A Vow to Love
Sherryl Woods

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SHERRYL WOODS

With her roots firmly planted in the South, Sherryl Woods has written many of her more than 100 books in that distinctive setting, whether it’s her home state of Virginia, her adopted state, Florida, or her much-adored South Carolina. She’s also especially partial to small towns wherever they may be.

A member of Novelists Inc., Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America, Sherryl divides her time between her childhood summer home overlooking the Potomac River in Colonial Beach, Virginia, and her oceanfront home with its lighthouse view in Key Biscayne, Florida. “Wherever I am, if there’s no water in sight, I get a little antsy,” she says.

Sherryl also loves hearing from readers. You can join her at her blog, www.justbetweenfriendsblog.com, visit her Web site at www.sherrylwoods.com or contact her directly at Sherryl703@gmail.com.

For Diane Kay McDaniel, who had the

wonderful idea of bringing Sammy and Penny together.

This one’s for you.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Epilogue

Prologue

In the eyes of sixteen-year-old Penny Hayden there was something a little dangerous and very exciting about the handsome young man standing beside her grandmother in the streaming sunlight at the front of Boston’s Whitehall Episcopal Church. Though he was wearing an expensive suit made of the finest Halloran fabric and tailored to fit perfectly, he looked as if he would have been more comfortable in ripped denim and black leather. His blond hair had been newly trimmed and was slicked back, but it was still an inch or two longer than any respectable teen’s in her conservative private school back in California.

Of all the new relatives she was meeting for the first time at the christening of six-month-old Elizabeth Lacey Halloran, Penny thought Sam Roberts was by far the most fascinating. She had been drawn to him from the first instant she’d seen him. At the same time, the unexpected intensity of her reaction was something entirely new and faintly puzzling. Frankly, it scared her silly.

Sam’s exploits, at least as told by her grandfather, had taken on almost mythic proportions in her mind, adding to his intriguing aura. Every time the stories were told, her parents managed to look faintly alarmed, as if they’d guessed right off what her reaction to Sam would be. She’d probably been half prepared to fall head over heels in love with him before she ever got to Boston just because he was the kind of boy they’d always placed strictly off limits. At sixteen, she figured she was long overdue for both a rebellion and a gigantic crush. That probably explained why she trembled inside every time she set eyes on him.

Unfortunately, Sam Roberts, who’d just turned nineteen, hadn’t so much as glanced at Penny the entire weekend. In fact, he’d stood on the sidelines at most of the family gatherings this weekend, looking a little lost, a little lonely. She knew with some gut-deep instinct that he would never admit to either of those feelings. He probably didn’t even recognize them.

Penny could empathize. She still felt like an outsider with the tight-knit Hallorans. For one thing, they all lived on the opposite side of the United States. None had visited them in LosAngeles, despite her grandfather’s overtures. She guessed they were still as shocked as her family was by the discovery that Penny’s mother Ellen was the daughter Brandon Halloran had never known he had.

Personally, Penny thought it had been incredibly romantic the way Brandon Halloran had tracked down her grandmother Elizabeth and then discovered the truth. Penny had been dying to go to Boston for their long overdue wedding, but everyone had agreed it would be best if only her mother and her Aunt Kate were there for the first meeting of the two sides of the family. She’d had to wait six months, for this christening, to get her first look at all these intriguing new relatives.

Because of her own tumultuous emotions she could guess how Sam must be feeling. It made her want to reach out to him. To her parents’ regret, she’d been picking up strays most of her life, always befriending the outsiders in her class and in her neighborhood. It looked as if she might carry the trait into adulthood.

Right now, though, Sam was in the center of things, caught up in this special celebration. He, along with Penny’s grandmother, had been chosen as godparents for the firstborn in the fourth generation of Hallorans.

Sam’s expression was solemn as he listened to the minister explain his responsibilities. Only when he glanced down at the baby, still being held in her mother’s arms, did a look of absolute delight and reverence soften his features. Penny saw her grandmother reach over and squeeze his hand and wished like crazy that she could have been the one standing up there beside him, sharing this special moment in a family where tradition meant so much.

Later, at her grandfather’s house, Penny watched with her heart in her throat as Sam awkwardly cradled the baby in his arms. She told herself she was being silly and romantic, but she fantasized that it was their baby he was holding with such a look of tenderness on his face. Then she wondered when she had turned into such a nut case. She’d always been the steady one, the precocious one. She’d never fantasized about anything until this week…when she’d seen Sam Roberts for the very first time.

“What are you thinking about so seriously?” her grandmother asked, coming up beside her and giving her a squeeze. “You’ve been awfully quiet all weekend. It’s not like you.”

“They’re a little overwhelming, don’t you think?” Penny admitted aloud for the first time.

Elizabeth Halloran gave her a conspiratorial grin. “That’s exactly the way I felt when Brandon introduced me to them for the first time, but it doesn’t last. Pretty soon you’ll feel like one of the family.” She followed the direction of Penny’s gaze. “Quite a hunk, isn’t he?”

Embarrassment flooded Penny’s cheeks. She hadn’t realized she’d been so obvious. “Who?” she asked, hoping to save face.

“Sam.”

“I guess,” she said with a disinterested shrug.

“He’s older than you are, though.”

“Not that much. A couple of years.”

“But he had a much tougher life. He grew up a lot faster.”

“Is he going to go into business with grandfather?”

“That’s what Brandon wants and Kevin and Jason don’t object. Sam started working in the company right after his sister Dana got involved with Jason. He seems to have a real aptitude for sales and marketing, but according to your grandfather, Sammy’s gotten it into his head he wants to do something on his own. Maybe he’s feeling overwhelmed by all the Hallorans, just like you. How come you haven’t asked him about this yourself? You’ve never been shy.”

“I’ve never met anyone like him before,” Penny admitted. “He seems so mature compared to the guys in school. Whenever I get around him, I get all tongue-tied.”

Her grandmother regarded her with disbelief. “Now that has to be a first. How come when I was seeing Brandon, you had so much to say? You sounded very wise and grown-up.”

“All talk,” Penny retorted. All the textbooks in the world on human sexuality and family relations hadn’t prepared her for the giddy, off-kilter way Sam Roberts made her feel.

Her grandmother grabbed her hand. “Come on. I’m sure he’s tired of hanging around all these grown-ups, too. Maybe the two of you can go to a movie or something.”

Humiliated by the thought of being foisted on Sam, Penny held back. “Grandmother, no. You can’t make him take me out.”

“Going to the movies so you can get to know someone from out of town isn’t the same thing as a date, for goodness’ sake. Besides, I won’t have to make him do anything. One thing you’ll learn as you get older is that subtlety goes a long way. Now watch a pro in action.”

Determinedly tugging Penny along in her wake, Elizabeth Halloran breezed through the throng until they were standing beside Sam.

“Hey, Mrs. H., how’re you holding up?” he asked with genuine affection. He didn’t even glance at Penny.

“I’d give anything to kick off these shoes, but Brandon would be appalled,” Elizabeth Halloran confided.

Sam shot her a knowing look. “Come on. You know Granddad Brandon thinks you walk on water.”

“I won’t be able to walk at all if I stay on my feet in these shoes much longer. I don’t know why I let him talk me into these three-inch heels at my age.”

A devilish hint of mischief in his eyes, Sam leaned down. “He probably told you they made you look sexy.”

To Penny’s astonishment, a girlish pink tint flooded into her grandmother’s cheeks. She winked at Sammy.

“As a matter of fact, he did,” she admitted. A familiar glint of determination sparked in her eyes. “By the way, Sammy, weren’t you telling me earlier that the new action movie, the one with that Arnold person with the huge biceps, is playing now?”

He regarded her innocently. “You want to see it?” he inquired. “We could sneak out.”

“Not me,” she said with a laugh. “But Penny was telling me that she’d been dying to get to it. She’s seen all of his films, isn’t that right, dear?”

“All of them,” Penny confirmed, her gaze fastened on Sam’s incredible blue eyes, trying to read his reaction to her grandmother’s ploy. She might not be all that experienced, but it sounded less than subtle to her. And it was pretty clear that Sam hadn’t mistaken her intentions, either. He finally looked at Penny as if she’d just appeared magically at her grandmother’s side.

“Maybe we could go before you go back to California,” he said right on cue.

Sam hadn’t said it like a man who would die if she said no, but he had said it. Penny felt her heart begin to race. “That’d be great. I’d really like to.”

Sam nodded, meeting her gaze directly for the first time. “I’ll get back to you.” He leaned down to kiss her grandmother on the cheek. “Gotta run. I’ve got a date.”

When he’d gone, leaving Penny trembling with an odd mixture of anticipation and a first-ever attack of jealousy, her grandmother beamed at her. “Now, see, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?”

“Do you think he’ll really take me?”

“He said he would, didn’t he? I’ve never known Sam to go back on his word. Now, come on. Let’s go have some of that fabulous cake Dana just cut.”

For the next few hours Penny’s excitement mounted until she barely slept a wink all night. But as the remainder of her stay with her grandparents wore on, Sam didn’t call. Nor did he stop by. Slowly she began to realize that he never would. The date had been no more than a polite gesture, not a promise at all.

However, on her last night in town, he appeared at the door just after her grandparents had gone out for their favorite after-supper ice cream. This time he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and a leather jacket that added to his mystique of danger. He looked exactly as she’d envisioned him. Penny’s heart began to thud wildly. She sensed she was about to embark on something that would change her life forever.

“Sorry I didn’t get back to you, kid. It’s been a busy week. You want to catch that movie tonight?”

Despite his failure to call, despite the rudeness of showing up at the last minute, Penny was thrilled and thoroughly disgusted with herself because of it. One thing every girl in her class knew was that appearing anxious killed a guy’s interest. Unfortunately, she hadn’t the vaguest idea how to act aloof when she could hardly wait for whatever the night held in store.

“I’ll change. It’ll only take a minute,” she said at once, thinking of the outfit she’d planned, the one that would make her look more grown-up in his eyes.

“You look fine,” he said automatically, without even giving her a glance. “Besides, we’d better get going if we’re going to make the show.”

Disappointed to be going out in an old pair of shorts and a faded blouse that she’d worn to help her grandmother in the garden rather than in the sexy sundress she’d anticipated wearing if this day ever came, Penny didn’t argue. She jotted a note for her grandparents, then followed him to his car. She told herself the important thing was to be going at all. She’d never felt so grown-up before in her life.

When Sam didn’t say another word all the way to the theater, Penny struggled for conversation. Silence or halfhearted replies met most of her attempts. Her ego tumbled further when he bypassed the popcorn and soda without even asking if she wanted anything.

Inside the darkened theater and filled with romantic yearnings, she imagined his arm around her shoulders or his hand brushing hers. Instead he remained slouched down next to her, his eyes glued to the screen. She told herself he was only being a gentleman.

The slights, however, were beginning to add up. During the silent ride home, when he never once suggested stopping for a hamburger or a soft drink, she began to get angry, really angry. Even the lowest form of creeps back home offered a snack at the end of an evening. The evening she’d been dreaming about with so much hope was turning out to be a dismal failure. The fact that she was still attracted to Sam despite his behavior only made her angrier.

“Why’d you take me to the movies?” she asked, finally summoning some of the spunk she was famous for.

He glanced over at her with a surprised expression. “You said you wanted to go.”

“And being a dutiful member of the family, you forced yourself to show up, right?” she snapped, infuriated by his patronizing attempt to place the blame for this miserable evening on her. “Next time, don’t do me any favors.”

“Hey, Granddad Brandon said…”

Penny thought she might very well die right where she sat. “You talked to my grandfather?” she asked in a low, hurt voice.

Now, at last, he did look at her. “I talk to him every day,” he replied evasively, but guilt was written all over his handsome face.

Oh, God, it was worse than she’d thought. Angry at Sam, at her grandfather, but mostly at herself, she lashed out. “And what exactly did he say to you? Did he tell you that I was moping around the house, that I had this silly crush on you and you should give me a break and spend a couple of hours with me? Maybe give me a little thrill, so I can take the memory back to L.A.?”

Something in his expression changed and before she knew what he’d intended, he’d pulled to the side of the road, turned off the ignition. “Is that what you want from me? You want a little thrill? No problem.” His hand circled the back of her neck and drew her toward him.

Penny’s heart thundered so hard she was sure it could be heard clear to L.A. She wanted to protest as he lowered his mouth to cover hers, but the words snagged somewhere in the back of her throat.

There was nothing tentative or tender about the kiss. It was a bruising, punishing clash of wills and it sent a dark, throbbing, sensual thrill right through her, just as he’d promised. She thought she heard him groan, but then she was lost to the wildly provocative sensation of his tongue invading her mouth. For the first time in her life, she began to understand all the excitement about sex as an unfamiliar heat spread through her, tempting her beyond reason.

Then she remembered that the man making her feel this way didn’t care about her, that this kiss meant nothing to him, that he was merely delivering what she’d asked for and she burned with humiliation. He had awakened her sexuality, but in the process the fragile flowering of her self-esteem was crushed.

Pushing him away, she retaliated with more anger and sarcasm.

“Tell grandfather he owes you extra for the kiss. I’m sure it’s worth more than the fifty bucks he probably paid you for your time.”

Sam couldn’t have looked more stunned if she’d slapped him. He muttered an oath under his breath as he visibly tried to bring his temper under control.

“Okay, let’s just wait a minute here,” he began in a more placating tone.

By now, though, Penny was in no mood to listen. “No, you wait a minute, Mr. Smart Guy Roberts. I don’t need any of your favors.” She reached into her purse and snatched out a five-dollar bill and threw it at him. “That ought to cover the gas. As for you, your company isn’t worth spit.”

There was something gloriously energizing about releasing all her pent-up anger and frustration. She seized the opportunity to fling open the car door and leap out. She was halfway down the next block before he could get to her. He pulled alongside.

“Get back in here.”

“Not if my life depended on it.”

“Granddad is going to kill me if I show up without you.”

“That’s your problem, pal.”

“Penny, look, I’m sorry. It’s not what you think, I swear it.”

The halfhearted apology came too late. She turned and drew herself up, realizing that in the past couple of hours she’d grown up more than she had in the previous sixteen years.

“Go to hell, Sam Roberts,” she said in the quietest, most dignified voice she could muster.

And then she cut across a lawn where he couldn’t follow and ran the rest of the way home.

Later, as she cried herself to sleep, she thought her heart was broken. It was several, miserable months later before she finally chalked the entire incident up to experience. At least she had learned at an early age that no matter how badly you wanted to, you couldn’t make another person fall in love with you.

She’d also learned, or so she told herself repeatedly, that anyone as insensitive as Sam Roberts wasn’t worth loving at all.

Sam watched Penny stalk away from him, her thin shoulders thrown back, her head held high, and thought he’d never met anyone quite so infuriating.

Or as fascinating, he added with regret. She was going to grow up to be a real hell-raiser and a real beauty on top of that. Even at sixteen there was something about her that made a man’s blood race in an entirely inappropriate way. He never should have kissed her, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself and it had only made matters worse. She was furious and he was hot and frustrated.

Hell, he’d wanted to kiss her from the first moment he’d set eyes on her, but he’d placed her off limits. With her privileged background, she was the kind of girl who deserved the best, and Sam Roberts hardly qualified. Everyone knew he was the kind of guy who’d break a girl’s heart.

He thought of the hurt he’d seen in Penny’s eyes when she’d realized that her grandfather had set up this movie thing and wondered if he’d made a terrible mistake in giving in to Brandon’s coercion. Then he considered the way she’d battled back and decided that, hurt or not, Penny Hayden would always be able to take care of herself. Too bad he wasn’t going to be around her to watch the fireworks.

Chapter 1

At first glance, primarily because of his size, the man lurking in the shadowy hallway of Penny Hayden’s apartment building looked faintly alarming. Penny immediately tried to quiet the little tremor of fear that zigzagged down her spine. The man was standing in plain sight, after all, not hiding like a dangerous criminal.

He probably had a very good reason for being there, Penny decided. Maybe he was just locked out and waiting for the landlord to turn up with a key. Or maybe he was meeting someone and he’d arrived early. Those were certainly logical explanations, and she much preferred those to the violent scenarios that had flashed through her mind when she’d first spotted him.

Of course, she reminded herself as she moved down the hall with slightly more caution than usual, she did have a tendency to be entirely too trusting. It came from growing up with doting parents who’d always made her feel safe and protected. They had fueled her natural curiosity about the unknown, rather than instilling fear.

That, of course, was precisely the reason Brandon Halloran had insisted she take a self-defense class before moving from Los Angeles to Boston, where she’d be entirely on her own for the first time in her life. He’d determinedly tried to plant the idea in her head that every stranger represented danger, which was ridiculous, of course. Strangers were just people whose fascinating secrets she didn’t know yet.

On the off chance that just this once her grandfather might be right, Penny drew in a deep breath and marched past the man without her usual sunny smile. She kept her gaze straight ahead, but alert for any sudden movement, even the slightest shift of his eyes in her direction.

Unfortunately, she had terrific peripheral vision. In addition to tracking his movements, she also noticed his well-muscled physique, emphasized by a tight, faded black T-shirt, and the shaggy blond haircut beneath a backward Red Sox cap. The look was scruffy, but definitely sexy.

There was something vaguely familiar about the lazy half smile that turned his expression into something far more dangerous than she’d first recognized. Intent on mayhem or not, men with smiles like that were lethal to the quiet, studious existence she’d promised herself for the next two years. They disrupted peace of mind without even trying, to say nothing of what they managed to do to pulse rates. Women were drawn to men like that the way moths were attracted to flames. She’d always figured the deadly futility in both instances wasn’t an idle comparison. She steeled herself against becoming a victim.

“Don’t you know you should beware of strange men who’re just hanging around in dark hallways?” he inquired.

Penny’s stomach clenched, more at the patronizing tone than out of fear. Her feminist hackles rose. Of course she knew that. Did the man think she was an inexperienced idiot? There were definite ways to correct that impression. She considered several of them, then dismissed them just as quickly. Maybe he hadn’t meant to taunt her. Maybe he was like her grandfather, unable to resist any opportunity to give advice.

Penny flashed him a tentative smile. He responded by falling into step beside her. Warning signals began to flash and that prickle of unease she’d dismissed came back as a full-fledged case of panic. Just in case her grandfather knew more than she did about Boston’s lowlifes, she tried to recall something—anything from those self-defense classes. For instance, exactly how and when should she make her self-protective move? It definitely should be before the guy followed her inside her apartment, which she was more and more certain was his destination.

She spent ten nerve-racking seconds considering her strategy, debating whether it was even called for, then decided it would be sheer stupidity to take any chances. She whirled, slammed one booted foot into his shin and aimed her denim-clad knee at his groin. It didn’t exactly connect, but she was satisfied with having proven her point, anyway.

Filled with confidence and adrenaline, she reached for an arm, expecting to flip him onto his back as easily as she had her instructor. Big as he was, this guy wasn’t nearly as beefy as Karate Todd. Her hand clamped around a wrist. Not two seconds later, she had one arm pinned behind her and she was locked against a body that was all male and seemed to be shaking with indignation. Or was it laughter?

Penny listened and heard the telltale snicker. The creep was actually laughing at her. Fury replaced fear, along with the firm conviction that she could handle the situation, no matter how out of hand it seemed to have gotten. Grateful that she was wearing her Western boots, she raised a foot to crunch the daylights out of his instep, only to find herself unceremoniously tossed over his shoulder.

“Next time, don’t pick on somebody bigger than you are, short stuff,” he advised as he plucked her apartment key from her hand and headed unerringly for her door.

How the devil had he known which apartment was hers? she wondered. Had he been stalking her? She’d read about stuff like that. In Los Angeles it happened to celebrities all the time. Usually, though, the person being stalked was someone famous or at least had a passing acquaintance with the stalker. She’d never seen this idiot before in her life. She surely would have remembered anyone with a voice that reeked of smoky sensuality and unbridled amusement—a combination she found particularly irksome under the circumstances.

Of course, given her humiliating, upside-down position with all the blood rushing to her brain, it was a strain remembering her own name. She did manage to recall a prayer or two. Unfortunately, she had a hunch she was going to need more than prayers to get out of this. Even more unfortunately, every single thing she’d learned in that self-defense class had suddenly flown out of her head.

She was, however, thinking clearly enough to make one firm decision. She knew absolutely that she was not under any circumstances going into her apartment with this man, even if that meant she had to scream her head off to catch the attention of her brand-new neighbors. Which, now that she thought about it, was what she should have been doing long ago, instead of trying to convince herself that she was in no danger.

She opened her mouth and let out a bloodcurdling yell that would have done Tarzan proud. It was greeted by an equally vocal string of obscenities from her captor and the satisfying sound of doors opening up and down the corridor. She followed up with one more ear-shattering scream, just to prove that she meant business.

“You little twit,” the man muttered, jamming the key into her lock and flinging open the door.

To her astonishment, he turned around, faced down all the neighbors and said, “Just a little lovers’ quarrel. Don’t mind us.”

It didn’t take much to imagine his smile and that amused, patronizing tone charming the daylights out of all of them. “It is not—” she screeched emphatically, only to have the words cut off by the slamming of the door behind them.

It took a supreme effort, but she convinced herself that no one could possibly be fooled by his lame remark, that even now police cars were speeding to her rescue.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t kill her before they arrived, she thought just as she was dumped in a sprawling heap onto the sofa. She glanced up. Indeed, the expression in his eyes was filled with murderous intent. For the first time she stopped being mad and started to get just the teensiest bit nervous.

Maybe Brandon and everyone else had been right to worry about whether she knew what she was getting herself into by moving to Boston. She found the unfamiliar flash of self-doubt extremely irritating. No, dammit! A twenty-five-year-old woman had every right to follow her own dreams. If that meant burying herself in a stuffy laboratory at Harvard while she pursued a thesis for her Ph.D in English, she couldn’t imagine why it was anyone else’s concern.

Some women preferred to concentrate on intellectual pursuits that might one day make a difference in society. Some women just weren’t cut out for romance. Look at her Aunt Kate. Well, that was a bad example. Aunt Kate had been a strong, independent, powerful lawyer. Now she carried a diaper bag in addition to her briefcase. Talk about ruining an image! Tough talk and baby talk were incompatible, it seemed to Penny. But the way Aunt Kate used to be…now there was a role model. Why couldn’t her mother and especially her grandfather, Brandon Halloran, see that she wasn’t burying herself in a lab because she was afraid of life?

Someday, though, they’d be proud of her when she was off in Sweden or Switzerland or wherever it was that they handed out the Nobel prizes. She hadn’t quite decided yet if she wanted the award to be for curing cancer or for literature. It occurred to her that quite possibly that was why her entire family was in such an uproar.

She could just imagine their reaction when they heard about some damnable man invading her apartment during her very first week in town. That thought gave her the bravado to launch another attack on the unsuspecting man, who was staring out the window, probably to make sure that the police weren’t rolling in before he finished up whatever mayhem he intended.

Without hesitating to consider the consequences of riling him further, she bounded across the room. She leaped up, looped her legs around his waist and one arm around his neck in what she thought was a fairly effective choke hold. To her astonishment and regret, he shook her off as if she were no more than a pesky nuisance.

“Do that again and we’re going to have one serious problem on our hands,” he warned.

He muttered something more under his breath. Penny’d always been taught that whispering in the presence of others was downright rude, but she was relatively certain that she should be glad in this instance that she hadn’t heard what he’d said. If the furious sparks in his eyes were anything to go by, she had a feeling he hadn’t been welcoming her to Boston.

Sam Roberts stared pensively out the window and tried to get a grip on his temper. He had grown up tough, always lashing out furiously and without thought. It had kept him in hot water most of his adolescence. Raised by his sister, he’d rebelled against everything. It sometimes astonished him that Dana had put up with all his garbage—defending him, bailing him out of trouble, loving him. For her sake, he’d finally learned to control the temper that was currently being put to an extreme test.

He struggled to stay calm as he considered the promise that had gotten him into this fix, a promise made to Brandon Halloran, the man who’d really turned his life around. Granddad Brandon had treated him with the kind of respect that a man felt compelled to earn. He owed the old man. So when Brandon had called a few days earlier and asked just one thing of him—that he look out for Penny Hayden—Sam had no choice but to agree, even though his last experience with the kid hadn’t ended so well.

The role of undercover cop-turned-babysitter didn’t appeal to him, but a debt was a debt. He was beginning to see why Brandon had thought the brat needed someone to watch out for her. Apparently she thought she was invincible. She’d scrapped with him as if she considered it an even match. She didn’t need a babysitter. She needed an armed guard.

Not that Sam entirely trusted Brandon’s motives. The old man had a habit of meddling in the lives of everyone he cared about. He’d even been making noises about it being about time that Sam found himself a woman to smooth out his remaining rough edges. What twenty-eight-year-old Sam had told him was succinct and hopefully threatening enough to snuff out any matchmaking ideas the old man might have had.

But this thing with Penny had surfaced a little too conveniently for his liking. He would do it, though, because he’d learned one important lesson from the Hallorans: families always stuck together—and the Hallorans had made him one of their own from the instant Jason Halloran had married his sister. Today was the first time in a long while that he’d regretted the family ties.

Unfortunately, at the moment he had an even bigger regret. He hadn’t noticed the precise instance when Penny’s supreme self-confidence had slipped away. He’d never meant to scare her to death. In fact, he had actually thought she’d recognized him. That smile of hers had certainly been friendly enough. Not until she’d attacked him had he gotten the message that she’d panicked, thinking that a stranger was about to harm her.

Dammit all, as a cop who dealt with crime victims all the time he should have had better sense. He could have calmed her with a word or two, just by the mention of his name, in fact. Although, given the way their last encounter so many years ago had turned out, she might have attacked him, anyway. Instead, though, he’d reacted as he would have in the old days, instinctively fighting back rather than being ruled by his head. His lack of sensitivity grated. Apparently he was doomed to getting it wrong whenever Penny was involved.

Just as he figured that the day had gotten just about as bad as it could get, he heard the sound of sirens and realized it was about to get worse. The guys at the station weren’t going to let him live this down anytime soon.

Muttering another oath under his breath as they pounded up the steps, he strode over to let them in. He wished belatedly that he’d taken the time to clear up this misunderstanding before their arrival. Unfortunately he’d been afraid to open his mouth, fearful of what would come out.

He had to admit, though, that he took a sort of grim satisfaction in the prospect of watching Penny Hayden stumble all over herself to explain why she’d called the cops on her own relative, albeit one only distantly related by marriage,

The first cop up the stairs, taking them two at a time, gun drawn, was Ryan O’Casey. He was followed by his burly, African-American partner, Jefferson Kennedy Washington, who was called that only by someone who had a death wish. He was J.K. or Jake to his colleagues on the force.

Both men froze at the sight of Sam. “You just get here?” Ryan asked. “What’s happening inside?”

“What’s happening inside is that this cretin manhandled me, broke into my apartment and probably intended to kill me,” an indignant voice said quite calmly from a point slightly above Sam’s elbow.

Sam had forgotten exactly how tiny Penny Hayden was, or maybe it was his own belated spurt of growth and years of weight training that made her suddenly seem small. The way she’d taken him on in that hallway told him size wasn’t something she worried about. He swore again and tried to ignore the amusement that immediately crowded the worry straight off both men’s faces.

“You picking on the little people again, Sam?” Jake demanded, looking Penny up and down approvingly. “You know Ryan hates it when you do that.”

“Very funny,” Sam retorted, scowling at the whole lot of them.

Penny glanced from one policeman to the other and apparently didn’t like what she saw. “Aren’t you going to arrest him? Put some handcuffs on him?”

“I doubt that’ll be necessary, miss,” Ryan said politely. He glanced pointedly at the gathering of neighbors in the hall. Every single door had been flung open. “Maybe we should take this inside, see if we can’t straighten it out.”

“Good idea,” Jake said.

“I do not want this man in my apartment,” Penny informed them, trying to block the way. “I want him locked up in a cell so that he can’t harm other innocent citizens.”

“Oh, give it a rest,” Sam snapped as he lifted her aside, then marched over to the unopened bottle of whiskey he’d spotted on the kitchen counter and poured himself a stiff drink. He held up the bottle. “Anybody else want one?”

“We’re on duty,” Jake reminded him. His gaze narrowed. “Thought you were, too.”

“Nope. I’m taking the rest of the day off. I consider it a hazardous-duty benefit.”

Penny was regarding them all suspiciously. “What’s going on here?”

“Well, ma’am, that’s what we’d like you to tell us,” Ryan said.

He said it in his most courteous tone, Sam noted. He and Jake made a good team. Ryan soothed, while Jake tended to make suspects quake in their boots without ever opening his mouth. He just loomed over them.

“Sam here is a police officer,” Ryan explained softly. “I’m guessing he must have been here on a stakeout. Is that right, Sam?”

“Something like that,” he agreed.

Penny’s mouth gaped. “A policeman? Sam?” Something that might have been comprehension flickered in her eyes. An interesting shade of red crept up her neck and into her cheeks.

“Sam Roberts?” she said weakly, sinking onto the sofa.

He lifted the glass in her direction. “Nice to see you again.”

“Oh, hell,” she murmured.

He took considerable satisfaction in seeing her day disintegrate right before his eyes. He figured that made them just about even. Granddad Brandon, on the other hand, still had to pay up big-time.

Chapter 2

Penny surveyed the man standing in her minuscule kitchen from head to toe. Now that he was in the light and fear wasn’t clouding her vision, she could see it was Sam Roberts all right. Taller, broader through the shoulders and sexier, if that was possible.

Now she knew why her pulse had skipped at the sound of his voice. She’d heard it often enough in her dreams. That’s what came of adolescent fantasies. On rare occasions, they stretched clear into reality to zap common sense.

One thing for sure, his outrageous behavior hadn’t changed a bit. He was living up to everything Penny remembered about him from their brief but memorable encounter at the christening of his niece, Elizabeth Lacey Halloran, firstborn in the fourth generation of Hallorans. For an entire weekend he had blatantly regarded Penny as a pesky adolescent, hardly worthy of his attention.

Back then she had chafed at being so summarily dismissed, especially by the first true love of her entire life. The one kiss they shared still burned in her memory. The whole thing had been humiliating and ridiculous. Forever after, she had told anyone who asked that she couldn’t stand the smart-mouthed jerk. She’d finally started to believe it herself in the past couple of years. There were times when she couldn’t even remember what he looked like.

Well, that much was obviously true, she thought, thinking of the terrible mistake she’d made in that hallway.

Of course, she had also told herself that Sam Roberts’s being in Boston had nothing to do with her decision to come to Harvard after years of self-imposed exile from the East. Judging from the way her heart was thudding at the moment, she’d been lying through her teeth about that, too. Apparently some things never changed.

Today, despite his obvious and acute embarrassment in front of his colleagues, he’d managed to maintain that same insolent, arrogant attitude. His entire demeanor suggested that she was totally at fault for the mix-up. Even now he was lounging against the kitchen counter, a drink in hand, while she stumbled all over herself trying to explain how she’d confused one of Boston’s finest cops with a common criminal.

Penny drew in a deep breath and tried to reclaim some sense of dignity. “It was dark. Besides, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, over nine years in fact. He was dressed in a suit and tie at the time and looked considerably more respectable than he does at the moment,” she said.

Now she allowed her gaze to linger on his disreputable attire to emphasize the point. There was the very last time she’d seen him, of course, when he’d been dressed more casually, but he hadn’t looked as muscular back then. It was amazing what a little weight training could do to an already sexy body. She blinked and looked away. It wouldn’t do to spend too much time thinking about that.

“On top of that,” she said finally, “he never called me by name, never introduced himself. What the hell was I supposed to think when this jerk tosses me over his shoulder and hauls me into my apartment? It’s not a technique used by any welcoming committee I’ve ever heard of.”

Jake and Ryan listened sympathetically. All the while their eyes sparkled with merriment. They were clutching their sides, probably to keep from laughing out loud. No doubt it was Sam’s sour expression alone that kept them from howling.

“Look, I’m not the one who ought to be on trial here. Cop or not, he broke in,” she accused irritably.

“Do you want to file charges?” Jake inquired.

Judging from the expression of expectancy on his face, he really wanted her to do it just for the fun of it. Penny could just imagine how Sam, much less the rest of the family, would react. Still, she had to admit to being tempted. She could get even for a lot just by saying yes.

“I suppose not,” Penny finally said with some reluctance.

“Thanks, brat,” Sam said with that increasingly familiar edge of sarcasm. “Don’t do me any favors.”

“Actually, I believe I owe you one,” she said with syrupy sweetness.

He started to reply, but bit off whatever he’d been about to say.

It was just as well. Penny would have hated to pick up the threads of an ancient squabble in front of the two fascinated policemen. She found their obvious respect for Sam, which all the teasing couldn’t hide, something of a mystery. She couldn’t even figure out how he’d managed to get on the force.

Stories of Sam Roberts’s narrow escapes from the law were the stuff of family legend. Her grandfather had tried to regale her with several of them once again just before she’d left L.A., but she’d cut him off. At sixteen, when his sister had married into the Halloran family, Sammy had appeared destined for the life of a con artist at best. Naturally, her grandfather took full credit for his redemption.

But Penny had never gotten the sense that his salvation had been complete enough to land him on the Boston police force. She wondered what the whole story was behind that. She also wondered why no one in California had happened to mention it, then admitted that quite possibly it was because she tended to exit the room whenever his name came up.

Penny glanced over, noted the tension in Sam’s stance and the irritation in his expression and wondered if she’d ever get the chance to find out. She told herself it didn’t really matter. Sam Roberts clearly wasn’t the kind of man who’d be interested in being a pal to some distant relation. He’d made that more than clear years ago. In fact, he looked like the sort of man who viewed women as having one single purpose in life and it sure as heck wasn’t friendship.

Of course, that raised the question of why he’d bothered to show up here tonight in the first place. She figured she had her grandfather to thank for that. She wondered what he’d held over Sam’s head to get him to agree this time.

Sam’s temper had finally cooled sufficiently enough that he could look at Penny Hayden without wanting to murder her. He’d pretty well trampled any little flare-ups of guilt, as well, and was beginning to enjoy watching her trying to extricate herself from any share of the blame for the false alarm.

If she weren’t such an obvious pain in the neck, she might be attractive, he thought, idly studying her smooth-as-silk complexion and the dusting of freckles on her turned-up nose.

The kid had gone and grown up on him. She was wearing jeans that fit like a second skin, a denim shirt she’d tied in a knot at her tiny waist and those cowboy boots that she’d used somewhat effectively as weapons. She’d scooped her hair into a ponytail, though most of it had fallen free during their tussle. Sam had the oddest desire to free the rest of it and let it tumble through his fingers. He nixed that notion right away. He had no difficulty whatsoever recognizing trouble and until today he’d gotten fairly adept at sidestepping it. It was a skill he liked to think had come with maturity.

He deliberately forced his glance away and caught Ryan studying him speculatively. “What’s your problem?” he growled.

The younger cop grinned. “I’m not the one who came within a hairbreadth of being hauled in for breaking and entering and assault.”

“Oh, go catch some criminals.”

“Thought we had,” Jake reminded him. “Might even write up a lengthy report on it.”

“You do and you’ll be hoofing it around the lousiest beat in town come the first blizzard of winter,” Sam warned.

“Come on, Jake,” Ryan urged, still grinning. “You know what Sam’s like when he gets testy. Can’t take a joke.”

Sam briefly considered pounding their heads together, then decided the subsequent aggravation of explaining why to the heirarchy at headquarters wouldn’t be worth it. Fortunately, they seemed ready to beat a hasty retreat.

“Now don’t you two go squabbling the minute our backs are turned,” Ryan warned cheerfully as he closed the door.

Sam glared after them. As soon as their footsteps faded, Penny whirled on him.

“How could you humiliate me like that?” she demanded.

He regarded her incredulously, remembering with absolute clarity exactly how irritating she could be…and how turned on that tended to make him. Dammit, she could still do it.

“Excuse me?” he said. “If there was any humiliating done around here tonight, it was watching two men I work with come after me with their weapons drawn.”

“Served you right. You had no business standing in that hall and scaring me half to death.”

He shook his head, refusing to acknowledge the truth in the accusation. “You really are obnoxious.”

“Now that’s a mature response,” she countered. “How can you call me that? It’s been years since you even set eyes on me.”

“Not nearly long enough,” he shot back.

Their gazes clashed, hers every bit as fiery as he knew his must be. He’d stared down hardened criminals more easily. She never even flinched. A little frisson of admiration cut through his irritation. He sighed and let the last of his anger fade away.

“So, Penny Hayden, welcome to Boston.”

She didn’t seem to be quite so willing to let bygones be bygones. “If you’re the kind of welcoming committee this town sends out, I’m surprised anyone ever moves here.”

“They usually reserve me for the people they expect might be troublesome. I’d say we’re right on track this time.”

She rolled her eyes in obvious disgust. “Why are you here, really?”

“At the risk of stirring up a hornet’s nest, I’ll tell you the God’s honest truth.”

“A pleasant change,” she noted.

Sam shook his head. The woman was constantly spoiling for a fight. At least that was something they had in common. He held on to his patience by a thread. “Granddad Brandon called, said you were just settling in. He wanted me to stop by and see if there was anything I could do to help.”

“Was this your idea of help?” she asked. “Couldn’t you have called first, warned me you were on your way?”

He shrugged. “Hey, you attacked me in that hallway. If you hadn’t, I’d have introduced myself politely, just in case you’d forgotten what I looked like, then offered to do anything I could to show you around Boston.”

Eyes that were clear and guileless studied him intently. “But you wouldn’t have meant it, would you?” she said finally. “Just like last time.”

Sam tried to ignore the guilt that cut through him. “Why wouldn’t I be happy to show you around?”

“It’s a good thing you’re on the side of the law,” she informed him drily. “You’re a genuinely crummy liar. Remember, I was there the night you dutifully dragged me to a movie. And I know how Granddad can be. It’s easier to give in than it is to try to wriggle off his hook. Well, consider your duty done, Sam. I can look out for myself.”

To emphasize that she meant what she said, Penny opened the door and waited for him to walk through it. Sam saw no reason not to comply, until he was on the other side, his foot on the top step. Then he realized that he recognized the expression he’d read in her eyes. Not so many years ago, before the Hallorans had come into his life, he’d seen loneliness—and the stubborn determination not to let it show—just by looking in the mirror.

Knowing he was going to regret it, he turned back. “Look, as long as I’m here, why don’t we go grab something to eat?”

It wasn’t the most gracious invitation he’d ever uttered, but he was offended by the distrust written all over her face. Forcing the words through gritted teeth, he added, “Look, we’ve gotten off to a bad start here.”

“Again,” she pointed out, not giving an inch.

He bit off a retaliatory comment and said simply, “I’m sorry.”

Her gaze locked on his and his heart took an unexpected leap. He got the distinct feeling he was in over his head and sinking fast.

“I suppose it was partly my fault,” she admitted grudgingly. “But dinner’s really not necessary.”

“Maybe not for you, but I’m starved.”

“I meant, it’s not necessary that you take me out. We’re only distantly related by marriage. It’s not like there’s some family obligation at stake.”

Sam grinned ruefully. “Wanna bet? If I tell Granddad Brandon that I have terrified and deeply offended his precious granddaughter for a second time, he’ll call the chief and have me busted back to foot patrol.”

Penny regarded him with evident fascination. “Interesting,” she declared.

“What?”

“Apparently you spend your life chasing bad guys without fear, but Brandon Halloran terrifies you.”

“He doesn’t scare you?”

She shook her head. “He’s a pussycat.”

“Obviously he hasn’t gotten around to meddling in your life yet.”

“Sure he has,” she retorted. “Who do you think sent me to those self-defense classes so I could handle the likes of you?”

Sam chuckled. “Remind me to tell him he wasted his money.”

“I’d take a look at my shin and think about the timely arrival of the police before I made cracks like that, if I were you.”

“Touché. Now, how about dinner? There’s a cute little Italian place just down the street. Rosie makes a ziti with vodka sauce that will bring tears to your eyes.”

Penny seemed to be considering the invitation thoughtfully, before finally shrugging. “I suppose it would be worth it, just to see the big, tough policeman cry. Let me grab my purse.”

Sam was pleased to see that she did just that. She didn’t waste time running off to primp as if this were a date. She just hauled her two-ton purse off the sofa, draped it over her shoulder and followed him from the apartment. He was astounded she didn’t walk lopsided.

“What’s in that thing?” he asked, trying to peer inside its mysterious depths.

She tugged it away. “A wallet, a brush, makeup, a book, a bottle of mineral water.” She shrugged. “You know, the usual necessities.”

He shook his head. “Hell, short stuff, next time just take a swing with that thing. It could knock somebody out cold.”

“I’ll remember that,” she said, giving him a look that suggested she still wouldn’t mind experimenting with the technique on him.

Sam prided himself on not giving a damn what anyone, except for a handful of family members, thought of him. It worried him that he was beginning to care that Penny Hayden continued to regard him with suspicion even now that she knew who he was. An unfamiliar desire to win her over made him irritable all over again.

Without another word, Sam led the way down the stairs without bothering to check to see if she had any difficulty keeping up with his long stride. If she did, she never complained.

And she was right there beside him when he reached Rosie’s, where the bouquet of garlic and tomatoes was more alluring than any expensive French perfume he’d ever encountered. He drew in a deep, satisfying breath and felt some of the tension ease out of him.

“Sammy!” Rosie cried when she spotted him. She enveloped him in an enthusiastic bear hug, then pinched his cheek. “You are too skinny. It has been too long since you have been by to see me. Do I have to be robbed to get you inside my restaurant?”

“I was here two weeks ago,” he protested.

“You expect my pasta to sustain you for that long? This is the food of life, caro. Pasta and red wine are meant to be eaten every night.”

“If I did that, pretty soon I wouldn’t be able to haul myself after the criminals. I’d be too fat and lazy.”

Rosie waved her hand dismissively. “Always the jokes. I know the truth. You have some other cook you adore. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“There is no other woman in my life. I swear it,” he told her emphatically.

Just then, though, Rosie spotted Penny. “And who is this, then? You pretend that she is not even here, when I can see for myself that she is.”

“Rosie, this is Penny Hayden. She has just moved here from Los Angeles. Penny, this is Rosa DiMartelli, who makes the best pasta this side of Rome.”

Rosie’s dark eyes scanned Penny from head to toe. A worrisome beam of approval spread across her face. Only one person in Sam’s life could match Brandon Halloran when it came to meddling and she was regarding Penny with a very speculative gleam in her eye.

“You live in the neighborhood, yes?” she said to Penny. “I have seen you at the produce stand next door.”

“I have an apartment a few blocks away,” Penny confirmed.

“Then you will come here often for dinner. That means I will see more of my Sammy.”

“Don’t go getting any ideas, Rosie,” Sam warned.

“What is the fun of life without ideas?” she retorted. “Besides, I can see these same ideas in your eyes.”

Sam started to deny it vehemently, but decided to save his breath. An argument would only lend too much weight to Rosie’s romantic observations. She grinned as if she’d guessed his thoughts.

“Now, come, sit,” she ordered. “I will bring you a bottle of my best wine and I think the ziti with vodka sauce. I will make it special for you, since it is your favorite.”

“I could sacrifice and have the lasagna,” Sam offered.

“Sacrifice!” She huffed. “Since when is it a struggle to eat any of my food?”

She was still muttering under her breath as she left them to place the order in the kitchen.

“Obviously you’re a favorite of hers,” Penny noted.

She sounded amazed that anyone could be genuinely fond of him. To his surprise, her astonishment cut. He tried to ignore how much it hurt. He shrugged. “I’m a challenge. She’s been trying to fatten me up and marry me off for several years now. The fact that she’s still batting zero on both counts makes her crazy.”

“I’m surprised you tolerate her interference.”

“Wait until you taste her pasta. It’s worth any price. Besides, Rosie and I go way back.”

“Oh?”

“She helped Dana and I foil the system by playing guardian whenever we needed an adult to keep the social workers at bay.”

“You mean, after your mother died?”

Sam nodded. “Dana was determined that the system wasn’t going to split us up, even though I was just a kid and she was barely into her teens.”

Penny looked fascinated. “Your sister must really be something. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better. We didn’t really have nearly enough time together at the christening and I haven’t been East since then. Grandfather adores her. He credits Dana with giving him the gumption to go after grandmother one last time when she was resisting all his attempts to get her to marry him.”

Sam vividly recalled Brandon’s depression during that time. The whole family had been worried sick about him. Dana had taken matters into her own hands.

“She could see how much your grandmother meant to him, even after all the years they were separated,” he told Penny. “Once Dana gets an idea in her head, she can move mountains, if that’s what it takes. All that determination still scares the dickens out of me. Fortunately, now that she has Jason, plus three kids of her own, plus her sweater design business, she doesn’t have much time left to waste on sticking her nose into my business.”

Penny sighed with such wistfulness that Sam was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”

“I guess I was just wondering what it would have been like to grow up in such a tight-knit family. We hardly ever see my older sisters. Mom and Aunt Kate are pretty close now, but for a while there was a lot of tension between them when they discovered they were only half sisters. I feel like I missed out on so much by not knowing about this extended family on the East Coast until Grandfather came after my grandmother to rekindle their old love affair. Maybe that’s why I ended up loving books and science. I could get so absorbed in them, I didn’t notice how lonely I was.”

“And here I was just thinking that you were the lucky one, growing up with two parents in a house filled with love and stability.”

“I guess we never truly appreciate what we have until we see it through other people’s eyes.”

The surprisingly philosophical and almost friendly conversation died the instant heaping plates of pasta arrived, along with steaming garlic bread and a dry red wine.

“Heaven,” Penny murmured a long time later.

Sam pushed away the last of his meal with a similar sigh of contentment. “Coffee?”

“Not another thing,” she said. “I should be getting home. I have to be at the lab by seven.”

“I thought you were here for grad school.”

“I am, but I’m doing a research project, too.”

She started to explain it, something about bacteria and virus that sounded pretty lethal to Sam. He was astounded by the glint of excitement in her eyes as she discussed her work. To a man who’d struggled through the bare minimum requirements in high school science, it was an eye-opening experience to discover someone who actually viewed all that stuff with genuine enthusiasm.

“Don’t you think there’s something a little odd about getting so turned on by a bunch of germs?” he inquired as he walked her back to her apartment.

“You wouldn’t feel that way if you had a disease caused by those germs and I had the cure.”

He shrugged. “I suppose.”

They fell silent after that. Sam glanced down at her and saw an expression that might have been disappointment on her face. That look made him feel guilty all over again. He probably should have feigned an interest in her life’s work, but he’d gotten used to being on his own and not doing anything that didn’t really appeal to him. Okay, he’d gotten downright selfish.

“Thanks for dinner,” she said at her door.

“Sure,” he said. He shoved his hands into his pockets and suddenly felt like a kid on a first date with absolutely no idea of what to do next.

“I’m sorry we got off to such a rocky start,” he said finally.

“Me, too.”

He tried to figure out something else to say, tried to figure out why he had this perfectly ridiculous urge to kiss her until the sadness in her eyes fled. Instead he just backed away, hand lifted in a wave. “See you.”

“Yeah, right,” she said in a way that told him she didn’t believe it any more than he did, but was willing to go along with the polite charade.

Outside, he drew in a deep breath and tried to feel triumphant about having paid off his debt to Granddad Brandon. Instead he felt as if he’d just yanked the wings off a helpless, fragile butterfly.

Chapter 3

Staring into her microscope the following morning, Penny was finally able to put all thoughts of Sam out of her head. It was always like this for her. In the lab, she could retreat to another place, where the only thing that mattered was what she saw magnified on a tiny rectangle of glass. This was a world of mysteries to be unraveled, a world of challenges, a world where she was respected for her mind. It was safe, but never boring.

She took a sip of her coffee, then slipped another slide into place. She was peering intently at the microorganisms and making notes when the phone rang. Impatient at the interruption, she snatched it up.

“Yes?”

“Is that you, Penny, my sweet?”

She sighed and put aside the pen. “Hello, Grandfather.” She glanced at her watch. “What are you doing calling at this hour? It’s the crack of dawn in California.”

“Your grandmother likes to go for a walk before the birds get up. She insists we’ll live a lot longer. If you ask me, we’re already ahead of the game, but you know how she is. So, how’s it going? You settling in okay?”

“I’m doing fine.”

“I still think you should have moved into my house. You’d have had it all to yourself most of the time since your grandmother likes the weather better out here.”

“I like my apartment. I got to fix it up just the way I wanted to. It’s cozy. I’d just be rattling around in that big old place of yours. Besides, you know how I hate to dust.”

“That’s why I have a housekeeper,” he reminded her.

It was a familiar argument, but Penny wasn’t inclined to bring it to an end. She knew what would be coming next and it wasn’t something she wanted to get into. Before she could think of a way to head him off, he inquired casually, “Has Sam been by yet? He promised he’d drop in on you.”

“Oh, he dropped in, all right,” she retorted drily. “Made quite an entrance, in fact.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means that of all the idiotic, harebrained schemes you’ve ever come up with, this one takes the cake. I thought you’d learned your lesson about trying to force Sam and me together nine years ago.”

“What scheme? What lesson?” he said, sounding genuinely puzzled.

“You know what I’m talking about. I do not need a babysitter. I do not need somebody hanging around me out of pity.”

“Oh, fiddle-faddle. Nobody’s pitying you, girl.”

“Seemed like that to me.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, which you probably haven’t with your head always focused on that microscope or poked into a book, you’re a beautiful young woman.”

“And you’re a biased old man.”

He paused at that, then asked quietly, “Okay, then, what about a friend? Couldn’t you use one of those? Sam would make a good one.”

Penny couldn’t imagine the supremely masculine Sam indulging in anything as bland as a casual, platonic friendship with any woman. But maybe men, especially seventy-eight-year-old grandfathers, couldn’t recognize such blatant sensuality in another male. She sighed just thinking about the effect the man had on her.

This was no time to dwell on that, though. She had heard the caring and worry in her grandfather’s voice. Though he’d never said a word about it, he more than anyone had recognized the bruised feelings Sam had left in his wake after their first encounter. Obviously he’d viewed this manufactured reunion as a chance for Sam to make amends. Little did he know.

“I may be alone, but I’m not lonely,” she told him firmly. “But even if I were the loneliest person on earth, I don’t think Sam Roberts would be the solution to the problem.”

“You two aren’t still fussing at each other like a couple of kids in the school yard, are you?”

“Not exactly.”

“What exactly?” he persisted.

“I just don’t think he and I got off on the right foot for establishing a friendship.”

“You mean nine years ago? For goodness’ sake, girl, can’t you forget about that? That was my fault, more than his. I pushed him because I could see how much it meant to you.”

“You’re probably right about that,” she agreed readily, even though he’d probably hoped she’d let him off the hook.

“I thought you’d be good for each other,” he said defensively. “Still do, for that matter.”

“You wouldn’t feel that way if you’d seen us last night.”

This time her grandfather was the one who sighed heavily. “Okay, what went wrong this time?” he asked. He sounded defeated, but she knew better than to believe he’d given up.

Penny described the way she’d mistaken Sam for some maniac. Her grandfather chuckled with unmistakable glee as she told the story. By the time she’d finished, she was able to put aside the odd mix of outrage and embarrassment and laugh with him. “Okay, so in retrospect it was pretty amusing, but I don’t think he saw it that way. I humiliated him in front of his colleagues.”

“Trust me,” Brandon said, “Sam doesn’t humiliate too easily. He grew up with a hide like an elephant. He had to.”

Penny wasn’t so sure. She recalled that tiny spark of dismay in his eyes as his two fellow officers had listened to her scrambling to explain what had happened. Contrary to the image he liked to project, she was beginning to suspect Sam just might be a decent kind of guy. The mistake he’d made years ago had been in trying to please his surrogate grandfather rather than thinking of her feelings. Even that kiss hadn’t been a crime. In some ways, the discovery was incredibly disconcerting, fueling the ridiculous attraction she’d always felt and sworn she was over.

She’d probably just imagined that hint of sensitivity, anyway, she told herself sternly. Just as quickly, she countered with the reminder that he had hung out with her the night before. She wasn’t sure exactly why he’d insisted on dinner, especially since it had been abundantly clear that he’d have preferred to be almost anywhere else on earth. It was possible that once again he had only done it to please her grandfather. Or maybe he’d intended to satisfy some smidgen of guilt over his own behavior. Less likely, but certainly possible, was that he had recognized her unfamiliar desire for companionship in a new place. At any rate, Sam had been there for her.

“If you’re that worried about it, you could call and apologize again,” her grandfather said, apparently interpreting her silence as unspoken concern for Sam’s feelings. “Send the man some flowers. That’ll catch him off guard.”

Penny could just imagine the gossip at the police station if a dozen roses turned up on Sam Roberts’s desk. The idea held a certain appeal, but she squashed it. She recognized a sneaky tactic when she saw one. Her grandfather was just trying to manipulate another meeting. A dozen roses would leave Sam duty-bound to call.

“When hell freezes over,” she muttered. “If anybody apologizes to the man, it ought to be you.”

Her grandfather huffed indignantly. Then he said, “Okay, so maybe I will.”

Something in his tone warned her she should have let well enough alone.

Penny knew for certain just how big her mistake had been when the phone rang the following day, right when she was in the middle of a critical experiment in the lab.

“Penny, it’s Sam.”

“Yes,” she murmured distractedly, her gaze still locked on what she was seeing through the microscope lens.

“How about dinner?”

That got her attention. “Dinner? You and me? Why? We’ve done that.”

“You have to eat. I have to eat. We might as well do it together,” he retorted, his tone losing any last hint of graciousness.

“Granddad,” she said with a sigh.

He chuckled at her ready recognition of the source of the invitation. “Okay, he’s at it again. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go along with him for one night, would it?”

“You don’t just go along with Brandon. The man is capable of steamrolling over the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

“True. But you and I, we’re tougher, right?”

Penny hesitated, but she had to admit there was a certain temptation in trying to outwit her grandfather. And she did think of herself as particularly adept at avoiding anything resembling a relationship that might interfere with her work. And despite those little frissons of attraction she’d felt a few days earlier, she was long over her silly infatuation with Sam, wasn’t she? So what was the harm?

The wounded look she sometimes saw in Sam Roberts’s eyes chose that moment to flicker alive in her memory. The dangerous, sexy smile taunted her. She dismissed them as inconsequential. They were talking about one evening. Dinner. How complicated could it get?

“When?” she said finally.

Her lack of enthusiasm apparently communicated itself to him. “Let’s get it over with. Tonight?”

“Fine. What time?”

“I have an appointment at five, but I should be through by six-thirty. If you can meet me there, I know a great restaurant in the neighborhood.”

“Is it half as good as Rosie’s?”

“Maybe even better, but don’t ever tell her I said that.”

“Hmm,” she said thoughtfully. “Something to hold over your head. I like that.”

“Watch it, short stuff,” he warned, but he was chuckling when he gave her the address. “See you later.”

Penny started to remind him to stop calling her “short stuff,” then realized that every time he used the affectionate phrase she automatically recalled how much larger and more powerfully built he was. It was downright interesting the way her thoughts always came back to settle on an image of how blasted attractive the man was. He probably did it intentionally for just that reason.

“Later,” she agreed, and wished her pulse wasn’t suddenly racing in anticipation.

Sam changed into his boxing shorts in the locker room, then went through the gym in search of Johnny, who’d owned the place forever. He found him in his cramped, paper-strewn office. He picked a box of invoices up off of the room’s only spare chair and plopped them on the floor.

“Are you ever going to clean this place?” he inquired, grinning at the grizzled old man who owned this seedy old barn of a gym.

Johnny’s Place made up for in atmosphere what it lacked in high-tech exercise equipment. This was the kind of gym that world heavyweight champs would feel comfortable in. Some had even trained here in preparation for title bouts a few decades back, according to local legend. And Johnny had yellowing, dog-eared, autographed photos of some of the best on the walls of his cluttered office. Right now, as always, he looked horrified by Sam’s suggestion that he straighten up.

“And mess up my filing system?” he protested. “Why would I want to go and do that after all these years?”

“You might discover you’re rich.”

“Or that I’m close to bankruptcy. Either way, it’s better not to know. As long as I’ve got enough for dinner and some bottles of linament, I figure business is good.”

“Has Randy been coming around to help out?” Sam asked, referring to the seventeen-year-old he was supposed to box in a few minutes. He’d brought the teen here to work out his frustrations, much as Jason had brought Sam years earlier.

“He shows up pretty regular,” Johnny said evasively.

“How regular is that?”

“Every couple of days. Sticks around for a few hours. I don’t have that much for him to do.”

“I thought he was going to help with this paperwork. He has a good head on his shoulders and math was the one subject he passed with flying colors.”

“He tries, but like I said, things are a little disorganized in here.”

Sam sensed that Johnny was holding something back. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know what, but he’d gotten Johnny into this. He owed it to him to see that nothing went wrong. “What aren’t you telling me?” he asked.

The aging boxer regarded him with regret. “Hey, I don’t want to go telling tales.”

“Come on, Johnny. What’s going on?”

“The kid’s got these friends, okay?” He shuddered. “I gotta tell you, Sammy, they give me the creeps. I don’t want ’em hanging around.”

Sam could see how much Johnny hated making the admission. And coming from an old boxer who wasn’t afraid of much, the fear had to be taken seriously. Besides, Sam knew exactly which friends Johnny was talking about. They were precisely the reason he’d gotten Randy the job at the gym. He sighed.

“I don’t blame you,” he told Johnny. “Thanks for trying. I’ll talk to Randy, but if he doesn’t want to make the break from this gang of his, I’ll try to figure out something else.”

Johnny regarded him worriedly. “I hope to hell he’ll listen. He’s a good kid. I can see that. But those friends of his are real trouble.”

Back in the gym, Sam pulled on his gloves and started warming up at one of the punching bags. Randy, trailed by the two-bit criminals he considered his pals, finally showed at five-fifteen. All of them were wearing black jeans and black T-shirts with the logo of some rap group that thrived on violent lyrics. They all had haircuts that could break a mother’s heart. Most of them had diamond studs in one ear. Probably real, Sam thought, wondering which jeweler they’d ripped off.

He shot a disapproving frown at Randy. “You’re late.”

“Sorry. We were tied up.”

Sam could just imagine what had detained them. They’d probably been staking out a business to rob. He bit back a suggestion that Randy send his delinquent buddies on their way. Maybe he could do something to get through to all of them. Okay, so he suffered from delusions, but it was worth a shot.

“Any of you guys want to go a few rounds?” he inquired.

“Nah. We’re just fixing to watch Ran-dall,” Tank Landry informed him. The scrawny, dark-haired kid with mean eyes already had an impressive rap sheet for someone not even out of his teens. All pretty tame stuff so far, but it was only a short leap from burglary to armed robbery.

Sam read the anticipation on Tank’s face. He was probably hoping Randy would pound the cop into the ropes. Fortunately, Randy wasn’t that quick on his feet yet. With a little practice, though, Tank and his associates could get their wish. Tonight, however, maybe it would do them some good to see that one of their own wasn’t nearly as tough as they imagined.

Before they entered the ring, he pulled Randy aside and nodded toward the onlookers. “I thought we had a deal.”

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