“I was young and arrogant.”
Her sharp, painful laugh only intensified his sense of regret. “You thought I bought the lockets and put the hair and bloody ribbon in them to get your attention.”
He was instantly on the defense. “You did have a crush on me.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “I was a hormonal sixteen-year-old girl, Rylan. I had a crush on Justin Timberlake, Orlando Bloom, and my English teacher,” she snapped. “I didn’t send them any bloody lockets.”
He released a heavy sigh. She was right to chastise him. He’d been an ass all those years ago. At the time he’d told himself he was doing what was best for her. After all, she’d been following him around for years, her big eyes begging for some hint of affection. He needed to make sure that she forgot him and found some nice farm boy.
Looking back, he realized that his reaction to Jaci Patterson was far more complicated than he’d ever suspected.
“I’m sorry, Jaci,” he said, reaching out to touch her cheek with the tips of his fingers. “At the time it seemed impossible to believe there could be a crazed stalker in Heron.”
“And now?” she demanded, knocking his hand away.
Rylan felt a strange twist in his gut at her rejection.
“Now I’m not nearly so young,” he admitted.
“What about arrogant?”
“That’s never going to change.” He spoke the words they were both thinking. “But I’ve learned to think past my ego.”
She rolled her eyes. “Shocking.”
He leaned back in the cushions. The smell of brewing coffee filled the air, emphasizing the coziness of the room. It made the thought of someone creeping onto the porch to leave behind some sicko gift all the more awful.
“Jaci, I know you weren’t lying about those lockets.”
“Because a new one showed up?” she scoffed. “How can you be sure I didn’t stage all this for your benefit?”
He shook his head. “You might be stubborn. And overly independent. And eager to speak your mind, even if it pisses people off. But you’re honest to a fault.”
“Thanks.” She sent him a wary frown. “I think.”
“If you wanted to capture my attention you might have shown up in my bedroom naked.”
Her mouth fell open. “Hey.”
“But you wouldn’t have pretended to be in danger,” he continued.
“No.” She shivered. Whether from the memory of the person who’d left her the lockets years ago, or the thought that the mystery stalker might be back, he didn’t know.
Probably both.
Clearly she was in need of a distraction.
He deliberately allowed his gaze to drift down to the inviting curve of her lips.
“And just for the record, if you decide to show up in my bedroom naked now, I wouldn’t say no,” he assured her in throaty tones.
A charming blush stained her cheeks. “In your dreams.”
“Probably,” he agreed, his tone teasing. Inside, however, he acknowledged that she was most definitely going to play a starring role in his dreams.
Her lips parted, but before she could speak, the sound of a car door being slammed shut echoed through the air, quickly followed by the distant sound of barking. Her blush instantly faded.
“Someone’s here.”
Rylan was on his feet, swiftly crossing to glance out the front window.
“Those dogs aren’t doing you any good locked in the barn,” he said.
“They were muddy after I let them out this morning and I didn’t have time to wash them before I had to take off for my deliveries.”
“It’s the sheriff,” he said, watching as Mike O’Brien climbed out of a pickup he’d parked in the road, and headed across the yard toward the front porch. Rylan turned from the window. “I want to have a word with him.”
Jaci started to rise to her feet. “I—”
“You sit back down, missy,” Elmer commanded as he returned to the living room with a tray clutched in his hands. “You’re not to get off that couch until you’ve had a hot cup of coffee and a muffin.”
Rylan sent her a smirk. “You heard the boss.”
“I need to speak to Mike.”
“I’m sure he’ll come in whenever he’s had a chance to look around,” he assured her, moving to lay a hand on her shoulder so he could gently press her back onto the sofa. “Just relax.”
“Yeah, right,” she said, but surprisingly she settled in the cushions and allowed Elmer to place the tray on her lap.
Was she still in shock?
The thought spurred Rylan to once again head out the back door so he could round the house. By the time he was climbing the steps onto the porch, the sheriff was carefully sliding the locket into a small evidence bag.
Mike swiveled his head to watch as Rylan moved to stand near the front door, his expression impossible to read.
The two had worked together at the sheriff’s office, but they hadn’t been particularly close. Mike was a year younger than Rylan and there’d been an unspoken competition that had extended beyond the sheriff’s office to sports, girls, and even who had the fastest car.
Did that explain the sizzle of aggression he sensed in the air? Or was it new?
Rylan stiffened. Was it territorial? Did he have a thing for Jaci?
The thought was oddly annoying.
Mike gave a dip of his head. “Cooper.”
Rylan returned the nod. “O’Brien.”
Mike’s gaze shifted to the front window, his expression tightening as he caught sight of Jaci perched on the couch with Rylan’s father fussing around her.
“How is she?”
“Spooked,” Rylan said in clipped tones, pointing toward the evidence bag in Mike’s hand that contained the locket. “Did you open it?”
“No.” He tucked the bag inside his black Windbreaker, which had the sheriff patches sewn on the sleeves. “I’m sending it off to the forensics department in Jefferson City. I don’t want to lose any potential evidence.”
Rylan arched a brow. He’d expected a fight to get the man to spend money on having the locket inspected by experts.
“So you’re taking this as a serious threat?”
Mike’s square jaw tightened. “Today has been filled with nothing but trouble. I think it’s best that I take everything as a serious threat.”
“Good.”
Mike finally turned away from the window, the aggression still thick in the air.
“Why are you here?”
Rylan met the fierce gaze with a bland smile. “Dad was worried about Jaci when he heard there was a body floating in the neighbor’s field.”
Without warning, Mike grimaced. “Yeah, I wish I’d been more worried.”
“More worried about the body?”
“No. Jaci. She came to see me this morning. I was literally up to my ass in mud and I”—he gave a sharp shake of his head—“I told her not to bring up the past. I should have taken her concern more seriously.”
“A lot of us can make that claim,” Rylan said, regret clenching his heart.
It was bad enough to think that Jaci had truly been terrorized when she was young and vulnerable without adding in the knowledge he, and a lot of other people, had branded her a liar. It was a wonder she hadn’t slapped his face the minute she’d caught sight of him.
His dark thoughts were interrupted as a car pulled up behind the pickup at the edge of the road.
“Who’s that?” Rylan asked.
Mike nodded toward the two uniformed men who were crawling out of the car and heading in their direction.
“They’re my deputies,” he said, watching as the men approached. “I asked Ed out here to take pictures of any tracks, and Sid will check for DNA and prints on the doorknob.”
“Not a bad thought,” Rylan said as he glanced toward the drive. “But I’m not sure you’ll have any luck with tracks. Most of them have been destroyed.”
Moving to the edge of the
porch, Mike glared at the ruts with a deep scowl. Clearly he hadn’t noticed the destruction when he’d walked up to the house.
“Crap.” Grabbing the railing, he leaned over to study the tracks that led past the house. “It looks like Andrew is out checking the fields. Probably destroyed any usable tire imprints.”
“Convenient.”
Mike turned to meet Rylan’s suspicious expression. The lawman gave a slow nod.
They might never be friends, but they had an unspoken commitment to discover if Jaci was truly in danger. And to stop the bastard who was determined to frighten her.
“I’m going to have a word with Ed, then I’ll come in to talk to Jaci,” he said. “Don’t use the front door until Sid is done.”
Rylan nodded, heading toward the steps. He halted as he caught sight of a blue sedan creeping past the house. He assumed that he was a nosy neighbor who was trying to see what was happening. But as soon as the sheriff turned, whoever was driving the car gunned the engine to speed down the muddy road. Almost as if the driver was wary of being seen.
“Who was that?” Rylan demanded.
Mike frowned, his hand reaching to touch the handgun that was holstered at his side.
“It looked like Jaci’s half brother, Christopher Hamilton.”
Chapter Six
On some level Jaci knew that Elmer was keeping up a running conversation, but it was impossible to make out the words over the buzzing in her head. And thankfully the older man didn’t seem to expect a response as he coaxed her to drink the overly sweet coffee and eat one of the muffins she’d baked earlier that morning.
God, it seemed a lifetime ago.
Since then, a dead body had been found floating in a field. And a skull. The sheriff had dismissed her fears as if she was a whackadoodle. She’d endured a meeting with her mother. And her mysterious stalker had made a return, leaving one of his creepy lockets for her to find.
She didn’t know which was worse.
As she finished the muffin, however, the sugar kicked in and her shock began to ease. At least enough to be aware of the sound of the back door closing and Rylan moving to stand next to the sofa.
Tilting her head, she felt the familiar jolt of awareness.
The same awareness she’d felt when she’d returned home to see Rylan standing in her front yard. And again when she’d opened her eyes minutes ago to find him bending over her, his expression tight with concern.
Heck, she’d been aware of this man since she first understood the difference between boys and girls.
From a very young age, Rylan had been stunningly handsome. His features were finely chiseled, with a proud, aquiline nose and wide brow. His eyes had always been a fascinating shade of gold, but they were emphasized since his move to California, where his skin had been tanned to a rich bronze and his hair had been bleached to a light blond.
He also had the sort of body that made a woman itch to run her hands over every inch of his hard, perfectly sculpted muscles.
But it was his raw, male power that captured and held her attention. He had a potent energy that could fill a room and stir a woman’s deepest fantasy.
It was really no surprise she’d been plagued by a desperate puppy love for her gorgeous neighbor. Even when he’d made it painfully clear that he wasn’t, and never would be interested in her as more than a friend.
She was a young woman in a town where gorgeous men were few and far between. The only surprise would be if she hadn’t been obsessed with Rylan Cooper.
Now she grimly squashed her predictable response to his presence as she glanced toward the window. She could hear people moving around her porch, but she couldn’t see anyone.
“Where’s Mike?” she demanded.
Rylan’s gaze moved to the tray she’d set on the low coffee table, as if assessing whether or not he was satisfied with how much she’d managed to eat.
“He’s doling out duties to his deputies,” he at last said. “He’ll be in once he’s done.”
She frowned in confusion. “What duties?”
“Dusting for prints and taking pictures.”
“Pictures? Of what?”
“I asked Ed to photograph your driveway as well as the yard for any footprints,” Mike explained as he entered the living room, clearly having used the back door. “It’s a long shot, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Mike.” She managed a shaky smile as she watched her friend move across the room, taking a seat on the sofa next to her.
“Hey, Jaci.” He removed his hat, then reached to take her hand so he could give it a tight squeeze. “I’m so sorry. I should have listened to you earlier.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“It does, but we’ll discuss it later,” he said. Mike was the sort of person who was always harder on himself than anyone else. He glanced toward the looming Rylan. “We’ll need some privacy.”
Rylan frowned, clearly not happy. “Why?”
Elmer moved to grab his son’s arm. “Come on, Ry.” Rylan dug in his heels. “No.”
Mike narrowed his gaze. “Is there a problem?”
“Yeah,” Rylan said, his jaw tight. “Jaci just suffered a severe shock. I’m not leaving her here alone.”
Mike scowled. “She’s not alone.”
With a firm tug, Elmer was urging his son out of the room. “We’ll be in the kitchen.”
Mike watched them leave before he turned his attention back to Jaci.
“Is there something I should know?”
She gave a slow shake of her head. Rylan had always been the sort of guy who stuck up for the underdog. He’d punched the local bully, Joey Burke, in the nose for picking on the younger boys. And risked his neck to save a baby duck that was trapped in an abandoned well.
Was he feeling some need to be her protector because she’d fainted?
Or was it a symptom of his guilt because he hadn’t believed her when she’d asked for his help all those years ago?
“I think the world’s gone insane,” she said.
“Me too,” Mike agreed. He sounded like his day had been almost as crappy as Jaci’s. Quite a feat. “Now tell me about the locket.”
Jaci gave an abbreviated version of her return home to find the necklace hanging on her doorknob.
She didn’t need to share her breathless reaction when she’d first caught sight of Rylan. Or her awkward haste to get rid of him, which explained why she hadn’t noticed the locket until she was just inches from the door.
Mike nodded, reaching beneath his jacket to pull out a small notebook and pencil that he’d no doubt bought at the local dollar store. In this area, cops had a limited budget. They had to trim costs whenever possible.
“Did you notice anyone when you were driving home?”
Assuming he meant after she’d turned onto the gravel road that ran in front of her house, she gave a shake of her head.
“No.” She stiffened as she recalled the SUV. “Oh.”
“What?”
“I thought I saw Blake, but I can’t imagine what he’d be doing out here.” She shrugged. “Besides, I spoke to Mother when I was in Baldwin and she mentioned he was flying back from St. Louis later tonight.”
A strange expression settled on his blunt features. “What about Christopher?”
“What about him?”
“Did you see him today?”
She stared at him in confusion. “I haven’t seen my half brother for almost two years, although I heard he’s back home,” she said.
Mike didn’t bother to write anything in his notebook. Instead he abruptly changed the direction of his questions.
“Is there anyone you can think of who would want to scare you?”
It was a question that had haunted her for years. “No.”
“Any enemies?” He held up a hand as her lips parted. “Even if you don’t think they would leave the locket?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?” he pr
essed. “You’re a beautiful woman with a growing business. That can make people jealous. Especially if they think your success has come at their expense.”
She forced herself to consider his words.
It was true that there had been a few local ladies who had their noses out of joint at the high demand for her pastries. And there had been at least two farmers who’d tried to pressure her into selling her grandfather’s land after his death.
But they certainly weren’t her enemies.
Well, not unless she counted her half sister, Payton. But she couldn’t make herself believe the younger woman would sneak around to try and terrify her. She far preferred being a bitch in public.
“I really can’t think of anyone,” Jaci insisted.
Mike tapped his pencil on the notebook. “There haven’t been any other threats?”
“What do you mean?”
“Strange phone calls? Letters? E-mails?”
She frowned with impatience. Why was he wasting time?
“Mike, we both know this isn’t about some neighbor who’s pissed off about me baking muffins or selling crafts in my garage. The locket has something to do with that body you found this morning.”
His lips flattened. “I don’t want to leap to conclusions.”
She flinched, disappointment slicing through her. How many times did she have to go through this?
First the fear. The knowledge some sicko was out there playing with her emotions. Then the pain at the realization that no one believed her.
“Right.”
She started to stand, only to be halted when Mike placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.
“Jaci, I’m trying to protect you,” he growled. “Something I can’t do if I don’t keep an open mind and investigate every potential threat.”
There was a sincerity etched on his face that made her heave a small sigh.
“I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. She felt chilled to the bone. “I just can’t believe this is starting again.”
His hand lightly glided over her shoulder and down her arm. “You know you can stay with me until we figure this out.”