Heated Moments

by Phyllis Bourne

  Roy Cooper’s mouth dropped open, and he looked down at his nephew. “Are you going to let her talk to me like that? I’m your flesh and blood. She’s just passing through town.”

  “Considering the way she’s been treated by this town and this court, Lola is absolutely right. The very least we can do is let her be on her way.”

  His uncle’s scowl deepened. “Fortunately, I’m the mayor here, and I have the final say, not you.” He glared at Lola. “Ms. Gray, in light of the contempt you showed for Mayor’s Court and this evening’s proceedings, I’m ordering you to serve eight hours of community service commencing at seven o’clock Monday morning, when you’ll report to the public works department for further instructions. Be prepared to work hard.”

  The whispers in the room turned to grumbles.

  “But I have a job in New York on Monday.”

  “You should have thought about that before you ran that sassy mouth of yours and ignored my repeated warnings,” the mayor said. “You will start serving your sentence at the appointed hour, or I’ll have a warrant issued for your arrest. You’ll be tracked down and hauled directly to the county jail.” Roy snorted. “And they won’t be nearly as accommodating to your needs as my nephew has apparently been.”

  “Just let me go for a few days, Mr. Mayor,” Lola pleaded. “I promise I’ll come back and serve every single one of those hours starting Tuesday morning.”

  “My decision is final, Ms. Gray,” Roy said.

  “But this job, it’s vital to my career and—”

  “Allow me to toss out a word you used earlier.” The mayor cut off her plea. With an exaggerated shrug, he mimicked Lola’s voice. “Whatever.”

  Chapter 11

  Lola had needed time to think, alone.

  It was the reason she hadn’t spent the night before where she’d really wanted to—in Dylan Cooper’s bed. Instead, she’d come home with his mother, whose seasonal bed-and-breakfast was the closest thing the small town had to a hotel.

  Only Lola hadn’t gotten much thinking done. Weariness from the fiasco of a day, which had only one bright spot, had quickly claimed her, and she’d fallen asleep atop the plush duvet seconds after being shown to her room.

  She awoke in the middle of the night to find her suitcase sitting near the door. A note from Dylan, her bright spot, was stuck to the handle, stating he’d borrowed her keys from her bag to retrieve both the suitcase and her Mustang from the hospital parking lot. The note also mentioned a conversation with his lawyer, who was confident she could get an emergency stay of the mayor’s order over the weekend that would ensure Lola could be at the television studio Monday morning.

  All she had to do was say the word.

  Still too exhausted to consider her options, Lola had pulled her pajamas from the suitcase, changed and crawled back into bed. She’d fallen asleep again immediately. Clutching Dylan’s note in her hand, Lola dreamed of the sensual promises he’d whispered in her ear.

  Hours later, the tantalizing aroma of cinnamon roused Lola from a deep slumber, along with the sounds of male voices coming from the floor below. Very demanding, very familiar voices.

  “Is she here?”

  “She’s upstairs,” she heard Dylan answer. His deep baritone brought to mind the things they’d done in her dreams, and made her wish she were waking up in his bed this morning. “However, Lola’s had a trying time yesterday and needs her rest,” Dylan said.

  “What my sister needs is to bring her troublemaking behind home to Nashville.”

  Cole.

  “Oh, crap.” Lola threw back the covers and bounded out of bed. She snatched her pink robe from the suitcase she’d left open on a chair.

  “Keep your voices down. We’ve already told you she’s sleeping.” Virginia’s annoyed tone carried up the staircase.

  “Then get her up,” Cole ordered. “We’re getting her out of this hick town now.”

  An irate voice that sounded like her brother-in-law’s agreed with Cole. This wasn’t good, Lola thought. Not at all.

  She jammed her arms into the sleeves of her robe as the anger level of the voices coming from downstairs continued to escalate. All but one voice, she noticed. It maintained its resoluteness, while remaining cool and unruffled.

  “How about you two calm down,” Dylan said. “You say you’ve been driving all night. Then have a cup of coffee and enjoy a couple of my mom’s cinnamon rolls while you wait for Lola to get up, because no one is going to disturb her.”

  “I don’t want coffee. I don’t want a cinnamon roll. And I will not calm down,” Cole thundered.

  Forgoing her slippers, Lola ran out of the bedroom and started down the hallway leading to the staircase. A framed photograph on the wall caught her eye, and she stopped short.

  Lola stared at the photo of Dylan dressed in a different police uniform than the one he’d worn yesterday. He stood ramrod straight as a medal was pinned to his broad chest. She lowered her gaze to the ornate certificate mounted in the same frame. It was dated three years ago. Running a fingertip across the glass, she softly read parts of it aloud.

  “Awarded to Detective Dylan Cooper by the Chicago Police Department for distinguished acts of bravery in the protection of life...”

  “Lola!” she heard Cole bellow. “Wake up, and get down here!”

  At the sound of her name echoing throughout the house, Lola bolted down the hallway and took the stairs barefoot, two at a time. She burst into the kitchen to find Cole and Dylan facing off on opposite ends of it, while Virginia and Ethan sat at a large table in the center of the room eating giant cinnamon rolls slathered in cream-cheese icing.

  Dylan caught sight of her first. He placed the coffee mug in his hand on the counter he was leaning against, and an easy smile spread across his mouth. “Morning,” he said. Those brown eyes pinned her with a look that made her wonder if he knew exactly what she’d dreamed he’d done with that very mouth last night.

  Lola flushed down to her bare feet at the thought.

  “It’s about time you got up,” Cole snapped, bringing her out of her reverie. “Get dressed. We’re taking you home.”

  Lola blinked, as her mind first reconciled the fact that Cole and Ethan were in Cooper’s Place, and then that her older brother had started in on her without as much as a hello.

  “What are you two doing here?” She looked from one to the other and then to the clock on the stove. “At six o’clock in the morning? And why are you being so rude to Dylan and Virginia?”

  Cole continued barking orders as if she hadn’t uttered a word. “Ethan will drive your Mustang, and you can ride with me.”

  Her brother-in-law inclined his head in her direction, his mouth stuffed with cinnamon roll.

  Surprise morphed into annoyance as Lola folded her arms across her chest. “I asked what y’all were doing here,” she repeated. “And how did you know I was here, anyway?”

  “I’m here because you got yourself into another damned mess, which means Ethan and I had to drop everything to drive up here to get you out of it.” Cole ground out the words through clenched teeth.

  “But how...”

  Cole pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket. He swiped the small screen and held it up. Lola watched as select video of her in Mayor’s Court played out on the screen. The edited film included snippets of Jeb’s and Officer Wilson’s testimony, then skipped to the sexy kiss she’d shared with Dylan and ended with the mayor sentencing her to community service.

  Before she could ask it, her brother answered the question rolling through her mind.

  “And like most of the cell-phone videos people take of you, ‘Lola Smacks the Law’ is already an overnight sensation.” He checked the screen. “Already over a million views on YouTube, not to mention other social-media sites.”

&
nbsp; “Oh, crap,” Lola groaned. “Anyway, that’s all wrong. I didn’t hurt Officer Wilson. I was only helping—”

  Cole held up a hand. “Save it. I’ve heard it all before. So has our entire family.” As usual, his mind was already made up.

  Ethan reached for another cinnamon roll. “Is that the reason you called yesterday?”

  Lola nodded. “But that part is over. Officer Wilson lied, and no charges were filed against me.”

  Cole grunted. “Do you know how worried Sage, Tia and Dad have been? We’ve all left voice mail messages for you,” he said, then added, “Messages you couldn’t be bothered to answer.”

  “I’m sorry.” Lola genuinely regretted having them worry needlessly. “My phone battery died, and I was so tired when I got here last night I totally forgot to charge it.”

  Then it occurred to her, if she’d missed her family’s calls, had anyone else tried phoning after seeing the amateur video of her in Mayor’s Court? Dread washed over as she thought about her agent. There was a strong possibility there might not be a job waiting on her, after all.

  “It’s always something with you, isn’t it?” Cole glanced at his watch. “Get dressed and get your things together so we can hit the road. Ethan and I have already wasted enough time on your nonsense.”

  Nonsense.

  It was one of the words her brother had used when they’d fired her. Now it rankled her even more.

  “I can’t leave Cooper’s Place. You saw the video. My community service starts Monday morning,” Lola said.

  Cole dismissed her statement with a wave of his hand.

  Ethan wiped icing off his fingertips with a napkin. “I’ve already talked to a lawyer friend here in Ohio. He’s waking up a judge as we speak to get him to sign an emergency stay on the contempt sentence. He’s pretty sure he can get the entire thing tossed out on Monday.”

  Lola looked from her brother to her brother-in-law. She knew they meant well and had her best interest at heart. However, she couldn’t help comparing their actions to Dylan’s.

  They’d come up with a solution to what they thought was a problem and had charged ahead. As usual, they hadn’t bothered discussing it with her. Lola thought about the note Dylan had left on her suitcase. He’d come up with the same approach to attacking her dilemma, only he’d left any decisions to be made up to her.

  The difference was respect.

  Lola looked past her brother to Dylan, who was still leaning against the kitchen counter. He was wearing a different, more casual uniform this morning, khaki shorts and a white polo shirt with the police department’s emblem on the chest pocket. Rock-solid, calm and confident, his quiet presence conveyed more than mere words ever could.

  Their eyes met, confirming her conclusion: Dylan Cooper had her back.

  “So are you going to get packed or do I have to go up there and do it for you?” Cole asked. “I’ve been driving all night, and I’m not in the mood for your ridiculousness this morning.”

  Ridiculousness.

  Lola felt a prick of annoyance at the word, another one they’d used yesterday. With her bare feet rooted to the hardwood floor, she faced her older brother. “I’m not going back to Nashville with you,” she said, and then turned briefly to Ethan. “And call off that lawyer. I’ll handle this my own way.”

  “Don’t try me, Lola,” Cole said.

  The room went silent for a beat, and then she heard Dylan clear his throat from across the room. “Usually, I don’t stick my nose in a conversation between family, but—”

  “Then don’t,” Cole snapped, not bothering to look at him.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Dylan pushed off the counter. Lola watched him walk across the kitchen until he was beside her.

  “Lola isn’t going anywhere she doesn’t want to go.”

  Dylan’s tone wasn’t combative. Neither was his stance, although he towered over her brother and brother-in-law, who each stood well over six feet tall. Everything about him was cool and matter-of-fact.

  Cole looked up at him. “Let’s get something straight, Hoss. This is my baby sister we’re talking about, and I’m not about to let some guy get in the way of my doing what’s best for her.”

  Dylan nodded. “I admire and understand the sentiment. In the short time I’ve known her, I’ve grown to care about your sister, too,” he said. “However, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you on a few points. First of all, Lola’s no baby. She’s an adult who can decide for herself what’s best for her.”

  Cole grunted at the words that made Lola’s chest expand with emotion for a man she’d known a single day. She couldn’t explain it, but Dylan Cooper had managed to touch her heart in a way that made her feel as if he knew her better than anyone did.

  Still, her brother wasn’t having it. He chuckled, a humorless sound that reeked of sarcasm, and then glared at Dylan. “You claim to care about my sister, and you let her go through with that kangaroo court hearing last night.”

  “I didn’t like it any more than you did. In fact, I advised Lola against going through with it.”

  Virginia topped off her and Ethan’s coffee mugs. “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  Cole kept his focus on Dylan. “Then why didn’t you stop her, man?”

  “Lola weighed her options and made up her own mind. It wasn’t my place to stop her,” Dylan said. “Only be there to support her decision.”

  “Even if the decisions she makes are dumb as hell?”

  “Yes.” Dylan’s reply was directed to Cole, but his eyes shifted to her. “Even then.”

  Lola stared at him in shock. Had she really passed up a night in this man’s bed?

  The thought made her want to kick her own behind. In this particular case, her brother might have been right. Her decision not to go home with Dylan and experience those naughty things he’d whispered in her ear last night was indeed dumb as hell.

  Cinnamon roll in hand, Ethan nudged Cole with his elbow. “Spoken like a man who’s got his nose wide open by a pretty face and is willing to be led around by it,” her brother-in-law said.

  Cole grunted in agreement.

  Dylan shrugged, not bothered by the comment. “There’s no denying or ignoring Lola’s beauty,” he said. “However, anyone who’s been lucky enough to see beyond her looks would also know she’s wild, strong, independent and a little unpredictable. She’s also one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever met, even when it’s not easy.” He smiled down at her. “Lola dives headfirst into life, and no matter how many knocks she takes along the way, her spirit is indestructible.”

  Wow. Lola stared up at him. Just wow.

  Dylan Cooper didn’t talk much. Nor did he toss around words casually. Lola wasn’t certain what the ones he’d just spoken had melted faster—her heart or her panties. But she was pretty sure the latter would hit the floor the moment she had the man standing beside her alone.

  Her brother, however, wasn’t moved.

  Cole threw his head back and laughed as if Dylan had told him the funniest joke he’d heard in years. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, his tone grew serious. “Unlike my baby sister, who hasn’t stopped making goo-goo eyes at you ever since she walked into this kitchen, I’m not fooled so easily,” he said. “You expect us to believe you gleaned these things about her after knowing her, what?” he scoffed. “One day?”

  Leave it to Cole to throw an ice bucket of logic in her face. Or maybe this time she really was being ridiculous. No way could she be falling for Dylan this fast or this hard. Could she?

  But logic once again flew out the window the moment Dylan reached for her hand. Lola couldn’t explain it or even describe it; all she knew was, like the last pieces on a jigsaw puzzle, they fit, and what she felt was real.

  “On
e day,” Dylan confirmed. “A day from hell for your sister.” He paused and really looked at her, and Lola knew those brown eyes she’d thought of as merely sexy yesterday could see into her very soul. “The kind of pressure she withstood yesterday reveals true character. The sheer frustration of it would have broken most people, but not Lola. Instead of being crushed, she sparkled like a diamond.”

  Cole, Ethan and Virginia looked on slack-jawed as he continued, and Lola found herself picking her chin off her chest, too.

  “I wouldn’t do a thing to try to temper or change her,” Dylan said. “I want to hold her down—not hold her back.”

  Quiet fell over the kitchen. The man who didn’t waste words had left them all scrambling to find theirs. For once, not even Cole had a retort.

  “Well, damn,” Virginia murmured, finally breaking the silence.

  Cole looked at Lola, opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, and then closed it. When he opened it again, a long sigh escaped. “I guess you’ll be okay here,” he grumbled reluctantly. Then he turned to Dylan. “But if any harm comes to her while she’s in this hick town, you being the police chief won’t stop me and my brother-in-law from coming back here to kick your big, muscle-bound ass.”

  An hour, a second pot of coffee and a dozen cinnamon rolls later, Lola stood on the front porch of Virginia’s house waving goodbye to her family. Both her brother and brother-in-law were eager to get back to Nashville and their wives, but vowed to return with Sage and Tia in tow if they got wind of any more trouble.

  “What did you go and threaten him for?” Lola heard Ethan ask her brother as they got into Cole’s black Dodge Challenger. “The two of us couldn’t take that guy. Did you see that size of him?” Ethan emitted a low whistle. “That Dylan Cooper is one big...”

  The car doors slammed shut, drowning out the rest of her brother-in-law’s admonishment.

  Lola continued to wave as the black muscle car roared down the street.

  “I noticed you didn’t mention the television gig to them,” Dylan said.

  Lola shrugged. “Even if I manage to get this community service delayed and make it to New York in time, I’m not sure that job is waiting on me anymore, especially with that Mayor’s Court fiasco all over the web.”