she insisted.
Josh smiled. A slow, lei surely smile that was oh-so-sexy and made her wonder if heâd just read her thoughts.
Or maybe he was on the verge of arresting her and looking forward to it.
Then he said, âPlease,â in a husky whisper that gave her goose bumps.
She rubbed her arms as if sheâd caught another chill, worried that he might see the goose flesh.
âIâll do what I can,â she finally conceded as if she didnât have a single other thing on her mind.
But Josh didnât back away even after he had her word. He stayed leaning across the table.
And the longer he did, the more those thoughts of kissing gained strength. Strength and potency and vivid ness as she began to wonder what it might be like to have him actually do it. To have him kiss herâ¦
Then, abruptly, Josh stood and went to the door.
Megan didnât move to follow him, to walk him out, because she was struggling to regain the equilibrium she seemed to have lost in those thoughts of him kissing her.
âIâll need to talk to your parents right away so make sure you get on it ASAP. Please,â he added with the hint of yet another smile.
âIâll put in the initial call tonight,â she told him without a fight this time because she was locked in her own internal battle against this wholly in appropriate and unwarranted reaction to the man.
âThanks,â he said. âIâll be in touch.â
Oh great, now she was thinking about him touching her, tooâ¦.
Megan managed a nod as she watched his big hand close around the knob to open the door again.
Then, as if heâd just had a flash of memory, he said, âDonât do anything to the grave site. Iâll need clearance from forensics before it can be tampered with or filled in.â
Once more Megan nodded, not speaking as she marveled at all he was still inspiring in her even now.
He hesitated a moment as if he had something else to say. But in the end he went out the way heâd come in, closing the door behind him and leaving Megan alone in the kitchen again.
When she was, she breathed another sigh, this one a deep sigh of relief to be out from under the powerful effects of his presence.
And that was when rational thought kicked in again.
Was there anything dumber than getting carried away by a man who not only thought she was some kind of oddity, but who also seemed to think her parents were capable of some thing as awful as killing someone? she asked herself.
No, there wasnât anything dumber than that.
But thatâs what had just happened, hadnât it? In the middle of him questioning her and trying to find information that in criminated her family, sheâd been imagining Josh Brimley kissing her. Josh Brimley who had accused her of practicing hocus-pocus and voodoo.
It was worse than dumb. It was insane.
And it wasnât going to happen again, she told herself firmly.
Josh Brimley was not just some nice guy sheâd met in passing. In a way he was the enemy and sheâd better not lose sight of that fact.
Sheâd better not lose sight of what kind of man he was.
Because while she might have faith that she could win over Elk Creekâs citizens to the benefits of acupuncture, she knew better than to put any effort whatsoever into trying to convince a man who viewed her as an oddity that that wasnât what she was. And when that man also suspected her parents of a horrible crime on top of it, she really knew he was someone to stay away from.
The trouble was, loitering around the edges of her mind was the last view sheâd had of Josh Brimley walking out the door.
The view of a rear end to die for.
And no matter how hard she tried, she couldnât shake off her appreciation of thatâ¦.
Chapter 3
âW HENâRE YOU GONNA DO somethinâ âbout them allergies, boy?â
Josh held up his hand in acknowledgement of his mother speaking to him as he