and probably wouldn’t have lasted long if an officer hadn’t seen his independence as something that could be useful in Special Forces.
Mayor Eve Douglas was the last thing he needed.
He turned and limped inside, leaving her standing there.
But despite himself, he watched her through the newly cleaned window as she walked, ramrod straight, toward an elderly pickup truck. She stepped gracefully into the truck, not an easy thing to do.
A mud-splattered pickup truck? The mayor? Of course, it was a small town, but...
None of his business. He turned away. He tried to channel the persisting need into anger. Anger came easily these days. Right now, it was all he had to hold on to.
He went into his bedroom, where Amos still lay under the bed. The dog hadn’t even moved to see who was outside. A year ago, he would have been at full alert, eager and ready to inspect the newcomer.
The two of them were aliens in this place. They were military castoffs, and neither of them knew how to adapt. Josh lowered himself to the floor and sat next to the dog. He put his hand on Amos’s back and rubbed it. He knew it would be plain hell getting up, but right now he figured they needed each other.
“What in the hell are we doing here?” he whispered.
* * *
AFTER LEAVING MR. Manning’s property, Eve sat in her pickup for a while. Waiting...for what? Then she saw movement inside the cabin. Drat, what was she doing? She started the truck and drove out onto Lake Road, resisting the temptation to look back. One thing for sure, Josh Manning was no squatter. From the look of him, and what little she’d seen of the cabin, he’d been working like a demon.
She wasn’t sure what else he was. Her hand still burned from his touch, and her heart was hammering. She couldn’t remember that ever happening before. She was just flustered, she assured herself. He’d been rude and abrupt and...overwhelming.
She saw him now as he’d stood whacking at weeds, the ridges of his muscles straining under the damp T-shirt that clung to him, his sandy hair uncombed. There had been something elemental about him, something untamed and restless, and yet she’d also sensed control when he went to the trouble to harness it.
His face, partially covered with a beard the color of gold, was hawklike with guarded emerald-green eyes that assessed her as if she was prey. She completely understood why June had been frightened. He had nearly apologized about June, but not quite. It was probably as much of an apology as anyone would receive.
But she hadn’t been frightened. Stunned at her body’s reactions to him, yes, but physically afraid? No.
And why did she still ache inside? She hadn’t been attracted to another man since Russ died four years earlier, nor even before that. And this man was the polar opposite of her husband. Russ had been her best friend as well as lover: warm and funny and very easy to love. He’d been everyone’s big brother, and his students adored him. This man was a hostile loner. And a rather unkempt one at that.
When she reached the road, she drove past a few houses, then stopped the truck. She tried to regain her composure. It wasn’t easy. She’d never been so affected by a man, and it didn’t make sense. It certainly wasn’t because she was lonely. Although she missed Russ with all her heart, she had a good life with her son, Nick, their small ranch and her job.
Still, she couldn’t deny the attraction that had streaked between them when he had taken her hand and steadied her. So much strength there.
Nonsense. She didn’t believe in looks across a crowded room...or a weed patch. And it wasn’t that she didn’t have enough problems already.
She realized she hadn’t seen the dog Marilyn had mentioned. And it was strange that a large dog would not have barked at a stranger’s presence. But Joshua Manning knew the law, had obviously checked into it, and she had no legal reason to demand anything. Especially with only Marilyn’s vivid imagination to go on.
Go. Just leave. She turned the key in the ignition, but her thoughts went back to when he’d mentioned Dave Hannity. There had been pain in his eyes. It had been there only for the briefest of seconds, but in that time she’d felt its impact.
He hadn’t said so, but she was sure he’d been in the service. That was probably why he limped. There was still pain in that leg. She’d seen that, too. She’d seen it in Russ when he’d been recovering from a football injury to his knee, the one that had ended his career as a college quarterback.
She wanted to look back, but she was too far away now. Her world had just been rocked, and she didn’t know why or how. She only knew she had to stay away from him. He aroused feelings she didn’t want or need. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel until they hurt. Then she drove toward the main road. Going to the office.
To a safe place.
CHAPTER THREE
WHEN EVE ARRIVED at the office, Tom was waiting for her. Although it was only midmorning, he looked tired.
His appearance worried her. “Should you be here?”
“I’m going crazy at home,” he said. “Maggie’s hovering around like I’m an invalid. Hell, Eve, I’m not ready for a rocking chair. Two days of doing nothing, and I’m going nuts. Besides, I’m still chief until you replace me.”
Eve was torn. Tom had been her father’s close friend for years, and as a detective with the county sheriff’s department had investigated his murder three years ago. A native of Covenant Falls, he had taken her father’s place as police chief after the funeral and hoped to find her father’s murderers, but he hadn’t. She knew he still fretted about that.
In those three years, he’d become even more a member of her family, rooting for Nick at Little League games, serving as her sounding board and being part of every family celebration. He was someone she didn’t want to lose. Couldn’t lose. But she also knew him well enough to realize he would not do well sitting at home.
“You look a bit flushed yourself,” he said. “Are you and Nick all right?”
She feared the flush was deepening. “Guess it’s from running around this morning. And Nick is fine. Only two more weeks of school, then I’ll be worrying all day long. I can’t keep him off that bike.”
“Your dad used to say the same about you.”
She didn’t have an answer for that.
He changed the subject. “I hear you couldn’t agree on a replacement for me.”
She sighed. The meeting yesterday had been contentious. One of the deputies vying for the job was the nephew of the council president. “In the first place, no one could replace you. But then Al, Ed and Nancy want Sam. I don’t think he’s ready. He’s a little too fast to assume the worst.” She didn’t add that her husband had coached Sam Clark on the Covenant Falls High football team and thought him a bully.
“I agree,” Tom said. “He has seniority over the other officers, but I purposely didn’t promote him to sergeant because I question his judgment.” He sighed heavily. “I think your father hired him for the same reason you have to keep him. You need Al’s support for your budget, and he controls three of the five votes on the council. Or, I should say, owns them. I could keep Sam under control, but if we can’t find someone too strong for the council to ignore, you’ll have a fight on your hands.”
Eve knew he was right. “You just have to find me that person at a salary we can pay. We couldn’t afford you if you didn’t have the county retirement.”
Tom shrugged. “You don’t get paid nearly enough for all the work you do. Grady Dillard just sat in that chair and drank with his cronies. You’ve put life back in Covenant Falls.”
“Our newest resident isn’t very impressed.” The words escaped before she could stop them. Why did Joshua Manning linger in