Safe From the Dark (6 page)

Evie
was shocked as the tiny woman enveloped her in a hug, her limbs surprisingly
strong for her pixie-like size.

“Evie,
this is Mary. She owns this place.”

“You
used to sit up at that counter and suck down a cherry shake faster than any kid
I ever met.” Mary let Evie go and patted her on the shoulder. Evie suppressed
the wince as she jarred her wound.

“I
don’t remember that.”

“You
were just a little thing. Frannie would be so happy that you’ve come back to
town.”

“Tony
gave Evie a job.” Grace grinned.

“Tony
gave Evie a what?” The male voice was stern and frankly disbelieving.

Evie
looked up to see Colin striding toward them, looking pissed. He ignored the
welcomes and well-wishes from the locals.

Popular.
Evie filed that
away and braced herself for an argument.

“A
job. As a deputy.”

“Why
would he do a fool thing like that? Move over, Gracie, honey.”

Grace
obligingly scooted down to make room for him, allowing Colin to sit across from
Evie, the better to glare at her disapprovingly, she supposed. He and Grace
were clearly friends, but Evie didn’t detect any romantic interest.

“Because
I haven’t won the lottery lately and everybody needs to work?” Evie was
defensive, but the irritation in those hazel eyes made her want to shrink into
her seat. It didn’t help that the diner’s occupants were watching them with
open fascination.

“You
need to recover.”

“It’s
none of your business.” Evie was furious, but kept her voice low.

Mary
cuffed Colin on the back of the head.

“Ow.
What was that for?” Colin rubbed his head.

“Let
the girl have a cup of coffee before you start reorganizing her life. And
Dreyer was in here earlier. Something about his neighbors and your lack of
control as mayor being a symptom of your deficiencies as a man.”

Evie
choked on a laugh, but covered it with a cough as Colin glared at her.

“I
know all about it, Mary, but thanks for being the town crier.”

“Pancakes
all around,” said Grace, “And don’t skimp on the bacon!”

“Sure
thing, sweetie.” Mary vanished with a last wink at Evie.

Evie
knew she should leave it alone, but she couldn’t resist.

“Sheriff
Arnetto wouldn’t have agreed to take me on if he didn’t think I was up for the
job.”

“Tony’s
stretched thin. He’d hire a rodeo clown if one came knocking.”

“I’m
a damned good cop.” Evie struggled to keep her voice down, but it wasn’t easy.

“If
you’re such a good cop, why aren’t you still making the streets of New York
safe for the citizens there instead of up here with two bullet holes in your
body?”

“You
got shot? You’re from New York?” Evie couldn’t tell which question Grace found
more exciting, but she was practically squirming in her seat. “I love New York.
Love it, love it, love it. Why would you ever leave?”

Thankfully,
three plates piled high with steaming pancakes and bacon arrived, along with a
heavenly mug of coffee, and Evie avoided answering either question by stuffing
her face. Colin attacked his pancakes, irritation oozing off of him, while
Grace launched into an account of her only trip to the city to see one of her
favorite Goth bands play a nightclub. Evie nodded and smiled at the right
places, amused by the young woman’s enthusiasm, but she couldn’t concentrate,
her mind on Colin’s annoyance, her senses focused on where his knee brushed her
thigh beneath the table.

Move
your leg, Asher.

She’d
barely been in town a day, and already she was a little fascinated by a
good-looking, take-charge kind of guy who knew just how to push her buttons. Evie
sucked it up. So she had a type, so what? It meant nothing. Right now, the
focus was healing, starting her new path, and keeping men like Colin Daniels
from ruining her life. Again.

Grace’s
running commentary was interrupted by a severe-looking woman entering the
diner, scanning the tables until she spotted them.

“Hi
Candace.” Grace sat up a little straighter, unconsciously smoothing her hair as
Candace gave her a dismissive once-over.

“Colin,
Deirdre Small would like a word. She cornered me in the office just as I was
leaving.”

Colin
stopped glaring at Evie long enough to look up, puzzled.

“Tell
her I’m in here.”

“She
wants a word. Outside. In private.” Candace’s pinched mouth was clear
indication of what she thought about that. She glanced at her watch. “Alan
needs his medicine. I’ll see you tomorrow...”

With
barely a glance at Evie or Grace, she turned on her heel and marched out.

“Fuck,”
Colin muttered under his breath, and then pulled out a handful of cash and
dropped it on the table. “Breakfast is on me. I’ll meet you by the truck in a
few, Evie.”

Ten
minutes later, Evie emerged from the diner full of pancakes, with Grace’s phone
number in her pocket and the promise of a girls’ night in the near future. She
had never been good at making friends, but the quirky librarian seemed like a
kindred spirit – a possible real connection. Evie’s good mood lasted until she
started toward the market, past the alley next to the diner, where Deirdre had
what looked like a very willing Colin pressed up against the brick, her tongue
down his throat, her curves pressed against him.

Evie
stopped short. For a split second, she imagined herself in Deirdre’s place, her
body pressed against all that muscled heat, Colin’s hands coursing over her,
tilting her head for the fit of his mouth, tugging a fistful of her hair back
so he could taste her throat, rocking his hips against hers.

Hot
and unnerved, Evie shook her head and hurried away.

COLIN
SAW EVIE PUSHING a loaded cart toward his truck and hurried to help her.

“I
would have fetched you.”

“I
got it.”

He
brushed aside her attempts to help and quickly loaded the bags into the pickup.

“Looks
like you’re stocked up for the winter. What’s next, burying nuts in the
backyard?”

“Funny.
You should go on the road.”

Walking
by, clutching the fat feline he called Tiny, little Brian Olsen spotted them
and waved furiously.

“Bye,
Deputy Evie!”

Evie
waved back, smiling.

“Making
friends already?” Colin chuckled.

She
turned her grin on him and he realized it was the first time she’d really
smiled at him, a genuine smile. He liked it. More than he should.

They
both reached for the cart at the same time and collided, and for a second, they
were pressed together, eyes locked. Colin felt sucker-punched by her softness
and the heat that filled his groin, but jerked away before she could notice him
harden against her.

Shit.
First Deirdre, and now this. Stop letting your dick lead the way, Daniels.

Colin
quickly returned the cart and then joined Evie in the truck. The air was heavy
and awkward, and he turned on the radio, letting music fill the void as he
reflected that his life had gotten messy this weekend.

Deirdre
had apparently decided that Colin’s abandonment yesterday was the last straw. For
the first time in their dalliance, she was sinking her claws in, apparently
ready for more than just a quick release of sexual tension once in a while. Colin
was pretty sure that was a bad idea. For all their physical compatibility, he
and Deirdre didn’t spend much time talking – they simply didn’t have anything
in common outside of a mutual appreciation for her curves. Pointing that out
only made Deirdre eager to prove him wrong, and somehow Colin found that he had
a date – an honest-to-God
date
– for tomorrow night. With Deirdre.

Suddenly
he felt very tired.

If
he felt it, Evie looked it. Her mouth was tight, the dark circles under her
eyes making them look huge against her face.

“You
overdid it this morning.”

“I’m
okay,” she insisted, stifling a yawn, “Thank you for taking me into town.”

She
looked small and alone when he left her at the cabin a few minutes later,
having helped her carry everything inside and assuring her that Pete would drop
off her car later. He couldn’t help wondering about her as he made the short
drive to his own place.

She
doesn’t have a boyfriend.
Of that, he was fairly certain. Besides the fact that she wouldn’t be up here,
all by herself and injured to boot, a guy would need a freaking tall ladder to
scale the spiked walls she’d built around herself. Colin tamped down on the
sneaking suspicion that behind those walls was something soft and hot and
delicious, and the growing temptation to find the crack in her shields that
would let him delve inside for a taste.

THE
BLONDE SLUT HAD him in her clutches again, this time out in the open, uncaring
who saw her run her filthy hands over him. They’d argued in the alley, and it
was pleasing to hear Deirdre rail about the scratches on her precious car. Less
pleasing was Colin’s soothing tone. Deirdre had pouted, touching his chest and
batting her fake eyelashes at him, and he’d barely protested when she’d pinned
him against the wall to take what she wanted.

Yesterday’s
warning was obviously not enough.

Something
would have to be done.

EVIE
SLEPT FOR MOST of the day, rousing herself to make lunch and pull the sheets
off the furniture. Most of it was still in the attic, and Evie wondered if she
could hire some of the local teens to help her haul it downstairs. She’d moved
her things up into Gram’s old room. With a little TLC and some new wallpaper,
it would soon feel like home.

In
the late afternoon, Evie tugged on her favorite hoodie over a tank top, wrapped
herself in a blanket, and settled on the porch swing to nurse a cup of cider
while she watched the sun go down in a blaze of bright oranges and purples. She
felt peaceful and content for the first time in ages, only a little troubled by
the thought of Colin’s gorgeous hazel eyes. She was still thinking about them
as she dozed off, cocooned in her blanket against the autumn chill.

When
Evie woke, the sky across the hill was orange. Disoriented, she sat up.

That’s
not right
.

Night
had clearly fallen, and the lights of the town winked in the darkness. In the
other direction she could see the faint glow of Colin’s house.

But
across the hill, the sky was
orange.

Then
she smelled it.

“Oh
my God.”

Fire.

Evie
scrambled out of her blanket, nearly crashing face first as her feet got
tangled in the folds. She raced inside for keys and phone and the new fire
extinguisher she’d bought only that morning, and then dove into her car.

“Call
nine-one-one,” she ordered the voice activation on her phone. It beeped,
searching for a signal.

“Shit!”

Evie
careened across the hill, taking backroads, forced to double back a few times
until she finally spotted it – a pretty little house in a clearing, one side
engulfed in flames. A couple of nearby trees were on fire, but thankfully, the
house was situated against the rocky part of the hill. That didn’t mean that
the fire couldn’t or wouldn’t jump, but it might buy the fire department some
time to get up here.

Evie
screeched to a halt and jumped out of the car. Her extinguisher wasn’t going to
be much help. Relief coursed through her as she heard sirens in the distance –
finally, someone had noticed.

Tomorrow
I’m switching cell phone plans.

A
cry from the house had Evie swearing viciously under her breath, and her eyes
widened as she noticed the scratched red SUV in the driveway.

Deirdre.

Not
giving herself time to change her mind, Evie soaked her hoodie in a brimming
planter by the porch, silently thanking the skies for last night’s deluge. She
gasped as the wet fabric hit her skin. Covering her nose and mouth, Evie kicked
open the door, which had just started to catch. Her eyes stung at the blast of
heat and smoke. Trying hard not to breathe, she forced her way inside.

“Deirdre?
Ms. Small? I’m with the Sheriff’s Department. I’m going to get you out!”

“Help!”

Evie
raced up the stairs, which creaked ominously, the bannister on fire.

She
found Deirdre trapped in her bedroom. A few blasts from the fire extinguisher
doused enough flames for Evie to get the door open. In a skimpy robe and a pair
of slippers, Deirdre was crouched in the corner of the girly room desperately
trying to keep the flames away as she swatted ineffectually at them with a
towel. She squealed as Evie crashed her way inside.