Her Mother's Killer

by Schroeder, Melissa

  “There is something worse than being in a wreck and getting a concussion?”

  Jed nodded. “Emotionally, she was a mess. She’d lost so much weight.” He swallowed. “She was exhausted. Burnt out is what the doctors claimed. The divorce took more out of her than anyone knew. She gave him her restaurant.”

  “He’s a cop. Why would he want it?”

  Jed shrugged and looked over at his sister who was now talking to Gwen. “She didn’t want to stay in Atlanta, and for some reason, he wanted it. I think he thought he could run it better. Why, I don’t know.”

  “So, she just handed it over?”

  Jed nodded. “I think she already knew she was coming back to Texas. She just didn’t want to mess with it anymore. She wanted out of the marriage.” He smiled evilly. “I actually think Jason thought he would get her to stay, or cause her grief over it. She barely blinked when he asked for it.”

  “But I thought she loved that place.”

  Jed shrugged, his gaze settling on Gwen. “Don’t ask me the motives of most women. I don’t know what the hell they are thinking most of the time.”

  * * * *

  “I take it Duncan called Jed,” Gwen said.

  “Freaking telling on me like I’m a little girl.”

  She took a quick swig of beer and grimaced. She didn’t even know why she was drinking the damn stuff. She didn’t like it. It was the situation. Bizarre didn’t even get close to describing it. She’d been ready to strip herself down and jump Duncan’s bones just minutes before her brother showed up. Twice in less than two days now she had found herself lip-locked with Duncan. Not like she hadn’t enjoyed herself. Just thinking about it made her blush. Jesus, in all the years she’d been married to Jason, she’d never felt that electric jolt to her system just from a kiss. Lord only knew what would happen to her if they ended up in bed together. There was a good chance they would combust.

  “Thea?”

  Gwen was looking at her strangely. Thea realized her friend had been trying to get her attention for some time.

  “What?”

  “I asked you how long Jed was in town for, but you were off woolgathering.”

  Thea glanced over her shoulder at her brother. He wasn’t looking at them, but talking to Chris. Her attention drifted to Duncan who was the only one watching them. His heated stare drifted down her body, then back up to her face. But the time he made eye contact again, her body was heated.

  “Thea!”

  She swung back around to face her friend. “What? Oh, Jed. He didn’t say, but I think he won’t be here long. If he is banged up because of something going wrong, he will have to go back to Austin for all the paperwork and stuff.”

  “Did he say what happened?”

  “No, and I didn’t ask. I learned a long time ago not to ask because he wouldn’t talk about it.”

  Gwen nodded and Thea noticed the sadness in her gaze as she stared at Jed. Damn her brother for being so stubborn that he drove off everyone who cared about him.

  “I have a feeling he’ll bunk down with Duncan tonight and then head back to Austin.”

  “I thought he might stay longer since you’re here,” Gwen said.

  Thea shook her head. “He won’t have much time on his hands. He took too much leave when I had my accident.”

  Selma walked up with a smile. “Brisket’s ready and I advise you all to get in there before the men. If I know my boys and Jed, there won’t be much left by the time they’re done.”

  * * * *

  “I heard Thea is staying with you,” Jed said from behind Gwen.

  Her heart skipped then beat so furiously she was sure everyone around her heard. It took her a minute or two to calm herself down before she could answer. She didn’t look at him, but kept concentrating on picking her drink out of the cooler. “You heard right.”

  When she said nothing else, she sensed Jed shifting behind her. She couldn’t stand it, she had to know what he was thinking so she grabbed a diet cola and turned to face him.

  Damn it, how did he get better looking? It wasn’t fair. Not only did he look like he got the hell beat out of him, but it made him even more attractive, in a scruffy sort of way. The lines around his light green eyes added to his appeal, as did the twenty or so pounds he’d piled on after school. Men sucked. They could gain weight and it helped their looks. Gwen had to fight even a five pound gain before comments were made.

  He settled his hands on his hips and gave her a nasty stare. She guessed that was supposed to scare her but it didn’t. Even though she knew this wasn’t the sweet boy she dated, she also knew he would never hurt her physically.

  “Why didn’t you call me?” he growled.

  She blinked. “Call you?”

  “When Thea contacted you, you should have called me.”

  Anger sparked through her blood. She counted backwards from ten before answering. “First of all, Thea is an adult. She doesn’t need me to check with her older brother to see if it was okay. Secondly, if I wanted to, how the hell would I find you?”

  “You could have if you wanted to.”

  His mulish expression told her that he knew he was losing an argument before it started. It was odd to know someone so well, but not know him at all.

  “And just how was I supposed to find you? We’ve barely spoken in the last few years. I know where you work, what your job is, but I don’t even know where the hell you live.”

  “I live in Austin.”

  She closed her eyes calling on the patience she felt slipping away. When she opened them, she found her ex-fiancé staring at her, studying her like she was a case to be solved. She hated that, hated that every time she saw him, her heart broke again, and damn it, she hated that she couldn’t hate him.

  “What do you want?”

  “What I want and what I’m going to get are two different things.”

  She sighed. “I couldn’t get a hold of you and like I said, I don’t think you have any say over what she does and doesn’t do.”

  “You could have easily found me.”

  “No, I couldn’t. If Thea couldn’t, I couldn’t. Besides, I think this is just what she needs.”

  “She needs not to be gawked at like a circus freak!”

  “I’m not arguing this with you. You want to have it out with someone, take it up with Thea.”

  She turned away, but he stopped her with a plea. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

  The concern, the outright love in his voice spoke to her. Gwen knew he wanted nothing more than for Thea to be happy, but as usual he was going about it the wrong way.

  “She was in Atlanta and was run off the road. Being safe isn’t about where you are.”

  Tired of arguing, Gwen neatly stepped around Jed. He grabbed her arm. She stopped, looked down at his hand, then up at him. The worry and irritation she saw in his eyes softened her a bit. Jed was a pain in the butt. Still, he loved his sister and worried about her. It was one of the things Gwen admired most about him.

  “She’s fine, Jed.”

  He nodded and opened his mouth to say something but Chase interrupted him. “Got a problem, Gwen?”

  She looked at the younger man. He wasn’t actually paying attention to her, rather he was focused on Jed. Seriously, she didn’t need this, didn’t want to spend her Sunday dealing with male egos. But she also didn’t want people gossiping about her. Being a teacher in a small town didn’t afford her much privacy.

  “No. Jed and I were just catching up.”

  Both men kept silent for a few seconds then Jed released her arm. Chase stepped forward to fill the void, but thankfully, Thea slipped in and said, “Hey, Gwen, Selma wanted to chat about a fundraiser idea she has for the library at school.”

  “If you two gentlemen will excuse me?”

  They both nodded, and Gwen walked away with Thea.

  “What was that about?” Thea asked once they gained the porch.

  “Nothing.”

&n
bsp; Thea looked at her for a long moment then nodded. “Let’s go find Selma.”

  Gwen smiled when Thea slipped her arm over Gwen’s shoulders. “Yes, let’s. I’ve had my fill of men tonight.”

  * * * *

  He watched as Thea talked to the other women, his heart expanding at the sight of her. She was so much like Margie, so beautiful and full of life. She laughed at something Gwen said, the sound of it warming him, comforting him.

  He could not approach her, couldn’t tell her what special bond they had between them. She would need time to settle, time to understand. She looked around as if searching for him, begging for his attention. He had to fight the urge to go to her, to reveal himself to her. She wasn’t ready to accept him.

  But soon, she would. And then…they would be together as one.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, Thea drove up to her rental home and sighed. There parked in the driveway was her brother. She should have known he wouldn’t leave. She’d hoped since he hadn’t shown up at Gwen’s, but she was sure there were other reasons he didn’t do that.

  She slipped out of her car and scowled at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Checking up on you.”

  She snorted. “You’re not even trying to lie.”

  He shook his head and walked down the drive to help her unload her SUV. “No reason to. You know better. Besides, you’d be stuck carrying in all this crap.”

  She smiled and handed him the heaviest box as a car drove up to the curb. At first she didn’t recognize the vehicle but as soon as Chris Perry unfolded himself from the car, Thea smiled. She found herself frowning when she noticed he brought Duncan with him. It was all she could do while her body responded to the sight of him. Dressed in jeans, a snug red shirt and a suede jacket, he looked particularly yummy. While she was dressed in sweats, looking as if she just got out of bed, which she practically had.

  She watched him walk down the sidewalk, her pulse doubling. God, he was gorgeous. Long legs, trim waist, and she knew without looking, those jeans showed off a tight butt. She didn’t know if she was up to facing him.

  “Thea!” Chris scooped her up for a big hug then set her back down. “Doesn’t she look great, Duncan?”

  “Good enough to eat.”

  She slanted a look at Duncan but then focused all her attention on Chris. “I’m sorry we didn’t get much chance to talk yesterday.”

  He slid his arm over her shoulders and said to Duncan, “Why don’t you go and help Jed unload Thea’s things while we catch up?”

  She offered Duncan a smirk. “Yes, why don’t you?”

  “Remember, I’m pretty much your landlord now.” But he did his uncle’s bidding.

  Chris chuckled. “Boy always had a smart mouth. I can only stay a minute, but why don’t you walk me back to my car?”

  Thea nodded.

  “What are your plans?”

  She shrugged. “The divorce settlement allows me the time to figure it out.”

  “I was sorry to hear about that. Divorce is never easy.”

  She glanced at him and found nothing but understanding sympathy in his expression. “No. Even when you don’t want to be married to the person anymore.”

  “You’re used to being busy.”

  “I have some things to keep me occupied. I have some old trunks of Mom’s to go through, lots of interesting things there.”

  “Anything I can help you with?”

  “No, just some old letters.” Something flashed in Chris’ eyes. Fear, no, worry, she was sure of it. It was nice to be home where the people she loved worried about her. “I’ll be fine. I want to get the trunks cleaned out. ”

  He kissed her cheek. “I’ve got to be getting to the office. You let Selma or I know if you need anything.”

  She watched him drive away and sighed. It was a shame the man never settled down. Granted, he’d help raise the Perry boys after their father, his younger brother, died in a traffic accident. But…she always felt like he did that to make up for not having any of his own.

  “Earth to Thea.”

  She turned to find Duncan only inches behind her. “What are you doing?”

  “I asked if you had anything else you needed to bring over.”

  She shifted away. Being this close to him was a little too much for her. “I had most of my things shipped.”

  “Hmmm.” He stepped closer. “Are we going to avoid talking about it?”

  She cleared her throat. “It?”

  He moved closer, the crisp air mingling with his musky cologne. Lord, talk about good enough to eat.

  “What happened here…and at my mama’s.”

  “I thought women were the ones who wanted to talk about relationships.”

  He snorted, but he didn’t get to say anything else because Jed came out of the house.

  “I got everything unloaded. You have anything left at the other house?”

  Because she was irritated with Duncan, she took it out on her brother. “Gwen’s house. I was at Gwen’s house. And no, I don’t have anything else there.”

  His lips flattened into a straight line. “I have to get back to Austin, get things straightened out. I’ll be back after that.”

  “Don’t expect a place to stay.”

  He shook his head, leaned forward, and brushed his lips against her cheek. “Behave and call Duncan if you need anything.”

  “I can handle my life, Jed.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “Just promise me.”

  She huffed out a sigh. “Okay. But only because I love you.”

  He pulled back and looked at Duncan. “I’ll blame you.”

  Duncan rocked back on his heels. “Of course you would.”

  With one last look at Thea, he headed for his truck. Duncan slid closer to her, she looked at him out of the side of her eye. “What did he mean about he’d blame you?”

  He waited until Jed was driving off before he said, “If anything happens to you while he’s gone, he’ll blame me.”

  With a huff, she turned to head into her house.

  “Thea.”

  She looked back over her shoulder. “Forget about it.”

  He laughed as he followed her up the porch. “Gonna be hard to do since it’s all I can think about.”

  Although his voice was normal, the look in his eyes told another story. The heat he’d blasted her with, the things she had dreamed about since he’d touched her, were there in the flare of passion she saw in his gaze. His gray eyes darkened, narrowed. He stepped forward. She turned to fully face him and put a hand on his chest.

  “Don’t.”

  He frowned. “Why?”

  “Other than the obvious complications with an overprotective brother, who is your best friend, I can’t handle it right now.”

  Several seconds of silence pulsed between them, when he finally nodded. “Fine. For now.”

  With that warning, he kissed her in much the same way that Jed did, but instead of the warmth of brotherly love, lust blasted her, shocked her at such a simple touch. “See ya around.”

  She said nothing as he walked away until she realized he didn’t have a car. “You need a ride?”

  His smile turned downright naughty. Heat danced over her nerve endings. “Yeah, but not the kind you’re offering at the moment.”

  She felt her face heat as he laughed and turned away and walked down the street.

  Good lord almighty, what was she going to do about him? She’d always had a hero crush on him, one that had worn off…or she thought it had. Now here she was dissolving into a puddle of lust the moment he said something naughty to her. Just kissing him had left her mind reeling, her body aching for more. She couldn’t imagine what the hell she would do if she had actually went to bed with him.

  There was not a doubt in her mind that it would be anything less than spectacular. But the crash would not be worth it. She hadn’t felt that kind of burning fever with her ex, the kind where she want
ed to strip off his clothes the moment she saw him. She had almost not survived that relationship.

  She just needed to find something to occupy her time and mind. She looked around the boxes her brother had hauled in and smiled. Thankfully, at least for today, she had something to occupy both.

  * * * *

  Wednesday morning, just before the lunch hour, Duncan parked his patrol truck out in front of Thea’s house. She’d been pretty teed off at him yesterday when he showed up, but truthfully, he had no choice. He’d promised Jed. And, if he were honest with himself—and Duncan usually was—he had to see her.

  He unfolded himself from the truck and made his way to the porch. It was starting to bother him that in less than a week he’d become attached to Thea. Not in the normal brotherly way he’d felt when they were growing up. Now, he just wanted to see her, tease her, strip her naked and fuck her until she couldn’t stand straight.

  He stopped mid-step and silently cursed. As usual, most of the blood in his brain had traveled south. Walking around half aroused wasn’t the way to handle his job. She was there, under his skin. Hell, he barely knew her now. But after just two kisses, he was ready to throw caution aside and toss her on a bed and make her scream.

  Jesus! He had to stop doing that to himself. He paced on the porch, irritated and frustrated. If he was ready to jump her the moment he saw her, she’d never become comfortable around him. Usually, when he found a woman he wanted, he enjoyed the chase. Right now, just after a few days, he was starting to feel like an ogre. He wanted her now and he had no finesse to express his need.

  He stopped on the edge of the porch and took a deep breath. As he calmed himself, he noticed an envelope sitting on the edge of the railing. He scooped it up and turned to go to the door when he realized Thea was watching him through the screen of the front door.

  “What are you doing?”

  For the first time in years, he felt his face flush with embarrassment. Great. He cleared his throat.

  “Just stopping by.”

  “Yes, I noticed that about five minutes ago. So I expected you to knock on the door. Not pace my porch like a nutjob.”

  He shot her what he hoped was a nasty look but she laughed.