âI thought it was just a little bump.â
âIt is. Itâs just a bloody one.â He applied some antibiotic ointment to the small scrape, trying to ignore the way her soft, lightly floral perfume was making his blood run hot.
Heâd never been a man prone to indulging his every sexual whim, but this particular dose of desire was taking a toll on his legendary self-control.
He backed away, giving himself room to breathe. âI think the bleedingâs stopped now.â
She turned to face him. âThanks.â
Something intriguing glittered in her eyes. Nix knew it would be folly to speculate what that intriguing something might be. But heâd never been any good at turning his back on a puzzle. Especially one that smelled like wildflowers.
Chapter One
She entered the Bitterwood Community Center banquet hall with no fanfare, a tall, fit woman in her early thirties. Fanfare or not, Walker Nix found his gaze drawn her way, taking in her appearance with the practiced eye of an investigator. She had sleek auburn hair worn straight and intelligent green eyes that scanned the room with a specific goal in mind, narrowing as she failed to find her target.
I should paint her, he thought. She wasnât pretty, exactly, but he found her striking features interesting.
Conversation died to nothing as most of the partygoers turned to look at the newcomer. Laney Hanvey, standing near the front of the hall with her mother and sister, crossed quickly to the woman, a smile on her face. She passed Walker, leaving him with a whiff of her light jasmine scent, and extended her hand to the taller woman. âDana. You look just like your photo. Itâs so nice to finally meet you!â
Chiefâs sister, Nix thought, his interest tempered by the impracticality of lusting after a woman whose brother was his boss. Her impending arrival had been the talk of the police station from the time the chief had mentioned to one of the file clerks that she was coming. Sheâd be in town only a few days, just long enough to get to know her brotherâs fiancée and catch up on their lives, before heading back to her job in Atlanta.
Still, his gaze lingered on Dana Masseyâs face as she smiled at Laney and took her hand with what appeared to be genuine pleasure. She really would be a fascinating subject to paint.
âIâm so happy to finally meet you, Laney!â Dana maintained eye contact as if oblivious to the interested stares of everyone else in the room. Nix dragged his gaze away from the meeting of the future sisters-in-law and let it skim across the other faces in the hall. To his surprise, he saw several looks of shock and one or two expressions of near hostility.
Odd, he thought. As far as he knew, this was Dana Masseyâs first visit to Bitterwood. And what little heâd heard about her wouldnât elicit hostility from anyone but the fugitives she chased in her job as a deputy U.S. marshal.
âDoyle is late,â Laney was saying as she and Dana passed Nixâs position near the doorway. âI tried calling his phone, but heâs not answering.â
âHeâs probably lost it somewhere,â Dana murmured in the tone of a sister used to her younger brotherâs foibles. âHe loses a phone every year, I swear.â
They passed out of earshot, and Nix made himself look at his watch, not Dana Masseyâs shapely backside. Almost eight. The party had officially started at seven-thirty. And while Bitterwood chief of police Doyle Massey had a reputation for being a bit more laid-back than his predecessor, heâd never shown a tendency toward tardiness.
Nix bumped gazes with one of his fellow detectives, small, dark-eyed Ivy Calhoun. She was newly married, tanned golden from her recent honeymoon in the Bahamas and looking happier than heâd ever seen her. She flashed a smile at him, and he wandered over to where she stood with her new husband, Sutton Calhoun.
âNix.â Sutton greeted him with a nod. They were both Bitterwood natives, but Sutton was a few years younger than Nix. He was better acquainted with Nixâs younger brother, Lavelle, which might explain the wariness in Suttonâs gaze. Lavelle had never been anything but trouble.