Reluctant Suspicion Read online

  Blake stood back and folded his arms. Already the results were showing; Molly hated men and she hated the police. She lived alone, and despite the presence of her patrons, she seemed to live a relatively solitary life. The pieces weren’t that far from falling into place, and his lukewarm suspicion began to simmer.

  Chapter Three

  Molly hopped off the bottom stair and flattened her hair as she cleared her throat and pushed open the door to the now-empty bar. Joel had texted her to say that everyone was gone and he was heading out about ten minutes ago. He had given Blake a glowing report, so it looked like her new hire was off to a good start.

  ‘Wow, you’ve cleaned up,’ she said, when she saw Blake working.

  Blake looked up from his mopping. ‘Thought it would be in the job description,’ he said.

  ‘Well yeah,’ she said, and swung herself behind the bar. ‘But I usually have to tell people that… Sorry, I didn’t mean to stay upstairs all night.’

  ‘It’s ok,’ Blake said, and went back to mopping. ‘It was quiet anyway. What were you up to up there?’

  ‘Working on a college assignment,’ Molly said, pinging open the register.

  ‘It’s all there,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t doubt that. You’re innocent until proven guilty here.’ And Joel would have been watching him like a hawk.

  She cashed out as he finished mopping. Blake tidied everything away, then stood in the middle of the space to look at her. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘That’s fine; you can go now. Will you be ok getting home? Do you drive?’

  ‘Yeah, the car’s just outside.’

  ‘They are real bastards about giving you tickets if you park on the perimeter of the park, just to let you know in case you’re in during the day.’

  ‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ he said.

  ‘Willow Bank is quite a long drive. What is it? Fifteen miles, or more, maybe? It’s late.’

  ‘Are you asking me to stay over?’ he asked, with a cheeky glint in his eye.

  ‘No! God, no!’ Molly said. The blush returned to her cheeks, but she did have to laugh. ‘Vanessa would never speak to me again if you stayed the night here with me before she had a chance to get her hooks in.’

  ‘I can’t wait to meet this woman,’ he said. ‘It sounds like I’m going to be in for a fun few weeks.’

  ‘Your timing is perfect,’ Molly said, closing the register. ‘She just stopped seeing someone.’

  ‘I have to be honest,’ Blake said, and propped himself on a stool. ‘I’m not really an easy pickings kind of guy.’

  ‘No?’ Molly said. ‘Aren’t all men easy pickings guys?’

  ‘I like my women to have a bit of substance.’

  ‘Ah, the grateful girl type.’

  He sniggered. ‘Not physical substance. I like there to be something behind the eyes.’

  Molly squinted against the statement. ‘I’m not sure how many women like that we get in here. There’s certainly no men like that.’

  ‘I’m no slacker,’ he said. ‘And so far you don’t appear to be either.’

  ‘Heed Joel’s warning,’ Molly said, lifting the register tray from the bar. ‘Substance or not… I’m every guy’s worst nightmare.’

  ‘How so?’ he asked.

  ‘I know what I like, and I don’t shy from taking it.’

  ‘Sounds perfect to me,’ Blake said, with a croak in his throat.

  ‘I don’t just mean in the bedroom,’ Molly said, and carried the cash tray to the door to the back. ‘I’m putting this downstairs. Don’t go anywhere yet.’

  ‘Ok.’

  Molly took the tray to the cellar, fought her way into the safe, and bounded back up the stairs. After locking up the cellar, she went back to the bar and out onto the main floor, fumbling the front door key, which hung on her belt.

  ‘Ready to go?’ she asked.

  ‘Are you coming with me?’ Blake asked, hopping off his stool.

  ‘I just want to make sure you get to your car ok. I don’t want to lose another bar tender.’

  ‘I didn’t know you cared,’ he said, swinging open the door.

  ‘I don’t want the police to show up here again,’ Molly said. ‘The further away they stay, the better.’

  Moving in front of her, he stalled her motion and blocked the exit. ‘What did they do to you?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she said, placing a hand on his bicep. The solid muscle beneath his skin tensed. She tried to urge him outside but he stayed put. ‘Honestly, it’s nothing.’

  ‘You don’t feel that way about people for nothing,’ he said. ‘You’re quite passionate about it.’

  ‘I’m not passionate,’ Molly said. ‘I’m entitled to my opinion.’

  ‘Yes, you are. But it intrigues me… You intrigue me.’

  ‘Lucky me. Will you go home now?’

  ‘Sure,’ he conceded with a smile.

  Walking out of the bar to the sidewalk, he pressed the lock button on his car keys and Molly’s face lit up when she saw the four door pick-up on the kerb. Even through the night sky she saw the shine in the new truck’s black paint work.

  ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘Why would a guy who can afford that need a shitty job in a bar?’

  Blake exhaled a laugh as her wondrous expression explored the exterior of the vehicle. ‘It’s not mine, it’s my brother’s. When he’s on vacation, I check in on the house.’

  ‘He doesn’t know you’re driving it, does he?’

  ‘Nope,’ Blake said, shaking his head. ‘Do you want a ride?’

  Molly’s eyes flew to his, burning with a desire to hop up into that huge beast and enjoy the journey. But she should know better.

  ‘I shouldn’t,’ she said. ‘But thanks.’

  ‘You’ve closed up shop. You’ve got the key. Lock up… I’ll bring you back in one piece, I promise. If either of us should be worried about being alone together, it’s me. Women are safe on the streets at the moment.’

  Molly pondered the thought. ‘Ok, but just around the block.’

  Blake opened the truck as she locked up the bar, and he waited for her to approach before he gestured for her to enter the cab. Molly had to hold in her squeal as she hauled herself up into the monster. He tucked her in, closed the door, and strode around the front to the driver’s side.

  ‘Buckle up,’ he said, closing the door and bringing the truck to life.

  ‘This is incredible,’ she said, as he swung around the corner.

  ‘You like cars?’

  ‘Oh, I know nothing about them. But there is something…’ She wriggled into her seat, enjoying the security it offered. ‘…exciting about the roar of a substantial engine. I’m not really one for the teeny, tiny sports cars. They would struggle to win in a fight against a bumblebee.’

  ‘I think it’s the speed that attracts people to those,’ Blake said, and shifted up a gear.

  ‘Sure,’ Molly said. ‘But what use is speed? Speed is only useful if you are trying to escape something. But if you have the strength to stand up and face anything… Why would you need to run away?’

  ‘Ah, so you’re one for big muscles and little brains.’

  ‘No,’ Molly said, running her hands along the upholstery of her seat. ‘This beast could win in a fight against most things. If you crash in a Porsche at a hundred miles an hour, then it’s sayonara. If you hit something in this at speed, then it will be deader than you.’

  Blake laughed. ‘So it’s a safety thing?’

  ‘I guess. You sit in something like this and you feel safe, secure… intimidating. You don’t get that in a sports car. I would rather be alive than feel the wind in my hair.’ Slipping her hands onto the solid dashboard, she closed her eyes.

  ‘You better not be getting intimate with my brother’s car,’ Blake said. ‘You’ll make me jealous.’

  ‘Jealous?’ Molly said, opening her eyes to meet his.

  ‘The way those hands of yours are stroking the das
h… It could give a man ideas.’

  Molly shook her head while the sparkle of a smile found her lips. ‘Most men would get ideas watching a woman tying her shoes.’

  ‘Sure,’ Blake said. ‘If she was as beautiful as you.’

  Molly drew her attention off Blake and started to run her fingers across the switches and dials on the centre console. Blake’s hand brushed hers as he turned on the CD player. The blaring music startled her, and one hand fell onto the gear stick while the other shot to her chest.

  ‘What did you do that for?’ she asked, trying to soothe her heart.

  ‘I thought it would better your experience,’ he said.

  ‘Something thrilling to get me in the mood?’

  ‘Something like that,’ he said. His hand rested over hers on the gear stick. When she tried to slip her hand free, his grip increased, and he changed gear.

  ‘I thought you should enjoy it as much as I am,’ he said, as his fingers found their way between hers and once again his stare was on her.

  ‘Blake,’ she muttered. ‘I’m not what you think I am.’

  ‘What do I think you are?’ Blake asked, flicking his attention to the road and then back to hers.

  ‘Easy. I won’t be seduced by a fancy car and a tune with a heavy bass line.’

  Glancing back to the road only briefly, he then switched his focus back to her, but it didn’t stay on her face, it slipped lower to her cleavage.

  ‘I can feel you trembling,’ he said, still caressing her fingers with his.

  Molly’s palm grew moist against the ball of the gear stick. His heavy hand possessed hers, so she couldn’t remove it, not without a fight. She had to question why she hadn’t already put up the fight to extricate herself. Worse than that, her fingers slid upward, until her knuckles sparked in their new nest between his.

  ‘It’s cold,’ she murmured.

  ‘Doesn’t explain why your heart is pounding in that fascinating blouse of yours.’

  ‘I don’t think it’s my blouse you’re looking at,’ she said.

  Blake’s focus went back to the road and she saw that twitch in his jaw again. His mouth tipped upward as he shared a private moment with himself, which made Molly’s cheeks flush. It may have been a private moment in his mind, but it didn’t take a psychic to figure out his thoughts.

  To distract herself from them, Molly glanced out of the front windshield and frowned at the darkness before her. ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘For a ride.’

  ‘I said around the block,’ Molly said, realising there were no streetlights or sidewalks where they were. ‘This road takes us right out of town.’

  ‘It does. This way I can show you that having strength doesn’t mean you can’t have speed too.’

  ‘I don’t want to go racing. Being pulled over by the police is the last thing I need.’

  ‘We won’t be pulled over,’ Blake said.

  ‘You never know,’ Molly said. ‘They lurk.’

  ‘Trust me, no one will stop us.’

  Molly’s knuckles turned white when he picked up speed on the long, straight stretch in front of them. ‘Blake, stop.’

  ‘You’re safe. You agreed with me on that.’

  ‘No,’ Molly said, watching the needle on the speedometer creep up until they were over the speed limit. ‘Please, Blake, stop.’

  ‘She can handle it.’

  Trying to steady her breathing as the car sped forward, Molly felt the push in her chest, holding her back against the seat. ‘Please, Blake. Stop!’

  When Blake glanced at her, Molly closed her eyes and began to mutter words of comfort to herself. A point in his favour was his lack of hesitation; he didn’t look twice. Blake registered her discomfort and he immediately went for the brake. She lurched forward when he pulled the car onto the shoulder and drew it to a sudden halt.

  In the moment the vehicle came to a stop, Molly fumbled for her seatbelt. But her hands shook and it was Blake who had to reach over and release her. She didn’t even look at him, she couldn’t, she just leapt from the car and started to pace. Blake jumped out not long after her, though the truck still idled.

  ‘Are you ok?’ he asked.

  ‘You idiot!’ Molly screamed, and on marching to him she began to pound her fists on his chest.

  ‘Hey! What? I thought you wanted to go for a ride!’

  She hit his chest and his shoulder again, then he snatched her wrists and held her back. ‘What did you do that for?’

  ‘I didn’t know it would scare you,’ Blake said. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Sorry?’ Molly said. ‘You idiot! Do you have any idea how many people die in car accidents every day?’

  ‘I wasn’t going to kill you,’ Blake said. ‘It’s a straight road.’

  All around them were fields and trees; they were in the middle of nowhere. The artificial lights, and civilisation, had ended miles before.

  ‘You don’t think that everyone says that? Do you think when people die in car accidents that they know it is going to happen?’

  ‘What happened to you?’ Blake asked. ‘What happened to upset you like this?’

  ‘Nothing!’ Molly barked, yanking her wrists from his grip. She glared for a second, then she turned and strode away.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Blake called after her.

  ‘Home!’

  ‘Are you crazy?’ Blake shouted. ‘Town is at least five miles from here.’

  ‘I don’t care!’ Molly threw over her shoulder.

  Blake ran around the car to turn off the engine. She heard the snick of the lock, then he picked up the pace to catch up with her. ‘You can’t walk out here alone at night,’ Blake said when he joined her. ‘It’s freezing.’

  ‘Go away!’

  Blake tried to take her arm, but she tugged it from him. ‘Let me drive you home,’ he said. ‘I’ll keep it under the speed limit, I swear.’

  ‘No! Go back to your car! Get the hell out of here!’

  ‘No,’ Blake said. ‘I’m not going to leave you out here alone. If you’re not murdered, you’ll be eaten by field mice after you freeze to death.’

  ‘Don’t be cute!’ Molly yelled. ‘Leave me alone!’

  ‘I brought you out here. I’m taking you home. Walking or driving, I’m not leaving you.’

  Molly stopped to face him. ‘I don’t want you with me, and you can forget about the job, too. I’m not having anyone as reckless as you behind my daddy’s bar.’

  ‘What happened to your dad? Is that why you’re upset?’

  ‘What does it matter?’ Molly said. ‘He’s dead. Life goes on.’

  ‘Not for him it doesn’t.’

  ‘You really are a heartless bastard, aren’t you?’

  Spinning around, she folded her arms and continued her trudge toward town. The cold would seep in because she hadn’t planned on being outside. Molly didn’t even have a jacket, she was wearing her black skirt, white shirt, and black apron that tied at her waist. Freezing out here wouldn’t take long, but her stubborn streak wouldn’t let her admit that to him.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Blake said, as he double stepped it to catch her again. ‘I didn’t mean it like that… I was just curious.’

  ‘He had a heart attack, in the bar. Five years ago.’

  ‘I’m sorry… you’ve had the place ever since?’ he asked. Molly nodded. ‘What about your mom?’

  ‘That’s none of your business!’ Molly snapped, and stopped again. ‘Are you just going to leave your brother’s car there all night?’

  ‘If I have to,’ Blake said.

  ‘It won’t be there when you go back.’

  Blake lifted his shoulders. ‘He’s insured.’

  ‘What kind of sense of responsibility is that?’ Molly asked. Her first experience of hiring, and trusting, a stranger wasn’t going very well. ‘You’re using your brother’s car without his knowledge. You’re racing it around the streets of town. Now you are allowing it to be left unsecure, leaving i
t susceptible to being stolen.’

  ‘It’s a possibility,’ Blake said. ‘I have faith that it will be there tomorrow, and if it’s not… it’s only a car.’

  ‘Only a car,’ Molly scoffed. ‘I bet your brother wouldn’t see it that way.’

  Returning to her march down the desolate road, she noted there was only the faint glimmer of lights in the distance. Between them and town was nothing but blackness. The cold grey concrete at their feet sliced between two fields, each was down a slight ditch and surrounded by a barbed wire fence. The occasional faint bleat in the fog of shadows around them told her that the fields were occupied, but no animals were visible.

  ‘A car can be replaced… you can’t,’ Blake said. ‘I would rather live with a stolen car on my conscience than a hurt or missing woman.’

  ‘Look around you, Blake… there is no one here. Who exactly is going to hurt me?’

  ‘An idiot driving too fast,’ Blake said.

  From the corner of her eye she caught a glance at him, and a tug on his lip made her heart sigh. The twinkle in his gaze read of his apology. He couldn’t have known how she would react. Credit where credit was due, as soon as he realised that she was uncomfortable he had stopped. Not all men would have done that.

  She’d often been told that her dislike of speed was irrational, and she knew that it was. Her brother had died behind the wheel of a car that she was in with him, although it wasn’t speed that killed him. Another driver had been responsible for that accident, but absolving her brother of fault didn’t bring him back to her.

  Blake had no idea about her brother, and he had no idea how that car accident had affected her life. She’d shown an interest in the vehicle and Blake was just showing her what it could do, showing off as most other men would have done in that scenario.

  ‘Please,’ Molly said, and she paused to face him once more now that her heart rate was returning to normal and the adrenaline of before was wearing off. ‘Go back to the car. I’ll be fine.’

  ‘I have nowhere to be. I could do with the walk.’

  ‘Look at you,’ Molly said. ‘That physique isn’t natural. You don’t need a walk.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘It wasn’t a compliment. It was an observation.’