LAINIE LEANED BACK on her sheriff’s car, sipping her coffee, and procrastinating going to work. Two nights of sleeping on Josh’s couch had done nothing for her mood. Add to that the sounds she couldn’t avoid hearing, thanks to her paranormal hearing, coming from the bedroom he reclaimed to share with Alanna, and Lainie spent her nights tossing and turning. Why the hell hadn’t Dimitri told her Josh was seeing someone? A little heads up would have been nice, especially since Lainie had been having fantasies of a reunion of sorts while the two of them were alone in his apartment. Now, someone else was having all the fun, and she was left with a thin blanket and an uncomfortable couch. She blew out a frustrated breath. This sucks.
“That didn’t sound good,” Gavin Covington said as he approached from the side. “Someone not having a fun hump day?” He hooked his thumbs into his duty belt as he stood in front of her, head cocked to the side so that his shaggy hair hung to the side, legs spread slightly apart. “You only have a couple of days left. You should be thrilled. Don’t people dream of moving to Florida and getting away from the cold?”
“And into the sweltering humidity?” Lainie laughed as she shook her head. “I can always bundle up. However, there’s only so much to take off before you’re just standing there in sweat.” She shrugged. “The only things I’m really looking forward to is getting away from my father and Miles Hemingway. Do you know that man has been following me around? He still expects me to marry him.”
Gavin’s expression grew troubled. “Need me to put a restraining order out on him?”
Lainie sighed as she shook her head. “Not worth the paperwork. I’ll be gone in three days. I’ll just avoid him until then.”
Gavin still didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? Miles has always been a pretty sneaky son of a bitch.”
Lainie nodded. “I’m sure. He’s still nothing I can’t handle. Three more days and I don’t have to worry about it.”
Gavin just gave her a slow nod. “Okay, if you’re sure, but if he tries anything, you call me. We don’t need you killing anyone before you get out of town. Leave that to Drey and me.” He said the last with a smile and a wink. Then he shook his head. “I’m going to miss you around here. You helped me keep Quinton from driving everyone else crazy.”
Lainie just laughed as she lifted her cup to her lips and took another sip of her coffee. Running her tongue over her lips as she pulled the cup away, she smiled over at Gavin, thinking it was too bad he was already in a relationship—with a man as well as a woman. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Now, I’ve stalled long enough. I need to get this patrol over with and get some more packing done, not that there’s much left to pack.”
Gavin said goodbye as Lainie opened her car door and slid behind the steering wheel. She would make it an easy day, just drive around pretending to be watching things while people suddenly became law-abiding citizens because she was driving by. People were funny when driving beside a cop, suddenly worried about the speed limit, or afraid of talking to the person in the passenger seat. Lainie remembered driving behind one kid on her way home from work, and just her presence made the kid so nervous that he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake and wrecked the car his parents had just bought him. She hated giving the kid a ticket, but what choice did she have? His parents should have taught him not to fear the cops, but to just do what was right no matter who was around watching.
Of course, she really didn’t have much to pack. That statement was merely to give Gavin the impression she had things to do, instead of sitting at home twiddling her thumbs. There wasn’t anything, truly, for her to do except bide her time until she headed to Bull Creek.
As she drove through the town, she took her time, savoring every sight along the way, even making herself drive by some old landmarks and memories from her youth, like the high school and its football field. She pulled her sheriff’s car up to the fence, parked, and got out, staring at the goalposts as she walked toward the field. Dimitri and Josh both played on the Draven Falls team, as did Gavin and the rest of his Jungle Book crew for that matter. They were almost undefeated their senior year. Of course, they did have an unfair advantage over the other teams who were mere humans compared to the supernaturals they played against. The fact they never made the championships, though, proved it took more than paranormal strength to win games.
Poking her fingers through the chain link fence and leaning on the flimsy metal, she breathed in the fragrance of the past. Closing her eyes, she could hear the cheering from the stands, heard the announcer calling the plays, heard the players on the field calling to one another. Those were safer times back then, nothing truly mattered yet except having a good time. There were no worries about a job, family betrayal, a stalker. Life was simple. Lainie missed simple.
“Those were some fun times,” a voice said from behind her.
She smiled, recognizing Josh’s baritone as she slowly opened her eyes, but didn’t turn around. “Yes, they were,” she said, noticing him stepping up beside her, matching her pose. “I miss them at times.”
Josh gave a soft bark of laughter. “I don’t miss pimples. Or homework. Or puberty.” He glanced over at her. “There are some things I miss, however. The way that lunch lady always gave me extra food. The football games. Friendships. Romances.”
She glanced over at him and noticed him staring at her. A deep blush warmed her cheeks. Glancing around, she noticed he was alone. “Where’s Alanna? I thought you’d be showing her the town before heading back to Bull Creek.”
“She went to meet Jerah Hale. Something about owing him a thank you for helping her out at some point.” He shrugged. “I have been showing her around here and there. I even took her over to meet my parents, which my mom thought was the most important thing I could have ever done.” He chuckled as he shook his head, turning his gaze back out to the field. “I think she likes Alanna more than she likes me.”
Lainie grinned, fighting the sadness that filled her chest. “Well, Alanna is definitely a lot prettier than you. I don’t blame your mother.”
Josh laughed again, slightly. “Thanks.” He took a deep breath as he ran his gaze over the football field. “I needed to come back and see the simpler times for a moment.” He shot her a grin. “I wanted to do it alone, but I’m kind of glad you were here when I arrived. Makes it feel more normal, somehow.” She heard him sigh. “When that fight started at the bonfire Friday night and I saw Bane kill Neal and Tina, it hit me that we weren’t teenagers or even young men anymore. I’d never seen someone die before, and I knew they died because of us. If Dimitri and I hadn’t gone to Bull Creek, they would be alive now.”
Lainie shook her head. “No, they wouldn’t. The Paranormal Council would have sent someone else, and the same thing would have happened. Oh, maybe not the same way. I doubt anyone but my crazy-ass brother would have a bonfire in Florida in the middle of summer, but the results would have been the same. You can’t blame yourself for their deaths. That blame belongs to Bane.”
Josh didn’t say anything as he stared out over the field. She knew her brother had to be struggling with the same thoughts, which is why she truly wanted to be there, instead of here. She needed to be there with Dimitri to tell him what she just told Josh. “Miles has been following me,” she said, unsure why, but feeling as if she needed to tell someone. “He says he intends on getting what Dad promised him.”
Josh looked over at her, and she could scent the anger and worry emanating from him. Her panther hissed as well at the reminder of the threat. “Have you reported him?”
“It doesn’t exactly work that way,” she said, still staring out at the field. “Gavin asked if I wanted a restraining order put out on Miles, but it takes weeks for that to happen, and I’ll be gone in three days.” She shook her head. “No, I just need to watch my back until I leave this town and put Miles behind me.”
Josh kept staring at her, but she refused to look his way, worried the fear she buried would not stay hidden for long. “Okay, then how about you don’t make trips like this alone until we’re out of here. He could have very well been the one who walked out here, instead of me.”
She nodded, pushing herself off the fence. “I know. Not the smartest thing I’ve done lately.” She glanced up at him, her stomach twisting for another reason. “I’m happy for you and Alanna by the way. I know you two haven’t exactly figured the future out yet, but I can tell she makes you happy. You deserve that.” She laughed as she shook her head, shoving her hands into her pockets and ducking her gaze to the ground. “A little heads up before you arrived would have been nice, though.” She glanced into his eyes again, her eyes saying what she was afraid to voice. “Still, I’m happy for you.”
He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling, matching the smile on his face. “Thanks. That means a lot. She’s special, and I barely know anything about her.” Then his expression turned somber. “And sorry about not telling you she was coming with me, or even that we were together in a way. I actually never thought you would still have those feelings for me. I guess I just didn’t think.”
“I didn’t know, either, until it dawned on me that my father could no longer tell me what to do.” She waved off the notion. “And there’s time for the two of you to figure it out,” Lainie assured him. “Enjoy the journey.”
He nodded at her, and Lainie forced herself to look away from him out over the football stands and the announcer’s box. Her body stiffened when she noticed Miles step out of the shadows, watching her.