LEAH WALKED THROUGH the hospital’s automatic double doors and into the fresh morning air. The night shifts were often the quietest in a town as small as Templeton, but they were still her least favorite. Mostly because volunteering to cover the shift for her colleagues with children tended to highlight how she rarely had any pressing reason to be at home during the night as others did.
That knowledge hadn’t overly bothered her until she’d met Ethan and Daisy, and now she wanted more. They spoke to her heart and mind, and somehow she imagined the three of them coming ever closer. Which was foolish when they were barely acquainted. It was nonsense. Crazy. Completely unlike anything she’d thought or felt before.
And entirely implausible, seeing as how she’d gone to visit DI Garrett behind Ethan’s back and told her about Anna’s beating. Although the inspector had reiterated there was nothing she could do unless Anna came to Templeton, she’d also reassured Leah that she’d met her professional obligations by reporting an ongoing domestic situation.
Not that it had made her feel any better.
Leah closed her eyes. She really needed to get out and have some fun.
Maybe some retail therapy followed by lunch with Sasha’s sister, Tanya, would do the trick. Tanya usually closed her party planning business for lunch and it had been far too long since they’d caught up. If Sasha was serious about a visit, it would be nice to find out if she’d contacted Tanya, too.
Shaking off the tiredness that threatened to shut down her plans before she’d even started to bring them to fruition, Leah hurried toward the town center.
When she’d reached the main street, she ducked into a couple of clothes shops, selecting a new pair of jeans and two new tops. Tops that were decidedly sexier than her usual button-up shirts. As she emerged from the last store, the idea of some new costume jewelry cheered her. That would undoubtedly add some bling to her new clothes and attitude. She headed across the street to the toy-cum-trinket shop.
Pushing the door open, she entered the shop, which seemed to boast a Christmas feel all year round with its wondrous displays of toys, photo frames, wind chimes and glistening jewelry loaded in baskets. She breathed in the scents of mulberry, coconut and lemon as she passed shelves of flickering candles and incense burners, and made a slow approach toward the array of costume jewelry. She stared at the huge display.
“Excuse me?”
There was a light tap on her elbow and Leah turned. The man standing there smiled, his brown eyes soft. “Would you mind helping me?”
Leah nodded. “Sure. If I can.”
He held up two pillar candles. “What do women like?”
His lost expression made her smile. “Well, women tend to be kind of personal in their candle fragrances. Who are you buying for?”
“My sister. She’s twenty-four and a lawyer. Does that help?”
Leah smiled again. “Why don’t you go with classic vanilla?” She pointed to the candle in his left hand. “She’s sure to like that. Is it her birthday?”
“It’s a housewarming present. She’s just moved into her first apartment.”
“Well, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.” She frowned, curiosity getting the better of her. “I haven’t seen you before. Has your sister taken a place in the Cove?”
“No, I’m in town on business. My sister lives a few miles from here.”
“Ah, I see. Well, I hope she likes it.”
Leah moved to walk away, but when he touched her elbow again she turned.
Color darkened his cheeks as he cleared his throat. “I was wondering whether you’d like to join me for lunch? Or a drink sometime. Anytime. Right now?”
Surprise and a dash of pleasure rippled through her. “Oh.”
“I mean if you can. If there’s any possibility a woman who looks like you is single.”
She smiled yet again, but was admittedly disappointed that she couldn’t tell this man she was seeing a certain thriller writer named Ethan James. “Charmer.”
He grinned.
She looked around her at the people in the shop, momentarily catching the gaze of the shop’s owner, Amanda Arnold, from behind the counter. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Leah and the stranger.
Leah faced the man who’d just asked her out. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t. I’m an ER nurse and I’ve just finished a night shift. I’m tired. Often. Although I’m sure there will be plenty of other women in the Cove who would love to take you up on your offer.”
“Maybe, but I kind of like you.”
Her cheeks heated. “You don’t even know my name.”
“What is your name?”
“Leah. Leah Dixon.” She held out her hand. “And yours?”
“Charlie Hickman. Nice to meet you. Now will you go out with me?”
She laughed. “I can’t. Maybe some other time, but right now—”
“Don’t say another word.” He held up his hand, his brown eyes glinting with humor. “Some other time is fine by me.” He raised the candle. “I’d better pay for this and get back to work.”
“Sure.”
The guy seemed really nice...and handsome. Wouldn’t she normally have at least accepted his offer of a drink, if Ethan hadn’t somehow become such a big part of her thoughts and feelings? She cleared her throat. “How long are you staying in town, if some other time is okay with you?”
“I’ll be here for as long as it takes to wrap up my business, and then be on my way.”
Cool. Casual. No pressure. Kind of the way she liked the men she dated to be. She lifted an eyebrow. “The free and easy type, huh?”
“Something like that.” He winked. “You should try it. It’s the only way to live.”
Before she could respond, he flashed her another smile before heading for the counter. Her interest was piqued and she watched him walk away, amused as she noticed Amanda’s demeanor change from the Wicked Witch of the West to a minor resemblance of the Good Witch of the North as Charlie approached her. Amanda was Amanda. Leah just hoped for Charlie’s sake that he hadn’t landed smack-dab in the middle of her radar. The man was so nice, so gently spoken, Amanda would eat him alive.
Leah turned back to the jewelry display to look for a necklace, some bangles and maybe even a pair of earrings to go with each of the new tops she’d bought. As she picked up and discarded item after item, her mind wandered to Charlie’s vote for free and easy living. Hadn’t she always told herself that was exactly how she lived?
Yet it wasn’t true.
She worried; she fussed; she cared. The free and easy in her was quashed the day her grandmother was taken to a hospice and Leah took it upon herself to be the best person to take care of those who needed it. Who did she think she was, Mother Teresa? She needed to make a life. A good life. Not spend day after day, hour after hour, trying to solve the world’s problems.
As much as she longed to be with Ethan, maybe her feelings would pass and she’d move on. Or at least she’d return to the contented solitude she’d revered before she met him. Dating was easy and often fun. The majority of her time with Ethan had been neither of those things.
She gathered up her selected jewelry and headed for the counter, pulling on a smile and her confidence like armor as she braced for Amanda’s questions about the Cove’s newest temporary, very handsome visitor.
“Leah, hi.”
“Hi, Amanda.”
“Can I get you anything else today?”
“No, just the jewelry is fine.”
Amanda’s wily gaze lingered on Leah’s face as she entered the purchases into the cash register. She pulled a bag from beneath the counter, her eyes dropping to the jewelry. “I saw you speaking with Charlie just now. He’s quite lovely, isn’t he?”
“He is.” Leah bit back a smile. “You sound as though you know him.”
“Oh, no, not really.” She slipped the final necklace into the bag. “He just seems to keep finding an excuse to come in here.” Her laughter tinkled. “I have absolutely no idea why.”
Leah raised her eyebrows, her gaze on Amanda’s bowed head. “You should ask him out. I don’t think he knows anyone in town.”
“Oh, Leah, please.” Amanda frowned. “I find it totally uncouth that a woman should feel desperate enough to ask a man for a date.” She held out the bag, her eyes gleaming with innocence. “I do hope that’s not what you were doing when you were speaking with him. Not that I wouldn’t understand, in your case.”
Leah struggled to keep her smile in place. “In my case?”
“Well, you are on your own an awful lot.”
“I am...as are you.”
Amanda’s eyes darkened. “I have plenty of offers for dates, for your information. I’m just picky.”
“Right.” Leah handed over her debit card. “Then it’s just as well Charlie isn’t to your taste.”
Amanda put the card into the machine. “I didn’t say that. He’s...passable.”
“I thought he was kind of cute.” Leah entered her PIN. “I might even take him up on his offer to join him for a drink sometime.”
Amanda glared, her lips pursed. “Yes, you should. He’s not really the kind of man who would suit me.”
Struggling not to laugh, Leah took her card and lifted the bag. “Great. So if I go out with him, there won’t be any bad feeling between us. Right?”
“Right.”
Leah tapped the counter. “See you around.”
She walked from the shop and out into the street, her smile dissolving. There had been absolutely no need for her to sink to Amanda’s level. If she had to keep reminding herself she was okay on her own, that was exactly what she’d do. Ethan James or no Ethan James. Leah pulled her phone from her purse as she walked, dialing Tanya’s number.
It rang and rang before going to voice mail. Ending the call, Leah lifted her hand to her mouth to smother a yawn. Maybe going home was a better idea than lunch. She was likely to fall asleep face-first in her food.
A few minutes later, she headed up her front garden path, her yawns growing ever bigger and longer. She let herself in and gathered up the mail from the mat by her door, absentmindedly tossing her purse and shopping bags onto the stairs and her keys on a side table as she perused the mail. Junk, junk... She frowned and turned the only envelope over.
She stilled. No stamp. Hand-delivered?
She peeled the envelope open and pulled out two photographs. One was of her, Ethan and Daisy at her front door, obviously taken the night she’d made them dinner. The other was the three of them walking from the Good Time Holiday Park on the night of the kids’ fund-raiser.
She turned the park photo over.
It seems a smack around wasn’t enough for Anna. She’s disappeared, taking some of Harry’s money with her. Your new boyfriend needs to persuade his ex-wife to come back to Bristol where she belongs. He clearly cares for his little girl, as you seem to care for him. Do you really want anything to happen to them?
Leah dropped the photographs as though they’d scorched her, then raised her hand to her mouth. Oh, God. Oh, God...
Closing her eyes, she forced her mind to focus, her heart to slow. Taking some of Harry’s money with her. Whoever had written the letter, it wasn’t Harry, and whoever the author was, he or she had personally brought this message to her house.
Leah would call Ethan and then DI Garrett. Together, they would figure out what to do next. Surely the Templeton police could do something now. They had to.
* * *
ETHAN LEAPED FROM the taxi and fumbled some money through the passenger window. “Thanks. Keep the change.” He stormed along Leah’s short pathway and rapped on the door.
Barely a second passed before footsteps sounded behind the door and Leah flung it open. “Ethan, thank God.”
He stepped over the threshold and pulled her into his arms, instinctively pressing a firm kiss to her hair. He closed his eyes. “Are you okay?”
She pulled back, holding on to one of his hands. “I am now you’re here. I hate to admit it, but these photos really scared me.”
He tightened his grip on her hand. “Show me.”
She led him through to her small kitchen and nodded toward the photographs on the table. “Take a look. Do you want a coffee? I could do with a proper drink, but I think eleven thirty in the morning is pushing it.”
Her attempt at humor was diluted by the shakiness of her words, and her hazel eyes wide with worry behind her glasses. He picked up the photographs. “Coffee’s great. Thank you.”
As Leah made the coffee, Ethan stared at the photographs before reading the message scrawled on the back of one. His pulse beat in his temples as his anger grew. “I should’ve known this would happen.”
“How? You couldn’t have predicted any of this.” She put two mugs and a coffeepot on the table and sat beside him. She frowned as she looked deep into his eyes. “Could you?”
The wariness of her tone, the suspicion in her eyes yanked hard at his pride and his heart. “You think I have something to do with this? That I know more than I’ve told you?”
“No, of course not.” She stood and walked to the window, staring into her back garden.
“Then why can’t you look at me?”
She turned, her body tense as she crossed her arms.
Ethan clenched his jaw before exhaling. “Has something happened? Apart from this, I mean.”
“No.”
“Then why are you suddenly so distant? You’re acting as though you’re pulling away from me. Suspecting me.”
“I’m not suspecting you. It’s just...”
“Just what?”
“I’ve called the police. I spoke to the duty sergeant and he’s made notification about the pictures, saying someone will phone me back.”
“You called the police? I thought you understood they can’t do anything. That I’ll sort it out.”
“How can you?” Annoyance burned in her eyes. “And besides, whoever sent these is in the Cove. There’s no postmark or stamp. I’m confident DI Garrett will do something now.”
“Like what? I need to be in control of this situation, Leah. Not you.”
“Control? Is that what this means for you? You’re losing control?” She shook her head, her cheeks flushed. “This is about my job. My responsibility to you and Daisy. It should be exactly that for you, too. It looks as though I’m being threatened, as well, now. Doesn’t that matter to you?”
Shame made him close his eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He opened them. “Of course you had to speak to the police.”
She nodded, her shoulders dropping. “Glad to hear you say so.”
She sighed and resumed her seat beside him at the table. “You were right about what you said at the bakery. Things are moving quickly between us, and I don’t really know you at all. Not really. All this...” She waved her hand toward the photographs on the table. “It’s scary, Ethan. Not just the threats. Not even what might happen to Anna.”
“Then what?” Resentment toward his ex-wife and everything she’d brought into Leah’s life, his and Daisy’s lives, writhed inside him. “I hate the thought of you being afraid. I didn’t ask for any of this, but the worst thing about it is how it’s affecting you.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe all that’s happened since our chance meeting.”
“It is pretty surreal.”
“What were you thinking just now? It’s the first time I’ve seen distrust in you since we met. Not just with me. With anyone.”
“It wasn’t distrust of you. It’s distrust of myself. I tend to rush to people’s rescue. Do everything I can to bring some peace to people’s lives after an accident or tragedy.”
“That’s because you’re good and kind. It can’t be your strengths that are worrying you, surely?”
“What if my feelings toward you and Daisy are misplaced? That because I found her on the beach the way I did...” Her gaze fell to his lips. “I could be clinging to something that has no chance of ever happening, just because I want it to. And that want has nothing to do with how you might feel about me.”
“You like me, I like you. Maybe when all this is over, things could progress between us.”
“But you’ve made it pretty clear you don’t want that. Still, I can’t help feeling...” She inhaled a shaky breath. “I don’t know.”
“That we could be good together? Could have something special?” He touched her hand. The sadness in her eyes pulled hard at his chest. “I feel the same way about you, okay? But now, even more than before, I don’t dare get in any deeper with you. Surely you understand why? These new photographs are a threat against you and Daisy. She needs my protection one hundred percent. I don’t know that I can be everywhere for both of you, all the time.” His suppressed fury threatened to choke him. “If these bastards don’t see us together again, there’s every chance they won’t target you. The same can’t be said of Daisy.”
Leah drew in a long breath, then slowly exhaled. “You’re right. Of course you’re right.”
“I really care about you, but even before Anna came back, relationships were on the back burner. They always have been. I just want to do my best by Daisy, and I can’t do that if I have other things or people in my life.”
She stared at him. “You really believe that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
She leaned back. “Then it’s sad you feel that way. Nobody should have to be alone if they don’t want to be. Everyone deserves happiness. Don’t you think Daisy wants that for you?”
“Maybe, but when you’re a parent, your child’s happiness comes before your own. Always.”
What he’d said to her, he’d said to himself a hundred times and always believed he was right. Now, with Leah sitting alongside him, his fingers itching to take hers and his mouth aching to kiss her, the words felt wrong and depressing.
She filled the mugs with coffee, stood and took some milk from the fridge. “If Cat Garrett calls about the pictures, I’m sure she’ll tell us the best way forward.” She returned to the table and sat, gripping the milk in her hands. “I promise to keep my distance from you and Daisy once this is over, but I can’t step back until I know you’re both safe. The pictures came to my home, and right now I’m a target as much as you, Anna or, God forbid, Daisy.” Leah poured some milk into one of the mugs. “I’m so glad she’s at your mum’s.”
A horrible feeling of loss came over Ethan as she poured milk into the second mug. When she’d promised to keep her distance from him and Daisy, her decision had sounded so final. Something that should have gladdened rather than saddened him. He swallowed hard and straightened in his seat, shaking off the wish that he could feel differently about Daisy’s welfare and his attention to every detail of it. “You were right to let the police know about the pictures. If these people are in the Cove, DI Garrett needs to know.” He picked up his coffee and took a sip. “The sooner she calls, the better.”
They lapsed into silence, and Ethan surreptitiously glanced at Leah as she drank her coffee with a dazed expression. He hoped he hadn’t hurt her, that she didn’t feel his words were rejection, because they weren’t.
She put down her mug. “I’m not really tasting this coffee.” She met his gaze. “Shall we go to the station? I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else until we’ve spoken to DI Garrett.”
He nodded. “Sure. Let’s go.”
“I’ll just grab my purse and car keys.”
She brushed past him and he inhaled, wondering when he’d next get to smell the musky, sexy scent of her, or look into her beautiful eyes. He breathed deep. Distance was for the best.
“You know something?”
He turned as she reentered the kitchen. “What?”
“What if distance isn’t the best way to keep me and Daisy safe?”
“Leah...”
“I’m serious. These guys must assume I know as much about the drug dealing as you do. They don’t know how long we’ve known each other. They don’t know we aren’t dating. Surely, if we’re together, we’re safer? Two heads and two pairs of hands has to be better than one if anyone shows up here.”
He stood and came toward her, taking her hands in his and fighting the need to kiss her one last time. “You’ll be safer away from me. Anna always said I bring negativity into every situation. Look at everything that’s happened since we met.”
“Hmm. That’s a funny coincidence.”
“What is?”
“People say I bring positivity to every situation, and I bet I’m a damn sight more positive than you are negative. So, in effect, it’s highly possible the power of my positivity will override your negativity.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Is that supposed to be logic?”
“No, but it works for me. We can put an end to this. Together. Now, let’s go see Cat. Make sure you slam the front door behind you.”
Before he could argue, she made for the door.
Maybe the fact he didn’t run to catch up with her was because, deep down, he wanted to keep seeing her, wanted to know where she was day and night so he could do all he could to protect her.
As he walked toward the front door, his phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out. “Hello?”
“Ethan, it’s me.”
He tensed, on high alert. “Anna? Are you okay? We’ve had another delivery.”
“We? Who’s we?”
“My...” His girlfriend? His friend? “My friend had a couple of photographs delivered to her home.”
“What sort of photographs? I don’t know anyone in Templeton. What has your friend got to do with this?”
“I’ve been spending a bit of time with her lately. The photographs are of me, her and Daisy. One at my friend’s home, the other at the local caravan park where they had a fund-raiser the other night. Someone’s following her...following us. I think whoever’s delivering the photos is in the Cove and likely to stay here until they’re sure you’re not going to say anything about the drugs. Clearly, they think this is the first place you’ll come. Where are you now?”
Silence.
He gripped the phone tighter. “Anna?”
“I’m here already.”
“Where?”
“In Templeton.”
He stilled. “Whereabouts?”
“I’m just about to go into the library. I was too scared to come to your house in case something happened to Daisy.”
Making a snap decision, Ethan took a deep breath. “Leave the library and come meet us at the police station. We’re heading there now.”
“What? No. I don’t want the police involved unless they really have to be.”
“They do have to be, Anna. For once in your life, stop thinking about yourself and think about your child. I’ll see you there in fifteen minutes.”
He ended the call and hurried outside, where Leah waited in the car. How did he tell her she was about to come face-to-face with his ex-wife?