Hailey's Hero

“Getting married?” he asked.

“No.” A blush on her cheeks indicated embarrassment. She quickly broke eye contact, suggesting a lie or a reluctance to let him in on her private affairs. Still, the knowledge of those condoms lay before them in the awkward silence.

The aroma of pot roast filled the room. A small table in the dining room was set for two, along with wineglasses and new, red tapered candles. Nick slid her a slow smile. “No wedding bells, huh? Maybe the groom just doesn’t know it yet.”

She quickly stood, crossed her arms and flashed him a look of annoyance. The flush on her cheeks deepened, suggesting his comment had struck a chord of some kind. Then she scooped the magazines from the tabletop and placed them in a wicker basket that held other publications. “Did you have something to discuss with me?”

At this rate, Nick had better work on his manners and his ability to reason with her. Maybe he ought to turn on the charm, make nice, then hit her with his plan to take her to California. He’d leave Harry out of the discussion for the time being. “It looked as though you landed on the sidewalk kind of hard. Head injuries can be deceptive.”

She crossed her arms under her breasts, drawing his attention to the way they would fill a man’s hands.

Hell. Where had that misguided thought come from?

“My head is fine. And I bruised my…hip. Nothing’s broken.” The phone rang, interrupting the rest of her words. “Excuse me.”

She turned and walked toward the kitchen. The hem of her black midlength dress brushed against shapely calves. She was a striking young woman, Nick realized. And stubborn. He wondered whether he could break down her defenses. Touch some tender spot in her heart and make her agree to see Harry.

Not if he didn’t stop thinking about her as an attractive woman. A man didn’t hit on his friend’s daughter.

Nick scanned the small living room of the house she’d made into a home: floral-printed cotton, coordinating plaid pillows with ruffles, light oak furniture. Sheesh, Hailey was a nester—just the kind of woman Nick tried to avoid.

If there was one thing he didn’t need, it was a woman who expected a guy to be home by five and spend weekends doing fix-it projects. Nick wasn’t Ward Cleaver or Tim the Tool Man, nor did he want to be.

On the fireplace mantel, delicate picture frames—some silver, some crystal—displayed photographs. The feminine touch revealed a romantic side of the young woman, an emotional side he hoped to tap into.

He glanced to the kitchen, where she stood talking on the telephone. He figured she was going to ask him to leave. Well, what did he expect? A dinner invitation? His stomach grumbled like a small kid in the back seat clamoring for attention.

After talking to Harry at the hospital late last night, he’d gone home, packed his bags and headed for Lindbergh Field, hoping to catch an early-morning flight. He probably should have picked up a burger and fries along the way, but he’d been intent upon finding Hailey before checking into a hotel or grabbing a bite to eat. That might have been a mistake, he realized, as his stomach rumbled again. He should have eaten more at the airport than a sweet roll and black coffee, but he had been determined to reach Walden before the storm hit.

While Hailey talked quietly in the kitchen, Nick stood and made his way to the fireplace. He lifted a silver, heart-framed photograph from the mantel. A picture of a dark-haired girl in pigtails, missing a front tooth and straddling a two-wheeled bike, smiled at him, begging him to get to know the daughter Harry had let down.

He glanced at Hailey, who stood in a tidy, well-stocked kitchen. She had those cupboard doors that were mostly glass, the kind you could see right through. Every plate, cup and glass had been neatly stacked. Each can of vegetables lined carefully in a row. He thought of his own kitchen back home.

Thank goodness no one could see how he’d shoved his junk in each cupboard. And the drawers seemed to collect stuff he wasn’t ready to throw away yet. It was a man’s place, he noted. Just the way a guy liked it.

“Well, sure,” Hailey told the person on the other line. “I understand. I’m disappointed, but I’ll save you some leftovers.”

The guy who was going to have a candlelit dinner of roast beef? Too bad. Fast food, Nick’s usual dinner fare, wouldn’t taste half as good as this meal smelled. He actually felt sorry for the guy. Sort of.

He looked at Hailey again, watched as she balanced the phone on one shoulder and checked the pot in the oven. She looked at home in a kitchen. Competent and capable. A real homebody, the kind Nick steered clear of ever since that time he’d let Carla move into his apartment—a big mistake on his part.

Carla had questioned his every move and never understood why he couldn’t leave a stakeout to be home by the time dinner was ready. Nope, a cop needed a different kind of woman. One that didn’t expect promises a guy couldn’t keep.

“When do they expect the storm to let up?” Hailey asked the caller.

So Hailey’s dream date wasn’t going to make it at all.

She twirled her finger around the phone cord, then glanced Nick’s way. When their eyes met, something unspoken passed between them. An awareness, he supposed, of each other. The attraction he’d felt earlier and shoved aside muscled its way back—front and center. It caught him off guard. Her, too, he guessed, because she quickly turned her back to him.

“Take care, Steven. Bye.” The telephone clicked against the wall mount as she hung up the receiver, and several moments of silence followed.

“Does Steven have a last name?” Nick didn’t know why he asked.

“Not one that matters,” she said. “If you have something to talk about, you’d better get it said. The storm has hit hard just south of here, and at least one road is closed.”

He needed more time with her, time to figure out a good way to broach the subject and explain why he was here. And he needed time to understand why she wouldn’t speak to Harry and how Nick could persuade her to change her mind.

When he didn’t respond, she shook her head, then walked to the window and gazed out. She sighed heavily. “It’s snowing. You’d better get out of here before it’s too late to get back to your hotel. Where are you staying?”

“I haven’t gotten a room yet. I wanted to check on you first.”

“Didn’t you hear the storm warning?”

“I hadn’t planned on flying to Minnesota until late last night. I’ve got a change of clothes in a duffel bag in the car, along with a shaving kit. I’m not really prepared for a long, winter stay.” Nick joined her at the window. He didn’t get much chance to see snow, other than a couple of trips to the mountains near Julian.

“Well, you’re in one heck of a fix, then. It’s coming down hard and fast.”

“Where’s the nearest hotel?” he asked.

“South of here. Ten miles down the closed road.”

“And the nearest hamburger joint?”

“Next door to the hotel.” She leaned against the windowsill and crossed her arms, again lifting her breasts into mounds begging to be touched. “It looks like you’ve got a big problem.”

Nick nodded, feeling a bit smug about the predicament that had forced Hailey’s hand. She couldn’t very well send him away now, could she?

Getting snowed in would definitely work in his favor, though. He would use the time to convince her to return to San Diego with him, to talk to Harry. He flashed her a smile that seemed to bounce off the rim without scoring a point.

She stepped closer, arms still crossed. The light, powdery scent of lilac accosted him with a frightening awareness of her femininity, of her proximity. He shook off the unwelcome temptation. Hailey Conway was off-limits, as far as he was concerned. But being stranded with her for a few hours might be the break he needed.

Her eyes sparkled, but not in pleasure. “I can’t believe you’d drive all the way out here without checking the weather report, without having winter clothing. Don’t you plan ahead?”

The only plan he’d had this morning was catching the first possible flight to Minneapolis. And he’d heard the damn weather report. But his goal had been finding her as quickly as possible, so he could take her back to California. Getting holed up in a motel wasn’t part of his game plan.

Of course, getting stranded in a small house with a pretty but spunky brunette hadn’t been part of the plan either, but he’d make it work. “I don’t suppose I could pay you for a serving of roast beef? And maybe bunk out on your sofa?”

Those sky-blue eyes opened wide, as though he’d suggested they have a brief, meaningless love affair. The idea, he realized, was far more tempting than it should be.

Her arms dropped to her sides, and her lips parted. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Nope. Passed my psychological evaluations with flying colors. Or at least passable colors.” He smiled, trying to lighten her mood.

It didn’t work.

At least he hadn’t told her his real reason for coming. Mentioning Harry right now would probably get him tossed out on his ear.

And it was too damn cold to risk that.

“It’s either your sofa or my car,” he said, hoping the pretty woman would have mercy on a well-meaning cop. “What do you say?”

Chapter Two

Hailey wasn’t about to be taken in by a slick, fast-talking stranger.

If Detective Granger thought a badge gave his honor some kind of validation, he was mistaken. She wanted to boot him out the door, then sit at the window and watch him turn blue, although she wasn’t entirely sure why. Partly because he was a cop.

But more than likely she was feeling testy because her plans to seduce Steven had run amok, and it seemed to be Nick Granger’s fault.

“I’m hungry. And stranded.” He slid her an easy smile, one she suspected was meant to disarm her anger and gain her trust. “If you have a spare blanket, I could sleep in the rental car.”

She couldn’t believe he’d suggest something so stupid. Or was he playing on her sympathy? She couldn’t be sure. “You’d be a human Popsicle before midnight.”

“Does that mean you’ll do the humane thing and offer me dinner and a place to sleep?”

Hailey glanced at the table she’d set especially for Steven. She’d had big plans for this evening—plans that didn’t include a stranded detective.

Of course, she’d deal with her disappointment, as she’d long grown accustomed to doing, but did she want to offer lodging to a man she didn’t know? A man she shouldn’t find so darn attractive?

She wasn’t afraid of Nick Granger, although she wasn’t sure what made her think he was trustworthy. The fact that he was a cop? That part worked against him, although he probably didn’t know it. Still, she couldn’t very well send him out into a snowstorm with no place to go. “You can sleep on the sofa.”

“Thanks. I’ll get my bag out of the car.”

She looked at the worn leather jacket he wore. It wasn’t enough protection from the cold. “You get the roast out of the oven. I’ll get your bag.”

“You’re not going outside in the storm. It’s my stuff, I’ll get it.”

So his heroic side masked stupidity. She sighed heavily. “I’ve got a down-filled parka and boots. I doubt you’d make it back to the porch.”

“I’m tougher than you obviously think,” he said.

“And much bigger than me. I’d have a tough time dragging your dead weight back inside.”

He flashed her a bad-boy grin. “Then leave me on the porch.”

“Now that’s an appealing thought, but it would prey on my sense of decency to let a defenseless stranger from sunny California freeze to death.”

“That’s one way to be rid of me.”

She tossed him a naughty-girl smile, one she’d never perfected. “You’re right, but it would probably draw a few Minnesota detectives to my house, and I’m not too fond of police officers.”

Granger closed the distance between them and placed his hands on her shoulders. A sea-breezy scent, mingled with leather and musk, accosted her with his sexual presence. She found it tauntingly appealing yet unwelcome.

“You’re not going outside.” Those coffee-brown eyes settled on hers, stimulating her like an intravenous jolt of caffeine. His grip tightened—not in a threatening way but still rather convincingly. The detective was macho, it seemed. Too macho and bossy for her taste. Well, let him go outside and freeze his tush off.

In an effort to dismiss the arousing effect he had on her, she lifted her chin. “Have it your way. I’ll put dinner on the table, and if you survive the ice and snow, wash your hands.”

“I’ll be back.”

That’s what Hailey was afraid of. She stood her ground until the door closed behind him.

Nick made it to the car, but it was colder than he’d anticipated—monstrously cold. He tried to think about the balmy weather back in San Diego, but it didn’t help.

By the time he reached the porch, he was shivering so badly that he thought he’d never stop. When he opened the door and stepped inside the warmth of the small apartment-size house, he could see Hailey at work in the kitchen, and he expected her to say something to him.

Instead, she continued to wash tomatoes and leaves of romaine without looking up. She was a stubborn woman, so it seemed. The kind to serve a guy a good-size portion of hot tongue and cold shoulder when he didn’t let her have her way. He glanced at his snow-covered pants and shoes.

The powdery stuff fell to the floor, and he realized a puddle of water would form on Hailey’s hardwood entry. No need to set off Martha Stewart before dinner.

“Where…can…I…f-f-f-ind…a…t-t-t-owel?” he asked between chattering teeth.

“Oh, you made it back alive.” She smiled sweetly, and her eyes glistened with feigned sincerity.

He didn’t wait for an answer to his question, just joined her in the kitchen and snatched one of two dish towels from the oven door handle. He carried it back to the living room. By the time he had the floor nearly dry, she yelled, “Hey,” jarring him from his task.

“What are you doing with my good towel?” she asked.

“Wiping the floor.”

“Those are dish towels and they’re only for looks. You’re not supposed to use them.”

“They were hanging in plain sight.”

“That’s a decorating touch. Like the curtains. I keep the regular towels in the righthand drawer.”

If Nick weren’t so hungry, he’d tell her what she could do with her towels. And since he needed to convince her to come to San Diego, he’d have to get on her good side. If she had one.

She opened the oven and stooped to pull out the roast. The backside of her was pretty nice.

Down, boy, he told himself. Wrong kind of woman. Totally wrong.

“It’s ready,” she said.

Nick noticed a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon on the countertop. “Should I pour the wine?”

She shot him one of those lips-parted, taken-aback glances, like he’d suggested using Steven’s toothbrush. Then her expression softened. “Sure. Go ahead.”

He supposed drinking wine by candlelight made her feel uneasy, as if Nick was putting the moves on her, threatening poor Steven’s position.

But that wasn’t his intent. It just seemed a waste to let the bottle stay corked and lying on the countertop.

Besides, he thought, a grin tugging at one side of his lips, if he plied her with a bit of vino, she just might open up and tell him what she had against Harry. And Nick just might convince her to pack an overnight bag and fly back to California for the weekend.

Wham, bam, thank you ma’am—only without the sex.

Hailey, he noticed, prepared each plate before setting it at the table, a formality Nick wasn’t used to. His idea of dinner was Chinese take-out or a couple of tacos.

Of course, there were those special meals at the Logans’ house, but Harry’s wife, Kay, always set the food out family-style, which seemed more like the way people should eat, if they were inclined to sit down with a napkin and silverware.

Nick had to admit the table Hailey had set looked inviting. He couldn’t help wondering how a guy would go about getting seconds. Ask for them, maybe?

He poured the wine, then took the seat Hailey indicated was his. This was one woman who needed to loosen up, and he wondered if a bottle of Cabernet would be enough. “Do you want me to light the candles?”

She shot him another one of those you’ve-got-to-be-kidding looks, but strode to the kitchen and returned with a book of matches. Olsen’s Bar and Grill, Mankato. Not that it mattered, but noticing details had become second nature to Nick.

He lit each wick, then watched the tiny flames reflect upon the crystal goblets, making them glisten with a romantic ambiance. He felt a bit guilty taking Steven’s place, but not overly so. The conversation he meant to have with Hailey was better kept private. And intimate.

When she sat and primly scooted her chair forward, he lifted his glass in a toast. “To new friends and Mother Nature.”

“To odd acquaintances and unfortunate twists of fate.” She clinked her glass with his, then took a sip. Those baby blues studied him over the rim, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking.

Hailey couldn’t keep her eyes off the man who sat across from her, the stranger who had taken Steven’s place at her table. She felt weird, as if she was cheating, which was crazy, since Steven had never suggested any kind of commitment.

Not yet, she corrected herself. The suggestion would have come tonight. She was sure of it.

She took another sip of wine and relished the warmth that slid down her throat, settling her nerves. And her conscience. As attractive and appealing as Nick Granger might be, he was definitely not husband material. She’d made up her mind to find a guy who was dependable. A real homebody who looked forward to weekends at the lake with his wife and kids.

A cop, no matter how good-looking, was the last person she would contemplate as a prospective life partner.

“Got a family?” He picked up a knife and began cutting his meat. “Brothers and sisters? Parents?”

The question surprised her, but she figured he was just trying to make polite dinner conversation. “No. Not anymore.”

There was so much she’d tried to forget, so much that was best left alone.

“What happened to them?” He speared a slice of pot roast and popped it into his mouth. Still, those rich brown eyes studied her, awaiting her response.

Hailey fingered the stem of her glass, felt the cool, hard spindle of crystal that broke so easily if one wasn’t careful when washing them. For a moment she considered telling him she didn’t want to talk about it. But what did it matter? The guy was virtually a stranger and would be out of her life, once the storm let up. “My mom passed away four years ago. I haven’t seen my dad in years.”

“When did you last see him? Your dad, I mean.”

She wasn’t sure why he was interested. Or why she bothered to even tell him. “Twenty years ago.”

Her thoughts drifted to that cold, lonely night, the night her mother had cried herself to sleep for the first time Hailey had been aware of. The evening Harry Logan chose one family over another.

It had been the night before her sixth birthday, and Harry had come by to see her mother. They spoke privately in the kitchen, which they often did. When the adults came into the living room, her mom closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, as though trying hard not to cry.

“What’s the matter?” Hailey had asked.

Harry walked to the sofa, but didn’t sit down. He reached for Hailey’s hand. “I can’t come to your birthday party, honey.”

“How come?”

Her mother’s eyes welled up with tears. “Harry needs to spend more time with his wife and children.”

Hailey hadn’t known her father had another family. “When will we see you again?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart.” Harry bent down and gave Hailey a kiss on the forehead, then reached into his wallet and handed her mother a wad of bills.

“Do you think this is going to make everything okay?” Mama asked.

“Come on, Marilyn,” Harry said. “I’m trying to do what’s right.”

“There’s nothing right about any of this, Harry.”

Mama cried after Harry left. Hailey cried, too. She hadn’t understood what had happened. But she understood it now. And there was nothing Harry Logan could say to make her forget the pain his leaving had caused.

She took another drink of wine, only this time it didn’t slide delicately down her throat. She choked, sputtered and coughed.

“You okay?” Nick looked at her with those coffee eyes, trying to be her best friend, she figured. Like two housewives who chatted about men and kids over a cup of the brew.

But Hailey wasn’t about to dig deeper and tell this man stuff she’d buried long ago, stuff she wanted to stay buried. “I’m fine. It just went down the wrong pipe.”

He flashed her a Brando grin, the kind a cop slid at a perp that had just backed himself into a corner. “Your old man must have really done a number on you and your mom.”

“It was a long time ago. I got over it.” She snagged a piece of meat with her fork and put it into her mouth, hoping that by chewing, she’d be unable to talk, and he’d take note of that.

“Twenty years ago you were just a kid.”

Instead of answering, she jabbed a carrot.

“He must have run off with your candy,” Nick said, a grin crinkling his eyes. “Or was it worse than that?”

“It was a lot worse.” Hailey studied her plate, unwilling to look into those freshly brewed eyes that tempted her to bare her soul.

“He ever apologize?”

“Yes. Sort of.”

“But you’re not ready to forgive and forget?”

Hailey had a hard time forgetting a lot of things—her mother’s broken spirit, for one. For all the mornings Hailey had to drag her mom out of bed, force her to eat a child-prepared breakfast, then encourage her to go to work so that the rent would be paid on time and groceries would be bought. “I’ve come to grips with the past. I don’t hate my dad, but neither do I want to have a relationship with him.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I’m doing fine on my own.” And she was. Hailey was the captain of her own ship, and her carefully laid plans guaranteed a life that was smooth sailing. Except for tonight.

As much as she wanted to avoid Nick’s eyes, her gaze caught his and locked. Something passed between them, although she wasn’t sure what it was. A kindred spirit kind of thing, it seemed. Like they had more in common than either would suspect. It momentarily warmed her heart, touched her soul. Whatever it was.

“What about you?” she asked. Lobbing the memories back in his court. “Do you have a family?”

“None to speak of, other than the cop who turned my life around. I was sixteen when I first met him. Back then I was a loudmouth kid who was angry at the world.”

She studied the rugged, good-looking detective and tried to imagine him as a troubled teen. It was tough to do, because he seemed grown-up. Together. “Congratulations on the U-turn. You’ve obviously made some changes in your life.”

“Thanks to a wise detective.” He tossed her a crooked grin. “I’ll never forget the first time I met him. It was Christmas Eve, and he caught me throwing rocks at a nativity display in Old Town.”

“Did he haul you in?”

“Nope. He took me for a cup of hot cocoa at an all-night diner. Said he’d just gotten off duty and was hungry. We talked for a while. The next thing I knew, I was having Christmas dinner with his family.” He flashed her a nostalgic smile, one that touched her heart with its sincerity. “I never knew what a real family was like, not until meeting them. And the fact is, I haven’t been the same since.”

“What about your own family? Didn’t they miss you on Christmas?”

“My mom had already died. Fell down the stairs, at least that’s what my stepdad told the cops. I guess they believed him, but I never did. Anyway, at that time I had no real place to call home, and no reason to celebrate the holidays.” He scanned the living room, those stimulating eyes taking in each nook and corner. “You gonna have a Christmas tree?”