Read Online Conard County Marine by Rachel Lee - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rachel Lee
Ads: Link
people here spent most of their lives feeling perfectly safe. Kylie hadn’t lived his kind of life, and he wanted her to rediscover the security that was her birthright here.
He just wished he knew how to help it along. He wouldn’t be here forever. He couldn’t watch her every night as she slept, couldn’t take every stroll with her. At some point she would have to be able to retake her life, as if it were a fortress in the hands of invaders.
Already he was regretting his impending departure. Kylie appealed to him in ways few women had. Maybe that was because she shared some of the same feelings he lived with. She understood, sad to say. But she was also an appealing woman, and he seldom looked at her without feeling the stirrings of sexual response.
He was also quite certain that she wasn’t ready for that kind of attention from a man. Her trauma was too recent, and it made him feel special that she had come to trust him so much so quickly. He didn’t want to risk damaging that.
So they kept walking, he with his eyes and ears on high alert, and the feeling of being watched remained with him. There was something wrong.
He knew it in his bones. Casual surveillance should have come and gone, possibly to return as someone else saw them. This didn’t go away. It might just be someone strolling somewhere behind them, but when he glanced over his shoulder he saw no one.
Covert surveillance. A curse word rose silently in his mind. They were being stalked. He had no proof, no good reason to mention it to anyone, but he knew it with honed instincts.
Now who the hell would be following them?
In that moment he knew in his heart that Kylie wasn’t safe yet and that he had a mission.
“I think I’m going to extend my leave,” he remarked casually as they rounded the last corner that would take them back to the house.
“Why? Can you do that?”
“Yeah, I’ve got more time. As for why?” He looked down at her as they passed under a streetlight and summoned a smile. “I’d like time to get to know you better. A whole lot better.”
The smile she gave him then lifted his heart, even though his spirit darkened with worry.
*
When they entered the house, they found that Connie Parish had dropped in. Connie still wore her full deputy’s uniform, except for her hat, and her blond hair was caught up in a ponytail. She was seated at the kitchen table with Glenda. Coop bent and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“First,” she said, “I want to give Kylie a hug, if that’s okay with her.”
It was okay. She’d known Connie forever, and they had been part of the same group of friends until she left for Denver. The hug felt good, and then the four of them gathered at the table.
“So what’s up?” Coop asked. “Escaping the hellions? Sorry I unleashed them.”
Connie waved her hand. “It doesn’t take much to excite the younger two. No, I’m going back on duty in twenty minutes. I just wanted to check on Kylie and ask you if you’d walk the kids to school in the morning, Coop. Ethan has to be out at his dad’s place early. Some late lambs will be here soon.”
Coop nodded. “Sure. Glad to do it, Cuz.”
“I thought you would.”
Glenda leaned forward a little. “Still worrying about that stranger?”
Connie nodded, compressing her lips. “There hasn’t been another contact in this case, but after Sophie...” She shook her head. “I was lucky. It was my ex who took her, criminal though he was, but we found her and she wasn’t hurt. But I’ve never been able to quite escape the fear that it could happen again, and not just to one of my children. And then we did have that serial killer a couple of years ago, although he went after young boys, not girls. Anyway, I probably won’t get past this for a few weeks. To be safe, we’re pulling double shifts in case.”
Kylie spoke, admitting to another gap in her memory, difficult as it was. “When did Ethan stop being a
He just wished he knew how to help it along. He wouldn’t be here forever. He couldn’t watch her every night as she slept, couldn’t take every stroll with her. At some point she would have to be able to retake her life, as if it were a fortress in the hands of invaders.
Already he was regretting his impending departure. Kylie appealed to him in ways few women had. Maybe that was because she shared some of the same feelings he lived with. She understood, sad to say. But she was also an appealing woman, and he seldom looked at her without feeling the stirrings of sexual response.
He was also quite certain that she wasn’t ready for that kind of attention from a man. Her trauma was too recent, and it made him feel special that she had come to trust him so much so quickly. He didn’t want to risk damaging that.
So they kept walking, he with his eyes and ears on high alert, and the feeling of being watched remained with him. There was something wrong.
He knew it in his bones. Casual surveillance should have come and gone, possibly to return as someone else saw them. This didn’t go away. It might just be someone strolling somewhere behind them, but when he glanced over his shoulder he saw no one.
Covert surveillance. A curse word rose silently in his mind. They were being stalked. He had no proof, no good reason to mention it to anyone, but he knew it with honed instincts.
Now who the hell would be following them?
In that moment he knew in his heart that Kylie wasn’t safe yet and that he had a mission.
“I think I’m going to extend my leave,” he remarked casually as they rounded the last corner that would take them back to the house.
“Why? Can you do that?”
“Yeah, I’ve got more time. As for why?” He looked down at her as they passed under a streetlight and summoned a smile. “I’d like time to get to know you better. A whole lot better.”
The smile she gave him then lifted his heart, even though his spirit darkened with worry.
*
When they entered the house, they found that Connie Parish had dropped in. Connie still wore her full deputy’s uniform, except for her hat, and her blond hair was caught up in a ponytail. She was seated at the kitchen table with Glenda. Coop bent and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“First,” she said, “I want to give Kylie a hug, if that’s okay with her.”
It was okay. She’d known Connie forever, and they had been part of the same group of friends until she left for Denver. The hug felt good, and then the four of them gathered at the table.
“So what’s up?” Coop asked. “Escaping the hellions? Sorry I unleashed them.”
Connie waved her hand. “It doesn’t take much to excite the younger two. No, I’m going back on duty in twenty minutes. I just wanted to check on Kylie and ask you if you’d walk the kids to school in the morning, Coop. Ethan has to be out at his dad’s place early. Some late lambs will be here soon.”
Coop nodded. “Sure. Glad to do it, Cuz.”
“I thought you would.”
Glenda leaned forward a little. “Still worrying about that stranger?”
Connie nodded, compressing her lips. “There hasn’t been another contact in this case, but after Sophie...” She shook her head. “I was lucky. It was my ex who took her, criminal though he was, but we found her and she wasn’t hurt. But I’ve never been able to quite escape the fear that it could happen again, and not just to one of my children. And then we did have that serial killer a couple of years ago, although he went after young boys, not girls. Anyway, I probably won’t get past this for a few weeks. To be safe, we’re pulling double shifts in case.”
Kylie spoke, admitting to another gap in her memory, difficult as it was. “When did Ethan stop being a
Similar Books
