Her Husband’s Partner

by Jeanie London

  Then again, Scott hadn’t actually bargained on spending so much time with Riley. He didn’t blame her. The situation had just been throwing them together. And one thing was for sure—talking to her from up the Eastern seaboard hadn’t exactly tested him the way watching her walk down to the barn, carrying a pitcher of iced tea for the crew, the sun glinting off her hair did.

  He’d never actually had to stand around and see a half-dozen kids vie for her attention. They’d been charmed by Riley, by her goodness—who wasn’t? And these kids were nothing if not savvy about spotting the sun through cracks under the doors.

  How had Mike handled it?

  That didn’t take too much thought. Mike had been secure in Riley’s love. He’d never minded men ogling his wife, in fact, he’d been amused by it. Proud, too, Scott thought. He would have been if he’d been a family kind of man.

  That reminder helped steel his resolve, helped keep him focused on the job at hand. Leaving the cool recesses of the barn, where he’d been returning some tools, he took stock of where each member of the crew was with the work.

  Cakes was almost done bundling the shrub and tree limbs to stack beside the road for the trash pickup.

  Mateo and Do-Wap were still on their knees weeding in the back bed. Wouldn’t be much longer and all this work wouldn’t make a difference. The weeds would soon be dead, along with the flowers they’d planted at the start of summer.

  General E. was driving the lawn mower. Week after week his age and experience gave him his pick of jobs. The one he chose usually involved being in the driver’s seat of the riding mower.

  “Hey, Scott,” Joe’s familiar voice called out.

  Scott shielded his gaze and turned into the sun. Joe was coming down the slope from the house.

  “How are you holding up?” Joe asked. “Tired of farm life yet?”

  “What’s to get tired of when all the kids do the work?”

  Joe laughed, his gaze darting around to see the kids attending to their various tasks, taking casual notice of this newcomer. “Sounds like a plan. Maybe I should get them over to my place.”

  Scott nodded. “You bring the kids from school?”

  “Yeah. Figured it would be easier than making you pack things up here. Riley didn’t think you’d want her to go alone.”

  Scott didn’t reply, although Riley had been right. He would have left the kids here alone before allowing her to go off anywhere without him.

  “Listen, Scott. I really appreciate all you’re doing. Rosie and I both do. But talk to me. How worried should we be?”

  “Don’t worry—”

  “Cut me a break.” He frowned. “When Riley agreed to let us take the kids, we knew there was trouble. How much?”

  In Scott’s opinion, there were only two kinds of fathers—the ones who cared about their kids and the ones who kids were better off without. Joe was one of the good ones.

  “I’m trying to figure out why someone would want her equipment,” Scott said. “Some story she’s covered. Some evidence she’s come across. I haven’t found anything solid to point me in a specific direction. Kevin’s running a few leads. Hopefully something will turn up.”

  “What about what happened in Hazard Creek?”

  “Looks random as far as I can tell. Like she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “She was the only press there. You don’t think that’s suspicious?”

  Joe was just trying to help. He’d already lost his son. He didn’t want to lose a daughter-in-law he loved, too.

  “It’s suspicious, no question,” Scott admitted. “But I don’t have anything to tie it to the other incidents. If someone wanted to hurt her, they wouldn’t go from trying to run her down to breaking into her house and car. And I could think of much better places to go after her than in front of the DEA and the whole Hazard Creek PD.”

  Joe snorted. “Got a point there.”

  “We’ll figure it out. Most likely she came across something while researching one of her stories that someone doesn’t want to get out. If that’s the case, it’ll just take time to make the connections.” He tried to look reassuring. “You know the PPD. We’ll be on red alert until we get this sorted out.”

  “I know you will. My son was fortunate in his friends.”

  “Your son was a good friend.”

  Joe just inclined his head, letting the words linger.

  “Taking the kids away this weekend is a big help,” Scott said. “Riley’s really worried about them, even though she’s not saying as much. I wish she’d go with you. A break would probably do her good, but she’s determined to be here while I go through her work files until I find something solid.”

  “And you will.” Joe rocked back on his heels to meet Scott’s gaze. “She couldn’t be in better hands. Both Rosie and I feel that way. We appreciate everything you’ve done since Mike passed. Don’t you forget that.”

  Scott felt uncomfortable with such a blatant vote of confidence. Joe was a good one definitely.

  “You got my cell number. Call if you need anything. I mean it, Scott, anything at all.”

  “I will, but don’t worry. And don’t let Rosie worry, either. Have a good weekend.”

  “We will. Lily Susan’s excited about seeing the kids. She’s been making plans all day. Lots to do in the city for young people.”

  Didn’t take much to envision visits to parks and toy stores and Broadway shows. A real family that enjoyed being together. Scott knew what a family should be like, even if he hadn’t lived the reality himself; he’d seen it up close with the Angelicas.

  Joe clamped a hand on Scott’s back. “I’m out of here, then. Good luck.”

  “I’ll come say goodbye to Rosie.” Scott walked with him back to the house, found everyone all packed with the bags waiting on the front porch.

  “Didn’t want to put the kids’ stuff in the car until you got here,” Rosie said with a twinkle in her eyes. “Figured you’d want everything in a special way.”

  “Of course.” Joe glanced at the two duffel bags sitting side by side, identical except for the colors—one blue, the other pink. “Jeez, Riley. Look at the size of these. They’re only going away for two nights. What do you have in here?”

  Riley seemed ready. “Only the essentials. I promise.”

  “Grandpa, we have to take Franny,” Camille explained.

  “And Gentle Ben,” Jake added. “And my special pillow.”

  “Important stuff, Joe.” Scott reached for the duffel bags and hoisted them over his shoulder. “And not nearly as heavy as they look. The kids could even carry them.”

  Riley cast him a grateful glance before she said, “They should be carrying their bags.”

  Both kids only laughed and cut off Scott as they ran out the door. Scott followed, not minding his turn as pack mule for the few short steps to Joe’s Cadillac. As Rosie predicted, he made a production of stowing everything in the trunk.

  But Scott was more interested in watching Riley in his periphery, the way she’d knelt down in front of the kids and talked to each of them in hushed tones.

  He strained to hear and, with effort, could make out her whispering voice. Telling them what to do if they wanted to talk to her, reminding them how they should behave, promising that she wasn’t so far away if they needed her.

  She couldn’t seem to keep her hands off them. Adjusting Jake’s belt. Brushing strands of hair from Camille’s neck. Finally taking their hands in hers, a routine they’d all obviously played time and time again.

  Then she was kissing and hugging them and telling them how much she loved them before letting them loose. They raced to the car as if they’d been fired from a gun.

  “Have fun, you guys,” she said while Joe held the door for Rosie. “Stay in touch and kiss Aunt Lily Susan for me.”

  Joe rolled the windows down and reached for Riley’s hand. “Don’t you worry. We’ll take good care of them.”

  “I know.” Riley squeezed
his hand. “Have a great time.”

  Then she let go and stepped back from the car, blowing kisses to the kids, both of whom had stuck their arms out the windows on either side as if trying to make the car fly.

  “Bye, Mommy. Love you, Mom,” came the excited voices as the car pulled out of the driveway.

  Even Scott gave a wave, smiling as the Cadillac took off with a gleam of red taillights. That was until he heard a strange gulp of breath and glanced at Riley. She stood beside him, still waving, her smile collapsing.

  “Riley?”

  She wouldn’t look at him, just waved him off.

  “Riley, they’ll be fine.”

  She nodded, but didn’t say a word as she visibly fought to control her expression.

  Scott knew she trusted Rosie and Joe to care for the kids. Was this some sort of mom thing? Could she miss them already? Or was this about all the pressure that had been on her lately, all the responsibilities of parenting alone and going back to work and facing the past and outrunning drug dealers on foot and break-ins at the house and in the car and her equipment stolen…

  “Riley.” He reached for her like he had only days before, without thought, just wanting to take away her pain.

  The instant she was in his arms, Scott knew that touching Riley was playing with fire. She melted against him with a breathy sigh and pressed her cheek to his chest. He could feel her shudder, feel every curve of her slim body as if she was some missing piece of him.

  He had no business feeling this way, imagined Mike up there somewhere, that place his grandmother claimed existed when he’d been a kid, the place where his mother watched over him, always loving him, no matter how shitty life got. And it had gotten really shitty after his grandmother had died and he’d gone to live with the old man. Scott had always kept that thought close. But in this moment, with Riley in his arms, he hoped his grandmother had been wrong. He didn’t want Mike to look down and see his friend taking advantage of his wife’s need.

  Because that’s what he was doing.

  He didn’t let her go. He only held her close, a man without the will to resist temptation, a man who savored this time, knowing he’d never get another chance.

  He couldn’t stop from running his hands over her hair, down her back—simple, forbidden touches. He’d never felt this way, wouldn’t have allowed himself to feel this way if he could help it. But he couldn’t. Need left him helpless. He just wanted to hold her close. To soothe away her pain. Riley didn’t stop him, though he wished with every shred of reason he had left that she would.

  And still he couldn’t let her go.

  He stood with his cheek pressed to the top of her head, the breath trapped in his chest as he fought his desire to keep touching her.

  RILEY STOOD IN THE DRIVEWAY long after the kids, Rosie and Joe had driven away, surrounded by Scott’s strong arms. His hard body blocked the fall breeze as the sun began its late-afternoon descent.

  She should move. She should say something, do something, anything to end a silence filled with a desire that she could no longer deny.

  She could hear his steady heartbeat throbbing beneath her cheek, feel the softness of his T-shirt and the warm strength of the man beneath it. With every breath, she inhaled the smell of him, musky and almost overpowering, the smell of a man who’d been doing yard work all afternoon. It was a new smell, Scott’s smell, not unpleasant.

  His body was hard with the muscular strength of an active man, a man whose arms held her so close her breasts pressed against him, her stomach lightly grazed his, their thighs brushed together. She could feel everywhere they touched as if a current ran between them.

  What was this? She only knew what this wasn’t—the grateful reaction to the comfort of a friend. This was something so completely different, something so unexpected that she simply stood there unmoving. Something so much more.

  This was a feeling she hadn’t felt in so long…a feeling she’d never expected to feel again. Not since Mike, the man she’d loved with her heart and soul.

  Arousal.

  For Scott.

  Every nerve ending in her body tingled, and she could only tighten her grip around his waist, an instinctive move to feed the pleasure. He shuddered, a full-bodied motion as he anchored her even closer, one big hand trapped in her hair, the other securing her around the shoulders, molding their bodies together intimately.

  Bringing their bodies to life in an unexpected way.

  His breath came in a ragged burst. Riley’s caught in her throat, a sigh of surprised pleasure, an exhalation of profound relief to rediscover such a forgotten part of her.

  A sound that echoed between them.

  And jolted Scott from the moment. His entire body went rigid, and he sprang away as if he’d been detonated, leaving her staring up at him in surprise.

  She felt trapped beneath his dark gaze, every tingle that shouldn’t be happening, every raw breath that lifted her chest and drew attention to breasts that felt full, showcased beneath eyes that saw everything.

  “Riley—” The voice broke from his lips, a plea.

  Still, she could only stare, overcome by the need pouring through her. She tried to make sense of what was happening, of what she felt…of Scott’s broken expression. Then, in the wake of the need, came panic.

  She hadn’t misread his reaction to her, but what if he hadn’t wanted to react? What if he’d only wanted to comfort her?

  “I’m not normally such a wimp.” The words erupted from her, a desperate bid to fill the silence to distract them from what had just happened.

  “I don’t think you’re a wimp.” His reply sounded just as raw, just as grateful.

  “I can’t imagine why. I’ve been totally acting like one.”

  “We could argue that I smell like a goat. I’ve been outside all day working on the yard.”

  She laughed stupidly. “I honestly didn’t notice. Shows you how far gone I was.”

  It was the most stupid exchange ever between a man and a woman in the history of mankind. There was no question at all about whether he was as sideswiped as she. Not when they kept staring at each other like deer caught in headlights, nonsense pouring from their mouths.

  Scott came to his senses first. “I need to check on the crew.”

  “I’ve got to start dinner. The least I can do is feed you.” But she was staring at his broad back before the words were all out of her mouth because he took off so fast, long strides chewing up the ground and putting distance between them.

  The instant she could no longer see him around the side of the house, Riley waved her hands in front of her as if she might shake off the crushing wave of embarrassment. She headed straight for the house to get as far away from the scene of her humiliation as possible.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THE PHONE IN JASON’S POCKET vibrated. Not his personal cell phone, but the untraceable one that Agent Asshole had provided to tell Jason when to jump. He flipped it open by the fourth ring to find out how high.

  “Yeah.”

  “Got details for you.” The harsh voice shot over the line. “Going to need a few more men for protective detail. You can handle that.”

  Jason stared at the highway unwinding in front of him, faded yellow lines anchoring him to the reality of his world. He willed himself to reply normally, when he felt anything but normal. “When?”

  “Tomorrow night. Late.”

  “No problem.”

  Agent Asshole didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. Jason knew he’d expected no other answer, not when Mannis had already bought and paid for services rendered.

  “Where?” Jason asked, impressed by how businesslike he sounded when his stomach roiled violently. His pulse pounded so hard behind his ears he had to strain to hear the details of this all-important drop.

  Agent Asshole relayed the coordinates of a private airfield in the northern part of Jason’s jurisdiction, an airfield where the high profiles who did business and vacationed in the area were
afforded the sort of privacy they needed to come and go without fanfare. They paid for that privilege.

  The fact that this DEA team gone bad was shelling out the price for this added protection confirmed what Jason had suspected all along.

  This drug shipment wasn’t coming through the same channels as the others. This must be coming straight out of Mexico from one of the more well-known cartels. This posh private airstrip would be the perfect place to enter the area unobtrusively, a place where they’d be able to unload the drugs then disperse them in every direction—upstate, into the city, local stash houses and into the prison system if the information on that CD was correct. If Jason had had any doubt before, he didn’t now. Agent Asshole was uptight. That’s why he sent the DVD to Jason’s house and stepped in to deal with Riley. He’d known he needed extra protection, and wanted to make sure he’d taken care of any wild cards and had Jason well under his thumb.

  Jason hadn’t thought Barry Mannis possessed any conscience and found it somewhat reassuring to know the man did care about something—if only his three-quarters of a million-dollar shipment and his reputation with the bad guys.

  “You got that?” Agent Asshole asked.

  “No problem.”

  “Keep me informed. This needs to go off nice and neat. Trust me, you won’t be sorry.”

  But he was. About this whole mess. “Got it.”

  The line disconnected.

  Jason flipped the phone shut and tossed it onto the passenger seat as he passed a sign marking an approaching Poughkeepsie exit.

  He wanted to know what Agent Asshole planned to do about Riley, but he hadn’t asked, hadn’t wanted to give the guy one whiff of suspicion that would cause him to question Jason’s loyalty when he probably wouldn’t get a straight answer anyway. But Jason knew that with the drop scheduled to go down tomorrow night, Agent Asshole wouldn’t leave any loose ends. Riley was exactly that.

  Funny that his moment of truth had come while sitting behind the wheel of his cruiser, heading south on a highway that could take him away from this nightmare.