“I’m not sure I gave them anything useful.”

Margaret took her hand. “You gave them honesty. That’s more than they’ll get from a lot of people, especially someone in your industry. Thank you for that.”

“I enjoyed it. They’re great kids, Margaret. Talented, too. I’ll be back to see the production in a few weeks, if you don’t mind.”

“I’d love that. The kids would, too.”

“Great. I’ll bring Colt with me, too. He loves this play as much as I do.”

They headed outside to the truck, and since Logan had parked it between two of the school buses, they were still well hidden from any of the photographers who might be wandering around looking for them.

“You did good in there,” Logan said.

She looked at him. “Complimenting me again? I might think you like me, Logan.”

“Don’t go getting any ideas.”

She climbed into the truck and put on her seat belt. “Oh, I have a lot of ideas where you’re concerned.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what to do with you, Des.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry. I know exactly what you can do with me.”

Chapter 6

STAYING TO THE back roads and winding through neighborhood streets, Logan drove them a few miles away to a one-story home in a beautifully landscaped neighborhood. The house was an older model, but Des could tell it had been recently repainted a lovely green with white shutters. The lawn was well kept, and there were colorful flowers in pots lining the front porch. The garage door was open, and Luke was outside. He motioned for Logan to pull into the garage. When he turned off the engine, Luke pushed the button and closed the door.

They climbed out and Luke grinned. “I figured we’d hide you from the photographers, who’ve been burning gasoline all over town looking for you two for the past several hours.”

Des laughed. “Hey, that’s good for Hope’s gas stations, isn’t it?”

“It’s nice that they’re helping our local businesses, even if they don’t want to be. Come on inside. Emma’s not home yet.”

They walked in to a nice living area with the kitchen and dining area behind them. It was open and sunny, with a large window in the living room and a sliding glass door off the kitchen. Boomer came to greet them, so Des crouched down to pet him.

Des looked up at Luke. “Has Boomer seen a lot of police action?”

“He’s a great police dog, and, yeah, he’s caught quite his share of perps. He took down a suspect last spring that was breaking into pharmacies and medical offices to steal drug supplies.”

Des scratched Boomer’s ear. “Good dog.”

“Come on in and take a seat. Would either of you like a beer or a soda, or maybe some water?”

“I’d love a beer,” Des said.

“Same for me,” Logan said.

Luke went to the refrigerator and grabbed three beers, opened them and handed them out. They went into the living area and Des pulled up a nice comfortable spot on one of the chairs.

“What did you do this afternoon?” Luke asked.

“We went to the high school. Des talked to the drama students.”

Luke looked at her and gave her a smile. “Bet they enjoyed that.”

“I’m pretty sure I enjoyed it more than they did. They’re doing one of my favorite plays, so I wanted to stop by and watch them practice. And how did your day go? Did you and Boomer catch any bad guys?”

“Nothing eventful went on today. A couple fender benders and some speeders. Pretty routine day.”

“Sounds great to me. Whenever I’m in L.A., it seems like you can’t turn on the TV without seeing a televised police chase on the freeway.”

“Big news out there.”

She took a long pull of her beer, swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. And a lot of crime. A town like Hope is a nice break from having to have bars on your windows.”

“I imagine it would be.”

“You don’t have to live in L.A., do you?” Logan asked.

“No. A lot of actors keep homes outside of the L.A. area. I just haven’t gotten around to buying one yet. And I only spend half the year or less at my condo there since I have a busy shooting schedule. Maybe when I get married and have a family, I’ll buy a place somewhere remote. With big dogs and less crime.”

Luke laughed. “That sounds like a great plan.”

The front door opened and Emma came in with Daisy and Annie. It was wild chaos, with dogs scrambling around sniffing each other, tails wagging.

The dogs came over to greet her. “Hi, girls. It’s so nice to see you again.” She bent to pet them.

“Oh, you’re here. I didn’t see your truck, Logan.”

Luke went over and gave Emma a kiss, then took her bag. “I had them park in the garage. The photographers are still trying to hunt them down.”

Emma’s gaze panned over to Des. “You poor thing. It must be hell to be hounded like that.”

“I’m used to it. I’m sorry for the disruption, though.”

“It didn’t disrupt me at all, and Luke tells me it was fun for him today.” She turned and wrapped her arms around Luke. “How was your day?”

“Uneventful. Yours?”

“It was good. Did you get the food?”

“I did.”

Des watched the interplay, the way Luke and Emma only had eyes for each other. So that’s what it was like to be madly in love with someone. She felt the intensity of it all the way across the room. Her gaze slid to Logan, who was watching her, not his brother and Emma.

She felt the zing, and everything inside her heated.

“Are you two hungry?” Emma asked.

Yeah, she was definitely hungry, but not for food. She shifted her gaze to Emma. “Sure.”

“Great. We’re having barbecued chicken kabobs for dinner along with some rice. I hope that’s okay for you.” Emma paused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask if you were a vegetarian or something.”

Des laughed and stood. “I’m not, and it all sounds awesome. What can I do to help?”

“Let me take a quick shower, then we’ll get started.”

“I’ll go get the grill fired up,” Luke said.

Alone with Logan, she moved over toward him. “Hungry?” she asked.