Page 12 of Break My Fall

Meredith came to a stop beside them. “That could be Gossamer Falls’ motto. ‘We don’t want anything to change.’” She bumped her dad’s shoulder. “But what specifically don’t we want to change?”

Doug looked at Gray, then at Meredith. “Just talking to Gray here about the whole sheriff/police situation.”

Gray had expected Meredith to shrug off the words, but her face grew serious. “We really do need to fix it. We need to be sure everything is buttoned up tight so there’s no wiggle room for criminals here. It’s bad enough that it’s on our doorstep. Kirby’s dirty, and I don’t trust his mess not to bleed over.”

Doug put an arm around his daughter. “You ever gonna tell us what dirt you have on him, baby girl?”

She shook her head. “I have more suspicion than specifics. My specifics are legit, but I hear things. Kids talk. Patients talk. There’s stuff going on in Neeson County that we wouldn’t let fly here. And Kirby looks the other way. I suspect they have something on him.”

“Who arethey?” Gray asked.

“Theyare whoever’s really running the show. I have an idea of who that is. But no proof. But there’s hinky stuff going on. The last time I was up there, I had three patients who had injuries that indicated abuse. I saw a teenage girl who I suspect is being trafficked by her stepbrother. And two moms who sported bruisesthat looked an awful lot like someone had used them as a punching bag.”

Meredith pulled away from her dad and paced. “One of those moms is the wife of a sheriff’s deputy. The fox is in the henhouse, and those poor people can’t do anything about it. They can’t afford to move. They can’t risk speaking up. So they deal with it.”

She focused on Gray. “You wouldn’t know this because you didn’t grow up here, but I’ve been told my entire life to ‘stay out of Neeson.’” She glanced at her dad, and Doug confirmed it with a nod. “When I was young, I thought it was overprotective parents being paranoid. Then, when I hit my late teens and early twenties and knew everything”—she winked at her dad—“I was sure it was some kind of better-than-thou attitude. Like Gossamer Falls folks were too good to associate with the likes of people in Neeson. And I thought that was because everyone here had a serious case of entitlement.”

She shrugged. “Then I moved home and spent some time in Neeson. If I had kids? I’d tell them to stay out of Neeson too. There’s something going on up there, and it isn’t right. There are good people there, but they’re overshadowed by bad people who’ve decided Neeson is theirs.”

Nothing Meredith said was news to Gray. But he hadn’t realized how much she’d seen and absorbed. To his knowledge, the only time she was ever in Neeson was when she did a clinic. Which meant her patientsweretalking. And Meredith might know more than she realized she did.

Whether she did or didn’t know anything specific, someone in Neeson thought she did.

Had the goal today been to scare her? To abduct her? To kill her?

His chest tightened at the thought. “We’ll get to the bottom of it.” The words were a vow he had no problem making. Failure wasn’t an option because to fail would mean leaving Meredith at risk.

As far as Gray was concerned, Meredith was dangerous, but she should never beindanger. And whether she liked it or not, he intended to make sure she was protected.

The world needed people like Meredith Quinn. Shoot. He needed people like Meredith Quinn.

Or maybe he just needed Meredith Quinn.

But he couldn’t have her. He’d closed that door a long time ago. His role in her life wasn’t to be the one she came home to. It was to be the one who made sure she was safe and able to go home ... to whoever awaited her.

Right now, that meant driving her back to her office and then finding out what was going on in Neeson.

FOUR

Gray’s car smelled like leather and Gray. She didn’t think he wore cologne. But it might have been some kind of aftershave or lotion or soap or something. Whatever it was, it was a scent she associated only with him. And she liked it too much for her own good.

She dropped her head back as he climbed into the driver’s seat and buckled his seat belt.

“Tired?” The concern in his voice settled over her like a fleece blanket.

“Not really. I’m frustrated. Annoyed. Confused.”

“But not afraid?” There was genuine curiosity in the question, so she answered it in the spirit it had been asked.

“I was afraid this morning until I realized I was back in Gossamer County. And I’ll probably be afraid later when I’m by myself and have time to process everything. The idea of someone sneaking around Mrs. Frost’s place? And slicing my fuel line? That’s creepy.” An involuntary shudder rippled through her.

“Creepy’s one word for it.” Gray’s low rumble had her turning in her seat to look at him more fully.

“What word would you use?”

His hands flexed on the steering wheel. “Criminal.”

“Ah. Yes. It’s criminally creepy.”

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