My Deadly Valentine - By Valerie Hansen & Lynette Eason Page 0,28

it was a good idea at first. But since they’ve made no progress, I wonder.”

“It is a shame how times have changed since I was a girl,” Eloise said. “I remember when Delbert was courting me.” She smiled wistfully. “He was so shy it was cute. We used to sit on the porch swing at my parents’ farmhouse and hold hands and talk for hours, even in the summer when the skeeters were biting something awful.”

“I wish…”

The older woman arched a gray eyebrow. “You wish what? That you could find a man like him? Well, there was only one like my Delbert, but that Jace Morgan fella seems pretty sweet on you.”

“He’s just doing his job,” Rachel insisted.

“Oh, yeah? Since when do cops volunteer to sleep on people’s couches? You can’t fool me, dear. You and he are an item, as they say in the supermarket tabloids.”

“We’re not. Not really.” Rachel felt her cheeks warming. “At least not on his part. He wouldn’t be anywhere near me unless he felt he had to be.”

“Who says? Him?”

“Well, no, but…”

Before she could express the thought completely, Eloise gasped. She was making a sour face when she looked at Rachel. “Mercy me, girl. I know some of my choices are a bit old-fashioned, but don’t you think that’s a bit much for the folks in Serenity?”

“What is?”

Eloise pointed. “That card. I’ve heard about those kids who mope around, dress all in black and even paint their fingernails that color. They call themselves Goths or something. Surely you don’t mean to encourage them.” She reached toward the black-edged card she’d found tucked behind a classic Valentine.

“Don’t touch that!” Rachel shouted. “Get away from it.”

“Why? Is there something wrong?”

“Yes.” Rachel knew she was shaking as she grabbed a phone and dialed 9-1-1. “This is Rachel Hollister at Serenity Cards and Gifts,” she said as soon as the dispatcher answered. “Send somebody over right away. I’ve had another contact.”

“I don’t know how it got there,” Rachel told Jace and the sheriff. Harlan merely huffed, tugged at the gun belt below his paunch and walked out of the store.

Jace lingered. He’d already bagged the suspect card in plastic but he hated to just leave without making sure Rachel was going to be okay.

“I get off duty in a few hours,” he said. “Want to meet me for supper? We can always grab another pizza at Hickory Station.”

“I’d really rather just go home and crash,” she said. “This whole mess has worn me out.”

He massaged the back of his neck, remembering the kinks he always got in it while sleeping on her sofa. “Yeah. Me, too. How about letting me get takeout, then? We can eat it under Logan’s or your father’s watchful eye.”

“They must be exhausted, too. How much longer does this have to go on?”

“Until we catch the guy,” Jace said flatly. “I’m sorry it’s taking so long. I was beginning to think he’d given up until you found this card.”

“So was I.” She shuddered visibly and glanced at the neat racks of colorful greeting cards. “I can’t understand how anyone could have placed it without us noticing.”

“It could have been anybody,” Eloise piped up. “What is this old world coming to?”

“There are good and bad people everywhere, even here,” Jace said. “Are you two sure you checked all the slots? There’re no other cards like this?”

“Absolutely,” Rachel said. “We even went through the extra stock in the drawers. There was just the one.”

“Okay. I’ll see you around five-thirty, quarter to six.” He forced a smile in the hopes it would calm Rachel’s jitters. “Pepperoni and mushroom with extra cheese, right?”

“That sounds fine,” she said.

Eloise laughed. “Gotta love a fella who remembers just what a lady likes,” she said with a wink. “I don’t know about Rachel, here, but you’ve convinced me you’re a real prince, young man.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I do aim to please.” He touched the brim of his cap in parting and headed for the door, hoping he didn’t look as worried as he really was.

Harlan might not think this was a serious event, but Jace did. The person who had placed that card had been within reach of Rachel, meaning she wasn’t safe even in public. There was little more he could do, yet his mind—and his heart—kept insisting that he act.

As he climbed into the patrol car and dropped the bagged card onto the seat beside him, he sighed deeply. He had made the worst mistake any officer could make—he had