The Sharpest Edge

by Stephanie Rowe

  “I’ll come out and meet him,” he said.

  “Me, too.” Kim jumped up, ignoring his glare to stay in the office. “I have to run this place, Sean. I’m not going to let Jimmy rule my life.”

  “You’re taking over the Loon’s Nest?” Didi asked Kim as she trailed along after them. “Really?”

  “Really.” Kim walked into the reception area one step ahead of Sean, but he made sure she wasn’t between his gun and their guest, who appeared to be a skinny kid wearing cutoffs and sneakers. He looked like he was eighteen, but something about his eyes said he was more likely to be in his mid-twenties. He was wearing a Yankees cap and his nose was sunburned. He blushed when Didi shot him a come-hither look. Guess the kid hadn’t figured out that Didi probably gave that smile to anyone with a Y chromosome.

  “I’m Kim Collins.”

  The kid nodded. “Tom Payton. Eddie sent me up here to get you. He wants to show you something on Max’s boat.” He looked nervously at Sean. “You’re the cop?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He saw your cruiser. Wants you to come, too.”

  Sean glanced at Kim as they followed Tom out the door. Her face was shuttered and she wouldn’t look at him. Was she pissed at Sean or upset because they had to deal with her dad? What had happened to make her hate Max so much?

  No, that wasn’t Sean’s problem. It was so frustrating to find himself falling into the old patterns: caring about her, wanting to know what she was feeling, wishing he could take away her anguish. He’d thought he hated her too much to lapse into past behaviors. Habit. That’s all his feelings were. A bad habit it was time to break so he could focus on the more important questions. For one, what was going on with Max’s boat?

  Eddie met them at the door to the boathouse, where he had Max’s boat in dry dock. He wasted no time on pleasantries. “You guys gotta see this.” He walked them over to the boat and pointed to the steering column. “Right there.”

  Sean could see some scratches on the casing. “What am I looking for?”

  Eddie pulled out a screwdriver and pointed to a small piece of metal poking out. “That little piece wedged in there?” He tugged on the steering wheel and it didn’t turn. “Jammed the steering column so it can’t turn.”

  Sean squatted and pulled a flashlight off his belt. “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah.” Eddie leaned on the rim of the boat. “Told you his wife was trying to kill him.”

  Sean had been treated to Eddie’s murder theories during their late nights at the hospital and he still didn’t buy them. In Sean’s opinion, Eddie felt guilty and was trying to absolve himself. Sean was certain Helen adored Max, even if she didn’t want to operate the Loon’s Nest for the rest of her life. “Assuming for a minute it wasn’t Helen, how else could this have happened?”

  Kim was standing back, her arms folded across her chest. She was acting as though she didn’t care, but he couldn’t believe it. He simply couldn’t. He’d seen her love for her family too many times. It had been real and enduring. How had it come to this?

  Eddie frowned. “I didn’t do it.”

  “I know, Eddie. But could it have happened by mistake?”

  He hesitated. “Well, Tom was working on the boat earlier in the day. He might have made an error, I guess.”

  Sean could hear Tom outside talking to one of the resort guests about renting a boat to go waterskiing.

  He sat back on his heels. “If the piece got wedged in there before Max took the boat out, how could he have steered from the start? Or it is possible that it shifted?”

  “It definitely shifted as he drove. Helen probably wedged it in there and knew the steering would freeze up at some point.”

  “But that could have been when he was going slow and was in no danger. It’s not a very good way to kill someone.”

  Eddie frowned. “She’s not real bright when it comes to lake things. Lucky for us.”

  Sean ground his teeth, trying to remain neutral. “Why are you so against Helen?”

  Eddie’s eyes narrowed. “How can you be on her side? She’s the outsider.”

  “I’m not on anyone’s side, Eddie. I’m just trying to get answers.”

  Eddie turned away and looked for Kim, who was standing even farther away, her arms hugged around her body. “You believe me, don’t you, Kim? It was Helen trying to kill him.”

  She glanced at Sean and he saw such stark angst on her face he felt it slap him. He had to close his eyes for a moment to force himself not to reach out to her. Dammit! Break the habit, Sean! But at least he’d been right to doubt her claim that she didn’t care about her dad at all.

  “I don’t know what to believe.” Her voice was so pained that Eddie immediately softened.

  “I’m sorry, Kimmy. I know it’s hard for you to talk about it.” He refocused on Sean. “But this is your job. You find a way to pin it on Helen before she destroys this place. I love this family and I’m not going to see it destroyed by some scheming outsider like Helen.”

  “I’ll look into it. Keep the boat off-limits and I’ll send someone to check it out.” Sean inspected the rafters of the boathouse. There was a ledge around the ceiling where life jackets and some small boats were stored. Perfect hiding spot for someone who wanted to tamper with the boat and needed a place to wait until the opportunity arose.

  This whole place was rife with opportunity for a stalker. It was a bunch of cabins in the woods. If Kim tried to run this place, she’d be walking on secluded trails all day long. He looked at her, and she was checking out the rafters as well. When she met his gaze, he knew she’d been thinking the same thing.

  Good. Maybe she’d listen to him now.

  KIM WAS TRUDGING back toward the office when Sean caught her arm. He nodded toward Tom. “Let’s chat with him.”

  “About my dad’s accident?” She swallowed hard.

  “Yeah.” He didn’t let go, forcing her to accompany him. He wouldn’t let her run away from her own father’s fate. Not when she’d given him that glimpse of her hidden angst. He wasn’t going to make it easy for her to reject Max. Because he loved Max. Not because he gave a rip about Kim’s happiness anymore. Or at least he was trying not to. It was harder than he wanted it to be. “Tom. Got a sec?”

  Tom turned away from the guest who was paddling away in a canoe. “Yeah. What’s up?”

  “You worked on Max’s boat before he took it out?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you inspect the steering column?”

  “I did the normal maintenance. Everything was fine.” But he wasn’t making eye contact, and he was shifting restlessly on his feet.

  “But did you check the steering column?”

  Tom’s hands settled on his hips. “I didn’t look for things wedged in it.” There was a defiant edge to his voice. A challenge.

  Interesting. “Eddie showed you the steering column?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Yeah, Eddie would make a good investigator. “Any thoughts on how it got there?”

  Tom shrugged. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t screw up.”

  Sean lifted his eyebrow. “No one says you did. I’m just trying to gather information.”

  “Well, it wasn’t me.” Tom picked at the edge of his T-shirt. “Is that it? I gotta get back to work.”

  Sean let him go.

  Kim stared across the lake, her arms folded across her chest. “You think my dad’s crash wasn’t an accident?” Her voice was clipped and reserved.

  He didn’t buy her aloofness. “Do you?”

  She pressed her lips together. Finally, she shrugged.

  “Do you even care?” He had to ask. Had to know if she could even acknowledge that she felt something inside that frigid wall she’d erected around herself. Had to understand how the woman he’d loved had become the woman she was today.

  After a long moment, she nodded once. Then she walked away.

  SIX HOURS LATER, Kim waved the hunky maintenance guy away after she locked
the door behind him and set the new alarm. Carl, the head of maintenance she’d seen flirting with one of the girls that morning, had driven her home and done a walk-through of her house before leaving.

  She hadn’t asked for his escort, but Sean had had a little chat with Carl before taking off for the day. After she’d refused Sean’s bodyguard offer, he’d compromised by giving her someone else’s assistance.

  She leaned against the locked door and sighed. She couldn’t live like this, but she couldn’t deny that a small part of her felt better after Carl had inspected the place. Was Jimmy here? Was he in California? Was she losing her mind? He was making her so crazy she didn’t know what to think.

  Her cell phone rang. She flipped the phone open. “You don’t need to call me every five minutes.”

  “Still no sign of him out here,” Alan said. “I’m getting worried. He should have tried to find you by now.”

  She swallowed. “You know he’s going to show up out there. He has to.”

  “Have you seen any sign of him yet?”

  “No.” She hadn’t told Alan about the noise on the roof last night. Why would she? Growing up, she’d heard so many noises and they had never been a homicidal maniac. Until she had proof it was anything other than a bear, she wasn’t going to let her paranoia rule her. “I got an alarm and the cops are on it.”

  “I think I should come out there. Stay with you.”

  She frowned and forced herself to walk into the kitchen to find something for dinner. “I’m fine. Really. We have to stick to the plan.” Stay organized. Stay in control. It was the only way to win. “His goal is to get us to react emotionally and make a mistake. We can’t let him win.”

  Alan was quiet for a moment. “I don’t like it.”

  “Join the club.” She paused. “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure.”

  “Can you double-check the date Jimmy got out of prison? Find out for sure if he was still there a month ago?”

  “Why?”

  “There’s been some stuff going on around here. Weird stuff. I just want to make sure that Jimmy didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  “What’s going on, Kim?” His words were rushed, almost panicky. “Talk to me.”

  “Just find out, okay?” She didn’t want to talk about the possibility that Jimmy had tried to kill her dad. Talking about it gave the swirling innuendos validity, and she didn’t want to do that. Not unless there was a reason. “I’m seeing ghosts where there are none and I need to remind myself of the facts, okay?”

  “That’s all it is?”

  “Yes.” Heaven help her, she hoped that was all it was.

  He grunted. “I’ll check. Call me in an hour, okay? To check in.”

  She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Thanks for caring.”

  “See you later, Kim. Be careful.”

  She disconnected and shoved her phone in her pocket. No way was she leaving it in another room. Such a fine line between being paranoid and being careful. She’d been clinging to the right side of the line for the past eighteen months, but right now she was dangerously close to catapulting down the other side of it into an emotional hell that would destroy her the way it had killed her mother.

  SEAN PULLED HIS cruiser into Kim’s driveway later that evening. It was past midnight and the lights in the cabin were still on. Nerves getting to the woman who claimed to be so tough?

  He parked outside her front door and climbed out, standing silently to listen to the woods. To feel the darkness.

  Owls were hooting softly. Loons were calling. The sounds of night were active and right.

  Then why was his skin prickling?

  He turned slowly and stared into the woodsy hill above the driveway. It was too dark to see, but he didn’t need his eyes. He could sense something. Someone.

  Soundlessly, he unclipped his gun and slid it free, aiming it into the woods.

  “Sean? Is that you?”

  A window scraped open and he glanced up at Kim. “Quiet.”

  Her eyes widened and her mouth snapped shut.

  He turned back to the woods, but whatever had been there was gone. He could sense nothing. Had it been his imagination? On edge because the woman he once loved might be in danger? Or an accurate cop instinct?

  He wished he knew.

  He holstered his gun and faced the window. “Any problems tonight?”

  “Was someone out there?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Her eyes were huge and he wanted to grab her and hold her and chase those nightmares away. The past didn’t matter, huh? What an idiot he’d been to think he could order it away. “I’ll check out the rest of the property, then head on out.”

  She stared at him. “Do you want to come in?”

  Hell, yes, he wanted to come in. She was leaning out of her old bedroom window. They’d stolen many a moment in that spot while her parents were out on the lake. Too many memories. “Um, no, I need to keep moving.”

  Her fingers gripped the window frame. “I could make some coffee, so you don’t fall asleep.”

  “You want me to come in?”

  Silence fell and he regretted his question. Kim was too proud to acknowledge that she was scared. He shouldn’t have forced her to admit that she wanted his company because she never would. Not anymore.

  Despite everything, he wanted to be inside that house with her. It didn’t matter what the circumstances were or that they were trying to pretend they were strangers. He simply wanted to be with her. To keep her safe, whether she could admit she needed help or not. “I’d like some coffee.”

  She hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll be right down.”

  The slam of the window jarred through the night and Sean headed to the front step to meet her. Despite all his efforts to fight his attraction to her, to resist the lure of returning to her side, he was getting sucked in.

  He stood on the doorstep and listened to her feet thudding on the stairs as she ran down to greet him. A sense of the inevitable settled heavily on his shoulders. He didn’t want to be here, yet he couldn’t stop it.

  And it had nothing to do with the job.

  They had ended badly before, and he’d seen enough to know it wouldn’t be any different this time. For ten years, he’d buried the pain. But seeing her again was bringing it all back to the surface again, and it sucked.

  Dammit. He was tired of the unanswered questions. Maybe it was time for the discussion they’d never had. Maybe that would finally free him from caring, because Lord knew, nothing else had worked.

  Chapter Five

  Kim punched the alarm code to disable it, then paused with her hand on the doorknob. She took a desperately needed moment to remind herself that Sean in her house meant nothing. Cop and civilian. No past. Just like last night, when he’d been there as a police officer.

  He didn’t want to talk about what had happened before. So what if she wasn’t over it? It didn’t matter that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since she’d seen him. She felt so ashamed she’d walked out on him that way, without a word. Without an explanation. Now that he was back in her life, she couldn’t stop thinking about how he must have felt waiting for her.

  Waiting. Wondering. She’d betrayed him.

  It had been ten years ago. A lifetime had passed. Their relationship was over, and she had to remember that. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened the door. Sean was standing on the step, looking frustrated and determined, and her heart jumped.

  Did he look good in his uniform or what? He was so different from the boy she’d loved, but he was the same, too…maybe. “Come on in.”

  He stepped inside and stopped just over the threshold, acting like a guest. So different from the other night when he’d taken possession of her house as if he belonged there. The way he used to act when they were teenagers. Now? They were like strangers. Regret flooded through her and she tried to shut it off, even as a longing for the intimacy they used
to share made her want to touch his shoulder. Lean against him. Feel his warmth strengthen her.

  “You’re sure the coffee is no trouble?” he asked. His voice was polite and even, and he was scanning the interior of the house. But there was an undercurrent to his tone that made her skin prickle. What wasn’t he telling her?

  “No problem at all.” Coffee. Right. She’d invited him in for a caffeine boost. “You can wait in the family room. I’ll start the pot.”

  “I’ll go with you.” He fell in behind her as she headed toward the kitchen.

  Their feet echoed on the pine floors, his steps heavy and slightly uneven, hers soft in her sneakers. She glanced over her shoulder. “Do you have a leg injury or something?”

  His gaze flicked to her face. “Why?”

  “Your walk isn’t the same as it used to be. It sounds different.”

  He lifted one eyebrow. “You remember what my walk sounded like?”

  She felt her cheeks heat up and she turned away. “I guess so.” How embarrassing. He probably hadn’t thought about her once since she’d left, and here she was, admitting she could recall how he used to walk. So she’d spent the last decade thinking about him. So every man she’d dated had fallen short in comparison. So what?

  She yanked open the fridge where she’d stashed her coffee beans and he leaned against the counter next to her, his arms folded loosely across his chest. “What else do you remember?” His voice was soft, with that same roughness it’d had when he used to whisper in her ear when they made love. The shift wasn’t intentional; it was simply how he spoke when he was battling his emotions.

  What was he thinking about that was making his voice gruff? She swallowed hard and shut the fridge. “Um…I think you broke your finger.”

  He glanced down at his crooked digit and flexed it. “Yeah, I did.”

  The churning of the coffee grinder startled them both and they looked at each other, then laughed at the same time. “Guess I’m a little on edge,” she said.

  His smile faded into something soft. “Yeah, me, too.”

  “Really?” The old Sean had always told her his feelings, but she hadn’t thought this new, aloof Sean would.