LITMIR.BIZ

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doing her part to ease the tension in the room. “I’m starving. I think I’ll just go make some lunch. Come on, Jack.”

      “I’m not hungry.” He kept his eyes on Ward.

      Allie walked around the bar and stopped in front of Jack. “I said—” she grabbed his arm and pinched, hard “—let’s go.”

      Ow. Damn, that was going to leave a bruise. “Fine.” He twisted out of her reach knowing he could keep an eye on Kelsey and Ward from the kitchen. Allie grabbed her coat while Jack picked up her groceries.

      “What was that for?” Jack asked when they were in the kitchen.

      “What do you think?” She unloaded her groceries onto an old, large farm table. “They don’t need us watching their every move.”

      “Wanna bet?”

      She sent him an exasperated look. “You’re overreacting, Jack. Just because you don’t like Dillon—”

      “He’s a convicted felon. A murderer.”

      Allie’s expression darkened and she slammed a can of tomatoes onto the table with more force than necessary. “Dillon has paid his debt to society, and he’s been an exemplary citizen since he moved here. Besides, whatever’s going on between him and Kelsey is none of our business.”

      “As chief of police, everything that happens in this town is my business.” He edged toward the doorway to watch the couple in question. “But, as long as Ward and his sister keep their noses clean, they won’t have anything to worry about, will they?”

      KELSEY MET DILLON’S HAZEL EYES and emotions surged through her, too numerous to name, too frightening to acknowledge. The only solid thought she could grasp and recognize was that after so long, she was finally face-to-face with her brother again.

      Too bad she’d only been fooling herself all these years thinking time would heal their wounds.

      Maybe she shouldn’t have come. She barely recognized Dillon as the young man who’d given up his future for her. In his place stood a broad-shouldered stranger who looked at her with cold, emotionless eyes.

      Well, one thing was for sure. He hadn’t been expecting her.

      Guess she should’ve remembered how much he hated surprises.

      “What do you want, Kelsey?”

      “Leigh’s dead,” she blurted out as she twisted her fingers together. “She died in her sleep three months ago. The coroner said it was heart failure.”

      “I know.”

      She dropped her hands to her sides. “You do?”

      “Yeah.”

      And here she’d thought the news of their mother’s death would be the perfect excuse for tracking him down.

      “If that’s what you came here to tell me—”

      “I just wanted to see you. To talk to you.” No response. Not a flicker of emotion crossed the hard planes of his face. “Uh, how have you been?”

      “You mean since the last time you saw me?” He stuck his hands in his front pockets and shrugged. “Hard to get much worse than being in federal prison, isn’t it?”

      She flinched at the bitterness in his voice. At the accusation. Of course he had every right to accuse her. After all, he wouldn’t have gone to prison if he hadn’t been protecting her.

      She wanted to beg him to forgive her for what happened. To throw herself into his arms and never let him go again. Instead, she took several deep breaths and wiped her damp palms down the front of her jeans.

      “I can’t believe it’s been ten years,” she said. “It’s taken me so long to find you.” Silence. She forced her lips into a smile. “You’re a hard man to track down.”

      “That’s the way I wanted it.”

      She dropped her pseudo-grin. Okay. Things weren’t going quite as well as she’d hoped. Not only had she forgotten how much Dillon disliked surprises, but she’d also forgotten how bullheaded he could be.

      She glanced toward the kitchen, not surprised to see the cop watching them from the doorway. “Is there somewhere we could go to talk?” she asked Dillon.

      “I’m working,” he said flatly.

      “Dillon, please—”

      “No. I’m not interested in anything you have to say. You shouldn’t have come.”

      She willed back tears. She kept her voice low and fought the urge to turn and run away from the hatred in his eyes. “I just want a chance to talk to you, to apologize—”

      “I don’t care what you want. Not anymore.” He met her eyes. “I want to be left alone. To forget everything that happened.”

      Though it hurt—God did it hurt—Kelsey forced herself to ask, “Does that include me, too?”

      “Yeah,” he said after a long moment. “It does.”

      It was like being punched in the gut. She was shocked to find she was still standing, still on her feet and able to breathe when all she wanted to do was slide to the floor and cry. “Please, I—”

      “No.” He pinched the bridge of his nose before letting his hand drop. “Look, I don’t blame you or hold you responsible for what happened, but the past is over. And I want it to stay that way.”

      “It doesn’t have to be over. We can work through this. Start again.”

      He shook his head and turned to leave.

      She reached out, her fingers grazing his hand. “Dillon, wait. We could—”

      He whirled around and grabbed her by the upper arms. She gasped as he raised her onto her toes. “Damn it, Kelsey.” He shook her once. Though it was the barest of movements, it made her stomach turn. “Don’t you get it? I’m through with you.”

      “Is there a problem, Ward?”

      Kelsey shut her eyes at the sound of the cop’s commanding voice. When she opened them again, the cop was standing behind Dillon, his expression downright frigid.

      Dillon dropped her arms and stepped back. “No problem, Chief Martin. Kelsey was just leaving.”

      She pressed her lips together. “You want me gone? Fine. But we aren’t done yet.”

      Kelsey spun on her heel and stormed out into the bright sunshine. Crossing the paved parking lot, she passed a run-down pickup truck, a snazzy red SUV and the cop’s car—a black-and-white Jeep. When she reached her ancient gray hatchback, she bowed her head and inhaled shakily. She rubbed her hands over her arms where Dillon’s fingers had been, unsure if she was shivering because of the cool October breeze or Dillon’s anger.

      “You okay?”

      She stiffened. “Fine.” She swiveled to face the cop. “Don’t tell me I’m breaking some sort of city ordinance by standing in one spot too long.”

      He studied her silently and she could’ve sworn he looked…concerned. For her.

      “I wanted to see if you were okay,” he said. “All part of the job.”

      The job. Of course. What, had she honestly thought he’d been worried for her? Ha. Fat chance. “Well, thanks. I guess.”

      When he didn’t say anything else, she turned back to her car, pulled her key out of her front pocket and inserted it into the lock with an unsteady hand. The urge to escape, to run away, almost overwhelmed her. Had her pulse racing, her palms sweating. She didn’t want to stay, didn’t want to face her mistakes or her brother’s disgust.

      But she couldn’t run. Not this time. She wouldn’t give up. No matter what Dillon said or how many

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