Time to show them what he’s made of

Roth Sterling is a straight shooter, a guy you want on your side. As a soldier, he defended his country. As a cop, he upholds the law. For a kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, he’s done well for himself. Now he’s back in his hometown, only this time, he’s the new police chief.

He’s in for a few surprises, however. Piper Hamilton—the girl he loved—still has the power to move him. And they are tied together thanks to the son he didn’t know he had. Roth is determined to do right by Piper, whatever it takes. Even if it means becoming the one thing he never thought to be—a family man.

Roth had loved Piper

More than he’d ever loved anyone. And yet he’d hurt her. Deliberately. Not with his fists—his father’s modus operandi—but with his actions, his words.

Through sheer willpower he lowered his hand even though every cell in his body urged him to wrap Piper in his arms, to take her mouth, to lose himself inside her body and let her inflame him. Let her soothe him.

Piper had always been able to take away the ugliness of his life with her sweet smiles, her gentle touch, her sexy-as-hell laugh and her belief that he was a better man than his father. Being with her had made him feel whole, complete, normal. Too bad he hadn’t been able to return the favor.

He took a backward step before he forgot what was good for him. And her. Before he forgot his fragile promise to keep his distance and do the right thing by her.

He had a plan. He just had to find the fortitude to stick to it.

No matter the temptation.

And, damn, it wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as he’d thought it would be.

Dear Reader,

I love it when research for a book takes me to a new place. For Roth Sterling’s story I made multiple trips to Quantico, Virginia, the marine base featured in so many novels, movies and TV shows. The base is home to one of the scout sniper schools, and it was nothing like I expected. Yes, Quantico contains all the official buildings and military supply stores and training grounds I’ve read about, but that’s where my preconceptions ended.

The first thing you’ll notice when you roll through Quantico’s front gate is the lush forest surrounding you. The Potomac River winds through the landscape and the curving road takes you past several beautiful postcard-worthy vistas. Lily pads float in small coves and ponds. Deer, groundhogs and other critters I can’t name are as plentiful and nearly as bold as the marines who work and train there. The animals don’t flinch as explosions of C-4, bangalore torpedoes and machine-gun fire rent the air. Deer are reported to graze near the targets on the FBI shooting range and duck fill the river and creeks.

Quantico contains a golf course, numerous neighborhoods and multiple elementary schools. Quantico, referred to as “The Beast,” is both a serene paradise (to this untrained eye) and the training ground of some of this country’s bravest warriors. The contradictions blew me away and guaranteed I’d make a return trip to see what other surprises the base has in store.

Happy reading!

Emilie Rose

P.S. I love to hear from readers! Contact me through my website at www.emilierose.com.

A Better Man

Emilie Rose

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bestselling Harlequin author and RITA® Award finalist Emilie Rose lives in her native North Carolina with her four sons and two adopted mutts. Writing is her third (and hopefully her last) career. She’s managed a medical office and run a home day care, neither of which offers half as much satisfaction as plotting happy endings. Her hobbies include gardening and cooking (especially cheesecake). She’s a rabid country music fan because she can find an entire book in almost any song. She is currently working her way through her own “bucket list,” which includes learning to ride a Harley. This is her first Harlequin Superromance book. Visit her website, www.emilierose.com, or email her at EmilieRoseC@aol.com. Letters can be mailed to P.O. Box 20145, Raleigh, NC 27619.

To the men and women who serve our country,

allowing us the freedom to read and write what we choose.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

EXCERPT

CHAPTER ONE

ROTH STERLING HAD sworn he’d never set foot in the godforsaken hellhole of Quincey, North Carolina, again. But twelve years after his escape, here he stood, eating those bitter words.

The town held too many memories. Most of them bad. But what choice did he have with his murderous bastard of a father due to be paroled from prison in two months?

He opened the door of his new apartment, stepped inside and shoved the key into his pocket. He had limited time to convince his mother not to allow the animal who’d beaten her for fifteen years back into her life. Better yet, Roth would persuade her to divorce the man and take out a restraining order. But even if she did, could the town’s five-officer team enforce it?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Restraining orders tended to be useless if the one being restrained chose to ignore them. He’d seen enough domestic abuse cases end badly during his time with the Charlotte Police Department to know the statistics. They weren’t good.

He’d spoken to his father only twice in the past seventeen years, most recently when his father had announced that he and Roth’s mother were going to move into their old house in Quincey.

Roth’s father had filled his ears with a load of rehabilitated, remorseful, I’ve-been-saved crap, and Roth hadn’t believed one word of it. The old man still had an evil glint in his eyes—the same glint Roth had often seen as a kid right before dear ole dad knocked him senseless. But Roth’s pleas to the parole board to keep his father behind bars had fallen on deaf ears, and he’d had to change tactics.

His parents’ return to Quincey was forcing Roth to do the same. Temporarily. Quincey’s advertisement for a police chief had provided a perfect cover. As the newly appointed chief, Roth would be in a position to insure that if his father laid a hand on Roth’s mother—or anyone else—he’d pay. Roth hadn’t been able to protect her when he’d been a kid, but he could now. He rested his right hand on the butt of his Glock. With lethal force, if necessary.

History wasn’t going to repeat itself. Not on his watch.

He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease out the stiffness, then strolled through the den, kitchen and each of the two bedrooms, noting the age and wear of Quincey’s only apartment building.

A fresh coat of off-white paint on the walls couldn’t compensate for the scarred hardwood floors, worn linoleum and old cabinetry. The place was clean, but it was a far cry from his condominium in the gated complex in Charlotte, with its clubhouse, gym, pool and hot tub, but these digs would suffice.

He wasn’t crazy about being on the ground floor. It made unlawful entry too easy. The sliding glass door onto the small patio could be a problem. He registered the inadequate locks on the doors and windows and the nooks and crannies where a perp could hide. He’d have to hit the hardware store before it closed if he wanted to beef up his security. Quincey used to roll up the sidewalks at dark. Did they still?

He returned to the living room and glanced out at his loaded-down Chevy truck and the rented U-Haul trailer parked by the curb. In the olden days his buddies would have shown up before his tires cooled to help him unload, but he’d seen no sign of Chuck, Joe or Billy since arriving an hour ago. At three on a Thursday afternoon they might be at work. He hadn’t notified them of his arrival. He’d counted on the Quincey rumor mill doing the job for him. No doubt the phone lines had started humming the minute he’d signed his contract last month.

He was looking forward to seeing the guys and catching up—if they still lived here. The letters between him, Joe and Billy had been sporadic, first because none of them had been the letter-writing type, and second, because Roth’s unit had often been deployed to places where mail delivery wasn’t high on the list of survival needs. By the time he’d settled in Charlotte the correspondence had ceased altogether. Maybe the guys had finally escaped. Twelve years ago that’s all any of them had wanted.

Any of them, except Piper Hamilton.

A hint of regret weighted his shoulders. Piper’s roots had run deep in the community, and she’d never planned to leave. He raked a palm over his freshly trimmed hair and tried to push away the memories, but he couldn’t force the image of her trusting blue eyes and long, sunlit hair from his head. He’d loved her. More than he’d ever loved anyone. And he’d hurt her. Deliberately. Not with his fists—his father’s modus operandi—but with his actions, his words.

They’d been little more than kids, too young to take on the commitment they’d been racing toward. The split couldn’t have been anything but good for them. But it hadn’t been easy. And he’d handled it badly. It had worked out for him. The Marines had given him his first taste of freedom from living in his father’s dark shadow and success and a career he loved. Had it worked out as well for Piper? Had she married and raised a family the way she’d wanted?

He had a few ghosts to lay to rest and apologizing to Piper was at the top of the list.

In a town this size, he’d bump into her sooner or later, but he preferred to set his own timetable instead of waiting. He’d make it happen. The sooner the better.

A knock on the door preceded Doyle, the apartment manager. “Suit ya?”

“It’ll do.”

“Sure you want to pay month to month? Save ya fifty bucks a month if you sign a year’s lease.”

Roth had no intention of being here that long. “Month to month is fine.”

“Alrighty then. Y’all have a good day.” Doyle waddled down the cracked sidewalk toward his office.

Roth stepped outside. His furniture wasn’t going to unload itself. He headed toward his truck, aware as his boots pounded the concrete of the watchful eyes and shadows shifting at windows. But no doors opened, and no one came out to say hello or offer assistance as he rolled up the trailer’s door and lowered the ramp.

He’d expected more of a welcome, for curiosity’s sake if nothing else. After all, it wasn’t every day one of the town’s delinquents returned to head up the local law enforcement team.

He scanned the empty streets. An invisible noose tightened around his neck and claustrophobia closed in, slowly crushing out a lungful of the smog-free air.

Temporary.

Folks in a tight-knit community liked to stick their noses in your business, often acting as judge and jury, their opinions shaped by hearsay rather than fact. They usually helped out when you needed ’em—if for no other reason than to root for tidbits to tattle.

But apparently not today.

He checked to make sure his leather jacket concealed his weapon. The pistol could be scaring off people. He wouldn’t officially pick up his badge until Monday morning, but surely the citizens expected the new chief of police to carry a weapon in or out of uniform?

The temperature was mild for the end of March, but he’d work up a sweat. Regardless, he’d keep on the jacket. He unstrapped the hand truck and muscled his gun safe onto the two-wheeled unit. Getting the hazards out of the way and securing them was his first order of business. He manhandled the heavy piece up the walk. After he situated the steel box in the spare bedroom closet, he returned to the trailer and lugged boxes inside, stacking them in the rooms labeled on each box.

A couple of teenagers whizzed past on skateboards, staring hard but not slowing. Ditto the beige station wagon, navy sedan and silver pickup with a dented rear quarter panel and low rear tire.

Hell, he was starting to think folks didn’t want him here. You’d think they’d be pleased that he’d finally gotten his act together.

An hour later he had emptied the truck bed and had everything out of the trailer except the sofa, dresser and his king-size mattress, and still no one had offered assistance. That wasn’t like the town he remembered. Screw it. He’d hit the hardware store, buy better locks and try to round up a strong back to help him finish the job.

He locked up, hoofed it across the asphalt and turned down Main Street. This morning when he’d driven in he’d been surprised to find that little had changed in the past twelve years. There were a few more shops—he’d investigate another day.

He pushed open the door and automatically noted two customers, white males, sixties, and Hal Smith behind the cash register in what looked like the same blue apron he’d always worn. The store owner, with his wispy white hair in a bad comb-over that couldn’t hide his pale, spotted scalp, had to be eighty by now.

“Mr. Smith, good to see you again.”

The owner sized him up. Roth offered his hand and the man hesitated before returning the gesture. The shake was brief. “Sterling. Heard you was coming back. What can I do for you?”

The cool tone was hard to miss. Damn strange, considering Quincey needed a chief, and Roth was, if anything, overqualified, and he’d taken one hell of a pay cut for this job. What was the problem? “I need window and door locks.”

“Doyle’s apartment not secure enough for you?”

“No, sir. A credit card would jimmy anyone in.”

“Locks are on aisle three.” But Hal didn’t move to help. Maybe age had slowed him down.

“I also need help unloading a few bulky items. Know anyone interested in earning a few bucks?”

Smith glanced toward the other customers then at Roth. “Can’t say as I do.”

Roth nodded his thanks and turned for aisle three. Guess it would take a while for folks to figure out he wasn’t a hell-raising kid anymore. He wouldn’t be in town longer than absolutely necessary, but he’d be here long enough to show this apple had fallen far from his daddy’s rotten tree. He wasn’t white trash anymore.

* * *

ROTH STERLING WAS BACK.

Piper Hamilton fought a rising tide of panic as she reversed out of her parking space as fast as she dared. Her fingers cramped on the steering wheel and her palms grew slick.

She’d heard the first whisper of impending doom when Mrs. Peabody had brought her geriatric cat into the veterinary clinic after lunch. Then it seemed each successive client had made a point of sharing the latest Roth sighting with Piper.

Roth had bought locks at the hardware store. Roth had hired a couple of high school kids to help him unload furniture. Roth had visited the market, but he hadn’t driven his big black pickup over to the old home place yet….

Roth this. Roth that. As if she wanted a play-by-play on the man she used to love—the one who’d dumped her and left her pregnant.

Most of the afternoon’s clients had also made sure Piper knew they wouldn’t welcome the man who’d usurped her father as chief with the community’s usual open arms and Southern charm. While she appreciated their loyalty, their animosity only added to her worries. If the town gathered their figurative wagons around her, Roth might think she had something to hide. And she did.

The only stoplight turned red as she approached the intersection at Main Street even though there wasn’t any oncoming traffic. She muttered a curse and braked hard. It had been one of those days when nothing went right.

She checked her mother’s real estate office parking lot. Empty. Hopefully Mom was at home guarding the fort and the treasure.

Piper ripped the clip from her hair and massaged her scalp, then tapped the wheel, urging the light to change. When it finally did she had to resist the impulse to race home. Not even being the chief’s—former chief’s—daughter made her immune to getting pulled over for a lecture. If anything, her father’s deputies had become a little overzealous in their honorary “uncle” roles since her father’s stroke six months ago.

Her father. She sighed. Eight weeks ago the town council had strong-armed him into resigning and told him they’d already begun searching for his replacement.

His bitterness over being stripped of the job that defined him for thirty years festered inside him like an abscess. He’d spread his infectious pus of discontent over anyone within hearing distance.

But why had the town council hired Roth Sterling? Surely there had been better candidates than a troublemaker who’d left town and not once come back to visit?

Her street finally came into view. She saw her mother’s sedan in the driveway of the home they shared and exhaled in relief. If her mother was at home, then maybe Josh would be, too. Piper prayed her son would be in his room, doing his imitation of an uncommunicative adolescent.

She threw the car into Park and raced up the walk. Her mother opened the door before Piper could reach for the knob. “I take it you’ve heard?”

Piper didn’t ask for clarification. “Yes. Where’s Josh?”

“Upstairs. I bought him a new game to keep him occupied until we come up with a plan.”

“Good idea.” Usually Piper didn’t allow her son to veg out on video games until after he’d finished his homework, but today she’d settle for anything that kept him out of sight.

“Piper, what are we going to do?”

The house smelled delicious, a testament to her mother’s stress level. Mom always baked when she was agitated. Piper put down her purse and hung up her jacket then checked to make sure Josh wasn’t nearby. To be on the safe side, she pointed to the kitchen and held her tongue even though her thoughts were tripping all over themselves. They reached the room on the opposite side of the house from his bedroom.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to protect him, but we’ll have to stick with the same story you told everyone before Josh and I came home.”

“Do you think Roth will buy it?”

“I hope so. I can’t believe he came back. He always wanted more than Quincey had to offer.”

More than she had to offer.

Strain lined her mother’s immaculately made-up face. As the town’s only real estate agent, her mother never looked less than magazine-advertisement perfect even when she was baking.

Her mother pulled a cookie sheet from the oven. “I cannot believe the town council kept their choice for chief a secret. They even conducted the interviews out of town. No one said a word about who they’d hired until Roth arrived today. And now everybody’s talking.”

Piper pressed a finger against the tension headache chiseling between her eyebrows. This spelled disaster in so many ways. “Does Daddy know?”

“Who do you think told me? Your father was there when ‘Sterling strutted into the g’damned station like he owned the place.’” She did a pretty good imitation of her husband’s rough drawl. “I thought Lou would have another stroke before I could get him off the phone.”

“I thought the council was being considerate of Daddy by not flaunting the interview process in his face. Now I’m not so sure.”

“It wasn’t considerate, Piper. It was underhanded. They started advertising for his position even before Lou resigned. I should have put the puzzle pieces together when Eloise Sterling canceled the lease on the tenants of her family’s home place. She only gave them thirty days to vacate.”

“How is Daddy taking this?”

“Not well. He immediately started predicting gloom and doom about you know who.” Ann Marie tilted her head toward Josh’s room. “Your father wants to come over and discuss our options.”

Piper grimaced. Great. She’d have to play referee between her parents again. Any time they got together it tended to result in a verbal skirmish with Piper stuck in the middle while they took shots at each other. All because of the choices Piper had made twelve years ago. Guilt weighed on her.

But if she’d given in to her father’s browbeating and gone through with the abortion or her mother’s pleas to give up the baby for adoption, then Piper wouldn’t have Josh, and he was the best thing that had ever happened to her. The negative result was that her decision had started a feud between her parents that hadn’t ended.

They’d tried to keep that secret. Piper hadn’t learned until she’d returned to Quincey after her four-year exile that her pregnancy had ended her parents’ marriage. Well, not ended technically, since they were still legally married, but they lived on opposite sides of town with separate bank accounts, separate lives, and no amount of coaxing on her part had managed to get them to bury the hatchet.

“I’ll talk to Dad.”

“What good will that do? He’s too pigheaded to listen to any opinion except his own. But your father is right about one thing. Roth will find out about Josh.”

Piper’s stomach churned. She should start dinner—and not just to keep her hands and mind occupied. When Josh ventured from his room he’d eat anything that didn’t run from him, and it would be better if his feast didn’t consist of six-dozen cookies.

“Mom, we can’t undo the lies. We have our story, and we’re sticking to it.”

“All Roth will have to do is demand a paternity test.”

Piper had chewed off a couple of fingernails over that prospect this afternoon. “Please don’t borrow trouble. We have enough to worry about already. He didn’t want our child twelve years ago. Let’s hope that hasn’t changed.”

Piper hoped it would be enough. Otherwise catastrophe could strike, and she could lose the most important thing in her life. Her son.

* * *

THE FRONT DOOR OPENED Friday as Piper was preparing to close for lunch. She looked up, expecting to see a frantic pet owner with an emergency.

Roth Sterling filled the doorway—an entirely different kind of crisis. Even without the shoulder-length chestnut waves she’d once loved to run her fingers through there was no mistaking that rugged face, those seductive brown eyes or the mesmerizing mouth that had taught her so much about pleasure.

A lead weight crash-landed in her stomach. The hum of the computer and the yap of the dogs in the kennel in the rear of the building faded into a whir of white noise.

He looked the same. But different. Harder somehow, as if his youth had been chiseled away by age and experience that his spiky short hair only accentuated. His face was leaner, his cheekbones more pronounced. Shallow lines fanned from the corners of his eyes. Beneath a battered brown leather jacket his shoulders had filled out since the last time she’d seen him, held him, made love with him. Watched him walk away.

“Hello, Piper.” Like his body, his voice had morphed into something steelier. Sexier.

But despite all the changes, his effect on her hadn’t altered one iota. Her knees softened like butter in the sun and her breaths shortened. It took effort to force air through her vocal cords. “Hello, Roth.”

He crossed the waiting room, a confident stride replacing his old cocky swagger. Thick thigh muscles strained the fabric of his faded jeans. He’d been lean and rangy at twenty. At thirty-two he looked sinewy and dangerous. “You’re looking good.”

A hot flush started deep inside her, licking through her chest, up her neck and across her cheeks. She cursed the telling reaction.

She’d checked the mirror two minutes ago when she’d washed up after their last patient. Her slipping ponytail, baggy lavender scrubs and walking shoes were nothing to brag about. But at least she’d applied makeup this morning, because she’d known that eventually she would bump into him. And most of it was still on despite doggie licks and sweat.

“Liar.”

His grin, as devilish and dangerous as she remembered, rocked her equilibrium. “I always call ’em like I see ’em.”

Get a grip. Remember what he did to you?

She straightened, trying to find her backbone and the anger that had driven her for years. Both appeared to be AWOL. “Did you need something?”

“To say hello away from the prying eyes of Quincey.”

“Those same prying eyes very likely tracked your path to the clinic. But thanks for stopping by. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to lock up for lunch.” She hoped her cool, unemotional tone sounded as convincing to him.

His smile broadened. “That’s why I’m here. I came to take you to lunch.”

Alarm erupted inside her like a Fourth of July fireworks display. She couldn’t risk a trip—or a slip—down memory lane. “I already have plans.”

Piper reached for her keys and her knuckles bumped Josh’s school picture. One look at that photograph and Roth would know the truth. And he didn’t deserve to know. Not after what he’d done. Although he had no reason to come behind the high counter she wasn’t taking any chances. She scooted the frame behind her monitor.

The light on the two-line phone went out, indicating Madison had ended her call. The sound of her boss’s desk drawer opening and closing filled Piper with urgency. She wanted Roth gone before Madison came out. Even though Madison had become more friend than employer over the past five years, Piper had never shared the intimate details of her history with Roth. She didn’t intend to start now.

She circled the desk, opened the door and tipped her head to face her nemesis. She’d forgotten how tall he was.

“Don’t let me keep you. Have a nice day.” She added a saccharine smile.

“What? No welcome back?”

“Did you really expect one?”

Roth folded his arms and rocked back on his heels. “We need to talk about what happened, Piper.”

“No, we don’t. The past is over. No need to rehash it.”

“We left things…unsettled.”

He had no idea what an understatement that was. Piper checked over her shoulder to make sure Madison hadn’t left her office yet. “No, Roth. You made your feelings perfectly clear when you shoved a fistful of money at me and told me to visit the clinic and take care of my problem. But that was twelve years ago. I’m over it and over you.”

“Did you?”

She blinked and swallowed, trying to ease the knot forming in her throat. From the moment she’d heard of his return she’d known this question would come up. She should have been prepared. But she wasn’t. And she’d never been a good liar.

“Did I what?”

“Visit the clinic.” His eyes searched her face.

Her heart pounded and her palms moistened. The door handle slipped from her fingers. Stick with the facts.

“Dad drove me to one in Raleigh. It’s far enough away that nobody here would know…” She bit her lip, unable to finish because that’s where the truth he needed to hear stopped. Anything she added would have to be a lie.

“Piper,” Madison called as her footsteps squeaked down the long tile hall, filling Piper with a mixture of relief over the interruption and dread over the upcoming meeting. “Mrs. Lee’s Chihuahua is in labor and it’s not going well. I have to cancel our lunch and make a house call. If the labor drags on or I have to bring Pebbles in for a C-section, I’ll call your cell.”

Madison reached the archway between the treatment rooms and the waiting area and spotted Roth. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize we had company.”

Her ex-lover and her boss stared at each other. Then Madison hiked an expectant eyebrow at Piper. Piper reluctantly accepted that she couldn’t avoid making introductions. “Madison, this is Roth Sterling, Quincey’s new police chief. Roth, Dr. Madison Monroe.”

Madison smiled and extended her hand. She, unlike Quincey natives, tended to avoid the gossip and intrigue of small-town living. But her interest in the new male specimen couldn’t be missed. Piper lost her appetite.

“Nice to meet you, Chief Sterling, and some other time I’d love to hear what brought you here. But I have to run.”

“Good to meet you, too, Doc,” Roth replied. “And the answer is simple. I came home.”

Piper didn’t like the sound of that. Home implied a certain…permanence.

Madison’s eyes widened. “Home? You’re a local?”

“Yes.”

Madison shot Piper a look that promised an inquisition when she returned, then with a wave she grabbed her med-kit, and rushed out the door.

Roth’s dark eyes zeroed in on her, making her feel antsy and uncomfortable. “You’re not the veterinarian?”

She couldn’t believe he remembered her long-ago dream. “I’m Madison’s assistant.”

“What happened to vet school?”

She wiggled her toes in her shoes. “Plans change.”

He flashed one of his lethal grins and her abdomen quivered. “And because yours have, you’re now free for lunch. Let’s go.”

No. No. No. “I need to set up the surgical room in case Madison needs it.”

“I’ll wait.”

She did not want to spend any more time with him. “Look, Roth, while I appreciate your invitation, I really don’t have time for a long lunch break.”

“Then I’ll get a takeout from the diner and we’ll eat here.”

Alone behind a locked door? She searched for another excuse to avoid this encounter and couldn’t find one. “The gossips would be the ones feasting if you did that.”

“Sounds like Quincey hasn’t changed.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “We’re sharing a meal, Piper. If not lunch, then dinner. I’m not on duty until Monday. I can park it right here—” he pointed at a waiting room chair “—and wait until you’re available.”

Not what she wanted to hear. She wasn’t going to be able to avoid him. Resignation settled over her.

“When you put it like that, how can I refuse?” If she did, she’d only arouse his curiosity, and the last thing she wanted was Roth Sterling snooping around in her personal life.

“Exactly.”

CHAPTER TWO

“LET’S GO. I’LL PREP the room when I get back. We’ll have to hurry in case Madison needs me.” Piper snatched her purse and headed out, eager to get this encounter behind her.

Then maybe Roth would go away and forget her. Again.

“Your enthusiasm underwhelms me.” She heard the teasing note in his voice and didn’t need to look to know he was smiling. His smiles used to turn her to mush. But she couldn’t let them have that effect now.

After locking up she followed him into the parking lot.

He scanned the busy-for-Quincey streets. “Traffic’s picked up from what I remember.”

“Over the past few years we’ve had several mom-and-pop antiques stores open up. That makes Quincey a mecca for weekend shoppers.” She hoped that meant the shopkeepers would be too busy with their customers to notice her comings and goings or her lunch partner. “The diner will be packed. There’s a barbecue place ten miles south of here.”

“Afraid to be seen in town with me?”

She couldn’t risk someone stopping by their table to ask about her son. “I don’t have the time to wait for a table or be constantly interrupted by people welcoming you.”

“I don’t think the welcomes will be a problem. I’ll drive.” He led her toward a big black truck.

She caught herself admiring the way he filled out his jeans and couldn’t force her gaze away any more than she could stop a freight train with her pinkie finger. Roth still looked damned good. Better than any of the slim pickings in town, for sure.

An old familiar hunger trickled through her—one she hadn’t experienced in so long that she almost didn’t recognize the budding tension in her belly. When she did she tried to pop the bubble by focusing on the wreckage he’d made of her life when he’d said goodbye.

She clung to the hurt and anger like a shield, but no matter how much his betrayal stung, she didn’t—couldn’t—hate Roth, because he’d given her the most precious part of her life. Josh.

He opened the door and she climbed into the high cab. When he slid into the driver’s seat she fastened her seat belt and took shallow breaths through her mouth to avoid the tantalizing aroma of his scent. It didn’t work.

He put the truck in gear and hit the highway. “If you didn’t go to vet school, what have you been doing since I last saw you?”

Raising your son. She held her tongue and searched for an acceptable answer.

“Right after you left, my father’s great-aunt fell and broke her hip. She needed live-in help while she recuperated. I was available.”

“I don’t remember your aunt.”

“She moved to Florida when I was a baby.”

That earned her a quick look. “Florida? You left Quincey?”

His disbelieving tone raised her hackles. “I was going away for college.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “You were going to commute. The chief wasn’t about to let his baby girl live in a dorm with all those wild college girls.”

True. She couldn’t deny she’d been sheltered and her father had been—and still was—overprotective, which explained the sad state of her social life. She might be thirty, but he still treated her like a child.

Scratching at a spot on her scrubs, she searched for a way to give Roth enough information to satisfy his curiosity without revealing too much. “I was ready for a change of scenery anyway after…”

“Our breakup?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you go to school after you finished playing nurse?”

“It took Aunt Agnes longer to recover than expected. By then I’d lost my financial aid and reapplying for everything was too much of a hassle. I went to community college for a veterinary assistant degree instead. As long as I’m able to work with animals, it doesn’t really matter in what capacity.”

“There’s a substantial difference in salary.”

“I was never about the money, Roth. You know that.”

For a moment his somber gaze held hers, then he focused on the road. “That’s what you always said, but you weren’t used to doing without or eating wild game or macaroni every night. You were the chief’s little princess.”

“And you only asked me out to get under my father’s skin in retaliation for him riding your back.”

“Best bet I ever accepted. Then I fell for you, Piper. Fell hard.” He shook his head. “But we were so damned young.”

The memories made her chest ache. “I heard your mother’s moving back. I’ll bet she’s happy you’re going to be here.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Surprise rippled over her. “But she knows you’ve been appointed chief, right?”

“If she does, she didn’t hear it from me.”

“Why not?”

He hesitated, a muscle bunching in his jaw. “We…had a difference of opinion.”

“About?”

“Several things. And after I joined the Marines communication was never easy.”

“You’re a Marine?” Her eyes raked him again. Military service could explain the short hair, chiseled physique and perfect posture.

“Was.”

“How long have you been out?”

“Four years.”

She waited for him to elaborate. Most men liked to talk about themselves. Why couldn’t he be one of them? Instead, getting information out of him resembled an inquisition. “What have you been doing?”

“Working with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg P.D. SWAT team.”

Her pulse stuttered. All this time he’d been only a few hours away. “You never mentioned an interest in the military or law enforcement when we were together.”

“Never considered either.”

“Then why enlist?”

His dark gaze stabbed her again. “Your father didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

The hum of his radial tires on the blacktop filled the cab for so long she thought he might not answer. “After he arrested me for jacking Gus’s car the chief gave me a choice. Enlist or jail. Either way, if I ever came near you again, he promised my mother would pay.”

Her breath caught at the unjust accusation. Her father had known how much she loved Roth. He wouldn’t deliberately hurt her by sending Roth away. “Daddy would never have made such a threat.”

“Wrong.” Roth clenched the wheel. “He put me in the back of his patrol car and took me to visit my father in prison. Then he drove me to the recruitment office and stood over me while I signed the papers.”

Denial ripped through her. “I don’t believe you. My father is a stickler for rules. He wouldn’t bend them let alone break them. Besides, your mother moved away soon after you did. My father wouldn’t have had any influence over her.”

A disgusted sound erupted from his throat. “I didn’t expect her to take the money I sent her each month and move closer to the prison holding the bastard who beat her and convinced her she deserved it.”

She gasped. He’d never spoken so plainly about his past when they were together. If anything, he’d tried to shield her from it. Sure, she’d heard the stories compliments of her father and the Quincey grapevine, but having Roth confirm them rattled her.

“None of that would have happened if you hadn’t confessed to a crime you didn’t commit. Daddy could never have proven you’d stolen Gus’s Corvette.”

“My prints were all over that car, and your father claimed he had witnesses and enough proof to lock me away.”

“There couldn’t have been witnesses or proof if you didn’t do it. And your prints were on the car because you’d worked on it that morning.”

Roth’s father had been a mechanic before going to prison, and Roth had taken over his daddy’s business while still in high school. Even though she’d had no interest in cars she’d spent countless hours standing beside open hoods watching him work to be with him.

“Your dad had most of the county’s legal system in his pocket. He could have railroaded a conviction through.”

“Of course he had influential friends. How could he not after all those years as chief? But having connections is not a crime. Lying to the police is. I tried to tell him the truth but he wouldn’t listen to me. You should have told Daddy Chuck took the car for a joyride. Instead, you chose to lie for your buddy over telling the truth and staying with me.”

The old anger, frustration, hurt and resentment poured like acid from her mouth. “Admit it, Roth. You wanted to cut your ties to me and Quincey, and Chuck provided the perfect opportunity. Maybe you and he prearranged it.”

Roth exhaled roughly. He swung sharply into the gravel parking lot of Pig In a Blanket, stomped on the brake and silenced the engine, then twisted to face her. “We did no such thing. I was bad news, Piper. You deserved better. And so did Chuck.”

“Chuck was a thief. Why did he deserve your loyalty more than me?” She hated the hurt in her tone, but this conversation exposed so many memories. The sharp edges of the bills stabbing her palm when he’d folded her fingers around his money roll. The cold resolution in his eyes when he’d told her he was leaving. The fear, hollowness and helplessness of watching him walk away without a backward glance.

He’d left her, eighteen, alone and pregnant and terrified of what her father would do when he found out.

“Let’s eat. You’re short of time. Remember?”

She blinked away the past. She was too upset to eat, but the chance to finally put her questions to rest sent her bustling into the unpretentious restaurant.

Roth surveyed the interior and the other customers. Piper searched for familiar faces as the hostess led them to the only open booth, and relaxed a bit when she recognized no one from Quincey.

Roth took the seat facing the door, the way her father always did. It had to be a cop thing.

The waitress delivered a fragrant basket of hush puppies, took their orders and departed.

“Would you really have gone to jail for Chuck?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.

“Why, Roth? Why would you sacrifice your freedom for him?”

He held her gaze. “Chuck was the closest thing to a brother I had. An arrest would have cost him his football scholarship to State and his chance to get out of here.”

Did he really not know what had happened to his best friend? “Have you kept in touch with Chuck?”

“No. He wasn’t much on writing.”

“He was kicked out of college his first year for cheating and he lost his scholarship. He’s been in and out of jail ever since, mostly for petty stuff, but still… You sacrificed us for nothing.”

Roth sat back so quickly his ladder-back chair creaked. “You’re kidding.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to catch up with him now. He’ll be one of your most frequent overnight guests at the station.”

She fidgeted with the corner of the paper place mat. “Why come back now?”

Now when she’d finally gotten her life together.

“The job opened up.”

“My father’s job.”

“Your father retired.”

“Not by choice.”

His eyes narrowed. “If not by choice, then how?”

“The town council forced him out.”

Frown lines grooved his forehead. “That could explain the hostility I’ve encountered. The chief was well liked. Why force his retirement?”

“Six months ago Dad had a mild stroke followed by quadruple bypass surgery. His recovery hasn’t gone as smoothly as we’d hoped.”

“He looked fine when I saw him at the station.”

“He’s getting better, but he still has some…deficiencies.” Her father went into the office every day even though the council wouldn’t let him do more than visit. He claimed his staff was his family and the station his second home. “If he had a bit more time, he’d be able to work again, but the council isn’t made up of Dad’s cronies anymore. We’ve had an influx of new blood. I guess they ran out of patience. They certainly hired you on the sly.”

The waitress placed their meals on the table and batted her eyelashes at Roth. Rather than watch to see if Roth returned the flirtation, Piper stared at her plate and gathered the courage to ask the one question burning a hole in her brain.

“How long are you staying?”

“Why? Does my return disturb you, Piper?”

She would never let him know how much. “I can’t imagine you being happy here. You always hated busybodies. Quincey is still full of them. Nothing has changed.”

“I spent nearly eight years on active duty, most of it deployed to the world’s hellholes, where I didn’t know who or what was waiting around the corner to take out me or a member of my team. I can handle gossips whose only weapons are words.”

The idea of him in harm’s way disturbed her, but she brushed it aside. His well-being was no longer her concern. “That’s not what you used to say when those gossips reported your every move to my father.”

“Times and perspectives change. The townsfolk will soon see they underestimated me.”

Relieved to finally learn the reason Roth had returned, Piper’s stiff spine eased. “Once you’ve proved that, then what?”

And how long would it take to make his point?

“Your father spent thirty years on the Quincey police force. What makes you think I won’t do the same?”

Panic pulsed thorough her. “You’ll hate it here. The way you always did. We’re forty miles from anywhere interesting. You’ll be bored out of your mind. No one comes back once they leave.”

“You did.”

“I—I—that’s different. My family’s here.” She’d returned for Josh. She wanted her son to have his grandparents’ love and support—even if it could be a bit smothering.

“And mine will be,” he replied, his tone and face grim.

Roth reached across the table and covered her hand with his. She tried to jerk away, but he held fast. The heat of his touch flooded through her, making her heart race.

“Piper, I invited you to lunch because I owe you an apology. I never intended to hurt you. Twelve years ago we were too young to handle the situation we found ourselves in.”

“You mean you weren’t ready for the responsibility of a wife and child.”

His cheeks darkened. “You’re right. I’m not proud to admit I freaked out when you told me you were pregnant. I suddenly saw myself as my father’s son. I’d spent my life listening to that bastard accuse my mother of ruining his life by getting pregnant—as if he’d had no part in it—right before he knocked the hell out of her.” His grip tightened. “I couldn’t do it, Piper. I couldn’t take the chance that I’d turn into a monster like him, and I couldn’t watch the love in your eyes turn to hate.”

“You wouldn’t have and I would never—”

“You don’t know that. And you deserved better than a mechanic who barely scraped through high school. Hell, you were a straight-A student with years of college ahead of you. If you’d married me, your parents would have disowned you. I couldn’t afford college tuition on what little I made from the garage. I would have held you back and you would have grown to resent me.”

The sincerity in his eyes told her he believed what he said, but it didn’t change the facts. His presence could cause problems for her and Josh. She yanked her hand free.

“Is that how you made peace with your decision, Roth? You weren’t there for me when I needed you. You left me to face my parents alone. I won’t ever forget that.”

He stiffened. “I’ve admitted I made mistakes. I thought we could be friends.”

Friends? With the man who could destroy her world?

“I prefer friends I can count on. And don’t think I’ve been sitting around pining for your return. I’ve moved on with my life.” She gestured to the untouched food in front of her. “Do we have to do this?”

“If you don’t eat your lunch, I’m going to think there’s a reason you can’t handle a little conversation with me.” His challenging tone reminded her of the old Roth.

She fisted her hands beneath the table and fought for calm. He wanted to play games? Fine, she could play games. But instead of him grilling her, she’d let him feel the heat.

“Your becoming a cop is ironic, isn’t it? You and your posse were pains in the Quincey Police Department’s behind.”

“We were. What about you? Did you stir up any trouble while you were out of the chief’s surveillance?”

Her heart bounded. “I had better things to do than cause problems for other people.” Except her parents, apparently.

“And what brought you home?”

“Aunt Agnes sold her house and moved into a retirement community.” One that hadn’t allowed children. “Then Dr. Jones, Quincey’s old vet, needed help.”

“He retired?”

“He died soon after I went to work for him. His heirs sold the practice to Madison. Lucky for me, she kept me on.”

“Ever married?”

Every muscle in her body snapped taut. She should have seen that one coming. “No. You?”

The idea of him with another woman and other children gave her indigestion.

“Not even close. I can’t believe nobody snapped you up. There were plenty of guys wanting what I had.”

“Oh, please. The men in town were terrified of my father and you know it. That’s why I’d never had a date before you asked me out.”

A tender, reminiscent smile curved his lips and her toes. “Eighteen and never been kissed. You know I won twenty bucks off my posse for asking you out. But you avoided my question. Any close calls?”

Stalling for time, she shoved a bite of the pork into her mouth and chewed without tasting. Then she swallowed and sipped her tea while hunting for the words and the guts to perpetuate the lie she’d been living. She’d told this story a dozen times. Why was it so much harder to repeat it to him? “I was…engaged.”

His fist clenched on the table. “Was? You dumped him?”

She blinked once, twice, and fought the urge to squirm under Roth’s unwavering gaze. She could not afford to mess up. Josh’s future depended on her making this convincing.

“No. He…passed away.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. Who was he? A local?”

Breathe. “Someone I—I met when I lived in Florida.”

“Did the chief approve of him?”

Another unexpected question—one her mother’s fib had never addressed. “Yes.” Change the subject. “What did you do in the Marines?”

A moment stretched between them and from the determined look in his eyes, she feared he wouldn’t let her shift the conversation away from the dicey subject of her make-believe past. “I was a member of the Scout Sniper Battalion.”

“You were a sniper? You killed people?” Cold crept through her veins.

Her raised voice had heads turning. She winced.

“The entire restaurant doesn’t need to know. But yes, I was a sniper when my unit needed me to be. But that was only a small part of my job.”

A range of emotions rolled through her like a rock slide, fear and revulsion leading the pack. “How many kills?”

“Piper—”

“I’ve spent hours watching the military channel with my father while he recuperated. I know snipers keep some kind of journal or score card.”

“The number is irrelevant. My targets were murderers and insurgents or hostage takers. Every one I eliminated was a purposeful effort to save others’ lives.”

Like father, like son, the townsfolk had always said, but she’d never believed Roth had any violent tendencies. “You swore you’d never turn into your father.”

Revulsion filled his face. “I didn’t. My father was a mean, murdering bastard.”

“He killed my uncle in the heat of passion. You kill with cold, calculated precision.”

How many more of his father’s bad traits had he inherited?

A muscle ticked in his jaw, but otherwise he remained utterly still. “Becoming a sniper wasn’t about killing. It was about gaining total control of my body and emotions—something my father never had.”

“But you got up every day, cleaned your rifle and waited for orders to shoot someone.”

“Not every day.”

“How many Roth?”

His eyes turned cold. “That’s classified information.”

“And with the SWAT team, were you a sniper there, too?”

“Yes. Finish your lunch. It’s time to take you back to the office.”

She knew in her head that wars were violent and snipers were sometimes the most expedient method. The same could be said for hostage situations. But her heart looked across the table and saw a man who had killed. More than once.

For Josh’s safety she had to keep her son as far away from Roth as possible.

CHAPTER THREE

LUNCH HADN’T GONE WELL. Roth punched the accelerator as soon as the office door closed behind Piper. She’d put him on the defensive. But he’d made his apology. Objective accomplished, albeit with some collateral damage.

The first land mine being that she still got to him. If anything, she was more beautiful than before. It had been impossible to sit across from her and not remember the way her dimples used to flash, the love that had once shone from her blue eyes or the taste of her lips and the feel of her soft curves pressed against him.

The follow-up strike had been Piper’s accusation that he’d been looking for a way out of their relationship. As much as he hated to admit it, there was some truth in her words. Leaving her twelve years ago had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done, and his pride had been eviscerated when she’d sworn she’d never have the baby of white trash like him and thrown his money in his face.

But part of him had been relieved. He’d decided long before he met Piper that he’d never have children. If he didn’t have kids, he couldn’t fail them—or hurt them—the way his father had him. His opinion hadn’t changed over the years. Marriage wasn’t high on his to-do list, either. Cop marriages didn’t last.

What really burned like a chemical weapon was her accusing him of being like his father. He’d left Quincey behind and racked up numerous commendations to wipe that connection from his life. Yet less than twenty-four hours back and the one person who’d never judged him by his father’s actions was the one throwing that at him.

The fear and revulsion in her eyes when she’d grilled him about his job had gouged deep. Uneasiness wasn’t an uncommon reaction to finding out his specialty, and it was the primary reason he didn’t blab about his missions. But he wasn’t ashamed of his skills, his success or his service, and he wasn’t going to lie about the role he’d played. He’d saved a hell of a lot of lives. That was all that mattered. Why did he care what anyone—Piper—thought?

But something about the afternoon nagged him as he drove down Main Street checking out the new storefronts, and he’d learned not to ignore his instincts. Piper’s body language had been off. There’d been a slight tremor of her hands and her gaze had bounced away repeatedly. That, combined with the deep breaths she’d taken before answering his questions led him down an unexpected path.

His training automatically identified those as traits of someone with something to hide. But in a town like Quincey where your business was everybody’s business and secrets were impossible to keep, what could Piper be concealing? Probably nothing. More than likely their past was the issue. But he would find out.

He stopped at the light and weighed his options. He could see his apartment from here, but the idea of returning to his claustrophobic rooms held no appeal. Determined to lay one more ghost to rest, he steered the truck toward the old home place.

He passed one of the deputies driving the opposite direction and waved. The gesture wasn’t returned. Maybe the man didn’t recognize Roth’s truck. But given what Piper had said about her father being forced out of office, the lack of acknowledgment could be because the deputies were loyal to the old chief. Roth would have to deal with that Monday.

A few new houses had sprung up along the rural route. He slowed as he approached the hairpin turn that had changed his life. Chuck had hit the curve at full speed in Gus Benson’s Corvette, lost control and nailed a hundred-year-old oak. The oak still stood with a scar in its trunk. Miraculously, Chuck had walked away without a scratch, as drunks often do, but he’d totaled the car.

If not for that wreck, Gus and the chief would never have known about the joyride. What would have happened then? Roth had asked himself a hundred times during those early years when he’d been fighting to forget Piper. Would they have married? Would their baby have been a boy or girl? Would he have turned into an abusive ass like his father and ended up in jail as so many people had predicted? Or would he have, as Piper had insisted today, found another way to escape?

He detoured down a back road leading to the bridge spanning Deer Hunter’s Creek. He’d slept under the old wooden trestles too many nights to count—most of the time to hunt at sunrise, but sometimes to escape the sound of his mother’s crying.

More than once after his father had beat her then passed out in his recliner, Roth had contemplated ending his mother’s suffering by using his hunting rifle on his father. But that would have made him as much of an animal as his old man. Leaving had been the only way to avoid temptation.

Something about the dense woods bordering the creek snagged Roth’s attention as his tires rumbled over the boards. One thing drilled into him as a sniper was that if something didn’t fit he’d better check it out. He pulled onto the shoulder, climbed from the cab and studied the landscape. Not one broken branch or pinecone littered the ground. Too clean.

Resting his hand on his holstered Glock, he carefully made his way down the steep, leaf-covered bank, cataloguing the signs of habitation. Someone had tucked an old metal chair and small table into a hollow. The tracks along the bank looked a few days old. A recent rain had caved in the edges, making it impossible to identify the type or size of shoe or the original depth of the impression.

The prints led to a rock-ringed fire pit. He squatted and touched the carefully positioned stones. Cold and damp. Somebody had been camping here. But not recently.

On the far side of the bridge a neatly stacked pile of branches acted as a screen and/or fuel supply. A metal can hung from a bungee cord suspended between two bridge supports. Pretty smart to hang it out of wildlife’s reach. He took down the can and pried off the lid with his pocketknife. Matches. Beef jerky. Packages of sunflower seeds and peanuts. A resealable plastic bag with two cookies. A small pocketknife.

No drug paraphernalia. No booze.

He returned the bucket and scanned the makeshift camp again, looking for any clue to who’d been here. Probably not a hunter judging by the lack of spent shotgun shells or rifle casings. And not likely pot-smoking teens, who tended to leave snack wrappers lying around. He hadn’t noticed any beggars in Quincey. Did the town have homeless people? Charlotte’s street corners had been littered with them.

He scanned the area one last time. Today, who camped here wasn’t his concern, but come Monday morning, once he’d donned his badge, it would be. He’d check for crimes in the vicinity and ID the squatter. A known hazard was easier to control.

Determined to get the next item checked off his list, he returned to his truck. The pine forest gave way to fields. He braked involuntarily when he spotted a white clapboard house that shouldn’t be there. This was his family’s land, wasn’t it? Or had he been away so long he’d lost his orientation?

He checked the side mirror. Sure enough, there at the base of the oak tree he’d carved his and Piper’s initials in stood the hundred-year-old cement post marking the beginning of Roth land. His mother’s family had owned this property, and she’d given him her maiden name in good ole Southern tradition.

He rolled forward again, finding two more houses in what had been soybean fields. Not that his father had ever farmed. After his grandfather died Roth’s parents had leased the land to supplement the meager income his father made from the garage.

Roth had hunted the fields to put meat on the table. Deer. Rabbit. Turkey. Quail. Wild boar. If you could eat it, he could shoot it.

Had his mother sold the property? Or had it been repossessed for nonpayment of taxes? She hadn’t mentioned either when she’d called to tell him about his father’s pending release three months ago.

He’d never been able to understand why she hadn’t divorced her good-for-nothing husband. Her name was the only one on the property deed she’d inherited, and she had the income from the acreage to support herself. Eloise had always claimed it was because she loved Seth, and no matter how hard Roth had tried, he’d never been able to convince his mama that love didn’t blacken eyes or break bones.

It was a shame a deputy had to die before the cops did anything about his father’s actions, and for that he blamed Lou Hamilton. Hamilton’s department had been useless whenever Roth called them as a kid because Roth’s mother had refused to press charges. Seeing his father hauled off to prison had been a tremendous relief.

Roth’s muscles tensed and his grip on the wheel tightened as he crested the hill leading to the home place. He focused on tactical breathing, exhaling slowly and forcing each kinked muscle to relax the way he had before taking a shot.

He emerged from the copse of dense oaks and holly trees. A new mailbox and post marked the property. Lush green grass carpeted what had once been a muddy, weed-choked, car-parts-strewn yard. He drove up the gravel driveway and the house came into view. For a moment he sat in the truck trying to make sense of it all. The place looked nothing like he remembered. Even the old garage had been spruced up.

He’d expected to find the structure rotting from almost twelve years of neglect. Instead, the house looked better than it ever had when Roth had lived here. Pale yellow paint coated what had once been peeling white boards, and the black shutters hung parallel to the windows instead of dangling at a weird angle or sitting on the ground propped against the foundation. Somebody had put a lot of money and work into the place. Who?

The brightly colored toys dotting the lawn looked as out of place as an iceberg at the equator. A child’s squeal rent the air then a medium-size mutt raced around the corner of the house with a hip-high redhead on its heels. The girl skidded to a halt beside Roth’s truck, her tail-waving, tongue-lagging friend beside her.

“Hey, mister.”

Opening his door, he climbed out. His experience with children was limited to encounters with fellow officers’ offspring. “Hey, kid. You live here?”

“Yessir.”

The front door opened. A woman in her late twenties with dark red hair and freckles to match the girl’s came out. She descended the stairs quickly and put a hand on the child’s shoulder. “Can I help you?”

“I’m Roth Sterling. I lived here. A long time ago.”

The stiffness left her frame. “Oh. Are you the owner? I thought I remembered the agent saying a woman was moving in.”

“My mother.”

“We’re going to miss this place. It’s a wonderful house.”

She didn’t have the memories attached to the place that he did. “It’s in great shape. Did you fix it up?”

“Oh, no. It was in perfect condition when we moved in and the rental company has folks who come out whenever something needs fixing.”

Who was paying for this? He and his mother would have to have a talk. “Have you been here long?”

“Almost eight years. Quincey is a lovely community. Close enough to Raleigh for convenience, but far enough away for privacy and safety. We don’t want to leave the area. Ann Marie is looking for another house for us nearby.”

“Ann Marie Hamilton?”

“Yes. Do you know her?”

Piper’s mother. “I did. I’ve been gone a while.”

“She’s Quincey’s only real estate agent. If you’re looking for a place near your mama, maybe Ann Marie can help you find one.”

He might not be planning to stay, but no one else needed to know that. He could use a fictitious house search to find out what Piper was hiding. “I appreciate the tip. I’ll give her a call.”

Time for a little recon.

* * *

“SPILL IT,” MADISON SAID as she set down her med-kit.

Piper tried to gather her scattered thoughts and pretended to be busy shuffling the charts on her desk. “How’s Pebbles?”

“Routine delivery. Mrs. Lee exaggerated as usual.” Her boss/friend hitched a hip on the counter, parking a butt cheek on the files and effectively ending the shuffling. “And don’t ignore the question. Who is Roth Sterling? How do you know him? And what is he to you?”

Piper had exceeded her fib quota for the year with Roth. She could not look Madison in the eye and lie. “We dated when I was eighteen. It was a long time ago.”

“Will you be dating him again?”

“No.” Piper winced at her sharp tone, and sure enough, Madison’s hiked eyebrows said she’d picked up on it.

“So you’re saying he’s available?”

Ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom. Piper’s heart slammed against her rib cage then lodged in her throat. “He says he’s single.”

“That’s not what I asked, Piper. I don’t have to tell you how limited the selection of eligible men is around here. At least your father parades potential dates in front of you.”

Her father. Roth’s story had Piper so conflicted. There was no way her rule-following father could have done as Roth said. Her father would never deliberately hurt her or break the law. She believed that with every fiber of her being.

But Roth had sounded so convincing. She ached to confide in Madison and ask her opinion. But Piper said nothing. She couldn’t risk it. The person she needed to talk to was her father.

“Each of the men Dad brings home has been screened more thoroughly than an FBI candidate. They’re so squeaky clean they don’t even have dirty thoughts.”

“Hmm. Sounds like you have a penchant for bad boys. And I think Chief Sterling might be one. He has an edge that’s kind of sexy.”

Piper remained mute. The less she said the better. Roth had definitely been a bad boy and he’d abandoned her.

But was he a liar? He had to be.

Madison sighed. “I remember the last time I had sex. Do you?”

“Do I remember the last time you had sex?”

“Funny girl. I know you too well for playing dumb to fool me. I’m saying we’re both overdue for someone to satisfy our biological urges. I don’t think you’ve hooked up with anyone in the five years I’ve known you.”

“Neither have you.”

“No, I haven’t.” The sad tinge of her voice reminded Piper how little she knew about Madison’s life before Quincey. She knew her friend had been married and suffered a miscarriage. But that was it. Madison didn’t like to talk about the reasons she’d relocated from a busy suburb of Atlanta to a sleepy Southern town. But that was okay because then Piper could keep her secrets without feeling guilty.

Madison rose. “I might be ready for something…temporary. Scorching hot and brief. That’s what I need. How about you? Is Roth going to be the one who breaks your drought?”

Adrenaline shot through Piper’s veins. “Absolutely not.”

“Why? Is he a jerk? Did he cheat on you with another woman? Another man?”

Piper nearly choked on a shocked laugh. “You are awful. He didn’t cheat on me.” He did something worse. He made me love him then he left us. “If you want him, he’s yours.”

“Hmm. I’ll think about it. He definitely has the tall, dark and handsome thing going for him.”

Piper’s stomach churned and she realized this would be one of those sour grapes situations from the fables she’d read to Josh. She didn’t want Roth, but she couldn’t handle a ringside seat watching him sweep another woman off her feet either.

* * *

PIPER MADE A BEELINE for her father’s immediately after work. She had to know who had lied. Roth or Lou. She was almost certain it was the former, but that twinge of doubt had nagged her all afternoon and turned her into such a clumsy idiot that even Madison had started looking at her funny.

Piper whipped the Jeep into the driveway of the house where she’d grown up and leaped from the vehicle.

Her father stepped onto the porch. “Piper, this is a surprise.”

He didn’t look like a man with dark secrets.

She stalked up the sidewalk. “I had lunch with Roth Sterling today.”

He stiffened and his welcoming smile faded. But that didn’t prove anything. He’d always hated Roth.

“He didn’t waste any time looking you up.”

“Did you coerce him into joining the Marines?”

His hesitation made goose bumps rise on Piper’s skin. No. Please no.

“Now, baby—”

“I’m not a baby. I’m thirty years old. And I deserve the truth. Did you threaten to send him to jail if he didn’t enlist, then drive him to the recruitment office and stand over him until he signed the forms?”

“He had a choice.”

“Did you pressure him with threats against his mother?”

“I did it for your own good, Piper. That boy was headed to the same place as his daddy—prison.”

Oh. My. God. Roth hadn’t lied. A tremor started deep inside and worked its way to her extremities as the magnitude of his confession overwhelmed her.

“You knew he didn’t steal and wreck Gus’s car, didn’t you?”

“I need a beer. Want one?” He disappeared through the front door. The screen door slapped behind him like a gunshot making her jump.

Piper’s feet seemed glued to the porch. She forced them into action and followed him, anger and betrayal vying for supremacy. “You knew, didn’t you?”

Her father yanked open the refrigerator, pulled out a beer and popped the top. He took a long drink then lowered the can and wiped his mouth. “No matter what you claimed, evidence indicated him and he didn’t deny it.”

Her thoughts and emotions churned like floodwaters oversetting everything she thought she’d known, everything she’d believed to be fact. She’d believed Roth had betrayed her. But so had her father, the man she loved and trusted more than anyone.

What else had he lied about? Did she dare trust anything he’d told her? It was too much to take in.

“What happened to innocent until proved guilty?”

“Now, Piper—”

“What happened to the truth and your sworn duty to uphold the law?”

“That boy needed discipline. I knew the military would set him straight.”

“What if he’d refused to sign? Would you have prosecuted an innocent man?”

“Piper—”

“Just how far over the line were you willing to go, Daddy?”

“It wasn’t like that. I knew he’d sign the contract to protect his mama. She couldn’t survive without the money he’d send her if he drew a military paycheck. Land poor, that’s what she was. All that Roth land and she couldn’t sell it for dirt. Market’s changed now. We have new folk coming into town and property’s worth something, but back then…” He shook his head.

Piper wanted to slap his beer out of his hand, and violence had never been her thing. “Don’t change the subject. The real estate market has nothing to do with your lies. To me. To Roth. To the rest of the force. To Quincey. You betrayed your badge.”

He blanched and a spark of concern skipped through her. She probably shouldn’t upset him, given his heart condition. But damn it, he’d deliberately driven away the man she loved, the father of her baby.

“Let me tell you something, little lady. I have never done anything detrimental to this town or this badge. I gave Sterling a chance to break the mold and become something better than his no-good daddy. And apparently he has if the sonofabitch has stolen my job.”

His selfishness blew her away. How could he honestly believe he’d done the right thing? No wonder her mother had left him.

Did her mother know? Was she in on this, too?

Piper’s eyes and chest burned. “Do not try to make out like you had his best interest at heart. I don’t buy it for one minute.”

“You gonna stand there and tell me you wouldn’t lie to protect Josh? Because I know better. You’ve lived a lie for the past eight years.”

She flinched. He was right. Her life since returning had been one big lie. She’d forgiven her father for sending her away. Now it appeared that hadn’t been his only sin.

“I wouldn’t send an innocent, hardworking man to jail.”

“You’re making a fuss over nothing. Sterling would have turned on that boy before going to court. They were tight, but they weren’t kin.”

His continued justification of his misdeed infuriated her. “If you think he would have betrayed Chuck, then you don’t know Roth very well.”

“Turned on you, didn’t he? Left you in a bad way.” Rage rumbled in his voice.

“So did you, Daddy. But what you did was worse. At least Roth had the guts to tell me to my face that he didn’t want me. You, the man I loved and trusted with all my heart, stabbed me in the back. And when you found out I was pregnant you threw me out of your house for falling in love when your sin was so much worse. No wonder Mom left you. You’re a hypocrite and a liar.”

Her voice broke.

“You are not the man I thought you were, and I don’t know if I can ever forgive you. I do know I will never trust you again.”

* * *

JOSH CLOSED his math textbook. “I’m going to bed.”

Finally! Piper hadn’t had a moment alone with her mother since arriving home.

She forced herself to smile, rise and kiss Josh on the top of his head as if nothing were wrong, despite her tumbled thoughts. And then she hugged him. He tolerated the embrace. He never hugged back anymore.

“You’ll get the math. Hang in there. Sleep tight. Love you.”

“Yeah.”

She missed the return “I love you.” Those had ended within the past few months, but everyone assured her he’d be her affectionate son again sometime between eighteen and thirty. She might have to lose the closeness to him because of his age and maturing process, but she wouldn’t let Roth come between them.

But that was another worry. Tonight she had a more important concern. She had to know if her mother had been a part of her father’s deceit. If Ann Marie had been in on the lies, Piper would never trust either parent again. With anything. Especially Josh.

She listened until Josh’s bedroom door clicked shut then went to look for her mother. Piper found her curled in her usual spot on the sofa reading her favorite cooking magazine.

Piper’s tongue felt thick. Her pulse accelerated. She and her mother had become very close since Piper’s return from Florida. Had their relationship all been based on a lie?

“Mom, did you know Daddy forced Roth to join the Marines by threatening to make life difficult for Eloise if he didn’t?”

Her mother’s shock and dismay looked real. “Lou would never—”

“He admitted to me today that he did. He implicated Roth for stealing and wrecking Gus’s car even though he suspected Chuck, then Dad threatened Roth with jail if he didn’t enlist. He even drove him to the recruitment office.”

Her mother’s mouth opened, closed. She shook her head, her bewilderment too genuine to be faked. “I can’t believe your father would— He lives for that badge.” And then the horror on her face transformed into understanding.

Understanding?

“Your father would do anything to protect you. You know that, don’t you?”

“But to send an innocent man to jail?”

“Piper, I hate that your father did what he did, and I certainly don’t condone it. But I know how much it used to upset him when he couldn’t do anything for Roth’s mama. He begged Eloise to press charges. And she refused. Time and time again.

“I remember one night after another visit to the Sterling house he came home and made me promise that if he ever lifted a hand to me, that I’d wait until he was asleep then take his pistol and put a bullet in his head.”

Revulsion rolled through Piper.

“If Lou did what you claim, then it was to keep you from walking in Eloise’s shoes. That woman loved her man. Too much. More than she loved herself or her son. Promise me that won’t ever be you.”

Her mother’s words didn’t excuse Piper’s father’s betrayal. But they did explain his motivation. Piper wasn’t ready to forgive him. But she was a step closer to understanding his actions.

CHAPTER FOUR

JOSH SLAMMED into the kitchen Saturday morning, startling Piper into splashing liquid over the rim of the hummingbird feeder. But then Josh slammed everywhere these days. He seemed to always be in a hurry. And she was preoccupied.

“Good morning, Josh,” she said over her shoulder, feigning calm she was far from feeling. Anger at her father had kept her up most the night. She didn’t want him anywhere near her or her son. But how could she keep them apart? Josh worshipped his grandfather—a man whose soul had been blackened by dishonesty. Not a good role model.

“You aren’t ready,” Josh said with eleven-year-old angst and flung himself against the counter.

The bicycle helmet on his head sent her stomach plummeting. She and Josh rode every Saturday she didn’t have to work unless it was pouring rain. Why couldn’t it have rained today?

Her mind raced. They could hardly tool around town and then calmly have breakfast at the diner with her father the way they had in the past. Not without her pretending everything was normal, and not without running the risk of bumping into Roth. She wasn’t eager to see either man at the moment.

Searching her brain for an excuse that Josh would accept, she capped the feeder and rinsed the sticky solution from her hands.

“Grandma asked me to set up the hummingbird feeders. The birds usually come back around the first of April. After I finish I thought we’d drive into Raleigh for a movie.”

“There’s nothing good playing, and I told Will I’d go with him to check the trotlines later. If we catch any catfish, can I eat dinner with him? His mom’s fried catfish is the best!”

“Last week you said your grandfather’s fried catfish was the best. And you’ve been begging for new shoes.”

“Oh, man. Do we have to do that today?”

“I have time today. Next weekend the clinic’s open on Saturday. I’ll have to work.”

“What about breakfast with Grandpa?”

“He can eat without us.”

And tomorrow she’d have to figure out somewhere else she and Josh could go where they’d be unlikely to encounter either of the men on her Dislike list.

Josh stubbed the toe of his sneaker into the tile floor. “Okay.”

“Call Will and tell him about your change of plans.”

“Will has a cell phone.”

She welcomed the old argument—anything to keep her mind off the ache in her heart. “You’re eleven. You don’t need a phone. Besides, you know I can’t afford one for you right now.”

He shuffled out of the room, his slouching shoulders revealing his lack of enthusiasm over spending a day with his mother. She’d try to make it up to him by letting him have lunch in the mall food court. There were no fast-food joints in Quincey.

One potential disaster averted. For now. That left tomorrow to rearrange. She wasn’t sure how long she could cocoon Josh before he figured out something was wrong. But what choice did she have? She wanted to avoid Roth as long as possible.

Avoiding him could prove expensive if she had to keep carting Josh out of town for extracurricular activities. But if she was lucky, Roth would run out of patience with Quincey before she ran out of money and ways to dodge him.

* * *

THE BELL TINKLED with obnoxious cheer above Roth’s head as he let himself into Ann Marie Hamilton’s real estate office on Saturday morning. Her assistant, the same woman from twelve years ago, sat behind the desk acting as gatekeeper. He couldn’t recall her name.

Her automatic smile slipped when she recognized him. “May I help you?”

“I need to talk to Mrs. Hamilton.”

“May I tell her what it’s about?”

Fishing for gossip. Typical. “I can do that myself.”

The woman bristled, her round face turning red to the dark roots of her dyed blond hair, and Roth realized he’d better try harder to cover his irritation with busybodies if he wanted the populace to be cooperative and to look out for his mother after he left.

“I’m interested in rental houses.”

“Doyle’s apartment not good enough for you?”

Snide witch. “It’s fine. Short term. But if a man wants to put down roots, he needs something more permanent.”

He was blowing smoke out his ass since he had no intention of staying in this godforsaken town one day longer than necessary, but he’d have to do plenty of evasive double-talk during his dealings with Ann Marie if he wanted to pump her for information about Piper.

“A rental’s still a rental.”

Enough. “Is Ann Marie available?”

“I’ll check.” The woman rose, slowly strolling the three steps to the open office door then paused. “Roth Sterling would like to speak to you about rental homes. Do you have a moment?”

As if Piper’s mother hadn’t overheard the entire conversation and the parking spaces outside her building weren’t empty. Moments later Ann Marie appeared. She looked exactly as he expected Piper to look in twenty years or so. Only unlike her daughter, Ann Marie was dressed for success, her face and chin-length hair immaculate. Piper had always dressed for comfort and preferred to keep her hair out of the way.

Twelve years ago he’d stolen countless hairclips so he could run his fingers through Piper’s golden strands—especially when they’d made love. Those long locks had felt damned good dragging across his skin. The memory sent a rush of heat through him. When he’d packed his bag for boot camp he’d left all the clips and bands behind. What had his mother done with the stolen treasures?

“Good morning, Mr. Sterling.”

Mr. Sterling? He’d find more warmth in a polar icecap than her voice, and her forced smile didn’t fool him for a second. “Mrs. Hamilton. I see you’re still the only real estate agent in town.”

“I am. Come in. Have a seat and tell me what you need.”

Her office was girlie, decorated with flowers, pale colors and delicate furniture that made him wonder if the pieces could hold his weight. He gingerly lowered himself into one of the fragile-looking chairs.

“I’m interested in leasing a house preferably with an option to buy in a neighborhood with people my age, like Piper.”

“Piper lives with me. Our neighborhood is quite diverse, but there are no rental properties.”

“She’s back at the old home place?” And back under Daddy’s heavy thumb?

“No.”

That raised a few questions. “You and the chief moved?”

“I moved. Lou did not.”

Piper’s parents had split? More questions wrestled for priority. Not wanting to put Ann Marie on the defensive, he reined them in. “I noticed a few new houses when I drove around town—on Roth land.”

“Your mother sold parcels, I’m assuming to support herself? But I can’t be certain.”

He linked his fingers in his lap and kept his mouth shut since he didn’t know the answers to her questions. He’d learned in the course of his career that a silent stare often loosened lips.

“You moved into your apartment two days ago. What about your lease?”

“I’m renting month to month until something better comes along.” Like an opportunity to return to Charlotte.

“I heard your mother was moving back. You could stay with her.”

“No.” He almost barked the word, then took a moment to gather his composure. “My father will be with her.”

Mrs. Hamilton’s face paled ever so slightly. “Seth is getting out?”

So the people of Quincy hadn’t heard. Hadn’t they been following the release logs as religiously as Roth had? Weren’t they concerned about keeping that evil spawn out of town?

“Scheduled for parole the last day of May. Released early for good behavior.” What a load of garbage.

“I see. Well…” She pulled a flowered pad of paper forward and clicked her pink pen. Three times. “How many bedrooms would you like?”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter.”

“Will someone be helping you choose your next residence?”

Smooth, Mrs. H. “No. Just me. For now.”

He deliberately tacked on the last to keep her guessing.

“And what do you think a house will give you that an apartment won’t? You have a pool now. None of the houses around Quincey have pools. And there’s the extra work of yard upkeep, lawn mowers and whatnot to buy.”

“Swimming in the river’s fine with me, and I’ve never minded hard work. I’m looking for space. A place to cook out on the grill with my friends and my coworkers. I believe in team building.”

The corners of her lips turned down, reminding him his team had once been her husband’s, and she’d been the one to cook for them. “Will you have friends staying over? Is that why you need the extra space?”

He had to fight a smile at her not-so-subtle inquisition. “Not sure yet. But it’s best to be prepared. It was good seeing Piper yesterday. She mentioned her fiancé.”

Ann Marie blinked. Twice. “Yes. Tragic, how their love was cut short.”

“Did you and the chief like him?”

Six pendulum swings of the grandmother clock in the corner marked her hesitation. “We unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet him before his…accident. They lived so far away and Lou doesn’t fly.”

Roth’s antennae sparked. Piper had said her father approved of the guy. So one of them was lying. But who? He’d guess Piper. What would Ann Marie gain by saying she’d never met her future son-in-law?

“Piper didn’t mention what kind of accident, and I didn’t want to pry and upset her about…what was his name?”

Click. Click. “Rick. And it was a motorcycle accident. You know Florida doesn’t have helmet laws?” She straightened her pen and paper. “Roth, Piper doesn’t need you…toying with her affections again. She’s made a good life here for herself and her son.”

Her words shocked him like a Taser. “Piper has a son?”

Ann Marie nodded stiffly. “Rick was killed just days before their wedding, leaving Piper pregnant. They were so in love and in such a rush to start their lives together that they jumped the gun a bit.”

“That so?” Jealousy burned like a gas main break in his gut. He wanted to punch something, to shoot something, to annihilate something. He struggled to rein in his reaction. He’d vowed he’d never be the kind of man who could be ruled by his emotions.

Obviously her fiancé hadn’t been the white trash she’d accused Roth of being since she hadn’t aborted Rick’s kid.

Click. Click. “So please, don’t try to resurrect anything.”

He tried to focus on Ann Marie’s last statement rather than the bombshell she’d dropped. “Reuniting with Piper is not part of my plan.”

As Piper had said, the past was over. There would be no attempt at reconciliation. Loving and losing her had sent him to a very dangerous place mentally—one where he hadn’t cared whether he lived or died. And it had taken him a long time to crawl out of that dark hole.

Ann Marie searched his face then nodded. “All right. There are not a lot of rental units available despite the market downturn. But I can make up a list of the houses that are available.”

Roth had learned far more than he’d bargained for and he needed to leave to process it. He rose on legs that felt as stiff as telephone poles. “Do that, and I’ll give them a drive-by. If any of them grabs my interest, then I’ll be in touch.”

He left the office determined to find Piper. At least now he knew what she was trying to hide.

Piper had moved on. She’d had another man’s child.

So where was the relief he should be experiencing?

* * *

“YOU DID WHAT!” The plate slipped from Piper’s hands and splashed into the sink filled with soapy water, shattering the peace of their Saturday-night after-dinner washing-up ritual.

Her mother actually looked quite smug. “I told Roth our story.”

“Why?”

“Because Quincey has limited places to hide. He was going to find out about Josh sooner or later. It’s best to send him down the wrong path before he jumps to conclusions and finds the right one. And I wanted to warn him off.”

Piper didn’t like the sound of that. Roth had never been one to back down from a challenge. “Warn him off how exactly?”

“He needs to know you haven’t been pining away for him.”

But she had. Despite the anger and hurt, for years she’d waited for him to find her and tell her he’d made a mistake. That he loved her. Wanted to marry her and raise their child together. Eventually that love had turned to disappointment then to anger and finally to determination. She didn’t need him to make a good life for herself and Josh.

“Mom, I wish you wouldn’t volunteer information. The less we say the better. Roth has always been a genius at figuring out puzzles. That’s what made him such a good mechanic. If we don’t sync our stories perfectly, he’ll root out the inconsistencies.”

“We’ve discussed this too many times to make mistakes, and to be on the safe side, I told Roth your father and I had never met Rick. That way our descriptions of him won’t contradict each other.”

Piper’s stomach sank as if she’d swallowed lead. “Roth asked me if Dad approved of Rick. I said yes. Yes implies you’d met him. Our story is already getting tangled.”

Had Roth caught that small contradiction? Was it enough to spark his curiosity? Would he even care? She hoped not. Otherwise, she could be in big trouble.

“I’ll have to think of a story to cover that.”

“Mom, telling more lies is not the answer.”

“Then what is, Piper? I don’t put much faith in your belief that Roth won’t be interested in his own son.”

“He wasn’t when I told him I was pregnant. Why would that have changed? If he confronts me, I’ll make it clear I want nothing from him. Him or Dad. In fact, I’d be happy not to lay eyes on either of the traitors again.”

“If only life were as easy as ignoring what we don’t want to see. But it isn’t, sweetie. And we learn the most from our toughest obstacles. Avoiding your father is not the answer. He’s upset that you stood him up for breakfast today.”

“He’s upset? After what he did? I don’t want him anywhere near us.”

“Piper, I’ll be the first to admit he’s a bullheaded idiot sometimes. But he is your father and he loves you.”

“He proved that well—by running off the man I wanted to marry.”

“Lou did what he thought he had to do to protect you.”

“He could have given Roth and me a chance to work things out.” She regretted voicing the old hurt the moment the words left her lips.

“Oh, baby, do you honestly think time would have made a difference? If Roth had wanted to contact you, he could have found a way—even with you in Florida. You had friends who would have forwarded a letter or given him your number. But he didn’t call and he didn’t write.”

“Neither did Daddy—until you threatened to move to Florida to be with Josh and me.”

“Whether you choose to forgive your father or not, we need him in our corner right now. He still has legal connections we might need if Roth isn’t as disinterested as you think.”

“You expect me to forgive and forget Daddy’s betrayal just like that?”

“No. But please don’t shut your father out. You may not need him. But Lou has lost everything that matters to him. He needs you and Josh. He has nothing else to live for.”

The words landed like an avalanche of guilt on Piper’s shoulders. “You don’t think he’d hurt himself?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him like this, and I’m worried.”

Piper might not ever forgive her father. But she would never forgive herself if he did something stupid because she shut him out of hers and Josh’s lives.

“Okay. I’ll call him. And I’ll let him spend time with Josh. But I won’t trust him.”

* * *

“WHY IS EVERYBODY acting so weird?”

Josh’s plaintive question stalled Piper’s heart. “What do you mean weird?”

“You’re all antsy. You can’t sit still. Like Will when he hasn’t taken his ADD medication. And Grandpa keeps looking down the road like he’s expecting somebody to run us off. And why are we fishing here anyway? This isn’t our lucky spot.”

Her son was too perceptive. Piper looked at her father, silently pleading for help. She could hardly tell Josh they’d chosen the isolated spot because they were hiding from the new chief or that she’d tagged along on what was usually a male-only fishing trip because she was ticked at her father.

Lou snapped to attention. “I heard a rumor of a big catfish wallering in the mud under that downed tree. You plan on standing here chattering all day or are we gonna bait up and cast a line to see who catches him first?”

The distraction worked like a charm. Josh hustled to his grandfather’s side. Her father glanced her way and Piper nodded her thanks.

As a result of his stroke her father had lost dexterity in his left hand, and while he’d regained a lot of control, some of his fine motor skills were still lacking. Piper bit her lip and resisted the urge to help.

Luckily, Josh took over, grabbing the beef liver as soon as her father cut it and threading the chunks onto the barbed hooks. “I don’t know why we can’t just set trotlines like Will.”

“Trotlines are lazy-man’s fishing. You set ’em and come back the next day. Where’s the sport in that? Catching a big’un with a rod and reel takes skill and patience. You have to outsmart that bottom dweller and muscle him into your frying pan. Now that’s fishing. Not fetching.”

“If I catch him, what will you give me?” Josh taunted.

Piper’s father smiled, the left side of his mouth turning up slightly less than the right. “The best fried catfish dinner you ever had. Will’s mama has nothing on my secret recipe, and you can tell her I said so.”

Their banter thawed Piper’s heart slightly. There was no doubting her father’s love for his only grandchild. Josh desperately needed a male influence and without her father she wasn’t sure where he’d get it. Was she making a mistake in trying to keep Josh and Roth apart?

No. For a lot of reasons, involvement with Roth wouldn’t be good for Josh. That meant she’d have to contain her anger and disappointment and let him spend as much time with his grandfather as he needed.

They strolled toward the riverbank with their rods in hand. Piper caught her breath when she recognized Josh’s stride. He walked like his father. In the twelve years Roth had been out of her life, she’d forgotten his walk—it was one of the few details she’d been able to wipe from her mind. Until now.

Her father put his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Listen up, Josh, starting tomorrow my deputies will be adjusting to the new chief and learning his ways. Don’t know how he feels about ’em giving civilians a ride. So take the bus home from school. Don’t be hitchin’ a ride, ya hear?”

“I hate the bus. And why do we have to have a new chief?”

“’Cuz I’m not one hundred percent healed yet. And Quincey needs someone to run the department until I am.”

“You don’t like being retired?”

“It’s like summer vacation. You know how you get bored by the end? I can’t fish every day. There are more important matters to tend to, an’ I can’t do ’em sitting in my recliner.”

Piper heard the frustration in his voice that his reassuring smile couldn’t hide, and her heart ached for him. No matter how furious she was, she didn’t wish him ill. And yes, she supposed a part of her still loved him and wanted the old chief back.

She especially wanted the new chief gone. The sooner the better. She just didn’t know how to convince Roth there was nothing here for him now.

But if there was a way, she’d find it. And she needed to do it soon.

* * *

ROTH STOOD OUTSIDE the squat brick building housing the Quincey P.D. early Monday morning, eager to get this show on the road. The sooner he took control and assessed his officers the sooner he’d know who he could trust—and who he couldn’t.

Quincey’s mayor climbed from his Tahoe and joined Roth on the sidewalk.

“Snodgrass, you might have warned me that you’d forced Chief Hamilton to resign.”

“Former Chief Hamilton has been a figurehead since his stroke. He’s been unable to perform his duties, and his prolonged visits to the station keep the deputies who sit on their behinds entertaining him from doing theirs. The council’s decision was the best one for Quincey.”

Two of the town council members joined them, then shadowed them on their trek up the sidewalk. The mayor paused outside the door. “We’ve had an increase in petty crime of late, primarily vandalism and some spray painting.”

“Gangs?”

“Doubtful. It’s not gang signs. But if the officers are here playing cards with the former chief, they are not out looking for our troublemakers.”

“You are aware that I was once one of Quincey’s troublemakers.”

Snodgrass’s expression turned wily. “That should give you an advantage in ferreting out ours.”

“Still, I would have appreciated a heads-up about the hostility.”

“You’re a Marine. You can handle hostile natives, can’t you?”

Oohrah. “Absolutely.”

“And it is only the natives who will require…let’s call it an adjustment period. The newer citizens aren’t as backwoods or close-minded.”

Had the man read his résumé? “I am one of the backwoods natives.”

“You were. We are hoping your combination of native know-how and military and police experience will have widened your view and will help us run things more efficiently. Quincey’s police force has become…complacent.

“As for your deputies, the only one to watch is Butch White. He has seniority and has been acting unofficially as interim chief. He wanted this job and was convinced he was entitled to it.”

Snodgrass nodded and one of his minions jumped to open the door, then the mayor motioned for Roth to precede him. The trio of new blood followed Roth in like fish in a school.

“Good morning.” Roth greeted his deputies, and like Thursday when he’d dropped by to introduce himself and pick up his uniforms, the happy-to-meet-you vibes were noticeably absent.

Jones, the lone female, and Morris muttered replies. White and Aycock remained mute. Roth drilled Aycock with what one of Roth’s boot camp drill instructors had called the “dead stare.”

Aycock folded. “Morning. Sir.”

Roth locked gazes with White. The older man’s expression turned obstinate. Why had he been passed over for promotion? He’d been with the department since Roth’s time in Quincey. Roth could easily ask around, but he’d learned a long time ago to distrust gossip. He would have to watch White and figure out what his issues were.

Snodgrass cleared his throat. “Deputy White, would you retrieve the chief’s badge and gun and the appropriate forms, please?”

White’s surly attitude and snail’s pace as he fetched the items from a glass-enclosed office—Roth’s new office—confirmed his passive-aggressive resistance. He returned and slammed the items on the scarred desk in front of Snodgrass.

Roth picked up the pistol and checked the chamber and clip. “HK. Nice weapon and able to withstand abuse.” Like being slammed into a solid surface.

The mayor nodded. “We upgraded our weapons last year. The HK 9mm is supposed to be what European officers carry. Deputy White, as the senior officer present, you may have the honor of swearing in the new chief.”

White folded his beefy arms. “You’re the mayor. You carry more clout in this town. You do it.”

Oh, yeah, Roth and his second-in-command would have to work out their differences. White wouldn’t like taking orders from a man twenty-plus years his junior. But doling out discipline was a skill Roth had mastered in the Corps. He could handle anything the deputy tossed at him.

The mayor offered a Bible. Roth experienced a slight twinge of conscience when he rested his hand on the book and repeated the oath, knowing he’d be counting the days until he could surrender his badge.

Then it was done. Roth was committed to protect the town that had done nothing to protect him or his mother. But he’d survived worse.

He pinned his badge to his blue uniform shirt and holstered the gun. The mayor offered him a pen. Chest tightening, Roth slashed his signature on the contract’s relevant lines.

Snodgrass pointed to the last form. “This one needs a witness. Who—”

“Deputy White will be my witness,” Roth commanded, and challenged the man to decline. Refusing a direct order from his superior would be grounds for dismissal.

White got the message and after a noticeable hesitation he scratched illegibly across the form. His scowl made it clear he considered the battle lines drawn.

The deputy would learn quickly that this Marine didn’t retreat just because the job looked tough.

CHAPTER FIVE

“WHY DIDN’T YOU tell me?” Madison asked as she sat at her kitchen table across from Piper.

Piper hoped Madison wasn’t talking about what every single person who’d walked through the clinic’s door this morning had brought up. “Tell you what?”

“Piper Hamilton, don’t give me that innocent look. You know what I’m talking about. I can’t believe I had to hear about your juicy past with Chief Sterling from my clients instead of you.”

“There’s nothing to tell. We dated. Briefly. It ended badly.”

“You did more than date. I can’t believe you would have let me bake a cake for the new chief like every other eligible woman in Quincey.”

“You don’t bake.”

Madison rolled her eyes. “That’s not the point. Is he Josh’s father?”

Piper nearly dropped her sandwich. “Wh-why ask such a crazy question?”

“Josh looks like him.”

“My son is a blond, like me.”

“Yes, but he has his daddy’s brown eyes. Those eyes will talk a lot of girls out of their panties in a few years. You should be worried. Does Roth know?”

Piper miraculously managed to follow Madison’s train of thought. She seriously considered lying for all of thirty seconds. “No. And I don’t want to bring it to Roth’s attention, so please keep quiet.”

“Sweetie, that’s a hard secret to keep with them practically living on top of each other. If Sterling has half a brain cell in his gorgeous body, all he has to do is a little math. It’s not like you to deny the obvious.”

Piper shoved her sandwich away. Never mind that Madison made the best chicken salad in the world, at the moment Piper would choke if she tried to eat another bite. “I usually like Monday lunches at your house. You’re killing that pleasure for me today.”

“What happened?” Madison ignored her complaint.

What was the point in evading the truth? “I got pregnant. I thought we’d get married. Instead, when I told Roth he offered me money for an abortion and then he left town.”

“Sonofabit—”

“It’s not entirely his fault. I recently discovered my father threatened Roth and coerced him into joining the Marines. And…I told Roth I’d never give birth to the child of white trash like him.”

“Not nice, and so not like you to be a vindictive bitch.”

“No. I hate conflict. But I was hurt and scared, and I struck back the only way I knew how.”

“Becoming old and wise requires us to go through the young and stupid stage. Don’t beat yourself up over it. What can I do to help?”

“I wish I knew. But mostly, I wish Roth had never come back.”

“Wishing is a waste of time. Trust me on that. You need a plan, and you need to consider telling Roth about Josh and letting the man contribute to your son’s upkeep.”

“I don’t want anything from Roth.”

“Maybe you don’t. But doesn’t Josh deserve to know his father?”

The question cut deep—right to the heart of Piper’s insecurities. When Josh was younger she’d been enough. And when they’d moved home her father had pitched in. But lately…Josh had been moody, acting as if something bothered him. When she asked what was wrong he said, “Nothing.” Her mom claimed it was puberty. Piper wasn’t so sure.

Whatever the problem was, Roth wasn’t the answer.

“I’m convinced Roth won’t hang around long. He’s always hated Quincey. I don’t want Josh to get attached and then get abandoned.”

“Like you did.”

Piper picked at the crust on her bread. “Yes.”

Madison grasped Piper’s hand. “Even in the best, the strongest relationships, there’s no guarantee that you won’t get left behind.”

The raw pain and sadness in Madison’s eyes tugged at Piper’s heart. “Roth was a Marine sniper. He killed people for a living. And before he came here he was a sniper with the Charlotte SWAT team.”

“I can see how that might bother you, but, sweetie, that was his job.”

“But how could he kill people in cold blood? I’ve seen the sniper shows with my father. They plot and plan, sometimes for months, to kill someone.”

“He’d do it the same way I euthanize pets—by focusing on the good you’re doing. In my case I try to end an animal’s suffering. In his, I’m guessing there’s a very good reason for him to follow an order to take someone out. That doesn’t make either of us a killer.”

That was eerily similar to what Roth had said.

“Madison, I’m scared of that dark side of him. And I can’t risk losing my son to someone like that. Roth could try to take Josh away. At the very least he would get joint custody. Or Josh could hate me for lying to him about his father. Either way, I lose.”

* * *

THE FRONT DOOR of Ann Marie’s office slammed open. Only one person dared to enter her carefully restored, on-the-historical-register, former-train-station office that way.

Lou Hamilton.

If he’d put a fresh dent in the plaster behind the door, she would ring his neck. After he repaired it. The man was still good for some things.

“Ann Marie!”

She rose, smoothing her palms down her skirt, and met him in the doorway. “Good afternoon, Lou. Doris, why don’t you take your lunch break now?”

“But—”

“I’ll go when you get back. I’m waiting for a call and don’t want to leave the phone uncovered.” As well as she and her secretary worked together, Doris was one of the biggest gossips, and their corner office on Main and Maple Streets gave her the perfect vantage point to see everybody’s business.

Doris looked predictably disappointed. Lou only stormed in when he had something interesting to grouse about. He never dropped by to chat the way he’d done before Piper became pregnant and he’d taken the stance that Ann Marie couldn’t forgive or forget.

Ann Marie waited until her assistant had gathered her purse and shuffled out the door before marching over to inspect her wall. Her fingertip trailed over a telltale dent. “You’re going to fix that.”

“Course I will. Do you know what that sonofabitch has done?”

“To which fine citizen are you referring?” But she knew. Lou had only one man in his sights at the moment.

“Sterling sent Morris and Jones home and told them to come back this evening. Then he said, ‘We’re not going to sit on our asses and collect our paychecks. We’ll be working twelve-hour shifts and patrolling when we’re not doing paperwork.’ Then he left Butch in the office to run Dispatch, with orders to clean the equipment while he waited for calls to come in.”

“Don’t other towns’ officers work shifts?”

“I don’t care about other towns. That’s not how we operate. We’ve never worked shifts and we’re all available ’round the clock when calls come in. That damned Snodgrass and his peons have been bending Sterling’s ear.”

She didn’t bother reminding Lou he was no longer part of the “we.” In his mind he would always be Chief.

“You’re angry because you’ve lost your daily poker game. And you shouldn’t be getting this worked up over something that’s not your problem. You have your checkup this afternoon and you don’t want your blood pressure to be too high.”

“I will not let that jackass ruin my department.”

That did it. There were times you just couldn’t ignore pigheadedness. “It’s not your department anymore, Lou.”

She said it as gently as possible, but he paled as if she’d slapped him.

“Sterling has to go. Have you even thought about what will happen if he finds out about Josh? He might sue for joint custody, and if he does, then Josh will spend time with him. What grandma ignores her grandson? Which means Josh will be keeping company with Roth’s mother, and where Eloise goes, Seth goes. I will not allow the murdering bastard who killed my brother anywhere near my grandson.”

Fear fisted in Ann Marie’s stomach. She collapsed into her chair. “I’ve thought of nothing else since Roth told me his daddy was getting out, and I’m worried sick. But Lou, if you don’t control your anger, Roth will start asking questions about what has you so riled. And if he asks the right ones, then we might face exactly what we fear the most.”

“Over my dead body.”

She hoped that was an empty threat.

“None of us wants that. Piper needs us now more than ever, so please, try to put her well-being first instead of forcing your edicts on everyone else.”

He flinched at the low blow. It wasn’t often that she brought up the decision he’d made that had destroyed their marriage. But he had to focus on Piper and not his pride, or they could lose everything they held dear.

And Ann Marie would not, by God, lose her daughter again.

* * *

A QUICK FLASH of red amongst the pines caught Roth’s attention. He slowed the patrol car and scanned the woods, but whoever was out there had gone to ground.

He stopped the car, silenced the radio, lowered the windows two inches and killed the engine. Then he waited. Listening. Watching. Snipers learned patience early in their careers. Or they died. Five minutes passed before the top of a blond head preceded a pale face from behind a trunk. A boy. Too young to be out of school. Dark eyes. Medium build. Five and a half feet tall.

Roth blipped the siren with one hand and reached for the door handle with the other. He fully expected his quarry to flee. Instead, the boy strolled toward the car. He stopped abruptly when Roth emerged. And then he considered running. Roth could read it in the sudden tensing of the kid’s muscles and the slight flexing of his knees.

“No point in taking off now. I’ve seen you well enough to have a good description. Plus having to chase you would really piss me off.”

Roth did a visual for weapons or accomplices and saw neither. The crunch of the gravel beneath his feet gave way to the crackle of dead leaves. “Good weather for a hike, but shouldn’t you be in school?”

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