Page 5 of Sutton's Shadow

Word of his failure to bring Bethany home had spread like wildfire through his friends. Although grateful for their support, he’d quickly tired of discussing it with everyone. Their frustrations were nothing compared to his own.

“Nothing yet.”

She laid a hand on his arm, squeezing gently. “Oh, Tin Man. Bless your heart. As Emma would say, what I wouldn’t give to open a can of piddle poo on them. That would light a fire under their asses and get Little Bee home with you quicker.”

He smiled at the use of their friend’s penchant for unusual curse words. “Thanks, Jolene.”

She returned his smile. “In the meantime, eat. You won’t do Bethany any good if you collapse from hunger.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jolene scoffed. “Jesus, don’t call me ma’am. I’m not that old yet.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he repeated. She whipped a bar rag at him, hitting him in the shoulder. He chuckled, but his merriment dissolved as his thoughts turned to his sister once again.

Wyatt took his time eating his burger, lost in his thoughts, until Sutton’s movements caught his attention. As she brought her glass of water to her lips, her hand shook. She appeared to notice the tremor too and put her glass down with a loud thud. Clearly frustrated, a sigh slipped from her lips. Curiouser and curiouser.

He shook his head at himself for thinking of the line from the movie his baby sister had made him watch repeatedly when he’d been able to visit with her. He was not the Alice type, but his curiosity about the contrary woman escalated. It was a pleasant distraction from the constant cyclone of his thoughts about Bethany.

Jolene came back out, this time with Sutton’s food. She placed her plate in front of her, then leaned against the bar.

“What brings you here today?” Jolene asked.

“Had a gig at the lake,” Sutton answered after swallowing her first bite of her burger.

“Today? Isn’t it really cold down there?” Jolene asked.

Sutton smiled, then ducked her head again. “It was. But the sun was shining, so today was as good a day as any to get the shots.”

“What project are you working on?”

“Tourism brochure for the town. They wanted new pics for their website and other ads.”

“I had heard Lake Haven wanted to boost tourism for the summers. But I wouldn’t want to be out there today. It’s freaking August, but you’d think it was November. That’s Michigan weather for you, I guess.” She shivered as if to illustrate her point.

“It’s not too bad yet. Especially with the sun shining.” Talking about her work appeared to make Sutton more comfortable. She sat up straighter and swiped one side of her hair behind her ear, revealing her high cheekbones and stunning cornflower blue eyes. A small pearl... no, opal? perched on her ear. Wyatt blinked, catching himself staring at her directly. He lowered his eyes back to his plate before either woman noticed him staring.

“Today also gave me an opportunity to try out my new drone,” she continued. “I think I got some great shots with it. I’m eager to play around with the images back at my studio.”

“A drone, huh? Sounds like fun.”

“It is,” she said, smiling. An electronics junkie, Wyatt enjoyed playing with the latest gadgets too. Even had a few of his own drones. He wondered what kind Sutton had and whether he could get a look at it sometime. He shook his head at himself. What a stupid thought. He didn’t have time to swap drones.

“Hey, Tin Man,” Jolene called out to him using his nickname. “How many drones are you up to now?”

He smiled as he took a sip from his beer. “A few,” he replied.

Sutton turned her startling blue eyes on him, and his heart gave a little jump in his chest. “You still a tech junkie?”

She must remember the times she’d found him tinkering on some gadget when they had down time. She’d sat with him sometimes and watched as he worked. He placed a hand over his heart and rubbed there before answering. “They come in handy in my line of work.” That was the simple answer. In fact, being part of an elite search and rescue group like the Nighthawks, he often used drones to get a bird’s-eye view of a site before risking men’s lives. His boss, Graham Whitaker, gave him free rein to test the latest tech on their missions.

“Right. Of course,” Sutton stuttered, dropping her head again. The hair that had been behind her ear fell forward once more.

He nodded. “Thank you for repairing Emma’s photograph. I know it meant a lot to her. You gave a little of her family back to her.” His teammate had her apartment broken into recently. Most everything had been destroyed. The photograph was of her as a baby being held by her mom with her dad looking on and was the only picture she had of the three of them as a family. It had been damaged in the break-in, but Emma’s boyfriend, Marcus, hired Sutton to see if she could repair it.

A blush rose up her neck and onto her face. Fascinating. The color only enhanced her looks. Wyatt froze with his beer halfway to his lips, beholding her allure.

“It was nothing,” she replied, embarrassed by the praise. Her lips tilted in that tiny smile, drawing his eyes. He shuddered, the breath faltering in his throat. She had the sexiest set of lips he’d ever seen. He remembered wanting to taste them on various occasions when they’d worked together.

---