Concealed

  Deep breath. “Sorry, let me try this again. Hi, Wade. How are you today?”

  “Sydney,” he said in that deep voice of his that made her feel all warm and tingly inside. How could he make a simple hello sound so sexy? “I’m good. Coffee, please.” When she slid the mug and the creamer his way, he rewarded her with a warm smile. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  One thing she had learned was Wade Jenkins was a man of few words. Not that she had been watching him. Or pining over him. Or having erotic dreams about him the last few weeks. Definitely not wondering what he looked like naked. Nope. Not Sydney. That would be stupid because she wasn’t looking for a man. But she had noticed that when he came in to the diner with other people, he sat back and listened, only contributing to the conversation if asked something directly. It was probably why she always asked him so many questions. It was her feeble attempt to get him to talk a little more.

  He was incredibly polite and tolerated her verbal diarrhea, which seemed to strike often in his presence. At twenty-four years old, she should have been over that by now. But not where Wade was concerned. He would politely respond to whatever random thing she prattled on about, but rarely offered information. He was probably an excellent poker player because he gave nothing away with his body language. Sydney had studied him long enough to learn the few predictable habits he had, and the coffee was one of them.

  He looked up over the rim of the mug and Sydney realized she was still standing there, ogling and gawking at him. She nervously twirled her pen between her fingers as her mind raced, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for her odd behavior. When her shaking hands sent the pen clattering onto the counter, Sydney wanted to die. Things went from bad to worse the moment she and Wade collided trying to retrieve it. She panicked and her hand landed on top of his with a rough slap, loud enough to startle Agnes.

  “Oh, my gosh! I’m so sorry.” She tried to cover her embarrassment, but failed miserably. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. That doesn’t qualify as assaulting an officer, does it? It was an accident. Did I hurt you? Do I need a lawyer?” Wade didn’t say anything, but gave her an odd look. Sydney realized with a mortified start that she was rubbing the back of his hand where she’s slapped him. She jerked hers away as if she’d been scalded. He probably thought she was certifiable, and Melissa’s snickering wasn’t helping.

  “Cuff her, Wade.” Agnes laughed, thoroughly enjoying their awkward interaction.

  “Ooh, I hear she likes that,” Melissa teased, adding to the humiliation.

  Sydney closed her eyes and prayed Wade hadn’t caught either comment, but apparently his hearing was as perfect as the rest of him, and he fought to hide the slightest hint of a smile. He held out the pen. “How about a turkey club?”

  Relieved he had a sense of humor and was taking all the rambunctious teasing in stride, Sydney smiled even though her cheeks were bright red. “I think that can be arranged.”

  She called his sandwich back to Pete and piled another order onto her tray, then hurried off to deliver it to a customer who didn’t make her act like a fool. Her reprieve was short-lived when Melissa snuck up behind her and sang softly, “He’s watching you.”

  If Melissa ever gave up waitressing, she could open a dating service. Nothing made her happier than setting people up, even against their will. So far, Sydney had managed to stay out of her crosshairs, but now that she was leaving for her trip, it seemed that Melissa wouldn’t be happy until she forced Wade to suffer through an evening out with Sydney. The poor man.

  To keep some distance from Officer Sexy, she chatted with a table of ladies from town. They were planning the fall festival, and since she was new to the area, they were sharing all the details with her. Donna Perkins was explaining the dance and bake-off, and how the money raised went to fund the school library when Melissa swooped in.

  “Why are you over here? Go flirt with him!” Melissa quickly excused them both and linked their arms together, dragging her back to the counter. Sydney’s attempt to give Wade some peace with his coffee was thwarted by the hyper blonde.

  “Maybe I don’t want to flirt,” Sydney snarled through her smile, refusing to give in to her desire to strangle Melissa.

  “Liar.”

  “Let the man enjoy his coffee.”

  “Let the man look at you, dammit.” Melissa wrenched her arm and flung Sydney behind the counter. She hurried up to the window to ask about the turkey club, avoiding Wade for a few seconds longer. Pete slid the order through the window with a grin and, over her shoulder, Sydney could hear Melissa accosting Wade.

  “So, do you have plans tonight?”

  “No.” He took a long sip of his coffee.

  “Seeing anyone?”

  Sydney almost smacked her in the back of the head with her tray. She showed great restraint, though, but found herself holding her breath, waiting for his answer.

  Not that she was interested, but if he said yes, she just might burst into tears.

  Without skipping a beat, Wade grinned. “You asking me out, Mel?”

  It was such a shame she was standing behind Melissa because at that moment, Sydney would have killed to have seen her friend’s face. The unflappable Melissa was actually rendered speechless—a monumental feat, for sure. Agnes snorted, hiding a grin behind her mug, enjoying Melissa’s stunned silence as much as Sydney.

  Melissa recovered and tried to sputter an explanation. “M-Me? A-Are you s-serious? I-I never, I mean you’re cute but… I don’t mean like, cute like I want to go out with you, I mean cute like a puppy. No, you’re no puppy. Maybe a baby tiger. Or a shark, but they’re not really cute. I’m gonna shut up now.” Melissa spun around and retreated into the kitchen with Pete.

  “Well played, Wade,” Agnes said with a laugh, slapping him on the back. “I’m going to go ask the reverend why he talks so damn long during those sermons on Sunday. See if I can’t make that vein pop out of the side of his head for a few seconds.” She winked at Sydney and excused herself, giving them an audience-free moment.

  Sydney offered Wade an appreciative smile. The only thing she though could have derailed Melissa from her line of questioning was and atomic bomb—although apparently a gorgeous sheriff with a sarcastic streak worked too. “You’re my hero.” She slipped the sandwich across the counter and topped off his coffee. There was one piece of pie left in the case so she quickly grabbed it and placed it beside his lunch.

  “Thanks for the pie.”

  “It’s on me. It’s the least I can do after assaulting you.” She stood there awkwardly when he didn’t break their eye contact. Part of her wondered if he had something to say, but then she was startled from her reverie by Pete’s booming voice.

  “Syd, it’s three o’clock. You better hustle over to school or little Faith is going to be ticked at you for picking her up late.”

  “Oh, my gosh!” Sydney looked down at her watch. She was never late to pick up Faith. Never. She couldn’t be. But the distraction of Wade and Melissa made her lose track of time. She had been careless, and that couldn’t happen again. She scrambled to get her purse and keys from under the counter then raced out the door. It dawned on her as she tore out of the parking lot that she had walked out on all her customers without a single word.

  Including Wade.

  Swamped with guilt, Sydney managed to keep it together on the drive to school, but her mind was racing the entire way. How could she have let herself be late? Even five minutes would make a difference. The plan needed to be followed.

  Always.

  Her fingers tapped out an erratic rhythm on the steering wheel as she tried to stay calm. Years of paranoia never really went away, no matter how comfortable she was in a new location. Something always happened to disrupt her calm. Nine moves in almost six years would do that to a person. Obsessively she scanned the area and noticed an unfamiliar car parked down the street. She tamped down the unwarranted suspicion and tried to get control of her
fear.

  If only she had been on time!

  She leaned across the seat, trying to see around the pickup truck in front of her, but it was impossible. Until she had Faith in the car, Sydney was going to be a ball of nerves. She never liked being apart from her daughter, but now that Faith was in school, Sydney was going to have to learn to deal with that better.

  Don’t let Faith see you like this, she told herself. When it was her turn to pick up, she took a deep breath and stepped out to take Faith by the hand.

  “She had a great day,” Miss Westmore said as Faith barreled into Sydney’s arms.

  “Momma! I made you something today.”

  “I can’t wait to see it.” She looked over at her daughter’s teacher. “Thanks. Have a nice evening.”

  Sydney ushered Faith into the car and buckled her seatbelt. The moment she was in the car, the tension and anxiety began to ease. Out of habit, she quickly scanned her surroundings and couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched. Her eyes darted to where the car had been parked on the side of the road. She froze when she saw someone standing beside it. Instinctively she reached for Faith, but when she looked back, the figure was gone.

  Or it hadn’t been there to begin with, she told herself. Calm down, Syd. You sound like your mother.

  On the drive home, Sydney did her best to reign in her fear. They were fine. They’d always been able to stay longer than this before anything happened. Elton was a blip on the map, if it even was on the map. It was that small. Who would think to look for them there? She made sure everything she did was in cash to keep their trail as invisible as possible.

  Sydney glanced at Faith’s reflection in the rearview mirror. She was looking out the window, happily singing a song they must have learned at school today. She was happy and healthy. That’s all that mattered. There was no way Sydney was going to let anything happen to her.

  Ever.

  It was a promise she had made, and one she intended to keep.

  PETE HAD SOUNDED FRANTIC when he called, asking Sydney to come in for a few hours on her day off. He wouldn’t say much, other than something happened and the diner was packed. Luckily, Agnes was willing to give Faith a bath and get her ready for bed, as long as she didn’t miss the latest episode of Antiques Roadshow. The woman was a godsend.

  As her headlights illuminated the parking lot, Sydney was taken aback by the number of cars that spilled out of the lot and onto the road in front of Pete’s Place. Through the windows, she could see bodies milling around or gathered at the tables inside as she drove around back to park. When she got out of the car, she was hit with an icy breeze that sent a shiver down her spine.

  Something bad had happened. Sydney could feel it.

  Plates were clattering together in the kitchen and the sizzle of the burgers on the grill signaled the rush of hungry customers inside the diner.

  “What’s going on?” Sydney whispered to Pete’s wife, Cara, as she tied an apron around her waist. Cara was piling orders of fries onto her tray as fast as her hands would allow. A group of people were huddled around Johnny Rosley, one of Elton’s volunteer firemen and resident idiots, hanging on his every word.

  The sadness in the room was palpable. Cara shared the awful news. “They found a woman dead in Greenville. Out past the Richardsons’ property.”

  “Oh, my God.”

  “The girl was in her early twenties, from what the police can guess. What a shame. Sounds like the poor thing suffered something awful.” Cara shook her head. “I hope they catch the bastard.”

  Across the diner, Johnny’s voice continued to boom with more gory details he had overheard on his police scanner.

  “It’s sick,” Cara said under her breath. “A woman’s dead and he’s acting like it’s exciting.” There was no missing the dirty look Cara cast Johnny’s way as she muscled past the group to serve her table. His voice instantly lowered, but the crowd just moved closer to hear him better.

  “I didn’t realize we had so many rubberneckers in this town,” Melissa said with a huff as she slid two pieces of blackberry pie onto a plate. “They’re like old women, the way they gossip. They found the girl around three and by four o’clock every booth in here was full. And they just keep coming.”

  “Ladies,” a deep voice said as someone slid onto the only vacant stool at the counter, “what a sight for sore eyes you both are.”

  “Laying it on a bit thick today aren‘t you, Luke?” Melissa said with a laugh.

  Luke Carter had grown up in Elton with Melissa and Wade. His dirty blond hair was cropped short at the moment, the bright highlights from a summer spent in the sun gone. Where Wade kept to himself, Luke was outgoing and flirtatious, someone you could easily talk to about any topic. He was a charmer, as Melissa knew all too well. The two of them were hopeless flirts, but after a few attempts at a romance between them, Melissa decided he was more fun to play with than date. They would have made a cute couple, the burly football player tamed by the blonde bombshell, but it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, they settled for good friends.

  “Just tryin’ to raise a few spirits around here,” he glanced over his shoulder at the crowd, “because it shakes people up when they realize that bad things can happen in small towns. Even ones as tiny as Greenville. And Elton.”

  “Johnny seems to be doing fine.” The details he was spewing about what was found at the scene was making her skin crawl.

  “Well, that’s Johnny for you,” Luke said with a shrug. “I guess he’s always had a fascination with the gruesome. When he was a kid, he used to pull the wings off flies and the legs off spiders just to watch them flop around in his hand.”

  “That’s disgusting,” Sydney said as she poured Luke a cup of coffee. “Someone lost their life. He shouldn’t be so excited.”

  “Did you forget he’s the county’s mortician, too?” Luke asked with a laugh. “Death doesn’t bother him like the rest of us. It’s what he does.”

  Overhearing part of their conversation, Pete stuck his head out the window and surveyed the crowd. “Death’s good for business.”

  “That’s horribly morbid,” Sydney said, shocked, but from the look of it, Pete was right. All around her, people were huddled together talking in hushed voices and when they weren’t talking, they were eating. As fast as Pete could cook it, they were shoveling it down.

  “Remember a few years back when the Parkers lost all that cattle? The same thing happened. People filled this place, hypothesizing about the cause,” Luke offered, trying to distract the girls from the heavy topic.

  Pete let out a snort. “As I recall, Johnny insisted it was aliens to anyone who’d listen ‘til Agnes came in here and threatened to shoot him for being stupid.”

  “She did take a shot at him once.” Melissa patted Luke’s hand, smiling. “Remember in high school when she and her husband had that old mare? One night Johnny thought he’d be funny and scare the poor thing because she made the oddest noise when she was upset. So late at night, he snuck out there howling and growling at it like a coyote. Agnes strolled out in her nightdress, looked Johnny in the eye, and shot the hat off his head. Then she closed the door, turned out the lights, and went back to bed.”

  “She didn’t!” Sydney covered her mouth to hide her laughter.

  “Oh, she did,” Luke assured her. “The sheriff showed up at her house with Johnny’s dad. The sheriff asked her if she fired her gun and she said yes, she shot at a deranged coyote that was squawking around her mare. Mr. Rosley got in her face, yelling that it wasn’t an animal, it had been his son. Agnes looked at the sheriff, then Johnny’s dad and said, ‘Well, he does one hell of a coyote impersonation. Keep him off my property,’ and slammed the door in their faces. Her husband, George, never even said a word during the whole altercation.”

  “To this day,” Melissa said, handing Luke a cup of coffee, “if Agnes howls, Johnny hightails it in the opposite direction.”

  They shared a much needed laugh at Johnny’
s expense, until Pete motioned toward the door. “Wade looks like hell. Poor guy.”

  “Wade always looks like hell,” Luke mumbled under his breath earning a whack to the head from Melissa. “There he is, moping around for attention.”

  Sydney looked at Luke, unable to fathom where the sudden animosity came from. A second ago he was laughing and now he was a sourpuss. It was obvious Luke didn’t think too highly of Wade, but considering he probably had been dealing with the murder in Greenville all day, a little sympathy was in order.

  The diner erupted with questions as soon as people realized the sheriff had walked in. Wade didn’t even seem to notice the circus going on around him. Instead, his eyes scanned the room until they locked onto Sydney at the end of the counter. He gave the slightest nod of his head in her direction. There was a deep sadness in his eyes that made her heart ache. Without a word to anyone, he walked through the crowd and slid into a booth in the back corner of the diner.

  “I can’t even imagine how difficult this has been for him. He’s been in Greenville for hours.” Melissa shook her head. “You should go talk to him, Sydney.”

  “Why me?”

  “Yeah, why her?” Luke asked with a growl. “The guy’s been to Iraq, for God’s sake. If he can’t handle this, then maybe he isn’t the half man everyone seems to think he is.” As he walked away he mumbled, “Like I’ve been saying for years.”

  “He’s such a jerk when Wade’s around,” Sydney said, incredulous that the same guy who had flirted with them was now storming through the crowd like a missile. “Why the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine?”

  Melissa refilled a couple sodas before answering. “The two of them have a history. It goes way back. They’ve never gotten along well.” She shrugged. “You’d have to get the details from one of them.”

  Sydney could tell Melissa was avoiding the question, but there wasn’t time to get into it because they were swarmed with orders. Pete was piling the food on plates as fast as they could take it out. Cara was bussing the tables while Melissa and Sydney frantically delivered items. When there was a lull in the action, Sydney went back behind the counter and her gaze once again drifted over to Wade.