“Emerald?”
She almost stumbled as he spoke her name. He reached out his hand to steady her, but she jerked away. She could hear the underlying concern in his voice and suddenly she wanted to turn back the clock to last night, to experience the closeness they’d shared. This time she wouldn’t let him stop without making love to her. No! She shook herself. It was better that it hadn’t happened. She was sure that, if it had, those memories would haunt her forever.
Her hand was on the screen door and she tugged, but it wouldn’t open. She could feel Jackson’s large body behind hers. Looking up, she could see his hand planted firmly on the door, keeping it shut. She should never have come back here. She should have taken her opportunity when she’d had the chance and just left.
“Will someone tell me just what the heck is going on?” Erin stomped up the steps and stood beside Emerald.
She sensed Jackson’s stillness behind her. “Just what the hell happened in town?” She could feel the vibration of his chest against her back, he was standing so close to her.
“I’m just doing what I should have done last night. I’m leaving.” Her voice sounded rough to her own ears. She cleared her throat, knowing she had to get through this quickly. “I’ll just pack my things and go.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growled. His muscled forearm wrapped around her waist and he shifted her so she was standing to one side. Yanking the door open, he practically pulled her inside.
She could hear everyone else piling in behind them. She wanted to yell and scream and cry. Instead, she pushed his arm away from her and sent up a prayer of gratitude when he released her. Turning, she cocked an eyebrow at him, ignoring Nathan, Erin and Abel as they ranged around the room.
His brows were drawn together in anger as he stared at his brother. “What happened?”
Nathan leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his ankles. “Slight change of plan. Emerald decided that she was leaving instead of talking, but we accomplished what we set out to do. Everyone who was at the diner knows she quit without notice, and better still, they saw me following her out of town.”
“Good.” Jackson’s reply made her heart ache. She was so sure that he’d felt something for her beyond lust, that they had some connection. It was hard to realize that it was all on her side. “Don’t worry.” He laid his hand on the small of her back. “It’s all for the best.”
She swallowed back her bitter reply. “I’m sure it is. I’ll just pack and be gone in five minutes.”
He gripped her shoulders, practically forcing her to look at him. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Anywhere but here.” She shot Nathan a glare before returning her gaze to Jackson. “Which I’m sure will make some people very happy.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand what’s going on. You just said that you’re glad that I quit and I’m leaving.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Ah, Jackson.” Nathan’s smooth tones interrupted them. They both turned and scowled at him. “She doesn’t know about the plan.”
“What plan?” As she spoke, Jackson swore, practically drowning out her words. She was totally confused and her head was beginning to pound.
“Sit down, sweetheart.” He herded her to a chair and she sat. She felt sweaty and too lightheaded to object. He crouched down in front of her and took her hands in his. “I’m sorry about this. I’m not quite sure what happened in town, but we had to make everyone there think that you were leaving for good.”
“I don’t understand.” She wanted to smooth the worry lines away from Jackson’s face, but she kept her fingers clasped in her lap.
“I put you in danger.” He tucked a stray curl over her ear, the tender action raising goose bumps on her arms. “Until Nathan pointed it out, I didn’t even stop and think that your first name and your looks are very distinctive. Anyone who saw you in town while you were shopping would remember you. It didn’t occur to me that you and my sister would go gallivanting all over town.”
“It wasn’t all over town.” The need to defend Erin rose up inside her. “We only went the grocery store and the coffee shop.” Even as she said it, she realized that he was right. This was a small town and she was a stranger. Erin had introduced her to a few people at the grocery store and she knew she would be a source of gossip for them. It was a natural thing for them to do.
Just because she was in a small town and her stalker didn’t know where she was for the moment didn’t mean that she was safe for good. Her stalker had already proved to be smart and resourceful.
Jackson nodded. “Exactly. At this moment, half the county probably knows you up and quit without notice.” He gave her an almost apologetic smile. “The other half will know by suppertime.”
She couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “I guess you’re right.”
Nathan pushed away from the counter and strolled over to the table. “I’m sorry about how that went down. We figured you’d tell Erin what was going on and then I could let you know about our plan. You surprised me when you just got up to leave. I had to improvise.”
“You were just going to leave?” She could see the hurt on Jackson’s face, but she didn’t back away from it.
“Yes.” She cupped his face in her hands. “Look, I lied to you when I got here, and I brought a lot of problems into your life. You’re good people and I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting me here.”
“We settled this last night.” He was so close to her now, she could smell him. The scent of sweet grass, clean sweat and pure male filled her nostrils. God, she wanted to bury her face against his shoulder and just breathe. Her nipples tightened and her pussy clenched, remembering just how good he felt against her, naked flesh to naked flesh. His eyes flared and he leaned closer.
She pushed away her growing arousal and tried to focus on the situation at hand. “No, we didn’t.” Her voice sounded unusually low and husky to her ears. Knowing there was nothing to be done about it at the moment, she plowed forward. “Not really. You have a family that loves you and I can understand if they didn’t want me anywhere near you, given my problems.”
“Will someone tell me what’s going on right now?” Erin’s voice broke the connection between her and Jackson. It was just as well. She was becoming aroused in a roomful of people and that was totally embarrassing. Jackson covered her clenched hands with one of his and gave her a squeeze before he stood. As succinctly as possible, he outlined her situation to his sister.
When he was done, Erin reached across the table to her. Reluctantly, Emerald unwound her white fingers and took the other woman’s hand. “You poor thing. I’m sorry for what you had to go through, but the men are right. The best thing for you to do is to stay here until you know something.”
These people were amazing. She glanced over at Nathan, less certain of him than of the rest. He was impossible to read. He tipped his head to one side, staring at her. “If you’d turned left at that stop sign, I would have turned on the siren and hauled you back.”
His gruff assertion made her smile, even as her eyes widened. He’d known she was thinking about running. This man would be a formidable enemy and an unshakeable friend. She was glad that he seemed to be on her side.
“Erin and I are going to take off. I want to get started researching those names that Jackson gave us this morning.” Abel stood and peered thoughtfully at her. “I’ll also want a list of every male that you’ve come in contact with in the last six months. Everyone from the kid at the local deli to your dry cleaners. Anyone is a possible suspect.”
Emerald nodded. “My investigator has a complete list. I’ll get it from him rather than try to recreate it from scratch.”