Harlequin Intrigue March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Nichole Severn

  Once he’d been served, she continued to wait on the patrons that continued to trickle in, but in the back of her mind she thought about the date with Hunter that would occur in two days.

  She’d never really considered what life might look like if they ever managed to settle in somewhere. Working at the café she’d met a lot of the Dusty Gulch natives, and for the most part she’d enjoyed her interaction with all of them.

  However, she’d never thought ahead enough to see herself in a position to make real friends or to date anyone. And now a handsome deputy had asked her out.

  Of all the people she could choose to hang out with, anyone in law enforcement would be the last she would pick. If she didn’t play things right, he could be very dangerous to her.

  Still, she couldn’t help that something about Hunter Churchill drew her. Besides the fact that she found him drop-dead gorgeous, there was something in the very depths of his green eyes that pulled her in, that made her want to get to know him better.

  It was a whisper of pain and Ainsley knew all about pain...both the physical and the emotional kind. It was that pain that had forced her to make decisions she’d never dreamed she would have to make.

  As she thought about her date with Hunter, there was both an excitement and a sadness inside her. She was excited to spend time with him and get to know him better. And the sadness came from knowing she was going to lie to him about who she was and where she’d come from.

  The faint stir of misery came from the fact that everything about her was a complete lie, from the color of her hair to her very name.

  * * *

  HUNTER LEANED BACK at his desk in the Dusty Gulch police station. There were only five large desks in the room, shared by a total of fourteen deputies. Sheriff Wayne Black’s private office was behind a closed glass door just in back of the five deputies’ desks.

  Lanie Byrant was the first person anyone interacted with when they came into the station. She was a charming brunette with sparkling blue eyes and met everyone who came in with a problem with dignity and respect. She was also the gatekeeper between the public and the officers.

  Although Hunter found the twenty-three-year-old attractive, he’d never had a romantic interest in her. Instead she was more like a little sister to him.

  That was the sum of the Dusty Gulch police force, and over the past two months they had been stretched thin with the murder of an old man while he slept and the sensational story of terror and attempted murder among the powerful and wealthy Albright family.

  Thankfully things were back to normal with the usual crimes of speeding, stealing, mischief and public intoxication. It was as if the winds of September had blown away the evil that had possessed some of the town people in the month of August.

  Hunter looked up from a report he’d been writing as the door opened and Deputy Nick Marshall walked in. “Hey, buddy,” he greeted as he sat at the desk across from Hunter. “What’s happening?”

  Nick and Hunter were the only two single men on the force. They had grown up together on neighboring farms. Nick was thirty four years old, two years older than Hunter and one of his closest friends.

  “I’m just finishing writing up a report about Ben Wilkins being drunk and disorderly last night in front of the grocery store,” Hunter said.

  “I thought he’d moved to Makenville,” Nick replied, referring to a small town about twenty miles away from Dusty Gulch.

  “Yeah, well he’s back. He’s living in the motel and supposedly looking for a job.”

  Nick shook his head. “With his reputation for drinking, he’s going to have trouble finding any work.”

  Hunter leaned forward. “So, ask me what else is new.”

  “What else is new?”

  “This Thursday I have a date with Ainsley.” Hunter couldn’t help but smile.

  “Ah, you lucky dog,” Nick replied. “I was thinking about asking her out, but I had the distinct feeling if I did she’d turn me down.”

  Hunter’s smile fell as he looked at his friend. “Ah man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were even interested in her.”

  Nick laughed. “A new gorgeous single woman moves to town? I imagine every single man in Dusty Gulch is interested, but she said yes to you. I hope you aren’t planning on taking her to the café.”

  It was Hunter’s turn to laugh. “I doubt she’d be happy with me if I took her to the place where she works all the time. Actually, I’m taking her to the Red Wok.”

  “Seriously man, I hope it goes well.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  The two men visited for a few minutes longer, and then Nick left to go back out on the streets and Hunter finished up writing his report.

  The rest of the workday passed peacefully, and finally Hunter was on his way home. Home was a three-bedroom ranch house he’d bought eight years ago. At that time he’d had his dream job and a beautiful wife. He’d been filled with happiness, and the future had looked so bright.

  Those dreams had all shattered four years ago, leaving Hunter alone and with so many emotions to sort through. He’d been grieving and had become bitter and had isolated himself from everyone and everything.

  A year ago he’d suddenly awakened to the fact that he was still young, that it wasn’t too late to achieve the dreams he’d once had.

  Ainsley was the first woman who had stirred something inside him, something that had been dormant for a very long time. Was she the right woman for him? He had no idea. Right now he just wanted to get to know her.

  Physically he found her very attractive with her long black hair and beautiful blue eyes. More than that, her smile warmed him in a way he hadn’t felt with any other woman in town. Maybe it was because her smile seemed so open and her eyes shone with honesty.

  He didn’t know much about her. Her full name was Ainsley Meadows and she had a young daughter, but there had been no gossip about her to tell him anything else.

  He wasn’t expecting much of the date. It would be nice to find out if there could be something between them, something good and long-term. He was ready for that in his life. Of course, there was also the chance that the date could be a total bust and they would quickly realize they weren’t right for each other.

  He walked into his living room and was greeted by his black miniature schnauzer, Zeus. The little dog danced at his feet and then ran to the black recliner where Hunter usually sat and petted him.

  “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Hunter laughed and sat. Zeus jumped up in his lap, and Hunter stroked down the dog’s back. Zeus seemed to smile with utter happiness.

  He remained there only a few minutes and then got up and opened the back door that led into the fenced backyard. Zeus darted outside.

  About a year ago when his loneliness had become too heavy to bear, he’d found Zeus at the local shelter. At that time Zeus was only three months old and had been abandoned by a transient couple when they’d passed through town.

  The dog had certainly brought Hunter a lot of joy, but there was still a core of loneliness inside him that yearned for somebody who could talk to him, somebody who might share his hopes and dreams.

  Even though he knew it wasn’t a good idea, he walked down the hallway and opened the door to the smallest bedroom. This room had once held a little boy’s laughter and a toy box full of dreams.

  It now held nothing except a photo on the wall, a crib and a teddy bear in a rocking chair to indicate that a little boy had lived two years of his life in the room.

  Danny. His heart squeezed tight as he thought of that little boy...his son, who had died of childhood leukemia four years ago.

  Hunter picked up the teddy bear and sank down in the rocking chair as memories of Danny took away all other thoughts. He’d handled his wife’s betrayals and gotten past them. But this...this absence of the child he’d loved so much was another animal alt
ogether. There were moments when it clawed at him, when it stabbed at his heart with a real, physical pain.

  He’d grieved the loss of Danny all alone. His wife, Emily, had left him, but not before delivering one final devastation as she’d walked out of his life.

  He raised the teddy bear to his nose and took a deep breath, imagining that he could still smell Danny’s little-boy scent on the furry animal.

  He remained that way for several long minutes and then finally stood and placed the teddy bear back in the chair. Before he left the room, he stared at the framed photo on the wall.

  Danny had been a happy child, and the photo depicted a year-old Danny with Hunter. They were both laughing. Even though the disease had ravaged him, the little boy had remained a happy child who never complained.

  And it was that particular spirit of Danny that Hunter now embraced. Danny would have wanted his daddy to be happy. As he left the room and closed the door behind him, he tucked his grief away, not to be entertained again until the next time he went into that bedroom.

  He returned to the back door, where Zeus was waiting to come back inside. “Come on, boy.” He opened the door, and Zeus greeted him all over again as if he hadn’t seen Hunter a few minutes earlier.

  Zeus had been Hunter’s first step in reaching out for happiness once again. Now he was looking for more. He wanted to fall in love again, to get married and have children.

  He just wanted to find an open and honest woman to share his dreams of home and family, and he was hoping that’s what he would find with the new woman in town. He was desperately hoping Ainsley Meadows could be the new forever love in his life.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Ainsley’s nerves sizzled in her veins as she stood in the bathroom and spritzed on her favorite perfume. In fifteen minutes Hunter should show up for their date.

  The Red Wok wasn’t a dress-up kind of place, so she had on a pair of black skinny jeans and a long pink blouse that hugged her in all the right places.

  Melinda had been picked up a few minutes before by Juanita Burwell, Big Ed’s wife. The couple had five children, including an eight-year-old named Bonnie whom Melinda considered her very best friend in the whole world. Juanita had made it clear to Ainsley that Melinda was welcome in their house anytime. It was only one more thing that made Ainsley desperate to make this place her permanent home.

  She left the bathroom and went into the small living room to await Hunter’s arrival. Although she was excited about the night to come, in the past two days she’d changed her mind a dozen times about going out with him.

  One part of her thought it was foolish to start a relationship when she didn’t know if or when she might have to pick up and run. And then she reminded herself that it was just a simple meal out and nothing more.

  It was exactly five o’clock when a knock fell on the door. A new burst of nerves shot through her as she answered. “Hi,” Hunter greeted her.

  For a brief moment she was speechless. Any time she’d ever seen him before, he had been in his khaki uniform. Now jeans hugged his long legs and a black polo shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and emphasized his slim waist and hips. He looked so handsome he nearly took her breath away.

  His smile faltered slightly. “Ainsley, are you ready to go?”

  “Yes...yes, I’m ready,” she quickly answered. “Just let me grab my purse.” Gosh, he probably thought there was something wrong with her when all she’d been doing was taking a brief moment to enjoy the view.

  She grabbed her purse from the sofa and then went back to the door. “Now I’m ready.” She closed and locked the door behind her.

  His off-duty vehicle was a king-cab pickup truck. The inside was pristine clean and smelled of leather and the faint scent of his cologne.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked once they were on their way.

  “Definitely,” she replied. “What about you?” Now that she was alone with him, she felt unaccountably shy.

  He flashed her a quick smile. “I can always eat. So, how did you spend your day off?”

  “The first thing I did was slept later than usual. It’s always a luxury when I don’t have to open the café at six in the morning.”

  “What else did you do?”

  “Mostly fairly boring things, like laundry and cleaning.” She released a small laugh. “If you’re looking for me to tell you something exciting I did today, you’re out of luck.”

  Once again he shot her one of his smiles. “Boring isn’t all bad.”

  “What about you? How was your day?” she asked.

  “Fairly boring,” he replied, and they both laughed.

  By that time they had arrived at the Red Wok. The restaurant had a cozy feel, and a pretty young waitress led them to a table for two. The air was redolent with the scents of exotic spices and simmering chicken and beef.

  They were each given a menu and drink orders were taken and then the waitress left them. “One of my favorites is crab Rangoon,” Hunter said. With the dim light in the restaurant and a candle flickering on the table, his eyes glowed with what appeared to be a preternatural light.

  “I love them, too,” Ainsley replied. “Anything deep-fried and filled with cream cheese is a winner in my book.”

  “So, besides a couple orders of crab Rangoon, what sounds good to you?”

  She closed the menu and set it on the table. “I’m in the mood for sweet-and-sour chicken.”

  “Hmm, that sounds good, but I’m partial to General Tso’s chicken. How about we make these specials so we get the soup and the appetizers with the meal?”

  “That’s fine with me.”

  The waitress served their drinks, took their orders and then left them alone once again. She returned a moment later with their soup.

  Ainsley began to relax as they ate the soup and talked about favorite foods and cooking skills.

  “I have to confess, my favorite kind of cooking mostly involves a microwave,” he said. “But I do some pretty good work on my grill.”

  She laughed. “So, for the most part you’re a zap-it kind of guy.”

  “For the most part, but I’ll bet you’re a good cook.”

  “I’m not a world-renowned chef, but I can hold my own,” she replied. “Although I have to admit it’s very easy to step out of the apartment and eat meals in the café. Big Ed lets me and my daughter eat for free, but the best part of that arrangement is there are never any dishes to clean up afterward.”

  “You cook but don’t like to clean up dishes afterward, and I wouldn’t mind doing dishes but don’t really enjoy cooking. It sounds like we’re a match made in heaven.” He smiled at her, that devastating smile that half took her breath away.

  Thankfully, at that moment the waitress appeared to serve their entrées and their orders of the crab Rangoon. “Tell me all about Ainsley Meadows,” he said when the waitress had left.

  “What do you want to know?” she asked. She picked up a piece of red pepper and popped it into her mouth. Now was the time she had to be on guard.

  “Dusty Gulch isn’t really a destination for anyone in the world, so what brought you here?”

  “A flat tire,” she replied with a small laugh. “After my divorce three years ago, I wanted a change of scenery, so my daughter and I were on a road trip to find a new place to live. As we were driving through Dusty Gulch I got a flat tire, and Mike, down at the garage, had to order a new tire, so we had to wait here for a couple of days. In those couple of days I realized this might be a nice place to live, and so here we are.”

  “Thank God for flat tires,” he replied with a smile. “Where were you coming from originally?”

  Let the lies begin, she thought with a touch of sadness. “A small town in Nevada.” In truth she was from Portland, Maine.

  “And your ex-husband was okay with you just taking off with his chil
d?”

  “He was an extremely uninvolved father and didn’t really care where we went. I don’t even know where he is now.” Lie number two.

  She shoved away any thoughts of her ex-husband, Peter, that tried to enter her mind. If she got caught up with thoughts of him, this night, this time with Hunter would be completely ruined.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I would give anything to be a husband and a father again,” he replied.

  She looked at him curiously. “Again? So you were married and have children?”

  “No children, but I was married for about four years. But we divorced a little over four years ago.” He took a bite of his dinner and then asked, “Do you want more children?”

  She laughed. “To be honest I haven’t given it much thought.” She frowned. “If I found the right man and was married, I would maybe consider having more children. It would depend.”

  “Okay, now that those questions are out of the way, why don’t you tell me what kinds of programs you like on television?”

  The conversation grew less personal as they enjoyed the meal and talked about television and movies and music. It was a light, easy conversation that once again put her at ease.

  She hoped Hunter didn’t ask her any more questions that would require more lies. She liked him, and lying to him felt all wrong. But she couldn’t tell him the truth—she couldn’t tell anyone the truth about her past and the things she had done to survive.

  If he knew the truth about her, Hunter would have to arrest her for breaking dozens of laws. But that wasn’t the worst that would happen. She fought the shiver that threatened to race up her spine as she thought of the consequences of getting found by the man she had once married with such hopes of being loved for the rest of her life.

  “Would you like something for dessert?” he asked.

  “Goodness no, I’m absolutely stuffed.” She wished she wanted dessert to prolong their time together.