Dangerous Inheritance Read Free Page A

night she had been ready to deck him. Had her feelings toward him changed that fast? Grandma Mattie had believed the police in Walnut Grove were corrupt. What about Nick? Could she trust him, or beneath that friendliness was he really her enemy?
    She drove into the restaurant lot and found a spot to park close to his car. He stood beside it waiting for her. Today he bore little resemblance to the hard, suspicious policeman he’d been last night. Tall, broad shoulders filling his uniform, he had the kind of rugged good looks she liked in a man. His grin lit up his face.
    Her lips moved in an answering smile that was a little more spontaneous than she intended. She jerked herself up short, clamping down on her emotions. No matter how good-looking Nick Baldwin was, the last thing she needed was to get involved with a policeman. At least not until she learned more about this town...and Nick.
    * * *
    Nick held the restaurant door open for Macy, noticing the way the sun struck glowing bronze highlights in her hair. She was even more beautiful than he’d realized, and she wasn’t angry or nervous the way she’d been last night. Maybe it had just been stress from driving in an unfamiliar place after dark with a storm threatening, and then being harassed by a stranger.
    He reached for a menu, wondering why she was here. He didn’t know anything about this woman, but for some reason he was interested in her, and it had nothing to do with the way she looked, or that vulnerable expression she wore some of the time. Or at least that’s what he wanted to believe.
    As a matter of fact, he really couldn’t explain why he spent so much time thinking about her. Maybe he should back off a little until he found out more about what was going on. He needed to remain professional, concentrate on her reason for being here, instead of thinking of her as a woman who needed his help.
    The waitress took their order: eggs and sausage for him, cheese omelet and a cup of peach yogurt for her. Nick smiled in approval. He liked a woman with a good appetite. He leaned back and studied Macy. She had the same copper-colored hair and green eyes as her deceased mother, judging from the pictures he’d found of Megan Douglas in his research last night on the internet. There hadn’t been much, just a couple of articles about the trial. Not a lot of help.
    But regardless of how good she looked, he couldn’t let those sea-green eyes and that dusting of freckles across her nose distract him from the job at hand—learning why Macy Douglas was in Walnut Grove and what she hoped to accomplish. He didn’t believe she just decided all at once to visit. Something had brought her here, and he wanted to know what. He had a personal interest in this now since his father might have had a hand in sending her dad to prison.
    Before he could speak, she put down her fork and gave him a straight look. “Tell me the truth—how did you manage to get to that house so fast last night? I’d only been there for a few minutes before you grabbed me. And why were you parked around the corner instead of in the driveway?”
    So all right, maybe she wasn’t as calm as she appeared to be, and apparently she hadn’t forgiven him for his part in what had happened. He searched for the right words. Until he knew why she was here, he wasn’t about to discuss police business with her.
    “Like I said, I got a call that you’d pulled into the drive and I was nearby. I drove past just as you stopped. Since I didn’t know who you were or why you were there, I just went around the block and parked, then walked the rest of the way.”
    She looked thoughtful. “I see. You said there had been attempted break-ins. What were they looking for, and why didn’t they succeed?”
    He took a sip of coffee so hot it burned his tongue, trying to decide how to answer. “I don’t know what they’re looking for. As for why they didn’t succeed, people were used to watching to see if Opal was all