Mean Streak(48)

The emotions were conflicting, yet on one point she was crystal clear: She hadn’t wanted it to end. Despite the situation and the squalid surroundings, she had longed to experience more of his lips, his taste, the bold trespassing of his tongue.

Lisa startled her out of her reverie when she said, “One time, when my brothers dumped a barrel of trash right outside his gate, I told them they were crazy to rile him.”

“I think you’re probably right.” She hesitated, not wanting to place Lisa in an awkward position, but feeling pressured to ask. “Do you know if the three of them have tangled before?”

“Before what?”

“Before he became your neighbor.”

“No. I’m sure of that. I’ve heard Will and Norman talking about him, wondering who he is and what he’s up to. Mama reckons he’s hiding from the law.”

Emory said nothing.

“Or, Mama said, maybe he’s hiding from a wife and kids he ran out on.”

No bride. No wife. Not ever.

“But I don’t think that’s it,” Lisa said. “I’d sooner believe he was an outlaw than a man who deserted his family.”

Emory looked over at her. “Why would you think that?”

“He just don’t seem the type. But something’s going on there. It’s invisible, but you can tell he carries it around with him.”

Silently, Emory agreed.

“If I was guessing,” Lisa continued, “I’d say he has a mean streak a mile wide. He keeps it under control. But if he ever let it loose, look out.”

Without realizing how disturbing her observations were to Emory, she added, “But he’s been awful nice to me, from right off when he looked into the truck and saw that I was ailing. He’s treated me nice, and not like he expects anything in return. If you know what I mean.”

Emory nodded understanding.

Lisa thoughtfully plucked at the frayed hem on the top sheet. “I don’t think he’s the kind of man who’d mess with me. Take advantage of a woman. You know?”

“No, I’m certain he’s not that kind of man.” Emory had been with him for three days, and he hadn’t taken advantage, even when she’d thrown herself at him. You almost got me, Doc.

“What do you make of him, Dr. Smith?”

Emory turned back to the window and watched him scratch the dog behind its ears. He unhooked the chain from its collar. Nuzzling his hand, the dog happily fell into step beside him as he turned and headed back toward the house.

“Honestly, Lisa, I have no idea what to make of him.”





Chapter 16



You warm enough back there?” Sam Knight looked at Jeff through the rearview mirror.

Riding in the backseat of the SUV, with its official markings on the door panels and light bar of the roof, he felt like a caged animal in a circus parade, part of the sideshow, but disliking it intensely. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Still cold as a witch’s tit this morning. But at least the snow has stopped. Let me know if you need more heat.”

“I will.”

“There’s Buddy.”

Knight pulled off the road and up to the entrance of a local bakery, where Grange was waiting out front. He was holding a flat box and a white paper sack in his gloved hands, stamping his feet to stay warm. As soon as the SUV came to a stop, he climbed into the passenger seat.

“Lord! It’s cold.”

“Thanks for volunteering to get our breakfast,” Knight said. “Coffee smells good. Pass a cup on back to Jeff. What kind of doughnuts did you get?”

“An assortment.”

Knight drove back onto the highway but stayed in the outside lane, driving with care. With so much care, in fact, it was maddening to Jeff.

Grange distributed the coffee and passed the box of doughnuts around. Knight, fortified with a bite of his, addressed Jeff in the mirror. “Dr. James called us this morning.”

Grange corrected him, mumbling around a bite. “Dr. Butler.”

Knight turned to his partner. “Huh?”

“Dr. Butler’s the lady. Dr. James is the man.”

“Oh, right,” Knight said. “I keep getting their names mixed up. Anyhow, Jeff, she called.”

“She called me, too.”

“Did she?”

He nodded as he blew on his coffee. “To let me to know that the clinic is offering an award for information.”

“That’s something, isn’t it?” Knight exclaimed. “Twenty-five grand.”

Jeff said, “I’m humbled by their generosity. To think that Emory’s associates would do that for her. For me.”

“Speaks well of both y’all.”

“Emory is highly regarded among her colleagues.”

“I read about her going to Haiti after the hurricane,” Knight said. “Volunteered for weeks at a time.”

“She’s made three trips and is planning to go again when she can work it into her schedule.”

Grange wiped sugar glaze off his fingertips with a paper napkin. “What does she do about her practice when she takes off like that?”

“Other pediatricians cover for her, and they’re glad to do it because she never forgets a favor and always returns it.”