Page 5 of Hold a Candle

Chapter 2

Jamie enjoyed the viewof Pauley walking away from him very much. Her rounded hips undulated gently in her washed-out jeans. Even in casual denim she took care with her appearance, the jeans sporting an ironed crease down the front of her legs. Her shapely derriere appeared firm and toned. He felt more than a stirring of interest.

“Checking out her arse won’t do ye any favors,” said a young voice in his ear.

With a slight flush, Jamie turned to face the suddenly disgruntled Natalie. He raised his eyebrows in a disapproving stare.

“That’s an inappropriate way to speak about yer boss, young lass. Ye need to be tending to yer business and nae be talking about her behind her back.”

“Since she’s my mother, I can talk about her any way I like.” With a huff, Natalie set the laptop on the desk and opened her kit. “And what I said is true. She’s nae interested in men, if ye get my drift.”

Jamie felt a twinge of disappointment at the girl’s crude hints, but his sense of propriety still rose to the foreground. “Like I said, ye have no need to be discussing yer boss, especially if they are yer parent, to strangers in the manner ye did,” he replied in a stern tone.

“Are ye going to tattle on me?” she asked.

Jamie locked eyes with hers, silently wondering what was up with the lass? With startling clarity, it hit him. He hadn’t seen any rings on Pauley’s fingers. Mayhap she was divorced or her husband had died. Either way, young Natalie must see him as interested in her mother—and she didn’t like that.

“Since I’m obviously old enough to be yer father, I don’t do tattle these days,” he mocked. “Yer mother seems like a professional who knows how to do her job well. Ye just concentrate on being half as efficient as she is, and I’m sure ye’ll go far.”

With a flushed, insolent look, she handed him the laptop. “Aye, sir.”

Jamie took the laptop and strolled towards the kitchen after Darro. He could feel Natalie’s eyes stabbing him in the back. She’d yielded, but she was still suspicious.

So, Pauley had a daughter. He had a daughter too, and Pauley had been kind and thoughtful of Lucerne outside. Was Natalie that first child she’d been speaking about that made her sick during her pregnancy? If so, she must have at least one more running around somewhere. Unfortunately for Natalie, trying to deflate his interest in her mother wasn’t going to work. If Pauley was single, he was certainly attracted enough to ask her out.

Mayhap he could get Angus to get his Sinh network going and find out any information available on Pauley MacBride. The Sangster Information Network Hub, similar to the Ladie’s Aid Telephone Society, actually worked. He’d seen it in action himself when Angus’s wife, Poppy, had a stalker after her. Darro’s station hands had been able to stop and hold the stalker at Neamh until they found out who he was and what he wanted. Then again, if he let Angus know about his interest in the beautiful detective, it would be all over Inverness within minutes. He certainly wasn’t ready for that.

“Ye doing okay, Dad?”

Jamie realized he’d walked outside and was staring at nothing but the parking lot when Lucerne’s question interrupted his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh...aye, lass. Just thinking about what I’m going to do with my time until the police have finished with the building.”

“Seems to me ye have been thinking about a bit more than that,” Darro teased, waggling his eyebrows up and down. “Has a certain someone finally caught yer interest?”

“If ye mean have I noticed the detective is attractive, then aye, I noticed,” he huffed. “It’s a long way from appreciation of an attractive lass to the alter though, so don’t go getting any ideas.”

“How about getting some breakfast with us, Dad? We got the call from the police just as we were sitting down to eat and I’m starving,” Lucerne intervened.

Darro took the hint and didn’t say anything else although Jamie could feel him speculating.

“Aye, yer daughter is wanting to visit Xoko’s for some coffee with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on sourdough,” he added. “Plus, whatever fancy sweet treat they have on offering this morning,” he teased Lucerne, “since we are in town.”

Jamie glanced at his watch. Time was creeping down the backside of 7:00 a.m. and he hadn’t eaten yet. He’d come in almost an hour earlier than normal due to some paperwork he’d wanted to get caught up, and had brought in a meager offering of a cold egg sandwich and an orange to eat a bit later.

That could wait.

Xoko’s homecooked food sounded a lot tastier—and the company of his daughter even better. His house felt emptier than usual since she’d married Darro back in February, and he was glad of the chance to visit with her.

“Aye, I haven’t eaten either, so that sounds good,” he agreed.

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