Janice Johnson - Everywhere She Goes

That really made her laugh. Answering amusement in his eyes told her he at least recognized his hubris.

“Colin said you moved here about ten years ago?”

“Nearly eleven, now.” He hesitated. “I learned that my father was here. Hadn’t seen him since I was a kid, but for some reason I decided to look him up.”

She wondered if he really didn’t know why he’d felt the need to track down his father. Studying that rough-hewn face and the intelligence in his eyes, she thought, no, of course he knew.

“So you found him and stayed.”

Noah shook his head. “I never did find him. He’d disappeared.” His expression closed. “I guess he’d moved on.”

Cait didn’t believe in his outward indifference, but clearly he was done sharing confidences. She could take a hint.

They kept chatting, but more like the employer and employee they were. He asked that she attend the city council meeting the following Tuesday, told her about his second hire of the week, the new city recorder who’d be starting in June.

He paid, and as they walked out, wanted to know if she’d yet found a place to live.

Cait shook her head. “I haven’t even started to look. If you’ll recall, it was only yesterday you offered me the job.”

He gave her an odd glance. “I guess it was.”

It was a little silly that they had to get back in his big SUV for a whole two-block drive, but earlier he hadn’t suggested parking at the city hall/courthouse complex and walking back.

She looked straight ahead as he maneuvered out of the slot. “Did you have any suggestions? I mean, about where to live. I’ll have to rent for now.”

“I suppose you don’t want to stay at your brother’s.”

“No-o.” She drew that out. “He actually has an apartment above his garage. So I might stay there.” She liked the idea of having Colin close if Blake showed up in town. On the other hand... “I’m not sure I want to be accountable to him for my comings and goings.”

“It would be a little like moving back in with Mom and Dad,” Noah mused.

Cait rolled her eyes. “It might be worse.”

“Your brother the cop.” He was highly amused; she could tell. “I guess it might be.”

“Well.” She shook herself. “No hurry to decide.”

“There are some new town houses available for rent in a nice location,” he said after a minute. “I hear they’re decent.”

When she asked why he sounded grudging, he admitted they had been built by Earl Greig, who sat on the city council.

“One of the not-so-happy ones.”

“That would be him.” Noah’s tone was sardonic.

“Not-so-happy means they’re more likely to support you in making changes, doesn’t it?”

“In theory.” He made an indecipherable sound. “You should be welcome, at least.”

This was really out of line, but... “Earl doesn’t like you?”

“Earl can’t bring himself to forget that I used to wear my hair in a ponytail.”

Cait choked.

He flashed her a grin that was so devastating, he might as well have kissed her.

“Yeah, stubby little thing.” He reached up to his nape as if fingering hair that wasn’t there anymore. “Shocking, I know.”

Smiles like that—they were shocking. And, dear God help her, she had to pretend they had no effect on her at all.

“Lucky Earl doesn’t live in the big city,” she said.

“Earl is daily torn between his greed and disapproval of all newcomers as well as tourists. Makes his votes kind of chancy.”

He pulled into the parking slot reserved for the mayor, set the emergency brake and turned off the engine. Cait scrambled out, not wanting to take a chance he’d turn his head and gaze at her with that thoughtful look that made her wonder whether he saw straight through her.

She felt him glancing at her as they walked through the garage, but he didn’t say anything until they were on the elevator and it was rising, floor numbers pinging.

“I’ll let you have the afternoon to yourself,” he said, his tone distant as if he’d almost put her out of his mind already.

“Thank you for taking so much time for me,” she said formally when they reached her floor and the door slid open.

He dipped his head, a frown making his features harsher. Whether he looked after her as she exited, Cait had no idea. She didn’t dare glance back.

* * *

NOAH TRIED LIKE hell to stay away from his new director of community development for the rest of her first week of work. That didn’t mean he didn’t hear constant reports about her and have to field a couple dozen phone calls asking about her. It also didn’t mean he didn’t catch glimpses of her entirely too often. There was one day he swore he couldn’t step out of his office without seeing her hurrying down the hall or engaged in conversation in a doorway or walking out to her car.

Earl wasn’t real happy that a woman had been hired instead of a man, a hidebound attitude that didn’t surprise Noah at all. Noah listed her qualifications for possibly his most contentious city council member, who grumbled but went away. Beverly Buhl, chair of the Arts, Beautification and Culture Committee, called to burble her delight about how “forward-thinking” Ms. McAllister was.

“And charming,” she enthused, to which he growled agreement; something about his voice momentarily silenced her.

Taking Ms. Cait McAllister out to lunch had been his mistake, he concluded. He’d done fine up until then. Lunch might have been fine, too, if they’d stuck to business. Instead, they’d sounded each other out about their pasts, their likes and dislikes as if they were on a first date.

Damn it, she’d made him laugh!

He wanted to be grumpy because she didn’t dress professionally enough, but the truth was, she did. She went so far as to wear a suit the second day. Unfortunately, she never seemed to wear the kind of colors that would have allowed her to blend in. The suit was lemon-yellow, the skirt reached only midthigh and the jacket was short and fit snugly over very nice breasts and a slender torso. She even wore high heels in a matching shade of yellow. When he spotted her down the hall in that one, he was blitzed by the thought that she looked like a sexy ray of sunshine. Furious at himself, he blundered into the men’s room, stared at himself in the mirror with incredulity and took a piss when he’d rather have whacked his head against the wall.

Day three of her tenure, he almost walked into her as he was heading out midafternoon. Today she wore linen slacks and a thin sweater set the color of the ocean off Belize. He nodded; she offered a single, distracted smile and returned to conversation with her assistant director.

His mood darker, Noah stalked the several blocks to the public safety building for a meeting with Alec Raynor. As he was ready to go into the building, Cait’s brother happened to be coming out.

McAllister stopped, his eyes narrowed on Noah.

Since the one hostile scene back in March when Noah had admitted he had chosen not to hire McAllister for the head job, they had managed to hold semicivilized conversations; they had to, once McAllister made the decision to stay on as acting police chief and then captain of investigative services. Enmity was never far below the surface, though.

Today, McAllister stepped aside rather than continuing on his way.

Seeing no choice, Noah did likewise. If he were prone to regrets, he’d be sorry about the tension between them. But he did what he thought was best, and he didn’t allow himself second thoughts.

“Before the rumors hit,” McAllister said tersely, “I thought I’d tell you I’m running for county sheriff.”

Noah digested the announcement. The current sheriff was on a par with Mayor Linarelli, as far as Noah was concerned. In other words, lazy and very possibly crooked. “Interesting,” he mused. “Are you asking for my support?”