Midnight Exposure Read Free Page A

of tree trunk and pulled it toward him.
    “Really?” Scott grabbed the other end as soon as it was within reach. “Why?”
    “I’ve no idea.” A dull ache gathered in Reed’s temple. He could’ve asked, but Miss Sullivan had had enough questions for both of them. Reed didn’t like personal conversations any more than he liked strangers.
    “Odd, though, don’t you think?” Scott asked.
    “No.”
A little
. “And none of our business.” Keeping to himself was a long-ingrained habit that kept Reed and his son firmly under anyone’s radar. Just where they needed to stay. He would never allow his son to suffer another media barrage.
    “Has to be visiting someone. You can count the number of cars that drive down this road a day on one hand.”
    “She just missed the turnoff for town, Scott. End of story.”
    Scott had a point, though. Just what was Jayne Sullivan doing in the middle of nowhere? Huntsville didn’t attract winter tourists.Together, he and Scott carried the hunk of white birch into his workshop, through the front room and into the specially designed space in the rear half of the building. Large skylights and adjustable track lighting allowed him to keep the blinds tightly closed. They heaved the wood onto the worktable. Sheba followed at their heels.
    Scott patted a dark bulge in the trunk. “Nice burl.”
    “Yeah.” Reed stroked the large knot that protruded from one side. This spot would have a unique grain, intricate swirls, once stripped of its flaking bark.
    “You need any more help?”
    “No. I’m good. Thanks.”
    “I’m going back to the house, then. Got some homework to finish up.” Scott headed for the doorway. “Oh, you got two calls. Mae needs something fixed, and Chief Bailey wants you to stop by the station tomorrow.”
    Reed’s headache spiked. “Christ, I’ve turned him down a hundred times—”
    Scott held out both hands in mock surrender. “He said to tell you it isn’t about the job. He just wants to pick your brain.”
    “Oh. Sorry.”
What could the police chief want
? Reed pressed two fingers to his temple. Had to be police business, or Hugh would’ve just stopped by.
    “Dad?”
    Reed looked up. Scott studied the floorboards.
    “You ever think about dating Brandon’s mom?”
    Shit
. “Mrs. Griffin’s a nice lady, Scott, but there’s just no chemistry between us.” Scott’s best friend, Brandon, had a very attractive mother, but Reed had zero interest in Becca Griffin.
    Scott scuffed a toe on the cement. “You mean you don’t like her
that
way.”
    “Exactly.”
    “Do you ever like anybody that way?”
    Jayne Sullivan’s gorgeous turquoise eyes popped into Reed’s head before he could stop the vision, but he shook his head at Scott. He just couldn’t afford to let anyone get close. No sane woman would date him if she knew the whole truth anyway. “No. Not really.”
    “It’s been a long time.” Scott hesitated at the threshold, staring at his boots. Wet and frayed, the untied laces trailed on the floor. “It’d be OK if you found someone else.”
    “I know.” But they both knew he wouldn’t even try.
    “Whatever.”
    As soon as the door closed behind Scott and the dog, Reed pulled a piece of scrap paper from his pocket and scribbled Miss Sullivan’s Pennsylvania license plate number on it. He wondered if whatever favor the police chief was going to ask was worth the price of a background check. Either Reed was paranoid or she’d been overly friendly and nervous.
    Just wary of a stranger, or something else?
    Probably he was letting his son’s overactive imagination get to him. But he couldn’t be too careful. Not with his past.
    From the minifridge in the corner he grabbed a Diet Coke, then walked in a slow circle around the bench. Quiet settled over him, instant as winter nightfall.
    So like his mother, Scott liked blaring music, noise, and people. Reed craved solitude. In an attempt to purge his thoughts of his wife’s death and