Page 7 of Deputy Brand Gets Her Man
He had to get a place of his own before that woman fed him into obesity.
He removed the square dish, loosened its lid, and stuck it into the microwave to reheat. The place was so small, he could hear the shower running.
Okay, maybe she wasn’t uncomfortable being alone with an ex-con after all. And why should she be? She was a cop and she had a gun.
Cops are always the enemy.
The words floated through his brain in the voice of his father. It had been a phrase he’d repeated often—like he was making sure he’d never forget it.
Jeremiah opened cabinets until he found plates, drawers until he found forks, and he set the table. When the microwave beeped, he scooped the sizzling, bubbling food onto the plates.
Willow emerged. She wore a sweatshirt over baggy, drawstring pants, and was rubbing her long, dark hair with a towel.
“That had to be the world’s fastest shower.”
“I just needed to wash the day off,” she said. “But I didn’t want to keep you waitin’.”
“Perfect timing.” He pulled out one of the little padded chairs for her with an exaggerated sweep of his arm and she sat down. Then he went around the table and sat down. They dug in, and he shook his head after the first bite. “Your aunt can cook like nobody’s business.”
“She’s had to change it up, though, since Uncle Garrett’s heart attack. It’s been a struggle for her.”
“I thought his heart attack was from the smoke inhalation,” he said. He’d been there, he and Ethan. They’d carried Garrett and Lily out of the flames.
“It was, but it turns out he has quite a bit of plaque in his arteries, and that really only comes from what you eat, so she’s recreatin’ every recipe healthier. Which is hard with lasagna.”
“This is delicious, though. You telling me this is healthy?”
“Healthi-er. Meat-free, whole grain pasta, and cashew cheese.”
“Ah.”
They ate in silence. He liked the quiet. He’d never enjoyed folks who felt the need to fill every silence with idle chatter. The quiet gave his eyes time to really look at her. There was something enticing about the hollow beneath her ear, and for a while he got stuck there, and then his gaze slid lower to her neck where it curved into shoulder. His heart beat faster.
She caught him looking, and blushed a little. “So what’s goin’ on with you?” she asked. “That inheritance from your father still held up in probate?”
“Anything the state can link to one of his crimes is forfeit,” he said. “I was lucky to get the Jeep. But I made a lot when I worked for my father and spent very little.”
“Especially not while you were in prison.”
He lowered his head. “I was paid really well for that, too.” Why had he said that? It wasn’t her business where his money came from.
“Paid? For doing time?”
He nodded and chanced a look her way again. “The guy who did the assault was indispensable to my old man’s organization. Running things from prison meant he needed guys he could rely on, on the outside. So…I got paid to take the fall.”
Her brown eyes were bigger and browner than ever. “A year of your life…”
“I was promised it wouldn’t exceed a month.” He shrugged. “After a year, I realized I was on my own. Dad wasn’t even tryin’ to get me out. So I offered up everything I knew on the old prick, and they turned me loose.”
“And he died in prison and left everything to Ethan,” she said. “I’m really sorry your father was such a jerk to you.”
He shrugged. “Ethan didn’t want it, so it’s coming to me anyway. And I’m all right either way. Eager to buy a place of my own, get out of that bunkhouse.”
“Yeah? Where you plannin’ to buy? Here in Quinn County?”
“I don’t know yet.”
She frowned at him, so he went on.
