GABE WENT OUT for a run before dawn the next morning, furious with himself for nearly losing control with Tessa.
Several miles outside Glimmer Creek, he stopped and wiped his face. Keeping in shape was a long habit, and exercise was a good way to work off excess energy.
A wry smile twisted Gabe’s mouth.
He had an abundance of excess energy with Tessa Connor in his life, however temporarily she might be there. She had a way of getting under his skin in more ways than one. While he might believe she was too open for her own good, there was something appealing about it, as well. No wonder people gravitated to her. She was like finding a spring of clear, fresh water in the middle of a desert.
Yet as soon as the thought came to Gabe, he snorted.
He wasn’t a blasted poet. Recognizing that Tessa had special qualities didn’t mean he was getting soft—it just meant he was being observant. And it was smart to see that she was someone who could get hurt if he wasn’t careful.
Gabe set out on the return route to town, trying to let the steady rhythm of his feet on the pavement block out everything else in his head. He arrived at Glimmer Cottages shortly before 6:00 a.m. and saw Lance Beckley locking his door, clad in the clothes he wore while digging the new orchard.
“Hey,” Gabe said, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the other residents. “I thought you worked Monday through Friday.”
Lance shrugged. “Jamie is switching to weekends so she can do more living history, so I asked to change my schedule, too.”
“Have you thought more about going into the navy?”
“I don’t know. Jamie might not want to leave Glimmer Creek.”
Conflicting emotions flickered in Lance’s eyes, and Gabe figured there was something the boy wasn’t saying.
“If you enlist you’ll be given an aptitude test. Depending on how you score, it could mean a lot of opportunities,” he urged. “More education, training, all sorts of things.”
“Maybe. I’d better go. I don’t want to be late.”
Gabe went to his cottage. The kid had to make his own decision; it wouldn’t help to push. Ordinarily he would have kept his mouth shut, but he must have been infected by Tessa’s do-gooder attitude. Or maybe it had nothing to do with her being a do-gooder; maybe it was an extension of small-town nosiness.
Despite having gone away to college and worked in San Francisco, Tessa knew plenty about her Glimmer Creek neighbors. Perhaps getting involved in their lives was a natural extension of that knowledge.
Gabe made a face as he scrubbed his hair in the shower, deciding the sooner he could leave Glimmer Creek, the better.
* * *
JAMIE WAS SITTING on a bench eating lunch when she saw her cousin leave Old City Hall and head across the park.
“Tessa,” she called.
Tessa looked up and smiled. “Hi, Jamie,” she said, walking up. “You look terrific. Is that a new costume? I especially love the hat.”
“Isn’t it great? Mom finished it last night. Did Uncle Liam tell you about the nugget that Lance found in the creek?”
“Yes, it must have been exciting. Has he decided what to do with it?”
Jamie shook her head. “Not yet, but he gave it to me for safekeeping. It’s funny, I told him about that big lump of gold someone thought was a cow patty, and now he’s found one, too.”
Tessa sat next to her on the bench. “I think the cow patty story happened before either of us was born, and it might be just a very tall tale.”
“Naw, I bet it’s true.” Jamie held a bunch of grapes out to her cousin, but Tessa shook her head. “What do you think?”
“I suppose anything is possible.”
Jamie fidgeted. “Tessa, do you think guys from the city are different from the ones from Glimmer Creek?” she asked finally.
“How do you mean?”
“I don’t know exactly, but Lance doesn’t talk much about growing up, and he can get weird sometimes.” Jamie cast a sideways glance at her cousin, wondering how much she should say. “Like the day you fell—he was uncomfortable when I asked if Uncle Milt had talked to him.”
“Uncle Milt talked to everyone. Lance was probably just remembering the day he arrived in Glimmer Creek. An officer gave him a ticket when he drove around Poppy Gold on his motorcycle. He said he didn’t see the signs about private vehicles being prohibited.”
Jamie frowned. “He didn’t tell me about that, though he says the police don’t like the bike. Maybe that’s what he meant.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm,” Tessa assured her. “He’s been very respectful since then, and I doubt anyone is concerned now.”
“Mom asked me not to ride with him,” Jamie admitted. “I kind of agree with her, but I don’t know how to tell Lance. He’s really proud of his motorcycle. He got it at a junkyard in Sacramento and did all the repairs himself. Before that he had to take the bus to work and it took forever.”
“The longer you wait, the harder it will be,” Tessa advised. “There’s no saying how he’ll react, but he might wonder why you didn’t tell him sooner.”
“I suppose. Are all guys so hard to understand?”
“A few may be less difficult than others, but pretty much. And to answer your first question, I don’t think where they’re from makes much difference when it comes to men being stubborn.” Tessa sounded as if she’d been thinking about it recently, which probably meant she was talking about Gabe McKinley instead of Lance.
Jamie laughed. “Oh.”
She felt better knowing her cousin was having guy trouble, too. Everybody knew Tessa and Mr. McKinley were dating...well, almost dating. The family kept hoping she’d fall in love and get married, but they weren’t sure about her choosing Gabe McKinley. He was awfully stiff and didn’t smile very much. Even at the ice-cream social he’d mostly stayed quiet and watched everyone.
“Being in love is wonderful,” Jamie said after a minute. “Lance is awfully sweet. He’s always giving me stuff. He says it’s because he never had anyone to spoil before, but I bet he’s had a bunch of girlfriends.”
* * *
“PRESENTS ARE NICE, but some of the things guys do can be more romantic,” Tessa murmured.
“Like what?”
“I think it’s different for every relationship. In high school, one of my boyfriends was a fanatic about skiing. He talked the church youth group into planning a ski trip, then two days before we left I sprained my ankle. I told him to go anyway, but he stayed home, saying it wouldn’t be fun without me. We spent the entire day watching old movies, eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate.”
“That was nice.”
“I thought so.”
Jamie fidgeted with the sleeve of her costume. “The thing is, I thought being in love would be easier.”
“I know. Love may conquer all, but it takes a while to get there.” Tessa patted her arm and wondered how she’d gotten old enough that a teenager would ask her for advice. Not that thirty was old, but it probably seemed old to an eighteen-year-old girl in love.
She tried to think how her own mother might have felt if she had dated a boy like Lance Beckley. It would have caused concern. Lance wasn’t a bad kid, but he was socially awkward, moody and never talked about his past, which suggested it must have been unhappy.
The thought led back to Gabe, and Tessa stifled a groan. She’d gotten far too personal with him, talking about his parents and childhood.
As for what her mother would have said about Gabe? She would have worried he was too closed off and emotionally distant. Pop, on the other hand, obviously appreciated the company of a man who’d gone through some of the same things he’d experienced in the military.
“Do you think Lance and I are too young to get married?” Jamie asked out of the blue.
Tessa scrambled for something to say that wouldn’t sound preachy. Finally she chose complete honesty. “I have no idea, Jamie. The statistics are against you, but my parents married young and were extremely happy. Are you two considering marriage?”
“No, but he talks about making it big so he can take care of me. I wouldn’t mind getting engaged, but I don’t think we should get married until I’m out of college.”
Gabe’s comments about Lance spending so much money on Jamie flitted through Tessa’s head, much to her frustration. She didn’t think Lance was guilty of wrongdoing. He’d shown he was honest, and it wasn’t unusual for a kid to dream of financial success.
Looking up, Tessa saw Gabe across the street watching them and let out a resigned breath. He must have gotten his background checks, and Gabe being Gabe, he didn’t want to wait to discuss them.
“I’d better get back to work,” Jamie said, dusting her fingers and adjusting her hat. It was a frothy number with pink grosgrain ribbon and lace, but no feathers. Elsie Lyman on the historical society was also a member of every wildlife organization on the planet. She was always quick to mention that the style for having feathers on women’s hats had destroyed millions of birds in the 1800s. Nobody would dare to even put a fake feather on a Poppy Gold costume for fear of getting “the lecture.”
Jamie tucked a “reticule” over her arm, along with the small wicker basket she’d used to carry her lunch, and set off for the train depot. Tessa sighed, hoping her cousin could avoid some of the heartaches that life could bring. She’d feel the same when she was a parent someday, worrying about her children and wanting all good things for them. She didn’t have time for sentiment, however. Gabe was descending on her like a heat-seeking missile.
“Hello,” she said sweetly. “How are you today?”
“Fine. Do you have a computer at your apartment?” he asked. “I have the information on a flash drive.”
She thought about the work she’d planned to do, but the sooner the spy was caught, the better, and right now there was little else she could contribute to the investigation.
“Sure.”
They walked to the Victorian Cat, and she unlocked the door, unable to keep from recalling their heated kiss the previous night. How much had been pretense and how much real? Men had a harder time than women concealing their arousal, and he’d definitely responded to her, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. An old cliché floated through her head—a woman needs a reason to make love; a guy just needs a place.
“My office is upstairs,” Tessa said.
Her parents had started their renovations with the Victorian Cat, partially because it was close to the edge of Poppy Gold, and partly because it had been easiest to carve out a private apartment in the back of the house. The first floor had a kitchen and living room, and on the second floor was a bathroom and two tiny bedrooms opening off a small central parlor.
They climbed the steep, narrow stairs to the second level, and Gabe looked around with obvious curiosity.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“I was just wondering if one or more cats are in residence.”
“They’re all in their suites. Do you have something against cats?”
He shrugged.
“I bet you prefer dogs...adoring, faithful and blindly obedient.”
“I don’t believe in blind obedience.”
Tessa tried not to smile. “How about adoring and faithful?”
“How about checking those files?”
She gestured to her office. “Fine, but the room is small,” she warned. “I hope you aren’t claustrophobic.”
“Not a problem.”
* * *
THOUGH GABE HAD seen some of the apartment on his first day at Poppy Gold, he’d gotten only a few impressions; his focus had been on Tessa as a potential suspect. Now he was curious...particularly when he saw bold outlines of friendly dragons and other fantastical creatures on the yellow walls in Tessa’s office.
“Interesting decor,” he commented.
She flushed. “This used to be my nursery. I was too busy to paint it when I moved in last year.”
“The apartment was sitting empty until then?”
“More or less. It isn’t suitable as a rental since the staircase is too steep. Actually, my mother used to say we must have a ghost on the stairs.”
Gabe frowned. From everything he’d read, Meredith Connor hadn’t sounded the type to have outlandish ideas.
“Oh?”
“Uh-huh. She nearly fell one day, but something grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her upright.”
Tessa’s expression was so challenging, he decided to take a safe route. “I see. Lucky for her.”
“That’s right.”
She sat in the chair in front of her computer and turned it on.
Gabe didn’t have a vivid imagination, but as he sat on the padded window seat next to the desk, he could easily envision a cheerful toddler in the room, bright-eyed and filled with expectation. His mental image was no doubt prompted by the picture hanging on Liam’s office wall... Tessa as a little girl. Tessajinks. She’d probably had a sunny disposition and an iron will.
Tessa took the flash drive he held out and inserted it in the computer. “I still don’t think the thief could be someone from Glimmer Creek,” she said.
“I appreciate your loyalty to your family and neighbors, but even criminals have relatives.”
“Except contrary to what you seem to believe, most people aren’t budding criminals, looking for an opportunity to illegally profit at someone else’s expense.”
Tessa opened the only file on the flash drive and began looking at the background checks provided by KJ’s security firm. Most were innocuous. In fact, with few exceptions they were downright boring, and looking at them gave him entirely too much time to think about Tessa. Nothing about Tessa Connor was boring.
He could see how a woman like her could tempt a man to consider marriage and family. The idea was seductive. But it would be a mistake for Tessa, if nothing else. He was too hard and had seen too much to ever be with a woman like her.
Yet it was difficult to think clearly. The warmth was building in the small office and her skin was releasing a faint, elusive fragrance. Gabe had noticed the refreshing scent before, mostly when they were kissing. The pressure behind his zipper began building, and he shifted uncomfortably.
* * *
“THAT’S UNEXPECTED,” TESSA said after a while, frowning as she read the file on her cousin’s boyfriend.
“What?”
“This business with Lance Beckley. Arrested for unlawful entry? That doesn’t sound like him.”
“I saw it early this morning and made calls to some people who made calls,” Gabe explained. “My contacts tell me that Lance was caught in an impossible situation, attempting to protect his former foster sister from a beating. Denny Stanton, his ex-foster father, is a piece of filth who ought to be in jail.”
Tessa shivered, suspecting she was going to hear something that wasn’t pleasant. “I have a terrible feeling you’re going to say that Lance was an abused foster kid.”
“Looks like it. He was trying to do the right thing, but Stanton called the cops and demanded that Lance be arrested for breaking and entering.”
“That’s outrageous,” she exclaimed. “Didn’t Lance’s foster sister defend him?”
“Apparently she was too scared to say anything at the time, but she got her courage up and called the police station a few days later. Lance had already been released since Stanton hadn’t come in to press charges. I don’t think the officers took the accusation seriously, anyway, since they didn’t even put him in a holding cell after he was processed.”
Tessa lifted an eyebrow. “Surely some of that isn’t the sort of thing usually found in a police file.”
“I told you, I have contacts. They have ways of getting information that isn’t through regular channels.”
“Right, contacts. Like KJ Bermann. He’s interesting. I heard this morning that he’d charmed a fellow guest into spending the night with him. He works fast—he only got here yesterday afternoon.”
“That sounds like KJ. Anyway, the police notified the girl’s social worker that something wasn’t right in the home, even before she called with her version of the story. She was moved into another foster placement right afterward and seems to be doing well there.”
Tessa regarded Gabe for a long moment.
It was endearing the way he’d checked on Lance’s record, determined to confirm the youngster’s innocence. Gabe probably didn’t even realize how much he’d revealed about himself. His disgust and anger when explaining about the abuse and false charges against Lance had tugged at her heartstrings more effectively than anything else he could have done. He’d even checked on how Lance’s foster sister was doing.
Gabe McKinley wanted everyone to believe he was tough and emotionless, but he had his soft spots, just as she’d suspected.
And she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted a man.
Tessa fanned herself with a sheet of paper, then leaned across to push aside the curtains and crack open a window.
“Sorry,” she murmured when her breast grazed his arm.
* * *
THE PRESSURE IN Gabe’s gut became excruciating.
Tessa unbuttoned the top four buttons on her shirt. “Sorry about how hot it is in here. I don’t usually turn on the air-conditioning. Except in the bedroom. I can’t sleep when it’s too warm.”
“The bedroom?” Gabe stroked a lock of hair away from her forehead. “Am I misinterpreting?”
“No.” She kissed him.
For the life of him he couldn’t think what had prompted Tessa’s mood. Not that he was complaining.
She got up, dispatched the rest of her buttons, and dropped the shirt on his lap. Her lacy blue bra left little to the imagination.
Tessa might not have a generous bust, but what she possessed was first-rate...round and pretty, with rosy nipples that puckered as he watched.
“I hope you’re prepared,” she whispered. “But if you aren’t, I have supplies in my bedroom. With any luck, they aren’t out of date.”
“I’m prepared.” He got up and pulled her close. His questions would have to wait, along with the background checks.
Some things couldn’t be postponed.
* * *
MUCH LATER, TESSA yawned as she lay next to Gabe. She was pleasantly tired, but not so much that she wanted to go back to sleep.
Making love with him had contained a fair number of fireworks, though she was sure it could get better. For a loner, he was an accomplished lover.
She eased away a few inches and looked at Gabe as he slept. He was so tall, he took up a lot of space. If they got together, they’d have to buy a much bigger bed.
A mental groan went through her at the thought. There wasn’t going to be a need for a bigger bed, because Gabe was leaving as soon as they caught the spy.
She took in his long legs and trim hips, at first seeing only the physical power of his body. But slowly, awareness crept in that his skin bore a number of scars. The one on his left shoulder was still reddish and new-looking. The others... Tessa drew a quick breath. There were too many to comprehend, some small, some larger, and each a testament to his years in a very, very dangerous profession. She shivered, thinking that except for luck and skill on Gabe’s part, any one of these dangerous encounters, mapped on his skin, could have ended with his death.
Ice seemed to hit the bottom of her stomach.
She firmly believed men became navy SEALs out of a strong sense of duty and a desire to serve their country, but that didn’t mean Gabe wasn’t also an adrenaline junkie.
The memory of her father’s face at the hospital filled Tessa’s head. Her mom had just died, and it was as if every bit of life had vanished from him, as well. That was when she’d understood the risks of falling in love so deeply. Still, between trying to help Pop and running Poppy Gold, she hadn’t thought a great deal about it...maybe because she hadn’t wanted to think about it.
Tessa agreed with Jamie; love ought to be easier. She was trying not to fall for Gabe, and looking at him was a reminder that giving her heart to him could be disastrous.
She reached out to touch one of the marks on his arm, only to let her hand drop.
“Not pretty, huh? Some women can’t stand the sight. Others think scars are sexy.”
Gabe’s sleepy voice made her jump.
“You’ve gone through a lot.”
“I survived.”
“Tell me something,” Tessa said slowly. “Is one of the reasons you became a navy SEAL because you enjoy the adrenaline rush of risking your life?”
“I never thought of it as risking my life, just as doing something that had to be done.”
His reply was reassuring, and she extended her hand again to trace the parallel ridges of jagged scar tissue over his ribs. “These look like claw marks.”
“They are. I encountered a mountain lion during survival training. She didn’t take kindly to me accidentally getting between her and her babies and refused to accept an apology.”
“How did you resolve the disagreement?”
“I climbed the nearest tree and swatted a branch in her face when she came after me. Fortunately her babies started squalling. She spat a last warning and departed.”
“Lucky you.” Tessa swallowed.
Cats could be extremely protective mothers, and cougars were notorious. She was sure the encounter had been more dramatic than he’d revealed.
“How old were you when it happened?” she asked.
“Old enough to know I shouldn’t get between a mama and her children.”
“No wonder you aren’t crazy about cats.”
“Not at all. I respect them, and I certainly respected her determination to keep her babies safe.” Gabe closed his eyes and Tessa tried to decide if he wanted to sleep or just stop talking.
Stop talking, she decided, as his body responded to her gaze. Her abdomen tightened in anticipation.
Tessa opened the drawer on her bedside table and removed the unopened package of condoms she’d brought from San Francisco. Luckily the expiration date hadn’t passed.
She took a packet out and put it on the sheet before leaning over Gabe. His eyes shot open again.
“That was nice, but I like a little more foreplay,” she told him.
“I’m twice your size. I don’t want to lose control.”
Deliberately, she brushed her breasts over his chest, hard and smooth except for his scars and a thin wedge of dark hair. “I may be little, but I’m tough. I won’t break.”
“You must still be sore from your fall. Your tailbone, that is.”
“That’s okay—I enjoy being on top. Variety is the spice of life.” Tessa straddled his hips and grinned at the glazed expression on his face. “Your mouth is saying no. Your body is less convinced.”
Gabe cupped her breasts, kneading them, stroking his thumbs over her nipples, teasing her until she squirmed.
Obviously, he’d taken her seriously about foreplay, so she began exploring his body as well, getting creative with her feet, which stopped when he pulled her upward to draw one of her breasts into his mouth.
When he released her, they were both gasping. She’d reached behind her to stroke his arousal when he groaned. “Enough.”
Tessa quite agreed.
She grabbed the condom and put it on him. With extraordinary ease, Gabe lifted her over him, and she settled, taking him into her body, filled to bursting. She moaned and enjoyed the fullness for an instant before moving, rising up and down with him, her blood pumping faster and faster until the world spun away.