Butterfly Cove (28 page)

Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “What skills are you talking about?”

Olivia caught her mistake and shrugged. “You’ve got a lot of combat and field experience. Those should be valuable.”

Rafe nodded slowly and then put his hat on the counter. “I’ve had some offers. I talked with Tom today. We both think it’s for the best.”

Olivia kept her face expressionless. “So that’s it? You just dropped by to tell me you’re leaving. Hello. Goodbye. It was nice to know you.”

Rafe frowned. “Olivia, don’t—”

She shot to her feet. “
Don’t
tell me what to think or what to do, Rafe. And don’t think you’re walking out of my life with only a lame explanation. I won’t make this easy for you. If you wanted it
easy,
you should never have come back here,” she said fiercely.

Rafe took a deep breath. One hand rose as if reaching toward her, then dropped to his pocket. “You’re right.” He cursed softly. “I thought it would work out—I thought there was a way. But now I see it’s impossible. The longer I stay here, the more trouble I will bring you.”

Olivia crossed her arms and stood up straighter. “Because you shot a man? Because that was your responsibility and you handled it?”

Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know about that?”

“Because I was there. I made Walker take me. I knew what that police radio code meant and I saw the rifle in your car. That’s what you did in Afghanistan, isn’t it? And it’s what you had to do again here.” She stared at him, seeing the shadows under his eyes and the lines of exhaustion that hadn’t been there two days before. “Tell me the truth, Rafe. We can’t build any kind of future without that.”

He nodded slowly. “It was a skill I hadn’t known I had. When I came back here, I thought that was behind me. Except it never will be. I won’t pull you into that world, Olivia. It’s not a place you should know about.”

“You did the right thing, Rafe. I have no question about that.”

“You don’t know about any of it,” he said harshly. “I thought I could make this work but I can’t, Livie. I’d end up hurting you again. I refuse to let that happen. It’s over,” he said quietly. “You deserve a prince and a fairy-tale ending.” He picked up his hat. “All I can give you is shadows and bad memories. Let it go. Believe me, it’s best like this.” He moved closer, touching her cheek lightly, carefully.

And then he took a step back, his eyes turning distant. “It’s best like this. I know it. In a week or a month, you’ll know it, too.”

Olivia heard the words as if they came through a long tunnel. She couldn’t seem to move.

I won’t,
she thought.
You’re wrong.

His feet echoed across the room. She heard the door open. “I won’t believe that,” she said. “I’ll never believe that, Rafe.”

But he had already gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I
T WAS THE
right thing to do.

Rafe told himself that over and over the following day. He had never fit in here as a boy, and now he was back from a war zone with ten years of baggage.

He clenched his hands and tried not to remember Olivia’s pale, rigid features. This was the right thing to do.

He hadn’t heard from Walker or Jilly. That meant Olivia had not spoken about this with them. Probably she had seen the good sense in what he had told her. He didn’t want to hurt her again, but a clean break now was infinitely preferable to a slow, seeping wound.

Meanwhile, as he went about his business, Rafe registered every sidelong glance, every suspicious question. There was a protectiveness about Olivia that was impossible to miss. When he went to the café for food, he saw the averted eyes and heard the whispered conversations.

Yes, leaving Summer Island was
clearly
the right thing to do.

Tom had been against his plan to go, but once Rafe made it clear that his mind was made up, the sheriff had reluctantly agreed. At the end of the day Rafe would be on the road, headed south or east or anywhere but Summer Island.

He heard the sound of car horns and raised voices outside his window. Brakes screeched loudly.

The traffic was bad today. That was strange, because there were no special events that he knew about.

Feet clicked down the hall from his desk. Low voices. More honking outside.

Rafe heard pebbles tossed against his window. Frowning, he moved around his desk and glanced out. Then he blinked and looked again.

Cars were backed all along Main Street. People milled around, looking up at the police station. Then they turned to stare at the big red BMW convertible pulled over the curb, halfway onto the grass. The shiny car had blocked the sidewalk to the police station.

Rafe saw who was driving the red Beemer and muttered under his breath.

Olivia? Why was she sitting on the hood, staring up at his window? And whose car was that?

“Where’s a police officer when you need one?” she called out, clearly oblivious to the disturbance she was creating. “I’m talking to you, Deputy Russo. I’m pretty sure that a few laws have been broken down here. So why don’t you step away from your desk and come do your civic duty? Take me into custody.”

Rafe ran a hand over his eyes, telling himself he wasn’t seeing this.

He turned to find Tom Wilkinson in his doorway. The sheriff cleared his throat and pointed toward the street. “Someone’s calling you, Russo.”

“I heard.”

“Then maybe you’d better go deal with it. I can’t have a car parked on our front lawn. She’s blocking the whole street now.”

Rafe shook his head. “So what do you want me to do about it?”

The sheriff hooked two fingers in his belt. “If she’s broken the law, I’m counting on you to arrest her, Deputy Russo. Now get moving.”

Him? Arrest the town good girl? The boy voted most likely to screw up his life? No, Rafe would talk some sense into Olivia Sullivan for her own good.

There were more cars and more people gawking when he opened the front door. He elbowed his way through a growing crowd. Once he came around the corner of the building, Rafe saw why.

Olivia was lying on the hood of the Beemer, wearing a raincoat. Her feet were bare and her brightly painted red toenails moved up and down as she bounced her leg impatiently. When she saw Rafe, she gave a brilliant smile and sat up.

Her raincoat gaped open. Rafe was pretty sure she was only wearing a lacy bra and bikini panties underneath.

Before he could ask what the hell she thought she was doing, Olivia sat up and crossed her legs, looking very pleased. “Well, at last. I’m glad to see our local law enforcement on the job. I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be here on the front lawn. And do you see that carton of Coke in my front seat? I just stole it. So you’d better arrest me.”

Rafe felt the people around him push closer, trying to hear. He heard someone whisper, “Isn’t that Olivia Sullivan? Why is she in that raincoat with no shoes?”

He pushed through the crowd and leaned over the car, frowning. “Livie, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but—”

“Do? I’m
trying
to do my civic duty. I’m a dangerous criminal. I should be taken into custody immediately.”

“Hell. Come off the hood of that car, Livie.” Rafe kept his voice low in a vain hope that the people around him couldn’t hear.

“Why should I come off the car? I just spent all my money to buy it. I had a perfectly good Volvo. But it’s so...bo
rrr
ing.” She dragged out the word and gave a little laugh, studying her red toenails.

That’s when Rafe heard the slur in her voice. “Olivia, have you been
drinking?
”

She tilted her head and considered the question. “Yep, I have.”

Rafe frowned. “How much have you been drinking?”

“Two bottles of beer. One glass of wine.” She stared at the tree next to the spot where her car was parked. “I tried some vodka. Didn’t like it. So I had two glasses of champagne next.”

Rafe winced. She was going to have one helluva hangover the next day, which would serve her right. And she didn’t fool him for a moment. “I’m not going to arrest you, Olivia. I’m going to take you inside and give you black coffee until you sober up. I’ll have someone drive this car off the sidewalk while we do it.”

She shook her head. “No, you won’t.” Still smiling, she pulled a key out of the pocket of her raincoat, which was now gaping open with a dangerous view of her slender thigh. As Rafe watched, the key disappeared into her lacy bra. “Not unless you come and get it.”

Behind Rafe someone chuckled.

“There’s more, Deputy. I’ve got rented DVDs in my car. They’re three months old and I never paid any fines. I’ve got library books that were never returned, too. Some of them were my father’s. Do you know he borrowed a Tom Clancy book back in 2003 and never returned it? Can you believe that? The town mayor and he didn’t return his library books.” Olivia half slid off the front of the red BMW, landing on her bare feet right in front of Rafe. She dug one red fingernail into his chest. “So what are you waiting for, Deputy Russo?
Arrest me.
”

There was more low laughter around Rafe.

He leaned closer. “Damn it, Livie, I’m not going to arrest you. Now where did you put your shoes? It’s cold out here. You’re going to catch pneumonia.”

“Don’t feel a thing. Must be the champagne. Or the Glenfiddich that I found in the pantry.”

“Glenfiddich? You never mentioned that,” Rafe said curtly.

“Forgot.” She turned slowly, her hands outstretched. Rafe saw way too much naked thigh when she did it. “It feels wonderful. Like little bubbles dancing into my brain. If you really want me to back the car off the sidewalk, then I can—”

Rafe stopped her quickly. “There’s no way you’re getting behind the wheel of anything. You’re way over the legal alcohol limit.”

“I guess I am.” Olivia glanced down, trying to peer into the top of her bra. “I’m not sure where the key is. Why don’t you have a look?”

Rafe pulled the raincoat tight around her. “We’re going inside.”

“So you’re going to arrest me?”

She was still smiling at him radiantly when she swayed and wrapped one hand around the mirror of the shiny new car, trying to stay upright.

Rafe caught her before she fell. “Come on.”

But Olivia wasn’t done. She smiled up at him, touching his cheek. “That’s nice. Thank you.” She glanced over his shoulder and frowned at the tall man behind Rafe. “There’s no need to look so angry, Mr. Howland. I know you don’t like Deputy Russo. You’ve been telling everyone that he’s mean to animals. And it’s all because when Rafe was in fifth grade he threw a balloon filled with water at your cat. That stupid tomcat chased us all over town. He clawed our feet and jumped off a porch at us. He even bit Jilly. If you ask me, that cat was the one breaking the law. But it makes a better story the way you tell it, I guess.”

Olivia pointed a finger at the woman standing next to Roy Howland. “You don’t like Deputy Russo either, do you, Mrs. Long? I think it’s because your daughter had a crush on him all the way through high school. Deputy Russo wasn’t interested, so your daughter stole a pack of cigarettes from the cash and carry and blamed it on Deputy Russo, didn’t she? Too bad everyone saw her take the cigarettes. You never forgave Deputy Russo for that, did you?”

The tall woman flushed bright red and stalked away.

Rafe knew exactly where Olivia was heading with this and he didn’t want her help. “Don’t fight me, Olivia. We’re going inside.”

“I’ve changed my mind.” She wriggled, struggling to get free. “I want to stay right here. I want to drive my car off your front lawn—but I can’t find my keys. They’re in here somewhere.” Olivia twisted sharply, trying to reach into the front of her raincoat.

Sweet heaven, what would she do next? He thought about having one of the other deputies take her inside for coffee. That would be safer. But Rafe didn’t want anyone else touching her.

Not now or ever.

“Are you going to put me in a jail cell? I’ve never seen one.”

Rafe caught back an oath. “No, I’m not taking you to a cell. I’m going to dump you into the back of my cruiser. Then I’m going to drive you home and make you drink about two gallons of coffee.”

Olivia made a slow pout. “Coffee? Don’t want any of that.”

The avidly curious crowd parted in front of Rafe as he carried Olivia around to his cruiser. He was congratulating himself on getting the situation under control when he felt her wriggle against him. One leg rocked in the air. She gave him an innocent smile.

And the smallest thong bikini Rafe had ever seen dropped down onto her toe, swung in the air and then went flying over his head.

He made very certain that the raincoat didn’t slip again. With a wave of relief he dropped her into the backseat of his cruiser. “You are now in official custody, Ms. Sullivan,” he said gruffly. “
My
custody. And it’s going to be one helluva bumpy ride.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

O
LIVIA LOOKED AROUND
her with interest. “Good. I should be.” Then she wrinkled her nose. “It smells funny back here. Did you know that?”

“Sometimes people throw up. Usually when they’re drunk like you are.” Rafe slid into the driver’s seat, threw the locks and started the car. “I know exactly what you’re doing. It’s a bad idea.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Olivia said airily. She leaned back in the seat, and the raincoat skidded down her shoulder, revealing all of her neck and a good part of her lacy pink bra.

Rafe scowled at her in the rearview mirror. “The raincoat. Close it up, Olivia.”

She looked down and shrugged. “Aren’t you going to put handcuffs on me? I could be dangerous.”

Rafe rolled his eyes. “The only danger here is that you might throw up all over the backseat,” he muttered.

“Possible.” Olivia frowned. “I’m not feeling so good now.”

Rafe glanced back at her in concern. “How bad is it?”

“I’ll survive,” she said in a very small voice. “I hope.” She looked out the window as Rafe turned off the main street. “Aren’t you going back on High Street, past the police station? People should see you doing your civic duty in arresting a dangerous thief.”