Navy SEAL Rescuer by Shirlee McCoy

as he’d pursued them, and his relationships had always been based on
mutual attraction and affection. Until Melody, he’d only ever ended things
amicably. No fuss. No muss. Just the simple realization that things weren’t
going to last.
    With Melody, things had ended before he’d been ready, but there
hadn’t been any bitterness or heartbreak. Just disappointment and the hollow
empty feeling that he’d failed in the one thing he wanted most.
    If he were honest with himself, he still wanted it. Not with
Melody, but with someone.
    He just wasn’t sure that he wanted that someone to be as
complicated as Catherine.
    Then again, he wasn’t sure that he didn’t.
    “Ms. Miller? I’m Officer Kenton, Spokane County sheriff’s
department.” The officer introduced himself, his mud-brown gaze sliding from
Catherine to Eileen and then settling on Darius.
    “We’ve met,” she responded, her tone as tight as it had been
with Peter.
    Another guy she didn’t want to talk to, but Darius didn’t think
Officer Kenton would be as easy to kick out of the room.
    “Right. Deputy Sheriff Randal asked me to come complete the
interview he conducted this morning.”
    “I thought we were finished.”
    “We just have a few more questions for you.”
    “I—”
    “It will only take a few minutes.”
    “I’ve heard that before,” she muttered, but leaned over Eileen,
tenderly tucking sparse orange hair behind her ear. “Will you be okay while I’m
gone?”
    “I’ll stay with her,” Darius offered, knowing it was what she
needed, and Catherine smiled.
    “Thank you.”
    She hurried out the door with Officer Kenton, throwing one last
smile over her shoulder as she left.
    He felt it to his soul, that quick curve of her lips, the sweet
light in her eyes, and he knew that if he had the choice, he’d take Catherine
just the way she was...complications and all.

NINE
    S pending time being interviewed by the
police wasn’t high on Catherine’s list of things she wanted to do. As a matter
of fact, she’d spent the past two months doing everything in her power to avoid
the law.
    Unfortunately, she had no choice in the matter, and she
followed the tall, grim-faced officer out of Eileen’s room and down the hospital
corridor.
    “Deputy Sheriff Randal made it clear that I wasn’t to conduct
the interview at the station. The hospital has been gracious enough to lend us a
conference room. I hope that meets with your approval,” he said as if he really
cared.
    She doubted that he did.
    She’d met Officer Kenton five years ago when he’d been
by-the-book and dedicated and absolutely convinced that she’d murdered eleven
elderly patients.
    Maybe he’d changed his mind now that someone else had been
convicted of the crime.
    If so, Catherine doubted he’d mention it.
    “I don’t have a lot of time. I need to be with my
grandmother.”
    “This won’t take more than an hour. Besides, your friend said
he’d stick around until you got back.”
    “You said it would take a few minutes.”
    “I’ll do my best to be quick.”
    “Officer Kenton, I really don’t have anything to add to what I
told Logan earlier.”
    “You might be surprised at what you remember, Catherine.
Sometimes, the littlest detail can make a world of difference to an
investigation.” He opened a door at the end of the hall and gestured for her to
walk in.
    She went reluctantly, every footstep an effort in
self-control.
    She’d been here before. Not in the same conference room, but in a conference room, sitting with several
officers, answering questions about the patients who’d died. She’d thought she
was helping their investigation. All she’d really been doing was sealing her
fate.
    “I really don’t think—”
    “Go ahead and have a seat. I’ve got my laptop with me, and I’ll
be taking notes as we talk. Is that okay with you?”
    She wanted to say yes, but her throat was too tight and the
words wouldn’t come, so she nodded instead.
    “Great.