Starting Over at Lane's End (Harlequin Heartwarming) by Shelley Galloway Read Free Book Online Page A

roaring in, Melissa being one of them. Holding her cell phone, she rushed to his side. “I just talked to Dad. That policewoman is coming by tonight to talk to me again, but Dad’s supposed to take some clients out to dinner. Can you be there?”
    “What time?”
    “Five-thirty.”
    Mentally Cary juggled his schedule. “Sure I can, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”
    “I wonder why she’s coming back. Do you think she’s going to blame me for what happened to my tires? She’s asking a lot of questions. Talking to everybody! Brian said she spoke to his parents.”
    He squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure she was just doing her job when she talked to Mr. and Mrs. McCullough. Go on now or you’ll be late for class.”
    Uncharacteristically, Melissa hugged him before darting away. “Thanks!”
    “Anytime,” he said just as his first period students rolled in, most still looking half-asleep.
    After asking them to pull out their homework, Cary thought of Gen Slate and wondered what she’d learned about the vandalism. And he wondered why he was so eager to see her again. She’d been almost all business when she’d investigated the damage to Melissa’s car. Maybe he’d only imagined there was something special between them.
    Again.
    Hadn’t he learned a thing from Kate?

Chapter Six
    T WO RAPS ON Cary’s door announced Officer Genevieve Slate’s arrival.
    “Melissa called and asked that I meet you here instead of at her house,” Gen said as soon as he greeted her.
    “Yep. Dean’s got clients in town tonight, so she’s staying with me. Come on in. Melissa, as usual, is running about ten minutes late. She should be here any minute.”
    “No problem.”
    After Cary closed the door, he guided her inside. “How are you?” he asked.
    “I’m good.” With a shrug she added, “Working hard.”
    Gesturing to her uniform, he said, “Looks like it.” Gen filled out the utilitarian slacks and blouse pretty nicely.
    As they walked to the couch in the center of the room, Cary caught a whiff of perfume. The light, fresh scent caught his senses and held on tight.
    He was so attracted to her. For a split second Cary imagined Gen at his home more often, hanging out in old jeans, watching football or one of those old movies she mentioned she loved so much.
    The vision caught him off guard, making him antsy. “Would you like a soda or something?”
    “Thanks, but I’m fine for now. Pretty place,” she said.
    Cary looked around the room, attempting to see it from her eyes. “The rooms are narrow, and the ceiling is almost too low for me, but it feels right, you know?”
    She pointed to the far wall, where his collection of old tin signs hung in a scattered fashion. “Tell me about those.”
    “I started collecting them about ten years ago.” Pointing to the large, mustard-colored rectangle advertising Johnson’s Chewing Tobacco, he said, “I saw that in Lebanon and couldn’t resist it. Next thing I knew I was buying a couple more, sanding them down and fixing them up.”
    “They look great.”
    “Thanks. I was never into fancy artwork, so these are more my style.”
    “Mine, too,” she whispered.
    There was that connection again. “As I said, Melissa should be here in a second,” he continued, doing his best to fill the silence.
    “It’s no problem. I’ve got some time.” She pulled out her notepad and pencil. “Hey, I just noticed it’s suspiciously quiet around here. Where’s Sludge?”
    “In the backyard. I’m surprised he didn’t howl a greeting when you walked up the drive.”
    “I was actually prepared to see him.” She fingered the plain blue collar of her shirt. “See, no scarf today.”
    He laughed, glad their conversation was once again as easy as it had been at the Corner Café. “So how was your day?”
    “Nuts. A couple of things came up after I made plans to come over here. Now I’ve got to return to the station, type up three reports and return a few phone calls.”
    Her mention