Beauty and the Chief (8 page)

After a half hour play, the adults conceded the game and moved to the loungers to sit.

“That was fun.” Jillian sighed.

“They wore you out.”

She shook her head. “You should see soccer practice. There, they wear me out.”

“This probably wasn’t how you planned to spend your day.”

“Actually, I really didn’t have much planned, just time with Abby. I’m going to keep her close for a few days. I’ll take her to work with me tomorrow. She stays in the back room or in a kennel out back. Nan spoils her when I’m not around. Sneaks her treats like I don’t know what’s happening.”

When a shadow of unease crossed Jillian’s face, Mark guessed where her thoughts had turned.

“I don’t want you going anywhere alone. I don’t want you in the shop alone.”

“Do you really think he might come after me?” She frowned and he had to resist the urge to reach for her.

“I don’t know. I plan to talk with the psychologist who’s been working on the profile for us tomorrow, and see what he says. I just wish that picture hadn’t ended up in the paper.” He knew his frustration came through his voice.

“I’ll be careful,” she promised.

“I want you to be more than that. I want you to be extra observant. I’m not trying to make you paranoid, but you watch everyone around you. And, put my number on speed dial − first one that comes up. If anything happens, I want you to call me. If you even so much as feel you’re being followed, call nine-one-one.”

He could see what he said disturbed her, but she nodded.

“Man, I’m sure not making points toward getting to take you out, am I?” he grumbled derisively.

“You want to take me out?” This time it wasn’t fear that widened her eyes.

He let a touch of wickedness play across his face. “Yeah, I thought about it. I have to ask you something first.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you think I’m too old for you?”

“Too old?” Her stunned expression was a stroke to his ego, as were her next words. “You’re not old at all.”

“Jordan was already born when I was your age.” He felt it his duty to point out.

“You’re not old.” She glanced away. A blush lit her cheeks. “I’d like to go out with you.”

“Good, now the problem is when. As you pointed out yesterday, between work and Jordan, I don’t have a lot of free time. And, as much as I love my son, I want a date with just the two of us.”

Her blush deepened. “I have soccer practice on Wednesday and Friday this week. Next week it will go down to only Wednesday.”

“How about Tuesday night? Can we try for that? I’ll have to phrase it that way because I never know what will come up.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, wait a minute I can’t do it Tuesday. I have a council meeting. How about Thursday?”

“Thursday’s fine.”

“Good.” He lounged back. He had a date with Jillian. He felt like a teenage boy who’d just scored a date with the prom queen.

“Sam!” Sam’s mom called from outside the fence. “Time to get ready to go.”

Jillian glanced at the clock on the back wall of the clubhouse. “Oh, my, I didn’t realize how much time had passed. Mrs. Morris will have your dinner waiting for you.”

“Actually, Mrs. Morris has the weekends off, so we fend for ourselves. We either have leftovers, eat out, or we grill. I can handle grilling. You wouldn’t like to join us by chance? We can stop and get some steaks at the store. Maybe pick up a movie.”

There was a look of yearning on her face, but she shook her head. “I think I’d better stay with Abby.”

“Bring her,” he suggested.

“Not yet. She’s still not up to being shifted around much.”

After a slight hesitation, she spoke again. “How about we put a couple baking potatoes in the oven then go over to the store, get the steaks, bring them back here and I’ll grill them for you. That is, if you don’t have to get Jordan home.”

“No, we’re free and I’d like that.” He fought down the pleasure that burst within him, afraid he’d scare her. It was a simple dinner with his son around, but it felt like more. “If it won’t be an imposition.”

“Not at all. I’d like the company. We might even find some corn on the cob for dinner.”

“That sounds great. Jordan, what do you think of letting Jillian fix us dinner?”

“Cool.”

Twenty five minutes later, after showering, changing, then leaving Jordan behind with Abby, Jillian watched Mark pick out a couple steaks. “You know, I’m never going to be able to eat a steak that large.”

“This one is for Abby, but if you’re nice, she might let you share.”

“Oh.” Her lips twitched into a smile.

“You don’t mind her getting some scraps do you? This is kind of a special treat. I promised her a steak for being such a good dog.”

“I don’t give her much people food, but this I’ll allow. You’re right. She definitely earned it.”

“Agreed,” Mark said then his gaze shifted beyond her and his face hardened.

“Mark, is something wrong?” She looked around but didn’t see anything.

“What, oh, no. I just saw someone I need to speak to. If you’ll excuse me a moment?” His attention had already shifted again. Waves of tension seeped off him.

“Sure. No problem. I’ll just go see about the corn.”

“I’ll meet you there.” He was already striding away before he finished the sentence.

“What are you doing here?” Mark snapped.

“What? Oh, Richards.” Nigel Clark turned his attention from the package of noodles he was holding.

“I asked what you’re doing here,” Mark demanded.

“It’s a grocery store. I would say that’s obvious. Got to admit, though, I’m surprised to see you at the store.”

“I didn’t know you lived close to here.”

“Not too far away, and I was on my way home from visiting a friend.”

“What friend?”

“A lady friend. What’s this, an interrogation?”

“I wanted to talk to you. I told you no picture of Jillian in the paper.”

“Jillian? Oh yeah, the long-legged beauty. I didn’t.”

Mark got the feeling the denial was too casual to be true. He studied the man a minute. “Come with me.” He led Clark to the front of the store where there was a stack of newspapers. Mark picked up one, opening it. “Now, you want to tell me you don’t know anything about this?” He shoved the article toward the reporter. “You disclosed everything there but her name.”

Clark made a show of looking down. “Hey, they must have changed the picture. It’s not the one I had tagged for the article, but this is a much better shot.”

The man was a good liar, but Mark had no doubt he was lying. “What are you playing at here, Clark?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then, I’ll spell it out for you. If I find out that you’re following Jillian Taylor around and that you are setting her up to try to draw in the killer just so you can get a story or try to catch this guy on your own, you’ll find your butt in jail. And, your freedom of speech will not protect you from obstruction of justice and reckless endangerment, or whatever I can find to add on it.”

“And you’re not sticking close to Miss Taylor hoping she might lead you to the killer?” The reporter probed back, as much as admitting he’d been observing Jillian.

“My reasons are my own. Now, back off.” He scowled at the man, wishing he could throw him into a cell right then. He didn’t like Clark, nor did he trust him.

“Hey, you can’t tell me where to go. This is a free country.”

“Yeah, but if you keep following Miss Taylor, she can press a stalking charge and I’ll see it enforced. In fact, I’ll even help her fill out the paperwork. Now, get your groceries and get out, and I better not see you following her again.” Mark turned, leaving the threat hanging and strode off to find Jillian.

***

Jillian had three ears of bi-colored corn that promised to be sweet and a container of large, ripe strawberries that caught her eye. She wondered if Mark and Jordan would like a chocolate dipped strawberry, or was that just a girl thing? Her brothers liked them, but they’d eat anything. She saw peaches and paused. Would guys prefer peaches? She put the basket down to look at them. They were as hard as rocks so that ended the debate.

She reached down for the basket, taking the handle just as a hand locked on her arm. Startled, Jillian let out a small shriek, stumbling back into the peach bin. She spun to grab the fruit she knocked loose from the stack. Toby pressed next to her, helping hold back the fruit with his large hands. Miraculously, only one peach slipped free and fell to the floor.

“I’m sorry, Jillian.” Toby mumbled as she fixed the stack.

“It’s okay, Toby. I didn’t see you. You just need to let me know you’re around before you do something like that.” She noticed her hand still trembled slightly but she managed to force a smile to her face.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scare you.” His voice dropped like a chastened child.

“I know. I’ve just been a little jumpy lately, and you walk very quietly.”

“My mom told me not to clomp everywhere. I practiced so I wouldn’t.”

“You walk very well.”

“She said, just because I was a big man, I didn’t need to be like a bull in the china closet.” He looked back at the peaches and blushed.

“That wasn’t your fault. I knocked them over.” She reached out to lay her hand on his arm to reassure him.

“Are you jumpy because of what happened to Sandy?”

“A little.”

“I heard you were there that night. That was how Abby got hurt.”

“Yes.”

“Sandy still hasn’t woke up yet. I like her. She always tells me jokes, and she says I’m handsome.”

“You are handsome, and I like Sandy too. I called her father this morning. He said she was showing improvement today. They hope she’ll wake up soon.”

“I hope so. I want her to come back to work.”

Jillian smiled. It sounded like she had a rival for Toby’s affections.

“I came to tell you I saw your picture in the paper with your soccer team,” he exclaimed shifting side to side. For Jillian, it brought a touch of dread, but Toby didn’t notice. He continued talking. “I cut it out and put it on my wall next to the picture of Sandy. She was in the paper last month.”

“I remember.”

“She saved the little girl. That was scary. I thought the girl was going to die, but Sandy saved her. It was cool. And you saved Sandy, that’s cool too.”

“It was Abby who saved her and me.”

“Are you going to give Abby a steak?” He pointed to the basket.

“Maybe a little.”

“That’s a lot of steak.”

“I’m having company for dinner.”

A scowl creased Toby’s brow, then deepened as he looked past her. Jillian turned to see Mark coming toward her.

“I got to get back to work,” Toby mumbled and grabbed up the peach that had landed on the floor and fled.

“Bye, Toby,” Jillian barely got the words out before he disappeared through the swinging door to the stock room.

“I take it I have a way with people today,” Mark said as he stopped beside her.

“Pardon?” She looked him over. He seemed a little tense as he stared toward where Toby disappeared.

“Nothing. You seem to get a lot of people popping up in your life.”

“You mean like you?” She smiled, thinking she liked that he kept showing up.

A smile came to his lips as if maybe he liked that thought, too. “Actually, I was thinking about Toby.”

“But, he’s been around awhile. He wanted to let me know he saw the picture in the paper.” Jillian didn’t realize how in tune with Mark she was until she sensed the slight change in him. She knew he was concerned for her. It made her feel like he truly cared. Not just because his job was to serve and protect. “You’re the only man I know who has been reappearing in my life recently.”

A twinkle sparked in his eyes. “And is that a good thing?” He moved closer.

Jillian’s pulse jumped with awareness. “I’m beginning to think that it might be.”

“Let me know when you decide.” His head tilted toward her, and she lost all ability to think. Breathless, she parted her lips slightly in anticipation then jumped at a loud crash. She spun around and became aware that not only the women whose carts had run into each other were staring at them, but so was about every other person in the produce department.

“I think we’d better get out of here.” Mark grabbed up the basket. “You all done?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He caught her hand, leading her to the front.

After paying for the food, he hustled her to the car. Jillian figured he was embarrassed, she knew she was. She was going to kiss him right in the middle of the produce department. She couldn’t believe it.

He drove in steely silence and she wondered if he was mad. He turned on to her street just as she couldn’t take the tension any longer. “Mark.”

He swung the car to the curb and shoved the shift into park. “How can kissing you be so hard? I swear between my son and,” he burst out, letting the sentence hang as he reached over the console and pulled her to him.

She pitied anyone who disturbed him right then, Jillian thought an instant before his mouth closed over hers then all she could think of was him. He invaded her senses, seeped into her soul and settled in to stay. She heard him groan and answered with one of her own as pleasure like she’d never experienced rocked her. She didn’t know kissing could be like this. But it wasn’t just kissing. It was claiming. Certain of only one thing, she knew Mark Richards had just made her his.

His lips left her mouth to caress across her cheek. His hands held her head to angle it for his kiss. “How did that happen?” His voice was heavy in a hoarse growl.

“I don’t know,” Jillian whispered in awe. “It never happened to me before. I mean.” She broke off, suddenly flustered. Not sure what she was going to say.

Luckily, he took over for her, pressing his lips back to hers once more, before settling back into his seat. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles went white. Tilting his head back, he shut his eyes tight.

She didn’t know what to do, what to say. The last time she said his name he kissed her. In all honesty, she wished he would again, but it was certainly the wrong time and place. Still, there was nothing else to say. “Mark?”

He opened his eyes and looked at her, his gaze heated. He kept his hands locked on the wheel. “I’m sorry, Jillian. Please say I didn’t scare you.”

She shook her head. Scared was the last thing she’d been. “You didn’t scare me,” she managed to get out breathlessly. “I’ve just never been kissed like that before.”

“That makes two of us.” He looked away then back. “I’m trying to tell myself it was the anticipation of wanting it so much. But I don’t think that’s true.” He looked back at her. “I’ve never felt such a reaction. I don’t want you to feel that’s a line, because it’s not. I don’t use them.”

“I know,” she whispered, reaching to touch his arm.

“Don’t.” He winced. “Sorry, I’m trying to get myself in control. I’m feeling very primitive here. I’d like to throw you over my shoulder, haul you back to my cave, and claim you as mine.”

His choice of the word claim hit her, because it was right out of her thoughts.

He winced, “I didn’t mean to shock you. You’re safe, I promise. You don’t have anything to fear. I’ll never hurt you. I’m making this worse. I better shut up now before you start yelling for the police.”

She felt a tinge of humor at what he said, and it widened at his obvious discomfort. “I won’t have to yell too loud, as you’re right here.”

He stared at her a moment before he got that she was referring to him, and she wasn’t worried. “I just want to say that I felt something when I kissed you.”

Jillian decided she didn’t want him to get away easy. “Good, because you just rocked my world like no one else has.” She left him to think about that. “We better go get those steaks going. Your son and my dog are waiting.”

That pulled Mark back to reality for the time being, but he was still thinking of rocking her world later that night as he lay in bed. Her world was definitely not the only one rocked. He could still taste her, ambrosia. He was in so much trouble. He never thought of a woman made just for him, but he knew, if there was one, it was Jillian.

He pictured her in his mind and sighed with pleasure. She smiled at something Jordan said in an easy, relaxed way. The next image was after he brought her up out of the water, locked in his arms, laughter lit her face. The vision changed to right after he’d kissed her, if that could be classified as just a kiss. Her eyes were pools of azure light. Her lips had been full and pink from his attention to them. They were parted as she tried to catch the breath he’d taken.

He experienced a surge of pleasure at being able to put the dazed expression on her face. He knew she’d been caught as unprepared by the response as he had.

The phone ripped him from his reverie, and he sprang to get it. “Richards,” he said in the phone.

“Sorry to call you so late,” Detective Andrew Hamilton said, giving proof to the wave of unease he sensed the moment the phone rang.

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought you’d want to know. It looks like there was a possible attempt on Sandra Cannon tonight.”

“What?” He sat up straighter, swinging his legs off the bed.

“I’m at the hospital now. A nurse saw a man, dressed as an orderly, looking like he was trying to sneak into intensive care. She was suspicious because no one should have been coming in then, and he seemed like he was averting his face. And of course, she knew what happened to Sandra. She called out to him and he ran. She alerted security, but they couldn’t find him. We’ve got a man posted at every exit, but I think he’s already gone.”

“Was the nurse able to give you a description?”

“Just height and build, she didn’t get a look at his face.”

“What about security cameras?”

“So far no, but I’m still checking,” Andrew assured him. “We’ll go over them frame by frame. I just wanted to let you know what was happening first.”

“I appreciate that. I want an officer stationed right outside Sandra’s room.”

“I knew you would. Casey’s already in place. I’ll have a relief assigned before I punch out tonight.”

“Sounds like you don’t need me,” Mark commented drily.