The Lonesome Lawmen Trilogy

by Pauline Baird Jones

  She had a good idea what had put those looks on their faces, even before pieces of what they were saying made it as far as her ears.

  “…Can’t believe…that stupid…”

  “Maybe…not as bad…it sounds…”

  The slamming of the front door cut off their words. Apparently they’d found out their little brother had brought a thief home to dinner.

  It’s not as if she hadn’t known she wouldn’t be welcome here. Because she had. She knew what she was. Just because the room was welcoming didn’t mean the people were.

  She looked at the suitcase.

  Live it all the way, or don’t live it at all.

  * * * *

  Jake heard his brothers’ voices downstairs before the shower went on in Phoebe’s bedroom and drowned them out. He thought about the first time he’d waited for her to shower. The things he’d thought. The things he’d done. The moves and counter-moves that had brought them to his mom’s.

  Dani had been right. He’d done his job, and love was finding a way. Unless his brothers screwed things up for him, which it sounded like they planned to.

  He tossed his wet towel and pulled on skivs, then jeans. Better go down and calm his brothers before Phoebe made an appearance. He just wished he’d had a chance to talk to their mom before they got here. He wasn’t sure how she felt about the situation.

  He padded downstairs without bothering with shoes, his hand gliding down the banister the way his butt used to. He lived in DC, but this was home. The shower went off over his head. She’d reach for the towel to capture and contain the water sliding down her bare skin…

  “Jake?” A voice splintered his hot thoughts with a dash of Mom. “Is that you?”

  Time to face the music.

  “Can you leave us alone, Mom?” Matt asked, grimly. “And you, too, Dani.”

  Or the firing squad.

  Inside the kitchen, he found Matt looking like a storm over Long’s Peak. Luke, in keeping with his more easygoing nature, just looked worried. Dani and his mom were facing Matt down with crossed arms.

  “This is my kitchen, my house,” Debra told her son.

  “I’m not leaving, either,” Dani said. “Unless Jake wants me to.”

  Matt’s angry look turned sulky until he caught sight of his little brother.

  Jake mentally planted his feet. It was harder here, on home turf, where instead of being a Deputy US Marshal, he was his mother’s son and Matt and Luke’s little brother. Not fair, but life wasn’t.

  “Don’t start, Matt,” he warned.

  “We’re all adults here. Why don’t we sit down and talk this over?” Peacemaker Luke set the example by sitting down.

  No one followed his lead.

  “This is between me, Mom and Phoebe. It’s not your business, though I appreciate your coming, Dani.”

  Matt’s hands curled into fists. If Jake hadn’t been so pissed, he’d have grinned when Dani grabbed hold of Matt’s arm and nestled against her husband’s side.

  “Not my business? You bring a common thief—”

  Jake started toward him but found Luke in his way. “That—”

  “—is insulting, Deputy,” Phoebe said.

  It should have been funny, the way his family froze, then turned toward her in varying degrees of discomfort. But it wasn’t. He loved her, and his brother was hurting her.

  Not that she looked hurt. She leaned against the doorjamb, her arms crossed, her expression hard to read. Her eyelids drooped lazily and her smile was enigmatic. Her clothes were—whoa—definitely in the kick-ass range.

  Her brief blue-jean shorts left little leg to the imagination and rode low on her hips. Her equally brief top rode high and snug around her breasts, leaving a lot of midriff bare. An electric-blue ruffle framed her cleavage, then did Daisy Mae off-the-shoulder. Her hair was wet and wild, her lips lush and red.

  “I’ll have you know,” she continued, her voice pure Southern Belle, rich and sultry, “I’m a very uncommon thief. The stories I could tell you, if Calvin—that’s my lawyer—hadn’t advised me to exercise my right to remain silent.”

  Jake was aware Luke had dropped back in his chair like something the air had been let out of. Phoebe straightened and sauntered toward the refrigerator, her hip action lighting a wildfire in Jake’s gut. Lucky for him his mom wasn’t looking at him. No one was.

  “You’ll just have to take my word for it that the family silver is in no danger.” She touched the refrigerator like it was her lover, then looked at Jake’s mom. “May I, ma’am? I’m powerful thirsty.”

  Debra nodded, her eyes wide, but a smile was tugging at the edges of her mouth.

  Phoebe opened the door, then bent from the waist, her tightly covered ass almost in Luke’s face. When she straightened, Jake realized he’d been holding his breath and expelled it in a rush. Luke looked dazed and, well, awed. Like he’d just had a religious experience.

  She popped the top of the Diet Coke she’d snagged and drank, tipping her head back so that they got an unobstructed view of the long, smooth sweep of her soft curves and satiny skin, still glistening with moisture from her recent shower. When she was done, she licked her lips real slow, then, even more slowly, dug into her pocket and produced a dollar bill that she tossed on the table in front of Matt.

  “I remember when you could get a Coke for four bits,” she said, looking at Matt for a long, pointed moment. When she turned away, Jake thought he saw her wink at Dani, who was having a harder time than his mom not to bust out laughing. “Do I need one of those little electronic anklets to go out into your mama’s garden?”

  Jake tried to speak, but his throat was too dry, so he shook his head.

  “I’ll stay well away from the watermelon patch to avoid temptation.” She lifted the Coke can in a mock salute, then sauntered out, her hips amazing to watch.

  No one spoke or moved until the patio door had creaked open, then closed.

  Jake rubbed the back of his neck as his powers of speech and thought crept back. Matt looked as if he’d been turned to stone, but Dani gave Jake a delighted smile. “If you let her get away, you deserve to be a bitter, unhappy man, Jake Kirby.”

  Luke gave himself a shake, like a man waking from an amazing dream, and looked at Matt. “I’m with Louise,” —he gave Dani a quick grin as he used the name she’d used to introduce herself to him when they first met— “on this one, bro. That girl is definitely a keeper. You let her get away, I’ll kick your ass. Oh, sorry, Mom.”

  Jake grinned his relief, then turned to Matt, his grin fading at his brother’s grim expression. He didn’t intend to let Phoebe get away, even if it cost him his brother, but he hoped it wouldn’t. He kinda liked him.

  Matt looked at him. “This could screw your career, you know.”

  “Maybe.” He hunched his shoulders. “But I’m betting we recruit her. She’s not just uncommon, Matt, she’s amazing.”

  Matt stared at him for a long moment, then his face relaxed. “Well, I’ll admit she does remind me of someone.” He glanced at his wife, who managed to look innocently puzzled and wickedly amused.

  It was as close to admitting he could be wrong as Matt would get, which left Mom. What did she think of his lady thief?

  * * * *

  Outside, Phoebe found a wooden bench swing that hadn’t been visible from her window. Green vines climbed up one side, wound around the beam, then went down the other, leaving a cool, shady place for her to ponder just how much her life sucked.

  There was even a cushion to protect her far-too-bare thighs from slivers. She set the swing in motion, then pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them and rested her chin on her knees.

  Something wet dropped off her chin and rolled down her leg and across her bare foot. Was it raining? Only if blue sky and bright sun had totally changed their functions.

  She touched her face and realized the drop had come from her eyes. Another drop followed, then another. She couldn’t be crying
. She didn’t cry. Maybe she was overflowing? She wasn’t sobbing. Her shoulders weren’t heaving. Her heart hurt, worse than before, but she wasn’t crying. Sharp pain spread out from her heart like cracks across glass. It flowed up and out her eyes. It didn’t help that she’d always known she couldn’t have Jake. Knowing something didn’t make it easier to face.

  There was a sort of peace in knowing it was better for him. He might be a bit hot for her, but that would pass. People fell out of lust all the time. After the scene in the kitchen, she had her pride, and he had his out. She’d have to find somewhere else to stay, but that would be better anyway. If she spent too much time in the normal zone, who knew what would happen to her?

  She heard the patio door creak and wiped her eyes, since teary-eyed didn’t match heartless slut. She looked toward the house, expecting to see Jake, not his mom.

  Debra Kirby walked toward her with a grace that both pleased and intimidated. Phoebe admired her taste. Her linen pants and shirt were coolly elegant. Her slight smile was so like Jake’s that the lump tried to crawl up her throat again.

  “Do you like gardens?” Debra asked.

  This wasn’t the scene Phoebe had expected to play. She didn’t know her lines. “Yeah, I guess.” This seemed pretty lame, so she added, “It’s lovely. Real peaceful.”

  Debra stopped by the swing and looked around, her expression reflective. “It was my husband’s domain. He could make anything grow.” She sat down next to Phoebe, setting the swing swaying again. “He had some raspberry bushes in that corner that produced the best berries. They made fabulous jam. The boys loved it so much, I could hardly keep it on the shelf.”

  Phoebe stretched her legs out and hooked her thumbs in the pockets of her shorts. If Jake’s mom was looking to make her feel like she didn’t belong, it was working.

  “The bushes died the same year John did. Almost as if they knew. Luke dug them out for me and helped me plant tulips there instead. He’s very like his father.”

  “How old—” Phoebe stopped.

  “Jake was just starting high school when his father died.”

  “Tough time to lose a father.” Phoebe stared straight ahead.

  “And you?”

  “I was three when my father died. I guess that’s when Mama started to drink. That’s what Kerry Anne said, anyway. I don’t remember Mama ever not drinking.” Debra might as well know the whole, awful truth about her.

  “I thought about getting drunk after John died.”

  “But you didn’t.” Phoebe stared into her own past. Her father left them and then her mother left them for her dead husband. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Mama turned Montgomery Justice loose in their lives, taking what little was good in their lives and turning it into garbage.

  Debra put her hand on Phoebe’s, recalling her from the past. “Your mother let you down. Sometimes people do.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Debra hesitated. “Why didn’t you?”

  Phoebe blinked. “I don’t know.”

  Debra smiled. “Neither do I. I just didn’t. Dani says some people don’t know how to go on and some people don’t know how to quit.” She patted Phoebe’s hand. “What happened to you—well, it shouldn’t have happened, but it did. At least it brought you to Jake. If you’d had a normal, happy life, you’d probably be married to a Joe Bob or a Ray Dawn. I don’t know them, but I know my son. Trust me when I say he’ll make you a lot happier than either of them.”

  Phoebe stared at her. “There’s no question…”

  She stood up, her face kind. “But there is, dear. There’s a very important question. Will you quit or will you go on?” She rose to leave, then stopped. “Unless you don’t love my son?”

  Phoebe stared up at her. She tried to make herself say it, but she couldn’t.

  Debra smiled. “Silly question, wasn’t it? How could you not love Jake?”

  He’d come outside and was standing on the edge of the deck. She saw him when his mama left her. She couldn’t see his expression—his face was in shadow—but the sun bathed the rest of him in warm gold light. It loved him, too.

  What was she thinking? Phoebe was in the shadow of the swing, so Jake couldn’t see her face. And he’d been too far away to hear what his mother said to her. Or what she’d said to his mother? Only a few yards separated them, but it might as well be the width of a universe. He didn’t know how to get from here to her.

  His mom passed him, pausing just long enough to pat his cheek and say, “Faint heart never won fair lady, son.” Then she was in the house, and he was alone with Phoebe. He looked over his shoulder, sort of alone. His brothers, his mom and Dani were watching from the window. He waved them away. They waved him on.

  Great. An audience. He rubbed the back of his neck. This reminded him of the first time he’d jumped off the high dive. He’d inched his way out on the board until he was over the clear green water. He’d wanted to inch his way back, but his brothers had been standing on the edge of the pool watching him with the same expressions on their faces that they wore now. He’d jumped, because even then he’d had his pride. The water had rushed toward him, then closed over his head as he went down, down right to the bottom. He’d pushed off for the surface. It took forever before his head broke into the air and his heaving lungs found relief.

  Matt had waited until he paddled to the side of the pool, then said, “Yeah, but can you do it again?”

  It took three times, he recalled, before he started to enjoy it.

  The wooden deck wasn’t as high as that board, but the outcome was a lot less certain. He jumped onto the grass and started toward his fair lady.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Phoebe watched Jake walk toward her. He looked so good. Not just because he was so dang cute, but because he was good. His mama was right. How could she not love him? Be easier to teach her lungs not to breathe, than teach her heart not to love him. Her selfish heart said, grab the boy and don’t let go. Her mind said, he deserves better than a messed-up thief. She sighed. ’Course, someone that good deserved to get what he wanted. And if he really did want her…

  Her past, her ghosts were all around her as she rose and stepped into the light. It warmed her cold places, while crisp, fresh air filled her lungs, blowing out the stale and the old. Jake stopped as she hesitated and looked back. What had been might have been painful, but it was familiar. Was it only her fancy that she saw Kerry Anne sitting there, smiling and urging her on?

  Phoebe rubbed her heart. The pain wasn’t gone, but it was fading. There’d be scars, but her wounds could finally heal. She turned and started toward Jake, getting lighter with each step as her ghosts let her go. Guess she didn’t know how to quit either.

  He stopped in front of her and smiled that toe-curling smile of his. She had to smile back. She was in his custody.

  “I’m curious again,” he said.

  The sun must have taken up residence inside her, because she was warming up nicely. “You know what they say about curiosity.”

  “They’re wrong.” Jake could feel his family’s eyes boring into his back. It was really cramping his style. He couldn’t jump on the girl. She’d been through hell, could have issues or something. She was so young. What if he was taking advantage of her, too? “You want to go for a walk or something?”

  Her smile wasn’t young. Neither was the look in her eyes. “Definitely or something.”

  Heat did a fast arc from him to her and back again. “Okay.”

  Phoebe looked past Jake’s shoulder. “Um, your family’s watching us out the window.”

  “I know. Sorry about that.” He turned to glare at them. They indicated he should get on with it.

  “What do they want?”

  Like she didn’t know. “A happy ending. Ever since Dani joined the family, we’ve all become incurable romantics.” If he didn’t touch her soon, his skin was going to explode.

  “Oh.”

  He had an idea that might partially ease his p
ain. “We could get them off our backs if we…pretended to kiss? You know, a ruse. A trick.”

  “I am familiar with the concept.” Her lashes swept down, then up. “Pretend?”

  “If you just stepped a little closer…”

  She stepped a lot closer. “Like this?”

  “Oh, yeah.” They still hadn’t touched, but only because he couldn’t breathe.

  “I think I should put my hands around your neck. At least, that’s how they do it in the movies.”

  “Good idea.”

  She licked her lips as she lifted one hand to his shoulder. Her touch was light, but he trembled. Thought she did, too. He didn’t ask if he could touch her, because he couldn’t talk. His right hand settled on her bare waist, the feel of her skin making his head spin. He felt and heard her small gasp.

  “So…far…so…good,” he managed to croak.

  “Yeah,” was her breathy response.

  She lifted her second hand up more slowly than the first, dragging it up the side of his arm before sliding it around the back of his head. He had to put his other hand on her waist, too, to steady her. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, especially with his mom watching. The natural consequence of this was to draw her against him.

  It was a relief.

  He leaned his forehead against hers, closed his eyes and confessed, “I love you, Phoebe-Nadine-whoever-you-decide-to-be. To hell with our ruse. Unless you do something to stop me, I’m going to kiss you.”

  She was close enough, he could feel her mouth smile against his.

  “I don’t think we fooled them anyway. They’re still there.”

  And if he didn’t kiss her soon, she was going to die. She adjusted the angle of her head, to make it easy for him. He did close the distance, but not enough. He kept his tantalizing mouth just out of reach.

  “I got a last name for you, if you’ll tell me what I should call you.”

  She tipped her head back so she could see his true, blue eyes. Smoothed his hair back because she could. “Call me…in love.”

  He started to laugh, then swept her off her feet and spun them in a circle that slowed as their mouths finally came together.