“Don’t worry yet. Get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.” He reached out and gently brushed a lock of my hair off my face. It was a sweet gesture, one that sent a little zing of desire through me. Hmm. I hadn’t felt that in years. It was probably a good idea to get the hell out of here before I climbed him like a tree.
“Night,” I said quickly.
“See you later, alligator.” He winked, and I stood frozen, slightly amazed at both his goofiness and his handsome face. It had been a strange evening, from the details we’d learned, to the monkey, to Jack’s gentle flirtatiousness. He seemed like a good man. Maybe my sister was right, and I should give him a chance.
Or perhaps I was diverting my attention away from the problem right in front of me: the fact that my sister’s gun had been used in the commission of a crime. That was what I needed to focus on. Well, that, and the new store. And my gator business.
I didn’t need to crush on a guy who’d blown into town a couple of days ago and would eventually leave. I needed to solve a murder. But why was Jack so insistent about helping me, anyway?
Alex Holt’s words from earlier popped into my mind. It could be someone who just arrived in town, he’d said.
Jack started to walk away, and I called to him. “Um, Jack?”
When he turned and stopped, I ran up to him. We were under a large oak tree. His eyes widened and he grinned lazily, probably because he thought I was going to plant a kiss on those full lips of his. How I wish it were that simple. He casually leaned against the tree, and I wanted to swoon from his cool confidence.
“Hey,” he said with a foxy grin.
“How do I know I can trust you?” I blurted, then laughed nervously.
He ran a hand through his dark hair while still smiling. “Trust me how?”
“How do I knowyoudidn’t kill Gene?”
That got him to frown and snort a laugh. “Why would I want to kill Gene? I never met Gene.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know you from Adam. You arrived the same day that Gene died. You’re the only newcomer in town.”
“Other than you.”
“I’m not a newcomer. Well, not really. And I didn’t kill him.”
“Neither did I. But as a criminology professor, I think it’s smart that you ask these questions. If you wanted to do your research, you could google me.” He reached for his wallet and opened it, a smirk on his face. “And, I have a receipt here for Arby’s at twelve thirty on the day I arrived in Wahoo.”
He handed it to me and I used my phone’s flashlight to illuminate the paper. It was the fast-food restaurant in the strip mall road into town, the one near the interstate. “Loaded Turkey Sandwich with Horsey Sauce. Good choice.”
“Here’s a receipt for 1 p.m. I stopped into the Foot Locker and bought some of those Adidas slide shoes. Figured I needed something for the water.”
I studied that piece of paper.
“And a third. At one forty-five. I bought towels at Target. And—” He looked at two receipts, then showed them to me. “Two thirty, Office Depot, where I bought paper, some pens, and a pack of notebooks. And at three, I bought some groceries.”
He handed me another paper. It was a long receipt totaling a hundred and ten dollars of groceries that included pasta, tomato sauce, and onions. I nodded, while noting that he had also purchased cleaning items, shampoo, and toothpaste. Those grooming products alone immediately elevated him above at least half the men in Wahoo. The fact that he used proper grammarandhad all his teeth meant he was the crème de la crème in this town.
“At around four I arrived here, and a half hour later, showed up on your doorstep.”
I handed him the stack of papers and grinned. “You’re very thorough.”
He shrugged. “Taxes.”
“Thanks for proving you’re not a killer.” Elated, I leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. My heart banged against my chest as I pressed my lips to his stubble. Meanwhile, pleasurable tingles flowed through me when I heard him inhale sharply as I kissed him. I paused with my lips against his face so I could take in his soapy man smell.
Yum.
I pulled away, then walked backwards. “Goodnight, Jack Bianchi, my new partner in crime.”
And the new star of all my flirty fantasies, is what I didn’t say aloud. I needed to replace that guy with the nice ass from the reality TV show anyway.
Chapter Eleven