Page 56 of Daddy, Sir

“So someone either working at the coffee shop or another customer put it there,” I said.

“That’s what I thought, but I still didn’t consider it was meant for me. I thought maybe someone believed it was some kind of romantic gesture and just got the name wrong. The handwriting on the cup was rather sloppy.” She paused and looked at the desktop again. “None came specifically addressed to me. They… they just appeared. I found the second slip inside a towel I’d placed in a cubby before my water aerobics class at the gym. It fell out when I unfolded the towel to dry off with. I know now that should have shot up red flags, but I was still convincing myself it was some poor soul trying poetry to gain attention of a girl.” She gave a choked laugh. “I didn’t even think that girl was me. I guess I just chose to keep telling myself they were harmless. Then the third came and it scared me. By the time I got the last, I knew it wasn’t just a joke so I went to the police.” She huffed and added, “Fat lot of good that did.”

“Why? Didn’t they want to help?” Audra asked.

Fiona’s laugh wasn’t one of amusement, but of derision. “Do you have any experience with small towns or the community of what is referred to the ‘good ‘ole boys network’?”

“My family originally came from a pretty small hamlet in the UK, and I’ve dealt with various groupings of the male population who consider themselves far more competent than females, but I’ve also worked with men who acknowledge we actually do have brains and can contribute to the conversation.”

“Let me just say the majority of the Sheriff’s staff fits in the first category. As for helping me? I’m pretty sure if I’d agreed to being dragged to confession in the church of their choice, they’d have been quite helpful. But I… well, let’s just say that while I’m not against the idea of being spread-eagled and tied to a bed, I vehemently object to having it done so that some exorcism could be performed.”

Chapter Three

Fiona

Audra’s widened eyes told me I might have gone a tad bit too far, but when her glance toward Landon had me looking as well, it was to see his lip curling and the blue of his eyes going to the aqua I so loved. He didn’t appear the least bit shocked. If he’d asked me to clarify that statement, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have minded in the least. I could feel flutters in my belly as his steepled fingers came away from where he’d had them pressed to his lips.

“Let’s start there.”

My pleasure, Sir.

“The police.”

Police…

Jerking my mind out of the fantasy bed Landon had just pulled me down on, I brought my hand to my lips, a little shocked to find it was empty of any glass until remembering Landon had saved it from shattering. “Um, could I have some water?”

“Of course.”

I expected him to perhaps snap his fingers as a signal to Audra to provide the requested water, but like everything else today, that wasn’t what happened. Landon stood and opened a different door of the credenza where a small refrigerator was concealed.

“Audra?”

“Yes, please.”

I couldn’t help but notice he even cracked the seal on the bottles before passing first one to me and reaching further to offer the second to Audra. I took the opportunity to imagine the flex of his muscles the move required. Perhaps if I mentioned I felt a bit warm, he’d decide he felt the same and remove his suit jacket. And then maybe if I unbuttoned one or maybe two buttons of my blouse, he’d…

… pull a jar of jellybeans out of a drawer and remove the lid.

Again, not what I’d expected, but something I’d seen him do many times.

“Still not a fan of licorice?” I asked, nodding toward the jar where the variety of bright colors seemed a bit disproportional to the quantity of black ones.

“Let’s just say I’m not a fan of having a client passing out due to having her blood sugar go into the toilet. You’re not only white as a sheet, your hands are trembling.”

I hadn’t really noticed, but then, my mind’s attention had been basically kidnapped by the man standing next to the jar.

Landon used the small silver scoop inside the jar to transfer a generous serving to a small dish. He might have been able to pass off just happening to have my all-time favorite candy as a coincidence, but when he used the scoop a second time, moving it around the candy to only pick the black ones, adding them to the dish, I knew there was another reason. He hadn’t forgottenallabout me.

“We’ll have a real meal in a little while, but for now, eat all of these and drink your water.”

I gave him a mock salute as I took the dish. “Aye aye, Captain.”

He looked at me and shook his head. “Wrong branch and rank, but I appreciate the respect.” He filled another dish with candy for Audra and then scooped a few into his palm. I smiled as he let a single licorice-flavored bean fall back into the jar. After resuming his seat and uncapping his own water, he nodded.

“Tell us what happened when you went to the police station.”

I couldn’t decide if the fates were playing a trick on me or weaving some sort of spell that had me choosing to walk into the sheriff’s office that morning. Never dealing with true fear before, I’d been at a total loss as to where to seek help. I’d watched enough television to know officers of the law required evidence of a crime before acting. While I had the slips of paper all it had taken was a ten-minute meeting with Sheriff Sherman to learn that words on slips of paper didn’t constitute proof.

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