Page 9 of Homicide in Water Creek

King sucked in air through his teeth and slid back out the door, his gaze raking the cars parked in front of the business. That was when he noticed Little Suzie parked off to the side, rather haphazardly, he might add, as though whoever had parked her there was in a hurry or a state. Considering what he had just overheard, he was going with the latter.

Doing his best to cross the gravel silently, he climbed back into the SUV and put it in Reverse, easing out of the parking lot. With any luck, they were too wrapped up in their conversation to notice anyone had been there. He wasn’t afraid of Jacks Miles, per se, but he wasn’t stupid either. Whatever was going on in there had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her finally growing a backbone. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off his face. Boone was out, and that meant Jacks Miles was a free agent again.

That information definitely had something to do with him. It was finally time to make the move he should have made years ago.

“You’re telling me that I was the wrong direction?” Boone asked, his eyes spitting fire as he leaned against his desk overflowing with paperwork and car parts. The guy was never one for organization.

Resting her hand on Boone’s arm, she sighed. “We both know we could never be anything more than sex.”

He shook her hand off and crossed his arms over his chest. She followed suit, just to feel less exposed. “I’ve loved you since the first day you walked through the door of my shop, Jacks.”

She coughed once. “You mean like the friend-with-benefits kind of way, right?”

He gave her the so-so hand rather than words.

She didn’t see that coming. Maybe she should have, but she hadn’t. “Boone, in my own way, I love you. I do. You’re a friend and a lover, but I know we can never be more than that. I’ve come to realize I was using you to avoid fear.”

“I never saw fear in your eyes as you writhed under me in pleasure.”

“Because I wasn’t afraid of you. I was afraid of the world beyond your doors. I can’t explain it any better than that.” She could, but she absolutely wasn’t going to.

“I bet you could if you wanted to, but you don’t want to.” He raised his hands in the ‘I surrender’ position. “I get it. I’m midlife, and yours is just starting.” He touched his temple. “I wish I had known it was the end the last time we made love. I wouldn’t have let you leave my bed.”

“It was sex, Boone. Not making love.”

He shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, Jacks. Sex is a one-night stand. It’s the backseat of a car in a bar’s parking lot.” He motioned between them. “If convincing yourself it was just sex makes this easier, then do that, but I’m not buying a Chevy sold as a Porsche.”

“Boone,” she said with a sigh. “You’re right, but I can’t stay under your wing any longer just to avoid getting wet in the rain. We have to end this dependence on each other, or we’ll never find the person who is right for us. You’re hiding behind me the same way I’m hiding behind you. Don’t bother denying it. We haven’t been together in almost a year. That alone says more than anything else we could say.”

He nodded as his hand clutched hers, probably in a desperate bid for one last moment of connection. “Subconsciously, I knew we were coming to an end. We burned up and burned out. You’re a different woman from the one you were when we met. I can accept that because I want you to be happy.”

“I want the same for you, Boone,” she whispered as his hand loosened. “It just can’t be with me. Promise me we can stay friends?”

He smiled, leaned in, and kissed her cheek. “We’ve been friends without benefits for almost a year, Jacks. My friendship doesn’t hinge on how often you warm my bed.”

She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, inhaling the motor oil, metal, and clean soap that made up his scent for the last time. “You’re a good man, Boone Webster.”

He rubbed her back twice, then released her, his eyes calm and his breathing even. “And you’re an incredible woman who will make a certain sheriff an extremely lucky man someday.”

“Are you high?” she asked, noting how screechy her voice sounded but unable to control it.

Leaning his butt on the edge of his desk, he shook his head. “No. I’m always stone cold sober.”

“Then you must be ill if the particular sheriff you’re referring to is Dean King.”

“AKA The King. The very one, actually. It’s funny he was the first sheriff to pop into your head.” As she opened her mouth, he grabbed her shoulder and turned her toward the door. “Follow your compass, Jacks. I have a feeling I know exactly where you’re headed. I’m always here for you and Little Suzie.”

“Thanks, Boone,” she said as he handed her a folder.

“What’s this?” she asked, turning it over twice.

“Would you take it to the sheriff? He asked for the information last night, and it took me a while to locate it.”

“Who said I was going to see him?”

Boone laughed like he was so much older and smarter than she was. Okay, maybe he was, but that didn’t make his assumptions any more palatable. “You’re part of a murder investigation, and you walked out of here last night without giving your statement. He was more than a little hot under the Stetson. If you aren’t in his office in the next ten minutes, he’s going to hunt you down. Do you really want him to find you here?”

Snatching the folder from his hand, Jacks stomped out of the office. Her emotions were all over the place, and tears threatened with every step. She was in a state, and seeing King would only make it worse. Once behind Little Suzie’s steering wheel, Jacks drummed her fingers on the wheel, the folder staring at her from the passenger seat. “Stop mocking me,” she muttered, cranking the engine. “Fine, I’ll do my civic duty, and then I can pretend he doesn’t exist the same way I have for,” she did the math in her head, “nine years.”