The Mighty Quinns: Devin. Kate Hoffmann

nodded and he placed her back on her feet. She watched as he retrieved his radio from where he’d left his utility belt. “This is Winchester zero-one. Go ahead, dispatch.”

      “We have a 10-50 on River Road one half mile north of the Quentin Gap Bridge. Paramedics en route. Please provide backup for Yancey County six-nine.”

      “I’m on my way, dispatch. Winchester zero-one, over.”

      Dev picked up his shirt and tugged it over his head. “I have to go,” he said.

      “What is it?”

      “A traffic accident. About seven miles out of town.”

      “Is it serious?”

      “I’m not sure. I’ll find out when I get there. Will you be all right?”

      Elodie nodded. “I—I’m fine. Will you come back?”

      “If I can, I will.” He fastened his utility belt around his waist, then clipped his gun holster to it. In just a few long strides, he crossed the entry hall and pulled her into his arms. His lips came down on hers and he left her with a soul-shattering kiss.

      “How the hell am I supposed to concentrate on work now?”

      “Try?” she said.

      He chuckled softly, then stole one last kiss before heading out the door. Elodie slowly lowered herself to sit on the bottom stair, plucking at her damp dress until it hung loosely around her legs.

      Never in her wildest dreams had she thought the day would turn out this way. But now that it had, Elodie had to wonder whether there was anything that would entice her to leave Winchester again.

      * * *

      THE SUN WAS already well over the eastern horizon when Dev and the boys from the county sheriff’s office finished up the investigation of the accident. They’d found open containers in each car and had determined that both drivers had been at the same party and had challenged each other to a road race.

      Unfortunately, both of the boys had ended up racing to the trauma center in Asheville in a Flight-for-Life helicopter. Though they’d both been conscious when found, Dev knew that didn’t always mean a good outcome.

      His handheld squawked, and he glanced at his watch then waited for Sally’s voice. “Winchester zero-one, this is dispatch.”

      “Mornin’, Sally,” he said.

      “Mornin’, boss. I just had a call from Elodie Winchester. She said someone just threw a brick through her front window. Do you want to take this or should I send Kyle?”

      Dev cursed beneath his breath. “I’ve got it.” Though he’d spent most of the early-morning hours focused on the accident investigation, there had been moments when his thoughts had shifted back to what had happened in the mansion on Wisteria Street.

      The attraction between them was undeniable, but the fact that they’d chosen to act on it so quickly was what had rattled him. It had been over ten years since they’d last seen each other, and yet it seemed as if barely a week had passed. All the old feelings were still there, the crazy, urgent need and the sense that they were hurtling toward something neither one of them could handle.

      And yet, they were adults now and fully responsible for their actions. He’d given her every chance to refuse his advances and she’d just invited him to take more. Nothing had changed. Yet, everything had changed. He was responsible for her safety; he’d gone to the house to protect her, not seduce her on the porch of her house.

      Dev pulled the cruiser out onto the highway and flipped on the lights and sirens. He had suspected that the anger toward Elodie wouldn’t subside. He should have put another cruiser in front of her house. People in town had suffered deep wounds because of the Winchester family and they finally had someone—a flesh-and-blood person—to blame.

      But it wasn’t just blame. They wanted retribution, to make sure the Winchesters experienced pain as they’d experienced pain, and Dev wasn’t about to let that happen. He was as angry as any of them at old man Winchester and his sons, who had all mismanaged the mill. But Elodie hadn’t even been living in the town when the worst of it had gone down. Their teenage infatuation had ensured that.

      Dev turned off the siren as he rolled into town. There was no traffic to contend with on his way to Elodie’s street; the townsfolk were just starting to rise for the day ahead. He skidded to a stop beneath a cool canopy of trees and jumped out of the cruiser, then hurried up the brick walk.

      He found Elodie sitting in a wicker rocker on the porch, sipping at a mug of coffee. Next to her, Jeb Baylor was sprawled in the opposite chair, his chin buried in his chest, a loud snore breaking the silence with every breath he took. She smiled as Dev approached.

      He took the steps two at a time and crossed to her as she stood. Gathering her into his arms, he gave her a fierce hug. “What the hell is going on here?”

      “It’s nothing. He was drunk and upset.”

      “Jeb threw the brick?”

      Elodie nodded. “Yes. He was shouting and I invited him up to the porch for coffee so we could talk about his concerns. But when I got back with the coffee, he was asleep. I was afraid to wake him.”

      Dev pressed his lips against her forehead, the sweet scent of her hair teasing at his nose. “You’re safe. That’s all I care about.”

      “What are we going to do with him? I don’t want you to put him in jail. He was drunk and I don’t blame him for being angry.”

      “He’ll have to pay for the property damage,” Dev said.

      Elodie nodded.

      Dev pulled his radio off his belt. “Winchester dispatch, this is zero-one.”

      “What’s up, boss?”

      “Call Jenny Baylor and have her come by the Winchester mansion to get her husband.”

      “Got it.”

      Dev turned back to Elodie, gently taking the mug from her hand. He took a long sip of the barely warm brew and sighed. “Do you think I could have a cup of that? Only one that’s very hot?”

      “Sure,” Elodie said. She started toward the door, then paused, looking over her shoulder at him. “I don’t know how you like your coffee. You didn’t drink coffee when you were younger.”

      “Black,” Dev said.

      “Of course. Black,” she murmured.

      Dev walked to the opposite end of the porch, then removed his utility belt and hung it over the rail. The porch swing beckoned, and he sat down and sighed softly. Exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he tipped his head back and closed his eyes. But sleep wasn’t waiting for him.

      Images of Elodie swirled in his head, her body clothed, her body naked, her hair drawn away from her face, then tumbling around her shoulders. She’d been home less than twenty-four hours and he was already obsessed.

      Dev cursed softly and opened his eyes. He’d always maintained such a tight control on his romantic life. Small-town gossip mills were always looking for new fodder, and he didn’t want his authority being undermined by ridiculous speculation over his sex life. And they’d have a field day if he started seeing Elodie Winchester.

      Elodie reappeared a few moments later, carrying a tray with two cups of steaming coffee and a pair of scones. “It’s all I could manage,” she said. “I don’t have much in the way of groceries, save for what you gave me yesterday, and we pretty much polished that off last night. I picked up the scones yesterday. You do like scones?”

      “I don’t think I’ve ever had one,” he said. “I’m pretty much a doughnut kind of guy.”

      She giggled as she handed him a mug. “You look like you only eat healthy. Or is it healthily?”

      “I