Justified

by Jay Crownover

  Casey raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms over his bare chest.

  “Thought I heard this lady being sick or something.”

  Jessica fake-hiccupped again, and Casey nearly busted out laughing. Everybody understood each other then.

  He nodded at Tyler. “I’ve got it under control.”

  “Yes, sir,” Tyler said with a smirk. “It sure looks like it.”

  “Get on back to work,” Casey said.

  Tyler saluted, turned, and loped back off in the direction of the hotel.

  Casey picked up his shirt and slipped it on. Jess still had her hand over her mouth, but it wasn’t containing her giggles very well.

  “Get some control over yourself, woman,” Casey said with a wink. “Or I’ll throw you in the drunk tank.”

  “We don’t have to call it quits, you know,” she said. “We can go somewhere else.”

  “Nah. I think we should quit while we’re ahead. I had a really good time.” He looked at her little T-shirt, her shorts with the top button still undone, and her mussed-up hair. “A really good time.”

  “So, let’s keep going. Swing by the Rite Aid and pick up a pack of condoms, head to your place, and get busy.” She wiggled her hips.

  God. It sounded so easy. And he loved how eager she was. But it was late, and there were other things to consider. “As much as I’d love to, I can’t just waltz into the Rite Aid with you to buy condoms. For one thing, I’m the sheriff.”

  “Sheriffs don’t have sex?”

  “They do it discreetly.”

  “Oh, is that what we were doing?” One corner of her mouth curled up. “Being discreet here in the shrubs behind the pool pump?”

  Damn. That crooked little grin. He’d love to wipe it off her face with a kiss.

  “And the Rite Aid is closed anyway,” he added. “They roll up the sidewalks around here pretty early.”

  He picked up the broken chaise. “I’m going to toss this in the Dumpster behind the restaurant,” he said. “And then I’m going to help a poor drunk lady get back into the hotel safely.”

  Jess pouted.

  Those lips. He wanted to drop the chaise and tackle her to the ground. But he couldn’t. For one thing, no condom. For another, he had an early day tomorrow.

  “Are you going to come watch me and JD rope at the rodeo? It’s for a good cause, and I’m really hoping you’ll stick around awhile.”

  Jessica twisted a strand of hair around her finger, a habit that took him straight back to high school. But then she looked at him and smiled.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “You think about it real hard.”

  “Will you be wearing chaps?”

  “I’d get laughed out of the arena.”

  Jess looked bitterly disappointed. “That’s too bad. I like chaps.”

  “I’ll wear chaps,” he blurted. “If it means you’ll come.”

  He swallowed.

  “To the rodeo,” he added. “Not just, you know, come.”

  They both busted out laughing, again. Silly, uncontrollable, insane laughter. They stopped when they literally couldn’t breathe anymore.

  “I really, really like chaps,” Jess said.

  She licked her lips. Licked her damn lips like she was thinking about him in a pair of chaps and nothing else.

  “And I’ll also have a handy dandy rope, if that turns you on.”

  She squeezed her thighs together, realized she’d done it, and unclenched them with a sly little grin that said she knew he’d noticed.

  “What time does the Rite Aid open tomorrow?”

  “Now, darlin, tomorrow is Sunday. It’s closed. You can’t buy condoms on the Lord’s Day. It’s bad enough that you’re even thinking about it.”

  “Oh, I’m thinking about it, Casey Long. We might have to drive to the nearest town to hit up a Walmart.”

  “That could be arranged,” Casey said. “After the rodeo.”

  Jessica bit her lip, and Casey got up right close. “I might have to tie you up so you don’t leave again.”

  The blush that lit up Jess’s cheeks said she wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. Casey was going to be in for a long, sleepless night.

  * * *

  Jessica lathered up in the shower. The smile on her face was starting to make her cheeks sore, but she couldn’t get rid of it, no matter how hard she tried. Not that she was trying very hard.

  Hard. Holy cow, Casey had been hard. She felt awful that she hadn’t been able to return any favors and do something about it. But they’d been caught!

  Her smile got even wider.

  She’d been like a teen again. A dumb, horny, risk-taking teen.

  She hadn’t risked anything in twelve years. Not for her own happiness, and not for love.

  Love. She did not love Casey. But dang it, she definitely had a major crush going on. It felt just like old times.

  Yep. She was definitely a kid again. Although a kid would have insisted this crush was something more. Because it felt like her world was going to end on Monday when she had to go back to Houston. And because the thought of not seeing Casey again hurt just as much this time as it had the last.

  Only this time, she wasn’t going to leave with any secrets. Wade Long couldn’t hurt her. People could talk if they wanted, but she was taking Hope to the rodeo tomorrow. It had been wonderful to see old friends today. It would be even better to see them tomorrow.

  * * *

  Casey sat at the bar. He’d wandered around the pool after dropping Jess off in the lobby—she’d refused to let him walk her to the room—picking up the cups and napkins and trash that Tyler had missed.

  The bar was empty and they were closing up shop, but Casey was a Long and the sheriff. He could stay as long as he wanted. He wouldn’t do that though. He didn’t believe in tossing his weight around with the family name. He’d just shoot the shit with the bartender until the kid was done drying glasses.

  “Hey, Zeke, who does the purchasing for the pool furniture and whatnot around here? I accidentally broke a chaise lounge and I’d like to replace it.”

  Zeke picked up a glass from the washer and began drying it off. “Stella will know what to do about the chaise. Although she’ll just tell you to forget about it.”

  Stella was the general manager, and Zeke was probably right. It would be best for Casey to just replace it himself.

  Casey sucked down the last of his beer and pulled out his wallet.

  “On the house, Sheriff. You know that,” Zeke said.

  “Bullshit,” Casey said, slapping some cash on the counter. “I’d better get home. Early day tomorrow for the rodeo.”

  “You and JD roping?”

  “Yeah. We don’t stand a chance, though. I heard a lot of the Rancho Canada Verde cowboys are entering.”

  Zeke laughed. “You’re going to your asses kicked.”

  “I know. But it’s for Hope House. I’m happy to have my ass kicked for little Dalton Reed and his friends.” He stood up and stuffed his wallet back in his pocket.

  “Hold on, Sheriff,” Zeke said, digging beneath the counter. “You know that lady you were with earlier? The one who was here at the bar?”

  Casey crossed his arms. “Jessica Acosta. What about her?”

  Zeke held up a slim leather wallet. “She left this when she followed you out the door.”

  Wow. Good thing Zeke found it. Although in Big Verde, most people would turn it in. It was just one of the things he loved about the people of his town. “Thanks, Zeke—”

  Zeke’s face broke out in a grin. “I guess she forgot all about it while y’all were busting the chaise by the pool pump.”

  “Damn Tyler Murphy,” Casey muttered.

  Zeke laughed and handed over the wallet. “She’s in room 204.”

  Casey’s pulse sped up. He’d get to see Jessica again, even if only for a few minutes. “Thanks.”

  He left the bar and climbed the ornate staircase in the lobby. When he got to
room 204, he stopped and took a deep breath. He was still riding the high that came from messing around, and he had a partial boner to prove it. But what was making him sweat was something much deeper. It had been so satisfying to tell Jess about his life, how he’d pulled himself together and gone to college, become a cop, and then finally been elected sheriff. It was as if he’d worked all this time just to be able to someday look her in the eye and tell her he’d done it. He’d become the man she’d always known he could be.

  I knew you could do it, Casey.

  Of everything they’d said and done tonight, those words had been the sweetest. He was a better man because of Jessica Acosta. No doubt about it. He’d been a hellion who gave his family fits. Drove his teachers insane. Irritated the hell out of the fine folks in town who saw him as an entitled, spoiled brat.

  But Jessica had seen something else in him. He’d thought she was crazy. Believed she just had a good girl crush on a bad boy. But at some point, he’d decided to become the guy she thought he was. Even after she left, or maybe because she’d left, he kept trying. And he’d done it.

  He squared his shoulders. Made sure his shirt was tucked in. And then he knocked.

  The door opened. And it wasn’t Jess who answered. Or her friend, Carmen.

  It was a little girl. “Hi!” she said.

  “Hi yourself. Is your, uh…” He tried looking over her shoulder into the room, but she’d only opened the door about six inches.

  “Who are you?” the child asked.

  He wanted to ask her the same question. “I’m Casey.”

  That seemed to be all she needed to hear. She opened the door wide, and Casey peered in, but still didn’t see Jessica.

  The little girl put her hands on her hips. “I’m Hope.”

  Casey finally got a good look at her. She was probably ten or eleven years old and cute as a button. And she had the same infectious grin as Dalton Reed. She had Down syndrome.

  Casey smiled back.

  “My grandma used to live here,” Hope said.

  Casey rubbed his chin. Was she somehow local? Did he have the wrong room?

  He looked at the number on the door. It was 204. That was the room Zeke had sent him to. And besides, if this little cutie was local, he’d know it.

  “My, my, my,” a sultry voice said.

  Finally. An adult. Casey looked up to see a gorgeous woman with big blue eyes and hair to match staring over Hope’s head. He realized he’d seen her on television at least once or twice. “You must be Carmen,” he said.

  “Mm-hm,” Carmen said, looking him up and down with a little smirk that suggested he might need to have a talk with Miss Acosta about kissing and telling.

  He hoped she hadn’t left off the part where he’d made her toes curl.

  “And you must be Sheriff Long,” Carmen said.

  “You’re Sheriff Long?” Hope asked.

  “Uh-oh,” Carmen muttered. “Listen, Hope, he’s not—”

  “Sheriff Long is my daddy!”

  What the hell? Casey took a step back. The room began to spin a little.

  My grandma used to live here.

  Shit.

  “Uh, hold on a minute, cowboy,” Carmen said. Then she shouted, “Jessica!”

  Hope ran into the hall and wrapped her arms around Casey. Jess came to the door with her hair wrapped in a towel, her eyes wide, and her mouth hanging open.

  “Hope, come here,” she said, unwrapping the child from his legs.

  “No, no! Let me go!” Hope wailed. “He’s my daddy!”

  All the color had drained from Jess’s face as she held on to Hope. A man across the hall poked his head out the door. “Is everything okay?”

  “It’s fine,” Jessica said.

  The man looked to Casey, but Casey couldn’t talk.

  Nothing was fine.

  Hope’s little face was streaked with tears. This was his child? And he hadn’t even known about her?

  “Jess,” he said. His voice didn’t sound right. He felt like he was choking. “How could you?”

  He turned and stumbled down the hall, ran down the stairs, and didn’t stop running until he got to his truck. People shouted his name, asked if he was all right.

  But he barely heard them.

  He had to get somewhere to sort this all out. Somewhere private. A place where his own damn child wouldn’t see him freak out.

  Chapter Ten

  Jessica scanned the arena from the stands. The rodeo had officially begun over an hour ago. They’d gotten there early, in the hopes that Casey would too. But nobody had seen him. They’d already sat through the opening ceremony, the mutton bustin’—Dalton had placed third—and the women’s barrel racing event. The youth calf scramble was next, and then it was team roping.

  That was Casey’s event.

  Jessica twisted the hem of her T-shirt into a knot. Surely, Casey wouldn’t have gone and done something stupid? What if he’d drunk himself into a stupor? He’d been terribly upset, and Jessica had wanted to run after him. But he was an adult, and Hope was not.

  Hope had needed her more.

  And Casey shouldn’t have run away.

  Even so, her heart ached for him.

  She spotted JD’s white hat and stood up. “Stay here,” she said to Carmen and Hope.

  She worked her way down the bleachers, stopping every two seconds to say hi to someone because that’s how it was in Big Verde. She finally made her way to where JD stood by the fence, phone to his ear. Their eyes met and he shook his head.

  “Still not answering?” she asked.

  JD shoved his phone back in his pocket. “You want to tell me what got him so upset that he just took off the night before the rodeo?”

  Jessica scowled at him. “That’s what you’re worried about? The rodeo?”

  “Well, I’m sure as hell not worried he’s been kidnapped. He’s pissed or something is all.”

  He yanked on his white Stetson with a pointed look that said, At you.

  “We didn’t fight,” she said. “It was a misunderstanding, and he took off before I could explain everything to him.”

  “I don’t need to know the details. But, Jess, that man has never stopped pining for you. He’s lonely, but he functions. Sometimes he even manages to be happy. You can’t just come barging back into town and mess with people’s lives.”

  Is that what she’d done? She closed her eyes at the memory of the look on his face when Hope had blurted out that he was her father.

  She swallowed down a bit of bile, but then she said, “He’s never stopped pining for me? Really?”

  JD looked at the arena where the calf scramble had started. The crowd was cheering and going nuts for the kids participating, and Hope was probably having a blast. “Really,” he said. “So be careful with him.”

  Obviously, she had to tell Casey that Hope wasn’t his. But she wasn’t sure what would come after that. It wasn’t like she could make a life with a man who—

  She gasped, earning a quizzical look from JD beneath the brim of his hat. When had she started thinking about making a life with Casey?

  Exactly twelve years ago. And she’d never stopped.

  She was lonely, but she functioned. Sometimes she even managed to be happy. But she’d never stopped pining for Casey Long.

  Yes, they’d been kids. But there were plenty of old happy couples who’d started off as high school sweethearts. Maybe not many. But sometimes when you know, you just know.

  “Team roping is next,” JD said through a clenched jaw. “That asshole better show up.”

  Slowly, and with her eyes on the entrance gate, Jessica made her way back to Carmen and Hope.

  “Still not here?” Carmen asked.

  Jessica shook her head.

  “My fault?” Hope asked.

  She didn’t fully grasp what had happened. And even though they’d talked and talked and talked last night, Jessica wasn’t positive that Hope understood Casey wasn’t her dad.


  “None of this is your fault.”

  Hope smiled. “Can I ride a sheep?”

  Jessica sat down. “No, you’re too big.”

  “Can I ride a horse?”

  That could probably be arranged.

  * * *

  Casey pulled through the gate of the fairgrounds. He sure hoped he hadn’t missed his and JD’s event. JD would never forgive him.

  Well, he would, but it would be a miserable two weeks waiting for him to get around to it.

  He parked his pickup next to JD’s and looked at his face in the rearview mirror. He hadn’t shaved and there were bags beneath his eyes. Staying up all night will do that.

  A daughter. He had a daughter.

  It all made sense now. The Acostas had left because Jess had been pregnant. Eighteen years old with her whole life ahead of her, and he’d knocked her up. No wonder she’d called it game over last night when he hadn’t had a condom. She’d had her life ruined once already.

  He remembered the child’s sweet, perfect face.

  Not ruined. But definitely altered. Things had not gone the way Jessica and her mom had painstakingly planned.

  Hope. It was a beautiful name.

  There was an abandoned stone chapel on Harper’s Hill. It was technically private property; part of the twelve-thousand-acre Rancho Canada Verde owned by the Kowalski family. But Gerome Kowalski didn’t mind that Casey went there from time to time, and that’s where he’d spent the night, trying to wrap his mind around this new reality.

  At first, he’d been angry. Angry at Jess for keeping his own child a secret from him. But then he’d tried to put himself in her shoes. She’d been a teenager, and her mom had been in control. Had she really had a choice?

  What would he have done at eighteen? He liked to think he’d have stepped up to the plate. But the truth was, he didn’t know. Not for sure. This was why adults told teens they needed to be old enough to handle the consequences of sex. As a grown man, Casey knew this. He’d had that particular talk with more than one kid. But at eighteen…

  None of that mattered now. Jessica had come home, and she’d probably been trying to work up the nerve to tell him about Hope. She must have felt terrified, not knowing how he’d react.