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“I’ll tell you when we’re outside.” Sawyer took her hand, leading the way out onto the landing and down the stairs, while Mia aimed the flashlight at the ground in front of them.
They were halfway across the first floor of the saloon before Mia realized the night suddenly felt warmer, the damp air caressing her skin, banishing the chill in a rush, like stepping out of an air-conditioned store on a hot summer day. She’d been so scared, she hadn’t noticed that it was freezing upstairs. Freezing, when there was no air conditioning installed in the building, and every reason for the second floor to be warmer than the first.
The realization made her cling tighter to Sawyer’s hand as they stepped out into the gently falling rain. “There was something strange going on in there, wasn’t there? Why was it so cold?”
Sawyer shook his head and urged her to walk faster, until it felt like they were chasing the halo of her flashlight down the street. “I don’t know, but there is no way I threw Paul hard enough to send him flying through a window fifteen feet away. I’m strong, but I’m not that strong.”
Mia bit her lip. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she saw a pale white light flicker in the window of the second floor of the hotel before it went dark. “Do you believe in ghosts?”
“I believe in the power of unfinished business,” he said. “I’m not sure about ghosts, but I think it’s best if we tell the police I was standing three feet from the window. Less confusing for everyone.”
Mia shivered. “Maybe it was just adrenaline. Like I said, being scared to death makes you stronger.”
“Could have been,” Sawyer said noncommittally as they stepped through the gate to stand, side by side, watching the flashing lights of the approaching police cars moving swiftly down the dirt road toward them. “I’m just grateful, no matter what the explanation. If I’d lost you without getting to tell you how much I love you, it would have haunted me for the rest of my life. ”
Mia turned, tears finally spilling from her eyes as she twined her arms around Sawyer’s neck and hugged him tight. “I love you, too. I’m so sorry I pushed you away.”
He held her close, petting her increasingly damp hair. “Just don’t do it again, okay? If you’re in trouble, there is no place I would rather be than by your side. It’s you and me, okay?”
Mia nodded before resting her cheek on his chest. “You and me.”
The words sounded good. Hell, they sounded better than good. They sounded like the answer to every prayer she’d silently uttered as she’d walked into Old Town tonight.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Four days later
Mia never intendedto let one terrible night ruin all her good memories of Old Town, or to keep her from being as much a part of the restoration as she’d been before. But she would have preferred to take a week or two to recover before she jumped back into her normal routine. After all he’d done to her, Mia couldn’t say she was sorry that Paul was dead, but it would be a while before she would be able to banish her last glimpse of his tortured face from her memory.
But when Gram called late Saturday afternoon to announce an emergency pow-wow at the ghost town the next morning, Mia agreed to meet Emily at eight a.m. An emergency was an emergency, and she was through letting Paul cast his dark shadow over her life.
“Do you want me to bring my laptop and the fundraising stuff I’ve pulled together so far?” Mia asked, grinning as Sawyer flipped the open sign on the shop to closed, and drew the curtain on the window. It was a few minutes early, but she was past ready to get their Saturday night started.
She’d been ready since four o’clock, when Sawyer breezed into the shop with an iced latte and demanded a kiss as payment for his caffeine delivery services. By the time they’d come up for air, Mia was feeling plenty awake, no latte required. She couldn’t wait to get him naked on their new quilt, a gender-neutral rail fence pattern Mia had put on the bed in honor of Sawyer moving in. Last night, they’d made love in the shower first, then on top of the kitchen table after late night ice cream, but tonight she intended to actually make it to the bedroom.
“No,” Gram said, sounding more subdued than usual, but Mia supposed that was to be expected after the nightmare Paul had put her family through. “Just bring you. I’ll bring coffee and treats and we’ll have a long talk and a breakfast picnic under the trees.”
Mia’s forehead wrinkled, even though Sawyer had slipped behind the counter and was wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her back to his front, making her body light up. “What’s the long talk about? You’re not thinking of selling, are you? Because I won’t stand for it. I won’t let Paul ruin something we both love as much as Old Town.”
“I’m not selling,” Gram said, that melancholy note still lingering in her voice.
“Then what are we talking about?” Mia’s eyes fluttered closed as Sawyer pressed a kiss to her throat.
“You’ll find out tomorrow morning,” Gram said. “I’ll see you at eight, baby.”
“All right. Love you,” Mia said, sighing as she hung up the phone and turned in Sawyer’s arms.
“Something wrong?” His hands drifted down to cup her bottom through her stretchy brown skirt. “Your gram okay?”
“She sounds funny,” Mia said, breath catching as Sawyer pulled her closer to where his erection strained the close of his jeans. “Like she’s upset, or worried…”
“Do you want to stop by her place before we go to the BBQ tonight?” Sawyer bunched her skirt in his hands, lifting the fabric higher until Mia’s knees were bare, then her thighs, then the bottom of her black lace panties. “We can leave a little early. I don’t mind. You know I love your gram.”
“I don’t want to talk about my grandmother right now.” Mia unbuttoned his fly, drawing his zipper down, deciding that making it to the bed could wait.
Sawyer grinned. “Then what do you want to talk about?”
“I want to talk about your cock, and how soon it can be inside me.”
