Love Under Two Detectives Read online

  

  The Lusty, Texas Collection 40

  Love Under Two Detectives

  [Siren Menage Everlasting: Erotic Romance, Contemporary, Menage, Romantic Suspense, Cowboy, Small Town, MFM, HEA]

  Mary Judith Kendall, sister to Norm and cousin to Will, has relocated to Lusty, Texas, happily living quietly in the tiniest house in town. She’s never told anyone that she’s mystery author MJ Kendall. And she sure as hell hasn’t mentioned that several months before she was attacked in her own apartment by an intruder who very nearly killed her. The psycho was arrested, tried, and convicted. End of story.

  Lieutenants Anthony Corbett and Wyoming transplant Toby Kendall set their sights on sweet Mary. But there’s a complication. Toby left Casper with unanswered questions hanging, and it’s possible the biggest one of all followed him to Texas.

  Anthony and Toby plan to get to know Mary and build a future with her. Provided of course that an unknown stalker, an escaped mental patient, and a world-wide pandemic don’t singly or combined end up changing their plans and endangering all their lives.

  Length: 62,000 words

  LOVE UNDER TWO DETECTIVES

  The Lusty, Texas Collection 40

  Cara Covington

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Love Under Two Detectives

  Copyright © 2020 by Cara Covington

  ISBN: 978-1-64637-238-6

  First Publication: August 2020

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2020 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Acknowledgements

  What does an author do when she’s faced with a decision and she has no idea what it should be? In this case, and when I sat down in the last week of March to begin this story, I asked my wonderful, kind and generous readers. I appreciate all y’all more than I have words to say.

  I posted my first ever poll in my readers group in March, and I asked a big question: should I include the Pandemic in the story I’m about to write, or not?

  I got a lot of response, and overwhelmingly two answers, “yes” and one that a reader added, “follow your muse” took the majority of the votes, by far.

  But as I read my readers’ comments, I knew I needed to do something more: I needed to give everyone who read this story a good dose of Grandma Kate.

  In Love Under Two Detectives I introduce the virus, and the pandemic, through the eyes and the heart of the nonagenarian who had been a nurse all her life, and who had also run a world-wide relief organization, Maria’s Quest. In future stories, my intention is to have Covid-19 as a piece of reality that’s in the background. It won’t be front and center, but it won’t magically disappear, either. It will be mentioned for as long as we here in North America are in its grip.

  And as much as I do tend to pick themes that touch my readers, that let them know they’re not the only ones “going through” the trials and tribulations of life, well, including the virus in that light is the best thing I could do.

  So thank you to all who participated that poll. And thank you for your words of encouragement to me as I, like you, make my way through these strange and sometimes difficult days. We are all in this together. We really, truly are.

  Thanks to my wonderful group admin and beta reader, Angie Buchanan Jones. Thank you for your keen understanding and amazing ability to show me what I sometimes don’t see myself. And thanks for using your amazing talent as a graphic designer for my benefit.

  Thanks to Sandy Ebel for reading my manuscripts and giving me your honest opinion. I am grateful for your “editorial” intuitions.

  Huge thanks go to the professional women and men of Siren-Bookstrand publishing. I’m grateful to my amazing editor, Devin, for her high standards and her hard work. And I am especially grateful to my publisher, Amanda Hilton, for continuing to say “yes”.

  DEDICATION

  As always, to my husband, David. Thanks for continuing to be my biggest fan.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Morgan Ashbury, also writing as Cara Covington, has been a writer since she was first able to pick up a pen. In the beginning, it was a hobby, a way to create a world of her own, and who could resist the allure of that? Then, as she grew and matured, life got in the way, as life often does. She got married and had three children, and worked in the field of accounting, for that was the practical thing to do, and the children did need to be fed. And all the time she was being practical, she would squirrel herself away on quiet Sunday afternoons and write.

  Most children are raised knowing the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Morgan’s children also learned the Paper Rule: Thou shalt not throw out any paper that has thy mother’s words upon it.

  Believing in tradition, Morgan ensured that her children’s children and their children learned this rule, too.

  Life threw Morgan a curve when, in 2002, she underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. Second chances are to be cherished, and with the encouragement and support of her husband, Morgan decided to use hers to do what she’d always dreamed of doing—writing full-time.

  Morgan has always loved writing romance. It is the one genre that can incorporate every other genre within its pulsating heart. Romance showcases all that humankind can aspire to be. And, she admits, she’s a sucker for a happy ending.

  Morgan’s favorite hobbies are reading, cooking, and traveling—though she would rather you didn’t mention that last one to her husband. She has too much fun teasing him about having become a “Traveling Fool” of late.

  Morgan is blessed to have two surviving children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, with her husband of forty-eight years, fellow retiree and aspiring author, David, and two new fur babies: Missy and Bear, progeny of their beloved Mr. Tuffy.

  For all titles by Cara Covington, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/cara-covington

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  LOVE UNDER TWO DETECTIVES

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  LOVE UNDER TWO DETECTIVES

  The Lusty, Texas Collection 40

  CARA COVINGTON

  Copyright © 2020

  Prologue
r />   From the diary of Kate Benedict

  February 1, 2020

  The sense of unease that took hold of me a couple of days ago continues. As I noted in my entry yesterday, I’ve been in contact with some of my friends from around the globe. I was already concerned before I heard from them. But after this morning’s call, I realize that action needs to be taken. There is no time to lose!

  Early this morning, I received a call from Greg. He and Cody are on the last leg of their current trip and are in Afghanistan. They’re finishing up on a two-week assignment on behalf of Maria’s Quest. They’ve been checking in with teams of aid workers deployed in various areas in the Middle East. As stewards of our relief organization, Maria’s Quest, they’ve spent a few days in Taiwan, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Afghanistan is their last stop.

  I was so proud of our Cody! He had insisted on accompanying Greg on this trip. It’s the first time he’s been back in that region since he’d been kidnapped and wounded in Syria, in 2013. I take this as a positive sign that he’s really, truly healed emotionally from that horrible ordeal. The love of his husband and wife, as well as the love of all of his family here in Lusty, I believe, have played the largest part in that healing.

  Prior to Greg’s call, I’d just finished reviewing some reports about an outbreak of pneumonia in China. Though the government of that country has held back a lot of information, some of my contacts there have not been so miserly with the details. Just two short weeks ago, there was a report from Washington State that someone there has the same kind of pneumonia—someone who’d returned from Wuhan Province, in China, where the outbreak seems to be centered.

  This new disease is headed our way. It’s not a flu virus. The scientists I’ve spoken with are telling me it’s a completely novel coronavirus, and they’re concerned that it’s a much more deadly and virulent strain than even SARS was.

  Greg’s call has brought that home for me as nothing else could have. He mentioned that there were people sickened with pneumonia at every stop they’ve made during this trip, and that, he said, was highly unusual. He mentioned it because he knows that’s the kind of information I’ll want to pass on. And just now, I’ve passed some on to him. This information he’ll see gets to all of our medical teams in the field, and I know he was deeply saddened by it, and its implications.

  As well, I gave him and Cody very direct instructions.

  I’ve told Greg I want him and Cody to come home as soon as possible, but not via one of the commercial airlines. They’re to hitch a ride on the transport plane filled with relief supplies that we have landing in Kabul tomorrow. That plane will bring them to our private airfield in upstate New York.

  I’ve just called a meeting with Morgan and Henry, as well as Adam, Jake, and Jordan. Robert will be coming, too. I’m going to need his medical mind on this. I’ve already made a few other phone calls. My grandsons currently in town will be arriving here at the Big House shortly for that meeting.

  I’ll ask those two fly boys if they’ll head to New York to pick up their cousins. I’ll explain that once on the ground in New York, and before receiving Greg and Cody into the Lear, they’ll have to put on hazmat suits. I’ll have Jake put a car at the airport here for them so, when they arrive, they can get themselves where they need to be. Jake will also take care of decontaminating the Lear.

  I’ll ask Jordan to set up and outfit two house trailers for now, with possibly more to come, because I do know that some of our family members are off in different areas of the country as I write this. There’s a large parcel of land out by the cottage, and I think that would be a good place to set everything up. They’ll have the isolation they’re going to need for the next couple of weeks, and privacy. As soon as they get back, Greg and Cody will each go into a two-week quarantine. They’ve agreed to this, of course. The last thing either of them wants to do is bring any illness home to the family.

  Monday, I’ll call a meeting of the full Town Trust. There’s only so much I dare do on my own. Not because I’m shy of wielding my authority. No, I’m quite comfortable with that at my age. But the more minds that are engaged in this situation, the better for us all.

  Right now, we have to focus on those returning to Lusty. But soon—sooner than any of us would like—we’ll have to secure the entire town, and everyone who lives within her. And then we’ll have to see what contribution we can make to the country and to the larger world.

  But first, my meeting with my grandsons.

  Also, even if it’s a bit selfish of me, I won’t cancel the event I have had planned here at the Big House for the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow, most of the youngest among us will be within these old walls. I’ve invited the moms and the babies and whichever of the dads want to come for a Sunday afternoon get-together for tea and cookies and conversation. I will rejoice in the moment, even though I’m fearful of what’s to come. That, in truth, is the nature of life, isn’t it? We are all really only guaranteed the moment in which we are living. In my many years here on this earth, there have been more moments of dread, of danger and uncertainty, than I can possibly recall. But at the end of the day, we got through those tough times.

  We’ll get through this one, too. Together, as a community. As a family.

  Public reports aren’t making a big fuss over this outbreak in Asia, and that has me very confused. On the news media, they have mentioned it’s in this country, but no one seems to be connecting the dots. I have enough contacts in the intelligence community in this country, as well as a few old friends who work with the World Health Organization, among other places. And I have paid attention for all the years of my life.

  This outbreak is already an epidemic, and I worry. I worry because it’s been just a bit more than a full century since the last major global pandemic. I didn’t witness that one myself, but my father told me about it. His own mother and his youngest sister died in that horrible Spanish Flu that infected a full one-third of the world’s population at the time. More than 50 million souls were lost to that horrid disease.

  Unless we humans are all very careful, and very smart, this time, the death toll could be just as devastating. Yes, we have so many more modern advances to aid us. But this virus is also aided by the speed of this modern world.

  It’s time for Lusty to circle the wagons. We will get through this. There’ll be hell to pay if we don’t.

  Chapter One

  Saturday night—the first Saturday night in February—and Mary Kendall found herself at the community center in Lusty Texas, attending the once-a-month Lusty community dance.

  The band, Just Us, performed a cover of Tip of My Tongue by Kenny Chesney, and some of the family—well most of that part of the family she was sitting with—were up dancing. Others just sat and chatted and watched.

  Mary Kendall was doing her best to convince herself that those two smoking hot and far too attractive cops sitting just to her right and on the other side of the table didn’t exist. Or maybe, that their existence had nothing to do with her. Technically, they weren’t actually sitting at her table, but the next one, because the family had put several together to fit everyone. That fact should have made the situation easier, but it didn’t.

  Instead she felt like a teenage girl getting a close-up peek at her secret heartthrob, times two.

  No, no, no. No secret heart throbs. Just because she was now a resident of Lusty, Texas did not mean she was looking for lust in her life. That was not why she’d fled New York City for here.

  Of course, the self-talk wasn’t doing any good at all. Anthony Corbett—blond haired, blue-eyed, with just the right amount of buff drew her secret attention. Not a Mr. Universe candidate, but she bet there was power in those yummy muscles of his. Yummy muscles? Mary blinked and turned her attention to his cop partner. Toby Kendall, with his dark good looks and that teasing devil’s smile had pulled her in before she even fully knew what was happening.

  She’d tried to tell herself he was off limits because they shar
ed a last name, but the truth was the DNA between them went back too many generations to mean a damn thing.

  Look whose girly parts are waking up!

  That’s not my girly parts. That’s gas.

  No, self-talk really was not doing any good at all. Her good versus bad inner imps picked a hell of a time to lip off.

  She used her focus—that part of her that could close out the world when she wrote—and told her imps to stuff it.

  Okay, so maybe she didn’t generally even notice a man in that way, let alone noticing two at the same time. Mary had so rarely been attracted to a man that she’d begun to wonder, a just in the back of her mind kind of wondering, if she was asexual. She tilted her head and looked at the beer she was slowly sipping. It couldn’t be the alcohol affecting her because this was her first beer. Maybe she should stick with water.

  Mary reached for her water glass, then pulled her hand back.

  “Hey, has anyone ever…”

  “Had the water tested?” Tracy Alvarez Kendall, sitting beside her, grinned. “Yes. We can now answer yes to the question that nearly every newcomer to Lusty has asked. Jason Benedict—one of Leesa’s husbands—did that very thing. And it came back clear.” Then Tracy leaned closer. “So…it’s those two cops, isn’t it? Anthony and Toby. Hey, if Anthony called himself Tony instead of Anthony, they could bill themselves as T ‘n T.”

  Good grief, if they did that, I’d be a goner. Mary shook off that wholly inappropriate thought. And then her gaze landed on the two cops in question. At that exact moment they both looked over at her. Toby raised his bottle in salute, and the look on both men’s faces let her know they were most definitely looking at her. Yeah, TNT all right.