Come a Little Closer Read online

  A white picket fence, the fancy newfangled vinyl type, wrapped around a well-trimmed yard, and in the distance, old tombstones lined up like gray soldiers. Realization struck. Of course, this was the old Methodist Church. The congregation had built a new sanctuary in town, and this one had been sitting empty for several years.

  Arched cathedral windows flanked castle-sized double doors, the right one slightly ajar. As he neared the porch, he stooped to pick up a can of spray paint. The half-empty can rattled as he shook it.

  Really, kids had felt the need to vandalize a church?

  Why couldn’t they put their artistic talents to something useful, like Jenny’s class? She’d recently started as artist-in-residence at the high school, and she’d been working long hours on her class schedule and plans. She could use some minions, so when he caught these heathens, they would soon be helping with her art program.

  He banged on the door with the back of his fist, sending it opening farther into the room. “Sheriff. Anyone here?”

  When no one answered, he stepped inside. The last time he’d been out here had been after a freak windstorm. The damage had been pretty bad all over the county, with trees down and a couple of old metal roofs blown off. This structure had taken a wallop with some windows blown out and even a few headstones scattered. Looked pretty good now though.

  Thank goodness there was no evidence of painted graffiti on the inside because someone had put some hard work into renovating this place.

  The wooden floors gleamed with thick polyurethane, and the years of scarring only added character to the deep sheen. Losing the battle with an unseen cinnamon air freshener, the air was heavy with the pungent smell of the freshly painted walls.

  A rainbow of color streamed across the floor from the arched cathedral windows, illuminating not pews but a huge pewter chandelier suspended over a large open area, highlighting the stainless steel appliances in a surprisingly modern open kitchen.

  What was this? It looked like someone had plans to live here. But with all the land around Summer Shoals, why would someone remodel a church rather than build a house?

  Still, he was reluctantly impressed with the work someone had obviously invested in the place.

  At the sound of something rustling from beyond a barn-style door, he spun around. Although he didn’t expect real trouble, he positioned his hand on his gun. “Sheriff. Come on out.”

  The door rolled back, and out stepped Jenny, a beaming smile on her gorgeous face.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Surprise!” She sauntered across the room with a long-legged stride, her dark hair swaying behind her and the thud of her cowboy boots echoing through the empty space. In a pair of jeans and bright shirt, she took his breath away, just as she did every time he laid eyes on her.

  “Why aren’t you at school?” he asked.

  “Because this is my day off.” She flashed a mischievous smile, which would have normally sent his blood pumping, but not this time. “And because I’m here.”

  “Where are the vandals? Did you call this in? Don’t tell me you scared them off yourself. Not only could that be dangerous, but it’s my job to handle the criminals.”

  She took the can of spray paint from him. “Calm down. Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s no vandalism.”

  “Then why did Gloria say—” Charlene obviously wasn’t the only one Gloria had talked with today. Dammit, what had Jenny and his dispatcher cooked up together? “You called Dispatch.”

  “Yep.”

  “You do know calling in a false report is a crime, right?”

  “Oh, come on.” She playfully tugged at his shirt front. “It was all in fun.”

  The day’s frustrations crawled up Teague’s back and roosted at the back of his neck. “Fun? My job isn’t fun, Jenny. It’s serious and I take it seriously, even if you don’t.”

  “Stop being such a grump. Gloria made sure you weren’t busy with real work. I asked her to help me out.”

  He tugged on the brim of his hat, repositioning it. “How could you? Gloria is the biggest gossip in Bartell County. I know you think Summer Shoals is small potatoes compared to Boston or Houston, but these people elected me. We’re talking about my job. My career. My reputation.” And with what he’d heard today at the bakery, it was clear his work was being discussed around the county. He’d never once had people question his professionalism or dedication before. And he damn well didn’t like it.

  “Geez, Teague. I was just trying to surprise you.”

  Exactly what he didn’t need today, another surprise. “I should take you in for filing a false report.”

  She gave him the saucy smile that made him lose focus every darn time and she held out both wrists. “You gonna cuff me?”

  “This isn’t funny.”

  Dropping her arms, she sidled closer and grabbed his hand, coaxed it down from the brim of his hat. “Hey, settle down. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “I need to get back to the office.” With Jenny’s fake call coming in, he hadn’t had time to Google Angus Hillen. Figure out who he was and how much of a threat he posed.

  “Wait.” She tugged at his hand. “I lured you out here for a reason. Look at this house. Isn’t it awesome? Did you know the contractor who converted the warehouse to the Gypsy Cotton Art Gallery had been working on this? I can’t believe it hasn’t made some of the big city magazines already, but I bet it will.”

  When he didn’t respond, she snapped her fingers in front of his nose. “Teague?”

  “Yeah, Jenny. The place is…nice.”

  “Nice? It’s amazing. Look at this light.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Teague,” she said again in a sing-songy voice. “Will this help you pay attention to me?”

  He glanced over to find her popping buttons on her turquoise shirt. The sight of her silky pink push-up bra had him swallowing. She shimmied her shoulders and pushed her arms together to make some plump cleavage.

  He reached for her then remembered where they were. “This is a church, Jenny. We can’t do that here. And when did you become such an exhibitionist?”

  “When did you become such a prude? It’s not a church anymore.” She let go of his hand and skipped across the room, throwing her arms wide, which only made her shirt gape more. “As Sera would say, this place has the best vibe.”

  Sera was Summer Haven’s resident queen of everything yoga, chakra, and namaste, but right now, Teague wouldn’t have cared if the pope had blessed this place. “What do you want me to say—amen?” He strode toward her and caught hold of her shirt plackets. She took it as an invitation and went up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. “Dammit, Jenny, stop.”

  “Wow, you’re in some mood.” Rather than let him do up her buttons, she stepped away and fastened them herself.

  As annoyed as he was, regret that she was covering up all that delicious skin made him want to recite Hail Marys and start this visit over.

  She hooked a finger in his direction. “Come upstairs. I want to show you something.” He followed her up the open staircase, and he couldn’t help but watch the way her cute rear-end swung right and left with every step.

  The handrail, oak with a glossy finish, was smooth to the palm of his hand. The place had been well done. He followed Jenny through the arched doorway at the top of the stairs.

  “Wouldn’t you have died for this room when you were a kid?”

  The loft’s tall ceilings gave it a tree-fort feeling, and it sported a built-in captain’s bed with a stain matching the stair rails. “That bed is made from reclaimed barn boards.” She pointed to a long rope hung from the ceiling. “Come help me.”

  He walked over and looked up. The bell was encased by five windows, the light filling the room and dancing off the heavy metal sheen of the church bell. Jenny reached up, went up on her toes to grab the rope. Teague wrapped his hands around hers, and together they gave the rope a tug.

  Bong, bon
g, bong.

  The loud sound woke Teague from the charmed stupor he’d fallen into when they came up the stairs. Jenny was the only person who had that power over him. Maybe this was what Jerry Cannon had meant by distracted. Maybe everyone in the county could see that Teague was so in love with Jenny that he could barely think straight when she was around. Well, he would have to get control over his thoughts. “Why are we here?”

  “You are absolutely no fun.” She rounded on him and jammed her hands onto her hips. “You’re totally spoiling this for me.”

  He shouldn’t take out his foul mood on her, but he didn’t have time for scavenger hunts and guessing games today. Trying to rein in his impatience, he stared out the window, taking in the neat cemetery sectioned off with a scrolled fence, the expanse of zoysia grass, and the stands of hardwoods dotting the property.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” she said, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “Almost five acres.”

  “It’s an amazing view,” he admitted. Grayson would love playing in that yard. And hopefully, someday soon he and Jenny would give Grayson a little brother or sister to romp around with. He reached around and tugged her to his side. “We’re going to have an amazing life together. I’m ready to be with you every night.”

  “How about sooner, rather than later?”

  “I’ve told you, just give me the go-ahead to call the Justice of the Peace and—”

  “You do realize that’s not exactly a proper proposal, right?”

  He sighed. “Yeah, but don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?”

  “Absolutely, which is why we don’t have to anymore. We can be together every night, right here.”

  “Here as in—”

  “I flew up to Boston and closed on the condo.” She bounced on her toes, about as excited as he’d ever seen Jenny over anything.

  “That’s great, but I’m still not sure what you mean by here.”

  “You said you liked the view, and you have to admit the renovations are top-notch.” Pulling away from him, she cupped her palms around her cheeks, but she couldn’t camouflage her excited smile. “I knew you’d love it, so as of this morning, it’s ours. I bought it.”

  “You what?”

  “It’s perfect for us, and I only paid a fifth of my condo’s sale price! I can’t wait to see you and Grayson playing ball here. I could get Grayson a puppy.”

  She was going ninety to nothing, but after the word puppy, all he could hear was her saying “I bought it” replaying like a coked-out macaw. I bought it. I bought it. I bought it.

  “Teague?” She waved with exaggerated jazz hands to get his attention. “Are you in there? What’s with you today?”

  He swallowed hard, trying to keep the angry words filling his mouth from tumbling out. The deep breath he sucked in was slightly ragged around the edges, but he forced calm into his words. “I thought we’d be doing this house thing together.”

  “We are. You can move in here with Grayson and me, and we’ll be together as a family. That way, we don’t have to rush a wedding.”

  He glanced away from her, half tempted to pull her against him and hug her, the other half tempted to grab her shoulders and shake her.

  Her mouth turned down, and her eyes reflected disappointment. “You don’t like it.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Then say something.”

  “It’s election year.”

  “So?”

  “You can’t just go pulling a house…church…house thing out of a hat like some big wooden rabbit.” He had to move, so he strode toward the captain’s bed and traced the lines and whorls of the wood grain. Up. Down. Around. “We should’ve talked about it first.”

  “But…but that was the point. I wanted to surprise you.”

  And she’d sure accomplished that. “We can’t live together. We’re not married, and how do you think the Summer Shoals’ gossip mill will take to that this close to the election?”

  “You can’t be serious. Small-town people are going to gossip no matter what. The chatter will only last until the next person does something mildly scandalous. You know that.”

  But he didn’t have the luxury of waiting on a scandal, and besides, he shouldn’t be hoping for someone else to do something bad to take the limelight off him and Jenny. They should set examples—good ones—in this community. “Even if that’s true, I don’t feel right about this. This place may have only cost a fifth of what you sold your fancy Boston condo for, but I have a feeling it’s still more than what I could afford on a sheriff’s salary.”

  “You can’t be serious.” She stomped over to him and angled her head so she could glare up at him. “This isn’t about Summer Shoals or the damn election. It’s about your manly pride.”

  “I can’t do this right now. I’ve got things I need to do at the office.”

  “But you have to eat lunch.”

  “I’ll have a sandwich at my desk.” He headed for the stairs. If he said anything else right now, the whole situation would blow up. He didn’t want to fight with Jenny, but why hadn’t she considered how he’d feel about her up and buying a house for them?

  “I’ve got a whole picnic on the deck out back.” She was on his heels, her words coming fast and hitching a little. “Your favorite deli meat and cheese. Plus the wine from our trip to the vineyard in North Carolina last month.”

  When he made it back to the main floor, he glanced out at the deck where four colorful Adirondack chairs sat angled every which-a-way facing the acreage. He’d lost his appetite back at the bakery and couldn’t see how he’d get it back before election day. “You know I can’t drink when I’m working.” He pulled his keys from his pocket and turned to face Jenny.

  “You’re going to just leave?” Her hands were bracketing her hips in a way that reminded him a little too much of her mom, Abby Ruth. And that didn’t bode well for him. “That’s how it’s going to be?”

  “I need time to think about this.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, cold and tight under his, and walked out the front door.

  Damn, he hated knowing he’d hurt her feelings, but nothing good would come of having a knock-down drag-out right now. He hit the gas, and gravel kicked out from under the cruiser’s tires. And when he glanced in his rearview, Jenny was standing in the shade of the church’s front doors with her arms folded tight across her chest.

  Chapter 3

  To support herself and her disappointment, Jenny placed a hand on the church’s doorjamb as Teague drove off, a puff of dust blurring his departure. The weight in her chest made it hard to move away and close the door. This wasn’t at all how she’d pictured things going down.

  What in the world had just happened here?

  Sure, so a church might not make the most conventional home, but it wasn’t as if she and Teague had a conventional relationship. And when she’d signed the contract, she’d believed the years of positivity and prayers within the church’s walls would bring certain happiness to her and Teague’s new life together.

  She leaned against the wood until the two doors clicked tightly closed. Dipping her face into her hands, she drew in a shaky breath and set her teeth.

  No tears. Cady women don’t cry.

  But she’d been so excited. This disappointment was worse than when she’d found out Santa wasn’t real, and she hid in her closet and cried the whole day when she discovered that devastating tidbit.

  She strode out to the back porch and snatched up all the food she’d so carefully laid out for her picnic with Teague, not caring that she smashed the French bread or that the wineglasses clinked together as she shoved them into a canvas tote. Her car keys bit into her hand as she marched over to where she’d parked her trusty old BMW, out of sight so Teague wouldn’t see it when he pulled up. Well, that surprise had sure gone over like a balloon filled with jagged rocks.

  He was in a snit because she’d bought a house? It wasn’t as if she’d also run out
to the car dealership and gotten herself this year’s sports car and Teague a shiny new Z71, which had crossed her mind when she realized what a bargain the house was.

  As soon as she’d stepped foot inside the place, she’d been able to picture Grayson, her, and Teague there together. What did his rejection of the home say about their future? Was his sour reaction an omen? She asked herself those questions as she drove to the other side of town toward Summer Haven, a huge historic Federal-style house where her mom lived with several other over-fifty women.

  That had been another selling point about the church-house. Not too darned close to Mom and her friends. God love ’em, but they could get up in a girl’s business, and Jenny knew a little distance would keep everyone sane and happy.

  Before she knew it, she was sitting in front of Summer Haven, feeling nearly too tired to get out of the car and face Lillian, Maggie, or Mom tonight. It was so nice of Miss Lillian to open her home to her and Grayson until they settled in here in Summer Shoals, but sometimes it was a lot of work to be around those old gals. Tired? Maybe she wasn’t so much tired. Wilted. Weary. Sad. And at that moment there was no holding back the tears she’d tried to keep a lid on.

  A sharp rap on the window jolted her so hard she knocked her forehead on her sun visor. Maggie stood next to the car, her hands cupped to the window so she could peer inside. “You okay?” the grandmotherly woman called.

  Crap. Jenny’s nose was running, which meant she’d let a few of those non-Cady-like tears get loose. She sniffed hard and tried to force a half-believable smile in the direction of the dark-haired woman wearing an animal-appliqúed blouse. “I was having a sneezing fit,” Jenny blurted.

  Maggie’s lips tightened, and she opened the driver’s side door. “I was standing here longer than that.” She curled two fingers in a c’mon motion. “Get on outta there. What’s going on?”