Forever Eva [Sequel to When Kat's Away] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (18 page)

Laura chuckled and watched as Eva dashed toward the kitchen. “Guess you’re no
Martha Stewart
if that smoke alarm is any indication.” Quickly, she glanced around the living room. “Come on, little lady. Where’s your purse?” She scanned the tables and then spotted a gold locket on the coffee table. “Well, now, what have we here?” She dug a couple of Kleenex out of her purse and picked up the necklace. “I know this doesn’t belong to the men, so I’m pretty sure it’s got to belong to the little princess.” When the alarm suddenly stopped, she stuffed the necklace in her purse and quickly moved to the sliding doors to look out over the backyard.

Laura turned when Eva walked into the room, wringing a dish towel in her hands. “Is everything okay?”

Eva blushed. “Yeah, I just haven’t quite got the hang of that stove. It gets hotter than I want, and then things get too done. Tony’s got that contraption on the wall that bellows like a donkey stuck in the mud every time it feels a whiff of smoke.”

Laura choked back a laugh and studied the smaller woman. Her shorts were a tad long, ending almost at her knees, while the T-shirt, bearing a large smiling face, seemed to be covered in flour and some unknown substance. It was so domestic she wanted to scream.

“I’m sorry. You don’t wanna hear about my kitchen troubles. What is it I can do for you?”

“Nothing, really. I was just stopping by to see how you’re getting along. Tony mentioned that you’re visiting, so I just wanted to be neighborly.”

Eva narrowed her eyes. “Tony told you about me visiting?”

Laura moved to the couch and sat down, leaning back with her arm stretched along the upholstery. “Of course he did.” She lowered her eyes and stared up through her lashes. “He and I are very close. I’m sure you understand.”

Eva bit her lip and glanced toward the stairs. For a moment she said nothing, and then she nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

“Where are you from, Eva?”

She stared down at her hands. “Here and there. Nowhere in particular.”

Laura frowned. “Where’d you grow up?”

Eva swallowed. “Round these parts, more or less.”

Frustrated, Laura leaned forward. “Well, maybe you can answer this. How long do you plan on staying here?”

Eva moved to the chair and sat down. “I don’t have any definite plans. I guess I hadn’t thought it through, yet.”

“Well, if you plan on sticking around, you really need to look into finding your own place. You don’t wanna put Tony out for too long. He does have other obligations.” Laura stood and moved toward the door. “Honey, don’t look so sad. A man like Tony has needs, and he and I have been close
friends
for a very long time.” She pulled open the door and glanced back at the white-faced woman. “You think over what I’ve said, dear, and if you need any help finding someplace to live, just let me know, and I’ll help any way I can.”

Eva walked to the door. “Thank you for your, um, kindness, ma’am.” Laura turned to go down the steps and stopped when Eva put a hand on her arm. “Do you know who that man is?”

Laura turned to look in the direction Eva pointed and saw an older man, dressed in Western wear, with a Stetson on his head, standing at the side of the road. He seemed to be watching the house. When she stepped forward to get a better look, he jumped into a blue truck parked a few feet away and drove off. “No, I didn’t recognize him, and I couldn’t see the license plate on the truck. Why, has he been bothering you?”

Eva wrung her hands. “I saw him this morning when the guys left for work. He makes me nervous, the way he stares at the house.”

Laura frowned and looked down the street. “Well, keep your doors locked, and I’ll see if I can get the police to run a few extra patrols through the neighborhood for the next few days.”

Eva smiled. “Thanks so much. I’m sure it’s probably nothing, but I’d feel a whole lot safer if someone was watching out for him.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can do.” She went down two steps and then stopped and turned back around. “It might embarrass Tony if he knew we’d talked about him, so if you don’t mind, can we keep this between us? I don’t wanna cause him any stress.”

Eva worried her lip with her teeth. “Sure, I don’t wanna cause him no trouble.”

Laura grinned. “Then I’ll be off. You have yourself a good day, Eva, and be careful with that stove.” She climbed into her car and watched Eva go back into the house and close the door. She pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed a number. On the second ring someone answered.

“Ely Police Department.”

“Karen, this is Officer Kennedy. Connect me with Bishop down in Evidence.” She only had to listen to their country music background for a minute before the line was picked up.

“Bishop.”

“Danny, it’s Laura.”

“What can I do for you, pretty lady?”

She laughed. “Always the smart-ass. I need a favor.”

“I’ll do whatever I can, especially if you agree to have dinner with me one night.”

Laura grimaced. “Sure, that’d be great.”

“What’s the favor?”

“I’ve picked up a bit of evidence that I want fingerprinted and the prints run both locally and nationally.”

“Yeah, so, that’s my job. What’s the catch?”

“I don’t want any paperwork on it. It’s not an official case, yet, but I wanna see where the trail leads.”

“You think you’re onto something?”

“Maybe. I won’t know for sure until you see what you can find.”

“What’s the piece you want fingerprinted?”

“It’s a woman’s gold locket.”

“Okay, no problem with printing it, but you’ll have to give me at least a day.”

“Why’s that?”

“The chief opened up our services to the surrounding areas since their budget doesn’t allow for in-house testing, so I’m a little backed up. And the documented cases will have to come before a freebie.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Does this mean I have to wait to schedule our dinner?”

She laughed. “No, you don’t have to wait. How about this Saturday?”

“Perfect. I’ll pick you up around seven if that’s okay.”

“Fine, I’ll run by now and drop off the necklace and then see you Saturday.”

“I’ll be watching for you, and, Laura?”

“Yes.”

“Plan on dressing up nice for me.”

* * * *

Tony unlocked the door, walked in, and tossed his keys on the table. The radio was playing loudly, and he could smell the faint odor of smoke. He was moving toward the kitchen when he caught movement at the corner of his eye. He turned and stopped, staring at Eva’s rear end moving seductively back and forth in front of the couch. He blinked twice and then adjusted his filling cock in his suddenly too-tight pants. He cleared his throat. “Eva, what in the world are you doing?”

She jumped, hitting her head on the bottom of the couch. “Dang it!”

He hurried over and pulled her to her feet as she rubbed the back of her head. “Honey, what were you doing down there?”

She looked up at him, her eyes shiny with moisture. One lone tear escaped to trail haphazardly down her cheek. He caught it with his thumb, rubbing it into her skin.

“I’m looking for my locket. I can’t find it, and I know I laid it here after I showed it to you last night.” She blushed and looked away. “It was still here when you carried me upstairs, but now it’s gone.”

“Well, it can’t have gone far. I mean, we’re the only ones that have been here, so I’m sure we’ll find it. Maybe Zach took it upstairs for you.”

She shook her head. “No, I’ve gone all over the bedrooms, and it’s not there.” She glanced down at the table. “I was sure I saw it lying here when we came down for breakfast this morning, but I didn’t pick it up because I figured I could get it later.”

Tony hugged her close and inhaled deeply. She smelled like a combination of some kind of flower and wood smoke. He frowned. “Where have you been?”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been here all day.”

“You smell like you’ve been around somebody’s fireplace.”

She laughed. “Oh, that. I’ve been cooking dinner.”

He looked down at her and then over toward the kitchen. “I don’t understand. The gas stove shouldn’t leave things smelling like that.”

She sighed and pushed away. “I tried my best, but I couldn’t make that monster stove work right. Each time I tried, that infernal contraption on the wall blared out at me. I finally gave up and decided to cook dinner my way.”

“Your way?”

She grinned and pulled his arm toward the kitchen. “Yes, my way. Come on, and I’ll show you.”

He allowed her to pull him to the kitchen. All the counters were bare, and there was nothing on the stove. “I don’t understand. You decided not to cook tonight?”

Eva grinned. “Be patient.” She led him toward the back door and motioned for him to go outside. He did, with her following close behind. When he turned toward the yard, his mouth dropped open. There, on his brick grill was a small fire with several of his pots sitting on top of the grate. He moved closer and noticed the fire was not from the bag of charcoal he kept in the garage, but was actually bits of wood. He turned to look at Eva. She’d crossed her arms over her chest, her shoulders back, and her head high. She practically glowed with an expression of supreme confidence.

“Where’d you get the wood?” he asked.

Her eyes widened, and she swept her arm out toward the forest behind his house. “Are you joking? It’s all around. I just went for a walk and gathered a bunch of kindling.” Her face paled, and she took a step back. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”

Tony took a deep breath and rushed over to pick her up and twirl her around. He smiled when she squealed at his antics. “Absolutely not. I’m amazed at your resourcefulness. What’d you make for dinner?”

She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You didn’t have a good iron skillet for frying, so I’ve made chicken and dumplings, with some green beans on the side. They were in your freezer, and they didn’t take long to get soft enough for me to cook.”

Tony walked over and lifted the lid off the largest pot. A rich chicken aroma drifted up from the soft, white dumplings covered the top of the pan. “Damn, it looks like what my granny used to make for me when I was little.”

Eva moved to stand beside him and replaced the lid. “I’m glad I could bring back a good memory for you.”

He wiped at the moisture in his eyes and turned to smile at her. “You brought back some fantastic memories, honey. When will we be ready to eat?”

“As soon as Zach gets here, we can move everything inside and set the table.”

Tony’s head came up when he heard a vehicle pull up out front. “I think that’s him now.”

Eva jumped and ran for the door. She looked back over her shoulder and grinned. “Let’s go see.”

He followed her through the house where she threw open the front door and launched herself into Zach’s arms. He grinned, closing his arms around her and lifting her off her feet.

Tony smiled. “Not quite as good as the greeting I got, but it’ll do.”

Zach frowned. “What kind of greeting did you get?”

Before Tony could answer, Eva pushed out of Zach’s arms and pointed down the road.

“There he is again,” she yelled. “He’s watching us.”

Tony had just spotted the man standing a few doors down in the trees when Zach went racing across the lawn.

“Wait up, mister. I wanna talk to you,” Zach yelled.

The man turned and bolted for a dark-blue truck. He jumped inside, gunned the engine, and sped off, throwing gravel and dust in a cloud behind him. Zach stopped running and bent over to catch his breath. He cursed loudly and made his way back to Tony and Eva.

“Did you get his license plate?” asked Tony.

“Hell, no. The damn truck didn’t have a tag.”

“Come on in the house. I’m gonna put out a BOLO on the truck and see if one of the guys can spot it.”

* * * *

Eva felt a chill, even though the day was warm and sunny. She jumped when Zach’s hands closed on her shoulders.

“Don’t worry, darlin’. We’re not gonna let anything happen to you, girl.”

She shuddered. “What do you think he wants? I’ve been seeing him off and on for the past few days.”

Zach shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t recognize him.”

“Well, I wish he’d just come on up and introduce himself and say what he wants. He’s making me plumb crazy.”

Zach urged her toward the door. “Come on. Let’s get inside and see what Tony has to say.”

She walked in just as Tony ended his call.

“The guys on the night shift are gonna fan out and see if they can spot the truck, and a couple of them will do regular patrols in the neighborhood tonight.”

“I thought they were already gonna do extra patrolling here.”

Tony frowned. “What are you talking about, Eva?”

“Laura said she’d have them patrol this area for the next few days.”