Thirty-One and a Half Regrets (19 page)

After Muffy had sniffed everything twice and run out of surfaces to pee on, I took her inside. Mason was in the kitchen with the man who had brought our things.

“Rose, this is Deputy Fitzgerald. He’s one of the five men who will be rotating on and off duty.”

“Good morning, Deputy.” I reached my hand toward him and he shook it. “Thank you so much for bringing my dog along with our things.”

“No trouble, ma’am.” Muffy sniffed at the deputy’s feet and he gave her an annoyed look before returning his gaze to me. “Well, I need to get going. This is the biggest manhunt in Fenton County history since the horse thief ring of 1884 and we need all available men.”

Mason shook his hand. “Thank you, Deputy. With any luck at all, he’ll be captured before you’re scheduled to report for duty here at the farm.”

Deputy Fitzgerald grimaced. “The way Crocker’s hidden, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

I shivered and Mason wrapped an arm around my waist as we watched the deputy leave.

“Don’t listen to him, Rose. Sheriff Foster himself assured me they were following up on several solid leads.”

Maybe so, but I was inclined to believe Deputy Fitzgerald. “What’s in the boxes?”

“Food.”

My eyebrows rose.

“We have a working kitchen.” We both took in the dusty mess. “Well,
almost
working, so I figured we could cook.”

“Good idea.”

The refrigerator wasn’t working so we pulled it away from the wall and I squeezed behind it, searching for the electrical cord. After I plugged it in, I shimmied out of the space, dusty but grateful to hear the humming of the motor.

“I feel like I’ve stepped back into the mid-twentieth century,” Mason mumbled, gesturing to the vintage cabinet and the laminate counters.

“That’s because you have. No one’s lived here in over twenty years.”

“I can’t believe all of this is yours and you just found out a few months ago.”

“Uncle Earl told me I own the house and over a thousand acres.”

“This place is amazing, Rose.”

I couldn’t bring myself to agree out loud, but I was getting there. The back part of the house faced southeast and sunlight poured through the windows, giving the room a cheery feeling despite the grime clinging to everything. “Uncle Earl has the house cleaned a couple of times a year, but it looks like it’s due for another cleaning. I think I’ll start with this room. We’ll need to eat, after all.”

He grabbed his laptop out of his bag. “I need to get some work done and then I’ll help. But there’s something I’d rather do first.” He leaned down and kissed me until my knees were weak.

Deputy Miller walked in and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Deveraux.”

Mason looked up with a wicked grin, keeping his gaze on me. “Yes?”

“I think I’ll walk around the property to make sure everything looks all right.”

“Sounds great.”

I pushed on Mason’s chest and moved around the table to look in the boxes. “Did you bring a lunch, Deputy Miller? I’m going to make something after I clean up a bit. I’m not sure what’s in here, but I’ll come up with something when lunchtime rolls around.”

“That’s mighty kind of you, ma’am, but not necessary.” His eyes darted to the boxes on the table.

“How about you do whatever you need to do and I’ll save you something. And please call me Rose.”

A grin spread across his face. “That would be great…Rose.”

“Good. I’ll be in here cleaning when you get back.”

He disappeared through the door to the front of the house.

“Feeding the sheriff’s deputies isn’t part of your job,” Mason said with a chuckle. “Or perhaps you think you can sway them to like you if you feed them. I suspect it will take more than canned soup to do that.”

I swatted his arm. “I’m perfectly capable of cooking. I used to cook for Momma all the time, but after she died, I kind of rebelled against it because it had been expected of me for so long.”

“If you plan to feed the deputies too, I suspect we’ll need more food.”

I grabbed the kitchen rags and turned on the water, waiting for the stream to get hot. It didn’t. “We don’t have hot water.”

“It’s probably been turned off. No sense heating water that’s not getting used. I’ll see if the hot water heater is in the basement.” He left the kitchen and disappeared through the door under the staircase.

While I was surveying what needed to be done in the kitchen, I noticed a long bag on the table. I unzipped it, gasping when I saw the shotguns and handguns inside.

Mason came back up a few moments later, brushing dust off the shoulders of his light blue dress shirt. “Just as I suspected. The pilot light was out. I got it lit, so we should have hot water in about an hour. Also, there’s a washer and dryer down there. They both seem to work, so we’re set if we need to do laundry.”

I looked up at him. “Why is there a bag of full of guns on the table? Where did they come from?”

“They’re mine.” His faced tensed. “Just in case.”

Again with the
just in case
.
Just in case
made my stomach churn. “I thought Jeff asked you to leave our protection to his men.”

“If it comes to a gun fight, there’s no way in hell I’m willing to sit back defenseless. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re safe.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Does Jeff know?”

“Rose—” He hesitated and his voice softened. “Sheriff Foster is the one who suggested it.”

“Oh.” That piece of knowledge made this all the more real. We were in so much danger we needed multiple lines of defense.

He cupped my cheek and tilted my face up. “It’s just in case. Crocker won’t find us here.”

“Okay.”

But he pulled a handgun out of the bag and put it on the table next to his laptop.

I spent the next two hours sneaking glances at his gun, trying to keep my mind off what would happen if Crocker
did
find us. I needed to stop borrowing trouble. It made me anxious and never came to any good. Instead, I focused on cleaning and unpacking the boxes the sheriff’s department had sent, which, I was grateful to discover, contained all the staples I’d need to make several meals. Mason sat at the table with his laptop and legal pads, lost in his work. I leaned against the counter to study him. It wasn’t the first time I’d watched him work, but I’d never seen him like this outside of the courtroom. The way his brow lowered when he was concentrating on something was incredibly sexy.

He glanced up from his computer, his gaze landing on me with a hungry look that made my knees weak.

Sitting back in his chair, he glanced around the room. “Rose, you don’t have to clean it all at once. You’re making me feel bad about not helping.”

“You’re working. And don’t worry. I want to do this,” I said, surprised by how true it was. Cleaning made the house seem more mine.

I found the ingredients to make three turkey sandwiches and put them on the paper plates from one of the boxes. I handed Mason his. “Would you prefer to work in the room that looks like an office? It’s pretty private.”

“I’d rather be in here with you.”

I grinned, lifting my eyebrows. “Now what kind of work are you talking about?”

He groaned and shook his head. “It’s going to be next to impossible to be alone in this house with you without taking you upstairs to one of those beds.”

A shiver of excitement shot up my spine. “So why wait?”

“I still think you need some time. Especially in light of what’s going on.”

“What does that have to do with it?” I rested my butt on the table in front of him.

He reached for my waist, pulling me so close I was standing between his legs. “It has everything to do with it,” he said, looking straight into my eyes. “You’re under duress, Rose. Now is not the time to make a decision about sleeping with me.”

“But I wanted to sleep with you two nights ago, and I wasn’t under duress then.”

“Then there’s the fact that I’m supposed to be here guarding you. If I’m in bed with you, I’ll be too preoccupied to keep you safe.”

I sat on his lap, straddling him. “I thought you said this was the perfect place to hide.”

He groaned, shifting beneath me. “You’re not making this easy.”

I grinned. “Good.”

He reached a hand behind my head and pulled my mouth to his. When he finally stopped kissing me, I leaned back and stared into his eyes.

“If this is any indication of what’s to come,” he said, his voice husky, “I’m close to saying to hell with it and making love to you right here on the kitchen table.”

A fire raged in my blood and I kissed him again, pressing my body to his.

Mason pushed me to my feet, still kissing me as he lifted my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor, breaking contact with my lips for less than two seconds. I sat on the edge of the table and wrapped my legs around his waist as he unclasped my bra and pulled it down. His hand found one of my breasts and I gasped as I threaded my fingers through his hair, clinging to him. His mouth skimmed down my throat and over my chest as his arm wrapped around my back, pinning my pelvis against his. I closed my eyes and arched my back to give him better access.

“Um… Mr. Deveraux.” Deputy Miller’s voice cracked.

Mason’s head shot up and he swiveled me around so the deputy couldn’t see me, not that he was looking. He was standing with his back to us.

“Chief Deputy Dimler wanted you to call him. He said he hasn’t been able to reach you on your phone.”

Mason’s hold tightened. “Thank you, Deputy.”

“I… uh…I didn’t mean to interrupt. Ms. Gardner told me to come back to the kitchen.” The back of his neck was as red as a radish.

“It’s okay,” I said, breaking away from Mason’s arms and scanning the floor for my bra. “If you’ll wait just a minute, I’ll bring a sandwich out to you.”

“I’ll be on the front porch,” he said, bolting from the doorway.

“We’ve traumatized that poor boy,” I murmured, picking my bra up off the dusty floor. I had to admit I was slightly traumatized myself.

“We can’t do that again,” Mason said, his face strained.

“In the kitchen?”

“At all. At least until they’ve caught Crocker.”

My smile fell. “You’re serious.”

“Rose, neither one of us even heard him come in! He could have walked in and shot you, and I wouldn’t have even realized it until you were already dead.”

A shiver ran down my back. “Mason, don’t you think you’re overreacting?”

“
No
. I’m not.” He grabbed his gun off the table.

This was the closest I’d seen him to being furious with me since Bruce Wayne’s trial.

He stormed toward the back door.

“Are you really so angry with me that you have to leave?”

He already had his hand on the doorknob when he spun to face me, his eyes wide. “You think I’m angry with
you
? Why would I be angry with you?”

“I…” My face blazed with embarrassment. “I pretty much pushed myself on you just now.”

“God.” He leaned his head back and took a deep breath before meeting my gaze. “Why would I be angry with you for that? To have
you
come on to
me
after months of wanting you…” He shook his head. “I’m angry at myself, Rose. I can’t lose you to that psycho now that I finally have the chance to be with you.”

I stood still, unsure of what to say.

He opened the door, turning his attention to the yard. “I’m going to go call Jeff. Go ahead and take Deputy Miller his sandwich, but please don’t leave the house.”

Tears burned in my eyes, but I blinked them away, not even sure why I was upset. I hated that Mason had waited so long to be with me. I hated that he felt like my safety was his responsibility, but mostly I hated that I wanted to be naked with him right now. If kissing Mason was this passionate, what would it be like in bed with him? Guilt washed over me. Mason was outside berating himself and feeling miserable and here I was thinking about him naked and on top of me, staring into my eyes as he—

Stop!
I squeezed my eyes shut.

Miss Mildred was right. I
was
wicked.

But my traitorous mind couldn’t banish the image of him naked. I’d never seen him with his shirt off. What would he look like? What would his skin feel like against mine?

No one other than Joe and my doctor had ever seen my naked breasts. I wasn’t flat-chested, but I wasn’t particularly well-endowed either. What if Mason had been disappointed?

That thought cooled me off. I took the deputy his sandwich, then went back into the kitchen and channeled my sexual tension into cleaning the counters and the table so we’d have somewhere to eat for dinner.

I decided to go upstairs and figure out the bedroom situation. The beds appeared to have been made, which meant we had bed linens, but judging from the dusty state of the entire house, they would needed to be washed.

As I passed the front living room window, I spotted Mason sitting on a tree stump in the middle of the front yard, watching the gravel driveway as he talked on the phone.

With a sigh, I climbed the stairs. Muffy followed me, her tail wagging. I was pretty sure Mason would want his own room. And given his excitement over the view of the road from the front room, I suspected that was the one he’d choose.

I stripped the bed and carried the sheets and blankets down to the basement, starting the first load. The powdered laundry detergent was hard as a rock, but I broke off a small chunk and tossed it in, hoping some of it would dissolve. Heading back upstairs, I searched the rooms to figure out where I wanted to sleep. I examined two bedrooms with full-size beds and antique dark wood furniture. I also found a bathroom that looked like it had been modernized in the 1970s.

Muffy was waiting for me in the fourth bedroom, curled up in the middle of the canopy bed Mason had mentioned earlier. A small attached bath was off to the left, with a toilet and a giant claw-foot bathtub that I suddenly ached to climb into. The back bedroom wall was covered with huge windows and I was about to turn and leave when something caught my eye through the gauzy curtains. There was a deck or maybe a porch outside the room.