Kilty Pleasure (2 page)

She hadn’t checked her email since last night. The whole social networking and email thing was something she did after work and before going to bed.

But nobody really emailed her. Facebook had always made her feel more like the awkward kid standing on the outside of the popular circle.

It was on the tip of her tongue to beg Tanesha to turn around and take her back. If she’d known leaving Mount Vernon that this was their destination, she’d never have gotten in the car.

But instead she’d fallen asleep and Tanesha had already put close to a half hour into the drive and they’d be there in about ten minutes.

“You ever been there? It’s a cool pub. You’ll love it. Run by this Scottish family who moved over here like fifteen years ago or something. The place is authentic.”

Oh, she knew exactly how authentic it was, because the McLaughlins were no strangers to her.

Sweat broke out on the back of her neck as they reached the other end of the bridge and drove onto the island. It had been a month and a half since she’d last encountered any of the family, though. And that afternoon would be forever engrained in her head. Her heart.

Guilt roared through her, leaving her to struggle against the lump it left in her throat.

Maybe she could slip into a nearby restaurant or bar. Damn, she was so tempted to not even show up at Wendy’s birthday. How much of a bitch would that make her? Not to mention all the explaining she’d have to do as to why she’d come all the way to Oak Harbor with Tanesha, then not gone to the party.

They pulled into the gravel parking lot and the lump in her throat grew. The parking lot was just over half-full. She recognized most of the cars as being owned by people who worked at the hospital.

Tanesha turned off the engine and glanced over at her. “You look seriously uncomfortable. Just don’t get out to bars much?”

It was an answer given to her on a plate, and Hailey ran with it.

“Exactly. I’m not much for this kind of social scene.” She offered a weak smile. Her heart had yet to slow from its anxious thudding.

Tanesha grinned and opened her door to slide out. “Come on. You may be surprised with how much fun you have.”

“Not going to happen,” Hailey muttered under her breath and followed her friend out of the car.

Not for the first time in her life she found herself wishing for a superpower.

Only instead of superhuman strength, this time it would be a cloak of invisibility.

Drawing in one last breath, as if it would be her last, she stepped inside the pub.

Chapter Two

Why the bloody hell would she step foot in here?

Colin froze, pint glass halfway to his mouth, and narrowed his eyes on the woman as she walked quickly to the back of the pub.

It almost seemed as if Hailey was trying to hide—the way she hung in the shadow of the bigger lady in front of her. Her head was ducked and her gaze was on the floor.

And then, when she reached the table of women, she seemed to search for the most hidden seat available. But the pair was obviously late to the party, and the only seats left were at the table next to it where a couple women had already spilled over from the group.

“Is that—”

“It’s her.”

Kenzie came to stand beside where he sat at the bar, an empty drink tray dangling from her hand. Colin gave her a cursory glance before shifting his attention back to Hailey.

It’d been nearly two months since he’d seen her, and before that, over a decade. He really didn’t know her all that well, but she was a hard woman to forget for numerous reasons.

The obvious reason being that she was pretty. Really pretty. Small and slender, with subtle curves. And her hair, long and a glossy auburn, kind of made you think of a shampoo commercial. Then there were her eyes—those were what really got you. Big and brown, doe-like, set in a pixie-shaped face.

She had an overall look that probably made guys line up to be her protector. Though he pitied the man who would be that foolish.

“Weird that she’d show up here,” Kenzie muttered and shook her head.

“Aye.” He paused. “Who are these ladies, do you know? It seems they all know each other.”

“One of the gals is having a birthday. I think most of them are nurses, or have some kind of job over at Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon.”

Hailey was a nurse?

He tried to correlate that bit of info with what he already knew about her. Ironic that someone who was so good at ruining lives had gone into a field where she saved them.

He frowned at the memory of that afternoon two months ago, and the confrontation that had happened just outside the pub.

She’d been in scrubs that night. He hadn’t dwelled upon it, though, because he’d been livid by her arbitrary appearance at his family’s quite-personal event. And maybe he’d been a little irritated at himself for being distracted at just how damn pretty she was.

“I guess I should go take drink orders from her and the other newcomer.”

Nursing his own beer, Colin gave a humorless smile. “Or you could remember that you have the right to refuse service to anyone.”

Surprise registered on Kenzie’s face. “Come on now, Colin. Maybe she did something pretty bad, but she did try and make things right.”

“She’s trouble.” He’d learned later that she’d come to make amends that day. To share the dark secret that apparently she’d been harboring for years. “She’s always been trouble, and always will be.”

“Hmmph. Well she’s also a paying customer. Now excuse me.”

He watched as his sister tossed her long braid over her shoulder, lifted her chin and strode over to the table.

Kenzie’s expression remained polite as she took their order, even as Hailey’s face swept with a combo of mortification and regret.

Too late for regrets, really. She was likely no better than her mother, who was a complete mess. He’d been called out to her mother’s house more than once while out on patrol.

Drugs. Noise complaints. Assaults. And the living conditions had been pure filth.

“That was easy enough.” Kenzie strode past him, clearly trying to appear nonchalant as she went to fill the drink order.

But he was too good at his job—much too observant—to miss the hint of pain beneath her positive attitude. And it just upped his irritation with Hailey’s presence here.

They’d been friends. All three of the girls had. Kenzie, Hailey and Sarah. Until Hailey had jumped on the betrayal train and placed money above friendship.

He watched as the group of mostly women chatted amongst themselves. Had she even realized he was here yet? Clearly she was aware of Kenzie, yet as far as he could tell, she hadn’t yet discovered him.

Though some of the other women certainly had. He wasn’t daft enough to miss the sidelong glances some of the party were casting his way. Hailey, though, seemed to be keeping her focus—and body—turned away from him and the bar. Everything about her demeanor screamed that she didn’t want to be here.

So why had she come? Could she not have found a way to get out of this little party?

As he watched, one of the women stood up and approached the bar. At first he assumed she was coming to ask Kenzie something, until she snagged the barstool next to him.

“Deputy McLaughlin. Not out protecting the island tonight, I see?”

The woman tossed her long raven hair over her shoulder and watched him through her lashes.

“I’m off work.” Who in the bloody hell was she? “I’m sorry, have we met?”

“Back in the day. Maybe.” She gave a flirty laugh and leaned in. “We went to high school together. I was a freshman when you were a senior. Our paths didn’t cross often but I knew who you were.”

Ah, so she was a few years younger than him. Her face didn’t look the least bit familiar. But she certainly wasn’t shy with her flirting.

“Um, right. Nice to meet you then…”

“Angela.”

“Angela.” Always polite, he gave a faint smile. Again his gaze slid over her shoulder to the table of women just as Hailey glanced his way.

Her eyes widened just barely, then narrowed again. Her mouth thinned with displeasure and she looked away.

Clearly she hadn’t realized he was in the pub and the discovery had annoyed her.

Good. His lips quirked. Why her irritation brought him a bit of pleasure wasn’t quite clear, but he took it.

His mood soured a bit when a group of sailors—who’d clearly had a few too many—approached all the women to flirt.

“Buy a girl a drink, Deputy?”

He turned his attention back to Angela and frowned slightly. Her words were slurring as it was.

“You’ve probably had enough.”

She blinked, her head rearing back as offense replaced the flirtation in her eyes.

“Well you’re no fun. Asshole.” She spun on her heel and wobbled back to the table of women.

Hmm. So if he judged the other gals’ level of intoxication by this last one’s, they’d better have a designated among them.

Kenzie slipped by him in his peripheral vision and he saw her deposit what looked like a soda to Hailey. Maybe she was the designated. She seemed to be trying really hard to ignore the baby-faced sailor flirting with her.

“That’s not Hailey over there, is it?”

Colin turned his attention back to his brother Aleck, who’d made his way down the bar toward him.

“Aye. That’d be her all right.”

Aleck’s dark brows drew together into a frown. “Strange to see her here, don’t ya think? Is she with the group of nurses?”

“It looks like it.” Colin paused and lifted a brow. “You know, we
could
ask her to leave.”

“And why would we do that? She’s every right to be here.”

“After what she’s done to Sarah and Ian?”

Aleck waved the dishrag in his hand in dismissal. “Years ago, dear brother. She’s a customer. We don’t discriminate just because—”

“—someone’s a black-hearted bitch without morals?” Colin finished on a mutter.

There was a moment’s silence, and he glanced back at his brother to find Aleck staring in surprise. Consideration.

“Well now, that’s a pretty extreme reaction. You have quite a bit of hate for the girl, aye?”

Hate? No, that emotion would take up far too much of his energy.

“Her conflict was not with you, little brother, but with Sarah and Ian.”

“Well, Ian’s my twin and I feel his pain as if it were my own.”

“I think you use that twin theory as an excuse more often than you need to,” Aleck drawled.

“And being that there was a decade’s worth of misery that Hailey could’ve prevented,” he continued, as if his brother hadn’t spoken, “then, aye, I’m not too fond of the girl.”

And really, not a girl, but a grown women. She was twenty-eight or so, the same age as Kenzie and Sarah.

“Maybe so, but it’s not your grudge to hold on to.” Aleck shook his head. “Can I get you another beer?”

“No. Thank you, one is plenty.”

“You’ve got a day off tomorrow, aye?”

“Aye,” he agreed and scrubbed a hand down his cheek. “I’ve agreed to take Emily for the day. Some uncle and niece bonding of the sort.”

“Ah right. Did I hear the engaged couple is heading to Seattle for the day to enjoy some alone time and to fill out their gift registry?”

“Something along those lines.”

“Should be fun. For all of you. Think you’ll be all right with her?”

Emily. A ten-year-old niece whose existence they’d only just discovered earlier this summer.

“I’ll be fine. I like children.”

“You do. Always have.”

Aleck’s gaze slid beyond him, and Colin glanced over his shoulder to see Hailey rising from the table and then walking out of the pub.

“Hmm, looks like she’s leaving without paying her bill,” Colin said lightly. “Shall I arrest her?”

Aleck gave a hearty laugh. “She’s probably going to have a smoke or something of the sorts.”

Was she a smoker? Somehow Colin doubted it. Not that he knew her all that well, only from back in high school when he’d been stupid and sported a bit of a crush on the cheerleader.

Back then they’d only had one class together and had rarely talked. There’d been a couple longer, shared glances that had made his heart pound a little harder, but nothing had ever happened between them. Not that it could’ve anyway, because she’d already had a boyfriend.

From the corner of his eye he saw another figure move toward the door, and Colin quickly recognized the man as the sailor who’d been flirting with her earlier.

“Looks like she’s on the prowl tonight,” Aleck murmured.

“Maybe.” And yet she hadn’t been flirting back. His instinct for trouble kicked in and he set his pint glass down. “Then again, maybe not.”

Aleck raised an eyebrow as Colin stood. “I’m sure the girl can take care of herself.”

He didn’t reply to his brother, and instead made his way outside just as the young sailor had.