Read Online A Most Shocking Revelation by Kristi Gold - Free Book Online Page B

promise you that.”

Four
    S aturday morning arrived, awakening Valerie to guilt. She’d been so shaken by her behavior the night before that she hadn’t even written in her journal, as if by putting everything down on paper, she would have to acknowledge her weakness for the sheriff.
    She had no idea how she’d let things get so out of hand. Easy. She was drawn to his pure sensuality, as well as everything he stood for as a man. She’d been exposed to enough bad in her lifetime to recognize the good in him. And for that reason she needed to avoid any emotional entanglement.
    Still, her grandmother had said she deserved a good man, and Valerie wanted to believe that was true. But the timing was all wrong, and so was any involvement with the sheriff beyond casual friendship. Even that was a stretch, considering her current deception. True friends didn’t deceive friends. Right now she had her reasons to keep up the pretense and, under the circumstances, felt she had no other choice.
    Valerie waited in her bedroom until she was certain Gavin hadleft, in many ways afraid to face him, even though she would have to overcome that obstacle at some point tonight. But now she was alone—and she could see a definite advantage in that.
    Following a quick shower, Valerie dressed in what she termed her “Saturday sloppies”—baggy blue sweatshirt and threadbare gray sweats. She wandered into the kitchen to find a pot of coffee brewing and a set of keys lying atop a note scribbled in blue ink.
    Mornin’, darlin’. Feel free to take a drive if you get bored. I’ll be all yours tonight.
    Gavin.
    She poured a cup of coffee and read the note two more times, wishing that he could be all hers. Unbelievable that she would even think such a thing. But she was considering it, considering what it would be like to have him in her life, in her bed every night and every morning. She tucked those thoughts in a secret place that she would never divulge to anyone, especially not the sheriff.
    After finishing off the coffee and a piece of dry toast, Valerie sat down and scanned the classifieds for a decent rental that she could afford. Nothing. Now what?
    For the past few months she had tried to put together the missing pieces that would complete her mission. She had a copy of the map she had borrowed from the museum display, yet she didn’t know the precise location of the Windcroft land, the presumed location of the gold. Coming right out and asking Gavin for directions might seem a bit suspicious at that. She could take his car and try to find the place on her own, but that probably wouldn’t be a good idea since the GTO was easily recognizable. She would wait until she had her own car back.
    Being a lady of leisure was totally unfamiliar to Valerie, the reason why she liked working at the diner. She had a few hours to fill and nothing to fill them with unless she watched TV. That didn’t seem appealing, but taking a tour of the house did. Maybe then she might get to know more about Gavin.
    She began with the room immediately off the kitchen that Gavin had designated as his study. As soon as she entered, the heavy weight of guilt settled on her chest. What right did she have to invade his privacy? No right at all, really. But she didn’t intend to do anything other than a little minor investigating.
    She found only a small desk set across the room, with a lone office chair pushed beneath it. Oddly enough, no computer rested atop of it. In fact, the surface was relatively bare with the exception of an empty in-box. Above that, two shelves housed volumes of what appeared to be mostly books involving crimes, some technical, some fiction and some she had even read herself.
    She wasn’t cut out for this kind of subterfuge, but that didn’t prevent her from seeking another room she had yet to see—although if she’d kept her mouth shut last night, she probably would have seen