But Rose had never been against telling a fib or two to ease the worries of loved ones. Loved ones who could be used against her if they came back to town to see about her. A point Rose had to underline to her father without admitting that Damon Tillman was still out there and probably would still be gunning for her.
“Hey, Dad, there’s a few people still not the happiest with me and I’m worried some of that could reach up to y’all. So do me a favor and keep a good eye out there. Maybe even stay close to the house until things have cooled off around here.”
Her father, ever a girl dad, seemed to be caught between talking to his baby girl and talking to the strong, independent woman he had helped raise.
“Will do,” he had eventually promised. “You keep us in your loop, Rosy. Texts, if not calls, every day to let us know you’re good. Put the code in it too so I know no one’s messing with us.”
Rose had smiled at that. She had grown up watching spy thrillers, police procedurals and action flicks with her parents. One day they had joked they needed a family code to use just in case. That joke had turned into an all-out family tradition between the three of them.
Now, sitting at a small table in the kitchen downstairs,Rose sent off a quick follow-up text telling her dad that she loved them.
She added the wordhonat the end.
It was only by the grace of good reflexes that she kept from jumping when James appeared by her shoulder and repeated the last word.
“Hon?” One syllable but it came out strong and deep.
Rose flipped her phone over onto the tabletop and crossed her arms over her chest with a scowl. One that was definitely heating.
“Well, aren’t we nosy.”
James held up his hands in defense as he walked over to the refrigerator.
“I wasn’t meaning to be,” he said. “My eyes tend to wander when my feet are.” He did his Scouts’ honor sign again. “No disrespect meant.”
Rose believed him, so she answered his question. Though she did it with the scowl still hanging on. She might have realized she was more comfortable with the man than was normal for her, but that didn’t meanhehad to know that too.
“It’s from a show me and my parents watched a few years back during Christmas. It means ‘honey.’ If we don’t say it, it’s not us.”
Other people might have had an eyebrow to raise at that, but James was simple.
He nodded with total acceptance.
“That’s weirdly loving, Little. I bet your boyfriend gets a kick out of it too.”
If Rose had been drinking something, she would have sputtered a little into it at that.
“If I were dating someone, they sure aren’t hittingthe mark. Have you seen anyone around me?” She motioned to the empty room around them. “I may be wild but even I deserve someone who will show up when someone’s trying to kill me.”
It was an offhand comment. One that hadn’t meant much to her.
Yet, it seemed to have struck some kind of a chord with James.
His smile left.
His words drove a stake into the ground.
“I’m here.”
That heat from earlier expanded within Rose. She tried to play it off again, but this time, it didn’t land as cleanly.
“I—I meant someone other than you. And well, the department.” She forced a laugh. “Though I guess that’s already more people than most get, so I shouldn’t complain.”
He was too far away for her to see the gold in his eyes, but the green grabbed her easy.
If he wanted to say something, he looked like he changed his mind in the middle of the thought. He shook his head a little.
Then that smile was back.
