An Officer and a Maverick

by Teresa Southwick

  “That doesn’t mean this is about him. I don’t want to talk about this, Anderson. It’s not important.”

  “It’s important if you’re upset.” His expression was hard, firm. “I know you, little sister, and you don’t feel sorry for yourself as a rule. You’ll feel better if you talk about what’s bothering you.”

  Not if it made him feel bad. And he would. Because the secret she was keeping belonged to him. She knew he had his reasons for wanting it this way, and she respected whatever they were. Russ Campbell wasn’t his problem, he was hers.

  “I’ll get over it.” She sniffled, rubbed her eyes then did her best to smile. “See? All gone.”

  “In a pig’s eye.” Anderson’s blue eyes flashed with anger. “Okay. That does it. I think I’ll just go over to Strickland’s Boarding House and find out what the heck is going on between the two of you.” He turned toward the doorway that would lead him outside where his truck was parked.

  Lani couldn’t afford to call his bluff. If he really did see Russ, there might be punches thrown, and everything she’d gone through the night of the Fourth of July would be for nothing. And she’d have a broken heart on top of it.

  “Wait. I’ll tell you.”

  He turned around and poured himself a cup of coffee then leaned back against the countertop. “Start talking.”

  “I fell for Russ Campbell, and he’s leaving town.”

  “That’s not unexpected. His assignment was temporary.”

  “I know. See? I told you it was nothing.”

  Anderson took a sip of coffee from his heavy mug. “There’s more, right? There has to be. You’re not one to overreact like this.”

  “He’s gone for good.”

  “He works in Kalispell and has a house in Boulder Junction. It’s not like that’s on the moon. You can go see him.” Her brother had the look of a man who was sorry he’d started this conversation. “And the sheriff hasn’t hired a new deputy yet, so he’ll be back to help out just like before.”

  “He told me his workload has been piling up and he won’t be back. Translation—he’s just not that into me. Going after him would make me look just as pathetic as begging him to stay. It’s déjà vu. Apparently, I’m not the kind of woman a man sticks around for.”

  Anderson set his mug on the counter then rubbed a hand across his neck. “I don’t get it. Word all over town is that you’ve got him hooked.”

  “Not so much.” She didn’t say more. No need to tell him their relationship had been up and down. That it started with sex in a jail cell, turned into a cover for working on the investigation then ended with sex in his boardinghouse room.

  Anderson stared at her for several moments, and then the light went on in his eyes. “This is about that night in the park. When he arrested you.”

  “Yes.” She should have known eventually he would put two and two together. “I’m not very good at pretending. He knows I had a reason for getting him to take me in.”

  “A distraction,” Anderson said grimly. “So he wouldn’t arrest me.”

  She nodded. “He doesn’t trust me.”

  “You should have just told him you did it to keep me out of jail and left it at that.”

  “He’s a detective, Anderson. He wouldn’t have bought the family-loyalty thing. He’d dig deeper to find out why it was so important that you not be arrested and have a black mark on your record.” She sighed. “With your custody issue pending, it wasn’t a chance you could afford to take.”

  “I love you for what you did.” He smiled, but it faded fast. “But the promise you made to me is costing you the happiness you deserve.” Her brother made a fist and slammed it on the counter.

  “It’s complicated. And one way to look at it is if he can’t trust me, believe that I had a good reason for not telling him, and that I’m not breaking any laws, maybe I dodged a bullet and this is for the best.”

  “You don’t really believe that,” he said.

  “I might after a while.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. “This is my fault. I never should have made you promise. Better yet, I never should have told you about my personal problem in the first place.”

  “No. I’m glad you did.” She sniffled and put her hand on his arm. “It’s a heavy burden to carry alone. I just wish—”

  “What?” He frowned when a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “I wish Russ didn’t have baggage that makes him not want to take a chance on me, on us.”

  The tears started up again, and Anderson pulled her in for a hug. “I’m so sorry, Lani.”

  “Me, too.”

  “It will be all right.”

  “I know.” She grabbed a tissue from the box sitting on his counter and blew her nose. “I’m made of stern stuff. It takes a lot more than this to get me down.”

  “We’ll figure out something.”

  How she loved her big brother for wanting to fix what was wrong with her life. But there was nothing he could do. His child was involved, and that had to be his priority.

  “I can take care of myself,” she assured him. “I’ll be fine.”

  But she didn’t believe that. Not really. She was in love with Russ, and it had taken losing him to bring that realization into sharp focus. She had a feeling nothing would be all right ever again.

  * * *

  Several days after Lani had come to see him in his room Russ was at the sheriff’s office late into the evening on his last day of the spiked punch assignment. There were loose ends and paperwork to tie up before he left Rust Creek Falls for good. He was writing his final report on the investigation, and it was taking a lot longer than reports usually did. Everything in the account of his findings reminded him of Lani.

  Riding with her to the falls for strategy planning. The interview with Jordyn Leigh Cates Clifton that resulted in their dating cover story to explain spending time together. When she went rogue and had a beer with Brad Crawford before she ruled him out as a suspect but ended up in Russ’s bed. That hadn’t moved the investigation forward, but it was a night he would never forget.

  He’d known better than to make love to her but hadn’t been able to help himself. But that was no excuse. It was selfish to keep seeing her when he couldn’t take a chance and had no intention of committing. He didn’t trust any woman to be there for him, so what was the point?

  Still, he kept seeing the look in Lani’s eyes when he’d said he wouldn’t be coming back to Rust Creek Falls. She’d felt used, and he couldn’t blame her. He hated himself for hurting her, and it was all he could do to stop himself from going to her.

  But she deserved better than that.

  The front door opened and the sheriff walked in. “I thought you might still be here.”

  “I didn’t expect to see you. Thought you’d gone home to your wife.” Russ envied his friend. Gage was good at his job, and there was no question that the man was devoted to the town. But Russ always got the feeling that a part of him was only filling time until he could be with the woman he loved. “Why did you come back?”

  “This is your last night. I thought we might go get a beer at the Ace in the Hole.”

  “I have to finish this report.” Russ was stalling because the thing was finally done. The truth was that if he saw Lani, his resolve to put Rust Creek Falls in his rearview mirror might weaken. He refused to be made a fool of again, and the only way to be sure it wouldn’t happen was to keep her out. And speaking of the investigation report... “I’m sorry I let you down.”

  “You didn’t.” Gage obviously understood what he was referring to. He moved closer and rested a hip on the edge of the desk. “Why would you say that?”

  “We still don’t know who spiked the punch.” He shrugged. “That’s a complete failure to achieve the obj
ective for which I was hired.”

  “Not from my perspective,” Gage said. “Your interviews ruled out pretty much everyone who lives here in Rust Creek Falls, so we know who didn’t do it. On top of that, there hasn’t been another incident. My theory is that this was random mischief, probably by someone who was passing through town. Folks are starting to breathe easier now. Not so skittish. And that’s thanks to you.”

  “Still, not knowing who did it is like a rock in my boot. I really wanted to catch the person responsible.”

  “Whoever did it was smart. They covered their tracks and got lucky that no one witnessed it. But the exhaustive investigation sent a warning that misconduct won’t be tolerated. My gut is telling me there’s no further threat.”

  “I agree.” Russ printed out a hard copy of the report for the file along with his notes. Then he saved everything on the hard drive and shut down the computer he’d been using.

  “So, about that beer...” There was a definite challenge in Gage’s eyes.

  “I’m all packed up. Ready to head out.” Russ let the thought hang between them.

  “I’ve never known you to turn down a beer.”

  “Always a first time. Been here in Rust Creek Falls a long time. I really should get back.” Back to an empty house and a life that was nothing but work. No Lani. No sassy lady with a quick wit and sunny smile waiting for him at the end of a hard day. He was going to miss her. But he’d been lonely before and could learn to deal with it again.

  “I think you’re avoiding her.” Gage folded his arms over his chest. A challenge if there ever was one.

  “You’re wrong.” Russ didn’t need to clarify who her was.

  “I don’t think so. You’re the detective, but I keep the peace here in Rust Creek. I’m an officer of the law, too, and powers of observation go with the territory.”

  “What’s your point?”

  “A blind man could see there’s something simmering between you and Lani. And there has been ever since that night you were locked up together.”

  Because she stole my keys, Russ thought. Funny, he didn’t mind so much anymore that she had. What happened after that was another fine memory he could take with him.

  Gage looked thoughtful. “Come to think of it, even before that night there was something. More than once I was at the bar with you. I saw the way you looked at her, and she was looking back just as hard. I was always surprised that you never did anything about it.”

  “I got burned once.”

  “Figured as much. But still... You didn’t make a move.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like asking her out, Sherlock,” Gage said.

  Russ thought he’d covered his feelings pretty well, but now Gage’s detective senses were apparently tingling. “Is that why you suggested Lani could help with the investigation? Were you playing matchmaker?”

  “Wish I’d thought of it.” But there was a self-satisfied look in Gage’s eyes. “But she really does know everyone in town.”

  “You were playing Cupid? Trust me, it’s not a good look for you,” he snapped.

  Russ could have refused to work with her, but took the suggestion because this was Gage’s town, and he understood it. Maybe part of him jumped at it for an excuse to see her. But after spending so much time with Lani, leaving her was going to rip his heart out.

  “What the hell were you thinking, Gage?”

  His friend’s eyes narrowed. Instead of answering the question, he asked, “What the hell did you do that night in the cell?”

  Russ recognized the brotherly protectiveness in the sheriff’s attitude and respected it. But before he could frame a response, Lani’s actual big brother walked into the office.

  Anderson Dalton stopped in front of the desk. “Gage.”

  “Nice to see you, Anderson. What brings you in here?”

  “I need to talk to Detective Campbell.” He looked at both of them before his steely-eyed gaze settled on Russ. “Alone, if that’s all right.”

  “No problem. I’ve got paperwork.” He straightened then went into his private office and closed the door.

  The angry look on the other man’s face made Russ stand, ready for anything. He figured Gage had seen it, too, and that’s why he didn’t leave the office.

  “Nice to see you, Anderson.”

  “I doubt that. We need to talk.”

  There was only one thing they had in common. “About Lani.”

  “You made my sister cry. She doesn’t do that very often, and it makes me want to tear you apart.”

  Russ wouldn’t mind mixing it up. The other man was about his weight and height but didn’t have the kind of training a cop gets. But he understood where Anderson was coming from. Having a sister was a responsibility, and Russ had hurt Lani.

  “So what’s stopping you?”

  “For one thing, my sister wouldn’t like it.” Anderson almost smiled.

  “What else?”

  “I want all the facts out in the open.”

  “What might those be?” Russ asked.

  “This misunderstanding between you and Lani is my fault.”

  That was a surprise. Russ stared at him. “Go on.”

  “The night of the wedding reception I was drunk from whatever was in that damn punch.”

  “You and most of the town,” Russ said. “What’s your point?”

  “I decked Skip Webster because he sucker punched my brother. It was pretty obvious that you were headed over to slap cuffs on me. Lani saw what was going on and jumped in the fountain to distract you from arresting me.”

  “Why would she risk going to jail?” Russ demanded. “Charges would probably have been dropped, especially when it turned out that the punch was tampered with.”

  “In the moment no one knew that or was thinking about it.” The other man’s expression hardened. “Lani was only thinking about me, about the fact that it would put a black mark on my record.”

  “So what if there was an arrest? It wouldn’t be that big a deal.”

  “It could be for me.” Anderson let out a long breath then met his gaze. “Recently I learned I have a child I never knew about. I’m going to file for custody, and we both know the family court system favors mothers, so any ding on my record would affect my chances of prevailing in court.”

  “So why didn’t Lani just tell me that?”

  “I made her promise not to tell anyone.” His blue eyes blazed, evidence that he was angry and frustrated with himself and the whole situation.

  “Not even your family? Your father’s an attorney.” A good one, according to Lani. She’d made that clear to Russ when they’d spent the night behind bars.

  “The last thing I want is to involve my family.” Anderson rubbed a hand over his face and suddenly looked tired. “It would just hurt them to know there’s a grandchild out there and they never knew. It’s my problem, and I’ll deal with it. I’ll give them the facts when the case is resolved.”

  “And Lani is the only one who knows?”

  He nodded. “And now you.”

  “Why are you telling me?”

  “Because when Lani makes a promise, she keeps it. End of story. She’s so loyal, she would jeopardize her own future in order to keep a vow she made to me. I couldn’t live with myself if I was to blame for her unhappiness.”

  Russ felt as if he was in a shoot-out, with bullets coming from every direction. He was having trouble wrapping his brain around all this. “What are you saying?”

  “God knows why, but Lani loves you, and this secret is coming between you. She says you’ve got your reasons. But personally I think it’s an excuse to play around then duck and run when things get complicated. An easy way out.”

  “You’re wrong.” Anger pulsed through R
uss. “I know what it feels like when a woman you thought you knew throws you under the bus when the going gets tough. Your career is going full-speed backward and just when you think things can’t get worse, she hands back the ring and proves you wrong.”

  “So you got dumped.” Anderson clenched his jaw and a muscle jerked. “Detective, you don’t know what personal betrayal is until you find out a woman had your baby and for years never bothered to let you know.”

  He was right. Holy crap, Russ thought. That was pretty low. With absolute certainty he knew that Lani would never do that. With that realization came another one. He’d acted like an ass.

  “Okay, Anderson. You win.”

  “Believe me, I’d give anything not to come out on top in this situation. But it got to me,” he said. “And I needed to tell someone. Lani was there for me, and I don’t know if I could get through this without her. But there’s no way I’m going to let my problem cost her.”

  “I appreciate you telling me.” Russ felt a weight lift from his shoulders and realized those weren’t just words. He really meant what he said.

  Anderson nodded. “I’d appreciate it if you’d keep what I just told you confidential.”

  “No one will hear it from me.” Russ held out his hand, and Anderson took it.

  He respected what this man was going through and his overriding concern to protect his family. And Lani was helping him. She was so committed to keeping her word and having her brother’s back that she was willing to let Russ think the worst of her.

  That’s what the pain in her eyes was all about, and he hated himself even more for putting it there. He knew now what she’d meant about not saying anything also being a way to have someone’s back. He was too blinded by bitterness from his past to see her pure heart. There must be a way to fix what he’d done.

  “Thanks, Russ.”

  “No problem.” He watched Anderson walk outside and get in his truck parked at the curb.

  Gage must have heard him leave because he came out of his office. “So what was that all about?”