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Stupid, selfish cat.
It desperately wanted to spend more time with Malia. It demanded Lucas court her properly before some other male swooped in and claimed her.
Sorry, cat. Not gonna happen. I have to keep my mind on the job.
Lucas tried to ignore his stab of jealousy at the thought of Malia dating someone else. Someone her own age, who didn’t come with two kids, an all-consuming job, and an ex-spouse.
His incipient pity party dissolved as a couple of vehicles drove into the lot. But neither was Bickham’s white pickup.
One of the vehicles, a delivery truck painted with the colorful logo of Lemhi Country Restaurant Supply & Wholesale, pulled up in front of the club.
The other vehicle, a light green Toyota 4Runner, screeched to a halt alongside Lucas’s pickup.
He hastily set his coffee aside and came alert as the club’s blonde owner emerged and strode around to his side of the truck.
She peered down at him, and she didn’t look happy. “Lucas Winter?”
Lucas rolled down his window. “Yeah, that’s me,” he said. “Is my parking here a problem? If so, I apologize and—”
“This isn’t about parking,” she cut him off, her blue eyes cold. She pursed her lips. “I heard that you and Malia were on a date last night.”
Holy shit, news travels fast in this town!He wondered who had spilled the beans.
Hopefully not Tringstad.His fellow game warden had been hopping mad yesterday afternoon. But Lucas was ninety-nine percent certain that he wouldn’t endanger Lucas’s cover over something like that.
He might beat the shit out of me later, though,he thought wryly.And I’d deserve it.
It was more likely that Malia herself been the one to mention their dinner together to her friends.
He blew out a breath in frustration.
How many people did she tell?She hadn’t struck him as a blabbermouth, but then again, she’d warned him about the lack of privacy in a small town like this.Shit.
Why hadn’t he asked her to keep it quiet?
Because that wouldn’t have sounded sketchy. At all.
And it would have led her to ask questions that he couldn’t answer without completely blowing his cover.
See, he told his cat.This is why getting involved with her is such a bad idea.
The beast ignored him. It had apparently decided to withdraw and sulk somewhere deep in Lucas’s soul.
He glanced around warily, praying that Bickham and Silvers wouldn’t pick right now to turn up. He couldn’t afford to have them to find out that he was on close and cuddly terms with one of the town’s cops.
“We may have had dinner together,” he admitted to the blonde.
What was her name again? She’d introduced herself when he’d first entered the club and ordered a drink at the bar.
After a moment, it came to him.Kymberlie.
“Are you courting my cousin?” she demanded.
Lucas blinked at her as dismay flooded through him.Cousin?Is Malia related to every damned person in this town? And have they all heard about what happened last night?
This was turning into a real clusterfuck. He needed to do some damage control, pronto, in case Bickham overheard anything about it.
What would Lucas Winter do in this situation?
