When was the last time he’d hurried home after work, not once but twice in a row? Years. Then again, when was the last time someone had been there waiting?
“Hello,” Zoe’s voice carried out to him.
He strolled to the arched doorway between the kitchen and living room. “Hey.”
Zoe, her right leg in a brace, stretched out in his recliner, feet raised, a book and one of her orange tabby cats in her lap.
“You are allowed to watch the TV, you know.”
She grinned sheepishly and moved the book to reveal the remote hidden beneath it. “It’s embarrassing. I’m turning into a couch potato.”
“The doctor said you’re to stay off that leg for four weeks. I think you can indulge in a little laziness for the sake of mending.”
“You’re enjoying this too much.”
“You bet I am.”
Zoe’s strained ligaments in her knee and the subsequent orders for rest had been what it finally took for her to agree to move into Pete’s house. “Temporarily,” she’d insisted.
We’ll see, he’d thought.
The image of her sprawled on the ground, muddied, continued to haunt him. For one fleeting moment when she hadn’t moved, he thought…well, he thought the worst. And Leroy Moore’s somber expression had only fueled his panic. But then Zoe had squirmed around to look at him. And Moore had broken down in uncharacteristic tears about having taken a life. The life of the killer intent on silencing Zoe.
Pete would owe Leroy Moore until the day he died.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kroll stopped by today,” Zoe said, interrupting his thoughts.
“That was nice of them.”
The look on her face indicated otherwise. “They just got word that FPR is pulling out of Monongahela County.”
“Really?” This was news to Pete. “So Jake Moore and the opposition got their way?”
“Yeah, but not because of all the protesting. Cody Bodine’s replacement said it was strictly a business decision. Federated feels they’ve overextended themselves with all the drilling in the neighboring counties combined with the falling gas prices.”
Bad news for the Krolls. And for Leroy Moore.
“And Rose called today too.”
“Oh? When are they coming home? Vance Township is going to hell without Sylvia around.”
Zoe’s face clouded. “They aren’t. Well, Sylvia is. She’s staying over for Thanksgiving and has a flight out of Durango next Tuesday. But the rest of them are staying.”
“I thought Logan was doing well.”
“He is. But even after everything that’s happened, he wants to live out there. Permanently. Allison too. Plus—” Zoe wiggled into a more comfortable position in the recliner. “I think Rose is in love. Or headed that way.”
“Oh?”
“All she talks about is Detective Morales. Apparently they’ve gone out to dinner a couple of times. I can tell by her voice. She’s got it bad for him.”
“Good for Rose.”
“Yeah. I don’t think she was happy, moving back here with all the bad memories. Losing Ted last winter. Allison’s problems. Remember how snippy she was with me when I lived with her?”
Pete remembered. It hadn’t helped his campaign to get Zoe to move in with him when she was convinced even her best friend couldn’t tolerate having her underfoot. “What about the Navajo guy?”
“Pony Boy.” Zoe smiled. “Billy Yellowhorse. He’s still in the hospital, but they say he’s going to make a full recovery. And in spite of his mysterious ways, Morales is hounding him to take some criminal justice courses. He might just become Deputy Sheriff Yellowhorse.”
“Glad to hear it.” There was another man he owed. Dammit. He needed to find a way to keep her closer. To keep her safe. “Zoe?”
“Yeah?”
He swallowed. “What do you think about us getting married?” The words came out unplanned.
He hadn’t intended on saying them, and from her expression, she hadn’t expected to hear them. “Uh. What?” she squeaked.
Taking it back didn’t seem wise. Nor did he want to. Repeating or rephrasing didn’t feel right either. So he stood there. In dumb silence.
“Did—did you just—propose to me?”
Pete grinned. And shrugged. “So it would seem.”
“Oh.” She looked down at the book.
Dammit. She was going to turn him down. He shouldn’t have asked. Not yet. It was too soon. Way too soon. Hell, she’d only moved in yesterday. And even then, she’d insisted on staying in the spare room. He opened his mouth, hoping something reasonable would come out. “Don’t say no.” Dammit. That wasn’t right either.
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You—weren’t?”
Zoe looked up at him, a sexy half-smile on her gorgeous face. “I wasn’t gonna say yes either.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not ready.”
He knew that.
“But I like that you asked.”
He didn’t know that.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
He kept his mouth shut. Probably the smartest thing he’d done since leaving the office.
“I won’t say no this time.” She cocked her head sideways and gave him a look that made his blood steam. “And you promise to ask again.”
“When?”
“You’ll figure it out.”
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Annette Dashofy has spent her entire life in rural Pennsylvania surrounded by cattle and horses. When she wasn’t roaming the family’s farm or playing in the barn, she could be found reading or writing. After high school, she spent five years as an EMT on the local ambulance service, dealing with everything from drunks passing out on the sidewalk to mangled bodies in car accidents. These days, she, her husband, and their spoiled cat, Kensi, live on property that was once part of her grandfather’s dairy.
The Zoe Chambers Mystery Series
by Annette Dashofy
CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE (#1)
LOST LEGACY (#2)
BRIDGES BURNED (#3)
WITH A VENGEANCE (#4)
NO WAY HOME (#5)
Available at booksellers nationwide and online
Visit www.henerypress.com for details
Sign up for Henery Press updates
and we’ll deliver the latest on new books, sale books, and pre-order books, plus all the happenings in the Hen House!
CLICK TO SIGN UP
(Note: we won’t share your email address and you can unsubscribe any time.)
We’d love to hear what you thought about this book. No matter how brief or how long, reader reviews make a difference. Thank you!
Henery Press Mystery Books
And finally, before you go...
Here are a few other mysteries
you might enjoy:
TELL ME NO LIES
Lynn Chandler Willis
An Ava Logan Mystery (#1)
Ava Logan, single mother and small business owner, lives deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, where poverty and pride reign. As publisher of the town newspaper, she’s busy balancing election season stories and a rash of ginseng thieves.
And then the story gets personal. After her friend is murdered, Ava digs for the truth all the while juggling her two teenage children, her friend’s orphaned toddler, and her own muddied past. Faced with threats against those closest to her, Ava must find the killer before she, or someone she loves, ends up dead.
Read all about it at www.henerypress.com.
NUN TOO SOON
Alice Loweecey
A Giulia Driscoll Mystery (#1)
Giulia Falcone-Driscoll has just taken on her first impossible client: The Silk Tie Killer. He’s hired Driscoll Investigatio
ns to prove his innocence and they have only thirteen days to accomplish it. Talk about being tried in the media. Everyone in town is sure Roger Fitch strangled his girlfriend with one of his silk neckties. And then there’s the local TMZ wannabes stalking Giulia and her client for sleazy sound bites.
On top of all that, her assistant’s first baby is due any second, her scary smart admin still doesn’t relate well to humans, and her police detective husband insists her client is guilty. About this marriage thing—it’s unknown territory, but it sure beats ten years of living with 150 nuns.
Giulia’s ownership of Driscoll Investigations hasn’t changed her passion for justice from her convent years. But the more dirt she digs up, the more she’s worried her efforts will help a murderer escape. As the client accuses DI of dragging its heels on purpose, Giulia thinks The Silk Tie Killer might be choosing one of his ties for her own neck.
Read all about it at www.henerypress.com.
THE SEMESTER OF OUR DISCONTENT
Cynthia Kuhn
A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery (#1)
English professor Lila Maclean is thrilled about her new job at prestigious Stonedale University, until she finds one of her colleagues dead. She soon learns that everyone, from the chancellor to the detective working the case, believes Lila—or someone she is protecting—may be responsible for the horrific event, so she assigns herself the task of identifying the killer.
More attacks on professors follow, the only connection a curious symbol at each of the crime scenes. Putting her scholarly skills to the test, Lila gathers evidence, but her search is complicated by an unexpected nemesis, a suspicious investigator, and an ominous secret society. Rather than earning an “A” for effort, she receives a threat featuring the mysterious emblem and must act quickly to avoid failing her assignment…and becoming the next victim.
Read all about it at www.henerypress.com.
No Way Home Page 29
