02_The Hero Next Door Read Online Free PDF

travel in rough circles.”
    “Yeah.”
    “I appreciate the thought, anyway.”
    Amusement glinted in the depths of her eyes, and J.C. had a feeling she’d have a good chuckle about this later. He could only hope she’d keep the incident to herself. If she told Edith, he suspected half the island would hear about the feral felines’ caper within twenty-four hours. Burke had told him his landlord was well-connected and a better source of Nantucket news than the newspapers.
    But he’d worry about that later. At the moment, he was too busy enjoying the view. Backlit by the lantern beside the door,Heather’s shoulder-length hair hung soft and full, free of restraint, the gold highlights shimmering. The light also silhouetted her willowy frame, which was accentuated by jeans and a soft tank top. Gone were the classy pearls and silk that had made her seem so inaccessible.
    He had to remind himself to breathe.
    Yet if yesterday he’d felt outclassed in her presence, tonight he found a different reason to keep his distance.
    Heather Anderson had never been tainted by exposure to violence. In her world, cats were the biggest predators.
    He, on the other hand, had spent his career dealing with the lowlifes of Chicago. And he’d been doing it for so long, he didn’t even know how to behave around a woman who was untouched by the raw side of life.
    She tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted from one foot to the other. “Well…thanks again.”
    “No problem.”
    Turning, she disappeared through the door. Thirty seconds later, the downstairs light was extinguished.
    As J.C. retraced his steps to the gate, an odd heaviness settled in his chest. One that had nothing to do with the burden of guilt he’d been carrying for the past month. This was related to a woman with hazel eyes.
    Though he knew little about her, J.C. sensed that Heather was a kind, decent, caring person. The sort of woman who would add warmth and sunlight and joy to a man’s life.
    But not to his.
    As appealing as she was, as tempted as he might be to explore the magnetic pull he felt in her presence, in three months he’d be returning to Chicago. Working the grittiest cases. Dealing with sources in the worst parts of town. Putting his life on the line every single day. And if no one he’d yet dated had had the stomach for that risk long-term, there was no way a woman like Heather would.
    Besides, her life was here. His was in Chicago. End of story.
    Pushing through the gate, J.C.’s spirits took another nose dive. His plastic grocery bags had been ripped apart, the package of deli ham meant to provide lunches for the next week decimated.
    And it didn’t take a detective to figure out what had happened.
    While the feral cats he’d chased off had been scavenging behind the house, their friends had had a picnic on his lunch meat.
    As he bent to salvage what he could, he took one last look at the lighted upstairs window in the back of The Devon Rose. A silhouette moved past the closed shade, and J.C. was struck by the symbolism. Heather was there, in the shadows. Close, but out of reach.
    Just like the redemption and forgiveness he yearned for.
    He was working hard to find the latter. And in time, with prayer, he trusted he would succeed.
    In terms of connecting with Heather, however, he was far less optimistic.
    But it shouldn’t matter, he reminded himself, tossing a frozen dinner into one of the bags as he stood. He hadn’t come to Nantucket for romance. He should just accept that the attractive tearoom owner was off-limits and do his best to put her out of his mind.
    Except that wasn’t going to be easy when he could see her lighted window every night from the doorway of his cottage.

Chapter Four
     
    A ray of sun teased Heather awake, and with a contented sigh she turned on her side and bunched her pillow under her head. No way was she getting up yet. Monday was her day to sleep late and lounge around. And after the past busy week, she deserved