LITMIR.BIZ

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loved, but Jen hadn’t come this far to quit now.

      “Yeah,” Jen said, surprised at the frog in her throat that accompanied the overwhelming emotion. She wasn’t sure when Stephanie would be back in Texas, but June or the end of the school year would be the first chance she’d have to travel to Lima to visit. It was a long way away. “We’ll always have Facebook.” Facebook was filled with annoyances, too, but it was quiet and she did love seeing photos of the work Stephanie and Daniel did with HealthyAmericas.

      “Sure.” Stephanie squeezed her hard and fast and then stepped back. This was a tried-and-true goodbye, one that Jen appreciated. “I’m glad you came.”

      “Wouldn’t have missed it.” Jen offered Daniel a friendly wave. “Take good care of her.” Jen narrowed her eyes. “Or else.” He was a doctor. It would be a shame to harm him, but she’d do it.

      The fact that no one laughed at her threat was reassuring. She might have been the smallest and the poorest, but she’d also always been the one with the toughest attitude.

      She’d cultivated that reputation. Years of being afraid had taught her to be fearless, even when she was afraid.

      “We’ll walk you out,” Rebecca said quickly and the three men seated between her and the door stood in a gentlemanly fashion to let her pass by.

      The heat that dusted Jen’s cheeks was unwelcome. Sure, they would have done the same for her, but she hadn’t needed the help. She’d managed like she always did.

      Marching to the door as if she had zero concerns, Jen studied the pile of coats and bags on the floor. “In the next reno, add a coatrack, would ya?”

      “If any of you ingrates would put your things in the closet like I’ve asked a million times, we wouldn’t have this problem,” Rebecca answered.

      Before Jen could come up with a retort that would make it easier to deal with the sadness of saying goodbye to a friend, someone rang the doorbell.

      The sudden peal of bells would have been startling in normal circumstances, but with her nerves rattled, and having been standing so close to the door, Jen clapped a hand over her racing heart before she yanked the door open. “What?”

      Then she realized who was standing on the porch. Luke Hollister, Holly Heights’ newest policeman, enemy number one to her friend Sarah, and the topic of at least fifteen minutes of the evening’s conversation. Sarah and Will, Jen’s stepbrother, had recounted how Hollister had harassed them both in the hunt for Sarah’s father, Big Bobby Hillman, causing Jen to file away a long list of grievances against her neighbor.

      Until that evening, Jen hadn’t known she had such a good reason to dislike him. Now that she did, it was sweet. There was no need to try to make friends with him and his relatives when she’d been watching from her windows. She’d gotten some of his mail and had sneaked across the road to put it in his mailbox. If she’d known he was so good-looking at close range, she’d... Well, she’d have done the same thing.

      “What are you doing here?” Jen asked and tapped her cowboy boot. “Did someone call the cops?” Unless she’d somehow done it with the power of wishful thinking, Jen knew the answer to that. As loud as it was inside, it was that peaceful and quiet in the cool September night.

      “I thought small towns were supposed to be welcoming,” Hollister muttered. At least he had the good sense to appear uneasy. “I need to talk to Sarah. Miss Hillman.”

      Before she could turn and yell over her shoulder, Sarah, Rebecca and Stephanie stepped up behind her. At this point, she was all too aware of how vertically challenged she was and that was doubly irritating.

      “What do you want?” Sarah demanded. “Unless you have something to tell me about my father, I’m busy.” She’d been waiting for answers from Hollister or the Austin Police Department for weeks. Her father, Big Bobby Hillman, had embezzled funds from his car dealerships and disappeared.

      Hollister had been certain she was helping Bobby or biding her time until she could disappear and had hounded her for information. Passing on the single clue she had to his whereabouts had been Sarah’s only choice. She deserved to know what was happening.

      “Bobby will be in Austin, at the main station, tonight.” Hollister’s arms hung loose at his sides, almost like he could reach for his weapon at any minute. But he wasn’t armed. Maybe he was always on guard. “Radio silence has been in effect while the department worked with Miami police and the Marshals to bring Bobby into custody and transport him home. Thanks to you, they were able to track him from Tampa.”

      Jen turned to wrap her hand around Sarah’s. Whatever their history, Jen hated to see someone as suddenly pale as Sarah was.

      “Is he...okay?” Sarah cleared her throat. “I want to see my father.”

      “I thought you would say that. This is not protocol, but I got permission for you to visit Bobby in Austin tomorrow.” Hollister’s grim face was lit by the soft glow of the porch light. Jen wasn’t sure what she’d expected from a jerk who’d threatened her stepbrother, Will, in an effort to get Sarah to turn in her father.

      Hollister seemed to be waiting for something. The grim set of his lips matched the tilt of his chin. He was determined. “I’ll have to go, too.”

      Sarah’s fingernails were sharp needles in Jen’s hand; she said, “I’ll go but without you, Hollister.”

      He shook his head. “That’s not the deal. It’s either both of us or no one. You can talk to Bobby, get a lawyer hired. He’s going to need one.”

      Sarah was committed to helping the police right her father’s wrongs, but she’d do her best to protect him at the same time. Jen could understand the conflicting urges, the need to see justice done and the desire to protect someone she loved.

      At least Sarah no longer had to worry about where her father might be. This close, she could check on him every chance she got.

      Hollister sighed as he pulled out his wallet. Sarah clenched Jen’s hand tighter and refused to take whatever he offered, so Jen held out her free, unbroken hand. The business card was hard to read in that light.

      Sarah snorted. “You and those cards. I’m surprised you have any left.” She shook her head. “I’m surprised I don’t have those details committed to memory.”

      Hollister put his wallet back in his pocket. “Last one. I guess I was holding on to a souvenir. I’ll introduce you to the detective who took over the investigation and my part in this is done.”

      “We’ll all be so relieved. I still expect you to be lurking in the bushes when I step outside in the morning.” Sarah glared at him. “That’s what you like to do, right? Take advantage of the element of surprise, sleepless nights and a lone woman all by herself.”

      Hollister’s lips tightened into a firm line. “I like to catch criminals. I do what it takes. I didn’t have to do this for you, you know.” He held up a hand to stem whatever angry retort Sarah was building. “I’ve got a new lead on the B&E at the shelter that I’ll pursue next week. When we tie up these loose ends with Bobby, I’m hoping you and I will have no reason to see each other in the future.”

      “At the grocery store, you better go the other way,” Sarah muttered. “I’m dangerous with a cart.”

      Jen tilted her head as she considered that threat. What it lacked in violence, it made up for in creativity. Sarah Hillman had always been the most stylish of her bullies at Holly Heights High School.

      Since she still hated a bully, Jen waded into the choppy waters to add, “And she’s got a lot of friends in this town.” Not strictly true but more than Hollister had. Besides, he needed to know she was watching him...if not from across the street.

      “Two o’clock. I’ll meet you at the station.” He had nothing else to say, so he walked to his car. Turning his back on four angry women was either brave or foolish. Maybe both. When

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