Miss Fortune

Chapter Twelve

By five o'clock, Alex was certain her legs were about to fall off. She couldn't remember the last time she walked so much. Her feet hurt. Her lower back hurt. She just wanted to go home and soak in a hot bath. Quite possibly for the rest of her life.

Thorin sighed as he sank into the driver's seat. "Christ, I can't believe no one has ever seen this kid. How is that even possible?"

"I don't know." She winced as she flexed both feet. Her calves were so tight, the muscles practically screamed when she moved. "All I know is I need a break."

"I could use a drink." He glanced over at her. "How about you?"

Could she ever. "That sounds perfect."

"Good. Let me just go back to the station and clock out and we'll grab a drink. Maybe dinner."

"I'm liking this."

He grinned. "Me, too."

So they drove back to the station, and he unlocked his truck for her to wait in while he took care of whatever it was police officers did at the end of their shift. A few minutes later, he came striding across the lot. "And now, I'm off the clock until Saturday, six AM."

"Lucky you. Tomorrow's my day to help out in the shop. And with any luck, Gram will be coming home soon. From what Syd told me, she thinks Gram is just about finished."

"What's she doing?"

"A missing teenager in Maine. Her leads have gone cold, according to Syd, so she's only going to be up there another day or two."

"Does she know you can now see ghosts?"

"I don't think so. I haven't talked to her, but I think if one of my sisters told her, she'd have called me all excited. I think it bothered her more than it ever bothered me that I had no gifts."

"No gifts?" He made a left at Chestnut Street and angled into the parking lot of Darcy's Tavern, where he eased into a slot and killed the engine. "Don't let them fool you, Alex. You've got plenty of gifts."

She gave him a look, but he didn't see it, as he yanked the keys from the ignition and then shoved open his door. As she eased down from her seat, he came around, shaking his head. "Just because you can't see the future or read tea leaves doesn't mean you've got nothing to offer, you know."

"I know, but sometimes... I don't know... I just always wanted to be like my sisters. Like my Gram. It sucks when you're the oddball in your own family."

"You're not an oddball, Lex." His voice grew soft, his eyes serious. "And don't let them make you feel any different."

She leaned back against his truck. "It's hard not to, when they won't let me forget it by acting so surprised that I can see Frerin now. I'd swear that not a one of them believes me, to be honest."

"Screw 'em then," he told her, moving closer. "I like you the way you are."

"You don't even know me, Detective."

He loomed over her, all broad chest and shoulders, and his smile was soft. "Sure I do. You say things sometimes without thinking, you try new things even when they scare the shit out of you, you're funny, you care about people, you smell good, you have a beautiful laugh, I've wanted to ask you out since last fall and right now? All I want to do is kiss you."

A smile tugged at her lips even as her heart picked up its pace. "I smell good?"

He nodded and she sucked in a sharp breath as he leaned in and nuzzled her. His beard scratched lightly against her skin, in a way that sent a shiver down her back and brought a sigh to her lips. Her eyes closed as his lips just brushed her skin and in a silky voice, he purred, "You smell like the air after it rains, Lex. Very good."