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  Del looked at him, barely managing to hide the panic. ‘Well, this will be interesting,’ she thought. “As long as Raelin doesn’t mind me staying. I can head back into town if you’d prefer. I don’t want to impose or anything.” Del wasn’t entirely sure she could trust herself to be alone with this woman. She so wanted to get to know her better, but she was here for work and still hadn’t ruled her out as a potential suspect. She hadn’t had the chance to rule anybody out yet. Perhaps it would be best if she did stay. Raelin might just have some valuable information.

  The brunette took a swallow of beer before she answered. “No, I don’t mind you staying at all. Please stay and have dinner with me. That way you can take Jasper some leftovers.”

  Del couldn’t have said no if she’d wanted. If it hadn’t been for the silky smooth tone the brunette had asked her in that convinced her, surely the mouthwatering smell coming from the roast would have done the trick. Already well out of her comfort zone, Del decided she’d try and get back some of her dignity while she still had the chance. She swallowed a mouthful of beer and dove in. “It’s a date then,” she smirked. “Jasper, I’ll be by the shop tomorrow with those leftovers. If I don’t eat it all myself, that is.”

  The older man nodded his head in agreement with the blonde and hugged the brunette tight. “Enjoy the company Darlin’. You deserve it,” he whispered into Raelin’s ear.

  The young woman hugged him back. “You are so bad, Jasper. I’ll make sure she brings you something.”

  He laughed and waved goodbye, leaving the two women alone.

  Turning back to her guest, Raelin smiled. “So, I hope that you’re hungry.”

  Raelin’s smile was infectious, and Del couldn’t help but smile back. “Starving, I only had a muffin and coffee for lunch. Jasper tells me I’m in for quite a treat.”

  Motioning to the table, Raelin shook her head. “I’m an okay cook. I don’t get a lot of practice just cooking for myself, and I don’t have many visitors. Would you mind carving the roast? I’ll get the side dishes,” she quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

  j

  Once in the kitchen, Rae leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she offered a quick prayer. “I don’t know who’s listening, but please give me strength to get through dinner without making a fool of myself. Please, please, keep everything normal. So be it.” Picking up the bowls of potatoes and corn, she walked back out to the dining room.

  Del watched Raelin leave the room and groaned inwardly. ‘Keep it together Del. You aren’t some stupid teenager. It’s just a dinner. Surely you can manage to eat without doing something stupid. Besides, you are working, keep to the job.’

  She shook her head to clear it and started to carve the roast, trying not to drool over the aroma too much.

  “Here we go.” Raelin set the bowls on the table and looked at the blonde. She smiled at how serious the woman looked; like it was the most important thing in the world to get the slices just so. “I take it that you don’t cook a lot either.”

  Del, having sliced the roast to her satisfaction, threw a sheepish grin Raelin’s way. “That obvious? I live on a whole lot of take-out really. I’m not home enough to have time to cook. Work keeps me busy. Do you need me to help with anything else?”

  Shaking her head, the brunette sat down. “Just help me eat all of this or I’ll have leftovers for a week. What kind of work do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  Del looked over at the brunette, half sizing her up. She caught the dark gaze of the other woman and held it, searching for any hint that this woman might be trouble. Seeing nothing but sincerity but still hesitant to open up, she decided it would be best to keep quiet until she’d talked with her more. “Oh, a little of this, and a little of that. Whatever needs doing mostly,” she replied, never breaking her stare.

  Offering her guest the food first, Raelin held the blonde’s stare. “What exactly are you searching for Delaney?”

  Del had to pause a moment, the bluntness of the question catching her off guard. She suddenly remembered the words of the waitress and figured she might want to tread lightly with this one. She slammed her detective face into place, making sure the other woman saw nothing, but a casual curiosity. “What makes you think I’m looking for anything?” she asked, taking a bite of roast. “This is pretty fantastic you know.” Perhaps a subject change would steer this in a safer direction.

  The brunette smiled as she filled her plate. She knew that Mary at the diner had probably filled the newcomer in on her and her family. Cutting the meat, she took a bite before she answered. “No one comes to Leroy except for fishing, hunting, or if called by Regina. And I figure the only reason the she would call you would be to find her wayward husband, Arthur Senior.”

  “Which of those three do you think I’m here for then?” She smiled, lightly chewing on the end of her fork. She’d have to come back to the wayward husband in a bit, but the opportunity for a little harmless flirting was too much to resist.

  Putting down her fork so that she could stare deeper into jade green eyes, Raelin pulled in some of the power of the lines so she would be able to see more clearly. After a few moments, she whispered, “You’re here to find someone, but not who I think. You’ll find something dark that doesn’t want you here, but there’s someone else who needs you to stay.” Shaking her head slightly, Raelin closed her eyes, knowing that she had said too much and would have scared Del off.

  Del regarded her closely, reading her face, seeing no signs of a lie. Those words sounded so much like the ones in her dream, and she suddenly remembered how much she hadn’t wanted this job in the first place. Seems she was going to have to get to the point with this lady. “You see a lot for someone who’s known me for less than an hour. Care to explain that?”

  Picking up her fork again, she speared a potato slice before answering. “I’m sure that Mary told you that I’m a witch. I knew that someone was coming, and here you are.”

  “She did inform me, yes. I don’t think I need to tell you though, that small town gossip isn’t really very reliable. I am looking for something yes. I don’t imagine you get too many visitors out this way, do you?” If Rae wanted to talk shop, Del was all too happy to comply. Any information she could get was going to be an asset in this job.

  Smiling at the blonde, Raelin thought for a moment before answering. “When you want help or some answers, just ask. I’ll do my best to give you what you need, and not freak you out at the same time...glad that you like the roast.” She didn’t want to push the woman away, and since she wasn’t running, Raelin decided to let her do things in her own time.

  “I’ve seen many a thing in my line of work. Trust me; a little otherworldly help is not the worst of them. Thank you for dinner, I won’t keep you too much later, but before I go, I want to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?”

  Del had noticed how Rae had avoided her question in regards to getting much in the way of visitors. Figuring she’d hit a sore spot, she left it be for now.

  Leaning back, Raelin smiled. “Please don’t rush off. It’s nice to have someone to talk to, and you can ask me anything. I don’t lie. Karma, you know.”

  Del couldn’t help but chuckle at that as she stood to clear her plate. “Let me help you clean up and we can talk while we work.”

  Raelin stood up and picked up the platter of meat and an empty bowl. “I hope that you saved some room for dessert. I have homemade vanilla ice cream with caramel or chocolate sauce.”

  “If I didn’t, I do now. It’s so hard to get homemade ice cream now. My father, he used to make it every once in a while when I was a kid.” Del grabbed a few extra plates and some utensils and followed Rae to the kitchen, depositing the dishes in the sink as directed.

  “Just leave everything in the sink and I’ll get them later. It will give me something to do.” Nodding towards one of the cabinets, Raelin directed the blonde. “Get a couple of bowls out. Which do you want? C
aramel or chocolate sauce...or both?” She paused next to the fridge.

  Smiling childishly, Del grabbed the bowls and turned back to Rae. “Both please.” Del couldn’t help but drop her guard around Rae. As much as it had gone up during the dinner, Rae had managed to set her at ease again with that earthy charm Del was quickly falling for. ‘Oh Lord, help me,’ she thought.

  Filling the bowls with the ice cream, Raelin handed the blonde one and watched as she poured the sauces over it with glee. When Del reached out to catch a drip of the caramel and put her finger in her mouth to clean it Raelin barely smothered a moan, instead she turned to put the ice cream back into the freezer.

  “So Rae, is it okay if I call you that? You grow up around here? This seems like a pretty big house for one person,” she asked around a mouthful of ice cream. “Oh, this is heaven in a bowl.”

  Chuckling, the brunette answered. “Yes, you can call me Rae. I’ve always lived here. This house has been in my mother’s family for generations. My mother died a few years back so it’s just me now. I never knew my father.”

  Del sensed sadness deeper than Rae was showing. “I’m sorry about your Mom. You were close?”

  Nodding slightly, Rae swallowed before continuing. “We were all each other had. In fact, the desk used to be hers, but she had to sell it a few years back to cover something, and I’ve been trying to get it back ever since. I like to keep family items within the family.”

  Del felt guilty having brought up something that was obviously pretty upsetting for the brunette. She reached out and rested her fingers lightly on Rae’s arm, the odd thrumming returning. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. We can talk about something else.”

  Sucking in a breath at the blonde’s touch, Rae shook her head. “There are no bad memories when it comes to my mother. She lived the way that she wanted and I am surrounded still by her spirit and her love.”

  Del gave Rae’s forearm a reassuring squeeze before retracting her hand. “So it’s just you huh? I have a hard time believing there isn’t a line of handsome young suitors outside your door.” Laughing, Del took another bite of her now partially melted ice cream, taking her time licking the sticky sauce off the spoon.

  Closing her eyes briefly, it was all Rae could do not to go over and taste the sauce left on the blonde’s lips. “Not interested in a knight in shining armor. I prefer the princess.” The brunette couldn’t believe that she had blurted that out. No one in town knew of her preference, and she had hoped to keep it that way. ‘Way to go Rae.’

  Del smiled devilishly. “Can’t blame you there. I always found the princess to be a little high maintenance,” she looked at Rae sideways. “Perhaps a small town girl is more my thing,” she leaned back against the counter, crossing her ankles and tapping her chin with her spoon thoughtfully.

  “You’re gonna get your chin all sticky if you keep doing that,” Rae teased.

  Del paused for a minute, realizing Rae was right. Dropping her spoon into the now empty bowl, she could already feel the caramel sticking to her chin where the spoon had touched it. “You’re right, and it feels gross,” she chuckled and started scanning the room for something to wipe her chin with.

  Without realizing what she was doing, Rae stepped forward and lightly ran her tongue over Del’s lips before moving her lips down to clean her chin. Moaning lightly, she placed her hands on the shorter woman’s hips, holding her right where she wanted her.

  Heat spread from where Rae’s hands held her hips, and she couldn’t help but whimper as Rae went to work on her chin. She allowed Rae to linger there for a few moments before she reached up and fingered the collar of the taller woman’s shirt, guiding her up into a gentle kiss.

  j

  When Rae felt Del’s acceptance of her kiss, she almost turned it into something hard and hungry, but she didn’t want it to be something that was fast and over with before either one had the time to enjoy it. And Rae had been waiting a very long time for something like this.

  Pulling away, Del watched her fingers as they continued to play with Rae’s collar. The thrumming in her limbs was an insistent buzz, and she felt light headed. There was no denying the pull Del felt, but she wasn’t about to blow it by rushing things. She needed to clear her head and get her mind back on her work.

  She finally looked up; taking in Rae’s flushed face and brown eyes darkened nearly to black. “It’s getting late, and I still need to get back to town. Thanks for dinner. Can we maybe do it again sometime?” she whispered, running gentle fingers across the bronze skin where Rae’s neck met her shirt.

  It took Raelin a moment to realize that Del was leaving, and she stepped back, almost tripping over her own feet. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Umm, yes, you are always welcome here.” Turning away, she stopped herself from wiping her eyes. “Let me fix you a plate for Jasper, if you don’t mind waiting.”

  Del just stood there a moment, suddenly wishing for Rae’s warmth again. Seeing the other woman’s embarrassment, she sought to do some damage control. Del couldn’t deny that there was a potential for something great with Rae and she wanted to try to see where it went. She walked up behind Rae and rested her hands softly on her waist. “It’s okay. You don’t need to be embarrassed.”

  Shaking her head, Rae piled slices of beef with generous helping of vegetables in a Tupperware container. “I should have asked you before I did that.” She reached down to cover one of the hands resting on her hips with one of her own. “I want to see where this will go Delaney. I don’t know how to tell you, but I need to see where it leads.”

  Del closed her eyes, taking in the warmth of the taller woman. “I think I’d like that. I don’t usually take to people so quickly, and certainly never while I’m working, but I want to try. Let’s see how it goes, okay? No hurry and no pressure. How does that sound?”

  Nodding her head, Rae turned around with a smile. “I’d like that very much. I just want you to know that I’ve never...this is new to me.”

  Del brows furrowed for a moment, before she got the meaning of what Rae was trying to tell her. “Oh, uh in the spirit of fairness, you should probably know that this isn’t my first time. Is that a problem for you? I mean, it’s not like I’ve had a lot of partners or anything.” Del realized she’d started rambling, and quickly shut her mouth before she made herself look even more stupid.

  “No, not at all.” Rae reached up to run her fingers through golden hair. “I guess that I shouldn’t keep you any longer. You probably have a lot to do tomorrow and you need to get your sleep. You probably didn’t get a lot last night.”

  Del was suddenly aware of how exhausted she was, and despite really not wanting to leave; a bed seemed like a pretty fantastic idea. “You’re right, I didn’t. The call for this job came through at four-thirty this morning. You keep playing with my hair like that, and I won’t make it out of this kitchen,” Del murmured, eyes closing against her will. She found herself leaning into Rae’s arms, trying to keep her body from shutting down.

  Shaking her head, Raelin made a decision that she hoped wouldn’t come back and bite her. “You’re not leaving. There’s an extra room, and you’re staying the night. I won’t take the chance that you’ll fall asleep on your way back to town. Besides, your Jeep won’t start this late.”

  Del’s eyes snapped open, and she stepped back from Raelin’s arms. “Rae, I couldn’t possibly impose on you like that. I’ll be fine; I’ve driven in worse shape before.” Even as she said the words, she swayed a little on her feet, hoping Rae wouldn’t have noticed.

  “You’re staying Delaney.” Raelin quickly threaded her fingers with the blonde’s and led her upstairs to the spare bedroom. “There’s a bath right over there, and the clean towels and a change of clothes are in the closet. Make yourself at home.”

  “I’ll just take a shower then,” she headed for the bathroom to shower off the day, but poked her head out quickly, flashing a charming smile Rae’s way. “Thanks Raelin
. I’m really glad we met today.”

  “Me too.” Raelin headed back into the kitchen to put away the food and quickly washed the dishes. Making sure that she heard the water still running, she silently made her way through the house, making sure that everything was buttoned down, and that there would be no surprises during the night.

  j

  Del sighed as she stepped quietly into the spare room. She was a little more awake now, and the shower had felt amazing. She pulled on the extra clothes that she had found in the bathroom and then she stopped to listen for a few moments, and hearing no signs of movement anywhere, she quickly darted down the hall, then the stairs and towards the front door.

  She couldn’t get Rae’s comment about her Jeep out of her head, and while it had been rather off handed, she was in a strange town in a house owned by someone she had only just met. She really didn’t want to take the chance that her Jeep had been rigged, years of work told her that as much as she was attracted to this woman, she needed to keep a level head just in case. Reaching her Jeep, she quietly popped the hood, hoping to take a quick peek.

  Before she could look around too much she heard the front door open and turned to find Rae looking back at her. “Uh, hey there. I figured you’d gone to bed?” she said lamely.

  Leaning against the door jam, Rae smiled. “It actually took you longer than I thought to come out here. I didn’t do anything physical to your truck. Go ahead and try to start it.”

  Del looked at her oddly. “If you haven’t touched the Jeep, then it should start. I’ve always been sure to do the work on it myself. It’s old, but runs like a dream.”

  The brunette arched an eyebrow. “I just told it not to start. That’s all.”

  “Rae, you can’t just tell something not to work and have it not work. The world doesn’t work that way.”

  “That’s your world Delaney. In my world, I work with the powers that be, not against them. They like me. Please, go ahead and try it.” Rae waited.