Shattered Justice (25 page)

Shelby sat at her desk, staring down at the desk sign she held in her hands. She’d worked so hard to earn that title. Director. Woman in charge. She Who Must Be Obeyed.

And yet …

Looking at the title now, she felt nothing. Empty.

She set the sign back on her desk with a sharp bang. “Snap out of it, Shelby! You do important work here. Work that matters.”

So how come lately, no matter how many kids seemed to improve or find homes where they could be nurtured and grow, she didn’t feel anything?

Maybe because you’ve forgotten someone?

She had not! She’d given each case at Master’s Touch her
personal attention. Why, she’d even found the right family for the most impossible kid of all.

She jerked open a desk drawer, pulling out a folder of photos, then plopped down in her chair and spread the pictures out on her desk. Shelby studied them, one by one—Shannon and Jayce holding up a huge fish, laughing so hard they looked about to drop the creature on the ground; Aaron and Jayce flexing their muscles over a pile of wood they’d chopped for the campfire; all three of the kids setting up tents, faces intent on the task at hand.

When Jayce Dalton showed up at Master’s Touch, he qualified as poster boy for the consequences of too little, too late. No one could get through to him. Not even Shelby. But a few months with the Justice clan and that belligerent, bleak bad boy was all but gone. In his place was a boy whose ready smile won people over before he spoke a word.

Shelby picked up a picture of the three kids standing near a canoe, arms draped across each other’s shoulders. Clearly, Jayce and the Justice family were devoted to each other.

Her eyes fell on another picture, and picking it up she sat back in her chair with a heavy sigh. Dan Justice smiled out at her, eyes crinkled at the edge of mirth, and she could almost hear his deep voice cutting loose with that rich laughter that seemed to come from his very core. She loved hearing him laugh.

You love hearing him, period
.

She didn’t deny it. There was no reason for it. Heaven knew, the man hadn’t given her any encouragement. And yet, Dan had somehow worked his way into Shelby’s heart. Just the sight of him sent a surge of warmth through her. And when his eyes met hers … it was like coming home to a place she’d never known.

So comfortable, so peaceful—she never wanted to leave.

So maybe you’ve found the perfect family for the one you forgot, too
.

Shelby gripped the picture, muttering under her breath, “Name one person I forgot! Go ahead. I dare you.”

Shelby Wilson
.

“Oh!” The word sucked in on a startled breath. Shelby looked down at Dan’s picture and suddenly felt like weeping.

Yes, okay. She’d forgotten one person. Herself. All these years she’d been so focused on helping the kids, she figured she’d have time later for all the dreams she used to have. Silly things.

Like love, a husband, children?

Yes. Silly things like that.

But before she knew it, years had passed, and she was still alone. Sanctuary wasn’t exactly a wellspring of eligible men, either. Not men under sixty, anyway. And then, Dan Justice came to town.

Shelby fought the attraction she felt for him. After all, there were bound to be an abundance of women vying for his attention. And she refused to enter some ridiculous female competition to catch his eye.

So here she sat, mooning over his picture, while the man hardly seemed to know she was alive. Aside from when he dropped in to give her regular reports on how things were going with Jayce, she seldom saw him.

Oh, they smiled at each other every Sunday at church, but so what? That put her on par with the sweet white-haired ladies in the back pews. Dan smiled at
them
every Sunday, too.

She glared down at his picture. “How can such great eyes be so blind?”

She tossed the picture back on her desk, and it skittered across the surface, sliding off and fluttering to the floor.

Just in time to be stepped on by a size-thirteen shoe, as the object of her frustration materialized and entered her office.

Shelby jumped to her feet, a bundle of shock and alarm. “Dan!”

“Shelby!” Dan responded with playful force. “Okay, now we both know who we are.”

Glancing down, he lifted his foot. “Oops!” He bent over and plucked the photo from beneath his foot.

Don’t look at it. Please, don’t look at it …

Clearly, the man didn’t have an ounce of ESP in him. He looked at the photo, and his brows lifted. But he made no comment as he handed the picture back to Shelby. She considered that a definite mercy.

“I was just reviewing Jayce’s file—” she jabbered, gathering up the photos and stuffing them back into their folder—“you know, just as part of my job. I mean, that is my job. To keep track of the kids we work with. Keep the files updated.”

He just leaned in her doorway, watching her, lips tipped in a slight smile.

“Anyway, I’m updated now. Or, I mean, the file is. Updated. So.” She sank into her chair.
Where
had the dratted man come from anyway? And why on earth couldn’t he give a girl a little warning?

“So.”

Dan’s rich voice pulled her from her miserable thoughts. “So—” she drew a breath—“what brings you to my humble abode, Deputy?”

“Deputy?” Dan’s smile grew a fraction. “Now, Shelby, I thought we were past the formal stage.”

She was ready to reply, but the look on his face … well, she’d never seen him look at her like that before. His blue eyes were warm and soft as a caress. His smile held a gentle tenderness—and something more.

It was that something more that rendered her mute.

As though sensing her inability to form a coherent sentence, Dan continued. “Anyway, what brings me by is food. I wondered if you’d like to join me for some.”

Shelby’s lungs—and her rising hopes—deflated.

How silly of her to think this was anything more than her being a lunch buddy. “Sure.” She did her best to sound casual. “Lunch at Lou’s. Works for me.”

“Not for me.”

She paused in the act of pulling her purse from a bottom desk drawer. “You don’t want to eat at Lou’s?”

The warmth of his chuckle sent shivers down her spine. “I don’t want to eat lunch. I was thinking more of dinner. Bel Di’s in Shady Cove.”

She straightened. Bel Di’s was a wonderful restaurant well known for its luscious cuisine—and its romantic atmosphere. “Dinner. At Bel Di’s.”

“You and me.”

She blinked. “Together.”

“Unless you’d rather run alongside the car, of course.”

Her laughter joined his, easing the shocked tension that held her in its grip. “I’m sorry, Dan.” She shook her head, certain, if the heat scorching her checks was any indication, that she must be as red as the light on top of his cruiser. “You just took me by surprise.”

His gaze met hers and held. “Well, then, I’d say we’re even.” He pushed away from the door frame. “So Friday night work for you? Say around five? I’ll make reservations for six, so we can just take our time and enjoy the drive. Sound good?”

She nodded. “Sounds great.”

With a tip of his head, he was gone. Leaving Shelby to sit there, staring after him. She lifted a trembling hand to her stillwarm cheek.

So this was what it felt like to have a dream come true. Stunning. Unsettling. Exciting.

And utterly, completely wonderful.

“Aggie, I swear! If you don’t control that rat of yours, I will!”

“Half Pint is
not
a bat!” Agatha Hunter wrapped her veined hands around the yapping, stiff-legged little dog on her lap.

“Rat. I said
rat!”

“—and well you know it, Doris Kleffer. He’s a registered
Chihuahua with a lineage, I daresay, far more distinguished than yours!” The woman’s white hair all but trembled with her indignation.

Shannon bit her lips to keep from laughing out loud. She’d walked down to the store with Aaron, who had a list of groceries from Dad. When Shannon saw Miss Hunter and Miss Kleffer sitting in their chairs just outside the store, she told Aaron she’d wait for him out here. She wouldn’t miss sitting and listening to these two women. They were funnier than Saturday cartoons!

Besides, Miss Hunter’s little dog, Half Pint, was adorable. Shannon remembered the look on her dad’s face when he first saw the dog—and when he discovered Half Pint was the famous ½ on the population sign for the town.

“Only in Sanctuary,” he’d sighed.

It was true. No place else was like Sanctuary. And no people were like the people who lived here.

“Piffle!” Doris shot back at her friend’s assertion of Half Pint’s stature. “If that minuscule mutt is a real dog, I’ll eat my shoe.”

“Moo shoo?” Aggie sniffed. “What do
I
care if you eat Chinese food?”

Doris planted her hands on the arms of her rocker and shouted. “My
shoe
! I-will-eat-my-
shoe
!”

“Shannon!”

She jumped and went to stand beside Miss Hunter’s rocker. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Please go get Miss Kleffer a shaker of salt.” She aimed a syrupy smile at the woman rocking next to her. “She’ll need it to season that shoe and make it palatable.”

“Oh!”

Ignoring Doris, Aggie lifted Half Pint and pressed a kiss to his little snout. “Pity we can’t make her tongue more palatable as well.”

“Plah, plah, plah.”

“Doris Kleffer, you just stop it right now. You always say that ridiculous thing when you know I’m right—”

“Then I’m surprised you ever hear it. Since I can’t remember the last time you were right.”

“—but no one knows what it means.
Plah, plah, plah?
I’ll bet
you
don’t even know what it means.”

Shannon couldn’t help it. She was lost in giggles.

“Now, Aggie, don’t change the subject. You know this all got started because your puny little pup was raising a fuss over nothing.”

Agatha patted Half Pint’s trembling head and leaned closer. “Shows what you know. It wasn’t over nothing. It was over them.”

Shannon and Miss Kleffer followed the other woman’s nod. When Shannon saw Jayce standing there, she smiled. “Oh, Miss Hunter, Jayce is a nice boy.”

The woman’s long fingers waved in the air. “Not
him
, child. That other one.”

Shannon didn’t recognize the large boy talking to Jayce. But apparently she was the only one.

“Oh.” Doris sat back in her rocker. “Of course. Well, my apologies to Half Pint, Aggie. I don’t blame him for barking.” She aimed a glare across the street. “That boy is no good. No good at all.”

“I don’t care how tall he is. He’s no good.” Aggie’s rocking punctuated her words. “Why, just last week he tried to kick Half Pint.
Imagine
. A boy that big trying to kick my little baby.”

Shannon frowned. What kind of creep tried to kick a little dog like Half Pint? And why was Jayce with someone like that?

Aggie patted Shannon’s hand and smiled up at her. “We need more children like you, dear. Sweet and kind. Like an angel on earth.”

Shannon smiled and thanked the woman then went to sit down again. She pushed the rocker, setting it in motion, trying to focus on what the two women were saying. But her attention kept straying back across the street.

She watched Jayce and the other boy talking, taking in the stiff set of Jayce’s shoulders. He didn’t look happy. In fact, he looked kind of mad.

Just then the larger boy reached out, punching his finger into Jayce’s chest. Shannon jumped up. “Hey! Stop that!”

Both boys turned, and Shannon felt the impact of their full attention. Though they were across the street, she could see Jayce’s eyes drop into a frown. Was he mad at her for speaking up for him? Boys could be silly about things like that.

Jayce turned back to the other boy, grabbing his arm, trying to pull him away. The boy didn’t budge. He just kept his gaze glued to her. Shannon crossed her arms and stared back.

You don’t scare me
, she told him with her eyes.

He smiled. But it wasn’t a nice smile. Not even a little. Then he took a step forward, toward Shannon.

Her heart jumped. Okay, maybe he did scare her. A little.

Jayce grabbed the boy’s sleeve, and his voice raised enough for Shannon to hear it. “Forget it, Marlin. She’s not worth it.” Jayce’s gaze raked over her, and though his voice dropped and she couldn’t hear the rest of his words, Shannon had to bite her lip to keep from crying.

Jayce looked at her like she was a stranger.

No … worse. A nuisance.

She stared at the boardwalk, and when she looked up again, Jayce and the boy were gone.

“Are you all right, dear?”

Shannon turned back to the two women and realized they both were watching her. She shrugged. “I’m okay.”

Miss Kleffer
tsk
ed, then looked across to where Jayce had stood. “You steer clear of that boy, child.” Her old eyes, when they returned to Shannon, were more serious than Shannon had ever seen. “He’s dangerous.”

“Who is?”

Shannon turned and saw Aaron standing there, a sack of
groceries in each arm. “Nobody,” she mumbled, going to take one of the sacks.

“That hulking Murphy boy.”

“Did that creep give you some kind of trouble?”

Shannon had seen her brother get steamed before. Plenty of times. And usually at her. But she’d never seen him look like this. Serious. Protective. She had the sense that if she said the wrong thing, he’d go hunt Marlin Murphy down and take his head off.

Well … try, anyway. Marlin was almost twice Aaron’s size.

“No. Don’t worry about it.” She bid the ladies good-bye and started down the boardwalk toward home.

Aaron fell in step beside her. “Shannon?”

She sighed. “He didn’t do anything to me. He was just on the other side of the street.” She hated to tell him this part, but it wouldn’t be right to hide it. “Talking with Jayce.”

He stopped then fell into step with her again. “Jayce?”

She nodded, feeling more and more miserable.

“That doesn’t make sense.” Aaron’s brow was all wrinkled, telling her he was bugged. “He’s smarter than that.”