Abandon the Dark by Marta Perry

Author:Marta Perry
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-09-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JAKE HAD FINALLY talked Lainey into calling the police the previous evening. Now he was beginning to wonder whether that had been a mistake.

He walked toward the fire hall grounds on Saturday morning. The young patrolman who’d come in answer to the call was now busy directing Apple Festival traffic into the parking area. That job was probably far more suited to his talents, Jake considered.

Maybe he was being unfair. The kid probably wasn’t much more than eighteen or nineteen, with little experience.

He’d been polite enough, listening gravely to Lainey’s story. He’d asked questions and carefully jotted down the answers in a small notebook.

And in the end he’d ventured the opinion that it was most likely Halloween-inspired vandalism. Kids, he’d opined from the height of his eighteen or nineteen years, were copying things they ran across on social media, thinking it made them cool.

Jake had had to bite his tongue to keep from spilling out the whole complicated story of who might want to hasten Lainey’s departure from Deer Run and why. Neither she nor Rebecca would thank him for involving family members with the police.

Jake joined the stream of people moving onto the fire hall grounds. The Apple Festival was one of the highlights of life in Deer Run, and no one who called himself a resident would miss it.

But he had an ulterior motive for his presence today. Lainey had mentioned she was coming with Meredith and Rachel. He wanted Lainey’s cooperation for a little experiment he planned to try, and at least if he spoke to her in the midst of a crowd, he wouldn’t be tempted to kiss her.

His jaw clenched at the thought of how difficult it had been to keep his hands off her last night. He’d left so abruptly that she’d probably thought him rude.

Stupid. He wasn’t a teenage boy, easy victim to raging hormones. He’d never found it difficult to maintain a respectful distance from a client before.

Well, he’d have to figure out a way, because if she agreed to his suggestion, they’d be spending even more time together in the near future.

He stood still for a moment, scanning the crowd for Lainey and earning an annoyed look from an out-of-towner with a camera. Murmuring an apology, he let himself be caught up in the slowly moving stream.

Apple fritters, apple cider, apple-flavored ice cream, craft items of every description decorated with apples—and people were buying, locals and visitors alike. After all, a big share of the profits went to the volunteer fire company, and everyone benefited from its good work.

Keeping an eye out for Lainey, he worked his way along one side of the row of stands. The trouble with knowing everyone in town was that he was naturally expected to buy at every booth. Faithfully promising to come back after he’d made the rounds, he managed to keep himself unencumbered until he spotted his quarry.

Lainey stood among the small group gathered around the apple-butter making demonstration, listening intently

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