“I liked it when the three of us were spending time together. Didn’t you like being with us?” Kevin glanced at her, then looked away quickly.
Bernie set her iced tea glass down on the tiled patio floor behind herself and put her arm around Kevin’s shoulders. “If I didn’t like being with you, I wouldn’t be here right now. And I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.”
“Honest?” Kevin lifted his head, looked right at her and smiled as if she’d just given him the greatest present on earth.
She hugged him to herself. “Honest.”
Kevin jumped up, bouncing with enthusiasm. “I’ll race you to the other end of the pool.”
Bernie leaped to her feet. “You’re on. But what does the winner get?”
“Hmm … What do you want if you win?”
She wasn’t sure exactly how to word her request. “I want you to stop being angry with your father. He loves you and he’d do anything for you. He’d be spending all his free time with you if you’d just stop pouting and go home.”
“Dad can be a real dope,” Kevin said. “If he prefers your sister or that Holly woman to you, he’s nuts. But what could I expect from him since he left my mom and she’s a wonderful …” Kevin swallowed and looked away.
Bernie knew he was on the verge of tears and would be terribly embarrassed if she saw him crying. “Your mom will call you when she feels better. She just doesn’t want you to hear her sounding weak and sick. That’s the way moms are.” Bernie was lying, of course. She had no idea why Mary Lee hadn’t spoken to Kevin since her surgery, which Jim had told them had been successful and the doctors had explained to Mary Lee’s husband that her cancer hadn’t spread. Despite how physically weak Mary Lee might be or how emotionally devastated she was at losing a breast and facing months of treatment, she was still a mother, with a son who needed her reassurance that everything would be all right. As far as Bernie was concerned, it wasn’t too much to ask that Kevin’s mother give him that reassurance.
Kevin cleared his throat. “Yeah, I know Mom will call. She’s got to take care of herself right now and not worry about me or anybody else.”
“And if you need anything, all you have to do is ask your dad. You know what—I love my mother very much and she’s the greatest mom ever,” Bernie said. “But I’m a daddy’s girl. My dad is my best friend. Your dad could be your best friend if you’d give him the chance.”
Kevin grunted. “Yeah, I guess so.” He glanced at Bernie and grinned. “Are you ready for our race?”
“I’m ready if you are. So, if I win this swim meet, you’ll go home and give your dad a chance to prove to you how important you are to him?”
“Yeah, okay. And if I win, I want you to ask me and Dad over to your house for supper again.”
Bernie blew out a deep breath in an exaggerated expression. “Well, I suppose I can agree to that, but you’re asking for an awful lot. It will be sheer misery to spend a whole evening with you and Jim.”
Kevin laughed and so did Bernie. “If it’s a tie, we’ll both be winners.” She winked at him, then dove into the pool, Kevin a millisecond behind her.
Bernie deliberately slowed when they reached the far end of the pool, just enough so that she and Kevin ended their race neck and neck. Without a photo finish, no one could say who came in first. Bernie lifted herself out of the pool and sat on the edge. Kevin came out right alongside her, smiling as if he’d won the race.
“It was a tie, wasn’t it?” Kevin said.
“I believe it was.”
“That means we both have to pay off on the bet. So I’ll go home with Dad tomorrow evening, and then you’ll invite us over to your house this weekend, right?”
“Right.”
Bernie ruffled Kevin’s dark, wet hair and had to restrain herself from encompassing him in a motherly bear hug. She had discovered one more thing Jim and Kevin had in common: Both Norton men were very easy to love.
Wearing a pair of khaki pants and a short-sleeved, navy blue polo shirt that he’d put on for his date with Holly Burcham, Jim stood on the Grangers’ porch and rang the doorbell. When no one answered, he walked around to the side gate, opened it and entered the backyard. He saw Kevin first, sitting at the wicker and glass table under the huge umbrella. Before Kevin noticed him, Bernie called out from the back steps. Jim glanced her way and did a double take. She was coming out the backdoor and was carrying a tray laden with food. Jim couldn’t take his eyes off her—off every incredible inch of her five-nine body. She wore a red one-piece bathing suit that did absolutely nothing to disguise her knockout figure. She was a tall, large woman, with curves in all the right places. Long legs that went on forever. Full thighs and hips, narrow waist, and high, round breasts.
“Jim!” Bernie gasped. “What are you doing here? I thought you had a date with Holly.”
Jim swallowed hard. “Uh, I did. But I had to call her and cancel. Something’s come up. Sheriff’s department business.” Yeah, and something else is going to come up if I don’t stop staring at Bernie’s body.
She walked over, set the tray down on the table and glanced from Jim to Kevin. “It must be something … Oh, God, please don’t tell me that it’s about Thomasina.”
Jim nodded. “Kevin, maybe you’d better go inside for a few minutes.”
Kevin frowned. “Do I have to?”
“Please go inside and call my father’s cell phone and tell him to come home right away. Jim and I are going to have to leave in a few minutes.” Bernie looked from Kevin to Jim. “Right?”
Jim nodded. “Yeah, I’m afraid so.”
Kevin responded immediately to her request, and as soon as he went inside the house, she turned to Jim. “Did someone find Thomasina?”
“Yeah, a motorist crossing Sunflower Creek just happened to notice a body lying on the bank, about ten feet from the water’s edge. The deputy who took the call got in touch with me a few minutes after he arrived on the scene. He says he’s pretty sure it’s Thomasina Hardy, says she looks like the picture her mother gave us. She’s naked. Posed. Her throat’s been slit.”
Bernie clenched her jaw. “Give me five minutes to get on some clothes. Dad should be home by then. He dropped Mom by Wednesday night church services on his way to play pool with some of his buddies.”
Just as she started to walk away, Jim grabbed her arm to halt her. She spun around and gave him a questioning look.
“If this guy holds true to form since he killed Stephanie Preston, he’ll start a new courtship soon,” Jim said. “He might have already chosen his next victim.”
“Oh, God, I know.” Bernie closed her eyes, absorbing the knowledge that another woman had been murdered and yet another unknown woman was in mortal danger. “I’m the sheriff. It’s my job to protect the people of Adams County. I’m doing a hell of a job, aren’t I?”
“Stop beating yourself up, honey. Nobody could do a better job.” Instinctively, without thinking about what he was doing, Jim slipped his hand around Bernie’s waist and pulled her into his arms. She went willingly and even allowed him to hug her for a few seconds before she pulled away from him.
“Come on in and talk to Kevin while I get out of this bathing suit.”
“I’m not sure Kevin will talk to me. He wasn’t very responsive when we tried to talk to him last night.” Jim followed Bernie, appreciating the view from behind. He’d never noticed how her hips swayed, how her butt moved up and down, how downright sexy she was.
But she’s not interested