Ginna Gray - A Man Apart

Matt doubted that. These days he wasn’t comfortable anywhere. His wounds still throbbed and ached, and every step he made was pure agony, causing the mutilated muscles and tendons in his thigh to scream in protest.

With assistance from Hank and leaning heavily on a cane, Matt climbed the veranda steps. However, when he reached the top he was so wobbly he had to sit down in the first swing he reached, while Hank unloaded his bags from the car and carried them to his room. In no time his partner reappeared. “There’s something that smells delicious cooking in two big pots in the kitchen, but other than that there’s no sign of John’s tenant.”

“Good. I hope it stays that way.”

Hank looked away and shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. “Yeah, well, I guess I’d better be heading back so you can unpack and get settled. Is there anything else you need before I go?”

“Don’t think so.” Matt knew his partner was worried about leaving him alone, but the truth was, that was exactly what he wanted. He was in no mood for socializing, not even with his best friend. “Look, don’t worry about me, okay. I’ll be fine.”

“Well…if you’re sure. And remember, if you need anything—anything at all—you just give me a call.”

As his partner drove away, Matt looked around. In addition to being a fisherman and guide, John’s uncle had been an avid gardener. Though isolated on wooded lake-shore, the lodge was surrounded by a neat lawn and a bed of roses, and other flowers Matt couldn’t name bordered the porch all around. From previous visits, Matt knew that there was also a vegetable garden out back, plus a large garage and storage shed.

Along one side and across the back, the forest came right up to the yard but a small, open meadow separated the lawn from the woods on the west side. At the front of the lodge the lawn went all the way down to the lake. The boat dock and fishing pier was a quarter mile or so farther along the shore, out of sight of the lodge and reached by a path through the woods.

It was a great place, and under other circumstances, Matt would have enjoyed being here to soak up the sunshine and nature, but now he resented being forced to stay when all he wanted was to go home and shut out the world.

The lieutenant had been right about one thing, Matt thought, looking around at the peaceful scene. He certainly shouldn’t have any trouble with nosy reporters out here in the boonies.

The sound of voices drew Matt’s attention to the woods along the east side of the yard just as a woman and a gang of children emerged. Annoyance firmed his mouth as they headed across the lawn toward the lodge. Great. Just what he needed.

They were either lost or trespassing, since all the land between there and the highway belonged to John Werner. Either way, Matt intended to send them packing.

The children were of different ages and, from what he could tell from that distance, different ethnic backgrounds. Dressed in shorts, T-shirts and dirty tennis shoes, they were sweaty, grubby and bedraggled. Oddly, each child carried a pan or bucket.

It was the woman, however, who drew his attention. She also wore shorts and a T-shirt, but on her, the common garments were unbelievably sexy, showing off full breasts, long legs and a curvy figure that made a man’s mouth go dry. Her auburn hair, a wild mane of curls that billowed around her face and shoulders, glinted red in the sunlight. It was that slow, hip-rolling walk, though, that distracted him most. Just watching her approach, he felt a surge of heat in his loins. It was the first time he’d experienced that particular reaction since he’d been shot, and it both pleased and annoyed him.

Putting as much weight as he could on his cane, Matt struggled to his feet. As the group drew nearer and he was about to launch into a blistering lecture about intruding on private property, the woman waved to him and called out, “Hi, there! I’m sorry we weren’t here when you arrived.”

Matt stiffened, his eyes narrowing as an uneasy feeling crept up his spine. There was something vaguely familiar about the woman, but she wasn’t the kind of female any red-blooded male was likely to forget.

“Hey, mister! Lookit what we gots,” a little blond cherub with a dirty face exclaimed.

Before he could stop them, the pack of children clambered noisily up the porch steps and the woman followed. The little blond cherub held up her bucket for him to admire, but the rest of the kids just eyed him with suspicion, as though he was the one who shouldn’t be there.

“All right, kids, take your blackberries inside and rinse them in the colander with cold water. Debbie, sweetheart, don’t bother the man.” She shot him a grin. “Sorry about that. She’s just proud of picking so many berries.”

Before he could reply, the woman turned back to the kids and clapped her hands. “Okay, introductions will come later. Everybody inside. Marshall, you and Yolanda see to the younger ones. And Tyrone, you and Dennis knock off that shoving.”

Matt stared at her, his uneasiness growing.

She turned back to Matt and cocked one auburn eyebrow. “Detective Dolan? You haven’t said a word. Is something wrong?”

“I know you from somewhere, don’t I?”

The woman tossed back her head and laughed, and instantly he knew who she was. No man could ever forget that low, husky sound.

“Goodness. I know it’s been a couple of years, but surely I haven’t changed that much.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed. “You’re Maude Ann Henley, Tom Henley’s widow. You’re that shrink who used to work for the department.”

And she had changed all right. The woman he remembered had been reserved and perfectly groomed at all times, her makeup flawless. She’d dressed in tailored suits, wore her hair pulled severely back in a chignon and exuded an air of cool professionalism. Now she stood before him in ragged cutoffs, a form-fitting T-shirt, her hair a cloud of unruly curls, and apparently not wearing a speck of makeup. There was even a splattering of freckles across her nose, for Pete’s sake.

“Yes. Although, my name is actually Edwards. Dr. Maude Ann Edwards to be exact. I kept my maiden name for professional reasons. And just so you know, Detective, I prefer the term psychiatrist to shrink.”

“Just what the hell are you doing here, Dr. Edwards?”

She looked taken aback, whether by the question or his curt tone he neither knew nor cared. He just wanted an answer. Then he wanted her gone. He had avoided her when she worked at the precinct. He sure as hell didn’t want her around now.

“Why, I live here. Didn’t Lieutenant Werner tell you?”

“You live here? No, he didn’t tell me,” Matt ground out through clenched teeth. “Somehow he neglected to mention that particular piece of information. He just told me he had one tenant. I assumed it was a summer fisherman. That son of a—”

“Detective Dolan, please. I must ask that you refrain from cursing in front of the children.” Noticing that the kids hadn’t moved, she shooed them toward the door. “Go on in and wash those berries like I told you. Jane will be back from the store soon. If the berries aren’t ready, she won’t be able to make that cobbler you want for dessert. So get. All of you.”

The departure of the younger children sounded like a herd of wild mustangs clattering across the wooden porch. Amid shouts and squeals and a round of pushing and shoving to see who could be first, and the repeated squeak and bang of the front door, they disappeared into the lodge. A few of the older children, however, were reluctant to leave, They dragged their feet, looking balefully at Matt as they shuffled inside.

When the last straggler disappeared through the door, Maude Ann turned her attention back to Matt.