Read Cain's Salvation (Passion in Paradise - The Men of the McKinnon Sisters) Online
Authors: Sarah O'Rourke
Cain's Salvation (Passion in Paradise - The Men of the McKinnon Sisters) (18 page)
Luckily, he’d been building a great
relationship with all four McKinnon women – but most especially Harmony.
For weeks, he’d been slowly getting to know the shy young mother, and every day
he found something else he liked about her.
He just hoped that when all was said and
done, he could convince Harmony that not everything about their deepening
relationship was a lie.
Over the last several weeks, he’d spent
a lot of time sitting in his now regular booth at the cafe and talking with the
younger woman as she’d worked. Light conversations had evolved into
spirited debates on everything from politics to pop culture. He’d found
that he liked what he saw and heard from her. Harmony was a genuinely
hard worker that loved her daughter and wanted a better life for them
both. She came from a loving family that supported her desire to be
successful in her new, fledgling wedding and party-planner business. After
organizing a beautiful wedding for her sister, Faith, a month ago, word had
gotten out in the small town about Harmony’s talent for pulling together
beautiful affairs on a tight budget. Before she’d realized what was
happening, three couples had hired her to plan their weddings and another two
couples needed to organize their anniversary parties. His Harmony was
becoming a much in demand fixture in the community and he was proud as hell of
her. A couple of classes away from achieving her degree in event management,
she was on her way.
Since her new second career was
beginning to demand a larger amount of her already non-existent free time, he’d
also had to begin manipulating ‘accidental’ meetings outside the diner.
It had been a little difficult finding ways to run into the young woman, but
thanks to the grocery store, the local church’s twice weekly services, and last
week’s winter carnival, he’d also had a chance to get to know Heaven, Harmony’s
daughter. His heart softened as he thought of the precious little girl that
Harmony’s body had produced. Smart as a whip and cuter than hell, that
little girl had somehow wrapped herself around his heart.
It was thanks to Heaven that he had an
actual date with Harmony scheduled for tonight. When the precocious
four-year-old had decreed last night that her mommy needed a grown-up time out
so that she could spend the night making cookies with her Aunt Honor, it had
been him that she’d put in charge.
“You takes her out and feed her, ‘kay?”
Heaven had ordered seriously as she’d munched her plate of French fries across
from him inside the restaurant. “But she can’t have any ice cream unless
she eats all her veggies and one of ‘em has gotta be green. Dat’s da
rule, Mistah Jake.”
Harmony had been so stunned by her
daughter’s decree that she’d accepted his invitation automatically when he’d
offered to take her off Heaven’s hands for the night.
Yeah, that kid had earned herself a
special place in his heart right beside the one that her mother had
filled. He only hoped that when all was said and done, he could keep them
there.
If tonight’s date went the way he hoped,
he’d be one step closer to cementing himself in their lives.
****
“Stone!” a deep, male voice
shouted from the gravel parking lot behind him. Pausing in his long strides,
Jacob winced. He’d wondered how long he’d had before this confrontation
occurred. He’d actually thought he’d have another good week, but it
seemed the sand had finally drained from his hourglass.
Or, in other words, time was fuckin’ up.
Turning on the heel of his black-buckled
motorcycle boot, Jacob pasted what he hoped looked like a benign smile across
his lips. He probably looked more serial killer than social butterfly,
but he was trying, dammit! He nodded toward the man walking toward
him. “Sheriff. What can I do for you?”
Jacob watched as the other man’s gaze
sized him up. He couldn’t blame the lawman’s barely concealed
distrust. If he was the sheriff and a guy that looked the way he did
wandered into his town out of the blue and set up camp, he’d get suspicious,
too. At 6’4”, Jacob towered above most men, but the Sheriff almost
matched him in height, but that was where the similarities ended. Jacob
possessed a lean, hard muscled stature, while the sheriff was a shade wider
with thickly muscled arms. Jacob, with wild and unruly long black hair
that he kept tied with a piece of leather at the nape of his neck most of the
time and a fully-sleeved arm of colorful tattoos, understood that most people
thought he was one half thug, one half redneck, and one hundred percent
scary. The sheriff, on the other hand, maintained a trimmed,
almost-military haircut and projected a good natured, good-ol’ boy personality
that people were instinctively drawn toward.
The two men were as different as night
and day, but Jacob still liked the other man and usually enjoyed his
company. They’d shared a few drinks over the last couple of weeks,
usually in the early evenings. He’d been at the bar watching Harmony work
and chatting with her when time allowed, and Zeke had often stopped by on his
way home from work to follow Honor home after she’d put in her day at the
café. He’d witnessed more than one skirmish between the two since the
youngest McKinnon sister had informed the sheriff on several occasions that she
was perfectly capable of seeing herself home. It never seemed to faze the
lawman or alter the course he set in the slightest. Given the fact that
those McKinnon girls had proven more than once that they were a handful, Jacob
could definitely respect the other man’s fortitude.
Yeah, he enjoyed the mostly-quiet
Sheriff’s company just fine, but he’d never felt quite comfortable when people
saw them sitting together at the bar or his booth at the back of the
cafe. He wasn’t sure it was because of all the false pretenses behind his
presence in Paradise or because Zeke made him wish that he’d gone a different
route in law enforcement. The only thing he knew for sure was that he
wasn’t used to self-doubt plaguing him. Either way, it wasn’t Zeke’s fault
that Jacob felt like a whore attending a cotillion when he stood beside the
other man.
Offering a mental sigh, Jacob resigned
himself to the fact that he was simply an actor that would do anything he
needed to do in order to perform his role convincingly. To fit in with
the seedy underbelly of drug scum that he’d dealt with during his long career,
he couldn’t exactly be seen wandering around the streets in three-piece
suits. Besides, his standard uniform of boots, black jeans, tight black
tee, and leather jacket worked for him. It was comfortable.
He tried to relax his stance as the
Sheriff approached, purposefully loosening his shoulders. Ezekiel Monroe
was a keen observer of human nature, and appearing aggressive or defensive
wouldn’t exactly aid Jake’s cause right now. He knew he’d never look
harmless, but he hoped he could at least achieve relaxed.
“You got a minute for a little chat?”
the Sheriff asked as he came closer.
“Sure. Can I buy you a beer?”
Jacob jerked his head toward the door that led into the bar portion of the I
Don’t Care Café.
“Actually, for this conversation, I’d
rather remain outside if you don’t mind. Plus, I still consider myself on
duty,” Zeke replied, his tone revealing nothing as he glanced at the watch on
his wrist. Jerking his head toward the duo of picnic tables at the corner
of the building where the staff often sat for smoke breaks, the sheriff smiled
thinly. “Mind if we sit though? It’s been a long day.”
“Sounds good,” Jacob agreed with a
shrug, following the other man toward the split log benches. Perching his
ass on the table, he waited for Ezekiel to continue. When a couple of
seconds passed in silence while the other man settled beside him, clasping his
hand between his knees, he grew uneasy. “Any particular reason you wanted
to chat this afternoon, Sheriff?”
“I’ve told you to call me Zeke more than
once. Everybody else does,” the Sheriff suggested mildly.
“Alright, Zeke. What is it that I
can do for you?” Jacob asked again, offering the man beside him a sidelong glance.
“Tell me, how have you been enjoying
your stay in our fair town, Stone?” Zeke deflected, ignoring Jacob’s question.
Jacob blinked and turned his head
toward Ezekiel. Taking his time, he answered slowly. “It’s a nice
little place that y’all have got here. Peaceful. Untouched. I
guess you could say that I’m enjoying it quite a bit.”
“Peaceful and untouched,” Zeke
echoed. “I like that. It fits. And you’re right. This
town is all that. I aim to keep it that way, too. If rumor holds
true, you’ve enjoyed it so much here that you put a bid in on the old Simmons
homestead out on County Line Road. Is that right?”
Jacob smiled easily, if a bit
warily. “I’d forgotten that secrets don’t stay secret long in a small
town.”
“They do not,” Zeke agreed, finally
turning narrowed eyes toward Jacob. “Don’t you think it’s time that you
and I cut past all the bullshit? Level with me, Stone. Why are you
here?”
“Not sure what you’re getting at, Zeke,”
Jacob growled roughly, hackles rising. Hell, he knew he didn’t exactly
look like he’d enjoy peace and solitude, but his money was green just like
everybody else’s. He hadn’t made any trouble in this town. And
while Zeke and he might not qualify as friends, he’d at least considered the
other man a good acquaintance. The new attitude was expected in a way,
but still as surprise. “I’m getting the feeling all of a sudden
that you don’t exactly see me as a welcome addition to Paradise, Sheriff.
Seems a little strange since the whole town, or at least everybody I’ve met,
has been real friendly. Is it me, my tattoos, or my Harley that you’ve
developed an aversion to?”
“None of the above,” Zeke replied
evenly. “But your interest in the McKinnon women is beginning to cause me
a bit of concern. You’ve been here,” he noted, nodding at the restaurant
that the McKinnon family owned and operated, “every day since you rode into
town weeks ago. Often, you show up twice a day. Breakfast and
dinner.”
“Don’t know why my eating habits are
cause for the personal concern of local law enforcement, but this is the only
place to get a decent meal that doesn’t come in a paper bag in this town.”
“True enough.” Zeke nodded as he
tilted back his worn cowboy hat. “But you aren’t just here to eat, are
you, Stone? You’re here to watch. Specifically, you’ve been
watching Harmony McKinnon. Care to share why that is?”
“She’s a pretty lady.” Jacob
lifted his chin defiantly. Local gossip said that it was Honor McKinnon
that the town sheriff had a fondness for, not Harmony. All the evidence
Jacob had seen over the last several weeks had supported that assertion.
So, he had to wonder what the fuck was going on. The idea that another
man – especially the well-thought-of sheriff - might be interested in the hot,
single mother that Jacob had grown attached to instantly made his blood heat
and his temperature begin climbing into the stratosphere. “But – no
disrespect intended here - I’m not real sure why that’s any of your business.
Harmony is an attractive, available woman. Any man, myself included, is
gonna enjoy looking at her.”
“I’m well aware of Harmony’s
beauty. It’s a trait she shares with all her sisters, and believe me when
I say, Harmony is my business. All the McKinnon girls are. I
consider them family. Hell, the entire town considers them family, blood
related or not. Stick around long enough and you’ll learn that rather
quickly. But, at the moment, my relationship with them isn’t in
question. Yours is. I’d like to know just why it is that Harmony
and all the McKinnon ladies have suddenly landed on the Drug Enforcement
Agency’s radar, Special Agent in Charge Jacob Stone.” Zeke’s eyes flashed
warningly as they bored into Jacob’s. “Better yet, why don’t you go ahead
and explain to me why local law enforcement wasn’t informed of a DEA operation
goin’ on in Paradise’s backyard?”
Hard as Stone by Sarah O’Rourke will be released in late
May 2014!
Thank you so much for
reading Cain’s Salvation! If you liked this novel, please check out our
other novels and novellas, all available on Amazon Kindle!
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