Someone Like You (11 page)

Why was life complicated by getting naked? she wondered. The first time had been with Mac and he'd promptly thrown up. Now she understood why, but at the time, she'd been crushed. Then there'd been Evan. He'd been Mac's opposite. Slight, bookish, not nearly as handsome, but gentle. He'd made Jill laugh, had been tender and romantic. Practically the perfect boyfriend. They'd dated for nearly eight months before deciding to take things “to the next level.”

She'd slipped off her clothes, he'd taken one look at her body and had announced he was gay.

Events like that had a way of changing a woman's perspective on the world. Then three years later Lyle had come along. He'd been interested in her sexually and hadn't had either an involuntary negative physical response or an epiphany leading to a major lifestyle change upon viewing her without clothes. She'd been so grateful, she'd decided she was in love with him.

Looking back the sequence of events was so clear, but at the time, she'd thought she really loved him. Worse, she'd worked hard at a marriage destined for failure. And she'd cooked for him. That
still
made her bitter. At least she didn't have to worry about being in love with him anymore. She didn't think her heart had ever been fully engaged. Which meant picking up the pieces wasn't too difficult at all.

 

E
MILY RUBBED
her hands against her shorts. “Do you think…?” she asked, then stopped, not sure what to say.

Jill tugged on a strand of her hair. “Do I think what?
That you'll have fun? Absolutely? That they'll like you? They'll adore you. That Tina will start to think I'm actually a person? That is less likely.”

Emily laughed. Being around Jill always made her feel good.

“You two. In the shorts. Stop right there and put your hands up.”

Emily spun toward the sound of her dad's voice and saw him jogging up toward them. For a second she felt happy and good and wanted to run to meet him. Then she remembered that she was mad and her insides got all scrunchy.

“Mac.” Jill put her hands on her hips. “I'm sorry, but I don't have any time to be arrested today. It's going to have to wait.”

“Ha. I have handcuffs right here.”

Jill grinned. “Interesting,” she said. “What's up?”

“This.”

Her dad held out his hand. Emily saw a tiny little rhino sitting on his palm.

“It was in one of those grab machines. It cost me three bucks, but I got it. I figured Elvis could use a friend.”

Emily didn't know what to do. She wanted to take the toy and thank her dad, but something inside of her was afraid. She looked from him to the rhino and back, then watched as his smile began to fade. Her tummy tightened and her face got all hot.

“You're kidding,” Jill said, taking the tiny stuffed animal from him. She held it up and started to laugh.
“It's too sweet for words.” She pulled Emily close and hugged her. “Don't you just love it?”

Emily felt the scary tightness start to fade. She smiled a little, then giggled. “It's cute.”

“More than cute. Charming beyond words.” Jill handed the rhino to her. “Your dad is pretty cool.”

Emily glanced at her dad. He looked pleased. She tucked the baby rhino into her pocket and reached for her dad's hand. “He's okay,” she said softly.

 

W
EARY BUT SATISFIED
, Mac made his way to his patrol car a little past midnight. The day had gone well. At last count there'd been nearly a dozen arrests, which was right in line for the holiday. Considering the crowds, he figured they'd gotten off lucky. There hadn't been any fights and the only injuries had been minor. That was the good news. The bad news was summer had just started. There would be a lot more busy days, especially for the pier centennial celebration. But for now, he was pleased.

Even Emily had had a good time. Bev had taken her home shortly after the fireworks and had promised to put her to bed, then stick around to baby-sit. Mac knew whatever he paid the woman wasn't close to enough.

The night was cool and clear. By the ocean, the temperature dropped with the sun, so he didn't have to worry about too many stragglers on the beach. D.J. had volunteered to make the last run of the evening, leaving Mac free to head home.

As he approached his patrol car, he saw someone sit ting on the hood. He could only think of one person
likely to do that and his blood quickened at the thought of Jill.

She smiled as he approached. “I thought maybe I could convince you to give me a ride home.”

“Where's the 545?”

“I left it in the beach parking lot. I'm still hoping for a dent or a scratch or something, but that stupid car must be protected by fairies or Gypsies. There's nothing. Not a even a hint of body damage. I have to tell you, that's really pissing me off.”

She shifted as she spoke and her long hair swayed with the movement. Too much heat and humidity had vanquished her attempts to straighten it and the loose curls jutted out in all directions. She wasn't wearing makeup, her shirt had a stain on it and she'd dropped her sandals on the asphalt by his tire. She looked sexy as hell.

He stepped close, sliding between her bare thighs, and settled his hands on her hips. His crotch pressed against hers and it didn't take more than a second or two for him to react to the contact. Her brown eyes crinkled with amusement.

“No one can ever accuse you of being subtle, Mac, can they?”

“Not my style,” he murmured, before slipping one hand under her mass of hair to cup her neck while he dropped his mouth to hers.

She put her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. They didn't bother with gentle introductions, instead they eased right into deep, soul-stirring kisses that made every part of him hard.

She smelled of sun and sand and suntan lotion; she tasted of chocolate and wine. Their tongues circled and stroked and brushed and aroused. She raised her legs and wrapped them around his hips, holding him in place.

He pulled back and rubbed his thumb against her swollen mouth. “Liquor is illegal on the beach and at the park. I may have to run you in.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“I can taste the wine.”

“Oh. All right. We smuggled a bottle in. So charge me.” She grinned, then bit his thumb. “Will there be handcuffs involved? You mentioned them before and now I have a very particular image I can't seem to shake.”

She was teasing, but now he pictured it as well. Her at his mercy. Naked. Him doing everything in his power to make her moan, writhe and scream…while coming, of course.

“My house is about ten minutes from here,” he told her.

She rubbed her hands up and down his chest. “I actually know that, and while you're tempting me, this is where I get to be the sensible one and point out you have an eight-year-old daughter at your place or mine. I'm not sure where Bev took her.”

“Only a minor problem.”

She tilted her head. “I'm not convinced I could get naked with my aunt in the house.”

He wasn't sure, either.

Just then a car turned the corner. Jill dropped her
legs and he stepped back just in time for Wilma to pull up alongside of him. She rolled down the passenger window. “We did good today. The judge would be proud.”

Mac mentally winced at the comment. Judge Strathern, Jill's father, was pretty much the
last
person he wanted to think about right now. “Thanks.”

“See you in the morning.”

“Bye.”

He watched her drive down the street. When she'd turned again, he looked at Jill. She shook her head.

“Hard to get wild in this town,” she said as she jumped to the ground, then collected her sandals. “Okay, I'm ready for my ride home.”

“Sure.” He unlocked the car.

Jill studied him. “You're thinking about my father, aren't you?”

“He's a good man.”

She muttered something that sounded very much like “I'm never going to have sex again, I just know it” as she walked around to the passenger side and slumped into the seat.

“I owe him,” Mac reminded her. He got into the car and put on his seat belt. “He saved my ass more than once.”

“I know, I know. When you were a kid, and just recently. It's who he is and what he does. Do you really think he's worried that you're going to sleep with me?”

“He wouldn't be happy.”

“He's my father. Trust me, he doesn't want to think
about me being with anyone. It's not about
your
penis—he pretty much hates them all.”

Mac chuckled. “That puts it in perspective.” He decided, for the sake of peace between them, to change the subject. “Emily had a good time today.”

“She did, and I'm glad. Tina's kids were great. Her daughter, Ashley, introduced her to several girls her own age and they all had a blast together. Tina, my assistant who hates me, even thawed a little. I think it was seeing me in the company of a child who obviously likes me. If Emily thinks I'm okay, I can't be all bad. At least that's my theory.”

He navigated the quiet streets of the town. “I'm sure Tina doesn't hate you.”

“Oh, right. She's bubbling over with love.” Jill rested her head against the window and sighed. “Relationships are so complicated. Even the ones that aren't all that personal. So are you missing your ex-wife much?”

He glanced at her and did his best not to smile. “That was subtle.”

“Hey, it's late, I was out in the sun all day and I had wine. I can't do subtle. So, do you miss her?”

“No. It's over between us. She's seeing some guy and I really don't care.”

“Oh.” Jill straightened. “Thanks for sharing. Not that I was interested or anything.”

“Of course not.”

“I'm leaving in a few weeks, so what's the point of getting involved?”

“You're right.”

“Plus, we're both dealing with bad marriages.” She
stared out the windshield. “Why would we want to jump into something else? I know I'm not eager to trust a man again after what Lyle did. Why did your marriage break up? I can't remember.”

He was fairly sure he hadn't told her but didn't mind giving her the information. “I disconnected. Carly and I got married because she got pregnant. We weren't ever really in love, but we tried to make it work.”

“Right,” Jill said, as if she'd known it all along. “But you love Emily a lot. That's obvious.”

“She's my best girl.”

“So it's not that you're incapable of loving someone.”

He pulled up in front of his house and put the car in Park, then turned to look at her. “What exactly do you want to know?”

She gave him a bright smile. “Nothing at all. I'm making idle chitchat.”

“Sure you are.”

“Really. We're just friends.”

He grinned. “Right. That's why I'm hard, you're wet and we both wish we could be alone for a couple of hours.”

“So we're friends who want to have sex.”

“Exactly.”

J
ILL ARRIVED
at her law office bright and early on the morning after the Fourth. She was only a little sunburned, which was great considering how long she'd been at the beach. The one truly perfect sunscreen she'd ever found was staying indoors and, as she hadn't had a cabana to carry with her the previous day, she figured a slight burn was a victory.

She stuck her key into the lock and was stunned to find the door was open. Had she forgotten to lock it when she'd left? Had she…

The door swung open and she saw Tina sitting at her desk, making notations in files.

Jill glanced from her watch, which read 8:26 a.m., to the woman in question.

“Good morning,” she said as she entered, not sure how to ask what Tina was doing here. Tina rarely arrived before nine-thirty.

“Hi.” Tina smiled at her. “Thanks for bringing Emily by yesterday. She's a great little kid. Ashley had so much fun with her that she keeps asking when we can get together again.”

Jill wanted to turn around and see who was standing behind her because that had to be the reason Tina was being nice to her.

“Emily had a good time, too,” she said instead. “So did I.”

The two women stared at each other while Jill expected to hear scary movie music start at any second.

Okay, Jill thought as she smiled brightly.
Too weird for me.
She walked into her office. Tina followed her.

“There was a message from Mr. Harrison wanting an update on his fence case.”

Jill nodded, but only because she was too shocked to speak. Tina was wearing a dress. Sure, it was a sleeve less summer sundress and she had on sandals and no stockings, but it was a real, live, honest-to-God dress.

Jill took the paper Tina offered. “I hate to have to call him back. He's not going to like what I have to say. Any thing else?”

“Yes. A message was left just before I got in, from a Ms. Sullivan. She mentioned a law firm in Los Angeles and how they'd like to see you on Thursday.” Tina frowned. “Are you doing some work for them?”

Jill grabbed the message and stared at it, then grinned. “No. This is about a job interview. Wow. That was fast. My résumé hasn't been out that long. Of course I'm pretty much what they want, which is great.” L.A., huh? She could do the drive in about three hours. “Did she give a time?”

Tina's warm, friendly expression fell like a punctured balloon. Her eyes narrowed, her arms folded across her chest and she took a step back.

“You're looking for a job?” she asked, sounding both insulted and incredulous. “You work
here
.”

Jill wanted to hold up her hands in a T to call a timeout. “This was always meant to be temporary. I thought you knew.”

“Judge Strathern said you were moving back to town when he phoned me. I thought it was permanent.”

Tina turned on her heel and stomped out of the office. Their common door slammed behind her.

Jill sank onto her seat. “What was up with that?” she asked aloud.

Could Tina actually be
angry
because she wasn't staying in Los Lobos? But Tina didn't like her. Okay, maybe having Emily around had made her assistant/secretary/receptionist feel slightly more friendly, but that wasn't an actual relationship. What did Tina care if she moved on?

Was it about keeping her job? Jill tried to decide if she should offer to write the woman a recommendation, al though to be honest, she wasn't sure what she would say.

Tina has a lively personality. Although she hates to follow orders and rarely works more than two or three hours in a row, she would be a delightful addition to any office situation.

Hmm, maybe not.

Determined not to let the other woman's reaction spoil the glory of the moment, Jill called Ms. Sullivan and made an appointment for Thursday at eleven in the morning. She would take the 545 and see if the locals could ding up the car.

Next, she called Mr. Harrison.

“It's Jill Strathern,” she said when the old man
picked up the phone. “I've researched the matter in question.”

“It's a fence, girly.”

She winced. “Yes, I know. If the construction had been more recent, we might have had a chance, but with the fence having been there over a hundred years, there's very little we can do about getting it torn down. My suggestion is that I contact your neighbors and work out a fair market price for the land on their side of the fence. You had said your major concern was not leaving the problem to be dealt with after you were gone and this would solve that.”

She paused, waiting for Mr. Harrison to respond. There was only silence, followed by a click and then dial tone.

“Perfect,” she said into the empty room as she hung up the phone.

While her day was slowly sliding into the toilet, she might as well go ahead and flush the damn thing. She stood and walked to the door Tina had slammed.

When she opened it, she waited until Tina looked up and scowled at her.

“What?” the other woman demanded.

“I'm going to be gone on Thursday. Would you please make sure I don't have any appointments and if I do, reschedule them?”

“Sure. Whatever. I have to go in a few minutes. Something with one of my kids.”

“That's fine. If you would please take care of my calendar first, I would appreciate it.”

Jill had a feeling she wouldn't see the woman again for the rest of the day.

She returned to her office, where she felt the fish eyes following her every move. When she reached her desk, she spun in a circle and glared right back.

“I never said I was staying, so don't try to say I did. I'm leaving Los Lobos. Get over it.”

 

M
AC WOULD RATHER
have been almost anywhere than the Business Leaders of Los Lobos Committee for the Preservation of the Pier meeting—except maybe another one-on-one with Hollis. Jill had an appointment she couldn't—or wouldn't—reschedule so he didn't have any kind of distraction.

He sat in the back of the community center conference room and scribbled notes from time to time while Mayor Franklin Yardley turned what should have been a ten-minute update into nearly an hour of rambling.

“Now that the Fourth of July is over,” the mayor in toned, “we can all concentrate on this historic and wonderful event.”

He outlined the activities for the day, which culminated in a big fireworks show over the pier itself. Mac briefly wondered what wayward sparks would do to a hundred-year-old pier, then told himself not to sweat the details. His joy was to keep the good citizens and various visitors safe from any and all evils.

“We're expecting crowds at least fifty-percent bigger than we had here over the weekend,” Franklin said from his place at the podium. His silver hair gleamed in the
overhead light and there was a fresh coat of tan on his leathery skin.

“No one in this town has experience with an event of that magnitude.”

Mac stifled a yawn. If they were using the beach as the main venue and the mayor's numbers were right, parking was going to be a bigger problem than crowd control. They could use the old drive-in on the edge of town, he thought, as he scribbled a few more notes. Then get folks to the beach using school buses. He'd have to get a cost estimate. The big expense wasn't the buses themselves. Rather, it was the insurance they would need. Still it would solve a lot of problems with congestion and—

“So I've invited in an expert,” Franklin said, sounding way too pleased for Mac's peace of mind.

He glanced up just as the side door opened and a familiar if unwelcome man walked into the conference room.

Mac sat up in his chair and glared at both the newcomer and the mayor. What the hell was going on?

Franklin Yardley beamed at the committee members. “I'm delighted to introduce Mr. Rudy Casaccio. He's handled events much larger than ours and has graciously offered to act as a consultant.”

Sure he had, Mac thought as he swore under his breath. The mayor had accepted, right after getting a nice fat, juicy contribution for his reelection campaign.

Rudy stood beside the mayor and smiled at the small crowd. He looked slick, Mac admitted. Great
suit, easy stance. He was a man used to being in charge. Mac's gaze drifted to the ever-present Mr. Smith, who hovered just inside the room. A snap to be big man on campus when you're always protected by the big guns.

The meeting continued. Rudy gave a few words of advice, then offered to meet with the business leaders individually to discuss their needs.

By the time everyone got up to leave, Mac had about ground his teeth to stubs. He pushed through the crowd around Rudy and made his way to Franklin.

After grabbing the other man by the arm and dragging him into the corner, Mac got close enough to get his attention, then leaned in for good measure.

“Do you have any idea what you're getting into?” he demanded.

Yardley's brown eyes narrowed. “I know exactly what I'm doing, Sheriff, and I'd advise you to listen and learn. Rudy Casaccio can do things for this town that the residents have never dreamed of.”

“Sure. Gambling at the lodge, drugs in the high school. It'll be great.”

“Mr. Casaccio is a reputable businessman. He wants to
help
our town.”

Which Mac read as helping Franklin himself.

“I can't quite get it,” he said. “Why would someone like Rudy Casaccio want to help our little town?”

“He's a man of vision.”

“Uh-huh. How much did he contribute to your reelection campaign?” Mac asked.

The mayor bristled. “Maybe you should worry less
about me retaining office. You have an election of your own coming up in a few months. If you don't have my endorsement, you don't have a prayer.”

Mac knew he was right, but he didn't like it. “I suppose he gave money to the pier restoration.”

“Yes. Twenty thousand dollars.”

Great.

“Get with the program,” Franklin told him. “We're all making Mr. Casaccio feel welcome. You've only been here a short time, but everyone thinks you're doing a fine job. It would be a shame to lose that support be cause you have something personal and unfounded against one of our leading citizens.”

“Last I heard, he's not a resident.”

The mayor shrugged. “We're all hoping that will change. And if you make trouble, there may only be room for one of you.”

 

J
ILL SMILED
at the young woman sitting across from her. She looked to be in her early twenties and more than a couple of months' pregnant. Kim Murphy met her gaze, offered a shy smile in return, then ducked her head.

“I was kind of surprised to get your call,” the young woman said in a soft voice. “I haven't seen my grandmother in years. I didn't think she still remembered me.”

“Apparently she did.”

Kim bit her lower lip and gave Jill a wary glance. “I wanted to see her more, of course. But I…I just couldn't.”

Jill wondered why. “Had she been ill?”

“I don't think so. It's just things are…complicated.” She managed another one of those almost-smiles and re turned her attention to her lap. “It's been six years since I've seen her. Not since the wedding.”

Jill studied the young woman. Her long platinum-blond hair hung limply to her shoulders. Her arms were pale and painfully thin. The too-large maternity dress surrounded her like a very unattractive tent. Oh, well, what did she know about pregnancy fashions? Maybe this was the latest thing.

She pulled papers out of a folder and raised her eye brows when she saw Kim's birth date. “You've been married for six years. Gee, you must have gotten hitched the day after you turned eighteen.”

Kim raised her face a few inches and nodded. “Three days, actually. Andy and I started dating when I was just fourteen. He was older, of course, but he waited for me.”

She said that as if it were a good thing. Jill tried not to wrinkle her nose or say anything sarcastic.

“That's great,” she managed instead.

“He's wonderful.” This time Kim's smile reached her shadowed eyes.

“Nice to know there are still some good guys out there.” Unlike Lyle, the lying weasel rat bastard dog. “Okay, this is all going to be very simple. Your grandmother left you eight thousand dollars. You get the en tire amount. My fee is being paid out of the rest of the estate. It will take a couple of weeks to process every thing. I'll have some paperwork for you to
sign, then I'll hand over the money. In the meantime you'll want to think about what you want to do with the inheritance.”

Kim's delicate blond eyebrows drew together. “I don't understand.”

“I'm suggesting a separate account for your inheritance. A money market, savings.” She grinned. “You could start a college fund.”

Kim pressed a hand to her stomach. “Oh. No, thank you. Andy wants to buy a new truck.”

So like a man, Jill thought irritably. “But this isn't Andy's money,” she said gently. “California is a community-property state, which means what the couple earns together is owned by both of them. However, an inheritance—money, property, whatever, only belongs to the person mentioned in the will. In this case, you. If you keep the money in a separate account and don't commingle it with say Andy's paycheck, it's all yours. Even the interest.”

Kim's expression tightened until she looked like a rabbit facing the big bad wolf. She leaned back in her chair and shook her head back and forth.

“No. No, I don't want to do that. No. It's not right. Andy wants a truck.”

Jill didn't like the tremor in Kim's voice. “What do
you
want?” she asked softly.

Kim swallowed. “Are we nearly done, because I have to go. I have an appointment.” She looked ready to bolt.