All He Ever Dreamed (13 page)

“Maybe you steal from your victims.”

“Enough to buy that television and pay taxes and otherwise support myself? What kind of people do you guys think I’m killing down there? I think somebody, especially Fran Benoit, would notice if people carrying wads of cash in their wallets kept wandering into Whitford only to never be seen again.”

“You’re the only person in the entire town who has a separate security system just for his basement.”

“Why a serial killer, though? Why not the CIA or a mad scientist?”

Katie felt herself blush. “That’s probably my mom’s fault. She’s Fran’s primary gossip buddy and she spends most of her spare time watching
Criminal
Minds
repeats.”

“I’ll show you what I do if you don’t ruin the fun by telling everybody.”

“Really? Just like that?”

Max shrugged. “Josh is always talking shit about your Jeep. I think the idea of him having to wash it once a month is funny, don’t you?”

“I think it’s hilarious.”

She looked away while Max punched numbers in the security box, but she was right on his heels as he went down the steps. Even though, once he hit the switch, the lighting was excellent and the climate control system was obviously top-notch, she had to admit it was a little thrilling going into the basement with the town’s alleged serial killer.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs and he stepped aside, holding his arm out in a
ta
-
da
motion, she stopped short. “Toy trains?”

He clutched a hand over his heart as if mortally wounded. “These are not toy trains. They’re highly collectible, precision-engineered brass HO-scale models.”

She was confused. “So you, what…play with them?”

“I paint them. See that one?” He pointed to a brass train engine in a glass case on a shelf, then pointed to his workbench. “I take the brass ones and paint them, making them look authentic with weathering and whatnot.”

Katie walked closer to the bench to look at his work in progress. There were jars of paint, the tiniest brushes she’d ever seen and an airbrush gun around a train lying supported on its side. It looked as if he was in the process of lettering Central Maine Railroad down the side.

Off to the right were more glass cases, and she eyed one engine that looked really old. It was a Union Pacific and the detail was incredible. He didn’t paint them to look nice. He painted them in such a way that the engines looked as though they had actually been worked for decades. “It looks so real.”

“It’s not as exciting as serial killing or the CIA, but I’m very good at it.”

“You’re an artist.”

“And a historian. I have to know the locomotive, the railroad, the numbering system. When people want passenger cars painted, I want them to be one hundred percent authentic. And doing freight means knowing what the different rail lines shipped. I work off of real photographs from the time whenever possible.”

They both turned when footsteps thumped down the stairs and Josh came into view, looking concerned. “Oh, there you are. I couldn’t figure out where Katie went and then I saw the basement door was ajar and…”

“You thought I was torturing and murdering her during halftime.”

Josh gave Max a chagrined look. “Not really, but you have to wonder how many serial killers’ neighbors laughed off the idea they might be living next door to one.”

“True.”

“Are those toy trains?”

Max went through the spiel again and, when he was done, Katie poked a finger at Josh’s chest. “Just to be clear, though, I knew before you did.”

“Shit.” He shook his head, obviously peeved at losing the bet. “Why the extra security?”

“Some of these locomotives are really rare, and even the ones that aren’t cost more than you might think. At any given time I’ve got twenty-to-thirty-grand worth of other people’s property down here and sometimes more. I prefer not to advertise that.”

“If anybody asks what we saw down here,” Josh said, “we’ll tell them nothing but an industrial sink, a meat hook and a dozen chest-style freezers.”

Max grinned. “Excellent.”

Katie followed Josh back up the stairs and, after locking up, Max grabbed the drinks off the counter and headed for the living room.

She hooked her finger through Josh’s belt loop and pulled him close. “I think it’s really sweet how you came running down to the rescue when you thought he might be killing me.”

“I didn’t want to have to tell Rosie I let Max Crawford stuff your body in his freezer.”

She laughed and pushed up on her toes so she could plant a kiss on him. “Chicken. I can’t believe you’d face down a serial killer, but not my mother.”

“At least with a serial killer, I’ve got a fighting chance.”

Chapter Thirteen

Josh had never considered putting a couch in the lodge’s office, a lack of foresight for which he was now kicking himself in the ass. He had, however, put a lock on the door to keep guests out, so he didn’t have to worry about anybody walking in unannounced.

A long leather couch would have been nice, though, beating the hell out of being bare-assed on the hundred-year-old braided rug on the office floor.

There were families in the living room, watching the New Year’s Eve countdown show together, and the closer it got to midnight, the louder they got. Rose and Andy had retreated to her room to do the same privately. Some of the men from the families in the living room were hiding in the barn from the merriment, drinking beers and talking sledding. Privacy was at a premium at the Northern Star.

It had been tempting to head to Katie’s apartment for the night, even if she did have the heat turned down, but he didn’t like leaving Rose with a party going on in the house. It wasn’t a big party—or even technically a party, really—but there were enough people and enough alcohol that a problem could pop up. Even with Andy in the house, Josh wasn’t taking the chance of things going to shit while he was away.

The office had been their last resort, and it served the purpose even if it wasn’t the most comfortable place in the house. Naked on his back, with Katie straddling him, the braided rug didn’t bother him as much as he’d thought it would. Hell, with her breasts filling his hands, he could have been laying in a bed of puckerbrush and he wouldn’t care.

With a hand braced on either side of his head, Katie could look at him while she rocked her hips in slow circles that damn near drove him out of his mind. “You know, I’ve heard that however you ring in the New Year is how you’ll spend the entire year.”

“I think chafing would kick in sometime around February at the latest.”

She laughed and lightly slapped his chest. “Not literally.”

“Then what? Is this some kind of riddle?” Why were they even talking right now? He was buried inside her and she was talking about some stupid holiday tradition.

“Quit being a dumbass. It means if you’re happy and having fun and everything when it turns midnight, you’ll have a happy, fun year.”

Together, he thought. If they were together when the ball dropped, did she think they’d spend the year that way? While being in bed—or on the floor, actually—with her wasn’t exactly a hardship, he had his bags mentally packed. If the door to his leaving Whitford opened even a crack, he’d be through it so fast it wouldn’t have a chance to hit him on the ass on the way out.

That’s what he kept telling himself, anyway. Right at this moment, the need to get away wasn’t quite so urgent.

“And you,” she said, “are apparently at risk for spending the next twelve months scowling at ceiling fans.”

“I’m laying on my back, facing up. I can’t
not
see the ceiling fan.”

“You can not scowl at it. What were you thinking about?”

He put his hands on her hips and rocked her forward, then he lifted his hips in a hard thrust to remind her what they’d been doing before she felt a need to have a conversation. “Less talking. More moving.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. I’m not ringing in the New Year with you telling me what to do.”

Before she could resist, he pushed one of her knees back and rolled until he was on top of her. “What was that?”

She wrapped those amazing legs around his hips, holding him close to her. “Maybe this was my master plan all along.”

He started moving his hips, slowly thrusting until she dug her nails in his back and made that impatient sound low in her throat that made him incredibly hot. Quickening the pace, he watched her face, loving the way she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

When she moaned, her breath coming faster, he ran his tongue across her lip and pressed a kiss to the spot her tooth had been catching. “Shhhh.”

Her frustrated growl would have made him laugh if he wasn’t aware of just how close she was, and the fact he wasn’t far behind. She felt so damn good, and he thrust harder as she buried her face in his neck to muffle herself. Her body clenched around him and he couldn’t hold back anymore.

When his breath returned and his heart stopped hammering in his ears, he rolled to the side so he wasn’t crushing Katie into the rug. With his arm thrown over her, he rested his head against hers and enjoyed the afterglow.

“We’re stuck here until they all go to bed, aren’t we?” she asked after a few minutes.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Of course not. For all they know, we have a TV in here and wanted to watch a different channel than they did. We should probably get dressed before we go out there, though.”

“I’m getting dressed anyway. Wooden floors in old New England houses in the winter don’t make for cozy beds, rug or no rug.”

As much as he liked feeling her naked body up against his, he didn’t mind watching her get dressed again. But once she’d covered up the best parts, he decided she was right about the cold floor so he dropped the condom in the trash can next to the desk and pulled his clothes back on. Once they were both dressed, the office became boring in a hurry, though.

“I wonder if they ate all the snacks,” Katie said.

Because they knew their guests would be staying up later than usual, they’d made the kitchen more accessible. Cheese and crackers, popcorn, a nice assortment of goodies from Rose. They couldn’t supply alcohol, so it was strictly BYOB, but they wanted to give a little extra to people who’d chosen to a spend a holiday at the Northern Star.

“Doing this as long as I have, you learn a few things,” he told her. “Like squirreling away some of the goodies before you lay them out for the guests. There might be some cookies, cheese and a pepperoni stick hiding behind the baking powder in the pantry.”

“You keep your stash behind the baking powder, huh? I’ll have to remember that.”

Josh grinned. “I’ve caught guests digging around for some weird things, but I’ve never had one try to sneak off with the baking powder. What do you think? Want to go eat cookies in the pantry?”

“Let’s do it. Should I let you go first and then wait a few minutes?”

He laughed so hard he knew there’d be no doubt he wasn’t alone in the office, anyway. “Jesus, Katie, we’re not sixteen. Just walk to the kitchen and say hi or happy New Year or whatever to anybody who talks to you. Don’t forget, this is
my
house
.”

Sure, it would be nice if he didn’t have to lead the woman he’d just made love to through a gauntlet of guests who didn’t seem to realize that once the ball in Times Square dropped, it was time to go to bed. But he was polite and kept moving, so they made it to the pantry without Katie passing out from embarrassment.

He closed the door behind him, the only light coming through the slats in the louvered doors, and rummaged behind the baking powder for the cookies. He handed her one, then took one for himself. Sure, hiding in the closet was stupid, but he was having too much fun with Katie and her adjustment to sharing living space with strangers not to.

“Gee, Josh. Sex in a barn. Cookies in a closet. You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

“I’m a hell of a catch, huh? Wait ’til I show you what I can do in the basement.” He grinned and popped the cookie in his mouth.

* * *

Rose was always thrown off by holidays. People checking out on Tuesday and then more people checking in on Friday would make for a short week. Adding in the fact she’d stayed awake long enough to ring in the New Year with a kiss from Andy, and she was out of sorts. Even though she’d only been up a few hours, she could have gone for a nap.

Katie was moving back to her apartment today, and Rose had no good excuse to offer why she shouldn’t. She’d thought—or maybe just hoped—that Josh and Katie would just go along as they were for a while. The longer they played house, the more
right
it would feel to them. But Rose could understand Katie’s desire to get the barbershop back on schedule, even if she didn’t understand why she couldn’t drive to work from the lodge and back. It wasn’t very far.

And Josh didn’t seem upset at all by seeing Katie’s bag next to the back door. If anything, he seemed happy about the fact she was leaving, and Rose couldn’t understand that at all.

Andy walked into the kitchen, probably looking for coffee. “Uh-oh. You look like you want to slap somebody upside the head with a shovel.”

“I’m trying to think of a good excuse for Katie to stay.”

He slid an arm around her shoulders and kissed her before reaching past her for the coffeepot. “You’re back on your feet now, and that’s the only reason she was here. It makes sense she’d go home.”

“Maybe if I cough a few times, she’ll stay.” When Andy gave her a stern look, she laughed. “I was kidding. But why does Josh seem so okay with her going? I thought he was falling for her, but if he was he’d want to keep her here.”

“Privacy.” He blew across the top of his coffee and then took a sip, closing his eyes as he savored the brew. “Josh can, uh…visit her there instead of in a houseful of people.”

Rose hadn’t thought of that, but Andy had a point. Maybe spending time at Katie’s apartment, where he could totally relax and enjoy her company, would strengthen their relationship more than continuing on in the routine they had now.

Before she could say anything else, the door to the basement opened and Katie emerged. When she saw them standing there, she smiled and then blew out an exhausted breath. “All the bedding’s downstairs. First load’s in the washer.”

“I could have done that, honey. I really do feel better.”

“I know, Mom. But I figured I’d get it all downstairs for you before I leave.”

Rose couldn’t help herself. “Why don’t you stay for dinner and then go home after?”

Katie gave her a sweet smile, as if she knew her silly old mom was just trying to keep her there a little longer. “Because it’ll take a few hours for my apartment to come back up to temperature and I don’t want to crawl into a freezing bed. Where’s Josh?”

“He went for a quick ride,” Andy said. “One of the guests said there was a tree down across the trail. They had a few guys, so they were able to hold it up enough to pass all the machines under, but it needs a chain saw. Would’ve given him a hand, but he was ready to go and I wasn’t. Said it wouldn’t take him more than a half hour.”

As if they’d summoned him just by talking about him, they all heard the whine of his snowmobile cutting across the yard, heading toward the barn.

Katie picked up her bag and shoved her feet into her boots. “I’m going to head out, then. You call me if you need anything, Mom. And you’re still on semilight duty, no matter how good you feel.”

“I won’t let her overdo it,” Andy said.

Rose shushed him and hurried forward to kiss her daughter’s cheek before she went out the door. Then she watched through the window as Katie walked to the barn and waited while Josh took off his helmet and put the chain saw away.

They were easy together, smiling and happy, and Rose forced herself to relax. They were still okay, she thought. Her pneumonia had thrown them together and now all she could do was see if it stuck.

“I think you’re right,” she told Andy as the kids disappeared in the direction of Katie’s Jeep. “Being under the same roof was the kick in the pants Josh needed, but now they’ll have a chance to build a real relationship.”

She smiled as he slid his arm around her waist and kissed the back of her neck. “You’re good at this matchmaking thing.”

“I am, aren’t I?” she agreed, and then she turned her head toward him so his next kiss was a proper one.

* * *

Movie night, held on the first Saturday of each month, was a longstanding tradition for some of the women of Whitford. The hosting duties rotated and this time it was Jilly Crenshaw’s turn.

Katie was partial to movie night at Jilly’s because Gavin usually put out some of his incredible food for them before he and his dad left for Max’s to watch whatever sport they could find on the television.

Tonight the movie was the new romantic comedy on the block, which didn’t do much for her. Gavin’s buffalo-chicken dip, however, would have been worth sitting through
The
English
Patient
again. She was hesitant to try it, but once she did she wanted to bury her face in the pan and devour it like she was in a no-hands pie-eating contest. She needed that recipe.

Luckily, there was plenty of dip to go around, because attendance was light. The forecast had hinted at the possibility of sleet, which kept some of the less adventurous drivers—including Rose—at home. Paige wasn’t giving up a Saturday night with Mitch, especially since he’d be traveling again in less than a month. Hailey had gone to her sister’s house in Massachusetts to have a belated Christmas with her family.

But Fran was there, and Jilly. Tori, the part-time waitress who was Jilly’s niece, was sitting at one end of the couch, looking a little lost. There were a few others there, too, and she waved to them as she sat on the other end of the couch, balancing a plate with crackers and dip on it. Jilly sat between her and Tori, picking up the remote.

Holding the plate in one hand, Katie fumbled with her phone, switching it to vibrate before the movie started. She tucked it under her thigh and used a throw pillow to help balance her plate.

“I heard you and Josh are a thing now,” Jilly said, leaning close to her as if every other woman in the room wasn’t listening.

“Yeah, I guess we are.”

“That’s awesome. Everybody knew you guys belonged together, so we’re all happy for you. Plus, the Kowalskis throw great weddings, you know.”

Katie felt her eyes widen and shook her head. “We’re not there yet. Not even close, actually.”

Jilly patted her leg. “You’ll get there. Don’t worry.”

“Okay, Jilly, I’m ready,” Fran said as she lowered herself into Jilly’s rocker and set her knitting basket on the floor next to it.

Jilly hit the play button and Katie sat back with a sigh of relief. At least the attention was off her and onto the television where it belonged. They were already talking about a wedding?