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Cole shifted in his seat. The direction of the conversation couldn’t get any stranger, though in a bizarre way it was beginning to make too much sense to him. “What brought all this on?” he asked reluctantly.
“I had dinner with Melodie last night and I nearly fell out of my chair when she walked into the restaurant to meet me,” he said, running a hand through his still-thick hair. “She’s cut her long hair into a fancy shoulder-length style and she was wearing a pair of pants that looked like they were made out of some kind of leather material and a top that showed…” his face flushed, and he lowered his voice as he added “…way too much cleavage. Hell, I almost didn’t recognize her and I’m her own father!” He downed the rest of his drink in one gulp.
It was nice to know that Cole wasn’t the only one who’d been thrown for such a loop by Melodie’s transformation.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Richard continued gruffly. “Every woman has the right to make the most of her…assets, but I’ve never seen such a radical change in Melodie before. And it’s not only the clothes and the hair. There’s just something overall different about her, especially in the way she presents herself.”
Oh, yeah, she was definitely more confident, more assertive, more candid. More everything, Cole thought.
Richard shoved his empty glass to the edge of the table for the waitress to pick up. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the change in her, as well.”
“It’s kind of hard not to,” he muttered, then nearly winced when he realized he’d spoken his thoughts out loud.
Richard frowned, scrutinizing him from across the table in a way that made the back of Cole’s neck heat.
“I mean, it’s a drastic change so who wouldn’t notice?” he quickly amended before Richard could see the guilt that had no doubt flashed in his gaze. “You know how unpredictable women can be. I’m sure it’s just a phase she’s going through.”
Richard nodded sagely. “I sure as hell hope so, but I hate to take any chances that something else might be going on with her.”
Cole’s gut tightened unexpectedly. “What do you mean?”
“Melodie has always been a sensible girl who has made practical decisions for most of her life, and this is such a rebellious move for her.” Richard’s lips pursed in tempered agitation. “My biggest worry is that she’s made this drastic change in her appearance for some guy. And if that’s the case, who knows how far she’ll go to get his attention.”
Cole knew exactly what extremes Melodie was willing to go to capture his attention, but he wasn’t about to share those details with her father. “What are you suggesting?”
Richard clasped his hands on the table and pinned Cole with a direct, businesslike look. “I need you to do me a personal favor, Cole. I want you to keep an eye on Melodie for me.”
Richard’s favor wasn’t so much a request as an order, straight from a man who’d honed that particular skill as a sergeant. “You want me to tail her?” Cole asked incredulously.
“So to speak.” Richard had the good sense to appear a tad sheepish, but parental instincts seemed to be driving him and he wasn’t backing down. “I know Mel would kill me if she knew, but I can’t help it. I’m worried about her, and you’re the only one I trust to keep an eye on her and make sure some guy isn’t using her or taking advantage of her.”
The peanut Cole had been swallowing felt like sawdust in his throat, and he coughed to clear it away. He didn’t deserve this man’s trust, especially not when he was that potential man. “Richard, Melodie is a grown woman—”
He held up a hand to cut off Cole’s lecture. “I know, I know. I’ve been telling myself the same thing, but as a father who adores his daughter, I don’t want her to end up getting hurt, if it can be avoided. Trust me, you’ll understand where I’m coming from when you become a father some day.”
After spending so many years raising Noah and Jo, having kids wasn’t on Cole’s future agenda, so he could only take the man’s word for how he’d react in a similar situation. Then he grimaced as he recalled a time or two when he’d checked up on the whereabouts of his little sister and Noah when he’d thought they were getting themselves into trouble, and he realized how ingrained that particular instinct was for him.
“I just need to be reassured that Melodie’s okay and not getting herself into a situation that might be way over her head,” Richard went on. “Will you help me?”
He owed this man so much, and he felt bad for even hedging over his answer. Then again, he couldn’t very well refuse the job without Richard getting suspicious about his relationship with his daughter, or having to outright tell him the truth about Melodie’s metamorphosis. And if Richard was concerned about his daughter being involved with a man, Cole could well imagine Richard’s fury if he ever discovered that Melodie wanted to use herself as a female decoy on one of his cases.
Scrubbing a hand along his jaw, he dredged up the words Richard was waiting to hear, especially since he was the object of Melodie’s pursuit. “I’ll do it.”
His mentor breathed a sigh of gratitude and smiled. “I knew I could count on you.”
Cole finished off his beer and signaled the waitress for a refill, feeling the need for another drink. Protecting Melodie from himself would only be a matter of keeping his distance from her, but a more complicated issue arose in his mind.
Who would protect him from Melodie’s quest to seduce him?
* * *
Melodie’s fingers tightened around the pen in her hand and she nearly screamed in frustration as she watched Noah escort yet another woman from Cole’s office, through the reception area, and to the front door to see her out.
“We have a few more women to interview,” he said to the leggy redhead as she stepped outside and turned to him with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. “Cole will give you a call if he decides to hire you for the job.”
The redhead affected a sultry smile and ran the tip of one long crimson nail down the front of Noah’s shirt. “Well, I appreciate you thinking of me, Noah. Even if I don’t get the job, you can call me anytime.”
Noah’s trademark flirtatious grin slid into place. “I’ll keep that in mind, Heather.” He waited until the other woman was safely in her car before shutting the door and sauntering back into the reception area.
