Page 21 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

A slow smile spread across his face. “Maybe you can give me a sponge bath to wash away the dirt?”

“What’s a sponge bath?” Amelia asked, bouncing her gaze between Tommy and Sadie.

Tommy tried not to laugh and mouthedsorry.

“None of your concern, little one,” she said, but not before an image of Tommy glistening in the tub, his rippling muscles exposed for her viewing pleasure invaded her thoughts. Heat roared to life in her belly. Clearing her throat, she rolled her eyes to avoid the mischief dancing in his gaze. She had to get out of here…now. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Bye, Tommy!” Amelia hurled herself against him and gave him a big hug.

Tommy winced but folded his arms around her. “Goodnight, Amelia. Be good for your mom.”

Sadie’s heart gave a little pitter patter. Amelia had never met her own father and didn’t have many men in her life. Seeing her interact so naturally with Tommy stirred something inside her she wasn’t sure if she liked, but she recognized the danger.

Her complicated feelings for Tommy were more dangerous than the killer still on the loose. A killer they needed to find fast, or she’d have to spend even more time with a man she needed to stay very far away from.

9

The next morning, every muscle in Tommy’s body ached. Sleep hadn’t come easy the night before. Partly because of the pain pounding against his head, partly because he’d liked the way Sadie and Amelia looked in his apartment way too much. Having Amelia around softened Sadie, showed a different side of her that Tommy wanted to know more of.

Which scared the hell out of him.

He chanced a peek in her direction as she stood beside him on the small stoop of Clara Parson’s home. Her eyes were bright and focused, uniform pressed, and more beautiful than he’d remembered.

Knock it off, Wells.

Refusing to go back down the rabbit hole that had kept him up all night, he focused on the task at hand and knocked on Clara Parson’s front door.

She answered with wide, olive-green eyes and her nose scrunched in confusion after only one loud knock. A baby sat high on her hip, and a preschooler circled her legs with his chubby arms.

Clara swung her gaze between him and Sadie. “Can I help you?”

He aimed a grin at each of the kids before settling what he hoped was a reassuring smile on Clara. “Hello, Mrs. Parson. I’m Deputy Wells, and this is Deputy Pennel.” He tilted his head toward Sadie. He knew Clara by name but had never spoken to the woman. Recognition might have dawned in her eyes when she’d landed her gaze on him, but it was still best to introduce them both.

“We wondered if we could ask you a few questions,” Sadie said from beside him.

The little boy pressed himself tighter against Clara’s legs.

“What is this about?” Clara asked.

“Shawn Downs.” Tommy didn’t know how else to approach asking a woman if she was cheating on her husband with a married man, but he remembered Sadie’s advice from the day before. Ripping off the band-aide sometimes was the easiest way.

Clara wet her lips and looked past their shoulders then ran a hand over the baby’s dark curls. “Come in.” She turned into the house, leaving the door open for them to follow.

Tommy waited for Sadie to enter then stepped in behind her and pushed the door shut.

Clara led the way into the living room and placed the baby in a bouncer. She quickly moved a pile of folded clothes from the sofa and tossed them in a waiting laundry basket. Pushing aside some stray toys, she unhooked her little boy from her knees and settled him in a small chair with cartoons all over the fabric. “Just give me a second. I want to put a show on to distract him. Go ahead and take a seat.”

Tommy lowered himself beside Sadie on the floral-patterned couch, ignoring the ache in his bones. Sharp pains pierced his side with every breath. Sadie’s thigh brushed against his andimages of her and the stupid sponge bath he’d foolishly teased her about slammed against him. He slanted his gaze to her folded hands on her lap.

Soft hands.

Capable hands.

The muscles in his groin tightened. Shit. Every thought of what Sadie’s hands could do to him gave him enough of a fit last night. He couldn’t let it torture him today. Especially not with a baby sitting in front of him, staring at him with big blue eyes and drool dripping from her mouth.

“Sorry about that.” Clara perched on the edge of a chair in front of the large picture window. “It’ll be easier with him distracted. What do you want to know about Shawn?”

“I understand you two were in a relationship in high school.” Sadie took the lead. “Were the two of you still in contact?”

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