by VK Powell
“Thus, the Cloudy nickname?”
“Exactly. Folks around here are unforgiving about flagrant infidelity, crops, livestock, and weather. Trust me, it’s going to be hotter than a goat’s butt in a pepper patch all day.”
Dani muffled a chuckle in her napkin. “Thanks for the tip, but back up. Flagrant infidelity?”
Grace crooked her finger for Dani to come closer, but they were already too close. She felt the heat from Grace’s body tumbling and stirring her insides. She held her ground, but Grace leaned in slightly and said, “Just between you and me, there’s probably more infidelity in this town per capita than in the entire state of Georgia, but if you keep it on the DL, nobody bothers you. Southerners take pride in their public reputations.”
“I see. And how’s the dating pool around here?”
Jolene slapped a saucer of hash browns in front of Dani. “Here you go, sport. If you’re asking about available women of your persuasion, there’s a nice selection, but—”
“Seriously, Jolene? We’re having a conversation.” Grace shooed her away. “Don’t you have other customers?”
“None as interesting as you two, all cozy and getting to know each other.”
Dani stood and dug into her pocket for some cash, her face burning. She didn’t want the whole town thinking she and Grace had something going. In fact, she didn’t want these people thinking about her at all. Grace touched her arm and heat penetrated before she pulled away and slapped her money on the counter.
“Don’t leave, Dani. Jolene has a big mouth, but she’s harmless.”
“Maybe, but I’m—”
“You’re a private person. I get that.” Grace followed her toward the door but stopped at the checkout to pay. “Hold up a minute.”
But Dani couldn’t wait a second longer. She exited the diner, eager to put distance between her and Grace, and noticed a man with ragged clothes standing near the door watching each person come out. A baseball cap pulled low over his forehead shielded his eyes, and weathered lines on his face hinted at middle age. She pulled a twenty from her pocket and slipped it into his hand.
“Bless you,” the man said as she crossed the street to her car.
“Wait.” Grace fast-walked toward her and stopped beside her car, eyes wide. “Wow. We can see you coming for miles in this thing, midnight blue, Acura SUV. Won’t find another one like this around here. Cool.”
Dani shook her head at the outdated slang. “Need something, Grace?”
“You asked about the dating pool.”
“Yeah?”
“Like I mentioned about the cookout, we have a lot more lesbians in town than you’d think, and there’s also a contingent of straight and married women who’d take you on just because they’re bored. You won’t have any trouble amusing yourself.”
“What about you, Grace?” Damn, that sounded like she was asking if Grace was available, which she didn’t want to do, but might’ve been and didn’t want to be quite so obvious about. “I mean, are you able to amuse yourself?”
“Amusement isn’t what I’m looking for, but is often exactly what I find,” Grace said.
“Still pining over Karla?”
“Hardly. We both knew what we were getting into.” She gave Dani a crooked smile. “So, you’ve been asking about me, Doc? I don’t remember mentioning a name when I told you about my ex.”
Rookie mistake. “Brenda might’ve mentioned it.” Totally believable. “If you’re not happy with your dating results, maybe you should adjust your expectations.”
“I do all right, but thanks for your concern. You’ll probably have more luck,” Grace said.
“Why’s that?”
“I get the feeling we’re not after the same things.”
“Probably.” Grace was definitely right, but Dani couldn’t pretend she wasn’t a little disappointed. Grace was physically attractive, with only a few negative traits Dani was willing to overlook in the short-term, but no amount of Southern charm could convince her to abandon her dreams and settle in a rural area like Pine Cone. She needed the pace and variety of the city.
“Well…I enjoyed having lunch with you. Next time, I’ll give you a rundown on the townsfolk, if you’d like. They all have a story, and everybody has an opinion about everybody else’s story.”
“What’s the general opinion about Grace Booker?”
“I’m impressed, Doc. See, this is how it’s done, back and forth, questions and answers. That’s how we get to know each other.” Grace studied her for a second before answering. “They’d probably say I’m ill-suited to be a sheriff’s deputy because I’m too kind and don’t like to fight, and I should’ve been a social worker or nurse instead.” She shifted the heavy-looking belt around her waist as if to emphasize the weight of her words.
“Do you agree?”
“Sometimes. And what about Danielle Wingate? What do people say about you?”
“What you see is what you get.” Dani unlocked her car door. “You can come by the clinic and check on Harry anytime.”
“Thanks.”
Dani got in her car and rolled down the window, the heat inside already like a pizza oven. Grace offered her hand, unusual under the circumstances, but Dani was learning that touch was important to Grace and dangerous for Dani. She shook Grace’s hand quickly to be polite, but the brief contact was enough to set her insides roiling and her mind spinning through a list of possible encounters that could never happen. She sped off toward the clinic, willing away the lingering sensations and the desires they stirred.
* * *
Grace stared at Dani’s car until it disappeared at the edge of town, sparks from their handshake still shooting up her arm like static from a summer lightning storm. No doubt about it, she was attracted to Dani, but Dani was a bad bet in the future department. A familiar question tumbled over in Grace’s mind. Was she willing to get her heart broken again by a woman who was not long for her small part of the world? Her pain from the last time wasn’t fresh, but it still lingered making her wary.
Dani had been stingy with any personal information at lunch, fueling Grace’s curiosity. Maybe Dani’s city upbringing just made her overly cautious. Jolene’s suggestive comments embarrassed her, something Grace hadn’t expected from a city woman. But she’d seen another side of Dani when she slipped money to Beetle Bledsoe, the homeless town drunk, on her way out of the diner. Grace doubted Dani would’ve helped Beetle if she’d known anyone was watching. What did that say about the kind of person she was or about her past?
Grace wanted to know what made Dani tick, about Dani’s past, her family, her likes and dislikes, and how she ended up in Pine Cone. Everything. The process required time, and she’d tread carefully, probe discreetly, and hold her heart in reserve for now. But Dani Wingate might prove a challenge in the sharing department, a walking cautionary tale in every aspect.
She glanced down Main Street and saw Trip jogging in her direction. “Hold up there, hoss. You could get heat stroke. Where’s the fire?”
“Sorry. I was looking at your car. I thought it was my stalker until I noticed the scratch on the fender. When are you going to let Clay fix that?”
“I haven’t had time. I had a new officer I needed to drive around for orientation, then…well, other stuff happened. I’ll probably get it over to the garage later this week. Anyway, what’s this about a stalker?”
“Your new cop—”
“Officer Grant?”
“Yeah, I definitely think Grant is stalking me.”
“Stalking you?”
“More than twenty parking tickets in the past two weeks.”
“You poor thaang.” Grace drawled the word just enough to let Trip know she didn’t feel any sympathy at all. She’d warned Trip several times about her parking habits.
Trip glared at her sarcastic tone. “It’s not funny. It’s police harassment.”
“Why don’t you try parking in a legal spot?”
“Grace.”
<
br /> “What do you want me to do? Tell Officer Grant she shouldn’t enforce the law because you’re my friend?”
“You can explain that I’m usually on important business. I have emergencies and…did you say she? Does she play on our team? Is she hot?”
“Down, girl. I’ve been trying to get the town council to allot money for a drug detection dog for the past five years, but they’re expensive. I got a two-for-one deal with Officer Grant. She owns a detection dog she trained personally, and I need for them to stay. What I don’t need is Fast Break bird-dogging her, breaking her heart, and running her out of town.”
“I was just going to suggest you bring her to the cookout this weekend. If she knows how charming I can be, maybe she’ll stop slapping tickets on my truck every time she sees it.” Trip wiggled her brows suggestively.
Grace frowned. “I’m pretty sure she’s a lesbian, so I’ll see if she wants to come to the cookout so she can meet some people. But you stay away from her.”
Trip waved off Grace’s last comment and opened the door to the diner. “See you this weekend. Oh, and go check on your damned bird. I caught Brenda sharing her ham biscuit with him this morning. If those two bond, I’m going to let Essie roast him for dinner.”
“Headed there now.” Grace smiled broadly, gave Trip a mock salute, and rushed to her car. The radio was quiet and the street mostly deserted because of the noon heat, so it was the perfect time to check on Harry. Doctor’s orders, nothing to do with Dani Wingate. She ignored the little voice in her head snickering at the fib and sped toward the clinic.
“I surrender, Deputy.” Brenda raised her hands when Grace entered the front door. “If you’re going to arrest me, please search me thoroughly. I could use a good groping.” Her throaty laugh descended into a hacking cough as Grace headed to the exam area.
“One of our new techs is back there with Dani right now working on an injured shepherd. Her name’s Michelle, the tech not the shepherd, and she’s gussied up like she’s at a beauty pageant. Her britches are so tight her legs look like cased sausages. Lord knows what she’s up to besides work.”
Grace kept walking, unwilling to engage in Brenda’s speculation about Michelle’s motives, but noted her disappointment that Dani wasn’t alone. No way around it now. She followed Dani to the clinic to spend more time with her. She wouldn’t deny it, and she couldn’t blame Michelle for disrupting a foolish plan she knew nothing about. Maybe they were sniffing after the same quarry. “Dani, it’s Grace.” She announced her presence because Dani didn’t strike her as the type who liked surprises.
“Room three, near the back,” someone, not Dani, replied.
Grace peeked through the observation square in the door and saw Dani and Michelle hunched over a large German shepherd. Michelle’s T-shirt plunged just this side of indecent, long blond hair hung loosely around her face, and her strong perfume wafted under the door and into the hallway. She wouldn’t attract any of the local boys wearing that fragrance because her smell would interfere with their dog’s scent-tracking abilities and scare off any game. Maybe Brenda was right and Michelle wasn’t hunting male prey. Grace shook the thought from her mind along with a twinge of discomfort.
She returned her attention to the scene inside the examining room as Dani explained the procedure for treating the shepherd’s injury. If Michelle asked questions, Dani described what she was doing and why the process was necessary. She was kind, and her tone patient, unlike the clipped exchanges they’d shared earlier at the diner. Where animals were involved, Dani was caring, devoted, and communicative, but her view of humans had seemingly been skewed along the way making her suspicious and untrusting. Grace felt a desire to help change Dani’s opinion.
Michelle edged closer to Dani, and Grace noticed the right side of the dog’s coat was shiny with fresh blood. Dani held a needle with stitching in one gloved hand and a syringe in the other. She lowered the syringe toward the dog, and Grace looked away. She didn’t tolerate pain well, hers or any other creature’s. “I’ll just wait out here.”
“Harry is in room one, right next door, if you want to visit while I finish up. I’ll join you in a few minutes,” Dani said.
She turned toward Harry’s room, leaving the shepherd in Dani’s capable hands and Dani too close to Michelle. Grace did a peekaboo into Harry’s room and watched him enjoying a feast of orange and seeds. He hopped from the food dish to the higher perch and back, twisted his head around, and squawked new, tamer words. He looked nothing like the anxious bird she’d brought in, except for the bald patches on his body.
“What do you think?”
Grace jumped away from the door, and Dani grabbed her waist just above her utility belt to keep her from falling backward. Dani’s solid body pressed into hers, and excitement scuttled across her skin. She might’ve actually wilted a little before Dani released her.
“Jumpy for a cop, aren’t you?”
“You shouldn’t sneak up on someone like that, especially when she’s armed.” Dani grimaced and the tiny space between her top teeth looked so sexy Grace almost swooned. She reluctantly returned her attention to Harry. “He seems better.”
“I took blood and checked for contagious diseases, anemia, parasites, organ failure, basically everything, and didn’t find any problems. He was dehydrated, but that’s better today.”
“How do you take blood from a bird exactly? Stupid question, I guess, but I’ve never really thought about it.”
“Same way you do in a human. Needle in, blood out.” Her grin widened.
She enjoyed teasing Grace, and that was just fine—at least she had a humorous side. “Cute, Dr. Wingate. Maybe I should be more specific. Where do you draw blood from a bird? And please don’t say veins.”
“Neck or wings, but I prefer the feet for easier access, and the bird tolerates it well. Shall we go in?” Dani opened the door and held it for Grace, the little courtesy a welcome change from her speedy retreat from the diner.
“Good morning, Harry,” Grace said. “How are you?”
“Five-O,” Harry shrieked, bobbed up and down, and furiously beat his wings. “Watch your six.”
“Harry, what’s wrong?” Grace moved closer, and he flapped harder.
“Grace, why don’t you step away?” Dani edged in front of her. “Harry, it’s okay. She’s not going to hurt you.”
“Of course I’m not going to hurt him. I don’t understand why he behaves like this every time I’m around.”
Dani glanced at her, suspicion oozing from her eyes. “There has to be a reason.”
“Well, it’s not that. I’d never hurt anyone or anything, intentionally.”
While they chatted, Harry flailed, feathers and dust swirling into a mini tornado around the small cage. “Police. Run. Po-lice.”
“You should probably wait outside so I can calm him down.”
“Dani, I don’t want you to think—”
“Please, Grace, just go.”
She shot Harry a parting glare. Now she understood how a wrongly accused suspect felt. “I’ll wait in the hall, but we need to talk before I leave.”
Michelle swished by Grace on her way out, giving her a pointed stare before joining Dani in the room with Harry. Soothing voices mingled with Harry’s screeches until they eventually tapered off and quieted. When they exited Harry’s room, Michelle touched Dani’s arm. “Want me to stay?”
Dani shook her head and waited until she walked away before turning to Grace. “You wanted to talk?”
“Seriously? You can’t possibly believe I abuse that poor bird.”
“I don’t know what to think, Grace. I can’t find any organic reason for his behavior, but he definitely dislikes you. I don’t believe it’s a good idea to take him home when he has such a bad reaction to you. It’s not healthy.”
“You might want to clear keeping him with Trip. She’s anxious to get rid of him before Brenda turns him into the Beaumont Clinic mascot.” Grace hesitated before asking h
er next question, unsure of her motives. “What if you come by my place one evening and check it out?”
“What good would that do?” Dani asked.
“Maybe you’ll spot something that’s offensive to him or birds in general that I’m not aware of. And you are right next door.”
“That wouldn’t account for what happened just now.”
“True.” She could let Dani find Harry another home, cut her losses, and celebrate, but having Dani believe she was an irresponsible pet owner set her teeth on edge. “Please, help me figure out what’s going on with him.” She might not want the bird, but she cared, particularly if she’d inadvertently done something wrong.
“I’m not a bird psychologist, but maybe he associates you with his missing mother. Leave him another day, and I’ll watch him closely, see how he responds to other people. He seems okay with Michelle.”
“Of course he does,” Grace mumbled.
“Sorry?”
“Whatever you think.” Michelle was the one who should be caged, if only for Dani’s protection and Grace’s peace of mind, not that she had any more right to Dani’s attentions.
“I’ll see what I can arrange,” Dani said.
“Great. I’ll be at the night market this evening, but any time after that should be fine.” She stomped out of the clinic toward her car without acknowledging Brenda’s parting comment, annoyed with her own ungracious thoughts and possessive behavior over a woman she didn’t even know. Damn it. She wasn’t some clichéd small-town girl who lusted after the first attractive stranger who came along. She’d had that heartbreak before and wasn’t anxious to go back. She simply wanted to figure out Harry’s problem…and spend a little more time with an interesting woman. Nothing complicated about either.
Chapter Six
Dani gasped on her predawn run, sucking in hot, sticky air. She checked her watch, only two more minutes of the sameness of flowers and old buildings along Main Street. She hadn’t passed another soul, unless she counted a purple Siamese cat that was probably a sleep-deprived hallucination. To distract from the boredom, she’d relived her too-easy hookup in a Savannah club last night. The hour-and-a-half drive for companionship wasn’t ideal, but it kept her from totally losing her mind in a town with too few options or thinking about Grace, a woman she could not get involved with for reasons too numerous to count. She glanced at her watch again, slowed, and finally stopped at the steps of the B and B to cool down.
