Under Suspicion, With Child. Elle James

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СКАЧАТЬ to let her mother’s superstitions affect her, Jocelyne couldn’t stop the goose bumps rising across her arms.

      “When his grandfather saw that the light wasn’t lit, he climbed the steps himself, but it was too late. In his attempt to light the flame, he started a fire that destroyed the lighthouse. Nicholas tried to rescue his grandfather from the inferno, but he fell into the sea. It was all so horrible and his body was never recovered.” Her mother buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

      The older woman had bought into the curse with all her heart. Jocelyne pulled her mother into her arms and held her, rubbing her back until the sobs diminished. When Hazel raised her head, tears trembled on faded red lashes, her pale skin splotchy and wet, emphasizing the crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes and the worry lines on her forehead. “I missed you, sweetie, but I’m so afraid for you.”

      “Don’t worry about me, Mom. I can take care of myself. Why don’t you go lie down and let me finish getting the breakfast out on the table?”

      “Oh, no, you’re the one who’s pregnant. You should go put your feet up. I’ll be all right.” She wiped the tears from her face with the corner of her apron.

      “I’m pregnant, not crippled. I’m in better physical shape than I’ve ever been.” Jocelyne gently pried the spatula from her mother’s hand. “Let me help. It’s the least I can do to repay you for giving me a home to come to.”

      “You’re always welcome, dear. This will always be your home. I just wish it was safe for you and your baby.” Her mother wiped her hands down the front of her apron and stared around the kitchen. “The biscuits will need to come out of the oven in a few minutes. Don’t forget the pancakes in the warmer.”

      “I can find things, go lie down.” Jocelyne steered her mother toward the dining room.

      Leah Toler was busy setting out napkin-wrapped silverware at each place setting. “Morning, Jocelyne.”

      “My mother is going to lie down for a few minutes. I’ll be handling the kitchen duties.” She gave her mother a stern stare. “We’ll do just fine. Now go.”

      “I’m not used to letting someone else handle the kitchen.”

      “Then get used to having a little more help around here.” Jocelyne smiled at Leah to let her know her comment wasn’t meant to belittle Leah’s work. She’d been a godsend to her mother.

      Once her mother was out of the dining area, Jocelyne turned to push the swinging door into the kitchen. At the same time, the door swung toward her, jamming her hand. Pain shot through her wrist and she jumped back. “Ouch!”

      Rick Simpson strode into the dining room from the kitchen. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” He grabbed her hand and held it, studying her wrist for a brief second. His hands were cool and clammy like beached fish.

      Jocelyne jerked her fingers out of his grasp. “I’m fine, you just surprised me. Most guests enter through the front door.” If her voice was sharp, count it up to the shards of pain shooting through her jammed fingers.

      “So they do.” Simpson’s attention moved from her to the breakfast buffet set up against the wall of the large dining room. Without another word, he stepped around Jocelyne and lifted a plate so that he could be first in line when the food came out.

      Jocelyne used her other hand to push the swinging door. “Jerk,” she muttered beneath her breath as she strode across the kitchen, shaking the kink out of her damaged hand.

      “I hope you’re not referring to me.”

      The voice behind her made her jump. “Don’t do that!” She faced the man who’d occupied much of her thoughts yesterday and most of last night in her dreams. If not for him, her nightmares would have been much worse, but that didn’t excuse him sneaking up on her.

      He leaned against a counter, incredibly handsome in his police uniform.

      “Guests enter through the front door, not the kitchen.” She marched to the oven and pulled out the tray of biscuits, ignoring the tingle of awareness she’d felt at his nearness.

      “I’m not here to eat.” Andrei Lagios pushed away from the counter he leaned against and moved toward her, gliding like a jaguar toward his prey.

      Had heat from the open oven caused the temperature to rise so dramatically in the room? Jocelyne stood in his path, her gaze fixed on his mesmerizing dark eyes. Not until heat seeped through the hot pad did she return to her senses. “Yow!” She looked for a place to set the hot tray but the countertops were full of the dishes to be carried to the dining room.

      Andrei snatched an oven mitt from a hook on the wall and relieved Jocelyne of the laden cookie sheet. “Do you have a basket you want to put these in?”

      “Uh, yes. Of course.” She scrambled for her wits and the basket her mother had set out. After laying a colorful cloth on the bottom and draping it over the side, she plucked each fluffy biscuit from the pan and dropped it into the basket, all the while gathering her thoughts. “Did you have further questions for me, or is this a social visit?”

      “Questions.”

      A small part of her that she had thought buried poked its disappointed head up. She squashed it down and dropped the last biscuit into the basket. “You can put the pan in the sink.”

      While Andrei’s back was turned, Jocelyne took the opportunity to study the man who’d carried her most of the way back to town yesterday. Encased in a sexy blue-gray uniform shirt, his impossibly broad shoulders all but filled the air in the spacious kitchen. No wonder he could carry not only a woman, but a pregnant woman that far and not look the least worn out. He was a cop, he probably worked out on a regular basis. Jet-black hair was longer than what she’d consider regulation for a man in his profession, but then it made him look more dangerous, a rule breaker. And the eyes—

      He chose that moment to face her and pin her with his ebony gaze. “I found out something interesting yesterday you might be able to help me with.”

      “Me? I’ve been out of this town for close to ten years. I barely know anyone. How could I possibly help?” And she didn’t want to spend any more time than she had to with this man who made her feel strangely off balance.

      Leah poked her head through the swinging door. “Better hurry with the food. The natives are restless.”

      “You’re busy, let me help you get this food out before your customers start shouting.” He lifted a tray of scrambled eggs and the basket of biscuits and left the room through the swinging doors.

      More intrigued than she cared to admit, Jocelyne grabbed the pancakes out of the warmer and the tray of condiments and followed. What had he found and why come to her?

      ANDREI STOOD BACK WHILE Jocelyne arranged the food on the buffet, placing serving spoons and spatulas within easy reach. He admired her smooth efficiency and easy smile for the guests, finding himself envious of her attention.

      The customers waited patiently in line until she’d finished. Andrei, with less patience than the hungry patrons, stood by the kitchen door, arms crossed over his chest, his toe tapping the wood flooring of the elegant old house. He’d been here for breakfast on one or two occasions, but he wasn’t here about food. He was here on business. Although the scent of СКАЧАТЬ