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Heff wasn’t sure he wanted to tackle that topic, especially not when things were going so well. But he felt her expectant gaze on him as she waited for an answer.
“Maybe you should ask your friend Lenny about that.”
“I did,” she said, surprising him.
“And?”
“And he says there might be some unresolved ancient history there, but I’m not convinced. I want to hear what you have to say.”
It was a smart move on her part—not revealing what she’d heard, reserving judgment. And she was looking at him in such a way that made him want to tell her something and hope he wasn’t shooting himself in the foot.
“Our guy Smoke became friends with a local woman, Sam Appelhoff.”
“Yeah, I know Sam. She used to work at Santori’s Café before it burned down, and before that, her grandparents had a bakery down on Second Street.”
He nodded. “That’s the one. Well, she was having some ... issues, and the police weren’t taking them seriously. Smoke did take them seriously, and that caused some friction.”
It was the truth. A very succinct, scrubbed, grossly understated version of the truth, but the truth nonetheless. Mile marker posts reflected in the headlights for several beats until she realized he wasn’t going to offer any more than that.
“That’s it?”
Heff shrugged, neither confirming nor denying her statement. It wasn’t, not by a long shot, but what and how much he revealed would depend on her reaction to what he had shared.
She quietly processed that for several minutes before she said, “There are those who think you guys are the ones stirring up trouble. That things were fine before Matt returned.”
“They’d be wrong.”
“Then, tell me. Please. I want to understand what’s happening here.”
He sighed. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about what most people thought because they would believe what they wanted to believe regardless of the truth. But Sandy wasn’t most people, and he did care about what she thought.
Did he dare tell her what had really happened?
After a brief internal debate, he gave her the CliffsNotes version.
He told her about the man who’d been stalking Sam, about the fire, about the kidnapping. He glossed over some parts, remaining intentionally vague on some of the more extreme measures they’d taken to rescue Sam and eliminate the problem, but Sandy got the gist. If they were going to continue down this path, she had a right to know what she was getting into.
She listened carefully, nodding occasionally, inhaling sharply at some of the things he’d revealed.
“I had no idea,” she murmured when he finished, her expression sympathetic and suitably somber. “Did Smoke really handcuff Lenny and Joe together and take their cruiser?”
“Yes, but only because they hadn’t left him much choice. By that point, he knew Sam was in danger, and nothing was going to stop him from getting to her.”
“Hmm.”
Heff glanced her way, saw her lips quirking.
“Lenny failed to mention that part. No wonder they’ve got it out for you. You hit them where it really hurts—their pride.”
“It is what it is. If we’d waited for them to get their heads out of their asses, we never would have gotten to Sam in time.”
She nodded, her expression somber again. “I heard she’s living at the Sanctuary now.”
“She is,” Heff confirmed. “Sam and Smoke, they’re the real deal.”
“So, you’re not a total boys’ club?” she teased.
“No.” He chuckled. “In fact, Sam’s heading up the whole kitchen and dining room reno. With her experience running the café and working in her grandparents’ bakery, she knows her stuff. We’re lucky to have her.”
“Sounds like she’s lucky to have you guys too.”
Heff didn’t know what to say to that, so he said nothing.
“Thank you,” Sandy said, “for trusting me enough to tell me all that.” She punctuated the statement with a featherlight touch on his arm, one that he felt keenly.
“You’re welcome.”
She removed her hand and sat back. “I’m sure it comes as no surprise that the PD’s version is quite different.”
“No, no surprise.”
“Yet none of you are disputing it. Why? Don’t you want people to know the truth?”
“We know the truth; that’s all that matters. And sometimes, ignorance is bliss. People want to believe they’re safe and that any bad stuff that happens isn’t the fault of their own elected and appointed officials. If it helps them sleep at night, more power to them.” He smiled ruefully. “I envy them that. I wish I didn’t know half the shit I do.”
Unwilling to travel any farther on that particular sharing highway, he changed the subject. “Enough about us. Tell me about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
Everything. “Let’s start simple. Have you always lived in Sumneyville?”
“Yep. In fact, I grew up in the same house I live in now.”
“Wow. That’s remarkably ... consistent.”
She laughed. “That’s one way to put it.”
He paused, wondering how much she would share with him about what had happened. She’d already confirmed she was planning on blowing town in one of their earlier conversations, so he figured it wasn’t totally outside the realm of acceptable conversation. He knew the gist from Tori and Brian, but he was more interested in what Sandy was willing to say on the subject.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t strike me as the live in the same small town until you die type.”
“No offense taken. And you’re right. I’m not.”
“Then, why do you stay?” he asked, genuinely curious. “I mean, I’m glad you did. Very glad. But why not spread your wings and fly a little?”
She looked down at her hands, her smile fading. “I was just about to actually. I’d finally finished my degree and had a job lined up in New York, a place to live, everything. I quit my jobs, had everything packed and ready to go.”
“What happened?”
She shrugged. “Things changed.”
What changed was, her POS father left her autistic half-brother on her doorstep and never looked back. Heff wondered if her father had known she was on the cusp of starting a new life.
A new life. Something exciting. Something different. Another piece of the puzzle fell into place. “That’s why you had me go to the motel instead of taking you home, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “I was spreading my wings, as you said. Doing something I wanted to do instead of what I was supposed to do, believing that it wouldn’t matter if someone found out because I wouldn’t be around to face the consequences.”
Consequences. Those were something he knew a lot about. “And now?”
“And now ... I’m stuck in Sumneyville for the foreseeable future, and I don’t think I really care about consequences as much anymore.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence, contemplating what they’d shared. At least he was, and judging by the thoughtful look on her face, she was too.
“Do you want help getting him inside?” Heff asked when Sandy gently roused Kevin to let him know they were home.
Kevin wasn’t a huge kid, but physically moving him would be hard for someone Sandy’s size if he wasn’t being particularly cooperative. Every time Sandy touched him, Kevin shrugged her off and tried to go back to sleep.
“Yes, please,” she said.
Pleased that she was accepting his help, Heff said in a firm but kind tone, “Hey, bud. We’re home. Let’s get you inside, so you can sleep in your own bed, okay?”
Kevin grumbled a little but allowed Heff to help him into the house and up to his room while Sandy directed the way.
“Thank you,” Sandy said, escorting him to the door. “Kevin can be stubborn sometimes, but he listens to you.”
“No problem.”
She tilted her head and looked up at him with appreciation. “He really likes you.”
When she looked at him like that, it did things to him. Sent off odd sensations in his chest that made it feel as if it were expanding and squeezing at the same time.
He stepped closer and ran a finger lightly across her cheek. “And what about you, Sandy?”
“I like you too.”
He lowered his head and kissed her, just like he’d wanted to do all day. Her lips were soft, still holding a hint of the cotton candy she’d been nibbling on earlier. She moaned softly into his mouth, snaking her hands up around his neck and moving closer.
One of his hands slipped under her silky hair and cupped the back of her neck. The other stroked down the length of her back, stopping when he reached her hip to pull her against him, as he craved the press of her warm, fragrant weight.
What was it about this woman? One kiss from her was like throwing a lit match on a pile of kindling soaked with gasoline, instantly setting him ablaze.
They made out like teenagers right there against the door until he felt her hands slipping under his shirt. With much effort, he broke the kiss. Her nails curled into his skin in protest.
“Kevin is a very sound sleeper,” she whispered, nipping his bottom lip.
He was breathing heavily, willing his thundering heart and aching cock to settle down as he leaned his forehead against hers. “Not tonight.”
He nearly laughed at the pout she gave him. He might have, if he didn’t feel like he was close to exploding himself.
“Just so we’re clear, I’m not happy about this,” she told him.
“Believe me, I’m not either. There’s almost nothing I want more than to fuck you against this door right now and then carry you upstairs and spend the rest of the night doing it over and over until your body’s spent and you forget your own name.”
She groaned because that was exactly what she wanted too. “Almost?”
“Yeah, almost.” He kissed the top of her nose and stepped back.
“What could you possibly want more?”
The look in her eyes speared right through him, demanding he tell the truth. “This. You and me. Seeing where it can go. That’s what I want more.”