Hot Summer Nights

by Jaci Burton

“Okay, clearly someone doesn’t have a sense of humor today,” she said under her breath as she slid into the front passenger seat.

  He said nothing. He simply waited until she got into the car and buckled up, then he started the engine and turned onto the highway.

  Silence reigned for a few minutes. Then, she glanced over at him. “Are you going to talk to me at all?”

  He bit down the sigh that threatened to escape. “What is there to say?”

  “I don’t know,” she began. “How about a ‘I’m really mad at you, Luanne. You can’t keep pulling this shit.’ And then I’ll say something like, ‘You’re not my dad, and I’m allowed to do what I want.’ And then we’ll argue for a bit longer and then fall into this backseat and make love like two wild and crazy people.”

  “I’m not your father,” he agreed as he exited the highway, heading for Bluebonnet. Almost home. “And it’s clear that I can’t stop you unless you do something illegal. Which means that I’ll probably have to choose between you and my job.”

  “No, you don’t—”

  “Yes, I do. I’m a police officer, Luanne. How do you think it would look if I sat back and let my girlfriend do all kinds of illicit activities and then post them online for the world to see? What do you think that would do to my job?”

  “Crop circles aren’t against the law—”

  “No? That field belongs to a farmer who depends on those crops for a living. From what I hear, you went in and trampled almost a quarter of an acre. That’s money that comes out of his pocket. That’s money that you’re taking out of his kids’ mouths. That’s trespassing, Luanne. That’s trespassing and willful destruction of another person’s property. I don’t know about where you come from, but it’s illegal here. You’re lucky he didn’t press charges. At the very least, you owe him an apology.”

  She was silent. She was silent for so long that he finally glanced over at her. Her mouth was set into a mulish line, and glitter streaked from the corners of her eyes.

  “But I guess it’s different when you don’t know the people, right? I guess it’s different when it’s just funny stunts for your blog.” His tone was biting and cold as he pulled the car down the long driveway to the Peppermint House and parked.

  “You don’t understand, Hank. This is how I make a living. It’s not because it’s fun for me. It’s just something I do. And the wilder the stunt, the easier it is for me to pay the bills.”

  “You’re right, Luanne. I don’t understand. It’s how you make a living. But doing illegal things isn’t the right way to make a living.”

  “Not everything I do is against the law.” Her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive position. “You make it sound like I’m a bad person. Some sort of dangerous criminal. I’m just a video blogger.”

  “I don’t think you’re a bad person,” he said quietly. “I just don’t think you’re thinking of anyone but yourself.”

  A small laugh escaped her and she gave him a sideways glance. “Who else should I be thinking about?”

  “Me.”

  The look she gave him was incredulous. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I’m a police officer, Luanne. This is a small town. What you do reflects on me.” When she shook her head, he continued. “I can’t have you doing stunts around here and not do anything about it. It means that if I know about it, I have to arrest you. So it’s better that I don’t know about it.” He paused, and then continued. “And it’s best if we say good-bye here.”

  “Good-bye?” She seemed shocked. “You’re breaking up with me over a stupid crop circle?”

  “No. I like you, Luanne. Really, really like you. You’re the perfect woman for me in all ways…except one. Our jobs just aren’t compatible. And if we’re together, one of us has to give up their job. I can’t ask you to give up yours, and you can’t ask me to give up mine, so it’s best we go our separate ways.”

  She stared at him.

  “I’m sorry, Luanne.”

  “I’m sorry, too,” she said furiously, shoving the door open and pushing her way out of the car.

  Damn it. He’d hurt her. He’d tried to do this gently, even though he felt like shit about it, but she was still hurt. Hank turned off the car and opened his door, unfolding his long body to his full height. “Luanne,” he called after her.

  She ignored him, stomping her way to the front porch. Her back was stiff, and she wouldn’t turn around.

  He’d definitely hurt her feelings. But hell, what was he supposed to do? Turn a blind eye to her antics? She was posting them online, for crying out loud. Hank ran a hand down his face and got back into the car. He stared at the dash without seeing it, even after she slammed the front door of the Peppermint House and the front porch light went off.

  For some reason, he already missed her.

  * * *

  “Explain it to me again?” Emily said, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting down at the dining room table. She frowned at Luanne. “Your mouth was full and I couldn’t make out what you said.”

  “I said,” Luanne gritted between a mouthful of cereal, “that Officer Stick Up His Ass broke up with me.” She hugged the punch bowl full of cereal closer to her chest. Some people drowned their sorrows in ice cream. She drowned hers in Cap’n Crunch. “He said my job was stupid and reckless.”

  “Well, it is,” Emily said.

  That got her a glare from Luanne.

  “Oh, come on. If it wasn’t stupid and reckless, no one would go to your website to see it. There are a million cute girls on the Internet. Only a few special idiots go cow tipping dressed like a hooker.”

  “Not a hooker,” Luanne protested, her voice rising an octave. “This is a freaking roller derby costume. Jeez!”

  Emily waved a hand. “My point is, you dress up like a nut, you perform nutty antics, and you post them online in the hopes of driving traffic to your website so you can make money from the ad revenue, right?”

  She shoved another spoonful of cereal into her mouth and crunched for a long moment. “Yeah. So?”

  “I can’t imagine that a straitlaced cop like Hank Sharp would ever have a problem with that,” Em said in an innocent voice. “He must have misled you about who he is. Perhaps it was all the piercings? The tattoos? The Harley he drives? Oh wait, I’m wrong. He drives a police car and never puts on anything that isn’t starched to regulation first.”

  “You make him sound like a dweeb, Em,” Luanne protested, and then wondered why she was defending the jerk. After all, he’d dumped her. There was no need to defend anyone anymore. “He’s not like that.”

  “He’s not? What’s he like, then?”

  Luanne crunched for a long moment, thinking. And then she sighed. “He’s really fair.”

  “Fair?”

  “Yeah, you know.” She waved her spoon, sending milk droplets splashing across Em’s antique table. “He’s a good guy. He listens to people when they have problems. Gets kittens out of trees. He likes to help people and do the right thing.”

  “He sounds like a horrible jerk,” Em said in a laughing voice, plucking a paper towel from the countertop and wiping up Luanne’s mess. “Thank goodness you’re free of him, huh? I bet he was always telling you what to do and how to act, too.”

  Luanne was silent. Truth was, he’d never done that. He’d appreciated the way she’d dressed. He liked the way she talked. He loved the way she carried herself. And when she was a bit brazen? He liked that, too. She was the opposite of him, but instead of him trying to tamp her down and force her to behave, he seemed to love watching her just be herself. The job was the only sticking point. She chewed slowly, thinking. “Something like that.”

  “Probably for the best that you two broke up. You love your job, right?” Her sister’s voice was mild.

  She gave Emily a scathing look and took another large bite of cereal. Em knew that Luanne hated the Jane schtick. It was a lot of work. It was obnoxious. She had stalkers, for crying out loud. People wrote
her daily asking her to take her top off in videos. It was tiresome. The last three guys she’d dated had wanted her to “stunt” with them on dates. They’d wanted Jane and not Luanne.

  And all Hank had ever wanted was Luanne.

  She groaned, laying her head on the table. “This sucks, Em. This really, really sucks. Why is it that I find a good guy and he has to be Officer Straight and Narrow?”

  “Is that so bad?”

  “It is when he dumps me over my job.”

  “So give up your job. It’s ridiculous. You can find something else.”

  “I can’t just give up my job! It pays the bills, Emily. And you know I have a lot of bills.” Luanne frowned. “Had a lot of bills.”

  “I thought they were all paid off?”

  “Almost.” She stabbed at the bowl of cereal again, watching the Crunch Berries in her bowl drift to the edges. “I’m not quitting just because he wants me to. That’s crap. What am I supposed to do instead? Sit around and knit doilies for a living?”

  “Maybe you get a real job like the rest of us,” Em said. “Or you could, I don’t know, help your sister run a bed-and-breakfast.”

  Luanne sighed and shook her spoon at Emily. “I told you. I’ll design you a website but that’s where I draw the line. Home renovation is not my gig.”

  “Whatever you do, I’m sure you’ll do it with a glaringly loud and obvious style, Luanne,” Emily said with a grin, and reached over to pat her hand. “Why don’t you call Hank and tell him you want to talk to him?”

  Luanne thought for a minute, and then shook her head. “I want him to come to me first. I’m not crawling back to the man and begging for a second chance.”

  Emily sighed.

  One week later

  “That’s right, Officer. I’m pretty sure I heard voices in the upstairs room.” Emily Allard-Smith’s voice trembled on the other end of the line. “I’d appreciate it if you’d come by the house and check it out.”

  Hank stared out the dark window of city hall and sighed. “I’m the only one at the station right now, Ms. Allard-Smith. The next shift doesn’t come in until midnight. I—”

  “I baked some cookies,” she said hopefully.

  Like cookies were going to be enough to draw him out to the Peppermint House? Although, they probably were enough of a lure for his father. “Ms. Allard-Smith, I—”

  “Please,” she said in a soft voice. “I’m really scared. I’m positive this place is haunted.”

  And he was positive that all she had were a few squirrels in the attic and an overactive imagination. “I’ll see if I can send someone out.”

  “Oh good,” she said in a grateful voice. “Luanne and I are so scared. She really hasn’t been herself this week and this is just the icing on the cake.”

  Luanne was scared? He sat up straighter, thinking hard. She hadn’t been herself that week? Was she missing him? Like he was missing her?

  Bright, vivacious Luanne seemed to make everything in his life more exciting, more fun. He’d noticed in the week that they’d been broken up that even the normal dull routines seemed…well, they seemed just a tad bit duller than usual. It was like all the light had gone out and he was just going through the motions.

  Which was silly. But then he thought of her wild little smile, and thought maybe it wasn’t so silly after all. Maybe she was just as good for him as he was for her.

  Except that neither one of them were good for each other’s jobs. It just couldn’t be. Didn’t mean he couldn’t stop thinking about how it might have been, though.

  “I’ll be there in five minutes,” he told Emily in a tired voice.

  “Perfect,” she said, and sounded almost excited.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Emily met him at the front door, dressed in a pink sweatshirt and a pair of jeans with the knees ripped out. She smiled brightly at him, seemingly unafraid. “Thank you so much for coming by, Officer Sharp.”

  He stepped into the house, scanning the living room. Things were a mess, the furniture covered by white sheets. But then again, things were always a mess in this house since Emily was renovating it single-handedly. No sign of Luanne, either, but that wasn’t surprising—even if it was disappointing. She’d likely heard that he was coming over and ran out the door. He suspected she was avoiding him, which he wasn’t thrilled about. He kind of wanted to see her again. Wanted to see if she missed him like he was missing her, or if he was the only dumbass messed up over their short relationship. He cleared his throat and looked down at tiny Emily. “Have you had any more incidents since you called me?”

  “Incidents? Oh, no. No, I haven’t.” She put a hand to his arm and began to push him toward the stairs. “Let me show you what room I heard it in.”

  He allowed her to lead him, and they climbed up the stairs of the large Victorian house. Though there were some areas that clearly needed repairs, it wasn’t a bad house. Just a run-down one.

  She paused in front of a door, and her voice dropped. “It was in this room. I think you should check it out.”

  Hank nodded and put his hand on the door handle. He heard something, all right. It sounded like rustling. With a frown, he pushed the door open.

  And stopped in surprise at the sight of Luanne in yoga pants and an old T-shirt, her hair pulled into a haphazard bun. A magazine was open in her lap.

  Her jaw dropped and her gaze went to Emily, accusing. “What is he doing here?”

  To his surprise, tiny Emily gave him a surprisingly strong shove, knocking him into the room—Luanne’s bedroom. “You,” she said, pointing at Hank. “Apologize to my sis-

  ter for breaking up with her and hurting her feelings. And you.” That pointing finger swung to Luanne. “Tell this man what you really think about your job and why you do it.”

  They stared at her.

  Emily gave a firm nod and then one more warning look at them. “I don’t want to see either one of you come out of here until this is settled. Understand me? You can have cookies when everything is back to normal.” And with that, she slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Luanne and Hank in the room alone.

  There was a long pause, and then Luanne stifled a giggle. She gave Hank a rueful look. “I think Em missed her calling as a schoolteacher.”

  He relaxed a little, her smile melting away any irritation he might have had. “Does she treat everyone like they’re seven?”

  “Pretty much,” Luanne said, and closed her magazine, staring at him with wary eyes.

  Hell. He had hurt her feelings. And here he’d been trying to go about it the right way. Hank shifted on his feet, uncomfortable. Wasn’t it better to break up with her before he had to arrest her? But judging from the wounded look in her eyes, he was guessing he’d messed this up anyhow.

  And he shouldn’t have cared, but he did.

  He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced at the door. It remained shut. He looked back to Luanne and she gave him an expectant look.

  “Well?” she said. “Are you here to apologize to me?”

  Actually, he was here looking for Emily’s ghosts. But now that he was here, he couldn’t stop thinking about Luanne. Couldn’t take his eyes off of her, either. She was real pretty tonight, her skin flushed with emotion, her face devoid of makeup, her hair in a loose bun atop her head. Tendrils framed her cheeks and he wanted to brush them aside with his fingers, trace the lines of her face, and oh-so-carefully kiss that wary frown off her mouth. He opened his mouth, but the words didn’t come out. Hell. Hank wasn’t one for fancy words anyhow. He didn’t know what she wanted to hear from him.

  So he decided to start with the truth. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and sighed. “I thought I was doing the right thing, Luanne. You know it’s going to be a problem between us.”

  “You didn’t have to just drop me off on my porch and wave good-bye, though,” she said, and there was all that hurt again. “I mean, if you don’t want to date me, just tell a girl, will you? I can handle rejection just as we
ll as the next person.”

  “But I do want to date you. I just…I can’t. Do you understand why?”

  To his surprise, she nodded and got to her feet, her long legs unfolding. “I do. I just wish you’d talked to me first instead of deciding it right away.”

  “I wish you’d talked to me before you went off chasing chupacabra!”

  “Actually, I was chasing crop circles.” A hint of her impish smile returned and she moved to his side, standing in front of him, inches away. “Everyone knows chupacabra’s just a myth anyhow.”

  Hank sighed.

  She ran a hand up his chest and rested it against his heart in that possessive, admiring way that always made his cock get hard instantly. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

  “And?” he prompted.

  “And?” she asked, looking up at him innocently, her fingers playing with the first button on his shirt.

  “Your sister said I should apologize and you should tell me the truth about your job.” He leaned closer to her, inhaling her fresh scent. Damn, she smelled sexy. “Way I see it, I kept my side of the bargain.”

  Her playful look instantly disappeared and her hand dropped. Luanne’s expression became guarded, almost anxious, and she twisted her hands.

  Whatever it was she had to tell him, it made her nervous. Unhappy.

  He didn’t like that. He liked the fearless Luanne. Frowning at her anxious look, he moved to sit down in the chair she’d vacated and pulled her down into his lap.

  She fell into his arms, hers going around his neck. “I don’t know if I should be sitting in your lap, Officer.”

  “If you’re my girlfriend, I don’t see why not.”

  Luanne stilled and looked at him with a serious, almost hopeful gaze. “So am I?”

  Was he going to regret this later if she didn’t give up her job? Probably. Did he care? Not at the moment. “I don’t want anyone else.”

  She leaned in and kissed him lightly, her lips brushing over his, the smile returning to her face.

  Hank deepened the kiss, leaning in and stroking his tongue against her parted lips, letting her know that he wanted her. She made a sexy whimper in the back of her throat and then her mouth opened for him, and she pressed her breasts against his chest as she kissed him.