Love, Lies and Mistletoe. Jennifer Snow

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ at a corner booth where Lindsay Harper and Noah Parks sat cuddled together on the same side. They’d been together for four months, and it was rare to see one without the other. It was even rarer to see them without five children in tow—they’d recently adopted Lindsay’s nieces and nephews. “Hey, guys. Date night?”

      Lindsay nodded “The kids are with Ben and Lily.”

      The kids’ godfather had moved to town recently to help Lindsay with the five children who’d been left in her care after the sudden, tragic death of her brother and his wife. And to everyone’s surprise, he’d soon started dating Lindsay’s friend Lily, who owned a clothing store on Main Street.

      Families really did come in all shapes and sizes, Heather marveled.

      “What can I get you guys?”

      “A beer for me and...” Noah glanced at Lindsay.

      “A Bloody Mary, please, with extra celery sticks and pickled veggies,” she said.

      Noah glanced at her. “Hungry?”

      “Twelve-hour shift, remember—I’m starving,” she said, removing her coat to reveal her nurse’s uniform.

      “Menus, too, please, Heather,” Noah said, glancing toward the bar. “Oh, great. No one have fun—Sheriff Matthews is here.”

      Since Jake had arrived in town, he’d butted heads with no one more so than Noah, a former MMA fighter who ran the at-risk-youth program at the local community center. Both men had the town’s best interest at heart, but they had different ways of dealing with things. Completely opposite ways, in fact.

      “He’s easing up a little, I think,” Heather said, not sure why she felt the need to defend Jake, except that he was a nice guy.

      Sort of...somewhere deep down...maybe?

      “Tell that to my kids at the center. They’re terrified of doing anything wrong. He keeps watching them, waiting for one of them to mess up,” Noah said.

      “Maybe that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, I haven’t heard about any graffiti problems lately or any of the kids getting hurt,” she reminded him.

      “Sorry, Heather. It’s going to take quite a bit of convincing for me to like that guy,” Noah said, his gaze locked on the back of Jake’s head.

      Well, the two men could agree to disagree. It wasn’t her problem. She wouldn’t be in town much longer anyway, she hoped. “I’ll go get your drinks,” she said, going back behind the bar.

      Opening the beer for Noah and mixing Lindsay’s drink a moment later, she said, “Hey, I was just talking to Noah...”

      Jake groaned, casting a glance over his shoulder toward their table.

      Okay, so the feelings were mutual between the two men.

      “And I was thinking maybe you should try easing up a little on the surveillance around the community center.”

      He laughed. “Has everyone in town voted you the person to ‘deal’ with me...talk me down a bit?”

      She was starting to think so herself. “I’m just saying those kids are not that bad. Noah’s on them like white on rice—you can ease up a little. Maybe even offer to help out at the center or something.” Putting in a few hours with at-risk kids would be a better way to get involved in the community, instead of making enemies out of everyone.

      “I don’t think so. And trust me, this cute, quaint little town may not be as safe as everyone wants to believe. False sense of security is common in places like this, where you all feel as though you know one another. But just because nothing bad has ever happened here, doesn’t mean nothing ever will.” He reached for his coat and tossed several bills onto the bar.

      Retrieving his ID, she handed it to him.

      “Nighty-night, Talks-a-lot,” he said with a wink as he headed toward the door.

      * * *

      “JAKE—PERFECT TIMING,” Sheriff Bishop said as he entered the station the next morning.

      Crap. That sentence was never followed by something good. “What’s up?” he asked, removing his jacket and draping it over the back of his chair before wiping the snow from his dark hair.

      “We just got a call from Darlene Dawson. She’s in charge of town events...and she said they still need several more floats for the Christmas parade.”

      “Okay...”

      “So we’ve decided to enter one this year,” he said.

      Why did he get the feeling that he would somehow get roped into helping? He sighed. “I still can’t believe a town this small even has a parade,” he mumbled, pouring a cup of weak coffee.

      “It’s for the kids,” Sheriff Bishop said. “My daughter and her sons live in Nashville now, but they’ll be home soon for the holidays, and I know my grandsons would just love to ride on the float.”

      Fantastic. Jacob still didn’t know what any of it had to do with him. If he had his way, he would sleep away the holiday. He’d all but given up on the idea that he could be back in the city by Christmas, so he’d accepted the fact that it would be another lonely one for him.

      “Anyway, I just thought you might want to take on the project.”

      What on earth would give the older man that idea? His holly, jolly demeanor? He shook his head. “No, thanks.”

      “Jake, I know you’re hoping to get back...home...someday,” he said, lowering his voice. “But you’re here now—why not try to make the best of the situation, get involved with the community, get to know people better? You might actually like it here.”

      Doubtful. “Sorry, Sheriff Bishop—Christmas just isn’t my favorite time of year, and I’d rather leave float-building and other holiday events to the people who enjoy them.” They couldn’t force him to participate, after all.

      Sheriff Bishop frowned but then nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

      It didn’t sound as if he did, but Jacob wasn’t about to explain that he’d spent the past two Christmases alone in a dingy hotel room, and that the one before that he’d put his own father in jail. Prior to the Lorenzo case, he’d been investigating corporate fraud cases, and his father’s company had been found guilty on several counts. Nope, this time of year wasn’t exactly a good one for him.

      “Well, I’ll need you to stick around for a while this afternoon,” Sheriff Bishop was saying. “I need to drive to Newark to pick up the flatbed trailer for the float.”

      Jacob’s ears perked. “Newark?”

      Sheriff Bishop nodded, printing off the information for the rental place.

      He cleared his throat. “You know, I could go pick it up for you.” The perfect opportunity to sneak off to Newark to meet Emilio at the dock without anyone questioning him.

      He frowned. “But you just said you weren’t СКАЧАТЬ