...After a quick cleanup around the house and a load of laundry, he could head into town. The library wouldn’t open for another hour anyway, even though Aileen had just stopped by for a kiss on her way in. She liked to have some time to make sure everything was ready for patrons.
His smiled deepened. So organized, every detail in place without being neurotic about it. It was something he admired and wished he could emulate. Maybe someday soon she’d teach him her system. Maybe someday soon she’d teach him a lot of things.
Okay, hold up, Matt. She wanted to coast a little first. Take her out on a date before you start thinking proposal.
Too late. Plans were already forming in his head. Not only plans to propose, but little flashes of what life with her would be like. The image of her rocking a baby on that screened porch or maybe the deck, depending on where they chose to live, warmed his thoughts and kept him content until a sharp rap on the window snapped him back to reality.
“Del, come on in.” He waved the sheriff around to the sliding doors. Del must be having a far less wonderful day. The lines at the corners of his friend’s eyes had Matt wondering if maybe Chad had caused more trouble.
“Matthew.” Del tossed his hat on the coat rack and sat down in a facing chair. “Coffee fresh?”
“More so than usual. Aileen cleaned the coffeemaker.” Matt rose and poured a cup for Del, then refreshed his own. “Here you go.”
“I was starting to wonder why the coffee at the office was starting to taste better than yours. Guess taste buds get used to things after a while, huh?” The direct look Del gave him told Matt the comment was far more than light chitchat. “Speaking of Aileen, you remember me giving you a warning Saturday about hurting her?”
Matt settled back in his chair. “Yeah.” Something weird was up. A little trickle of “spider sense” slid down his backbone. “And I swear to you, I won’t do anything to hurt her. I love her, Del.”
“Mmm.” Del shoved aside his coffee and leaned back in the chair, interlocking his fingers and settling them on his chest. “So you wouldn’t know anything about an ex-con on his way here to screw with you and anyone remotely close to you. Seems to me a new girlfriend would count as remotely close, Matt. Or should I call you Ian?”
Whatever he’d had for breakfast dropped in his gut with the force of a wrecking ball—not that his brain could even remember what food it was. “JD called you.”
“If by JD you mean Special Agent Schoff, yeah. Interesting tale he had to tell me. At what point in this little disaster feature were you planning to include me?” Del stood and moved to the lakeside window, leaning against it with his arms folded across his chest. He gazed out over the water. “You know, I can understand a man taking a one-eighty in his life, but I don’t get how he can choose to not take into consideration the people who’ve given him their hearts and souls for five solid years. Especially when the past comes back to bite him in the butt.”
“Del, it wasn’t some deep dark secret, just…” Explaining to Del would be different than explaining to Aileen. She didn’t care that he’d kept it to himself. Del might not have either, if Matt had told him before JD did. “I knew JD would call me if things started to look dicey. I assumed he’d call me before he called you, that’s all. As soon as I knew something for sure I’d have been in your office. Quite honestly, I forgot all about Lawson until right now. It’s been a rather eye-opening weekend for me.”
“Lawson. That’s this Morris Duncan’s informant?” Del’s brows did a little dance at the look Matt must be giving him. “I got a whole file sitting on my desk. You and me are gonna drive into town just as soon as you get a pair of shoes on, and we’re going to go over it, word by word if we have to, until you and I are on the same page. That’s completely on the same page, Matt. The whole shooting match.” The sheriff bored a glare at him that burned right between his eyes.
“Fair enough.” He got up to retrieve his shoes from the rack by his bedroom door. “Can I have five minutes to drop Aileen’s sweater off at the library? She left it here the other night.”
“Don’t you worry about Miss Drew, Matthew.” Del popped his hat back on his head and moved to lock the lakeside doors, then followed Matt to the back door through the laundry room. “Just as soon as you and I swap stories, we’re gonna have a little talk with your lady. Because this ain’t just about you anymore. And it ain’t about your pal Lawson, either...”