Her Cowboy Lawman

by Pamela Britton

  And so she did, taking the bull by the horns and texting, Miss you.

  It was a full forty-five excruciating minutes later when she received a miss you, too back.

  Dear goodness, she had it bad. The next night she had the same thought when her stomach fluttered as she drove home. Everyone was at the stables, and when she saw Bren’s big black law enforcement truck, she gripped the steering wheel just a little too tight. They were in that in-between point, she told herself, where she wasn’t sure what to do when she first saw him. Did she rush up to him and kiss him? Give him a big hug? Act as if nothing had happened? The uncertainty caused her palms to sweat.

  “She’s here!”

  The announcement came from inside the arena, even though she could make out nothing through the glass panels that lined the wide side of the arena. Her heart began to race as if she were a runner at the starting line when she walked toward the wide door. She paused just inside to get her bearings. Her son sat on Rowdy in the smallest saddle she’d ever seen, a bridle with a flimsy-looking bit in Rowdy’s mouth. From somewhere, Lauren didn’t know where, her brother had found some horse jumps, or probably more accurately, purchased them. And there were two people who stood in the middle of the arena: Bren—instantly recognizable in his blue jeans and black hat—and a woman she didn’t recognize.

  “Mom, watch.”

  She waited for Bren to look her way and acknowledge her, and when he did, Lauren experienced a kind of post-reactive jolt, an instant remembrance of what it’d been like to be held by him, kissed by him, touched by him.

  Only who was that woman?

  “Mom,” her son called.

  “Look at the fence,” the woman called out, following her son’s progress around the arena.

  Lauren jerked her gaze away from the man she’d spent an incredible night with, just in time to see what Kyle was about to do.

  Jump.

  “Kyle—”

  “It’s okay, Mama,” Jax said, coming up to stand behind her on the rail. “Natalie’s got it covered.”

  Natalie? Who the devil was Natalie? And why hadn’t Bren smiled at her?

  She told herself that he was busy. She told herself that he was focusing on her son. She told herself a million things, none of which she believed, because she’d seen something in his eyes, something that scared her as much as watching Kyle gallop toward two crossed rails, her heart racing. Forty feet. Thirty feet. Twenty. She resisted the urge to close her eyes as Kyle leaned forward and Rowdy took off.

  They sailed over the jump.

  Lauren didn’t realize she held the wooden rail too tight until she felt the pain beneath her nails. She forced herself to let it go as her son let out a whoop of delight.

  “Natalie says this will really help his balance.” Her brother nodded with his chin toward where Natalie stood. “I guess she’s been working with several of Bren’s students.”

  Why wouldn’t he look at her? Who was this Natalie? She wanted to scream. Instead she pasted what she hoped was a composed smile on her face and said, “That’s great,” even though she didn’t feel great at all.

  “Can I do it again?” Kyle asked.

  The woman shook her head. “No. Rowdy is getting tired. We should take it easy on him.”

  Kyle’s whole body slumped in the saddle, but he immediately turned Rowdy toward her. “I’m going to do it again next week.”

  Of course he was. With the beautiful Natalie. She couldn’t wait.

  “Hi,” said the woman with a big smile that only made her blue eyes seem like twin jewels. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Natalie Reynolds.”

  And Lauren immediately felt like an idiot. Reynolds. Chance Reynolds’s wife. Of course that’s who it was. She’d heard all about the woman from Kyle one night.

  “I’m Lauren,” she said, her gaze sliding past the woman’s long blond hair and landing on Bren, who’d followed her over. She smiled at the man. He smiled back, but it was a small grin and everything inside her turned inside out because she’d envisioned their first meeting after, well, going differently.

  “Hey,” she said to him softly.

  “Hey,” was all he said back.

  What was going on? Was he mad at her for sneaking out of the house? Was that it? And why did his cool greeting stab her in the heart? It wasn’t like they’d professed their love for each other.

  “You’ve got a good horse in Rowdy.” Natalie smiled at her brother. “He should be perfect for your program.”

  “I sure hope so, since Brielle is arriving next weekend.”

  His new hippotherapist. Everything was new around here, including the way it felt to have Bren act as if nothing had happened between them. She’d expected a hug. Maybe even a kiss. Certainly no less than a smile. She would have to apologize. Clearly her sneaking out had upset him.

  “Will you help me put him away, Uncle Jax?”

  She saw her brother’s eyes light up. Her son was good for him. After their conversation the other night, she was sure of it.

  “I’ll help.” Natalie smiled at her one last time before letting herself out through the wide gate set into the rail. They all three disappeared into a grooming stall.

  Lauren had shifted her gaze to Bren, watching him, waiting for him to look in her direction again. “Look, about the other night.” She swallowed, even though it felt like she had a mouth full of sand. “I didn’t mean to upset you by sneaking out.”

  “You didn’t,” he said, walking toward her. She tensed. He stopped in front of her. She couldn’t breathe all of a sudden. She saw him glance behind her, no doubt making sure the coast was clear, before leaning down and kissing her and she thought, Everything’s all right. He just wasn’t advertising their relationship to everyone. That was okay, she assured herself, closing her eyes and kissing him back. He probably didn’t know Jax already knew. Then the kiss heated up and all was right in her world.

  He pulled back far too soon. “God, I’ve missed you,” he said softly.

  She wanted to laugh like a child. To howl at the moon. To do a little jig. “Me, too.”

  “Why didn’t you come over last night?”

  He’d wanted her to come over? Then what was the “see you tomorrow” text all about? She wanted to ask him that very question, but she could hear footsteps behind her as Bren took a step back and she realized he really was trying to act as if there were nothing between them in front of her brother. She turned, only it wasn’t her brother. It was Natalie.

  “I’ve got to get back home.”

  Bren smiled at Natalie and little pinpoints of jealousy punctured Lauren’s heart. “Short drive.”

  “I know,” Natalie said. “It’s nice.” She caught her gaze. “Tell your brother this place is amazing.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled back because there was something instantly likable about the woman in front of her. She’d heard she was some kind of big deal in the horse-show world. “Although he hears it all the time.”

  “I’m sure he does.”

  They were alone again. “It’s okay,” she told Bren. “Jax knows about what happened the other night.”

  “Yes, but Natalie doesn’t.”

  And that mattered to him? The pinpricks widened. “Did you want our...” crap, what to call it? “...relationship to be a secret?”

  She hated the way her question had sounded. Surprised. Accusatory. Maybe even a little bit angry.

  “No. I mean, yes.” He glanced back toward the grooming stall. “Look, one of my deputies told me the other day that Frank Farrell was spouting his mouth off about our date.”

  It took her a moment to place who Frank Farrell was, and when she did, couldn’t help but snap out, “So?”

  “I just don’t want people to talk.”

  Because of
his election. She got it then, felt a little less offended, but if she were honest, only a little.

  “I’m glad your brother knows,” he said, closing the distance between them again, bending down, his eyes sparking when they focused on her lips. “I really wanted to run over and kiss you.”

  Okay, so maybe that took the sting out of his words. But he still could have called her last night. Asked her to come over. That he didn’t left her feeling troubled.

  You need to relax.

  And perhaps she did, she told the ever-present voice. She was new to dating again. New to this feeling of abject terror. As though she was about to do something wrong.

  “There’s a parade this weekend.” Bren was all smiles again as he stared into her eyes. “You and Kyle should come.”

  This weekend? What about tonight? Why couldn’t she come over after he was done here? She could even sneak over later...

  Wait.

  Sneak over? What was she thinking? Where was her pride? If he wanted to see her, he should ask.

  “That sounds good.”

  And still she waited for it. Waited for him to invite her over again. To ask her to dinner tonight.

  “Great. Then I’ll see you this weekend.”

  Her brother had come out then, leading the horse. Bren smiled and walked toward him, leaving her there on the rail, the sting of humiliation coloring her cheeks.

  You’re reading too much into this.

  Was she? she wondered. Or was she reading the situation exactly right?

  Chapter Eighteen

  It was the longest week of Bren’s life. On Thursday they’d had a homicide, and in the small town of Via Del Caballo, that put everyone in a tailspin. Work was work, however, and when push came to shove, he did all the shoving. So he’d missed out on seeing Lauren, forced, instead, to ponder his memories of their time together. In some ways that was worse. The physical effects of his memories were damn near embarrassing.

  He thought about their conversations over the past few weeks, too. Strangely, that’s what he missed the most. He and Lauren could talk, really talk, but there hadn’t even been time for that and he knew she must be thinking he was giving her the brush-off. So he’d sent her flowers and a note that he hoped to see her at the parade.

  He just didn’t know if she’d show. She hadn’t called him. Hadn’t texted him thanks. He’d heard nothing.

  And so he sat waiting in the pre-parade lineup, leaning against a fancy red-and-white sports car they’d rented for the occasion, waiting for things to get rolling, which should happen any moment now. It wasn’t like, as an elected official, he’d be riding in a car that would be judged by parade officials, but he still had to line up early. They’d decorated the convertible with Reelect Sheriff Connelly signs. His job would be to sit in the backseat and wave. In the distance, one of the high school bands played a melody that was just the tiniest bit off-key. Someone blared music, a float up ahead of him, one decked out in so much red, white and blue it looked like a political party had sacrificed all their leftover convention decorations in the name of patriotism. By his watch, they had five, maybe ten minutes before things would get going, and with each minute that passed, he wondered...would she show?

  “At least it’s a nice day and not nine hundred degrees outside,” said his campaign consultant and the man playing chauffeur today, Jerry Blaylock. “Nothing worse than being forced to sit out in the sun waiting for a parade to start.”

  Jerry should know. He’d helped out with his campaigns from the start, the older man a full-time consultant for various elected officials throughout the state of California. Bren considered himself lucky to secure his services.

  “These are the days I’m glad I wear a cowboy—”

  “Bren!”

  His words died a quick death. His heart leaped. His body jolted with what felt like ten thousand volts of energy.

  He turned, and there she was, Kyle by her side, and just like the other day, his gut kicked at the sight of her. She wore pigtails again, damn it. And she looked so gorgeous and so alluring in a white linen dress that hung off her shoulders that he felt her sexiness like a kick in the groin. She paired the outfit with cowboy boots and as she walked through the crowd, she drew the attention of every male in the vicinity.

  Kyle flung himself into his arms. Bren pulled his eyes away from Lauren but only with a herculean effort. The little boy had wrapped his arms around him, his head buried in his chest.

  “Hey,” he said softly, some other emotion filling his soul. “How you been?”

  Kyle reared back, pinned him with an accusatory stare. “Where have you been?”

  That was one thing about kids. They always said exactly what was on their minds. “I had to work this week.” And he added for Lauren’s benefit, “We had a homicide.”

  He looked up from beneath the brim of his cowboy hat.

  It hit him then, right then, that he was falling in love with her.

  “You mean somebody died?”

  Once again it took every ounce of his willpower to look away. “Sadly, yes.”

  “Who?”

  “Don’t know yet. That’s why we’ve been working so hard.”

  Kyle nodded as if the excuse met with his approval. Bren had had to cancel his lesson with him this week, but if he’d known how much those lessons meant to Kyle, he wouldn’t have done it.

  “Hi,” he said to Lauren as Kyle stepped back.

  “Hello.”

  That voice. He’d never noticed before how throaty and sexy it was and just how plain perfect he found it. He threw in the towel then. A part of him had convinced himself he could keep his distance. He’d thought he could cool it a little. He’d been kidding himself, and so he reached for her hand, her eyes widening at the contact, but they snapped open even more when he pulled her to him.

  “Get the flowers?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” And then he kissed her. Hard.

  Kyle gasped. He thought Lauren might have, too. All it took was for their lips to collide and Bren forgot where they stood, and the people that walked by, and that he was soon to be on public display and so should probably be on his best behavior. He didn’t care about any of it.

  He drew back, but only because Kyle said, “Jeez, you guys,” which made him look down and smile.

  “Sorry, buddy. I’ve missed your mom.”

  His young student stared between the two of them, and it was clear he’d had no clue he and Lauren had become an item. He would have expected the kid to be thrilled; instead he studied them as if he didn’t know what to think.

  “I take it this was your date on Valentine’s Day?”

  Jerry. He’d completely forgotten about the man who’d been standing nearby.

  “Ah, actually...yes.” He turned to the gray-haired man. “This is Lauren.”

  He’d never thought of Jerry as being particularly judgmental. He saw in an instant he’d missed the character flaw. Jerry eyed Lauren up and down and it was clear what he thought of her, and it wasn’t flattering.

  “Lauren, this is Jerry. He’s my campaign consultant.”

  She still seemed a little dazed, her lips swollen from his kiss, the hand she held out to Jerry visibly shaking. “Nice to meet you.”

  Jerry took it, the smile he gave her a tinge on the sleazy creepy-politician side, and it made Bren immediately bristle, to the point that he said, “Lauren’s in the RN program at Santa Barbara State. She graduates later this year.”

  The words had the desired effect. Jerry even drew back a bit, like a dog that’d been growled at by a smaller dog. Or maybe it was the tone he’d used when he’d said the words that had Jerry looking that way, but he wiped his face clean of expression, a talent that Bren sometimes wished he had.

&nb
sp; “Wow,” Jerry said. “Impressive.”

  “She has a 4.0 GPA, too,” Kyle said.

  Bren doubted Kyle even knew what a GPA was, much less what it meant, but it was clear even the little boy had picked up on Jerry’s veiled disapproval.

  “She’s going to graduate honorably next fall.”

  Bren had to bite back a smile. “You mean with honors, buddy.”

  “And I won’t graduate until the end of the fall semester, almost a year from now,” Lauren added.

  “Wow,” Jerry said again, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from sweeping Lauren up and down, and for the first time since working with the man, Bren wanted to knock his teeth in. “You’re a lucky man, Bren.”

  Just then someone blew a whistle and Bren looked toward the front of the parade. One of the horse units had started to move, hooves clopping on the pavement. The marching band suddenly improved tenfold.

  “Well,” Lauren said, having followed his gaze. “We should probably find a spot to watch.”

  He turned toward the fancy sports car. “You could have a front-row seat in my car.”

  “What?” Jerry said at the same time Kyle shouted, “Cool!” his early disgruntlement having obviously died a quick death in the wake of his desire to ride in the red Mustang.

  “I don’t know,” Lauren said.

  He wouldn’t give her a choice, he admitted, not even if it meant enlisting Kyle’s help in convincing her. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

  “Let’s go, Mom.”

  It was clear she was torn. It was equally clear she didn’t want to disappoint her son. And just like she always did, she put his needs above her desires. It was one of the things he most admired about her.

  “Well, if you’re sure it’s okay.” She eyed Jerry.

  His campaign consultant lifted his hands. “Not up to me.”

  Because if it were up to Jerry, he wouldn’t let her ride along. Well, it wasn’t up to Jerry, and so he turned and opened the sports car’s door.

  “After you, m’lady.”

  For the first time she smiled. A real smile. Not the fake one she’d just given him when she first walked up or the forced one she’d used later. It set her eyes aglow and made him remember things from their night together that he probably shouldn’t be thinking about.