Taming Jesse James Read Free Page B

intoxicating smells of spring drifted around him—sweet lilac bushes, damp, musty earth and meat sizzling on somebody’s grill nearby.
    Salt River was his town and he was fiercely protective of it. When he was a kid, he couldn’t wait to get out. He’d been stupid enough to think the slow pace of a small town was strangling the life out of him. Once in a while he still hungered for something more than ticketing jaywalkers and breaking up the occasional bar fight, but he owed a debt to the people of this town.
    One he’d be a long time repaying.
    Besides, he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else on a beautiful, warm spring night like this. It was just about perfect, with kids jumping on a trampoline down the street, people working in their yards or reading the paper on their front porches, and sprinklers thumping happily all across town.
    Not quite perfect, he amended. He still had the matter of Sarah McKenzie’s suspicions about Corey Sylvester to contend with.
    He rang the doorbell and had to wait only a few seconds before Ginny Garrett answered.
    Her face still retained most of the beauty that had won her the prom queen tiara in school. It brightened when she saw him, but her expression just as quickly grew wary. “What has Corey done now?” she asked, her voice resigned.
    â€œNothing. Least, nothing that I know about yet. That’s not why I’m here, anyway.”
    â€œOh. Well then, Seth’s not home, I’m afraid. He had a late meeting with a client.”
    â€œActually, I wanted to speak with you.”
    Again, wariness vied with curiosity in her expression. “Come in, then,” she finally said. “We can talk in the living room.”
    She led the way through the big house. Jesse had been there plenty of times on business with the mayor, but he always felt out of place amid the creamy whites and fancy furniture—afraid to move wrong in case he broke something expensive.
    â€œWhere’s Maddie?” he asked, of Corey’s six-month-old half sister.
    â€œNapping. Finally.” Ginny rolled her eyes. “I know it’s almost bedtime anyway, but it’s been one of those days. She’s teething and has been running me ragged today. Would you care for something to drink? A pop or something?”
    â€œNo. I’m fine. I’d just as soon get this over with.”
    She glanced at him. “That sounds pretty ominous. What’s this about, Jess?”
    He sighed heavily. Damn, he didn’t want to do this. Ginny had been his friend for a long time—the first girl he’d ever kissed, way back in the second grade.
    After the car accident that had killed his parents and left him in the hospital for nearly a month, she’d been one of the few people who didn’t offer him empty platitudes. Or, worse, who acted as if nothing had happened, when his whole life had just been ripped apart.
    She had offered simple, calming comfort and he had never forgotten it.
    Since then, she’d been to hell and back and had worked hard to make something out of her life. How could he tell her about Ms. McKenzie’s suspicions?
    â€œCome on, Jess. Out with it. You’re scaring me.”
    He blew out a breath, then met her worried gaze squarely. “How do Corey and Seth get on?”
    Her brow furrowed. “What kind of question is that? They get along fine.”
    â€œAll the time?”
    She continued to look puzzled. “Certainly they have their differences, I suppose. Corey can be difficult sometimes and he has a hard time with authority—you should know that as well as anybody. But Seth tries hard to be a good father. Why do you ask?”
    Damn, this was tough. “There’s been an allegation that Corey is being abused.”
    She stared at him, the color draining from her face until her skin just about matched the white of the sofa she was sitting on. “Abused? By Seth?”
    He nodded