The weekend came without a call back from Cash. I had to accept that he was ignoring me. It was fine. Thad had chilled out and wasn’t as frowny when he looked at me and I had gotten used to his big body being somewhere in my vicinity. Mostly he read and walked around, checking out the windows and doors. Mostly I read and watched him check out the windows and doors.
I’d never thought of doing security work because I’d been raised by a cop with an attitude who thought there was nothing better than being a cop. He’d always said that anything else just wasn’t good enough. Watching Thad work, however, made me think that maybe Dad had been wrong. Just the alertness of the man was almost awe-inspiring. I still didn’t know where or when he slept and I never saw him actually distracted by anything. He was a machine. He also never lost a pair of underwear to Biscuit. I didn’t get it. I didn’t even have any underwear left. I was going commando, even in outfits that I’d prefer not to in because I wasn’t vigilant enough against the pup. Not Thad, though.
That Saturday afternoon, I was lounging on the beach, reading one of Mack’s old western books, when I heard someone calling my name. I immediately recognized the voice as Kevin’s.
Wincing, I jumped up and rushed around the house, just to see him down the way at my old house, knocking and peering through the windows.
“Kevin!” I raised my hand in a wave and called to him. “Down here.”
Thad stood behind me. “Kevin?”
I glanced back at him, surprised by all the chest that was eye level with me. Stepping back, I looked up to find him glaring at Kevin. “I forgot about him coming.”
“You didn’t tell him you moved?”
I winced harder. “I haven’t actually told him anything. Want to do it for me?”
He shifted his eyes down to me and a slow smile tugged up one corner of his mouth. He shrugged one massive arm and his eyes lit up with mischief. “Sure.”
Kevin struggled across the sand in his loafers and looked from me to Thad. “What’s going on?”
“Someone killed a man in Rain’s bed. It was a mess. She moved to this house. I’m Thad.”
I glared at him. “Seriously?”
He winked his green eye at me and my stomach reacted in an unfortunate way. “Gotta be more specific next time.”
“You really think there’ll be a next time of this moment?”
“With you? Probably.”
“Go back to the beach.”
“I need to check out Kevin first.”
“What the fuck?” Kevin raised his voice and threw his hands out. “You’re kidding me. You’re not serious, right?”
I gestured for Thad to go away. “I can explain everything. Come inside with me.”
Thad shook his head. “You should’ve told me about him, Rain. I need to check him out before you’re alone together.”
Kevin glared at Thad. “Check me out, then. Who are you, anyway?”
“Name and date of birth.”
“Who are you?”
“Name and date of birth.”
I rubbed at my temples. “This is my bodyguard, Thad. This is Kevin Val. Date of birth is June fourteenth, seventy-eight.”
“Now can I be alone with my girlfriend?”
Thad shook his head. “Nope. Not until I call this in.”
I sighed. “Come on. We can sit on the beach. I’ll explain everything.”
“These shoes aren’t meant for the sand, Rain. After your dog destroyed the last pair, I can’t afford to lose another.”
I thought I heard Thad snicker and it irritated me even more than I already was. It made me short with Kevin. “Take them off, then.”
“And leave them here for your dog to find? No, thanks. I’ll wait inside for Thad to find out what he needs to.”
I was going to yank my hair out. “Fine. We’ll all go inside.”
Neither of them found a reason to argue with that. We all trooped inside and found seats. Kevin and I were on the couch with Thad right across from us in the armchair. He was obviously just being a dick, and it was pissing me off.
Kevin’s eyebrows furrowed and he caught my chin, using it to tilt my face to the side. “Have you been using that cream I left you?”
My cheeks heated again and I wanted to hit him. It was bad enough that he said shit like that to me, but to do it in front of anyone else was crossing a line.
“Fool.” Thad shook his head and stood up. “I’ll call from the kitchen.”
Kevin shook his head and moved past it, unaware that he’d embarrassed me. “What’s going on, Rain? What’s happening?”
I tried to forget the insult and move on. I told him what’d happened and summed it up with a shrug and a pull of my lips, a face meant to convey that I didn’t know what the hell was going on.
Kevin didn’t seem to like it. He stood up and paced the living room. “You forgot to call and tell me that there was a dead man found in your bed? With you in it?”
“I did. It was a hectic time. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you.”
“Not too hectic for you to cozy up with your bodyguard.”
I sat back like he’d slapped me. He’d never been jealous before and he was barking up the wrong tree. “Don’t be crazy.”
Apparently, it wasn’t the right thing to say. “Don’t be crazy? Don’t be crazy!? You’re always involved in something, Rain. I thought with you quitting the force, you’d be able to settle down and maybe we could figure our stuff out, but you’re still doing all of this.”
“I never said I was quitting the force.” I’d mentally been working myself up to saying it out loud, but I hadn’t told Kevin.
“It’s not like you’re going to go back to it. They wouldn’t let you, anyway. Not after all of the shit that you’ve caused.” Realizing he’d made a mistake, he immediately tried to backpedal. “That came out wrong. I’m sorry, Rain. I’m just stressed. I thought I was coming here to spend a day with my girlfriend. Instead, I’m in the middle of another murder investigation.”
I fought back ugly words and met his gaze. “I’d hardly call this the middle of a murder investigation.”
“You know what I mean.”
“If you need to go back to Dallas, I get it.” I found that I wanted him to leave. I wanted the peace of being alone. Or with Thad, who didn’t talk to me most of the time.
Kevin shook his head and sat down next to me. “Of course, not. I’m staying. You need me right now.”
He was insane. Absolutely certifiable. He’d just been such an asshole and suddenly I needed him? Like I needed another hole in the head. I wasn’t going to tell him that, though.
“Thanks?” I hadn’t mean it to, but it’d definitely come out more of a question than anything else.
Kevin wrapped his arm around me and tugged me into his chest, making me stretch out my side painfully in the process. “Let’s just forget all of that negative shit and try to have a good night. We can still enjoy ourselves.”
The snarky, angry side of me wanted to demand to know if we’d ever enjoyed ourselves. “Sounds good, Kevin.”
Thad chose that moment to crowd the living room. “Seems like you’re all clear, Kevin. I’m going to check the perimeter of the house, unless you need something, Rain.”
I met his eyes and felt the urge to tell him to make Kevin go home, but he didn’t fight my battles and I knew I shouldn’t feel that way about my boyfriend, so I forced a smile and shook my head. “I’m good. Thanks.”
He nodded and then left me and Kevin alone. The silence was somehow quieter with him gone.
Kevin patted my thigh and stood up. “I’ve got to get my bag and unpack. Do you want to get started on dinner?”
I bit back yet another ugly reply and stood up. “Why not? Did you have something in mind already?”
He smiled, completely oblivious to the tension between us. “I’m craving some kind of pasta. Think you can whip up something?”
I turned so he wouldn’t see my frown. “We’ll have to run to the store.”
“That’s fine.” He opened the door and looked out. “I’ll stay back and unpack while you run out, if that’s okay?”
“Yep.”
“Great! Maybe you can find some authentic parmesan to go with it? And maybe some breadsticks? It’s a lot of carbs, but it sounds good. Maybe they have some sort of cake or something, too? I worked out for a couple of hours this morning and I’m starving.”
I turned to glare at him, but the door was already closing around him. Looking down at myself, I frowned. I was still sweaty and dirty from being on the beach. I hurried to my room and looked in the closet, where I’d hung all the clothes that Ginny brought me.
There were only dresses left. I wasn’t big on doing laundry and I’d let it slip my mind with everything that was happening, so there I was, stuck with a sundress between myself and going to the store naked. With a heavy sigh, I grabbed one and changed into it. Yanking my hair into a higher ponytail, I slipped my feet into my flip flops and then headed out to find Thad.
He stopped walking around the back yard when I opened the door and stepped out. His eyes trailed down my body and widened.
“Don’t start. Don’t say anything. Don’t think anything. I’m going to the grocery store. We’re having pasta with authentic parmesan and breadsticks and fucking cake for dinner.”
Running his hands over his face, he nodded. “Grocery store. Got it. Come on. I’ll drive.”
I marched back to the front of the house, feeling like a cheap streetwalker, knowing the flouncy dress bottom was swishing around my thighs and there was no underwear to keep my secrets secret. Catching sight of Kevin slipping back into the house, I swore.
“Everything okay?”
“No. I’m cranky.”
“You weren’t cranky earlier.”
I glared at him. “I know why I’m cranky. I don’t need any hints.”
“Why let him stay, then?”
I threw my arms up and waited at the passenger side of his truck for him to unlock it. Instead of going around, he stopped next to me and opened the door for me. Another one of those unfortunate feelings skirted through me and I winced like I’d been punched. What the hell was happening to me?
I had to lift my leg ridiculously high to climb into the truck and I turned a scowl up at Thad. “Turn around.”
He looked down at my thighs and then at the truck. I saw his thought process on his face and shook my head at him. Before I could stop him, he’d grabbed me around the waist, lower on my scarred side, like he knew it would hurt it to be grabbed, and deposited me into the truck.
It made me feel dainty and feminine and like Thad was a man touching a woman. Things that I didn’t want to feel. Growing angry instantly, I pushed him away and poked him in the chest, hard. “Don’t do that again. Don’t do it. I’m not helpless. I can take care of myself, Thad. I can climb into this truck and I can do anything else. I don’t need men rushing in to save me.”
He held his hands up and stepped back far enough for me to grab the door and slam it shut.
Sitting in the steaming hot truck, I found myself fighting tears. I felt even more uncomfortable in the dress than I already had. The dress, the way it called attention to my femaleness, made my skin crawl. I’d never had a good experience brought on by a man noticing how much of a woman I was. My hands shook as I tugged at the hem.