Too cute, too sexy and too young.
The refrain echoed in her head, and she thought she’d be wise to make it a mantra to be repeated regularly in moments like this, moments when she caught herself wondering what it would be like to simply give in to his blandishments and see where it led.
“So tell me, Kate. What is it about me that makes you back off like you just did?”
She nearly gaped at him. And to think most women complained about men being oblivious to emotional undercurrents, she muttered to herself. This wasn’t the first time he’d startled her with his perception, but this was the most personal it had gotten. She wasn’t sure what to say. And was hideously embarrassed when the only words that popped out of her mouth were the ones she had been chanting to herself almost since she’d first laid eyes on him.
“You’re too cute, too sexy and too young.”
His expression, telling her that she’d finally taken him off guard, ameliorated her embarrassment a little. That it took him a moment to recover and say anything eased the feeling a little more.
“Uh…thanks?”
That he said it in the tone of a question almost made her laugh. Again. “I’m sure you’ve been told that before,” she said.
“In fact, I have. Not usually all at once, however. And believe it or not,” he added, enunciating with noticeable care, “there are people who find those attributes positive ones.”
“My husband was gorgeous and sexy.”
“Oh.” Understanding flashed across his face in the form of a slight grimace.
“He was also all flash and no substance. No staying power. When the going got tough, he got going—to a divorce lawyer.”
He seemed to consider that for a moment. “So, if I went out and got my face bashed in, you’d like me more?”
Again, it sounded ridiculous put that way, which she was sure was what he’d meant to do. “I like you fine,” she said. Too well, she added silently. “But trusting a pretty face is something else again.”
“Trust,” he said.
And in that flat, single syllable was an undertone she couldn’t quite put a name to. Weariness, perhaps. She didn’t think it was bitterness, although there seemed to be a touch of it.
“A precious commodity,” she said.
“Can’t be bought, except with time.”
He sounded, she thought, like a man who didn’t have much of that particular currency. She wondered if he sounded that way because he was only here temporarily, or because of something else.
Perhaps he was already making plans to leave, she thought suddenly, and winced inwardly at the pang the thought caused. Wonderful, she thought. She was already feeling the pinch of his inevitable departure, despite all her efforts to hold her emotions at bay. She barely knew him, yet she was missing him before he even left.
It sounded as neurotic as she was feeling just now.
Rand tugged the collar of his jacket closed against the chilly air. Kate seemed unaffected by the temperature as they walked back to her car. Her coat was heavy, but left unbuttoned, and she didn’t seem to notice.
The Redstone parking lot was empty except for her car and two others, an older compact and a minivan of fairly recent vintage.
“People working late?” he asked casually.
She glanced in the direction he’d been looking. “Security, and the van is the shop’s. The night mechanic drives it,” she said.
He’d known the older car belonged to the young security guard, but hadn’t seen the mechanic drive that van before. He wondered if there was any way to ask about it without rousing her suspicions.
“Family man, huh? Minivans and kids,” he said, making it sound like the typical observation of a single guy looking at a man whose free life had ended.
“It’s his wife’s,” Kate acknowledged. “But Ray says they’re getting rid of it as soon as the last kid graduates.”
Rand smiled. “Ah, the blessings of the empty nest, as my parents have often said.”
She smiled back, and he was startled at the jolt of warmth that shot through him. “I think I’d like your parents,” she said.
“Yes, I think you would,” he said, meaning it. “And they’d like you, too. They have a soft spot for gutsy, smart, compassionate people.”
She blinked. “That was…quite a compliment.”
He grinned. “I figure you probably get complimented on your looks all the time, so I thought I’d go for the rest of the package.”
“And so,” she said, one corner of her mouth quirking upward, “was that.”
His grin widened. “Like I said, smart.”
“No wonder Gram likes you,” she said.
“I like her,” he said. “And your grandfather. Underneath all that gruffness, he’s a sweetheart.”
“Yes, he is,” Kate said, and the love that echoed in her voice made him, once more, want to call his parents and thank them for being who they were.
He stood by as she unlocked her car, then pulled open the driver’s door for her. She leaned over to toss in her purse. He took a step closer, so that when she straightened up again, they were mere inches apart.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said, and he noted with satisfaction that her voice was the tiniest bit breathless.
“My pleasure,” he said, leaning closer.
She looked up at him, her eyes widening. But she didn’t pull away, didn’t voice a protest, didn’t do any of the things to stop him that he’d half expected.
He barely brushed her lips with his, but still she was as sweet and warm as he’d imagined. And he’d imagined a lot. He went back for more, and then more, because he couldn’t stop himself, and this time he was determined to taste her thoroughly. Her mouth was soft and pliant beneath his, and he didn’t sense any resistance from her, despite her earlier explanations of her reluctance.
And then rational thought fled, and all he could think about was the feel and taste of her—and his body’s fierce, sudden response. She gave out a small, whimpering sound that made his muscles tighten involuntarily. He pulled her closer, pressing the length of her against him, not caring if the movement betrayed how instantly and completely she’d aroused him.
He probed with his tongue, and when her lips parted to admit him, a rush of heat careened through him with a force that nearly staggered him. He realized then that her arms were around his neck, and that she wasn’t very steady on her feet herself. And he made himself break the kiss before they both slid to the cold ground beneath their feet.
For a long, silent moment, in the golden halo of the parking lot light, they just stared at each other. He saw her swallow, then she moved a hand to touch her lips with her fingers, her gaze never leaving his face.
“Wow,” she finally said, her voice sounding as wobbly as he was feeling.
“Yeah,” he agreed, a little shaken himself. “Good thing it’s cold out.”
She lowered her gaze then, and he knew she’d felt the same blast of heat he had. Quickly, as if she were anxious to get away from him, she turned to get into her car. He let her, but before he closed the door he leaned down.
“We started a fire, Kate. Don’t snuff it out before you give it a chance.”
The metaphor was a bit mangled, but he knew from the quick, wary glance she gave him that she’d gotten his point. And that she had indeed been thinking this was a flame that needed to be extinguished before somebody got burned.
And as he straightened up and watched her drive out of the Redstone lot, he couldn’t deny that he understood just how she felt. And he had the thought that when she found out who he really was, that just might do it.
Chapter 14
Kate awoke fired with a new determination. She was going to focus solely on this mess at work until it was resolved. She would work as long as it took today to get ahead, then she would do nothing but work on the mystery of the thefts. It should have been her top priority all along, she told herself.
And the fact that concentrati
ng fully on the thefts would leave her little time to think about a certain baby-faced boarder was an advantage.
A shiver went through her as she got into the shower. It had nothing to do with the growing morning chill of the season, and everything to do with memories of a kiss. A kiss that had nearly knocked her out of her sheepskin boots.
The warm water pouring over her was welcome, yet unsettling. It was as if the touch of Rand’s mouth on hers had revved up her body, and now, hours later, it was still humming. Even the touch of the water was different; she was more aware of the wet heat as it poured over her, more aware of her own skin, too aware of the nerve endings just beneath the surface.
It wasn’t fair. No single kiss should have that effect. That a few moments of bodily contact could turn her world upside down was something she wasn’t ready to deal with. It had never happened to her before, and the only thing she could think of to do was ignore it.
Too bad her body wasn’t cooperating with the game plan.
She needed to get to the office, she thought. There, with other people around and the distractions of work and noise and conversations, she could put this out of her mind. She began to hurry, toweling off and dressing as quickly as she could manage, smothering her irritation at the extra drag of trying to slip clothes over damp skin.
Once she was in her car and moving, she began to feel less rattled. She focused on driving as if she were a teenager with her first license, the running commentary in her mind serving well to keep out other thoughts. Eventually she knew she’d have to deal with it, but not now.
Usually it took her several minutes to get from the doors to her lobby, since people always stopped her en route to talk. Today, since she was a bit early, she saw no one.
Figures, she muttered to herself. The one day I’d welcome the interruptions, and nobody’s around.
She stepped into her office, dropped her purse in the desk drawer, and reached over to turn on her computer. While it was booting up she checked her in-basket for anything that might have been dropped off. The only thing there was a memo from her boss asking for an update on the status of the theft situation.
“I wish I had something to update you on,” she said to the memo form.
When the computer was ready she checked her e-mail. Nothing unusual there, although a note from Mel caught her eye. She opened it, read it and felt a sudden rush of relief that she hadn’t jumped on the girl about having printed the shipping schedule. She had done it, the e-mail said, so she could set up the next spreadsheet ahead of time, giving them a head-start on the monthly distribution report.
“That’s what you get for being so suspicious,” she told herself.
Assuming, of course, the note was the truth, and not just a clever ploy to throw off suspicion.
The sudden thought made her frown, both at the possibility of it being true and the fact that she’d become so mistrusting that it had occurred to her at all. But from now on, no matter how difficult it made things, she was going to restrict access to the schedule. But it seemed she had no choice in the matter; until this was resolved, she had no choice but to be suspicious of anything that could be connected, even remotely.
That fact made another decision for her. She reached for the phone, her finger hovering over the speed dial button that would connect her to Redstone Headquarters. Then she hesitated.
Coward, she chided herself. But she pushed an extension number instead.
On the second ring she heard a rustling and then a cheery “Hello?”
“Brian, it’s Kate.”
“Hi, Ms. Crawford,” Brian Fisher said.
She’d tried repeatedly to get the young security guard to call her Kate, but he persisted in the formality. It made her feel old, as if he’d been taught by his mother how to properly address his elders, and that she was definitely in that category, at least in his view.
“I’ve been thinking that we should go ahead and get that surveillance system.”
“We’re sure not having much luck without it.”
The young man had been all in favor of having the cameras and monitors installed when the facility first opened. Kate hoped they wouldn’t need anything like that here in Summer Harbor, but ultimately her boss decided they’d wait until the new system they’d been told about was available, the more efficient one that was motion activated.
“Why don’t you go ahead and arrange for it?”
“You bet,” he said eagerly. “I’ll call right away.”
They talked about the logistics for a few minutes, then she hung up, satisfied. She knew that anyone who was hired in any security capacity for Redstone underwent an extensive background investigation, so she had little worry about entrusting Brian with this information. And he was new enough at his work to need some bolstering, and entrusting him with this project should help there, too.
She smiled, as she always did when her good fortune was brought home to her; working for Redstone was indeed a pleasure. They were even going to help her take care of her grandparents, and she doubted there were many companies in the world who would do that.
She had to fix this. She owed Redstone so much. She wanted to justify Josh Redstone’s trust in her. She felt like she was personally letting him and the company down, and it gnawed at her. She’d never felt this way about anywhere she’d worked. Belonging to the Redstone family had responsibilities as well as huge benefits. She had to—
Her phone rang. The display indicated an inside call, so she answered it quickly.
“Ms. Crawford? It’s Brian. I had a question.”
“Problem with getting the system?”
“No, not at all. It’s on its way, should be here in a couple of days. But…”
He hesitated, uncertainty in his voice. He was, she thought, so young. Which made her think of Rand.
“What is it?” she prompted, trying to put an encouraging note in her voice.
“I was wondering. Are you going to tell anyone the cameras are there? Or keep it quiet?”
She’d been thinking about that decision she’d have to make soon. If she made some sort of announcement, perhaps the thefts would simply stop. That would solve the problem. But it wouldn’t tell them how it was being done, and who on the inside was possibly involved.
She had a feeling she knew what Josh Redstone would want. His reputation was well known among his people. He would go to the wall to protect his own, but she also knew he had a low tolerance for bad apples in his own bunch. He would want to weed out this one.
And what if it really was Mel?
Kate sighed. She truly didn’t want to believe that. True, there had been an innocent explanation for everything she’d caught her doing, but there was a guilty one as well. And whoever was doing this was obviously clever enough to throw off suspicion.
“Ms. Crawford?”
Brian’s query brought her out of her troubled thoughts. “For now, let’s keep it quiet,” she said. She could announce it later if need be, but once that bird had flown, there was no calling it back.
“Okay,” Brian said, obviously pleased by her answer.
“You’d like to catch someone, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he exclaimed. The “ma’am” made her feel positively creaky. “I’d sure like to. Mr. Redstone, he took a chance hiring me when I had no experience, and I’d like to pay him back.”
“I know the feeling,” Kate said. “We’re going to solve this, Brian.”
He responded to the “we” as she’d hoped. If he’d been in uniform, he probably would have saluted.
“Yes, ma’am!”
So now, all she had to do was wait for the equipment. And think. She wasn’t sure what she could possibly come up with after weeks of fruitless pondering. She only knew she had to try.
Rand waited a good half hour after Kate turned up her gravel driveway before he followed. He didn’t want her to figure out that he’d been following her. But he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hide the
fact. She was hardly a stupid woman; sooner or later she was going to notice the frequency with which she saw his vehicle.
Especially now that she’d been in it a couple of times; it was human nature to notice cars that people you knew drove. It was why once a friend bought a particular model, you suddenly saw them everywhere. They’d always been there, but you never noticed before because there was no personal connection.
Personal connection.
He let out a long breath. He’d spent hours trying to pry her out of his mind, lecturing himself on staying professional. He dredged up the old pain of Donna’s desertion with Mandy, warned himself that that was what happened if you got involved on a case. It was just asking for disaster.
But that brought to mind what had happened to Sam when she had crossed that line.
And it wasn’t that he had anything against marriage. Quite the opposite. He’d had a great example in the relationship his parents had, and always figured he’d end up there someday. He even knew that he’d like kids, a couple maybe. Mandy had convinced him of that.
He’d also, somewhat arrogantly he supposed, assumed that when he found the right woman, it would be mutual. He never expected he would have to convince, persuade and coerce to get close.
When he realized he was thinking of Kate as that “right” woman, he nearly slammed on his brakes. Lord, was he that far gone already? He didn’t make a habit out of thinking about marriage and kids for no reason. Of course, that toe-curling, sock-shedding kiss could hardly be classified as “no reason.” And it seemed that kiss had awakened a lot more than just nerve endings.
Rattled, he considered turning around and, as Sam Gamble’s little brother would say, “beating feet.” He wasn’t even sure why he didn’t, although he was honest enough not to tell himself it was only because of the job he had yet to finish.
When he pulled up to the house, he saw a light on in the back. Grabbing the bag from the seat beside him, he got out, ran up the three front steps and knocked on the door.
In His Sights Page 12
