Keegan tossed her covers back and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. As she stood, she took a few moments to breathe deeply. She had read somewhere that taking long, slow breaths first thing in the morning was a good way to start your day. As best she could recall, it was supposed to deliver oxygen the brain. She had no idea if it was true, since it seemed magazines would print just about anything they thought might sell, but it made her feel good so she did it anyway.

After taking a few moments to stretch, she wandered over to the window. She knew that the glass was all that separated her from the cold New England morning. She thought to herself that it was the kind of morning that begged to be spent curled up in bed witha steamy mug of cocoa, but as appealing as that sounded, she had other plans.

Stepping back, Keegan pulled some workout clothes from a dresser drawer and headed for the bathroom. She tugged her long blond hair into a ponytail and brushed her teeth as she stared into the mirror. Her green eyes peered back at her, scrutinizing her as she did the same to the reflection. She thought she was pretty enough, but she certainly didn't see anything that warranted the attention she usually got from men. She stuck a foamy white tongue out at herself and turned away from the mirror to rinse.

Half an hour later, she jogged into Filmore Park. The park had always been her favorite place to run. Jogging trails twisted around the property, and it offered interesting scenery, if you happened to enjoy people-watching. There were the fellow joggers, some experienced runners who dashed by quickly, and those not quite so fit, who appeared on the brink of collapse. Across the street, busy people could be seen rushing into Carson's coffeehouse for that early morning cup of coffee before work. Carson's was no Starbucks, but it did the trick. Main Street was as close as Avery got to the hustle and bustle of big city life.

Keegan glanced around the park as she ran. Near the south entrance, she spotted officer Andy James. He was new on the force, and was assigned to patrol the park where the most dangerous thing he would likely run into was a litterbug. It was what the department considered the equivilant of rookies paying their dues. She thought the whole thing was rather silly. Crime was nearly non-existant in Avery, so no one in the department was seeing much action.

The officer noticed Keegan watching him and smiled as he waved. She waved back and quickly increased her pace. She knew the young officer had a thing for her and she preferred not to encourage him. Andy was good looking fellow, but he just wasn't her type.

As she exited the park, she noticed a man leaning against one of the trees. He appeared to be watching her. It wasn't unusual, as people in Avery rarely had better things to do than to sit around and stare at everyone else, but something about the way his eyes followed her every move made her glad she was about to leave the park.

Turning the corner onto Main Street, she slowed to a jog as she crossed the street. Approaching Millie's, she gave a hard shove to the heavy glass door. Inside, the scent of coffee and various breakfast foods hit her immediately, and the chatter of the morning crowd filled her ears.

The diner wasn't a four star dining experience by any means, but it suited its purpose. Well used booths ran along the windows, and every table was covered with a red checkered cloth. Millie must have had a love for checkered patterns in her time, because even the floor had become a victim. The cash register had to be at least thirty years old, and none of the decorations on the wall were from the current decade either. Rumor had it that Millie was just as cheap as the father who had passed it down to her, and if the decor was any indicator, Keegan would bet the rumor was true. Even so, it was one of the favorite gathering places in town.

The waitress, a young woman named Marnie, waved at her while she waited at the counter for an order. Impatiently, it seemed, since the girl was busily tapping her nails against the formica.

Keegan could see her brother in his usual booth, the furthest from the door. Everyone in town knew him, and he claimed that booth was the only place he could get any privacy while he ate, provided he turned his back to the other diners. She approached quietly, and he seemed oblivious to her presence. Just as she was about to poke him, he set down his coffee cup.

"Hi sis."

She slid in opposite him and pouted at the lost chance to surprise him. "How did you know I was there?"

He simply smiled and tapped the reflective surface of the napkin dispenser. "Law enforcement officers are supposed to be observant. I saw you the moment you walked in the door."

Keegan balled up a napkin and tossed it as him as he laughed at her. She knew she should have expected him to notice her. He was a detective, after all, and there wasn't much else to investigate in this town. She often wondered if it bored him. He said that he had had enough of the drama of big cities when they lived in Seattle, but Keegan felt his talents were being wasted.

Marnie appeared, handing a menu to Keegan as she smiled at Alex. Keegan stifled a laugh and hid her grin behind her menu, aware that she wasn't the only one in the family that was the object of someone's affections. Marnie had a crush on Alex, and she was one of many. Alex was tall and handsome in a movie star sort of way, with sandy blond hair and big blue eyes that his ex-girlfriend claimed could melt a girl's heart. He also kept himself in good shape, and the total package seemed to appeal to most of the single, as well as a few of the married, women in town.

Alex shot a look in his sister's direction and she quickly requested a bowl of oatmeal. Marnie left to place the order with the cook and Alex watched her walk away.

"Doesn't she realize I'm too old for her?"

Keegan shrugged. "She's eighteen."

"Yeah, well I haven't dated an eighteen year old since I was nineteen."

"Liar. You dated that one girl, Cindy, a couple years back."

"She was nineteen," he replied nonchalantly, and laughed as his sister rolled her eyes at him.

"Practically the same thing."

"It's not, and I'm not interested in her anyway."

"You don't seem to be interested in anyone."

"I date. I just don't give you all the details."

Marnie's reappearance saved him from what he knew would be a smart alec reply. She handed Keegan the bowl in her right hand and set a large plate down in front of Alex. Keegan wrinkled her nose at her brother's collection of fried eggs, bacon and sausage. The whole plate was covered in cheese and he slathered gobs of butter on his toast.

"It's a wonder you're not as fat as a pig with the way you eat."

Alex took a huge bite of sausage dripping with egg yolk and chewed happily. Just as he was about to swallow, she looked at him enviously. "I've had orgasms that didn't make me smile that much."

Her brother appeared to choke and painfully swallowed his food. After taking a hefty swig of hot coffee, he glared at her. "Damn it Keegan!"

She laughed and settled back in the booth. "Sorry, but I had to."

He shook his head. "There is never an excuse for me to have to hear about your...just don't."

Keegan smiled but kept her thoughts to herself as she plopped her spoon into the thick oatmeal. She wasn't sure what the big deal was anyway. She knew he knew she wasn't sleeping with anyone. She knew he knew because her neighbors were busybodies who loved to gossip about poor little lonely Keegan, and they were more than willing to do so with Alex. Sometimes she wondered if he had asked them to keep an eye on her when he wasn't around to do it himself.

"Hello?"

Keegan snapped out of her thoughts to find Alex waving a hand in front of her face. "I guess I've been talking to myself for the past five minutes." She had no idea what he was talking about until she saw that his plate was nearly empty. She had drifted off in thought longer than she realized.

Alex's cell phone rang and Keegan sipped her water as he listened. She stared into her bowl and decided she had lost her appetite, but took a few bites anyway.

Her brother flipped the phone closed and sighed, reaching for his wallet.

"What's up?" she asked curiously.

He tossed three five dollar bills on the table and stood. "They picked up Randy Marshall again. I swear that kid never learns. Maybe if his daddy would stop bailing him out of all the trouble he gets himself into, Randy might take a little more care not to do anything that would get him arrested."

Keegan nodded, but secretly disagreed. Randy Marshall was the town troublemaker. He would never learn.

"I'll head out with you."

He eyed her full bowl critically. "You don't eat enough, and why am I paying for your food if you're not going to eat?"

He turned on his heel before she could answer, so she followed him up the aisle. Everyone in the diner offered a hello or goodbye as they passed.

"So Alex, about that girl I mentioned," she started, but he cut her off before she could continue.

"No."

"But Alex," she whined, "I just want to see you happy."

"Then stop pestering me to go on blind dates."

She nearly snorted. "It's hardly a blind date, you know every girl in town."

He ignored her as he held the door open. After she passed through, she waited on the sidewalk as he greeted an elderly couple on their way inside.

"You haven't dated anyone seriously since Chrissy and that was over a year ago. Come on, Lisa is really pretty and super sweet. Besides, she's totally into the whole cop thing."

"No," he insisted. "She's too young and I just don't want to go out with her."

Keegan rolled her eyes at him as she hurried to keep in step with him. "She's twenty-five. That's not so far from thirty-three."

"Thirty-two."

"For two more days. Face it bro, you're getting old. Why wouldn't you want to date a beautiful younger woman? Oh, that's right," she said, snapping her fingers. "It's because you're a stubborn pain in the ass."

Alex dug his keys out of his pocket as he approached his car. "Damn right baby. Now watch your mouth. Cursing isn't very ladylike."

He slid into the driver's seat and pulled the door shut behind him. Keegan leaned down to peer at him through the open window and try one more time. "What will it hurt? It's one date. You'll like her, I promise."

She gazed at him with wide eyes and pouted for effect. Alex sighed. His sister knew that if she tried hard enough, she could eventually reduce him to a pile of putty that she could mold to her liking.

"Fine, one date. No promises."

He watched his sister's face light up, obviously pleased that she had once again gotten her way. "Great! You never know," she added playfully, "you may get lucky."

"Keegan!" Sex was definitely not an issue he wanted to discuss with his sister.

She laughed. "I just meant that you may get lucky and find out she's the woman of your dreams. I see where your mind is going, you perv."

Alex said nothing and Keegan realized her poor choice of words.

"Hey, I'm sorry."

He shrugged, but he was still staring at the steering wheel, so she went back to the original topic of conversation. She grabbed a pen and scribbled Lisa's number on his arm.

"Call her tonight. It's Thursday, maybe she's still free tomorrow night."

"Alright," he sighed. He still didn't want to go out with the woman, but he would as a favor to his sister.

She backed away from the car. "He's going to be out on bail before you even get there if you don't hurry."

Alex nodded and started the engine. She waved as he drove off and watched the taillights until they disappeared, silently chastising herself. She knew better than to say things like that to Alex.

Turning in the direction of home, she crossed the street and jogged into the park. She glanced over towards the trees, but the man from earlier had gone. She felt no eyes on her and felt a surge of relief as she moved quickly along the trails, eager to get home and into a hot shower.