All I Need (Hearts of the South) Read online

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she flexed her hand along his ribs. “So what do we do, Savannah?”

  “We do Hamilton’s baptism and that fundraiser you keep talking about. You take care of your sister, as much as she’ll let you.” She moved a shoulder in a light shrug and yawned. “We keep doing tomorrow and see where we end up.”

  * * * * *

  Savannah rested her head on the window and watched the town open up around them. Streetlights cast pools of golden light on deserted sidewalks, and only a couple of cars passed by them on the main streets near the courthouse square. Colton Dixon crooned from the radio, and Emmett sang along quietly, tapping his palm against the wheel.

  She smiled at the relaxed line of his shoulders, even though his expression remained a little pensive.

  Being with him like this felt good.

  He swung the right into the complex lot and braked harder than necessary.

  “Ah, fuck.” His agonized whisper sounded anything but relaxed, and she sent a quick, searching glanced across the parking lot.

  “What?” She didn’t see anything out of place, other than a white Chevrolet Z71 in his parking spot. She laid a hand on his thigh, singing with stress under her palm.

  He didn’t reply, a muscle flicking above his rigid jaw. He parked in one of the empty spots down from their apartments and killed the engine. His phone rang, and he snatched it from the console to glare at the screen before swiping to answer.

  “Fuck off. I’m pissed as hell at you.” He listened a moment, brows drawn into a deep scowl. “Yeah, let’s go to lunch tomorrow. I can ream your ass then.”

  A squawk of laughter that sounded suspiciously like Clark Dempsey’s carried through the device, and Emmett’s glare deepened. “Not funny, Clark. Asshole.”

  He cut off the call, shoved the phone in his pocket, and pushed his door open. Savannah followed and joined him on the walkway before the ground-floor apartments. Whatever he saw that she didn’t had completely undone everything she’d done earlier to relax him.

  His front door opened and shut, and Tick Calvert approached them, dressed casually in jeans and a red polo.

  “Did they call you?” Emmett flung a hand toward the Ford Taurus sitting in a visitor’s spot.

  Brows lifted, Calvert rested his hands at his hips. “No. I came by to check on Landra and bring her my extra shotgun, but I see you already took care of that.”

  “Yeah, because I’m gonna leave her alone without a way to protect herself.” Emmett’s posture didn’t relax. “How long has Mama been here?”

  “About an hour.”

  “How wound up is she?”

  “On a scale of one to ten?” Calvert shrugged, a slight grin playing about his mouth. “About a twelve.”

  “Great.” Emmett groaned, body dipping at the knees. “Let me guess, they think I’m out getting into trouble.”

  “Probably not the kind you were actually getting into.”

  Savannah startled as Calvert reached out and plucked a piece of pine straw from her tousled hair. A flush spread over Emmett’s cheekbones, and Calvert grinned.

  “She’s settling down.” Calvert jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I reminded her that I know a different side of you and you weren’t likely to risk your career by doing anything stupid. Landra pointed out you’d left with Dr. Mills here and that she’d probably be helpful in keeping you in line.”

  “I can keep myself in line without any help.”

  “You and I know that, but face it, your mama had to clean up a lot of your teenage messes, and in her mind, you’re still her little boy.” Calvert pulled his keys from his pocket. “Go talk to your mama and put her mind at ease. And don’t be late in the morning. I found about fifteen more cold-case files that need to be digitized. Bennett’s going to have plenty to keep him busy when he comes back to work.”

  Hand lifted in farewell, Calvert strode to the Chevrolet. As he backed out and exited, Emmett exhaled a long breath. “Don’t be late? What the hell? I’m never late for work. Like, in six years, I was never late for a shift.”

  Savannah wrapped her hand around his biceps. “You okay?”

  He glanced down and scuffed his hand through his hair. “Yeah.”

  “Liar.” She exerted gentle pressure on his arm to pull him to her. With her other hand, she traced the taut line of his lower lip. “What can I do to help?”

  “You’re already doing it.” He relaxed slightly under her touch, then glanced toward his door. “I need to check on Landra and talk to Mama.”

  “Go.” She released him with a gentle smile. “I’ll be up if you want to come over after.”

  He rested his hand at the small of her back and leaned down to kiss her. “I might take you up on that.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “I feel underdressed.” Savannah quirked an eyebrow at her reflection. She’d not brought her entire wardrobe over from Valdosta, leaving much of it in storage at her parents’ in hopes that SGM wouldn’t make her stay long. The green silk blouse and black slacks would have to do. Maybe she’d bring some things back after Hamilton’s baptism tomorrow.

  “For the Cue Club, you’re probably overdressed.” Emmett’s thin gray sweater muffled his voice a moment as he tugged it over his head. “Trust me.”

  She pulled her leather jacket from the closet and stepped into the sexy black shoes she’d worn the first night they’d had dinner. If he was right, the edginess of the jacket would tone down the formality. He sat on the foot of her bed to pull on his black boots. His hair, damp from a shared shower, stuck out from his head, and he ran his fingers through it. She paused, struck by the casual intimacy of this, getting ready to go out, and how completely not freaked out she was.

  This living thing wasn’t too shabby, if it involved having him in her space, in her bed. With Landra staying in his room, he’d migrated to Savannah’s the past night or so, and she liked it, even if they weren’t sleeping together in every sense of the word.

  He was a great kisser, and sheesh, the man was talented with his hands.

  Not to mention he was an all-around good guy. She had the impression he was deliberately keeping his interactions with Landra separated from his interactions with her, but there was a protectiveness in the way he looked over his sister that warmed Savannah. A couple of times, she’d awakened alone, only to have him slip back into the bed minutes later. She knew without asking he had gone next door to make sure Landra was all right.

  Savannah refused to look too closely at what was holding them back. That didn’t fit into the paradigm of doing today, then doing tomorrow. Today was a musical fundraiser for the local injured EMTs; tomorrow was celebrating Hamilton’s place in their family.

  Then they’d see where they were.

  “You ready?” He hefted his violin case.

  “Yes.” She started for the door and paused. “Wait. Jewelry.”

  In the ER, she didn’t wear any jewelry, so forgetting it when she went out wasn’t unusual. Her pearls were already laid out for tomorrow, but they weren’t what she wanted for tonight. She slipped on her thin gold watch and pursed her lips at the limited selection of earrings.

  “So, um, speaking of jewelry.”

  She glanced over her shoulder, frowning at the uncertainty in his voice. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket.

  “I saw these the other night in Moultrie and thought they looked like you.” He extended a small plastic bag in her direction. A hesitant smile hitched the corners of his mouth and disappeared. “If you don’t want them, it’s okay. Landra said I could give them to her for Christmas.”

  The caution in his demeanor made her chest hurt. She didn’t care what he handed her; she’d wear the tackiest Cracker Jack box jewelry to get that look off his face.

  She stepped toward him, and he laid the bag in her hand. Opals sparkled up at her from a sleek gold setting. “Oh.”

  “It’s really okay if you don’t like them.”

  “T
hey’re gorgeous.” Looking at them made her want to cry. He’d seen them, glowing and alive, and thought of her. She swallowed against the lump in her throat and smiled at him. “You’re going to have to get Landra something else for Christmas.”

  He made a pfft in his throat. “Cash and a card and she’s happy.”

  She laughed, the sound shaky to her own ears, and turned to slip the earrings into her lobes. Shining with fire and light, they swung against her artfully disheveled hair, a careless style that took her longer to create than she would ever admit. She turned to him. “Thank you.”

  He moved to edge her hair behind her ear, and she caught his wrist. “Nope. You touch me now after giving me these, and I’ll jump you right here, then Troy Lee and Clark will have to play without you.”

  “I’m good with that.” A muscle flicked in his stubbled jaw, his blue eyes smoldering. “Go ahead and jump me. Clark would bitch for weeks, but it would be worth it.”

  “Later.”

  He lifted the violin case again, muscles shifting under cashmere. “What are the odds later would involve you wearing nothing but those shoes and maybe those earrings?”

  “Better than you’d get in Vegas.”

  “Oh, I’m in then.”

  * * * * *

  Patrons packed the Cue Club, and he hadn’t been far off—she wasn’t underdressed and she came darn close to being overdressed.

  “Is it always this crowded?” Pressed to his side, she spoke close to his ear.

  “Sometimes.” He steered her toward the tables set to one side of a scuffed dance floor. “A lot of people are here just because of Beau and Andy. There’s Bennett and your sister.”

  She peered through the crush and found Amy, clad in a sparkly turquoise tank and black slacks, standing with Rob near the bar. Hand linked with hers and violin case in his other, Emmett urged her in their direction. “Come on.”

  The curious looks they engendered didn’t fly under her radar, and a hefty dose of jealousy simmered in some of those glances. He’d not been kidding about the gossip mill around here.

  “Hey.” Amy greeted her with a bright smile and a hug, touching their cheeks together. She looked around at the crowd. “Can you believe this?”

  “It’s amazing. Like one of Mom’s fundraising shindigs.” Savannah felt the loss of Emmett’s warm hold on her hand as he released her to shake Troy Lee’s hand when he joined them. Emmett leaned down to hug the pretty blonde accompanying Troy Lee.

  “It is so good to see you here.” The blonde kissed his cheek.

  “I didn’t think you were coming.” Troy Lee clapped his hand on Rob’s shoulder. “Who’s with the baby?”

  “My mom and daddy took her back to Valdosta so they could have her to themselves tonight.” Amy linked her arm with Rob’s and smiled at him. “So we get to celebrate our first date night as parents.”

  “You guys are going to start soon, right?” The blonde gestured toward the stage, where Clark Dempsey fiddled with wires. “Before this crowd gets restless?”

  “Yeah.” Troy Lee started to drape his arm across her shoulder, and she ducked out from under it.

  “Great.” She patted Emmett’s chest with one hand and whirled away toward the bar. Rob and Emmett watched her go, both bearing similar expressions of shock.

  Emmett tagged Troy Lee’s arm. “Is she mad at you?”

  “That’s one way to put it.”

  “You didn’t compare her to a Caddy again, did you?”

  “No.” Mouth set in a grim line, Troy Lee jerked a hand through his short hair. “She’s pregnant, she’s not happy about it, and somehow it’s all my fault.”

  Emmett shook his head. “Told you to get a vasectomy when I did.”

  “Can we just go play?”

  “Yeah.” Emmett leaned down to brush his mouth across Savannah’s. “See you later.”

  “Well.” An impish grin lit Amy’s face, and she grabbed Savannah’s hand. “Come sit with us. There’s an extra chair, and you’ll save me from having to converse with my bitchy partner or listen to Rob talk shop all night.”

  Grateful for time with her sister, Savannah complied, even smiling through the handful of selfies Amy snapped once they’d placed drink orders. The large tables scattered about the room seated ten, and she found herself with Amy and Rob along with Amy’s partner and her husband as well as the rest of Chandler County’s investigative team.

  “Y’all mind if I join you?” Mackey clapped a hand on Tick Calvert’s shoulder and indicated the empty chair between him and Savannah. With his glass of Scotch, he waved toward the table where Haley, Landra, and a core group of ER personnel gathered. “I’ve worn out my welcome other places.”

  Savannah didn’t miss how Landra turned her face away.

  The lights dimmed once the music began, and she relaxed into her chair to sip at a glass of Chivas. The three of them were surprisingly good for a small-town band, combining individual talents on the piano, violin, and guitar and letting Troy Lee’s strong vocals take the lead, with Clark and Emmett providing the backup melodies.

  The table did indeed indulge in shoptalk, with Rob and the two investigators—Calvert and Cook—tossing around general ideas about the EMT sniper case, but Amy’s partner proved to have a sharp and insightful wit. The music spanned everything from classic to contemporary rock and country, and the dance floor stayed packed for both slow and fast numbers. To her surprise, once Troy Lee claimed the need for a break, Emmett and Clark took the lead on a pair of contemporary praise songs, although the bar crowd seemed unfazed by the unusual choices. Emmett’s voice demonstrated a range and power that matched Troy Lee’s.

  Clark rippled a melody across the keyboard, and the regulars went crazy. Emmett set his violin aside in the case. Sweat shining on his brow, he grinned at the crowd over the microphone. “Y’all know I can’t play and sing this.”

  Somewhere behind Savannah, a male voice whooped. Emmett launched into a low ballad unfamiliar to Savannah, a song of intense love among ruin and desolation. Lashes shadowing his cheekbones, he sang of losing everything, of being in over his head, of having only what he needed to hold on to. He never missed a note, and as his voice died away and Clark let the melody trail to a stop, a hush hovered for a split second before eager applause broke out. His eyes remained closed a moment, then he glanced at Clark and a grin passed between them. Troy Lee, also grinning, discarded his water bottle and clapped with the crowd.

  Savannah blinked hard and brushed a fingertip under her eyes. A quick glance around the table proved she wasn’t the only one emotionally moved.

  “Guess his mama didn’t waste money on all those voice lessons when he was a kid.” Eyes damp, Mackey leaned close to Calvert. “Are you really going to put him back in a car if Delk releases him?”

  “I’d be crazy not to.” Arm draped along the back of his wife’s chair, Calvert reached for the beer he’d been nursing the last half-hour. To their right, the bartender started turning on lights, and much of the crowd drifted out. “He’s smart, but he’s wasted behind a desk. He can read a situation better than most veteran cops with twice his experience, and I don’t have to worry he’s going to embarrass us.”

  “You realize he’s also a total adrenaline junkie, and I’ll have to stitch him up again?”

  “Oh, probably a couple of times.” A grin quirked at Calvert’s mouth. Savannah darted a glance at Mackey. Adrenaline junkie? As controlled as Emmett was about his emotions? She didn’t see it. “Maybe not so much now that he’s got a major recuperation behind him. He’ll be a little more cautious, but not so cautious that he loses his edge.”

  More patrons wandered out, but a significant portion stayed put, despite the lights being fully up. A server approached the stage with a tray, and Clark and Emmett both took a long, tall glass of amber fluid while Troy Lee accepted a Corona and pushed a lime into the neck. Anticipation hovered in the room.

  Savannah caught Amy’s eye in inquiry, but her sister shrugge
d. “I’ve got no clue.”

  Clark rippled the keyboard. “Em, they’re not going home.”

  “I know.” With a sip from his glass, Emmett brushed damp hair away from his forehead. Troy Lee reached for his guitar again.

  “You know what they’re waiting for.” Clark grinned.

  “I do.” Emmett adjusted his microphone stand. “Church on Saturday night.”

  Clark plinked out “Jesus Loves Me” with one finger. “And why do we have to have church on Saturday night?”

  “Because they won’t let us in church on Sunday morning.”

  Calvert coughed a laugh into his fist. More laughter drifted across the room, anticipation building.

  “My mama, who forced me into piano lessons, and Em’s mama, who forced him into violin and voice lessons, did not anticipate their little boys growing up to play in a heathen rock band.” Clark chuckled into the mike. “But they probably should have known something was up when we kept getting called before the deacons because Emmett couldn’t behave.”

  “Yeah.” Wry humor twisted Emmett’s mouth. “It was all me, every single time we got called before the deacons.”

  “So you regulars know that church on Saturday night involves two things. Some old-time hymns.” Clark’s grin widened. “And a little confessional.”

  “Here we go.” Troy Lee crossed his arms over his chest.

  “I think since it’s our Em’s first official night back with us and since you all know how he and I met in the church nursery, we should talk about the first night we met Troy Lee.”

  Emmett and Troy Lee both swiveled in his direction. “No.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Clark played an ominous chord and held it. “Y’all know Em has a little bit of a wild streak and he’s competitive. So he hears about this hotshot new deputy Chandler County has. You know, the one who likes to run patrol cars hot.”

  “God.” Troy Lee groaned and dropped his head. Rob laughed aloud, and Amy leaned her shoulder against his.

  “So one Saturday night, I’m being a good boy like always, sitting in my ambulance, waiting on a call, listening to Jim bitch and moan, and here comes Em over the radio on our, er, private channel. He’d tracked down said hotshot deputy, and they were out on Stadium Drive. You know, that great, deserted straight stretch.”