Free Firefly Run by Trish Milburn Page A

attracted to him, could she?
    No. It was merely protective instinct, that’s all. Though she liked Marianne, it didn’t take a genius to figure out she was on the prowl for husband number two. And Reed standing across the street from her shop must have seemed like a gift from the marriage fairies.
    She let her head drop forward in her palms. If she wasn’t worrying about her parents, she was fearing turning around to find Eddie Victor’s cold eyes staring at her. When she tried to push both worries from her mind, it seemed to migrate to Reed and her strange, jittery reaction to him. What she wouldn’t give to go back to the days when all she had to worry about was getting the cabins cleaned in time for the next guests.
    Replaying their trip into Bobcat Ridge, Shelly remembered the mail she’d tossed in the back seat. She retrieved the stack of envelopes and advertising circulars and headed for her cabin. Reed stood talking to the guests staying in the cabin farthest from the office. Not up to sitting across the table from him, she hurried inside, slapped together a turkey and bacon sandwich, and made for his cabin with the sandwich and a family-size bag of chips.
    She ducked inside, placed the meal in his fridge, and rushed back out the door.
    "Where you going in such a hurry?" Reed asked from his perch at the bottom of the steps.
    How had he moved that fast?
    "Home. I left you some food inside."
    "Thanks."
    Shelly glanced down the line of cabins to where her guests’ children were chasing a butterfly through the meadow.
    "What were you talking to them about?"
    "Not Eddie Victor, if that’s what you’re worried about."
    "Good. I don’t want you scaring anyone off just yet. There’s still no indication that Eddie’s even coming this direction." Except for a spooky phone call, her mind whispered. No, that was just a coincidence, something she wouldn’t have thought twice about if it were not for Eddie’s release and Reed’s concern.
    "And there’s no indication he isn’t."
    Her shoulders slumped. "I know." She paused and scanned her surroundings. "But I can’t close up shop based on a maybe. What if he disappears and no one knows where he is? The waiting could go on forever. We’d lose the business. What would we do then? I can’t hide the rest of my life."
    Reed didn’t answer. Maybe he didn’t have one. She moved toward the steps.
    "Don’t go." Reed startled her, sending her nerves into a tailspin. "You look dead on your feet. We can share whatever you took in there." He raised an eyebrow. "I might even be persuaded to split the chocolate pound cake with you."
    Her stomach grumbled in response, making him smile. Nothing but tall, lean man with a sexy Texas drawl. Good Lord, why hadn’t she ever noticed how gorgeous he was?
    Because you were in love with Troy.
    A twinge of guilt dampened the moment, but she accompanied Reed inside. She told herself it was for the chocolate cake, not the opportunity to stare at Reed a few more minutes. Or the fact that chocolate and a sexy man might just be enough to make her forget her more serious concerns.
    Reed halved the sandwich and ripped open the bag of chips before seating himself at the table. Shelly stood rooted to the floor, wondering whether she should join him or bolt. Considering Reed would likely chase her if she ran out suddenly, she sat in the chair opposite him.
    "So, what did you talk to the Shafers about?" she asked again.
    "Just the basics. Where you from? What do you do for a living? That kind of stuff. I think the little boy is a bit in awe of me."
    "Because you’re a cop?"
    "Because I’m a Texas cop," he said before taking a bite of sandwich.
    She rolled her eyes. This was the Reed she knew—bragging, smiling from ear to ear. "That reaction seems to be running rampant around here."
    "Nothing wrong with that. And you’re cool by association."
    She threw a potato chip at him. "I see you’ve acquired modesty since I last saw you."
    "Modesty’s