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Damn, he’d wondered so many times why she’d left so abruptly He wondered if he’d co Now he had his answer And he almost wished the real reason was because he’d scared her off

She pulled her legs up, leaning a little on her side to face hier, et ot the job at the su to do But that sued hteen, I was done with the fighting and being used as a pawn in their divorce Besides, they both had new families and new kids, and I don’t really fit into the mold of their new lives”

He didn’t like what he was hearing And suddenly, he began to wonder what going through that experience would do to a woman’s heart? “So that’s why you came back here after all this time away?”

She nodded “Maisie de Christmas alone”

He liked Maisie Carter She was a little bit like Penelope, a free spirt, only slightly less free, since she didn’t get the police called on her for skating on a fountain “You’re close, you two?”

“We were the best of friends when they lived in California” She tossed a grape into herwhen the faot sick But that’s why my parents sent me out here for the summers I loved it here”

He watched the fire a rips that it hadn’t been his fault she’d left after he kissed her He’d thought for years that it had been because he’d told her he wanted to kiss her forever He still couldn’t believe he told her that He took a long sip of his coffee to gather his thoughts and then turned back to her “Where does your family live now?”

“My mom still lives in Cali, and my dad moved to Portland When they divorced, I think they both wanted to rediscover the odd jobs, until I could bartend, then I worked in everything from pubs, to resorts, to dive bars, to tourist traps, and even soain “My parents’ new families are just…different I don’t fit in”

“You’re strong and a free spirt,” Darryl stated, so the need to point out what assholes her parents were “That can intimidate people”

She grinned, leaning forward, staring at hi, bad cop like you?”

Christ, the heat she brought in a single second blew hisseeard, Penelope hadn’t changed one bit She still ht the pull of his body to lean forward and find out ould happen if he played with that heat a little “You could try” He grinned some of the need back at her

Her lips parted in an invitation, and it took all of his strength not to clai him She was trouble That he knew for a fact He needed to be squeaky clean until Christ at him for his possible promotion But his proht now; all the worries he thought of before noere gone It was just hiht be the right kind of trouble

Chapter Three

The night crept up fast, and Penelope alretted that She’d enjoyed the day with Darryl, far , considering she was hungover and embarrassed to her bones Darryl had a lot of stories, funny ones, and they’d watched two uessed this hat people did during the holidays Relaxed, spent time with friends and family, and stayed cozy inside by the fire She hadn’t spent a day like this with anyone for a really long ti and slept through the daylight hours or traveled And after her low-key day with Darryl, she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that Had she beenout on life?

They had sandwiches for lunch and played a gana for dinner, and she’d been washing dishes when Darryl’s back porch caught her eye He’d ventured off to the washroom, and when she finished the dishes, she hurried out the door, grabbing the war winter boots, and like soh the snow until she stood in middle of his backyard