by Jo Barrett
“Whatever you can do will be great. Thanks, George.” She turned with a smile that died the moment she caught the look in the sheriff’s eyes. No wonder George was uneasy. Jake’s face was about as red as a body could get next to sunburn. Perhaps her conclusions regarding his temper were off the mark.
“I, uh, want to thank you for your help, Sheriff,” she said, hating the sudden quiver in her voice.
In an attempt to keep a safe distance, she began side-stepping her way around him. Something other than her little joke had him angry and she didn’t want to be in the middle of it when he finally blew his top. She’d seen what a man could do when angry.
“I’ll just be getting back to Liddy’s. She needs a few more lessons on her computer.”
A pathetic squeak slipped past her lips as his hand shot out and caught her by the arm before she could make a run for it.
“You will explain—now—about that thing you call a car,” he said, his voice low and rough.
She glanced at George, who lost any chance of gaining hero status as he ducked around the camper and disappeared.
“It was just a joke,” she said, forcing her voice not to waver.
He pulled her close, their noses nearly touching, their breaths mingling. “Not amusing. Explain,” he said again, his low rumble sending a wave of warmth coursing through her veins.
His touch burned where he held her, his scent teased her thoughts, while a tight knot of need formed low in her belly. She realized that the man who was concerned about what she would write in regards to a nice old lady wouldn’t lift a hand against her.
“I couldn’t open the ramp on the uneven ground. It wasn’t safe,” she explained.
He closed his eyes a moment and just breathed, in and out, slow and deep—and she was mesmerized.
“I’m sorry,” he said, lifting his lids.
“I am too,” she said, not talking about the car or the camper, but about them. She couldn’t risk anything with this man, not if the mere touch of his hand had her hot and ready for just about anything.
With a nod, he took another deep breath, and released her as he stepped back. “If you need anything, you know how to find me.” He turned and walked to his car without glancing back.
As she watched his rigid back, loving and yet hating how the ornery sheriff made her feel, a thought shot straight to the forefront of her mind.
He was jealous. She’d bet her best high-heels on it.
“It’s safe to come out now, George,” she called with a smile, her gaze watching the handsome sheriff drive away. They couldn’t get together, not by any means what-so-ever, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the feeling of knowing he was just as tied up in knots as she was.
George appeared with a bashful grin. “I’ll, um, have your RV fixed up as soon as I can, Miss Harper. I can even send over to Cheyenne for the parts, overnight ‘em. I promise to get you back on the road as soon as can be.”
“I’m sure you will.” She kissed his reddening cheek and strolled to her car with a laugh. “I’ll be at Liddy’s,” she said, with a backward wave.
****
Jake cursed a blue streak a mile wide. How had he let himself get so twisted up inside over a woman, a stranger no less? He’d never been the jealous type, but then he’d never met a woman like Chris Harper either. Still, he made an absolute ass of himself again, and this time with a witness. George would rib him for it long after she was gone, no doubt.
He grinned. “But not until then,” he muttered. The look on his face had to have been pretty hot for George to pull a disappearing act like that. He wasn’t known for having the best temperament in town, although he’d never taken the first swing at anyone.
He turned down Main, beginning his normal route, his life easing back into a familiar rhythm. She’d be gone in a day or two, and that was that. It didn’t matter that he’d miss her smart mouth or those bright blue eyes.
“And that body,” he said with a groan, gripping the steering wheel, forcing his mind back to his job.
Old man Cooper waved from where he sat outside the hardware store as Jake drove by and he waved back. This was his life, a life he loved. He’d get past the doubts she planted in his head, he had to.
Chapter Four
Days later, driving the same route as usual, relieved in the knowledge Christine Harper was long gone since George had fixed up her RV, Jake nearly rammed into the back of a pickup stopped at a red light. His gaze had zeroed in on a pair of shapely legs that led to a perfect ass currently leaning over a fruit stand in front of Yancey’s Grocery. His relief brought on by her absence, fragile though it was, had been obliterated.
He pulled over to the curb, determined to find out why she was still around. She turned at the sound of his door slamming closed. A heady smile, complete with sparkle in her eyes, greeted him as he crossed the walk to stand before her.
“Why are you still here?” he asked, as flatly as he could. She didn’t need to know a familiar but uncomfortable heat was building inside him. She was just as beautiful now as she was in his dreams, dreams he’d had from the moment he first saw her. Dreams he’d hoped would fade with her absence, but for that to happen, the woman actually had to leave.
“Hello to you too,” she said, her lips tilting in a teasing grin.
He let out a frustrated sigh. “George fixed your RV, so I assumed you were gone.”
“I decided to stay longer and get a feel of the place for my article.” She turned and added a few apples to her basket, thankfully not reaching as far across the stand as she’d done before.
Standing this close to her, he’d be tempted to reach out and—“Wait a minute.” Clasping her bare arm, he turned her back around, ignoring the softness of her skin. “Where exactly are you staying? Liddy doesn’t have any guests on her register.”
“In my camper, of course,” she replied, and he released her as she moved to the vegetable stand.
After her reply registered in his weary mind, he was on her heels once again. “And where is the camper?”
She shook her head with a soft giggle. “Not to worry, Sheriff. I am not setup in a non-camping designated area.”
Ice cold dread slid over him. “You’re at the campground,” he said, his voice low and flat.
She lifted her gaze to his, her brow creased. “Yes. Liddy said that Mr. Cooper would probably appreciate a few extra dollars even though the campground isn’t really open.”
When he didn’t reply, just kept staring at her trying to figure out how much he could say to keep her safe without the whole town knowing about his suspicions, she tilted her chin up and planted one hand on her hip.
“Don’t tell me I can’t stay there because he doesn’t have a license to do business. He’s a nice old man and he has a few sites that haven’t been overrun by wildlife. It was the best option, and he can use a little money. And I don’t see what—”
“That old place is no more safe than the side of the road,” he argued, cutting her off. “Cooper doesn’t even live out there anymore. It’s too isolated.”
Her lips turned down in a fierce frown. “I think it’s fine.”
“Fine? I wouldn’t bathe in that old well water, much less drink it!”
She rose up on her tiptoes and stuck her face in his. “Well, nobody asked your opinion!”
“You’re going out to the campground and haul that rig in right now,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I most definitely am not. I’m staying right where I am.”
She shoved some money at the clerk who’d appeared beside him and stomped off to her little car.
“Oh, this isn’t over yet,” he muttered, and gave chase. He had to get her off that property before she got hurt. He was certain it was where the traffickers were meeting.
****
Chris saw him in her rearview mirror and seethed. What did he care where she stayed? She wasn’t breaking any laws, and Mr. Cooper really could use the cash.
&nb
sp; She growled low. “Why do you have to be so stubborn, Jake Conrad?” And after she’d been so glad to see him!
She’d even convinced herself that she needed to stay in Iron Horse longer for her article, when all along it was because of him, damn the man.
Her temper settled over the miles, the closer she got to the campground. It really was isolated, but she’d hoped it would give her time to work on her personal writing as well as the magazine article. No distractions, no people, no traffic, no nothing really. It was prime for solid thinking, but she had to admit she’d not done much of that, not with Jake constantly invading her thoughts.
With a disgusted sigh, she climbed out of her car and snatched up her groceries. His patrol car pulled in right behind her as she made her way toward the camper. A silent mantra to keep her temper in check echoed through her brain.
“You are not staying out here,” he said, slamming his car door.
“And I say I am.” She climbed the steps, threw open the door and went inside to put her groceries down on the narrow counter.
He was beside her in a heartbeat. “I’m telling you it isn’t safe.”
“And I’m telling you that I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” she said.
Jake rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh, thoroughly frustrated with this pint-sized female. “You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”
With a soft snort, she propped her hands on her hips and cut him a smirk. “You’re not exactly mister easy-going either.”
He gnashed his teeth together. “I want you back at Liddy’s before the sun sets, and that’s final.”
She tilted up her chin, her eyes full of fire. “I’ll go where I please, when I please, and no one is going to tell me what to do. Least of all you!”
He grabbed her arms and jerked her close. “You’ll do as I say or so help me…”
“You’ll what? Make up another half-assed ordinance so you can arrest me?”
His eyes caught on her lips, the smirk she wore was too delectable to resist, and he was sick and tired of resisting.
His mouth crashed into hers, and he sought what he’d been denying himself for a long time, the taste of a beautiful woman. And although this one tried his patience to the extreme, she haunted his dreams, his thoughts day and night. He swallowed her gasp of surprise as his tongue delved into the sweet recesses of her mouth. She returned his fevered kiss, and he felt a small spurt of triumph that he’d not imagined her wanting him as much as he wanted her, that they’d both been battling this insane attraction.
“This is a bad idea,” he said, his mouth brushing hers as he spoke with quickened breaths.
“A very bad idea,” she said, breathing hard and yet not pulling away.
He nipped at her lips. “We’re like fire and gasoline.”
“Why don’t we see who will survive the explosion.” Her tongue teased the edge of his lips, and on a heartfelt groan, he reclaimed her mouth and pressed her supple body against his. He knew he’d pay the price later, but he’d be damned if he could stop himself. Losing himself in her, in the taste and feel of her was all he wanted to do, all he’d dreamed of doing. His hands sought out every curve, and she moaned in sweet reply.
His radio crackled at his hip. It took a moment before the sound registered through the haze of lust clouding his brain. With a heavy breath he released her and took an unsteady step back.
Gripping the counter, she looked at him with passion-filled eyes and a hint of shock, her body visibly quivering. Neither of them really knew what was happening between them, but it was more powerful than either had expected.
Never once taking his gaze from hers, he lifted his receiver and pressed the button. “Go ahead.”
“Jake, we’ve got a scuffle at the high school. Nothing too bad, but you might want to get over here. Opening day isn’t going all that smoothly.”
“I’ll be there in ten.” Returning the radio to his belt, he said, “I have to go.”
She nodded, her hand still holding the edge of the counter for support.
“Will you go to Liddy’s?” he asked, knowing what the answer would be.
“No,” she said softly.
He let out a heavy sigh. “You know where to find me if something should happen.”
“I know how to dial 911,” she said, her voice soft, yet with an edge of determination.
With a grim twist of his lips, wanting to plant them on hers more than ever, he gave her a terse nod and left, not knowing what else to say. It seemed best to forget what had just happened.
“As if I can,” he said, climbing into his car. That kiss would haunt him the rest of his days and then some.
But he still needed to find a way to protect her, which meant he would be pulling an all-nighter. After his regular duties were done, he’d head back out here and keep an eye on her.
Chapter Five
The tata-tat-tat of the computer keys soothed Chris’s jumpy nerves. Writing had always been her haven, where she fled when her father had been on another drunken rampage. It was her safe place, her best defense against—hunky sheriffs.
“Damn.” There she went again, getting distracted.
She stretched her arms over her head and looked at the amount of work she had managed to accomplish after her fourth or fifth interruption. All of which were thoughts of Jake. Still, it looked like she’d managed to get some solid work done in the end on both the article and her own labor of love.
“You may not be the next best seller, but you’re up there. I can feel it,” she told the manuscript with a smile.
Rising from her chair, she shuffled into the kitchen for a cup of hot tea, deciding that would help ease the muscles and maybe her brain. Somehow she had to get Jake off her mind, but then again, she was about to call it quits for the night since it was after midnight, which would leave her free to think about the man as much as she wanted.
“Hmm, no. Not a good idea,” she said to herself, as she filled her cup with water—bottled water.
She wasn’t drinking or bathing in the stuff that came out of the spigot either. It no longer classified as water, as far as she was concerned. But she really shouldn’t think any more about Jake. All it would do is make her edgy, needy, and then where would she be? All hot and bothered with no Jake to soothe her.
She smirked as she leaned against the counter, watching the cup spin around in the microwave. “Soothe is not the word I should use.” No, that man would do everything but calm her, no doubt about it.
The tiny chime of the microwave pulled her from her reverie and made her more aware of how quiet it was. Animal noises didn’t even pierce the blanket of night. The campground was pretty creepy on its own, with a few ramshackle buildings and nothing around for miles, but the silence bothered her.
She dropped a tea bag in the cup and dunked it several times, thinking on it as her absent gaze strayed to the window and the blackness beyond, only it wasn’t black. Not any longer. There was a bobbing light, a flashlight at the edge of the campground, moving amid the bushes.
Her heart lodged in her throat for a moment, then she let out a nervous laugh. “Jake’s out there. It has to be him.” He was just trying to scare her. Trying to convince her to go back to town…and that had to be the dumbest idea she’d ever had. He wanted her back in town, but even he wouldn’t stoop that low.
She quickly went to the back of the camper where the lights were off and peeked out the window, hoping and praying she’d seen nothing, that her eyes had played tricks on her. And yet a quivering breath slipped from her lips as she watched another flashlight join with the first, then another. Three, there were at least three people out there. That meant it definitely wasn’t Jake, nor was it some stranded driver who’d wandered off the highway.
She ran back to the kitchen and grabbed her handgun from the drawer. She could and would take care of herself. Forget that her hands shook like crazy, forget that her stomach churned and burned and threatened to
cast up its contents, forget that she was completely alone in the middle of nowhere with three or more people prowling around in the dark.
A shot split the eerie silence, sending her diving under the table with her gun in one hand and the phone in the other.
****
Jake had been on his way out to the campground when the call came through, dropping his heart to the pit of his stomach. If only he’d left the bar earlier. Ray could’ve handled the fight, it wasn’t much of one in the grand scheme of things, but he’d convinced himself that he just wanted to go out to the old campground because of Chris and not because of his job. So he’d stayed and helped Ray put a few drunks in jail to sleep it off.
“God, please don’t let me be too late,” he whispered, tearing down the dark road with his deputy right behind him and a couple of backups who were technically retired, and an ambulance he hoped they didn’t need.
Within minutes, and with no sirens or lights, they pulled up in front of the RV and jumped out to search the area. Jake went straight to the camper to make sure Chris was okay.
“Chris?” He knocked hard on the RV door.
It flew open and she stepped back to let him in.
He forced himself not to lunge in and grab her. “Are you all right?” he asked, taking stock of her pale face as he stepped inside.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice unsteady. She turned and placed her handgun on the counter.
“You know how to use that thing?”
“Of course I do.”
They stood staring at one another for several long minutes when Ray called out to him.
“Jake?”
He stepped to the doorway just as they lifted a stretcher into the ambulance.
“We got two, and that one was shot,” Ray said from the foot of the steps.
Jake nodded, and said. “Read them their rights. I doubt we’ll get much out of them, but it’s a start. I’ll get Miss Harper’s info.”
Ray turned to do as he was told and Jake pulled the camper door closed.
“Did you shoot our friend out there?” he asked.
