Free Dark Moon Magic by Jerri Drennen Page A

them.
    “How did your night go?” he asked Garrett, who poured a generous amount of cream into his cup and spooned in some sugar.
    “Nothing eventful. Regina and her friend, who is hot, by the way, saw me and came out to chat.”
    “You didn’t tell her why you were there, did you?”
    Garrett squirmed in the seat. “Sort of. She really guessed.”
    “Guessed?” Trace looked at him intently.
    “Okay … okay, I told her you were concerned for her welfare. She wants to talk to you. She said she’d come by on her lunch hour.”
    Perfect . He needed to speak to her anyway, and the office was best—much less intimate. He’d about lost it when she’d touched him the day before.
    “Who is Regina?” Nathan asked before taking a sip of coffee.
    “She’s our new resident business woman. She moved here a few weeks ago.”
    “Don’t tell me.” Nathan looked from Garrett to Trace. “You’re worried everyone in town will think she killed Keith Walsh?”
    “Unfortunately, yes.”
    “I forgot what small town mentality could be like.”
    “Not everyone in Groves will jump to such a ridiculous conclusion,” Trace said, smiling at Garrett, who he could see took offence to the man’s statement.
    But Nathan was right about small towns and the way they thought. True, not all would conclude the new girl did it, but a good majority would, and he’d have his hands full trying to keep them from extracting their own justice on her.
    “So, you’re watching her place?” Furrow lines deepened on Nathan’s forehead. “Around the clock?”
    “Just overnight.”
    “When do you two plan to sleep? We do have a murder to solve.”
    “You let us worry about Regina Moon. Protecting her is not going to get in the way of me finding Keith’s killer.”
    Millie arrived with their food.
    “You’re going to love this.” Trace savored the smell of the heaping plate of buttermilk biscuits smothered in thick sausage gravy with ripe red tomato slices on the side.
    Nathan stared at the plate with wide eyes, then looked at him strangely. “What the hell is it?”
    “Trust me. You’ve never tasted anything like it.”

 
     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
     
    Regina and Tiah strolled down the street to the police station, the two drawing odd looks from people along the way. Were their suspicions already forming?
    She glanced at her best friend, who was frowning. Clearly it wasn’t her imagination. Tiah had noticed, too.
    Regina quickened her stride. This unwanted attention made her nervous. Now she knew why Garrett had sat outside her place all night. Trace had the people of Groves pegged about how they’d react once news of Keith Walsh’s murder got out. Their first thought—blame the new resident.
    At the station, she sighed, then shouldered the door open. Inside, they were greeted with a huge smile from the woman sitting behind the desk—a petite blonde Regina assumed was Trace’s dispatcher.
    “Good afternoon,” the woman said. “Can I help you?”
    “We’re here to see the sheriff.”
    “He’s in a meeting right now. Let me check to see if they’re finished. Who should I say is here?”
    “Regina Moon”
    “Right. He told me to watch for you.” She stood. “I’ll see if he’s free.”
    She returned a moment later. “He’ll be right out. You both can take a seat if you like.”
    “We’ll stand. Thanks.”
    Trace stepped out from behind a door. Garrett and a dark-haired man followed. All three guys were handsome, but Trace caused a commotion in Regina’s belly every time she saw him, a strange tingling sensation that moved lower when he spoke. She could no longer deny their chemistry—it sizzled between them, and when he touched her, she wanted to forget the past and allow herself to feel again. But she couldn’t. Especially now that most of the townspeople thought she had something to do with Keith’s murder.
    “Sher … iff,” she said, embarrassed that her voice cracked.
    “Miss Moon.” His gaze met