and fries on the side.”
Autumn ordered a Reuben.
Francine jotted down the order. “Coming right up,” she said, moving to another table and letting her hand brush over Nathan’s shoulder as she collected the menus.
Autumn watched her leave. She straightened and pushed her hair over her shoulders. “She doesn’t even care that we might be together. She intends to make it clear she could have you if she wanted you.”
“That won’t happen.”
“She’s dating Daniel now,” Autumn said. She shrugged and drew her shoulders in as if making an attempt to take up less space.
“Daniel? The town sheriff? He’s your ex?” Talk about adding another layer of complexity to the case.
“Yes.”
“He pointed suspicion at Blaine,” Nathan said, trying to get a sense of the subtleties.
“Yes. He and Blaine had a falling out.”
Over her? “Why?”
She shrugged. “Nothing to do with the case.”
She was making it clear personal questions were off-limits. He went another way. “I want to talk to anyone who loves to gossip.” Deciphering the bull from the truth wasn’t easy, but every now and then, he got lucky and caught a good lead.
Autumn glanced around the bar. “Loves to gossip? That’s half the town. This is a small place. Not much exciting happens in Smithsburg and when it does, it’s all anyone talks about.”
Then everyone should have plenty to say about the murders. Hang out long enough, and after the last of the dinner crowd left, the drinking crowd would linger. Once the beer and wine had been flowing for a couple of hours, turning the subject of the barroom conversation to the murders would be easy. Francine might even do it for him.
A song he recognized with a slow, steady beat played from the speakers. “Why don’t we dance?”
Autumn looked around. “What? Here?”
“No.” Nathan pointed to the empty dance floor. “There.”
She started to shake her head, but Nathan stood and took her hand, drawing her to her feet. “Come on, this will be fun.”
“I don’t see how this will help the case.”
“It won’t help the case. But you seem tense.”
She pursed her lips. “Dancing will make me more tense.”
“Give it a chance.” Surprised she didn’t refuse again, he led her to the dance floor, threading through the tables of people. He drew her into his arms, bonding her to him. She held herself rigidly against him.
“Relax,” he whispered into her ear. “Everything is fine.”
She relaxed, if only slightly, making it easier for him to move her around the small space. The wood floor was scuffed and worn. Autumn was the perfect height for dancing. If she laid her head down, it would rest in the crook of his neck. Her lips would be close to the part of his skin he loved to have kissed and her hair would be soft against him.
An image of Autumn naked in his bed sprang to mind. He could picture how their bodies would fit together, her long leanness and soft curves molding to his body. As quickly as the image surfaced, guilt snuffed it out. He had to stay focused on finding the Huntsman. With every moment that passed, they were closer to another kill.
She stepped on his toe and apologized. “Remember I mentioned I didn’t go to prom? Lots of reasons for that.”
Her breasts brushed against him and heat arrowed to his groin. “Doesn’t mean we can’t dance now.”
“We’re the only ones.” She spoke through gritted teeth.
Didn’t bother him to go against the grain. “Don’t worry about what other people are doing. If it bothers you, close your eyes and I’ll make sure we don’t walk into anything.”
She shut her eyes and he moved with her, holding her close. He inhaled, the scent of her hair like the outdoors, like pine, or juniper. Where that description came from, he couldn’t recall, but it fit her. Juniper, fresh, clean and invigorating.
Nathan had thought he had a plan for tracking the Huntsman.
Nowhere in his plan did he factor in becoming attracted to Autumn Reed.
* * *
Autumn hated gossip and yet here she was, in the arms of a stranger, starting rumors. Her engagement to Daniel had ended six months before and even though he was already dating Francine, they were keeping it somewhat quiet. Daniel had jumped into bed with Francine the day after he and Autumn broke off their engagement. Or maybe Francine had been one of the women Daniel was seeing all along. She didn’t want to know.
Autumn knew tongues would be wagging about her and the sexy stranger, yet she couldn’t find the strength to pull away from Nathan. His sexual magnetism was a powerful lure, and she found herself agreeing to every word his silver tongue spoke. Though she didn’t remember saying yes, she was out with him and she was dancing with him. Autumn didn’t dance. She chopped wood. She cleared trails. She walked her dog.
The band of Nathan’s arms around her back was strong as he held her, and it was too easy to sink against him. After what she’d been through in the past twenty-four hours, she needed this. He radiated confidence and it was easy to let him lead. With her head on his shoulder, she heard the sound of his heartbeat thundering in his chest, almost as loud as her own.
He brushed her hair behind her ear. “Our food’s on the table.”
The heat of his breath tickled her ear. She lifted her head. “What?”
“Francine brought our food.”
Did he want to stop dancing? Had the song changed? She couldn’t remember the song that was playing when they’d started. Nathan holding her was all that was on her mind. “We should eat.”
She stepped away from him, her body instantly feeling colder. Refusing to let an awkward moment pass, she turned and walked to their table, feeling the burn of his eyes at her back.
“Autumn, what brings you to town?” A friendly, familiar voice. Hilde Sinclair lived close to the trail and maintained one of the trail shelters close to the Trail’s Edge. She had been friendly with her parents when Autumn was young and she had been kind to Autumn after her father passed away, sending over dinner a couple of times.
“Having dinner with a friend,” Autumn said, nodding over her shoulder at Nathan.
Hilde smiled and waved. “I’ll come by this week for a visit, okay?”
Autumn nodded and smiled. “Sure, that sounds good.”
Moving to their table, she slid into her chair and examined her food. Nathan sat to her left and scooted his chair close to her. Why did he keep doing that? When they’d come into the restaurant, the chairs had
