14

Agreeing to meet Jackson in person had been her first mistake. Splurging on a dish of banana pudding with a thick layer of meringue on top had been her second. The only way she could justify the extra calories was knowing she’d missed Mama’s peach cobbler. There might be something therapeutic about eating comfort food, but even banana pudding—and her father’s earlier words of wisdom—wasn’t helping her sort out what she felt about the man sitting across the table from her.

Because Jackson Bryant always managed to do funny things to her heart. So far, she’d yet to convince herself this was all business—thus the mistake.

Ten minutes of small talk had proved that her heart had no intentions of letting go of the handsome forensics expert. He sat across from her, looking as awkward as she felt.

She took a deep breath as Jackson signaled the waitress for the spoon she’d forgotten to add to the ice cream sundae she’d just served him. Maybe they should just get down to business.

Avery took another sugary bite before plunging ahead. “You said you had something to tell me regarding the case.”

“Yes. I . . .” He looked up at her, his sundae apparently forgotten for the moment. She tried to read his expression. Longing? Desire? Disappointment? So much for her background as a behavioral specialist. Maybe she’d never know. “I found some discrepancies in one of the lab tests when compared to what you told me about the victim.”

Avery took another bite of her dessert. Maybe this was worth the extra splurge after all. She would concentrate on the business and hope her heart figured out how to handle being around Jackson. “I’m listening.”

“I told you that the internal exam revealed that the spleen was enlarged.”

“Yes.”

“While it may or may not be significant to the case, that fact has continued to bother me.”

She laid her spoon down. “Why would it bother you?”

“All the tests we’ve been running have so far come back negative. Mono, bacterial infection, leukemia, everything. I’m still waiting on a couple of other test results, but at this point, in looking at all the evidence combined, I’m not expecting any of them to come back positive.”

“So do you have any clue as to the significance?”

Jackson smiled. “I didn’t until I talked to my grandfather.”

“The Civil War buff I still need to meet.”

“Yes.” Jackson leaned forward, clearly in his element. “Something he said got me thinking. During the Civil War hundreds of people died from what they called ague or marsh fever. Today we call it malaria.”

“I vaguely remember reading about that in history class, but what does that have to do with my murder victim?”

“Think about it. What if the information you have from the Sourns isn’t correct? What if Tala had been out of the country within the past six months? That would mean I was looking for the source of the enlarged spleen in the wrong place.”

Avery tried to process the new information. “It’s possible, but why would they lie about her travels? It’s something I considered, but so far everything they said they’ve been able to back up. All of Tala’s documents—driver’s license, high school diploma—everything checks out.”

“I realize that, but think about it. First of all, malaria has been wiped out in the States.”

“Right.” She toyed with her spoon, trying to follow his train of thought. So far, she didn’t like where he was going.

“I went ahead and tested her blood for malaria and it came back positive. Which means that Tala had to have recently contracted the disease outside the United States.”

“How long ago?”

“Due to the incubation of the strain, which is longer than most, I’d say between six and twelve months.”

Avery paused.

“So Mrs. Sourn lied. Even with everything that they handed over to me.”

“There’s a good chance the documents are fake. Good fakes, if they got past you, but fakes. Either way, they’re clearly hiding something.”

A sick feeling spread over Avery. She’d been ready to place a possibly innocent man behind bars and wrap up her case when clearly all the pieces were not put together yet. “Tell me this. Why would they lie about her travels? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I just give you the facts, ma’am. You get to sort them out.” He dug his spoon into his sundae and smiled. “What now?”

“We’ll proceed carefully. Not only are we going to have to figure out what else they’re lying about, but we’re going to have to recheck all the documents and evidence, see if we can find Tala on any flight manifests over the past year, and dig a whole lot deeper into the Sourns.” She pushed aside her empty dessert dish. “I probably should go. Tess has school tomorrow morning, and I clearly haven’t solved my case.”

Jackson finished up the last couple bites of his sundae and signaled to the waitress. “I’ll take care of the bill and walk you to your car.”

Outside, the humid air hung like a wet blanket. Avery had no doubt they’d figure out the truth behind Tala’s murder eventually. It was her heart she was worried about at the moment.

Jackson walked her toward her car. “You said you had something you needed to talk about?”

Avery pressed her lips together, wondering how to put off the inevitable. The last thing she wanted was to allow what had happened to hang between them. “It’s complicated.”

“Try me.”

I’ve seen you around him. And I just want you to be happy . . .

Emily’s words rattled inside her head. The truth was, her sister was right. Jackson did make her happy. She’d begun feeling emotions she’d thought she’d lost forever, because he made her feel as if she were living again. Really living again.

God, I need you to show me what to do. To show me how to open up my heart again and make this work.

“Does it have to do with the case?”

She followed him across the parking lot lit by two yellow streetlights. “No. It’s a bit more . . . more personal.”

“Shoot.”

“About the other night at my house. I’m sorry—”

“Please. You don’t have to apologize. I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“No. It wasn’t your fault.”

Avery stopped beside the driver’s side door of her car. Traffic whizzed down the busy street behind them, but all she could focus on for the moment was the man standing in front of her. Six months ago his dark brown gaze had caught hers for the first time and taken her completely by surprise. Funny, charming, smart . . . and she’d managed to let him in. At least partway.

“I’m not usually this tongue-tied.”

The streetlight caught his smile. “I’ve noticed.”

“It’s this whole dating thing. I get pressure from my mom, sister, even co-workers who think I’ll be happier if I have someone in my life.”

“What do you think?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“We could call this whole dating thing off, Avery. If you’re not ready. I’ll still work with you on cases without anything changing professionally.”

Except it would change everything. How could she pretend that her heart didn’t do a little dance every time she saw him? Was she really willing to do that?

She tried to read his expression. Maybe she’d read him wrong. There were plenty of men who looked at a third date as nothing more than a third date. It’s not like it came with a marriage proposal. And a kiss didn’t always come with strings attached.

She had to ask. “Is that what you want? To keep our relationship strictly professional.”

He shook his head. “No.”

The breath she was holding escaped. “Me neither.”

She looked down at her sandals and painted purple toenails that still needed to be redone. So much for not being vulnerable. So much for not allowing herself to be pulled in yet another direction. But maybe that was okay.

“So what’s next?” He stood in front of her, content, it seemed, to wait for her answer.

“The other night I panicked.”

“We both know what it’s like to lose someone we love. I understand if you’re not ready.”

“It’s not that. At least for the most part. It’s true that dating again after so long sometimes feels . . . awkward, but it’s more than that.” She searched for the right words to help him understand. “Do you ever have a million excuses not to do something you really want to do?”

“Explain.”

“I have a daughter, a family who expects me to come for dinner a couple nights a week, a job tracking down murder suspects that fulfills me but requires a lot from me, and an active church family who has seen me through some really rough times.”

“Are you trying to give me an excuse to walk away?”

“No, but sometimes I feel as if there’s not enough of me to go around. Most of the time there’s not enough of me to go around. I think that’s why I panicked.”

“And I’ve become another distraction.”

“Oh, you’re a big distraction.” Daydreaming at work had pushed him into that category weeks ago.

Jackson shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “So what are we going to do?”

Avery drew in a deep breath. Running away wasn’t going to solve the problem. “We both know what it takes to make a relationship work.”

“And what do you want out of this relationship?”

“I don’t know where this might lead, but for now, I’d like to explore a relationship. Together.”

Jackson smiled at her confession. “There are a lot of things I want to learn about you. And while I don’t know if things will work out in the end either, for now I’m content to get to know each other better and see what happens.”

A car pulled into the empty slot behind Jackson. He took a step toward Avery to get out of the way. She looked up at him. He was close enough she could see the shadow of a beard across his jawline. Close enough for her to regret not letting him kiss her the other night.

A man emerged from the driver’s seat, slammed the door shut, and set the alarm before walking away.

It was just the two of them again.

Jackson had yet to move.

Avery’s heart thudded. All thoughts of crime scenes, autopsy reports, and murder suspects vanished. And all that remained was the realization that here was a man who cared for her and wanted more out of their relationship. Maybe being vulnerable wasn’t so bad after all.

She drew in a deep breath. “So where do we start?”

“Did you have something in mind?”

She’d pushed him away. It was up to her to pull him back. “My father’s retirement party is Friday night. It’s not the ideal third date, but I still need an escort.”

His smile widened. “It would be a shame for a beautiful woman to have to arrive alone.”

“Yes, it would.”

“Then I think something can be arranged. Anything else?”

She nodded, enjoying the way he flirted with her. The way he looked at her. And the way she felt when he looked at her. “What about where we left off the other night?”

“Are you sure?”

Avery nodded again, leaned into Jackson’s arms, and kissed him.