Sheriff in Her Stocking
Page 13
“No.”
“I’m going to ask you once again, Miss Moore and if you refuse I’m going to have to arrest you.”
She snapped her head around and glared at him. “You’ll have to catch me first.” The car’s motor was still humming; she put the car into gear.
He had no choice.
Rick pulled out his service revolver and shot one of her tires. It deflated and the left front side of the car slumped.
Delaney’s mouth popped open. She turned and stared at him as if he were nuts. She climbed from the car and stood nose to nose with him. “Are you insane?”
He grinned. “In a manner of speaking, yes. Ms. Moore, I’m charging you with resisting arrest.” He withdrew his handcuffs from his pocket, brought her wrists to the small of her back and snapped the cuffs into place.
An inexplicable look of astonishment covered her face. “You are insane! What do you want Rick? Haven’t you hurt me enough?”
He crowded her next to the side of her car, moving in close until his crotch touched her lower belly. Leaning forward he kissed her gently on the cheek. “Please, just listen to me for two minutes. If after you hear what I have to say and you still want to leave, I’ll change the tire on your car myself and you can go on your merry way to New York or wherever. But you have to listen first.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line and gaze out toward the horizon. “These handcuffs hurt.”
“I know. I’m sorry, but you gave me no choice.”
“Make it quick.” Her voice was tense and clipped.
“First of all, I’m an idiot, a pinheaded sonofabitch.”
She swung her head around and looked at him. “At least we agree on something.”
He pressed two fingers against her lips. “I’m not finished. I was stupid. When I saw Jake at Harden’s I put two and two together and came up with ten. I thought you and Jake had been working together from the beginning.”
She opened her mouth to speak.
“I have at least another minute left. I thought you used me, that submitting sexually to me was part of the act. Even your anger at Lenore. I thought everything was a charade that Jake was still dealing drugs and you were his accomplice. I was stupid and wrong.” He looked at her, at her beautiful eyes, her gorgeous face and sexy body. “Please forgive me, Delaney. I never thought I wanted to spend the rest of my life with one woman, or to make a home, have a family...until I met you. What I’m trying to say is I love you. I love you with all of my heart. I love the way you treat people with respect and kindness. I love the way you gave up the job in New York to stay here and help the town. I love the way you look when you wake up in the morning and that little snore when you sleep.”
A look of outrage and surprise covered her face. “I do not snore!”
He smiled. “And I love the expression on your face, the one you get when you feel insulted, like now. I also love you, all of you, your body and your soul. I can’t live without you.”
She turned and shook her handcuffed hands at him as best she could. “Take these off.”
“Do you forgive me?”
A smile played around her lips and a gleam lit her eyes. “How can I not? A man practically runs me off the road, shoots out a tire on my car, handcuffs me, asks my forgiveness, and tells me he’s in love with me. What choice does a girl have?”
Rick removed the cuffs and tossed them on the front seat of Delaney’s car. She leaped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. They kissed, his tongue dancing with hers, her sweet crotch pressing against his making him hard. He grasped her ass and pulled her firmly against him as they kissed. He backed up until she rested against the car and slid his lips to her neck.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she said breathlessly. A car and a truck sped by. The trucker blew his horn and they both laughed. “I thought you didn’t care that you wanted me to leave.”
“I love you, Delaney. Will you marry me?”
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked at him, grinning from ear to ear. “Yes, Rick Mateo Cruz I will marry you.”
He started to kiss her again but she pressed her fingers over his mouth stopping him. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You promise never to shoot out my tires ever again.”
He laughed. “Deal.”
* * * * *
A few days later Rick and Delaney stood together among the town’s people and looked at the huge lighted tree in the square while carolers sang Jingle Bells. Rick’s arms were wrapped around her waist with the front of his body pressed to the back of hers warming her from head to foot. The diner had provided hot drinks to keep everyone warm on the snowy Christmas Eve night. Rick stood behind Delaney with his arms around her waist. She leaned against him and he breathed in her scent. She looked over at Lenore with Mark Griffin’s arms around her. They sipped from the same drink and gazed into each other’s eyes.
A couple of days ago, Lenore and Mark stopped by the sheriff’s office. Lenore had actually apologized for her actions. Sort of. True to royal form, she hadn’t apologized so much as suggested that perhaps just maybe she’d been hasty in going after Rick when the best man for her was right before her eyes.
Avery had won the best vacation spot contest and the whole town was excited. The mayor made a special announcement and thanked Delaney for all her help. Since her designs had caught the attention of other businesses around the state she decided to freelance, stay in Avery and of course marry Rick. There was a vacant shop in town where she planned to open up Delaney’s Designs. She turned her head and laid her ear on his chest just over his heart. “I love you Rick.”
“I love you too, baby.”
She turned and stared at the tree, listened to the carolers and breathed a contented sigh. Their future was as bright as the lights on that tree. She never would have believed this Christmas she would find a sheriff in her stocking.