Unbound (Crimson Romance) (8 page)

“Burke’s hiding in the chief’s office. He claims he’s working on paperwork. I think he wanted to get away from your idiot friend.”

Dean looked at Kalvin. “You
are
growing on her.” He looked back at Smith. “I’ll take him with me.”

“Thank you.”

Dean pulled Kalvin with him into his dad’s office.

“Can I help you with something?” Smith asked.

“I’m Payten Bailey,” she said, introducing herself.

“Dylan Smith. Your parents own the diner, right?”

“Yeah. We haven’t seen you in yet, have we?”

Smith shook her head. “Not yet. Devin and I are trying to get settled.”

“Is Devin your husband?”

That caused the grim-faced woman to smile widely. She looked so much prettier when she smiled. “She’s my sister.”

“Oh, shit,” Payten muttered.

Smith laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Chief Whitley said he managed to keep our arrival quiet.”

“I didn’t hear anything about it. Working at the diner, I usually get to hear the rumors at least once before all the facts change.”

“Small towns,” Smith said. “Gotta love them.”

“Do you love it?” Payten asked.

“We’re adjusting. It’s nice. Quiet.”

Payten nodded. “It is nice.”

When they fell silent, she had to resist squirming under Smith’s intense scrutiny.

“Why are you here?” Smith finally asked.

“Well, that’s straightforward.”

Smith shrugged. “Devin says it’s rude. I couldn’t think of another way to ask. And if you don’t start talking, you’re going to wind up having to talk in front of everyone.”

“I don’t mind them knowing. I don’t. I just don’t want them to think I’m being a pansy over nothing,” Payten told her.

“Straightforward. I like it. You tell me, and we’ll figure it out without telling them unless it’s serious. Sound good?”

Payten nodded. “It sounds great.”

“What is it, then?”

She glanced over her shoulder at the door to the office. It was still closed.

“I’ve been getting prank calls.”

“How long?”

“The past three nights. Last night, they called three times in a row. That’s never happened before.”

“They say anything?”

She shook her head. “I can hear them breathing sometimes.”

“Do you have the number?”

“I don’t have caller ID. I talked to the phone company this morning, and I’m on my way to buy a phone that uses it. The phone company says I should be able to use it immediately.”

“That’s a step in the right direction,” Smith told her. “I’ll talk to the phone company. See if I can get any information for you. We’ll keep this between the two of us until then, all right?”

Relieved, Payten nodded.

“I’ll come by the diner this afternoon. Let you know what I find.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Here comes Whitley and that idiot. Ask me something quick,” Smith ordered.

“Do you like brownies or pie?”

Smith looked at her weird. “Chocolate,” she answered. “I love chocolate anything.”

Payten nodded. “Great.”

“What are you ladies talking about?” Kalvin asked.

“How to get rid of you,” Smith told him sweetly.

He put his hand on his chest. “I’m hurt, Smith. Really hurt.”

“Poor baby,” Payten told him.

“Are we going dancing tomorrow?” Kalvin asked Payten.

“She has plans,” Dean told him, surprising Payten. Did she have plans?

“Says who?” Kalvin asked.

“She does. She has a date.” Dean’s answer made her grin widely. She had a date.

“Really?” Kalvin looked at her.

She nodded still grinning. “I do.”

Kalvin leaned down and kissed her cheek. “He’s probably not good enough, you know?”

Payten laughed. Obviously, he hadn’t caught that Dean was her date. “You’re not upset about dancing alone, are you?” She asked Kalvin.

“I never dance alone,” he told her with a wink.

“Please, dear God, spare me,” Smith begged.

“Besides, we’re playing at Smitty’s tomorrow. Chicks love a guy in a band,” Kalvin said with a wink for Payten. “I’ll see you later. If Jonah catches me here again, my ass is grass.”

“Someone give me this Jonah’s number,” Smith ordered.

He smiled at her. “Miss you, too, pretty lady.”

When she flung her stapler at him, he ducked out of the way and kept going for the door.

“Menace,” Smith muttered.

“Do you need to do anything else here?” Dean asked Payten.

She shook her head. “I wanted to meet Officer Smith.”

“Ready, then?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll walk you.”

She debated for a minute, then agreed. “I have to go to the store first. See you later, Officer Smith.”

“Bye,” Smith replied.

As they headed for the door, she heard the door to Chief Whitley’s office open. She looked over her shoulder and saw Burke peek his head out. She waved. He waved back.

“Kal’s gone, right?” he asked Smith.

“No thanks to you,” Smith muttered barely loud enough for Payten to hear as Dean guided her toward the door.

“I already live with the moron. I’d rather not have to listen to him all day at work on top of it,” Burke said. “Besides, I’m not the one he’s checking out.”

“You hope,” Smith said in a voice just as sweet as her smile was wicked.

Payten decided then that she really liked the new officer.

• • •

At one time, there had been three stores in Hartsville. Only Scott’s General Store had survived the years. It wasn’t a full-sized grocery store, but they had the necessities. Best of all, Ryleigh’s parents owned it.

Payten and Ryleigh had been friends since they were little girls. She remembered running back and forth between the store and the diner during the summers when they were young. The summer they were fourteen, their parents agreed to let both girls work the mornings at the store and the afternoons in the diner. Payten had stocked more shelves than she cared to remember that summer. She had loved it, but she had always known the diner was where she belonged.

When Payten and Dean reached the store, Ryan and Hailey were busying stocking shelves. Ryan grabbed Dean to help him move some of the heavier boxes out of the back room while Hailey talked to her.

“It’s so nice to see the two of you together finally,” Hailey told her.

“What?”

“You and Dean.”

“Oh. We’re not really together.”

Hailey raised an eyebrow.

“We’re not,” Payten insisted.

“The rumors say you were practically having sex on your front porch a couple days ago, but you’re not together?”

“That’s not fair!” Payten protested. “You know how rumors are.”

“I do know how rumors are. They always have at least a little bit of truth in them.”

“It’s not — Well, I mean — ” Payten felt her cheeks heat. There was a little truth to that rumor. “We have a date tomorrow night.”

Hailey laughed. “Of course you do. Where are you going?”

“I’m not really sure.”

“How can you not be sure?”

“Well…” She laughed nervously. She glanced over her shoulder and didn’t see Dean or Ryan. “He asked me out, but we didn’t decide what we were doing. I think we’re going tomorrow night, but Kalvin said the guys are playing at Smitty’s tomorrow night.”

Hailey laughed. “Sweetheart, I don’t get to see you nearly enough.”

“I miss you too.”

Hailey smiled. “Did you come in for something?”

“I need a new phone. I was hoping you’d have one.”

“I think we have a couple.” She started down the aisle. “We didn’t used to keep them, but Ryleigh thought it would be a good idea.”

“I’ll have to thank her,” Payten said, following her.

She stopped and turned to look at Payten. “Don’t forget to tell her about your date when you do.”

Payten grinned. “I won’t.”

“Here they are,” Hailey said, pointing to the shelves.

“Great.” Payten squatted to look at the phones. There were three. All of them were cordless and had caller ID. “Let’s go with the black one,” she decided.

She took it off the shelf and followed Hailey back to the front of the store. Dean met her at the counter.

“Find it?”

Payten shook the box a little and grinned.

“Obviously,” he answered for her.

Ryan laughed at him while Hailey told her how much it would cost and she counted it out.

“Give me a hug before you go,” Ryan said.

She hugged him tightly. “I’m calling Ryleigh tonight. Want me to tell her anything for you?”

“Tell her I said to pick up the phone and call her dad once in a while.”

She laughed. “I’ll do that.”

She started for the door. Dean caught her hand and held it in his. Hand-in-hand, they headed out the door and back toward the diner.

Chapter Ten

It was five o’clock before Smith made it to the diner. Her sister came in with her. Payten watched them as they took a seat at a booth in the corner farthest away from the round table. She walked out around the counter and toward their booth.

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

“You must be Officer Smith’s sister,” Payten said.

“That’s me,” she answered. “I’m Devin. Devin Chase.”

“It’s good to meet you, Officer Chase.”

“Please, Devin or Chase is fine.”

“I’ll try to remember that. What can I get you to drink?”

“Coffee,” Smith said.

“Do you have tea?” asked Chase.

“We do,” Payten answered. “Sweet and unsweetened iced tea or hot tea. Whatever you’d like.”

“How about some unsweetened iced tea?”

“No problem. I’ll go get you guys those drinks and some menus and be right back.”

Payten moved to the round table. “You guys need a warm-up?”

Jonah, Kalvin, Jack, and Burke sat around the table. Dean sat with them, drinking a cup of coffee. He had finished cooking the men’s dinners and had come out from the back to talk to them.

“I think they’re good,” Dean told her. He started to get up.

“Don’t get up. I’ll take care of them.”

“You sure?”

She smiled. “Look around. It’s not exactly busy.” Other than the men, Smith and Chase were the only people in the diner. Even her parents had gone home after she and Dean arrived that afternoon to take over.

“You’ve got a point.”

She went to the kitchen. When she came back out a few minutes later, she had two menus under her arm and Chase’s tea. She set the tea on their table along with the menus. She grabbed a coffee cup from the stand by the coffee. She filled the cup and took it to their booth.

“Grab a seat,” Smith offered.

“Thanks,” Payten said, taking her up on the offer.

Chase pored over her menu while stirring her tea gently.

“Did you find anything out?” Payten asked.

“Yes, I did.”

Chase peeked over the top of her menu. “Do you want me to leave?”

Payten shook her head. “It’s fine.”

“Well, then, on to the goodies,” Smith said. “I talked to the phone company. The loser called fifteen times in three days, and you didn’t think it might be serious?”

Payten shrugged.

“I’d say it’s serious,” Smith told her. “I talked to the phone company. They’ve blocked the number for you.”

“That means they can’t call anymore, right?”

“Maybe,” Smith said. She paused to take a drink of her coffee. “I had a friend look up the number. It’s a disposable cell phone.”

“So they could just go get another?” Payten asked.

“Twenty bucks at your nearest Walmart,” Smith said, then frowned. “Where is the nearest Walmart?”

Chase peeked over her menu, again. She sighed.

“Dylan isn’t good at breaking news gently,” she said. “In fact, unless it’s on the job, she’s quite horrible at it. Whoever is calling you might call using a different number. Or they may decide it isn’t worth the trouble.”

“If it’s kids, it’ll probably stop. If it’s more serious, they’ll call again,” Smith warned.

“You
are
horrible at sugarcoating it,” Payten decided. She stood up. “What can I get you guys to eat?”

“What’s good?” Smith asked.

“How does a bacon cheeseburger with French fries sound?”

Smith whimpered. “Amazing. Please.”

She smiled. “Done. And, for you?”

“I think I’ll have a chicken salad, please.”

“Yuck,” Smith complained.

“It’s not for you,” Chase told her.

Payten grinned. “I’ll have those out to you in a bit. By the way, Officer Smith, I made cake for you. Chocolate.”

Smith whimpered again. “I love this town.”

Payten laughed.

“Payten,” Smith said when she started to walk away.

She turned around.

“If they call back, you need to call us,” Smith said.

“But — ”

“No buts,” Chase told her. “If they call you, call the station.”

Payten nodded. “All right.”

• • •

Payten waited for Dean at the back door of the diner. It was only quarter after six, but with the slow evening, cleaning up hadn’t taken long.

“All locked up,” he told her as he came around the corner.

“Great.”

She waited for him to say more while he put his coat on. She thought he would want to talk about their date the next day. They both had the day off. She waited, but he didn’t say anything.

“So?”

“So what?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Forget it.”

“Forget what?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

He followed her as she walked out the door, and he waited while she locked the door. Taking her hand, he walked her to her car. When she looked up to tell him goodbye, he leaned down, slid his hand into her hair to hold her still, and kissed her senseless.

“I’ll pick you up at eight,” he said when he pulled away.

It took her a minute to figure out what he was talking about —
Definitely senseless,
she thought — then she laughed. “You jerk.”

“What?”

“You knew exactly what I was asking and pretended like you didn’t.”

He grinned at her. “Maybe.”

“You’re mean.”

“Kiss me again and tell me that.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that will happen.”

“Me neither,” he said.