Page 24 of Engaging the Deputy

He held her tight, his breath in her hair as he called her “Livie,” his nickname for her. Just the sound of it was almost her undoing. She’d missed hearing it on his lips, missed the intimacy they’d shared, missed him.

“You’re all right,” he whispered. She was now—now that he was there. “It’s okay.”

She drew back to look into his handsome face and felt a pang of regret. How could she not miss what they’d had together? Worse, she could only blame herself that he was no longer in her life. When she’d heard that she’d gotten the job of her dreams, she’d thought only of postponing the wedding for a while. He was on his way to law school. She’d never considered he might want to go with her and, instead of postponing the wedding, would break off their engagement.

No wonder he’d thought she wasn’t ready for marriage.

He released her now. Her heart fell as she saw the change in him. She ached with a longing she hadn’t expected for him not to pull away. Wasn’t this why she’d come home? She’d feared that she’d made the biggest mistake of her life by letting him go without putting up a fight for them. Now, as he went back to business, she feared it was too late. Cody had a girlfriend. What if Jaden did as well? She’d been such a fool.

Fighting tears, she tried to be as down-to-business as he was. “Did you find the SUV? Was the driver still there?” She felt bereft of his arms. Hugging herself, she looked down the road as if expecting the dark vehicle to appear.

“The driver was already out of the ditch,” he said. “You happen to get a license plate number?” She shook her head. “How about a description of the vehicle?”

“A large, dark-colored SUV. Maybe a dark gray. Could have been dark blue.”

He looked disappointed in her, and not for the first time. “You think whoever it was followed you from the hospital?”

She nodded. “I saw that blonde woman again at the hospital, coming out of Cody’s room.” She described her. Jaden made no comment as he pulled out his notebook and wrote it down. “I didn’t see what she was driving, but it could have been her who tried to force me off the road.”

Having him here made her feel better, stronger. She felt a little foolish for being so frightened earlier. So what if someone had followed her? They hadn’t crashed into her. Maybe they were just trying to scare her. If it had been the blonde, she could have only been warning her to stay away from Cody.

Olivia knew it wasn’t just today’s incident that had her shaken. It was everything since she’d come home. She and Cody at the bar like old times, the disastrous trip to Starling that had ended so tragically, Jaden being the lead deputy on the case and the distance she felt between them.

Nothing had gone as she had wanted it to. That feeling of being a part of this town, her old friends, all of it was gone. She’d thought she could just fall back into that comfortable place she’d left behind. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

What she should have done was go to see Jaden right away. She’d thought she had time to settle back in and sort out her feelings before she had to face him.

“You didn’t recognize the SUV?” he asked and looked up from his notebook when she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t answer right away. He repeated his question, studying her openly.

She shook her head. “You think it had something to do with the other night in Starling?” she asked Jaden.

He pocketed the notebook and pen. “I think you should be careful. Maybe stick closer to home.”

She wanted to ask if he was close to finding Rob’s killer and the person who’d attacked Cody, but hesitated. She didn’t think he was or he wouldn’t still be looking at her with suspicion. “Any news on Dean?”

“No. Dogs were brought in for the search because of all the tornado debris. His body wasn’t found in Starling. It’s possible, if he wasn’t sheltered, that the tornado swept him away. They have widened their search.”

Olivia could tell that Jaden had little hope of finding Dean alive. Her heart hurt to think about all of it. The tornado had been so destructive, but it hadn’t caused Rob’s death or Cody’s concussion. Instead, the chances were that the killer was someone she knew. One of the old gang? That didn’t leave many options. Emery? Or Dean?

She thought about the dark figure she’d glimpsed when she’d looked back at the Rusk house. It had appeared and disappeared so quickly, she’d thought she’d been seeing things. But what if she hadn’t?

What if Elden Rusk had been there Halloween night?

* * *

Jaden had been anxiousto get back to town and was glad when Olivia’s mother drove into the yard from her hair appointment. He was finding it harder and harder to be around his former fiancée. Only minutes ago, he’d had her in his arms. The memory made him ache. How could he forget the familiar feel of her body against his? He couldn’t, and that was part of the problem.

When he’d thought he would never see her again, he’d thought that eventually he’d get over her. Now he knew he’d only been kidding himself.

“Remember what I said about being careful,” he’d told her before driving away, unable to mask the edge to his voice. Why had she returned? Why had she gone to Starling? And the big question: Why had she gone with Cody?

He doubted she would listen to his advice as he left and drove into town, hoping to catch Krystal Lee at home. He’d recognized Krystal from Olivia’s description she’d given of the blonde she’d seen at the hospital. The woman had not been home earlier, but he had a feeling she might be back by now.

Krystal Lee answered the door, wearing a robe. Her blond hair was wet and her feet bare. She was an attractive woman, except for her blue eyes. There was a brittle hardness there, as if she hadn’t gotten what she’d wanted out of life and resented the devil out of it.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” the deputy asked.

She smiled and leaned suggestively against the door frame. “Depends on what you have in mind.”

---