“We’ll see. It may not come to that.”
“Well,” BethAnn said, reaching for the door, “I need to get back to the store. I didn’t have your number, so I just closed everything up and came right here.”
He shut the door and snatched his cell phone from the coffee table. He would pull some strings. And if he couldn’t manage that, he’d use his own money to pay bail. His actions were against his better judgment, because until he got the case solved, the county jail was the safest place for her to be.
But if he left her there, she’d never forgive him. And that would be more than he could bear.
Shane sat in the small lobby area of the Polk County Jail, ankle crossed over one knee, fingers intertwined in his lap. The distinctive click of heels against the vinyl tile floor drew his attention to the door leading from the lobby into the jail. A second later, it swung open, and Jess stepped through. She didn’t look half bad considering she’d just spent two-thirds of the day locked up. Actually, she looked quite good. Her makeup wasn’t even smudged, proof that she had accepted her fate without tears. Somehow that didn’t surprise him. It was hard to picture Jess dissolving into tears about anything.
He held the exterior door for her then followed her out into the late afternoon shadows. She didn’t look as happy to see him as he’d expected.
“They told me I’m free to go but didn’t tell me how. I hope you didn’t bail me out, because I don’t have the money to repay you.”
So that was what was bothering her. “Don’t worry. You don’t owe me anything.”
“Did you post bond?”
“I did, but it was minimal.” It was also the simplest way to go. Trying to get the charges dropped would have taken a lot more time and possibly wouldn’t have even been successful. There was also too good of a chance that his efforts would have gotten back to Branch and blown his cover.
“Then I do owe you.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “I didn’t want you to bail me out.”
He pulled his keys from his pocket. They’d reached the parking lot, and his vehicle was waiting two spaces ahead. “Come on, Jess, let me do something nice for you. You can’t go your whole life not accepting help from anyone.”
He pressed the key fob, and the click of the locks accompanied the beep. But Jess didn’t get in, even after he opened the door for her. She uncrossed her arms to plant her hands on her hips.
“I’ve taken care of myself since I was eighteen. From the moment I walked out of that homeless shelter and put money down on a dumpy little apartment, I’ve paid my own bills. I don’t want to be obligated to anyone.”
“Even me?”
She stared at him, back ramrod straight. “Especially you.”
What did she mean by that? He probably didn’t want to know. “If you insist, you can repay me when you get back on your feet.”
“By that point, you’ll be long gone, and I don’t want to have to hunt you down to repay you. I believe in clean breaks.” She brushed past him and began walking toward the street that ran alongside the jail.
He hurried to catch up with her. “Are you saying once I finish my case here you never want to see me again?”
“That’s right.”
Her words sliced right through him. “Why?”
When she reached the sidewalk, she turned away from Broadway, the main road, and kept walking, Shane close behind. “Because I know your type, guys who don’t stick around. From the time I was three years old, that’s all men have done. They’ve walked in, then right back out of my life.”
“What if I’m different? What if I don’t want to walk out of your life?”
She skidded to a stop and turned to face him, her dark eyes searching his. Cautious hope swam in their depths, buried beneath layers of betrayal. “What are you saying?”
He hesitated, the longing inside tangling with fear. Because no matter how careful he was, how attentive and diligent, there was always the possibility it could happen again. Over the course of almost a decade of law enforcement, he’d made enemies. One could strike at any time. He’d already lost one love. Was he willing to risk another? Could he do that to Jess? Could he do it to himself?
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Her shoulders sank, and she turned to walk back to his vehicle.
He fell in behind her, the weight of regret bending his own shoulders. He had hurt her. But he’d had no choice. Because he truly didn’t know.
And he would never make a promise that he might not be able to keep.
Jessica sat with her elbow against the car door, chin in her hand, watching but not really seeing the landscape fly past the passenger window.
“Jess, I’m sorry. I just—”
She turned and held up a hand to stop him. “It’s all right. You don’t need to explain.”
She couldn’t be upset with him. It wasn’t like he’d led her on. He’d been upfront and completely appropriate with her all along. He’d kissed her the night she’d been shot, but that kiss hadn’t been hers. It had belonged to his deceased wife. So that didn’t count. The second kiss was one she’d initiated. After a brief hesitation, he’d responded, like any other red-blooded man would. She certainly couldn’t fault him that.
No, he’d made it clear right from the start—he wasn’t the type to settle down. But she’d fallen for him anyway. Her anger wasn’t directed at him. It was directed at herself. She just never learned.
Several more moments passed in silence. Then Shane turned to her again. “Am I taking you home or to BethAnn’s?”
“Take me to BethAnn’s.” It was only five o’clock, an hour till closing. She probably no longer had a job. But it was worth a try.
He cast a
