He immediately saw Joel standing on the sidewalk. Joel instantly took off running and Dallas gave chase. He had hoped the heat was off Avery, but Joel’s presence now said otherwise.
What in the hell was the man up to? Joel stayed on the sidewalk for only a few seconds and then veered off across people’s grassy yards. Dallas followed him, damning the cloud cover that made vision difficult.
Remembering this was the man who had knocked into Avery at the diner and whose name had come up as a thug friend of Dwayne Conway, Dallas desperately wanted to catch him.
A dog barked in the distance as the two of them ran through a backyard. He didn’t want to fire his gun. Joel hadn’t broken any laws by standing on the sidewalk outside Avery’s house, but if he was perfectly honest with himself, Dallas would admit he wouldn’t mind beating the tar out of him for scaring Avery.
Joel jumped over a fence, and Dallas was about to leap over it in pursuit of the creep when a sudden, horrifying thought struck him. What had Joel been doing in front of Avery’s house? Absolutely nothing. He’d just been standing there, apparently waiting to be seen.
So Dallas would chase after him? So somebody else hiding in the backyard could break into the house? His heart stuttered to a stop at the thought.
Avery was alone in the place. Was some murderous thug right now breaking in? Oh God. He turned on his heels and headed back toward the house, his heart now thundering with panic. Had he just fallen into a trap? Had he made it easy for somebody to get to Avery?
God, he needed to get home. He needed to get to Avery. His panting breaths nearly choked him as he pushed himself, running as fast as he’d ever run in his life.
Avery! Her name thundered in his head over and over again. He had to get home to her. She had to be okay. He’d never forgive himself if anything happened to her.
He ran even harder as the house came into view. When he reached it he banged on the front door. When she opened it, he gasped her name and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Thank God,” he said into her hair. “Thank God you’re okay.” It was at that moment he realized he was starting to fall in love with the mother of his children.
Chapter 10
Avery and Dallas had just finished breakfast the next morning when a knock sounded on her door. It was Chief Thompson. Dallas let him in and offered him a cup of coffee. He had called the chief the night before about Asman’s appearance in front of the house.
“I’d love a cup of coffee,” Archer replied, and sank down in the chair facing the sofa.
Avery got him a cup and then she and Dallas sat on the sofa and waited for the lawman to speak.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been very remiss in checking in with you two,” Archer said, and then paused to take a sip of his coffee.
“No need to apologize,” Avery assured him. “We know how much you have on your plate right now.”
“I had a little chat this morning with Joel Asman,” Archer said. “He’s a nasty punk.”
“What did he have to say about showing up here last night?” Dallas asked.
“That it’s a free country and he could stand on any sidewalk in town and it wasn’t breaking any law,” Archer replied. “I think he just wanted to rattle your cage,” he said to Avery.
“If that was his goal, then he succeeded,” Avery replied drily. She looked at Dallas, remembering how frantic he had been when he’d returned to the house after chasing Joel down the street.
“Unfortunately, he’s right. I can’t arrest him for being on the sidewalk,” Chief Thompson said. “On another note, we’re still on the outlook for the black pickup truck that rammed into you.”
He’d already told them that from the damage on Avery’s car they had been able to identify the offending truck as black. Unfortunately, the men in the area who had black pickups had no reason to come after Avery, and Max Malone, the initial suspect, had no vehicle at all licensed in his name.
“Somebody has stashed that truck in a barn or shed someplace,” Dallas said in frustration. “It’s got to have some front-end damage.”
“And Joel Asman alibied Max for the time of the truck attack,” Chief Thompson added.
“So, we really can’t be sure those two were behind the previous attacks,” Dallas said.
“According to Chad’s street sources they were the two who were trash-talking after the Conway trial,” Archer replied. “So it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were behind the attacks, but unfortunately, I have no proof.” He took another sip of his coffee.
“For the day the note was tied around your dog’s neck, Joel Asman and Max Malone alibied each other. It was the same when the truck rammed into you. So far I’ve been unable to break their alibies. And that’s where things are right now.” Chief Thompson’s frustration was rife in his voice.
“Thank you for everything you’re doing,” Avery said.
Archer stood and drained the last of his coffee. “I’m damned sorry I don’t have anything for you right now.”
Dallas and Avery stood, as well. “Still, we appreciate you coming by,” Avery said, as she took the coffee cup from him.
“I’ll walk you out,” Dallas said.
As the two men headed for the front door, Avery carried the cup back to the kitchen. She was disappointed that Archer hadn’t had any answers for them.
Dallas had been in her home for almost two weeks now, and for the past couple days Avery had been arguing with herself about what needed to occur.
She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but at some point during the past little while she had fallen deeply, crazily in love with Dallas.
And with each day that passed her love for him only grew. He was the dream she’d never known she had... Their life together was the fantasy that she now desperately wished was a reality.
Her desire to live her life alone without the love of a man had changed. She would forever mourn the death of her brother, but she realized now she still had the capacity to love, and love deeply.
Somehow Dallas had gotten through her self-defenses, had broken down the walls she’d tried to erect around herself after Zeke’s death. And she wasn’t happy about it. She wasn’t happy at all.
This had heartbreak written all over it, and for the life of her she couldn’t see how to prevent it from happening. She didn’t believe in fairy tales, and even if she did, Dallas had already had his with his wife, and he had made it clear to her that he wasn’t looking for another one.
Despite his desire for her, Avery hadn’t missed the love that had been in Dallas’s voice when he’d spoken of Ivy. As much as she had fallen in love with him, he’d given her absolutely no indication he’d ever change his mind about his own solitary future.
There had been no more kisses between them, nothing physical at all, although there were times she thought she felt his desire for her palpitating in the air.
But desire didn’t necessarily have anything to do with love and it was obvious she couldn’t make him love her enough to want to be a husband to her, and that broke her heart more than a little bit.
She returned to the living room and sat on the sofa as Dallas came back in. “Well, that was frustrating,” she said of Chief Thompson’s visit.
He sank down next to her. “Yeah, it was. I can’t believe all the thugs in this town can manage to threaten you and get away with it.”
“I can’t believe they’re smart enough to have alibis that law enforcement can’t break,” she replied.
“Sooner or later something will break,” he replied. “One of them will make a mistake or brag to the wrong person. We just need to be patient.”
She was running out of patience. How long could they continue with Dallas staying here as her bodyguard? The real question was how long could she continue to have him in the house and not confess to him how she really felt about him?
&nbs
p; The problem was she had yet to learn anything about him that would make her not love him. He picked up after himself and was always pleasant and helpful. There had to be a chink in his armor, and suddenly it seemed vital that she find it.
“I don’t feel like cooking tonight,” she said.
“That’s not a problem. I’ll take care of it,” he replied easily.
“I’m not sure I’ll like what you make.” She curled up in the corner of the sofa and gazed at him.
He laughed. “Okay, then why don’t you tell me what you’d like for me to make and I’ll try to accommodate your taste buds.”
His response irritated her because it was so darned nice. “What if I told you I think your cooking sucks?” she continued.
Once again he laughed. “Then I would suggest whenever you don’t feel like cooking we either order in or we eat out. I certainly wouldn’t want you to be forced to eat my cooking if you think it’s bad.”
“It’s not bad. I just said that to see if I would make you mad.”
He quirked an eyebrow upward. “Why would you want to make me mad?”
“I was just curious what kind of a temper you have,” she replied.
“You should know by now that it takes a lot to make me angry.”
“But I really don’t know that,” she protested. She got up from the sofa, feeling restless and on edge. “I feel like you’ve been on your very best behavior while you’ve been here.”
He laughed yet again. “I can promise you I’ve been on my normal behavior.”
“Stop laughing. I’m being serious here.” She glared at him. Someplace inside she knew she was being unreasonable, but she needed...she wanted to be angry with him.
“Okay, then what is it you want to know?” The humor disappeared from his face.
“When you get angry, what do you do?” She hoped he’d tell her he screamed and cussed, that he punched and broke things.
He frowned. “I don’t know, I guess it depends on why I’m angry.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “What are you afraid of, Avery? That I’ll get angry and beat my kids? Are you trying to make me angry right now?”
“Maybe...maybe I want to see how you act when you aren’t on your best behavior.”
“I could say the same about you,” he countered. “Maybe you haven’t been your real self since I’ve been here.”
“I’ve totally been my real self. I’m too pregnant and too tired to be anything else.” Once again she glared at him.
He cocked his head to one side and studied her for a long moment. “Is there a reason you’re trying to pick a fight with me?”
Of course, that was exactly what she was trying to do. She wanted to pick a fight and get angry with him. She wanted him to do something or say something that would make her not like him as much...make her not love him at all.
However, as she stared at him, her eyes filled with tears, and just that quickly her emotions spun out of control and she began to cry.
“Avery.” Dallas got up from the sofa.
She halted him from coming any closer to her by holding up a hand. “I—I think maybe I need a nap,” she finally managed to say, and then she ran down the hallway to her bedroom.
She cried for several minutes. Lulu hadn’t even followed her back to the bedroom. The pooch had stayed with Dallas in the living room. The little traitor.
After a short period of time she was unsure what she was crying about. She’d survived fine before loving Dallas Colton and she would survive just fine after loving him. She’d do whatever was best for her children and that was that.
She finally fell asleep and awoke an hour later, feeling sheepish about what had happened with Dallas before she’d escaped to her room.
Getting out of bed, she then went into the bathroom to wash away any evidence of her tears. Finally, leaving her room, she realized she owed him an apology. She found him in the kitchen eating a ham and cheese sandwich. He offered her a tentative smile when she entered.
“Hi,” she said, and sank down in the chair across from his.
“Feeling better?” he asked.
“Feeling remorseful about what happened before. I’m really sorry, Dallas. I don’t know what got into me.”
“It’s okay,” he replied easily. “You want a sandwich?” He started to get up.
“Sit tight, I’ve got it. Anything happen while I napped?” she asked, as she pulled the ham and cheese out of the fridge.
“Absolutely nothing,” he replied.
She was grateful that as they ate lunch there was no more talk about her little breakdown.
It wasn’t until later that evening that she felt the need to distance herself from him once again. At the moment they were seated side by side on the sofa, watching a goofy movie that didn’t have the capacity to take her out of her own head.
“You’re very quiet this evening. Are you feeling okay?” He broke the silence that had existed between them.
“I’m feeling fine and I’m just watching the movie,” she replied. She frowned. “Actually, that’s not exactly true. I was really thinking that maybe it was time to send you home.”
One of his brows lifted as he gazed at her. “And what would make you think this? Am I driving you crazy?”
“No, silly,” she replied. “You know you’ve been the perfect housemate.”
“Then why are you trying to get rid of me?”
“I’m not trying to get rid of you. I’ve loved having you here.” The problem was she’d loved it way too much. “But, Dallas, I need to be fair. It’s been over two weeks and there have really been no more threats to me.”
“What do you call what happened last night with Joel Asman?”
“What Chief Thompson called it. He was rattling my cage, but he didn’t try to break in, didn’t do anything to make me feel in imminent danger. It’s been very selfish of me to keep you here. You have your work with the cowboys to get back to, your own life to live.”
“Have you considered that maybe there haven’t been any more threats against you because I am here? That maybe Asman didn’t try anything last night because he knew I was here in the house?”
“Okay, so how do we know when there isn’t any longer a threat? Do you just intend to live here forever?” Not that she wouldn’t love that, but his presence had become a small form of torture. Each minute with him she fell a little more in love with him, and eventually she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her feelings for him inside. She would have to tell him how she felt.
“Let’s give it another week or so. By that time maybe Chad or Danny will have heard something from their street snitches that will make us both feel better about things.”
“I think I’ll call Chad in the morning,” she replied. “Maybe he’ll tell us that Joel’s appearance on the sidewalk was his swan song and the creeps have all moved on from me.”
Dallas frowned. “I’ve never really understood what the end game was with these creeps.”
“What do you mean? They want revenge because I put away Dwayne Conway.”
“I would think they’d be threatening somebody in a case where their threats could make a difference. You aren’t even working right now.”
He shifted position and his frown grew deeper. “I mean, so far they’ve been pretty stupid in trash-talking around town, and then Asman showing his face here. If anything happens to you, he’s made himself the number one suspect.”
“Nobody ever said these guys were rocket scientists,” she replied drily.
“As far as getting back to my own life, right now the safety of you and the babies is my life,” he stated. “Unless my presence here is bothering you, don’t worry about me. I’m right where I want to be.”
She stifled a sigh and turned her gaze toward the television once again. If only he wanted to be here for her...aside from
the babies she carried.
But she couldn’t fool herself. He wasn’t in love with her. He didn’t want to build a future with her other than how they would interact as coparents.
Would another woman be able to change his mind about remarrying? Would another woman eventually be special enough for him to put his dead wife truly in his past, and make him look forward to a future with her?
Avery hoped so. If she couldn’t have him, then she hoped he’d find love with somebody else. She wished that for him. She couldn’t imagine that for the rest of his life he’d really be happy with only the ghost of a woman to keep him company.
“Avery, face it. You’re stuck with me for a while longer,” he finally said.
He offered her the heart-stopping smile that sent warm flutters throughout her being. She returned his smile, but knew she needed to spend the next week or so figuring out how to fall out of love with the father of her children.
Chapter 11
It had been three days since Chief Thompson stopped by to give them an update. During that time Avery had seemed preoccupied and a bit distant. And if she wasn’t being distant she often appeared to be on the verge of tears.
And he absolutely hated to see her cry.
Dallas had racked his brain, trying to think if it was possible he’d done anything to upset her, but he couldn’t think of a single thing.
He finally decided maybe it had something to do with her pregnancy. Her due date was approaching and maybe that had her preoccupied and emotional. He certainly didn’t pretend to know how a pregnant woman felt as her time to deliver grew near. For all he knew the way she was acting was perfectly normal.
He definitely knew she was uncomfortable. Each evening when they settled on the sofa, it took her several minutes to find a good position. Her belly seemed to have grown even bigger in the last few days.
So he knew she was ill at ease, but maybe she was upset because she hadn’t been able to really nest in the way she’d described to him. She wasn’t getting much extra sleep that he could tell, and she hadn’t even indulged herself in her olive and potato chip snacks.
Target in Jeopardy Page 14