Free Trouble in Sudden Falls: A Sudden Falls Romance by Elizabeth Bemis Page A

feel small and perhaps even a bit vulnerable. She squared her shoulders and prepared for retreat. Getting into a discussion about her car and his ridiculous bet would end in heartache—or at least humiliation.
    “Not so fast,”. He caught her by the upper arm.
    She looked at him, unable to understand what his intentions were. He’d made it absolutely clear he didn’t want to sleep with her three years ago, and while there was sometimes—like now, for instance—a particular glint in his eyes, she suspected it was habit on his part.
    “What?”
    “Where are you going?”
    “Home.”
    “Why?”
    “Because that’s where I live.”
    Eli rolled his eyes at her. “I mean why now?” His thumb was to the inside of her arm, and he stroked it back and forth absently. Was he completely unaware of the effect he had on her?
    “I-I stopped by to drop off your mail.”
    “You don’t have to leave.”
    But she wanted to. She was in waaaaaaaaaayyy over her head at this point. “I’ve got some stuff to finish up.”
    Eli leaned in closer, the full impact of his smile and eyes not lost on her. Maddie paused for a moment, letting her eyes lock onto Eli’s. Almost as if they were playing a game of chicken. She refused to flinch. How far would he take this?
    He moved yet another inch closer, and Maddie lost her breath, yet she held steady. This time, he had to make the first move. She would not let herself be humiliated like last time.
    Finally, when he was a hair’s breadth away, he stopped. “Well, have a nice evening, then.” He straightened and stepped away.
    Relief warred with disappointment. Thank God, she hadn’t given in to the temptation to meet him halfway!

Chapter Five
    “This town council meeting is now called to order.”
    The Honorable M. Robert Watson, Mayor of Sudden Falls, shuffled through the itinerary in front of him and tried to emotionally prepare himself for yet another town council meeting. He’d come to dread the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. Most of his duties as mayor were welcome, but the public meetings seemed to bring out the worst in his entire town.
    And tonight looked to be no different.
    He shifted in his seat as his eyes picked out the third name down on the itinerary. “Madeline O’Callaghan.” The niece of the late Millie Wilson. Everyone in town had known Millie, of course. In a town the size of Sudden Falls, everyone knew everyone , so that wasn’t much of a surprise. But Rob had known her better than most—or at least knew more of her secrets than most. They’d both belonged to the same… organization , for lack of a better term. An organization whose activities would soon be known if he couldn’t keep Maddie O’Callaghan out of her aunt’s store until he could erase the evidence.
    Why hadn’t he taken care of this while he had the chance? In addition to being mayor, he was one of the town’s two realtors. He’d had the listing for the store which included the keys and the ability to get in and out without detection. Why had he listened to the other members of the group and kept the stuff there?
    Most of the other members of Silver Shadows were less worried about discovery than they were in having a location to meet. Of course, the other members weren’t the upstanding Mayor Watson, either. More importantly, most also lived outside of the Sudden Falls city limits, so exposure would be less likely. And, almost all shared membership with their spouses.
    He checked his watch. 7:01. Time to get this party started. When he banged his gavel again, the din finally died down. He looked over at his secretary and the council recorder, Dora Andrews, whose job it was to take the meeting minutes and keep the meeting on schedule.
    Old business was handled with great haste, and two routine votes were taken with unsurprising results. He felt, and not for the first time, that even a poorly-trained monkey could do this job.
    “The first order of new business is Harold