Page 23 of Justified Fear (TFH Team Bravo #2)

Thirteen

R yan put his truck in park and looked over at his companion.

Maya was already alert, her gaze intent on Keely’s house.

She had been antsy since they’d left TFH.

Usually, he would have taken her for a run, but since he had wanted to get to Keely’s as soon as possible, he had headed straight over from headquarters.

On top of that, a major accident on Pali had backed up traffic for a while.

He was starting to think her fidgeting had more to do with Keely than not expending enough energy.

Maya had never really connected with anyone other than him.

Well, his mother. She loved his mom. His mother had never been a dog person until Ryan became a handler.

Then, he’d brought Maya to his mother’s house.

The two of them were thick as thieves, and his mother even called Maya her granddaughter.

“You will behave tonight.”

She gave him side-eye, then returned her attention to the front of the house. Right. Maya had always been the best-behaved dog. Even before she received all her training, she had been laser-focused.

He stepped out of his SUV and almost shut the door on Maya. “What the hell?”

She never did that, but Maya was in a rush to get to the front door. She was climbing up the steps to the front porch when the screen door opened.

“Well, look at you. Aren’t you the sweetest?” Her throaty voice danced over all his nerve endings, and he was beginning to wonder if the woman would ever sound that way when talking to him.

Pushing that thought out of his mind—because it would be stupid to be jealous of his dog—he grabbed the flowers he had picked up and made his way to the house. By the time he arrived, Keely was on her knees pressing her lips to the top of Maya’s head.

When she looked up at him, his heart seemed to stutter.

She wore just enough makeup to give her a glow.

Or was that just the woman? He was starting to think it was all Keely.

Her golden eyes sparkled with happiness, and that smile—the one with the dimple that seemed to stop him in his tracks every time Ryan saw it—brightened her expression.

Her hair was down, draping over her shoulders, and she was wearing a Hawaiian print dress that cinched in at the waist and stopped just short of her knees.

There wasn’t anything revealing about the dress, other than a hint of cleavage.

But the straight skirt clung to her hips.

“Are those for me?”

He blinked, trying to figure out what she was talking about. How could he be expected to have a conversation when her beauty seemed to knock him on his ass every time?

“Ryan, is everything okay? I mean, if the flowers aren’t for me, that’s okay.”

He wanted to smack himself in the forehead. “Sorry, long day. They’re for you.”

He handed her the yellow roses, not something cheap by any standard in Hawai’i.

“Yellow roses,” she said, taking them from him.

“I wasn’t sure what to get, and I figured you’re from Texas…” He cleared his throat. “That was probably a stupid assumption.”

Her gaze rose from the flowers. “No. It wasn’t. Yellow roses are my favorite. I know people go for red or white, but yellow is so sunny and, like you said, Texas. Thank you. I hope you like lobster.”

“I do.”

She held her hand out to him, and he took it. She opened the screen door. “Come on, Maya. Time to finish up dinner.”

Maya hurried into the house. When they arrived in the kitchen, he found Eden standing there.

“Yellow roses. Nice, Morrison. Maya, you’re getting the star treatment. Come on over here so I can show you the setup.”

He leaned over as Eden showed Maya to a corner with a throw rug under elevated bowls. One had water and the other was empty.

“I didn’t know what food she ate, and online it said that you shouldn’t just change their food. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for thinking about my partner. It’s really sweet. Thank you. If she gets hungry, I have some of her food in my truck. I never know how long we’ll be stuck at work, so I always have some on hand.”

“I’m going to make myself scarce. Both Aaron and I will patrol outside,” Eden said, walking toward the front door. “You’re in for a treat, Morrison.”

Then she left them alone.

“I made some for her, Mix, and Aaron before you came. I didn’t feel right making a dinner and not including them.”

She had a vase over at the sink beneath the window that looked out front. “I thought they would be obtrusive, but they aren’t. I particularly like Eden.”

“And Mad Dog?”

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Well, he doesn’t talk much. He’s really quiet, and he just got here right before dinner. Mix complained about Aaron getting a roll to eat.”

She cut the tips of the roses, then slipped them into the vase. Then, she set it on the windowsill.

“That’s so pretty. Thanks again for them.”

“Can I help with anything?”

“I wasn’t sure if you could drink tonight or if you even drank. I have some wine chilling in the refrigerator for me. I also have beer.”

“Since I’m on call, I’ll stick to water.”

Plus, he wanted to keep his wits about him. This woman had left him a little dizzy from the moment she fell on top of him.

“You don’t mind if I drink, do you? I’m not a big drinker, but I love a crisp Pino when I’m eating seafood.”

“Not at all. It’s in the fridge?”

She nodded as she turned to reach for a wine glass.

His eyes almost rolled back in his head.

The dark purple fabric clung to her perfect heart-shaped ass.

Ryan needed to get his eyes off that ass, so he turned toward the fridge.

He had noticed it the day before. It was one of those retro-looking fridges in avocado.

He remembered his grandmother had one when he was little.

Or maybe he had seen it in pictures. Other than a few updates, he knew the house was pretty close to the original.

“There’s filtered water in the fridge.”

He saw it sitting there, so he grabbed it and the wine bottle.

He opened the Pino.

“I just need about half a glass.”

He did as she requested and handed it to her. “Thank you.”

After taking a sip, she set it down. “I hope you’re okay with lobster rolls. I didn’t want a big dinner, and I could poach the lobster meat ahead of time.”

She took two hoagie rolls and split them open. Damn, she was good with a knife.

“I didn’t have a lobster roll until I went up to the Northeast. They weren’t that big in Texas. The first time I went to Maine with some classmates, we stopped at this food truck, and I fell in love. It’s one of the things I included at my restaurant, but with a little flair.”

“It must have been hard moving away and giving that up.”

“It was. But in the long run, I think it was for the best. I had never thought of opening a brick-and-mortar kind of restaurant. I think I’m more of a food truck kind of gal.”

He chuckled. “I could see that you would rather be out and about.”

She slathered butter onto each side of the roll. “I hope you like garlic. Oh…I guess that’s not the right thing to be doing on a date.”

Seeing her worry made his own ease. He thought he was the only one who was nervous. “If we’re both having garlic, I don’t think it matters.”

Her expression eased. “Oh, good.”

She opened the oven and popped the two halves in. Opening a cabinet to the left of the range, she grabbed two plates. She set them on the island.

“I hope?—”

He stopped her by taking her hand. “I will love anything you make. Don’t worry about me.”

She sighed. “Sorry. I’m still trying to move away from those things I learned in my last relationship.” She closed her eyes. “Sorry. I haven’t dated much at all, and I’m sure you can tell.”

He didn’t like hearing that she had any kind of relationship, especially one that sounded like that. He still had hold of her hand, so he gently tugged her closer. Her eyes opened as he slipped his arm around her waist.

“There are no rules here, other than stop saying you’re sorry.”

She blinked up at him, and the worry seemed to dissolve from her expression. “I think I can try to do that.”

“Good.”

She stepped away from him, and he had to fight the urge to pull her back. After pulling out two containers, she set them on the counter, then got the rolls out of the oven.

“Oh, Maya,” she called out. Then she looked at Ryan. “It’s okay if I give her a bone, right?”

He nodded. She smiled.

She grabbed a biscuit out of the Ziplock bag on the counter. “Here you go, sweetie.”

Maya took the biscuit, then walked over to the runner she had in the hallway leading to the front door.

“So, what kind of lobster roll did you have at your restaurant?”

She continued to get their sandwiches ready.

“It was a lobster roll taco. This is the filling I used in the restaurant, but I didn’t have time to make my own tortillas.

I hate store-bought ones. They are easy enough to make, but after everything that happened today, I went for simple.

I already had these rolls from Cynthia’s Bakery. ”

“I can’t say that looks simple to me.”

“Well, let’s say light then. I figured it was good, since I made some malasadas for dessert.”

She handed him a plate filled with a massive roll overflowing with lobster, butter, and salad greens. The side dish was some kind of potato salad.

“I would have done Hawaiian Mac salad, but some people have an aversion to cold pasta. My father and one of my brothers both do.”

“I eat just about anything.”

“I thought we could sit in the sunroom.”

He nodded. “Show me the way.”

Keely walked down the hallway to the small room at the back of the house. She couldn’t remember ever being this nervous feeding a date. It wasn’t like she hadn’t cooked for her dates before, but something told her that this one was more important than the others.

She stepped into the room that everyone in the family called the sunroom.

“This looks like it was built on.”