The Texas Lawman's Woman

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  Colt snapped his fingers and pointed at a thick corduroy pillow lying in front of the field stone fireplace. “Buddy. Cushion.”

  Inside, his house was neat and clean. In the living room, a coordinating multicolored braided rug covered the wide plank floor. The upholstered sofa and comfortable club chairs were covered in a masculine dove-gray tweed fabric. Table lamps were formed out of a heavy dark bronze. A burnished mahogany coffee table, captain’s desk and end tables completed the decor.

  Shelley supposed the casual elegance and pulled-together decorating scheme shouldn’t surprise her. Though Colt did his best to ignore it, he came from money, too. Lots of it.

  Word was, his multimillionaire investor father and wildcatter mother had set up substantial trusts for all five of their sons that were, for the most part, ignored by their fiercely proud offspring.

  He lifted his eyebrows and waited for her gaze to meet his. “What’s up?”

  “Did you fix my flat tire?” Shelley demanded, indignation flushing her cheeks.

  Colt’s eyes twinkled. “Why do I think if I say yes I’ll be shot at dawn?”

  “Just answer the question.”

  He rubbed the flat of his hand across his newly shaven jaw. “I might know something about that.”

  “I told you not to do that.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Heat emanating from his big, rugged frame, he shrugged and offered, “But I figured you had enough on your plate right now and took matters into my own hands...”

  Shelley hung on to her patience by a thread. “What do I owe you then?”

  “Nothing.” He gave her another long, slow once-over before returning his gaze ever so deliberately to her face. “I was being neighborly.”

  Finding him too close for comfort, Shelley stepped back, bumping into an end table in the process. “Well, I can’t just accept it without giving you anything in return.”

  “Because that would make you beholden to me.”

  “Yes.” Shelley propped her hands on her hips. “And I don’t want to be.”

  Colt’s expression changed. “You really want to help me out, too?”

  Wasn’t that what she had just been saying? “Yes!”

  He hooked a hand around her waist and tugged her forward so they were standing toe-to-toe. “Then do me one little favor,” he encouraged softly, his head slanting slowly downward, “and return this.”

  Chapter Four

  It was, Shelley realized, their first kiss in years. And yet it felt as if no time at all had elapsed. Colt still took command with no effort at all. He still tasted and felt the same, so strong and sure and masculine. He still turned her world upside down.

  She had dreamed of this moment forever, even as she had warned herself that it would never happen. And the fact of the matter was, she thought, as she abruptly came to her senses and pushed him away, it shouldn’t be happening now. “Whoa there, Deputy!”

  The look Colt gave her reminded her of the way he had always liked to end a fight—with a slow, hot kiss that left her barely able to stand on two feet, never mind recall what they had been disagreeing about.

  He grinned at her, the way he had then, too—all lazy, confident male. “And here we were just getting to know each other again,” he teased, reaching out to caress her cheek.

  Shelley moved away from him and released an indignant breath. “When it comes to the two of us, someone has to put on the brakes.”

  Buddy lifted his head, curious.

  “We’re not kids anymore, Shelley,” Colt reminded her.

  “That’s right.” She ignored the dark, soulful eyes of his dog, the expression relaying to Shelley that his owner was a good guy.

  “And as adults we should both know better,” she snapped, irked to find herself so vulnerable again.

  She shouldn’t want Colt. Shouldn’t still be tingling from head to toe....

  He gave her a once-over that left her all the more aroused. “You said you forgave me.”

  Shelley drew in a long, bracing breath. “I said I wanted us to be friends.”

  His blue eyes filled with merriment. “I can be friendly.”

  His low sexy tone made her think of kisses that rocked her world. It was all Shelley could do not to groan out loud. “Not that kind of pal.”

  “No bed buddies?”

  Great, now she was thinking of him naked beneath the sheets. “No bed buddies. And,” she added emphatically, before he could go there, too, “no boyfriend-girlfriend, either.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t recall asking you out on a date.”

  She slid him a long look. “You did something even worse.”

  He folded his arms and rocked back on his heels. “I can’t wait to hear what that might be.”

  Shelley harrumphed. “You have inserted yourself in my life.”

  He flashed a smile that sent another low, throbbing beat of anticipation rushing through her. “By fixing your tire.”

  Shelley swallowed. “And making friends with my son, and having me make peace with Buddy...and heaven only knows what else.”

  Hearing his name, Buddy rose and lumbered arthritically over to stand next to Shelley. He looked up, waiting to be petted.

  Unable to resist the dog’s dark, liquid eyes, Shelley knelt beside him to stroke his head, taking comfort in Buddy’s soft, silky fur. “We can’t go back, Colt.” Briefly, she buried her face in the dog’s neck, and could have sworn that she almost felt Buddy “hug” her in return.

  Colt ambled over. He petted Buddy, too, then took Shelley by the hand and brought her around to face him. “I don’t want to go back.” He stepped closer, his eyes heavy-lidded and sexy.

  Shelley hitched in a breath as Buddy moseyed off again. “We can’t pretend we want the same things.”

  A low, wry laugh rumbled out of him. “When I was kissing you just now, it felt like we did.”

  Shelley flushed. Struggling to hold on to her equilibrium, she said, “Obviously, we’re going to see each other. We live in the same town, on the same street. I’m fine with saying hello and being polite to each other.”

  His smile reminded her that he knew things about her that no one else did. Like how she most wanted to be kissed...

  “But then you want us to keep right on going,” Colt guessed.

  Part of Shelley wanted to spend just one night making love with him, so she’d know what it felt like. The other half knew once would never ever be enough. And that in turn could lead to another breakup, which her heart really couldn’t bear. She sensed, despite his bravado, that another ending would be just as tough on him, if only in regard to his pride.

  “Intimacy of any kind just isn’t in the cards for us,” she told him. “Never has been. Never will be.”

  * * *

  SHELLEY HAD JUST ARRIVED AT THE Sugar Love bakery when the door opened and closed behind her. She turned to see Colt stride in and head straight for her side. “What are you doing here?” Shelley demanded before she could stop herself. Every time she turned around, he was there again!

  He grinned at her prickly manner. “Gerry asked me to pick out the groom’s cake. Make sure it wasn’t too girly.”

  Shock turned to annoyance. “You could have warned me when we were at your place.” Instead, as always, he left her feeling slightly off-kilter.

  He shrugged in all innocence. “I tried, but we were too busy...”

  Betty, the pastry chef, quirked a brow at the low note of innuendo in Colt’s voice, prompting Shelley to jump in to lamely finish his sentence. “Talking about everything that happened, and getting caught up on things.”

  His hot gaze skimmed her face. “We made a start...that’s for sure.”

  No, Shelley thought. “We’re already there.”

  Colt jus
t smiled. Tingling everywhere his eyes had touched and everywhere they hadn’t, she turned back to Betty.

  “Kendall and Gerry want six round layers, all different flavors,” the baker told them. “They are leaving it to you two to taste and select the cake.”

  “How about a plain vanilla one on the bottom?” Shelley suggested, anxious to get this over with.

  Looking as if he was enjoying this way too much, Colt offered, “Followed by dark chocolate.”

  Which he knew was Shelley’s absolute favorite. Darn the man, he just wouldn’t quit.

  Betty offered up individual bites of each. Colt and Shelley simultaneously savored the deep, delicious flavors and voted yes on both. “Maybe a layer of strawberry cake on top of that,” Shelley said, after tasting the next most popular menu item.

  “And then carrot raisin,” Colt chimed in.

  Shelley wrinkled her nose. “After strawberry?” she echoed, incredulous.

  He nodded, his impish eyes at odds with the solemn expression on his face. “This way they’d have their fruits and veggies in one cake.”

  A notion that went, Shelley acknowledged, right along with Gerry’s wicked sense of humor. It was why he and Colt had been such good friends growing up. When they’d all stopped chuckling, Betty suggested, “How about a toasted almond layer in between the strawberry and the carrot, for aesthetic sake?”

  “I could go with that,” Colt demurred.

  And on they went. By the time they had finished choosing everything from the exact shade of buttercream frosting, and the bride and groom figurines for the top of the cake, an hour had passed. The order placed, Colt and Shelley walked out of the bakery. They weren’t hand in hand, but by that point, it almost felt as if they were.

  “Funny, I always thought if we ever got to this point, it’d be our wedding cake we were picking out,” Colt blurted out.

  His surprisingly sentimental words mirrored her wistful feelings. Which was why, Shelley told herself, she had to be practical. Pushing aside her own wish that everything had turned out differently for the two of them, Shelley countered, “If and didn’t happen being the operative words.” She slanted him a warning glance.

  He didn’t back down. “If it matters...” he confessed gruffly. “Standing you up on prom night was the single biggest mistake of my life.”

  Not forgiving his tardiness and going with him, hours late, had been hers. Knowing she could easily fall for him all over again made her cautious. The urge to slip her hand into his even stronger, she met the intensity of his gaze. “And why is that, Deputy?”

  “Because if I’d kept that commitment, you and I might still be together now.”

  Nostalgia, regret and longing combined to give her a passionate punch to the gut. She turned away. “You already said you knew we weren’t right for each other then.” Just as she did now.

  He put his hands on her shoulders and brought her right back. “Maybe I was wrong about that.” Colt gazed soberly down at her. “Maybe what wasn’t right were the plans we had for that night. The truth is, I didn’t want to take your virginity that way. Even as young as I was, I knew you deserved so much more than a clandestine hookup on an air mattress in a borrowed tent at Lake Laramie campgrounds.”

  Like it or not, Shelley knew this stuff had to be said. She took his arm and propelled him into the nearby alley, well out of earshot, so they could have this out in private. She looked deep into his eyes, wishing she didn’t want so badly to kiss and hold him and spend every waking second with him again. Because she well knew giving into temptation would only bring heartache. The two of them were just too different for the outcome to be otherwise.

  She leaned up against the warmth of the historic brick building, protected from the passing cars and steady stream of pedestrian traffic on the adjacent Main Street. “First of all, it’s not like we had a lot of options, since concerned parents were staking out local hotels to make sure high school students didn’t end up there. So if we wanted to be together and avoid detection, we had to go with the more rustic Plan B.”

  She took a deep, bolstering breath. “Second of all, I was very much on board with what was going down. I knew the risks...yet still wanted the rewards.” Wanted you. “And you did, too.”

  His memory clearly jarred, he favored her with a half smile that sent tingles soaring through her.

  “What happened back then was mutual,” Shelley continued softly. “You and I both enlisted the help of all our friends to cover for us. We both planned that rendezvous down to the last detail.”

  “I remember,” he said thickly.

  “Then you should also remember that in the weeks leading up to that night, I didn’t feel in the least bit shortchanged by the rustic setting of the campground. On the contrary, I was certain that making love to each other for the very first time on senior prom night was going to make it all that more special.”

  It would have bonded them together for an eternity. Just as the abrupt cancellation of their highly romantic plans had flung them apart for what felt like forever.

  Shelley swallowed a lump in her throat. “But for a lot of reasons we chose not to go down that path.” Her heart had been trampled on, and she had been humiliated in front of all their friends. “So you have to quit talking about prom night,” Shelley insisted. “It does neither of us any good.”

  “Can’t help it,” Colt returned just as stubbornly. “I’m a guy who likes to rectify his mistakes.”

  “Or see what it would have been like on the road not taken?” Shelley retorted.

  Colt shook his head, refusing to be dissuaded from his trip down memory lane. “Seeing you again, being with you, has brought it all back.”

  For her, too.

  He sifted a hand through her hair and continued huskily, “Wishing I had followed through on all my promises to you—”

  And made love to me, Shelley guessed.

  “—is all I can think about.”

  She couldn’t help it: she’d been fantasizing, too. And although they were both single again now, she was also a mom with parental responsibilities to fulfill—and a myriad of personal financial problems to sort out. She could not afford to be an impetuous romantic anymore. Nor could she take the kind of emotional gamble he proposed. Especially knowing he could shut her out again at any time.

  “Then think about something different, Colt.” Shelley put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. “Because what we planned for that evening is never going to happen. All we can be from this point forward is friends. Good friends, but...” She stopped in midsentence, blinked, sure her eyes were playing tricks on her.

  But there he was at the other end of the alley. The exact person she’d been trying to find.

  * * *

  “TULLY.”

  Shelley’s gasp rang in the alley as her ex-husband, the man Colt had loathed from the first moment he’d set eyes on him, strode toward them.

  “I heard you were looking for me,” Tully Laffer said.

  Several inches shorter than Colt, clad in plaid shorts, coordinating polo shirt and deck shoes, expensive sunglasses shading his eyes, he looked more ready for a party on his parents’ yacht than an evening in a small West Texas town.

  Colt knew the polite thing to do would be to excuse himself and let the two exes talk in private. However, he wasn’t feeling particularly well mannered. He never did when Tully was around.

  Fortunately, Colt noted, Shelley was focused totally on her ex—and not his dubious attitude. She stormed toward Tully, hands knotted at her sides. “Did you take out a line of credit against my parents’ house?”

  Tully took off his sunglasses and hooked them in the front of his shirt. “I needed collateral to get the loan to start my adventure-tours business.”

  Shelley looked as though she wanted to punch him.
“Then your business better pay me back. Pronto.”

  Tully shoved a hand through his thinning, sun-streaked hair. “I’d like to. Really, I would, Shel.”

  “But?” Shelley continued to stare down her ex.

  Colt couldn’t say he blamed her. It appeared her ex-husband was just as much an irresponsible party boy now as he had been when she had met him.

  Tully gestured impotently. “I never quite got the biz off the ground. I mean, I went to a lot of the places I was going to offer packages on, like Belize, Aruba and Tibet, but it’s a lot more work getting things arranged than I bargained on.”

  Shelley stepped backward, her body nudging Colt’s in the process. “You knew what the property settlement was at the time of our divorce, that you had no claim to that house I inherited.”

  “Technically, yeah. But when I went to apply for the loan and the property turned up in my name, too, they said I could use it.”

  “So you decided to commit fraud?” Colt asked, feeling bereft when Shelley moved slightly to the left so she was no longer touching him.

  Tully squinted at Colt. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to use it. Temporarily.”

  And if that wasn’t an out-and-out confession of a crime, Colt thought grimly, he didn’t know what was.

  Shelley trembled with rage. “And the foreclosure notices? All those certified letters you signed for, saying I was going to lose my childhood home because you defaulted on your one hundred and fifty thousand dollar bank loan?”

  “I was sorry about that. But you weren’t even living there. You hadn’t for years.” A mixture of resentment and greed colored Tully’s low tone. “You just held on to it.”

  “Except now I am living in it again, Tully, with my son.”

  Her ex spread his arms dramatically. “Well, I didn’t know that! Last I heard, you were still living in Dallas and teaching classes at that big studio in the Park Cities. I had no idea you intended to come back here of all places. I thought you hated life in a small town!”