Stunned, Merry thought about the three brothers she'd spent time with today. Suddenly she saw Will, Tobias and Ben in a fascinating new light.
Especially Will, to be honest. She'd always known he was smart, but law school? That part was news to her. The fact that he'd left school to take care of his family gave her a new level of respect for him. Actually, it explained a lot. His sense of responsibility, his sternness, even his slow-mo-ness. He wasn't just a thorough deputy, he was a de facto parent.
"I wonder why no one at the paper ever mentioned any of this?"
"Because it's in the past," said Evie firmly. "The Knight brothers are back home, and everyone's happy to have them. It's great for the community. Not to mention all the single girls around. No one wants to stir up something that's going to hurt them. What's the point?"
"It's an unsolved murder right here in Jupiter Point" Merry pointed out. "That sounds pretty interesting to me."
Suzanne used her napkin to dab a drop of margarita from her upper lip. "Merry Warren, don't even think about digging up that story. You know how you're always complaining about Will, saying how slow he is and how he never gets back to you in time. You call him Deputy Slow-mo."
"Yes, so?" Merry shifted uncomfortably in the booth. She liked to vent her frustrations in the safe space of the Orbit, but Will had a lot of good qualities as well. When it came to his police work, he was the best—thorough, fair, highly respected. He was one of the good guys, and she knew how important that was. Also, he'd rescued her from that idiot who had shot her with a tranquilizer dart at Finn's place. And that wasn't even including his rock-hard thighs and a warm hand that felt perfect against the back of her neck.
"He won't talk to you at all, ever, if you mess around with that," Suzanne finished. "It's like the third rail of the Knight family. They don't talk about it."
"And neither does anyone else. They dealt with the trauma in their own way, and they deserve the space to do that," Evie said softly.
Merry sucked on her straw to avoid commenting. Silence might work for the rest of Jupiter Point. But she was a reporter. Curiosity was her superpower. Ignoring this story might be beyond her abilities.
"So back to our original question, how'd those boys turn out?" Brianna asked.
"If you like 'em big and good-looking, not too bad." Merry smiled at the others. "As it happens, that's not my jam. I'm more into the cerebral type."
"Cerebral?" Lisa Peretti slid into the booth next to Merry and they shared a quick hug. They'd become good friends earlier in the year, when Lisa had been hiding out in Jupiter Point to escape a criminal who was after her. They'd proclaimed themselves Team Cynic, until Lisa had fallen in love with Finn, another firefighter. "Are you talking about your online mystery man?"
"Ohh!" Suzanne clapped her hands with excitement. "No wonder you're immune to the Knight brothers. You have a mystery man? Do you know anything about him?"
Merry sighed. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned her adventures on Flirt to anyone.
"I have no idea who he is, but I think he's from somewhere near here. And he's amazing. He writes me poems. He's soulful, sensitive, and nothing like the men I usually meet."
"To be fair, the men you usually meet are often under investigation," Brianna pointed out. "Or the ones doing the investigating."
"Exactly, that's why I want someone completely different. You girls can keep your macho firemen with their washboard abs and so forth. I'll go for the sweet poet who makes me smile every time I open one of his messages."
The other four women exchanged amused looks. "It's not the abs we love, Merry," said Evie. "It's what's underneath all those muscles. The heart and soul."
"A man who stands by you," agreed Suzanne, her aquamarine eyes misty.
"Who always has your back," said Lisa. "Even when you think you don't need it."
"Who will literally save your life," threw in Brianna.
Merry had heard enough. This sentimental shit was so not her scene. She dug through her laptop bag for her wallet. "I don't need a man to save my life or take care of me or any of that. I take care of my own self. Nothing against men, but you can't rely on them. Men are good for two things—sex and a good laugh. And half the time, I'm laughing at them." She found her wallet and fished out a twenty.
Lisa stopped her before she could put the bill on the table. "Put your money away. This round's on me. I just got a job at the Urgent Care and I'm celebrating."
"Girl, congratulations!" Merry gave her a little side hug. "I feel safer already. See? Who needs a man? We ladies got this. We got the power. Just like my mama always said. We're strong, we're smart, we can handle our own business." She stashed the wallet back in her bag. "Me and my mystery poet, we're the perfect match. With a little vibrator action on the side."
She winked as everyone burst out laughing.
"Whatever works for you, Merry." Lisa squeezed her hand with a smile. "We just want you to be happy. So when are you going to meet this man?"
"Meet him!" Merry pulled a comical face. "That might ruin the whole thing."
"Oh come on, you must be curious. Are you telling me that Merry Warren, superstar reporter, doesn't have the teensiest, tiniest desire to meet him in person?"
Of course she did. Hadn't she just been thinking the same thing while driving to Knight and Day?
"I'm a little curious," she admitted. "Actually, I've been putting together the clues he's dropped."
Brianna bounced on the vinyl seat. "This is fun, like playing detective. What have you figured out?"
"I think he's a professor." Merry ticked off qualities on her fingers. "I think he's a single dad, I'm guessing a widower. He teaches something like law, or criminal justice, something like that. He writes poetry on the side, just for his own pleasure. He doesn't have much time to date because he's raising a child alone. And his secretary is named Cindy."
"That's impressive detective work," said Lisa. "How do you know about his secretary?"
"Once he sent a message to me that was meant for her. I think it was a cut and paste error." Merry grinned at her friends, who all looked appropriately impressed. "Have y'all forgotten I'm a reporter? This is what I do. I figure things out."
"Yeah, but you won't know if you're right until you actually meet him," Suzanne said. "And when you do, I'll take care of everything through Stars in Your Eyes. I'll create the best blind date you could ever imagine. It will be destiny in action. Ooh, this is going to be amazing!"
"If we meet," Merry reminded her. "Big if."
None of her friends looked convinced by that "if." Honestly, neither was Merry.
"Oh," said Evie suddenly. "I forgot to ask you about the new guy you were with this morning. Mrs. Murphy made me promise to ask, or she'd ban me from the bookstore. It doesn't mean you have to answer," she added quickly.
"He's, well…he's the new intern. And—" She broke off. It hadn't been terrible hanging out with Chase today. But she still wasn't ready to claim him as her brother. "He's new," she added weakly.
Evie took a sip of her drink, eyeing her with amusement. "A new intern who's new. My work for Mrs. Murphy is done."
7
I've been putting things together and I think I've figured out who you are. Will flexed his fingers in preparation for dropping his truth-bomb on AnonyMs. He only had a couple minutes before he had to leave for a re-interview of an arson witness. He aimed to wrap up all the interviews before Perez left for his honeymoon.
But he always had time for AnonyMs.
You're a novelist who writes mysteries. Someone like Sue Grafton. You're either divorced or you've never been married. You're cynical when it comes to the opposite sex so you've probably had some bad experiences. He flexed his hands again, debating his next statement. Once he broached the idea of meeting, it would be hard to back off. You live within driving distance of Jupiter Point. One more thing. You've been thinking about whether we should meet in person, but you're not sure if it's a good idea.
&
nbsp; He checked the time on the computer. He needed to hit the road.
I'm not sure either, but here's the thing. What doesn't move forward dies before it has a chance to live. I don't want this to wither away from lack of oxygen. If we don't meet, that's what might happen. I'm willing to take the risk. Are you?
He hovered his index finger over the "send" button. This was it. Once he let this message out into the ether, there would be no going back.
"Will, help us out here." Tobias's voice came from right behind his back.
Quickly he clicked on the other tab he had open—the front page of the Mercury News-Gazette. Merry's article had just come out. Its headline read, "Knight Flight to the Rescue," along with a shot of Tobias and Ben in their leather flight jackets, arms crossed over their chests, posing in front of the Cessna.
"Oh good, you already have it up. Did you read the article? She did a good job."
"Yeah, I read it. She made you guys sound like fucking heroes."
His favorite line read, "Both Tobias and Ben Knight have distinguished records of military service, but they each echoed the same sentiment. It was time to come home and serve the community in the best way they could."
"She mentioned you, too."
"Yes, I noticed that part. I quote: 'They join their oldest brother, well known to Jupiter Point as Deputy Will Knight, who says he's a silent partner in the new enterprise. In a perhaps unrelated side note, Knight and Day Flight Tours is promising a hundred percent on-time policy."
Tobias's laugh rumbled like a front-loader pouring gravel. He leaned his hip on the edge of Will's desk. He was such a huge dude, Will worried he might tip it over. "Nice dig. I like that girl."
"Yeah? Well, good luck with that."
He winced at how harsh that sounded. Merry could be aggravating, but he respected her. He admired her work ethic and her bright mind. And he was trying like hell to pretend he wasn't wildly attracted to her. That was another reason to meet AnonyMs as soon as possible. He needed a distraction.
"We want to send her something as a thank you for the article," Tobias said. "Maybe flowers. Any idea what kind she likes?"
"Tiger lilies," he said promptly.
Tobias lifted one black eyebrow. "You send her flowers a lot?"
With a start, Will realized he was thinking of AnonyMs. He had no idea what kind of flowers Merry liked. "Nah, that was just a bullshit answer off the top of my head. For Merry, I don't know. Something with thorns? Something that makes you break out in a rash?"
Tobias snorted. "Get your head out of your ass, bro. I like her. If I thought there was a chance she'd say yes, I'd ask her out."
The idea got under Will's skin in a major way. Tobias and Merry—nah, he couldn't see that working out at all. Tobias liked biker chicks and tattoo models and strippers. And Merry liked…anyone but Will, probably.
"I wouldn't bother," he said, trying not to let his discomfort show. "Merry keeps her personal life very private. I've never heard of her going out with anyone. She's very focused on her career."
Tobias's dark eyes, a blue so deep it looked black, scanned him closely. "Any reason I shouldn't try?" He tucked his thumbs in his pockets with the swagger of a man who never left a bar without someone's phone number.
Will gritted his teeth. He didn't have a legitimate reason to tell Tobias to stay away from Merry. But he couldn't keep his mouth shut either. "This is a small town, dude. People respect Merry. She has a lot of friends here. A lot of them are married or engaged to firefighters. In other words, watch yourself."
"You know, all you have to say is that you want her for yourself. You don't have to make up a bunch of reasons."
"Excuse me?"
"Like I'm afraid of some firefighters. Come on." Tobias smirked at him. I've kicked ass on five continents, said that cocky grin. "Man up. Admit you're interested."
"You have her number. Go ahead, call her. Just don't blame me if she laughs in your face. Now get out of here. I have to finish up some work."
God, would he ever leave? Will burned with impatience to get back to his unfinished message to AnonyMs. Tobias pushed himself away from the desk.
"We'll go with the tiger lilies," he said over his shoulder as he left.
Will barely heard him. As soon as Tobias was out of the room, he clicked over to the Flirt tab and reread his message. Oh man. He was really putting it out there.
If she said no, things would be different. If she said yes, things would be different.
Fuck it. He hit the red "send" icon and watched his message evaporate from the screen.
Will struck gold with the re-interview. One of the witnesses was a teenager who'd been camping with his family. During the first interview, he hadn't said much. But this time, Will interviewed him where he worked, at one of the loading docks on the waterfront. Away from his family, the kid talked much more. He remembered jogging past a man wearing a t-shirt from a private local gym called Heavenly Hardbodies. Finally, a break.
Afterwards, driving through the waterfront, Will spotted the borderline offensive sign for the Rootin' Rooster. The one time he'd come out here to investigate a drunk and disorderly call, he'd noticed that the burgers didn't look half bad. And he was hungry.
It was a forty-five-minute drive back home—might as well get some food in his stomach first. He swung into the gravel lot, which was filled with pickup trucks, Harleys and an RV. Good thing he wasn't wearing his uniform. Maybe no one here would recognize him or give him any trouble. He fished a cowboy hat from his backseat. Maybe it would disguise him enough to avoid any recognition from anyone he might have arrested at some point.
Inside the Rootin' Rooster, Toby Keith was blasting so loudly you would almost think the bar was a happening place—until you noticed the half-dead demeanor of the clientele. Mostly men slouched at the tables, fondling their shot glasses and eyeing the waitresses.
The last time Will had been here, he hadn't paid attention to the waitstaff. He definitely hadn't noticed their uniforms. Every server—they were all attractive women—wore a strange kind of outfit with feathers sprouting from the back of their waistband.
Good Lord. The burgers better be good. He felt dirty just walking into the place.
He grabbed a chair at an empty table and sank into it. He rested his arm on the table, wincing at the sensation of old beer sticking to the fabric of his shirt. Screw this—what were the chances the hamburgers were any good when they couldn't even clean off the tables? It offended his love of cleanliness and order.
He was trying to peel his sleeve off the table so he could leave when someone stuck a menu in front of him.
"That's okay, I changed my mind," he muttered as he finally freed his shirt.
"Really? Is something in here not as advertised?"
That voice sounded familiar. He finally pried his shirt away from the sticky mess on the table and looked up at the waitress.
Sparkling, mocking brown eyes, smooth amber skin, full lips curved into a merry smile, full breasts cupped in the ridiculous chicken costume all the waitresses wore.
Holy rootin' rooster. "Merry?"
Oh, for God's sake. Will Knight? Seriously? The only non-heinous man to walk into this place in the last two hours, the man hiding underneath a cowboy hat, rocking an ass-hugging pair of jeans and a damn fine leather jacket, that man had to be Will Knight?
"Of all the sleazy bars in all of Jupiter Point, you had to walk into mine," Merry said dryly. "But it looks like you're walking right out again, so don't let me stop you."
"I changed my mind. I'll have a Roosterburger and fries."
She scrunched up her face. "Try again."
He picked up the menu and squinted at it. He'd taken off the cowboy hat but stashed it on his lap. He probably didn't want it touching the disgusting table. She'd tried to wipe it off but really, the job required some degreaser and a chisel. "Roosterburger and coleslaw?"
"Better. The oil in the fryolator hasn't been changed in a decade, apparently.
There's always a chance of e coli from the salad though. Consider yourself warned." She started to leave but he snagged her wrist.
"Hang on a rootin'-tootin' second. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, that's funny. Rootin'-tootin'. Very quick with the mockery there, aren't you? I'm working and I just took an order. Wouldn't want to keep our high-class customers waiting." She made a face at him and tried to leave, but still he kept ahold of her wrist.
"You have a job. A pretty demanding one, last I checked. Seriously, what are you doing here?"
"Is there some kind of legal problem with me working two jobs? Because otherwise, I'm really not seeing how this is any of your business."
He was watching her closely, those deep gray eyes penetrating right to her soul. Something fluttered in her lower belly, the kind of sensation that always meant trouble. Sexual excitement. Lust. AKA catastrophe.
"This isn't the kind of place I'd ever picture you working. For sure, I never thought I'd see you wearing something like that." His gaze skimmed briefly across her rooster uniform. All of a sudden, she was much more aware of the way the rooster bustier left the upper curves of her breasts bare. "If you need extra money, we can always use part-time help at the department. I could put a good word in for you."
Pride stiffened her spine. "I don't need your charity," she snapped. "I love this job. The tips are fantastic and I get to meet so many fascinating people. I'd work here for free, just for kicks."
His eyes narrowed, making the gray of his irises stand out in the low illumination. "I don't believe a single word you're saying. I know you, Merry. You're the last person who wants to prance around in a corset and tail feathers. This is for a story, isn't it?"
She quickly reviewed her options. Should she tell Will that she was chasing a story here? She still had one training shift to go before she was off probation. If the manager—or the big boss—knew she was chatting up a cop, she'd be out on her ass. Her best chance to follow up on this lead would evaporate.
Hot Pursuit Page 6
