“Was she mad?” Emily asked.
“Furious.” He shot her a grin. “My mother always was a tough woman, and when she was angry, she was a force of nature.”
Emily laughed softly. “I know the type.”
“But she’d lock herself outside, wander around her neighborhood in her nightgown. It wasn’t safe anymore.”
“That has to be hard.”
The spoon clinked against the side of Greg’s cup as he stirred. “Well, you do what you have to.”
Late-afternoon sunlight poured through the window, warming her arms despite the air-conditioning. Emily took a sip of her sweet, icy drink.
“Your mom seems like a neat lady.”
Greg smiled. “She is. She doesn’t know me anymore, though.”
“I’m sure she never thought she’d live to forget her child.” Emily looked into Greg’s sad face. He nodded slowly.
“I really appreciate your help today.”
“You’ve been doing this alone, haven’t you?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Am I that obvious?”
She shrugged. “You’re that kind of guy. Capable. Responsible. Stubborn.”
He shot her a grin at her last descriptor. “I guess I’ve always been the one people came to for help.” He lifted his cup to his lips. “Being chief of police around here plays into it.”
“So who do
you
lean on?” she asked.
“God.”
She smiled at that. “Which human being, then?”
Greg shook his head. “I take care of it myself.”
“Everyone needs someone to lean on.”
He was silent for a long moment, then smiled. “I suppose one day I’ll find someone to rely on. Can’t say I’d ever lean on her, though. But it would be nice to share things.”
“She might end up being stronger than you think,” Emily said with a soft laugh.
“Everyone is strong if they have to be,” he agreed. “But I need to be the strong one. I just can’t seem to help my mom.” He sighed. “Sometimes being the strong one isn’t enough. Sometimes that just scares her.”
“And you hate having someone else help her when you can’t.”
He smiled. “Normally, yes, but it’s different with you.”
“How?”
“You’re—” he paused, shrugged “—hard to resent.”
Emily burst out laughing. “That’s a good thing.”
He nodded. “Definitely.”
The waitress came by with a pot of hot coffee. She tucked her pad of paper into her apron and lifted the pot.
“Warm you up, Chief?” she asked.
Greg lifted his cup for a refill.
“You want pie? Cake?” she asked as she poured.
“This place has the best cherry cheesecake. Have you had it?” Greg asked, fixing Emily with a mischievous smile.
Emily shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Could we get two pieces?” Greg asked, holding up two fingers.
“We only have one piece left,” she said with a wink. “But don’t worry—I’ll bring two forks.”
Before they could object, the waitress whisked away from the table, heading across the café to another table, her coffeepot held aloft.
Greg chuckled and shook his head. “It’s worth it. You’ll love this cheesecake.”
The bell above the door tinkled, and Greg turned to see who came inside. He raised a hand in a wave.
“This is Benny, one of the officers at the station.”
“Hi, Chief,” the big man said with a grin. He ambled over to where they sat and pulled up a chair. “Hey, it’s Sweet pea.”
Emily grinned as he bent over the car seat and made a face for Cora’s benefit. “Hi there, Sweet pea,” he crooned. “You’re looking good, kiddo. Growing right up.”
“This is Emily,” Greg said.
Benny shot out a hand and shook hers with enthusiasm. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” She nodded down at Cora. “Do you want to hold her?”
“Sure do.” A grin split his face as Emily lifted the baby into his arms.
“Here we go,” the waitress sang out as she deposited a large wedge of cheesecake onto the middle of the table. “And forks.”
She put two forks down, then looked at Benny dubiously. “An extra fork?” She held out a third fork questioningly.
“Thanks.” Benny took the proffered fork and beamed at Greg. “You’re a peach, boss.”
Greg rolled his eyes, but pulled the plate out of Benny’s reach. “Hey, ladies first. Let her try this.”
Emily took a forkful of cheesecake, and when she put it into her mouth, she couldn’t help but sigh with pleasure. Creamy, tangy, topped with cherries... It was perfection.
“Right?” Greg grinned.
She nodded. “Amazing.”
“Boss, I know this is your day off, but—” Benny suddenly blanched. “Oh, man. It’s your day off, and you’re with a woman eating cheesecake—” He looked from Greg to Emily, his face reddening. “You’re on a date.”
“No!” Emily and Greg blurted out at once.
“Just chatting,” Emily said. “You’re more than welcome to join us.”
Benny looked at Greg, who didn’t answer.
“I actually should get going,” Benny said slowly, eyes still on Greg. “Yep, definitely need to move along.”
Emily laughed. “It was nice to meet you, Benny.”
“Same here, ma’am.” Benny handed Cora back, giving her a wink. “He’s kind of gruff and he acts like a big toughie, but the chief is a decent guy.”
“Move along, Benny,” Greg retorted drily.
Benny chuckled. “See you.” Pushing himself to his feet, he headed for the door.
Emily stifled a laugh behind her hand.
“Yeah, that’s the raging respect I get around the station,” he joked.
“Oh, it’s obvious he really likes you.” Emily smiled. “Your officers trust you.”
He nodded. “And I trust them. That’s the kind of ship I run.”
Emily looked at her watch. “I have an appointment with my grandma. I’m helping her book some vacation tickets. I’d better not leave her waiting too long.”
Greg smiled. “Sure.”
“It was nice to just talk, though. I liked this.”
“Me, too.” He chuckled. “Sorry about Benny.”
“Oh, he’s harmless.”
“And thanks.” His tone became more guarded, and he broke eye contact. “For today. It meant a lot.”
Emily nodded and cleared her throat. “Anytime.”
The moment had passed. His smile turned professional, and he gave her a nod.
“Take care,” he said.
As she left the coffee shop, car seat in one hand, Emily heaved a sigh. Greg was a man with such depth and strength, but he used that strength to maintain his solitude.
Everyone needed someone to lean on, she thought as she unlocked her car. Men might like to think they were invulnerable, but she knew better. Not every woman needed rescuing, either. While he appreciated her help, she could feel his resistance.
Greg had been holding everything together on his own for so long that Emily felt sure it had become a habit for him. He was the strong one, the rescuer, the knight in shining armor for the whole town of Haggerston.
Emily didn’t need Greg to be a knight on a white horse, but she did wish some of his walls would come down and that their friendship would deepen.
Maybe that was too much to ask.
Chapter Ten
M
onday lunch with Beth and Nina was a tradition. They met at their favorite spot, Lou’s Diner. It didn’t look like much on the outside, complete with a big glowing sign that only lit up the
L
and
U,
but Lou’s had the best salads in town, hands down. They sat in a booth at the back, Cora sleeping soundly in her car seat on the bench beside Emily, and Nina and Beth on the other side facing her. Past the little wire basket of ketchup, mustard and sugar packets, she could see the parking lot out the window. Not much of a view, but this booth just about had their names on it. Monday lunch, the servers always kept it available. Nina’s generous tips probably had a lot to do with that.
Emily looked down at Cora. Her big blue eyes were open now, and she looked at one of her tiny clenched fists, nearly going cross-eyed in the effort. Emily ran her fingers over Cora’s silky red curls. As she looked up again, she heard the ding of the bell over the front door and glanced over to see Greg stepping inside. He was in uniform, his hat tucked under one arm in a way that drew her attention to just how defined those biceps were. He squinted from the summer sunlight, and as he came into the dimmer interior, he paused for a moment, resting the heel of his hand on the heavy belt that held his gun, badge and pepper spray. Emily thought she’d veiled her reaction, but apparently not, because Beth and Nina both turned to look where Emily’s attention had gone.
Greg gave her a grin and raised a hand in hello. Emily felt the blush rising in her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Em, but I don’t have much time before I’ve got to get back to work,” Nina whispered, then turned toward him and beckoned. “Hi, Chief!”
Emily let out a tortured sigh. This was part of what she was afraid of. She adored her friends, but they were meddlesome at best, and the last thing she needed right now was to parade this fledgling friendship out in front of the two most observant people on the planet for them to dissect.
Greg gave Nina a strange look, then his gaze slid over to Emily again. She gave him a bashful shrug, and a smile toyed at the corners of his lips. He held up a finger to say he’d be a minute and turned back to the young man receiving take-out orders at the counter.
“Nina.” Emily kept her voice low. “What are you doing?”
“Saying hello,” she replied innocently. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I’ll be perfectly well behaved.”
Greg gave the young man a smile and a nod, then turned back toward their booth. His thick, black police-issue shoes squeaked against the linoleum on his way over, and when he arrived at their booth, he leaned against the top of the seat next to Emily and looked down at them with an easy smile.
“Hi, ladies. Nice afternoon.” His voice was deep and quiet. Emily looked up at him, the soft scent of his aftershave wafting down to her. His eyes met hers, and he gave her a slow smile. “How’s Cora?”
“She’s doing just fine.” Emily glanced down at the baby. “Lunch break for you, too?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Best sub sandwiches here at Lou’s.”
“Oh, let me introduce my friends,” Emily said. “This is Beth and Nina.”
Beth smiled and reached out to shake his hand, as far as she could past her pregnant stomach. Nina did the same with a little more flexibility, and both women looked from Emily back to Greg in silence, their sparkling eyes saying more than enough.
“Nice to meet you,” Greg said, seeming to ignore their silent exuberance and giving them each a polite nod. He looked down at Emily again and touched her shoulder. “Oh, Emily, are you free tomorrow night?”
“I think so.” She looked back up at him to see something new in his eyes, something that looked almost like nerves.
“Say, around dinnertime?”
Emily laughed. “If you agree to feed me.”
“Deal. Dinner it is. My place.” He shot her a grin just as his phone rang on his hip. He looked down at the number and gave her an apologetic smile.
“Take it,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”
As Greg moved away from the booth, his phone at his ear, Emily looked back to find Nina and Beth staring at her.
“What?” Emily asked.
“Just friends?” Beth asked, shaking her head.
“We were teasing you before,” Nina confessed, “but, girl, there is something going on there.”
“Like what?” Emily asked.
“Like dinner!” Beth retorted. “The man just asked you to dinner!”
“Well, yes, but...” Emily shrugged. “He’s looking into my cousin’s death.”
“I don’t even have the time to argue some sense into you,” Nina said, opening her wallet and putting down some bills. “Lunch is on me, girls.”
“Oh, you don’t have to,” Emily said.
“I insist.” Nina shook her head. “Em, I was worried about you falling for him. I might need to worry about him falling for you.”
* * *
Picking up his phone and moving away from the booth, Greg could feel Emily’s friends’ eyes on his back. He found it halfway amusing to cause a little stir, but more than that, he was downright relieved that she’d said yes to his dinner invitation. It would have been embarrassing to have her turn him down flat with witnesses.
“Chief Taylor here.” He pinched his phone between his cheek and shoulder as he put some money on the counter and grabbed the to-go bags the server had left for him. “Thanks,” he called to the server, then lowered his voice. “What can I do for you?”
“Hi, Chief, it’s Benny.”
“Do you have anything new?”
“I do. We found the victim’s cell phone from that 11-80 a few weeks ago. It was jammed underneath a seat in the vehicle.”
“Excellent.” Greg pushed open the front door, the bell jingling over his head. He looked back in Emily’s direction as he left, and she caught his eye with a small smile. He couldn’t help the happiness that flooded through him at that look in her eyes, and he chuckled to himself.
“Is this really good news, Chief?” Benny asked.
“No, no.” Greg inwardly grimaced. “But it’s definitely good news. Were you able to get any information off the phone?”
“Her call history was intact. It looks like there was one number she was communicating with more than any other.”
“A boyfriend?” Greg asked. “Did you trace it?”
“Of course I traced it.” Benny sounded mildly wounded. “And yes, the correspondent was male.”
“Who was it?”
“You’re going to love this, Chief. Things just got interesting.”
“Who was it?” Greg repeated, slowly and succinctly. He was getting irritated.
“It’s a private number with no voice mail.”
“Hmm. That’s suspicious.”
“We’ll need a warrant to get that information from the phone company.”
“Definitely.” Greg was good at this part. “I’m coming into the station. I’ll make a few calls. We might be able to speed up the process a bit.”
“That’s what I thought.” He could hear the grin in Benny’s voice.
“Thanks, Benny. Good work.”
As Greg snapped the phone shut, he looked back toward Lou’s. He could see Emily’s back in the window, and she had Cora in her arms, the tiny face peering over her shoulder. He sighed. This wasn’t the first time that he felt tempted to have a family of his own, but it was the first time that the temptation was this strong.
Lord, give me strength.
He took a deep breath and pulled open his car door. He had an investigation under way.