My Deadly Valentine - By Valerie Hansen & Lynette Eason Page 0,45
five. Alex had been elected sheriff in the last election and so far had done a good job from all that she could tell.
She really hated to hurt his feelings, but couldn’t continue letting him believe they might pick up their relationship. She’d been on the receiving end of that kind of hurt and had resolved a long time ago never to do that to someone else.
You’re stalling, Holly. Get in there and give this stuff back to Alex, tell him thank you very much, but no thanks.
She made her way up the steps. Pushing open the door, she stepped inside to inhale the smell of strong coffee and disinfectant.
Alice Colby sat at the receptionist desk working on the computer.
“Hi, Alice.” Holly shifted the small bag to her other hand. “I need to give this to Alex. Is he around?”
“Right back through there at his desk. Working on the burglary at your shop, he said.”
“Thanks, I’ll just walk this back there and give it to him.”
“Go for it, girl.” The woman wiggled her eyebrows. It was no secret Holly and Alex had gone out. The town had them practically married off before the first date had even been finished. Not bothering to set the record straight, Holly walked through the metal detector and headed back to find Alex.
It wasn’t hard.
His desk was at the front of the large room. Four other desks sat along the permanent walls, separated by five-foot-high movable walls. A phone rang to her left; printers whirred. Conversation ceased at her entrance.
All eyes centered on her as she walked over to Alex’s desk.
He looked up and smiled. And she felt nothing even remotely romantic toward him. Why? His eyes? Eli’s warm green ones flashed through her mind and immediate guilt hit her. She wasn’t doing this because of Eli.
Well, not completely.
“Hi, Alex.” She looked around. She hadn’t expected an audience. “Hi, Joel, Harlan, guys.” They nodded their greetings and she looked back at Alex. “Um, is there somewhere we can talk privately?”
At her words, everyone suddenly had something to do. Joel and Harlan grabbed their keys. Joel said, “I’ll be patrolling the north end of town, Harlan’s got the south.”
Alex nodded. “I’ll be out there soon.”
Joel shot a glance at Holly. “Hey, Leigh-Ann wants to know when you’re going to give her a call.”
Leigh-Ann, Holly’s best friend since middle school and Joel’s wife of two years. “Tell her I’ll try to call her today.”
The men disappeared and the other two deputies vanished behind their desks.
The room gave the appearance of being empty, but Holly knew she had other ears there. Keeping her voice low, she said, “Here.”
She dropped the bag on Alex’s desk.
He frowned. “What’s this?”
“Your gifts.”
The frown faded, but she saw his jaw clench. Hurt flashed in his eyes. “What do you want me to do with them?”
She kept her tone even. “They’re very nice gifts and I’m sure the next girl you date is going to be thrilled with the fact that you care enough to go all out for her. But—” she took a deep breath “—we’re just not right for each other, okay?”
He eyed her, storm clouds building in his eyes that suddenly looked more gray than blue, his hurt spilling over into his words. “What is it with you, Holly? I’m not good enough for you? Because you knew me before we went out. I mean, it’s not like we haven’t known each other for years.”
She closed her eyes briefly. “It has nothing to do with being good enough or not good enough, Alex. It has to do with having things in common. I was very flattered when you asked me out and you’ll be a great guy for some girl, just not me, okay?”
That said, she turned and did her best to walk calmly from the place instead of bolting into a run—which is what she wanted to do.
“Bye, Alice.”
The woman’s goodbye echoed behind her as she shoved open the heavy wooden door and stepped outside into the freezing cold. Shivering, she pulled her coat tighter around her neck and gripped her keys in a gloved hand.
A hand on her arm jerked her around and she nearly stumbled. “What?” The word squeaked out.
Dark eyes glared down at her.
Eli topped off the gas tank then replaced the nozzle in its handle. Pulling out a twenty, he handed it to the man behind the glass.
“How ya doing, Eli?”
“Doing all right, Mr. Pearson. How about yourself?”