One Book in the Grave: A Bibliophile Mystery

sorry, love. I’ll be back as soon as I can get away.”
     
    “Maybe I should go back with you,” I said without enthusiasm.
     
    “No, you stay here with your family and Max. I’ll drive back tonight and bring your phone charger with me.”
     
    “You’ll drive all the way out here to do that?”
     
    He chuckled but didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. His look said he’d drive to the moon for me. At least, that was my interpretation.
     
    “Thank you,” I said. “And please don’t worry. We’ll be fine. I’ll call Gabriel to let him know what we’re doing.”
     
    “Yes, do call him,” Derek said, then checked his wristwatch. “He’s already left for Point Reyes, but he expected to be back by noon.”
     
    “I forgot he was driving out there.” I sighed. I guess I’d forgotten all sorts of things. “Well, then it’ll just be me and Mom.”
     
    “Take extra care while I’m gone, darling,” Derek said, pushing away from the dining table. “You may be stirring up more trouble than you know.”
     
    I smiled and hugged him. “I’ll be surrounded by my family and friends. This is my town. Nothing bad could ever happen to me here.”
     
    “Whoa, sweetie, don’t push your luck.” Mom’s eyes were wide as she quickly rapped her knuckles on the tabletop. “Knock on wood.”
     

Chapter 13
     
    Derek and I held hands as we walked out to his car. It was still early so the sun hadn’t cleared the hill. The sky was blue and cloudless, but the air was still nippy, though it promised to warm up later. It was so quiet out here, not like the city at all, and we both seemed to notice it at the same time.
    The scene was tranquil, uncomplicated, sweet. Naturally anxiety began to dribble through me like an IV drip. Was it my fault that Derek was on the verge of becoming completely domesticated, as my friend Robin had recently observed?
     
    We chatted about the weather and what he planned to accomplish at the office today. He intended to look deeply into Solomon’s and Angelica’s backgrounds to see if there were any red flags. Even though the local sheriff had considered Solomon a pillar of society a few years back, Derek wasn’t convinced—especially in light of what Max had told us about Solomon’s wild parties. Was it possible that the man had escaped arrest all this time?
     
    As he spoke, I flashed back to the moment yesterday when he’d matter-of-factly pulled that serious-looking gun from his jacket on his way out to hunt down a killer.
     
    So he wasn’t completely domesticated yet. I breathed a sigh of relief at the realization, then wondered how one man could be so normal and yet so dangerous at thesame time. I didn’t know the answer, but I think it was that very dichotomy in Derek that most appealed to me. Was there something wrong with me that I loved his tough, dangerous side a lot? Was it wrong that I found it thrilling that this guy would go to any lengths, including carrying a gun and hunting down killers, to protect me and the people I loved?
     
    But, hey, I also found it thrilling that he liked to make sandwiches and sit around watching TV, too.
     
    “Your brain is working overtime again,” Derek said as he reached out and pulled me closer, moving his hands up and down my arms and across my shoulders.
     
    “Just thinking about how much I’ll miss you,” I said, and wrapped my arms around him.
     
    “Such a bad liar,” he murmured.
     
    “I’m not lying about that,” I said, laughing.
     
    “No, you’re simply withholding information.”
     
    “Never.”
     
    He chuckled and we stood holding each other for a while, until he leaned back and looked at me. “I know right now isn’t a good time, darling, but once Max’s problems are taken care of and things are back to normal, we have to talk.”
     
    I didn’t like the sound of that. “Is everything okay?”
     
    His eyes were focused on me, intense and indecipherable. “What do you think?”
     
    Am I missing something?
“I think everything’s wonderful.”
     
    His knuckles grazed my jawline and moved down my neck, causing shivers and tingles to rise with his touch.
     
    What does he want from me?
I mean, besides the usual sexual favors and mindless devotion.
     
    I was kidding, sort of.
     
    “Are you feeling all right?” I asked, serious now.
     
    “Yes.” He kissed me then, touching my lips so tenderly that I went boneless, almost dissolving in his arms. My eyes fluttered open to see