Read Online Till I Kissed You by Laura Trentham - Free Book Online Page B

and was tormenting him on purpose. One thing she’d never been was a tease. Of course, that was before the nuclear fallout.
    Voices carried from the shop floor. Cade was pissed about something. Sawyer craned his neck and could see the shoulder of another man, an emblem on a tan sleeve. Sheriff Wayne Berry.
    â€œWhat the…” He stood and walked out on the shop floor.
    Wayne had his hands up as if trying to diffuse the situation. “Now Cade, it was a tip.”
    â€œFrom who?”
    â€œAnonymous.”
    â€œWell, now isn’t that convenient.” Sarcasm turned Cade’s voice into barbed wire.
    Jeremy, their new hire, looked like the Grinch had stolen all his Christmas presents.
    â€œWhat’s going on, Wayne?” Sawyer smiled and held out a hand for a shake. His role had always been the peacemaker of the family, even before his parents had died. Plus, the hostility that had been bred into Cade through years of run-ins with the law growing up hadn’t tainted Sawyer. He actually liked Wayne and, even more, respected him.
    â€œA tip came in this morning that Mr. Whitehurst was seen the night of Thursday, July thirtieth, vandalizing crayfish baskets.”
    They looked to Jeremy. Bitterness tightened his face and flavored his small smile. “It wasn’t me. But isn’t that what everyone says?”
    â€œCan you give me your whereabouts that night around midnight?” The sheriff pulled out a tablet phone to make notes.
    â€œI was already working here, so I was asleep. Work starts by seven sharp every morning.”
    â€œCan anyone corroborate you were at home that night?”
    â€œNope. I was sleeping alone.” Jeremy already looked defeated.
    Cade threw a wrench into an open metal drawer on the red toolbox. The clang echoed through the shop. “This is bull—”
    â€œI can tell you he’s been on time every morning since he started work.” Sawyer laid a hand on Cade’s shoulder and patted in an unspoken plea to let him handle things. “And I’ll add that he hasn’t acted like he’s been out all night. He comes in, works hard, and doesn’t complain.”
    He and Wayne stared at each other for a moment. The sheriff sighed, clipped the tablet back on his belt, and turned to Jeremy. “Look, take this as a warning to stay out of trouble, son. If you didn’t do it, then someone is out to smear you. If you did do it, I’ll track down more evidence that will support a warrant. Understood?”
    Jeremy chucked his chin in a knowing, bitter acknowledgment. “Sure. You’re saying one way or another, I’m up shit creek.”
    The sheriff left the way he entered, leaving a heavy silence. Sawyer turned around and bumped into Regan. He hadn’t realized she’d followed him. Their gazes met for a heartbeat. She walked around the mounted engine. Her heels clip-clopping, her ass swaying, her calf muscles flexing.
    She examined Jeremy like he was a statue while Jeremy looked at her like she’d lost her marbles. “Walk for me.”
    Jeremy glanced over at Cade, who was watching Regan with suspicion. “’Scuse me?”
    Sawyer had no clue what Regan was up to, but somehow over the last half hour, they’d become a team of sorts. “Do it.”
    Jeremy huffed, but walked from the engine to the bay doors, performed an about-face, and walked back. His fair skin was flushed.
    Finally, Regan shook her head. “Nope. Not him.”
    â€œYou sure?” Sawyer hooked his thumbs in his folded-over coveralls.
    â€œCare to share?” Cade asked, his voice still full of sarcasm but more amused than biting.
    â€œRegan saw a man lurking around her mama’s garden. Thought it was me, gave chase, but he got clean away.” Sawyer waggled his finger between him and Regan. “We have a theory that whoever cut the baskets is the same man.”
    Regan looked Jeremy up and down one