Skeletons in the Mist (The McCall Twins) (24 page)

He squeezed her hand affectionately and leaned back in his chair. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

TWENTY-FIVE

Three months later...

Roxy went to work unpacking boxes. They had moved into the three-bedroom house a few days earlier. It was a huge improvement over the small apartment that she and Dylan and Devon had been sharing for the past three months, while they had tied up loose ends in Cavern Creek. The new house was in Spokane, not far from the Riverfront Park. The rent was reasonable and the school district was good. Devon and Dylan were going to be starting new schools in a week. Dylan was a seventh grader now and Devon a ninth grader.

Both boys had struggled a bit after the ordeal in Cavern Creek three months earlier. Adjusting to life with a person they barely knew had been challenging—for Roxy as much as it had been for them. But they were the closest thing to family that
each other had. They had all accepted that fact.

Strangely enough, the rock in their situation had been Chas. He’d won the trust of both boys fairly quickly and whenever there was a problem with one of them, he seemed to be able to communicate with them when she couldn’t.

Aunt Myra’s house had been sold and now both boys had a decent college fund set up for them. Roxy had found a job at a local doctor’s office as a receptionist—actually the doctor was Chas’s older brother, Jared. He’d recently opened up his own practice with two other doctors and they had needed someone just at the perfect time. She liked the atmosphere of the job and the location. The salary wasn’t bad either. It was three times what she’d been making at the newspaper in Seattle. She’d already managed to buy a decent car and was putting money away into savings so she could hopefully start school for herself soon.

“Good grief, how much more stuff is there?”

Roxy turned at the sound of Myles’s voice. He’d come to visit just in time to help her move out of her apartment. He wasn’t big on heavy lifting. Thank
goodness Chas and Trace were.

“That’s the last of it. Chas made the final trip this morning.”

“Hm. When’s his brother coming back? He’s hot.”

Roxy rolled her eyes. “He’s straight and he’s taken.” She’d met Willow Malone, Trace’s longtime girlfriend, and they’d instantly become friends. She was glad because she knew that Trace was Chas’s best friend in the world, as well as his brother.

“All the good ones always are.” Myles flopped down on the unmade bed. “So when’s the handsome prince moving in?”

“He’s not,” Roxy said, sliding a shirt onto a hanger and shoving it into the closet. “We agreed that we’re not ready for anything like that yet. It’s only been three months.”

“He’s pure eye candy and he adores you. What’s to wait for?”

Roxy rolled her eyes again. “Like I said, it’s only been three months. Besides, the ball’s in his court. He’s the guy.”

“Meaning that you’re waiting for
him
to be
ready.”

The words annoyed her but she shrugged and nodded. There was no use in trying to lie to Myles. He knew her too well. “He’s changed in a lot of ways, Myles. He’s a good man. The best. But he had an active social life before he met me. I think he’s a little hesitant to permanently kiss that goodbye.”

“If I found the right person, I’d jump on it in a heartbeat.”

“Or you could go jump
off
something else,” a voice said dryly.

Roxy turned around and saw Chas standing in the doorway, an annoyed expression on his face. He’d obviously heard their conversation.

Over the past three months, Myles and Chas had grown to like each other. Chas had been a little uncomfortable around Myles in the beginning. Myles was a flirt and he tended to say what was on his mind, which was something that had driven Chas crazy at first. And as far as Myles was concerned, eye candy or not, Chas was a slob and somewhat of a Neanderthal. They were total
opposites, these two. But they’d developed a mutual understanding and now got along fine for the most part.

“Honey, you’re home. I didn’t hear you come in,” Myles said, his sarcastic smile growing bigger.

Chas rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have something to do? I have exactly twenty-eight minutes until I have to head back to work. I’d like to spend some time alone with my girl.”

Myles continued to grin. “Well if you want me to leave, just say so.”

“Leave,” Chas said, his arms wrapping around Roxy from behind.

When they were alone, Chas leaned over and let his lips run along the line of her jaw. “I missed you last night.”

“I missed you too.” She leaned into him and let his spicy scent surround her. On nights when he worked the late shift, he always stayed at his own place in Cavern Creek.

He turned her in his arms and their lips met, the kiss deepening instantly. He gave her a gentle shove so that she landed on the bed on her back. He came
down on top of her and surprised her by staring into her eyes, instead of kissing her like she’d thought he was going to do. When he continued to stare at her, she rolled her eyes. “What?”

“I love you.”

The words startled the heck out of her and she found herself frozen. Neither of them had ever spoken the “L” word before.

“I just thought I should tell you, because when I walked in here a minute ago, I heard some things that make me think you’ve misunderstood my position on this relationship.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Roxy, I love you.”

The words stunned her again. The longer she stared into his eyes, the more her heart began to melt. “I love you too,” she finally said softly.

He looked relieved. “Just so there’s no confusion here, I know my single days are over and I’m okay with that. But I’d like to be able to decide when I’m going to propose on my own. Is that okay with you?”

She nodded hesitantly. This was a whole
different side to Chas that she’d never seen before.

“Okay, good. Let’s get busy. Now I only have twenty-three minutes left.”

Later that night, she and Myles were sitting on the couch with the boys, watching a sitcom. It was after eight. Dinner had been done and the dishes were cleaned up. All that was left was teeth brushing and an hour of television.

The phone rang and Roxy glanced at the caller ID. She was surprised to see Josh’s number pop up. While she and Josh were friendly enough, he rarely called her. Instantly her heart stopped. She knew Chas was working tonight. She answered the call quickly.

“Josh?”

She heard a bit of static. “Yeah, Roxy, it’s me. I only have a minute. I’m in the hospital emergency room and they’re making me shut my phone down.”

Roxy’s words died in her throat. The emergency room.
Oh God
.

“Before you start panicking, Chas is okay. There
was a shooting. It was out at the Flannigan place. He’s got a few cuts and bruises but he’s fine.”

“Thank God.” The words came out breathlessly. “I’m on my way.” She almost hung up, but she heard his voice at the last minute.

“You’d better hurry. Trace took a bullet. It doesn’t look good.”

~AVAILABLE NOW~
THE CONCLUSION TO THE
McCALL TWINS SERIES

BENEATH
BURIED SECRETS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Hayden lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and kids. Writing has been a passion of hers since the age of eleven when she wrote her first mystery. She now has thirteen books available,including:

HIDE AND SEEK
UNBROKEN
COLLISION
SWEET REVENGE
SAY MERCY
SOUNDS OF NIGHT
ROOT OF ALL EVIL
AFTER THE RAIN
IN THE EYE OF THE STORM
HOPE FOR CHRISTMAS
HEAD OVER HEELS FOR CHRISTMAS
SKELETONS IN THE MIST
BENEATH BURIED SECRETS

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
JENNIFERHAYDENBOOKS.COM