Tucker

by Lori Foster

  “He remembers her with a couple who didn’t have her on a lead. They were at the boat dock, got in a boat and almost left without her.” Tucker narrowed his eyes. “The bastards were probably trying to ditch her even then.”

  “Oh, how awful.”

  “Garrett said the dog kicked up such a fuss, running along the dock and barking, that another vacationer flagged them down and there was uncomfortable laughter as they said they’d just forgotten her.”

  Bastards, indeed! Kady touched his arm and found it rigid with suppressed anger—for a dog. Was it any wonder she loved him? She smiled, leaning into him. “Luckily she found you.”

  He looked down at her, his eyes so green, so intense. She thought he’d kiss her again, right there at the side door, but the dog returned, trotting in past them, and the moment was broken.

  A few minutes later, Kady was on her knees beside Tucker’s bed, reaching underneath for the pups, aware that her rear end was in a most undignified display.

  She tried not to think about it as she stretched to get the last tiny dog.

  “Kady?”

  His voice sounded deeper than usual. “Almost done.” She crawled back, and as she emerged, she realized he was staring at her behind. A mix of embarrassment and pleasure flushed her face. She said quickly, “I had thought about wearing a dress, since you said you like them—”

  “I like the shorts too, believe me.” He took the little dog from her and put it in the box with the others. The anxious mama watched with concern, constantly circling.

  Kady quickly pulled out the soiled blanket and put it in a laundry basket. Going under the bed again, she arranged the fresh folded blanket in the same spot.

  The dog darted under to investigate. From her bent position, Kady watched with a smile. “I think she likes it.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “She’s kicking it around, nosing it this way and that. I guess getting it the way she wants it.”

  “Good.” Tucker began passing the puppies back to her, and finally the little family was all settled again.

  Kady stood. “Where’s your washer?”

  “In the basement.”

  “You have a basement?”

  “The door is off the kitchen. Most people think it’s a pantry.” He tried to take the basket from her. “I can do the wash.”

  “Nonsense.” She wanted to extend her time with him, not cut it short, so she carried the basket out of his room and sailed down the hall to the kitchen. Her flip-flops slapped the floor with her hurried pace.

  When she opened the basement door, Tucker—who was right behind her—reached past her and turned on the light. Then with no effort at all, he took the basket from her.

  She tried to protest. “I can—”

  He surprised her by saying only, “Careful going down. The steps are narrow.”

  Lit by a single overhead bulb, his small basement was dark, with concrete floors, bare walls and open rafters. Taped boxes had been stored in one corner on pallets. In another corner, Tucker stored his tools along a workbench.

  A utility tub, washer and dryer sat beneath a narrow window.

  Tucker went to start the laundry, but as he did so, he said, “Tell me why you’re a virgin.”

  She almost tripped over her feet. He said that so casually that he’d taken her off guard.

  Turning, his uninjured arm braced on the now-churning washer, he lifted a brow.

  “I, ah...” She frowned at him for putting her on the spot, then lifted her chin. “I already told you that I wasn’t that interested in dating or anything. But then when I was turning twenty, you became the sheriff.”

  “That was almost five years ago.”

  “I know how long it’s been—because I spent all that time trying to get your attention.” She added in a grumble, “As did my sisters and every other female in Buckhorn.”

  Like a physical stroke, his gaze moved over her, weakening her knees. “You had my attention on day one, but like you said, you were only twenty.”

  “And since then?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Should I admit I was an ass?”

  Kady wasn’t at all sure what he meant. “Sure, go for it.”

  He gave a rough laugh. “I told you once already that I thought you were a flirt.”

  “I remember.”

  “Truth is, I wanted you all along but I convinced you—and myself—that I didn’t because I didn’t know you were that interested in me. I thought I was one of many—when I wanted to be a lot more.”

  “Do you remember I called you obtuse?” She smiled sweetly.

  Tucker laughed, then held up a hand. “I agree, I might’ve been a little obtuse.”

  “A lot obtuse,” she argued, but then added softly, insistently, “I’ve only ever wanted you.”

  A smile curved his mouth. “I like how you do that.”

  Now her brows went up. “Do what?”

  “Show your determination.” He pushed away from the machine and started toward her. “Your shoulders square up and your chin lifts, and you get a very stubborn look in your eyes.”

  “Well.” She wasn’t sure what to say to all that. “I had already explained—”

  “Why me?”

  She scowled in indignation on his behalf. “Is that a joke?”

  “Tell me.”

  Without giving it a lot of thought, she blurted, “Because I...” But the words caught in her throat. Wondering if she dared tell him that she loved him, she chewed her lower lip. No, not yet. So she said instead, “Why not you?”

  His mouth quirked again. “Can’t come up with any reasons, huh? Well, I can name a few.”

  “You think you know my mind?”

  “No. Not even close.” His smile widened and his gaze warmed. “I meant that I could name some reasons for why I want you.”

  Her mouth went dry. “Is one of those reasons because I’ve made it clear it’d be easy?”

  Both brows shot up. “With your family?”

  He had a point. Nothing with her family was easy. “Okay.” She crossed her arms and cocked out a hip. That they were having this conversation in the basement didn’t escape her notice. Did he feel safer here without a bed nearby? “I’m listening.”

  “First time I saw you, I noticed the way you move.”

  That surprised her and her arms fell. “The way I move?”

  He nodded. “You’re animated. When you talk to someone, you’re fully engaged, physically and emotionally. In a world where everyone is thinking about something else, it struck me that you cared enough to really focus. That’s pretty damned special.”

  This was...interesting. She was used to men commenting on her looks, but it appeared Tucker had put more thought into it. “Go on.”

  Smiling with a memory, he said, “You were chatting with your cousin Amber the first time I saw you.”

  “Amber’s beautiful.” Long dark hair, shapely and a lot of attitude. Usually anyone standing near Amber faded into the background.

  Nonchalantly, Tucker said, “She is, but that day I barely noticed her.”

  “You expect me to believe that?”

  He shrugged, saying, “You were there,” as if that explained it. “You wore one of those loose-skirted dresses that make a man think about how easy it’d be to get his hands underneath it.”

  “Really?” The image of Tucker with his hands under her dress sent a rush of heat over her.

  “Especially when there’s a little wind, like there was that day. It kept putting your hair in your face and blowing your skirt against your thighs, but you didn’t let it interrupt your chat with your cousin. You used one hand to hold back your hair, and the other to hold down your dress.” His smile warmed. “You laughed over something Amber said, a really big laugh, and I wasn’t the on
ly one to look up.”

  Great, so she’d drawn undue attention? “Come on.” Tucker urged her back to the steps until she started up ahead of him while he still spoke. “I have to admit, after that I noticed how pretty you are, too, and how hot your body looked. Thanks to the wind, there wasn’t much left to the imagination. It was better than a bikini, and I couldn’t get the picture out of my head.”

  He’d thought about her? She started to look back, but there wasn’t much room on the narrow basement steps.

  She felt the warmth of his breath when he whispered, “You have gorgeous legs.” His big, broad hand opened on her waist, slid to her hip and then drifted down her thigh—and away—when they reached the kitchen again.

  The dog was there, getting a drink from the dish Tucker had moved to a corner of the room. She gave them both a dismissive glance, grabbed a few bites of crunchy food, then headed back to her babies.

  Strangely dazed by all he’d said, Kady took a breath. “She’s such a sweet mother.”

  “Agreed.”

  “What will you name her?”

  “We can discuss it tomorrow on the way to the grill out.”

  We? So he wanted her to help? And what did he mean, “on the way”? “We’re going together?”

  “I’d like to pick you up if you don’t mind.”

  She’d come over to give him hell...but then he’d kissed her. And told her he’d noticed her laugh and her focus. Now he wanted to pick her up for a family gathering.

  How could she stay mad? “I’d love that.”

  “Once there, maybe we’ll let the others make suggestions on names, too. Your family does have a lot of pets.”

  Kady shot him a look. “Trust me, dog names are not what they’re going to talk about.”

  He only smiled, apparently not at all reticent about being in the midst of her massive, pushy family.

  When he opened the front door, she belatedly realized that he’d led her through the house and she hadn’t even noticed.

  She turned quickly. “So you like my legs?”

  Sliding the fingers of his right hand into her hair, he tipped up her face. “I more than like everything about you.”

  More than like? He kept saying things that confused her. “You won’t be dodging me anymore?”

  “Now that I know you’re interested, no.” His thumb brushed a corner of her mouth. “I’m not a man who holds back when he wants something, and I’ve wanted you bad since that first day I saw you.”

  She’d wanted him the same—and instead they’d wasted so much time. “I wish you’d said something earlier.”

  “I thought I was one of many, that your teasing didn’t mean anything.” He kissed her throat, and it was almost too sweet to bear. “Because I cared and I thought you didn’t, it seemed smarter to steer clear.”

  With her toes curling and her breath coming faster, she whispered, “I definitely care.” So very much.

  He kissed his way up to her jaw, then over to her ear where he breathed, “If I’d known how you felt, believe me, I’d have been doing this a lot sooner.” He bent to her throat again, his mouth damp, hot, as he gave her a gentle love bite.

  Kady’s breath shuddered in. “I like that.”

  She felt his smile. “Do you?”

  “There are so many things I’ve wanted to do with you.” She leaned back to see him. “Only you, Tucker.”

  He looked away, his mouth tight for a moment. “You don’t have much experience—”

  “Nearly zero, really.”

  “So you might have a more...romanticized view of things.”

  Kady tipped her head. “Meaning what?” Was he only interested in the physical side of a relationship? If so, there’d be a problem.

  Because she wanted it all.

  His short laugh sounded rough. “We haven’t even been on a date.”

  “We’ll have time for that, right?”

  “Yes.” His gaze caught hers, green eyes to her blue, so intent, as if he saw everything about her. “I want a relationship, not just sex.”

  Relief put a smile on her face. “Good. Me, too.”

  He pressed a finger to her mouth. “But I’m just a man and you’re testing me, so you should know that sex is definitely on my agenda.”

  Against his finger, she whispered, “Good.”

  “I’m trying to take things slow.” When she started to object, he kissed her. “I have a feeling you’ve built up expectations, and I don’t want to disappoint you.”

  “You couldn’t.” Now she kissed him. “You asked what I love about you.”

  His eyes flared a little at the L word, but she didn’t let it bother her. “I love that you’re so strong but never feel the need to prove it. I love that you’re an authority figure, but those who know you well still feel comfortable with you. I love that my family respects you, and that you respect them. I love that you treat everyone with consideration. And I really, really love that you didn’t think twice about rescuing a muddy dog that’s just given birth.”

  Somewhere along the way of her diatribe, his surprise had settled into satisfaction. Propping his good shoulder against the door frame, he said, “That sounds like an awful lot of love.”

  “Yes.” Her chin went up. “I hope that doesn’t scare you off.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, and for the record, I don’t scare easy.”

  Obviously, given that he’d agreed to mingle with her entire family. “That’s something else I love about you.”

  As his satisfaction heated, his gaze slowly moved over her, breasts to waist to hips and legs, then back up again. He appeared strained and a little dangerous. “Time for you to go home, Kady, before I jump the gun.”

  “Tucker—”

  “You’ve tempted me enough. I need a few more days so I can lose this sling, and then we can make up for lost time.”

  * * *

  BAD WEATHER ROLLED into the area, keeping Kady busy, forestalling the family gathering and putting a general damper on the vacationers who wanted to use the lake.

  The daily Convective Outlook, supplied by the Storm Prediction Center, highlighted the potential for severe weather. The ingredients were there for bad storms, or even tornadoes.

  Twice Tucker had to confront pontoon boaters. They were determined to enjoy their vacations, so they ignored the lightning flashing overhead, dropped an anchor and whooped it up, as if risking life and limb was loads of fun. One group even had kids in the water.

  When they dismissed warnings from the lake security, Tucker rode out in a boat to get them moving. With the skies getting ever darker, Kady worried for him, but he handled the matter in short order.

  Watching through the window of the store her cousin Lisa, and her husband Gray, owned at the marina, Kady waited. She could see the boaters packing it in, and Tucker’s boat cutting through the rising waves as he headed back to the docks.

  “He’ll be fine, you know,” Lisa said behind her. It had been a busy day in the store as restless vacationers milled in and out, hoping the weather would clear.

  “I know.” The rain started, first as a drizzle but steadily growing heavy. The gray sky made it look more like evening than afternoon. “It’s just that this weather is so unpredictable, I don’t think anyone should be out on the lake right now.”

  One of the tall warning sirens situated around Buckhorn sat at the very back of the marina property, an imposing tower against the landscape. Routine tests sent the sound reverberating over the surface of the water, causing dogs to howl and people to wince.

  As the resident weather expert, she helped to decide when to use those sirens.

  Lisa leaned against a shelf of water toys and floats. “You two were together when I called about the boaters?”

  “We were at lunch, yes.”

  “Amber said y
ou two have spent the whole week together.”

  Kady smiled despite her worry, watching Tucker dock the boat, tie it off to grommets, then hastily pull up the hood of the slicker he wore. “He said we’re getting to know each other on different terms.”

  “As more than mere friends?”

  Dreamily thinking of the past week, how wonderful—and how frustrating—it had been, Kady nodded. “When our schedules coordinated, we did breakfast, lunch or dinner together. One night he took me to the diner, then yesterday, on his night off, we went just out of town to a fancier restaurant. We’ve been to a couple of movies, grocery shopped together and then grilled out at his house, and when he could, he’s accompanied me to local shoots.” All in all, the time together had been blissful.

  It’d be more than that, though, if he didn’t restrict their contact to kisses.

  She said to Lisa, “He got the sling off a few days ago, but the bruises on his shoulder are still there.” She knew because she’d checked on him directly after his follow-up appointment. “The doctor wants him to do a little PT, so he set up some equipment in his basement.” Wrinkling her nose, she explained, “It’s cooler down there, but also a little dank.”

  “Not a place you’d choose to exercise?”

  “Men are sometimes odd.”

  With a grin in her voice, Lisa said, “Odd...and pretty wonderful.”

  “I agree.” The sigh escaped her. “Tucker is especially awesome.”

  This time Lisa laughed. “Spoken like a satisfied woman.”

  Oh, if only that were true. But Tucker, on top of being a calm, in-command sheriff, apparently possessed unending patience.

  The door dinged as he stepped inside. Standing on the mat, he removed the dripping slicker, then his gaze sought Kady. “You were right about the storm. It’s getting nasty out there.”

  With a lull in customers, Gray came over and, draping his arm around Lisa’s shoulders, looked out the window. “It’s a pain whenever we lose power, but I still enjoy the lake during a storm.”

  “It’s a sight to see,” Lisa concurred. “After the rain, it’s always easier to catch fish.”

  Leaving the slicker by the door, Tucker came over and gave Kady a brief kiss. “Sorry that took so long.”