A Dad For Charlie. Anna J. Stewart

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       CHAPTER TWO

      “FASTER, DEPUTY FLETCH! Spin me faster!”

      Charlie Cooper’s demanding squeal lightened Fletcher’s heavy heart. Taking the political hit for his friend was one thing; needing to go after a member of an already overburdened family he’d known most of his life was another. The O’Neills had so much to deal with already. How could he even think about sacrificing one of their own to save his friend’s career?

      No wonder Luke hadn’t said much about the investigation. He probably felt as conflicted as Fletcher did.

      “I think that’s fast enough.” Fletch found himself laughing as Charlie released his hand and tottered dizzily on her sneakered feet. He caught her around the waist before she fell into the lush flower bed in front of the Flutterby Inn. He steadied her and glanced up as Paige Cooper exited the inn. She stopped short on the edge of the porch, her knowing, beautiful blue eyes glistening almost as brightly as her recently changed hair. The now strawberry blond tresses with hints of fire matched those of her daughter’s, except where Charlie’s was razor straight, Paige’s tumbled around her shoulders in thick, glossy waves. She was girl-next-door pretty, with that radiant smile of hers and a small dimple in her left cheek. All of that seemed so surface, but it was all he had. Despite the overwhelming desire to know more.

      Every time he saw her was like the first time. And that first time...

      Whew. He felt the rush of heat in his face. That first time it was as if Fletch had been tackled by the entire defensive line of his high school football team. He did his best and tried to maintain his cool and keep a straight face around her. He wasn’t a man prone to feeling, well, flummoxed.

      And Paige Copper definitely flummoxed him.

      He also found her utterly fascinating. She was always helping people, always doing something. She wasn’t one to just sit back and wait for things to happen. She made them happen. His interest confused him, but that was the case with any mystery that crossed his path. How could he be so fascinated and yet so...in the dark? Talk about a puzzle begging to be solved.

      The air around him stilled and she released the soft yellow of her summer bridesmaid dress, the gauzy fabric draping over her pretty form.

      He blinked. There were times he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss her. Then there were others where all he wanted was to talk to her; get to know her, learn about her. Discover whatever secrets he was convinced she had.

      That she did just about everything she could to avoid him should have stung. Instead, it was like honey to a bee and he couldn’t resist the pull. But he respected her enough—and whatever ghosts she carried with her—to do as she silently asked and kept his distance.

      He was a man who not only followed the rules, he lived by them; possibly the only thing stopping him from running a simple background check. Somehow that felt like an invasion; something that if she were to ever find out, she’d never forgive him for. He might not know a lot about her, but he had little doubt she was the kind of woman who valued honesty and truth above all else. He wasn’t about to violate either. He sighed.

      So be it. At least Charlie seemed happy to be in his company, and being around Paige’s little girl definitely kept a smile on his face.

      Paige’s sparkling gaze landed on him and sent his racing thoughts skidding to a halt. Until she looked past him to where Luke stood watching his wife and her maid of honor hamming it up in front of the camera. Fletch’s smile dipped as Charlie darted out of his grasp. Gil Hamilton wasn’t the only one up to something today.

      Paige walked down the stairs and beelined for the sheriff. “Luke? May I have a quick word with you?”

      Luke turned, his dark eyes heavy with celebratory happiness. He blinked, nodded. “Sure. What about?”

      “It’s about Jasper O’Neill and these break-ins,” Paige said. “I was just speaking to Willa and Nina—”

      Luke shifted to full attention, his brow furrowing. “I don’t think—”

      “Paige, I need to talk to you.” Fletch locked his hand around Paige’s wrist and spun her toward him. “Wedding stuff. We’ll be back in a second.” He tugged her toward him, ignoring the brief look of panic on her face as he pulled her to the edge of the narrow path leading up to the lookout point. He stopped just shy of being able to see the foam spraying off the crashing waves. He didn’t need that nightmarish roar of the ocean any louder in his ears on top of dealing with Paige.

      “What do you think you’re doing?” Paige shivered as a cold breeze shot over them.

      Fletcher shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. “Today isn’t the day to talk about Jasper O’Neill, Paige.”

      “Thank you.” Even as he saw her debate rejecting the offer, she clasped her hand around the edges and drew it closed across her chest. The thin gold chain and butterfly charm glistened against the sun and the hollow of her throat. Paige’s eyes narrowed. “Since when is it any of your business what I talk to the sheriff about?”

      “Since the break-ins are my case.” For a man who didn’t lie, he seemed to be setting a world record. “Luke asked me to take over. You want to talk about Jasper, you get me.”

      “Oh.” She shrugged inside his too-big jacket and twisted her head back and forth. She couldn’t have looked any more thrilled if she’d been handed a rotten egg. “Well. Maybe once he’s back—”

      “I’ll have it closed by then.” Boy, he was just digging himself deeper. “What’s this about, Paige? Did Willa and Nina tell you something we should know?” Like where he should start or why Jasper had hit the top of Butterfly Harbor’s Most Wanted List?

      “You mean am I going to give you a reason to go chasing after an innocent sixteen-year-old kid who was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time? No.” Her eyes went ice cold. “I’m not.”

      Why did Fletch have the feeling she wouldn’t have been so prickly if she’d talked to Luke about this? What was it about him that made her so...hostile? “Who says he’s innocent? His family?”

      “Who says he’s guilty? СКАЧАТЬ