Page 15 of Stripped Bare

He nodded, and she knew he understood without question.Somehow, that made her thoughts about his friend even worse.

“I’ll take another look at the files and,” he glanced at the clock before turning back to her, “fire up the grill in another hour.”

“Sounds good,” she agreed and turned to mount the stairs.

Shep stopped her with a tug on her hand, and she looked back at him.

“No matter what you think, Stace,” Shep said.“You’re not to blame for this.Everything points to a random act, and even if you’d been here, you might not have been able to prevent Chloe being taken.”

“But I would have been here, in the first days, and maybe, I could have found her immediately,” Stace argued.

“Maybe isn’t a game to play,” Shep countered.“There are a lot of maybes and what ifs, and if you focus on those, you’ll drive yourself crazy.”

“I know that,” she said.

“I know you do,” Shep agreed, giving her a piercing look.“You know it, but you need to believe it.Sometimes, bad things happen for no apparent reason.”

She nodded.Knowing it didn’t make it any easier to accept.With her background, it was hard to believe it wouldn’t have made a difference if she’d been here on the day her sister was taken.She hadn’t been here, though, and no matter how guilty she felt about that, it couldn’t be changed.

She turned again, and this time, Shep didn’t stop her as she headed upstairs.She’d change and take a good long run in on her treadmill before cooling off with a shower.Running always helped her clear her head.A run and a shower, then it would be time to meet Ally and deal with the complications of that.

* * * * *

Shep heard the car pull up and headed to the front of the house.The shower was still running, and he groaned as he gave up the thought of joining Stace with an offer to wash her back and any other places she wanted him to.

Better that he didn’t anyway since he needed to stay focused to make sure the meeting between Stace and Ally wouldn’t be as awkward as he feared it would be.He was hoping the two women would be friends.Especially since Ally’s fiancé, Blake, was Shep’s best friend.Shep might not have known Ally as long, but their friendship was just as strong.Maybe, he shouldn’t have been so honest, but that wasn’t him.If he wanted more than a casual affair with Stace, and he did, then they needed to start out with no secrets.Not when Blake and Ally were a part of his life.He wanted to make Stace a part of that friendship.

She was strong in every facet of the word.That was a big turn-on for him.She wasn’t clingy or bitchy or whiny.She seemed to be a woman who knew her mind and spoke it.She was a woman he lusted after and wanted to see a hell of a lot more of.It was already more than lust.

Maybe, it was the seriousness of what they were working together on, her sister’s kidnapping.Stace was open and exposed emotionally in a way most people weren’t when getting to know another person.He’d held her while she’d cried.No words.Just his arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.

A truck door slammed, and he came back to the present with a slow grin that quickly spread into a full-blown smile.Blake had come with Ally.Maybe, that twist would help diffuse the first meeting.Stace would meet Ally and see she was happily in love with Blake.

“I hear you can’t handle something on your own and need to call my woman to come save your sorry ass,” Blake said as he and Ally walked up to the porch.

Shep laughed, especially as he watched Ally give Blake an elbow to the abdomen.

“Hey,” Ally said and stepped right up to him, embracing him and lifting her face for a kiss.He brushed his lips over her forehead and gave her a squeeze.

“I’m glad you could come,” Shep said his glance meeting Blake’s.“Both of you.”

Blake nodded and, wrapping his arm around Ally’s waist, pulled her back against him while Shep turned to open the door.The shower was no longer running, so he knew Stace would be down soon.He held open the door open while they walked in and led them over to the family-living room.It was almost laughable how comfortable he was in Stace’s home.

“Alright, bring us up to date on what’s going on,” Blake said, taking a seat and pulling Ally down beside him.She just looked at Blake, shook her head and stood to cruise the room, looking at the pictures and things in it.

“Missing woman,” Shep began.“Chloe Anders, age twenty-one.Five foot nine inches tall, approximately one hundred forty pounds, with short brown hair and brown eyes.”

“Is this her?”Ally asked, holding up a framed photo of Chloe and Nicole.

“That’s her,” Shep replied.

“Attractive woman,” Ally said.

“She is,” Shep agreed, knowing Chloe didn’t hold a candle to her sister.“She’s been missing a little over four weeks now,” Shep continued.“Recorded 9-1-1 call indicates she knew she’d been drugged—or at least suspected she had—and called for help, which didn’t arrive in time.The call recorded at least two men’s voices and the sound of her being moved from the car.”

“The car’s still here?”Ally asked.

“It’s still with the police, but Stace can pick it up any time,” Shep stated.

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