Read Online Dancing with Detective Danger by Lynn Crandall - Free Book Online
Authors: Lynn Crandall
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Along the way, they’d paused to sit without talking while the wind brushed their faces and the sounds of nature surrounded them. Her heart beat with more vigor than usual, her breath flowed in and out of her lungs with more fullness, and when Ben surprised her with a spontaneous kiss, she’d felt his passion excite every cell throughout her body.
When they’d reached the hill’s crest, Ben had spread a picnic lunch for them and, exhilarated from the climb, they had savored the meal, the grandeur of the landscape, and their closeness.
Then they’d watched as a dramatic and roiling cloud formation overtook their sun-drenched day. Typical of Ben, he’d appreciated the exhilaration of a darkening sky as much as the blue sky. Gray clouds turned ominously dark with luminous orange backlighting an approaching tower of clouds. Sterling had urged him to follow her to the cabin they’d rented for the night, just a few yards down the trail.
She’d seen it in him then, that roaring rage that drove him, as he’d stood his ground while the winds worked up around him. Lightning flashed, striking a tree and dividing it in half, but Ben’s excitement didn’t waver.
As rain had begun to pelt them, Ben finally grabbed her hand and led her to the cabin. She knew it wasn’t that he didn’t care about her well-being as he stood in the powerful weather — it was that he completely gave himself to the experience and wanted the same for her. That evening, alone together in the cabin, Ben had asked her to marry him and she’d happily agreed.
Sterling turned away from the window, shaking her head to rid the thoughts that tormented her. Not long after that day, everything had changed. Nicholas died two weeks later, and with his death came the death of dreams for the life she’d planned.
A knock at the door scattered her thoughts. “Come in,” she called.
“You always keep such late hours?” Ben strode into the office, still dressed in his deep blue suit. He fixed her with a piercing look.
She kept her eyes locked to his. “Actually, I was just getting ready to go home.” There was no way he could have read the thoughts she’d been indulging in, but his look made her feel as if he somehow knew. Acutely.
“Going home? Can I give you a ride?” he offered, cocking his head to one side.
Sterling knew the beguiling move was unconscious on his part, but it pulled at her heart mercilessly. “No thanks. I have my car. What brought you up here?”
“I need to discuss the Pamela Witt murder with you.”
“Again?”
“It can’t be helped. It takes going over and over the details to ferret out the truth, remember?”
“You could have called, you know.” Sterling chose to ignore his jab.
“I like to do interviews face-to-face, don’t you?” Ben’s eyes glistened hypnotically.
Sterling knew all too well that Ben’s motives were mixed, and she was not about to sit there helpless under his spell. Still, she had no choice but to cooperate, at least to some degree. He had her there. Resigned, she gathered her things, walked to the door, and flipped off the light switch. City lights threw soft beams into the room, barely illuminating Ben’s dark good looks. Pausing, she waited for him to follow. “We can talk on the way down.”
“Have it your way. So how’s Lacey’s son?”
“He’s doing okay. The doctor wanted to keep him in the hospital overnight, though, just to be sure.”
“That’s good to hear. Crazy kid,” Ben said, shaking his head.
“He takes after his dad.” Sterling looked away so Ben wouldn’t see the emotions reverberating through her. Ben had worked on the force with Lacey’s husband. He knew the man had been fearless. Just like her father. Just like Ben.
“I’m sorry, Sterling,” he said. “Tyler is such a good little guy and Lacey’s already had it pretty rough.”
She hated when he said the right thing. His voice sounded so deep and warm, nearly mesmerizing, like the melody of a
When they’d reached the hill’s crest, Ben had spread a picnic lunch for them and, exhilarated from the climb, they had savored the meal, the grandeur of the landscape, and their closeness.
Then they’d watched as a dramatic and roiling cloud formation overtook their sun-drenched day. Typical of Ben, he’d appreciated the exhilaration of a darkening sky as much as the blue sky. Gray clouds turned ominously dark with luminous orange backlighting an approaching tower of clouds. Sterling had urged him to follow her to the cabin they’d rented for the night, just a few yards down the trail.
She’d seen it in him then, that roaring rage that drove him, as he’d stood his ground while the winds worked up around him. Lightning flashed, striking a tree and dividing it in half, but Ben’s excitement didn’t waver.
As rain had begun to pelt them, Ben finally grabbed her hand and led her to the cabin. She knew it wasn’t that he didn’t care about her well-being as he stood in the powerful weather — it was that he completely gave himself to the experience and wanted the same for her. That evening, alone together in the cabin, Ben had asked her to marry him and she’d happily agreed.
Sterling turned away from the window, shaking her head to rid the thoughts that tormented her. Not long after that day, everything had changed. Nicholas died two weeks later, and with his death came the death of dreams for the life she’d planned.
A knock at the door scattered her thoughts. “Come in,” she called.
“You always keep such late hours?” Ben strode into the office, still dressed in his deep blue suit. He fixed her with a piercing look.
She kept her eyes locked to his. “Actually, I was just getting ready to go home.” There was no way he could have read the thoughts she’d been indulging in, but his look made her feel as if he somehow knew. Acutely.
“Going home? Can I give you a ride?” he offered, cocking his head to one side.
Sterling knew the beguiling move was unconscious on his part, but it pulled at her heart mercilessly. “No thanks. I have my car. What brought you up here?”
“I need to discuss the Pamela Witt murder with you.”
“Again?”
“It can’t be helped. It takes going over and over the details to ferret out the truth, remember?”
“You could have called, you know.” Sterling chose to ignore his jab.
“I like to do interviews face-to-face, don’t you?” Ben’s eyes glistened hypnotically.
Sterling knew all too well that Ben’s motives were mixed, and she was not about to sit there helpless under his spell. Still, she had no choice but to cooperate, at least to some degree. He had her there. Resigned, she gathered her things, walked to the door, and flipped off the light switch. City lights threw soft beams into the room, barely illuminating Ben’s dark good looks. Pausing, she waited for him to follow. “We can talk on the way down.”
“Have it your way. So how’s Lacey’s son?”
“He’s doing okay. The doctor wanted to keep him in the hospital overnight, though, just to be sure.”
“That’s good to hear. Crazy kid,” Ben said, shaking his head.
“He takes after his dad.” Sterling looked away so Ben wouldn’t see the emotions reverberating through her. Ben had worked on the force with Lacey’s husband. He knew the man had been fearless. Just like her father. Just like Ben.
“I’m sorry, Sterling,” he said. “Tyler is such a good little guy and Lacey’s already had it pretty rough.”
She hated when he said the right thing. His voice sounded so deep and warm, nearly mesmerizing, like the melody of a
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