Behind The Scars: Small Town Secrets, #2

By Dani Wade

Everyone in a small town has secrets, but Kate McIntyre's have followed her home.

When a student's admiration for her takes a dark turn, she turns to a hometown hero for help and protection. Ex-Green Beret Daire Rousseau knows the face of evil all too well --and he'll do anything to keep it from this pretty redhead.

Kate McIntyre, college art teacher and sculptor, holds people at a distance. That's how she copes with her internal and external scars, after a car wreck that left her fighting for her life. Art is her only outlet for sensuality--until Daire Rousseau returns to Cadence TN. She's shocked by how much she wants the quiet veteran, and crushed when after one drunken embrace, he pushes her away. But when she realizes she has a stalker, Daire is the man she wants at her side.

Daire Rousseau may have been born to wealth, but he grew up a loner, shuffled off to boarding schools after his mother's death. He joined the Army to prove he was more a man than his father, and found a close-knit band of military brothers. But after being captured and tortured by the enemy, he's fighting a new war--battling to get back to the man he was. He's afraid his scars will never let him forget. Convinced his battered body and psyche will repulse an innocent beauty like Kate, he pushes her away.

Until she needs his help, and only by staying at her side night and day can he protect her. But can they trust each other to look behind the scars?

Come back to Cadence, TN--where secrets can be deadly.

Other books in the Small Town Secrets series (can be ready in any order):
BENEATH THE SURFACE
SNOW BOUND

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dani Wade
• Release date: Jan 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201850814

Dani Wade

Author Dani Wade started her writing journey in a childhood spent in the rural south where her favorite form of entertainment was imagining herself in the roles of romantic heroines. She now juggles her writing obsession with a patient hubby, two lively kids, and a day job. Life is crazy, but she attempts to navigate the potholes with her trusty To Do List and half a brain. Her contemporary category books are published through Harlequin Desire, and her Independently published sexy romantic suspense can be found at various online retailers. Dani Wade loves to hear from her readers! She can be contacted via e-mail ([e-mail]) or through her website. She also enjoys blogging weekly on her Dani Wade blog. A sign up for her occasional author newsletter can be found on her website. She is active on Facebook and loves for readers to friend both her author page for official news, and her profile page just to chat. She’s also on Twitter as @daniwade1.

Book preview

BEHIND THE SCARS

SMALL TOWN SECRETS, BOOK TWO

BY DANI WADE

COPYRIGHT

Copyright 2016 Katherine Worsham

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.

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.

Cover Art Design by Bethany Cagle

Editing by LeaAnn Schafer

DEDICATION

To the two special people who help make my Indie books become the best they can be before readers ever see them. Jessica N.-thank you for your dedication and encouragement as you beta read each story, for not being afraid to point out what’s not working for you, and for your excitement when you read something you really enjoy. All of these make my writer’s heart happy! Lea Schafer-from content to line edits, you make this author look good! Thank you for all of your hard work, attention to detail, and not being afraid to tell me what I need to hear.

Love you, girl!

Also Available from Dani Wade

Backstage Pass Series

Finding Her Rhythm

Settling the Score

Striking a Chord

Goin’ Out Solo

Small Town Secrets Series

Beneath the Surface

Behind the Scars

Snow Bound

Secrets of Covington Corner

Shadow Manor

Haunted Heritage

Dark Destiny

Holiday Storm

Louisiana Legacies Series

Entangled with the Heiress

Reclaiming His Legacy

Savannah Sisters Series

A Family for the Billionaire

Taming the Billionaire

Son of Scandal

Mill Town Millionaires Series

A Bride’s Tangled Vows

The Blackstone Heir

The Renegade Returns

Expecting His Secret Heir

Additional Titles

Reining in the Billionaire

Unbridled Billionaire

His By Design

For more information, join Dani’s

newsletter list.

Chapter One

Kate McIntyre burst through the doors of Milton Hall into the breezy late spring evening with all the enthusiasm of a student finally free for the summer, even though she was the teacher. The enthusiasm was the same, but the feeling was more akin to a chameleon finally shedding one background too many to embrace its true colors.

Unconsciously she pulled at the slim-fitting jacket that covered her dressy button-down, anxious for long summer days filled with casual T-shirts and denim. Though she truly enjoyed her job, presenting the upright college professor image stifled her more often than she’d admit. This summer she fully intended to revel in her true artistic self…putting the responsible version of herself—the version that served her teaching career—on hiatus for a while.

Tugging her stack of art history final exams closer to her chest, Kate smiled as she thought about her goal for the summer: replenish her supply of clay sculptures. After being discovered by an art critic who was an alumnus of the art department at Franklin State Community College, she’d had several shows of her pieces in both Atlanta and Nashville with a bit of quiet success. This summer would be spent preparing several more daring pieces she’d been envisioning for her agent to pitch to gallery owners in New York in the fall.

Just the thought had butterflies taking up residence in her tummy.

Then again, if her libido had its way, she’d be exploring a whole lot more than art during the long days ahead. Her thoughts turned to visions of a certain supremely male specimen who had taken to occupying the last bar stool on the right-hand side of the counter at her brother’s pub in Cadence. He’d shown up a week ago after years of being gone. The very thought of Daire Rousseau brought shivers of awareness across her skin. His presence seemed particularly designed to distract her during her stints behind the bar.

The ex–Green Beret had been medically discharged from the military and had returned to his hometown for goodness only knows what reason. His unusual family life had been a constant source of speculation when he was growing up, but he had no family left in Cadence now. Just a big old mansion on an estate outside of town that had remained empty except for a housekeeper since Daire left for the military the day after his high school graduation.

His father had never lived there, though the land had been handed down through the paternal side, as far as Kate knew. Not that their families were close.

Five years her senior, sexy Daire had been a faraway teenage dream. One Kate really shouldn’t revisit now. She needed to focus her considerable skills and determination on her current dream—most especially getting a chance to showcase her art in one of New York City’s prestigious galleries.

All her sculptures were nudes, but her more recent pieces had an even more erotic quality to them. Sumptuous lines, breasts, an entwined couple. Yet they still contained her signature: scars that had formed somewhere on the body as a result of trauma. Her own scars had a major impact on her life, just as they now had on her art.

The work had been a natural extension of the suffering she’d endured, and resonated with buyers as well. With each piece she felt a new part of herself emerging, eager to embrace the woman she had become since that fateful day that she’d lost her mother.

Kate’s dreamy distractions snapped off as something in the parking lot caught her attention. At first she couldn’t find the source of her uneasiness. Pausing, she scanned her darkened surroundings with more care. When she’d arrived six hours before to give her first final exam of the day, the lot had been packed with vehicles, so she’d had to search for one of the last available spaces far across the lot from Milton Hall. Now only a handful of cars remained, scattered throughout the parking area like randomly tossed pebbles whose shapes she could barely make out in the gloom of night.

The muscles across her shoulders and arms stiffened as that trickle of unease increased to a stream. Deep in the darkness, she spotted a tall, lanky shadow looming between her and the driver’s side door of her car. She was too far away to clearly make out the individual in the dark—finding a spot near one of the lights in the lot had been impossible.

Now the man stood silhouetted, the light behind him. Her eyes didn’t provide details, but her senses told her they were facing off, something about the square shoulders and rigidness of his stance demonstrating aggression.

She blinked once, twice. As her eyes adjusted to the night, her pulse sped up. The shape emerging was familiar enough to give her pause, her heartbeat tripping in her chest. Adam Bancroft had left her art history class almost an hour ago after finishing his exam. He should have been long gone by now, skulking home to whatever living space he haunted. Instead he stood his ground, blocking her exit, his hovering presence making her palms sweat and back muscles tense.

While a part of herself that she kept deeply hidden wanted to turn tail and run, she straightened her shoulders and left the curb with firm, confident steps. She’d taught herself a long time ago to stand on her own two feet, literally, and face head-on what life threw at her. She wasn’t about to back down because of some queasy vibes.

Nothing about the young man in her class should throw her off edge. He’d been perfectly nice, a good student from the first time she’d met him. That was last semester. This semester was a whole different story…

She approached him now with caution. The part of her that had fought so hard for control of her life refused to turn around, though she clutched her keys strategically in one hand. He remained braced, waiting. Something about his position weakened her, made her want to retreat—fast. The stack of exams in her arms now became a shield, firmly positioned against her chest. Compelling her feet forward, she got only six or seven yards when a hand landing on her shoulder made her yelp.

I’m so sorry, Kate. I didn’t mean to startle you.

Kate drew in a deep breath, forcing calm down into her chest. The older woman beside her, Dr. Castleberry, was one of the tenured professors in the art department and a wonderful mentor to Kate.

Virginia, I didn’t hear you. All done with finals? she asked, hiding her shakiness with a welcoming smile.

Yes, Virginia said. Senior-level watercolors. I saw you ahead of me and thought we could walk out together.

Tense muscles loosening in relief, Kate glanced back toward her car, only to jerk once more. Empty. No dark shadow of a man haunting the gloom. The very bareness spiked fear that tightened her throat. Where had he gone? Why had he gone?

Virginia, unaware of Kate’s concern, glanced over her shoulder before she spoke again. Since we’re alone, may I ask how the sales are going?

Kate appreciated the woman’s tactful secrecy until Kate was ready to come out about her art to those she worked and lived with. Virginia understood the constructs of living in a small Tennessee town, where most people knew most people, political views were staunchly conservative, and the personal views were often even more traditional…and judgmental.

Kate wanted to enjoy her art just a little bit longer before she had to defend it in her hometown.

Pretty well, according to the checks coming in from my agent, Kate said with a satisfied smile, gratefully distracted from her worries. I’ll be preparing some pieces for submission to a New York gallery this summer.

Won’t be long, and you’ll be leaving us behind for the big city, Virginia teased her, emphasizing her drawl in a parody of Southern speech.

Kate shook her head. Absolutely not. I love it here. Besides, the claustrophobia would kill me.

And being here isn’t claustrophobic? We both know how old-fashioned people here in the Bible Belt can be. After all, nudity is ‘of the devil,’ in case you didn’t know?

But it’s home, Kate said with a small smile. Though she knew exactly what her friend was talking about, even if she wasn’t ready to have that condemnation directed at her.

She was all too familiar with the censure meted out to those who were different, and how overt sexuality was viewed in their rural area. After all, her brother had just broken the biggest sex scandal to hit the Tennessee valley in, well, ever. The backlash against their family did not encourage Kate to go public about her budding art career anytime soon.

Which made Kate even more grateful for Virginia. Without her wisdom and encouragement, Kate would never have attempted this exciting, scary journey. I want to say again how much I appreciate your support.

Honey, you’re good. I’ll do everything I can to help you succeed. But I completely understand why you aren’t ready to go public with your art. Heck, nudity and erotic art have been around since the cave drawings, but you wouldn’t be able to tell it by some people’s attitudes. When you’re ready, I’ll support you however you need me to.

Virginia’s quick hug touched Kate’s heart, probably more than her mentor would understand. But her words touched Kate more. Now work hard, Virginia said.

I will. No more dreaming about hot ex-military man. It was time to get dirty—only in an artistic way.

As Virginia walked down the parking lot aisle, Kate automatically matched her steps, only pausing when the other woman waved good night and slid into her Mercedes. Then Kate walked to her own Caddy with a brisk step. A quick glance didn’t reveal any further shadowy men. Wherever Adam had gone, she wouldn’t let seeing him disturb her. The school session was over except for turning in her final grades. She’d be free of the college, and Adam, for the summer. It was gonna feel great to immerse herself in the fantasies and realities of her studio.

As she locked herself into her car and started the engine, her lips once more curved into a smile. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to fantasize about Daire just a little. After all, what was work without play?

She cut the car across the empty lot and stopped at the entrance to check for oncoming traffic, even though she knew there wouldn’t be any. Her gaze automatically peeked at her rearview mirror, then snapped back for a longer look. Her foot pressed hard on the brake as her stomach muscles clenched.

At the back of the lot, feet planted, stood Adam. Watching her.

* * *

Want a piece of apple pie to wash down that burger? Kate asked, even while thinking it was the worst conversation starter she could possibly have come up with. After all, the sexiest man in Cadence sat before her. She could tell herself she was doing her job all she wanted, but it didn’t stop the burn, the wish that they were somewhere else doing something very different.

Nah, Daire drawled. He lifted his cut-glass tumbler. I’ve got all the chaser I need right here.

She’d noticed. A couple of hours on her feet behind the counter at Bailey’s, her brother’s pub, was not enough to distract herself from her fantasy come to life. Tonight he sat not ten feet from her. Daire Rousseau was the stuff of many a girl’s fantasies, and right now he had Kate secretly panting for more.

But tonight something was off. His tall, leanly muscled body had been parked at the end of her counter since around seven thirty, the darkness of the night having firmly taken hold this early in May. After demolishing one of the double burgers and an order of onion rings, he’d hit the whiskey and hadn’t looked back since.

Kate had set his plate in front of him, her heart speeding up when those beautiful baby blues trailed up her body to her face. Billy Joe had served his drinks since then, helping her out up front since neither of her sisters were working on this slow of a night. That hadn’t stopped Daire from looking her way on more than one occasion, and every brooding stare had upped her body temperature until she was now on fire.

Forcing herself to move away, to plunge her hands into the soapy water and finish her dishes wasn’t helping all that much.

There was something compelling about all the brooding masculinity sitting at the end of the deep mahogany bar. Kate cast a surreptitious glance his way as she finished washing up the last of the glasses. Weeknights didn’t bring in a lot of traffic this late. Guys just dropping by for a beer before facing the wife had long since vacated, and the dinner crowd had cleared out around eight. Small towns closed up shop early during the week. Weekends were the time to live it up.

Echoing her thoughts, Daire started to talk. Been a long time since I closed down a bar, he said, grinning as he played with the tumbler in his hand. Occasionally he would pause to stare into it, as if it held the answer to mysteries. Then he spoke again, but in a distracted way, as if he were talking to himself. And not even a weekend. No pretty lady on my arm, playing pool and drinking beer.

To her surprise, Daire turned a megawatt smile her way. It may be quiet around here tonight, but it’s sure packed on the weekends. I notice that scandal I heard about hasn’t slowed business down one bit. He paused, a frown taking up residence on his sculpted lips. Oh, wait. I’m not supposed to mention that, am I?

It’s fine, Daire, she said. It was the people scraping for a bit of scintillating gossip that riled her up. In his present state, Daire was way too benign to be a threat. His bemused look was cute, if she could categorize a two-hundred-pound soldier as cute.

He was right. Closing time was being met by only a few footloose guys playing pool in the back and Daire Rousseau. Tonight he was speeding toward a drinking problem, though, which made her wonder if his rumored discharge might have deeper sources than just an injury.

She could hear Billy Joe hustling the boys from the back before heading home to his eager fiancée, and she found herself wondering what she would do with Mr. Brooding over there.

The kitchen manager appeared in the cutout between the bar and his domain, so Kate headed over to speak with him. He nodded toward their bar buddy. How’s he doing? You need me to take him home?

Her head was shaking before Billy Joe had even finished the sentence. He didn’t get to spend a lot of time with his fiancée because of their contrasting work schedules, and she wasn’t about to take something so precious away from him. Besides, his house was on the opposite side of town from Daire’s estate. I’ll call and get a cab. Don’t worry about it.

Billy Joe frowned. That’s what you always say. When are you going to let someone else take care of business, instead of the other way around?

Never, if I have anything to say about it.

But she didn’t say the words aloud. Though those close to her understood where her fierce independence came from, they didn’t always feel comfortable with her expressions of it. Instead she softened her words with a slight smile. I just don’t want Sabrina hunting me down for stealing her time with you.

Billy Joe was suitably distracted by the mention of his woman and hurried back into the kitchen to finish the things needing to be done for closing.

Kate turned back to Daire, letting her gaze rest on him again. The more she studied him, the more she realized it wasn’t just that she wanted a few extra minutes to ogle his impressive body and shadow-scruffy face. There was something about him tonight that spoke to her.

Maybe it was the artist in her tracking the harsh curve of his jaw, slightly softened by a little more than a nightly beard, the thickness of his dark blond hair just beginning to grow out from his military haircut, or the strength of his forearms as he rested his elbows on the bar. What she wouldn’t give to see the muscles she knew were hiding under his thin hoodie. Since she sculpted nudes, she didn’t think that was too lewd of her, especially in the privacy of her own thoughts.

The smile pulling at her lips had her ducking her head as she let the last of the dishwater out. Of course, she wasn’t just interested in his body for artistic purposes, so maybe she was as perverted as the next person.

Hoping to distract herself from the heated thoughts swirling through her brain, Kate took quick steps over to the phone. Regardless of whether Daire could hold his liquor, he’d had too much for her conscience to ignore. Unfortunately her call to the only cab company in the town of Cadence—if you could call Old Man Dempsey’s one-car operation a company—yielded no answer. A sigh rippled through her. Mr. Dempsey was probably asleep in front of the television at this time of the night.

No sooner had she set the phone back in its resting place than it rang. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that it was her brother on the line.

"Hey,