Dead by Midnight - Beverly Barton [45]
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Hmm…apology accepted.” She smiled at him and he smiled back at her. “There’s ice in the freezer. You pour the tea and I’ll set the table.”
“Okay.”
They worked together seamlessly, as if they’d been doing it for years. When everything was ready, sandwiches, chips, and pickles on bright yellow dinner plates, dessert on small navy blue plates, and forks for their pie placed atop white napkins, Mike pulled out a chair for Lorie. She had almost forgotten what a gentleman he had always been.
After they were seated, he looked across the table. “Why the sly smile and quiet little chuckle?”
“Oh, I was just remembering how you were always such a gentleman with the ladies despite having a reputation as a hellion.”
Mike grunted. “My mama expected me to be a hellion when I was young, just like my daddy before me. But if I’d ever been anything less than a gentleman to a lady, she’d have beat the living daylights out of me.”
“Miss Nell is certainly a real lady. I always thought the world of your mama.”
“And she did of you.” Mike looked down at his plate. “These sandwiches sure look good.”
“I appreciate your treating me like a lady even if you don’t think of me that way now.”
“Let’s not go there,” he said as he picked up one half of the sliced roast beef sandwich. “It’s best to leave that subject alone.”
“You’re right.” She lifted her napkin, unfolded it, and laid it across her lap.
“You sure do set a fancy table. Everything’s real pretty.”
Oh, Mike. You’re trying to be nice to me, trying so hard. Thank you. For whatever reason and for however long it lasts, I appreciate your kindness.
They ate in relative silence for a while, but when the quiet became blatantly obvious, Lorie racked her brain trying to think of something to say. There were so many subjects they needed to avoid.
“I don’t guess you’ve heard anything from the newlyweds?” she asked. “Maleah talked to them briefly. They called to check on Seth.”
“I haven’t heard a word. Not that I expect to. If any two people deserve an uninterrupted, blissful honeymoon, Jack and Cathy do.”
“I agree. Their getting back together after all these years was a minor miracle.”
Mike grunted.
“Not many people get a second chance,” Lorie said.
Mike nodded. “Nope, they don’t.”
Silence returned. Suddenly her delicious sandwich tasted like cardboard.
Mike picked up his dessert plate and set it in the middle of his empty dinner plate. “Look, Lorie, we need to get a few things straight.”
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. “All right.”
“I’ve been a real ass to you since you came back to Dunmore. I’m sorry about that. And I hate that you’re in danger now, that some crazy guy might show up at any time and try to kill you. As the sheriff, I and my staff will do whatever we can to protect you and to help the Powell Agency. But that’s as far as it goes. Understand?” When she stared at him, confusion no doubt written plainly on her face, he said, “You and I can be acquaintances who are civil to one another, but we can’t be friends. You have to know that. And there’s no way in hell we can ever be anything more to each other.”
Don’t cry. Oh, God, don’t cry.
She swallowed hard and took a deep breath before replying. “Yes, of course. I understand.”
Griff and Nic were returning to Griffin’s Rest tomorrow evening, and by Monday morning, they would be in charge of the agency again. But until then, Sanders was handling everything, including notifying the FBI about the three almost identical murder cases that Powell’s had been hired to investigate.
Derek checked the time on his wristwatch—3:48 P.M.
“I sure could use a cup of coffee,” he said. “And something to eat since we both missed lunch.”
“If you think I’m going to play servant to your lord of the manor, think again,” Maleah said, her hackles raised and her fangs bared.
What was it with this woman? Why did she take almost everything he said the wrong way?
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked.
“I’m talking about your expecting me to prepare coffee and fix you something to eat. I’m not your servant.