my abilities further.”
Jack opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him.
“Like I said—” she smiled, obviously fighting to keep her temper under control, “—probably some teenager trying to cause trouble, steal a car, go for a joy ride It’s more common than you think.”
As much as Jack wanted to believe her and pass this whole situation off on a reckless teenager engaging in mischief, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
If Tess’s attacker really were just some teenager trying to steal her car, he would have had plenty of time before Tess stumbled upon him. Not to mention, why would he have tried to steal it in the middle of the day when the owner was only a few feet away on the front porch? And how did he get into the garage in the first place? A rock wall on three sides blocked the house from anyone’s view, and the gate leading up the drive to the garage was right in front of the house. They would’ve seen him coming up the drive. This meant whoever attacked Tess must’ve climbed the back wall, which seemed like a lot of trouble to go through to steal a small car.
There were just too many unanswered questions for Jack’s comfort, but he decided he’d keep quiet for now. Tess had been through a lot recently. He didn’t want to cause her any more trouble. She was right. She had enough to deal with.
Nodding, he reluctantly agreed. “All right, but if anything else like this happens, we call the police. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” She grinned. “Now, enough of this.” She gestured toward the fully stripped porch. “Let’s go have some lunch. I’m starving.”
Chapter Six
The rest of the day went by in a lazy haze. They’d painted the entire porch, and although neither of them had a lick of professional painting ability, it actually looked great. When dinnertime rolled around, they’d agreed to share a pizza and unwind after the events and work of the day.
Like I could ever unwind with Jack around.
He kept her wound as tight as a coil about to pop with his glimmering smile and charm.
“Do you enjoy being a cop?”
Tess raised her eyes from the slice of pizza she’d been enjoying and smiled. “Yes and no.”
“Care to elaborate?” Jack asked curiously.
Taking a sip of her ice water, Tess shrugged. “I used to enjoy it a lot more than I do now.”
“Since your partner’s death, you mean?”
“Not exactly,” she admitted. “I was getting a little restless with my job even before the shooting. I just didn’t want to admit it. Being a cop was all I ever wanted to be. How could I admit I might have made a mistake by actually becoming one?”
Jack nodded. “I understand what you mean. I went on this vacation to get away from the stress of the job, but in all honesty, I was getting restless. Not necessarily bored, but now that I don’t have to deal with the lying and betrayal aspects of the job, I'm a lot happier. I still want to work but not like before.”
“Are you thinking about quitting?” she asked curiously.
“No, just working behind the scenes maybe, arranging the cases for other PIs to take on instead of going out in the field and doing it myself.”
“Perhaps that’s what I should do,” she said thoughtfully.
Jack gazed at her intently. She felt a chill slither across her heated flesh as his gaze bored into her. She needed to put some distance between them. She feared if she moved closer to him, she’d lose all control and attack the poor man. Tess glanced out the kitchen window at the darkening sky.
“It’s getting late,” she said wearily. She stood and began clearing the table.
He rose too and helped her complete the task before moving toward the door to make his exit.
“I’ll be here around six in the morning, if that’s all right.”
She nodded as she followed him to the door. “Perfect.”
With one final smile, Jack opened the door and walked at a quick clip across the street.
As much as she wanted Jack to stay, she knew it was a bad
Jack opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him.
“Like I said—” she smiled, obviously fighting to keep her temper under control, “—probably some teenager trying to cause trouble, steal a car, go for a joy ride It’s more common than you think.”
As much as Jack wanted to believe her and pass this whole situation off on a reckless teenager engaging in mischief, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
If Tess’s attacker really were just some teenager trying to steal her car, he would have had plenty of time before Tess stumbled upon him. Not to mention, why would he have tried to steal it in the middle of the day when the owner was only a few feet away on the front porch? And how did he get into the garage in the first place? A rock wall on three sides blocked the house from anyone’s view, and the gate leading up the drive to the garage was right in front of the house. They would’ve seen him coming up the drive. This meant whoever attacked Tess must’ve climbed the back wall, which seemed like a lot of trouble to go through to steal a small car.
There were just too many unanswered questions for Jack’s comfort, but he decided he’d keep quiet for now. Tess had been through a lot recently. He didn’t want to cause her any more trouble. She was right. She had enough to deal with.
Nodding, he reluctantly agreed. “All right, but if anything else like this happens, we call the police. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” She grinned. “Now, enough of this.” She gestured toward the fully stripped porch. “Let’s go have some lunch. I’m starving.”
Chapter Six
The rest of the day went by in a lazy haze. They’d painted the entire porch, and although neither of them had a lick of professional painting ability, it actually looked great. When dinnertime rolled around, they’d agreed to share a pizza and unwind after the events and work of the day.
Like I could ever unwind with Jack around.
He kept her wound as tight as a coil about to pop with his glimmering smile and charm.
“Do you enjoy being a cop?”
Tess raised her eyes from the slice of pizza she’d been enjoying and smiled. “Yes and no.”
“Care to elaborate?” Jack asked curiously.
Taking a sip of her ice water, Tess shrugged. “I used to enjoy it a lot more than I do now.”
“Since your partner’s death, you mean?”
“Not exactly,” she admitted. “I was getting a little restless with my job even before the shooting. I just didn’t want to admit it. Being a cop was all I ever wanted to be. How could I admit I might have made a mistake by actually becoming one?”
Jack nodded. “I understand what you mean. I went on this vacation to get away from the stress of the job, but in all honesty, I was getting restless. Not necessarily bored, but now that I don’t have to deal with the lying and betrayal aspects of the job, I'm a lot happier. I still want to work but not like before.”
“Are you thinking about quitting?” she asked curiously.
“No, just working behind the scenes maybe, arranging the cases for other PIs to take on instead of going out in the field and doing it myself.”
“Perhaps that’s what I should do,” she said thoughtfully.
Jack gazed at her intently. She felt a chill slither across her heated flesh as his gaze bored into her. She needed to put some distance between them. She feared if she moved closer to him, she’d lose all control and attack the poor man. Tess glanced out the kitchen window at the darkening sky.
“It’s getting late,” she said wearily. She stood and began clearing the table.
He rose too and helped her complete the task before moving toward the door to make his exit.
“I’ll be here around six in the morning, if that’s all right.”
She nodded as she followed him to the door. “Perfect.”
With one final smile, Jack opened the door and walked at a quick clip across the street.
As much as she wanted Jack to stay, she knew it was a bad
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