Her Lawman Protector

by Patricia Johns

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “I get it.”

  “Anyway, I’ve dreamed of owning a bookstore for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I used to make books of my own with paper folded in half and a stapler. Then I’d set them up for my own bookstore.”

  “So why do it now?”

  “Because I needed something for me,” she said. “I’ve been cut loose, and I need something that reminds me of...me.”

  Her connection to the place did seem genuine. Jack’s gaze moved to the kitchen windowsill, where a collection of books sat between two bookends. They didn’t look like cookbooks, either.

  Liv followed his gaze.

  “Just some kitchen reading,” she said.

  “Kitchen reading.” He chuckled. “Like what?”

  “A few classics—some Charles Dickens, some Shakespeare, a book on chess strategy.”

  “Yeah?” He raised his eyebrows.

  “I’ve always liked Dickens. While I wait for pots to boil, I reread some of my favorite parts.”

  “I was more interested in the chess strategy,” he replied.

  “Oh, that.” She rose and went to the windowsill, plucking out the volume and handing it over to him. “Evan used to play chess, but I stopped playing with him after a couple years of marriage.”

  “Why?” Jack flipped through the book—it was thick and looked very involved.

  “He’s a bad loser.” She shrugged. “He’s also a cocky winner. It wasn’t good for our relationship either way.”

  “So why the interest in chess now?” He clapped the book shut. “If it were me, I’d hate the game, just for bad associations.”

  “I don’t know.” A small smile came to her lips. “A girl likes to know she could win, if she were pressed.”

  Was she being pressed? That was the question. Did her ex-husband have her in a corner, or did she wield more power than he thought? She was a woman who reread the classics while she cooked and used her spare minutes to learn chess moves. She was daunting.

  “How good are you at chess?” Jack asked.

  “Better than I look.” She met his eye with a cool smile. “And better than Evan thinks.”

  “So you play for spite?” he asked.

  “No, I play to win.” She shrugged. “There’s something about a well-performed strategy that leaves your opponent in the corner. No moves left. Only then realizing what you’ve done to him.”

  That was ominous, and it reminded him a little too closely of the people who had been pressured into selling their family homes...they would have realized too late, too.

  “It’s getting late,” Liv said after a moment. “I should really get ready for bed.”

  “Sure. You don’t need to entertain me. I’m here on a job.”

  Liv rose and glanced around. She seemed to spot the slip on the radiator, because she hurried across the room and snatched it up. When she looked back at him, she looked embarrassed.

  “Sorry about that,” she said.

  “It’s your home,” he replied. “Don’t apologize for anything. I’m not a guest here, Liv.”

  She tucked the slip under her arm and headed for a cupboard. She pulled out some sheets, a blanket and a pillowcase.

  “I don’t have any more bed pillows,” she said. “But we could cover a throw pillow with this pillow case, and you should be comfortable. I think.” She grimaced. “No one visits me.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  Liv licked her lips. “I normally take my shower at night. If you wanted yours first—”

  “Liv.” His voice came out as more of a bark than he’d intended, and he softened his tone. “I’m not a guest. Do what you would normally do, okay? I’m fine.”

  She pulled a hand through her auburn waves. “Okay. If you insist.”

  She disappeared into the bathroom, and a few moments later the water came on with a rattle. Jack distracted himself by making up his bed on the sofa. He made his bed at home with military precision, and he did his best to replicate that job here. The sofa was too short, but he’d make do. He noticed that even the sheets had that soft, floral scent about them.

  It was all very diverting from the case that he’d rather be thinking over, as was the sound of the shower through the shut bathroom door. He was a man, after all, and Liv was a very beautiful woman. Her divorce hadn’t dampened any of her natural spunk, and he wished it had. If she were a little less radiant, maybe he could focus better on the work at hand.

  Instead, as he spread the blanket on top of the sheet, he was remembering what it felt like to pull her close for the camera. She felt just as good in his arms as he’d imagined back before he’d realized she was tied up in Evan’s mess.

  The water in the bathroom turned off, and Jack glanced around the living room, his gaze moving over a bookshelf, an ottoman that had a hinged lid for storage and her closed bedroom door. If she had something to hide, where would it be?

  The bathroom door opened, and Liv came out with a billow of steam. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel, and the rest of her ample curves were draped in a white terry cloth robe that she held shut with one hand at her throat.

  “Done,” she said, shooting him a smile.

  She looked different in her robe—her face clean of makeup and her eyes all the more entrancing without the liner and mascara. She looked younger this way, softer. She was barefoot, and he noted that her toenails were painted hot pink. And he liked it.

  “The towels are on the rack in the bathroom,” she said, heading toward her bedroom and opening the door. “If you’re hungry, feel free to raid the fridge. You’re guarding my life—it’s the least I can offer.”

  Her lips turned up in a smile and she slipped into her room, then turned back. “Good night, Jack.”

  His name on her lips sounded sweet, and he gave her a curt nod because it was all he trusted himself to do. He wasn’t faking to be her boyfriend here in her apartment. Here, he was a cop, and he needed to remind himself of that. Her big, dewy eyes, her lips, the milky whiteness of her skin—none of that was his business here. And for all he knew, she was working it to keep him distracted.

  The bedroom door closed with a decisive click and Jack let out a pent-up breath. He was hoping he could sleep at all.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  MOUNTAIN COFFEE CO. was relatively empty. Liv sat by a window, listening to the hiss of the milk steamer in the background while she waited for her cousin. Outside the window, she watched as a pickup truck stopped at the four-way stop, then eased forward again. She couldn’t see the snowcapped peaks in the distance from where she sat. The real view in this town had to be enjoyed from outside, standing on the street and looking up. The Rocky Mountains were awe-inspiring, and even though she had grown up in this town, they hadn’t lost their grandeur in her eyes.

  The outside door opened, and Liv waved as Tanya came in. Tanya waved back and headed to the counter to give her order, then she came to the table and sank into the chair opposite Liv. Her chestnut hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and it swung forward as she leaned over to give Liv a quick hug.

  “Hey,” Tanya said with a grin. “It’s been too long since we’ve had a cousin catch-up.”

  “I know.” Liv took a sip of her chai tea. “You look great, by the way.”

  “You look great,” Tanya retorted. “Look at you—all glowing. I love your dress.”

  Liv was on a vintage dress kick lately. This morning she wore a gray woolen dress with an A-line skirt and an asymmetrical neckline that drew the eye toward her curves, and she’d paired it with a sleek red lipstick.

  “Thanks. It’s new.” Liv smiled back. “So what happened after I left the barbecue?”

  “What you’d expect,” Tanya replied with a shrug. “Wild gossip and conjecture.”

  Liv chuckled. “I like it.”

  �
��You would,” Tanya retorted drily.

  “Hazelnut latte,” the girl at the counter called, and Tanya got up to retrieve her drink.

  Liv had left Jack at the apartment that morning. She didn’t need protection from a girl talk with Tanya, and she didn’t want someone else listening in on them, either. Jack had grudgingly agreed to stay back and take a look around “the perimeter of the store,” as he put it. She had to admit, she felt safer with Jack close by, but the timing was terrible.

  “Have you talked to Evan recently?” Tanya asked as she slid back into her seat.

  “No, why?” Liv took a sip of her tea, leaving a red lip print on the rim of the cup.

  “There’s trouble in paradise.”

  Liv considered her cousin for a moment, then put her cup down in front of her. “How do you know?”

  “I’ve kept up with Evan a little bit.” She dropped her gaze for a moment.

  “And you never told me?” Liv demanded. “You’ve been chummy with my ex-husband? Seriously?”

  “You’ve kept a few of your own secrets!” her cousin shot back, and Liv bit her tongue. The truth was, until now, she hadn’t kept any.

  “And he told you that he’s having problems with Serena,” Liv clarified.

  “Yes.” Tanya shrugged. “Serena is a whole lot different as wife than she was as girlfriend.”

  “Aren’t we all?” Liv said drily. “So what’s she doing?”

  “She doesn’t understand him. She’s getting more demanding. She wants a baby.”

  Liv tried to tamp down the bitterness rising up inside her. She’d wanted a baby, too, and Evan had never caved. He was all about work—and apparently, all about maintaining an affair with another woman. Serena had won that battle and walked away with Evan. It was grudgingly satisfying to know that Serena, with her tight little body and a seven-minute mile, wasn’t keeping Evan satisfied, either.

  “And Evan is telling you all about it?” Liv squinted at her cousin. “Since when?”

  “He was part of the family for ten years,” Tanya said with a sigh. “But he’s not happy, Liv.”

  “Good.” Evan didn’t deserve a second chance at relationship happiness. He’d cheated on her, dumped her and then married another woman. It was a step in the right direction if he recognized that new did not equal better. He’d had a gem of a wife in Liv—she was well read, smart and widely considered to be hilarious by her friends. She dressed for her figure, kept her legs shaved and maintained a good relationship with her in-laws. She’d been there for Evan, listening to him, supporting him when his mother passed away and when the IRS came after him for back taxes. And if a loyal wife like Liv wasn’t good enough for Evan, then she hoped the home-wrecking Serena henpecked him to death. He had it coming.

  “I thought he might be talking to you about it, too.” Tanya kept her eyes on her cup.

  “I haven’t talked to him in a couple of weeks, and when I did, he was asking for jewelry back.”

  “Jewelry?” Tanya’s eyes widened.

  “A brooch. For his new wife.” She sighed. “It’s not terribly exciting, and I didn’t have it. So, no, I’m not chatting with him. I’m free of him, for the most part.”

  He did owe her something still—but she wasn’t even sure she could hold him to his obligations. Maybe she should cut her losses, and he could go off into the sunset with his baby-frenzied bride.

  “And you’ve moved on with Jack,” her cousin pointed out.

  “Yes, I have.” Or that was the way it currently appeared, and Liv was perfectly happy to let her family believe it. Still, looking into her cousin’s face, she felt a twinge of guilt.

  “How serious is this?” Tanya asked. “Jack seems like a great guy. He’s clearly smitten.”

  “It’s not serious. At all. He’s a nice guy, but I’m not about to get myself locked into anything.”

  “Why not?” Tanya asked. “He’s cute!”

  “He’s a cop,” she retorted drily. “I have a few hang-ups when it comes to the police force. They do the whole band-of-brothers thing. If you aren’t a cop, they don’t let you in. And I’m tired of coming second to a job.”

  “And Jack is the same?”

  Liv shrugged. “They’re all the same, Tanya.”

  “Too bad. You looked so happy with him,” her cousin replied. “So you’re going to dump him?”

  “No, I—” Liv winced. “How much do you talk to Evan?”

  “I hardly talk to him at all,” Tanya protested. “We catch up from time to time. That’s all.”

  Liv sighed. “Because I don’t want my personal business getting back to my ex-husband.”

  “My lips are sealed,” Tanya replied. “You know that! Come on. I’m on your side in this.”

  And who did Liv have in her life, if she couldn’t trust her own cousin?

  “I’m going to tell you something, and I need you to keep it between us,” Liv said. When her cousin nodded, she went on, “Jack isn’t my boyfriend.”

  “What?” Tanya’s brow furrowed.

  “I hate lying to you, Tanya, and I really need you to keep this a secret.”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ve been getting threatening notes and packages at the store, and when I called the police, they took it seriously. Really seriously.”

  “So...who is Jack?” her cousin asked.

  “He’s a police officer. He’s posing as my boyfriend to avoid notice, but he’s...looking into it.”

  “Are you in danger?” Tanya lowered her voice and frowned.

  “The police are treating it that way,” Liv replied. “But Jack is staying with me until he can sort out who’s been threatening me and put a stop to it.”

  Tanya let out a rush of breath. “Wow.”

  Liv raised her eyebrows and lifted her cup of tea to her lips again. “And the timing is terrible.”

  “I don’t suppose the timing for being stalked is ever great,” her cousin replied.

  Liv took a sip and smiled. “Maybe not. But I was just settling in, you know? Getting comfortable after the divorce, feeling more like myself. And Jack is...” She cast about for the right word.

  “Hot?” Tanya raised an eyebrow.

  “Very, very male,” Liv qualified with a small smile. “He’s such a guy. All muscles and determination. And no, there isn’t any romantic possibility between us. He’s strictly professional.”

  “He wasn’t professional at all at Aunt Marie’s,” her cousin countered.

  “Apparently, he’s also a good actor,” she replied. “It’s hard sharing a one-bedroom apartment with a man. It’s...very close.”

  “I’ll bet,” Tanya said with a grin. “You never know what might develop. Protected by a cute cop...woman in distress...”

  “I’m hardly in distress.”

  “You called the cops, didn’t you?”

  Fine, she was scared, but she wasn’t about to cave in and hand her life over to a man she hardly knew, either. Liv leaned her elbows on the table. “I’m finally comfortable on my own. I’m opening my own bookstore... I’m me again, you know? And having Jack around is just...distracting.”

  “Yeah... I could see that.”

  Liv glanced out the window, watching the shade flutter across the sidewalk in the sunlight. “He knew Evan.”

  “Jack did?” Tanya grimaced.

  “They worked together in the Denver PD. He was at Evan’s wedding to Officer Hot Pants.” Liv shook her head. “You know what Evan put me through, and I’m so ready to just put him in the past. I’m glad he never agreed to have a baby with me, because if he had, we’d still be linked as co-parents. But as it is, I’m free! Divorced and done.”

  “Are he and Evan friends?” Tanya turned her cup in a slow circle on the tabletop.

  “No. Acquaintances. Or so Jack claims.”r />
  “You think there’s more to it—”

  “Maybe there isn’t,” Liv said. “I don’t want to be paranoid, but I hate coincidences.”

  “You should have been a cop, too.” Tanya chuckled. “It’s all that chess strategizing. You see traps where there aren’t any.”

  “I’ll feel better when Evan is well and truly behind me. That’s all.”

  “And when all good-looking officers are out of your home?” Tanya asked with a low laugh.

  “Yes! You might think that sounds dumb, but I’m done with dating cops. So done. Besides, any man who can lie as convincingly as Jack did at that barbecue—I can’t trust that kind of guy.”

  Tanya smiled ruefully.

  “And I need you to lock this all away,” Liv said, catching her cousin’s eye and holding it. “The truth is, someone is threatening me, and the police feel that this is the best route to catch whoever is doing it. But everyone needs to believe that I’m dating Jack and that he’s nothing more than a boyfriend.”

  “Okay.” Tanya sobered. “You can trust me, Liv. I’ve had your back since kindergarten.”

  Liv pulled her hair away from her face. “Thanks. It didn’t feel right to leave you in the dark.”

  She had to trust someone. Evan had broken her trust, and someone out there was trying to chase her out of town, but Liv wasn’t going to allow that to undo her most treasured relationships.

  The quicker Jack got to the bottom of all this, the quicker Liv could get back to normal. She had a whole life away from her ex-husband, and she was looking forward to getting back to it.

  * * *

  JACK SAT ON the couch, a photo album open in his lap. He flicked through a few pages, scanning the faces. As it turned out, the ottoman had been filled with photo albums, and he’d already thumbed through most of them. He was getting a feel for Liv—her past, her friendships, her tastes.