THE SECRET OF CHEROKEE COVE by Paula Graves Page A

any signs of wedded bliss back at your cabin, either.”
    Touché, he thought. “No, I’m still single.”
    “You and Briar seem close. Logan obviously adores you.”
    “Briar?” He shook his head. “That’d be too much like dating my sister.”
    “You’re not gay, are you?”
    “No.” Remembering what he’d been picturing while riding with her thighs wrapped around his on the back of the Harley, he stifled a grin.
    “Considering the priesthood?”
    He laughed aloud that time. “Definitely not.”
    The microwave gave a ding, and she turned her attention back to the fish while he stirred the vegetables, which had begun to bubble on the stove eye. A few minutes later, he dished servings of turnip greens and corn onto the two plates she held out for him, and they carried their meal to the small kitchen table.
    “Not sure what Doyle has in the way of beverages,” she warned as she opened the refrigerator.
    “Water is fine for me,” he told her. He got up and retrieved the glasses from the cabinet to the right of the sink.
    She closed the refrigerator, mumbling something about needing to go grocery shopping, and took the glass Nix handed her. Filling the glasses with ice and water from the refrigerator dispenser, they settled down to their meal.
    The fish wasn’t half-bad, to Nix’s surprise, though he was like Briar in one regard—he liked to know where his food was coming from. He didn’t have a garden of his own, but between his mother and Briar, he usually had enough fresh from the garden fruits and vegetables to get by. He went fishing when he could, keeping and cleaning his catch. He didn’t hunt much anymore, but a single deer could keep him in venison steaks for months.
    “You should tell your brother to make friends with some of these hill folks,” he told Dana as he finished up the food on his plate. “They’d probably be happy to keep him stocked up with fresh meat and vegetables.”
    “Ah, but then he’d have to cook instead of stick things in the microwave,” she said with a smile. “Clearly, you have much to learn about my brother.”
    Nix shrugged. “His loss.”
    Her smile faded. “I didn’t mean to make light of the offer.”
    “I guess your experience with local hospitality hasn’t exactly been a good one.”
    “Today wasn’t great,” she admitted. “But Briar was lovely. And everyone at the station has been a big help to me.” She pushed her plate away, biting her lower lip. He was beginning to recognize what that expression meant—there was something she wanted to say, but she wasn’t sure how to say it.
    “Everyone was a big help, but...?”
    “I’m not sure that helpfulness will stand when I tell them what I want.”
    He had a sinking feeling he knew what she was going to ask. But he couldn’t blame her. If he’d been in her position, he’d want to know the same answers. “You want to look at the case file on your parents’ accident.”
    “Wouldn’t you?”
    “Yeah, I would. And I’ll help you find the files.”
    Her smile was like sunshine breaking through the clouds on a rainy day. He gave himself a mental kick for even thinking such a corny thought, but he wasn’t immune to the effects of that smile. He felt instantly hot all over and antsy to get closer to her. The tiny table between them suddenly seemed like an enormous obstacle.
    She stood from the table and he moved with her as she started toward the cabin door. “So, how hard is it going to be to find the files?”
    He caught up with her before she reached the middle of the front room, catching her arm. “You want to go now?”
    She gave him a puzzled look. “Well, yeah.”
    “It’s well after five. The file room will have been shut down for the night. Support staff gets to go home regular hours.”
    “Don’t you have to go back to the office and type up a report of your day or something?” She pulled him with her toward the door.
    He tugged her back to him, apparently catching her off