Hugh's Chase

by Rhonda Lee Carver

  Adira had a feeling she knew exactly what Carol referred to. All the Jericho cowboys were handsome, certainly, but there was something about Hugh, maybe the look in his eye, that Adira understood all too well. The first time she’d met him was after he’d punched Urban for getting married to Presley Dean. Adira didn’t know much about the story, just bits and pieces, but it had been a memorable first meeting.

  She’d observed how loving the Jericho cowboys were to their wives and believed some women had all the luck. Adira…not so much. Not that she was looking. The last thing she needed was to be stuck in Colton, anywhere for that matter, for too long. Getting the next thirty days over while staying detached shouldn’t be a problem.

  “He’s a great guy. He’s committed to making change in this town. Lord knows, we could use the change.”

  “Can you tell me a little more about him? I’m afraid we might have gotten off on the wrong foot.”

  “No worries. There’s always time to get back on the right foot. He’s a fair man, always looking for the good in people. Stubborn as a mule and resilient. He loves chocolate, and every morning he stops over at Lanie’s for her freshy baked cinnamon rolls and a strong large coffee. He doesn’t like the coffee I make at the station. He’s always smiling when he comes through the door. He’s as solid as a boulder. You have any issues, he’ll listen. All the Jericho men are good stock.”

  “You seem to know Hugh and his brothers pretty well.”

  “This town’s only so big. We all know each other’s business. And you should know enough. After all, you documented the cowboys.”

  Adira shrugged. “I did, but Hugh kept his distance. The interview I did with him lasted five minutes and he was very vague in his answers.”

  “It might take more than five minutes to find the lock to his door. Took me five years before my ex asked me to marry him. Too bad it took me less time to realize we’re better off as friends.” She waved a hand through the air. “Oh, well. Old news.”

  “I’ll help with the dishes.” Adira stood.

  Carol shook her head. “Oh no you won’t, at least not tonight. You’re a guest.”

  “Okay. Thank you again. I should be heading to bed. Looks like I have an early morning.”

  “You and me both, dear. Six sharp.”

  “That’s right. We’ll both be heading to the same place. Can I catch a lift with you?”

  “Sure thing. If you need anything, just give me a holler.”

  Chapter 4

  Hugh thought he was prepared to keep his distance and be professional regarding Adira, but when he stepped into the station and found her on her hands and knees on the floor, he wasn’t so sure he’d thought things through carefully. The tight jeans cupped her bottom and she gave a little wiggle as she crouched lower to look under the bookcase. His dirty mind worked overtime.

  The sound of someone clearing their throat brought Hugh’s chin around. Carol was sitting at her desk, smiling. He shrugged.

  Attention back on Adira, she now had one leg stretched out in what looked like a yoga pose. The thought didn’t help the ache behind his zipper. In fact, he almost crushed his full paper cup. Throwing it away, he crossed his arms and counted to ten. “Can I help you find something, ma’am?” Although he needed to help himself by going into the restroom and splashing his face with cold water, maybe even dunk his head in a sink full of water, he stayed put. An ice-cold shower wouldn’t take away the nagging need burrowed in his gut that had manifested itself due to the pretty brunette who jumped up from the floor, a delicate shade of pink coloring her high cheekbones. He felt like someone had whacked him with a board as he hungrily lowered his gaze up and down her exquisite curves. His heart rate kicked up and his blood pressure would have made the doctor prescribe him a high dose of meds. Acknowledgment burst through his body like a blast of stifling air.

  Lordy!

  Her eyes looked amazingly blue in contrast with the bright yellow of her shirt. Her plump lips looked even more delectable covered in a pale lip gloss. He almost forgot that he had asked her a question until she answered.

  “I lost an earring.” She brought her hand up to touch her ear lobe, which gave him an opportunity to move his attention along her smooth cheek, jaw, and neck. She was breathtaking, no doubt, and he was out of line. He was expected to abide by a higher set of rules and morals, and being sexually attracted to someone who broke the law wouldn’t be a good way to start his career as Sheriff.

  “I’ll help you look. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”

  “Thank you. It’s a cheapie, but it means something to me.” She turned back to scanning the floor and he had gone back to enjoying the view of her. He had to grit his teeth against the wave of desire. Her legs weren’t long considering she wasn’t very tall, but long enough to wrap around his ass and…

  Shit! He was heading down a dead-end road. Maybe he should have come up with an excuse to stay out of the office today?

  She swiveled on her heels. “No luck yet?”

  “Huh?”

  “Finding the earring.” She smiled and his world lit up.

  “N-no luck yet.” Damn, if he wasn’t careful she’d catch on to his train of thought. That wouldn’t be good. In fact, she might try her fist out on his jaw too. Tearing his gaze off the beauty, he examined the floor. “What were you doing when you noticed you had lost it.”

  She tapped her chin in thought and he noticed her slender fingers, short, clean nails, and a simple thin band on the fourth finger of her right hand. “Let’s see…I was bent over shelving books for Carol.”

  ‘Bent over’ never sounded better and his hands itched to grab her and draw her close.

  Realizing he was about to embarrass himself, he pulled himself together. “Here, let’s use my flashlight.” He pulled the light from his belt and switched it on.

  They both sunk to the floor searching. He had his head lowered giving his best effort on helping and didn’t realize how close he was to her. So, when he lifted his head and realized his face was within inches of her booty, he growled. She looked back at him, her cheeks turning a shade of pink he’d never seen before. “Sorry,” he mumbled. Best if he searched the other side of the room.

  The light reflected off something shiny along the wall and he picked up the tiny stud. “Found it.”

  “You found it!” She came up so quickly, she hit her head on the water fountain.

  “Oh, shit. You okay?”

  She held her head. “I’ll live.”

  “Let me look.” He dropped the earring in his front pocket and examined her forehead. He could see faint bruising at her hairline.

  “I’ll grab ice,” Carol said.

  Hugh helped Adira up and led her into his office. “Take a seat on the sofa.”

  “This isn’t necessary. I barely bumped my head.”

  “You’re under my care. I can’t have you getting hurt, not even a paper cut.”

  Carol brought the ice and handed it over, then he sat down next to Adira.

  “You must think I’m a klutz.” She looked up at him through thick lashes.

  “I was just thinking I made you nervous. The uniform and gun can have that affect sometimes.” He laughed. Grabbing the earring from his pocket, he held it in his palm. Her smile could have won wars. She reached for the earring and their fingers brushed, causing an electrical jolt to shimmy up his arm and settle into his chest. The last time he’d been moved liked this by a woman had been…well, he couldn’t remember when, if ever. “You take the earring and I’ll hold the ice pack. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  As she busied herself with putting her earring back in, he held the ice against her head. It didn’t take her long, unfortunately, and he had no excuse but to pass the pack back to her and get up from the couch. Probably best because he needed some space and fast. But he wasn’t going to get any. Adira stood and instead of leaving his office, she followed him over to the desk. He flipped on the screen to his computer, inten
tionally not looking at her. He wasn’t sure how much his jeans would expose his feelings.

  She picked up his stress ball and squeezed it several times before throwing it up into the air and catching it. Against better judgement, he watched how her tongue came out to lick her bottom lip as if she had complete attention on the ball. He wondered how much attention she’d give to other activities with balls.

  He gave his head a frustrated shake and sat down in the black leather chair, forgetting that it was a piece of shit and was poked by a spring. He jerked, but managed to keep himself under control.

  Adira put the ball back, grabbed a pen from the holder and clicked it twice.

  “Do you always have to touch everything?” he muttered, realizing the tension in his voice exposed his irritation, not as much with her as he was with himself. He didn’t want to act like a fool every time he was around her.

  “Not everything. I haven’t touched you, have I?” One thin brow popped up.

  Damn! “That’s true.” He turned his attention to his email messages, not seeing a single message.

  She plopped down into the chair across from his desk and tucked one leg up under her bottom.

  Realizing she wasn’t going anywhere, he swiveled his chair to face her. “Yes?”

  “Well, I’m waiting.”

  “For what?”

  “You to tell me what we’re doing today.”

  He blinked. “We are not doing anything. I am busy…especially right now.”

  “Have you forgotten my sentence? I’m supposed to shadow you.”

  Blowing out a long breath, he leaned back and steepled his fingers, looking at her over the tips. “I’m sure Deputy LaGatta has plenty for you to do.”

  “Nope. She told me to ask you.”

  Hugh needed to find something for her to do before she drove him crazy. “What I’m doing requires only one person…me. You could explore the town.”

  Her bottom lip protruded ever so slightly. “I’m not going to risk having Judge Marley sentence me to time in jail because I’m not here doing exactly what he told me to do.”

  “Is this punishment? I wasn’t the one who sentenced you.”

  She shrugged. “No, but you were the one that suggested that I should do my time because no one gets by with fighting a man like Marshall Reed.”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “Close to it.”

  “Well, it wasn’t what I meant. I—”

  “You what?”

  “Nothing.” He pushed his fingers through his hair, lowering his eyes to his planner laying open on his desk. When she stayed quiet, he looked up at her and she was nibbling her bottom lip. His mouth salivated, wanting a nibble too, and his body warmed as if someone had brought the sun into his office. He shifted, trying to ease the dire constraints behind his zipper. Why was his body overreacting? Whatever was going on, he needed to fix it right quick. “This isn’t a big city. You could be waiting a while before you’re busy.”

  “Then we’ll just sit here staring at each other all day.” She smiled and his world tilted. He couldn’t seem to drag his attention off the silky plumpness of her mouth. When she let out a delicate sigh, he jerked.

  “I said you would be waiting a long time to get busy. When it comes to me, I have lots of business to take care of.” He stood again, needing to do something to ease the ache in his groin. “I have places to be.”

  “Okay. Let me go grab my purse.” She turned and he caught her before she made the threshold.

  “Hold it there. I thought I made it clear when I said “I”, not “we’.”

  She turned, catching him with an unhappy expression. “Why can’t I go?” He traced the smooth curves of her cheeks and brought his gaze back to her spellbinding blue eyes that were huge and surrounded by smudgy dark lashes. He wondered if she did something to make her eyes appear like she’d just awoken—or had been passionately made love to. Whatever, he could barely take his gaze off hers.

  Knowing she expected him to say something, he forced his brain to engage. “No.” That was the only thing he could push through his lips.

  She blinked. “No what?”

  “You can’t go.” He wanted to be close to her and that was exactly why he couldn’t be.

  “Again, why?”

  “Because I said so.”

  “Great excuse. And it isn’t reasonable.”

  Time slowed down to a crawl. He searched his brain for a good reason she should stay back, but nothing came to him. She was right, he wasn’t being fair. The Judge had sentenced her to shadow him and Hugh, affected by a bug apparently, wasn’t thinking clearly. Blowing out a long breath, he rubbed his forehead. “Fine, but there are rules involved.”

  “Sure. I can follow rules.” Her smile was back.

  “Why do I get the feeling that’s not entirely true, but that’s another story. One, you have to listen to what I tell you. If I say move, you move. If I say stay, you stay. Your safety is in my hands. Two, you have to keep out of my way.”

  “Hey, do you think you should deputize me?” She wagged her brows.

  “Not in this lifetime.” He stepped into the outer room, poured himself a cup of coffee and hoped sometime this morning he’d be able to drink it.

  ~~~~~

  Adira shouldn’t have made such a big deal about accompanying Hugh because he only seemed more irritated, and she’d hoped to get on his good side. Yet, if she hadn’t been forceful she would be sitting back at the station and she might as well be stuck in a cell if she didn’t stay busy. Sitting still meant too much time on her hands.

  She followed him across the parking lot, enjoying the view of his broad shoulders in the uniform shirt, wondering what he looked like under the cotton. She bet his chest was magnificent, sculpted and a rigid valley of muscular dips. Did he have smooth skin, bare? Or sexily furry? Either way, she wouldn’t mind.

  He stopped and, because she was in deep admiration, she didn’t put the brakes on fast enough. She bumped into him and the collision could be compared to a kitten hitting a tree. Adira bounced backward, but he was quick and grabbed her arm, holding her steady.

  “Rule two broken already. Stay out of my way,” he muttered.

  Lifting her chin, their gazes clashed. Desire flooded her senses and she felt the jarring reaction to his touch all the way into her pinkest parts. He was a lethal man, charged with masculinity as she’d never seen before.

  Hugh slid his hand down her forearm, slowly, until their palms met and his fingers lightly touched her wrist, right where her pulse pounded heavy like a beating drum. A gasp breached her closed lips and, if to turn her inside out even more, his forefinger caressed the sensitive skin. Adira leaned toward him as if she were attached to puppet strings, and she almost touched him. Being so close made her nipples swell and press against her thin bra. There was an indescribable pull between her breasts and the apex of her thighs, and she couldn’t fight the feeling—didn’t want to fight it. She could have sworn she read desire in the persuasive blue depths of his eyes, but before she could examine it closer, they were interrupted.

  “Sheriff Jericho?” Carol called from the doorway. “Maggie called again. She has another problem.” There was an obvious annoyance in her voice.

  Adira darted back so fast she felt herself sway.

  “Did she say what she needed?” he asked.

  “No, but she’s called twice already this morning and three times yesterday. What should I say if she calls again?”

  Adira grasped only a part of the conversation. Because she was still encompassed in the gravitational pull of almost kissing him, she wasn’t sure if she was allowing jealousy to take shape or her brain was simply woozy from checking him out.

  “Tell her I’ll be out as soon as I take care of another situation.” He didn’t take his gaze from Adira which made breaking away very difficult.

  “If you need me to stay so you can visit this Maggie—”

  He grinned. “The rules are c
lear, right? I can’t have you getting hurt.”

  His words seemed to bleed into her bones and cause havoc. It was his job to be protective, but when he said those words directly to her, it seemed she was special. And she was losing her mind. Sure, she was attracted to him in a huge way, and she could silently lust over him until the cows came home, as long as she didn’t allow things to become physical. Not only would she be leaving in thirty days—twenty-nine actually—she didn’t want to get caught up in a mess. Anything to do with a sexy lawman would be considered messy. “Loud and clear.”

  “Let’s go,” he barked.

  “Thank you for letting me come along. I’d go crazy sitting in there all day,” she said from the passenger’s seat.

  He didn’t respond, which told her he wasn’t in the mood for discussion. So, she stared out her window and watched the scenery pass in a blur. When they finally stopped at a rundown farm that looked abandoned, she watched him turn off the engine. “You ready?” he asked.

  “Where are we and what are we doing?” She unhooked her seatbelt.

  “We’re making a welfare check.” He slid out and she hurried to get out too. By the time she caught up to him he was to the porch of the house. “Watch your step. Boards are loose and some are missing.” He pressed his hand against the small of her back and fireworks went off in her belly.

  Adira barely had her breath under control when he tapped on the door, knocking off more of the peeling white paint in the process. The front window rattled. They heard a muffled thumping from inside.

  Hugh knocked again. Another thud. Then the door came open a few inches. Through the crack, pretty green eyes stared at him. “Morning, Sandra.” He touched the brim of his hat in greeting.

  “Joe isn’t here.”

  “I came to speak to you. Do you have a moment?”

  Sandra’s suspicious gaze focused on Adira. “Who’s she?”

  Hugh hesitated, giving Adira the chance to take a small step forward. “Hi, Sandra. I’m Adira Miles. I’m shadowing Sheriff Jericho for the month.”

  “Ain’t you that woman filming Urban?”

  “Yes, I was, but we’re no longer filming.”