Her Valentine Sheriff

by Deb Kastner

  She was staring up at him with her beautiful green eyes so wide and sensitive his heart wanted to burst. He could read worlds into her gaze. He tried to swallow around the lump of emotion that formed in his throat, but found he couldn’t.

  She was so lovely with the moon and stars as the backdrop. In that moment, all rational thought fled, and he couldn’t think about a single thing he wanted more than to frame her face with his hands and unite his lips to hers—and his heart to hers.

  He could see it in her gaze, as well. The hope. The yearning.

  With his heart in his throat, he leaned down, intent on making their longing a reality.

  Chapter Eight

  Mary stood abruptly and plowed right into Eli, the top of her head connecting solidly with his chin. He didn’t know whether it was her headache or the fact that she wasn’t wearing her glasses, but her depth perception was off, and she’d caught him by surprise.

  “Oh, dear. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she kept repeating. He gently laid his hands on her shoulders to help her regain her equanimity, but she wrenched herself out of his grasp.

  Her eyes glinted like a trapped wild animal, and she looked ready to bolt. She started to walk away. He couldn’t let her do that. Not until he’d said what he needed to say.

  “Mary.” His voice came out low and husky.

  She stopped but did not turn.

  “I’m sorry if I’m the reason you missed the social.”

  “You’re not.” He couldn’t see her expression, but her voice was too tight for him to believe she was telling the full truth.

  “Not sorry?” he teased, trying to lighten the heavy mood. “Because I assure you that I am, from the bottom of my heart.”

  She shook her head, an incoherent groan emerging from deep inside her.

  “Hey, you know, I was thinking.” He would keep trying. “I’ve never actually had the pleasure of dancing with you.” It was half a statement, half an invitation.

  This crazy idea popped into his head. He must have seen it in a movie, because the notion would never have come to him on his own. He’d sweep her into his arms and waltz her through the moonlight. She’d have to notice him then, right?

  In reality, his execution would no doubt be none-too-pretty, especially given that there was no music out here but the occasional howl of a coyote, and he didn’t even know how to waltz, anyway, so the idea very well might not be nearly as romantic as it appeared to be when he’d watched it in a movie. But now that the thought had filled his head, it refused to be set aside. He’d already come to the conclusion that Mary hadn’t left the social because of a headache so much as because she’d been distressed over his actions, and he desperately wanted to make it up to her.

  Mary turned, her gaze meeting his. He thought he saw the beginning of tears shimmering in her eyes, but a cloud obscured the moonlight, and he was left guessing. Her lips moved awry, giving her a particularly vulnerable expression.

  Two steps and he would have his arms around her. He could fashion it as the beginning of that dance he’d quasi-offered, but in reality, he just wanted to hold her against his chest and feel her heart beating with his, sheltering her and lending her his strength until hers returned.

  He took one step forward before crashing to a standstill at her next words.

  “Yes. You have.”

  “What?” He shook his head in confusion. He had done what? He reached for her shoulders, but she shifted backward, out of his reach.

  “You’ve danced with me before.” She sniffed and gave a self-effacing chuckle. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember.”

  Eli frowned, searching the depths of his memory for the occasion in question. Surely he’d remember it if he’d ever danced with her.

  She scoffed and started walking, Bullet closely following behind her. The dog understood what Eli apparently did not—that he was in the wrong, somehow. Again. Bullet wouldn’t be the one sleeping in the doghouse tonight.

  Pride asserted itself in Eli’s chest. He was all for manning up to his mistakes and taking responsibility for his actions, but Mary was talking plain gibberish.

  And she was walking away. Even his own dog had snubbed him.

  Eli huffed and burst into a jog to catch up to her. He was going to see her safely home, even if she wasn’t speaking to him for who-knew-what reason.

  “Hey, I’m sorry.” For what, he didn’t know, but it seemed like the right thing to say. He’d watched his parents’ relationship through the years before his mother’s passing, and had witnessed firsthand that it never hurt to apologize first and then learn why afterward. At the very least, it would buy him time to figure out what was really going on.

  “No, don’t,” she snapped, increasing her pace.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t apologize for not remembering anything. I wouldn’t expect you to. You’re just being nice, because that’s the kind of man you are. You always have been.”

  They turned the corner onto her street. Her residence was only four houses down—not much time for Eli to work through this issue and come to the root of whatever was bothering Mary. He didn’t want the night to end without at least knowing why she was upset.

  He was certain he’d missed something major. In the back of his mind, he continued to scan for facts. He wanted to tell her that she’d missed his point. That all evening he’d been looking forward to—

  That was it.

  “As I recall,” he drawled, loosely draping an arm around her shoulder and choosing to ignore the twinge of her muscles beneath his hand, “once upon a time, there was a girl at her first social, a pretty young thing looking a little lost and a great deal overwhelmed by it all.”

  “You do remember,” she whispered, her wide green eyes encountering his for the slightest moment before she looked away.

  “Darlin’, there is no way I would forget.”

  And there wasn’t. Not now. That long-ago encounter sizzled into his memory like a brand on livestock. The first time they’d ever danced together. He’d been no more than a kid, but even then he remembered being drawn to her.

  He was amazed at how much it had taken to point him in the right direction—back to Mary, the girl he should have noticed all along.

  She’d always been there, right on the outskirts of his existence, but it wasn’t until he’d been forced to work with her that he’d come to see how truly remarkable she was. She outshone even the depths of his fear.

  His mind and heart were so full, praising and thanking God for directing the circumstances of his life the way He had, that he didn’t immediately realize Mary had walked away from him—and was, in fact, already at her door, with the key in the lock.

  How could he have missed her movement, much less the cacophony of barking dogs behind her front door?

  Before he could talk himself out of it, he sprang toward her porch, reaching for her key and turning it in the lock to give him time to reorient and make a plan.

  Nothing. He had nothing.

  He turned the doorknob and stepped aside so she could enter, but as she was passing, he took her elbow.

  She glanced up at him, a pained expression on her face. Maybe that headache really was bothering her more than she cared to admit.

  “Was there something else?” she asked, with a pointed look toward the spot where his hand met her arm.

  “No, I...I...” he stammered. He shook his head, then thought better of it and nodded. “Yes. There is one thing.”

  Their gazes locked, and for a moment Eli thought of nothing beyond the beating of his own pulse. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Didn’t want to. His only desire was to remain caught up in this moment for a lifetime. Every aspect was stamped indelibly in his heart. Her eyes. Her scent. The complex mix of emotions flooding her g
aze.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he murmured, his voice little more than a whisper. Slowly, softly, he planted a lingering kiss against the smoothness of her cheek.

  “Oh!” She slapped a hand over her face and cried out as if he had stung her. Before he could stop her, she rushed through the door with Bullet on her heels, slamming it shut so firmly that the sound reverberated against the quiet night air.

  Eli stood frozen in time, staring mutely at the thick oak door, absorbing the painful impact of her rejection. He felt as if all the emotions he’d been experiencing had exploded, lodging shrapnel in his gut, his lungs, his throat.

  And most of all, his heart.

  He raised a fisted hand to knock, then realized she probably wouldn’t answer no matter how hard he pounded.

  With a sigh that reached the depths of his being, he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black leather jacket and turned away to what felt like an enormously long, lonely walk back to the community center. There would be no party for him. He didn’t even have his dog for company.

  He wished he had his bike. Because he just wanted to ride away from it all.

  * * *

  Mary leaned her forehead against the door and squeezed her eyes tightly closed, but tears still managed to escape from beneath the lids. The throbbing in her head was almost unbearable, but the pain wasn’t even in the same league as that of her heart. Which was, in a word, shredded.

  She placed a hand to her cheek where Eli had kissed her. It still felt warm—or maybe it was the blush she knew stained her face.

  Eli had the ability to take her heart and mind and emotions and juggle them around until she was so dizzy she couldn’t even see straight. Then he’d toss them all high in the air where they would free-fall back to earth.

  And the worst part was, he didn’t even know of his effect on her.

  If only he wasn’t such a nice guy. She wanted to be angry with him for stringing her along this evening, as if she actually meant something to him—and she would be angry, if it wasn’t Eli she was talking about.

  He obviously felt obligated to her in some way, probably because they worked together. By his code of honor, no doubt it was up to the gentleman to see his ailing trainer home from the social, even at the expense of his own party plans.

  Or maybe—and now that she thought of it, it seemed like the most reasonable possibility—Alexis had suggested Eli chase after her. Of course he would agree, in order to please Alexis. It made sense.

  It also made Eli’s actions worth less than nothing where Mary was concerned.

  Oh, he was still the nice guy—he’d taken good care of her and had accompanied her all the way to her doorstep, but in the end, it was his motivation that counted the most, and that was most likely a bid to make Alexis happy.

  Not that that was a bad thing, on the surface—there was nothing wrong with a man going the extra mile for the lady of his choosing, in order to please her and make her happy.

  What was awful was the way his actions had inadvertently left a permanent mark on Mary. Her thoughts were full to bursting with a memory she knew she would have difficulty removing from the forefront of her mind—Eli’s gentle touch. The softness of his gaze as he had wished her a happy Valentine’s Day. The warmth of his breath. The musky, lingering scent of his aftershave. The sweet brush of his lips against her cheek and the deep rumble from his throat that punctuated the action.

  The fact that it was a friendly kiss that meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of his existence.

  Of course, she had no right to blame him for being a good man, especially given the way she’d scolded him. Not many men would have responded to that by insisting on seeing her home. He deserved an apology, straight from her lips. Perhaps even an explanation, were she to be so brave. In any event, she needed to return his dog to him.

  Tomorrow morning, first thing, she would find him and talk to him—though finding him might prove to be problematic. Saturday was the one day a week where she didn’t know how he spent his time. Monday through Friday he was with her, training Bullet, and he never missed Sunday services.

  But Saturday? It was hard to say. He’d said he was a morning person, but maybe he slept in that one day a week. She knew for sure that he was a runner. Perhaps that was how he preferred to spend his weekend mornings.

  No matter. Serendipity wasn’t that large. She had no doubt she would find him, even if she had to comb the town from end to end and ask everyone she met for his whereabouts.

  And when she found him, she would set things right. Or at least, she hoped she’d be able to do so. For the rest of the evening, she had a lot of serious praying and soul-searching to do.

  * * *

  The first thing Eli noticed when he stepped outside that morning was how overcast it was. Black clouds loomed overhead, and the wind picked up the moment he left the house. But bad weather wasn’t going to keep him inside. In fact, it rather matched his mood at the moment.

  He’d woken early and spent the first part of the morning pacing. Before long, the four walls of his apartment were closing in on him. He needed fresh air simply to breathe.

  He’d briefly considered taking a long bike ride, jetting out of town and not looking back, but he was antsy and had too much energy to burn.

  Instead, he put on gray sweatpants, a black hoodie and his running shoes, then headed for the park, where there was a nice greenbelt and jogging trails. Not only would he get a good run in, but his heart was always uplifted watching the oodles of children amusing themselves on the playground, not to mention extended families—grandparents, parents and children—out together, happy just spending time in each other’s company.

  That was what he wanted, what he’d worked for. All the years he’d kept his head down, focusing all his energy on his career—it was all for that dream in the distance. A family.

  His family.

  And to think he’d almost blown it by marrying Natalie. What a disaster that would have been. She wouldn’t have been the least interested in settling down and raising a family. He could only thank God for looking out for him. The saying hindsight was twenty-twenty popped into his mind. And how true it was. What he’d once seen as the most devastating and humiliating moment of his life was actually a turning point for him, a stepping stone, a growth experience, leading him to something—someone—far more precious. He was sure now that he was ready to love again—in fact, he was more than halfway certain that he was already there.

  Of course, that didn’t solve all of his problems. He still had issues, like facing the fact that Mary had literally slammed the door on him the night before. She’d made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want to speak to him.

  Ouch.

  Overcoming that wouldn’t be easy, especially with no insight as to what made Mary tick—or in this case, what had made her ticked. At him. Whatever it was, it was enough for even Bullet to reject him in favor of Mary’s company. But he wasn’t going to give her up. He couldn’t.

  Eli heard his name being called and turned toward the female voice. He jogged in place to keep his heart rate up as he waited for Alexis to approach.

  She waved at him, but it took her a minute to reach him in the cowboy boots she always wore. She was a Texas-born country girl through and through.

  “Where are your kids?” he asked as she drew near.

  “Back at the ranch. Mucking stalls under the supervision of their counselors.”

  Eli chuckled. “Tough love.”

  “The worst kind,” Alexis agreed with a smile that would rival that of the Cheshire cat.

  “Was there something you needed?” he asked, leading her back to the point. Wind rustled through Eli’s hair, causing a lock to drop over his forehead. He threaded it back with his fingers, but it didn’t really help—the wind was getting st
ronger.

  “Big storm today, huh?” Alexis asked, noting the movement. “I haven’t seen any lightning yet, but I still worry about the kids crawling all over the playground equipment. Not the safest place to be in a thunderstorm, if you ask me.”

  “No, it sure isn’t,” Eli agreed. “I guess we Texas stock are tough and resilient. We string our moments of happiness along to the last possible second.”

  “That was actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Alexis said.

  “Oh?” Eli didn’t understand the transition, if there was one. But he stopped running in place for now.

  “Of course. You know—last night, you walking Mary home from the social. A happy moment for you both, I hope?”

  Wow. Now that was straight and to the point. No confusion in that statement—except for the fact that he didn’t have much of an answer for her, or at least not one she’d be pleased to hear.

  “Not exactly.” He shrugged, but it was a jerky movement and not the casual action he was shooting toward.

  Alexis frowned and crossed her arms against the wind. “Why? What happened?”

  “Well, apart from Mary slamming the door in my face, I’d have to say it was more about what didn’t happen.”

  “She didn’t!” Alexis clapped a hand over her mouth, first in shock, and then to cover up her laughter. As if he couldn’t hear her giggling from behind her palm. He quirked a grin, even if he personally didn’t believe there was anything to smile about.

  She shook her head and swatted his shoulder. “You must have done something horrible to her. Mary would never do anything like that without provocation— especially to you.”

  “Well, she did,” Eli grumbled. “And why would you say especially to me?”

  “If you can’t figure that out, Elijah Bishop, then you have a good deal less brain matter than I gave you credit for.”

  “Why, thank you,” he replied wryly, but hope stirred in his chest. Was he totally misreading her, or was she implying that Mary might have tender feelings for him after all? “The truth of the matter is that I’m at a complete loss. I’m the first to admit I’m no expert when it comes to reading women. But Mary, she’s just...all over the place emotionally. I know it’s not easy for her, being that I was once engaged to Natalie. But there are moments when we really connect, and then the next thing I know—well, she’s slamming doors in my face, either literally or figuratively.”