It also hit me how square and strong his jaw was and that I’d never seen it, not once, with stubble on it. Not even a hint.

But I bet he’d look good with stubble.

Then again he’d look good with anything.

It further hit me that he had very cut cheekbones. So cut, they hollowed out his cheeks. Since he had a perfect, straight, strong nose, blond hair and blue eyes, that jaw, those lips, his cheekbones and those hollows adjusted his Man Category. Without them, he’d be the cute boy next door.

With them, he was the rugged, rural mountain town cop who’d seen it all, wasn’t impressed by much and didn’t take any shit.

It seemed strange, yet hot, that he dressed well, had a nice SUV, never had stubble, obviously took care of his body but yet his thick, dark blond hair hinted at unruly. It was swept back from his face in a natural way that didn’t suggest usage of product. I’d seen, on occasion, when there was wind and I’d noticed him outside, that locks of his hair would fall on his forehead. Or when I’d happened to see him running and he was sweating, I’d seen his hair plastered there. But usually, it looked nice, neat, taken care of.

But there were bits of it that curled around his ears and his strong neck. Unruly bits that curled in as well as out. A hint of wild. A hint of unkempt. Just that barest hint he needed a haircut but in a way, if I was asked, I’d get down on my knees and beg him not to do it. In a way that those unruly curls made me want to reach out, take hold of one and tug.

My belly melted again.

Chace’s head turned to me

“Got bad news.”

I blinked at his words that took me out of my very pleasant thoughts.

“What bad news?” I asked.

“Made plans last weekend with a buddy of mine. Goin’ to Deck’s tonight to catch the game. Which means I can’t take you out to dinner.”

I didn’t know we were going out to dinner. Even so, this news was fairly devastating since now I did know but we weren’t going so that was a huge bummer.

“Deck?” I queried.

“The cameras?” Chace for some reason queried back.

“Uh…” I mumbled, uncertain of my response to that and his lips tipped up.

“He’s my buddy who had the cameras. He’s a private detective, amongst other things. Lives in Chantelle. He helped me install ‘em Friday night.”

I felt my brows go up. “Amongst other things?”

“Actually, he isn’t a private detective. He just tells people he is. What he really is is a little scary. I ignore what he does because I’m a cop and if I didn’t I’d probably have to arrest him. We’re tight, have been since high school. He moved back this way about two years ago. Before that, by his account, he lived about everywhere. Since I think he’s not exaggerating but downplaying it, I figure he’s lived about everywhere and except for getting an audience with the Pope, done about everything.”

This Deck sounded interesting.

I didn’t share that. I just muttered, “Oh.”

“I’d cancel but Deck can be a dick when you cancel. He also doesn’t invite the boys over unless he intends to go all out. His own homemade beer that’s really f**kin’ good. Mexican layer dip and brownies that he makes that are even better. No joke. The man is six foot four, two hundred twenty pounds of muscled bulk and he makes dip and brownies. It’s a spread. And it’s a hassle puttin’ up with his attitude, you don’t show. So, I’m gonna show. But I’ll call you before you go to bed. I’ll make a reservation at The Rooster. We’ll go there tomorrow night. Can you be ready by six thirty?”

No, I couldn’t be ready to go to The Rooster at six thirty.

The library closed at six. Shutting everything down didn’t take forever but I wasn’t out until at least a quarter after. That meant I was home just moments before six thirty.

The Rooster was my favorite restaurant ever. It was a fancy steak joint in the mountains about a half an hour away. The views were amazing. The steaks melted in your mouth. The prices were astronomical but you’d sell your kidney without blinking just to trail your finger in their tri-peppercorn sauce and lick it clean.

I’d eaten there five times, all special occasions, and I’d never had anything that I didn’t consider the best I ever had. This was saying something since Denver had some amazing eateries and I partook copiously while living there when I was at Denver University and going back for my Master’s.

It was also one of the only places close by where you could dress up. Even in Denver, jeans were acceptable practically everywhere and considered formal attire in some circles depending on your top and footwear. But in Denver, women, and men, found their occasions to run the gamut of gorgeous apparel.

In the mountains, this was few and far between and in our area, The Rooster was one of the only places you could get by with going for the gusto.

On my first going out on a date well… date with Chace, I wanted to go for the gusto.

But I couldn’t go for the gusto if he was showing up on my doorstep about a nanosecond after I got home from work.

So no way I could be ready by six thirty.

I still said, “Yes.”

Chace didn’t reply. He just studied me.

Then he demonstrated yet again he could read my mind.

“How about this, can you be ready at seven thirty?”

That was way better.

“Yes,” I whispered on a small smile.

He grinned before he looked away, lifted his coffee cup but said to the lid before he took a sip, “Lookin’ forward to the show you got planned, baby.”

Panic instantly oozed from my every pore.

I liked my clothes. They were nice. Good quality. I thought they suited me. I had a few good getups for when I went back to Denver to meet friends or my family had special occasions that called for a little effort. And when I made an effort, I didn’t mind making a statement. Though, only a minor one.

But I had not one thing to wear on a date at The Rooster walking in on the arm of all the beauty that was Chace Keaton.

My mind quickly flipped through my options and this time, it settled on Lexie.

Krystal wore tank tops even in the winter. She might put a cardigan over them if she was heading outside, but even when it was super cold, that was all the effort she put into covering up and keeping warm.

Lauren always looked good. She used to be some executive but it was clear since she hit Carnal she’d embraced the biker babe lifestyle. This included her wardrobe if, compared to the vast number of other biker babes who lived in the vicinity, she injected a healthy dose of class.

But Lexie used to be a buyer at a department store. She wore high heels all the time, even high-heeled boots in the winter. Her husband was not a biker, he was a mechanic. A mechanic who owned a Dodge Viper and lived in one of the swank condos in the hills on the south end of town. Not to mention they were currently moving into an enormous house in an even more swank development in the eastern hills. I didn’t see him often but when I saw him with Lexie, he didn’t look like he could be in a beer ad. He looked like he could grace the cover of GQ. So Lexie didn’t embrace biker babe chic or mountain girl cute comfort. She always, but always, looked phenomenal.

So I hoped she was free to go with me to the mall that night on an emergency mission.

“Incoming,” Chace muttered as I made mental plans with Lexie and took a sip of my latte.

My eyes snapped up and I saw the boy stealthily rounding the building. I noted immediately even from our distance that the eye wasn’t swollen anymore, the bruises were fading but not gone and the cut on his lip was still noticeably angry. He’d received a thrashing. Over a week and the evidence was still there.

The only thing that made me feel better about this was he was wearing the coat I gave him, the hat and the new jeans. But it was nippy. He really should put on the gloves and scarf.

I watched as he took his time and, as he did, he looked through the lot and surprisingly straight at the spot I’d been parked in yesterday, like he expected to see us there.

Like he’d seen us there yesterday.

Strange. Very strange. So strange it sent my body sliding toward Chace’s. My shoulder bumped his and, without taking his eyes off the boy, his arm shoved behind me and rounded my waist.

My hand went out and my fingers curled around his thigh.

We watched in silence as he approached the bags, crouched by them but he didn’t take time to dig through. He just grabbed them and motored to the back of the library, around and he was gone.

“Made us,” Chace muttered and I turned my head to look at him.

“What?”

He dipped his chin and twisted his neck to look at me, it hit me then how close he was but I didn’t move back.

Not a centimeter.

“Made us even before he grabbed the shit yesterday,” he answered. “My guess, just now, he scouted the area, didn’t see us on the street so he made his approach from the direction he came from. This means he led me off-track yesterday. He approached from the front, left around the front, headed toward town. Approached from the back this time, thinking we aren’t here. Wherever he goes, he approaches the library from the back.”

“Um… aren’t you going after him now?”

He gave my hip a squeeze, I read the command, pushed back into my seat and Chace looked out the window, his profile contemplative while answering.

“No. Want him to feel safe. Don’t want him to think it’s a trap. He needed that shit yesterday. He knows he can outrun us or lose us. He saw us before he even returned the books. Maybe he knew he could get away, didn’t want to waste the effort of walkin’ here from wherever to return the books. Maybe he thinks we’re no threat. No f**kin’ idea. But now, I think we should keep a distance, keep givin’ and hope he takes you up on your invitation and gives back. Writes a note. Gets comfortable. Gets to know you. Maybe he’ll approach us.”

This sounded like a good plan.

Or at least it did until Chace hissed, “Fuck,” with a lot more emotion than he’d been talking with a mere moment before.

“Chace?” I whispered but his eyes didn’t leave the library.

“Saw it yesterday, saw it clearer today,” he replied.

“What?”

His eyes turned to me and I caught my breath at the anger I read in them. I was stunned that his seemingly mellow mood had shifted in an instant.

“His face, Faye. That’s a week of healin’.” He shook his head and his gaze moved back to the library on another, “Fuck.”

I reached out a hand and curled it on his knee, leaning into him, whispering, “Chace.”

He shook his head again once but spoke. “Not eatin’ right, no medicine, no water to clean, probably doesn’t even know to do it. That’ll all delay healing but that doesn’t mean that kid didn’t get nailed. He got f**kin’ nailed. Nine years old, slinkin’ around for food, dumpster diving, I’m across the goddamned street and all I can do for his sake is sit on my ass, watch and wait.”