ThreeReasonsWhy Read online

  “Somebody threw something through my window. Cheryl and I heard a loud crash and ran down to check it out. Shoes probably would have been smart, but I’m functioning at half-mast without coffee.” She hoped her friendly tone would make amends for her hostile response. Hell, for everything.

  He grinned, bending down to look at her foot. She was surprised when he lifted it and kissed it as Cheryl had offered to do. “There,” he said. “All better. Why don’t you go throw on some clothes and shoes and I’ll take a look around in there? See if I can’t figure out who broke the window and with what.”

  “May as well. Doesn’t look like I’ll be opening today. It’s going to take some time to clean up all that glass, and then I’ve got to find someone to replace the window. So thoughtful of the idiot to do this when it’s cold as shit outside,” she muttered, her anger and frustration mounting again.

  “I’m your handyman. I’ll fix the window,” he said.

  “But you’re working,” she said, gesturing at his uniform.

  “Jill, how busy do you think the cops in Madison are? I’m sure Drake can manage on his own today.”

  She giggled at the thought of a former DEA agent from the big city following around a sheriff who made Barney Fife look like a brain trust as far as law enforcement was concerned.

  “Does Drake let you put a bullet in your gun?” she teased.

  “Very funny, Jilly. Go get dressed. I’ll start cleaning up the mess.”

  * * * * *

  When Jill came back downstairs, she paused at the door, soaking up the sight of Wes standing next to Drake. His light-brown hair was slightly mussed from the wind blowing through the big-ass hole in the front of her diner. Drake nodded at something Wes said before walking out.

  “Drake leaving?” she asked.

  Wes glanced at her. He looked troubled about something, his face far too serious for her fun-loving friend. “Yeah.”

  She noticed he had a brick in his hand and pointed to it. “Is that what broke my window?”

  He placed the brick on the counter. “Yep.” There was a piece of paper in his hands. “Had a note attached to it.”

  “You’re kidding. What does it say?”

  “Slut.”

  Jill frowned. “That’s all.”

  “You don’t think that’s enough?”

  “Sounds like I pissed someone off.”

  “Gee. Ya think? Christ, Jill. The question is who?”

  She shook her head. She honestly couldn’t think of a single person. “I have no idea.”

  “Me neither. Fuck. Think it could have been directed at Cheryl?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  Her response didn’t make him any happier. “Yeah, me neither.”

  “Don’t worry, Wes. It’s just a window. Maybe whoever I made mad got it out of their system with the brick.”

  Wes shook his head. “If you think I’m going to let this rest with a light shrug and an ‘oh well’, you don’t know me very well. If this were the first attack, maybe I wouldn’t be so concerned.”

  “No one’s attacked me before this.”

  Wes leaned against the counter. “Someone keyed your car and flushed a bunch of rags down your toilets. Now this. You are most definitely on someone’s shit list.”

  Jill tried to hide how much Wes’ words bothered her. She wasn’t used to being a victim.

  “What about Seth?” Wes asked.

  Jill’s anger piqued at his suggestion. “What about him?”

  “You said you two weren’t seeing each other anymore. Was the breakup mutual or one-sided?”

  “There wasn’t a relationship to end. We had some fun together. It ended on a friendly note. Seth wouldn’t do something like this.”

  Wes didn’t look too convinced. “Maybe not, but I think I may pay him a little visit today.”

  She shook her head. “Oh no, you’re not. I told you, Seth wouldn’t do this. That should be good enough. You don’t need to talk to him.”

  “Jill, we’re light on suspects. I’m going to tug every thread we have, and right now Seth’s the only one dangling in the wind.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t want you harassing him.”

  “I’m just going to ask him a few questions. I hardly call that harassment.”

  She crossed her arms. She was tired and short-tempered, but she couldn’t shake the idea that Wes was pointing the finger at Seth based on jealousy, not the facts. “Don’t talk to Seth.”

  Wes took her arm and gently pushed her against the counter. Her traitorous body instantly reacted to his touch. He bent until his face was only inches from hers. “Pixie, I don’t tell you how to cook your lunch specials and you sure as hell aren’t going to tell me how to do my job.”

  She started to lambaste him, but he reached up and gently ran a finger under her eye. “Dark circles. You’re tired.”

  She shrugged.

  “You aren’t sleeping any better than me.”

  She wanted to deny his statement, but it wouldn’t come.

  “Why are you doing this to us?”

  His words flipped the trigger, broke the last straw of resistance inside her. “Us? There’s no us, Wes. The sooner you figure that out, the better off you’ll be.”

  He nodded, his jaw set in stone. “I know you believe that’s true.”

  She scowled at his condescending tone.

  “But I know different,” he said.

  She closed her eyes, feeling like the biggest bitch on earth.

  “I’ll call Jack at the home improvement store and get him to come out and replace the window. See you later, pixie.” He bent down to kiss her, but she turned her head at the last minute so he was only able to land a glancing buss on her cheek.

  “I will be back, Jill. I’ll always come back.”

  She watched him walk away, her heart breaking at his confession. Somewhere deep inside, she hoped his last words were true.

  * * * * *

  Jill was refilling salt shakers when Wes pulled up outside the diner shortly before dusk. He parallel-parked his pickup truck in the space out front. His uniform had been replaced by jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and leather jacket. She watched as he reached into the back of the cab and pulled out a duffel bag.

  Jack had shown up and fixed her plate-glass window earlier that morning at Wes’ request. Kate had also shown up midmorning and helped her and Cheryl clear away all the glass, as well as a steady stream of Madisonites who’d made their way through to offer opinions on the broken window.

  Jill was grateful the brick incident had only closed the diner down for one day. She fully intended to open for breakfast in the morning. She’d had too much time to think today. Too much time to worry and fret over Wes.

  The bell jingled when he walked in.

  “Hey, pixie,” he said, his voice rather tentative as he put his bag down. “Looks like you got everything back in order.”

  “I did. What’s the bag for?”

  He took a deep breath and she knew she wasn’t going to like his answer. He stood stiffly, his jaw set. He fully intended to win whatever argument he was about to begin. “I’m staying with you. Just until we find out who’s been harassing you.”

  “Did you eat yet?”

  He frowned before shaking his head.

  “I was just about to dip up a plate of leftovers. There’s plenty if you want some.”

  He nodded and smiled. He’d expected her to balk at his announcement. She knew she should, but she was glad to see him. She’d missed him. He’d been nothing but sweet to her. They were friends and he didn’t deserve her continual Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine.

  “Leftovers sound great.”

  She smiled and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a stool at the counter and talked to her through the serving window as she placed food on the plates and zapped them in the microwave.

  “You planning to reopen tomorrow?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Yep. No reason not to. The wind
ow’s fixed. Thank you for that, by the way.”

  He dismissed her thanks with a wave. “I didn’t do the work. Just sent Jack over.”

  “Did you talk to Seth today?”

  His spine stiffened, and again she knew he was waiting for her attack. Yep, she’d been a total bitch lately.

  “Yeah. I did.”

  “And?”

  “And I’m still not convinced he didn’t do it.”

  “Wes—”

  “Hear me out. He was allegedly at a construction site at six this morning. However, none of the twenty other men working there with him could recall seeing him at that time. As far as alibis go, his is flimsy.”

  She laughed and shrugged off his suspicions. It was clear they were just going to have to agree to disagree. “Oooh, cop talk. So sexy.” She returned to the dining room and placed a plate in front of him before taking her own seat.

  He smiled widely. “Didn’t know you had a kink for that. Maybe I should tell you about the APB I’m about to put out.”

  “All points bulletin?”

  Wes nodded. “Yep, I’m planning to do a little ‘B and E’ tonight in your bedroom.”

  She leaned closer. “Is it breaking and entering if you’re invited?”

  Wes’ gaze lowered to her lips and she accepted the invitation in his look. Against her better judgment, she kissed him. Let her lips show him all the things she struggled to say aloud. Words like I’m sorry. His mouth opened and she took advantage, dipping her tongue inside to taste. For several moments, they kissed.

  When they parted, he rested his forehead against hers. “We need to talk.”

  He was right. They did. It was time for her to come clean. She was so tired of the roller coaster. Time to let Wes off the ride.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Are you on birth control?”

  Her stomach lurched at his question. Did he know? Had Kate told him?

  She shook her head, trying to find her words.

  “The other night, when we were together, I forgot to use a condom.”

  “Oh.” She licked her lips nervously. He thought they’d had unprotected sex. Well, they had, but not in the way he thought. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not. It was stupid of me, Jill. Stupid and careless. I don’t want you to worry about anything. I’ll always take care of you. You know that, right?”

  She nodded numbly.

  “So.” He paused and gave her a crooked grin. “If you are pregnant, I want you to tell me.”

  She cleared her throat, ready to assure him he didn’t need to worry.

  Moment of truth.

  He spoke before she could. “Although I’d be lying if I didn’t say making a baby with you would be incredible. I know it’s too early in our relationship to even think of children, but when I look at you, Jill, when I imagine you pregnant with my baby, I feel like the happiest guy on the planet.”

  She sucked in a hard breath, her words failing her.

  He watched her expectantly, but she didn’t have a response. Instead, she let the mask fall back into place and pasted on a fake smile.

  “So,” he said, turning back to his dinner plate, “now that we’ve got that out in the open, what do you say we eat? This sure does look good. I’m starving.”

  She wasn’t sure how she made it through the meal. Somehow she managed—barely—to carry on a conversation while concentrating on keeping her hands steady. One bite after another, she pushed away the panic attack threatening to emerge.

  Finally, she rose and carried the dirty dishes to the kitchen to wash. Wes followed.

  “You okay?” Wes asked. “You were quiet during dinner.”

  “Just tired,” she answered. It was the truth. She’d never felt so emotionally drained in her life.

  Wes walked up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Maybe I can help with that.” Slowly, he massaged the tightness away. Neither of them spoke as his hands worked their magic, rubbing out all the kinks.

  Finally, he used those same hands to turn her around. Grasping her waist, he pulled her closer, bending down to kiss her. His erection pushed against the denim of his jeans.

  He’d brought a bag.

  He intended to stay.

  He wouldn’t care if they’d made a baby.

  She pulled away. “How about dessert?”

  He grinned. “What have you got?”

  Jill’s gaze traveled to the window between the lunch counter and the kitchen. Wes followed her line of vision, spotting the large chocolate cake.

  “Oh yeah. I’ll definitely have some of that.”

  She grabbed a cake knife while Wes picked up a couple of plates and forks. He placed them on the counter and she grinned when Wes rubbed his hands, anticipating the sweet treat. Food was the one thing she could give him. It was silly to let that thought comfort her, but it did. She had something—no matter how insubstantial—to offer.

  She dipped out large slices for both of them and they carried them back to the dining room lunch counter.

  Jill walked to the coffeepot, looking over her shoulder. “Coffee?”

  Wes shook his head. “Not down here. Maybe later. Upstairs.”

  “About that. Wes—”

  “Here we go. I was wondering when you were going to start that fight.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not picking a fight. I just don’t think anything that’s happened has been bad enough to warrant a bodyguard.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. I know they’ve been relatively harmless pranks, but I still plan to stick close to you for a while. Humor me?”

  She grimaced. “Even if I say no, you’re still going to stay, aren’t you?”

  He grinned. “I don’t like the idea of sleeping in one of those booths, but I will if I have to.”

  She tried to imagine Wes squeezing his six-foot frame onto one of the four-foot-long bench seats of her booths. “I suppose I could be generous and offer you the couch in my apartment,” she teased.

  “Just the couch?”

  “You were expecting something else?”

  Wes didn’t answer. Instead, he dipped his finger in the icing on her cake, smearing it along her left cheek. “Oops. I missed.”

  Jill started to wipe it off while plotting her revenge, but Wes grasped her wrist. “Let me.”

  He bent forward, using his tongue and lips to slowly, sensuously clean up his mess.

  “Are you seducing me?” she asked.

  Wes’ hot breath tickled her. “Mmm hmm. Is it working?”

  “I’m not sure.” Before he could react, she shoved a fistful of chocolate cake into his face, laughing as he reached up to clean the gooey icing away from his eyes. “Nope. Not working.”

  “Now you’re in trouble,” he said, his voice a low, sexy growl.

  She tried to run but he grabbed her around the waist before she made it two steps. He seized the advantage, taking her down to the floor behind the lunch counter and straddling her waist. Jill squealed and tried to escape, but he managed to subdue her with his knees and hands.

  “Unbutton your blouse,” he demanded when she was truly trapped.

  “Why?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Because I’m not going to let you up until you do. I plan to eat my dessert and further my seduction. Open your shirt. I want to see you.”

  She fought to catch her breath at his demand. Before she could think about what she was doing, she unbuttoned her shirt.

  His eyes followed the motions of her hands. “Pull the material apart. I want to see your breasts. I want to eat my cake off your stomach.”

  Reaching above his head, he pulled down the plate with the rest of her chocolate cake.

  When she bared herself to him, he placed a large piece of cake on the sensitive skin of her stomach. The dessert slipped a bit as her breathing accelerated and her chest rose and fell rapidly.

  With sticky fingers, he reached into her bra, pulling her breasts out of the lacy material. She suck
ed in an excited breath as he dabbed some chocolate icing on the tip of each taut nipple.

  “Wes,” she whispered as he reached back up to the counter and pulled down a can of whipped cream.

  “Almost ready,” he murmured as he shook the can. He sprayed a large dollop of cream atop the icing on her nipples. “Mmm. I’ve always said you look good enough to eat. Guess that wasn’t too far from the truth.”

  She fought against the impulse to pull his lips down to her aching breasts. She wanted his mouth on her, wanted him to take his fill. She didn’t have to wait long as he answered her body’s call, bending forward to suck one sweet, covered nipple into his mouth.

  He took his time as he licked off every smear of chocolate and cream before turning his attention to her other breast. When he’d cleaned them completely, he moved farther down her body, leaning forward to take his first bite of the rich dessert he’d placed on her stomach.

  Hungry for a taste, she reached down. Dipping her hand into the cake, she pulled it to her mouth, seductively licking and sucking the chocolate off each individual finger.

  “Jesus,” he muttered. “Jill, we better get upstairs or I’m going to take you right here in the middle of this diner.”

  She glanced to her right, relieved to realize they were hidden from the street by the counter. Christ. He had her so turned on, she’d forgotten where they were. She was lying on the floor of her diner with her shirt unbuttoned and her breasts hanging out.

  He pulled her up, helping her set her shirt to rights, although they were both a sticky mess.

  “I know you don’t want me to stay,” he said, more seriously than she’d expected. “I don’t know how else to say it, Jill, but you’ve become the most precious person in my life. I’ll do anything to make sure you’re safe.”

  The seed he’d planted in her heart at Christmas blossomed into a full-grown rose, despite her wish that she could pluck the damn thing out. He’d gotten in under her defenses and she was lost.

  “Damn you.” She reached up to drag his face to hers. She offered him a kiss, closing the distance and praying he wouldn’t see the truth in her eyes, hoping she could distract herself so the words she’d fought so long to deny wouldn’t fall from her lips.