Natural-Born Protector / Saved by the Monarch (7 page)

After the chat with Susan, she’d thought it best to put some distance between herself and Hank and Maddie, but her brain had not engaged before her mouth had accepted the invitation to dinner.

A simple meal out, she told herself as she pulled on a red-and-white-flowered sundress. Red sandals and earrings completed the outfit. Casual and comfortable, she thought as she applied her makeup with a deft hand.

At precisely six her doorbell rang and she hurried to answer. “Daddy says I can order two desserts tonight,” Maddie said. Dressed in a pair of navy shorts and a red-and-navy top, Maddie looked like the all-American girl.

“Only if you eat a vegetable with your meal,” Hank said as he smiled in greeting to Melody. “Hi. Are you ready?” He was dressed casual. His worn jeans snuggled against the length of his legs and a navy T-shirt clung to his broad shoulders.

She was surprised by a tiny flutter in her stomach at the sight of him. “Just let me grab my purse,” she said. She picked up her purse from the sofa, then together the three of them left the town house.

“Daddy says we’re stopping at the video store and I can pick out a movie to take home and watch,” Maddie said as she walked close to Melody’s side.

“Have you decided already what movie you want to see?”

“Maybe something about a horse. I love horses,” Maddie replied.

“I’ll try to help you find something really good,” Melody offered and was rewarded with a bright smile from the little girl.

“How was your day?” Hank asked once they were all settled in his car and driving toward the café.

“Busy,” she replied. “I had the window replaced, and Mike finished painting the wall. Unfortunately, with that wall newly painted, I think he’s going to have to come back and do the other walls in the living room. The other three look kind of shabby now. Men from Cotter Creek Charity came and took most of the things from the master bedroom. Slowly but surely I’m getting things done. What about you? Busy day?”

She suddenly found herself wondering what he did during the days and nights. He didn’t have an official job. So, how did he spend his time?

“About like all the other days. Mom had Maddie so I went down to the shooting range and practiced. I checked in with Dalton and hung out at the Wild West Protective Services office, then took care of a little financial business on the computer.” He shrugged. “At the moment my days aren’t the stuff that movies are made about.”

“Actually, your mother stopped in this morning to visit me.”

He glanced at her and crooked one of his dark brows upward. “And was that a good thing?”

Melody laughed. “Of course. Should I have worried about it being a bad thing?”

“Not really, but since we’ve moved here she’s become more of a hands-on mother than I’d have ever guessed her to be.”

“She just wants you to be happy,” Melody said softly.

“Yeah, well, wouldn’t it be nice if we could all be happy,” he said, and she thought she heard a touch of bitterness in his voice.

The rest of the ride to the video store was filled with Maddie talking about her favorite movies and what desserts she intended to order after their meal.

“I’m thinking of ice cream and cookies, or maybe a piece of pie and a piece of cake,” Maddie said.

“How about you think of what kind of vegetable you want to eat first,” Hank said with a conspiratorial grin at Melody.

“Personally my favorite is brussels sprouts,” Melody said.

“Yuck!” Hank and Maddie said in unison.

Melody laughed. “Just kidding. But, I do like broccoli or corn.”

“Corn. That’s good. I like corn,” Maddie said, decision made.

By the time they reached the video store a small knot of tension had formed in Melody’s chest. According to Hank, Lainie had complained of James O’Donnell stalking her. If that were true, he not only might know details of Lainie’s life that nobody else knew, but he was also the most viable suspect Melody had.

A rivulet of fear slithered up her back as she thought of James O’Donnell.

Hank parked the car in front of the store and shut off
the engine, but before leaving the car he turned to look at her. “You ready for this?”

She offered him a shaky smile. “As ready as I’m going to get.”

“Just don’t forget I’m here for you.” He reached across the seat and grabbed her hand in his, and for a moment his gaze connected with hers in a way that felt like magic.

And that scared her almost as much as the idea of standing face-to-face with the man who might have killed Lainie.

H
ank had awakened that morning with the scent of Melody clinging to his skin, the heat of her lips burned into his. He’d spent most of his day trying not to think about what they’d shared the night before, shutting her out of his mind while he tried to fill his head with thoughts of the woman he’d lost.

When Maddie had asked for Melody to join them for dinner, he’d wanted to tell her no, but one look from his daughter’s pleading eyes and he knew he couldn’t deny her request. He’d intended to keep his distance from Melody, to enjoy a pleasant dinner without feeling anything for her.

But the moment she’d opened her door, his heart had jumped. Now, as they got out of the car to go inside the video store, he was surprised to discover a protective surge building up inside him where she was concerned.

He knew O’Donnell on sight, had seen him lurking around the town houses from time to time, and Lainie had pointed him out as a creep she’d been nice to but couldn’t get rid of.

When they walked inside the store, he saw only a female clerk behind the counter. James O’Donnell was nowhere in sight. Maddie hurried over to the children’s section near the register. While she looked for a video, Hank could keep an eye on her while standing at the register.

“Is James O’Donnell here?” Melody asked the woman by the cash register, who wore a badge that indicated her name was Linda.

“He’s in the back stocking,” Linda said with a snap of the gum she was chewing loudly.

“Could we speak to him?” Melody asked.

Linda shrugged. “Hey, James!” she yelled. “Need you up front.”

A minute later James O’Donnell appeared in the doorway that led to a back room. O’Donnell was tall, a bit overweight and had a patch of acne scars on one cheek. His oily brown hair was in need of a haircut and his eyes widened slightly at the sight of Melody.

Hank stepped closer to her, close enough to smell the spicy scent of her perfume, feel the heat radiating from her body.

“Can I help you?” James asked, his gaze not wavering from Melody.

Hank felt the tension that rolled off Melody as James continued to stare at her, and he wanted to wrap his arm around her, claim her as his own so that
James would stop looking at her with those dark, hungry eyes.

“I’d like to talk to you about Lainie Thompson,” Melody said.

“You’re her sister, aren’t you?” James said. “You look a lot like her.”

“Yes, I’m her sister, Melody. I was wondering if maybe you knew something that would help us find out who murdered her?”

Dark shutters seemed to fall over his eyes, giving him an almost reptilian look. “I told the cops I don’t know anything about anything. She put a restraining order against me a month before she died. I wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near her.”

“But I saw you around the town houses the week that she died,” Hank interjected.

A dull red crept up James’s neck. “I just wanted to see her. I didn’t bother her any. I didn’t bother anyone.”

“Do you have any idea who she had a date with on the night she died?” Melody asked. Hank glanced over to Maddie, who was still looking at the juvenile movies, then he returned his gaze to James. The man gave him the creeps. There was something not quite right in the depths of his eyes.

He reached a hand up and picked at a pimple on his face. “She was supposed to go out with Forest Burke, but he stood her up.” His eyes narrowed to small slits. “I didn’t mention it to the sheriff, but I was kind of hanging around that night. I left about ten and she was still home.”

“You didn’t see anyone going into her place?”
Melody’s voice held a faint plea, and the tension Hank had felt earlier wafting off her grew more intense.

Hank placed a hand on the small of her back to ground her, to keep her anchored as he felt her emotions intensify.

“You don’t know anything about her murder? Maybe you went to see her after work and you fought with her? Did you hurt her, James?” She leaned over the counter. “Was it a terrible accident?”

James didn’t back away or even flinch. “I would have never hurt Lainie. I loved her. Eventually we would have been together. She would have realized that we were meant for each other.”

“Daddy, I want this one.” Maddie broke the moment by dancing up beside Hank, a video in her hand.

Hank took the video and set it on the counter, then touched Melody’s arm. “I think we’re done here.”

The female clerk checked them out as James walked to the back room. He didn’t go inside, but rather stood by the door and stared at Melody in a way that made Hank want to punch the creep in the face.

As they left the store, Hank pulled Melody against him on one side and Maddie on the other, his arms around both of their shoulders.

“I feel like I need a shower,” Melody muttered as they got into the car.

“Why?” Maddie asked from the backseat. “You don’t look dirty or sweaty.”

“I just feel a little bit icky,” Melody replied.

“Sometimes when I feel icky chocolate ice cream makes me feel not icky,” Maddie replied.

Melody laughed, the sound easing the knot of tension
in Hank’s chest. “At the moment a big bowl of chocolate ice cream sounds terrific.”

He knew she was disappointed by the talk with James, but as they got settled at a table in the café she seemed to put it behind her.

Her eyes sparkled as she chatted with Maddie, discussing the finer points of a video game Hank had never heard of. Hank found himself watching her covetously. He’d thought that in having sex with her he wouldn’t want her anymore. But nothing could be further from the truth.

As she sat across from him and Maddie, he felt a resurgence of desire begin in the pit of his stomach. Each time she flipped a strand of that luxurious dark hair over her shoulder, he remembered how it had felt draped across his skin. Every time she licked her lips, the memory of what that tongue had done to him shot hot blood through his veins.

Was it any wonder? he thought. Until last night it had been a hell of a long time since he’d been with any woman. Was it any wonder that being with her had reminded him of how good a warm body could feel against his, how much he liked sex and had missed it?

She’d certainly made it clear to him that she wasn’t looking for a relationship. She’d be out of his life in a matter of weeks, and that made her safe as far as he was concerned. That element of safety—no strings attached—made him want her as much as anything.

“You’re very quiet,” Melody said as she cut into her chicken-fried steak.

“Just relaxing,” he replied. And imagining tasting every inch of your body, he thought to himself.

“Tell me about the ranch you used to own,” she said.

“Daddy was the best cowboy in the whole world,” Maddie exclaimed. Her lower lip thrust out into a pout. “And he should still be a cowboy, not a bodyguard.”

Maddie didn’t know about grief. She couldn’t understand that the ranch had been something he and Rebecca had built together, and once his wife was gone none of it had meant anything anymore.

His grief had been too deep, his life ripped to shreds, and even now, thinking of the ranch and what he’d once had, filled a pool of sorrow inside him.

“There really isn’t much to say about it,” he answered. “I owned a ranch and now I don’t.” He heard the finality in his words that indicated there was nothing more to talk about on this particular subject.

He was grateful that Melody took his hint and instead, with Maddie’s prompting, began to talk a little bit about her childhood.

“Lainie and I were like two musketeers, always together and always watching out for one another. We weren’t just sisters, we were very best friends.” A soft smile lit up her face, and Hank wanted to be welcomed into her memories.

“I wish I had a sister,” Maddie exclaimed. “I don’t even have a best friend.”

Melody smiled and leaned forward to take one of Maddie’s little hands in hers. “Wait until school starts. You’re going to have so many wonderful new friends you won’t know what to do.”

The smile that Maddie gave Melody constricted Hank’s heart. When was the last time his daughter had
gazed at him so lovingly? And when was the last time he’d talked to her in any meaningful way?

The familiar grief of Rebecca’s loss teased around the edges of his consciousness. There was a part of him that wanted to embrace it, wanted to wrap it around him to keep him insulated from any other hurt.

But at that moment, Melody and Maddie’s laughter formed a joyous circle that beckoned him with the promise of happiness. Just for tonight, with his daughter and this beautiful woman across from him, he wanted to forget what had come before and simply enjoy the moment.

It had taken a while after leaving the video store for the chill of James O’Donnell to wear off Melody. But as the meal progressed it was impossible to maintain that icy cold pond inside her with Hank’s gaze warming her from head to toe and Maddie’s charming chatter filling her head.

It would have been easy to imagine the three of them as a family, out for an evening meal, then going home where she would tuck Maddie in with a good-night kiss and make love to Hank until the sun came up.

But she knew those were foolish thoughts. He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in anything permanent. He’d had his magic and apparently once in a lifetime was enough for him.

Still, as the evening progressed and Hank loosened up in a way she hadn’t seen before, she was charmed and reluctant for the evening to end.

“You have to have dessert,” Maddie said when the waitress had taken away their dinner plates.

“Yes, you have to have dessert,” Hank agreed with a
lazy grin. “Maddie says, and we all know Maddie is the boss.” Maddie giggled.

“Then by all means, I’ll have dessert,” Melody replied with a laugh. She ordered a piece of chocolate pie. Hank ordered apple cobbler and Maddie got both a banana split and a piece of cake.

As they ate, the conversation turned to Cotter Creek and the changes that had occurred over the nine months that Melody had been gone.

“I thought Wild West Protective Services was strictly a family business,” she said. “I’m surprised they’re hiring new people.”

“From what Dalton told me, his brothers and sister have all chosen new paths. They’re all married now and starting families and don’t want to travel like they used to,” Hank replied. “Dalton told me he wants to hire at least five more men who will be based here in Cotter Creek.”

“And you don’t mind the idea of traveling?” She flicked a gaze at Maddie, who seemed completely absorbed in her banana split.

“She has everything she needs with my mother,” he replied with an edge of challenge in his voice.

He didn’t have to worry. She wasn’t going to challenge any decisions he made concerning his life. Even though they’d had hot sex, she had no right to challenge him about anything.

“My mother knows Red West,” Melody said. “She always said Red had his hands full raising five boys and a girl on his own.”

“He did a fine job,” Hank replied. “The West brothers are some of the finest men I know.”

“How do you know Dalton?” She spooned some of the chocolate pie into her mouth, the rich sweetness a burst of pleasure.

“We were friends as kids. Then about four years ago he worked a job in Texas not far from where my ranch was located. I don’t know the details of the job, but we met in town and he became a frequent visitor to the ranch over the three months he was there. We became good friends again.”

“It’s nice to have friends.” She spooned up another biteful of the pie, but held it halfway between her mouth and the plate as she continued. “I wish I would have taken the time to have a friend besides Lainie.”

Maddie smiled at her, a ring of chocolate and strawberry ice cream around her rosebud lips. “But you have friends,” she replied. “You have me and Daddy.”

Melody’s heart puffed up so big it filled her up. She reached across the table and grabbed Maddie’s sticky little fingers. “And you’re a terrific friend.”

“What about Daddy? Tell him he’s a good friend, too.”

Melody released Maddie’s hand and looked at Hank. The softness of his gaze as he smiled at her warmed her in a way she hadn’t been warmed in a very long time. “And you’ve become a wonderful friend,” she said.

Oh, but the way he was looking at her had nothing to do with friendship. Friends didn’t have that flame in the depths of their eyes. Friends didn’t look at each other with the hunger that radiated from his at this very moment.

“And you’ve become a very special friend to me,” he replied, the slight gruffness in his voice sparking a familiar fire in her.

She had to take care. She knew she had to be smart, for this man and his daughter had the potential to rock her world in a way that would only lead to a new kind of heartache.