Spring Seduction (Wyoming Fever Book 1)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  She blinked her huge, green eyes at him. “Because the movers arrived yesterday at noon. They unloaded the boxes, then left. I’d already driven across several states by that point and I was exhausted. So I fell asleep, planning to start cleaning today before unpacking.”

  “You drove here by yourself?”

  She shuffled those cute, red boots. “No.”

  He eyed her when she didn’t continue, his eyes narrowing at the challenge in those green depths.

  Her grin warned him that she was messing with him. “My sister decided to move here as well. I moved with her.”

  Both men looked around, searching for the other person. “Where is your sister?”

  The woman blinked up at Simon, irritation flashing in her eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

  Arik chuckled and moved on to the next topic. “What’s in the barn?”

  Jade pulled her eyes away from Detective Grumpy. “Oh, it was cleared out before we got here. My work supplies are in there though.”

  “So, nothing out of the ordinary?” he pressed.

  She shrugged. “I wish I could tell you that it is just ordinary stuff, but honestly, after that spider, as well as finding two armed strangers in my bedroom, I’m not sure I could tell you what is ordinary or not anymore.”

  The nice detective chuckled softly and Detective Grumpy clenched his teeth. “Would you mind if we took a look?”

  She smiled at the nice guy, then heard a rude growl coming from the left. She ignored Detective Grumpy and shrugged. “Go for it. Do you mind if I come with you?”

  Friendly Detective smiled and Jade wondered if her sister would like him. For a moment, she thought that they would make a great couple. Then she remembered that she and her sister had both sworn off men. With good reason, even though the other detective seemed like a good match for her sister. He was nice and friendly, handsome in a rough, cowboy sort of way and very polite. Definitely different from the guys Sage used to date.

  “There might be more spiders,” Detective Grumpy warned.

  Jade eyed the man’s pistol pointedly, then smiled brightly. “I’m sure that you can handle any spiders we find.” And with that, she walked out the back door, grabbing the keys to the barn off the hook. She made a mental note to get a new hook at the store. A pretty hook. One that didn’t look like it had been left to rust on the wall for past hundred years.

  Feeing a surge of pride at her property, she led the way to the big barn. Her barn! After leaving New York City, Jade loved the space and the big buildings that were part of her property. She no longer needed to work in a cramped, too cold space. She could spread her work out and enjoy the long tables and fresh air.

  She unlocked the barn doors, then stepped to the side. “The movers just piled the miscellaneous boxes inside the door, and I haven’t had a chance to organize out here yet,” she explained as she pushed one of the big, sliding doors open. “I apologize for the mess.” She sighed and admired the cavernous space, a happy feeling flooding through her. “Goodness, this is going to be so awesome!”

  “When do your horses arrive?” Detective Grumpy asked.

  She blinked, confused. “Horses?”

  He stared down at her, looking angry. “Barn?” he prompted. “Usually one houses horses in a barn.”

  Jade laughed, the sound lightening the mood of herself and the other guy. Not Grumpy though! Nope, his anger seemed to increase with her laughter.

  “Oh, I don’t raise horses!” she explained. “I can barely remember to feed myself!”

  “Are there lights?” Detective Grumpy asked. Well, snapped, actually.

  She looked around, feeling along the wall for the light switch. She’d looked at the barn with a realtor during a sunny afternoon and hadn’t needed additional light. “I think so. Although, where would a light switch be in a barn of this size?”

  A moment later, light burst into the area, brightening the whole space.

  Jade lifted her gaze, her mind filled with plans for the beautiful space. “Oh my! This is even better than I remembered!” Jade breathed, looking around at the light filled, open space.

  “What’s in these boxes?” Grumpy asked.

  She smiled, not bothering to look back at him. “Supplies,” she said, purposely offering a vague answer just to irritate him.

  “What kind of supplies?”

  It sounded like he was gritting his teeth.

  “Glass and stuff. Just…supplies.”

  There was a heavy sigh from behind her as the other detective chuckled. Jade walked over to one of the former horse stalls, running her hand along the wood. “What’s that smell?” she asked, looking around. “The realtor promised that the stalls had been properly mucked out.”

  Simon recognized the smell. He glanced over at Arik, who nodded soberly.

  “Uh…ma’am?” Simon called out. “I think that you should…don’t go over there!”

  She didn’t stop. Of course she didn’t stop! That smell was absolutely, overwhelmingly, awful. Why would she? She was…

  About to throw up!

  She spun away from the grisly sight and clapped her hands over her mouth.

  “I got ya,” Simon said, holstering his weapon as he glanced over at Arik. His partner immediately nodded, letting Simon know that he had this. Simon swept the tiny woman up into his arms and hauled her out of the barn, then several steps further, lowering her to the ground moments before she bent over and heaved.

  If he’d had any doubts that the woman was the culprit, this moment tossed those doubts out the window. In his experience, one didn’t kill another human being, then toss one’s cookies several days later. And they certainly didn’t reveal the dead body to law enforcement.

  No, whatever had happened, whether it was murder or an accidental death, she was obviously an innocent bystander.

  “I’ve got ya,” he repeated, holding her hair out of the way as she retched.

  “What happened?” she whispered when she could speak again.

  No way was he going to tell her that there was a dead body in her barn. “I’m not sure, honey,” he lied. “But we’ll find out.” He handed her a handkerchief and she wiped her mouth, looking embarrassed.

  “Someone died in there, didn’t they?” she murmured, her emerald gaze darting from the open barn to his face.

  “Yeah. I think so.”

  She nodded, quiet for a long moment. Then she took a deep breath. “And here I thought I was having a bad day. Well, all things considered, my day is going a whole lot better than his.” She paused and looked at the barn. “Or hers.” She looked over at Simon and his stomach tightened at the tears in her mossy green eyes. “It was a man, wasn’t it? I didn’t look carefully, but I think it was a man.”

  “I don’t know,” Simon told her honestly. “I didn’t get a good look. But odds are that it is Albert Hennesy, the man we were looking for.”

  She turned away, lifting her face to the warm, spring sunshine. “What’s he doing in my barn?”

  Simon shrugged. “From what I understand, he didn’t have a permanent residence. And he wasn’t a bad guy. He used to do odd jobs around the community.”

  The lady looked around, her arms opening, indicating the wide, open spaces of the valley. “What community? It’s just me out here. My sister lives about a mile away.” She dropped her head into her hands. “Damn it, where’s Sage? She should be here now! It was her idea to move here to Wyoming so she should be with me now!” She sniffed, the tears falling in earnest now. “Please tell me that the poor man in there wasn’t murdered!”

  “Come here,” Simon urged, then pulled her close, wrapping her securely in the warmth of his arms. “I don’t have the answers to that.”

  She sobbed softly, pressing her face against his chest. Simon felt like an ass for noticing how perfectly she fit in his arms. And how good she felt. And how nice she smelled.

  Then he reminded himself to cool it. She was officially a suspect, even if he doubted she co
uld have killed anybody.

  Arik came out of the barn and nodded soberly, confirming their suspicions. It was Albert. Which really sucked because Albert was a good guy. He used to volunteer with the kids down at the youth center, playing basketball and tutoring. Albert might not have a permanent residence, but he was smart and the kids listened to him. They didn’t know he was basically homeless. They just knew that Albert listened to them, he helped them with their homework, and usually beat them at basketball.

  Arik got onto his radio and called it in, then they waited for the coroner to arrive.

  Chapter 2

  “You said he was hit on the head?” Sage asked, peering out the window at the barn.

  Jade fished another sweater out of the box and folded it. “Yeah. Poor guy.” She was feeling better now. Perhaps it was just because the dead man had been driven away in the coroner’s van or maybe it was the fact that her sister had rushed over. They’d been slowly unpacking boxes, getting Jade more organized.

  “I like this sweater,” Sage commented. “I think I might have to steal it.”

  Jade snorted. “Not a chance.” She swiped the sweater. “I stole it from you when I was helping you pack up your apartment. No way are you getting it back.” She tucked the olive green cashmere sweater into a drawer. “How did you get it from me in the first place?”

  Sage shrugged and pulled more clothes out of the box. “I must have stolen it at some point. Deal with it.” She put the stack of clothes into a drawer and started on the next box. “Who is the hottie?” Sage asked, pausing to stare out the window.

  Jade looked up, a fire in her eyes. “Back away from the window, sister-dearest.”

  Sage glanced over her shoulder. “Excuse me? I don’t remember you claiming anyone!”

  Jade didn’t have anything to say to that because…well, Sage was right. Jade hadn’t called “dibs” on Detective Grumpy. She hadn’t thought she needed to.

  “You can’t have him!” Jade said firmly.

  Sage shrugged. “I don’t want him. But that doesn’t mean you can have him.”

  Jade shifted, feeling those annoying, confusing feelings sweep her again. She moved on to the next box. “I don’t want him either. So, we’re agreed. We moved here to change our lives and dating was one of the things we were going to stop doing.”

  “You were going to stop. I never made that claim,” Sage asserted firmly. “Although, you might have a good point.”

  “Why are you giving up men?” a deep voice asked.

  Jade jumped and swung around. “I thought you were outside.”

  Detective Grumpy crossed his arms over his chest. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Her chin went up as she glared up at him. “You’re right. And you didn’t answer mine.”

  “You didn’t ask a question,” he countered.

  His sigh seemed to come from deep inside of his chest and Jade had to suppress a smile. When he looked back at her, she’d wiped the amusement from her face, pretending to be calm and reserved.

  “Why have you given up on men?” he repeated, growling through gritted teeth.

  Unfortunately, he chose a subject that wasn’t high on her list of entertaining conversational gambits. “I just have. New city. New world. New ideas. New life. Sans men.”

  Where had her sister gone? What in the world was that woman doing and how had she left the room so stealthily? She should be here, helping to counter this ridiculous and pointless attraction she felt for a man that…!

  “What’s your name?” she blurted out.

  His eyes narrowed. “You don’t know my name?” he snapped. “I’ve been here, with my partner, all day long and you don’t remember my name?”

  She shrugged and bent down to grab a stack of sweaters. “I’ve been calling you Detective Grumpy all day. So no, I don’t remember your name. If you don’t want to give it to me, that’s fine.” She disappeared into her bedroom and placed the sweaters in the second drawer from the top. She knew that he followed her because she could feel him behind her. It was almost as if he were an energy force and she could feel him vibrating the air around her.

  “You’ve mentally named me Detective Grumpy?” he repeated. Once again, his hands were braced on his hips, as if he were irritated. Or trying to intimidate her.

  She smiled sweetly at him over her shoulder. “Yes. Is that a problem?”

  He huffed, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah. It’s a problem. My name is Simon.”

  Jade’s temper rose, but she didn’t know why. Maybe it was just his tone, or perhaps it was the way he towered over her. Either way, she was going to poke the bear. “Fine. You’re Detective Simon. Detective, how much longer are you and your team going to be in my barn? I’d love to start organizing my work space.”

  “You’re going to work out in the barn?” he echoed, looking adorably confused.

  “Yes. Is that illegal?”

  “No. Not that I know of. But…don’t you work in an office? Like normal people?”

  “You don’t work in an office, do you, Detective?”

  “I do. I have an office and a desk and a computer. The works.”

  She tilted her head, considering that. “Huh! I would have thought you worked on…” her gaze skimmed over his muscles. “I don’t know. Maybe a ranch or…well, I guess I thought that detectives would be out …detecting.”

  The man closed his eyes, as if searching for a reserve of patience. “How about if you tell me about the movers who were here yesterday?

  “What about them?” she asked, taking out several pairs of jeans and stacking them in the bottom drawer of her dresser.

  “What’s the name of the moving company?”

  “The movers didn’t do whatever it is that happened to your Albert friend, Detective…uh…Simon.”

  Simon ran a hand over his features, trying to stop himself from throttling the woman. Or kissing her!

  Oh hell no! There was absolutely no kissing, he told himself firmly. Kissing would be very, very bad! Her lips…they were…perfect for kissing. But he wasn’t going to be kissing! No kissing!

  Her lips were the color of ripe raspberries. Would she taste like raspberries?

  It didn’t matter because he wasn’t going to find out. He was going to work on this case and get back to his normal life.

  “I don’t think that the movers had anything to do with Albert’s death, Jade. I just need to talk to them and find out if they saw anything. Or if they moved something that isn’t there now.”

  She opened another box, stared down into it, then slammed it shut. Instantly, Simon knew that the box was filled with lingerie. Did she wear sexy lingerie? Or romantic, pretty pieces? Or nothing at all?

  His gaze moved to her breasts. He could see the line of her bra and…hell, it was a really low cut bra. In fact, it seemed to be barely holding those magnificent breasts in.

  “Eyes up, Detective!” she ordered, then looked down at his hands. “What are you planning to do with that?”

  Simon pulled his eyes away from her breasts, looking back up at her beautiful, green eyes. He swallowed a chuckle when she made a disgusted sound. Yep, he’d been caught! But hell, he was a guy and…and she was hot!

  Once again, she gestured towards him and Simon looked down at his hands, only then remembering the new lock set that he’d run out and bought at the hardware store about an hour ago. He’d gone out to the store while Arik stayed behind and waited for the coroner, not liking the idea of Jade being out here alone without an adequate lock on her doors.

  “I’m going to install this new lock on your doors,” he explained.

  “You…are?” she asked. Her eyes looked back at him, wide and confused. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because you need a new lock?” he offered. “The lock easily pops open, Jade. Arik and I walked right in this morning because the lock doesn’t work.”

  Still stunned, her only reply was a simple, “Oh!” A moment later, she shook off he
r surprise. “You don’t have to waste your time installing the lock. And I’ll pay you for the hardware.” Jade was already halfway to the dresser where he suspected she’d left her purse.

  Simon’s curiosity, always on high alert, burned. He knew that his actions could be considered an invasion of her privacy but…he couldn’t seem to stop himself. With one finger – because one finger couldn’t possibly be considered intrusive – he pulled back the top flap. Sure enough, the box was filled with pretty, sexy things. Lacy things. Shiny, silky things. Enticing things!

  He lifted one piece out of the box with that same non-intrusive finger, discovering that it was a black silk teddy with lots of lace on the top. Lace that came down low and might reveal some wonderful details about those lovely breasts.

  His mouth watered at the thought. He glanced over at Jade who was bent slightly over as she sifted through the contents of her wallet, counting out cash.

  “How much was the lock?”

  Simon dropped the lingerie and closed the flap. Just in time too, because Jade turned, pushing her soft hair over her shoulder as she looked up into his eyes.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he replied, his voice husky.

  “But…I can’t let you buy me a lock, Detective.”

  “My name is Simon,” he reminded her, ignoring the outstretched hand holding the cash.

  She continued to stare up at him, almost as if his words didn’t make sense. Had no one ever helped her out? For anything?

  “Please,” she whispered, attempting to hand over the money again, “take the money. I really can’t let you do this.”

  He stepped closer. “It’s done. Where are your tools?”

  She licked her lips as she tilted her head further back. “Um…I have a tool box…somewhere. I haven’t unpacked it yet.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Why would you pack your tools? Didn’t you say that you drove across several states?”

  She shifted, but didn’t step back. Simon knew that she felt it too. He fought against the urge to pull her into his arms and feel her soft curves against his body. He remembered the way she’d felt earlier after discovering the body and knew that she’d be soft and perfect.