Free Frankie's Back in Town by Jeanie London Page A

law-enforcement officer who dealt with a side of life she tried her level best to avoid.
    “So this is what the inside of an unmarked car looks like,” she commented as he turned over the engine. “Not as high-tech as I would have thought.”
    He gave a nod and steered the car toward her street.
    “So, any new developments on the investigation?” she asked, needing to get them back on familiar footing, to help her reclaim her equilibrium around this man.
    “Progressing, I’m happy to report. And you don’t have to worry about your personnel yet. So what about things on your end? Calming down?”
    She shrugged. “A little maybe, but let me take this opportunity to say thanks for the way you’ve been handling the Hickmans. Their daughter appreciates it, too.”
    He shifted his gaze off the road. “You mean handling their case professionally and thoroughly?”
    How could she not smile at that? “And thoughtfully. This situation is unsettling. It’s tough enough to misplace things, but with the situation dragging on…”
    Jack gave a quiet laugh. “Oh, I hear you, Francesca. I’ve got a grandfather of my own.”
    That was all he needed to say and, honestly, she wasn’t surprised. Not when he’d treated the Hickmans, and the other residents they’d encountered, so easily. “Well, I wanted to say thanks. We all appreciate what you’re doing to reassure the Hickmans you have everything in hand.”
    He flashed a smile that gleamed white in the dimly lit car. “That’s because we do.”
    She couldn’t help but laugh, although she wanted to resist this man. With every ounce of reason, she wanted to resist. But she sat so close, lulled by the breaking dawn and the stillness broken only by the steady hum of the powerful engine. She was glimpsing sides of him that she’d never met before, and that only deepened the intimacy of the moment. He was Jack Sloan, after all, she reminded herself. And she was only human.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    A FTER WATCHING F RANKIE disappear inside the dark house, Jack had to remind himself to put the car into gear and reverse out of the driveway. What was it with this woman? She continually caught him off guard. If he wasn’t noticing how beautiful she was, he was noticing how easily she laughed.
    Frankie wasn’t what he expected, which made him question when he’d formulated those expectations. Truth was he didn’t know much about her. Except that she was attracted to him.
    As attracted to him as he was to her?
    Jack could only hope. And he did.
    That surprised him.
    So as he drove to his parents’ place, he considered what he actually knew about Frankie, not what he’d heard.
    A few obvious things stood out. She took her job and her responsibility to Greywacke Lodge’s residents seriously. She had a sense of humor about life and herself. She hadn’t gone to pieces or made excuses about her appearance today. And though she was obviously post-workout, she’d made windblown and breathless a striking combination. Exercise had brightened her gray eyes and flushed her cheeks. And her mouth…the cold had made her mouth look like it might after she’d been kissed.
    Jack hadn’t thought about kissing anyone in a while.
    So, as he pulled into the driveway at the home he’d grown up in, he evaluated whether or not he needed this investigation to continue indefinitely so he had access to Frankie or conclude quickly so he could ask her on a date.
    He wouldn’t break any real rules by asking her out. She was a contact person on this investigation, not a suspect, but Jack knew how things worked in Bluestone. With the rumor mill already grinding, any personal interest he expressed in Frankie would only fuel the talk even more. And undermine the very reason he worked with Randy on this case.
    Damned place was a fishbowl.
    He no sooner shoved open the door when he heard a familiar voice ask, “Are you okay? Did someone die?”
    Jack had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn’t