All I Need (Hearts of the South) Read online

  “I can understand that.” His father leaned back and rested his arm along the top of the sofa. “You tell me what you need, son.”

  For you to stop calling me son. He swallowed the words simply because they felt hateful and vindictive. He didn’t want to be that person. “I don’t know that yet. We might have to do today, then tomorrow, then see where we are.”

  His father nodded. “I can work with that.”

  Silence descended between them. Emmett kept his gaze trained on the slow rotation of his thumbs.

  “I’m sorry, Emmett.”

  “Yeah, so am I.” He couldn’t do any more right now. He pushed to his feet, a slow movement designed to keep his torso from seizing up with pain. Through the open door to the fellowship hall, he caught a glimpse of Savannah, talking with several members of the old-lady brigade.

  “We’ll talk later.” His father’s voice was rough with emotion, and Emmett allowed the older man to hug him.

  Emmett walked away, toward all he really needed. She was there, and without knowing how, he knew with a sudden certainty that she always would be. Savannah rose from her chair at his approach, love and concern lighting her eyes. She wrapped her arm about his waist. “You look tired.”

  “I am.” He hugged her to him and pressed a kiss to her temple. “A good tired, though.”

  She caressed his side and tilted her head toward the door. “Let’s go home.”

  Epilogue

  Savannah let her fingers drift across the piano keys, the polished surfaces cool beneath her fingertips. She played quietly, coaxing the melody as softly as possible. She didn’t want to wake up everyone in the house. Unable to fall asleep again after being awakened by a dream, she’d slipped from under the relaxed weight of Emmett’s arm and found herself drawn to the piano in the living room.

  In the past few months, she’d touched it sporadically when visiting her parents, and she’d fiddled once or twice with the upright in Clark’s living room. Playing was a little like riding a bike—she was wobbly and out of practice, but the basic skill was still there. She eyed the notes displayed on her tablet propped on the instrument’s music stand. Under her fingers, the ballad of intense love and need, the one she loved to hear Emmett sing, unfolded.

  “What are you doing up?” His quiet voice startled her, and she fumbled a note and came to a stop.

  “God, Em, don’t sneak up on me like that.” She brushed her hair behind her ear. “I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

  “What are you playing?” He sat on the cushioned bench next to her. One hand curved around her hip, he swiped his other index finger up the tablet screen. One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “You’re obsessed with this song.”

  She didn’t deny it, but placed her fingers on the keys again. “If I play, will you sing it for me?”

  “Honey, every time I sing this one, it’s for you.”

  He sang as quietly as she played, his smooth, even voice covering her out-of-practice shakiness. She drew the piece to a close, and he slid his hand from hip to waist, gently urging her into him, lowering his head to kiss her. With a sigh, she hooked her hand around his nape and opened her mouth beneath his.

  Rubbing his thumb over the indentation of her waist, he drew back, lazy desire in his eyes. He smiled, his hand slipping back to her hip. “Don’t freak out.”

  She laughed. “What have you done?”

  “I kind of bought you something, but it doesn’t have to be anything more than you want it to be.” He dipped a hand into the pocket of his pajama pants.

  “You are not making any sense…oh.” She stared at the glimmering opal set on a thin gold band.

  “I don’t care what finger you wear it on.” The words spilled from him in a rush, a sure sign he was nervous. “I saw it at Hodges, it looked like you, and I wanted you to have it. It doesn’t matter if—”

  She stopped the flow of words with a kiss. She drew away and touched her fingers to his stubbled jaw. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” His murmured words fluttered the hair at her temple.

  She turned the ring over carefully, examining the delicate craftsmanship of the setting. “You’re okay if I put it on my ring finger, right?”

  He chuckled, a smile flashing over his face. “I’m more than okay with that.”

  With a sardonic glance at him, she slid the ring onto the third finger of her left hand to find it a perfect fit. “I should make you ask me.”

  “Nah.” He took her hand in his, rotating so the dim light from the floor lamp next to the piano flashed fire in the milky opal. “We should get a license, then pick a day when we’re ready and go to the courthouse. Let Clark throw us a kickass party after.”

  “I love the way you think.” She leaned in to kiss him again, hand curved around his nape. Cheek pressed to his, she whispered close to his ear. “I love you, Emmett.”

  He nuzzled her temple. “Love you too.”

  “Oh my God, you’re wearing a ring.” Excitement colored Amy’s voice behind them. She perched on the sofa to nurse Hamilton. “Did you just get engaged?”

  Emmett lifted his head, amusement glinting in his eyes. “No, but we’ll let you go with us when we go to the courthouse.”

  “So there’s a ring and you’re planning to get married, but you’re not engaged.” Amy stroked a hand over Hamilton’s dark hair. “Makes perfect sense.”

  “Let me guess—a nonengagement.” Rob settled on the couch beside Amy and laid his arm across her shoulders. “You two have more issues than a newsstand.”

  Emmett snickered. Savannah shook her head and eased away from him, the private moment obviously over.

  “Savannah, did I hear you playing?” Their father appeared from the master suite.

  Savannah opened her mouth to issue a denial. She was far from practiced enough to play in front of him, but Emmett laid his hand atop hers. “You did. She’s a little shaky because she’s learning a new song.”

  Face lit with what looked suspiciously like an eager grin, her father sat in the armchair and rested his hands on his knees. “Shaky or not, I can’t wait to hear you play again.”

  She pinned Emmett with a look, but any irritation dissipated under the love and encouragement in his blue eyes. He smiled and, with a finger, scrolled the sheet music back to the beginning. Gaze on hers, he lifted her hand, bearing his ring, to his mouth and then set her fingers atop the keys.

  “If I play, you have to sing for me.” She placed both hands in ready position.

  His hand rested warmly at the small of her back as she played the opening notes. “Always.”

  About the Author

  How does an English teacher end up plotting murders? She uses her experiences as a cop’s wife to become a writer of romantic suspense! Linda Winfree lives in a quintessential small Georgia town with her husband and two children. By day, she teaches English/Language Arts and is an all-round education nerd; by night she pens sultry books full of murder and mayhem.

  To learn more about Linda and her books, visit www.lindawinfreewrites.com or connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lindawinfreewrites. You can also contact Linda via email at [email protected].

  Look for these titles by Linda Winfree

  Now Available:

  What Mattered Most

  Hearts of the South

  Truth and Consequences

  His Ordinary Life

  Hold On to Me

  Anything But Mine

  Memories of Us

  Hearts Awakened

  Fall Into Me

  Facing It

  Uncovered

  Gone From Me

  All I Need

  Coming Soon:

  Where We Begin

  Don’t miss the other titles in Linda Winfree’s Hearts of the South Series!

  Their life was a fairy tale—until it all came tumbling down.

  Hearts of the South, Book 10

  Georgia
Bureau of Investigation agent Amy Bennett isn’t sure when her own Prince Charming went AWOL from their marriage, but she’s certain of one thing. She wants him back. She and Rob had it all: law-enforcement careers they loved and each other. Yet somehow he’s wound up sleeping on the couch and emotionally beyond her reach.

  Rob is trying to put the pieces back together, but battling his own demons while starting over in a small-town sheriff’s department is pushing him—and his marriage—to the breaking point.

  His very first missing person’s case threatens to end anything but happily ever after for the families involved. Then a young man goes missing too, and the pressure has Rob reaching for the nearest lifeline. The one that’s dangling by the barest of threads—his wife.

  And though Amy’s grip is strong, her love may not be enough to keep Rob from slipping away.

  Warning: Contains a husband who’s holding too much in, and a wife who’ll do anything to get him to let go, even meet him halfway on their last piece of common ground—in bed. Also: cop bonding between cops who talk like cops.

  She’s finally falling for the right man…at the worst possible time.

  A part of the Hearts of the South Series

  After two back-to-back romantic disappointments, bar owner Angel Henderson isn’t looking for love. In the past month, she’s been passed over twice by men she’d pinned her hopes on, both times in favor of a younger woman. She’s ready to swear off men for life. The only problem? A certain younger man determined to prove he can be her right man.

  Sheriff’s deputy Troy Lee Farr is tired of being the department screw-up. The harder he tries to prove himself, the worse it gets. The only thing that’s gone right recently is getting a second chance with Angel. Except she’d rather jam on the brakes than rush into a new relationship. Now he has to work hard to prove his worth as a romantic prospect.

  Troy Lee is a patient man, and it isn’t long before Angel is falling into him as hard as he’s fallen for her. Just as Angel begins to think of him as more than a fun date, her past—and Troy’s dangerous reality—threatens the tentative happiness they’ve found in one another.

  Reminding them both that security is tenuous…and unconditional love is the biggest challenge of all.

  Warning: Cops who talk like cops, explicit older woman-younger man lovin’, and two-boxes-of-tissues emotion.

  She keeps a secret buried in the past. He wants the truth—now. But an unknown killer could destroy their future.

  Hearts of the South, Book 3

  For FBI profiler Caitlin Falconetti, immersing herself in her job is the only way to quell the memories of a vicious, near-fatal attack and all it cost her, including the only man she ever loved. Better to let him think she simply rejected him, rather than reveal a painful secret that she’s certain would have destroyed his feelings for her.

  Investigator Lamar “Tick” Calvert is determined to clean out the corruption-riddled sheriff’s department in his hometown. While he understands Caitlin’s drive to excel at her job, it doesn’t mean he’s happy about the prospect of working with his former lover, the one woman he tried and failed to hold onto.

  A rash of unsolved murders brings them together to find the murderer before another woman dies. Daily contact re-ignites the lingering attraction between them, but Caitlin won’t risk opening herself and revealing her secret. She plans to complete the killer’s profile, make an arrest and get out of town for good.

  Tick plans to solve this case, too, but now that Caitlin’s back in his life, he also plans to finally dig up the truth about why she left him.

  But there’s an added complication—the killer isn’t done, and Caitlin could be the next target.

  Warning: explicit sex, light bondage, graphic language, violence

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  All I Need

  Copyright © 2016 by Linda Winfree

  ISBN: 978-1-61923-542-7

  Edited by Anne Scott

  Cover by Angela Waters

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: July 2016

  www.samhainpublishing.com