Chapter 13
Deacon spent two hours digging into the past of the man who’d scammed Julia and learned this wasn’t the first time he’d been accused of stealing from a romantic partner. But it would be the last time.
He wanted to reach out to “Mike” directly and tell him what he thought of scumbags who preyed on women. But that would tip their hand, and he wanted to nail him. So he put through a call to the Plano Police Department and asked to speak to someone in charge of detectives.
“Lieutenant Webb.”
“Hi, my name is Deacon Taylor. I was formerly on the job in Boston. I’m calling about a situation in your area that I wanted to make you aware of.
” He spent the next fifteen minutes detailing the specifics of Julia’s case and answering the lieutenant’s questions.
“I did a basic search and found that this isn’t his first rodeo. ”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“My friend has provided photos, text messages and a detailed summary of what transpired that I’ve put together into a report that I’d like to send to you. She’s interested in filing formal charges and seeking restitution for the fifteen thousand dollars she gave him.”
Webb rattled off his email address, and Deacon sent the email he had ready to go.
“Got it. I’m going to need to hear from your friend directly that she’s interested in pressing charges.”
“I’ll have her call you today. Could I give you my number in case you have any questions?”
“Sure.”
Deacon gave him his cell number.
“I took a quick look at the report. Thanks for the legwork you did. That’ll make things easier for us.”
“I want him nailed. My friend gave him money she didn’t have to lose, and the whole time he was romancing her, he was planning to con her. That’s not okay.”
“Agreed. I’ll have our officers pick him up and bring him in for a chat.”
“Excellent. Keep us posted?”
“Will do.”
Elated after the conversation with the detective, Deacon showered, soaked his bloody dress shirt in the bathroom sink the way Julia had told him to and changed into clean clothes before leaving to return to the hotel to update her.
Yes, he could’ve called her, but he wanted to see her and be there when she heard the news that the police had taken the complaint seriously and would be bringing her ex in for a formal conversation.
He hoped that scared the living shit out of the son of a bitch.
He walked through town, noting the sun heading for the horizon, promising a spectacular sunset. Deacon went up the stairs to the Sand & Surf Hotel, Julia’s mom was coming out the main door. She smiled when she saw him. “Were your ears ringing? I was just talking about you.”
“All good, I hope.”
“Of course. I was telling Julia what a nice young man you seem to be and how she’d be silly to write you off because of what others have done.”
Deacon laughed at her moxie. “How much do I owe you for pleading my case?”
“My services are free of charge to anyone with the last name of Taylor.”
“I appreciate the family discount.”
“Don’t disappoint me, Deacon. My little girl has been through so much. More than you can imagine. I’m not sure she could withstand another big hurt.”
He looked her dead in the eye, because he knew it would matter to her. “You have my word that I’ll never hurt her intentionally.”
Sarah surprised him when she went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
As Deacon approached the front door to the hotel, he put his hand on the doorknob and stopped for a second, realizing that if he walked through that door, went up the stairs to her room and allowed this, whatever it was, to continue, he would be committing to something far bigger than anything he’d been involved in before.
He’d gone out of his way, his entire adult life, to avoid the kind of entanglements this thing with Julia promised to be. He’d never wanted to be tied down or committed or obligated to someone else.
The day after meeting Julia Lawry, he already knew she was special. Everything about this with her was unlike anything he’d experienced with a woman before. And he wanted more. Much, much more.
That final thought had him opening the door, nodding to the young woman working at the desk and charging up the stairs to the third floor. Feeling breathless, and not just from climbing the stairs, he knocked on her door and waited like a teenager about to see his first real girlfriend.
When she opened the door with towels wrapped around her body and hair, his mouth went dry and every word in his vocabulary seemed to desert him, except for one.
Want.
Julia felt her face flush—hell, her whole body flushed—with embarrassment when she found Deacon standing outside her door. She’d expected to find one of her family members when she’d opened the door in a towel.
The way he looked at her…
Her heart pounded and her blood felt warmer as it coursed through her veins. He’d showered and changed and looked gorgeous with his messy damp hair, as if he’d used his fingers to comb it.
Julia had no idea how long they stood there staring at each other, but in those charged moments, everything changed for her. Her man diet might never have happened for the way she wanted this man. “I, um, give me a minute to get dressed.”
“Don’t get dressed on my account.”
She released a nervous laugh. “Well, the vet called. Puppy is doing so well that I can pick him up any time, but I probably shouldn’t go there dressed in a towel.”
“Probably not, but let me just say for the record, you’re rocking that towel.”
With other guys, Julia would’ve chalked the comment up to predictable male bullshit. With Deacon, she felt complimented rather than objectified. She wasn’t sure how he managed to pull that off.
“I’ve got big news.”
She went into the bathroom where she’d put her clothes and left the door ajar while she quickly got dressed. “What kind of big news?”
“The kind where your local cops are bringing in your buddy Mike for a chat.”
Julia pulled a T-shirt over her head and went to the door, not caring that her hair was a wet mess around her head. “Seriously?”
“Dead serious. I talked to one of the detective lieutenants, and he said they’d get right on it. I also found that Mike has done this before, so the pattern helped to convince the police that they need to act sooner rather than later.”
“He’s done it before.” Hearing that, Julia felt numb. Of course he had. “How do you know?”
“I did a search for him and found a previous complaint had been lodged against him.”
“What kind of search? Like a police thing?”
“No, I found it through a basic online search.”
“So that info would’ve been available to me if I’d taken the time to look for it.”
He came over to her, put his hands on her shoulders and gazed at her with golden-brown eyes gone warm with compassion.
“It’s a lesson learned, Julia. There’s no sense beating yourself up for what you should’ve done.
You cared about the guy. You thought he cared about you.
I hope you never lose the impulse to help others, no matter what it might cost you personally.
That’s a very rare thing. Don’t let him take it away from you. ”
“I feel so stupid.”
He drew her into his embrace and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t feel stupid. You’re a kind, generous person who encountered an asshole. That’s not your fault.”
Julia burrowed into him, breathing in the rich, clean scent of him and absorbing the warmth that came off him in waves.
“You’re a good person who had the misfortune of caring for someone who didn’t deserve you. That’s the only so-called mistake you made. He’s the one who did this, not you. And hopefully, he’s going to pay for it in more ways than one.”
“Is it petty to wish I could see his face when they arrest him?”
“Not petty at all. I don’t know him at all, but I’d like to see it, too.”
Julia pulled back from him, just enough so she could look up at him. “Thank you. I never would’ve gone after him or the money if you hadn’t helped me.”
“It was my pleasure. One of my favorite things is seeing bullies get what’s coming to them.”
The fierce expression that accompanied his fierce words had her disregarding her plans to keep her distance from all men.
She couldn’t keep her distance from this man, and if she was wrong about him…
Well, she’d have to deal with that when it happened.
Right now, with the encouragement of her mother, grandmother and sister, she felt confident stepping off a cliff into the unknown.
She flattened her hands on his chest and slid them up around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair as she licked her lips.
“Um, Julia…”
“Yes, Deacon?”
“I… uh…”
She moved her hands to frame his face and bring him down so she could place a soft, sweet, chaste kiss on his very kissable lips. “Thank you.”
His hands found her hips in a light but possessive grip. “I’m happy to help you.”
“I’m happy to have met you.”
“You… You’re on a man diet. We shouldn’t…”
“I think we should.”
“You do? Really?”
“Uh-huh.” Hearing that he’d succeeded in getting the cops to go after Mike on her behalf had replaced the vat of bitterness inside her with something new and fragile and hopeful.
It’d been a very long time since someone had stepped up for her the way he had, and she’d known him for only two days.
She gazed up at him, hoping he would take the hint that she wanted him to kiss her.
He took the hint, shifting his hands from her hips to her face, cradling it like he was holding something special.
Then he tipped his head, and keeping his eyes open and fixed on hers, he kissed her with a tenderness that made her knees go weak.
She, who had been kissing boys since she was fourteen, had never been kissed quite like this, as if she was precious to him. She’d never been precious to anyone.