Landry's Law (12 page)

Apologetically, Seth said, “I have to log this stuff at the office. It won’t take me but a minute.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him.

Seth gave her that sexy half smile and patted her leg. That was enough to make adrenaline replace fatigue. She battled to keep her pulse from quickening and her mind from wandering into forbidden territory. She lost the battle before they were out of Angelica’s drive.

Luckily, Angelica’s house was only two blocks
from Main Street, so Seth was able to keep his word about being quick. He left the Bronco running, and when he was once again behind the wheel, he turned back toward the highway. Only he was going in the wrong direction.

“Where are we going?”

“My place,” he said. “It’s closer and we’re both exhausted.”

“But I don’t have anything with me to spend a night away from home!”

He smiled and brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “We’ll go back to your place first thing in the morning so you can change. And I’ve got an extra toothbrush.”

“In case someone should drop by? Then you’ll have Ruthie
and
Savannah rumors to contend with.”

“Are you embarrassed by the thought that the town will think we’re…together?”

“When pigs fly. Is this really necessary?”

“Yes.” Then he turned and winked at her before saying, “This topic is no longer open for discussion.”

“Smart ass.”

“And here I thought it was your favorite expression.”

“It is,” she assured him. “But only when
I’m
saying it!”

S
ETH’S HOUSE
looked a little bare without the animal trophies, but she had to admit, she felt much
more comfortable without the dead animals watching her with their eerie glass eyes.

“Want some wine?” Seth offered.

“That would be great.” Maybe that will make me less nervous.
I hate the way being alone with him makes me feel like I’m standing on pins and needles.

He returned with the wine, and guided her into the living room. It was a very masculine room with leather furniture and rustic accents like a boot stool and leather window treatments. He went to the fireplace, moved the screen, and started a fire. When he returned the screen, she realized that it had to be custom-made. It had the cowboy motif of the Lucky 7. Like her with her hatboxes, Seth had his own way of keeping something of his former home in his new one.

He joined her on the sofa, his dark features softened by the flicker of the flames. He looked so appealing at that moment that Savannah was sure she wanted to ask him to make love to her. Instead, she took a long sip of her wine.

He reached out, took her glass and set it on the table. Without warning, he lifted her into his arms. Savannah knew she should probably put up some sort of virginal struggle, but it wasn’t in her. He carried her upstairs into his bedroom.

By the time they reached the bed, Savannah had wrapped her arms around his neck and was already feeling the thrill of anticipation.

Still, that little voice of reason inside her head was trying to be heard above the pounding of her heart.

“I haven’t touched you since the car,” Seth whispered as he laid her down. “I need to feel you again. I want you, Savannah.”

Savannah’s mouth went dry as she watched him remove his Stetson, then his shirt, before he joined her on the bed.
Geez, but the man had a body to die for!

The way he was looking at her made her feel so wanted, so special. His expression and the feel of his taut muscles beneath her hands seemed to bring an electric current into the room with them.

Savannah’s little voice was getting weaker and more distant.

This time, Seth kissed her and slipped his hand under the waistband of her sweater simultaneously. Savannah was near the delirious stage.

She was still being tormented by her conscience.

Seth was softly molding her breasts, bringing her nipples to complete erectness. His mouth left hers as he placed kisses on her cheek, her jawbone, her collarbone, then finally his mouth closed over her breast.

Savannah cried out from the sheer pleasure of it. All she could do was hold his head and arch her back toward the incredible sensations he was treating her to.

Seth lifted one leg over her, trapping her in place
as his hand slid down over her stomach. It tickled and delighted at the same time. Then his hand moved lower, until he was touching her most intimate area through the rough fabric of her jeans.

She felt her own desire surge through her, clearing her mind of everything but her need for Seth.

Then the little voice spoiled it.

The desire she was feeling suddenly turned into guilty pleasure. No matter how she felt about him or how much she wanted him, she couldn’t do this.

Seth must have sensed her sudden change of heart. His hand stilled and he lifted his head, looking at her with eyes filled with dark, dangerous unspent passion. She braced herself for harsh words.

“I take it your conscience has kicked in?” he asked. Amazingly, his tone contained nothing more than disappointment. There was no recrimination, no anger.

Savannah rolled out from under the trapping of his leg and adjusted her bra and her sweater. Her body ached but not as much as her heart. She never wanted anything this much. But she couldn’t have Seth on her terms. There would be no happily-ever-after for them.

Unable to look at him, Savannah mumbled a hurried apology and got off his bed. As she did, she felt herself step on something.

Reaching down, she lifted a small medal on a
chain. Somehow she didn’t see Seth as the holy medal type, but it must have come off when he partially undressed. She tossed it to him. “Here, this must have come off.”

Seth looked at it and his face suddenly became a mask of anger. “This is too strange. How would he know I’d bring you here?”

“Excuse me?”

“This is a Saint Barnabas medal. I believe it was taken off Fowler’s dead body.”

Savannah was still shaken the next day when Seth dropped her off at Olive’s Attic. It had taken some arguing, but she was able to convince Seth that going to his office to look into the gems, the medal, the Glock and Angelica’s .22 were far more important than standing around the shop while she waited on customers.

She was also pretty sure his agreement had little to do with her argument, but more to do with the knowledge that the killer had been inside his house. Now it was more personal to him. She definitely knew the feeling.

J.D. was dispatched to check for signs of forced
entry and to dust all the doors and windows for prints. Deputy Greg got the great assignment of sitting in his personal pickup in front of Olive’s shop. Apparently, he was her sitter until Seth came back.

“What gives?” Olive asked as she came down the stairs using her cane.

“I’ve sold three dresses, five sets of earrings and that ugly wagon the Kings gave us on consignment.”

“That’s great!” Olive said. “But I was referring to the fact that we have a deputy parked out front.”

Savannah hated lying to a friend. “I’ve had a few problems with a guy from school. Deputy Greg is Seth’s idea.”

Olive’s expression brightened. “Seth is watching out for you? Sounds like it’s getting serious.”

“It is not getting serious. It’s getting complicated.”

“Same thing. I’m just sorry Junior isn’t here. He seemed quite pleased when I told him about you and Seth.”

“Olive! Please don’t tell people. For all I know this could be just a passing phase. You know, two lonely people in the right place at the wrong time?”

Placing her hand on her hip, Olive’s brow furrowed. “You aren’t making any sense, girl. Seth Landry is the catch of all catches. He’s gorgeous, intelligent and rich. What more could you want from a man?”

A future.

“Savannah, dear,” Olive began in a motherly tone,
“what’s the real problem? I’m looking in your eyes and all I see is pain. If it’s because of his trysts with Ruthie from the café, I can assure you that was never serious and it ended years ago.”

“It does bother me,” she admitted. “What if the same happens with me? We could end the same way if we…did anything about the situation.”

“Pooh! If anyone was using anyone in that situation, it was Ruthie using Seth. She just wants a father for that incorrigible child of hers and Seth is good with the boy. Though only the good Lord knows why. If you ask me, he’s a lost cause.”

Savannah smiled. “Seth had him picking up trash at the wildlife preserve yesterday.”

That gave Olive a good belly laugh. “I would have paid to see that. It’s probably good experience for the kid.”

“I thought so.”

“No,” Olive corrected. “I meant it was good experience for his future. He’ll probably be part of a prison crew cleaning up the highways and scenic roads before too long.”

Savannah felt herself frown. So she didn’t really know the boy, that was true. But she had seen some things in him the day before that gave her reason to think there might be hope for Cal. She guessed his bad behavior was that of a typical teenager crying for attention.

“He listened to Seth,” Savannah finally said.

“Always has,” Olive said. “Seth is the closest thing that boy has had to a father. I’ve always believed that Seth maintained his
friendship
with Ruthie just so he could keep tabs on the kid.” Olive sighed. “I guess I was lucky. Junior has never given me a moment of trouble.”

Savannah could believe that. Junior was just too sweet and devoted to his ailing mother to be anything but the ideal son.

“Speaking of Junior, where is he this morning?”

Olive seemed to be fighting back a frown. She was always unhappy when her pride and joy wasn’t around. “It’s tax season,” she explained. “He had to meet with three or four clients today. It was my idea for him to become an accountant, you know.”

Savannah began to straighten a basket of seeds. “No. Why an accountant?”

Olive’s expression grew hard for a second. It was strange, since she’d never seen the woman express anything other than happiness, or pain and sorrow over the loss of her husband decades earlier.

“I wanted him to do good, stable work. I think a man should be financially secure, don’t you?”

“Sure,” Savannah agreed easily. “Especially when he gets married and has a family.”

“My Junior won’t ever marry,” Olive said with complete conviction.

Savannah stopped her task and asked, “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t
think
it,” Olive answered. “I know it. Junior knows I need him. Some days I can barely get around with my arthritis. Besides, we’ve been close ever since my husband died. I don’t think we could ever live apart. I also explained to him that no woman would be interested in him, being a package deal and all.”

Savannah could have argued those points in several ways. Instead she chose to hold her tongue. If the arrangement worked for them then who was she to challenge it? Besides, Junior was totally devoted to his mother. He had a career he seemed to enjoy. And for all she knew, maybe he truly wasn’t interested in a having a family of his own. Olive was right on one account. None of the women she had ever known would have embraced the idea of marrying a man who came with apron strings tied in a double knot.

“What about you?” Olive asked. “Do you want to marry and have a family?”

She nodded, nearly choking up at the question.

“Then why don’t you do both with Seth?”

“Olive,” Savannah warned. “Can we please talk about something other than Seth?”

The bell tinkled as the door opened and Seth came inside the shop. He was immediately aware of some tension in the room and he noted pink tints on Savannah’s cheeks.

“Should my ears be burning?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” Olive replied with a wicked grin. “I’ve spent the better part of the morning trying to convince her to marry you and have babies.”

“Olive!” Savannah uttered the two syllables through a clenched jaw.

“Shouldn’t you check with me first?” Seth asked teasingly.

Olive snorted. “I don’t need to ask you. I’ve known you since you were in diapers, Seth Landry. I can tell you’re smitten with my Savannah.”

“Guilty.”

Savannah’s blush worsened.

“So how come you aren’t doing anything about it?”

“Who says I’m not? The problem is your hardheaded employee.”

“Can we please change the subject?” Savannah pleaded. “Besides, my shift is over, so we really don’t have the time to dissect my personal life. Which, if anyone cares, I’d prefer to keep private.”

“In Jasper?” Olive huffed. “The whole town already thinks you two are an item. Jake from the gas station saw Seth’s Bronco parked at your house all night. Half a dozen people have reported that the two of you are inseparable. You might as well just go for it.”

Seth met and held Savannah’s gaze. “Good advice, Olive.”

“Bad advice,” Savannah countered as she got her
purse and coat from behind the counter. “I’m leaving, but the two of you are welcome to stay and chat.”

Seth smothered his grin and said, “No, I’m taking you to lunch.”

“A date?” Olive asked optimistically.

“Sure,” Seth said.

“No,” Savannah countered at almost the same time.

They left with the sound of Olive’s laughter chasing them.

Savannah waited until they got into the Bronco before she gave him a glare that was virtually deadly.

“What?”

“You had no right to tell Olive those things. Now she’ll think there really is something between us and she won’t let up on me.”

Seth no longer bothered to contain his smile. “That was the whole point.”

Seth backed out of the parking spot and turned south. Which was pretty much where Savannah’s mood was at the moment. He had a feeling it wasn’t going to get any better when she fully realized just where he was taking her for lunch.

A few minutes later, her outburst of, “I’m not going in
there
with
you,
” proved his suspicion.

“The Cowboy Café serves great food, and since your idea of breakfast is a pot of coffee, you need to eat.”

Clearly sulking, she said, “I’m not hungry.”

“Well, I am,” he countered. “We might have one awkward moment, but I promise you the food will be worth it.”

“How could meeting your mistress be worth anything to me?”

“Former girlfriend,” he corrected. “I had a productive morning. I just assumed you’d like a full update.”

Her mood lightened. “I would. But why does it have to be here?”

Seth reached out and caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “It has to be here because I don’t feel right avoiding Ruthie because I’m with you. I’ve told you. We are friends.”

“What about how Ruthie feels?”

He shrugged. “So long as I promise her I’ll still help her out with Cal, she’s happy. Trust me, I’ve been honest with her. She knew this would come someday, and I promised her we’d always be friends. I plan on honoring that.”

“She may plan on dumping a plate of food in your lap.”

“Please cooperate?” Seth fairly purred.

When he spoke to her in that tone
and
touched her, it was virtually impossible for her to refuse him anything. “Okay, but if she starts a scene, I’m outta there.”

Seth treated her to one of his heart-stopping smiles. “Thank you.”

Though she’d been to the café about a half a dozen times, Savannah now approached the door with great trepidation. Seth reached around her and grasped the handle. A rush of hot air hit her as she preceded him into the restaurant.

As was normal, the place was virtually filled. There was only one booth available, so she and Seth walked the entire length of the narrow, diner-shaped room.

The abnormal part was the looks she was getting from the patrons and the servers. She felt about as welcome as a cockroach and was regretting the fact that she had let Seth talk her into this.

The buzz of conversation lowered to mere whispers as they took their seats. Intentionally, Savannah slipped into the bench that allowed her to keep her back to everyone. Seth reached out and touched her fingertips with his. She knew it was supposed to be a gesture of comfort, but the butterflies in her stomach didn’t seem to notice.

“Hey, darling.”

Hearing Ruthie’s familiar greeting to Seth didn’t sit well. She experienced a bout of jealousy more severe than she had ever known. Intellectually, she understood the relationship between the two and she believed Seth when he said it was over. Emotionally, she felt the odd urge to stick out her tongue and say, “He’s mine now.”

Instead, she simply said “Thank you” when
Ruthie handed her a well-worn menu. For a brief instant, their eyes met. Amazingly, Ruthie didn’t look the least bit upset. For the life of her Savannah couldn’t grasp that. If she’d just lost Seth to another woman, she’d be glaring fireballs at her replacement.

What am I thinking? He isn’t mine to lose!

“Thanks for getting that gun away from Cal,” Ruthie said to Seth. “I hate to think of the trouble he’d find with something so dangerous.”

“It was no problem,” Seth assured her. His tone was easy, as if he were chatting with a friend instead of a former lover.

Was it possible that he had been right? That Ruthie wasn’t fazed by the demise of their relationship?

“You’re Savannah from Olive’s, right?” Ruthie inquired pleasantly.

“Yes.”

“It’s good to meet you.”

Lord, this woman was either a great actress or the most understanding woman on the face of the earth. She decided to take Ruthie at face value.

“You, too,” Savannah returned with a genuine smile. “I’ve been in a few times before, but just for carryout.”

“Well, hopefully Seth can change that,” Ruthie said on a laugh. “I swear I don’t think the man knows how to cook. If he did, he wouldn’t eat here at every chance.”

“I’m afraid I’m no help in that department. I use my oven for storage,” Savannah joked back.

Ruthie made a tsking sound. “Well, if you decide you want some lessons, give me a call.”

“I might just do that,” Savannah said. “Eating microwaved meals does get a little old after a while.”

“Do you need some time to look at the menu, or do you know what you want?”

Savannah explained that she would need a few minutes, so Ruthie agreed to return after a bit. She also noticed that Seth hadn’t even bothered to open his menu. And she noticed that he was wearing his killer smile.

“What?”

“I’m impressed.”

“Why?”

“I thought that went rather well. Now do you believe that I didn’t break her heart?”

Savannah nodded. “Yes. She seems like a very nice woman. I’m not sure I could be that civil to a woman who replaced me in your—”

“My what?” Seth pressed, his grin widening.

Savannah pretended to scan the menu until she thought of an appropriate cover story. “I was speaking theoretically.
If
you and I were involved, I’m not sure I could handle it as well as Ruthie appears to be.”

Seth captured one of her hands in both of his. There was a hint of amusement in his ebony eyes. “Savannah, like it or not, we
are
involved.”

Letting out a long sigh, Savannah felt the familiar sensation of her heart being torn in two. “We’re not. Because you would never leave Jasper.”

He began to make small, sensual circles against her palm.

“Maybe I would. If it meant we could stay together.”

She was shaking her head violently when Ruthie returned to take their orders. Savannah settled on a turkey burger and bottled water while Seth went all out and ordered a portion of steak that she could have made three meals from.

If Ruthie noticed the intimate gesture he was making on her hand, she showed no outward signs. In fact, she was still maintaining her cheerful attitude.

“I would
never
ask you to leave Jasper,” Savannah said as soon as they were alone. “You wouldn’t just be leaving behind your career, you’d be cut off from your family. You couldn’t be godfather to Callie and Sam’s baby and you couldn’t punch Shane whenever he annoyed you. Are you honestly telling me that you’d give all that up for me?”