Under the Moon's Shadow (7 page)

Chapter Eight

When Jason came up to Ethan the next day as the detective was leaving, a grim look on his face, Ethan felt a sense of foreboding. “What’s wrong?”

“Robbie’s out for the rest of the week.”

For a minute, Ethan didn’t say anything. “Okay. And?”

“I need to ask you to stay at Beth’s until Friday.”

“Jason – damn it.”

The deputy eyed him with speculation. “I thought you liked Beth.”

Ethan just glowered at him. “That’s beside the point. She doesn’t want me sleeping on her couch for a week.”

To his surprise, Jason just grinned. “No, I’d say not. Not on her couch.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Jason looked at him, his expression innocent. “You’re a detective, you’ll figure it out. So will you do it?”

He unlocked his truck. “Do I have a choice?”

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “Sure you have a choice. The two of you have just butted heads so much lately, I guess I thought a little time together might fix whatever it is that’s bothering you. If it’s really going to be a problem, though, I’ll figure something else out. I don’t want you going over there upset and taking your temper out on Beth.”

Ethan realized he was overreacting, and made a conscious effort to calm down. “What’s your alternative, if I don’t go?”

“I don’t know – Chase, probably. He’s just not a cop, though.”

“You really think she needs a cop there?”

Jason’s radio crackled, and he answered the call, which was dispatch paging him out to a burglary. “I have to go,” he told Ethan.

“I know. Look, I’ll stay with Beth. Does she know yet?”

“Nope, sorry.” Jason hurried to his cruiser, and hollered back over the roof of the car. “Thanks, Ethan.”

Cursing under his breath, Ethan watched the younger man drive off. He reached up and pulled his tie off, throwing it into the passenger seat with a growl. Last night had been almost unbearable, being so close to Beth, with her so vulnerable. When she’d licked the hot fudge off her thumb, he had almost grabbed her and taken her to the bedroom right then and there. He didn’t even want to think about the manicure; that experience had left him aroused well into the night. Being so close to Beth was his own private hell, and thanks to Jason, he was sentenced to four more nights.

Chapter Nine

When Beth’s doorbell rang while she was getting dressed, she cursed. Jason was early, for once in his life. She grabbed her robe and hurried to the door. Peeking through the peephole, she again saw Ethan’s dark head.

“What in the world?” She opened the door and just stared at him.

“Hi. Did you miss me?”

Once again, he had his overnight bag and a hanging bag, but this time, the scowl she’d learned to associate with her brothers’ friend in recent months was also present. Despite his teasing words, she could tell he was completely out of sorts as he leaned against the doorjamb.

“You’re not Jason.”

He shook his head slowly. “Nope. Gonna let me in?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know. You look angry.”

Looking down at his feet, he let out a breath. “It’s been a long day. I’m not feeling particularly friendly right now.”

Reluctantly, Beth stood back. “Come on in. I have to finish getting dressed. Where is Jason?” She hurried into the bathroom to finish applying her makeup while he hung up the bag.

“He’s taking Robbie’s shift this week. I’m the designated babysitter.” Hands in his jean pockets, he ambled up to the door and watched her put on mascara. “Where are you getting dolled up to go?”

Finished with her makeup, she gently pushed him back and closed the door, answering him through it. “I have the monthly meeting with the Baptist church ladies at seven, and then I have to cover the meteor shower observation tonight at the high school,” she told him as she pulled on a patterned wrap dress. When she was clothed, she opened the door back up and started on her hair. To her amusement and mild consternation, Ethan moved back in to watch, picking up pieces of her makeup kit to inspect them.

“I didn’t think that started until ten,” he said. “The shower watching, I mean.”

She shrugged. “It doesn’t.”

“How long does the ladies’ meeting take?”

“A short one is usually about two hours, and that’s not counting eating. I don’t partake, though.” She tilted her head back and forth, making sure the French twist she’d put her hair into was going to hold. “I feel guilty, asking you to stay here. I won’t be home until probably one or two o’clock.”

He frowned. “So you’re just going to wander around town all night, unescorted?”

Hands on hips, she smiled up at him. “Ethan, I do that all the time. I’ll be armed. You know I carry. ” She gave a soft laugh. “Unescorted. That’s cute.”

The frown deepened. “Why is that cute?”

“Because it sounds so old-fashioned,” she told him as she moved into her bedroom and started throwing a quick bag together. It took him a few seconds, but he followed her in there, too.

“Okay, now what? Why are you packing?”

She tossed him a questioning look over her shoulder. “Is your blood sugar low? Is that why you’re so grumpy tonight?”

“Beth…” His voice was a warning.

She turned to him and rolled her eyes, not intimidated. “Ethan… And I’m packing a bag so that I can change clothes at the office. I won’t come back here, since the two appointments are so close. I can’t exactly walk onto the ball field dressed like this.” She indicated her dress and heels.

The scowl deepened. “I guess not.”

Checking her watch, she saw that it was almost six o’clock. She stopped beside him in the doorway. “So, have you eaten?”

“No. You?”

“Nope. And I’m starving. I was going to take Jason out for something. You interested?”

Reaching out a hand, he took the small bag. “I could eat. And you can laugh about having an escort tonight, but I take my duties very seriously. I’ll shadow you.”

Beth hid her excitement by ducking into the refrigerator for a bottle of water. “All night?”

He groaned. “Why not?”

~ * * * ~

Three hours later, Beth was fighting a yawn as she and Ethan walked to his truck. That she still had several hours of work before she could go to bed made her whimper under her breath. Ethan still heard her.

“That was exhausting,” he said. “I had no idea fifteen little old ladies could be so demanding.”

“Oh, those women could run circles around most people our age.” When he unlocked the door and held it open for her, she handed him the plate of brownies one of the ladies had given her as they’d left.

“These look so good,” he said. The look of surprise that crossed his face when she took the plate back made her laugh. “You aren’t going to share, blondie? For shame.”

She waited until he got behind the wheel to explain. “Ethan, I’m going to take you into my confidence. I want your word that what I am about to tell you will go no further than this truck, and that you won’t do a thing about it.”

He paused in starting the engine. “Okay.”

“I have your word?”

“You have my word.”

She held the brownies up. “These are some of the most fabulous brownies I have ever eaten in my life. And in a few minutes, I’m going to be putting them down the garbage disposal at the paper.”

Ethan was appalled. “That’s criminal. Why would you do that?”

“I know it’s criminal,” she sighed. “But these are special brownies.” When he shrugged, not understanding, she continued. “Special brownies? You know, ‘special?’”

Ethan’s jaw dropped. “You mean – no.”

Beth snickered. “Oh, yes.”

He stared straight through the windshield, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel. “But that lady who gave them to you had to be at least eighty if she was a day!”

“Uh-huh. She’s eighty-three.”

Sitting back, he shook his head and started the truck, turning the air on to cool the cab down. “Is that why you don’t partake of the food? It’s spiked?”

“Yes, some of it. And do you know how hard it is to resist that kind of home-cooked food? It’s a good thing they have designated drivers, I’ll just say that.”

“How’d you find out about those being ‘special?’” he asked as they drove the short distance to the paper.

“Well, I maybe, um…consumed a few of them. Like four or five,” she confessed, feeling her cheeks heat. “In one sitting.”

“Those are huge brownies.” Ethan started laughing as he parked the truck, and turned to her in amazement. “Four or five? How high did you get?”

Pushing back a loose tendril of hair that had escaped the twist, she shrugged. “Oh, not that high, really. I just prank called my brothers into the wee hours, and Lauren and Annie. Once Annie figured out what was going on, though, she came over immediately and stayed with me until I was down again.” She let him get all his amusement out, feeling the tension in the truck ease as he laughed. “And I might have called you, too.”

“What? When was this?”

“About six months ago. You don’t remember that phone call? The ‘booty’ call?”

He covered his mouth, but in the light shining in from the newspaper building’s security lights, she could still see his mirth. “I vaguely remember that, yes, but I’d been drinking that night. I thought I’d imagined it.”

It was Beth’s turn to be surprised, and somewhat horrified. “I don’t even want to know how much you’d had to drink that you thought you’d imagined a booty call.”

Just like that, the tension was back. “More than I should. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Ethan…”

He opened his door. “Let’s get you changed. We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry.”

Beth closed her eyes as he moved around the truck to wait for her. She knew he’d been drinking more and more the last few months, but she hadn’t known how bad it had gotten. Resolving to talk to Chase and Jason as soon as she got a chance, she joined him and headed for the building to change.

By the time they got to the high school, most of the attendees were already there. Neither Beth nor Ethan had a lot to say as they walked down to the baseball field, which had a smattering of blankets spread out across it as people chatted and laughed, getting comfortable to watch the show.

“Mr. Dunfries, how are you?” Beth asked, approaching a tall man with gray hair.

The principal clasped her hand warmly. “Ms. Hudson, I’m well, and you? Glad you could join us here tonight. Ethan.”

Looking out over the well-lit field, Beth was surprised. “Light turnout. I figured there’d be more kids here.”

The principal shrugged. “Well, most of the science classes are here, at least. I guess staying up until the wee hours didn’t appeal to as many students and parents as we’d thought it would. Even if it was to watch a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

“That’s a shame,” Ethan said, glancing up at the clear sky. “It’s the perfect night for it.”

“True. Oh, well. Win some, lose some. Why don’t the two of you go ahead and get comfortable? I’ll find you in a little while to answer some questions, Beth.”

“Sounds good.”

As they made their way across the field to a spot a little distance away from the crowd, several people stopped them to say hello. “Between you and me, we have to know most of the people here,” Beth said.

Ethan sighed as he spread the blanket they’d brought on the ground and sat down. “Yeah, and by now, most of those people are speculating about us.”

“So? I didn’t realize it bothered you so much, the idea of having our names linked.”

Before he could respond, three giggling teenagers came up and plopped down at his feet. The boldest of the three spoke, twirling her hair around a finger flirtatiously. “Hey, Detective. Did you bring your gun?”

To Beth’s surprise, a flush spread across his cheeks. “Girls. Don’t you have something better to do?”

“Nope,” their leader, a statuesque blonde Beth thought was a cheerleader, said with a winsome smile. “We thought we’d come keep you company.” She moved a little closer to his feet, and he quickly drew his knees up to his chest, his scowl darkening.

“As you can see, I’m not alone. So you can toddle back over to your friends. I really don’t want to have to go hunt down your parents, girls.”

When the cheerleader looked at Beth, she appeared just a little uncertain. “I thought you were single, Detective.”

“Amber, even if I was single, I don’t waste my time on little girls,” he told her, not bothering to hide his displeasure.

The girl’s eyes widened and filled with tears. Standing, she gestured for her friends to follow her and they left, one of them shooting a dirty look back at Beth and Ethan as they walked.

“Ouch,” Beth said. He scowled at her and she held up a hand. “I know, you had to do it, but it still was painful to watch. How long has that been going on?”

He ran a hand over his hair. “A couple of weeks. I was with the group that broke up one of their little parties out at Amber’s house, and she’s tormented me every blessed time I’ve seen her since. I’ve tried to be nice, I’ve tried ignoring her, and nothing has worked.”

She couldn’t help smiling. “Poor Ethan. It must be hard to be so attractive.”

“You think it’s funny. It’s not. If she gets a wild hair in her little perky brain, she can ruin me without even trying.”

Beth sobered. “I know. I’m just teasing. Have you talked to her parents?”

“I did. Her mother is just an older version of Amber.” He shuddered, and Beth wasn’t entirely sure it was faked.

Bumping his shoulder with hers, she leaned against him for a second before straightening. “Well, Detective, I’m going to hope for the best. Maybe seeing us here together will stop her, especially after you called her a child. Even if it does irk you to have share a blanket with me, something good should come out of this, right?”