Read Jaxson's Song for Free Online Page A

clock struck twelve, and Jaxson’s eyes watered as
he smothered a yawn. He needed to go home and get some
sleep.
    The cops left, shutting
the door behind themselves, and then it was just him and Kate,
alone in the house. And the ghosts, he amended, exhaling and
letting his eyes do a wide, slow sweep of her foyer and beyond
that, her living room. He hadn’t seen anything during their
inspection of the first and second floors, but he’d felt them—and
heard them. Oh yeah, the place was definitely haunted. Not that it
was his problem. A glance at the wall clock told him it was past
time he left, but still he hesitated.
    He didn’t want to leave
Kate, he realized with a start. As if she would want him to stay…
Jaxson shook his head and began to follow the officers out the
door. He didn’t know her. But he was pretty damn sure she wouldn’t
want a strange man hanging around her house after midnight. A
strange man in a fucking dress. He frowned, prepared to tell her
goodbye and make the short walk to his own house. To go to bed and
forget all about a violet-eyed girl who had great hair and too many
problems.
    She grabbed his arm.
“Jaxson. Wait.”
    Shit.
    “ Do you have to…to go?” she stammered, watching one of the
police cruisers disappear down the street and around the corner. “I
mean, right away?”
    “ Yeah.”
    “ Oh.” She frowned. “I thought, you know, maybe you could stay
for a few minutes.”
    Jaxson watched as she
hugged her arms around her waist. “What are you getting at,
Kate?”
    “ Nothing.” She clamped her lips together. “I’m sorry. It’s
late and you’ve done enough. Thank you for coming with me…and
calling the police. Thank you for letting me in, earlier. It was
nice meeting you. Goodnight.”
    He winced at the faint
hint of sarcasm in her voice, at the reminder of his earlier rude
behavior. He stared down into Kate Delaney’s wide, gray-purple eyes
and felt like swearing. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need her.
He’d be lucky to make it out of this town with both his life and
his freedom intact. The last thing he needed was to throw another
complication into the mix.
    “ You can stay at my place tonight, if you want,” he heard
himself say.
     
    * * *
     
    Gabe Bailey adjusted his
shoulder holster and clicked his seat belt into place, then stared
at his partner in silence for several long, drawn out moments. The
veteran officer scribbled notes onto a pocket-sized notepad before
tucking both pen and paper into the shirt pocket of his dark blue
uniform. The pointed ends of the gold star on his chest reflected
the light from the other cruiser as it backed out of the shared
drive between the houses at 502 and 504.
    “ Carl?” Gabe questioned after several more seconds had ticked
by. It wasn’t his place to question Carl Jensen’s mood, or his
judgment calls. Not to mention it probably wouldn’t bode well for
Gabe’s career if he made a habit of calling his commanding
officer’s final word into question. Still, even though he was a
rookie officer, he’d never known Carl to be unfair in his dealings
with the people of Crystal Cove. Abrupt, yes, when the situation
called for it, but not unfair, or short-sighted. And as far as Gabe
could tell, Kate Delaney hadn’t warranted that kind of
treatment.
    “ Sir?” he asked cautiously.
    Carl’s gaze cut to his
rookie partner for a split second, then followed the direction of
the younger man’s stare to the aging Victorian that flickered a
harsh yellow under the faulty streetlight. Carl shifted in his seat
and turned the key in the ignition, bringing the cruiser to life.
He flicked the wipers on as the first drops of what promised to
quickly become a full-on downpour splashed against the windshield.
“I thought we were done with these damn calls about this house,
when the old lady kicked the bucket,” he muttered.
    “ I’m afraid I don’t follow, sir,” Gabe said, still staring up
at the old house. A flicker of