Free Autumn's Shadow by Lyn Cote Page B

the front. She switched off lights and fans as she went. "Coming?"
    "Where are you going?" Burke followed her outside.
    She closed and locked the door behind them. "I need something to cheer me up. And so do you. If you're coming, come on."
    She jumped into her white SUV. Burke hovered at the passenger door with a show of reluctance.
    "I know you'd rather take your vehicle," she said, "but I'm driving 'cause I know the way."
    He seemed to consider this. "Okay." He got inside beside and shut the door.
    In all their conversations, Burke Sloan had never said a word he didn't need—so unlike her father who liked to hear his own voice--and often.
    But Burke's terseness piqued her curiosity. What was going on underneath Burke's deputy sheriff's hat? Thoughts about Nick? And what else? The impulse to remove the lid, to get to know this man was suddenly irresistible. She eased back in her seat, revved her engine once, and took off, gravel flying.
    Opening the windows and turning up the country western station, she headed down the back roads she knew so well. Today had turned out the perfect Labor Day—sunny and warm. Everyone's picnics would be held without wearing raincoats and without anchoring everything down so it wouldn't blow away.
    The wind through the windows tossed her hair around as they bounced over dirt roads. She felt herself grinning. Tomorrow she'd return to school and again face all its challenges. Today she'd planned to spend the day spiffing up the Family Closet, but plans ...had changed for the better.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she observed the handsome deputy, whom every single woman in LaFollette was buzzing about. He was studying her as though she'd suddenly gone crazy. She grinned wider. Confounding him made her feel even freer, more audacious. She tapped the steering wheel in time to the music. It felt so good to run away even if it was only for the afternoon.
    Finally, she turned down a rutted lane and skirted a familiar thick stand of pines. The sight before her instantly heightened her joy. She drove up to the building site and parked. After a moment of drinking in the view, she glanced at him. "This is ...will be my home soon." She opened her door and jumped out. "Come on in." Keely left Burke behind in her car.
     
    Burke gazed out the windshield. Why had she brought him here to a long ranch home covered in sandy brick and shades of gray fieldstone? Though it was obviously still in process, it fit the setting— which looked like it had been waiting for just such a dwelling.
    Keely bounded to the door and unlocked it.
    Uncertain over this sudden change of events, he got out, still studying the house. He'd recognized the symptoms of catharsis in her. He'd seen it before when he'd been working with someone and they just had to stop and blow off steam before they broke under the pressure. But why had she included him in her escape? What did it mean? How should he react?
    He made his way over the deep ruts in the ungraded drive and stopped on the newly poured concrete walk to the front door. Mallard ducks flew overhead, quacking. They were heading for the lake he'd seen beyond one corner behind the house. He pictured the modest cabin he'd thought of renting. The financial gap separating him and this woman loomed before him again, and it caught him up short. Never before had he been in this situation, an unpleasant one.
    "Come on in!" Keely's voice floated to him.
    His hands in his pockets, he went inside. So she had more money than he did. More education. But they weren't going to get involved, so what did it matter?
    Inside, he found that the walls were being painted and the trim had been cut. A miter saw, various lengths of oak trim, and painting supplies littered the rooms and hall. First quality oak trim.
    "Come here and see my view."
    Keely's voice drew him toward the lake side of the house. She sounded so happy. He didn't have the heart to let his own low spirits spoil her fun. The change of