Free Georgia On My Mind by Marie Force Page B

chew a bite of chicken, choked at the casual way he tossed the word cock out there, like she hadn’t spent hours riding his the night before.
    Tess laughed. “You get an A for ingenuity, Georgie.”
    “After the hissy fit he had over Styrofoam yesterday, I figured he’d flip out if I let the water run all day,” Georgie mumbled.
    “You figured right,” Nathan said as he dug into his salad with gusto. “You did a good job. But if that happens again, you can just shut off the water by turning the valve underneath the toilet.”
    Refusing to even glance at him, she said, “It won’t happen again.”
    “You never know.”
    Suddenly, they were no longer talking about toilets. “Yes, I do.”
    “Do you want something to drink?” Tess jumped up. “I can’t believe I didn’t offer you anything.”
    It took everything Georgie had not to groan at the way Tess was fawning over him, like he was a celebrity in their midst instead of her one-night stand. One night. Do you hear that, Nathan Caldwell?
    “Have you got a beer?”
    “Sure do.” Tess opened one of Cat’s Budweisers and brought it to him.
    “Thank you,” he said with a warm smile that made Tess sigh.
    Really, this was the most disgusting display of foolishness Georgie had ever witnessed.
    “So, Tess, Georgie tells me you’re not from around here.”
    “That’s right,” Tess said, getting busy with her food.
    “Where are you from?”
    “ Western Connecticut .”
    “What brought you to Newport ?”
    “I was ready for a change of scenery. I’m a nurse, and they had an opening at Newport  Hospital in the ER, which is my specialty, so I snapped it up. End of story.”
    The way she said it told Georgie there was more to the story—much more—and she wasn’t a detective. She wondered if Nathan had sensed it, too. Who cares what he senses? Just get through dinner so you can get rid of him.
    “I’ll bet you’ve seen just about everything as an ER nurse,” he said.
    “You know it. What do you do?”
    “I’m a detective with the NPD.”
    When Tess’s eyes flipped up to gauge whether he was serious, there was no mistaking the flash of panic. “Oh,” she said on a long exhale.
    After an awkward pause in the conversation, they all got busy finishing their dinner.
    “That was the best home-cooked meal I’ve had in a long time, ladies. Thank you.”
    “It was all Tess,” Georgie said, unnerved by her friend’s odd behavior. Was she running from the law? It certainly seemed like she was hiding something. Would Nathan think so, too? “I’ll clean up.”
    “I don’t mind,” Tess said.
    “That’s not fair. You cooked. Besides, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do with a rare night off than cooking and cleaning for me.”
    “I do have some bills to pay.” She got up, rinsed her plate, and put it in the dishwasher. “It was nice to meet you, Nathan,” she said on her way out of the room.
    “You, too.” When they were alone, he glanced at Georgie. “What just happened here?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “How do you know her?”
    “She answered an ad I placed for roommates.”
    “Why were you looking for roommates if you’re only here temporarily?”
    Cornered, Georgie stood up and started to clear the table.
    He came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders.
    She froze. “Don’t.”
    Turning her around to face him, he said, “Tell me what’s going on here, Georgie. Nothing you’ve told me adds up, and you’ve got a roommate who’s clearly running from the law or something else. I’m a cop, for Christ’s sake. How do you expect me to just pretend that didn’t happen?”
    Rattled by his touch, she shrugged his hands off her shoulders. “That’s exactly what I expect you to do. Whatever’s going on with her is none of your concern.”
    “What if she’s in some kind of trouble?”
    “That’s her business. She’s been nothing but a good friend to me since the day I met her.”
    Stymied, he tried a