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It wasn’t long before people started to talk to her more. Marge took Caroline’s sudden transformation in stride and told her she was glad to see she was settling in.
“Caroline.” Marge’s voice interrupted her daydreaming, and the owner flashed her eyes in the direction of the booths that were Caroline’s responsibility.
Caroline felt the skin on her face turn warm. Not because of embarrassment that her boss had caught her daydreaming, but because a pair of dark brown eyes watched her with an intensity that unnerved her.
Deputy Cooper Night Hawk.
She was positive he’d looked at her and deemed her an imposter. She feared the time would come when he would reveal her lies to the town. And they would promptly run her out of town on a rail.
Until then, she would suffer while, every morning, he settled in one of her booths and ordered his usual blueberry pancakes, sausage and hash browns, coffee and orange juice.
She snagged a cup on her way over to him.
“Deputy.” She greeted him with a warm smile as she set the cup on the table and filled it with hot coffee.
She was a coward, but she wasn’t going to drop to her knees and beg him to understand the reasons for her lies about her name and why she was here. After all, what if she was wrong and he didn’t know who she was?
Caroline vowed to stop reading mysteries. They had her believing she could get away with anything the heroines in the books could. They were getting her into a lot of trouble.
“Good morning, Caroline.”
The way he said her name in his low, husky voice was enough to send shivers down her spine. Not to mention the way he looked at her, as if she was the blue plate special of the day. She managed an impersonal smile as she held her order pad in one hand and pencil in the other.
“Let me guess,” she said. “The usual?”
He nodded without returning her smile. “I’d say that sounds like a plan.”
“I’ll be back with your juice.” She whirled away and headed for the counter to drop off the order slip, although she knew Marge would have already started Cooper’s breakfast.
SHE WILL STEAL YOUR HEART and give you her own.
Cooper hated the thoughts provoked by his grandfather’s words that swirled inside his head. Especially when he was looking at a lovely young woman who was about as off-limits as a woman could get.
Caroline Benning was new in a town that boasted few newcomers. No one knew all that much about her other than she was twenty-two, had lost her father not long ago and had been traveling because she felt the need to get away. Cooper wondered if that need to get out of town had anything to do with a boyfriend.
His cop’s eye gauged her to be about five foot eight and too thin, at around one hundred twenty pounds. He was certain the blond highlights in her light brown hair weren’t real, but the dazzling green eyes were, since he didn’t see any hint of contact lenses. For work, she kept her just-past-chin-length hair back in a barrette. The pink-and-white-striped, short-sleeved shirt she wore with a short denim skirt made her look younger than her twenty-two years.
She seemed a little shy, uncertain about people, but around him she actually appeared wary. He couldn’t think of a reason why he’d cause that reaction in a young woman he barely knew.
Unless she had something to hide.
He didn’t want to think that was the case. He liked looking at her too much.
“Hey, Cooper, heard Margaret Ingalls stole more of Nora Gates Forrester’s underwear,” Henry Farris called out from his usual perch at the counter. His cronies, not one of them under the age of seventy, surrounded him. Leathery fingers, gnarled by time and arthritis, wrapped themselves around coffee mugs or held on to a rich breakfast pastry. “When ya goin’ to bring her in for questioning?”
“It hasn’t been easy to find Margaret. I thought I’d call on Psychics R Us for help,” Cooper called back.
The elderly men cackled their appreciation of his joke.
“Maybe Nora needs to put those special tags on them. You know the ones I’m talking about,” Barney Metzger interjected. “Like the ones she puts on clothes in the store.”
“I’ll let you make that suggestion, Barney.” Cooper lifted his coffee cup in a silent salute.
When Caroline set his glass of orange juice on the table, he inclined his head in a thank-you. The moment she was gone, he returned to reading the morning paper, until she returned with his food.
THE SCENT OF BLUEBERRIES and sausage, mixed with something light and floral, alerted him before she stood by his table.
“Have you ever ordered anything different for breakfast?” she asked curiously, setting the plate in front of him.
Cooper studied the stack of five pancakes, the golden surface dotted with blueberries he knew to be fresh. His mouth was watering in anticipation of that first bite.
“Not for the past sixteen years,” he replied. “When you find something good, you tend to stick with it.”
“Some day you ought to go wild and try them with bacon,” she whispered as she refilled his coffee cup. She moved away as Marge called an order for pickup.
Cooper settled back to savor his breakfast. And visually savor Caroline. Some would say his interest in the young woman was because she was pretty. No, there was more to it than that. He just wasn’t sure he was ready to further explore those thoughts.
“That’s what I like to see first thing in the morning. A member of our esteemed law enforcement team sitting here stuffing his face with blueberry pancakes instead of out there fighting crime. Makes me feel downright safe.”
Cooper looked up. “Up yours, Spencer. I do this to keep my energy level up, so I can catch all those bad guys you’re worried about.” He waved toward the empty seat across from him.
Brady Spencer slid into the seat across from Cooper. He made a face as he stared at Cooper’s plate. “One day a breakfast like that will catch up with you,” Brady pointed out.
“You’re just jealous because I have a better metabolism than you. Comes from being more active than your average sedentary surgeon.”
Brady’s retort was interrupted by Caroline’s appearance.
“Would you like a menu, Dr. Spencer?” she asked.
Cooper noticed that Caroline’s usually bright smile appeared a bit strained. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she was nervous.
Brady looked up and flashed the smile that quickened many a woman’s heart. “Just coffee, thanks, Caroline.”
She quickly set a cup down in front of him and filled it. She topped off Cooper’s cup before leaving.
Brady glanced at her. “Lovely woman.”
“You don’t want Eden to hear you say that,” Cooper advised him. “She’d have your hide for sure.”
Brady’s smile broadened at the mention of his new wife. “Nah, she wouldn’t damage anything serious. She’d just make sure I never looked at another woman again.”
Cooper thought of the Spencer men and the women who’d enriched their lives. He admitted, only to himself, that he wouldn’t mind finding a woman who could do that for him. He didn’t hold out much hope for it.
The last woman he’d had a relationship with had told him he was too serious. She couldn’t imagine him going out and cutting loose. He told her that wasn’t him, and if she cared for him, she’d take him the way he was.
She took herself out of his life the next day.
“So what brings you here?” Cooper asked.
Brady shrugged. “Just wanted to talk with an old friend. Anything wrong with that?”
“Depends on what that old friend wants to talk to me about.”
Brady glanced toward the counter, where Caroline was taking an order from old Henry Farris. He had to be at least ninety, but it didn’t stop him from trying to look down her blouse as he ordered his usual oatmeal and a bran muffin.
God love them, nothing ever changed in this town.
“What do you think the Woman of the River looks like?” he asked suddenly.
Cooper refused to rise to the bait. He used the side of his fork to cut off a bite-size piece of pancake, and brought it to his mouth. Brady, used to his evasion tactics, patiently waited.
“Laughing Bear knows more about that story than I do,” he said finally. “Why don’t you ask him?” He flashed a mock-threatening stare at Brady as the other man started to reach for a sausage. Brady shrugged and backed off.
“I would think the woman in the legend could have blondish hair and green eyes. What do you think?”
“I don’t think about it,” Cooper lied as he took another bite. He didn’t want to think about Caroline. He wanted his life to go back to the way it was. He especially wanted to consider his pancakes, which had fresh blueberries folded into the batter, the best pancakes in the world. As far as he was concerned, he rated them right up there with his first taste of coffee in the morning.
Brady leaned across the table. “I need to talk to you about something,” he said in a low voice.
Cooper read the gravity in the other man’s eyes. “How serious are we talking?” He also kept his voice low, so no one could overhear their conversation.
“Caroline came to the wedding with Marge,” he began. Cooper nodded, silently urging his friend to continue. “Sometime during the reception, Dad went inside the house. While there, he noticed Caroline standing by his desk, looking at a family picture.” His glance slid sideways to ensure the object of their conversation wasn’t nearby.
“Since she must have been invited, I can’t arrest her for trespassing.” Cooper said. “Do you have another reason for telling me this? Did you ever stop to think she might have been admiring the Spencer boys? Although with all of you falling into the marriage trap, the odds of her landing a Spencer are now zip.”
Brady shook his head. “Not likely. This one was taken when we were boys.” He paused and looked down at his hands, which were cupped around his coffee mug. “All I’m asking is that you see what you can dig up on this woman. Nothing heavy-duty.” Brady looked up at Cooper. “Dad wouldn’t ask you. You know how he is.”
Cooper certainly knew Elias Spencer. The older man and his three sons were like family.
And more than anyone, Cooper knew the story about Elias’s wife and how she’d left him and their sons. After all, it had been last fall when Brady’s brother Seth had asked Cooper to find information on their mother, Violet. The sad part was her leaving them in order to be with another man. Elias had never spoken her name again, until recently, and the Spencer brothers likewise acted as if they’d never had a mother. They had, however, discovered they had a half sibling out there somewhere. Apparently Violet had died in childbirth.
Still, Cooper balked.
“Why me? Why not ask her yourself?” he asked. “It still could have been something innocent. Lots of people like to look at family photographs.”
Brady shook his head. “Dad said there was a look on her face that had nothing to do with idle curiosity.” He glanced at his watch and quickly finished his coffee. “I’ve got to get to the hospital.” He started to rise, then stopped and looked at his friend. “Will you see if you can find anything out?”
Cooper didn’t tell him he’d had a few suspicions of his own about Tyler’s new resident. “There’s no reason for me to do it through official channels.”
“Hey, she’s single. You’re single.” Brady arched an eyebrow. “It wouldn’t hurt for you to get out a little more.”
“Now you sound like my grandfather,” he muttered into his orange juice. “Go on. I’ll do whatever I can.”
Brady nodded and headed for the front of the diner. He stopped at the register and talked to Marge for a few moments before leaving.
Cooper envied people like Brady, who could talk to anyone about anything. As for him, he was never much for small talk, so the idea of finding out about Caroline Benning wasn’t going to be easy. Too bad she hadn’t stolen something at Elias’s house. Then he’d have a good reason to haul her in for questioning, and he’d have a chance to find out everything he needed to know.
He guessed he’d have to let the good ladies of the town do some of the work for him. He was certain they’d do a hell of a more thorough job of it, too.
He’d wondered about Caroline more than usual. Part of it had to do with the fact that during the short time she’d been in Tyler, she showed more interest in the Spencer men than was normal for a newcomer.
It had Cooper asking why.
His cynical side said it could have something to do with the fact that the Spencer brothers were each successful in their own right. Along with being good-looking.
Cooper had returned to his newspaper when Caroline came by to refill his cup. He shook his head and placed his hand over the top. “No more for me, thanks. In fact, I’ll just take the check.”
“You’re in luck, Deputy Night Hawk,” she told him. “Dr. Spencer paid for your breakfast. He said it’s your retainer.” Mild curiosity darkened her eyes.
He tamped down the curse that threatened to erupt, and swallowed the last of his coffee. “No matter how it looks, we’re not talking bribery here. The good doctor is regretting he can’t eat blueberry pancakes any longer. Delicate digestion,” he confided, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.
Caroline shook her head. “Dr. Spencer left a tip also.”
Cooper picked up his newspaper and folded it. “Have a good morning, Caroline.”
“You too, Deputy.”
His departure was slow but steady as he left the diner. People stopped him, some voicing mild complaints. It was nothing new to him, and he listened to the usual tales of dogs barking late into the night, kids riding their skateboards over lawns and little Rocky Edwards teasing Miss Smythe’s nasty-tempered cat, Orlando. Cooper assured Miss Smythe he’d have a talk with Rocky.
With a full stomach and a feeling of contentment, Cooper walked past the town square as he headed for the police substation, located just beyond.
“Mrs. Forrester called,” Hedda told him the minute he entered the building. She waved a pink message slip decorated with a vivid purple ink. Hedda believed the more colorful the note the easier it was to remember.
Cooper closed his eyes. “She’s missing more underwear?”
“She wants to file a complaint against Mrs. Gray,” Hedda explained, slipping her reading glasses on. The brightly colored frames highlighted her face, which was expertly made up.
Cooper couldn’t remember ever seeing Hedda without makeup on. Her graying brown hair was pulled up and back in a bouncy ponytail tied with a colorful turquoise-and-pink scarf. She said if she had to wear a black uniform, then by God, she’d wear color anywhere else she could. No one dared ask her where else that color might be. A good idea, since they all knew if they asked she’d be only too happy to tell them.
Cooper always felt he needed sunglasses when facing her.
“Do I want to know why?”
Hedda smiled. “It seems Mrs. Gray told her she was tying up the local law office with nonsense when they could be doing something better suited to their talents. Mrs. Forrester insists there was a threat in there somewhere. I have no idea where that threat is, but I’m sure you’ll find it.” She beamed as she handed over the slip.
“I guess I should be grateful she’s not insisting aliens are behind the so-called thefts,” he muttered.
“Be careful, that just might be next.”
Cooper headed for the rear of the station.
After the way his day had begun, the rest of it should turn out to be a piece of cake.
Chapter Two
Caroline liked the idea that she could walk anywhere she wanted to. Since she’d arrived in Tyler, she’d only taken her car when she wanted to explore outside of town.
She ignored her tired feet as she left the diner when her shift was over. She was grateful the Kelsey Boarding House was only two blocks away. The late afternoon sun was still warm on her face as she walked down the sidewalk.
This was what she liked best—the chance to watch the townspeople interact. She’d never thought of herself as a people watcher until she came here.
“Good afternoon, Caroline.” Ed Martin greeted her with a grimace that she knew was his way of smiling. Rumor had it the video store owner had a fear that too much smiling would cause his dentures to slip out of his mouth. He stood in the doorway to his store as if he planned on dragging in customers off the sidewalk.
“Mr. Martin.” She smiled back and stopped. “We didn’t see you today for lunch.”
“Had to unpack and set out the new releases. They arrived late today. But you’ll see me tomorrow,” he promised. “Can’t go too many days without having Marge’s meat loaf.”
“You’re not the only one.” She walked on.
When Caroline reached the walkway leading to the boardinghouse, she noticed one of the sheriff’s department vehicles cruise by. As it slowed down, she realized Cooper Night Hawk was in the driver’s seat. He nodded a silent greeting toward her before driving on. She managed a jerky nod as she turned to walk up to the house.
“It’s about time he noticed you as more than the one taking his breakfast order,” Anna Kelsey said from the porch, where she sat in a rocking chair with a bowl of snap beans in her lap. A fat ginger-colored cat lay nearby.
Caroline felt her cheeks heat. “I thought you said you didn’t believe in matchmaking.” She glanced down at the cat. “Hey, Sam. Are my feet safe today?” She kept a wary eye on the cat as she dropped into the rocking chair next to Anna. She released a sigh as she kicked off her denim flats and stretched her legs out in front of her. She still kept a close eye on the cat, which was known to attack feet when the owner least expected it. “It’s so nice to sit down for more than five seconds.”
“Busy day?” Anna asked.
“Uh-huh. I think the entire population of Tyler, with the exception of you, came in to the diner today.”
“Even Cooper Night Hawk?” she inquired in a mild voice, continuing to snap beans. Caroline studied her feet.
“Deputy Night Hawk comes in every morning for breakfast,” she replied.
“The way I hear it, he always sits at one of your booths. He never did that before.”
“Do you need my room so badly you’d throw me to any man who drives by and acknowledges me?” Caroline joked, trying to keep the conversation light. She was still feeling that strange sensation in the pit of her stomach when he looked at her. Nothing she’d want Anna to know about.
“Didn’t you know? Matchmaking is our largest source of entertainment here in Tyler. My mother would say that you ended up here for a good reason.”
“Or maybe I ended up here because I liked the looks of the town, you had a spare room and Marge needed a waitress,” she said, moving the chair back so she could prop her feet up on the railing. “I really like this.”
Anna shot Caroline a look of amusement. “Changing the subject?”
“No, just talking about something more interesting.” She waved her hand to indicate the street in front of them. “You can sit out here all day and everyone passing by is someone you know. I lived in a city that was considered small by some standards, but it was nothing like this.”
“For a city girl, you’ve settled into small town life like a fish takes to water.” She smiled. “As if you were meant to be here all along.”
“Long lost daughter returning to the fold,” Caroline sang out, holding her arms out wide. She froze. “Listen to me. I sound like someone in a soap opera. Next thing you know I’ll suffer a debilitating disease and lapse into a coma.”
“Brady will be your doctor. He’ll tell us he has no idea what caused your illness.” Anna continued the fiction. “We could have Cooper ordering Brady to do whatever he can to cure you.”
“I thought comas were an automatic death sentence for the actress,” Caroline said, going along with the script Anna was happily writing.
“Not in our show, dear. Tyler’s Own will be an Emmy-winning show,” she insisted. “That’s why we need you in a coma.”
“The coma might be a good idea, since it was strongly suggested I drop out of drama class in high school,” Caroline confessed.
“Honey, every woman has a bit of actress in her,” the older woman soothed. “That’s how we take those men and wind them around our fingers.”
“So that’s how it was done.” Johnny Kelsey walked out of the house and kissed his wife’s cheek. “Don’t listen to her, Caroline. If you want to catch a man, you need a man’s advice. So who are you plotting against? And does he have any idea his days are numbered?”
“No one,” Caroline firmly stated, at the same time Anna offered, “Cooper Night Hawk.”
Johnny raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you just throw her to the wolves, Anna? Couldn’t you have started her out with someone easier?”
“You didn’t see the look Cooper gave her when he drove by a few minutes ago,” she replied.
“He was just being polite,” Caroline explained. “Nothing more.”
Anna smiled knowingly. “Yes, dear. And that’s why you’re blushing right now.”
Caroline pushed herself out of her chair and headed for the front door. “I am not blushing,” she declared haughtily as she made an escape worthy of a dramatic actress.
Husband and wife exchanged looks that said it all.
“You’re really going to try to match her up with Cooper?” he asked.
“I don’t think I’ll have anything to say about it. You know how romance works in this town. It’s all up to the quilting circle,” she answered, thinking of the brightly colored quilt that had been presented to them at their wedding, and since then had adorned their bed.
Johnny shook his head in fatalistic agreement. More than one single man cringed when they learned the Tyler Quilting Circle was beginning work on another quilt. Their success with the wedding quilts was the stuff legends were made of.
“God help them both.”
CAROLINE WAS INDULGING in her favorite form of relaxation: a bubble bath.
At the moment, she was the only boarder in the house, so she didn’t need to worry about anyone else needing the bathroom. She could take all the time she wanted.
She set her towel by the tub next to her CD player, stepped into the large, old-fashioned claw foot tub filled with hot water and floral-scented bubble bath, and slid down until her neck was resting against the edge of the tub, where she’d set a rolled-up towel. She turned on her CD player, slipped the headphones on and adjusted them to her ears.
Now she could truly relax. She closed her eyes, waiting for the music to flow through her body and complete the mood.
Except her body didn’t calm down. And her eyes refused to remain closed. If she didn’t know any different, she’d swear the music that usually soothed her now sounded downright annoying.
“Take deep calming breaths,” she directed herself. “Your body can’t relax if your mind won’t relax.”
Caroline wished her body would listen to her, but she could tell this time of relaxation wasn’t soothing her as it usually did.
But how could she, when Cooper Night Hawk was firmly planted in her thoughts?
Why now? She’d been waiting on him since that first day she worked at Marge’s. She’d even managed to serve him his breakfast without dropping it into his lap or scalding him with coffee.
From that first day she was aware of the intensity that surrounded him like a blanket. She didn’t need to see his badge to know he was in law enforcement. He had that air about him. He was a man dedicated to protecting the people.
She sensed a dedication like his would not hesitate in protecting the Spencer men from her if he felt she posed any kind of threat to them.
There was another, more elemental reason why he unnerved her; he was the most attractive man she’d ever met.
Coal-black hair pulled back and tied with a leather thong. Eyes so dark a brown they were almost black. Copper skin stretched tightly over a face that could have been carved from granite. And a body that could inspire many a fantasy.