CHAPTER 3

Gemma entered Cold Plains Coffee as Ford held the door for her. Dismissing the gentlemanly gesture, she looked for Lacy. She couldn’t wait to go to tonight’s seminar, not for the content, rather, for the break it would give her from the constant temptation to let go of inhibitions.

Rich wood blinds with swooping maroon drapes accented the western decor of Lacy’s shop. Buffalo-plaid-patterned chairs and sofas created nooks where patrons could gather. In the center, rugged wooden tables surrounded by cushioned chairs sat beneath exposed beams. The acoustics of the architecture kept the mixture of voices in the half-full space to a muted level.

A middle-aged couple saw them and, after staring a bit, the woman leaned closer to the man and said something that made the man nod and look over again. An elderly woman with a floral sun visor sat at a table and smiled her approval. At first Gemma thought the older woman liked seeing a police officer in the shop, but then she stood in her baby-blue jogging suit and headed toward them, white tennis shoes bright and clean.

“Anna,” Ford said flatly.

“Ford,” Anna greeted, leaning toward him to plant a kiss on his cheek, Ford lowering his head to accommodate her. “I didn’t know you were coming here.”

With an affectionate frown, Ford said, “I highly doubt that. What are you doing here, Anna?”

She ignored him and turned to Gemma. “I’ve heard all about your trouble, dear. And I couldn’t be prouder of Ford for helping you.”

“I’m very grateful for his protection,” Gemma said.

“I told you, I’m working,” Ford said.

“That’s what you always say. This, however, is different. You call living with a woman working?” Anna gave Gemma a close and deliberate inspection. “A pretty one, too.”

“I’m not living with her. I’m staying with her for a while. For her protection. I’m a police officer.”

“And a good one, too.”

“Why did you come here? And tell me the truth.”

Anna smiled and gave the air in front of her body a sweep with her hands. “I went for a jog. You know I always jog in the evening.”

Ford chuckled, a deep, affectionate sound. “So, you decided to stop in for coffee? After a jog?”

“No harm in that.” Her eyes twinkled with delight.

“You never drink coffee at night. Especially when you jog, Anna.”

Anna laughed, the aged sound adorable. The love between them was obvious. She could do no wrong in Ford’s eyes. The woman had to be in her seventies and had the energy of a woman twenty years younger. Athletic and thin and nowhere near frail, she was an inspiration.

“I came here to see her for myself.”

The entire exchange touched Gemma, and also revealed a side to Ford she didn’t think emerged often. The soft light in his eyes, the soft light of love.

“Anna…?” Ford warned in a teasing way.

“Do you think I’d pass up a chance to meet your new girl? I knew you wouldn’t tell me about her and I couldn’t wait.”

“She isn’t my girl.”

“No, but you desperately need one.” She patted his muscular bicep.

His affection disappeared behind a lowered brow and intensifying eyes. Even with the one person he loved like a mother, he still kept his boundaries firmly in place. Whatever haunted him, it was significant.

“Why don’t you bring her by the house this weekend? I’ll make us something special for the Fourth of July. You can grill some ribs. Your favorite. I don’t feel like attending the fireworks this year. It’s changed so much…”

“Anna…” Ford cautioned again. “I told you, I’m working.”

“Oh, all right, then when you’re finished working, bring her by the house. When will that be? Is August enough lead time?”

Ford sighed. “Anna…?”

Lighthearted laughter answered him before she turned to Gemma. “Good to meet you, dear.”

Gemma shook her hand, feeling the strength in it. With that, Anna headed for the door. But over her shoulder she called, “When your work is finished, you bring her to see me.”

Ford gave her a salute with two fingers, and muttered to Gemma, “She doesn’t understand that when my work is finished, I won’t be staying with you anymore.”

“No?”

He turned a startled look to her. She was just as startled.

“I heard that,” Lacy said as she approached, sparing Gemma further embarrassment.

She couldn’t believe what she’d said. Of course, she didn’t want Ford to stay after his work was finished…after Jed was taken care of. It was just that Anna seemed so sure.

Hooking her arm with Gemma’s, Lacy was about to take her toward the door when all three of them saw Anna pass outside the café window. She winked.

“She may have a point,” Lacy said.

“What point?” Gemma asked.

“Are you two ready to go?” Ford stopped the banter irritably.

“When I told her you were staying with Gemma her whole face lit up and she went into this long explanation about how she thought fate had finally stepped in to guide you.”

“When did you tell her that?” Gemma asked while Ford’s mood darkened all over is face and body language.

“This morning when she came in for coffee.”

“That sounds like Anna,” Ford said, his mood boomeranging in a way that captivated Gemma.

Lacy grinned her entertainment. “I told her about the day the two of you met. Imagine how intrigued she was.”

Ford’s mood returned to annoyance. “No imagination necessary. Are you two ready to go now?”

Gemma wasn’t. “What did you tell her?”

“Exactly what I saw.” Her now mischievous grin left no doubt as to her meaning.

She and Ford had noticed each other. “Ford has orders to stay with me. There’s nothing more going on than that.”

“Orders,” Lacy cooed. “Now that’s romantic! Anna thinks so, too.”

“You’re going to be late.”

Gemma noticed Ford’s more consistently flat demeanor and Gemma, seeing that, asked, “Are you sure you want to drive us?”

“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t.” He looked right at Lacy.

Lacy breathed a single laugh and, arm still hooked with Gemma’s, headed toward the door.

Ford followed them outside, scanning the street for anything suspicious. He opened the passenger-side door for Gemma. Lacy opened the rear door herself, beaming a knowing smile.

“In all seriousness, Ford,” Lacy said from the backseat, “It’s truly impressive how well Bo Fargo runs that police department. Gemma is a lucky woman to have your protection.”

Only Ford’s eyes moved to the rearview mirror.

“You must be so relieved, Gemma. I don’t know what I’d do if a man came after me like that. It’s so rare when we have that sort of thing in this town. But so comforting to know we have policemen like you, Ford.”

Again, Ford’s eyes shifted to the rearview mirror. The compliment rolled off him as though he didn’t believe her. Didn’t he think Lacy was being sincere? Wasn’t she?

Gemma looked into the backseat. Lacy’s eyes shifted from the rearview mirror. Her smile seemed genuine but her gaze held something else. She turned to the window, leaving Gemma wondering what she was thinking as Ford pulled to a stop in front of the community center.

“I’ll be waiting for you when you get out,” he said.

Jed would be foolish to try and attack her in a crowd.

“Why don’t you come in with us?” Lacy gathered up her purse.

“I don’t attend these seminars.”

“There’s something for everyone. You really should try it,” Lacy said.

“No thanks.” His gaze pinned her in the rearview mirror.

Gemma stepped out of the front seat and waited for Lacy to come around the SUV, watching Ford walk toward the café where he’d questioned her.

“He’s always been the quiet, brooding type,” Lacy said as she joined Gemma. “Sexy, though.”

Gemma headed for the community center entrance. She refused to talk about sexy. There was something that she did need to know, though. “What happened to his parents?”

“His whole family was murdered when he was a teenager.”

Gemma sucked in a breath while Lacy opened one of the community center doors. Murdered? His entire family? No wonder he didn’t want to talk about it.

“You can read about it in the newspaper archives at the library. Everybody knows about it. I’m surprised you don’t by now.”

That was because Ford couldn’t talk about it. He kept the pain locked inside.

“There’s no question about why he became a cop. And it’s no wonder the crime rate in Cold Plains is so low. Ford may not talk about losing his family the way he did, but everybody knows that’s why he’s such a stickler for the law. Everyone likes that about him. Crime doesn’t fit here and he keeps it away.”

Gemma liked that about him, too. And Cold Plains as a whole. How could she not? She may have inadvertently led crime to this quiet, peaceful town, but Ford would fight it for her.

She walked beside Lacy into the bustling community center. People were everywhere. Leaving or entering the building, emerging from a hallway, moving into an auditorium and socializing near the tonic-water counter. Lacy told her the water came from Cold Plains Creek and had some kind of healing power. Fountain-of-youth type of thing. She’d have to remember to buy another case of it. At twenty-five dollars a bottle, Jed would be furious if he ever knew.

“I could see you winding up with someone like him,” Lacy said, waving to a woman holding a bottle of tonic water.

“Ford?” They entered the auditorium where tonight’s seminar was being held.

“He’s a cop and he’s great-looking.”

Yes, a little too much of both. “I don’t want to see anyone for a while. I’m still so messed up. I need to figure myself out first, you know?”

Lacy smiled and they took a seat. “Well, you’re off to a good start by coming here.”

Gemma agreed. “This does make me feel better. I may have made bad choices in the past, but that doesn’t mean I have to keep making them.”

“That’s my girl.” She patted Gemma’s thigh, as if they were old friends. “That’s what Samuel noticed about you. You’re eager to improve. I think that’s why he’s so partial to you.”

“He’s partial to me?” And why did he care if she was eager to improve? “How do you know that?”

“He told me. He admires anyone with that kind of strength and initiative. He wants you to succeed. The more people who succeed in this town, the better it will be.”

While Lacy intended to convey Samuel’s good intentions, there was an odd note to the way she spoke of him. Hero worship. Over the top. Samuel admired Gemma and wanted her to succeed. Why did he care that much? As a quite popular motivational speaker, she supposed he would have personal interest in anyone who was striving to go from being abused and downtrodden to thriving. Part of his work. Overcoming the mental side effects of her abuse was her goal. She hadn’t known Jed would become violent after she married him. Once she’d discovered that dark side, she’d felt stuck with him. Looking back, she realized that was because he’d beaten down her self-esteem so far that he’d controlled her. He’d controlled her with physical violence.

It hadn’t been easy to climb out of that hell and find the courage to leave. That had only been the first step. She hadn’t truly begun to feel capable of taking charge of her own destiny until she’d met Samuel and attended one of his seminars. He’d given her hope. He’d given her a light to follow. Light that had restored her self-esteem.

That went against everything Ford had insinuated about the people in this town, about Samuel. She didn’t get it. Why was he so negative? The seminars empowered her. They redirected her thinking. Whether Ford thought they were useless or not, they were helping her. Healing her.

A few stragglers entered the auditorium and found seats. The seminar would begin soon. But Gemma couldn’t stop thinking about Ford.

“What happened to his family?” she asked. “How were they murdered?”

“Burglars broke into their house. His dad woke up and fought one of them but he was shot. By then the rest of the family was awake. His younger brother was shot and his mother was raped before she was killed. Ford hid through it all. That’s the only reason he’s alive today. Otherwise, he would have been killed along with them.”

“Were the burglars ever caught? How many were there?”

“No. There were two. It’s been speculated that they were passing through town.”

“How old was he when it happened?”

“Fourteen.”

Fourteen. He was just a boy. A boy who’d hidden while his family had been tortured and slaughtered. He’d survived and they’d all died. It was a horror she couldn’t begin to imagine. He must have issues with guilt. How could he not? Though there had been nothing he could have done to save them, he might blame himself for not trying. It explained his evasiveness, his refusal to talk about his family.

“That poor man.”

“Don’t feel sorry for him. He’s made a life out of avenging them.”

That was no way to make a life.

Sitting back against her seat, Gemma could see how Ford would bottle something like that up, and she could also see how it would lead him to consume himself with law enforcement. But to carry that torch the rest of his life? That heavy burden? A debt he felt he owed? Didn’t he see what he was giving up? What did he want out of life? It was one thing to want a career in law enforcement, and quite another to do it out of obligation, forsaking his other needs.

“Ford’s a good man, Gemma. You couldn’t be in more capable hands.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“And you’re going to be the envy of every single woman in town. A handsome cop staying at your house. Protecting you. How romantic!”

“Needing protection because my ex-husband is trying to kill me isn’t what I’d call romantic.”

“I saw the way you looked at Ford when you met him.”

“Good evening, everyone,” the boisterous voice of Samuel Grayson boomed through the microphone. His tall, fit frame moved fluidly across the stage. Not a strand of dark hair was out of place, and his suit was of the finest materials.

“You have the power.” He pointed to the audience. “Each and every one of you.” He strode to one side of the stage, stopped and strode to the middle again, where he faced forward and turned his head to scan the auditorium.

“You have the power to stop your ego from controlling your thoughts and actions.” He strode to the other side of the stage now. “Your ego is hungry for gratification,” he nearly shouted, walking back to the center. “It will seek out that gratification at any cost. It will throw you in front of a bus. It will lash out at those around you. Give less to receive more.”

Gemma leaned closer to Lacy. “He must be talking about my ex-husband.”

Lacy snickered behind her hand.

“Don’t ask what your ego wants,” Samuel continued. “Ask what you want, my fellow citizens.” He looked from one side of the auditorium to the other. “What do you want?”

“I want a boyfriend,” Lacy whispered.

I want Ford, Gemma almost replied.

* * *

Ford spotted Bo, dressed in a black uniform and wearing his badge, standing next to Grayson’s spread of tables underneath a huge white canopy at the center of the park. Similar in height to Grayson but brawny and unapproachable, Bo was bland in contrast to the community leader’s popular appeal. Swarms of admirers flocked near him. This was the place to be if you were anyone in Cold Plains. How many of them had a D on their hips?

He guided Gemma underneath the canopy. She wore a crinkly white sundress that scooped low in the front, hinting at bare breasts underneath. Her dainty leather sandals revealed painted toenails and she moved that petite, fit body of hers with smooth and feminine strides, no longer hindered by the injuries she’d sustained from her ex. The healing cuts and bruises on her face were letting her beauty shine through. She looked as hot as the ninety-five-degree day. He was still sweating, and not just from the temperature. It hadn’t helped that she’d kept looking over at him, checking out his uniform all the way here, as though his being a cop turned her on.

Reaching Bo and Grayson, Ford braced himself for the show he’d have to put on. They both thought he was their man. He’d like to inform them that he was his own man. But there was a reason he hadn’t quit by now.

Passing a table of seafood and a fountain of tonic water, Ford stopped at Samuel, who had his arms around two women smiling and leaning against him, practically drooling in worship. Dressed without a wrinkle in tan slacks and a short-sleeved dark blue shirt, he laughed at something Bo said.

“Gemma,” Samuel greeted with the full force of his charismatic presence, removing his arms from the women to approach her. She was the sole focus of his attention now.

Ford watched her warm to it, smiling as she leaned into his embrace. How could it be so easy for her to fall for his bull?

Reminded of her abusive ex-husband, he gave her an allowance. Samuel preyed on people in weakened states like hers. He bolstered them with his seminars and then lured them into his demented circle. He hoped it wasn’t too late to save her.

Samuel eased back from Gemma. “I trust Ford is treating you well?”

“I’m never out of his sight.” She beamed her radiant smile at Ford, making him falter.

“Good. I’d hate to see you suffer through any more hardship. No woman of Cold Plains should have to go through what you have.”

Ford imagined himself throwing up all over the man’s overpriced shoes. Or better yet, hauling him off in handcuffs.

“I appreciate your consideration.”

Hearing the hint of stiffness in her response, Ford looked over at her. Had she noticed something wrong with Samuel’s concern? Did she see it for the manipulative tool it was?

“You deserve a fresh start and I want my town to give that to you. Cold Plains gave that to me when I first arrived. And I’m proud to be a part of such a fine place. Proud of its growth and proud of its people. Everyone should feel safe here.”

She smiled warmly, sucked right back into his scheming charm. “Music to my ears.”

Ford hoped she was smarter than to allow Samuel to control her the way he did others. That’s how he worked. He drew them in and then snared them.

“That’s why we have our best watching over you,” Bo chimed in.

It was like long fingernails raking a clean chalkboard.

“Catching Jed is only part of the problem,” Ford pointed out. “Everyone seems to forget there are five unsolved murders linked to Cold Plains.”

“Five?” Gemma queried.

“His Jane Doe is one of them,” Bo sneered, and then said more gently to Gemma, “None of them were murdered in Cold Plains.”

“Like I said, they’re linked.”

“How so?” Gemma asked.

“Samuel, you could probably answer that for her,” Ford said. He knew he was pushing it, but he felt it was time to let them both know he wasn’t their pawn.

“I’m not familiar with those murders,” Samuel said. “They have nothing to do with Cold Plains.”

“They all lived here.”

“And they all left before they were killed,” Bo countered.

All five bodies had been found miles away from Cold Plains, but all five had had a D tattooed on their hips. Except one. Jane Doe’s D had been drawn on with a marker. If Samuel hadn’t killed them, he knew who had.

“What about Jane Doe?” Ford asked, watching Grayson. He didn’t even flinch. In fact, he appeared bored with the topic. Complacent. He thought he was untouchable right now. Some day his luck would run out.

“Have you made any progress with that computer-enhanced photo?” Bo asked, sounding professional. He easily fell into that role, and it had been convincing when Ford had first started to work for him. Now he knew it was only a facade.

“Not yet.”

“Give it a rest for a while. There are more important things to concentrate on right now.”

Give it a rest. This wasn’t the first time Bo had tried to get him to back off with his investigations, particularly Jane Doe’s. And that only made Ford want to work harder to solve her murder.

“Yes, and one of them is standing right next to you,” Samuel added, all enchantment and misleading goodwill.

“I don’t want to get in the way of Ford’s job,” Gemma demurred. “He must be very busy.” She turned to him. “Five murders. Wow. So many.”

“You’re his job right now,” Bo said. “There are other officers working the murders.”

“Of course. I should have thought of that.”

“Any sign of Jed Johnson, Ford?” Samuel expertly intervened.

“Not yet.” Ford hoped it wouldn’t be long before he did have some sign. Living with Gemma was going to be a constant provocation. Keeping his hands off her especially. “But I’m sure he’ll turn up soon, and when he does, I’ll be ready.”

Samuel nodded. “I knew you’d be the best man for the job. I can always count on you.”

To do what? The predictable? No one knew he had a private agenda. Well, very few did. Hawk Bledsoe knew, the man the FBI had sent to investigate Samuel Grayson’s cult.

Bo and Grayson were suspicious of Ford. They knew he wondered if Grayson was involved in the murders, but were confident he wouldn’t get any closer. That kind of ballsy arrogance got to him. Any criminal who thought they could get away with murder got to him. Both men underestimated him.

“Shall we?” he said to Gemma. And then to the two men, “Quite a celebration you have going here.”

“Enjoy. Help yourselves,” Grayson said, stretching his arm to indicate the tables full of food and that hideous fountain of tonic water. People flocked to it, believing it had some kind of magical power to keep them young and healthy. Fools. All of them. He’d like nothing more than to open their eyes to the truth. Save the entire town from Grayson.

“Thank you,” Ford said, putting his hand on Gemma’s lower back to steer her away.

She walked close to him, making him aware of her all over again, particularly the neckline of her white sundress. She lifted her hand and shaded her eyes. He noticed a bracelet on her wrist. An expensive one. She wore it a lot.

“Is that Martha’s granddaughter?” she asked, stopping.

Following her look, he spotted Hallie and Dillon sitting together on a blanket, talking and eating sandwiches from a picnic cooler.

“Sure is. With Dillon Monroe.”

“Monroe… I met his parents the other night. Nice couple.”

Ford ignored her reference to those damn seminars, noticing how Dillon watched Grayson’s canopy with a low brow. He’d sensed similar tension from him after Gemma had been attacked. Hallie said something to him and his gaze shifted to Ford.

Ford lifted his hand in a salute. Dillon gave a nod of acknowledgment and seemed to regard him differently than he had Grayson. Most in town didn’t know which side Ford was on. Those closest to him knew he wasn’t a Devotee and never would be. Grayson kept secret the ones he privately tattooed, branded as his own. Sometimes Ford could recognize the ones who didn’t belong to that delusional club. Had Dillon recognized the same about him?

Maybe he’d pay the boy a visit. Ask him what his story was when it came to Grayson. He may have a good reason to despise the man, with parents who frequented the community center.

Ford took a step toward the row of vendors cooking food on one side of Grayson’s canopy, but Gemma smiled and hooked her arm with his.

“We can’t pass up this great food.”

He could pass up anything related to Grayson, but her enthusiasm was infectious. Why did she do that to him? Her whole face lit up, reaching deep into her eyes. So genuine. Maybe that was it. When she smiled, she wasn’t faking it, and the result was devastating, for him anyway.

At the seafood table, he picked up a paper plate after she did. They had a couple of hours before the fireworks started. Might as well enjoy it. Trays of salmon, crab legs and tuna were mouthwatering. Gemma obviously had the same tastes as him. She loaded her plate with all the offerings, leaving a little room for pasta salad and steak. She grabbed a roll and would have gone to the tonic-water fountain if Ford hadn’t steered her clear of it.

“I’ll get us something.”

Following her with their identical plates of food to a table under the canopy, he put his down and headed for a smaller tent next to Grayson’s. It was selling beer. He got one for Gemma and two waters. Even if she didn’t drink it, it’d be worth getting a rise out of Grayson.

Placing the bottle of beer in front of her and then the bottles of regular spring water, not Samuel’s tonic water, he caught her look of surprise.

“I’m on duty, but you aren’t,” he said, sitting next to her. Sticking his fork into the pasta salad, he looked over at Grayson and Bo.

Grayson wore a disapproving frown and Bo sent him a narrow-eyed scowl. Ford inwardly cheered.

A big man with a mobster’s face and a barrel stomach approached Grayson. He leaned to his ear and said something. Grayson replied and turned to Bo, giving what appeared to be an order. Ford surveyed everyone around them. No one was close enough to hear the conversation. The two women who’d flirted with Grayson earlier were drinking tonic water from tall crystal flutes with four other women of varying ages.

Bo happened to catch Ford watching. He stared a moment but true to his cocky nature, he dismissed his second-in-command as a threat and lifted his glass of tonic water in greeting. Ford returned the gesture. Bo returned his attention to Grayson and the henchman holding a dark brew.

“Have you tried the crab yet?” Gemma asked.

When he looked over at her, she held a claw in her juice-drenched fingers and her lips were moist. Ford had to gear down. The sight almost gave him a physical jolt.

Putting the shell of the claw onto her plate, she licked her fingers, her soft brown eyes half-closed with pleasure.

Damn.

Her finger-licking slowed as she saw him. Then that smile did its number on him as she laughed at herself.

“Try it!” she protested.

Unable to resist her, he picked up a crab leg and pried it apart. Taking off a bite of the rich, sweet meat with his teeth, he had to agree. Samuel was good for something today.

Finishing his crab, he moved onto the salmon, piling it onto a small piece of toasted rye bread with red onion, cream cheese and capers. He’d rather not get into a discussion on the fact that they had the same taste in food.

“When I first came to Cold Plains, one of the first things I did was find a really expensive restaurant. I spent hundreds of dollars on a lobster dinner. Appetizer. The best wine they had. And dessert. It was fabulous.”

She had a thing for spending lots of money.

“Have you ever done that?” she asked.

“Not alone.”

“I went with Lacy.”

Lacy. He didn’t like how close she was getting to her. He’d seen her with Grayson and his crowd. She couldn’t be trusted.

“Jed hated taking me out to dinner.”

“It’s only natural that you’d want to do everything he hated.”

“Like spend his money.”

“It’s yours, too.”

“It doesn’t feel that way. I didn’t earn it.”

She felt because she hadn’t actually worked for it that it wasn’t hers. He commended her for having that integrity, but Jed had been her husband.

“You aren’t a special case, Gemma. The law typically divides assets. Fifty-fifty.”

“You’d better be careful. Pretty soon you’re going to start helping me more than the seminars.”

“Then maybe I should be more reckless.” He’d rather be the one to help her than those seminars.

“Sounds tempting.”

Time to slow this fireball down. “I’m on duty.” He tapped his badge.

Her gaze fell to it, then lifted, fueling the fireball. If he had known pointing to his badge would do that to her he never would have done it.

He turned away, watching Bo and Grayson again.

“Don’t you ever have any fun?”

Why was she asking that? “When I’m off duty.”

That didn’t seem to appease her. There was something else she wanted to know.

“Lacy told me about your family.”

Assaulted by the uprising of grief that always struck him when he was cornered like this, Ford ignored her, hoping she’d get the hint. Too personal.

“Have you always been in law enforcement?”

That he could answer. “I went to college after the Army and then decided to come home.”

“What did you study in college?”

“Criminal science.”

“And now you’re a cop.”

He let her state the obvious.

“You devoted your life to your work,” she pressed, and now he saw where she was headed.

He’d devoted his life to law enforcement because of the way his family had died. Clamping down on the flare of resentment she stirred by digging, he leaned back against his chair and waited for her to do what everyone else did.

“What would you have done if that hadn’t happened?”

“Can we talk about something else?”

Her brown eyes registered his emotion and she averted her gaze to the throng of delusional, Cold Plains culties. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried. It’s just…it’s just…”

“You know what it’s like to be a victim?”

“No, I didn’t mean that…I…” She looked down at the half-eaten food on her plate and it was a moment before she lifted her head.

The sight of her contrition, as genuine as her smile, slammed his defenses. Nothing could change the tortuous sense of loss he felt whenever he was forced to talk about his family, but something about Gemma defused that.

“I probably would have stayed in the military,” he said.

Her beautiful eyes met his again.

“I’d wanted to be a soldier since I was a kid.”

“It’s not too late to go back.”

“Reenlist?” He shook his head. “It’s more important to me to be here. This is where my parents would have spent the rest of their lives. Besides, being a cop isn’t so bad.”

“What do you like about it?”

He grinned and pointed to his badge. “This.”

She traced its outline with her forefinger. “I like that about it, too.”

“I didn’t realize how much until I met you,” he said before thinking.

She blinked softly and the fireball began rolling again.

Putting her hand on the bench between them, she leaned closer. “Me, either.”

He looked down at her plump and ready lips. Something intimate and uncontrollable stirred. He moved the fraction of an inch it would take to press his mouth to hers. Then he jerked back as soon as he realized what he’d done. She made the world around them disappear. The sound of people talking, children playing, the country-and-western band, all of it had become white noise. He’d been so engrossed in her. In talking to her. The things she brought out of him. And above all else, simply in being with her. She led him into treacherous territory, a hurricane of dark emotion that made him seek safer waters.

Except with her, he wasn’t sure he’d find them. He felt caught between running and facing the unknown with her.