Kate Hoffmann – The Mighty Quinns: Devin (страница 6)

“I guess everyone knows I’m here. What was that all about? What did those men want?”

“Why don’t we go around to the back? There’s a nice breeze from that direction.”

He followed her along the veranda, and when they reached the rear of the house, Dev set the bags down and pulled out a bottle of white wine. It was still cold. He grabbed the package of plastic cups and handed them to her.

“You bought me wine?”

“I figured you might need a few necessities. I also got you coffee, some bread and eggs. Ham. You drink wine, right?”

“I drink wine all the time,” she said. She tore open the package of cups and handed him two. “And it is nearly four, so I think we’re safe. My mother always said a proper lady never has alcohol before four p.m. Except at weddings and funerals.”

“I’m the last guy who wants to break the rules,” Dev said.

They sat down on the porch steps, staring out onto what was left of the gardens. Everything was overgrown and had long ago gone to seed. A few rosebushes still bloomed, but most of the rest was brown and dry from the heat. Dev glanced over at Elodie and caught her staring at him. He smiled. God, she was beautiful, and not in that overblown, beauty-queen style that so many women favored.

She had the elegance of another time, a past when women weren’t judged based on their surgically enhanced breasts and carefully applied cosmetics. She had a simple, natural beauty that came from a lucky combination of genes and attitude. Elodie had never been conscious of how sexy she really was, and that’s exactly why he’d fallen in love with her all those years ago.

“Are you going to tell me what that was all about?” she asked.

“You need to be careful around town. There are still a lot of hard feelings, especially over what your family did with the millworkers’ pension money.”

“I can understand that. It was a terrible thing my father did, to steal their security. He should have realized long before that time that he was in trouble. And if I could give that money back to them, I would. There’s just nothing left.”

“They don’t know that. They assume that your family took it all and got out of town.”

“That’s not true,” Elodie said. “We had what was left in the trust funds that our grandfather gave us, but that couldn’t be touched in the lawsuit. I gave most of my trust money to my mother. She was devastated by all of this.”

“How is she?”

“After the divorce, she went to live with her sister in San Diego. She has a job that she loves and a few grandchildren. It’s as if her life here in Winchester never existed. She never talks about it—or my father. I think he’s still in love with her, but the betrayal was just too much for her to forgive.” She leaned back against the porch post and sighed softly. “I’m glad I wasn’t here at the end.”

“Why is that?” Dev asked.

“My memories of this house weren’t spoiled. I think about this place all the time. I loved my life here, until they sent me away.”

“What happened to you?” Dev asked.

“Swiss boarding school,” she said. “It was just one of those extravagant expenses that brought the family business down. And all to keep me away from you.” She laughed softly. “And here I am anyway.”

“Because of the house,” he said.

“I wanted to see it once more,” she said. “I never expected to find you here. I thought you’d get out of this town as soon as you could.”

“I did, but I came home. Even then, I didn’t plan to stay for long, but things just happened. And now I’ve got a job that I love and people who need me.”

“But no wife,” she said.

“Ah, I see you’ve been talking to my mother.” A blush colored her cheeks and she covered her face. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind. It means I have the right to ask about you. You’re not married?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Why is that?”

“I guess I’ve just been looking for someone...special,” she said. “I almost got married, but then I realized I wasn’t really doing it for the right reasons.”

“What happened?”

“I was twenty and had met a man who swept me off my feet. And, in the beginning, it felt like what we had when we spent that whole summer together. It was exciting and passionate and I thought I was in love. But I was just trying to re-create a happier time.”

“I guess we never had a chance to find out whether we’d last,” he said.

“We were so young and so crazy,” Elodie said. “I lived on those memories for years.”

“Me, too.” He paused. “You never wrote or called.”

She reached for the wine bottle and added more to her cup. “You didn’t, either.”

“Your father told me that if I tried to contact you, he’d fire my mother and evict us from our house.”

“He told me the same thing. I guess I figured you’d find someone else. You were too charming and handsome to be single for long.”

“You give me too much credit,” he teased. “Nowadays, I can barely find a date.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“No one wants to date the police chief. It’s like dating a minister. You can never really enjoy yourself.”

“I’m having a good time now,” she said.

“Sure, now. But if you get too drunk, I’ll throw you in jail,” he said.

They spent the next two hours sipping wine and reminiscing about the past, though Dev limited himself to one glass because he was still on duty.

The party came to an end when the lineman from the power company appeared to turn on the electricity.

Dev figured it was a good time to say goodbye, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to spend the rest of the night with her, indulging in more wine and sharing supper, but he knew better than to get greedy. He’d see her again and maybe they’d try to recapture what they once had. But he knew better than to look beyond a week or two with Elodie Winchester. She was here only until she’d “tied up loose ends,” as she’d called them, with the house and then she’d be gone again.

Sadly, Elodie was probably the last Winchester who’d set foot in Winchester. And in a week or two, she’d go back to the life she’d built for herself. There was nothing for her here except this house, and she’d already said she was willing to give it away.

And yet, what could it hurt to enjoy the short time they had together? It might ruffle some feathers, but once she was gone, he could smooth those down. Right now, he was grateful for small miracles—especially the one that had brought her back into his life.

* * *

ELODIE WOKE TO the sound of thunder. She rubbed her eyes, surprised that she’d managed to sleep at all. The empty house was filled with odd noises, rattles and thumps and snaps that were no longer familiar. And her mind had been racing all day long, from the moment she’d set eyes on Dev Cassidy.

With a groan, she sat up in bed and scrubbed her face with her hands. A breeze buffeted the lace curtains on the window, and she flopped back and enjoyed the cool wind teasing her damp skin. She’d forgotten how hot the summers were in the South, how still the air became before a thunderstorm. She’d also forgotten how sweet the smell of flowers drifting on the air could be—honeysuckle and jasmine and wisteria. And most of all, she’d forgotten how easily Dev Cassidy could occupy her mind.

By most standards, they’d had an almost chaste relationship as teenagers. Though they’d danced around the edge of what might be considered sex, they’d never given in to those urges. Elodie had been terrified of pregnancy and Dev had been terrified of her father. But now, as a fully experienced woman, Elodie couldn’t help but wonder what surprises and pleasures a night in bed with Dev might yield.

Even fully dressed, it was clear that he had a beautiful body. And he’d always been kind and generous, and even as a seventeen-year-old, his kissing skills had been exemplary. He’d known how to use his tongue and his lips to great effect. She wondered if he’d become even more of an expert over the years.

Thunder rumbled again, and few seconds later a flash of lightning illuminated the room. Elodie swung her legs off the bed and pulled a light cotton dress from her bag. Tugging the fabric over her head, she walked to the window overlooking the street.

The wind rustled the towering maples that lined the curb. Her gaze came to rest on a car parked in front of the house. Elodie frowned. It was a police cruiser. Was Dev having her watched? Was he afraid those men might come back in the middle of the night? If he was, why hadn’t he warned her?

Elodie hurried downstairs and threw open the front door. The first spattering of rain began to hit the porch floor. She stepped out into the storm, running across the lawn. When she reached the car, she stood in front of the police car.

“What are you doing out here?” she shouted above the wind and the storm.

Dev slowly got out of the car, his hand braced along the top of the door. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I couldn’t, either,” she shouted.

It was all he needed. He stepped toward her and before she knew it, she was in his arms, his hands smoothing over the rain-soaked fabric of her dress. His lips covered hers in a desperate, deeply powerful kiss.

Nothing about this reminded her of the past. This passion between them was fresh and raw and filled with undeniable need. His fingers tangled in her hair and he molded her mouth to his, still searching for something even more intimate.