Falling for the Lawman

by Ruth Logan Herne

  She couldn’t help herself. She reached up a hand to his face, his late-day bristle tickling her palm. “You’re already that strong. I see it in the little things you do. The things you say. The care you give to those around you. So don’t sell yourself short, Zach Harrison.”

  He reached up. Covered her hand with his, and the sight of his big, broad hand swallowing hers made her feel warm and protected. He grasped her hand, brought her palm to his lips and kissed it gently, a simple kiss that shouldn’t have rocked her world, but did. The pressure of his hand...the feel of his lips against her skin...the sight of him, kissing her hand, then lifting the hand back to his cheek.

  She melted, there on the spot.

  “Oh, that smells so good!” The twins burst in, chattering a mile a minute. Martin followed, scrambling to be first in line. Damp-haired, clean and noisy, the kids clamored while Piper and Lucia helped fill their plates. Julia set them up at the picnic table under a wide, shady maple tree, then laughed when Connor eyed the group and padded back to the door.

  “Smart kid.” Zach noted. He eyed the three five-year-olds and lifted Connor up. “You eat in here with us, bud, because there’s no telling what those three might think up. And you’re not exactly ready for prime time when it comes to the playground set, are you?”

  Connor shook his head. He might not understand exactly what his uncle said, but he was smart enough to recognize a rescue when he saw one. And Uncle Zach had just saved the day.

  Zach tucked him into a booster seat, ignored the boy’s protests and pointed down. “My chairs are high, and I prefer that we don’t spend the evening in the E.R. Therefore you sit in this seat and deal with it.”

  Connor eyed his options, but the food must have smelled too good. He sent a shy smile up to Zach. “’Kay.”

  “Nice job.” Julia sent Zach a smile of gratitude as she filled her plate. “I’m impressed.”

  Lucia, Berto and Marty took their plates outside to the picnic table. Zach followed.

  Piper stayed inside with Julia. When Julia tried to wave her out, Piper laughed out loud. “I spend my life outside, Julia. It’s really a pleasure to sit in here. Eat in peace and quiet. No flies, bees or ants competing with me for my food.”

  “I can’t argue that.” Julia sank into the seat, smiled and sighed. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got here.” She indicated her father and brother with her gaze. “What we’d be walking into, but I have to say things are better than I imagined.”

  Piper drew her shoulders up. “I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about, but your father and brother have been a big help to me.”

  “It’s actually the other way around.” Julia cut a clutch of grapes in half for Connor’s plate. “But no matter how it happened, I’m so grateful that Zach bought this place right next to yours. It’s a godsend, Piper.”

  “But why, Julia? Why is working on a farm so good for your father, when he had a farm, lost it, but claims to have plenty of money? Because that scenario isn’t exactly the norm, if you know what I mean.”

  “Zach hasn’t told you about Dad?”

  Concern snaked a path up Piper’s spine. Hadn’t she suspected there was more to this story? “What’s to tell?”

  “There’s a fine line between invading someone’s privacy and offering up full disclosure.” Julia’s face showed she was being pulled in two directions. “I’ll let Zach tell you because he’s the one who’s had to deal with everything. And that makes me feel guilty, as if I haven’t been around to do my share.”

  “You’re here now. And that’s nice for your dad, right?”

  “And us.” Julia pushed a little food around on her plate, but didn’t eat. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen right now, in my life. My marriage. And I know that was uncomfortable when Martin blurted out his father’s absence yesterday.”

  “It made things awkward for you,” Piper told her. “I’m sorry about that, but marriage isn’t an easy business. Especially when times get tough.”

  “Or when your husband’s student teacher is a size four sporting stiletto heels.”

  Piper hoped her face reflected her feelings. “That stinks.”

  Julia reached over to wipe a little barbecue sauce from Connor’s chin and shrugged. “I’m not the kind of woman who sits back and smiles while her husband cheats on her. Right or wrong, we’re here, for however long it takes to figure things out. I’m looking into jobs in the area. I’m a practicing midwife affiliated with an obstetrical practice in Ithaca, so I’m state-licensed. But maybe it’s time for a full move, away from Central New York.”

  “Making new memories.” Piper quoted Zach to his sister.

  “And taking the time to sort through things. The good. And the bad.”

  Piper understood how hard that was, but the set of Julia’s chin said she was determined to put things right. And not waste a whole lot of time doing it.

  That was a quality Piper admired, especially now when she felt as if she were second-guessing herself every minute of every day.

  Plan your work. Work your plan.

  That was her father’s simple work ethic. And it would have worked if her mother hadn’t left with nearly a quarter-million of the farm’s value in her bank account.

  All hard work brings profit, but mere talk will bring only poverty.

  The ancient Proverb rang true to Piper. Life shouldn’t be all about work, but no one should be ashamed of a strong work ethic. Didn’t the work of human hands settle this great country? Didn’t the pioneers face great odds and prevail?

  “Piper?” Lucia’s voice called softly from the patio door. Piper turned.

  Dorrie lay sound asleep in Lucia’s arms, and from the look of Sonya, she wasn’t far behind.

  “We’re going to take the girls home to bed.” Lucia pointed her chin toward her brother. “I will see you at home.”

  “All right.”

  “They’re so precious,” Julia whispered the words as Lucia eased across the yard. “And so beautiful.”

  “And full of mischief, so don’t let their appearances fool you.” Piper smiled at the retreating figures, Berto and Lucia, both short and somewhat stocky but so dear to her heart.

  The girls had no mother.

  Piper had no mother.

  But they shared Lucia and Berto, and Piper blessed the day the Hispanic family crept quietly into their lives, migrant workers picking a neighboring farmer’s orchards.

  “I’ve learned to count my blessings, Julia.” She turned toward Zach’s sister as she took her plate to the sink to be rinsed. “There’s only so much we can control. And way more that we can’t. But faith and family will see us through.”

  Julia sent her a smile of agreement, then lifted her tired little boy out of his booster seat. “I’m going to wash him up and get him ready for bed. Piper?”

  Piper turned. “Hmm?”

  “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  She turned and walked to the stairs leading to the bedroom level of Zach’s house.

  Her words made Piper smile. She hadn’t worked to keep her friendships as solid as she should. But seeing the twins with Martin and Connor, she realized she needed to do that. For their sake and hers. Because friends were a wonderful thing to have.

  Chapter Eight

  “I’ll walk you home.”

  Zach had been waiting for Piper to come out of the house, watching the fire’s glow while listening for the telltale click of the latch.

  “I’ll keep an eye on the fire,” Marty announced to no one in particular.

  Zach glanced his way, but the evening shadows didn’t reveal a smile or a frown, just an angle of silhouette cutting across his father’s face, like sun through a late-day window. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “It’s a two-minute wa
lk across the yard, through the field and around the barn.” Piper whispered the words, half-scolding, as she set off. “And it’s not even dark.”

  “Maybe I’m not walking you home to protect you. Maybe I just like walking you home.”

  “Oh.”

  He’d silenced her, a good trick, because Piper didn’t do quiet easily. So he figured it was a good time to reach for her hand. Feel the texture of her palm against his fingers, the work-roughened skin different from any girl he’d dated before.

  You’re not dating Piper. We’ve discussed this. Too many red flags.

  But he wanted to date Piper, he decided, so he shushed the internal scolding and jumped into uncharted water. “Let’s go out tomorrow night.”

  “Out? As in...out?”

  “As in you. Me. A date.”

  Piper stepped up the pace as if anxious to get away. “As in, no.”

  He laughed, tugged her closer because he wasn’t eager to have her escape, then kept her there while they walked. “Despite your animosity toward cops...”

  “And yours regarding farms.”

  Zach acknowledged that with an easy shrug. “I think we need to test the waters. I haven’t taken a pretty girl out in way too long, and the only one I seriously want to take out at the moment is you. You should go, because it would make me happy. And it’s the night before I go back to work.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” She stopped, halting their progress.

  Fading pink rays cast an ethereal sheen on her skin, her hair, turning the copper brighter. Bolder.

  Her face tipped in question, but it wasn’t the verbal question he wanted to answer. It was the one that wondered what it would be like to kiss Piper. Hold her. Comfort her, laugh with her. When she wasn’t all steamed up over something.

  And maybe when she was.

  That image made him smile as he leaned down. He slipped one arm behind her shoulders. The other one held her hand, so he looped their arms collectively around her, gently drawing her in, allowing her time to back away.

  She didn’t back away.

  She stepped closer.

  That was all the permission he needed. He kissed her, urging his lips to get to know hers, letting them wander her face, her hair, the scent of her, soap-and-water clean.

  She kissed him back, despite her misgivings, as if kissing him had been on her mind for days. Or weeks. As it had been on his.

  And when he was done, he wrapped her in a big hug, a hug that offered safety and warmth, an embrace that promised protection. When she laid her head against his heart, the cop in him noted the contradictions. Fast pulse and slow, steady breathing, as if she felt safe and secure in the loop of his arms. Right then he knew he was in over his head.

  A cow bellowed from the back barn. Another followed suit. Then all went quiet except for the occasional frog call. Lightning bugs lit the air as the sun disappeared, tiny points of luminescence, a reminder of summers gone and summers yet to come.

  “Well.”

  He leaned back and tipped her chin up. “That’s all you’ve got to say?”

  Her smile drew him to kiss her again, lightly. Sweetly. She sighed, and the sigh about did him in. If he hadn’t fallen before, that soft sigh was enough to push him over the edge despite his concerns.

  Was he putting himself in a bad position? Was he jumping back into a situation he’d worked so hard to get out of a decade ago? Was this God’s idea of a joke?

  “That was by far the nicest kiss I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

  Her honesty inspired his grin. “Good.”

  “Even though...”

  “We have issues we need to deal with.” He finished the sentence for her. “But I think kisses like this―” he released her hand and cupped her cheek, marveling at the rose-petal softness as he leaned in for one more kiss, a kiss that made him yearn for more time “―go a long way toward compromise. Don’t you agree?”

  Her freckles faded in the dim light, but the pale ivory beneath them made her look like an old-world painting in the deepening shadows. “I’m feeling more cooperative by the minute.”

  He laughed and regrasped her hand. “So tomorrow night. A date. You. Me. No kids. Deal?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He walked her to the back door, raised her hand as they climbed the steps, then offered a courtly bow. “It was my pleasure to escort you, my lady.”

  His gesture touched her. He saw it in her face, in the relaxed curve of her chin, in the little sigh that said romance and women made a good pairing. He was pretty sure Piper hadn’t had time―or taken time―for much romance in her life.

  He wanted to change that.

  “Thank you, Zach.”

  “Six-thirty tomorrow evening. I’ll pick you up.”

  “I could walk over.”

  He frowned. “Definition of a date. Boy meets girl. Boy picks girl up. Boy shows girl a good time because he thinks girl is special. Got it?”

  She laughed, sweet and carefree, and he realized she didn’t laugh like that often. Was it the farm that held her back? Her family history?

  Regardless, it was time to get to know Piper better. Yes, he could list the reasons why dating each other wasn’t a good idea, but what if it turned out to be the best idea ever? How would they know if they kept skating around the attraction?

  He leaned down and gave her one last kiss on the cheek, a soft kiss that let his mouth wander the sensitive skin there. Just a little. Enough to say he thought she was wonderful and special. “Good night.”

  “’Night. And thank you for supper. It was the best chicken I’ve ever had.”

  He grinned. “Well, if that’s all I had to do to break down your defenses, I’d have barbecued sooner.”

  She retreated into the house, smiling, and seeing that smile, the spring to her step, made him feel good. He didn’t know what would happen with her farm. He understood fractured family dynamics better than most, but he also recognized her dogged tenacity. She wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  But he’d withhold judgment until he knew more. Marty had shared a few concerns, and no one understood the inner workings of a successful farming enterprise better than his father.

  But for right now, he had a date with a beautiful woman, a woman who made him smile and think hard at the same time. And maybe, just maybe, allow him to dream of what could be.

  Julia was curled up in the wide recliner when he got back to the house. She smiled, raised the book in her hand and said, “I started this book three months ago. This is the first chance I’ve had to get back to it.”

  Zach sat across from her, leaned in and folded his hands on his knees. “So, Vic’s gone?”

  She made a face. “I thought I was ready to have this conversation with you, but when are you ever ready to admit your marriage has fallen apart?” She shrugged. “Yes. And despite what the boys want to think, I’m pretty sure he won’t be coming back. Ever. Not to them, not to me.”

  Zach wanted to punch something. He couldn’t, so he sat, ready to listen.

  His sister had worked hard to become a nurse midwife. She’d studied night and day, working full-time, and should be able to relax a little now. As if working full-time delivering babies and mothering two kids wasn’t already double-duty.

  But she should be doing it with a loving husband by her side. Zach had been a groomsman at their wedding, eight years ago. He’d laughed and danced and toasted their future.

  “What happened?” He kept his voice gentle, not wanting to make her cry, but the look on her face said that was probably inevitable. “Did he cheat on you, Jules?”

  Her face held the answer he dreaded to see. “Oh, honey.” He reached out and hugged her, letting her cry into his shoulder. “Have you been trying to be brave ab
out this? How long has this been going on?”

  “This time?”

  Her reply hit Zach in the gut. “He’s done this before?”

  She nodded, snuffled and then blew her nose into the wad of tissues he handed her. “Yes. And I tried to be strong, taking my share of the blame...”

  Zach’s instant and protective reaction made her smile through her tears.

  “Marriage isn’t easy,” she went on. “I knew that my grad school and clinical schedule wore on him.”

  “Wore on him?” Zach exclaimed. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, not understanding. “What about on you? What kind of moron doesn’t take care of the woman whose income helps pay the bills?”

  “I thought it would be perfect,” she confessed. The clutch of tissues in her hand showed wear, so he handed her a new bunch. “With Vic being a teacher, he’d be home early in the day to take care of the boys. And then he’d have weekends and summers off. Holiday vacations. It made perfect sense that once the boys were in school, our schedules would coexist to give the boys the best of both worlds. Working parents who could both spend time with them.”

  “What changed all that?”

  “His current student teacher.”

  Now Zach really wanted to thrash Victor. “How old?”

  “Twenty-two.”

  “Oh, Jules...”

  She waved off his sympathy with a head shake. “I’m beyond the worst of it, Zach, really. Talking about it is hard, but I decided to make a clean break when he filed for divorce last month.”

  “And you waited all this time to tell us?”

  “Because of me, I suppose.” Marty’s voice joined the conversation from the family-room level. He came up the stairs, crossed the room, pulled Julia out of the chair and gave her a big, long, paternal hug. His embrace instigated another round of tears.

  Zach dragged his chair closer to Julia’s. He did the same for the other side chair, giving his father a place to sit.

  “Dad, I couldn’t dump all this on you two when you’d just gone through the surgery. We were all worried about what we’d done to you, what your future would be. It was as if life piled so much on me at once, that when I got the official letter filing for divorce, I sent it off to Ethan, asked him to find me a good divorce attorney in the area and he did. The unfortunate side of this is that staying in Ithaca would keep the boys centered in the scandal because they’d be in the same school district. Since this was the second time he’s cheated, I have no reason to believe he’ll stop, whether he’s married to me or someone else. So I figured I’d come here. See if there’s a practice on this side of the state that could use a good, experienced midwife.”