Secret Desire. Gwynne Forster

here.”

      After dinner, his cell phone rang as he and Marcus cleaned the kitchen. “Captain Hickson.”

      He hadn’t expected that Cowan would have to call him about Kate, but he’d told the sergeant to keep him posted. As a detective, he’d learned to avoid the pitfalls of It might have been. He listened to Cowan’s report and wondered whether he ought to go back to Portsmouth.

      “Nothing you can do, Luke. The man ran away when he saw the squad car, and we couldn’t find him, but I turned that corner just in time.”

      “Continue to patrol that store. Good job, Sergeant.”

      “What was that about?” Marcus asked him. “Sounds like she’s more to you than a professional responsibility,” he added after hearing Luke’s story. “If she is, I’m happy for you. It’s time you got some joy in your life. Who is she?”

      Luke stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and looked toward the garden. “If she wasn’t somebody’s target—at least that’s what she thinks—I’d go for her, but I can’t let myself in for that again. I keep thinking of Eunice. She thought nothing could happen to her, that I’d keep her safe, but when she needed me, I couldn’t be there. Because she’d called me rather than 9-1-1, I lost her. I can’t live through that again. A woman loves me and believes I’m larger than life, bigger than anything that can happen to her, and calls for me because she trusts me more than any other man—more than those who could have saved her.”

      Marcus stared at him, his eyes wide in astonishment. “You care for her.”

      “Could be. I’m not sure. It’s happened so fast I can’t figure out where the heck it came from.” He eyed Marcus, who’d begun to laugh. “What’s so funny, man?”

      “You are. Have you forgotten? This thing gets you right away, and when it grabs you, you might as well quit running.”

      “If anybody can attest to that, it’s you,” Luke said dryly. “I never saw a man run so hard from pure heaven as you did.”

      He’d never been able to figure out how Marcus could look so innocent when he was about to wade into a person. He waited for the blow, and Marcus let him have it. “Having witnessed that, brother, it seems to me you wouldn’t waste your time running. Trust me, it’s useless, anyway. You are not responsible for Eunice’s death, so quit using that as an excuse to persecute yourself. And mark my words, if this woman gets into you, either get out of her way or enjoy it.” He winked. “I suggest the latter.”

      “You’re loaded with wisdom tonight. Excuse me while I make a phone call.”

      “Sure thing. What’s her name?”

      “Kate,” he called over his shoulder, and strode down the hall to his room.

      He dialed Kate’s home phone number and paced back and forth in his room, waiting for her to answer. Where the heck was she? Strung out with anxiety, he redialed to be sure he’d used the right number.

      “Hello.”

      “Randy. This is Captain Luke. Where’s your mother?”

      “She’s out back. Captain Luke, I have to make my first deliveries Monday.”

      He was anxious to speak with Kate, and he hoped his impatience didn’t show, because getting the boy’s confidence was proving more difficult than he’d expected. “You’ve done well, Randy. I’m proud of you.”

      “You are?”

      “You bet I am,” he said truthfully. “And you’ll be a fine role model for the boys in your group.”

      The small voice appeared uncertain. “I guess I have to try. They seem to like me.”

      So that was it. All the blustering, preening and bad manners were a cover for insecurity. Maybe he’d have to spend more time with the child.

      “Randy, of course the boys like you, and so do all of us officers.”

      “You, too?”

      He stared at the phone. “Son, the reason I insist you obey is because I want you to grow into a fine man, one people will admire and respect.”

      “Like you?”

      He hesitated, but only for a second. “I’d be pleased if you wanted to be like me.”

      A long silence ensued, but he waited. “Gee. Okay. I’ll get my mom.”

      “Luke. What a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you to call.”

      “Cowan told me what happened. Did you get a good look at the man?”

      She described the man who accosted her and added, “He wore glasses, but they might have been a disguise. Also, he wasn’t the man who locked Randy and me in the store. This one was older and rougher. Robbing my store wasn’t his priority. He was after my house keys.”

      None of it made sense to him, and its strangeness increased his concern. “I want you to put alarms on your door and windows, but we’ll take about that when I get back. Is your garden fenced?”

      She told him it was, and eagerness laced her voice when she added, “When are you coming back?”

      Was she telling him she wanted to see him? Oh, hell, he had to stop thinking about her in that way. “I’m debating that right now. I have a feeling that hood knows me, and that he’s seen us together, because he gave me forty-five minutes to get way out of town. And he didn’t wait till dark to make his move. Did it occur to you that even though you closed more than an hour early, he was there waiting for you?”

      He hadn’t reasoned it out before, and now a pain scissored his belly. Simple robbery wasn’t the man’s motive, and until he knew what the guy wanted he’d be handicapped in his efforts to catch him.

      “Be careful, Kate. I…Look, I don’t want anything to happen to you and Randy. Keep him close to you this weekend. Kate—”

      Her voice, soft and sweet, could tempt him to do things he didn’t want to do. “What is it, Luke?”

      “I’ll call you when I get back there. Take good care.” A strange, indefinable emptiness suffused him, but he hung up without telling her he wanted to see her right then, that he feared for her well-being, and would go to any lengths to protect her.

      “Is she okay?” Marcus asked when Luke joined him in the family room. It had been Amanda’s living room before Marcus renovated the house and added a wing.

      “Yeah. She’s fine. I wish I could get a handle on this thing. She’s vulnerable, and it occurs to me that I’d better put a man on Randy.”

      “Who’s Randy?”

      “Her seven-year-old son. He’s wayward, and there’s no telling what he’ll get into.”

      “Send him down here when school’s out. We’ll soften him up.”

      “Thanks. We’ll see about that. Look, I think I’d better head out of here tomorrow morning. I don’t like anything about the report Kate and Cowan gave me. I’d better check on her.”

      “Sure,” Marcus said, a grin easing over his face. “And give her a kiss for me while you’re at it.”

      Luke rubbed the back of his neck, anxiety for Kate fighting for supremacy over his desire for her. “You’re getting rather fanciful.”

      Marcus laughed. “Telling you like you told me, just like it is, brother. Get it together. Tell her you need her, and if she’s reluctant, drag out the famous LSH charisma and change her mind. Man, you’re supposed to be knock-’em-dead irresistible. You’re ruining your reputation.”

      Luke’s left eyebrow arched. “I wouldn’t mind if you kept thoughts like that to yourself. I don’t need to hear this from you. I get enough of it from that gang I work with. Axel Strange is