Flanna and the Lawman

by Cathy Maxwell

  She smiled and honesty glowed in her eyes. “It was never the gambling, Jake. I know that now. I was just like you. Trying to find something to fill a void that could only be completed by one thing, that one person who matters above all else. You’re the only one I want to play with.”

  His response was to kiss her long and hard. Afterward he whispered, “I’ll make sure you never miss it.”

  “What? Gambling?”

  He nodded. “And make sure you have whatever you want.”

  The look she gave him held mock disbelief. “Sheriff McCrery, after winning you, what more could I possibly want?” Shaking her head so the shimmering locks swirled around her shoulders, she eyed him saucily. “Other than a few little McCrerys.”

  * * *

  A month later, his gorgeous little wife jumped up and down at Jake’s side, waving a hand overhead.

  “Pappy! Pappy!”

  A man with his gray hair parted straight down the middle and wearing a bright green twill suit waved back, grinning from ear to ear as he stepped off the train steps.

  “Come on, Jake,” she said, pulling on his arm. “Hurry.”

  Chuckling at her excitement, he picked up his steps and they met Patrick Blackwell, along with an attractive, middle-aged woman, in the center of the crowded platform.

  Stacy wrapped her arms around her grandfather. “Oh, Pappy, it’s so wonderful to see you.”

  “It’s good to see you, too, baby girl. Real good.” After the hug, Patrick waved to the woman next to him. “You remember Opal.”

  “Oh, yes,” Stacy said, embracing the woman as well. “How are you Mrs. Flint?”

  “It’s Mrs. Blackwell now, dear,” the woman answered brightly.

  Jake held his breath, wondering how his wife would react to that. Not even an ounce of the actress she used to portray showed as she shrieked and hugged the woman again.

  “That’s wonderful!” Grabbing Jake’s arm with both hands, she whispered, “I always wondered about those two.” Still smiling, she turned back to the older couple. “Speaking of marriages, Pappy, Opal, I’d like you to meet my husband, Sheriff Jake McCrery.”

  Her introduction filled him with pride, and stepping forward Jake held out a hand. “Mr. Blackwell, Mrs. Blackwell.”

  While shaking his hand, the man eyed him as critically as Stacy had a time or two. “Call me Patrick, or Pappy.” He then clasped Jake’s shoulder and tugged him forward to whisper, “You hurt my baby girl and I’ll skin you like a rabbit.”

  “I give you my solemn promise,” Jake said with complete reverence. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Good enough then,” Patrick said. A frown formed over his thick gray brows. “Where’s the rest of the family? I thought everything was patched up.”

  “Oh, it is,” Stacy assured. “Everyone’s over at the hotel. We have a big welcome party waiting for you.”

  Jake grinned as she looped one arm with his, the other with her grandfather’s. All had been patched up, when she said let bygones be bygones, she meant it. The day after her return, she’d ridden out to the Blackwell ranch and set things straight. Of course, Sinclair fawning over Emma helped.

  The next few hours were filled with festivities, and by the time Jake walked his wife home, he was due to make a night round of town. Kissing her soundly, he said, “I’ll be back within the hour. Just have to check the doors.”

  “I’ll be waiting.” She gave him and extra hard hug. “It was the best day, ever, wasn’t it?”

  “It was,” he answered, kissing her nose. “But it’s not over yet.”

  The promising glimmer in her eyes stuck with him and was still there when he entered their house a short time later. Having noticed that only their bedroom held a lit lamp, he hurried up the steps, already anticipating what was to come.

  She was sitting in the middle of the bed with the covers folded back, and shuffling a deck of cards. “What are you doing?” he asked, tossing his hat onto a chair.

  “I think seeing Pappy made me miss gambling.”

  A chill had Jake stopping near the foot of the bed. “Oh?”

  She nodded and then pointed to where his fingers stalled on the top button of his shirt. “Leave that on.”

  He realized then that she was fully dressed, even still had her boots on. “Where are we going?”

  “We,” she said pointedly, “are not going anywhere.”

  “Oh?” was the only thing he could think to say again. She hadn’t gambled, not once in the past month, had never even mentioned it. Yet, he remembered those first few months, how the urge had pulled at him. “Stac—”

  “We are going to play a game, Sheriff.” She shuffled the cards, splayed them wide in her hands. “A simple game I think you’ll like.” Tilting her head, giving a little gesture toward the mattress, she added, “Right here in our bed.”

  Excitement had things standing at attention inside him and his britches. “Oh, what game is that?”

  “High-low.” Holding up a card, she explained, “The person with the high card gets to tell the person with the low card what piece of clothing to remove.”

  A growled rolled out of his mouth as he crawled over the footboard to stretch out beside her. “I feel like Herman, playing checkers by himself. I’m going to win no matter what.”

  Her giggle filled the room. “You wanna bet?”

  “Yeah,” he answered. “I wanna bet.”

  * * * * *

  Don’t miss these other Harlequin Historical Undone titles by Lauri Robinson available now:

  Wedding Night with the Ranger

  Her Midnight Cowboy

  Nights with the Outlaw

  Disobeying the Marshal

  Testing the Lawman’s Honor

  Enjoy more passion through the ages with the sensual Harlequin Historical UNDONE titles on sale now:

  One Reckless Night by Helen Dickson

  The Debutante’s Ruse by Linda Skye

  For the Highlander’s Pleasure by Joanne Rock

  Behind the Courtesan’s Mask by Marguerite Kaye

  Capturing the Silken Thief by Jeannie Lin

  How to Tempt a Viscount by Margaret McPhee

  The Unrepentant Rake by Barbara Monajem

  Craving something a little longer? Find more historical romantic adventure from Harlequin Historical at http://www.Harlequin.com or your local bookstore.

  Interested in writing for Harlequin Historical UNDONE? Send your submission to undone@harlequin.ca.

  About the Author

  Lauri Robinson’s chosen genre to write is western historical. When asked why, she says, “Because I know I wasn’t the only girl who wanted to grow up and marry Little Joe Cartwright.”

  With a degree in early childhood education, Lauri has spent decades working in the non-profit field and claims once upon a time and happily ever after romance novels have always been a form of stress relief. When her husband suggested she write one, she took the challenge and has loved every minute of the journey.

  Lauri lives in rural Minnesota where she and her husband spend every spare moment with their three grown sons and four grandchildren. She works part time, volunteers for several organizations, and is a diehard Elvis and NASCAR fan. Her favorite getaway location is the woods of northern Minnesota on the land homesteaded by her great-grandfather.

  ISBN: 978-14592-2810-8

  The Sheriff’s Last Gamble

  Copyright © 2012 by Lauri Robinson

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the
publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com

  If you enjoyed The Sheriff’s Last Gamble, don’t miss Lauri Robinson’s new novel for Harlequin Historical, available May 2015. In A Fortune for the Outlaw’s Daughter Maddie Stockwell must pose as Cole “Lucky” DuMont’s wife as they make their fortune in Alaska! Read on for an exclusive extract…

  “Sorry to disturb you,” Lucky said. “I just need a coat. It’s a chilly night.”

  “You didn’t disturb me.” She found the nearby lamp and flint box and lit the wick. “I wasn’t asleep.”

  His gaze settled on her briefly as he walked to the foot of the bunk where nails held a couple of coats. She’d eyed those jackets more than once, expecting she’d need a coat once they arrived in Alaska. There were so many things she’d need, and wasn’t sure how to obtain them. She now had an extra dress. The one from Mrs. Smother. She’d kept her old one, once she’d laundered it—that had been her first lesson in domestic chores as Mrs. Smother had called it—and she’d never parted with her petticoat and the nugget sewed in it. It’s what she’d use to outfit herself for gold mining, but that little nugget wasn’t going to be enough.

  Watching Lucky pull down a coat, the thought of what the women below believed made her insides burn with embarrassment. “I promised Captain Trig I wouldn’t say anything to the women about what you told them.”

  “I didn’t tell them anything. They assumed.”

  She nodded. “He told me that. I’m sorry about putting you in such a predicament.”

  Putting on his coat, he let out a snort that held disgust. “Predicament? That’s not what I’d call it.”

  His orneriness was a bit irritating. It wasn’t as if she’d done it on purpose. “I don’t like it any more than you do,” she responded.

  He scowled.

  She let out the air once again heavy in her chest. “I will never get married and even pretending to be galls me.”

  “It galls you?”

  “Yes, it galls me.” The cabin was tiny, and made smaller by his large frame filling half of it, yet he didn’t make the space feel uncomfortable, just stuffy with his attitude. She swung her legs over the edge of the bunk and the book she’d been reading earlier fell onto the floor.

  It landed next to his feet. He picked it up and handed it to her. “I thought every woman wanted to get married.”

  Running a hand over the cover, she said, “Maybe the foolish ones. I plan on having gold. Lots of it. Why would I want to have to share it with someone? A husband I mean. They’d claim it was theirs as much as it was mine, and spend it as they chose…I won’t have that.” Not wanting to sound completely callous, she said, “I won’t be a miser. I’ll spend my money. Pay Captain Trig back and buy the things I want. Even share it, but I don’t want anyone telling me what I have to do with it. What I can do with it.”

  “What if you don’t find any gold?”

  “Not find any gold?” She stood. “I’ll find gold, Lucky. I promise you that.” Encouraged by the tiny half smile that appeared on his face, she added, “I’ll find some for you, too.”

  Copyright © 2015 by Lauri Robinson

  We hope you enjoyed reading

  FLANNA AND THE LAWMAN

  by Cathy Maxwell

  and

  THE SHERIFF’S LAST GAMBLE

  by Lauri Robinson

  If you liked reading these stories,

  then you will love Lauri Robinson’s other titles

  from Harlequin® Historical books:

  The Rebel Daughter

  The Bootlegger’s Daughter

  A Fortune for the Outlaw’s Daughter

  The Wrong Cowboy

  The Major’s Wife

  Available now,

  only from Harlequin Historical books!

  Where love is timeless.

  www.Harlequin.com

  ISBN-13: 9781460390368

  Flanna and the Lawman

  Copyright © 2015 by Cathy Maxwell

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  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.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com