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But he didn’t laugh, or question her statement. Just shrugged. “I’m out of practice when it comes to following orders, if that helps. Not a lot of perfect people walking around. But I think you might be better at making friends than you think.” He pointed at the fawn, who had finished the bottle and was now curled up on the floor, his head on her foot, fast asleep.
“It’s easier with animals. They don’t expect you to know about the latest fashions or which pop singer is divorcing which reality star.”
He laughed, and her breath caught in her chest. Energy and beauty radiated from him like warmth from the sun. He was everything she wasn’t. And he didn’t even know it.
“I think maybe you’ve been hanging out with the wrong crowds of people, if you think that’s what they want to talk about.”
“I haven’t been doing a lot of hanging out at all. Work keeps me pretty busy.”
“Uh-huh.” He moved in closer, then bent and scooped up the sleepy fawn. “Most people, at least the ones worth knowing, are looking for the same things the rest of the living world wants. Someone to stick by them, someone they can trust and, yeah, someone to have fun with.”
“It’s that last part that I need to work on.” Why was she telling him all this? He obviously had no idea what it was like to be on the outside looking in.
“Maybe you just need a bit of practice. Having fun, I mean.” He moved toward another door, across the room from where they’d come in, somehow managing the knob and the deer at the same time. She followed him out onto a mulched path leading to a set of enclosures. He stopped at one of the smaller ones, empty except for a thick layer of woodchips and a bucket of water. “Your room, sir.” The spindly-legged fawn sniffed around the small fenced area, then curled back up and closed his eyes.
“No insomnia for him,” Sam commented, with no small amount of envy.
“Nope. He’s got a belly full of food and a safe place to sleep. He’ll be fine.”
“Thanks to you.” She looked up at Dylan, daring to make eye contact in the dim starlight. “I’m glad you didn’t listen to me, that you went after him. Sorry I gave you such a hard time.”
“No worries. You can make it up to me by catching the lowlifes that shot his mother.”
Her shoulders dropped. “I’ll try. Trust me, there is nothing I’d like more than to put handcuffs on them. But your friend didn’t get the license number, and there are a million tan Ford pickup trucks in this part of the state. My best chance at catching them is for someone to turn them in.”
“Does that happen often?” He locked the gate on the pen, then headed back to the main building, motioning her to follow.
“Actually, it does. There are some pretty big rewards for tips that lead to an arrest. One of the secrets to being a good wildlife officer is having a personal connection with the community. If you have enough people that know you and trust you, then they can be an excellent source of information. That’s why I was assigned here, in Paradise. I was born here, so the brass assumed I’d have a natural connection with the townspeople.”
He led them back to the office area and flopped down in a chair. “That makes sense.”
Sitting across from him, she opened the pizza box and grabbed a slice. “On paper, yes. In real life, not really.” She took a bite and let the flavors roll across her tongue. If heaven was a food, it would be pizza. Chewing, she debated how much to share. “I actually only lived here until I was ten. After that I went to boarding school, and then college. Other than a few school vacations, I haven’t been in Paradise in over a decade.”
“Have you been able to connect with any old friends from back when you lived here?”
She shook her head. “When you’re a kid, it’s out of sight, out of mind—I lost touch with everyone years ago. So now I’m starting from scratch, unless you count the town librarian. I spent a lot of time hiding out there the few times I did make it home.”
Dylan swallowed the last of his slice. “Bookworm, huh? Remind me to show you my bookshelves sometime.” He waggled his eyebrows in a parody of seduction. “But I can see how that would make things awkward. Making friends in a new place is hard enough. Making friends in a place where everyone already knows you, that’s a whole different thing.”
“Exactly. I’m the new girl in town, except I’m not.”
“What about your family? Are they still local?”
The bite of pizza in her mouth was suddenly hard to swallow. Folding her hands in her lap, she forced herself to answer the question; her family history wasn’t exactly a secret in Paradise. “My mom died when I was a kid.”
“I’m sorry.” The words were ones she’d heard many times, but she could tell he was sincere.
“Yeah, well, after that Dad just kind of shut down—hence the boarding school. He’s actually with the FWC as well, but when she passed he took a desk job. He spends pretty much every waking hour holed up in his office in Ocala. Not much time for friendships.” Or his daughter. “I know that sounds like the pot calling the kettle black, but at least I’m trying to put myself out there.”
“You’ll figure it out.” He helped himself to another slice.
“I’m going to have to. I can’t do my job properly otherwise.” Something her boss had made very clear to her during a private meeting last week. “I’ve got an evaluation coming up, and basically, if I don’t create some ties to the community, I’m going to be looking for another line of work.”
* * *
Dylan coughed, nearly choking on the bite of sausage in his mouth. “What? They can fire you for not being social enough?” She seemed competent, had tracked him and the deer like a pro and was a natural with animals. So what if she was a bit awkward with the two-legged variety?
“Pretty much. There’s a big push in the Fish and Wildlife Commission to be what they call community partners. And my boss is spearheading the effort. If I can’t make myself a part of that, then I’ll be reassigned to an administrative role.”
“I’m guessing that’s not a step up, careerwise.”
She shook her head, her nose wrinkling. “Definitely not. It would be a sign of failure.”
She certainly didn’t seem like someone accustomed to failure. “So what, you just have to make some friends, get to know the locals, that kind of thing?”
“Pretty much. The Outdoor Days Festival is coming up, and my boss will be here for the opening ceremonies. My plan is to be able to mingle well enough by then to impress him.”
“Okay, that sounds like a good plan.”
“Yup. And if I had any idea how to make it happen, I’d be doing okay. As it is, I think this is the second-longest conversation I’ve had since I moved back here months ago.”
“I’m flattered. But I’ve got to know, who beat me out?”
“My cat.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, well, like I said, it’s easier with animals. But this is definitely my longest human-to-human interaction.”
“Well, that’s something, anyway.” He grabbed two bottles of water from the case stashed next to his desk and tossed her one. “But technically, this is work-related. What you need is a social life.”
She grimaced and took a swig of water. “I’ve heard of those.”
He shook his head. She had a dry wit he hadn’t expected—what other surprises was she hiding? “It’s not so bad, you know. Some people even find socializing fun.”
“Fun is hiking in a forest at dawn or figuring out who did it in the middle of a mystery novel.”
“Sure. But fun is also seeing a movie and then talking about it with friends over ice-cream sundaes. Or picnics on the beach, or a pickup game of volleyball.”
She shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t like people, but a full college course load, plus a part-time job, didn’t leave much time for a social life. Now that I’ve got the time, I don’t have the connections. I can’t exactly walk up to someone I don’t know and ask them to go see a movie.”
“Maybe not, but you could go with me.”
Her jaw dropped open. “Wait, what?”
“I said, you could go with me. I could even bring a few friends, make it a group thing.”
“But why would you do that?”
Because you’re smart, sexy and I like hearing you laugh. “Why shouldn’t I? I mean, besides the fact that you nearly shot me.”
Sam chewed her bottom lip; the simple move sent his blood southward. Not good—just making friends was hard enough. If she realized he was attracted to her, she’d probably bolt. Giving her time to think, he grabbed the new animal intake forms and set them on the desk next to the pizza box. He could fill one out for the fawn while she asked him whatever questions she had. By the time he sat back down, she had a determined set to her shoulders and a gleam in her eye.
“Okay. I’ll do it. But nothing too crazy, okay?”
“Fair enough, we’ll ease you into things.” He looked down at the nearly empty box between them. “How about pizza? I’ll bring a few friends, totally low-key.” He’d rather it be just the two of them, but that would defeat the whole point. “I’ll handle everything. You just need to show up.”
She shook her head, but there was a smile on her lips. “Never let it be said I turned down a chance for pizza. Just let me know when and I’ll be there. In the meantime, I really do need to ask you a few questions about tonight.”
And just like that she was all business again, her smile giving way to lines of concentration.
“You said Jason called you a little before five. Were you here at the center when you got the call?”
“No, I left work early today, so I was driving home by then.”
She raised an eyebrow at that. No doubt Ms. All-Work-and-No-Play never left early. “I had been working on the roof all day, in the rain. I was filthy and soaking wet. I thought I’d run home and shower, and then do some work on my laptop later.” He was being defensive, but darn it, he didn’t want her to think he was a slacker. He got that enough from people. Usually it didn’t bother him, but with her it rankled.
“Okay, so when you spoke with him, what did he say?”
Dylan repeated what he remembered of the short conversation.
“And what was your advice to Jason?”
“I told him to stay put and call the Fish and Wildlife hotline.”
“Thank you for that. Not everyone would have known whom to contact. For that matter, a lot of people wouldn’t have wanted to get involved at all.”
Dylan deflected the praise. “Jason’s a good kid. He wanted to do the right thing.”
“I could tell. Of course, that doesn’t explain why you drove over there yourself, rather than just letting the authorities handle it.”
He shrugged. “He asked me to come and try to find the deer. He was worried about it. I was, too, once he told me. Given how thin the FWC is spread, I wasn’t sure how long he’d have to wait for an officer to get there. And if I hadn’t come, he might have tried to go after it himself. I didn’t want him wandering around in the woods at dusk—not with poachers in the area.”
She rolled her eyes. “And yet you had no problem doing exactly that yourself.”
“I’m not some teenager. And it all turned out good in the end. The deer is safe, Jason’s safe and I got to have dinner with a beautiful woman.”
* * *
Sam adjusted the rearview mirror in her truck and took a hard look at herself. Staring back at her was the same pale skin, brown eyes and oversize mouth she’d always seen. Beautiful? He probably just meant it in some casual, meaningless way. The kind of compliment he gave to everyone.
But it was a first for her.
She stuck her tongue out at herself and moved the mirror back in position before starting the car. No one, other than her father, had ever called her beautiful. She’d spent her teen years hidden behind thick glasses that only amplified the bushy eyebrows she’d inherited. Before college she’d switched to contacts and set up a standing appointment for an eyebrow wax. But she never quite managed the art of makeup, or fashion, for that matter. The few dates she’d gone on had been with boys as nerdy and driven scholastically as she was.
In comparison to them, Dylan was in a whole different league. One she couldn’t hope to play in.
Except he’d specifically invited her to see him again, socially. Which was terrifying. Not because he was scary in and of himself—after her initial bout of nerves had worn off, he’d been surprisingly easy to be around. Maybe that was why the animals liked him so much. But he’d be bringing other people, strangers, and this time she wouldn’t have work to talk about. She’d have to make actual conversation. Small talk. With people she didn’t know.
Why had she agreed to this?
Oh, yeah, because she didn’t have a choice. She certainly hadn’t made any inroads on her own. Having someone like Dylan along to smooth the way was her best chance. It was pretty ironic, really. She was the one who had grown up here. She should be the one helping him get to know people, not the other way around. But maybe it was best this way. Having him along would mean she could ease past that “Don’t I know you?” stage that she kept getting stuck in. It seemed she was always on the edges of people’s memories, enough to look familiar but not enough for them to actually remember who she was. And once they were reminded that she was actually an island native they invariably felt bad for not remembering her. Not exactly the best way to start a new friendship.
But Dylan’s plan was going to work. It had to. She couldn’t risk losing her job over it. She’d be humiliated, and her father would be so disappointed. How many times had he told her that she’d have to work extra hard to prove herself? Aside from fighting any suggestions of nepotism, she was a woman in what had traditionally been a man’s job. The old-boy network hadn’t died out yet and he’d warned her she’d have to prove herself every step of the way. And she had. No way was she going to let a little shyness keep her from doing what she’d always wanted to do. The woods and waterways of Florida were home to her, and she’d sworn to protect them. She just hadn’t realized that the hardest part of the job wouldn’t be the long hours, dangerous animals or ravenous insects. Somehow, in her rush to be the best, she’d missed the memo about the importance of community relations. At least she had someone on her side now.
And as crazy as it was, she was kind of looking forward to having dinner with him. Not that she expected anything from him other than moral support and some social introductions. But it would be nice if they could form a kind of friendship, as unlikely as that seemed, given how different their personalities were. But they both were dedicated to the wildlife of the area—maybe that would be enough?
More intimidating was the thought of the friends he was bringing. If this was any other kind of challenge, she’d know how to prepare, but she couldn’t exactly study up on small talk. Could she? There probably wasn’t an official guidebook, but the internet was a big place, and there might be something there that would help. Heck, if she could learn how to change her own oil from a YouTube video, anything was possible.
The driveway of her apartment building came into view, and she parked in front of her tiny unit. Grabbing her gear, she purposely avoided looking at the wilting plant in front of her door. An impulse buy, it was now a testament to her lack of a green thumb. Half the time she forgot to feed herself; a plant didn’t stand a chance. Her cat, on the other hand, was in no danger of neglect, thanks to his in-your-face style of negotiation. She could hear him now, meowing impatiently as she unlocked and opened the door.
The angry meows became rumbling purrs as the fat orange feline wound his round body through her legs, greeting her the same way he did every evening. Careful not to trip over him, she made her way to the kitchen to boot up her laptop and feed her hungry pet. “Don’t worry, Cheesy, I’m getting it. It’s not like you couldn’t stand to miss a meal.”
He meowed in protest, no doubt offended at the suggestion he could stand to lose a pound or ten. She really should put him on a diet. But not tonight. She’d add feline obesity to her list of things to look up online. For now she gave him fresh water and a small can of wet food, his nightly treat.
Cat duties finished, she slid onto a stool at the breakfast bar and pulled up a web browser. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard—was she really going to do this?
Yes.
Refusing to hesitate anymore, she typed “how to make a good first impression” into the search box and hit Enter.
Chapter Four (#ulink_c59c70ee-6fc0-5570-8486-2aa66bb7f6a3)
Dylan checked the dashboard clock as he pulled his truck into one of the few vacant spots in front of Pete’s Crab Shack. He was early and would have been earlier if he hadn’t changed shirts three times before leaving the house. Since moving to Paradise, he’d happily let his wardrobe drift from business button-downs to beach casual, the laid-back dress code being one of the better perks of his job. But tonight his ingrained preference for comfort had been overridden by his desire to make a good impression, costing him both time and a good chunk of his masculine pride. The idea of getting “dressed up” had always seemed fussy to his ranch-raised way of thinking, but having dinner with Sam was enough of an occasion that he’d dug out a collared shirt from the back of his closet. He’d even ironed it, much to the amusement of the neighbor he’d had to borrow the iron from.
Even still, he seemed to have arrived before Sam and Dani. Hopefully, the two women would hit it off—he wanted Sam to feel comfortable in Paradise for reasons he wasn’t going to begin to contemplate. Dani Post, like Sam, was a Paradise native, but there the similarities ended. Unlike Sam, Dani was outgoing and bold, characteristics that served her well in the courtroom. As a public defender, she had a soft spot for anyone she considered the underdog, and was on the board of pretty much every charity in town. And with her contacts she was the perfect person to help Sam. He’d first met her at a fund-raiser for a new fox enclosure at the rehab center, and they’d quickly become friends. Once or twice, he’d considered asking her out, but they didn’t have that kind of chemistry and they both knew it.
A chime at his hip alerted him to an incoming call. Climbing out of the truck, he headed for the entrance as he answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Dylan. It’s Dani. I’m afraid I’ve got to back out of dinner. Mollie and Noah have dinner reservations to celebrate her newest gallery show and their babysitter called in sick.”
Dani’s sister, Mollie, was a longtime volunteer at the rehab center and a gifted wildlife photographer. She’d recently married a sculptor from Atlanta and adopted his young son. Together they had a great little family, but for a pair of newlyweds they didn’t get much alone time. “No problem. I know when I’m outclassed. I can’t compete with your nephew.”
“Well, he is a lot cuter than you. But I still feel bad for ditching you.”
“You should. Now I’m going to have to dine all by my lonesome with a beautiful woman. How will I ever survive such a fate?”
Dani chuckled at his sarcasm. “Good point. My conscience is clear. But do give her my number, and tell her that I’m happy to help however I can.”
He’d made it to the front entrance and could see Sam’s truck pulling into the parking lot a few rows back. “I will, don’t worry. You’re not totally off the hook. But she’s here now, so let me go.”
Hanging up, he watched Sam hop down from her shiny pickup with the grace of a queen stepping down from her throne. She was wearing a long cotton skirt that clung to her legs as she walked and a slim, sleeveless shirt that was at once both modest and seductive. Of course, she’d been sexy in her bulky uniform, too, but this took it to a whole other level. Even her hair was different, loose and flowing in soft waves past her shoulders instead of in the no-nonsense ponytail he remembered. Sam in professional mode was hot. Sam in a skirt was heaven come to earth.
She spotted him and waved, her long legs skimming over the asphalt with the same athletic stride he’d seen in the field. He waved back, and sent up a prayer of thanks for sick babysitters.
She stopped a few feet away, rocking back on her heels to look up and meet his gaze. “So, where’s our third?”
“Actually, it looks like it’s just going to be us.”
