“I’m sorry you found the body, honey.”
Sadie curvedher hands around her warm tea, the image of Denny’s dead body still flickering in her mind even though all she wanted to do was forget.
The house was silent around her. They’d gotten home just as Avery had been getting ready for bed, and Eastern had asked Sadie—well, less asked and more told her—to rest while he read Avery her book.
Guilt laced her blood. She hadn’t known Denny, but Eastern had.Sheshould be the one taking care of Avery so he could rest. She should be making surehewas okay, but she couldn’t shake this chill that had settled into her bones. And there was this sick feeling in her belly that wouldn’t go away.
Denny’s skin had been warm when she’d felt for a pulse. Did that mean he hadn’t been dead for long? If she’d finished work a bit earlier and found him sooner, could she have gotten him help so he might have survived?
She didn’t know. She probably wouldn’t know until they had a cause of death.
Footsteps sounded in the hall. She looked up to see Eastern step into the living room, a concerned expression on his face as he moved toward her. He sat on the couch, immediately lifting her feet onto his lap and kneading them.
His touch…his warmth…it went so far in chasing away the cold that had crept over her skin.
“How are you doing?” he asked gently.
“I should be asking you that.”
“No. This is my job as sheriff, and before becoming sheriff I was a SEAL. I’ve seen more dead bodies than I care to remember.”
Her brows flickered. A part of her already knew that, but hearing it out loud was different. “I’m sorry.”
“I knew what I was signing up for.”
She watched as he rubbed her foot, the tension slipping from her limbs. “There were good parts of serving though?”
“Oh, yeah. The brotherhood was the best thing I gained. I still keep in contact with a lot of the men I served with. We also got to help people. One life saved was always worth the risks we took.”
“You’re amazing,” she whispered, unable to hold the words in. “You know that, right?”
“No, honey. I’m just a guy trying to work his way through life one day at a time.” He shifted to the ball of her foot. “You never answered my question. How are you doing?”
The image of Denny flashed back into her mind, and for a moment, she swore she could feel his skin against her fingertips. “His skin was warm.”
“Doesn’t mean his death could have been prevented.”
How did he know she’d been thinking that?
She sipped her tea, the warm liquid slipping down her throat.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked quietly.
Why did her belly do a little twist at that question? “Sure.”
“Why was Scott there?”
Ah, that was probably her fault. She should have told him already. “He was waiting for me outside the bakery. He wanted to talk.”
“About getting back together?”
“I guess so. He keeps saying he wants to discuss things.”
Eastern’s expression was neutral, giving her no clue what he was thinking. “Do you want that?”
Her brows shot up. Didn’t he already know the answer to that? “Absolutely not.”
“Because if you did want to talk to him—”
