Midnight Lies: The Wildefire Series (14 page)

She ended the call, deposited the phone back into her purse, and beamed up at him.
“All taken care of.”

Impressed with her efficiency, Quinn held out his hand. “Thank you, Ms.…?”

She put a wrinkled, fragile hand in his and gave him a firm shake. “Inez Peebles.
And you are …?”

“Quinn Braddock.”

“Samantha Wilde’s beau?”

Surprised, he asked, “You’ve heard of me?”

Her laugh was the sound Quinn would imagine a hen gives as it lays an oversized egg.
“Sugar, I’m the oldest person in Midnight. I’ve heard of everybody.”

Quinn wanted to ask her what she had heard about him, but figured he wouldn’t like
the answer. With Inez, he soon learned it didn’t matter whether he asked or not. He
was going to get an answer.

“Don’t know what you did to that girl, but you need to fix it and fast.”

Apparently the entire town knew what an ass he’d been. Sam had once mentioned that
there were few secrets in her hometown. Inez’s bright, inquisitive eyes looked expectantly
at him, waiting for his reply.

Usually the last person to share personal information, Quinn shocked himself by saying,
“I’m going to do my very best.”

“Good for you.”

A large bowl of shrimp and cheesy grits was set in front of him, along with a pitcher-sized
glass of iced tea.

“I’ll leave you to your meal, young man. You enjoy your stay in Midnight.”

“Thank you, Ms. Peebles. You’ve been extremely helpful.”

As if he’d just given her the highest compliment, she gave him another bright, denture-filled
smile as a pinkish blush tinged her cheeks. Without another word, she slid from the
stool and walked away.

Feeling decidedly more optimistic than when he’d walked into the diner, Quinn dug
into his meal. After
one bite, Quinn decided that it didn’t matter if Faye was as friendly as a pissed-off
rhino. Anyone who could cook like this didn’t need a pleasant personality.

He quickly demolished the meal. Feeling fortified and better than he had expected,
considering his massive screwup with Sam, Quinn took his bill to the cash register.
Faye was there waiting on him. Handing her a twenty, he said, “Keep the change. That
meal was amazing.”

Not cracking a smile, she took the money and deposited it into the cash register.
If he thought complimenting her or giving her a hefty tip was going to soften her
up, he was wrong.

Shrugging, Quinn turned and once again faced a roomful of curious people. He’d been
aware of the stares as he ate his meal but had managed not to turn around and say
anything. Now they couldn’t be ignored. Hell, this town must not get many visitors
if one stranger could cause such a stir.

Once again nodding at the room in general, he turned and walked out of the restaurant.
The instant the door closed behind him, he heard a sudden raucous noise like a gaggle
of wild geese descending at once. Apparently everyone now felt comfortable chattering
about him behind his back. Weird, but he had a feeling he was going to like Sam’s
little town.

Curled up on the window seat in her bedroom, Samantha tucked her favorite throw closer
around herself and gazed out into the darkness. She’d had this crocheted throw since
she was eight years old—a Christmas gift from Aunt Gibby. Its familiar soft warmth
gave her comfort.

Dinner with her family had been just what she had needed. Zach had been able to join
them, and with Aunt Gibby providing commentary on every subject, the entire meal had
been entertaining and a great tension reliever.

The one subject everyone studiously avoided was Quinn and his unexpected appearance
in Midnight. Surprises had never been her favorite thing. Whenever they happened,
it always reminded her of the surprise visit her grandfather had made when she and
her sisters were at summer camp eighteen years ago. He had come to tell them that
their parents were dead. From that day on, “surprise” was an evil word for her. “Predictable”
might sound less fun but at least it didn’t usually carve a hole in your heart.

Had she made a mistake, turning him away? He had come to apologize. Something they
both had needed him to do. But now it was over and she could let go. The sobfest she’d
had earlier had been a good catharsis. A
final step toward putting everything behind her. But starting anew with him? No, she
couldn’t. She and Quinn hadn’t had a real relationship. All they’d had was a brief,
intense affair. Their time together had been wonderful and deliciously satisfying
physically, but it hadn’t had staying power. If it had, their troubles would have
been discussed and worked out.

She was no innocent party in what tore them apart. She knew that. If she had trusted
Quinn, she would have known he wasn’t capable of murder. It was painfully obvious
her faith in him had been seriously lacking. Her fault, not Quinn’s.

All of her life, she had relied on shallow romantic relationships because they had
been so easy to control. Walking away from them had been effortless. While she had
dated more guys than she could remember, only a couple of them had bothered to look
beneath the façade of her looks to get to know the real Samantha. Those were the two
she’d let down her guard enough to be intimate with. Both relationships had been ridiculously
unsatisfying, each barely lasting a month. She had almost come to the conclusion that
what lay beneath the surface of Samantha Wilde wasn’t substantial enough to attract
the kind of man she could fall for. And then she’d met Quinn.

“Want to talk?”

Samantha twisted her head around to face both Bri and Savvy, who were standing in
the doorway. This was wonderfully familiar, too. From birth, when one of the sisters
hurt, they all felt the pain.

Smiling, she motioned them in. Bri plopped down on the rug in front of Samantha. Savvy
chose the rocking chair close by.

“I don’t really know what to talk about. It’s over and done with.”

“Is it?” Bri asked.

“It has to be.”

“But why, Sammie?” Savvy said. “You obviously still have feelings for him. And just
from the brief glimpse I saw of Quinn, he cares for you, too.”

How could she explain her feelings to her two staunchest defenders? They loved her
no matter what. They didn’t see that perhaps there wasn’t much beneath the surface
to love and admire.

“I don’t think I’m capable of the soul-deep kind of love, Savvy. Not like you and
Zach have.”

The rocking chair creaked to an abrupt stop. Eyes wide with both confusion and surprise,
Savvy said, “What are you talking about?”

“Despite all the things you and Zach went through years ago, as soon as you saw each
other again, those intense feelings you’d been suppressing resurfaced. For ten years,
even though you wouldn’t admit it to yourself, you loved him. I just don’t think I
have that kind of depth.”

Of all the reactions she had expected from her shameful confession, laughter wasn’t
one of them. Yet both sisters burst out laughing as if she’d just told a hilarious
joke.

“I’m not kidding, you guys.”

“I’m sorry, Sammie,” Savvy said. “It’s just that that’s the most ridiculous statement
I’ve ever heard you make. You have more heart and deep emotions than just about anyone
I know.”

Bri nodded but was more blunt in her evaluation. “That’s pure bullshit, Sammie. Of
the three of us, you’re the one with the most tender and romantic heart.”

“But that’s just it. I think I idealized love and romance too much. And then, when
it came time to step up and be in a mature relationship, I didn’t have it in me to
handle it. At the very first bump in the road, I ran like a terrified rabbit.”

“Hell, Sammie,” Bri said. “Having the man you’re sleeping with become a murder suspect
is not a bump in the road. It’s a big-assed hill.”

“But I—”

“No, wait, I think I agree with Sammie on this one, Bri.”

Samantha wanted to cry all over again. She had wanted both her sisters to tell her
she was being ridiculous. Now Savvy was agreeing with Samantha’s assessment that she
lacked depth.

Bri huffed out a breath of exasperation. “What the hell are you talking about, Savvy?
We’re supposed to be helping Sammie feel better, not tearing her down further.”

“Hear me out, both of you. I’m not agreeing with you, Sammie, about your lack of depth.
What I’m saying is, I agree that the first time you were given a chance at a real
relationship, you blew it.”

Bri snorted. “You’re not exactly helping.”

“Let me finish. You ran because you cared so much, Sammie, not because you don’t have
the depth necessary to love. You loved him so much it scared the hell out of you.”

“Well, what kind of woman does that make me? Unable to stand by my man?”

“And what did you do after that initial reaction? You busted your ass to investigate
and you’re the one who cleared him. That’s love, Sammie. The deep, heartfelt emotion
that has staying power. You didn’t run away and hide your head in the sand or under
a pillow. You fought for your man in the most important way possible. You proved he
was innocent.”

“She’s right,” Bri said. “If you were lacking in emotional depth, you would have stayed
out of it. Instead, you righted a wrong and prevented a major catastrophe for the
man you love.”

If it were up to her sisters, she would be nominated for sainthood. Samantha judged
herself much more harshly. Had her motivations to clear Quinn been selfless, or had
she done it out of desperation and fear that she had been wrong about him? Had she
done it for herself instead of for the man she thought she loved?

“Stop it.”

Samantha raised her gaze to her sisters again. Savvy was the one who spoke but Bri
was nodding in agreement. “Stop what?”

“Stop questioning yourself in everything. You made a mistake; learn from it and move
on.”

“I believed the man I was in love with was a murderer. How can I trust my judgment?
Learning the truth about Mama’s and Daddy’s murders reinforced my doubts. Hell, how
do I know if I’m right about anything?”

“No one ever knows if they’re right,” Bri said. “Most of the time, I sure as hell
don’t. But you make a judgment with the facts you have and move forward. Nobody’s
perfect.”

To her, Quinn had been perfect. There was a large part of her that didn’t blame him
for his harsh treatment. She had let him down in one of his darkest moments and had
proved to him that she wasn’t a woman he could count on. Maybe that was what hurt
most of all.

But her sisters were right. She had to move on. She had screwed up royally and the
best she could do was learn from her mistakes. That also included not becoming involved
with Quinn again. Some might accuse her of being a coward, and she wouldn’t necessarily
deny the claim. The real thing hurt too much to put herself at risk again. From now
on, she would limit herself to surface romances, and her motto would be “What doesn’t
touch you can’t kill you”—a lame-assed mangling of Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous saying.

Sure, Nietzsche would roll over in his grave, but she
was Samantha Wilde, a woman who had only recently learned that she was a coward.

“You’re right, I do need to move on. No more morose Sammie.” She took in both Bri’s
and Savvy’s gazes. “Thanks for the pep talk. I needed it.”

Bri shot her a grin. “And you’re a terrible liar but it will be nice to see the old
Sammie again.”

“We’ve missed her,” Savvy added.

Releasing a short, determined sigh, Samantha stiffened her spine and said, “Now let’s
talk about Lauren. How are we going to get her to talk?”

“Brody called with an update,” Savvy said. “He said they’re making headway but it’s
going to take some time to gain her trust.”

“Time we may not have if Cruz finds out where she’s hiding,” Samantha said.

“That’s why I’m headed back to Florida for a few days,” Bri answered. “I’ve got contacts
in Miami with their ear to the ground. If I can find out what Cruz’s plans are, we’ll
be better positioned for our next move.”

“Will you see Ian while you’re there?”

The glare of warning that crossed Bri’s face told Samantha to back off. Samantha fought
a smile, happy to see that her sister finally seemed to be coming out of her deep
freeze. Tyler Finley, Bri’s former fiancé, had done a number on her. If the man weren’t
already dead, she and Savvy would have gladly done the honors.

Ian Mackenzie had been good for her. At one time, she and Savvy had wondered if they
would ever again see the vibrant, incorrigible Bri they both adored. And though there
were still occasional signs of disillusionment and bitterness, for the most part,
Sabrina Sage Wilde had returned to the warm, wonderful, sometimes zany person she
had once been.

“Ian’s got his hands full since I left. I doubt that I’ll see him.”

Samantha met Savvy’s eyes. Neither of them believed her. There was definitely something
going on between Bri and her so-called best friend. When they were in the same room
together, they could barely take their eyes off each other.

“Whether you see him or not, why don’t you invite him for Thanksgiving?”

A rigid shrug of her shoulders was Bri’s only answer. Samantha knew to back off. Still,
she’d put the idea in Bri’s head. Hopefully it would take root.

Savvy yawned and stood, patting her almost invisible baby bump. “I think Little Bit
is ready for bed.” Blowing a kiss to both sisters and saying, “Sleep tight,” she left
the room.

Samantha smiled over at Bri. “She looks good.”

“And we’re going to keep her that way. What do you think about trying to get her and
Aunt Gibby to leave town?”

“I’d say you’d have a giant mountain named Zach Tanner to climb. There’s no way he’s
going to let Savvy go away.”

Bri got to her feet and began to pace. “You’re right. And Zach can’t leave because
of his job.” She stopped abruptly. “Then we need to get Lauren out of Midnight. Maybe
take her to Mobile or even Biloxi.”