The Investigator (20 page)

She took a ragged breath and eased it out, but her courage failed her. “I guess I just don’t like snow,” she whispered.

He said nothing, but his eyes darkened—impatience and disappointment evident in their depths. A deep weariness seeped into her bones. She was tired, so tired, of having to be strong, of having to hide her pain and her fear. The urge to confide in him, to share her burden, even for a short time, was overwhelming. The words spilled over.

“I-I didn’t have the best of childhoods. In fact, there wasn’t much of my childhood I didn’t despise.”

He didn’t flinch. He didn’t even move. Just his eyes—they flooded with compassion and understanding. She could drown in them.

“You’re not alone there. I remember many a night crawling under my covers and crying myself to sleep.”

His admission surprised her. She shook her head, confusion warring with warmth deep inside her as she absorbed what he’d said. What he’d shared.

“What were you crying about?”

Riley glanced away and she felt oddly bereft with the loss of eye contact. She willed him to look at her again, and when he did, she tensed at the hurt she saw.

He picked up her napkin and smoothed it out. “I was the only bi-racial student in school,” he said finally, his voice low, as if the memories still had the power to affect him. “Actually, that’s not entirely correct. I was the only one who looked different. I have several brothers and sisters, but they took after my white mother. I took after my father. He’s a full-blooded aboriginal.”

Kate shook her head, astonished by his admission. “But you’re gorgeous,” she blurted, unable to fathom how this good-looking man could ever have felt insecure. “You have amazing skin. And eyes. And your body…”

A flush stained his cheeks and he looked away. “Thanks, I’m glad you think so. My parents made sure we all grew up with a healthy self-esteem, but when you’re eight and are the object of someone else’s cruel prejudice, it takes a little effort to ignore.”

“Your parents must be amazing people. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to experience the bigotry of such narrow-minded individuals, but look at the man you’ve become?” she said, amazed at her boldness.

His flush deepened, but she was determined to continue. “You’re a detective who’s worked hard to get where he is. You haven’t let life knock you back. You’ve met all the roadblocks head on and I bet you haven’t once run away.”

A shadow passed over his face but was quickly gone. His lips tugged upwards, an amused expression replacing the somber one of a moment before. “How can you say all that? You barely know me.”

Kate stared at him. “I know it. From the moment I met you, I knew you were the one who would help me—even when you pissed me off.” She allowed a small smile. “I saw straight away you were bi-racial. I don’t have to be Einstein to understand that you’ve probably felt you had to work at everything just that little bit harder to succeed. I don’t mean to trivialize but it’s probably like being a woman in some ways. I knew you were the one to do the job. You were exactly what I needed. Someone used to going the extra mile.”

“You called me lazy.” His eyes challenged her, the heat in them making her heart skip a beat.

“I was angry. I was desperate and I was beginning to think you wouldn’t help me, despite my initial impressions.”

He leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “I thought you were a stuck-up, spoiled brat.”

He’d moved close. So close, she could smell the familiar fresh woodsy scent he exuded. Each time, it tantalized her and played havoc with her pulse. A thousand golden butterfly wings flapped against the wall of her belly.

“You used the past tense,” she whispered.

His eyes flared in the dimness. “Yes.”

Her eyes locked with his. Her heart broke away from its constraints and galloped against her chest. The heat from his chocolate brown eyes drew her in, closer and closer. Deeper and deeper.

“Here we go, two lamb stews, and rolls on the side. And here are your drinks.”

Sonia set the food and drinks down in front of them. Kate’s mind scrambled for purchase. The delicious aroma of meat and vegetables wafted toward her, making her stomach growl.

After the last few minutes with Riley, she hadn’t thought she’d be able to swallow a bite, but the tempting smells of the dish proved hard to resist. Picking up her spoon, she sampled the stew and sighed in rapture.

“
Mm
, this is to die for, and I mean that in the best possible way.”

Riley grinned. “Well, maybe not to die for, but it
is
pretty good.”

Kate smiled around a mouthful of food. “Hey, if you’d been living on microwave dinners, this stew would have you ready to end it all.”

He frowned. “Microwave dinners? You’ve been here over a week. Surely you’ve eaten something more substantial than that?”

She shook her head and took another mouthful.

“How come?”

She shrugged and kept her gaze fastened on her bowl. “I didn’t feel like socializing.”

He remained silent. After a few moments, she snuck a peek at him and saw understanding in his eyes.

She didn’t need to say anything else. He got it. Mixing with the locals would mean she had to answer questions—questions with answers that had been buried years ago, along with her childhood.

“Now I feel bad for making you mad at me the last time we were here. I derailed your first decent meal in Watervale since your return.”

She shrugged again, not wanting to dwell on the reasons they’d hadn’t parted amicably. “Tell me about your family.”

Riley swallowed a mouthful of food. Picking up his napkin, he wiped his mouth then scrunched the red cloth into a ball before dropping it back on the table.

“My family…” A wry smile tilted his lips. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

Kate nodded and broke off a piece of still-warm roll. “Yes, I do.”

Pushing away from the table, Riley leaned against the back of the wooden bench seat and laced his fingers across his stomach.

“My family. Well, as you already know, my father’s aboriginal. The Honorable Duncan Munro was the first aboriginal judge appointed to the District Court in New South Wales.”

Kate’s eyebrows rose. “Wow!”

Pride glowed in his face. “Yeah, it is wow. He’s still sitting on the bench at Grafton.”

“Was that where you were born?”

“Yeah, all seven of us.”

“
Seven
?”

Riley grinned. “Yeah, I have a lot of brothers and sisters.”

“How many of each?”

“Two sisters and four brothers. One of my brothers is my twin.”

She shook her head, her smile wide. “You have a twin? How fabulous.”

“It would have been better if we’d been identical. We could really have had some fun.”

“Are you close?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’re close. We all are. I usually hear from some member of the family at least once or twice a week.”

Yearning flooded her and thoughts of her own lonely childhood weighed heavily. “They sound wonderful,” she murmured wistfully.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew them. Sometimes they’re a right nuisance, a pain in the neck, especially when my sisters weigh into an argument. They’re always so
right
.”

Kate couldn’t hold back her smile. “I can’t speak for sisters, but as a woman—well, it’s because we usually
are
.”

Riley’s eyes glinted teasingly. “You women, you’re all the same.”

“So, tell me about your sisters.”

“Chanel’s the baby of the family. She’s seven years younger than me.”

“So that makes her how old?”

Riley shifted in his seat. “Um, early twenties, I suppose.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Shy about your age, Detective?”

He raised a single eyebrow and something fluttered in her belly.

“You already know how old
I
am,” she protested.

“Twenty-four. June eighth, right?”

She swallowed her surprise, secretly impressed. But then again, he was a detective. It was his job to remember details.

He leaned forward and lifted his half empty glass to his lips. Kate watched the play of muscle and sinew in his neck as he swallowed. God, she really had to stop ogling him like he was a jumbo-sized tub of her favorite caramel crunch ice cream.

Returning his glass to the table, Riley grinned. “Okay, I’ll give it up. I had a birthday the month before last. June ninth. I’m thirty.”

Her eyes widened and her lips followed suit. “Really? Wow, that’s like—um—wow!”

“I hope it’s a ‘wow, our birthdays are so close’ and not a—‘you’re thirty, that’s seriously old,’ wow.”

A chuckle fell out of Kate’s mouth. She couldn’t help it. He was so goddamned gorgeous. She couldn’t remember feeling so relaxed and comfortable in the presence of a man. Ever. “You were right the first time,” she hastened to assure him. “Besides, thirty’s not that old.”

His answering smile curled her toes. Her hands clenched against the jolt of heat that seared low in her belly.

“I’m glad you think so.” His voice glided over her like melted marshmallow. She dropped her gaze to her bowl and busied her fingers with the spoon, suddenly flustered. Filling her mouth with a piece of meat, she chewed the tender morsel until it had almost disintegrated.

His gaze remained warm on her skin. He waited in silence, as if he could see straight through her. The thought made her even more nervous. Another spoonful followed the first and then another. A wry grin tugged at his lips.

“Boy, you sure weren’t kidding when you said you were hungry.”

Kate eyed the nearly empty bowl and flushed. She kept her gaze fixed on the checked tablecloth and finished what remained of her stew with as much dignity as she could muster.

“Would you like some more?”

She choked, heat scorching her cheeks at the amusement in his eyes.

“No, thank you,” she managed. “That was lovely and more than enough.”

“You’re sure? I wouldn’t like to see you go hungry.”

She shook her head. “No. Thanks. It was great. Just what I needed.”

Riley leaned further back. “Well, I must say, it’s nice to find a woman with a healthy appetite, although I’ll be damned if I know where you put it.”

His gaze raked over her, trailing heat in its path. The warmth slid over her and again, settled low in her belly. She squirmed on the hard bench seat and crossed her legs tighter.

A smile, soft and gently teasing, coupled with a knowing gaze, warm and full of promise, beckoned her closer. His hand reached across the table and picked up hers, encompassing it in his warmth. Her heart pounded. She tried to drag her gaze away from his but found she couldn’t.

“I hardly know you and there are things you haven’t told me. But I like you, Kate. I like you a lot.”

The admission was delivered in a tone as gentle as the look in his eyes. Still, panic threatened to overwhelm her yearning to get to know him better. What she wouldn’t give to put the horror of her past aside and give in to the feelings of safety and security this wonderful man projected. If only it were that easy.

Slowly, carefully, she disentangled her fingers from his and withdrew her hand. He stared at her, searching for answers. She looked away.

He sighed, a mere whisper of sound, then picked up his glass and drained it. Setting it back down, his gaze captured hers again. Disappointment shadowed his eyes.

“I wish you would trust me.”

Her thoughts whirled. She wanted to trust him—she did. She’d give anything to be able to unload her troubles onto someone else’s shoulders, particularly a pair of shoulders as broad and as strong as his.

She shook her head. “It’s not a matter of trust.”

“Then what is it?”

Kate closed her eyes. This wasn’t the time or the place, no matter how much she wished otherwise. Finding her mother had to remain her one and only priority.

“I wanted to talk to you about Darryl. I think I may have something for you.” She played with her napkin, nervously.

Riley’s expression became shuttered. He sat back and folded his arms across his chest. “You left a message for me at the station.”

She nodded and drew in a lungful of oxygen. “I went to see him today.”

Surprise flooded his features. “At his house?”

Kate bit her lip and forced the ugly memories aside. “Yes. I went to ask him for my mother’s laptop.”

She challenged him with her eyes, daring him to object. “After you mentioned seeing it the other night, I had to get my hands on it. From what my mother said, Darryl never cared much for computers. It’s possible she kept files on her computer about the two of them—you know, like a diary. Given his total lack of interest, she would have been confident Darryl wouldn’t stumble across them.”

Riley’s gaze narrowed. “Did you find anything?”

“I haven’t been brave enough to take a look, yet. I only collected it this afternoon. Then I called you.”

Riley’s lips compressed. “You’re scared about what you might find.”

Kate looked down at the table, fighting the familiar feeling of dread. “Not scared. Terrified.”

Riley reached over and squeezed her hand. “We could go back and have a look now, if you’re up to it.”

Her gaze found his and she was comforted by the strength and understanding reflected there.

“Really? You’d do that?”

He nodded.

“Thank you. I’d really appreciate it.”

Riley signaled for the bill and Kate finished the rest of her wine. He signed the credit card slip and then glanced over at her. “You ready?”

Nodding, she collected her handbag, drew in a deep breath and followed him out of The Bullet and into the cold, quiet night.

CHAPTER 17

Riley watched as Kate switched on the laptop with fingers that were far from steady. The motel room was comfortably warm, the central heating blitzing its battle with the icy air outside. He propped his hip against the counter, close to where she sat, and watched her fingers as they fluttered over the keyboard in the room’s muted, golden light.

“So, how was Darryl? I take it he handed the laptop over without a fight?”

She glanced up at him. Shadows darkened her eyes. She touched her hair with a grimace. “Not exactly, but I got it anyway.”