Loving the Texas Lawman

by Sands, Charlene

  “This one will be a Barely There Express.”

  Ella’s brows gathered and she shook her head.

  Jillian stifled a chuckle. She’d loved coming up with the concept and a small town like Hope Wells was a perfect place for experimentation. “It’s going to be just as grand as my other stores, but on a slightly smaller scale. We’ll have inventory and anything not in the store can easily be ordered online.”

  A light beamed in Ella’s eyes for a second before the dullness returned. “Oh.”

  So sad. Back in high school Jillian would never have guessed she’d feel sorry for Ella. The girl seemed to have a perfect life. “Well, I was hoping to talk to someone about catering desserts for my… uh, engagement party next weekend.”

  Ella immediately peered over the bakery case, lighting on her diamond ring. “Did you finally snag him? Jack Walker?”

  Wow. How was she supposed to answer that? Sometimes, the question spoken told more about the person asking than the answer given. Ella certainly took no prisoners. She’d been uppity then, looking down her nose at Jillian and now she seemed to have somehow perfected that unbecoming quality. It was nothing new, but Jillian’s life was different now. She was no longer the poverty-stricken misunderstood girl and obviously, Ella was hardly the prom queen anymore. Her own left hand was bare and yet, she refused to let bygones be bygones.

  “Yes, Jack asked me to marry him. And I accepted.” That was the truth, without the incendiary details.

  “Congratulations.” She couldn’t have been less enthused. She handed Jillian a brochure. “Here’s a list of what we do. Look it over and call the number on the back when you decide what you’d like.”

  Jillian exited the bakery struck by Ella’s attitude. What had happened to Ella Ashton, the popular girl with a mass of friends and great influence in town? It was a pity the girl wasn’t living a happier existence. Had she let life drag her down? Had her entitled life somehow turned bitter and cold?

  At least Jillian had accomplished one thing today. Ella had always had a gossip grapevine that extended throughout the entire town and surrounding ranches in the area. If that hadn’t changed, then by nightfall news of Jack Walker’s engagement would spread like wildfire.

  She sighed.

  The next stop on her agenda this morning was a visit to the Hope Wells Gazette where she’d place an engagement announcement. Between the two, by tomorrow everyone in the county would know about her upcoming nuptials.

  Chapter Five

  Jack exited the hardware store, his arms loaded down with supplies needed to make repairs on his home. Not that the place wasn’t livable, but now that he was fake-engaged to Jillian, he had to spruce up the place. A new coat of paint would brighten the drab kitchen walls, a little handiwork to rehinge the bathroom cabinets would keep them from sticking, and installing two new overhead fans would keep the summer heat away. He relished the work that would keep his hands busy. And off Jillian Lane.

  Someone bumped his side and a bag of paintbrushes dropped out of his hand. “Ah, damn.” He fumbled to keep the rest of his purchases from emptying onto the ground.

  “Damn is right, friend.”

  It was Colby and Jack figured the accidental shoulder bump wasn’t so accidental. He eyed his high school buddy. “What are to trying to do, knock me to the ground, Cole?”

  Colby bent to pick up the paintbrushes. “I should, being as I’m the last to know you got engaged to Jillian.” He jammed the bag into Jack’s chest. “Had to hear it from one of my hands at the Circle R. What’s up with that?”

  “Nothin’s up. She came back to town and we… reconnected.”

  “That fast? She’s only been in town a few days. Your engagement is already posted in the newspaper from what I hear.”

  Jack shrugged. Yesterday, Jillian had asked that the announcement be printed as soon as possible and already this morning three people from H.W. Hardware as well as Colby had questioned him about it. By noon, all of Hope Wells would know Sheriff Jack Walker was engaged. Again.

  The lies and deception wore on him. All he could do was play the part and hope for the best.

  “I mean, I know you always had a thing for her, but when she left town and broke your heart, I thought you’d washed your hands of her.”

  He had. It had taken him some years, but he’d finally moved on with his life. Yet, there’d been times when he’d catch sight of a blonde woman with a killer body in town from some distance away and his heart would flip, thinking it was Jillian. Or, he’d hear a song on the radio and think of her. Even the sweet smell of strawberries at times, reminded him of how her hair smelled when he kissed her.

  “Obviously, things have changed,” Jack said. “Jillian came back to open one of her shops in town and… you know how it is.”

  Colby scrubbed his jaw. “You’re sure about this?”

  He nodded. There was no doubt his friend was watching out for him. Jack thought he’d been sure about Jolene, and that had been a disaster. Yet, when she’d left him, he hadn’t been all that broken up. It was more embarrassment than heartache that ate at him. He’d let himself believe Jolene was the one for him. And he’d been proven wrong. “I’m sure.”

  He hated lying to his good friend, but the fewer people who knew about their little marriage bargain, the better. There’d be less chance of the secret getting out and he didn’t want to put his friends in the position of having to lie for him. An image of Beau shot into his head reminding him why he was doing this. Yep, he had to stick to the plan.

  Colby studied him a moment longer and then stuck out his hand for a shake. “You’re forgiven. Congratulations.”

  They pumped once. “Thanks and sorry for… you know. It’s been sort of a whirlwind. We’re having an engagement party at the house next Saturday night. You’re first on the invitation list.”

  “Well then, I wouldn’t miss it.”

  And if he was smart, he’d have Dakota on his arm. But Colby was a hard case in that regard.

  “Okay then. Talk to you soon, buddy.”

  They parted in the parking lot and Jack tossed his supplies into the bed of his truck. Instead of heading straight home to start on repairs, he drove down Main Street curious what Jillian was up to. She had her hands full these days, with planning their engagement party and transforming the old bookstore into a high-end lingerie shop. It amazed him how much his life had changed in the one week since he’d found Jillian taking a hot soak at the wells. In a sense she was using him, or as she’d put it, asking him for a favor to get her life and business back on track. But Jack was using her too, to get on the good side of the judge and hope for a favorable outcome with the adoption.

  The whole mess left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

  Jillian appeared at the front window inside her shop dressed in jeans, her long hair pulled into a ponytail at the top of her head and the man she was speaking to was eyeballing her like he had the perfect right. Brett Collier. She’d hired him to help with the transformation. It shouldn’t unsettle him that Brett was working for her, but the carpenter had an eye for the ladies and right now it seemed Brett was taking aim at Jillian.

  Jack parked his truck, a tick working at his jaw. Brett was unmarried, twenty-six years young and spent all of his free time at the gym, building his body and making the single ladies of Hope Wells drool.

  As he sauntered into the shop, the quaint door chime rang his presence off tune.

  “I’ll add that chime to the list or repairs,” Brett said, holding Jillian’s gaze, the clipboard in his hand forgotten. The guy needed a good strong message and Jack was more than willing to deliver it.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” Jack said, coming to stand beside Jillian. He wrapped an arm around her waist, splayed his fingers over her hip and drew her up against him.

  She stiffened under his palm but plastered a smile on her face, her eyes blinking rapidly and suddenly he’d remembered her number one condition. No touching unless absolutely necessa
ry. Well, hell. This was necessary.

  “Hello, Jack.”

  “Sheriff,” Brett said giving him a glance before returning his attention to Jillian.

  “What are you doing here?” Her voice carried in the empty room and bounced off walls that still held dusty bookshelves.

  “Can’t a guy come visit his fiancée just because?” Jack planted a few tiny kisses along Jillian’s slender throat and her deep intake of breath made him smile. He was going to pay for that, but it was worth it.

  “Oh, yeah, I heard about your engagement,” Brett said. “Smart man, taking Miss Lane off the market. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks,” Jack said.

  Jillian refused to look at him, turning her attention back to Brett. “Yes, thank you. If there’s anything more I can think of, I’ll give you a call, Brett.”

  “Right,” he said, tucking his clipboard under his Popeye bicep. “You have my number.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

  “Sure thing. I’ll be here bright and shiny.”

  As soon as Brett walked outside, Jillian faced him, her eyes flashing. “What was that all about?”

  “What was what all about?”

  “You know, Jack Walker.”

  “I don’t know,” he said, twisting his lips. Jillian was especially beautiful when she was hot under the collar.

  “Why did you kiss me in front of him? Did you want to claim ownership or something?”

  “We’re supposed let people know we’re engaged. Isn’t that the plan?”

  “I’d already told him we were. And I showed him my engagement ring.”

  “He probably never saw it, from all the ogling he was doing. The guy couldn’t keep his eyeballs in his head.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Brett?”

  “In your dreams.” This conversation wasn’t going in the right direction.

  From the moment he’d walked in here and put a hand on her waist, he’d been overwhelmed with… what? Lust, desire and yeah, jealousy. Which was ridiculous because he wasn’t getting seriously involved with Jillian in that way. She was his fake fiancée and they would have a pretend marriage that would last a maximum of twelve months and that was that.

  “You are jealous.”

  “Jillian,” he warned. “The guy’s a player.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I’m not interested. I’ve got enough to handle right now.” She gave him a pointed look. “And I doubt Brett was ogling. I’m covered in dust, wearing torn jeans and an ancient T-shirt that I should toss in the garbage.”

  “You do and I’ll dig it right out of the trash.”

  “What?” Puzzled, she shook her head.

  “Nothing.” There was no point telling her how pretty she looked right now and if he could, he’d take her into his arms and kiss the daylights out of her. Those little pecks he’d given her on the throat had backfired. The more he touched her, the more he wanted to touch her. The more he kissed her, the more he wanted to kiss her. And it wouldn’t end there. He wanted to do things to her he’d only imagined in his daydreams. “I like that shirt on you, is all.”

  He took a few deep breaths and decided Jillian was a three deep breaths kind of girl. She always had been and some things never change. He whipped up a smile. “Is there anything I can do to help you here?”

  “No thanks,” she said, seeming to recover from their little spat. “I brought my computer. I’m going to do some work online.”

  “Where?” He looked around the place again.

  “There’s an old desk in the backroom I can work on.”

  “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable at home?” He meant his guesthouse, but still the words kind of stuck in his throat in a pleasant way that scared the stuffing out of him.

  “I think I want to be here and get acclimated. I’ll be able to envision the shop and come up with ideas for the floor space.”

  “Okay, then I’ll see you at dinner tonight. I’m grilling.”

  She looked about ready to decline, but then curiosity lit in her eyes. “You grill?”

  “Years of bachelorhood required some degree of cooking on my part. Grilling’s my thing, I guess. On my days off that is.”

  No one would know if they took their meals together or not in the big house Jack owned, but somehow the thought of her being alone in the guesthouse picking at a salad didn’t set right with him. Not when he intended to fire up the grill tonight. “You comin’?”

  She stared at him, those bright baby blues melt-worthy, doing a number on him as she took her time contemplating. He wished like hell she’d say yes. It wasn’t like a date or anything. Shit, how ridiculous that sounded since he was officially engaged to the woman. Even so, he held his breath waiting for her answer.

  “Yes, that’d be nice.”

  He gave her a nod, hiding his relief. “Okay then. I’m off to do some repairs at the house. See you tonight.”

  He exited the shop, forcing himself not to look back, not to see if her eyes were still on him as he climbed into the cab of his truck. He put the key in the ignition, revved up the engine, and drove off.

  Never knowing.

  And mentally kicking himself for even wondering.

  *

  When the words on the computer screen started blurring together, Jillian knew she’d been at it too long. The dusty backroom that would soon serve as her office and employee lounge was closing in on her. She powered down her computer and rose from the straight back chair to stretch out. Lifting her arms up, she worked at the kinks in her shoulders and rotated her head in winding circles a few times. There. Better.

  Where had the time gone? It was already past two in the afternoon and she’d forgotten to eat lunch. Right on cue her stomach began making unfeminine growls and the ridiculous sounds coming from her neglected belly made her smile. Thank goodness, she was alone. Walking from the backroom to the front window of the shop, she glanced outside to witness small-town America in action on a regular weekday. The shops across the street were well kept, the bank to the left solid in red brick, the diner down the street, refurbished with yellow and white tiles and a flashy hand-painted logo on the window. Each shop had a unique quality about them, no two appearing the same. So different than the new trends in big cities, where an entire block’s worth of establishments would all sport the same modern design and architecture.

  People walked by at an even pace, cars moved slowly down the streets, the open sky above filtered sunshine down until late in the day when the sun would descend the horizon. There were no big buildings or mountains in this ultra flat part of Texas to obstruct the view of the amazing sunsets.

  As a girl, Jillian had grown to hate small-town life. She hadn’t been treated fairly and it was more small minds rather than the size of the town that had made her wary. In a sense, she was trapped here by circumstances she couldn’t control. She was trying to fit in, trying her best to make the time she had here as pleasant as possible.

  The corner of the Bluebonnet Bakery brochure stuck out of her purse reminding her she had some things to cross off her list today. Closing up shop, she stood on the sidewalk as two elderly woman approached. She smiled at them, ready to cross the street. To her surprise the women stepped in front of her, and two sets of aged eyes pinned her down, the pinched tight disapproval on their faces almost shocking.

  “You’re the one opening that X-rated shop right here on Main Street,” the taller of the women said.

  “Children walk by here,” the other said. “It’s shameful. All those clothes on display right before their eyes.”

  Jillian gave her head a quick shake, hardly believing her ears. “I’m sorry?”

  “You’re not in New York now. This is Hope Wells and we have morals and decency here.”

  “That’s right. You tell her, Marla.” The woman speaking was thin and lanky, her back hunched over, as if she couldn’t for the life of her straighten up.

  She did most of the talking.
The other woman was chunky and wore a colorful dress and an Aunt Bea hat atop her graying hair, making the silent statement that Hope Wells wasn’t too far off the mark from Mayberry, USA.

  “Ladies, please.” She wouldn’t bother correcting them that she was from L.A. and not New York. They’d only lump the two together as big city dens of immorality.

  “You’re connected to that, that, criminal. I read all about it in the newspaper. And to think, you’re to marry the finest sheriff in all of Texas.” The taller of the two began shaking her head.

  Good God. Not this again. Jillian held her tongue when all she wanted was to scream her frustration until her lungs burned. How many times did she have to hear that she wasn’t good enough for this town, for the very heroic, highly sought after, Jack Walker?

  “Ladies, I can assure you that nothing X-rated will ever be on display in my storefront window. I’m aware of small-town values and, of course, the sensibilities of children, but you might just be surprised at my inventory. Why, I even have lingerie that you both would enjoy. You see, my designs are for all ages… to make a woman feel beautiful. Every woman wants to feel that way. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Their brows lifted in unison as if Jillian had actually stunned them. “You should come by when the shop opens and I’ll personally find you something soft and silky and warm to wear on cold, lonely nights.”

  The tall woman gasped. “Well, I never…” But the shorter of the two tilted her head and contemplated.