“Typical of the police.” She folded her arms across her chest and stared out the windshield. “All take and no give.” Her cheek tingled from the scratch of his beard. She longed to run her fingers where he’d touched her. She didn’t dare look at him.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Finally he sounded angry. Took him long enough.
She shrugged. “Money talks. I have bills to pay.”
He lifted her hand and wiggled the finger with the diamond ring. “Doesn’t your ex-husband pay your bills?”
She snatched her hand back. “That’s none of your business.”
She held her breath waiting for his reaction.
“No,” he said, dragging out the word. “I guess it’s not.” He opened the car door, then paused and glanced at her over his shoulder. “I’ll be sure to tell my sister you liked the soup.”
Merlene watched him walk away, surprised by the tears stinging her eyes. With him gone, her car felt empty. Lonely. Lifeless.
Her heart felt empty, too. Like a big pit she’d seen once in the Ozark Mountains.
She hated the look on his face when she’d asked for payment. Now he obviously thought she was a greedy witch. She only asked for money to get him out of the car.
But she would make the video he requested and send him a copy. He might call her to say thanks, but she suspected there was a good chance she’d never see him again after this little episode. Who could blame him?
The thought that she’d never see him again made her sorry she’d answered D.J.’s call.
She’d been hungry most of her life. Sometimes for food, always for love. When very young, often escape from freezing weather was what she hungered for most. But when Cody kissed her she’d felt...full, as if she finally had enough of whatever she needed. Well, at least she couldn’t imagine needing anything else during that kiss.
Problem was, this new sense of fullness was addictive. How could anyone resist a feeling that made you feel so good, even if lasted only briefly?
Yeah, and wasn’t that the way drugs worked? She thought of the pill mills Cody had told her about tonight, and how her client’s husband helped make addicts out of good people. What would be so wrong with letting herself go with Cody? Just enjoy his company and see what happened? She’d been resisting him solely because he worked in law enforcement, following her years-old logic that told her all police officers had to be jerks.
She knew that couldn’t be true. Not all of them, anyway.
Cody definitely wasn’t a jerk. Jerks didn’t bring you vegetable soup. Jerks didn’t tell you how evil pill mills were connected to your case. And how could a jerk kiss like that?
Anyway, he had shared information with her. Probably about as much as she’d shared with him.
With him she felt so...what was it? Alive. New. With Cody it felt like the past didn’t matter, that she didn’t have to be that hungry little girl from Missouri. She could be somebody different, somebody new.
* * *
STOMPING BACK TO his car, Cody decided Merlene Saunders had a chip on her shoulder that stretched all the way to Branson, Missouri. Why did everything in life always come down to greed? Cody jerked open the driver door and slammed it behind him.
Oh, but he knew why. People always want what they don’t have. His old man had wanted way, way too much, more than he could ever get on a cop’s salary. He understood exactly what desperate yearning had done to his hardworking father, and it was never going to happen to him.
Cody cranked the engine, his angry thoughts now focused on his dad. What had happened to him to make him turn? He knew his father hadn’t been dirty his whole career. For a treat, his family used to eat in a neighborhood café near their home on Friday nights. What was the name? Smitty’s, named for the owner. Money was always tight, but Smitty had some kind of deal for early diners. His mom raved about the meat loaf. He and Annie loved the outings because the early-bird meal came with dessert, one of the choices being their favorite: hot apple pie.
Smitty usually came out to say hello and every time offered to pick up the entire check because his dad was a police officer. But his dad always paid the bill, refusing to take anything from Smitty. Not even a free cup of coffee.
“But it’s just a way to say thanks,” Smitty would say. “Really nothing. Cops put their life on the line every day.”
“That’s my job,” his dad had always responded seriously. “And it’s my privilege to uphold the law.”
Cody remembered practically bursting with pride because of his dad’s honesty. He’d decided right then he wanted to grow up and be exactly like his dad. Be honest. Be a cop. Uphold the law.
And he’d wondered a million times since what had happened to make Dad change. He’d even considered the idea the refusals had all been for show in front of the family. If the wife and kids hadn’t been there, would Dad have let Smitty pay the tab?
Cody maneuvered his vehicle onto the roadway. He’d never know. He’d never know what it was his father had wanted so much that he had to turn crooked, forced him to end his own life.
Merlene Saunders sure as hell wanted something. Probably another rich doctor who could buy her more flashy gems to adorn her skin, skin that in his opinion needed absolutely no help from bling.
Now that his initial anger had ebbed, a heavy sense of disappointment weighed him down over what had happened with Merlene. He liked Merlene. He liked her sassy attitude, even if it drove him nuts, and she was definitely easy on the eyes. He’d been looking forward to getting to know her better.
For sure kissing her had been a pleasure. He shifted in the seat, remembering how she’d felt in his arms. Yeah, he’d like to get to know her a lot better, but not if money was what spun her world.
Why hadn’t he noticed such a materialistic streak in her? Had he been so blinded by her beauty? Missing a trait like that sure as hell wasn’t like him. She’d even called him observant, which had led to that fabulous kiss.
Well, the department wouldn’t pay her, and he wasn’t about to. He never had money left over from a paycheck anyway, didn’t have a dime saved anywhere, didn’t want to be a slave to possessions, didn’t want to end up like his dad.
Money talks. Yeah, right, it always does.
How could a woman come apart like warm honey in his arms and then freeze into a sheet of ice in seconds? Why had Merlene pushed him away? She was interested in him. He would have to be blind not to have picked up on the signals, the way she secretly checked him out. Even his sister had noticed their mutual attraction this afternoon.
Annie! Damn. He’d forgotten that his sister and Charlie were bunking with him tomorrow night while their home was tented for termites. She’d asked for the couch, but of course he’d give them the only bed in his one-bedroom apartment.
Annie had reminded him about the plan this afternoon, and he didn’t have any food in the house. He glanced at the digital clock on the dash. After ten. Too late to pick up groceries now. He’d have to make time tomorrow. Nah. Better yet, he’d order pizza. Charlie would love that idea.
He probably should straighten up the place, though, maybe run the vacuum. If not, he’d have to listen to Annie grumble about how he should get married, have kids, settle down. Cody sighed. Fat chance that would happen anytime soon. The only women he met were on the job.
Like Merlene. Would he ever see her again? Did he want to see her again? Hell, yes. What was it about her? Merlene might be greedy, but he’d never been this intrigued by a woman.
* * *
CODY OPENED HIS door to his sister and nephew the following