Read Online A Small-Town Homecoming by Terry McLaughlin - Free Book Online

simple case of lust.”
    “Good to know.” Damn. He sure did like her direct approach and her feisty attitude. And he supposed he liked Tess a bit, too. He hadn’t been ready to confess to that particular fact, but there it was, right up front. Just like her.
    A guy had to appreciate a woman who could lay it out straight and level.
    “Good to know that fact won’t be keeping you up nights,” he said.
    “Oh, but I’m hoping it’ll come to that.” She tilted her head to one side, toying with him. “Aren’t you?”
    “Is that an invitation?”
    “Do you have to ask?”
    “No.” He smiled, enjoying this particular game.
    She glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “Oh, hell,” she said as she dashed toward her door. “I’ll be right back.”
    He walked to the front of her office to watch the scene outside the bay window. Tess paced a tight circuit on the sidewalk, her temper on display as she gestured from her car to the meter near one headlight. It was obvious her arguments were failing to score any points with the uniformed woman calmly filling out a form on her notepad. Tess took the piece of paper, gave the woman a parting scowl and stomped back inside.
    “Parking ticket?” Quinn asked as the slammed door set the tiny bell overhead dancing and ringing.
    “Clever deduction.” Tess wadded the paper and stuffed it in a pocket.
    “Why don’t you park in one of the alley spaces?”
    “I don’t have one.”
    “One should come with the lease.” He frowned. “Talk to your landlord.”
    “I did. He needed the space for another tenant, and I traded for a reduction in my rent.”
    “Seems to me you’re spending your discount on fines.”
    “I don’t need you to point that out.” She batted her hair out of her eyes with a disgusted sigh. “Besides, it’s the principle of the thing. There shouldn’t be any parking meters in the marina district.”
    “I thought the meters raised revenue for the city.”
    “But this is a tourist area. We should be encouraging tourism—and trade—in the city’s most historic area.”
    “Doesn’t seem to me the meters are as much of a hindrance to the tourists,” he said, “as are the merchants who take all the available curbside parking.”
    The look she gave him nearly blasted a layer off his hide. “As I said,” she reminded him, “it’s the principle of the thing. And I didn’t bother setting my alarms because I didn’t think I’d still be here this late.”
    With an effort, he suppressed a smile. “Alarms?”
    “Don’t ask,” she said with another hide-threatening look.
    “All right.” He shrugged. “You’re the one who called this meeting, not me.”
    “Thank you so much for pointing that out.”
    His smile faded. “I’m thinking of fencing in the site.”
    Her expression went blank for a second, and then she straightened and gave her jacket another tiny tug. “How much is that going to cost?”
    “More than what was budgeted.”
    “There’s nothing budgeted for a fence.”
    “There you go,” he said.
    “How will you pay for it?”
    “The only way I know how.”
    “Geneva.”
    He didn’t answer, and he could practically see her squirm. She didn’t want to go begging to her grandmother any more than he did. But one of them would have to do it.
    “It probably won’t prevent any more vandalism,” he said. “Anyone serious about getting in and causing trouble will still be able to do it. But it would make it a hell of a lot easier to collect on an insurance claim if anything else happens.”
    “Right.” She sighed and nodded. “Okay. Make sure I get a key.”
    He nodded and turned toward the door.
    “And don’t forget to keep me updated on everything. Everything, ” she added as she scooted past him to grab the knob. “Quinn.”
    He stopped and stared at her, allowing himself to imagine lapping her up as if she were a sugary drink. No harm in looking. No harm in talking, in playing the kind of game where two adults laid