Page 47 of A Lonely Road
Nora gave a choked laugh, but she didn’t deny it. “No, I think you and Sam are the only people I’ve given it to since I moved here.”
“Then that probably gives us the answer to why they sent it to me. I’m thinking we should go over to the police station, if you’re up for it.”
“You could have woken me up, Jake,” she said softly, laying a hand on my stubbled cheek. “You look like you didn’t sleep very much.”
I leaned into her caress, then turned my head to press a kiss to her palm. “You needed a break. This is a small town, so I don’t even know who’s at the police station overnight. It didn’t seem worth getting anybody out of bed for, least of all you. Besides, now we can show up with donuts and look like superheroes whilealsohaving donuts for breakfast.”
Her soft laughter eased some of my tension and within half an hour, we were on our way to the station with a large box of donuts. Nora held them on her lap and shot me a suspicious look.
“Just how many police are on this small town force? This seems like an awful lot of donuts.”
I winked at her. “Speak for yourself. I intend to eat at least half of those.”
Even though my lighthearted comments were for her benefit alone, they seemed to help keep both of us from tipping toward panic. I knew she’d been on the verge of it as soon as I mentionedthe text, and worrying about her safety was what had kept me awake most of the night.
You’ll both pay.
I pondered the words again. Pay for what?
When we pulled into a parking spot outside the tiny police station, I jogged around to help her with the box, lingering to kiss her lightly on the lips before she slid down from the seat. Nora followed me inside and rolled her eyes when I cranked up the charm as I delivered donuts to the few officers out front. Even the police chief, a man named Roberts who I didn’t think Nora had met yet, strolled out of his office to partake.
She hung back while I murmured to the older man, then I tipped my head toward the chief’s office and we followed him there.
“Nora, this is Chief Roberts. Chief Roberts, Nora Cassidy,” I said.
The chief smiled kindly at her as we sat before his desk, folding his hands over his round belly. “Been having a bit of trouble, I hear.”
With a tight smile, Nora said, “Yes, sir.” She glared at me when my eyebrows shot up. “Navy brat, remember?” she muttered.
“A Navy brat named Cassidy, huh? Your daddy wouldn’t happen to be Captain John Cassidy, would he?” the chief asked, rubbing his chin.
Now it was Nora whose eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Yes, sir, that would be him. You two know each other?”
My eyes narrowed on the chief’s face—something in his smile looked a little too innocent, a little too benign, like he’d already known very well who Nora’s dad was. Though I hadn’t realized her father had any ties to Spruce Hill, I wondered now if that was how she’d found the apartment. Mr. Jenkins’ odd behavior surrounding the provenance of his new tenant might just have something to do with this tangled web that was only now starting to unravel.
The chief shot me a subtle wink and I shook my head in resignation.
Chief Roberts leaned back in his chair with an affectionate smile. “Your daddy and I went to basic training together. We kept in touch a bit over the years. Does your father know about the break-in?”
Nora shook her head. “No, sir, not yet. I didn’t want to worry him if it all amounted to local kids making trouble. And please, call me Nora.”
The chief nodded, folding his hands over his midsection. “Well, Nora, tell him I say hello next time you talk to him. As for the break-in, we talked to all the neighbors, but no one saw or heard anything unusual during the time you were away. We’ll keep poking around, but with nothing stolen, I’m afraid it might not amount to much.”
I pulled up the text from that morning and passed my phone across the desk. “There is one more thing, Chief. This came through around three this morning.”
Pursing his lips, the chief nodded. “Mind if I have Detective Hanson check into this? She’s our unofficial tech specialist, and she should be getting in just about now.”
“By all means,” I said.
“She’s gonna be pissed if all the Boston cream donuts are gone,” he muttered.
While the chief rose and took the phone out to Detective Hanson, I threaded my fingers through Nora’s and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. She still looked blown over by the knowledge that her father was personally connected to Spruce Hill, so I decided to take her mind off it, however briefly.
“Kind of sexy hearing you all ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir,’ Cassidy,” I murmured with a devilish grin.
She wrinkled her nose at me. “Oh, you like that, do you?”
Laughter rumbled in my chest. “Well, I like just about everything you do, so I guess it’s only natural. I can’t believe the chief knows your father, though. Talk about a small world.”
