’s been many, but you’re special.”

No, I wasn’t. “Jenny, I’m just a man doing his best to get along in this world. Don’t make me something I’m not.”

She lifted her head from my shoulder, her eyes studying me as if she could see my deepest thoughts. I hoped the hell she couldn’t. If so, she would see a man who’d failed to listen to his wife’s cry for help. I had to live with that every fucking damn day. To hear anyone say I was special made me want to smash my fist through the wall.

“I think you misunderstand.” She put her hand on my cheek, and I forced myself not to lean into her palm. “I’m not saying you’re special, you know, like some kind of superhero. I mean that I like you a lot, and I don’t want our sleeping together to be nothing more than a matter of getting our jollies off.”

I tried not to laugh. I really did. “Get our jollies off?”

She punched my arm. “That wasn’t meant to be funny, Dylan.”

“Yet it was.” I gave in to temptation and pressed my face against her palm. What was it about this woman that soothed my soul?

“Okay, it kind of was. I don’t want you to fall in love with me because nothing’s going to stop me from going on my world tour, but for me, sex with a man has to mean something.”

And here I was, planning to give her the don’t-fall-in-love-with-me lecture. “You’re a constant surprise, Jenny Girl. Let’s make a promise now. No falling in love for either of us.” I held out my hand, and we shook on the deal.

“But we can definitely like each other, right?” She bit down on her bottom lip as if worried about my answer.

“We sure can.” She had no worries about that on my side, and when she smiled, I smiled back.

“Does this mean we’ve gone past the pretend stage?” She tilted her head, studying me. “I mean, that’s part of my hesitation. You know, it’s not real if it’s make-believe.”

“We left pretend behind at the restaurant when we decided we wanted to get to know each other better, don’t you think?” I regretted I’d even used that word with her, since she seemed to be hung up on it. “Are you okay with that?” Please be okay with it, Jenny Girl.

“As long as we both agree to the rules. We can’t go past the like-each-other stage. No messy love business.”

I tapped her nose. “By the rules. Got it.” Why did that make me a little sad? It was what I wanted, too. “Since you’re working the rest of the week, would you like to do something on Saturday?”

“Have you seen one of our waterfalls yet?”

“Nope. You want to be my waterfall tour guide?” I’d thought when I first met her and realized she was interested in me that we would have a few tumbles between the sheets, then both move on. Instead I was dating her, romancing her, and I was enjoying it. Yeah, there’d be a long shower for me tonight that included a little hand relief, but when Jenny and I did have sex, I was pretty sure she would be worth waiting for.

“Want to watch a movie? I’ll make us some popcorn.”

“Yay!” She hopped off my lap.

“I take it that’s a yes?” She was grinning like a kid. A few times when she’d do or say something that reminded me how full of life she was, I’d start to compare her to Christine, especially at the end. But every time I shut that thought down. She wasn’t Christine, and I wasn’t going to start comparing them.

I let her pick the movie, expecting something romantic. She surprised me again when she found Arsenic and Old Lace on a cable channel.

She squealed. “This one is so funny. Have you seen it?”

I hadn’t, and that was all it took for her to insist that I had to watch it. She was right. It was hilarious. We made out a little more during the commercials, and too soon the movie ended and it was time to take her home. I didn’t want to and almost asked if she wanted to spend the night, just sleep, nothing more. But my reason was selfish, and it wouldn’t be right to use Jenny to try to keep Christine’s ghost at bay, so I didn’t.

I was pulling out of my parking lot when my phone rang, which reminded me that I needed to get Jenny’s number.

“Talk to me,” I said when Tommy’s name came up on the screen. He wouldn’t be calling this late at night if there weren’t a problem.

“Chief, I think you better come over to Jansen’s house.”

“He causing trouble?”

“Not anymore. He’s dead. His wife shot him. Now she’s threatening to shoot herself.”

An image of Christine on that gurney flashed in my mind, making my stomach take a sickening roll. “Location?” I memorized the address, then told him I was on my way. “You know where Crooked Creek Road is?” I asked Jenny.

“Yeah, why?”

“We’ve got a situation. You mind riding along? When we get there, you can take my car and go on home. I’ll hitch a ride back with Tommy.”