Protecting Peggy. Maggie Price
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“Mayor Longstreet assures us Prosperino’s water supply is tested daily, still we’re all nervous,” Peggy said. “The grocery stores can’t keep enough bottled water on hand to supply everyone, including me.”
“That’s understandable.” Rory stepped to the counter. “I have my field testing equipment with me. If you’d like, I’ll check the inn’s water every day while I’m here.”
She looked up from the drawer. “I appreciate that. Each morning when I go to the kitchen and turn on the water, I can’t help but wonder if what’s coming out is okay to drink. To cook with. Bathe in. Knowing for sure would ease my mind. Of course, I’ll pay you for the testing.”
“That’s not necessary. Since I’m a guest here, I have a vested interest in knowing the water is safe.”
“All right.” She pulled a key and a blank registration card from the drawer, then slid it closed. “All I need is your name and address.”
Rory reached for the pen in a brass holder on the counter. He signed his name and address on the card, then looked up. He noted Peggy’s gaze had settled on his hands. “Do you want to see my credit card now?” he asked quietly.
When her eyes jerked up to meet his, he saw edgy caution flicker across her face. She was an innkeeper, used to strangers in her home. Yet, instinct told him his presence made her uneasy.
“No, I don’t need your credit card. Blake told me to bill the Hopechest Foundation for your room.” Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she dropped her gaze to the registration card. “I keep a list of where my guests live. You’re the first I’ve had who calls D.C. home.”
Throughout his entire thirty-five years, he had called nowhere home, yet Rory didn’t see the need to point that out. He was more interested in analyzing what it was about him that made her edgy.
“What about you?” he asked. “Are you a native of Prosperino?”
“Actually, I was born in Ireland.”
He angled his chin. She had the dark hair, green eyes and pure creamy skin of her birthplace. “You don’t sound like Ireland.”
“I didn’t live there long.” Leaving the card on the counter, she retrieved the key. “I’ll show you to your room now.”
“Fine.” He felt her gaze on him, measuring and assessing, while he retrieved his gear.
“Your room is on the third floor. Do you need help carrying your things upstairs?”
“I pack light.” Rory knew the statement summed up his life. The bureau’s go-where-you’re-sent discipline fitted his lifestyle to a T. He’d never kept—or wanted—anything he couldn’t fit in a bag and take along with him.
“I serve breakfast between seven and ten.” She moved from behind the counter and started, brisk and businesslike, toward the staircase. “As an amenity to my guests, I provide wine and cheese in the library during the early evenings. If you’re interested, I can recommend several restaurants in Prosperino that serve an excellent lunch and dinner.”
“I’ll get those from you tomorrow. How many guest rooms do you have?”
“Five.” She paused, one foot on the bottom step, her hand on the carved newel post. “January is usually my slow month, except for the winter arts festival. That takes place this week. Two of the judges of the art competition are staying here. There’s also a couple spending a few days of their honeymoon with us. You and Mr. O’Connell have the other two rooms.”
As she moved up the gleaming oak staircase in front of him, Rory watched the subtle, elegant sway of her hips beneath her black skirt. Peggy Honeywell had one hell of a walk, he decided.
Tightening his grip on his field kit, he told himself to keep his mind on business. “Speaking of O’Connell, I hope I can persuade him to compare notes on what he’s found so far on the contaminated water. Are our rooms on the same floor?”
“No, in fact, that’s his there,” she said as they stepped onto the second-floor landing.
Rory’s gaze followed hers to a closed door with a brass 2 affixed to its center. Rory knew Blake well enough to give credence to his suspicions about O’Connell. Still, mere suspicions didn’t prove the EPA inspector was up to something nefarious. Also, O’Connell’s failure to identify the contaminant in Hopechest’s water could be due to its degree of rarity. Rarer substances took longer to isolate. Processes of elimination used in the lab could take weeks to make an ID.
Rory followed Peggy up another flight of stairs. Setting a quick pace, she led him down a hallway painted a soft yellow, its wood floor dark with age and polish. As they walked, they passed an antique credenza holding a pewter bowl from which a spiky-leaved plant sprouted.
When they reached the door at the end of the hall, she slid a key into the lock, then swung open the door. “I hope the room is to your liking.”
“It’ll be fine.” He gave the quilt-covered brass bed, prints of wildflowers on the walls and braided rug on the wood floor a cursory look. His surroundings usually suited him, from the lab in D.C. to his rented Virginia apartment to crime scenes all over the world. This room was no different from the hundreds of others he’d stayed in, then left behind.
It was his landlady who drew his attention as she moved toward a closed door, fingering the room key she’d yet to give him.
“The bathroom is through here,” she said, opening the door. “I usually change the linen and towels in the morning. That might not be a good time if you’re planning on working here.”
“Mornings are fine.”
Nodding, she slicked her palms down her thighs. “The closet is over there.”
Eyeing her steadily, Rory settled his gear on the bed. He couldn’t shake the feeling that his presence made her jumpy. “Do I make you feel uneasy, Mrs. Honeywell?”
“Of course not,” she countered, then paused while a faint flush crept up her throat. “I’m sorry if I gave you that impression, Mr. Sinclair. I’m a little distracted, is all.”
“Mind if I ask by what?”
“I promised myself I would work on my income taxes this evening. Just the thought of tackling all those forms makes me jittery.”
He gave her a smooth smile. He didn’t believe her for one minute. “That’s understandable.”
“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have to set up for breakfast before I tackle the paperwork.” She glanced around the room, then walked toward him. “Your key also fits the lock on the front door. You’ll need it to get into the inn after nine at night. I hope you enjoy your stay. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“I will.” Deliberately, he let his fingertips glide against hers when he accepted the key. As a scientist, it was his nature to try to logic out the intangible. As a man, he was becoming increasingly intrigued by her reaction to him.
“Good night, Mr. Sinclair.”
“Please call me Rory. Good night.”
When she turned away, a faint trace of her subtle flowery scent slid into his lungs.
He watched her go, continued staring at the door after it clicked shut behind her. He’d been wrong, he thought. This room was different from the hundreds he’d stayed in over the years. For the first time in his memory, a room he’d checked into smelled as softly sweet and alluring as a woman.
The thought triggered a quick, inner defense signal in Rory’s brain. He hadn’t checked into Honeywell House to sniff at the landlady, he reminded himself as he went through the automatic routine of unpacking his leather duffel. Granted, he would have to be in a coma not to appreciate Peggy Honeywell’s slim figure, emerald-colored eyes and lustrous dark hair that framed her gorgeous face. And, as a man