The Jupiter Point sheriff's press conference was just getting underway when Merry Warren claimed her spot at the front of the small pack of reporters. As a workaholic and multi-tasking maniac, she'd been working on three other things during the drive from town. Between a phone interview, prepping questions for the sheriff, and breakfast in the form of coffee-from-a-cupholder, it was a miracle she'd made it in time.
She pulled out her little reporter's notebook. At the lectern set up outside the public safety compound, Sheriff Perez was reading a statement about a recent arson spree in the campgrounds and wilderness areas near Jupiter Point.
"Did I miss anything?" she whispered to a camera operator from one of the local cable channels.
"I'm missing my pillow, that's all I know." He yawned hugely, as if he couldn't possibly be more bored.
For Merry, any chance of boredom vanished when her gaze landed on the man standing just behind the sheriff.
Deputy Will Knight.
The tall deputy's hands were clasped behind his back, his stance relaxed, but every line of his broad-shouldered, long-legged body warned, "don't mess with me."
Under his deputy's baseball cap, his cool gray eyes met hers. He showed no reaction to the sight of her, not even the irritation she normally got from him. Which was totally mutual. Deputy Slow-Mo, as she'd nicknamed him, was the most frustrating law enforcement officer she'd worked with in her three years in Jupiter Point. He ought to have "no comment" tattooed on his forehead. Even getting that "no comment" took forever; sometimes she thought he dragged the process out just to mess with her.
She screwed up her nose at him. Childish, she knew. But Will Knight had a way of bringing out the brat in her. He stared impassively back. He could have been one of the royal guards at Buckingham Palace for all the reaction he showed.
Sheriff Perez was finally reaching the end of his prepared statement. Since she already had a hard copy of it, she didn't bother taking notes.
Instead, she indulged herself with one more moment of tweaking Will Knight. She made another ridiculous face at him, twisting her features and lifting her upper lip in a snarl.
Was that a smile denting one corner of his firmly etched mouth? His eyes flicked away from her, as if he was trying to keep from laughing. Yes! Mr. Cool and Confident wasn't quite as oblivious as it seemed at first.
"Ms. Warren, did you have a question?" The sheriff's abrupt shift from reading his statement to addressing her directly made her jump.
"Oh. Yes, sir. I absolutely do have a question." She scrambled for her mental list of questions. One of her best assets as a reporter was her crystal-clear memory. She still wrote everything down, just to be safe, but she rarely forgot anything. "I'm sure readers of the Mercury News-Gazette will want to know if there's any risk of this arsonist striking inside the town itself."
"That hasn't been his pattern so far."
"'His'? Are you saying the arsonist is male?"
Sheriff Perez shuffled the papers on his podium. "We can't say that definitively, but most arsonists are male. We're working with a very specific profile on this one."
"Does it seem strange that, with such a specific profile, you don't have any suspects yet?"
Perez shot her a weary look. No other reporter ever asked as many follow-up questions as she did. "We're getting there, Ms. Warren. I have my best deputy on the case." He tilted his head toward Will. "He has a ninety-eight percent arrest rate. I'm sure we'll have a suspect soon."
He looked hopefully at the other reporters in the gaggle, but no one else stepped in with a question. So Merry waved her hand again.
"Is there a chance this is more than an arson spree and that's why you haven't been able to track down a suspect?"
"How about I let the deputy in charge take this one?" Sheriff Perez beckoned Will to the podium.
Will stepped to the microphone with as much wariness as if it were a snake. The TV reporter behind her gave a low, "mmm," as he arranged his long body behind the podium. Merry knew just how she felt. Will Knight was one long, tall drink of water.
Possibly spiked with valium for that extra dose of Slow-Mo.
"Can you repeat the fantasy…uh," he coughed, "I mean, question?"
Merry lifted her chin. She'd been following this particular story for a while and had a theory. No good-looking sheriff's deputy was going to mock it out of her. "My question is, since the profile doesn't seem to be resulting in a plethora of likely suspects, is there a chance you're working from an incorrect theory on the case? That it's not a typical arson spree but something different?"
"Such as? I'm all ears. Nothing we like better than having the press take care of business for us."
"Well, I'm wondering if you've considered the possibility that the fires might be related to the recent uptick in opioid arrests near Jupiter Point?"
"Absolutely." Will nodded soberly. "We've also looked into potential ties to the increase in unicorn spottings in the Sierras."
A titter ran through the crowd. Sheriff Perez, just beyond Will's shoulder, beamed. Merry's face heated.
Oh, that Will Knight, he was going to pay for this. It was one thing to deny, another to mock. And Will, with his dry, deadpan, slowpoke manner, knew how to slip the knife in.
No problem. Merry came from the mean streets of Brooklyn and could take care of herself. "Very thorough, thank you. Meanwhile, do you have anything to say to the tax-paying families in Jupiter Point who are wondering why a serial arsonist has been at large for more than six months?"
Will's calm gray gaze sparked with annoyance. A-ha. There was the irritation Will Knight usually showed around her. She'd take irritated over impassive any day.
"The families of Jupiter Point know we're working to keep them safe. And the Mercury News-Gazette can do its part by urging everyone to keep their eyes open for anything suspicious, especially if they’re out hiking, fishing, or camping. Now if that's it for questions, we'll wrap things up here and get back to work."
Merry raised her hand again. "One more. Who's going to be in charge while Sheriff Perez is on his honeymoon? Congratulations, by the way, Sheriff."
Sheriff Perez shook his head with a laugh and leaned back toward the mic. "How'd that news get out?"
"You know I never reveal my sources." She gave him an impish smile. "But we're all really happy for you." She clapped for him, the other media members joining in. As a reporter, it paid to be on good terms with the law enforcement community. That meant that her life would become a lot more difficult if Will Knight filled in for the sheriff. He was the only one she hadn't managed to charm. He was un-charm-able, that was why. Rigid, stick-up-his-ass, arrogant—
"Deputy Knight will be in charge," the sheriff announced. "I'll be gone for two weeks, starting next month, and you'll get to make his life miserable for a while."
Will smiled—arrogantly.
Oh joy.
As Merry stalked toward her car after the briefing broke up, she heard footfalls behind her. Those long strides told her it was Will even before she spun around to face him.
"Are you following me? Because I just remembered another question," she said as he came to a halt before her. "Why are you such a jackass?"
"The unicorn crack went too far, huh?" He tipped back his baseball cap with a half-smile. "Sorry about that."
She gaped at him. When did Will Knight ever apologize? She didn't want him to. They were adversaries. That electric current that always hummed between them proved it. "Take that back."
He looked confused. "Which part?"
"The nice part. It doesn't fit. Unless…" She frowned at him. "You want something, don't you?"
"Maybe. How about a coffee?"
She jingled her car keys between her fingers. Her nerves were jumping. It felt as if he was standing unusually close to her, though she could see perfectly well that he wasn't. "Why?"
"For caffeinating. Every reporter I know drinks coffee. Don't tell me you're the one exception."
He rested his hands on his hips. Damn, he wore that uniform better than any man had a right to. She was already late for about five other things, but if he was going to give her a hot story tip… "I don't really have time for coffee. I have to race back to town for an interview and I have a deadline."
"I'll make it quick. It doesn't have to be coffee. It just has to be private."
This was getting more and more interesting. "Fine." She gestured toward her trusty Corolla. "How about my car? It's very private. No bugs. I mean, there might be actual bugs. But nothing that can record."
She opened the passenger door and ushered him in. He was so tall, he had to grip the metal frame and duck down to fold his body inside the car. He closed the door behind him. As she rounded to the driver's side, she realized her heart had picked up its pace and was practically pitter-patting. She spent a lot of time in her car, driving from one interview or story to another. It was almost like inviting Will into her home.
Which she would never do.
She and Will didn't get along. They never had, not since she'd first taken the job at the Gazette and started pestering him for information. Every time they saw each other, whether in a professional context or out and about in Jupiter Point, they got into it. They were complete opposites. He moved slowly, she practically ran everywhere she went. He was from Jupiter Point, she was a transplanted city girl. He was a law-and-order type, she made a career out of questioning authority.
Also, he was bossy and arrogant.
"I see you put my seat back," she said as she slid into the drivers' seat.
"So my legs would fit." They still didn't, exactly. His knees were spread apart so they wouldn't slam into the glove compartment.
"There's no need to get comfortable. I don't have much time."
"Yeah, I don't think 'comfortable' is on the agenda," he said dryly. He reached behind his back and dislodged a chew toy in the shape of Shrek. He looked at it quizzically. "Friend of yours?"
"Stress ball. Helps me relax."
"You? Tense? Never would have guessed it."
She sighed and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, which had a shaggy purple cover that made her smile. "I don't have time for chitchat, Knight. Why are you here? What do you want?"
He squeezed Shrek, creating a breathy squeak. "Your, uh, speculation about the rise of opioids and the campground fires. I wanted to give you a heads up about that."
She turned toward him eagerly. "I knew it. I knew there had to be a connection. My gut never lies."
"You need to drop it," he said flatly. "It's not something you can pursue right now. If you let it go for now, I promise you'll be the department's first call once they can say something."
The hairs on the back of her neck lifted the way they always did when she was getting close to a real story. "So there is something to it, but you want me to ignore it? That's going to be hard to do. My brand-new boss will be very interested in a story like this."
"Right, I heard you got a new editor over there. What's he like?"
She grimaced, then quickly tried to pretend it was a smile. It didn't work; Will saw everything with those gray eyes of his. She'd noticed that fact before.
"He's…uh…young and very dynamic." That was code for aggressive and obnoxious. Will lifted one eyebrow, looking genuinely interested. She found herself continuing. "He says he wants more drama and conflict in our stories. He uses the word 'big' a lot." She waved her arms the way Douglas Wentworth had in the staff meeting. "'Big headlines. Big emotion. Feuds, battles, tears, fears.' That's a direct quote."
Will chuckled. "Did he get on the wrong plane? This is a small town, not Los Angeles."
"Hey, small towns have drama too. Just ask Mrs.—"
"Murphy," Will finished the sentence along with her. They both laughed at the mention of Jupiter Point's biggest rumor-monger. Merry knew for a fact that Will used Mrs. Murphy as a source just as much as she did.
Then she remembered that she and Will were adversaries, not friends, and turned her laugh into a cough. "Anyway, this story sounds important."
"Can you stall him? You'll get your big story at the right time. Just give us a little space on this one."
She eyed him, assessing how serious he was. Could she negotiate? Get more out of him in exchange for backing off this story temporarily? "I don't know, Will. Opioid addiction is a big story all over the country, you know that. Our readers are concerned. I'm not sure I can justify ignoring it completely. Do you have anything else you can give me in its place?"
She batted her eyes at him innocently. Pointless—he knew exactly what she was up to and he was no doubt immune to her wiles anyway.
"Such as?"
"You tell me. You must have something interesting going on out here."
"We like it boring. That means we're doing our jobs." He rested his big hands on his thighs. They looked so powerful, muscles bulging against the gray fabric of his uniform. She tore her eyes away.
"Well, my job is to get as many eyeballs as possible to look at the Gazette. I'm open to suggestions. Pin the Tail on the Deputy? Spin the Mugshot?"
He snorted as a brief smile passed across his face. Will Knight wasn't a big smiler, in her experience. He took his job seriously, though sometimes a dry sense of humor snuck out from behind his stoic manner. "Tell you what. How about a behind-the-scenes exclusive at Knight and Day Flight Tours? It's opening soon. Whole town's talking about it. You can be the only reporter to go inside. We can even take you up in a plane."
She was plenty familiar with the new flightseeing business, which was set to open in the next few weeks. Every single woman in Jupiter Point was speculating about the two sexy Knight brothers who had recently moved back to town and bought the abandoned airstrip with its ramshackle buildings.
"You said 'we.' Are you part of the crew?"
"Investor and moral support. Two of my brothers are the main guys. But they'll do what I ask."
He spoke in such a tone of quiet authority that she had no doubt of it. "Are you the oldest?"
With a lift of one eyebrow, he nodded. A moment of awareness zinged between them. They didn't usually talk about anything personal. Best to keep that safe professional distance.
There had been one time—and only one—that they'd breached that distance. That was when she'd woken up on his couch a few months ago. The whole episode was blurry, thank goodness. It involved a robber, a tranq gun, and an epic hangover. They still hadn't talked about that incident. She didn't want to, because from the little bits and pieces she remembered, she might have gotten a little too personal that night.
She cleared her throat. "I can probably work with that. An exclusive tour, interviews with both your brothers—is it just the three of you?"
"No, we have another brother but he's in his first year of college."
"Hm." With a quick sidelong glance, she estimated his age at a bit over thirty. She looked him over again just to confirm—and to appreciate his rangy, muscled physique. She swallowed a sigh. "Your parents must have known how to keep the love alive."
His expression shut down as quickly as if he'd drawn a window shade. "So are you interested in the story? I'll set it up if you are."
She thought about it. She didn't care all that much about Knight and Day Flight Tours—it sounded like a fluff piece to her. But Jupiter Point was big on supporting local businesses, so readers would love it. And if Will Knight was going to be covering for Sheriff Perez, it would be smart to accommodate him.
"Yes, I'm interested. I'm sure our readers, especially the ladies, will want to know all about the new flightseeing service. Rumor has it your brothers are single. And I never doubt Mrs. Murphy about that sort of thing."
He opened the door of her Corolla, causing a scrunched-up bag of Doritos to tumble to the ground. He bent to pick it up. Merry had never gone for "men in uniform." She'd always preferred the nerdy type; glasses were like catnip to her. Nevertheless, she watched Will's muscles flex under his regulation tan uniform shirt with reluctant appreciation. Maybe the uniform wasn't designed to show off the officers' innate sexiness, but in his case, it sure did.
With the piece of trash in hand, he extracted himself from her car. "Are you saving this for some reason or can I toss it?"
The disapproval in his voice made her bristle. "Don't judge me. I eat on the run a lot. My car is my home away from home."
She glanced around at the interior, which was a comfortable jumble of old coffee cups, laptop bag, tubes of lip balm (some missing their caps), spare items of clothing that might come in handy, a yoga mat in case she got inspired, phone chargers, water bottles, Clif bars, protein bars, granola bars, chocolate bars, camera case, accordion file folders, extra shoes, and the cosmetics case that held everything she needed for an impromptu interview.
"If your actual home is anything like your home away from home, I ought to call the fire marshal." Will squinted at the stockpile of snack bars on the backseat. "Do you ever eat anything you can't hold in your hand while you're driving?"
She lifted her chin. "I'm a multitasker. Eating while driving saves a lot of time."
He shook his head and stuck out his other hand, the one that didn't have any trash. "Anything else you want to throw away while I'm at it?"
"Hey, Boy Scout. You don't have to take out my garbage."
That ever-so-slight smile, more of a tease than an actual smile, touched his mouth again. "Turns out I do. I won't rest easy knowing you might have trash flying around your head if you take a turn too fast."
She looked at him blankly. He spoke as if he cared. But why should he? "Why is it any of your business?"
"Public safety. Could be a road hazard."
"Excuse me?" She wagged a finger at him. "I've never even had an accident. Admit it, you're just a control freak who can't stand a little mess."
And just like that, his calm control slipped and she caught a glimpse of another Will Knight. One with a lot more passion than he usually revealed. "Good Lord, Merry. Do you have to make everything difficult? I know it's your job during a press conference, but I'm offering to collect your trash from your car. Why do you have a problem with that?"
The way he said her first name—it gave her chills. He usually called her "Ms. Warren," in a sort of overly formal, almost ironic tone. Calling her "Merry" had a whole different effect on her system. It sent butterflies tumbling through her belly and made her pulse ramp up.
For a surprised moment, they stared at each other. Slowly, his expression returned to what she was used to: somewhere between calm and mildly irritated.
"Fine. If it's that important to you, I'll take you up on that very civic-minded offer." She bent over and rummaged around the floorboards for the plastic grocery bag in which she'd stashing her old coffee cups. It was so full that one seam had ripped and old coffee had dripped down the outside of the bag.
Normally, she'd be embarrassed, but he'd asked for it. With a sweet smile, she handed over the dripping mess. He took it, looking like he now regretted ever bringing it up. "I'll have my brothers give you a call."
"Great. Thanks."
He closed the passenger door with his hip, since both of his hands were filled with debris from her car. With one last nod, he turned back toward the sheriff's compound. Because she couldn't help herself, she watched his truly fine ass as he cruised across the lawn with those long strides.
Will Knight was one attractive law enforcement officer. That didn't change the fact that they were total opposites, though. Now she had one more example. He was a neat freak. And she was too busy to worry about tidiness.
Although she had to admit, as she drove down the highway back toward Jupiter Point, it was easier to drive when she wasn't kicking old coffee cups away from the accelerator. Not that she'd ever tell Will that.
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