Jack, however, didn’t look fazed by it at all. He snorted, still relaxed back into his corner of the couch. “Let me guess, you want to watch the second one so that you can drool over Benedict Cumberbatch?”
My eyebrows scrunched together. “Do girls drool over him?”
He laughed, looking at me like I’d made a joke. Then his face fell. “Wait, you’re serious?”
“Uh, yes.” Was that so weird? “Don’t get me wrong, he’s a brilliant actor, but he’s not some gorgeous specimen of a man.”
His eyes narrowed, and I couldn’t figure out if his scrutiny was serious or joking. “Did you grow up in a cult?” he asked.
“What?” I laughed. “Why would you jump to that conclusion?”
“Just answer. Is that what you’re running from? Some creepy leader who wants you as his seventeenth wife?”
“Thankfully, no. I’ve never had that particular problem.” He still looked skeptical. “And why does not drooling over Benedict make you think I was part of a cult? If I’m going to drool during Star Trek, it will be over Chris Pine. Just sayin’.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “No cult leader?”
“Nope.” I stood and picked up the empty popcorn bowl.
“Who is it you’re running from?” he asked from behind me.
“Nope.” I continued into the kitchen.
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “It was worth a try.”
I rolled my eyes. This was exactly why there shouldn’t be a next time.
“And would you mind doing our next movie night at my place?” he surprised me by asking. “It’s a little weird with all the mystical creatures staring at us.”
I laughed as he sent dirty looks at the swinging monkey and the porcelain dolls having their tea party. Jack brought our cups to the sink and tossed the empty M&M package, then he set his palms on the counter and looked at me. “Are things really okay here with Adeline?”
Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting. When he got all serious, I thought for sure he was going to interrogate me again. “They’re great. I still can’t believe it worked out so well. Wasn’t there anyone else they could get?”
He shrugged. “They had just started to seriously think about it, but they thought they’d need to wait until summer so they could get one of the college kids on break.”
I nodded. Without the movie noise to distract me, it started feeling weird having him here. He must have felt it too, because just a minute later, he pushed away from the counter. “Well.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll get out of your hair.” He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. “Star Trek at my place next week.”
“Okay.” I followed behind him, knowing I needed to lock the door.
He pulled out gloves and a knit hat from his pockets and put them on, then gave me a parting smile. “Lock it behind me.” Then he was gone.
Did I just have my first real date with a cop?
7
THE NEXT MORNING was cold—again. Not quite freezing, but cold enough. I missed the weather of Baton Rouge. Or Los Angeles. That had been my second refuge. After the carwash in Seattle had been a bust, I’d pulled out a new ID—the one that read Jenny Tolman—and taken the train from Seattle to L.A. For some reason I felt like I could be more anonymous in the bigger cities. I had lasted a full year and a half there, until my Google alerts informed me that my father was opening a new auction house right there in Los Angeles. My departure was less frantic than when I’d left Seattle after Eric told me I looked like that missing rich girl, which somehow made it harder. I liked my three roommates, even though I hadn’t let myself become overly friendly with them. They all attended UCLA and didn’t mind that I worked a lot, and stayed in my room a lot, and watched movies a lot. It was June, and two of them had just graduated and planned to move out anyway. I felt bad leaving without notice. Stephanie would have to get all new roommates.
It was kind of a relief to leave, though. Stephanie had started dating a guy who was going to the police academy. I couldn’t help but be nervous around him even though he had been perfectly nice.
I didn’t expect to see Jack until the next Sunday, but on Wednesday Adeline toddled in and told me that Jack would be picking me up soon.
“What? Why?”
“He’s agreed to take you over to Jamesport to pick up some things for me.”
“What’s in Jamesport?”
“Some adorable handmade dolls that I want for my living room.”
I thought of all the other dolls that she had in the house and wondered why she needed more, but it was none of my business.
“Plus,” she continued, “Elliot and his kids are coming to visit me this afternoon. He’s overprotective and he’ll interrogate you if you’re around, and I’m fairly certain that would make you uncomfortable.”
I jumped up and headed toward the stairs. “I’ll be ready in a few,” I called as I took the steps two at a time.
Thirty minutes later, I wrapped the scarf that Adeline had given me around my neck and hurried out to Jack’s truck before he had a chance to get out. He leaned over and pushed my door open so I could hop in. It actually wasn’t that cold today, but I still remembered too well what it felt like to be on the verge of freezing, so my scarf went everywhere with me.
I buckled in and turned to Jack, eager to be on our way. Away from the son who would want to interrogate me. Funny how I ran from that and ended up running toward a police officer.
Jack gave me an odd look.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m just surprised you’re this excited about going to an Amish town.”
I perked up. “It’s an Amish town?” I’d never visited one before, and the idea was definitely intriguing. Adeline’s request for handmade dolls made more sense now.
He looked even more confused. “If you didn’t know where we were going, then what was the rush?” He suddenly grinned, a flirty, cocky curve of his lips. “Is it me? You just couldn’t wait to get me alone?” He gave two dramatic pumps of his eyebrows.
I snorted. “Actually, I was just anxious to get out of there before Adeline’s son showed up. She said he’d want to ask me a bunch of questions.”
Jack gave an annoyed huff and put the truck into drive. “He can join the club.”
I didn’t respond. No need to poke the bear.
We lapsed into silence, so he turned on the radio and let the music fill the space between us.
I leaned my head against the cold window, wishing I was back in Louisiana, where I could open the windows and let my hand float on the wind.
I turned to Jack. “Did you always want to be a cop?”
He looked momentarily surprised that I had broken the silence, but focused back on the road with an easy smile. “Nope.” He chuckled. “Actually I was going to be a lawyer.” He looked over at me with a grimace.
“Got a little derailed, did you?”
“More like disenchanted. I liked the idea of criminal trial work, being a prosecutor and bringing criminals to justice. When I realized that not only would I have to slog through years of boring law school, but I’d also have to be prepared to make deals and let people go on technicalities…” He shrugged. “It lost its appeal.”
“Wow,” I said in a monotone.
He glanced over at me. “What?”
“You really do have a hero complex.”
He shook his head, rolling his eyes. “I really don’t.”
“Riiiiiight,” I mocked. “You went to law school so you could put bad guys away, and then when you realized it would be tedious, you became a police officer. You wanted to be in the middle of the action. Cuff the bad guys, bust the drug rings, rescue the damsels in distress.”
“Says the damsel in distress!” he finally interrupted, and his frustrated outburst made me realize that I had struck a nerve. “You can mock me all you want for having a supposed hero complex, but what would you have done if I hadn’t stopped, huh, Angel?”
I narrowed my
eyes at him. It was rude to throw a girl’s damsel moments in her face. Also, his nickname for me was a little unnerving. “Any chance you’ll stop calling me Angel?”
He smirked. “Why?”
“It’s weird. I’m not an angel. I don’t act like an angel. And it sounds like a cutesy pet name.” I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
He gave me a cheesy smile. “That’s because it is a cutesy pet name.”
“Well, since I’m not your pet, why not just call me Celeste?”
“Because that’s not your name,” he said matter-of-factly.
“It’s the name I’m going by.”
“But it’s not you.”
“Angel isn’t me either,” I said in exasperation.
“It’s more you than Celeste is, but I’d be happy to consider other options as well.”
“Like what?”
“Sweet Pea? Cupcake? Princess?”
“Oh my gosh!” I tried to sound annoyed, but my laugh ruined it.
“Or I could call you by your actual name.” He widened his eyes sarcastically. “There’s a thought.”
“Just—” I waved him off. “Forget I said anything.”
“Yes, Cupcake.”
I just shook my head and looked out the window again.
My face was pressed up against the window as we pulled into Jamesport. It was all so quaint and adorable. I loved all the rustic handmade everything, and the little buggies parked on the side of the road.
“It’s a shame we’re here in March.” Jack commented.
“Why’s that?”
“You can’t get the full effect in winter. It’s more idyllic in summer with the produce stands.”
“I think it’s pretty idyllic now.”
Jack turned into a parking lot, and suddenly the scene outside the car became all hazy and slow-motion-y, like I was watching a romantic movie. A strapping Amish fellow rode up on a horse, his coat unbuttoned, his shirt open at the throat despite the low temperatures. He was clean shaven, which I was pretty sure meant he was unmarried. He pulled the horse to a stop with such ease and confidence. It was like the epitome of my teenage fantasies come to life before me. I couldn’t help but stare as he dismounted and tied his horse’s reins to the hitching post. (Because in this town, there were hitching posts.) Then he went inside, and it took me a minute to shake myself out of my man-riding-a-horse daze.
“Wow,” Jack said.
I jerked my gaze to him, and to my supreme humiliation, I found him leaning on his steering wheel, his attention fixed on me. No doubt he had watched as my brain short-circuited. “What?” I snapped.
He shrugged and fought a smile. “Oh nothing, I’m just enjoying seeing you drool over another guy. It does my ego good.” The sarcasm was unmistakable.
“Shut up,” I muttered, pushing my door open.
“Oh, come on,” he said as he got out and met me at the front of the truck. “You have to tell me what that was all about. You took a trip to la-la land while sitting in my truck.”
I folded my arms in a huff and glared at him. “I was just appreciating his riding form.”
“Bull.”
I threw up my hands. “Fine. I was drooling over him because it’s not often that I see an old-timey romance novel come to life in front of me. Happy?” I spun away from him and stalked into the store.
I wanted to shop in stony silence, but the charm of carved wood and hand-quilted blankets charmed me into a good mood. It was rustic, simple, and cozy. The complete opposite of my father’s world.
And the hot horseman was standing about fifteen feet away from me, his coat now gone. It looked like he worked here. My chest seized up as attraction skittered down my spine.
“I don’t think he’s for sale,” Jack hissed in my ear.
I threw an elbow back into his gut and he let out a grunt.
The horseman noticed our scuffle and turned with a smile. “Can I help you with something?”
“Yes,” I said in a voice way higher than normal. “I’m looking for…” Crap. What was I looking for?
Jack mercifully came to my rescue and described the dolls that Adeline wanted.
“Are these for Adeline?” the man asked.
My eyebrows jumped. “You know her?”
He nodded. “She’s one of my favorite customers. She likes unique, beautiful things. And she appreciates quality.”
My more cynical side wondered if quality meant overpriced, but when he told me how much it cost, it didn’t sound outrageous, so I tried to set my cynicism aside.
I paid the man, then looked around the shop a little more before picking up the dolls and letting Jack hold the door open for me.
I may have glanced back one more time to appreciate the horseman’s form.
Jack was nice enough to keep his laughter in until we reached the truck.
I covered my eyes and begged him to shut up as I leaned my forehead against my door.
“Come on,” he said, “Let’s walk around for a while.” He took the dolls and stashed them in the cab of the truck before hooking my arm and pulling me toward the sidewalk. “I should probably be offended,” he mused.
“How do you figure?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Apparently I’m vain enough that I thought you and I had a mutual attraction.”
Mutual attraction?! As in, he was attracted to me?
“But after seeing that,” he went on, oblivious to my small mental freak-out, “I’m obviously not on your radar.”
“Oh, please.” I huddled down in my coat. “You know you’re good looking.”
His eyebrows managed to rise up and scrunch together at the same time. “Do I?”
Didn’t he? He was clearly attractive, or was he just the kind of good-looking that I really appreciated? Maybe I had taken for granted that his handsomeness was obvious, since it was so obvious to me.
My face heated as I realized that despite all the cop issues, I really did find Jack attractive. So then why had I gone all gooey at the sight of the Amish horse guy? Probably because it really had been like a romance novel come to life.
Regardless, I really needed to start keeping my mouth shut. I felt like I was sitting in an awkwardness stew.
“Do you mind if I change the subject?” Jack asked.
“By all means, please do,” I practically begged.
“So…about your car…”
Oh great. “What about it?”
“Who do you think did it?”
Now it was just a different kind of awkward stew. I did not want to talk about my car, but it had certainly been on my mind. I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“So we’re back to that?” He gave me a sidelong glance. “I know you have an idea.”
“I thought I had an idea. Now I don’t know. I can’t figure out what the point of burning it would be.”
“Okay…then how about you tell me who you’re running from?”
I squirmed, kicking a little pile of snow that was in my way. “Jack…” I whined at his persistence.
He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey. You don’t have to give me names. I don’t even know your name. Just tell me if it’s an employer, or a college friend, or a creepy uncle. Just help me understand.”
“You think that will help with your investigation?”
“I’m not investigating. I just want to understand you.”
I looked over at him, a smile lifting my mouth as we continued to walk past small businesses and houses surrounded by huge old trees. He just couldn’t turn off his cop-ness, and I found it oddly endearing, especially since I really did think he was handsome. I thought about his request. It wasn’t unreasonable, and the truth was that I did want him to get to know me. “My dad,” I said into my scarf, halfway hoping he wouldn’t hear me.
He looked over at me, surprised that I had answered, or surprised by my answer. “Your dad?”
“Yeah. He’s the one I’m running from.” I tucked my hair behind my ears.
; There was a pregnant pause before he asked, “Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head. Yes, my dad had hurt me, but not in the way Jack was suggesting. “He’s controlling, and not nice, and very influential.” True, but vague.
“Like a politician?”
“Kind of.”
“And?” he prodded.
“That’s all I can tell you. Sorry.”
“So, he’s a powerful guy?”
I gave him a look but didn’t answer.
“I’m just trying to understand.”
His lame excuse made me chuckle. “Yes, very powerful. Let’s leave it at that.”
“So, you don’t think that he’s the one that burned your car?”
I sighed, resigned to answering his questions, at least partially. “No, I don’t. He gains nothing from it.”
“It couldn’t be a warning?”
“Not his style.”
“Any chance you’ll talk to the police down south who are investigating?”
“No, Jack.” I stopped walking and turned fully toward him. “You are the only cop I will be talking to, and I’m starting to regret that.”
“I know you’re worried about who you trust, but if you want to catch these people—”
“That’s just it, Jack. I don’t want to catch them,” I insisted. The cop-ness had seemed cute a minute ago, but now I was reminded that it was just plain dangerous. “I don’t want anything to do with it. I don’t want you to have anything to do with it either. Just leave it alone. Please?”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“You are the most dangerous person in this town.”
His brows shot up in surprise. “How in the world did I get that distinction?”
“You want to help. And cops that want to help reach out to other cops who want to help, and somewhere in that helpful chain of people is a guy with my dad’s phone number.”
He studied me for a moment, and his voice was a lot softer when he spoke again. “I think you overestimate your father’s influence.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Would you like me to tell you what happened the last time I underestimated my dad’s influence?”
If I Could Stay Page 8
