Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) Olivia Jaymes (urban books to read .TXT) 📖

But either way, what we find out can alter your perception of that person. Are you ready for that?"

"You make it sound ominous. Like I'm going to find out that Lori was a secret spy for some paramilitary group."

"You may just find out that she really, really liked Care Bears and spent hundreds of dollars every month on them, but you still need to be ready for your view of her to be changed. It would be the same if we were looking into you or me. Most people's lives look different when we dig deeply into them."

A slow, mischievous smile spread across Jenna's face. "I wonder what your secrets are. I bet they're a doozy."

In his opinion, he lived the most boring life on the planet. He didn't think anything he did was all that exciting.

"I doubt you'd find them that interesting."

"And you'll never find out my secrets either."

It was a perfectly normal reply. Jenna hadn't said it in a mean tone or anything. She'd sounded like she was teasing, to be honest.

But she had a point. They weren't a couple anymore and he wasn't going to be learning any of her secrets. He wasn't going to find out more about life unless it was something he learned through this investigation. She wasn't going to be telling him about her hopes and dreams. Or whether she liked Christmas more than Halloween. Did she do turkey or ham on Thanksgiving?

And he wanted to know those things. He wanted to know more and more about Jenna with every passing day. This wasn't going how he'd planned.

He could say that he didn't want to be her man.

He just wasn't sure he was telling the truth.

15

Later in the evening, Jenna was starting to fix dinner when Knox joined her in the kitchen. He'd been holed up in his bedroom for over an hour combing through Lori's credit card statements. Jenna had wanted to help but Knox had said it was a one-person job.

"Where are Tom and Michelle?" he asked, leaning a hip against the kitchen counter. Knox was dressed casually in jeans and a white button-down shirt. Nothing special. Yet somehow, he managed to look incredibly handsome even with his hair slightly askew. Jenna knew that it was from him scraping his fingers through his hair when he was thinking or concentrating. He probably didn't even realize he was doing it.

His jaw was covered with a shadow of whiskers after their long day and there was a tiredness around his eyes. She was impressed with his work ethic when on a case. He'd already said he planned to stay up tonight to go through all of the files that his firm had sent. She'd offer to help again, of course. Maybe this time he'd take her up on it.

"Tom had a business meeting tonight in Billings so he'll be home quite late. Michelle has a nasty migraine so she took some medicine and went to bed early. We're on our own for dinner."

Leaning over the pan on the stove, Knox gave the simmering food a sniff. "If you'd let me know, I would have come down to help."

Despite Knox's overprotective instincts, he wasn't the type that got stuck into gender roles. She liked that about him.

Stop. I don't want to admire or like anything more about him.

I want to find things I don't like about him.

"It's not a big deal. I'm making some skillet lasagna. It's easy to whip up. You said you liked Italian food."

"I do," he confirmed. "Is there anything I can help with?'

Jenna nodded toward the refrigerator. "You can do the salad. It's just one of those bagged Caesars. When this is done, I've also got garlic bread to go in the oven for a few minutes. I need to mix up the butter and garlic."

"I can help with that too."

His help would be fine but that meant that he was moving around the room, often brushing up against her or accidentally making contact when reaching for a utensil or bowl. She'd never realized just how small this kitchen could be with two people in it. She, Michelle, and Lori had prepared meals a thousand times in here but she'd never been as hyperaware of another human being in her life. She could smell his body wash or aftershave, a clean citrus scent. When he reached over her head to grab a large salad bowl from the cabinet, she could even feel the heat of his body.

I am such a wuss.

She was weak and it was pathetic. He was only a man. Yet, he had her practically following him around with her tongue hanging out. She'd never cared like this before. She'd gone much longer without sex and it hadn't fazed her in the least. Hell, when she was working on a campaign, she might go months. It had never been a big deal but tonight this man had her literally sweating.

"I can do this."

Now she sounded frustrated and pissed off. Which she was. But she didn't want Knox to know that he had her tied in knots. He didn't look like he was even aware that she was in the same room.

Asshole.

Knox paused tossing the salad, his expression perplexed. "You don't want me to help?"

She couldn't explain it. Not to him.

"You can help," she finally said with a sigh. "But you don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to."

She placed the lid on the skillet and set the timer for twenty minutes so the broken lasagna noodles could soften in the meat sauce. The kitchen was filled with the delicious aromas of tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. She adored