Seeing him this close I realized, despite his impressive physical appearance, this man was tired, and burned out, if my instincts were correct.
The man smiled slightly and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Edmund, it’s good to see you.”
“How was the trip up?” Edmund asked cheerfully.
“Fine.” Henry nodded.
“Did you bring your things?” my friend asked.
“I did, it’s not much.”
Edmund shifted with his arm still around his friend. “Henry, meet Hannah Pogue. She’s the other half of Fox Investigations. Hannah, this is Henry Walker.”
“Hello,” I said as he gave me a nod.
“Nice to meet you.” His voice was smoky, deep and gravelly.
“Actually, I think we’ve met before.” I heard myself say.
“You have?” Edmund glanced from Henry and back to me.
“At the marina yesterday,” I explained and focused on Henry. “You own a sailboat, right?”
He frowned as he thought back. “You were with the kid dressed as a pirate.”
“My son, Eli,” I said, and tried not to react when he glanced down at my left hand, noted the lack of a wedding band, and gave me a considering stare.
Edmund began talking about paperwork for the new partnership and he nudged Henry back to his office.
My heart sank as they closed the door behind them. Unlike Edmund, I had a bad feeling about this. This was the super cop we were lucky to have? He might be attractive but he also struck me as suspicious and judgmental. Not to mention unkempt and slightly sloppy.
What by the moon and stars could my sophisticated and polished friend, and the guy who looked like he rolled out of bed and had showed up to his meeting in the clothes he’d slept in—possibly have in common?
***
After lunch, Henry and Edmund left the building. Edmund had said they were off to get Henry settled, and I was relieved when they were gone for the day. Again, I debated on doing an internet search on Henry Walker. After all I now knew he’d been a homicide detective in Atlanta. But by the end of the day, I still hadn’t. I was locking the door and preparing to leave when I bumped solidly into him.
“Oh, sorry,” I said, and then frowned when he yanked away from me like I’d burned him.
He was carrying a duffle bag, and his face was set. “Edmund told me to pick up the keys for the other apartment from you.”
“Certainly,” I said stiffly, and turned the keys again so I could unlock the door.
“I didn’t figure you were closing early.” His tone was accusatory, and put my back up. He followed me in and stopped in the center of the room.
“It’s not early,” I said, going straight to my desk. I pulled the little key chain out for the second apartment upstairs. “It was Edmund who decided to close up at four because of the holiday weekend.”
He held out his hand for the keys. “Well, darlin’?” he said impatiently.
“My name is Hannah Pogue,” I said through my teeth. “You may call me Hannah, or Ms. Pogue. But don’t call me darling.”
One side of his mouth kicked up. “Sure thing, honey.”
I stayed at my desk, held the keys and considered my words carefully. “Mr. Walker, are we going to have a problem working together?”
His eyes were a sizzling bottle-green, but his expression was bland. “Nope. Edmund tells me you’re a hell of an office manager and that you’ve consulted with him on cases.”
“I have,” I said.
“I don’t work with civilian consultants,” he announced. “As far as I’m concerned, if you just file and answer the phones darlin’...we’ll get along fine.”
Bristling at the rude words and condescending tone, I sucked in a breath and was about to let him have it, when Edmund walked in.
“Did you get your keys?” he asked Henry.
“Not yet,” Henry said.
I shut the drawer and walked past Henry, and passed the keys to Edmund instead. “You may want to have a few words with your new partner, regarding my position here,” I said between my teeth.
“Hannah?” Edmund reached out. “What’s the matter?”
Not trusting my temper, I walked past my best friend and went out the door and straight to my car.
I drove home, angry at myself for letting a complete stranger affect me so. I parked my car and started to walk towards the back patio of my parent’s home. I’d managed about two steps forward when their backdoor opened.
I stared at the stunning young man who stepped onto the back patio. He brushed his hair away from his face, met my eyes and grinned. “Hey, Sis.”
Bad mood forgotten, my jaw dropped as I recognized my brother. “Nathan?”
“Surprise.” He grinned.
I squealed and ran straight at him. “Holy crap! You’re here!” I jumped into my little brother’s arms.
He caught me. “You look good, Hannah.”
I eased back and laughed. “Good grief, you’re still gorgeous. How are you? How long are you staying?”
“For about a week.”
“So you’re here through the fourth?” I hugged him again and saw movement over his shoulder. A young woman stood in the doorway. “Hello,” I said cautiously.
She was dressed in a black tank top, ripped denim shorts and black trainers. Her hair was a rich brown and cut in a long bob. The green eyes that studied us were outlined with smoky eye shadow, and struck me as friendly and curious.
“You going to introduce us, Pogue?” She raised an eyebrow at my brother, and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. Two silver pendants hung around her neck, a crescent moon, a large pentagram, and also a fancy digital camera.
Nathan tucked an arm around my shoulder. “Ivy this is my sister, Hannah. Hannah meet my girlfriend, Ivy Bishop.”
I stuck out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” Nathan had talked to me about Ivy. But it still made me blink seeing the gothic and very openly practicing Witch paired up with my quiet and serious younger brother.
Ivy pushed away from the door,
