“Ten.”
While he chewed, she queried, “Did you train him or did someone at the sheriff’s department do that?” The morequestions she asked about his dog, the fewer he could ask about her. And since learning more about Cal was off the table—no sense getting personal with anyone in law enforcement—she had to find safe, neutral topics to pass the time.
“The department found him through a search-and-rescue training facility. I’ve had him since he graduated the program, almost nine years ago.”
She raised her pizza for a bite, and he used the same ploy she had, hitting her with a question when her mouth was occupied. “Do I detect a hint of Canadian accent?”
She shrugged. “Maybe a little.”
“Oh? You’ve spent a lot of time in Canada then?”
She ignored the question for a couple of seconds, hoping he’d move on to another topic if she chewed long enough. When he didn’t, she finally nodded. “About four years.”
“Hmm. What took you to Canada?”
She rolled her eyes. He was acting like this was a blind date, asking all the trivial personal questions and making irritating small talk.
But the pizza was really good, so she supposed she could play along until they finished eating. She sighed and wiped her mouth. “I was there for graduate school. The University of Manitoba.”
His face brightened. “Oh, yeah? What specialty?”
She frowned, hesitating. “Chemistry.”
He pulled a face that said he was pleasantly surprised. “Wow. Impressive. So then what brought you to Red Grove? Why is someone with an advanced chemistry degree working at a tourist gift shop?”
He said it casually, but she detected more than an idle curiosity behind the question. She plucked a slice of pepperoni off her pizza and popped it in her mouth, trying to think of a way to steer the conversation away from her past, her lifechoices. “I have my reasons.” Before he could press her further, she asked, “You mentioned a brother earlier. The one leading the investigation about the dead guy from this morning? Is he your only sibling?”
“No. I have two sisters and three brothers. All younger. What sort of reasons?” he asked, without taking a breath to give her a chance to deflect. “Why not work in the chemistry field if you did all that work to earn an advanced degree?”
“Who says I earned the degree? All I said is that I was at the University of Manitoba for school, that I was specializing in chemistry.” She realized her mistake as soon as she spoke. Rather than put him off with a sassy retort, she’d intrigued him all the more with her implication she’d not finished the degree program. Dang it!
“Why did you leave early?” he asked. Of course…
Jules gritted her back teeth, frustrated with herself as she decided whether to change the subject, tell him to buzz off or give him a surface understanding of the truth. The pizza she’d been gobbling now sat like a rock in her belly. She hated looking at the situation that had brought her to Red Grove too closely. It broke her heart. And made her blood boil. And kept her awake at night trying to find a way to correct the situation. Which she couldn’t. Not by herself. Not without the cooperation of the legal system, which had so far been anything but cooperative.
She dusted crumbs from her hands and lifted her chin as she met eyes the color of copper sulfate. “Why?” Her tone was sharp and loud, and she didn’t care. “I’ll tell youwhy. Because Ihad to! Because my sister needed me. I have to protect her, because no one else will! That’swhy.”
She knew she’d attracted the attention of the diners seated around them. Even Pilot had lifted his head and given a small whine and head tilt. But she only cared about the reaction of the man across the table from her. Technically, he was one ofthem—a member of the profession that had so failed her and Abby for years and contributed to her sister’s fragility.
Cal put down his slice of pizza and leaned back in his chair, a cocktail of sympathy and curiosity brewing in his gut. The scorn in her tone was plain enough, but there was an edge of something else. Grief? Fear? Pain? Clearly, he’d picked a scab, and Jules was bleeding. Compassion nudged him to staunch the flow of heartache, but knowing he’d uncovered something important about her, he couldn’t back off the line of questioning…yet.
“What are you protecting your sister from, Jules? What’s important enough to pause your degree work and move to the Middle of Nowhere, North Dakota?”
Her mouth tightened, and she didn’t answer immediately. When she finally did respond, she evaded his question. “Nowhere? That’s rather derogatory for the local sheriff, don’t you think? Would local voters be happy to know that’s what you think of Stark County?”
He wiped his greasy fingers on his napkin and shrugged casually. “There’s plenty to love about my hometown. And Idolove it. But there’s no denying it’s isolated. Not the sort of place someone used to life in Winnipeg usually chooses.”
“Again, Sheriff,” she said pointedly, her mouth tight, “I have my reasons. And they’re none of your business.”
“Maybe. Until your reasons become part of my murder investigation.”
She stiffened, clearly shocked by his statement. “What?”
“Why were you arrested for contempt of court?”
Her eyes widened. “How do you know—” Rather than finish her question, she clamped her jaw tight and narrowed an angry glare on him. Cal marveled at how bright and deeply green hereyes became when she was mad. Finally, in a low tone she asked, “Is this an interrogation? Should I call a lawyer?”
He held her gaze for several long seconds, fascinated not only by the rich color of her eyes, but also by how fast his pulse ticked as they stared at each other. Did she sense the crackle and snap of attraction that he did?
