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She brought the three paper cups over to the counter and slipped them into a carry bag as Luke pulled out his wallet. “Thanks for what you did up at the Flutterby. And for checking Abby’s cabin. I didn’t realize how vulnerable she was out there.”
“A few locks aren’t going to solve everything. But it’s a start. What’s the diner’s special tonight?”
“Meat loaf.”
“Sounds good. Maybe I’ll see you then. Have a good day.”
“Yeah.” Holly slipped the money into the register as he captured Cash’s leash and headed to the police station to deliver Ozzy his shake. Only now, as the diner fell into familiar dead silence, did Holly hear the uneven beating of her heart.
She pressed trembling fingers against her throat. If she set aside the past and focused only on the man whom she’d spent the morning with, she’d have to agree Luke Saxon had grown up for the better. She liked this man. He’d been kind, a little standoffish, as if he expected someone—anyone—to take a swing at him at any time. But they’d managed a few jokes here and there and his sense of humor left her smiling even now. By the time they’d returned to the diner, she’d started to think maybe Luke was a rare exception to her cemented belief people couldn’t change.
But there wasn’t any leaving the past alone. Not when it had cost her so much. Holly caught her lower lip between her teeth.
Or was there?
* * *
“WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON?” Luke slid into the passenger seat of Fletch’s SUV and looked kitty-corner across the street to the dilapidated, pathetic community center. The maroon siding was peeling and most of the panes of glass had been busted out. The weathered roof looked about ready to collapse and there was a colorful explosion of graffiti and paint splatters along the front door and wall. Luke remembered when the center had been built, the sponsored activities from computer lessons for seniors, to woodworking classes, and book club meetings. He’d considered the center as a possible oasis, someplace where he’d be safe and could always go...except he’d never seized the courage to step inside.
Luke handed over the second shake as a group of three boys sat with their backs to them on the brick patio wall, cigarettes burning and muted laughter mingling beneath the dull bass of an overstressed speaker system.
“Thanks.” Fletch took a long drink. “Same old stuff as far as I can tell. They come and go. Same group of kids, really. A few older ones who didn’t make it off to college when they should have. Mostly hanging out, giving each other a hard time.”
“Until they start migrating.” Luke shifted the backpack he’d found in the Flutterby guesthouse. “Give me your take on Kyle Winters.” Holly’s perspective had been helpful, but she didn’t see things from the law-enforcement angle.
“Kyle?” Fletch echoed with a raised brow. “Smart, clever even. That’s him in the thick of things. Gray hoodie, spiked blond hair. Was doing pretty well until the Pizza Barn shut down late last year. He’s gotten into some scrapes the past few months. Couple of fights, caught loitering in abandoned buildings, drinking, smoking pot. Reminds me of someone. Can’t think who, though.”
Luke didn’t have to look at his deputy to know the man had a smirk on his face. “Jake keep a file on him?”
“Should be in the computer by now. Why?”
“He’s one of the kids who’s been squatting at the Flutterby.” Luke nudged the abandoned backpack with his foot. “Left something behind when he took off this morning. I’m trying to get a bead on him before I return his belongings.” Maybe not all of his belongings.
“You’d be best to determine that.” Fletch took another sip, frowned at his cup. “How did I not know Holly makes mocha shakes?”
“They aren’t on the menu anymore.” Luke tried not to be too pleased by the fact Holly had made him one the second he’d hit town. Not that pleasing him had been her intention. Today’s had been served with a smile. Felt like a home run to him.
“So you and Holly... Anything there?” Fletch asked too innocently.
“No.” He’d thought about it, though. Far more frequently than he should. But Holly deserved better than a man with his baggage and defects. She deserved someone stable, someone normal, who could sleep through the night and not spend endless waking hours trying to avoid the nightmares of his past. Holly Campbell was entitled to be loved by someone who could give her everything she—and Simon—needed. And that, no matter how much he’d changed, wasn’t him. “Why?” Luke clenched his hands into fists. “You interested in Holly?”
“Nah.” Fletch’s snicker had Luke’s hands relaxing. “I was thinking it’s interesting how often she comes up in your conversations. She’s a knockout for sure. Never boring. Especially with Simon around. She’d be good for you.”
And almost killing her father was that added bonus every girl dreamed of. “Did I mention I don’t like my deputies to moonlight as matchmakers?” Luke said.
“You did not.” Fletch toasted him with his shake. “But noted. How about Abby...”
“Dating anyone is the last thing on my mind.” But if his thoughts did turn in that direction, it wouldn’t be to a blue-eyed pixie, but a dark-haired, curvy single mother who had every reason in the world to despise him. Luke shifted forward and peered out the windshield. “Who’s that?”
A dingy white rusted-out truck rumbled to a stop in front of the center. A middle-aged, blotchy-faced man with sun-bleached hair wearing a tattered black T-shirt and stained jeans shoved out of the cab and cut loose a stream of curses Luke had rarely heard, even during his time in the service.
“Rex Winters.” Fletch set his cup into the holder and unbuckled his belt. “Kyle’s father. If he’s out from under his rock, this can’t be good.” He pushed open the door, but Luke grabbed his arm.
“No. I’ll go. Stand by, though.” More than happy to handle this situation himself, Luke got out as a collection of teens scampered out of the way of Kyle’s barreling, bull-angry father. “Give Ozzy a heads-up.” Luke tapped his hand on the open window of the SUV. “We’re about to have our first resident in the drunk tank.”
“Roger that.”
If the appearance of Kyle’s father hadn’t sent Kyle’s friends scattering to the four winds, the sight of Luke heading their way finished them off as they hurried through plumes of cigarette smoke and dumped bottles into the overflowing trash bin.
The sound of skin hitting skin had Luke struggling to maintain his control as he watched a palm-size red welt appear on the side of Kyle’s defiant face.
“You think you can steal from me?” Rex Winters shouted at his son. “You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing? Going through my things? My private space and taking what doesn’t belong to you! You tell me right now what you’ve done with them you good-for-nothing—” Rex grabbed Kyle by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the community center’s door.
“Take your hands off the boy.” Luke tried not to think about the fact Kyle’s head had bounced like a soccer ball, or that the kid’s eyes had gone glassy for a flash of a moment. His own head had spun for that same moment—a moment where he imagined his own face on Kyle’s trembling body. “Now, Mr. Winters.”
Rex Winters glared at Luke over his shoulder, pinprick bloodshot eyes all but spinning. “Who’re you?” Winters raked his eyes up and down Luke’s uniform, gaze flickering over the gun at Luke’s hip. “New deputy, is it? Bunch of useless—”
“New sheriff. Remove your hands, Mr. Winters. Or I’ll remove them for you.” Control settled and his training kicked in, but in truth, Luke wanted nothing more than for Rex Winters to try something. Anything that would give Luke reason to...
“Dad—” Kyle said, skittering eyes shifting to Luke.
“This ain’t got nothin’ to do with you, Sheriff,” Winters slurred and leaned into his son. The smell of booze wafted off him in thick, throat-clenching waves. Kyle turned his head, squeezed his eyes shut. “My boy. My rights.”
“It’s your son’s rights that interest me at the moment.” Luke could give Kyle that instant blast of relief, that brief incredible feeling as if someone—anyone—cared whether you lived or died. “You’ve been operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.”
Kyle’s eyes went wide, as if he couldn’t believe someone had called his father on his actions.
“Can’t prove nothin’,” Winters muttered. “The boy drove that truck here.”
“That boy’s been here for over an hour,” Luke countered. “I know because my deputy’s been watching this building for the better part of the afternoon. I’ll say it one more time. Let go of the boy, and move away. Now.”
