Reunited on Sugar Maple Road, page 15
So much for putting an end to their charade. But as much as Em said it benefited him more than her, he couldn’t shake the memory of her confession by the river. So, as he’d done more than a decade before, he shut down his inappropriate thoughts and feelings. He could do this. He could do this for Em.
His cell rang, and he pulled it from the pocket of his shorts. It was his assistant coach. He didn’t know why he was surprised.
“What’s up?” Em asked once he’d disconnected.
“Assistant coach can’t make it. It’s the fourth time he’s bailed since the start of the season. Never has a problem making it to our games though.”
“I can give you a hand,” Em offered, completely serious. As though she read his mind, she said, “Josh, I played competitive soccer and was on the varsity cross-country team; I think I can handle running a few drills.”
“Sure. Okay,” he said as the team crowded around. Josh introduced them to Em.
She gave Drew the once-over. The kid thought he was God’s gift to women of all ages, so he probably assumed Em was checking him out. If he only knew she most likely wanted to drop-kick him for what he’d said to Izzy the other night at Seaton House. The thought gave Josh an idea, and he hoped Em caught on and rolled with it.
“Em lives on Sugar Maple Road, just down from Seaton House. You’ve probably seen her around, Charlie,” he said, adding for Em’s benefit, “Charlie lives at the far end of Sugar Maple Road.”
Em nodded, crossing her arms. “You didn’t happen to see a bunch of kids at Seaton House Saturday night, did you?”
Charlie’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “No, ma’am.”
“That’s Officer Ma’am to you,” Em said.
Oh yeah, Josh thought, she was rolling with it—like a steamroller. He probably should’ve given her a heads-up. He felt bad for putting Charlie on the spot. He was a good kid. Shy and quiet, he was still finding his place on the team. Neil’s son Mike sidled closer to Charlie, lending him support. He was a lot like Charlie, only he tried harder to fit in. Gus, who’d no doubt seen Officer Hard-ass in action, moved to sit between Charlie and Mike, offering the teens emotional support.
“Yes, ma’am. I mean, Officer Ma’am,” Charlie said, patting Gus’s head.
Drew and his crew snickered.
Em pinned Drew with a stare that had him flushing to the roots of his blond surfer dude’s hair. “Which one of you drives a red Ford Explorer?” she asked, reeling off the license plate so that Drew had no wiggle room.
“It’s my dad’s,” Drew admitted.
Em raised an eyebrow.
“It’s my dad’s, Officer Ma’am,” he said, glaring at his friends when they snickered.
“So your father was at Seaton House Saturday night.” Em pulled out her cell. “I’ll just give him a call.”
“No, please don’t,” Drew said.
The pleading note in the kid’s voice confirmed Josh’s concerns about Drew’s father’s treatment of his son. Josh had seen him in action at a couple games last season and had taken him aside, threatening to have him removed from the stands if he ever heard him yell at his son like that again. When Drew’s father complained to the principal, she backed Josh. So had the school board. To say the man wasn’t a fan of his was an understatement.
“Who was at Seaton House Saturday night?” Em asked. Drew and his crew exchanged sidelong glances and then reluctantly raised their hands. “First-degree trespassing is a class two misdemeanor, which means the possibility of sixty days in jail and a thousand-dollar fine. Lucky for all of you, the owners of Seaton House don’t want to press charges. But if this happens again, I’ll be advising them to do so. Got it?”
They nodded. “Got it, Officer Ma’am.”
The boys didn’t catch Em’s lips twitching but Josh did. Probably because they kept drawing his attention. She must’ve put on lipstick or lip gloss. Her mouth was plump and shiny and looked ripe for a kiss. He groaned. In his head.
“Drop and give me twenty,” Em said.
The boys looked at Josh, and he shrugged. “She’s taking over for Coach Delaney at today’s practice.” Like him, they were smart enough to groan in silence.
When the seven boys dropped to the ground, Em joined them. They stared at her. “You were there?” Drew asked.
“Who do you think you heard scream? A ghost?”
Josh got on the ground beside her, and the boys treated him with the same shocked stares. “You ruined our date,” he said.
Em glanced over her shoulder. “What are the rest of you doing standing there? You’re a team, aren’t you? One for all, and all for one?”
Josh snorted a laugh, and Em lifted a shoulder. Then she grinned. “I bet I can beat you.”
“You’re on.” He completed his twentieth push-up ten seconds before she did.
“You might’ve beaten me time-wise, but I had better form. I’ll beat you next time.”
It took a concerted effort not to focus on her form, which might’ve been why his voice came out a little husky when he lowered it and said, “Anytime, anywhere, Officer Hard-ass.” He needed to stop calling her that. His mind went to where it shouldn’t. She walked over to the cart, bending over to pick up the bags for drills. He needed to come up with a new nickname for her ASAP.
The boys fell over themselves trying to help her. “We’ve got it, Officer Ma’am.”
“Em. You can call me Em,” she said and smiled.
Josh had a feeling half his team had just fallen in love with Emma Scott. He didn’t worry about falling in love with her. Falling in lust with her? Yeah, he was a little worried about that.
Chapter Fifteen
Two feet now,” Em said, running the agility drill with Charlie and Mike. The six blue step-over bags were laid out in a straight line one yard apart from each other. “Hut,” she called, watching as Charlie and then Mike ran through the drill. “Two taps,” she reminded them. “Knees up.”
“Good job,” she said when they completed the drill for a second time. They were hot and sweaty but she liked how they didn’t ask for a break, eager to please and to improve.
They were the youngest players on the team, and it was obvious they were having trouble fitting in with their teammates. She remembered what that was like. She hadn’t fit in either. Only she hadn’t cared. Mike did while Charlie seemed to take it in stride.
“Okay, three taps now.” She sensed their hesitation. “I’ll do it too.” She demonstrated once, slowly, and then a second time, arms pumping. “Don’t look at your feet. Keep your eyes straight ahead,” she said as she reached the second-to-last step-over bag.
But as she went to shuffle over it, Josh moved into her line of sight down the field. He lifted the hem of his T-shirt to wipe his face, giving her a tantalizing look at a glistening, golden brown eight-pack. Em tripped over the bag. She managed to keep herself upright through sheer force of will. She didn’t want Josh to think she’d fallen because of him and his glistening abs. The man was a total thirst trap.
“And that’s why you don’t look at your feet,” Em said, acting as if she’d tripped on purpose and not because Josh had gotten her all hot and bothered. It wasn’t the first time she’d found herself looking at him during practice. As much as she’d told herself it was because she wanted to make sure she was doing the drills right, it had nothing to do with the drills and everything to do with Josh. Her gaze drifted back to him. He lowered his shirt and blew his whistle. Practice was over. She no longer had to worry about embarrassing herself. No, what she had to worry about was that under the relief was a hint of disappointment she wouldn’t get to moon over his tantalizing abs, tight butt, and sigh-inducing arms.
She blew out a frustrated breath and smiled at Charlie and Mike. “Nice work,” she said as she reached for one of the bags.
“Thanks for doing the drills with us,” they said, coming to give her a hand.
“I’ve got it, thanks. You guys need to hydrate.” She wondered if that was her problem. Maybe she was dehydrated.
They nodded and straightened. “Are you coming to the game Friday night?” Charlie asked before they walked away.
Given her reaction to Josh and his abs, a reaction that was uncomfortably similar to how she’d acted when she’d been crushing on him at seventeen, she thought putting some distance between them might be a good idea. “I don’t think so. I’m behind at work.”
Work as in investigating a hundred-year-old cold case. But instead of being deterred by how difficult the case would be to solve, she was looking forward to digging into it. Which reminded her that she was having dinner with Jenny and Steve tonight. She was hoping to pick Jenny’s brain about the case.
She briefly closed her eyes. She was supposed to invite Josh to the dinner. If she got lucky, he wouldn’t feel like coming. After all, he had worked a twelve-hour shift at HFFD the day before.
“Oh, okay.” Charlie gave her a weak smile, looking disappointed.
She’d learned his mom was a single parent who rarely made it to his games due to working two jobs, and Em felt herself caving. “On second thought, I should probably come and see you guys put into action the plays we worked on.”
Charlie brightened, acknowledging Josh with a smile. “Hey Coach, Em’s coming to our game. Can she stand behind the bench?”
Josh seemed to hesitate before nodding. “Yeah, sure. Now go grab something to drink.” He glanced at her when they ran off. “He’s got your number, Officer Marshmallow.”
She snorted, patting Gus, who’d abandoned her for Josh during the practice. The dog licked her knee and then took off to where the rest of the team were guzzling water. “Me? A marshmallow? I don’t think so.”
“I know so.” He glanced at the kids. “You working with Charlie and Mike one-on-one was a good idea. Although I think the other guys are jealous they got all your attention.”
“Please. I doubt they even noticed,” she said, helping him load the rest of the bags onto the cart.
“Oh, they noticed all right,” he murmured as he walked to the practice dummy, glancing at her as he easily picked it up. “Steve texted me and mentioned we’re having dinner with them tonight?”
“Yeah, but I figured you’d be too tired to come,” she said, trying not to stare at his impressive biceps as he placed the practice dummy onto the cart. “I can make your excuses. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“Is there a reason you don’t want me to come?”
“No. I just didn’t think you’d want to after working a twelve-hour shift yesterday.”
“I probably shouldn’t but Steve finished the prototype for his latest game.”
“Really? You two are going to play video games?”
“Yeah.” He waggled his eyebrows. “You can play too.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”
He frowned.
“Come on, Josh. As if you thought I’d want to play video games.”
“What? No.” He lifted his chin. “I’m just wondering why your boss is walking this way, and he doesn’t look happy.” Josh glanced at her. “What did you do?”
“Why do you think I did something?” she hedged, having a fairly good idea why Gabe was here.
“You were nosing around, asking questions about the Seaton sisters, weren’t you?”
“No,” she said slowly. Technically, she didn’t question anyone. “I did some research at the library, that’s all.”
“The way the library ladies talk, you might as well have posted what you’re up to on social media.” He gave her elbow a squeeze. “I’ll let you two talk in private.”
As Josh walked away, he shared a few words and a couple laughs with Gabe.
“Hey, Chief,” she said when her boss joined her.
“Em.” He glanced over his shoulder. “So, you and Josh,” he said, before returning his attention to her. “He’s a great guy. I’m happy for you.”
Gabe was a smart man and an excellent cop so she was surprised he couldn’t see through their act. Glad that he couldn’t, but surprised. “He is, but I don’t think you’re here to talk about my love life, are you?” She briefly closed her eyes. Dating. She should’ve said dating life.
“I’m not.” Gabe shoved his hands in his uniform pants pockets and rocked on his heels. “We have a problem.”
Hmm, maybe he didn’t know she’d been at the library earlier this afternoon going through the Highland Falls Herald’s archives. “What’s going on?”
“You nosing around in the Seaton sisters’ deaths has stirred things up in town, just like I warned you it would.”
Em scoffed. “Like Jenny’s book and the promotional events Abby has planned for The Haunting of Seaton House haven’t already stirred things up.”
“You’re a cop, Em. It’s different. They’re not trying to exonerate May Seaton and solve a murder.”
“Possibly two murders, and technically, that’s not true. Jenny implies in her book that both May and Clara were murdered.”
“But she doesn’t name names or speculate who did it. People around here know your reputation, Em. They know you won’t give up, and they know you’re very good at your job.”
“Thanks, I guess, but it’s a hundred-year-old cold case. The chances I can solve it are slim to none. Besides that, whoever was involved in their murders is long dead.”
“Yeah, but no one wants their family name associated with murder. Even a murder that took place a hundred years ago.”
“This isn’t just hypothetical, is it? Did someone call the station and threaten me?”
“No. Jenny found a letter in her mailbox two hours ago.” He pulled out his phone and showed her the screenshot. The words Leave town now or you’ll be sorry were scrawled in red ink on lined paper. “We’ll see if we can lift any prints, but I doubt we’ll be able to.”
“It’s a fairly generic threat, Gabe. And it might have nothing to do with the murders. It’s possible it has to do with Seaton House or Jenny herself.”
“How do you figure?”
“Maybe with the uptick in interest in Seaton House, the people who sold it to Jenny’s grandfather for a song want to buy it back and recoup their losses. The only way Jenny will sell is if they decide not to stay in town. She’s been open about her plans. And she’s just as open that she believes she’s a witch, even if it’s not in the same context that people assume.”
“Half the folks in town believe the Sisterhood are witches, so I’m not buying that has anything to do with the threat. Trying to run Jenny and her family out of town to get a deal on Seaton House, that’s a little more believable.”
“I’ll look into it. Quietly,” she assured him.
“Okay, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you before it sinks into that hard head of yours, but you are on vacation, Em. Besides, I’ve already put Todd on the case.”
She fisted her hands on her hips. “You tell me I’m stirring things up but you’re putting Todd on the case?”
“Not the cold case. The threatening letter case.”
“Oh good, because I’m too busy…” She trailed off, catching herself before she said working on the Seaton sisters’ murders. “… Too busy relaxing and hanging out with my boyfriend to get involved in Todd’s case.”
She smiled at Josh, who was walking over to place a stack of orange cones on the cart. He stopped in his tracks, his expression a cross between shocked and panicked.
“Isn’t that right, honey?” Em called out in an effort to convince her boss of their dating status. Because the way Gabe was looking at Josh suggested he was now questioning whether Em was using their relationship as a cover.
“Umm, yeah, that’s right,” Josh said as he placed the cones on the cart. He joined them, glancing at Em as if he too wondered what she was up to.
Which didn’t help her cause as evidenced by her boss’s narrowed gaze. She laced her fingers through Josh’s, giving them a subtle squeeze in hopes he’d get with the program. “If you’re all set, we should probably get going, honey.” She smiled at Gabe. “Big date tonight.”
“Are you celebrating something special?” Gabe asked.
Of course her boss couldn’t just let it go. She looked at Josh, willing him to come up with a believable answer, but all he did was stare at her as if he had no idea what had come over her. “Date number three. Josh doesn’t usually make it past date number two.”
“I guess that is a big deal. Congratulations,” Gabe said, and Em could tell he was trying not to laugh. “I’ll let you two get to it then.”
As soon as Gabe was out of earshot, she said to Josh, “Why are you acting so weird?”
“I’m acting weird? You called me honey twice, and you’re holding my hand.” He held up their linked fingers.
And maybe because he’d drawn attention to it, she became aware of how her hand felt in his. There was something strangely intimate about holding a person’s hand, his hand, and she immediately let it go. She hadn’t held a man’s hand in over seventeen months and felt almost guilty for holding Josh’s.
“So? That’s what people do when they’re dating,” she said, knowing exactly where the defensive note in her voice was coming from.
It wasn’t like Brad would care that she’d been holding Josh’s hand. This was what he wanted for her. Except this wasn’t real. And maybe that’s why she felt guilty. Because earlier, when she’d been watching Josh coach the boys and they’d shared a smile when Gus ran interference and caught the football, their fake relationship had felt real in that moment, and she’d liked it. She’d liked it a lot.
“Yeah, when they’ve been dating for a couple of months. Maybe a couple weeks for the hand-holding.”
He was right. She hadn’t held hands with Brad for the first six weeks of their relationship or called him babe or honey until they’d been together for months.
“But we’ve known each other forever,” she said, defending the hand-holding and endearments. “It makes sense that we’d skip a few steps.”
“If we were actually dating it would, but we’re not.”
