Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“No! I want you to stay with me all the time. I want you to move in and be with—”
“Okay, good,” he grumbled, pulling on his seat belt. “I was very confused there for a second. You need to work on the clarity of your words.”
“Oh?”
He snorted out a laugh. “You get so puffed up and ruffled really fast. It’s so fun to mess with you.” His laughter, the pure happiness in it, mollified me quite a bit.
Never had I been in a relationship. Sex, yes, but not a man in my home. No one had ever woken up in my bed before Lorne MacBain.
“I’m not trying to rush you into anything,” Lorne said gently. “I just… It’s been this weird roller coaster for me.”
“How so?” I put on my seat belt.
“How so?” he repeated, incredulous. “First you don’t see me, then you don’t like me, then you do, then you want me but you’re worried I’ll leave you.”
“I…”
“And then you decide you want me forever.”
“Did I say forever?”
He looked at me, shaking his head.
“What?”
“Don’t tease me, Xan. My heart can’t take it.” He extended his hand to me, palm up.
I took it fast, realizing in that moment that this man had a much softer gooey center than I could’ve predicted. He was as unsure and off-balance as I was.
“We’re in this together, Lor. We’ll figure it all out.”
“Well, us, you and me, we can take our time. The rest of this, we need to get a handle on it now.”
“Absolutely. So, in that vein, do you know where Kettleman Lane is?”
“I’m the chief of police,” he groused at me. “I know where—”
I chuckled. “Okay, then, Chief MacBain. Let’s go.”
I got a glare, but since he only let my hand go to shift gears, I wasn’t all that worried.
By the time we reached the Hernandezes’ house, I had explained about cultists, not cannibals—
“Oh, Amanda’s gonna be bummed,” he commented.
—and the fact that finding where the cultists had lived would probably give us more information.
“That’s really sad about Hillary and Spencer. It’s too bad her folks didn’t see his potential to make their daughter happy and love her. That should have been their only stipulation for her to marry anyone.”
“You’re a romantic, Lorne. Did you know that?”
He grunted. “Don’t get me wrong, I know back in the day things were different and a woman couldn’t just provide for herself and her children if things went south, but you always have to gamble on love, don’t you think?”
“I do,” I agreed, smiling at him.
“It sounds like Hillary was ready.”
“It was her parents who disappointed her,” I said, thinking how sad it was that she’d thought something that wasn’t true about the man she loved. He hadn’t left her, and I would need to find a way to tell her that.
Once we parked in the circular driveway of the enormous three-story Georgian colonial the Hernandezes had built when Jesus became a councilman, and were about to get out—both of our doors open—Taylor came charging down the front steps of her home, yelling at me that she wasn’t giving them back yet.
Lorne seemed about to say something to her, when I roared back, “I’m not even out of the car yet, you crazy person!”
She closed her mouth and stood up straight.
“You can’t keep maps from the reference section of the library, no matter how big of an ass Joanna Milton is to you.”
She deflated.
“But,” I went on, “you can hand them over to the chief now, and no one has to be the wiser.”
Her head snapped up at that, and she looked at Lorne all hopeful.
“Absolutely,” he said gruffly, following my lead, “if you help us with something.”
“Yes, yes of course,” she assured him.
“Go get the map, and then come back out and talk to us.”
“Why don’t you come inside and warm up,” she offered. “I have some of that amazing tea of yours and—”
“We need to do this quickly,” Lorne interrupted. “This isn’t a social call. We’re coming to you for help.”
“Oh, okay, sure. I’ll be right back.”
“How did you know she was guilty of something?” Lorne asked me the second she was gone.
“It’s because our reference librarian is a real piece of work.”
“What?”
As we got out of the Jeep, I explained all about Joanna Milton and how much she hated helping people, even though that was basically her entire job.
“Seriously?”
“Yes,” Taylor huffed out as she crossed over to the Jeep with a leather map case slung over her shoulder. When she reached us, she took the strap off her shoulder and handed it to Lorne. “She’s a terrible person, and if Xander doesn’t get back soon, I will take these permanently because someone who cares should watch over them.”
“I agree,” I told her, patting her arm. “Hopefully they’ll call me soon.”
“Call you?” she asked, perking up.