She straightened her shoulders and jutted out her chin. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"That's not a no." He was enjoying pushing her buttons.

Janey snorted. "Are you always this arrogant?"

He chuckled. "Only when I have a beautiful woman standing in front of me."

It took her a moment to respond. "I'm here to do a job, Deputy Reed."

"So am I." He paused and lowered his voice a little. "It's Kyle. We are going to be working together, after all."

She swallowed, her gaze never wavering.

He stared back at her, wondering what she saw there. She was a detective. It was her job to look beyond the surface.

They stood there until Kyle heard his sister at the top of the stairs. He removed the kettle from the burner. "Do you take milk or sugar in your tea?"

"Sugar." Her voice sounded a little strained, which made him grin. Having her around was going to be fun.

2.

Janey had set her alarm for six the next morning. She wanted to get up and moving before things in the house got too hectic. The night before she'd run into another couple who were staying at the bed and breakfast with their two young children. While she liked kids well enough, she knew what breakfast could be like when there were children involved, and she wanted to avoid that. More than anything, she needed to stay focused on why she was there and not get distracted.

She finished getting dressed and headed downstairs to see if there was something quick she could grab to eat, or if Ava could recommend a local restaurant. When she rounded the corner, Janey did a double take. Ava stood rolling out dough at the counter while her brother, Deputy Kyle Reed, stood next to her holding a little boy who didn't look to be more than two. Unlike the night before, Deputy Reed was wearing his uniform.

A few seconds passed before he noticed her standing there. "Good morning, Detective."

Ava looked over her shoulder. "I'm making cinnamon rolls, but they won't be ready for another hour. I could make you something else if you don't want to wait."

"Thank you, but if you could point me in the direction of some coffee, I'll be good," Janey said. She'd worry about food later.

"It's by the sink. Kyle started it about fifteen minutes ago, so it should be ready. And there are mugs in that cabinet." She motioned toward the one to the right of the sink, directly above the coffeemaker.

"Thanks." Janey took her time selecting a mug, pouring her coffee, and adding the sugar. It was something she could have easily done in less than a minute, but she needed the distraction. A good night's sleep hadn't affected her reaction to Deputy Reed . . . Kyle. If anything, it was worse.

When she turned back around, coffee in hand, he was no longer standing at the counter with his sister. He'd moved to the large wooden table, the boy on his lap, playing with sugar packets. They were lining them up to form a train. She felt her heart clench again.

"Are you sure I can't make you something? Surely you need more than coffee before you and Kyle head out." Ava's voice was almost like an electric shock to her system.

Before she could answer, Kyle did. "We'll grab something in town. Noah wants to meet Detective Davis before she and I head out to Butler Road."

"Noah?" Janey asked.

Kyle grinned up at her and she felt her heart rate pick up. "Sheriff Jenkins. He called this morning and asked if I could bring you by. He wants to meet you."

"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. I am in his jurisdiction, after all." Janey took another sip of her coffee and placed it down on the counter next to the sink. "We should probably get going, then."

He shook his head. "There's no rush. Finish your coffee. Besides, Noah's probably at the diner having breakfast right now. If we go to the station this early, we'll just be hanging around waiting."

Janey picked her coffee back up and rested against the counter as she watched Kyle and the little boy push the packets of sugar around and make little choo-choo sounds. He looked up at her a couple of times, but for the most part, he focused on the child on his lap. It was a complete contradiction to how he'd been the night before when they'd been alone.

Ava kissed the top of the little boy's head before walking to the sink to wash her hands. Janey stepped to the side to give her room. "He comes over in the mornings when he can to watch Cole for me so I can cook. I don't ask him to. He just does it."

"That's what family's for, right?" Not that Janey would know. The only family she had were the people she worked with-Paul in particular. He, his wife Megan, and daughter Chloe had sort of adopted her.

"It wasn't always like this. Kyle's ten years older than me. But after my husband was killed . . ." Ava paused. She cleared her throat and reached for a towel to dry her hands. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"There's no need to apologize."

Ava met Janey's gaze, a look of sad resignation in her eyes. "He was killed in the line of duty. A sixteen-year-old kid who'd robbed a liquor store."

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Ava took a deep breath. "It's been almost two years. Cole was just a baby. Which is why I decided to move back home." She looked over at her brother and her son. "There's no way I could have done it on my own, and luckily I didn't have to."

Janey was glad Ava had a strong support system, but hearing how great her brother had been wasn't helping.

"Let me pop these in the oven," Ava said, "and then I'll make us all some eggs and toast."

"Really, that isn't necessary. I'm . . ."

The look Ava gave Janey had the words dying in her throat. Apparently, she'd be having breakfast this morning whether she liked it or not.

A half hour later, belly full of not only eggs and toast, but bacon and fresh fruit, Janey and Kyle made their way into town. All along the main street, there were little shops. Most of their signs still read Closed, but she could see people moving around inside, getting ready to open.

"Is this your first time in Liberty?" Kyle asked as they turned down the street that led to the station.

Janey nodded. "I don't get out of Indy very often."

"That's too bad."

She raised an eyebrow in question as he pulled into the parking lot and found a spot. "Why's that? I happen to like Indianapolis."

"Because you're missing out. Sure, the big city has a lot to offer, but so do places like Liberty."

"Like?"

"Like . . . I bet you all don't have hog roasts in the big city."

Janey laughed. "Hog roasts? We do eat pork in Indianapolis, you know."

He smiled and turned to face her. His knee grazed her leg when he changed positions, reminding her how tall he was. "Eating pork in a restaurant isn't the same thing at all."

"Really? And how is it different?" Her heart was pounding in her chest and it had nothing to do with their conversation.

Kyle rested his arm on the back of the seat and leaned in. "You'd have to see for yourself."

"And how would I do that?" She knew it was the wrong question to ask the moment the words slipped from her lips.

"Ethan's family is having a roast tonight. Come with me and I'll show you."

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Janey knew she wasn't misinterpreting the signals Kyle was sending out.

"I think it's a great idea. And besides, most of the town will be there." One side of his mouth turned up in a smirk. "You'd be perfectly safe."

"I can take care of myself. Maybe it's you who should be worried about your safety."

His smile grew. "I think I'll take my chances."

He swiftly got out of the vehicle, leaving her sitting there, wondering what had just happened. She had no idea what she'd agreed to. Well, not exactly agreed to, but she sure hadn't said no. Maybe the country air was getting to her.

Kyle was still grinning when she joined him in front of the building.

"You can wipe that smile off your face. I didn't agree to go with you."

Instead of responding to her comment, he asked, "Ready to meet Sheriff Jenkins?"

Janey narrowed her eyes a little, but nodded.

The station was busier than it had been the night before. It still wasn't anything like where she worked, but there were several people moving about. One woman wore a headset. Janey figured she had to be their dispatcher.

"Noah's office is this way," Kyle said.

"After you." That smile of his got bigger again. Janey could only imagine what was going through his head at the moment. "You call your boss by his first name? Is that a small town thing?"

"Maybe. But in this case, it's that we've known each other most of our lives. His brother and I played football together in school."

"So you're friends."

It wasn't really a question, but he answered anyway. "Yep."

Not much chance the sheriff would help keep Kyle from crossing professional boundaries, then. If anything, they'd probably be giving each other pats on the back.

Kyle walked to the far side of the room. He stopped in front of a big door with the word SHERIFF embossed on the glass. "I think you'll like Noah. He's a lot like me."

Great.

Kyle knocked twice before entering Noah's office. The room had wall-to-wall bookshelves which Kyle had always found a little confining, but Noah seemed to like it. He said it gave him places to put things. The only contrast to all the wood was a single window at the back. It wasn't enough, in Kyle's opinion.

"Perfect timing," Noah said.

"I figured you'd just be getting in." Kyle motioned toward Janey. "Noah, I'd like for you to meet Detective Janey Davis."

Noah stood and extended his hand to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Detective Davis. Your captain speaks highly of you and your partner."

"Thank you. I appreciate you allowing me to come take a look at things. We've run into a dead end on our case back home. If this is related, it could provide the lead we need to catch this person."

"We don't get many murders around here, so when Kyle discovered the body, I did a little research. That's how I found out about your victim in Indianapolis. The similarities were too close for me to pass them off as coincidence without doing some more investigation." Noah sat down and leaned back in his chair. "I trust Kyle is taking good care of you . . . showing you around?"

Janey glanced over at Kyle for a moment and then turned her attention back to Noah. "Yes. He is. We stopped by the morgue last night to have a look at your John Doe. There was a similar bruise on the body, although it was in a slightly different location. But that could mean a lot of things," she said.

"Murdering someone can be unpredictable."

"Exactly. From what I've seen so far, I'm not willing to say they're not related." Again, she glanced over at Kyle then back to Noah. "I'm looking forward to taking a look at the crime scene."

"Well, I won't keep you, then. Let me or Kyle know if there is anything you need." Noah looked down at some papers on his desk before looking up again. "Do you mind giving me a minute with Deputy Reed? There are some things I need to go over with him."

"Of course." Janey exited the room, and the door closed with a click behind her.

As soon as they were alone, Noah leaned forward, clasping his hands on his desk in front of him. "I heard you dropped her off at your sister's last night."

"Ava had an open room. It made more sense than having her drive to a motel out by the highway."

He nodded in understanding. "And Ava was okay with it?"

Kyle wondered if there was more to Noah's question than there seemed. Why would he care if Ava was upset? "She wasn't thrilled I didn't give her a heads-up, but you know my sister. She doesn't turn anyone away if she can help it."

"No, she doesn't. Which is why you shouldn't take advantage of her good nature." This wasn't the lecture Kyle had been anticipating.

He debated voicing what was going through his head. If something was going on between his sister and Noah, Kyle wasn't sure he wanted to know about it. "I'll make it up to her. I always do."

Noah nodded again and then picked up his phone. "Let me know if you two find anything. If it looks like the same person killed both these men, we need to know. I don't want a murderer running around Warren County."

"I'll call you."

Kyle found Janey standing a few feet from Noah's office, talking to their dispatcher, Hayden. Or maybe talking wasn't the most accurate term. Listening to Hayden ramble on was more like it.

When Hayden saw Kyle, her eyes glazed over a little. He knew she had a bit of a crush on him, but as far as he was concerned, she was off limits. She'd turned eighteen last summer and applied for the dispatcher's job. He liked her well enough, but she still had a lot of growing up to do.

"Morning, Hayden."