The Temptation of Savannah O'Neill. Molly O'Keefe
step toward Matt, who tensed, every muscle suddenly eager for a fight.
“I’ll be watching you,” the man murmured.
“That’ll be fun,” Matt said with a smirk, guaranteed to piss off the cop. And it did. Luckily, his partner got a hand around the guy’s arm and led him out of the house before violence erupted.
“Oh, my,” Margot said, once the cops were gone. She collapsed onto the blue velveteen couch, a puddle of white linen and silk. “That was more than I needed this morning.”
“I didn’t like those police officers,” the little girl said, lifting her head from her mother’s neck.
“You and me both,” Margot said, holding out her arms and the girl climbed from mother to great-grandmother.
Savannah didn’t say anything, just glared at him as if it were his judgment day.
“It wasn’t me,” he said, even though he knew it didn’t matter. She either believed him or not.
“I know that,” Savannah answered, her voice rough and husky, no doubt from swallowing so much anger, and his shoulders went down, his back got loose with relief.
He noticed her robe, purple silk with Asian style hand-painted flowers gliding over her breasts, tied tight at her trim waist. No wonder Fat Cop was leering—Matt was in danger of doing it himself. The prison warden from yesterday was long gone and in her place was something far more dangerous.
A woman with a lit fuse.
Christ, he wanted to touch her.
Her hair was down. Her face clean and clear of makeup, her skin like the inside of a seashell. And her eyes…well, her big blue forthright eyes were killing him.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Around two this morning, Katie started screaming.” Savannah sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I ran in there and saw someone jumping out her window.”
“Oh, my God,” he whispered, imagining that to be a parent’s worst nightmare. “Was she…is she hurt?”
“No.” The redheaded girl spoke up, pushing back long tangles of hair to reveal freckles and blue eyes. “I’m not. I was just scared.”
“Do you know why anyone would try to get into the house?” he asked, studying Savannah carefully for any indication that there was a safe somewhere filled with jewels.
Savannah shook her head, looking slightly lost.
“Is there anything of value—”
“That’s hardly any of your business,” Margot said, and he tore his eyes away from Savannah to look at her, stunned to see that without the careful application of makeup, her face really showed her age. “Nor is it polite conversation at 7:00 a.m.”
Matt ducked his head. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I apologize.”
“I do, too,” Margot said graciously after Savannah shot her a stern look. “It’s been a rough morning. But it probably was those teenagers.” Margot sighed, resting her head against the back of the settee. “The officers are right, it was only a matter of time—”
“Those officers were idiots,” Savannah snapped. “Someone broke into my daughter’s room and they acted like it was nothing.” Savannah’s voice broke and she turned away from her daughter as if to hide her runaway emotions.
Something dented in Matt’s chest, a foundation trembled and he wanted to reach out and touch the fragile elegant bones of her wrist. Hold her hand.
Ruthlessly, he looked around the room, turning himself off to the emotions, embracing the chill that lived inside of him.
Do not get attached to these women, he told himself.
“Thank you,” Savannah said and he swung around to look at her, made speechless for a moment by her beauty, by the look in her eyes. “For what you said to those officers.”
There was something slightly different in her, a fierceness transformed. It was as if a light had gone on in a dark house. His conscience, quiet for so long, muted and grieving, woke up.
Don’t do this, he thought. Don’t look at me like that. Don’t let me in, I’m only here to hurt you.
“No problem,” he said.
“Who are you?” a small voice asked, and he turned to see the girl giving him the once-over.
Matt’s lip lifted at the quicksilver change in topics. “My name is Matt, I’m going to help fix the back garden.”
Katie’s eyes narrowed and she harrumphed, looking as skeptical as a young girl could, which, actually, was pretty damn skeptical.
“He’s going to be staying here. In the sleeping porch. At night,” Margot said, and she might as well have shot off a cannon into the silent room.
CHAPTER FOUR
SAVANNAH LOOKED DUMBSTRUCK. She blinked. Blinked again. Matt resisted taking a step back, away from her.
“I’m sorry?” she finally said.
“He’s staying,” Margot repeated, showing a whole lot of that steel under her magnolia exterior. “I know, I know.” She waved her hands in Savannah’s face as it grew stormier by the second. “You told him to stay at the Inn, but I told him he could stay on the sleeping porch and frankly, after what’s happened, I think it’s a damn good idea to have a man around here.”
“What?” Savannah cried. “This is not the Wild West, Margot.”
“No, but it’s our home and I’m eighty and Katie’s eight and you’re a damn librarian. We’re about as defenseless as it gets.”
“We could get a gun,” Katie said and both Savannah and Margot spun to stare at her. “I’m just saying,” she added sheepishly.
“We’re not getting a gun,” Margot said. “Matt is sleeping on the porch. End of story.”
“Can I talk to you?” Savannah said through her teeth. “Privately.”
“No, you can’t. You’re too wrapped up in the past and the last man who stayed here.”
Savannah went stiff and pale as ice and Matt had to fight himself not to show a reaction. What last man? And what did he do?
“You can’t see that this is a perfect solution to our problem,” Margot said.
Savannah spun toward Matt, not even pretending to smile or be gracious. “Can you give us a minute?”
“Sure.”
“Stay right there,” Margot said, pointing a finger to the floor in front of Matt’s feet. He wouldn’t have moved even if the earth opened up and tried to swallow him. “Look, we’re targets around here. The police don’t much care for us for a bunch of different reasons, not the least of which is they’re giant dickheads—sorry, Katie.”
“It’s okay,” Katie said, as though she was taking in the greatest show on earth.
“The police chief is good to us, but she’s got a whole town to take care of. So, we’re pretty much on our own,” Margot said. “Savannah’s got a problem with men staying here—”
“Don’t you dare, Margot,” Savannah snapped.
“Because we’ve been alone a long time.” She held up one elegant finger. “By choice, mind you. Most of the time men are only good for two things, and one of them is buying me drinks.”
Matt choked back a laugh. What in the world had he stumbled into?
“But…I’m scared,” Margot admitted. “We all are.” The air in the room seemed to change, a heavy darkness filling the corners, creeping along