Tangled Hearts (16 page)

When she was asked about the film, she had to reply, “I haven’t seen it yet.”

She rarely went to the movies. She didn’t like going alone.

“We could go tomorrow,” Jake murmured softly.

“I thought you’ve seen it,” she said, warmed by the offhand invitation.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. Then I could see if Tyler's assessment of the hidden social implications is accurate.”

“It is, Jake. Would I lead anyone astray?” The young assistant professor of sociology grinned engagingly.

“Put it down to my suspicious nature. Cops like to investigate things on their own,” Jake responded.

He looked at Brianna again. Taking in how tired she looked.

“We’ve got to be going. It’s been a pleasure.” He eased her away from the group and toward the door.

She walked beside him, leaning on him a bit more than earlier. Her ankle hurt, her wrist ached and her head had begun to pound.

“You look exhausted.” He got her coat, slipped it on her and tilted up her face. “Have you visited enough?”

“Yes. It's more tiring than I expected. At this rate, I won’t' be good for anything for weeks.”

“You don't want to force it or you can put back your recovery.”

“Thank you,
Dr. Morgan,
for your expert medical assessment of the situation.”

“Mouthy.” He brushed his lips over hers, which effectively shut her up.

Brianna wanted to look around to see who might have noticed, but she dared not. Better to ignore the gesture and leave with some dignity. She hoped everyone in the room was too busy with their own conversations to notice Jake’s kiss.

In less than ten minutes, Jake pulled his car up in front of Brianna’s house. When he opened her door, he did not give her the chance to step out, but reached in and scooped her up.

“Jake! I can walk.”

“You’re tired. It’s a short way to the house.” By the time he finished talking, he’d reached her front stoop. Setting her gently on her feet, he waited as she found her key. Taking it from her cold fingers, he inserted it and opened the door. Gently he urged her inside and closed the door behind them.

“I enjoyed meeting the people you work with on a social level,” he said.

“Still think one of them is trying to steal my article idea?” she asked, shrugging out of her coat. She steadied herself against the wall. She was more tired than she realized.

“No. But talking with Gerald has given me another lead to check out. First thing Monday, I’m going to get a list of all your students’ grades from last semester and we’re going over them to see if any have been altered.”

“Like I’m going to remember exactly what each student earned,” she complained. “My grade book had all that information.”

“It’s a starting place. Do you need any help getting to bed?”

She shook her head.

“Tomorrow we can still find the movie at a theater in town.”

“Oh, you don’t have to take me. I can wait for it to come out on video.”

“We made a date. I have witnesses,” he said whimsically.

She smiled. “Okay, I would like to see it. I’ll be ready at three.”

He reached out and drew her into his arms. Brianna gave a sigh and raised her face. Suddenly her zipper slid down, the cool air startling against her skin.

“Jake!”

“Relax, Brie. I’m just helping. This looked awkward to unfasten with your wrist.” He released the fasteners of her bra.

Daring images danced in her mind. She could imagine herself slipping her arms from the dress, letting it trail down her body as Jake watched. Desire flooded her. She'd loved him for so long. Slowly she raised her face to his, letting that love shine from her eyes.

“Look at me like that and I won’t be responsible for what I might do,” he said in a husky tone.

“Maybe I don’t care,” she replied in a whisper.

Stepping closer, she reached up to encircle his neck. The cool air on her back contrasted with the burning heat wherever she pressed against Jake. She felt his warm hands on her bare skin and shivered. She felt feminine and soft. Angling her mouth, she lifted her lips for a kiss.

A muffled groan escaped Jake as he hugged her so tightly against him she couldn’t breathe.

She feasted on the embrace as if it was ambrosia. His taste was achingly familiar, wildly exciting. The embrace gave her a precious sense of safety and security.

The flames licking throughout her contrasted to that security. They were dangerous, daring and demanding. She wanted more. More of Jake, more of the love that she felt so strongly.

Jake eased back, his eyes opening to gaze down into hers. Resting his forehead against hers, he almost felt he could drown in the blue eyes that beckoned so enticingly.

Her lips were moist and rosy, still parted as if she would resume the kiss. He felt like he’d been kicked.

Tenderly he pulled back, cupped her face, rubbing gently over her lips, feeling the dampness on his thumb.

“This is not a good idea, Brie.”

“It feels good to me,” she said softly, her hand threaded in his thick hair. She could feel the pounding of his heart against hers. It matched the tempo of her own.

“Your brother was right. I’m not the man for you.”

“My brother? What brother? What are you talking about?”

She pulled back and stared at him, confused. When had either of her brothers even met Jake, much less spoken to him?

What
was
he talking about?

“Never mind.” He straightened, his expression instantly remote, forbidding. “If you can get yourself to bed all right, I’ll get my change of clothes from the car and bunk down in here. Go to bed.”

Not waiting for her to say a word, he left and headed for his car. He closed the door behind him relishing the icy air that shocked him back into awareness. No more kissing!

He’d blown it. He'd never wanted her to know.

Not that she knew anything. But he didn't want her curiosity to force a confrontation.

He would not let his guard down for a second. He couldn't wait until they’d reviewed the grade sheets. If there was a student whose grades were changed, they’d have another lead.

If not, he’d turn the entire investigation back to Don Winston.

Don was the officer of record. He should be doing the work.

Jake sat in the car until the lights went off inside. He still had her key and let himself quietly back in to the house. He wondered why he didn’t just turn the investigation back to Don immediately. He could handle things.

And Jake feared he might not be able to handle his own feelings much longer.

Brianna heard Jake return. She was tempted to get up and confront him, but she wasn't sure about what.

Exactly what had Jake meant with the comment about her brother? Which one? Jase? Josh? To her knowledge, neither had met Jake. Something didn't make sense.

Tomorrow she’d demand some answers. He couldn’t casually slip something like that into a conversation and then blow it off.

Sleep proved evasive. Which brother had told Jake he was not the man for her? And why? How could Jake have bought into such idea? Was that why he stopped seeing her?

He was not the only one looking for answers tomorrow. And hers had nothing to do with grades and students.

One look at Jake’s face the next morning, however, and Brianna knew she wasn’t going to get a quick answer to her questions.

She'd dressed warmly with dark wool slacks that hugged her hips and a pink sweater that she loved.

“Can you access grades from your computer at your office?” he asked before she'd even had coffee.

“Yes. Can we eat first?”

“Let's go out to breakfast, check out the records and catch the early matinee for the movie,” he suggested, already reaching for his jacket.

Today he was dressed in jeans and a thick sweater. She didn't know if she liked him better in a suit as a detective or jeans as the man she loved.

He helped her on with her jacket, his knuckles brushing against her jaw.

She reached up to flip out her hair, trying to match his casual attitude. Her skin tingled where he’d touched her. Her heart raced, and breathing became a chore.

His hand brushed over the shiny waves, lingering on the ends as he rubbed them gently between his fingers.

She didn’t bring up the question in the forefront of her mind, though her curiosity almost spiked out of control. She glanced at her watch wondering if either brother would be around a phone at nine o'clock on a Sunday morning.

They had breakfast at a restaurant Brianna hadn't eaten at before. It was near Jake's home and she suspected he'd eaten there more than once from the familiarity he had with the menu.

The campus was quieter than on a normal school day, but there were still students around and other teachers in their offices.

She perused the grades from last semester. Nothing seemed extraordinary. But with so many students, and the loss of her own grading book, she wasn’t one hundred percent certain no grades had been altered.

Before she left her office, on one of Jake's surveillance rounds, she tried calling her brothers. Jase's phone went to voice mail. Josh's didn't ring at all. She tried Shannon's, but her phone just rang and rang. Where were they?

Brianna and Jake headed for the early matinee at the movie theater downtown.

To Brianna's surprise Tyler Hunter and a young woman were in the lobby buying popcorn. Once they spotted Jake and Brianna, he left her in line and hurried over.

“I heard you plan to come today, and thought I'd take a chance you'd be at this matinee. We're going to see the movie with you. That way I can point out the social aspects I was discussing last night,” Tyler boomed heartily.

They walked to the line where he quickly introduced Liza Nesbet, his girlfriend.

Brianna smiled politely, wishing she and Jake had gone to a different theater or at a different showing. She didn’t want to share Jake with these two acquaintances.

She had planned on the two of them spending the afternoon together. And maybe the evening. She wasn’t going to let the day go by without finding out what he’d meant by that statement he’d let slip last night.

“Popcorn, no butter, and a cherry cola?” Jake asked Brianna as they stepped up to the counter. His hand was warm against the small of her back.

As she turned slightly to smile up at him, it felt almost as if he were embracing her, his arm touching her shoulders, her back, his hand firmly guiding her.

She nodded. He remembered. After two years and who knew how many other women, he remembered what she liked at the movies. For a second, she wished it meant something.

Feeling inexplicably better, Brianna resigned herself to a shared afternoon. But later, she’d get Jake alone and question him about that curious statement he’d made.

The movie was fun. Despite her earlier misgivings, Brianna enjoyed Tyler’s comments and the rude retorts his girlfriend made to put down his pretensions. They complemented each other, and at one point Brianna wondered what they thought of her and Jake. Did they appear to complement one another?

He sat beside her, but made no move to hold her hand or put his arm around her shoulders. He held the popcorn in his lap, and she snuggled closer, ostensibly to better reach the snack.

Mingling with the aroma of the freshly popped corn was Jake’s own scent, tangy and masculine, uniquely his.

She longed to dash the bag from his hand, knock over the drinks and crawl into his lap. Did anyone ever do that in the movie theater? Would she be starting a trend? Or causing a scandal? She could see the headlines in the local paper—Math Professor Shocks Theatergoers With Wanton Behavior.

She sighed and reached for some more popcorn. It would never happen, but she wished she dared.

Tyler and Liza suggested stopping together for a snack when the movie was over.

Because they ate breakfast late, and only had popcorn during the movie, Jake raised an eyebrow at Brianna in silent inquiry.

“Sure,” she said, not at all interested, but didn't want to be rude to Tyler and Liza.

Jake suggested a grill down on Third Street. “It’s a cop hangout, but I think you’d like it,” he explained, glancing down at Brianna.

Saying nothing, she nodded. Two years ago, he hadn't taken her to any cop hangouts. They had gone to dinner in nice restaurants, cooked at her house. But he'd never taken her where his coworkers hung out. Why now?

Jake was well liked. That much was evident from the men and women who greeted him when he walked into the grill. Several came over to visit briefly when they were seated. Tyler and Liza joined in the conversation as if they’d been longtime friends with everyone, and more and more chairs were dragged up, crowding their table. Brianna said very little, watching the activity. Jake deliberately put up barriers. Why?

When a pert and friendly red-haired woman joined them, Jake introduced her as Diane Waters. Brianna’s attention immediately focused on the woman. This was Diane? Jake's date for New Year's Eve? She was adorable.

Gritting her teeth, Brianna wanted to disappear. She didn’t need this.

At the first break in the conversation, she glared at Jake. “I have a headache. Do you think you could take me home and then come back?”

“Have something to eat first. It’ll make you feel better.”

“The service here isn’t the greatest, but the food's hearty,” Diane said genially. She leaned over Jake and hugged him. “I haven’t seen you for a while. Where've you been? Up at your cabin?”

He nodded. “Fixing it up some.”

“When do I get to see it?” she asked, her bright, bubbly enthusiasm almost more than Brianna could bear.

She stood up and excused herself, first heading toward the bathroom, then veering to the front door and outside.

Once on the sidewalk, she looked down the street. It was too far to walk home, she knew she couldn't with her ankle. And she'd left her jacket on the back of the chair inside. Otherwise she might try it. The wind blew from the west, chilling her to the bone. She pulled her phone from her purse—

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jake asked, pulling her around, clamping his hands on her shoulders in a hard grip. His eyes blazing down on her.