Edge of Midnight (McClouds & Friends #4)(12)

“Oh, I’m not worried.” Embarrassment sharpened her voice. “So did you just come to gawk? Quite a spectacle, isn’t it?”

He looked around. “Yes, it is.”

“Must be a real satisfaction to you.” She regretted the words instantly. Everything that came out of her put her at a disadvantage.

His eyes flickered. “Not in the least,” he said quietly. “I never wished you anything but the best.”

Her vertebrae stacked, clickity-click. That snotty bastard. After all the horrible things he’d said to her, he dared to get up on his high horse and make her feel in the wrong. “Isn’t that sweet,” she snapped. “I’m so touched, but that doesn’t explain what the hell you’re doing here.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, and it took all her willpower not to stare at his ropy, powerful forearms. His long, graceful hands. The bulge of his biceps, distending his T-shirt sleeve. “I heard about the fire,” he said simply. “I wanted to make sure you were OK.”

She swallowed back an unreasonable quivering in her thoat.

“This place…” She gestured around with her hand. “This used to be my brand new, fabulous, beautiful bookstore. Did you know that?”

“Yeah,” he said, his face somber. “I did know that.”

“Some reptilian * burned it down,” she said. “On purpose.”

He nodded. “That sucks. You’ve got no idea who—?”

“None.” She struggled with the quiver in her throat. “I assume it’s T-Rex, though. The weirdo who’s been sending me the e-mails.”

His eyes sharpened. “Who’s T-Rex? What e-mails?”

“I’ve been getting e-mails for the past few weeks,” she explained wearily. “I call him T-Rex, just to call him something. Declarations of love, comments on what I’m wearing. He’s been watching me. Up close.”

“You told the police about the e-mails?” he asked.

“Of course,” she said. “What could they do? There was nothing particularly threatening in them. Just, you know, slime.”

“Did he leave a note today?” he demanded.

She choked off the laughter before it could become hysterical. “Oh, yes. Today he told me how I would twist and burn in the fire of his passion, and then…how did he put it? That soon we would be as one. That our union would be explosive. All written in this sticky, psuedo-poetic prose that makes my flesh crawl.”

Sean made a sound in his throat, like a wild animal’s growl. It made her hairs prickle up. “That sick f*ck needs to be disemboweled.”

She gaped at him, then forced her mouth to close. “Ah. Thank you, Sean, for putting that lovely image in my head.”

“Sorry,” he murmured. “You haven’t been in town very long?”

“A few months. Ever since I bought the Old Brewery. I just opened the store about six weeks ago.” Her voice quivered again. “It was going well. It was a great location. I had the college crowd, the writing workshops at the Arts Center, and they’ve been spiffing up the historic downtown for the tourists, too. It would have paid off. I’m sure of it.”

“So am I,” he said. “I’m sure it still will.”

He was just humoring her, but it was all rushing out, dignity be damned. “I always wanted to do this. Always, since I was a little girl.” Her voice was almost defiant. “Bookstores are my favorite places. They’re like wonderland. Endless goodies. A candy shop for the mind.”

“It’s good to know what you want to do,” he said. “You’re lucky.”

“Lucky?” A bitter laugh hurt her. She looked around herself. “Excuse me? You call this lucky?”

“You’ll get past this,” he said. “It would take more than a can of kerosene to keep you down, Liv. This is just a blip on your screen.”

She felt her spine straighten, her chin go up, her lungs fill. His words gave her a jolt of energy and pride. She didn’t dare examine the feeling too closely. She might kill it, and she needed all the help she could get. “I did a lot of renovating myself,” she hurried on. “I’ve studied woodworking. I can handle big power tools. You name it, I can use it.”

“Wow.” His eyes widened, impressed.

“Yeah, my folks about had kittens. And there was the café. Picking out fixtures, bar equipment. Ordering books. I was in hog heaven. I’m so deep in debt, it’s not even funny, but I didn’t care. I just didn’t give a shit.”

“Good for you,” he said gently.

“I painted the murals in the childrens’ corner myself, did you know that? Of course you don’t. What a silly question. Why would you?”

She was barely making sense, at this point, but Sean was taking it in stride, his face calm and attentive. She rubbed furiously at her eyes. “They turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself,” she said, voice wobbling. “Scenes from fairy tales. I’m no Leonardo Da Vinci, but those murals weren’t half bad. They really weren’t.”

“I’m sure they were beautiful. I’m sorry I never got to see them.”

Oh, God. His words were so exactly what she had needed to hear.

Her parents had seemed hardly surprised by the disaster. What did she expect, when she went against their well meant advice? They’d been tapping their feet, waiting for her to fail from the beginning.