‘Yes, ma’am, she is definitely special,” he drawled. For a moment, their eyes met and held.
“Alrighty then,” Maggie’s matter-of-fact voice broke the tension. “We need a new plan. One that makes it clear Reed’s not going anywhere.”
“Are you sure?” His voice was hesitant, and Susan frowned. “I mean, if I’m riling this person up, could I be increasing the risk to Susan?”
Maggie sighed. “So far the only threat has been to you. The rosemary hasn’t been sent with any type of warning or threat. I’m inclined to think that whoever this is isn’t interested in hurting her. At least, not at the moment.”
All three were silent, considering the options.
“I think I’d like to keep things the way they are for right now,” Susan said. “Obviously Reed being here has changed something, but until we know what, I feel better having him close.”
He felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. His mind told him she felt safer because he was a U.S. Marshal, but his heart rejoiced at the thought that she valued him, as a person, maybe even as a man.
Trying hard not to grin, he spoke up. “I’m with her. I’d like to keep going and see what happens.”
His partner was silent for a moment as she thought it through. “Okay, then, we’re agreed. We’ll leave things the same for now. But both of you need to be extra alert and vigilant. We don’t know who we’re dealing with yet, so don’t do anything stupid.”
“Thanks partner. I’ll talk to you later. I need to whip up some dinner. Susan’s famished.” He grinned at Susan and she nodded her head in agreement.
Maggie laughed. “Have him make you an omelet, Susan. I don’t know how he does it, but they come out fluffy and delicious. Take care you two. Talk to you later.”
He hung up the phone and turned to Susan. “What would you like for dinner?”
“You heard Maggie,” she laughed. “After that endorsement, how can I say no?”
“Okay, then. Omelets it is!”
Susan changed out of her school clothes and into jeans and a T-shirt. She’d always been independent and self-sufficient, so it surprised her that she enjoyed having Reed cook for her. She also felt a little guilty. He was on duty 24/7 taking care of her. The least she could do was help him in the kitchen.
She caught sight of herself in the mirror as she walked across the room. Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were bright. Her lips were curved in a smile and she admitted to herself that having him around wasn’t the hardship she’d expected it to be. She fluffed her hair, then messed it up again. This isn’t a date, she reminded herself. But the woman in her didn’t care. She fluffed her hair again and added a touch of lip gloss. Satisfied, she headed for the kitchen.
“Hey, that smells delicious!” she exclaimed as she joined him at the stove.
“What can I say,” he teased, “I’m impressive.”
She couldn’t think of an appropriate response, so she lifted the lid on the skillet and took a peek. Home fries with small chunks of onion, red and green bell pepper tantalized her senses, making her mouth water. She reached for a fork, planning to sample the dish.
“Don’t you dare!” he playfully slapped at her wrist as she reached for the utensil. She pouted, but he just laughed. “Have a seat at the table and I’ll bring the food over. Or better yet, if you could set the table while I finish cooking, I’d really appreciate it.”
She set the table and sat down, her taste buds on high alert. She nearly started drooling when Reed set plates of home fries, omelets, bacon and sausage in the middle of the table.
Reed knew he would never get tired of her excitement at his cooking. He liked food and he liked eating, but he didn’t appreciate it like she did. He was used to cooking for himself or for Maggie and his brother, who enjoyed his food but didn’t swoon over it. He had to admit he enjoyed having someone who relished everything he made.
He watched her eyes widen and her lips part as he set the serving dishes on the table. There he went again, thinking of her lips. He had to stop doing that. Now she was looking at him with a ‘hurry up’ expression. What did she want from him?
“Sit down and take my hand,” she demanded. Confused, Reed stood still, staring at her. “I want to eat, and we need to say grace.” She held out her hand and looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to quit dawdling.
“Right,” Reed replied. He sat and took her hand in his, glad she didn’t hesitate to touch him anymore. They bowed their heads and Susan said grace quickly, letting go of his hand too soon.
“You get started,” he told her. “I’ll be right back.”
As Reed stood up, Susan’s worried face caught his eye. “I just want to walk around the house really quick. I’ll lock the door behind me, so you have nothing to be concerned about.” Susan bit her lip and nodded, making his heart sink. She’d been so happy a minute ago and now he’d ruined her mood.
He sighed and leaned down to look Susan in the eye. “It don’t amount to a hill o’ beans. I just don’t want my sister-in-law to get her britches in a tangle.” He spoke in his best, southern drawl, hoping to make her laugh.
Susan’s gaze held his, and he could see the wheels turning. Apparently satisfied that he was telling the truth, she nodded. “Fine, but if all the bacon gets eaten before you get back, it’s your fault.” She grinned impishly at him as she grabbed a piece of bacon and took a bite.
“If you eat all that bacon before I get back, I’m pretty sure you’re going to end up with a tummy ache.” He laughed when she responded by shrugging her shoulders and taking another bite. “Fine, I’ll hurry,” he conceded.
She shrugged and reached for the home fries, scooping a big pile on her plate. He headed out as she grabbed the omelets, afraid she might not be joking and there wouldn’t be any food left if he took too long.
He checked the outside of the house and walked the perimeter. The street was quiet, neighbors all settled in for the evening. Feeling more confident about their safety, he went back inside to eat his dinner—if there was any left.
8
“Settle down class!” Susan called out over the din. “It’s time to get back to work.” A collective groan met her ears, led by none other than Reed, from the back of the room.
“This is my classroom and if you can’t behave, I’ll send you to the principal’s office,” she said sternly, looking directly at her “brother.”
“Ooh, snap!” one of the students whispered, as others giggled and turned to stare at an unrepentant Reed.
“Is that supposed to scare me?” he whispered to the student nearest him, who gulped and immediately looked to Miss Sinclair for help.
“Reed, enough,” she said. “The rest of you, open your books to Chapter 10, page 126.” She picked up her marker and wrote the assignment on the white board at the front of the class. She turned back to the class and realized that two of the young men were alternately staring at Reed then whispering to each other. She looked at Reed and he nodded, letting her know he was aware. Since he was paying attention, Susan tried to relax and get back into teacher mode.
“Katy, would you please read the first paragraph on page 126? And when Katy is done, we’ll go down the row with each of you reading one paragraph. Okay?” Her question was met with grumbles by everyone but Katy and Mary, who loved reading aloud. Katy sat up, cleared her throat and waited until her teacher nodded to begin reading.
Susan tried to pay attention, but it was difficult. She found herself sneaking peeks at the boys in the back of the classroom and looking over at Reed. When the second student finished reading and the room went quiet, waiting for a response from their distracted teacher, Susan had to admit defeat.
“I’m sorry class, I’m feeling a little off today. How about we put our books aside and have free time for the last 15 minutes of class.” Her words were met with whoops of joy and the classroom quickly devolved into a free-for-all.
Susan looked up to see Katy walking towards he
r. “Are you okay, Miss Sinclair?” The girl’s brow was furrowed, and she seemed anxious, twisting her hands in front of her.
“I’m fine, Katy, thanks for asking.” The girl didn’t look convinced, so she added, “I didn’t sleep well last night, and I think it’s catching up with me, that’s all.”
The girl nodded and leaned forward. “I hate when I don’t sleep well. It leaves me feeling like my head’s all full of fog.”
“That’s it, exactly,” she agreed. “I’m sure I’ll sleep tonight and be back to normal tomorrow.”
Susan sighed. It was true. She hadn’t slept well. For the first time in a long time, she’d dreamt about Bruno DeLuca, the man she was set to testify against. He’d gone after Reed and Maggie and she’d been unable to do anything to help them. She’d woken up drenched in sweat, her heart racing. The dream had left her feeling anxious and unsettled; if anything happened to them because of her, she’d never forgive herself.
She rubbed her tired eyes and looked over at Reed. He was surrounded by students who were watching him make animals and flowers out of paper. He explained that he was doing origami and he patiently answered every question the students asked.
He really is an amazing man, she thought. Handsome, smart, funny and talented; too bad she hadn’t met him before her life turned upside down. As if he felt her watching him, Reed looked up and smiled at her, making her heart flutter and her breath catch in her throat.
Susan quickly looked away, hoping it wasn’t obvious how he affected her. Snap out of it! she told herself. He’s here to protect me, not to be my friend. Definitely not to be my boyfriend.
Feeling more in control of her emotions, she looked around the classroom. The two boys who’d been whispering had joined the group around Reed and were watching him intently. She stood up and walked over to see what was so fascinating.
He’d made a series of swans, large to small, and set them on the desk in front of him. There were also hearts and bunnies and boats. As she walked up, she heard one of the boys ask if he knew how to make an origami rose.
“My name’s Tyler. My mom’s been sick and when you made that tulip from paper yesterday, I wondered if you could make a rose so I could give to her.” His voice trailed off, but his friend nudged him, encouraging him to explain. “She loves roses and I can’t afford to buy her a real one, so . . .”
The other boy, Jason, handed Reed a square of shiny, red paper. “I found this in the art supply drawer. I thought it would make a pretty rose for Tyler’s mom.”
“I’d love to help you,” Reed said, “on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Tyler’s voice squeaked, his courage nearly failing him.
“I’ll teach you, but you need to make it yourself.” He gestured for Tyler to pull up a chair next to him, then he took a plain piece of paper and started folding it, explaining as he went. “I’ll show you how to make a rose using this paper. Then you can practice and make a few on your own. Once you get this down, you can use the fancy paper and give that one to your ma.”
Tyler’s face lit up and he grabbed a piece of paper, ready to follow Reed’s instructions.
“I’d like to try, too, if you don’t mind,” Jason piped in.
“Of course! Scoot in here.” Reed made room and handed him a sheet of paper.
As she watched the three of them focus on the origami, their heads bent over the task, she felt a bit of shame. She’d thought these two boys were up to something when they were just trying to work up the courage to ask Reed to help them. She’d totally forgotten he’d filled the time yesterday doing origami, but apparently it had made an impression on the two boys. Her eyes filled with tears at the beauty of the moment, and she discretely wiped her eyes with the back of her finger.
She returned to the front of the classroom and sat at her desk, still feeling guilty for her suspicions. She saw Mary watching her, so she gestured for the girl to join her and grabbed a chair, setting it next to her desk. Mary was hesitant, but when Susan smiled, she thawed and took the seat.
“I’m sorry, Mary. I didn’t mean to ruin the lesson today.” Mary took her learning seriously, she wanted to get into a good college and move to a big city. She got upset when anything interfered with her lessons.
Mary shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay. I wasn’t that into it either.” She sighed and looked back at Reed, Tyler and Jason. “When is your brother going home?”
Startled, Susan looked at her student’s face, but her expression was wide-open, and friendly. “I don’t really know. I guess he’ll be staying until he’s ready to leave.” Great ‘non-answer’ answer, Susan.
Mary’s face wrinkled as she tried to decipher what Susan was saying. “I have no idea what that means, but it looks like the boys are enjoying his company.”
She looked back and now there were five boys working on origami with Reed. She grinned and nodded. “It does indeed.” She paused, then looked directly at the girl. “You don’t seem to like Reed at all. May I ask why not?”
Mary chewed on her thumbnail; her face scrunched up in thought. “It’s not that I don’t like him, it’s just . . . I don’t think I can really trust any man right now.” Her voice trailed off and she felt her heart constrict. After all this girl had been through, it made sense that she wouldn’t trust Reed.
Feeling guilty again, this time for not realizing his presence was hard on her student, she bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Mary. It didn’t occur to me that it might bother you to have him in the classroom. He’s my brother and I can vouch for him being a good guy.” She paused, but the girl’s wary expression didn’t change.
“I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable, but he’s not going anywhere, at least right away, so if you’d like I can transfer you to Ms. Miller’s class until he leaves.”
Mary looked stricken and she quickly assured her she didn’t want to be transferred. “No, Miss Sinclair, it’s okay. He seems nice and I’m fine with him being here. Really, it’s fine.”
She held back a grin. Mary had looked positively horrified at the thought of changing classes, even temporarily. But she’d have to keep an eye on her and if she determined it would be in the girl’s best interest, she’d speak with the principal about a transfer. “Okay, then. You let me know if anything changes.” Mary nodded just as the school bell rang, signaling the day was over.
In the teacher’s lounge, Jenny was hunched over, her head in her hands. “What’s up, Jenny?” Susan walked over and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder.
The woman raised her teary eyes up to meet hers. “Oh, you know me. My big mouth got away from me and I said some things to your brother that I didn’t really mean. Then I got flustered and said some worse things. I’ve been worried that you won’t want to be friends anymore.”
Susan sat down next to the upset woman with a grin on her face. “Reed didn’t tell me what was said, but I could see it upset him. He told me he’d made you angry and you might not want to be friends with me anymore, because of him.”
Jenny gasped. “I never want to lose your friendship. I knew I was being dumb as the words tumbled out of my mouth, but by then it was too late to shove them back in.” A single tear rolled down her face and she sniffled, miserably.
Susan took her friend’s hand in hers. “Tell you what, next week you and I will have lunch together and you can tell me all about it.” She started to stand up, then froze in place. “But for now, maybe you two shouldn’t talk to each other. At least until you and I have a chance to clear the air.” She finished standing and flexed her weary shoulders.
“You look like crap.” Jenny immediately clamped her hand over her mouth and looked up at her, mortified. But Susan only laughed.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night, so yeah, I look like crap.” She caught sight of Reed standing outside the door. “Reed’s here, so I gotta go.” She started to walk towards the door but stopped suddenly at her friend’s next words.
“When is he leaving, any
way?”
Jenny was wiping at her eyes with a napkin, so she couldn’t see her expression. “Why?” Her heart was racing. Why had a student and a teacher both asked about Reed in the same day?
The woman tossed the napkin into the trash. “I just wondered if he’ll be here for the Spring dance. I’ll bet he’s really good at the electric slide.” She waggled her eyebrows at her, then pretended to fan herself.
“Jenny, you are a mess.”
“I know, I know. But I’m a lovable mess. See you tomorrow. It’s Friday, you know.”
“Yes, I am aware,” she said drily, shaking her head. She waved goodbye and walked out to meet Reed.
“Everything okay?” Reed asked as they walked to the car.
“Yeah. I told Jenny I’d have lunch with her next week so we can talk about whatever you two argued about.”
“Good, I think that’s a wise way to handle it. But you should eat before you talk because you’ll probably lose your appetite.”
She heard the anger in his voice and turned to look at him. She was distracted by movement behind him; someone ducked behind a tree near the school entrance. She put her hand on Reed’s arm and leaned forward. “Don’t be obvious, but I just saw someone hide behind the tree about 15 yards behind you.”
He nodded and turned towards the car. He took a few steps, then dropped his keys. “Oh man, I’m so clumsy today.” She started giggling at his dramatic announcement and tried to cover it with a fake cough.
As Reed bent to pick up his keys, he glanced back towards the school. He saw the toes of a brown shoe peeking out from behind a large oak tree, and his adrenaline kicked in. He looked at her and mouthed, “follow my lead.” She nodded and together, they started walking to her car. Susan beeped the alarm and unlocked the driver’s side door, then climbed in. As she inserted the key into the ignition, Reed smacked himself in the forehead.
Murder and a Pinch of Rosemary Page 4
