by J. H. Croix
Within minutes, they pulled into the driveway of the residence with another cop car spinning into the drive in front of them. It was all Travis could do to hold back, but they weren’t to enter the scene without clearance from the police. He saw Darren lift a hand in a wave, gesturing toward an area where there were two trucks. The home was in ramshackle condition with no siding on it, torn weather sheathing flapping in the wind, and tarps tied onto the roof, likely to prevent leaking. There were several small outbuildings in the same condition. Travis saw a woman being led out of a shed. She was shivering so badly, he could see her shake from a distance. He pulled his radio off his shoulder. “Sylvia, we need another ambulance up here. Aside from the two injuries reported, there’s a woman who looks to be hypothermic, depending on how long she’s been outside.”
Sylvia’s reply was swift. “Already sent the next one right behind you guys.”
He heard the siren approaching as she spoke. Ben caught his eye. “Let’s get to the injuries first.”
In seconds, they reached the trucks where the officers on scene were gathered. The injured officer was sitting on the ground and leaning against one of the truck tires. The man Travis guessed to be Randy Price lay several feet away on his side with cuffs holding his hands together behind his back. Travis hadn’t said a word to Ben about Randy Price, but Ben seemed to know it might not be the best plan for Travis to handle him. “I’ve got Randy. You help him,” Ben said firmly.
Travis stopped in his tracks. “No, I…”
Ben shook his head sharply. “I know exactly who Randy is and so do you. I might think he’s an asshole, but it’s not personal.”
Travis took a sharp breath and nodded, his anger easing slightly. “Fine.” He spun away and strode to the officer. Travis realized it was Charlie Brooks, the police chief’s main partner and a long-time officer on the force. Charlie’s expression was a mix of annoyance and pain. His blue eyes were resigned when Travis knelt at his side. “Hey man, how’s it going?” Charlie asked, his tone strained.
“Better than you probably,” Travis replied. “What’s up with your shoulder?” he asked, nodding toward the shoulder Charlie held with one hand.
Charlie blew a puff of air out, blowing his brown hair out of his eyes. “Dislocated it. Hurts like hell. At least Randy’s in cuffs.”
“Mind letting me take a look?” he asked.
Charlie let his hand fall away. Travis quickly felt over the shoulder, which was definitely dislocated. A minor injury, but rather painful. He caught Charlie’s eyes. “It’s dislocated alright. What happened?”
Charlie breathed in sharply when Travis carefully rolled Charlie’s shoulder between his palms, but he responded without missing a beat. “I’m sure you heard his girlfriend called to report he’d punched her and locked her in the shed. He’s not the brightest bulb, so he didn’t think to take her phone away. She called from the shed, but not before she’d been out for enough time that she was damn near freezing when we got here. It was quiet when we arrived. So quiet, we weren’t sure he was still here. Next thing we knew, Randy comes flying around the corner there…” He paused and angled his head toward the corner of the house. “…and his fists were flying. Not sure exactly how I messed my shoulder up, but it happened when he tripped and took me to the ground with him. Bummer for him, he landed on his knee on a rusty old trap. Tore his knee up good.” Charlie shook his head. “Am I right that it’s gonna hurt worse for you to put my shoulder back in place than it did when it popped out?’
Travis nodded and glanced up when another team reached them with a stretcher for Charlie. Charlie looked from Travis to the stretcher. “Seriously guys, I can walk. It’s just my shoulder.”
Travis eyed him and shrugged. “Don’t know if that’s true, or if it’s more that you know what’s coming.” Charlie was distracted when someone called out to Darren. When he looked away, Travis made sure he had the right hold on Charlie’s shoulder and moved swiftly, realigning the shoulder ball into the socket.
Charlie whipped his head back, his breath hissing through his teeth. He tensed and then relaxed. “Okay, not so bad. I’m guessing it’s gonna be sore as hell for a bit.”
Travis nodded. “Oh yeah. We’ll get a sling on it for now. We should still get you to the hospital for a quick check. I wanted to try to get it in place now before it swelled up. The doctor can do a more thorough check and maybe give you a specialized splint if you need it. Think you can stand?”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Of course I can stand.” Belying his dismissive comment, he took Travis’s hand when offered and came to his feet with a grunt.
Travis walked him to the ambulance and fit a sling on Charlie’s arm, leaving him to wait with one of the other officers for a moment. He looked over to where Ben and two other emergency responders were tending to Randy. He itched to go over there. Just as he started to move in their direction, a hand curled around his arm. He glanced back to see Darren. He started to shake his arm free, but Darren held firm. “I’m sure you’ve got some thoughts about Randy, but now is definitely not the time.”
Travis shook his arm free, swearing under his breath. “What is it with everyone keeping me away from him?”
Darren held his gaze for a moment and shook his head incrementally. “Maybe you’re stupid, but I’m not. Randy’s got years of bad history with Janie’s mom and it ended with his fist in Janie’s face. The last thing we need right now is you pissed off at him in the middle of a call that has nothing to do with Janie.”
Travis knew Darren was right, but he didn’t like it one bit. He shifted his shoulders and busied himself by tidying his supplies and putting them away. He glanced back to Darren. “Seeing as I’ve barely talked about Janie, how come you and Ben are worrying about how I might respond to Randy?”
Darren rolled his eyes. “Dude, this town’s small and word travels.” With another shake of his head, he strode away toward where Ben and the other team were wheeling the stretcher to the second ambulance.
Later that afternoon, Travis climbed into his truck. He’d had enough sense to start it a few minutes ago, so it was getting warm inside. He drove away, his mind spinning over thoughts of Janie. He’d had to fight the urge to come up with a reason to stop by the hospital. The only reason he wanted to stop by was to track Randy down. He knew it didn’t make a lick of sense to find the guy for the sole reason of knocking his lights out, but that’s what Travis wanted to do. He hated knowing that any man was violent towards the women in their life, but knowing what Randy did to Janie made it far more personal.
Her warmth, her steely strength, her unconscious sexiness and just about everything about her tugged at his heart, so hard he didn’t know how to handle his feelings. He abruptly turned into the post office parking lot and jogged inside to grab his mail. Snow was starting to fall again, coming in fits and starts, but slowly picking up its pace. He brushed the snow out of his hair when he stepped into the post office and glanced around. As usual, there was a line to the counter. He strode quickly down the aisle to his post office box and was walking back, sifting mail in his hands, when he heard his name.
Before he looked up, he knew it was Janie. The sound of her voice was seared into his brain now. She stood a few feet away, her hand held on the key to what must be her post office box. Her hand fell away, and she turned to face him. Her hair was damp from the snow, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright.
They stood still, simply staring at each other for a few beats, before Janie finally spoke. “Hey.”
It felt as if the air around them was charged, humming with desire. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. He cleared his throat. “Hey there. I’d ask what you’re up to, but I’m guessing you’re getting the mail.”
Her lips curled in a smile. “Yup. Getting the mail. ‘Spose that’s what you’re doing too.”
He nodded, trying to wrangle the lust coursing through him under control. He wasn’t accustomed to this wild pounding need Janie elicited in him
. She lifted a hand and brushed a loose lock of hair out of her eyes. The small, unconscious motion sent another jolt of need through him. Without thinking, he stepped closer and caught her hand in his as she lowered it. It was cool, and he curled his palm around it. Her breath hitched. His eyes landed on the rapid flutter of her pulse in her neck before traveling up to her mouth—lush and pink from the chill outside. Before he could form a thought, he dipped his head and fit his mouth over hers.
Another step and she was flush against him. He tangled a hand in her hair and stroked down her back to cup her bottom. He lost all sense of where they were, solely focused on her. Her tongue stroked against his, and she flexed in his embrace. Desperate for more, he trailed kisses along her jaw and her neck, the skin soft with a hint of sweet. She was like a drug—the feel of her lush curves against him, the taste of her skin, the soft pants escaping from her. He was nearly out of his mind when a loud thump broke through the haze of passion fogging his mind. He lifted his head and glanced around, suddenly aware of where they were. No one happened to be in the aisle. He figured someone must’ve dropped something the next aisle over.
He looked down to find Janie’s eyes on him. Clouded with passion, her gaze locked onto his. He was rock-hard and wished he could take her right here. Unbidden, his eyes dropped lower, as if magnetically drawn. Her breasts rose and fell with her rapid breathing. She wore another one of those scoop-neck shirts where the collar dipped to reveal the tops of her breasts. He hadn’t realized he was cupping one of her breasts in his palm, his thumb tracing back and forth over her taut nipple. The sound of footsteps coming their way nudged a little more sense into his brain. He had to force his hand to still and slowly let it slide down.
She took a small step back, creating a tiny bit of space between them. When he met her eyes again, he was relieved to see she looked as dazed as he felt.
Janie stared at Travis, almost losing herself again in the blur of his blue gaze. Her heart was pounding, her belly was swirling with need, and she was drenched. To make matters even more confounding, they were standing in the post office with privacy nowhere in sight and all she wanted was to be skin to skin with him. She gave herself a mental shake, a feeble effort to gain control of her body. The murmur of voices from the counter area several aisles away filtered through finally. Footsteps echoed on the tiled floor in the aisle adjacent to them.
She forced herself to take a slow breath and took another step back, almost physically pained when his hand loosened in her hair and his other hand slid away. More footsteps sounded and then turned down the aisle where they stood. Still struggling to catch her breath, she looked over at Travis. “Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow?”
She asked the question without thinking about it. All she knew was she wanted to see him. Now. Unfortunately, now meant rushing back to the house to pick up Stella and take her to recital practice. With the holidays in full swing, Stella had several performances coming up, so practices were scheduled nightly and tended to run late.
“Don’t suppose I could invite myself over tonight?” he countered with a grin.
A wash of heat rolled through her, and she grinned. She felt almost giddy with delight that he didn’t want to wait. She shook her head with a little laugh. “Stella has recital, so I’ll be in the auditorium for hours grading papers.”
He held her eyes for a long moment, sending another wash of heat through her, before nodding firmly. “Got it. Tomorrow it is. Should I bring anything?”
“You brought pizza last time. I’ll cook. Any preferences?”
“I’ll eat anything.”
Someone called Travis’s name and he looked beyond her. “Hey Ben,” he commented.
Janie turned to see the firefighter who’d been with Travis dealing with the errant moose on the playground. She knew Ben in passing, but that was all. He reached them, twirling his keys on his index finger as he spoke. “Hey there. Feels like I’ve been with you all day,” he said by way of greeting.
Travis rolled his eyes. “You pretty much have.”
Ben glanced to Janie. “How’s it going Janie?”
Though her body was still suffused with heat from her searing kiss with Travis and his mere presence, she managed to smile politely. “Oh fine. Just getting my mail.”
She spun to finish the task she’d started before she saw Travis. Opening her mailbox, she pulled out the small handful of envelopes and closed the box. Ben was saying something to Travis in a low voice, and her ears perked up.
“…in surgery now. Darren already filed charges, so no worries, he won’t be going anywhere once he’s out of the hospital.”
She couldn’t say why, but her gut coiled. Clutching her mail tightly in her hand, she turned to face them. “What happened?”
Travis’s eyes slammed into hers, worry in their depths. Ben glanced from her to Travis and back. They were both silent for long enough, she became annoyed. “Guys, really? I know you deal with emergencies all the time. Who’s in surgery and why?”
Travis watched her for another moment and ran a hand through his hair. “Randy Price is back in town. The police got a call about a domestic incident. Long story short, he got into an altercation with Charlie Brooks. Randy fell on a rusty trap and tore his knee up.”
His explanation was simple and concise. Janie had never spoken to Travis about Randy, but she knew by the expression on his face that he knew who he was to her. Ben had been around during those years, so she knew without a doubt he knew the entire sordid tale. She felt like she’d been punched in the gut. Randy had been away from Diamond Creek for years, but she’d never managed to completely erase her lingering worries about him. Intellectually, she believed her mother could hold her ground and keep him away, but that’s what she would’ve thought before Randy ever came into their lives. She wasn’t afraid for herself, but for her mother and the hell he could put her thought just by being around. His relentless harassment of her mother after she filed charges against him had worn on her as much as his abuse had. She had to focus, she couldn’t fall apart right here in the post office. “Is Charlie okay?” she asked, numbly realizing Charlie might be hurt.
“He’s fine. Dislocated his shoulder, but that’s it,” Travis said with a glance to Ben.
“Doing good enough to be annoyed he has to wear a sling for a week or so,” Ben said.
Once she knew Charlie was okay, Janie latched onto something Ben had said.
“So Darren filed charges against Randy? For what?”
Travis glanced to Ben. “You happen to know that detail?”
“Assault for the incident with his girlfriend and felony assault against an officer,” Ben said with a firm nod. “Given his criminal history, he won’t be skipping out on bail too easy.”
Travis ran his hand through his hair again, his eyes holding Janie’s. “Look, no matter what comes of the charges, he won’t be getting out anytime soon. There were multiple witnesses for his assault on Charlie, so he won’t be able to wiggle out of them.”
Janie realized she practically had a death grip on her mail. She eased her grip and tried to marshal the adrenaline pumping through her. Just knowing Randy was in town brought old feelings to the surface—the bitter taste of fear, the wearying sadness of watching her mother be torn down to a sliver of the woman she was, and the slog of getting him out of their lives, both the court case and then his attempts to return afterwards. She realized she was just standing there, staring blankly at the floor when Travis said her name. She looked up and saw nothing but concern and understanding in his eyes. She thought she saw a glimmer of anger, but he blinked it away.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” She took a gulp of air and looked from him to Ben and back again. “Randy’s old news and bad news. I’m glad it sounds like he won’t be able to slither out of this one.”
Ben caught her eyes. “He’s not getting anywhere near you or your mother, so don’t even go there.”
She m
anaged a nod, feeling exposed to have them both standing here worrying about her. She took care of herself. She always had. She transferred the mail from one hand to the other and shifted on her feet, restless to somehow end this conversation. “I should go. I need to get Stella to recital on time.”
“I’ll walk out with you,” Travis said.
“Catch you later,” Ben said generally as they turned away.
Once they were outside, she walked quickly to her car. Travis easily kept pace with her. When she reached her car, she glanced up at him, suddenly awash in the desire to lean into his strength. The snow, which had been coming in fits and starts earlier, was falling in earnest now. He reached for her jacket and gathered it closed, quickly sliding up the zipper. The gesture was so kind and so unexpected, she almost burst into tears. Randy’s abrupt return to her orbit had sheered off the walls she’d built around the pain he’d left behind. The hardest part was it wasn’t just her pain. If anything, that was the easy part. It was the damage he’d inflicted on her mother—emotionally, mentally and physically.
“You’re shivering,” Travis said. “Want me to follow you home and take you and Stella to recital practice?”
It surprised her, but she did. It was snowy and blowy, and she was shaky inside. “You don’t mind coming back to pick us up?”
“Of course not. Are we allowed to eat in the auditorium?”
“Oh yeah. I do it all the time.”
“Perfect. I’ll drop you two off and then go grab some takeout.”
A warm feeling curled around her heart. He slid his hands from her shoulders down her arms. “Okay, get in your car and drive before you freeze. I’ll be right behind you.”
Chapter 15
Travis juggled a stack of pizza boxes on his way back into the auditorium. Stella had squealed and begged him to get pizza when she heard him mention he planned to pick up takeout while she practiced. Seeing as he couldn’t even consider saying no, he’d glanced in the rear view mirror to gauge Janie’s reaction. Stella had been riding up front to manage her cast. At Janie’s wink, he’d nodded, only to have Stella squeal so loud it hurt his ears.
