Foxfire (11 page)

He eased her down to the blanket, his body
covering hers. She felt the warm sun against her skin.

He kissed a path down her neck. “Grace, I
don’t want to hurt you.”

She gazed into his passion-glazed eyes. “You
can’t hurt me any more than I’ve already been hurt.” She brought
his head back down so their lips once again met.

Tiffany barked near by, then her bark turned
to a deep growl. Grace moaned What crappy timing.

Tyler growled, sounding much like Tiffany.
“I'm going to muzzle your dog.”

Tiffany’s barks grew farther away as she gave
chase to something.

“Probably a rabbit or a raccoon,” Grace said.
She laughed.

He reached for her again. “Now where were
we?”

She pushed against his chest.

“Bad timing, huh?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Tiffany came racing back and began to lap the
water in her bowl.

Grace tucked her shirt into her jeans, and
smiled at Tyler stumbling to get to his feet. Self-consciously, she
tucked her hair behind her ears. She'd almost made the mistake of
making love to her boss. Again. Would she never learn? First
falling for a man like Max, just because he pretended to care for
her, then Connor. Oh, sure she'd known Connor didn't love her, but
she'd hoped time would make a difference. But Tyler? She knew
better than to get her hopes up with a man like him. He'd expect
complete honesty and he'd want someone untarnished, not a woman
like her. If he learned the truth, he'd want nothing more to do
with her.

Tiffany looked up, water dribbling from her
jowls. Her ears pricked and a low rumbling growl rose from her
chest. She raced into the thick foliage, baring her teeth.

Tyler followed. “Grace, stay here.”

“Why?”

“I think someone's out there.”

Grace stood, ignoring his request. “I'll bet
Adam followed us,” she said.

“Wait here.” He slipped into the woods,
following Tiffany's snarls.

Grace began to gather their picnic supplies.
So much for romance. Who needed it anyway?

Tyler soon returned shaking his head.
“Nothing. She's snorting in the leaves now. You're right. It was
probably an animal.” He came to her and wrapped his hands around
her waist pulling her to him. He gave her a quick kiss. “You’re so
beautiful.” He angled his head and kissed the sensitive spot on her
neck, just below her ear. “So beautiful,” he whispered.

Grace forced her thoughts to where they were
and who they were. She couldn't do this. Not until she told him the
truth. If he still wanted her afterward, then and only then could
she open herself to the possibility of a relationship. She pushed
against his chest. “No.” He raised his head and looked into her
eyes. Did her eyes contain the same look of passion that his did?
“Please.”

He dropped his hands and stepped back.
“What's wrong, Grace?”

She took a deep breath. “I just need some
time. Things are moving too fast and I'm not ready.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “You're
right. We need to take it slower.” A grin tugged at his lips and
the teasing light was back in his eyes. “I like slow.” He leaned
down and picked up the remains of their picnic, then took her hand.
“Come on. Let's take a nice slow walk back.”

“Wait.” She stooped and picked up an egg
shaped rock.

“What's that for?”

She gave him a huge smile. “I'm not planning
to use it on you, if that's what you're worried about. This is a
perfect rock for painting.”

“Painting?”

She nodded. “I'll show you sometime.”

Tiffany ran back with a satisfied grin on her
face.

“So you chased off our visitor, huh?” Grace
asked. She knew Tiffany wouldn't have growled if she'd only been
chasing an animal. Intuition told her Adam had been spying on them,
and it wouldn't be the last time unless Grace confronted him. She
wondered if he'd been lying about having a date last night. There
was something about Adam that made her want to lock her doors and
bar her windows.

When they reached Grace's house, Tyler headed
on to the clinic and Grace went to Brad's.

She and Brad sat on the porch and she told
him about finding the rose and the note.

“I'm not sure how to handle it,” Grace
confessed. “If you could talk to him, I'd be grateful.”

“I'll do that. Strange note he left though.
Doesn't sound like something Adam would do. In fact, the whole rose
thing sounds out of character for him.”

Grace nodded. “He's been different lately,
though. Ever since he asked me out. But it seems strange that he
had a date and still left a rose, don't you think?”

He patted her knee. “I'll have a talk with
him and see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Brad.”

“So you and Tyler went to Hannah Falls?”

“Yes.” She grinned. “As if you didn't know
about it ahead of time. Tyler told me you said I could be bribed
with food.”

Brad cackled. “You enjoyed it, didn’t
you?”

“It was...nice.” She could feel her cheeks
warming. It was a whole lot better than nice, but she wasn't about
to share that with Brad. “There's been enough rain to make the
waterfall heavy. You and I will have to go soon.”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean, maybe? We always go there
several times a year.”

He grinned. “Well, now you have Tyler. You
young ones should go and leave an old codger like me to rock on my
porch.”

“Stop. You're not old, and you're my best
friend. Of course we'll go. Tyler's just my boss.”

“Mmm-hmm. If you say so.”

Grace knew Brad was teasing her, so she
changed the subject. “Who do you think Adam had a date with last
night?”

“Beats me. You'd think he'd bring her to our
table, but Adam is kind of private. Too bad his folks left him so
well off. He needs to spend more time around people, not stay holed
up in that house all the time. No wonder he's so hard to
communicate with.”

“Hasn't he ever worked?”

“As far as I know, he's never worked a day in
his life, except for volunteering at the library.”

“He doesn't seem like a man who reads
much.”

Brad shrugged. “You'd be surprised. Adam
might not sound educated, but he's a smart man.”

“Interesting.” She kissed Brad's cheek.
“Thanks for the chat. If you talk to Harri, tell her I'll give her
a call soon.”

****

Tyler went through the motions of fixing
dinner and cleaning up, but his mind swirled with images of Grace
and Natalie. He'd come to Foxfire with only one goal. To catch the
bastard who killed his wife. He'd thought the key to success was
through Grace, but he'd been wrong. Grace didn't have a clue that
Max had begun a killing spree, nor that her life was in danger. Max
had used Grace as ruthlessly as he had Natalie. Thankfully Grace
escaped his clutches. She wasn't at all what Tyler had expected.
Despite what she endured in the past, she'd forged a new life and
she looked at each day with the optimism he longed to have. How had
she found peace? How did she let go and move forward?

He walked out onto the deck and gazed through
the trees toward her house. He could see a small glimmer of light.
What was she doing now? Would she be preparing for bed? He wondered
if she wore cotton shirts or black silk lingerie...or...nothing at
all when she crawled between the sheets of her bed.

Frustrated, he went inside and locked the
door.

Chapter Eight

Brad set out a plate of Harri's oatmeal
cookies. When he'd called, Adam didn't question why, just said he'd
be right down. It made Brad feel a bit guilty for spending so much
time with Tyler over the past weeks. He hadn't meant to ignore
Adam.

When Grace asked Brad to question Adam about
the roses, he assured her he would. Maybe he shouldn't use their
friendship this way, but Brad wanted to prevent Grace from
confronting Adam. If anyone could salvage the situation, Brad was
the one to do it.

When Adam knocked, Brad waved him in. “Make
yourself at home.”

Adam pulled out a chair and sat down. “Sorry
I couldn't join you for dinner last night.”

“Had a date, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Anybody I know, or would you rather not
tell?” Brad handed a mug to Adam and pushed a plate, mounded with
cookies, across the table. “Have one of Harri's cookies. Made fresh
yesterday.”

Adam bit into one and leaned back against the
chair. One arm rested on the table. He spoke around the food he
continued to chew. “It was Lainey.” He dipped the cookie into the
coffee and stuffed it into his mouth. “These 'er good.”

“I'll let Harri know.” Brad sipped his
coffee. “Lainey, huh? You two getting back together?”

“We're just friends, I guess.”

Brad saw his opening. “Nothin' wrong with
having friends of the opposite sex. Kind of like me and Grace.” He
watched Adam's face and saw a brief flicker of something unreadable
cross his features.

Adam nodded. “You're lucky she sees you as a
friend.”

“Grace is your friend, too, Adam.”

“Nah. I don't think she likes me much.”

“Why not?” Brad helped himself to a
cookie.

Adam pushed back his hat and scratched his
head.

“I asked her to dinner and she turned me
down. And her dog hates me.”

“Tiffany? She likes everybody.”

Adam shook his head. “Not me. I think she
knows I'm scared of her.”

“Thought you'd gotten over being afraid of
dogs.”

Adam's eyes opened wider. “I tried, but it
didn't work. Dogs still scare the beejeezus out of me. Especially
big dogs. Grace lets hers run loose all the time. That's not good.
Look what happened to Lainey's dog the other day when that car hit
it.” He shook his head. “Grace should be more careful.”

Adam gobbled another cookie. Crumbs floated
on the top of his coffee, but he didn't seem bothered.

“Want another cup?” Brad asked.

“Sure.” Adam pushed his mug toward Brad.
“I've missed our visits. Figured you were too busy for your old
friends.”

“I've been busy, but I never forget my
friends. As a matter of fact, I want to invite you to dinner next
Sunday. I've already invited Harri and Grace. And Tyler. You could
ask Lainey.”

“Does Grace know you're inviting me?”

“Yes.” He didn't think God would hold one fib
against him. Especially since it was for a good cause.

Adam's face lit. “Really? And she wasn't
upset?”

“Not upset, but she's a bit concerned about
the roses you're leaving her.”

“Roses? Me?” His hand, wielding another
cookie, stopped short of his mouth. His eyes seemed to double in
size.

Adam couldn't be that good an actor. He
obviously knew nothing about it.

“I never gave her any flowers,” he said.

Brad poured two fresh mugs of coffee and
handed one to Adam. He took a sip before responding. “Hmmm. She
thought it was you.”

“What about Tyler? I saw the two of them
kissing.”

“Uh-uh. The first one was left the day Connor
came to her house. You were there that day, weren't you?”

“What is this, the third degree?” Adam rose
from the chair.

Brad patted his arm. “Sorry. I just wondered
if he might have left it.”

“That bum? Doubt if he'd do anything nice
like that. He was real mean to Grace. I told her if he came back to
let me know. I'd like to have a piece of him, I would.” Adam
stuffed the cookie in his mouth and sat down.

“Looks like we've got a mystery on our hands.
Someone's been leaving those roses. She found another one after we
got home from dinner last night.”

Adam leaned both forearms on the table,
putting his face closer to Brad's. He looked left and right as if
expecting someone to overhear. “We ought to keep an eye on her
house. Maybe we can catch the guy in the act. We don't want
anything bad to happen to Grace.”

Brad's scalp crawled. “What do you mean?”

Adam stopped chewing, mouth agape, showing
more than Brad cared to see. “Are you kidding me? With all the
murders?”

“In Knoxville. Not Foxfire. There's no one
here who would hurt a soul.” Or was there?

“Maybe so, but we have to be careful. Bad
things happen even in safe communities, you know.”

Brad wondered if Adam was telling the truth.
Would he lie to a friend? If Adam wasn't the one leaving the
flowers, who could it be?

****

Grace stood beside her living room window and
stared at Adam from behind the veil of curtains. She glanced
nervously at her watch. She couldn't stall too much longer or she'd
be late for work. Why was he waiting for her?

Steeling herself for the worst, Grace stepped
outside and pulled the door shut behind her. Readjusting her purse
strap over her shoulder she waved. “Hi, Adam.”

He nodded. “I've been waiting for you.”

Tiffany ran toward him and he backed away
nervously.

“Tiffany, stop.”

She did. She sat close to Adam's feet.

Surprised that she didn't growl, Grace
wondered if she was wrong about Adam. Tiffany didn't seem upset to
see him. Maybe Adam hadn't been the one who'd followed them to
Hannah Falls.

“I think she's trying to make friends with
you.”

Adam held a trembling hand down and Tiffany
sniffed.

“See? Go ahead and pet her.” Would Tiffany be
so passive if Adam was a threat? No way.

Adam stretched a hand out, but Tiffany moved
away.

He snatched his hand to his chest, his eyes
widening fearfully. “She doesn’t like me.” Adam's gaze met Grace's.
“You really should keep her on a leash.”

Out of the question. There were no
restrictions in Foxfire. Besides, Tiffany was a free spirit. And
regardless of Adam's fear, she knew her dog wouldn't hurt a soul.
She bit back a sharp retort, knowing it would serve no purpose.
“Did you need something, Adam?”

“I'll walk you to work,” he said. “I want to
talk to you about the roses.”