CHAPTER ONE #2
A date. Mara couldn’t remember the last one she’d been on. She and Cam had run into each other by chance a couple of times and chatted over a meal, but this time, well...they’d planned it.
The startling part was that he appeared to have zeroed in on her as the most interesting woman in town from the moment he set eyes on her.
Her gut feeling was that those accidental meetings probably weren’t really all that accidental.
Of course, she didn’t have a lot of competition in a town this small, where most women were married.
Still, she’d been flattered, especially since she had had an unfamiliar reaction to him when they met.
Right now, even as he polished off his fries, he watched as she scanned the room, his expression thoughtful. “You expecting a brawl to break out?” he asked after a minute.
Mara laughed. “No, I’ve never seen one here. Or anywhere else, come to think of it. Occasionally on TV, when I’m watching NFL.” She snatched one of his last fries.
His grin would have made her knees wobble if she’d been standing. “Bars around military bases are more volatile.”
“How long were you in the military?” she asked.
Between one blink and the next, his expression shuttered. He didn’t seem to like talking about himself or at least not about his service. PTSD, maybe? “Couple of enlistments. You go to college right out of high school?”
Tell him? Why should she? “Oh, I worked my way through school. It just took forever. I love teaching.”
“I’m surprised there are enough kids around here to fill even a one-room schoolhouse.”
“It’s not much bigger than that,” she admitted. “Middle school and high school ages get bused to Concrete. I feel lucky to have been hired.”
Lucky indeed, assuming she wasn’t making a huge mistake. One teacher had gotten married and moved in the late summer, right before the regular school year started.
Midnight came and went. The band started playing ballads, and she and Cam danced.
She loved the feel of his muscular body against hers, the strength of the arms holding her, but didn’t let herself relax entirely.
He intimidated her, but after that thought, she immediately corrected herself.
She was enjoying the evening but didn’t feel that she knew him one iota better than she had when he’d walked into the tavern.
That kept her wary. If he really was interested in her, she’d have thought he might open up a little.
He held her hand as they returned to their booth, twice stepping in the way of someone who would have bumped into her. So she knew that much about him: he was instinctively protective.
“Another drink?”
Ignoring his half full glass, she said, “No, but I’ll keep you company if you want another one.”
He smiled. “Nope, but thank you. Can I walk you home?”
She’d driven so he wouldn’t have a chance to see her to her door.
In fact, unless he’d looked her up in a law enforcement database, he might not even know where she lived.
He’d never asked, and like everyone else in town, Mara picked up her mail from her box at the post office.
Oh heck, he’d probably seen her pull in or out of her driveway. “No, I have my car.”
Too bad.
He did see her to her car and kissed her lightly once she’d unlocked and opened her door. “Wish the resort’s restaurant was open,” he murmured.
Mara chuckled. “Me, too, except I keep wondering whether they’re going to get enough business to stay open. Maybe we should think about a picnic.”
She felt his smile when he kissed her again’a kiss that might have gotten more serious if her phone hadn’t rung.
Mumbling an apology, she stepped back to dig it out of her pocket. Diana. Something had to be wrong. She wouldn’t call otherwise. Mara answered.
“Bri’s missing,” her former sister-in-law snapped.
“I’m not home.”
“I know that!” Diana sounded mad more than panicky. “Some girl wanted her to spend the night, and I said no, but I called there, and the mother swears Bri isn’t there and hasn’t called.”
Mara felt enough panic for both of them. “There’s nowhere else...” Or had Bri made other friends?
“I told her to stay home!” Diana said shrilly.
“I’ll go home right away in case she let herself in. If she’s not there’” If Bri really was missing, Mara didn’t even know how to start looking.
Except Sheriff’s Deputy Cam Frasier waited a foot away from her, his gaze keen on her face. He would know.
“I’ll call,” she said hastily, then pocketed her phone.
“Trouble?”
Trying to sound calmer than she felt, she explained, and he said, “I’ll come with you. If we find her right away, I’ll just walk home.”
“Thank you.” She squeezed his hand and jumped into her car, grateful that, of all nights, he was with her tonight.
* * *
In the dashboard light, Cam saw the tight grip Mara had on the steering wheel.
She was more afraid than he’d have expected from an aunt; surely this Brianna had slipped the leash a few times before.
On the other hand, Mara’s move to a nowhere town just to stay close to her niece was unusual, too.
Was this an especially complicated family?
Or did Mara have reason to know the kid’s mother wasn’t reliable?
He’d ask her more about her brother in particular another time, even though he couldn’t think why that would immediately impact Mara or the girl now.
Unless Dennis Terrell was a more dangerous man than met the eye.
So far, Cam was mostly inclined to think he was a loser, but he’d taught himself not to buy in completely to first impressions.
Right now, he held his silence, even as Mara exceeded the twenty-five-mile-an-hour speed limit for the entire five-block trip.
The porch light of a small clapboard house shone in welcome. Mara parked in the driveway and ran up to the house, gripping her keys in her hand. Cam stayed right behind her.
The moment she got the door open, she cried, “Bri! What are you doing here? Your mother is freaking out.”
The slender girl, who looked more like Mara than she did her mother, stayed curled up tightly in an easy chair illuminated by a lamp. Looking sullen, she said, “She doesn’t usually care. I don’t know why I had to stay home when she was going out. It’s not fair!”
Huh. That had a familiar ring to it. Cam had a sister who was three years younger than him. Back when she was twelve or thirteen, Colleen hadn’t thought anything her parents decreed was fair. But conflict with a parent could happen at any time, he guessed.
Mara handed over her phone, then stared down at the girl, whose lower lip was still poking out.
“Oh fine!”
Bri had barely started to call when headlights flashed across the front window and a vehicle pulled in behind Mara’s.
Ten minutes later, Diana Dawson’who’d kept her late husband’s last name ’marched her sulky kid out the front door, which Brianna slammed behind her.
The silence left in their wake seemed to vibrate. Cam felt as if he shouldn’t have been there to witness the screaming match, but excusing himself would have been awkward.
Mara didn’t move for at least a minute, then tossed her keys and phone on the side table and dropped into the easy chair. She gave him a crooked smile and said, “I’m sorry. That was...um...”
“Not your fault.”
“No.” Her forehead crinkled. “Actually, it was really strange. Diana must have guessed Bri would have come here. She’s done that before.
Usually, Diana doesn’t even notice until morning.
In fact... I doubt she even checks to be sure Bri is in bed when she gets home late.
” She sounded both thoughtful and genuinely puzzled.
Wouldn’t most parents check on their kids after an evening out? Maybe not, if the kid was almost a teenager...
He was losing focus. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by the family dynamics just because he was attracted to Mara, but he couldn’t seem to help it.
She’d caught his eye from the first time he’d set eyes on her. Brown hair often worn in a braid, freckles sprinkled over her nose and green-brown eyes weren’t that unusual. Cam thought the magic was in her smile. Who could resist returning it?
And, yeah, her slender, fit body worked for him, too.
Wishing she’d invited him home with her, even though he’d have had to make an excuse, Cam sat down on the ottoman. He was close enough to reach for her hand, but he didn’t. Probably shouldn’t even do that much. “Maybe your niece swore she’d stay home like a good girl.”
Mara wrinkled her nose. “I kind of doubt it. Usually, she’s at least honest. Oh well. She needs to learn that it’s not okay to take off just because she feels like it. Especially at night.”
He could tell she was forcing her easygoing tone now in the hope of hiding how troubled she was. “Far as I can tell, there’s not much crime locally,” he said gently. “With the construction workers, we’ve seen a spike in drunk driving and fights, but no more than you’d expect.”
Mara nodded. Her hands were knotted at her waist. She clearly wasn’t in the mood for a kiss, which was just as well.
Now tension infused her voice. “What I can’t figure out is why Diana and Dennis moved here.
Bri excelled in school, Diana had a good job, and as far as I know, Dennis stayed plenty busy. It makes no sense!”
Actually, if Cam’s suspicions were on target, the move made a lot of sense. Unfortunately, that wasn’t anything he could say to this woman, whom he wanted to kiss but needed to keep some distance from.
Copyright ? 2026 by Janice Kay Johnson