Barbecue and Bad News (19 page)

“You’re on.” He hadn’t planned it, but now that it was out there, he was already thinking about what a night out, or rather in, might be like with her.

They finished dinner and enjoyed small talk with the others at the table until the governor took the podium to begin the ceremony.

Savannah leaned over to Scott and said, “I’m going to step off to the side to get a few pictures. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” He watched as she wove between the tables to the edge of the room. She was the girl in blue who had caught his eye earlier, and what he wouldn’t do to have her in his arms on the dance floor right now.

He forced himself to turn his attention to the governor, and good thing because he called Scott to the podium.

Thank goodness they didn’t expect him to say anything in response to the award. Music began playing from the back of the room, and the press snapped a few pictures. It was a short fanfare. Couples took to the dance floor. He watched Savannah talking with a group of people. Her eyes met his. He’d been staring. His mom would have said it was rude, but he didn’t care.

She waved to him, and he gave her a nod. She looked comfortable in the crowd. He watched her excuse herself from the group and begin making her way across the room in his direction.

He couldn’t wait to take her out on the dance floor. But then someone else interrupted his little fantasy. “Sheriff Calvin, I’m head of a special task force. I’d like to talk to you about an opportunity.”

Scott looked from the man back toward Savannah. “I—” He wanted to say he had plans, but he knew it wasn’t a request he could deny.

The man’s voice was firm. “It’ll just take a few moments of your time. Can you join us in the next room?”

What could he say? They hosted the event. They’d made him the guest of honor. “Of course, yes. Thank you.” He turned and mouthed “Sorry,” with a shrug to Savannah as the man whisked him away.

Savannah hung around until most of the people had gone, mostly in hopes that she’d run into Scott again, but she hadn’t seen any sign of him once he’d left with the group of prestigious men, including the governor and three guys who had important written all over them. Staying any longer would just look weird, and Franklin was still hanging around. She had no intention of getting into it with him again tonight.

She walked outside. Scott’s car was still in the parking lot. Clearly, they’d decided to take advantage of having him in town to talk business. She walked over to her car and got in. It was a short drive to the hotel, but she’d have rather been riding back with Scott.

The night clerk was a different one from the one she’d acted like a nut with earlier this afternoon, thank goodness. She stopped in at the bar and got a diet cola to take up to her room.

She changed out of the dress and got into her pajamas.

A diet drink, her laptop, and pajamas. She wished she’d brought prettier pajamas. If Scott stopped by when he got done, she wasn’t going to make a big impression in these PJs.

She forced herself to focus on the story about the award ceremony for the
County
Gazette
. It was a short piece, but it read well. “Jack, I think you’re going to be happy with this.” She grabbed her camera and flipped through the tons of pictures she’d taken. You just never knew what you were going to need. More is better.

She picked her two favorites and e-mailed the article and pictures to herself so she could send them to Jack in the morning after she reread it.

After checking through her e-mails, she shut down the computer and turned off the light, but her mind wouldn’t turn off so easily.

She got up and padded to the window. From here she could see the spot where Scott had parked before. Someone else was parked there now, and she didn’t see Scott’s car in the lot. She stood up on her tiptoes, trying to get a view of the whole parking lot, but there was quite a bit she couldn’t see from here.

She pulled the curtains closed and got into bed, thinking about Scott.

It was after three when she finally fell asleep, and with the blackout curtains in the hotel room, she slept until nine o’clock, something she hadn’t done in years.

She gathered her things to head back to Adams Grove.

There was no sign of his car in the parking lot when she left either. Maybe he’d gone straight home.

She got on the road feeling tired but reflective. Scott Calvin wasn’t the grump she’d pegged him as. The girls were right. He had a quick wit and he was nice. Very nice. All the people at the table at dinner seemed charmed by him, and she was too. He’d sparked her interest, and now she couldn’t get him off her mind.

The ride back went by fast, but she didn’t risk speeding once she got close to Adams Grove. She stopped at the Walmart to pick up a pack of writable CDs in case that would make it easier for Jack to review the pictures from last night’s event. Besides, this way he wouldn’t have to know she hadn’t used his camera. She’d have had to carry a hobo bag to hulk that sucker around all night, and that would not have gone with her dress.

It was just after noon when she made it back to the apartment in Adams Grove. She’d barely finished transferring the pictures and the article from her computer to the CD when she heard voices in the hallway. Was it her imagination, or was that Scott’s voice?

She ran as quietly as she could to the door, but the wood floor snapped and popped under her feet. She peeked out the peephole.

Scott was talking to Mike on the landing.

He turned and rapped on her door. She sucked in a breath and ducked, feeling like she’d just been caught. She could hear her blood pulsing like those bass drums in the parade. Why was she freaking out? It wasn’t like he could see her peeking through the peephole.

They were still talking. Her heart pounded so loud she could barely hear what they were saying on the other side of the door now. She dropped to the floor and crawled back about five steps and then got up and yelled, “Coming.”

She opened the door and tried to act surprised. “Hi. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“You busy?”

“Yes. No. I was just . . .” She swept her hand through her hair. “Come on in. What’s up?”

He walked inside. “Looks exactly like it did when Connor lived here.”

“Yep. Fully furnished. It’s a bargain.”

“Compared to northern Virginia, I’m sure it is.”

“Yeah. So congratulations again on last night. And thanks for inviting me to join you at your table. I had fun.”

“Thanks, but actually I came by to thank
you
for last night.”

“Me? I didn’t do anything. But come take a look at the pictures. They turned out pretty good.”

He followed her over to the table by the window.

She sat down and clicked a few keys, and the pictures popped up on her screen.

He moved in close behind her. Her skin tingled and she could feel his warm breath just over her shoulder.

“Wow, those are good. You’ve done this before. You make me look pretty good,” Scott said.

She smiled, but didn’t confirm or deny.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about the way you took up for me . . . for all small-town cops . . . to that guy at the award dinner. I appreciate that.”

She turned toward him. Her face just inches from his, and that mouth. Doggone, he had a sexy mouth. “It was nothing. I was just telling it like it was.”

“I heard him. I heard your response. Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes I did. He was being a jerk. Besides, you kind of opened my eyes since I’ve been here. I’d made some similar assumptions. I guess I was a little bit of a jerk too.”

“Well, I did almost give you a ticket.” He laid a hand on her shoulder.

“But you didn’t.”
You could kiss me, though. I’d like that. Plus, my heart is racing. Does that qualify for extra-special attention?

“And you didn’t do that to repay me. You were just being nice. I like that about you.”

She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly feeling dry.

“Can I take you to lunch?”

She wanted to have lunch with him. She really did, but she wasn’t looking for what he wanted or what his mom wanted him to want. It was all wrong and complicated, and when he learned about her past, he wouldn’t understand. She opened her mouth to explain, but her heart was pounding so hard she could barely urge one word out. “I . . .”

He cut her off. “You know, just as a thank-you. To repay you for getting sucked into spending a precious day out of your vacation on that story for our little local paper. It’s just lunch.”

“It was my pleasure. I got dinner last night. Really, that was payment enough.”
No, it wasn’t. Why am I fighting this?

“That wasn’t real food.”

She laughed out loud. “It was pretty bad.”

“Lunch?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“On if you’re still going to make good on treating me to real grilled chicken. Calvin-style. I’ve got to work on something this afternoon, but if you wanted to barbecue me some of your famous chicken or steak one night, I’m all yours.” Her body was wanting a lot more than she was willing to admit, but boy, if she hadn’t just laid it all right out there.

“Tonight?”

“I’d love it.”

“I’ll pick you up.”

“I can drive over.” Then she could leave if she needed to.

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

She sucked in a quick breath. “Okay.”
Live a little
, she heard Evelyn say in her mind. No escape route. How bad could it be? He knew she was leaving town soon. They were adults, after all.

They walked to the door together.

He reached for the knob, then stopped and turned, pausing kind of awkwardly.

Was he going to kiss her?

He stepped toward her and she felt herself pull in a breath and hold it, but he didn’t come in for a kiss. He gave her arm a gentle squeeze, then walked out, closing the door behind him.

She wasn’t sure which was louder, her heart pounding or his footsteps as he descended the steep stairs. She raced over to the window that faced the street. He was already walking down the block.

She’d probably have to run to keep up with him, but darned if she wouldn’t mind trying.

CHAPTER EIGHT

S
avannah walked over to the couch and plopped back on it like a lazy teenager. Only she wasn’t lazy, and she wasn’t a teen. But she felt as giddy as one. Dinner with the sheriff.

The grin that stretched across her face pushed her cheeks so high that her bottom lashes tickled them.

Her tummy spun just like it had the first time she ever spoke in front of a group. Nervous. Excited. And not sure whether to hoot or puke.

Her days in Adams Grove were dwindling and everyone knew it, so it wasn’t like there was any promise of something serious. She hoped he wouldn’t tell his mom, though. It wouldn’t do for the nice lady to get her hopes up when there was no chance of it ever being anything long term. Savannah would be leaving in a week to go back to the city, and they’d probably never speak again. That was okay. It could be fun for now.

Even though everyone had told her Scott was a great guy, she hadn’t recognized even a hint of it until last night. Not that it wasn’t there, but because she’d been very careful to never let herself see anything that might lead her to care too much. About anyone. But since last night, Scott Calvin was all she could think about. Evelyn was always telling her to loosen up and just have a good time. She’d tried yoga, and it wasn’t so bad. Maybe a little test drive of the handsome sheriff wouldn’t be so bad either.

His great pride in his work made her feel proud for him. She’d been wrong about the small-town cop stuff. She’d made the mistake of generalizing, and she should know better.

Was it the award that had made her look differently at him?

That was silly. She wasn’t the type to be impressed by that kind of stuff. But something had changed the way she saw him. Or maybe she’d been holding on to that old protective mode that kept her from seeing any man as a potential partner, and last night there was just enough wine and fun for her to let her guard down. If you didn’t care, you couldn’t get hurt. So far, she’d gotten through eight years since Momma and Dad died without ever feeling the kind of loss and betrayal her hometown had cast on her. That plan of attack had suited her just fine . . . until now.

A sudden flash of panic hit her and sent her zooming to an upright position.

That first article that she’d e-mailed to Evelyn was not going to go over well for Scott. What if those bigwigs that honored him last night saw it? They were totally in the GINN demographic. He didn’t deserve the blast she’d dished out in that article.

Plus, the people of this little hick town might be savvier than she gave them credit for, and if word got out that that article was about their sheriff here in Adams Grove, that could be very bad for him.

A lump stuck right in her throat. She pressed the number for Evelyn on her phone. No answer. She was probably in the sales meeting right now.

“Evelyn. It’s me, Van. I need you to pull that article I submitted. I’ll send you something new. I got something terribly wrong and I have to fix it. Call me if there’s an issue. Thanks.”

But there was no telling if or when Evelyn would listen to that message, and the deadline for the issue was looming.

Savannah’s stomach gripped the worry like a vise.

She shot off an e-mail to Evelyn and copied the guy in charge of production, just in case. He owed her a favor or two.

Watching the clock, Savannah paced around the room wishing for a phone call, a text, an e-mail. Heck, she’d take a smoke signal . . . anything to let her know that her message had been received.

She sat down at the computer and refreshed her inbox. Nothing. She couldn’t waste any more time waiting to hear. She opened up a blank document and started trying to think of a replacement story. Closed her eyes and sat there.

Nothing came. All she could think about was getting a hold of Evelyn.

She clicked back over to the Word document. The cursor blinked at her like a momma shaking her finger at her kid for being bad.

There was no way she was going to relax until she heard from Evelyn. She carried her phone with her to the bedroom and started unpacking the clothes she’d brought back with her. She hung them one by one, sending a little prayer out to the universe for a story idea as she hung each hanger.

Finally, a rattling set of typewriter keys broke the silence.

“Yes!” Savannah shouted as she grabbed her phone. “Finally. Hey, Evelyn.”

“Good afternoon, Savannah. Thanks for dropping off those letters for Andrew. I just went through them. They’re perfect. This will give us a great jump-start. I’m so sorry I missed you, though. How are things going?”

“Did you get my message? About the article?”

“I did. Honey, that article is fine. Just work on the next one.”

“No!” She couldn’t let it run the way it was. “I’ve got a different angle, and one of my facts didn’t exactly check out.”

“There wasn’t much in the way of fact-checking to do on it, Van. It’s great, and it’s already formatted for production.”

“Evelyn, you don’t understand. I really need to fix it. If I get it to you by four—same word count—will you replace it? Please?”

Evelyn’s pause made Savannah worry. She didn’t have even an inkling of an idea of what she was going to write to replace it, but she really had no choice. She’d have to come up with something.

“What’s this all about?”

“Please. Just do me this favor.”

Savannah heard Evelyn sigh. That wasn’t good. She knew that meant she was aggravated. That sound was usually reserved for the pains in the butt at GINN, never her! “I need it by four. You know that’s the drop-dead.”

“Thank you. I owe you!”

“Yes, you do. How’s everything else going?”

Savannah could hear the irritation in Evelyn’s tone. “Okay. I’m trying to figure out how to get rid of all these letters you sent over. I might have to go buy a shredder.”

“What’s the big deal? Just toss them in a trash bag and throw them away. They do have trash cans in that little town, don’t they?”

“Of course they do, but this is a lot of letters.”

“So it’ll make for some interesting reading if they poke through your trash. Big deal.”

“We don’t want them to know I’m Van.”

“Well, technically, you’re not anymore.”

“I really don’t want to have to explain it to anyone. I just have a bad feeling about it, Evelyn.”

“What’s gotten into you? You’ve never been a worrier. Maybe that country air is not what you needed after all. You can come on back if you want. I didn’t mean to bamboozle you into something that was going to make you crazy. I just thought it would be fun for you.”

“The country air is perfect. It’s fine. Fun. Everything you wanted it to be. But some of those letters. Evelyn, we’ve had this conversation before. Half of what those nuts put in those letters should be against the law. It’s just bad, and it’s mean-spirited. You know they’re just going for the shock value.”

“You’ve had no problem doing it for the past two years.”

“Well, I’m over it now, and I really don’t want anyone else to know that’s how I’ve been spending my time.” She swallowed back the urge to cry. She had been living life in a way that was just like those people she had left behind in Belles Corner. She’d been speculative and judgmental, and made light of things of major importance to others. “It’s not who I want to be.”

“Settle down, Van.”

“I am not going to ruin these people’s lives, and I’ve got to get rid of these letters before someone finds out.” Outside her door she heard Connor talking down in the stairwell, and then Mike’s voice, just outside her door.

Her heart filled her throat. “Evelyn, I’ve got to go.” She hung up the phone without a good-bye and ran to the door.

Mike was standing at the rail on the landing right outside her door. Had he heard her on the phone with Evelyn? She should have been more careful.

She didn’t have much time.

If she was going to get that article rewritten and in to Evelyn by four o’clock, she couldn’t worry about Mike or what he may or may not have heard.

There was no time for distractions. She grabbed the laptop from the table in front of the window and took it to the desk in the office.

She pulled up the original article and stripped it down to the details. Only now as she typed, instead of getting even with the Sheriff in her mind, all she could picture was Daphne Calvin with her head slightly cocked to one side, saying, “He’s just doing his job, dear.”

She’d just been doing hers, but that didn’t make her feel any better.

The minutes ticked away, and all she could wrap her head around was that at the time he pulled her over on I-95, it had felt like such a huge deal, a huge injustice. But when you put the incident into perspective, it just was not news. It wasn’t even funny.

Sensationalizing the small things had become an art. That’s the article she should be writing. But that wouldn’t fill the bill for what Evelyn was expecting in this slot . . . today . . . in just fourteen minutes!

Hammering away at the keys, she pulled a story together that would meet Evelyn’s expectations, but wouldn’t offend Sheriff Calvin or the town of Adams Grove if anyone did happen to pick it up, or make Daphne Calvin think any less of her.

She turned it into a generic view, rather than an exposé on a particular town or person.

She hit Send with three minutes to spare. It may well have been equivalent to a 5K run in the park for the way she was feeling right now. Like she’d sprinted across the finish line . . . with a fire-breathing dragon on her heels.

Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic, but still.

She let out a breath and wondered how she’d get a second wind before Scott picked her up for dinner at seven.

A short nap, a bubble bath in the biggest, deepest claw-foot tub ever, and two hours later she was feeling on top of the world, even a little anxious about her date with the cute sheriff. Or was it a date? She wasn’t a hundred percent sure.

She put on jeans and a white blouse. She turned up the sleeves and then wondered if white was just asking for trouble when eating barbecue. She slipped her favorite bangle bracelets on her wrist and then tugged them back off. It was a cookout. She didn’t need jewelry. Satisfied that she looked nice but not like she was trying too hard, she plugged the charger into her phone and then texted Evelyn.

Savannah:
Thanks for replacing the article. On my way out to dinner.

Evelyn:
With the sheriff?

Savannah:
How’d you know? You always know everything.

Evelyn:
Had a feeling. Have fun. You deserve it.

Not that she needed Evelyn’s blessing, but knowing Evelyn seemed to approve made it seem that much more right.

Savannah hadn’t felt this excited about anything in a long time. She was probably setting herself up for a big fat letdown, something she never allowed herself to do. She was starting to get used to not working at breakneck speed all day every day, even on the weekends. And she was starting to like it.

She paced around the apartment wishing the time would pass a little faster. At about quarter till seven she found herself hanging by the front window, watching for that blue Thunderbird to roll up. She was still looking out the window when a knock came from her door.

The floor creaked beneath her feet as she crossed the room.

It was probably her nosy neighbor again. At least with Scott on his way she wouldn’t have to talk to Mike for long. She might even be able to pick his brain a little and figure out whether he’d heard any of her conversation with Evelyn earlier.

She pulled the door open without checking the peephole first, but to her surprise it wasn’t Mike, it was Scott. The wine-colored shirt he wore enhanced the gold embers in his eyes. Was that an invitation in those smoldering eyes? Or was she just hoping it was? And just how had he gotten past her vigilant watch from the window?

“You look surprised. Did you forget I was coming?”

“No. Um. You’re a couple minutes early. I just assumed it was the guy next door.” She tripped over her own feet trying to step back. “Sorry. Come in.” She’d been anticipating his arrival and now she was acting like an idiot.

“You already know your neighbor. That’s good.”

“I do. Well, not like borrow-a-cup-of-sugar know him, but we’ve met and chatted a few times. Which is kind of funny, since I’ve lived in my place for over five years and I still don’t know any of my neighbors there. One week and I know more neighbors in this town than I do in my own.”

“That’s a good thing,” he said.

No sense telling him that not making friends had been by her own design.

“You ready to go?”

She flattened her palms against her pants. “I think so.” She took her phone off the charger and slipped it into the front pocket on her purse. “Let’s go.”

Scott turned the lock before he pulled the door closed behind them. “After you.”

She took the lead down the stairs, suddenly very aware of her backside as he followed behind all the way to the bottom. “Are you parked out front or back?”

“Out front.”

She pushed through the door and stepped onto the sidewalk, then turned and gave him a puzzled look. “Did you walk?”

“No.”

“Where’s your car?”

“Right there.” He pointed to a blue Mustang with a black ragtop.

No wonder she hadn’t spotted him. She’d expected him to be driving the Thunderbird, or his sheriff’s car.

“Just how many cars do you have?”

“A few. My dad and I worked on them as projects when I was a kid. I guess I never grew out of it.” He held the door open for her and she slid into the soft leather seat.

“Are they all blue?”

“This isn’t just blue. It’s Acapulco blue.”

“What was I thinking?” Obviously he wasn’t a ROY G BIV kind of guy. “So are they all shades of blue?”

“It’s my favorite color.”

Visualizing a line of cars a mile long, fender to bumper, in varying shades of blue, she reached for the shoulder belt, but there wasn’t anything there.

Scott must’ve seen her searching as he slid behind the wheel, because he reached across her waist and lifted a shiny buckle with a pony on it. “Lap belts.”