Page 29 of Trouble Me
She smiled softly. “Aidan is the baby boy of the family. But since he came back from the military and now runs the police department here, he’s pretty much taken on the role of family protector.”
Headlights cut through the night at the end of the road and made a slow but steady progression toward them. As the large white truck drew closer, it pulled over in front of her vehicle.
“That was quick,” Shane murmured.
“He said he was headed in this direction, anyway.” She pushed open the door, the frigid air filling the cabin, when a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out of the truck across from them.
“Hey, Aidan.” The three of them stood in the light beams from Shane’s truck.
“Hey. What are you doing out here so late by yourself?” Aidan’s voice was deep and laced with concern.
“I was working, but I wasn’t alone. Shane was with me.” She shifted and turned to him. “Shane, Aidan Reynolds. Aidan, Shane Kavanaugh.”
The two men shook hands as Aidan sized him up. He had the build of a linebacker and stood an inch or two taller than Shane’s own six foot three. Aidan’s jacket was dark with large yellow letters reading “police” on the back, and he had a gun strapped to his jean-clad hip.
Aidan assessed him and appeared to be satisfied. “Nice to meet you, Shane,” he said. “Thanks for staying with her.”
Emma huffed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not some simpering female.” She smacked his chest with the back of her hand. “Are you going to help me or not?”
The radio on Aidan’s hip went off and he pulled it out of the holster and spoke into it, while at the same time nodding at Emma. “Reynolds. The tow needs to be sent to...” he trailed off and Shane rattled off the address. “425 Brandywine Drive. The vehicle is about a hundred yards up the road on Brandywine. Over.”
Something was said that Shane couldn’t decipher, but Aidan seemed to speak static. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath. “Is Deputy Wilson available?” He listened again to more static then said, “10-4, thanks, Cara.” He slipped the radio back into the holster and, with his hands on his hips, turned back to Emma. “I have another call I have to get to. There’s no one else available. I’m sorry, Em.” He glanced over to Shane. “You’ll make sure she gets home safely?”
“Absolutely.”
Aidan nodded once. “You going to be okay in that big house by yourself?”
Emma nodded. “I live there, of course I’ll be fine.” She pushed up on her toes, laying a hand on his shoulder and pecked his cheek. “Thanks for taking care of this,” she said when she pulled away. The cousins seemed to share some sort of telepathic message before Aidan looked back at Shane. “I’m counting on you to get her home in one piece.”
“Consider it done.”
“Em, I’ll have it towed to Henderson’s shop.”
“Thanks, again. Tell your mom hi for me.”
Aidan nodded and touched the edge of his baseball cap before heading back to the warmth of his running police truck. A few minutes later, Emma directed Shane to her house. “I’m not too far from here. About five minutes or so.”
His eyes stayed on the road in front of them, hands clenching and unclenching the wheel while his brain worked overtime. The directions she gave made Shane’s stomach roll. They sounded suspiciously familiar to ones he’d followed when he’d visited the property KVN wanted to buy. And that the owner didn’t want to sell. He swallowed hard and beat back the heaviness in his chest.
“You’re close to the winery.”
She nodded, looking out the side window. “It’s a dream commute compared to what I used to have to deal with.”
“I’ve heard about traffic in Atlanta. Sounds like it can rival some of the jams on the Eastshore Freeway in San Francisco.”
Emma sighed. “It can be pretty nasty. Especially if the interstate collapses or something equally ridiculous. I was fortunate enough that after a while I had a car service, but sitting in the car for an hour to go seven miles is no fun, driving or not. The only upshot was that I was productive.” She leaned forward peering into the night. “It’s right here.”
Shane turned and drove down a long road. It looked like he was driving into a black hole, and it was nearly impossible for him to make out anything that would help him figure out his surroundings.
As the headlights of the truck cut through the darkness, lighting up the front of an enormous farmhouse in the near distance, Shane closed his eyes briefly. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered under his breath.
“I’m sorry, what?” Emma asked.
He glanced over out of the corner of his eye. “Uh, it’s a huge house. I’m surprised you live here all alone.”
Emma leaned forward, peering through the windshield. “It is a big house. Much too large for one person. But it’s been in my family for generations.” The lights of the dashboard only illuminated half of her face, but the wistfulness that crossed her features was clear.
Shit, that was not the reaction he expected.
