by Kait Nolan
“Well, you were already my favorite, but that pretty much sealed the deal.”
At only three months apart, she and Cam had been more like siblings than cousins growing up. Cam had a tendency to look out for her just like her actual brother, but unlike Mitch, he managed to do it without trying to run her life. It was a gift she didn’t overlook.
Sliding onto a stool, she angled to where she could see the stage and took a swallow of Yuengling. “So what has Wishful’s power couple been up to this week?”
“I am on the hunt for rare roses for our new police chief,” Cam said.
“Roses? Why?” Ethan hadn’t struck Miranda as the type who’d be into gardening. Gardening took time, and best as she could tell, he was as much a workaholic as she was.
“Something to do with a case, apparently. He said a man’s life was prospectively at stake.”
“His or someone else’s?” Miranda asked.
“Chester Harkin’s, apparently. He told me to expect Chester to pick them up whenever they came in.”
The level of relief she felt that it wasn’t Ethan himself trying to get into some woman’s good graces left her feeling ridiculous. It wasn’t like they had a Thing.
“Pretty sure he’s not seeing anybody.” Norah’s lips curved in a knowing smirk. “I’m sure we’d have heard about it if he were. He’s a pretty hot topic of conversation.”
Miranda thought of his poor, abused, yet still magnificent ass. “He’s pretty hot, period.” But that wasn’t the appeal. Or at least, not all of it. Deciding to throw caution to the wind—Norah would end up discussing this with Cam through spousal privilege or whatever—she fixed her gaze on her cousin. “You were part of the hiring committee. What do you know about him?”
“And why would you be asking, Cuz? Idle curiosity?”
“A bit more than idle, considering I had my hands on his ass last weekend. Sadly it was in my ER rather than more interesting circumstances.”
Cam covered his ears. “I don’t want to hear about wherever your brain is going. You’re my cousin.”
“Hey, if I can get over the fact that you’re sleeping with my best friend, you can get over the fact that I am a woman with needs.”
He went pale.
Shaking her head in pity, Norah leaned over to kiss him. “Go get me another cider from the bar and see if Adele will put in an order for some nachos, while you’re there.”
“You’ll be done with this conversation when I get back?” he asked, a hopeful expression on his face.
“Get gone, Leonidas.”
Miranda couldn’t decide whether to be amused or annoyed at how fast he booked it away from their table. “Okay, what do you know?”
“That you two were setting off sparks at the diner when you ran into him last week.”
“Good to know, but not what I was asking. The man’s been a closed book since he got here three months ago. The gossip train is failing me on this one.”
“He’s ex-military. Army, I think.”
Miranda waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah, I already know that. Army. College on GI Bill. Then the last decade with the Marshals. BFFs with Clay from college, which is why he wanted to come here in the first place. Tell me something I don’t know.”
Norah laughed. “It sounds like you may be better informed than I am.”
“Y’all hired him based on that alone?”
“Well, that would’ve been plenty—his record is nothing short of impressive—but when Judd stepped down as Interim Chief, he threw his support fully behind Ethan. He was instrumental in rescuing Autumn when she was kidnapped last fall. It says a lot about a man that he’d throw himself into pursuit of a fugitive, when he wasn’t even part of the department.”
Yes, it did. “From what I’ve seen, he’s a man of great integrity.”
“That sounds like the voice of observation.”
“Nothing I can talk about.” He was a man who’d no doubt seen some serious shit, between his military service and his time with the Marshals. But the experiences hadn’t led him to dehumanize people. If anything, he’d gone the extra mile to try to make a connection with Rene Forbes. It was that more than anything else that had Miranda intrigued. Because it made him Stephen’s polar opposite.
“Been a long time since I’ve seen you interested in anybody.”
“Been a long time since I was.”
Norah propped her chin in her hands. “So what are you gonna do about it?”
“Nothing for the moment. He’s a patient.”
“Oh, please. If you cut out everybody you’ve ever treated, you’d never have anyone to date.”
A fact Miranda was more than a little aware of. She tipped back her beer. “He won’t always be a patient. Once he’s healed up, I’m in the clear. For what, I have no idea. I don’t have time for anything serious, but I’m ready to open up my options.”
Cam returned with Norah’s cider.
“I’ll drink to that,” she said.
“To what?” he asked.
His wife pressed a smacking kiss to his cheek. “Nothing you want to hear about, baby.”
Laughing, Miranda clinked her bottle to Norah’s.
“So this teenage kid approaches Delia Watson while she’s browsing and asks if he can help her. According to Miss Delia, she recognized he was ‘trying to case her,’” Ethan emphasized with air quotes, “and told him in no uncertain terms, ‘No you may not.’ So she goes on to browse. A little while later, somebody starts shrieking ‘Stop him! He’s got my wallet!’ Some quick thinking employee locks the front door so nobody can leave, and the entire store gets in on this whole game of chase trying to stop the thief.”
“Even though there are laws about locking the doors during business hours,” Judd observed.
“That’s what I said. Anyway, Miss Delia and Miss Betty go on and keep browsing, as this whole insanity takes a while, right? And then she sees him out of the corner of her eye coming up her aisle. She turns on him, points her finger like a gun and says, ‘Stop right there!’ And he actually does for long enough for Miss Betty to whack him with her purse. He tries to run, but Miss Delia heads him off, until Liam Montgomery actually takes him down and holds him until Clint and I can arrive.”
Judd snickered. “Trust the Casserole Patrol to be all up in the middle of that.”
“Oh, there’s more. So I’m taking everybody’s statement and as she’s telling me about Liam doing the take down, Miss Delia insists, ‘Well, I could’ve taken him.’ And then Miss Betty pipes up, ‘I lost my chance! I had a taser in my purse!’”
Judd had to grab onto the edge of the desk to keep from sliding to the floor, he was laughing so hard. “Man, I love my job as investigator with the Sheriff’s Department, but I do miss those crazy calls. I’m surprised Miss Maudie Bell wasn’t with them.”
“I’d just come from her, actually. She’s on the warpath against Chester Harkin and his horses. And I don’t blame her. Her roses got trampled. I’m making him replace them.”
“Not gonna do much good unless he gets that fence finally repaired.”
“Yeah, I’m helping him do that, too, on Saturday.”
Judd angled his head. “Look at you getting all into small town policing. Sounds like you’re settling in just fine.”
“I’m sure as hell trying. You working on anything interesting right now? I’m living vicariously through you.”
“Got a drug ring I’m trying to bust.”
“Meth?”
“Prescription stuff. There’s been a string of robberies at pharmacies and doctor’s offices all around Lawley over the past six months. Spread out, but same MO every time. Gloves, mask. After hours. Guy’s fast. He’s in and out before police can respond to stop him, and he knows what he’s looking for.”
“Any connection to the robbery at the pharmacy here from year before last?”
“Not as far as we can tell. Those guys were put away.”
“Is it just in Lawley or do you suspe
ct something broader?”
“The robberies seem localized, but there’s been some evidence of sales around the county. So you bring anybody in on drugs that aren’t prescribed to them, I wanna know about it.”
“I can do that. I’ll have Rowan go back through the DUIs we’ve brought in during that span and see if she can’t find out who was on something other than alcohol and whether they had a valid prescription.”
“I appreciate it. How’s she working out for you? She been able to shake the city off enough to settle into small-town policing?”
Another Texas transplant, Rowan Beale was the only member of Wishful PD newer than Ethan himself. The great niece of Robert Curry, the long-time Chief who’d stepped down after a heart attack last fall, she’d blown the door wide on corruption inside her home department in Houston and wanted a change. She’d moved to Wishful to be closer to her great uncle, and to escape the fallout from that scandal.
“She’s a good officer. Solid. Steady. Eager to prove herself. She’s settled in well, and the others seem to be good with her.”
“I expect the fact that she’s dating Nash Brewer helps with that.”
Yeah, it hadn’t hurt that one of their reserve officers was vouching for her. “You’re not wrong. So, how’s married life treating you?”
Judd’s expression softened. “Better than I could ever have imagined. I owe a great part of that to you.”
“You’d have found Autumn without me.”
“I found her quicker with you. I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Thank you. You ever need an assist for anything, you let me know. I’m there.”
“God willing, I won’t ever have to call in that marker, but I certainly appreciate the offer.”
A tap sounded on Ethan’s office door and Autumn poked her head in. “Sorry I’m late. The book was really cooking.”
Judd hauled her in for a thorough kiss. “Hey, Firefly. Good day?”
Autumn sighed. “Good day. Better now.” She tipped her head to her husband’s chest.
They made a picture of marital contentment that had Ethan’s gut twisting. Had he and Becca ever been that easy together, even at the beginning? It had been so damned long and there’d been so much contention at the end, he couldn’t remember.
Autumn straightened. “Y’all ready to head out? I’m starved.”
Ethan checked his watch. “Clay ought to be just starting his second set by the time we get there.”
They caravanned up to The Mudcat. The parking lot was so full, they had to park down the block and walk a bit. In the seemingly wall-to-wall people, Ethan expected to be able to slip in unnoticed, but from his position on the stage, Clay was apparently watching out.
As he wrapped an old Sammy Kershaw number, he called out. “There’s my brother from another mother. Ethan, get your ass up here and play one with me.”
All eyes turned to him. He pointed to his duty belt and shook his head. “Still on duty, bro.”
Clay sighed, hamming it up for the crowd, who’d all turned to gape at Ethan, but Ethan recognized the legitimate disappointment in his friend’s face. “Fine, fine. How ’bout some Clapton, y’all?” It shocked Ethan not at all when he immediately launched into “I Shot The Sheriff.”
With an eye roll, Ethan lifted both middle fingers in a salute that had Clay grinning. He was really gonna have to break this streak soon. Making his way over to the table Judd and Autumn had managed to snag, Ethan’s gaze zeroed in on a familiar blonde head that had his mood shifting. Miranda was out of the lab coat, perched on a high chair in jeans and a gray sweater that clung in all the right places.
“So that’s the way the wind blows,” Autumn drawled, as he sat and tried not to wince at the pull of stitches.
Ethan swung his head around to face her. “Huh?”
Laughing, Judd said, “Don’t even try to hide. She has a sixth sense about these things. She’s won more pools down at Dinner Belles than anybody else in town.”
“Pools about what?”
“Who’s gonna end up with who,” she explained.
“Y’all bet on that?”
“Honey, we bet on everything. Not a lot going on in our sleepy little town, in case you hadn’t noticed. Don’t know if they’ve started one up on you yet.”
“You can always call Omar and get a head start on that,” Judd pointed out.
“I just might.”
Recognizing the futility of protest, Ethan said nothing, glancing back at Miranda. She looked his way and lifted a hand in a quick wave. He couldn’t even stop the curve of his lips. What was it about this woman that pulled him?
“You should go talk to her,” Judd said.
Ethan didn’t need to start anything. He needed to focus on the job.
“She’s single,” Autumn added in a sing-song voice.
Clay’s words from last week echoed through his head. You need to get back out there.
What the hell? It can’t hurt to test the waters. “Order me a Coke, will you?” Ethan slid off the stool and headed across the bar. “Cam, Norah, Doc.” He nodded at each of them in turn, eyes lingering on Miranda.
“Unlike you, I’m off-duty. I think you can call me Miranda.” Her lips curved in an inviting smile.
“Fair enough.” Ethan managed to shift his attention to her cousin. “Cam, are you having any luck tracking down those roses for me?”
“Got a couple leads. Should know something by the end of the week. They’re pretty rare, so gonna be pricy.”
“Still cheaper than the fines Chester keeps racking up, and more likely to keep the peace with his neighbor. Anyway, that’s not actually why I came over here.” He swung his gaze back to his quarry. “Miranda, you want to dance?”
“I’d love to dance, but as your doctor, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, what with the stitches. I did tell you no exertion.”
“Then I guess it’ll have to be a slow one.” He didn’t know what had gotten into him, but flirting with the pretty doctor was more fun than he’d had in ages.
“Clay doesn’t tend toward the slow,” she observed.
Turning toward the stage, Ethan caught Clay’s eye and shot him the hand signal they’d developed as wingmen back in college. Help a brother out. Clay winked, wrapped the Clapton, and launched into the intro for a slow Chris Young cover.
Ethan turned back to Miranda and held out a hand. “Problem solved.”
Her smile turned feline and his blood leapt as she placed her hand in his. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Cowboy.”
Chapter 5
As Ethan led her through the crowd to the tiny patch of dance floor not already packed with Clay’s fangirls, Miranda felt all the eyes in the room fall to them. She wondered if Ethan knew what he’d done by asking her to dance here, now, with most of Wishful’s single gals present to see. His intention might have been a simple dance, but he was effectively declaring his interest in the most public fashion possible. Since it was exactly what she wanted, she wasn’t going to complain.
He pulled her into his arms with an easy twirl that said he’d done this many times before. She bumped up against him and was reminded of that day in the diner. She’d thought way too much about the feel of his hands on her since that day. As they curved around her waist and her hand, she knew that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. He had good, strong hands.
“Sorry about the belt.”
Miranda tipped her head back. At 5’10” it was exceptionally rare for her to have to look up at a guy. Ethan had a good five inches on her. She loved that. “Small-town cops are never really off duty.”
Those gray eyes seemed warmer under the lights of the dance floor. “Neither are small-town doctors.”
“True enough. There tend to be a lot of blurred lines.” She felt pretty good about those hazy boundaries just now, pressed close enough she could feel the heat of him. It started a hum in her blood she hadn’t experienced in far too long. She wanted to get to know this man. �
��So, are you gonna play with Clay?”
Ethan gave a half laugh. “Is he looping you in on this campaign, too?”
“There’s a campaign?”
“We had a duo back in college. Did pretty well on the music scene in Austin. He wanted Nashville. I...didn’t.”
“Nashville? Y’all were that good?” She couldn’t quite reconcile the serious cop with country music star.
“We could’ve been. But it was a long time ago.”
She wondered what he’d been like back then. “You don’t feel the pull to play?”
“Sure. But I’m still establishing my reputation in this town. I need people to respect the badge.”
“Blurred lines, Chief. Just because you can perform isn’t going to make people respect your authority any less. And I, for one, am now insanely curious what you’d sound like.”
The smile hit his eyes first and slowly curved his mouth, and all she could think was Damn.
“Maybe you’ll find out one of these nights.”
As the song ended and Clay swung into something more upbeat, Ethan gave her a twirl and started a two-step. That was just fine with Miranda. She wasn’t in any hurry to sit back down. Two dances turned into three, three to five. Ethan Greer was a hella good dancer. If she had some concerns about his stitches, well, it wasn’t like she couldn’t fix them. By the time they stopped to hydrate, Cam and Norah had pushed the table together with Autumn and Judd’s. The chili cheese fries were almost all gone, and she didn’t even care. When was the last time she’d had this much fun?
Judd nudged a glass in Ethan’s direction. “You got some moves there, Chief.”
“A few. Got some better ones when I don’t have a hole in my ass.” He tipped the glass back and drained it.
Miranda guzzled a glass of water instead of the rest of her beer. “You realize you’re never going to live that down, right?”
He heaved a beleaguered sigh. “I have resigned myself. Dave Lautner is banned from any more classes I’m teaching, that’s for damned sure. I’m surprised your admin didn’t give you a blow-by-blow of how it all went down.”
