She Can Tell by Melinda Leigh Page A

like this before I met you.” His voice was clipped, and his jaw muscles moved like he was grinding his teeth. “You’re distracting.”
    “Distracting?” Rachel felt her mouth gape.
She
was distracting. Women like Tanya were distracting. Not Rachel.
    “You destroy my objectivity.”
    “Gee, sorry.”
    Mike’s eyes blazed. “Nothing can happen between us.”
    “OK by me.” Rachel folded her arms across her chest. “You’re the one who’s having a stroke about it.”
    “Stroke?” he choked, eyes bulging.
    The door behind her opened, and Sarah walked out, her eyes bright behind the bruises.
    “Any problems?” Mike’s tone shifted back to super-polite.
    “No,” Sarah answered, then stared at Rachel and frowned. “Is everything all right?”
    “Fine.” Rachel forced a smile on the protesting muscles of her face. “All done?”
    Sarah nodded. “Yes. It wasn’t too bad. Troy can’t come near me or the girls until the hearing, which will be in ten days. I’ll need a lawyer for that.”
    “Already working on it.” Rachel pushed away from the wall and started down the hall. “Let’s talk about it at home.”
    “All right.” Sarah followed with a confused glance at Mike.
    Rachel tried to resist, but her eyes were pulled to him, damn them. Traitors.
    Thankfully, he was looking at Sarah. “If you have any trouble, don’t hesitate to call. Please don’t try to handle things on your own.” He shot Rachel a disapproving frown.
    Rachel embraced the dig and glared back. Anger welled, hot, familiar, and definitely preferable to self-pity. She pivoted on her heel. A few long strides later the door opened to the smack of her palm. A damp breeze cooled her face. Holding the door open, she waited for Sarah.
    “Thanks for everything, Chief O’Connell.” Sarah’s kitten heels tapped on the tile floor as she hurried to catch up.
    “You’re welcome.”
    Rachel didn’t look back as he responded. That deep voice was as devastating as his eyes. She let the door swing shut. In the parking lot, Rachel didn’t allow herself to run for the truck. Her sister was still walking stiffly and would have trouble keeping up. Plus, pride wouldn’t let her admit how much his snub had affected her. She slammed the door of the pickup harder than necessary and shoved the key into the ignition.
    Sarah eased her body into the passenger seat. “Is there something going on between you and Chief O’Connell?”
    “No.”
    “You’re sure? Because he looks at you like you’re a juicy rib eye and he’s been eating vegan for a long time.”
    Rachel jerked the gearshift into drive. “That was your mother-in-law who had him drooling on the floor. He’s just perpetually pissed off at me.”
    “Really? That’s not the impression I had.” Sarah rested her head on the back of the seat. “Well, he’s out of luck there. Tanya isn’t leaving Vince, at least not as long as he’s still buying her everything she wants. She isn’t giving up the cash flow anytime soon. She’s not as dumb as she looks.”
    “She couldn’t be and still be able to dress herself.”
    “Rachel, that’s mean.” But Sarah laughed as she protested.
    “Yeah, well, I’m not as nice as you are.”
    Sarah flexed the fingers of her casted arm and winced. “I still think the police chief is interested in you.”
    “No way. I’m telling you he was staring at Tanya. Maybe there’s something going on between them. She wouldn’t have to leave Vince, you know. People cheat all the time.”As she well knew. Her throat clogged with the memory of Blake’s betrayal. No. She wasn’t going to dwell on the past. She’d rejected him, and he’d turned to someone else. End of story.
    With a deep, cleansing breath, Rachel turned onto Main Street. She depressed the gas pedal, and the pickup sputtered and then roared ahead. “I drive O’Connell crazy. I drive most people crazy, which is why I like being alone.”
    “That’s because you don’t let anyone see