by Lynn LaFleur
She heard two distinct male voices in the office, but that didn’t mean there couldn’t be more than two out there.
Paige slowly turned the lock on the doorknob until she could push down on the lever and open the door a crack. She saw a man dressed in dark clothes with a ski mask over his face. He held a penlight while he looked behind pictures on the walls and behind bookcases.
“Hey.” Another guy, also dressed in dark clothes and wearing a mask, stepped out of the supply closet. “It’s in here.”
He’d found the safe.
These guys would crack that safe and be out of here with the money before the sheriff or Cort could get here. Paige couldn’t let that happen.
Once the second robber stepped into the closet, Paige hurried from the restroom, slammed the supply closet door closed, and jammed one of the metal armchairs beneath the doorknob to keep them from getting out. Grabbing her keys from the top of the desk, she hurried from the office while the robbers kicked at the door and yelled some inventive curse words. After locking the office deadbolt, she ran to the front of the store. Three police cars pulled up as she pushed open the entrance door and ran outside.
Cort’s motorcycle screeched to a halt no more than three yards from her. He barely had time to throw one leg over the seat to stand when she jumped into his arms. Now that Cort held her, the adrenaline rushing through her body made her tremble.
“I’ve got you.” He stroked one hand down her hair. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Lonnie walked over to them, looking official in his uniform and Kevlar vest. “Are they still in the store?”
Paige nodded. “I locked them in the supply closet in the office.” She held up a key on her ring. “That’s the office key.”
Lonnie looked at the deputies behind him. “Let’s go.”
“Wait a minute.” Cort held her upper arms. “You locked them in a closet?”
“That’s where the safe is. When I saw them go inside, I—”
“What do you mean, you saw them go inside?”
“I peeked out from the restroom. I know there are at least two. There might be more. They made a lot of noise kicking at the door to get out.”
A thundercloud passed over Cort’s face before he shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t know whether to be proud or furious.”
“I vote for proud.”
He pulled her back into his arms and Paige went willingly. She heard the door open behind her and turned her head to see two deputies leading each handcuffed man from the store. Now that the robbers no longer wore ski masks, Paige immediately recognized one of them.
“He’s the hot dog machine repairman! He was in the store this morning.”
“That’s a great cover,” Lonnie said. “He could come in and basically be ignored while he checks out the store before they hit it.”
“He may have been in the store before today,” Cort added, “and disabled the machine so he’d have to come back and ‘fix’ it.”
“That’s possible,” Paige said. “I don’t wait on every customer and don’t remember most of the ones I help since they’re in and out as they drive through town.”
Lonnie handed Paige her ring of keys, then looked at Cort. “Guess this wraps up your case, Cort.”
“I guess so.”
“Thanks for your help.” Lonnie touched the bill of his hat. “Both of you.”
Paige looked back at Cort as the deputy returned to his car, confused by what Lonnie had said. “Your case? What does that mean?”
He inhaled deeply and blew it out slowly. “We need to talk. May I follow you home?”
Whatever he had to say to her, Paige knew she wouldn’t like it. Not liking it didn’t mean she wouldn’t listen. She nodded.
Cort looked around the parking area. “Where’s your car?”
“In the garage. Dylan changed the oil for me today, so I left it there.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “If I’d moved it out to the parking lot, maybe the robbers would’ve realized someone was still in the store and not hit it.”
“Then we wouldn’t have caught them and they wouldn’t be on their way to jail, where they belong.”
“I guess that’s true.” She hitched her thumb over her shoulder at the store. “I’ll get my purse and meet you at my house.”
Cort dreaded the conversation with Paige. He didn’t want to leave her. They’d known each other only eight days, but he knew in his heart he’d never in his life feel as close to another woman as he did her.
She pulled beneath her carport barely a minute after he’d arrived at her house. He silently followed her into her living room. She stopped in the middle of the room, crossed her arms beneath her breasts. The blank expression on her face didn’t give him any hint as to her thoughts. “You’re a cop, aren’t you.”
She didn’t ask a question, but stated a fact. Cort took off his jacket, laid it over the back of the recliner. “Yeah. I’m an undercover detective for the Dallas Police Department.”
“And you didn’t tell me this … why?”
“I couldn’t. Going undercover means exactly that. No one but Brad and a couple of his deputies knew my real reason for being in Lanville.”
“Quade knew, didn’t he?”
“Quade suspected because Brad told him an undercover cop would be coming to Lanville on the trail of the robbers. When we got to his house and he asked me if I was the cop reporting to Brad, I couldn’t lie to him.”
“But you could lie to me, the woman you were fucking.”
Cort winced at her bluntness. He took a step closer to her. “We made love, Paige. There’s a huge difference.”
She waved a hand in the air, as if to erase his words. “Whatever you call it, it means the same thing. It was okay to get me naked, but not okay to tell me the truth.” Her eyes narrowed and anger darkened her expression. “Well, you know what, Cort? It’s not okay, not by a long shot.”
He reached out to touch her face. She jerked her head to the side so he couldn’t. He let his arm fall back to his side.
She blinked rapidly several times. It broke Cort’s heart to know she might be fighting back tears. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I never meant to do that.”
“Yeah, well, shit happens. That’s life.”
Cort shifted from foot to foot, unsure what to say. He couldn’t leave without telling her of his feelings. “I care about you, Paige.”
She released a humorless laugh. “You’re slipping, Cort. You were supposed to say that to get me into bed. But you didn’t need to use any lines, did you? I started falling for you the moment I saw you putting gas into your motorcycle at Spencer’s.”
He had to touch her, to hold her. He reached for her again, but she batted away his hands. “No! Don’t touch me. I want you to leave. Now.”
Cort didn’t want to leave, but Paige obviously wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn’t blame her for that, not after he’d hurt her. He picked up his jacket and headed for the front door. After grasping the knob, he looked at her over his shoulder.
“I do care about you, Paige. Please remember that.”
Cort walked out of her house. He’d helped capture the thieves, but that didn’t cure the empty feeling inside him.
11
Eleven Days Later
Paige removed the two pumpkin pies from the oven and set them on hot pads on the counter. Ever since her grandmother had shared her pie-crust recipe, Paige’s pies had turned out perfect. She’d become the official pie maker for all the family functions. She had to be at her parents’ house early tomorrow morning to help with the Thanksgiving preparations, so she’d taken off from Spencer’s this afternoon to bake pies.
They looked and smelled wonderful. Paige would wait until one of the pies cooled a bit before she cut a sliver from it. She couldn’t possibly take anything to the meal that didn’t taste good, so had to test the pie first. She grinned, already anticipating the way her brothers would tease her about the same mouse getting into her pies every
time.
Her doorbell rang. Expecting the books she’d ordered to be delivered today, she hurried to the door and threw it open. Her automatic greeting for the man in brown died on her lips when she saw Cort.
He gave her an uncertain smile, as if she might not welcome him. “Hi.”
Surprise stole her ability to speak. She hadn’t expected to ever see him again. Although her heart felt as if it had broken into a million little pieces, she’d accepted the fact that she had to go on with her life without Cort. And now he stood on her porch, looking so handsome and making her long for him all over again.
“What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you. May I come in?”
Paige hesitated, not wanting to invite more heartache. Curious at what he wanted to talk to her about, she opened the door wider so he could enter. Small snowflakes dusted the shoulders of his leather jacket. The meteorologists had predicted snow flurries today. It appeared they’d gotten the forecast right.
“Something smells good,” Cort said after removing his jacket. He draped it over the back of the recliner, the same thing he’d done on the few times he’d been in her house.
“Pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.”
Paige stared at him while desire curled low in her stomach. He’d hurt her, but that didn’t destroy the feelings she still carried in her heart. She’d longed for him during the dark nights … longed to feel his arms around her, his lips on hers, his cock pumping into her pussy.
She’d missed everything about him.
He wore a long-sleeved gray henley, black jeans, and black boots. His hair dipped over his forehead and ears. She didn’t think he’d ever looked so edible.
Don’t get too excited about his visit. You don’t know why he’s here.
“Why are you here, Cort?”
“I would’ve been here sooner, but I had some details to take care of before I could officially move to Lanville.”
Paige blinked, certain she hadn’t heard him correctly. “What?”
He smiled. “I got my job back at Café Crystal.”
That didn’t make any sense. “But you’re a cop. Will you be happy working as a chef?”
“Yeah, I’ll be very happy working as a chef. I love to cook. But I’ll also be a cop. Brad agreed to take me on as a part-time deputy. I’ll fill in when other deputies are out sick, or on vacation, or in court.”
She didn’t want to get too excited, but she couldn’t help the pleasure that whooshed through her body. “You’re really moving here? For good?”
“I’m really moving here, if a certain beautiful blonde will have me.”
Happier than she could ever remember feeling, Paige threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Cort wrapped his arms around her, held her tightly to his body, as he returned her kiss.
Paige had one question when the kiss ended. “When?”
“Now. Quade told me I could stay in his guest room again until I find a place to live. Talia’s house was rented, so I have to house hunt.”
Oh, no. Him living with Quade wouldn’t do at all. “You’re kidding, right? You honestly don’t think you’re going to stay anywhere else but with me, do you?”
“I didn’t want to assume anything, Paige. I know I hurt you by not being honest with you. I figure we need time to get to know each other before we do something as serious as live together.”
“There’s no better way to get to know each other than by living together. If you hog the covers or leave the toilet seat up, I’ll throw you out.”
He chuckled. “That’s fair.”
He kissed her, sweetly. He hadn’t said the words, but Paige could feel his love in his kiss. She didn’t feel right sharing her blossoming feelings for him yet. She agreed that they needed time to get to know each other. Confessions of love could come later.
“You’ll go with me to my family’s Thanksgiving meal tomorrow,” she said firmly. “Unless you already have plans with your family.”
“I celebrate the Friday after Thanksgiving with my brother, sister, dad, and stepmom. That way, my sister can spend the holiday with her husband’s family. But, Paige, I don’t want to interfere with your family’s dinner.”
“I want everyone to meet you. That’s not interfering.”
“Then you have to come with me on Friday and meet some of my family.”
“Deal.”
He ran his hands up and down her upper arms. “Any chance of getting a taste of your pumpkin pie before tomorrow?”
She loved the humor shining in his eyes. “Maybe. I might be willing to let you taste it after we make love.”
A slow smile turned up his lips. “Is that a proposition?”
“Most definitely.”
“In that case …” Cort reached into his jacket pocket, brought out a pair of handcuffs. “I thought we might play a little.”
A thrill coursed through Paige’s body at the sight of the shiny cuffs. “Then let’s not waste any time.” She took off for her bedroom with Cort right behind her.
Flash
1
Kirk Wilcox tugged his heavy work gloves back in place to get a better grip for another stack of two-by-fours. His twin, Kory, worked beside him, as did two of Coleman Construction’s laborers. He and the other men worked as quickly as possible, hoping to finish the outside work before the cold front blew in later this afternoon.
Even though the calendar said December 5, Kirk knew the cold wouldn’t last but a few days. Texas weather in the winter often resembled a roller coaster with below-freezing temperatures for a day or two and then highs in the seventies with lots of sunshine.
He preferred the cold over the hot nineties and one hundreds of summer. Kirk liked nothing better than to take off a few days from working at his father’s lumberyard–hardware store and head for the ski slopes in New Mexico. He usually went alone because Kory hated cold weather. Kory would always head for the beach while Kirk headed for the snow.
Going alone didn’t bother Kirk. It gave him the chance to get away from small-town life and meet other people.
Preferably other men.
“Stack that next batch here,” Marcus Holt said, pointing to a spot next to the new house foundation.
The foreman turned as Kirk approached, giving Kirk a nice view of Marcus’s ass below the denim jacket he wore. He knew Marcus dearly loved his wife, Rayna, and they expected a baby in a few months. That didn’t stop Kirk from admiring the very handsome man.
Not that admiring any man in Lanville did him any good.
Kirk hadn’t worked up the courage to “come out of the closet” in his hometown, which meant he traveled to the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex to find lovers. He hadn’t even told his twin, and he and Kory shared everything. But it worried Kirk about how his friends and family would react to the news that he was gay.
His mom would understand. Mothers usually accepted and loved their kids no matter what. His father, not so much. A big, barrel-chested man, Henry “Hank” Wilcox had always pounded into his sons about playing “man” sports like football or baseball. None of that froufrou gymnastics or skating stuff. Those sports weren’t for “real” men.
Kirk figured he’d lose his father and his job if he admitted the truth about his sexual preference. And maybe his brother.
God, it would kill him to lose Kory.
Griff Coleman walked up to Marcus, clipboard in hand. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” Marcus said. “This is the last delivery of two-by-fours today.” He smiled toward Kirk. “We can always depend on Wilcox Lumber to be on time.”
“My dad won’t do anything to screw up his best customer,” Kirk said, flashing a grin toward Griff.
“And Coleman Construction appreciates that.” He flipped a page on his clipboard. “Kirk, do you know if the kitchen sinks we ordered have come in?”
“They’re due today. I can check on them as soon as I get back to the store.”
“I’d appr
eciate it.” He glanced toward the house across the street. “As soon as we install the kitchen sink in the Andersons’ house, we can finish the kitchen and they can move back in.”
Kirk also glanced at the Andersons’ house. It had almost been destroyed by fire in July, but no one would be able to tell that now. Fourteen houses in Parker Place had been touched by the grass fire and needed to be repaired or rebuilt. Now Coleman Construction would start building the brand-new homes in the housing development, which meant a lot more business for Wilcox Lumber.
More business always made his dad happy.
“That’s it for the wood,” Kory said after he’d placed three more boards on top of the stack. “What do you want next, Griff?”
Griff checked his clipboard again. “I need another load of cement blocks and the shingles for the Moores’ house.”
“You got it.” Kory punched Kirk’s upper arm. “You ready, bro?”
Kirk nodded and turned toward the passenger side of the truck. They should be able to load and make the next delivery before the cold front hit.
“I need a vacation,” Kory said once he sat behind the wheel. “Whatcha think, bro? Want to run away to somewhere warm for a couple of weeks?”
“If you try to leave this close to Christmas, Mom will whup you.”
“It’d be worth the whupping to be warm. I hate cold weather.”
“Kory, it’s in the mid-fifties.”
“Now, sure, but it’ll be in the low thirties tonight and tomorrow and barely thirty on Wednesday with a chance of snow and ice.”
“A twenty percent chance of snow and ice.”
“If it’s over zero percent, I don’t want to be around here.” He shivered. “I hate cold weather.”
“You said that already.”
“It needed to be repeated.” He punched Kirk’s arm again. “C’mon, bro, let’s go find some babes in Florida who need suntan lotion spread over their bodies.”
Finding babes in Florida didn’t appeal to Kirk at all, yet he wouldn’t admit that to his brother. He and Kory had double dated lots of times. Kirk knew how it felt to hold a woman, have her skin next to his, sink his cock into her. None of that appealed to him. He’d rather have a strong, muscled body lightly covered with hair and a big hard cock to suck or sink into his ass.
