Page 68 of Obsession

He swallowed hard. And now maybe they had another chance at love.

A car approached from the north, and Sam directed his attention back to the road. But his mind wandered into the future. One with Emma.

“How come you ... uh ... never married?” she asked.

Their thoughts must be running the same path. He lifted his shoulder in a dismissive shrug. “Been too busy.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No. When would I have had time? I finished college in three and a half years, attended a federal law enforcement training, and went to work full-time for the park service out in Arizona and worked my way up the ladder.” It was easier to eat, drink, and sleep being a ranger than to invest time in a relationship that would probably go nowhere. “And now I’m back in Natchez.”

“Why did it take you so long to come home?”

“I don’t know. Coming home was hard. Part of me wanted to—the part that helps with Jace, but—”

“Because of your dad?”

Not a subject he wanted to discuss.

“I saw him not long ago, and of course I saw quite a bit of him when I was looking for an apartment. He’s really knowledgeable about real estate around here,” Emma said. “But he looks bad.”

He clamped his jaw, feeling the muscle jump. “I wouldn’t know since I’ve made it a point to avoid him.”

Sam checked his speed limit. He was crowding sixty and slowed back to the speed limit. “How about you? Why haven’t you married?”

Turnabout was fair play, and the blush that crept into her face indicated it wasn’t a subject she wanted to discuss either.

“I’ve been busy too.”

His mouth twitched. “You’re kidding,” he said, using Emma’s own words against her.

“It’s different for me. With your looks, I’m surprised you don’t have women beating a path to Natchez.”

“So, you think I’m handsome?”

“I, ah ... it’s the uniform.”

“Hmm.”

Her face was beet red now.

Her cell phone dinged, and she grabbed it. “It’s an email from Harry Bell.” A few seconds later she groaned. “He decided to swing by his office on the way to church, but now he’s having trouble scanning the report to his email. He’s going to wait until his secretary arrives tomorrow so she can send the report.”

“Email him back and see if he can copy it. If he can, Brooke can pick it up this afternoon. She’ll be up that way.”

Emma quickly responded, and it wasn’t long before there was an answer. “He said that will work. He’ll meet her at the office.”

They passed the one-mile marker to Mount Locust, and he slowed to turn in. “I’ll text Brooke his number and the directions, and they can work out the logistics.”

“Good,” she said as they turned into the entrance. “Just drop me off at the gate so I can feed Suzy and leave a note on the door for visitors telling them I’ll be at the slave cemetery.”

“I’ll take you to the parking lot. How are you going to feed her on the days you’re off?”

“I plan to take her home tonight. Otherwise I’ll have to driveback out here tomorrow to feed her.” Emma glanced at him and caught him smiling. “What?” she asked.

“Just thinking about when we were kids and you used to take in all the stray animals. Drove your mom crazy.”

“You remember that?”

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