N. Walters - By the Book

Jonah turned away and stalked up the walkway. He was angry. She could see it in the set of his shoulders, the scowl on his face and the way he loped up the path, like some predator on the path of his latest prey.

She swallowed hard and headed to the front door. She had it unlocked and opened before he could knock. He stepped inside and shut the door tight behind him. “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

The massive stranger crouched in the woods just behind the house and watched the deputy throughout the long afternoon. It was no hardship. He was more at home here in the woods than he would be in the house. Besides, this certainly wasn’t the first time he’d pulled sentry duty.

He remained, unmoving, as a black truck pulled up in front of the house and a familiar man got out. He relaxed slightly, but continued to watch and wait until Jonah talked with the deputy and then strode up the walkway and into the house.

All was safe. He could leave now that Jonah was back.

Listening carefully to his surroundings, he didn’t move until he was certain he was still alone. He slipped out of his hiding spot and headed to his own vehicle, which he’d left in the parking lot of a grocery store several streets over.

He was done for now, but he’d be back. He pulled out his cell phone and checked for messages. There were none, but he knew that there would be one when he was needed again. It was time for him to get some sleep.

Jonah’s patience was nearing the breaking point. He’d hated being away from Amanda this afternoon, but he’d a job to do. Mrs. Haskins had been a friend of his mother’s and there had been no way he could turn her down when she’d called.

Returning to Amanda’s place and finding a sheriff’s deputy parked out front hadn’t improved his mood. She’d had a threatening phone call and hadn’t bothered to contact him.

He tried not to be hurt by that fact. But coming so hard on the heels of their disagreement this morning, it was hard not to take it personally. She’d balked when he’d told her he wasn’t going to charge her for the work he’d done. He still had no intentions of doing so. All the supplies he’d needed for the job had been charged to her account at the hardware store. That was bad enough as far as he was concerned. There was no way he was going to charge her for labor as well.

He’d promised to send her a bill. He just hadn’t told her when. She’d be waiting a long time for that bill to come.

He supposed he should be happy about the fact that she wasn’t clinging to him, wasn’t asking for more than sex. That’s what he’d wanted when this whole thing started.

An affair, he’d told her. A no-strings affair was all he could offer.

He was an ass.

Somehow, this redheaded spitfire had accomplished something no other woman had been able to. She’d gotten under his skin. And she’d done it without even trying. All Amanda had done was be herself.

Unlike most women he’d known, she didn’t spend hours primping in the mirror. She had a natural beauty that shone from her no matter what hour of the day or night it was.

He’d wake up some nights and just lie next to her, watching her sleep.

Awake, she fascinated him. She was smart, courageous, had a keen sense of humor and a boundless amount of energy. They talked about everything and anything. No subject was off limits. She was passionate about what she did for a living and her enthusiasm for books made him smile.

Folks around town were starting to recognize her and they all smiled when they saw her coming. Well, everyone except Hector. He was still suspicious of Amanda and her business. Word around the coffee shop was that Hector was grumbling daily about Amanda and her new shop even though it wasn’t even open yet.

Some people were a bit too friendly. Jonah had noticed several of the single men in town, including his ex-brother-in-law, eyeing Amanda when they’d gone shopping on Main Street. He’d barely refrained from putting his arm around her and tucking her under his shoulder to keep her close. As it was, he’d had to settle for glaring at several of them.

Jim had just smirked at him and said hello to Amanda before sauntering down the street.

There was something about Amanda that reached out and twisted his guts into a knot. She belonged to him. Now, he had to figure out a way to make her see just how much she needed him.

“Amanda?” She was staring at him, her head tilted slightly upward and her stubborn jaw jutting out.

“I had a phone call. It was nothing.”

“Nothing.” Needing to do something with his hands so he didn’t wrap them around her shoulders and shake her, he stripped off his coat and hung it over one of the hooks by the front door. “So nothing had a deputy parked outside your door all afternoon?”

She shrugged, her shoulders hunching slightly inward. “There wasn’t anything anyone could do. I had a nasty call and I contacted the sheriff. That’s it.”

Unable to stand not touching her any longer, Jonah reached out and pulled her close.

He sighed in relief when her arms went around his waist, hugging him tight. “You should have called me, sugar.”

She leaned back, a bewildered look on her face. “But why? There wasn’t anything you could have done.”

He stomped down his rising irritation. “I could have come home.”

She shook her head. “I was perfectly safe. All the doors were locked. They were only words.”

He was grateful she hadn’t noticed that he’d slipped up and called her place home.

But that’s what it was starting to feel like. He’d moved back into the family home when he’d come back to Jamesville. Technically it was his home since he’d inherited it, but it had never been more than a place for him to eat and sleep. Later it became a haven for his sister and niece. But being with Amanda was as close to feeling at home as he had felt in his entire life.

“What did the caller say?”

Amanda ducked her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He cupped her chin in his palm and lifted it. He didn’t want her holding back from him. “Tell me.”

She sighed and rocked back on her heels. He dropped his hand to his side, hating the separation he felt between them.

“He said that he knew you wouldn’t stay forever and he knew that I was alone.”

“Son of a bitch,” Jonah whispered. “He’s been watching the place.”

Amanda rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she were cold. “That thought did occur to me.”

“Come here.” He eased her closer, running his palms over her shoulders and down her back. “Everything will be fine.”

She shrugged. “It’s not up to you, Jonah. All I can do is be cautious and hope the police catch him.” She sighed, her breath warm against his neck. “And besides, the caller was right. You can’t stay here forever.”

Jonah jerked back. “You asking me to leave, sugar?” He thought they’d settled this earlier today.

“No.” A fine blush settled on her cheeks, but she met his gaze straight on. “But our relationship is strange. We’re only supposed to be having an affair, but we’re practically living together.”

“Does it bother you that people might find out I’m staying with you?” It had occurred to him that a woman like Amanda might be upset by the situation. She wasn’t the type of woman to blithely have an affair. He was actually counting on that fact.

She’d been pulling away from him the past few days. Not in bed. No, there she was as passionate and giving as ever. But she was putting an emotional distance between them. Her not contacting him when this crank call occurred was just another example of her pulling away from him and he didn’t like it. Not one bit. Now that he’d decided he wanted more than an affair, he was afraid that she no longer did. At least not with him.

He might have done too good a job convincing her that a permanent relationship was something he would never want.

Still, she had allowed him to stay with her every night. That had to count for something. He shoved all those negative thoughts to the back of his mind. There would be plenty of time to straighten out the status of their relationship once the danger to her was over. His only priority right now was keeping her safe.

She shrugged and turned, heading to the kitchen. “I forgot all about supper. I was working until I heard your truck pull up out front.”

“Amanda?” She obviously wanted to change the subject, but he wasn’t about to let her. He followed her into the kitchen, waiting for her to answer his question.

She opened the refrigerator door and peeked inside. “Not too much here. I’ve got to make a grocery run again. I’m not used to buying for two.”

“If that’s a problem, I can chip in for food.” He hadn’t thought about her financial situation before. She’d just moved here, bought a house and had some major work done on the place. Her bank account had to be feeling the squeeze.

She whirled around, slamming the refrigerator door shut. “I don’t need your money.”

Jonah held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine.”

Amanda gave a huff and rubbed her hands over her face. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a strange day.”

“Your life hasn’t been very normal since you moved here.”

She gave a small chuckle. “It hasn’t been normal in months.”

Reaching out his hand, he tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Her hair was always escaping from her ponytail. She’d told him about her childhood and how she’d met and worked with Seymour Morton. Jonah knew the death of the older man had been a blow to Amanda. But he was glad she’d decided to move here for a fresh start, although it was proving to be anything but easy. She’d had one problem after another since she’d landed in Jamesville, including having him practically move in with her. He knew Amanda was fiercely independent and used to living alone. He had no idea how she really felt about him being here. Sure, she let him stay because she needed protection. But what would happen when the threat was no longer there?

Jonah’s gut clenched at the thought of never spending another night with Amanda.

He didn’t particularly like how quickly she’d changed his life. She made him want things he’d never wanted before—a home of his own and a wife. Just the thought of it made him break out in a cold sweat.

“How do you feel about me staying here?”

She patted his chest with her hand. That small touch had his blood pumping swiftly through his veins. He tried to ignore his growing erection.

“Honestly, I don’t think too many people have noticed.”

Jonah noticed that she’d avoided answering his question, not giving him any indication of how she really felt about him or the situation. He ignored the shaft of pain that speared his heart. He had time and he was good at planning. Once the threat to her was past, he’d have plenty of time to lay siege to her heart.

He shook his head at her naiveté. “I wouldn’t count on that, sugar.” Obviously, she was used to living in a larger center. Jonah could guarantee that all her neighbors had noted that his truck was parked out front all night long.

“It doesn’t matter.” She pushed out of his arms and went to the cupboard, opened the door and looked inside.

“Of course it matters.”

Closing the door, she leaned against the cupboard. “What do you want me to say, Jonah? Do I like people knowing my business? No, I don’t. Do I like the fact that I’ll be talked about when our affair is over and we’ve both moved on? No, I don’t. But there’s nothing I can do about it. People are going to talk no matter what.”

“I can pretend to leave, take my truck somewhere else and walk back.” He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of that before. He paused in mid-thought. He knew better, so why hadn’t he done it? The answer was simple. Instinct. In the beginning, he’d wanted people to know that she wasn’t alone at night, wanted her attacker to know she was no longer as vulnerable. Plus, the more primitive part of himself liked the idea of people knowing that Amanda belonged to him. He’d done it instinctually and without thought to her reputation.

“It’s too late for that now.” Leaning against the counter, she crossed her arms defensively over her chest. She tilted her chin up and got that stubborn look on her face he was beginning to recognize. “Folks will talk no matter what.”

“What about your store?” This was a small town after all and he didn’t want their relationship to affect her livelihood.