Bringing Delaney Home (Cates Brothers #1) (16 page)

Quinn nibbled on the palm of her hand, which almost had her crossing her eyes until he lowered her hand and flashed a cocky grin.

“You thought I’d hold out longer? Well, me too, but”—she gazed at his smile and then up into his electric blue eyes—“he talked me into bed, what can I say? And if he’s as good as he says he is, I might stay at his place for more than one night. Is that okay with you?”

“I’m totally okay with it,” Quinn whispered into her ear, his deep voice vibrating through her body like the hum of a tuning fork.

She shoved an elbow in his gut, making him grunt. “What? Oh, that was Quinn getting all hot and bothered already. How about we meet at the diner for breakfast tomorrow?”

Delaney heard a deep mumble, probably the mysterious Jack, before Greer changed it to lunch and then they hung up.

“I told you he’d been gone for a while.” Quinn grinned one of those knowing guy grins. “Come on. I’m pretty anxious to get home myself all of a sudden.”

“We are not sleeping together, but if you let me stay in your guest room for a few days, I’ll owe you.”

“You’ll owe me? I do like the sound of that. Okay, so no to sleeping together, but maybe we can make out a little or tuck each other into bed.” Quinn guided Delaney up and out to the parking lot, waving a general good-bye to the hoots and hooyahs they got on the way out.

“In your dreams, Quinn.” She glanced up at his face, which was lit up by the large rustic lanterns hanging in the parking lot.

Quinn smiled his crooked smile. “You know you’re tempted. You’re only hesitating because you’re hung up on the younger-guy thing.”

Delaney stopped walking and narrowed her eyes at him. Could he be that dense? “Quinn, I’ll admit the fact that you’re younger than me is different, but look at me right now and tell me there isn’t, oh, say, maybe one or two other little things that might make me think twice about hopping, and I mean that literally, into bed with you.”

“Oh, okay. This is where we talk about your foot.”

“Well, we could, but why don’t we talk about the one that’s missing instead.”

“Hey, don’t think I haven’t thought about this. I actually have a speech planned out. It’s just that you’ve been through a lot this week, and I’m not sure you’re ready for this conversation.”

“Of course I’m not ready. Oh, God, what are you doing to me? One minute I know I don’t want to have sex with you. The next minute I’m thinking about and discussing the logistics of sex with you.” Delaney didn’t just think Quinn was driving her crazy. She knew it.

“So, we’ll slow down. I can do that. But know this . . . I’m slowing this down for you. Don’t think I want you any less. When you’re ready, we’ll talk, and then it’s game on in the bedroom.”

“Quinn, do you even have a romantic bone in your body?” Delaney rolled her eyes. “Game on?”

Quinn opened the door and helped her into his truck. He walked around, slid in behind the steering wheel, and turned toward her. “Is that what you want from me, Delaney? Romance?”

“What? No. No, of course not.” Gah! She wanted him to walk away before she did something crazy. Like say yes.

“I can be more romantic. It might take me a little while, but I can come up with something.”

Delaney laughed at the look of concentration on his face. “Never mind. I definitely don’t want romance.”

“No. Your inner romantic bitch has spoken. Let’s call her Lola.” Quinn pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward Delaney’s so she could grab a few things for the sleepover. “Everyone knows, what Lola wants, Lola gets. I’ll come up with something. Have a little faith, please.”

Climax being a small town, the drive to Delaney’s was short. She kept glancing over at Quinn, who was mumbling under his breath, trying to come up with something romantic. She laughed, watching him, as they pulled into the driveway.

“Dammit.”

“That’s what I thought. Not a romantic bone in your body, is there?” Delaney chuckled until she saw that Quinn was staring at the house, his jaw clenched tight. Turning toward the house lit up by the truck headlights, she saw the broken front picture window. Spray-painted in bright red, in three-foot-tall letters on either side of the broken window, were the words
LEAVE
NOW
.

Chapter Fifteen

“W
ell, heck. I guess I did piss someone off.”

“Stay here while I check it out.” Quinn leaned across her, grabbing a flashlight out of the glove compartment.

Delaney watched him cut across the headlight beams to check out around the front porch. Huh, just when she thought Quinn was being paranoid, this. She rolled down her window to get a clearer look. Seeing the jagged edges of the window, Delaney started shaking just imagining the sound of the breaking glass. The same sound that echoed in her nightmares.

“You might want to call Greer.”

She started since she hadn’t noticed Quinn standing next to her window. “What are you, a ninja? Look, I’ve already stacked the ‘reasons to worry about Delaney’ list high enough already. Letting her have another twelve hours until I have to add more to the pile won’t hurt.”

“Are you trying to protect Greer again?” He rested his hand on the window opening. “Want to guess where Jack works?”

“No. Oh, tell me he’s not a—” Delaney’s voice was cut off by her ringing phone. Sure enough, it was Greer calling. “Cop.” She answered Greer’s call just as the police siren started wailing onto the driveway.

Quinn walked away to talk to the cops on duty.

Delaney spent ten minutes on the phone trying to appease her worried sister while Quinn and his fellow cops split up, some gathering evidence on the front porch, others heading inside the house. Greer finally calmed down and ended the call after Delaney reminded her she would be safe at Quinn’s place.

She leaned back against the truck seat and watched the organized chaos of a crime scene. Crime scene? It could just be teenagers, right?

No. Once might be teenagers, but four times? She passed the time by going through all the conversations she’d had since she’d been back. Okay, she could see there might be a few people upset with her, but enough to break a window and spray graffiti on the house? And if it wasn’t anger, what else could it be? Fear? She didn’t have any deep dark secrets to reveal. Love? It would be a sick, twisted love then, wouldn’t it, and she hadn’t seen any lovesick fool around, other than Quinn. Jealousy?

Barbara! The bitch. But no. Barbara was upfront about her feelings for Delaney. As much as she’d like to pin this on her, that theory didn’t make sense.

Maybe she’d been looking at it the wrong way.
She
wasn’t necessarily the problem. What if this
was
about Quinn? He certainly hadn’t been shy about his interest in her. Lord knew, Yvette was a victim of his charm. No telling how many other women were wandering around town unable to get his attention and she had pissed off.

Quinn finally climbed back behind the wheel of the truck, leaving the cops on duty to finish up. He tossed a bag onto the seat next to her. “I grabbed you a few things. Toothbrush, toothpaste, some face-looking stuff, something that looked like wound cream. Clean sweats and underthings. I didn’t see any birth control pills. Should I go back to look again?”

“You are so nosy. The answer to your question, Officer Cates, is the lady isn’t on birth control. You just had to paw through my underwear drawer again, didn’t you?”

“I’m an optimistic guy, and I was hoping to find a thong or two in it this time. Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?” He headed the truck toward his house, glancing often at Delaney.

“What did you find inside?”

“Someone entered through the front door and ransacked the front room. A little more graffiti on the walls in there, you know, telling you to leave.”

Delaney turned her head to look closely at Quinn. “They used my name? Not Greer’s?”

“Yeah, they did. Was there any doubt?” Quinn looked dubiously at Delaney.

“Hey, I have plenty of doubt. I doubt this is even about me and who I pissed off. I’ve been thinking and I think this is about you and some jealous ex-girlfriend.” Delaney saw him start to deny it and cut him off. “Oh, please. Just tonight, Yvette would have happily smothered me in my meat loaf for a word from you.”

“It’s a theory, except she was working tonight, remember?”

“Oh, I remember. But I also remember she clocked out before we left. How long does it take to throw something through a window and spray some graffiti? And that’s just one of your girlfriends. I cannot begin to count the number of women who display their cleavage for you at the gym on a regular basis.”

“She was never my girlfriend. And what cleavage?” Quinn frowned at her. “I’ve missed cleavage displays? Maybe I do need Viagra.”

“You honestly haven’t noticed?” Delaney asked.

Quinn pulled the truck in front of his house and shut off the engine. He sat for a minute in silence, then turned his head toward Delaney and looked at her. “I see you, Delaney. Only you. I’m Adam to your Eve.”

“Wha . . . what?” Delaney stared at him without blinking. She shook her head and reminded herself not to fall for his charm, stomping down those tingly feelings. “I don’t get it. We’re talking gorgeous, willing women. Who probably wear thongs. Why me?”

“I’m the Mickey to your Minnie. The Fred to your Wilma. Sadly, I’m Lucy to your Schroeder.”

“Oh.” She glanced away and fiddled with the latch to the glove compartment. “I always thought Barney and Betty had a better relationship.”

“You think so? I always thought Barney let Betty walk all over him. Fred and Wilma were equals.” He grabbed Delaney’s bag of clothes. “Let’s go, little girl. It’s been a long day. Dr. Quinn prescribes sleep. Lots of sleep. We’ve got that lunch thing tomorrow, and if I know Greer, she’ll be up early, anxious to grill us for all the dirty details.”

Quinn unlocked the front door of his ranch-style house, stepped in, and flipped on the foyer light. A light patter of paws headed toward them quickly from the back of the house. “Are you okay with dogs?”

“Sure. If they’re okay with me, I’m okay with them.” Delaney took a step back when something resembling a dog skidded into the foyer. “Oh, whoa.”

The dog, about knee high, was dancing excitedly in a circle around Quinn, like a four-legged off-Broadway act tap-tap-tapping on the slate tile. Slightly snaggle-toothed so it looked like he was leering, with ears sticking straight out. He was ugly with a capital U.

“You really do have a dog and not a snoring problem.” Delaney bent down to the dog. “Come here, you. Aren’t you . . . something.”

“You’re as honest as Greer said you were,” Quinn said. “You can’t even lie to my dog.”

Delaney watched as the dog, still tapping out his little happy dance, finally stopped, plopped down on his butt, and snorted. He gazed up at Quinn with big, devoted puppy eyes. “He can’t help it if he’s u-g-l-y, and I don’t want to be the one to break it to him. Besides, look at his face. That’s pure love right there and that’s beautiful.”

“Delaney, meet my dog Snot. Snot, this is Delaney.” Quinn responded to Delaney’s raised eyebrow, “Hey, I didn’t name him. I made the mistake of letting my five-year-old godchild Henry Lee name him.”

“Henry Lee?” Delaney looked up surprised. “I met him. Cute kid.”

“Cute kid with a problem. He keeps coming home from school bruised.” Quinn shook his head. “His dad and I can’t get the bully’s name out of him.”

“Boogerbutt Brian Ralph. Fourth grade.”

“What are you, the child whisperer? We’ve been trying to get that information out of him for weeks.”

Delaney shrugged and returned her attention to the dog. “Your godchild is as charming as your dog.”

“Well, I haven’t trained Henry Lee to fetch my golf balls back yet, but watch this. Snot, be a gentleman,” Quinn commanded.

Snot lowered his front end, tucking one front paw under his body and ducked his head until his nose touched the floor. Then he quickly sat back on his haunches and lifted his right front paw to shake.

“Snot, you might be u-g-l-y, but you’re smart.” Delaney bent down to greet Snot, letting him sniff her hand before scratching him behind his ears. “You’re like the Bill Gates of the dog world.”

“Uh, I wouldn’t go that far.” He led Delaney back into the kitchen. “Snot, let’s go, buddy. Outside.” Snot got so excited his feet started moving, but he slipped and slid, running in place until he finally got traction. Quinn steered him out the back door in the kitchen.

“Hey.” Quinn watched to make sure Snot did his business in the backyard. “I’m not discounting your theory of some crazy woman being jealous. I’m going to call the cop shop and have them start looking into that angle, too.”

“Fair enough.” Delaney nodded, her attention snared by the dog running to the kitchen door with such excitement he was unable to stop. He skidded into the glass storm door face first with a thunk. Seemingly unaffected, he looked up at Quinn.

“You win some. You lose some, huh, Snot?” Quinn opened the door letting him in. The dog ran in place, then took off, running right through the kitchen and back into the foyer. He finally stopped when he hit the front door. “Not quite Bill Gates.”

He returned with a skid into the kitchen. “ ’Atta boy, Snot.”

Quinn grabbed two bottles of water out of the refrigerator, handing one to Delaney. Delaney’s heart started racing when he said, “Let’s go to bed.” He turned and led the way down the hall to the bedrooms.

“In case you don’t remember, here’s your room. The bathroom is attached. I’m at the end of the hall if you need me.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. Handing over her overnight bag of clothes and toiletries, he gave her a gentle push into the room. “Good night, Laney.”

Delaney turned to say good night, but found herself looking at the closed bedroom door. Huh. So much for Mickey and Minnie, although she couldn’t picture Mickey and Minnie in bed together burning up the sheets anyway. Gah! Quinn was driving her crazy, but, what the heck, it was a short drive, wasn’t it? She’d been going slowly crazy for the last nine months.
Shut it down, Delaney. Shut this day away like all the other days since the explosion. Shove it deep. Shower and sleep.