Bare Necessities (8 page)

Feeling fatigued, she started another pot of coffee. The long hours were catching up with her. After prepping the coffee, she heard her phone beep, alerting her that a text had been received. Who was texting her at this time?

Hope all is well. I’ve been thinking of you.

It was John. Knowing she shouldn’t, she did it anyway and responded.

Things are good, and I was glad to see from your e-mail you’re doing well, too.

Laying the phone down, she went to shut the lights off up front and then came back to her office. The last thing she wanted was for Seth to see she was here and flip out on her. She hadn’t seen him in a few days. Anytime anyone contacted her about the case, it was usually Cody. She hated to admit she missed Seth. It was crazy. It had only been a few days, but it seemed like, since she’d arrived in town, he’d been in her life every day, and now nothing. Of course, he’d had to kiss her. She craved the feeling of his lips on her again.

She let out a loud sigh as she entered her office. Her phone was blinking, letting her know John must have responded.

I would love to see you sometime. I meant everything I wrote.

She was sure he did, but she was not going back down that road again. What she and John had had was good in the beginning, but he was an alcoholic, and they weren’t right for one another. The last thing he needed was her right now. At the moment, John just needed to get his life in order and worry about all the other details later.

I know you did. Take care of yourself. You deserve happiness.

That was it, the last contact with him. Normally, she was a cut-and-dry sort of person. Once it was over, it was over, and she never contacted them again. But she knew John must be in a hard place, most likely looking for someone to reach out and tell him what he was doing was worth it. He had to find that in himself, or he never would find true happiness. Ava snickered. That was what she was telling herself these days also.

* * *

Seth stepped out of the meeting—a very late meeting and not one he was expecting at all. He was shocked. What just happened had been a total curveball … or was it? He knew she’d thought it was him but didn’t imagine it would go this far. Talk about a one-hitter. Worst of all, he’d been told to stay away from her altogether. Yes, that was going to be the hardest part.

How could Ava really think he did the damage to her store? He’d apologized and told her he wanted her here. He’d even expressed he wanted to explore what was between them, only for her to go behind his back and have him taken off the case. Now he couldn’t even talk to her about it. He’d been told it would be his badge if he contacted her.

In his office, he grabbed his phone and keys and decided to get out of here. A cold beer was waiting for him when he arrived home. After that one beer, he was climbing into bed and hoping, when he woke, this was all a dream.

* * *

Ava’s phone rang. Dropping the pen she was writing with, she picked up her phone, hoping it wasn’t John. It was a local number. “Hello.”

“Ava, it’s Cody.”

“What’s up?”

“I just wanted to contact you and let you know the sheriff has been removed from your case and is not allowed to contact you.”

Oh, God, Seth must be pissed. Maybe it was a good thing he couldn’t contact her. “I didn’t mean for all that to happen.”

“If you suspect he might have done it, then the department can’t have him around here possibly getting rid of evidence. I will say, on a personal note, I don’t believe he did, but I had to follow up on your request,” he explained.

“I guess you did. Thanks for letting me know.” She hung up, feeling a pit of guilt in her stomach.

The other day, she had been angry. Even then, after she had done it, she knew it’d been a mistake telling Cody she suspected Seth. But why wouldn’t she? Seth had been the only one who had wanted her to leave. Although, seeing how much his officers stood behind him told her that they knew he didn’t. Now she was just a crazy psycho lady thinking Seth was some kind of monster. Brookfield was really going to hate her, not only for her store but for doing this to the man they all stood behind. Everyone loved Seth. Not a single bad thing was ever said about him … except by her.

Seth couldn’t contact her, but could she contact him? Only one way to find out. Tossing everything she needed into her purse, she was off to find Seth. First, she had to text Kimberly and find out where he lived.

* * *

Taking the very last sip of beer, Seth wished he didn’t have to work tomorrow. Otherwise, he just might go for a second one, but he had to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, even if he didn’t want to.

He switched the TV off then headed to his bedroom. Although his mind still buzzed with the day’s discoveries, the beer managed to lull him asleep easily enough. That is, until some loud noise jerked him awake. Pulling the covers back, he swore he heard someone knocking on his front door. The clock said it was almost midnight, so surely he was hearing things.

Knock, knock.

There it was again. Groaning, he decided to see who the moron was bothering him. Sometimes being the sheriff sucked. People thought they could come over anytime and share their business. On the other hand, midnight was awfully late for someone to be out.

Pulling the curtain back from the front door, he glanced out to see Ava.
Shit, what does she want?
Didn’t she know he was not to have any contact with her? Now she was at his house, in the middle of the night. Of course, she was looking right back at him, and he couldn’t just ignore her. Could this day get any worse?

Seth unlocked the door and held it open for her to come in. Once she was safely inside, he closed the door, locking it again. He saw her make note of what he was doing. He had his reasons.

“You know you’re not supposed to be here,” he said.

“I feel horrible about this.”

He raked his hands through his hair. “Why? Tell me why you think it’s me.”

“I didn’t know what to think. Imagine how it feels for someone to want you to go away and you don’t even know who it is. The only person who has ever been vocal about me leaving is you.”

“But I told you I was wrong and that I was sorry.”

“I know. But then I thought you were doing all that just so I wouldn’t suspect you,” Ava confessed.

“Shit, Ava, let me guess. You also think I kissed you so you wouldn’t think it was me?”

She nodded. Wow, this was just unreal.

“It’s not me. I would’ve found out who it was if I was still on the case. You being here now could cost me my job.”

“I don’t want that,” she said quietly. Then her eyes met his, and she continued. “I know it was wrong, and I wasn’t thinking right the other day. Your department stands behind you. They believe you’re innocent, even though they have honored my request. What do I do now? Tell them I was wrong? Would it do any good?”

“You could always try. It’s up to you. If you believe even a small bit it was me, then don’t talk to them. Leave me off the case.”

“It’s late. I guess I should let you do whatever you were doing.” She turned toward the door, but Seth reached out and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her to face him.

“Why are you out this late?” he asked.

“I’ve been working around the clock, waiting on whoever the creep is to show their face.”

“You’ve been alone in your store late at night when there is someone out there who wants to run you out of town. Are you crazy?” His voice rose, filled with anger.

The look on her face told him he’d just made a mistake. That feisty Italian was kicking in as her hands landed on her hips, and she tossed her long, dark locks behind her shoulders. “I can take care of myself. Can you please enlighten me as to why you get so upset about me being alone at night? I do live alone. Does that bother you?”

Now that she mentioned it, maybe he just needed to sweep this woman up and move her in with him to keep her safe all the time. It then hit him like a ton of bricks. He couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t make up for what had happened to Kimberly with Ava. These were different situations and different women.

“Have a seat. I’d like to explain something to you,” he said.

Once they were seated on the couch, he took a deep breath and began to speak. “I was home from college, and Kimberly was still in high school. Being home, I decided to hook up with an old girlfriend. Things got carried away, and I forgot to go pick Kimberly up, so she decided to walk home.” He paused, composing himself before he continued. He stared down at his hands and finished. “She was raped that night. And to this day, I blame myself. If I hadn’t put my own selfish needs before hers, then it never would’ve happened. My sister never would’ve experienced something so horrible. So that’s why I am the way I am. I want to keep everyone safe in Brookfield. This is my town, and I don’t want bad things happening.”

Ava reached out, taking his hand. He could tell she didn’t know what to say. It sent chills through him finally sharing with her what had happened all those years ago. Most people didn’t expect that had happened to Kimberly, who was a sweet and well-adjusted girl. Ava gazed into his eyes before she softly said, “I’m very sorry about what happened, but it isn’t your fault. You didn’t know that was going to happen. And Kimberly is a wonderful girl. Her head seems to be on her shoulders straight. You can’t protect everyone … but I certainly understand you a lot better now.”

“I get a little out of control sometimes. If anyone can take care of themselves, it’s you.”

Ava released his hand and then slowly rubbed her palm up his chest. It felt damn good for her to finally be willing to touch him. Gazing down into her big green eyes, it took everything in him to resist leaning down and kissing her. He needed her to do it. To show him how she felt and that she did, in fact, want him. He already knew he wanted her in a bad way.

Her fingers crept behind his neck, and she rose up. Her mouth was close, and all he would have to do was move an inch forward and he could taste her sweetness. His gaze was locked on her lips. Ava sucked her bottom lip in a little, and he thought it was cute. This feisty woman was nervous to make the move, and it warmed his heart to know she had a soft side.

Finally, she must have found courage because her lips took his in a greedy way. In no time at all, her tongue swooped in, and all thinking was out the door. Ava started out cautiously but, out of nowhere, she shoved him back onto the couch and climbed into his lap. As she straddled him, she pushed her top half against him as if she was trying to glue herself to him.

She smelled wonderful—a mix of fresh flowers and a hint of honey. Between how good she tasted and smelled, he really was wondering if she was an angel from heaven, coming to take him home. Home. That was just how she made him feel.

Ava moved her body so she now sat in his lap and grinded against him. Good God! As she hit his crotch and moved the way she did, he worried he was going to react the same way a high school boy would.

Pulling away from her kiss, he gripped her shoulders and pushed her back. “Slow down, or else this is going to be over much sooner than either of us is hoping for.”

It took a moment for his words to register, and then she giggled. “Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away.”

She leaned forward and let her lips trail down his neck to his collarbone. Her lips sucked in a little, and then her tongue gently traced where her mouth had been. His zipper was getting awfully tight, and he wondered just how far this should go. He wanted to take her. Carry her back to his bed, undress her, taste each and every inch of her, and then bring her hopefully the best pleasure she’d ever experienced, but something in him told him tonight was not that night. The circumstances of her coming here and the reality of the real world slammed into him, reminding him that Ava had to leave.

“I hate to tell you this, but you really must stop. We can’t go any further,” he said.

“I know we can’t, but it feels so good.” She looked deep into his eyes. “Maybe we could.”

She wanted to be with him. This made it so much worse. “If you stay any longer and someone sees you here, I could lose my job. We aren’t supposed to be in contact until this case gets solved.”

Ava climbed out of his lap and sat next to him. “It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault. Someone is trying to make it look like me, and I was sure I’d find them, but my team here in Brookfield is excellent. They will find the SOB without me.”