“Want one?” he said, patting his pocket.
She scoffed and turned her attention across the road again. “No thanks, grandpa.”
Her comment earned a chuckle from Cal.
Zoey stopped and searched the parking lot, her expression nervous, as she was clearly looking for the perv who’d been tracking her. A police car cruised through the parking lot then and slowed to talk to Zoey.
Jules cut her gaze back to Chase’s truck in time to see him speed out of his hiding place and drive away. She exhaled her relief. “The cop spooked him.”
“Good. Let’s see where he goes.”
But Jules had to wait on traffic to pull onto the road, and Chase was gone. “Damn. Should I drive by the Rogers’ house? See if he’s there?”
“You can,” he said, sounding skeptical.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just want to be careful that he doesn’t catch on to us following him. He’s not stupid.” He motioned vaguely toward the school parking lot. “The officer will follow Zoey home. Her mother will be there when she gets to her house. Let’s call it a day.”
Jules stopped at a traffic light and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She was antsy to see where Chase had gone but conceded to Cal’s expertise. An odd sort of tug-of-war in her core left her feeling unsettled. Trust Cal or follow her own instincts? What did it say about her that she’d so easily capitulated to him?
Tears of frustration pricked her eyes, and she gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles blanched.
He reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Jules?”
“I just want to get him off the street so bad. Abby has suffered so long. I have to make sure she’s safe from him!”
“We will. I promise,” Cal said, his tone so warm and certain she almost believed him.
We. She concentrated on that tiny word as the light changed and she headed back to the lot across from Red Grove Food Distributors. She wasn’t in this alone anymore. Cal was doing more to help, to listen to her, to problem-solve than anyone in law enforcement or the court system had ever done. Gratitude swelled in her, and she had to blink hard to fight back the gathering tears.
When they reached the parking lot where he’d left his Jeep, Jules caught Cal’s arm before he could slide out of her car.
He turned to her with a question denting his brow, and she leaned over to catch his mouth with hers. Just a quick kiss. An expression of her thanks. An impulse driven by emotion she couldn’t voice. An experiment…
At the touch of his lips, heat exploded in her veins, and a primitive hunger clawed inside her. She could feel him jolt in surprise, and she met his startled eyes as she drew back.
A blue flame lit his gaze as he stared into her eyes. She didn’t say anything. Couldn’t say anything, because her breath seemed to stop in her throat and back up in her lungs. Her heart thumped so loudly, she was sure he could hear it as loudly as it drummed in her own ears.
She wanted to hide. Wanted to take back the foolish and impulsive act. But mostly she wanted to kiss him again. So she did.
This time, he plowed his fingers into her hair and captured the back of her head with his palm, anchoring her. He slanted his mouth over hers and returned her kiss with a greedy one of his own.
He tasted like peppermint, like summer sun, like…sweet seduction. Her whole body craved him in a way she’d never experienced before.
But he pulled back, brushed his knuckles along her cheek and gave her one of his wide grins. “Not bad for a grandpa, huh?”
Her mind was so muddled with lust, she didn’t catch his meaning until he’d slid out of her car and closed the door. She’d called him that when he offered her a candy earlier. Now, her heart stumbled with a flash of panic. She blew into her hand, testing her breath. Did it smell of coffee? What had she eaten for lunch? Did she—
Another knock on the car window.
She gasped and felt her face flush, knowing he’d probably seen her testing her breath. She rolled down the window.
“I’ll come by to pick you up at noon tomorrow for the shindig with my family. Casual dress. Okay?”
“Uh…” Her head was still spinning from their kiss. How could she think clearly enough to make a cogent decision?
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
