It wasn't that the room had grown any larger, but once everyone had gone, Sam certainly felt that the room had gained a few square feet.

She'd be lucky if she were able to see even one patient tomorrow...or, after a quick glance at the richly carved wood-framed clock over the fireplace, later today, she thought.

She sighed and then sipped at the hot chocolate she'd been given by a young officer at her uncle's request.

"Are you ready to try this again?"

Sam's hand twitched and a small wave of cocoa nearly crested the rim of her cup. Try again? Of course she was willing to try again, but maybe now wasn't the time for fooling around. "I didn't see you come back in," she said to Holt.

Holt held steady in the open doorway. "Yeah, I think it's settled for now. We have a few guys patrolling the neighborhood."

"That's reassuring."

"So you can go back to bed now. No more interruptions. You probably need some sleep."

With only a slight hesitation, she set her cup on the table and got up from the chair. What she wouldn't give to spend what was left of the night in his arms, hiding from the world, hiding from her past.

She had told Holt she didn't know why she was being stalked, but she hadn't been completely truthful with him. She knew why. She had remembered everything only one short month before moving to Marion. It had spurred her to leave what she was doing in Houston and return to a place where there were no strangers.

But she would never tell her secrets to anyone. She had made peace with her demons and forgiven herself but would he understand? Or would he, like her stalker, never see the truth?

Holt seemed like such a stickler for the law, with a view of right and wrong that left no room for the gray areas of life.

If she confessed her sins, he might not ever want to do the things with her that she so desperately wanted him to do. She might end up a virgin forever.

But she deserved happiness. She had accepted that finally, just before her move to small town medicine, and she was happy here, happier than she had really thought she would be.

"I don't really want to go back to bed."

Holt shrugged. He took in her glittering eyes and the slight shake about her hands. Adrenaline had probably stolen her ability to sleep. Fatigue would set in later and she would need to rest, but maybe for the moment, he should get her out of here and take her someplace where she could relax.

"Isn't the diner open all night?" he asked.

"Pops? Yes. For the truckers who come in off the interstate."
"Good. Let's go have some breakfast."

Samantha's lips pursed. He would have loved to just lean down and plant a hard kiss on those sweet red lips, but he held himself in check. He wanted to calm her down. Although—No. This wasn't about distraction. He wanted answers from Samantha and he wasn't likely to get them in bed. No matter how badly he wished that was the case.

"I'm not sure I can eat right now," she said. Her grimace backed up her words.

"I'll eat. You just keep me company." He winked at her and her eyes widened.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Samantha was surprised to see Mary Beth working the counter at Pop's. Three a.m. seemed a little early, but then she realized that she really didn't know as much as Mary Beth as she should have known. They had spent summers together, not exactly as friends, but they had certainly been friendly. Mary Beth had in fact shown her how to kiss her first boyfriend, back behind Bull's Market on a hot, sweaty summer day. Billy, maybe? Or Bobby? They had giggled and talked for what seemed like hours after Bobby's father had hollered him away.

She rubbed her finger across her bottom lip. She remembered that dry pucker, mouths smashed together, the smell of Hubba Bubba chewing gum on Bobby's breath.

She'd been such an innocent. She could never have imagined looking at another boy the way she now looked at the man across from her in the back booth.

All grown up now, the thoughts that filled her head when she looked at Holt's broad chest and his day-old growth of beard sent shivers of delicious heat spiraling down into her nether regions. She squirmed on the padded vinyl seat and blew out a tense breath.

Oh man, she was in so much trouble here.

She was so ready to move to the next step with him that she wanted nothing more than to jump across the table and straddle him.

"What would you like?"Mary Beth's honey-sweet voice startled Sam out of her thoughts and she jerked her eyes off of Holt's mouth.

"One coffee, black," he said. His warm gaze turned to Samantha. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue.

"Just—" Her voice cracked on the word. She cleared her throat. "A glass of orange juice," she said.

Mary Beth left and Holt's eyes bored into her. "So, do you want to tell me the real story behind your stalker?"

Samantha jerked her head up. "Excuse me?"

"When did it start? How long has he been after you?"

"Oh...I—Really, I can't remember exactly."She pulled a napkin free of the shiny steel holder and wiped her hands on it. "It's been such an ordeal. I try not to think about it too often."

"I'm sorry," he said.

She met his gaze. They shared a moment of silence, and then he leaned forward on his elbows.

His voice lowered. "You're safe here with me. You know that, right?"

"Yes. Of course." And she did. When with him, it never even occurred to her to glance at the door every time the bell rang. Not that anyone had entered the diner since they had taken their seats. It was just after three in the morning after all.

His broad hand covered hers on the table. "We need to discover who this stalker is. He has to be stopped."

She nodded.

"You're sure you don't know anything else about him, anything that could help me track him down?"

She shook her head. Her heart pounded and she found that she didn't like the emotions swirling inside her chest. She didn't want to lie to him.

"You already know how bad I want you, Sam." His fingers squeezed hers. "I wouldn't have admitted it yesterday, but I'd like to think we might have something more than lust going on between us."

It took a lot for him to say that, Samantha knew. His eyes hinted at a macho vulnerability. She felt a swift surge of tenderness at his expression.

His next words effectively squashed it all.

"But you know it as well as I do that you've been lying to me."

She jerked her hand free of his and huffed. "Lying? What do you mean lying? That's got to be the baldest, rudest thing you've—"

"Then tell me who the stalker is and why he's after you. And I believe you've been through something tough, something terrible. But until you quit hiding the truth, I can't trust you."