Excerpt from Depths of LoveKyndal brushed at the dirt on her jeans, trying to make herself as presentable as possible. Climbing the cave wall had left streaks down the front and sides of her clothes. Running her hands down her hair, she could feel how the humidity had pretty much wreaked havoc on it.
Maybe he would feel sorry for her or think her slightly deranged.
The voices moved closer to the door.
“We questioned the kids. They swear they don’t know her. The bags turned up nothing, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t stash something inside the cave.”
Kyndal’s breath came out in a rush. They thought she had made a drug drop! No wonder the sheriff had been so disappointed when he found nothing but camera equipment in her bags.
“I’m skeptical about her story, too.” The voice was smooth and deep, and Kyndal’s stomach fluttered at the sound of it. She imagined the tall, dark, and handsome deputy it might belong to. “Professional photographers know better than to go on someone’s property without permission. I mean, she’s not the paparazzi, right?”
The words stung.
They laughed together, and Kyndal’s eyes burned with indignation. She’d always prided herself on her professionalism. They knew nothing about her or her work. Surely they had experienced the occasional lapse in good judgment. Everybody did. It wasn’t a crime. It was part of being human.
Of course, trespassing was a crime.
Anger came on the heels of the other emotions. Anger at the sheriff who had the audacity to think she might in some way be connected with drugs.
Anger for the deputy who obviously considered her an amateur.
But mostly, anger at herself, for getting into this asinine situation.
The door to the office opened. The sheriff took his time, stopping to peer into the vacant cells before he finally unlocked hers.
“Go on out into my office. We have some questions we want to ask you. Made your call yet?”
Kyndal nodded and handed him the telephone. She took deep, calming breaths as she made her way down the narrow hall and through the door into the sun-brightened office. She squinted at the figure standing by the window.
Not a deputy, unless he was clothed for undercover work. Jeans and a cashmere crewneck? Expensive taste. Her eyes moved up his frame. Tall. Dark. And, from what she could see of his profile, handsome indeed.
She blinked.
He turned and her eyes met the steeliness of his rock-hard gaze. Her heart made a quick jaunt into her throat and then plummeted to the bottom of her stomach. The face was a bit fuller. The jaw a tad firmer. The hair several inches shorter. But the eyes hadn’t changed one iota.
“Chance Brennan?” Had the sheriff called her a lawyer? Was her situation that serious? The strength seeped out of her legs. She lowered herself into a chair. “Why are you here?” The words came out startled and clipped — harsher than she would have used in more congenial circumstances.
A number of emotions crossed his features and she read them like subliminal messages. Confusion. Understanding. Amusement.
So he found her predicament amusing? She challenged the smile of recognition and greeting that had been on the edges of her lips, keeping her face neutral and composed.
Chance gave a chuckle, and her mind did a quick one-eighty to the deep voice she’d been hearing — the one she thought belonged to a deputy. Chance’s. How could she not have recognized it?
His dark eyes danced, and his full mouth turned up slightly at one end as he walked over to her and extended his hand. “It’s good to see you too, Kyndal.”