by Anna Sugden
It was unnerving to see Jackson comfortably ensconced in her bright kitchen. She would have expected him to look out of place in Seattle, but he didn’t. Instead, he looked sexy and dependable and wonderful... Kayla threw the brakes on her runaway thoughts.
When the coffee finished brewing, she poured two cups and sat across from him.
“So what are you doing in Washington?” she asked finally.
“Shopping for Morgan’s school clothes. She was thrilled at the idea.”
Kayla tried not to feel disappointed, though she wondered why they’d come to Seattle for their shopping. “I need to get busy doing that with Alex and DeeDee. Their school year starts even earlier than it does in Schuyler.”
“Morgan was hoping she could go with you and DeeDee—I think she wants a woman’s point of view.”
“I’d be happy to take her with us.”
Jackson drank some of his coffee. “I appreciate it, but I have to admit the shopping was partly an excuse. I wanted to see you.”
Kayla gulped suddenly, adrenaline taking effect far more quickly than the caffeine in the coffee. “Oh?”
He reached over and picked up her hand. “Kayla, I love you. Being hundreds of miles apart, or all the time in the world, won’t change that. I should have asked before, but I will now... Do you love me?”
A tremor went through her body and she slowly brought it under control. “Yes,” she managed to say. “But that doesn’t mean it would work between us.”
She stared at Jackson’s fingers grasping hers gently yet firmly. She’d convinced herself that he must be relieved she had turned him down. It had been safer that way—safer, because she’d always wanted to be in love the way her mother had once been in love...and was afraid to be at the same time.
“It’s impossible to promise you perfection or a life without pain,” he murmured huskily. “But I can promise to love you forever and hang on to our marriage with all my strength.”
Kayla didn’t doubt Jackson’s sincerity. And since he’d had several days to think about it—not to mention more than fifteen hours of driving time for reflection—wanting to marry her couldn’t be dismissed as simply an impulse that he’d later regret.
“I’ve been thinking that we could try to find a way to split our time between Montana and Seattle,” he continued. “We both have good managers able to handle things when we aren’t there.”
“You’re talking about living in Seattle part of the year?” she asked incredulously.
Jackson nodded. “You were right about me thinking you should give up everything. In fact, I’m glad you turned me down the first time, because it made me face reality. I can’t promise I won’t slip into old habits, but I want you to pull me up short if I do. Because that’s not the way I want Morgan and DeeDee to see men and women. Hell, that’s not the model I want for Alex, either. Maybe he’ll be the president’s husband someday, and he should be proud of it.”
It wasn’t the sort of thing Kayla had expected to hear, but he was being straight with her. She doubted splitting time between Seattle and Schuyler would work; it might make more sense for her to run Smooth Billings long-distance with periodic trips to the city. But her mind was still bending around the fact that Jackson was willing to compromise, that he wasn’t expecting her to give up everything so they could be together. If they were both willing to compromise...all sorts of things were possible.
“Can we trust each other?” Jackson asked. “Could you take that leap of faith with me?”
“I’m not good at trust,” Kayla admitted, forcing her mind back to a second central issue. Perhaps Jackson wasn’t the one with the biggest problem in that department.
His eyes darkened. “And you’ve gotten hurt whenever you have tried to trust someone. Your ex-husband. Me. You have no idea how much I regret being such a stupid, selfish clod.”
“You were seventeen, Jackson.”
“That’s a rotten excuse.” He paused and seemed to be searching for words. “But I’ve been thinking—all the way to Seattle—that even if someone we love never lets us down, someday we’ll lose them, or they’ll lose us. So we’ll still get hurt eventually, but the cost is never having that person in our lives. That’s too high a price. Would you cut yourself off again from Hank and Elizabeth because someday they’ll be gone?”
“No.” An awful pain went through Kayla at the thought of losing her grandparents. But it would be even worse if they were in Schuyler and she was staying away out of emotional cowardice.
* * *
HOPE SURGED IN JACKSON. At least Kayla was talking to him. It was what they’d have to do if they got married—talk and keep talking.
“Sweetheart, you’re right about the way I’ve been for years. I haven’t trusted women, and to defend that attitude, I’ve adopted some stupid, outdated notions. And the craziest part is that I never loved Marcy—we got married for Morgan’s sake. I don’t know if Marcy would have become a nicer person if things had been different, but I shouldn’t have let her affect me like that. It was stupid and hurt the people I care about the most.”
Kayla smiled gently. “We don’t have to beat ourselves up about the past, do we?”
“No, it’s the future that counts. I love you so much, Kayla, and I’m praying you’ll marry me and we can raise our three children together. We could even make more babies, if you’d like.”
She blinked. “You’d want more kids?”
“Hey, the more the merrier. But if you’d rather not, I’ll be happy with three. Either way, DeeDee can invent one of her words for the complicated family we’ll make.”
Kayla laughed and it was the most beautiful sound in the world. “She’d love that.”
“So how about it? Will you marry me and love me for the rest of our lives?”
* * *
KAYLA TOOK A DEEP, shuddering breath. Jackson was choosing her instead of clinging to his wounds. She could do the same if she was willing to follow him in that leap of faith.
His hand was strong, and she remembered how he’d stuck to his parenting responsibilities through a long, difficult year with Morgan. He loved his daughter and had never given up, though it couldn’t have been easy, and he hadn’t given up with Alex, either, however many times he’d fumbled. Beyond that, he was opening his mind, showing the direction in which he wanted to grow as a human being.
She hadn’t wanted to risk the pain of anther messed-up relationship, but turning Jackson away wouldn’t guarantee being safe from hurt. It would only mean loneliness. He was right—protecting yourself too fiercely carried too high a price, because it meant living without love.
“I love you and I want to marry you,” she said steadily.
Jackson’s smile flashed like a Montana sunrise as he leaped to his feet and pulled her into his arms.
* * *
ALEX HADN’T BEEN able to believe it when he’d looked up to see Morgan standing in front of him. Sandy had laughed, and he realized she’d taken a picture of him with his mouth hanging open.
“Delete that,” he’d growled.
“Not a chance,” Sandy had refused.
Sandy’s mom had welcomed Morgan and insisted she eat with them.
“Let’s go shock DeeDee, too,” Morgan suggested after they’d demolished a bucket of fried chicken. “I want to see her face when we show up.”
But they didn’t get a chance to surprise DeeDee the way they’d hoped. She was looking out the window at Keri’s house and both of them came outside screaming.
“Where’s Jackson?” DeeDee demanded. “And Cory?”
“We had to leave Cory at the ranch,” Morgan explained. “Dad dropped me off at Sandy’s and said to let him know when I needed a ride. I just called and he’s coming over here to pick me up.”
“He didn’t go in to see Alex?” DeeDee asked.
“No.”
“That’s funny.”
Morgan shrugged. “Nah, I think he was just giving us space or whatever.”
“I still think it’s strange.”
“Maybe he went to see your mom,” Sandy suggested. “Alex says I’m wrong, but I think he has a thing for her.”
“Really?” Morgan said. “That’s awesome.”
“Mom said there wasn’t anything going on,” Alex insisted.
DeeDee excitedly hopped from one foot to the other. “I’m with Sandy and Morgan. It would be dopeacious if they got together!”
A minute later Jackson’s big SUV pulled into the driveway and Alex saw his mom in the front seat. Jackson waved and went around to open the passenger door. That was when Alex knew Sandy and DeeDee were right, because of the way they smiled at each other.
“You don’t mind, do you, Alex?” DeeDee asked. “If Mom loves him, we gotta make it easy on her, because we should take care of our family. And Mom looks awful happy. It really is dopeacious.”
Alex felt strange about it, but maybe it was a good kind of strange. “Yeah,” he agreed. “And for once I like one of your new words. Just don’t overuse it.”
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488006548
Kayla’s Cowboy
Copyright © 2016 by Callie Endicott
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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www.Harlequin.com
From hero to zero
One day lieutenant Ben Peterson’s single-handedly stopping a bank robbery and the next he’s being accused of tampering with evidence. Ben needs to clear his name, fast! His only ally is straight-shooting rookie Delia Morgan.
Involving Delia is the last thing Ben wants. But he needs her help to figure out who’s setting him up. As their investigation intensifies, so does the temptation, and they open up to each other in ways neither expected. However, when it becomes clear that Delia still doesn’t trust Ben completely, it puts more than just their careers in jeopardy...
Ben took a deep breath.
“Okay, I admit I’m at a disadvantage to get the information I need. But I can’t ask you to risk your career to help me.”
“You didn’t ask. I offered.”
“That’s what I don’t understand. Why?” But he didn’t give time to answer. “How do you know I’m not guilty?”
He looked away from her as if her response to that question didn’t matter.
Oh, it mattered, all right. She hated that she couldn’t tell him what he needed to hear. If only she could announce her fervent support the way the other troopers had. But she wasn’t built that way. She needed proof. Police and lab reports were like the building blocks of her constitution, the glue bonding them together. Indisputable proof.
That Ben Peterson even tempted her to step away from what she knew and trusted scared her more than any domestic or shots-fired call ever could.
Dear Reader,
I am so excited to introduce you to my True Blue miniseries and to me, since this is my very first Superromance book. True Blue tells the stories of the brave men and women of the Michigan State Police Brighton Post. They are members of a different type of family, one based on shared sacrifice and ultimate trust rather than common genetics.
This project has been great fun because it has allowed me to delve into one of my favorite topics: law enforcement. From my college criminal justice electives to the weekend cops beat from my newspaper reporter days, I have loved learning about these honorable officers, who perform heroic acts daily. The miniseries gave me an excuse to attend the Citizen’s Police Academy, go on several police ride-alongs, learn to shoot a Glock and be Tasered by choice (ouch!). I hope all the research will lend credibility to my fictitious world so you’ll indulge my creative license in the stories.
In Strength Under Fire, reluctant hero Lieutenant Ben Peterson is forced to question the foundation of his state police family when he is falsely accused of evidence tampering. Because he no longer knows who his friends are, Ben must rely on help from non-team player Delia Morgan, a trooper with much to prove...and so much to hide.
I love hearing from readers. Contact me on Facebook or by snail mail at PO Box 5, Novi, MI 48376-0005, or follow me on Twitter, @DanaNussio1.
Dana Nussio
Strength Under Fire
Dana Nussio
Dana Nussio began telling “people stories” around the same time she started talking. She has been doing both things ever since. The award-winning newspaper reporter and features editor left her career while raising three daughters, but the stories followed her home as she discovered the joy of writing fiction. Now an award-winning fiction author as well, she loves telling emotional stories filled with honorable but flawed characters. A pair of almost empty nesters, Dana and her husband of twenty-five years live in Michigan with two overfed cats named Leonardo (da Vinci, not DiCaprio) and Annabelle Lee.
To my dear friend and fellow author Nancy Gideon, who always knew I could write the tough stuff and pushed me relentlessly so I could get it right. I hope I made you proud.
A special thanks to the law-enforcement and public-safety professionals who helped make the Lakes Area (Michigan) Citizens Police Academy possible for information junkies like me. I am especially grateful to Patrolman Tim Farrell and Officer Shawn Penzak of the Novi Police Department, and Officer Ken Ayres and Officer Rebecca List of the Wolverine Lake Police Department for answering my relentless questions and opening your law-enforcement world to me. Thank you to Rebecca, in particular, for helping me bring Delia Morgan to life. All of you are the real heroes.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
“THERE’S OUR HERO.”
Ben Peterson froze in the squad room doorway as a collage of smiling faces and un
iform sleeves reached out to haul him in by the shirt collar. The cheers, the thuds of applause—a wolf whistle thrown into the mix—squeezed the cramped space even tighter. Insides pleading for retreat, Ben crossed the room as if he didn’t mind being right there at center stage. Even a goldfish had no choice but to keep on swimming when its bowl turned cloudy.
“No, Lieutenant Peterson is my hero,” Vincent Leonetti called out in a flawless falsetto, a grin splitting his already ugly mug.
Once a class clown, always a class clown. Even if Bozo had been promoted to sergeant.
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” Ben gestured downward with his hands, wishing he had a mute button. “Knock it off, Vinnie.”
“Admit it. You done good.”
Ben shook his head, but finally he shrugged as he faced the dozen afternoon-shift troopers spaced around the room’s perimeter and huddled on the desks at its center. They were already in their navy uniforms, silver ties knotted, heavy jackets at the ready for their trips out into the frostbitten southeast Michigan January. These were the men and women of the Brighton Post. His teammates. His friends.
Maybe it had been too much to expect that they would leave him alone to do his job today, but that hadn’t stopped him from hoping. Didn’t they see that yesterday’s events still felt more like fiction to him than any facts reported on News 3 Breaking Live? And didn’t they know by now that he preferred to stay in the background? He was good at it. Until he’d stepped inside that bank and shot the delicate balance of his professional life to hell and then some. The chances of getting back to his safe little norm appeared to be slim to forget it, buddy.
Pushing his glasses up on his nose, he crammed his sweaty hands into his pockets. “Thanks, everyone, but—”
Lieutenant Scott Campbell stepped close and rested a hand on Ben’s shoulder.
