The Mighty Quinns: Devin (6 page)

Dev looked up from his pie, the fork halfway to his mouth. “I do my job.”

“People are talking,” she said.

“They have a tendency to do that when they don't have better things to occupy their mind.”

“Is it true that you and Elodie Winchester had a thing for each other back in the day? I've heard you're the reason she was sent away. That she got pregnant and her daddy couldn't stand the thought of the housekeeper's son and his daughter together.”

Dev chuckled. “That's what they're saying? That's quite a story.”

“Is it true?”

“There was no baby,” Dev said.

“How do you know?”

“Because I know how babies are made and there wasn't any of that going on between us. As for the rest of it, I guess that's close to the real story.”

“And what about now?” Joanie asked. “You don't have to tell me, but I could be useful in tamping down any rumors.”

“She's a beautiful woman. I find her...intriguing. Interesting. That's all.”

“She's sitting over there,” Joannie said. “Maybe you ought to go say hello.”

Dev glanced over his shoulder. A slender figure sat with her back to him. He wouldn't have thought it was Elodie. “When did she come in?”

“She had dinner. She's using the Wi-Fi. I guess she doesn't have internet access at home.” Joannie chuckled. “Nothing going on between you, huh? You look as if you've been hit by a truck.”

“Keep that to yourself, would you?”

Joannie nodded, then pushed away from the counter and headed back to the kitchen. Dev picked up his coffee and pie and wandered over to Elodie's booth.

“Can I join you?”

She glanced up and met his gaze, then smiled. “Hi. Sure. Sit down.”

“I didn't expect to find you here,” Dev said.

“Internet access,” she said. “I'm working on a—a project.”

“That sounds interesting. Do you want to tell me about it?”

Elodie shook her head. “Not yet.” She closed her computer and set it aside. “Are you done with work?”

“Not yet. I'm on duty until ten. Two more hours. But I have tomorrow off, so that's a good thing.”

“It is,” she said.

“Maybe, if you need a hand with some of your projects, I can help you out. Mom says you've been painting.”

“I have. But there's so much else that has to be done. I'd be thrilled if you wanted to help.”

“Great. I'll bring breakfast and we'll get an early start.”

He reached for his coffee, but his radio squawked. Dev cursed softly. It seemed to be the way it went when he was with her—always interrupted by work. “Sorry,” he murmured.

Dev switched on the radio and listened to the call. Kids had been spotted parked up on Spencer's Landing, a popular spot for romance, and there was suspicion of alcohol on the scene. Dev knew that the moment he pulled up, they'd scatter, but he also knew that teens driving drunk was a prescription for disaster, and if he split them up before anything got out of hand, he could save them all some trouble.

“I have to go,” he said, gobbling down the rest of his pie. “I'll see you tomorrow morning.”

Elodie nodded. “All right.”

Dev headed for the door, then stopped and returned to her table. “Would you like to come along? After I check this out, I could drop you at your place. Unless you drove down here.”

“I didn't. I walked. Sure, I can come. Where are we going?”

“Spencer's Landing,” he said.

They'd spent a fair amount of time at the very spot years ago, sitting on a blanket beneath the stars, exploring the limits of teenage passion. Not that he needed a reminder of the passion they shared.

Dev waited as she gathered her things, then grabbed her computer bag as they walked to the door. “Thanks, Joannie.”

“Leaving already?” she called from the kitchen.

“Duty calls,” Dev said.

“Thank you,” Elodie said.

When they reached the car, Dev circled around and opened the passenger side door for Elodie and he helped her inside. When he slipped behind the wheel, he found her smiling at him. “What?”

“Are you sure this is all right?”

“I'm the chief. And it's not like I'm taking you into the middle of a crisis situation. We're going to bust up a bunch of horny teenagers. And if they've been drinking, we're going call their parents, who will give them a ride home.”

“Sounds like fun,” Elodie said.

He started the car and pulled out into the street. “This is it,” Dev admitted. “It's not Manhattan. It's not even Asheville. It's just a small town with small-town problems.”

“I know. But there's something great about what you do here,” Elodie said. “You turned into a very good man, Dev.”

He wasn't sure why her opinion mattered so much, but it did. They'd known each other for a long time and she'd been instrumental in changing the direction of his life. Before he met Elodie, he'd been drifting, uninterested in school, searching for trouble. But after their summer together, he wanted to be better. He'd tried to make himself into the kind of man Elodie would want. He'd waited for her to come back, hoping that her father would forget what had happened and bring his only daughter home. By the time Dev realized she wouldn't return, he'd managed to graduate from high school with a B average and got into a decent college. He owed her a lot and he'd never properly thanked her.

“There is something we need to talk about,” Elodie said. “It's your mother. She comes to work every day, and though I appreciate her enthusiasm, I can't really afford to pay her. I've tried talking to her about it, but she's so loyal to the family, she feels it's her duty to take care of me.”

“My mother needs that job,” he said. Dev glanced over at her, hoping she'd understand. But there didn't seem to be any hint of understanding in Elodie's expression. “Since you've been back, she's been so happy to have a purpose in life. For most of her life, your family was her family. And when the mill shut down and your parents left, she felt abandoned.” He paused. “If she insists on being paid, then I'll give you money for her salary. Just don't let her know where it came from. Could you do that?”

Elodie nodded. “Of course I can. But I don't want her working any more than four hours a day.”

“I think I can convince her to cut down on her hours.”

She reached out and touched his arm. “You're so good to her. My mother always told me that you can measure a man by how he treats his mother.”

“She hasn't had an easy life,” he said.

Dev slowed the cruiser as they reached the narrow dirt road that led out to the landing on the river. He looked over at Elodie to find her smiling. “Remember this?”

She nodded. “My heart is beating so fast,” she said, pressing her hand to her chest. “I think I'm going to die if I don't kiss you.”

“I'm trying to be cool,” he said. “But it doesn't work. My hands are shaking and my palms are sweating. I'm afraid you're going to notice.”

“I'm wondering if this is going to be the night we can't stop,” she said.

When they reached the end of the road, they came into a clearing, a spot that was usually filled with cars and kids. But tonight, the landing was deserted. Dev pulled the cruiser to a stop and switched off the ignition. “Someone must have tipped them off.”

“Better for us,” Elodie said. She opened the door and got out. “Come on. Let's have a look around.”

Dev watched her through the windshield of the car, the headlights shining on the pale blue dress she wore. A light breeze teased at the hem, causing the fabric to cling to her slender legs.

She looked like some forest nymph, her pale hair tumbling in waves around her shoulders. He wanted to capture her in his arms, pull her body against his and kiss her. But as he stepped out of the car, Dev clenched his fists at his side, trying to slow the rapid pounding of his heart.

He felt like a high school kid again, filled with raging hormones and self-doubt. Who was this beautiful creature and why did she hold such power over him?

Elodie turned to face him, then reached down to grab the hem of her dress. “I'm going for a swim,” she said. “Do you want to come with me?”

“I'm on duty,” he said.

“Then you'll just have to watch.”

Dev groaned inwardly. He was already hard just thinking about Elodie naked in his arms, the warm water enveloping their bodies.

He'd been a fool to bring her here. But he didn't regret it for a moment.

* * *

E
LODIE
STOOD
AT
the water's edge, staring out onto the moonlit surface of the river. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this...alive. The past and the present had somehow merged and she was living out some long-ago fantasy.

This place had been part of it. He'd brought her here once before, when they were teenagers. A small group of his friends had gathered for a party and she'd sneaked out of the house to meet him. When they'd first arrived, Elodie had hoped that it might be fun, meeting some of the people he considered friends. But everyone treated her as if she were an interloper—like some foreign princess who would judge them for their public school education and discount store wardrobes.

After a lot of beer and tequila, they'd all decided to go skinny-dipping. But Elodie couldn't bring herself to join them. She already felt vulnerable, and stripping down to her underwear wasn't going to make her feel any more secure. So she'd sat on the shore and waited for Dev.

It was the first time she'd realized that there might not be a future for the two of them. They came from very different worlds, and those worlds were being dragged further and further apart.

But now, by some strange stroke of luck, their orbits had crossed again and they were in the same place at the same time. Only now, she was in control of her life—not her father or mother, and there was no fortune to come between them.

“Come on,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “Let's go in.”

“You really want to take a swim?”

She faced him, tossing her dress onto the grass by her feet. “Do you remember the first time you brought me here?”

Dev nodded. “It didn't go that well, as I recall.”

“I sat on the shore, right over there, while you joined your friends for a swim.” She kicked off her sandals and her toes sank into the sandy soil. “Are you going to join me now?”

“I can't. I'm on duty.”

“Convenient excuse,” she said. Elodie had planned to stop at her underwear but then decided he needed more of a temptation.

She wasn't that scared girl anymore and she'd conquered most of her self-doubts long ago. She was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and right now, she wanted to feel the cool river water on her hot, salty skin. Elodie dropped her bra on top of her discarded dress, then skimmed out of her panties. The warm breeze teased at her hair and she closed her eyes and enjoyed the wild sensations racing through her body.

When she was a teenager, Winchester had seemed such a harsh, stifling place, a spot where she could never truly be herself. And now, for some odd reason, it seemed like the only place on the planet where she could live her life exactly as she pleased.

She started toward the small beach. “It sure is a warm night. That water is going to feel so nice.”

“I could arrest you,” he called. “For indecent exposure.”

She faced him, running her hands through her hair. “You'd have to come in and get me,” she said. With that, Elodie turned and waded into the river. When the water reached her knees, she dived beneath the surface. After the heat of the day, the water was barely cool, but it felt wonderful on her bare skin.

Popping up, she brushed her hair from her eyes and searched the beach for him. He was still standing there, arms crossed and fully clothed. The standoff ended when they both noticed the headlights from a car through the trees. Cursing softly, she sank down until she was nearly undetectable in the dark.

When the lights emerged into the clearing, she was relieved to see that it was another police car. From what she could tell, this was a county cop, but someone Dev seemed to know quite well. Though sound carried well in the still night air, Elodie couldn't quite make out what they were saying. It appeared that Dev was relaying the story of the party that had brought him out to the river.

A few minutes later, the cop nodded, then got into his car and drove away. Elodie started for the shore. “What did he want? Is he coming back?”

“You're in trouble now,” Dev said.

“What? Did he notice me?”

“This could be very serious. The county is starting to crack down on this kind of lewd behavior.”

“I'm naked,” she said. “I wouldn't call myself lewd.”

“Down here in the South, that's enough.”

When she was out of deep water, Dev approached the shore and waited, holding out his hand. The moment she placed her fingers in his palm, he swept her into his arms, picking her up off her feet and carrying her across the sand.

He set her down next to the police cruiser, then went back to fetch her dress, shoes and underwear. He held out her bra, letting it dangle from his fingertips. “Put this on.”

“Are you angry?”

“No, but I'm on duty. And this is highly inappropriate. I mean, this is a tabloid scandal waiting to happen. Local Cop Caught with Naked Heiress? Sexy Swim on Taxpayer's Dime? I can see it all now.”

“I just thought it would be—”

He grabbed her shoulders and met her gaze. “Do you have any idea the strength it's taking for me not to take advantage of this situation right now? I want to pull you into my arms and run my hands all over you until there's not an inch of you left untouched.”