by Lee Rose
* * * *
“So what’s this I hear about you and a certain deputy kicking up a ruckus at Thorn’s last night?” Stella elbowed Lacy playfully. “My friend Linda said she saw you and Logan dancing up a storm.”
Lacy was putting Ryan’s lunch down on the table, doing her best to ignore him despite her body’s immediate reaction to him. He hadn’t been in the diner since he gave her the brush off. Lacy giggled, ignoring Ryan completely, and looked at Stella instead. “I had so much fun. Those line dances are harder than they look, but Logan was so good about teaching me. I’m glad I went. We’re supposed to go again soon and I can’t wait.”
“Good for you, girl. You deserve to have fun and Logan is a good person,” Stella said, giving Ryan a mean look and walking away. Stella was no longer so friendly with the sheriff. If he couldn’t see the difference between Lacy’s honesty and Emma’s manipulative ways, then he didn’t deserve her.
Ryan was no longer tasting the food in front of him. Lacy had walked off to wait on other customers after barely speaking to him and how could he blame her? He had asked her out, kissed her, then turned his back on her as if she meant nothing to him. He couldn’t stand staying away from Lacy anymore. He had come into the diner today just to get a glance at her. Thoughts of Lacy popped into his head at all times of the day and night. He wondered if she was worried or scared about Chico. He wanted to be the one to protect her and comfort her. He had never felt that way for another woman. Missing her wasn’t about the physical attraction, although he felt plenty of that. He missed coming into the diner every day and seeing her shy smile or hearing her sassy answers when he questioned her. He was the idiot his mom had called him. He had heard from several people that Emma was at Thorn’s every night picking up men, yet she wanted him to feel guilty for breaking up with her. Now he had probably lost Lacy to Logan and he deserved it. He got up, leaving half his lunch on the plate and feeling worse than when he came in.
Later that night Ryan called Lacy at the apartment, hoping to find her home since he knew Logan was on duty tonight with his older brother Gabe, who was also a deputy. Ryan had finally blocked Emma’s number from both his personal and work phones, but he hoped it wasn’t too late to make it up to Lacy and hopefully win her back. He finally accepted the fact that he had to stop feeling responsible for Emma’s feelings. He had never led her to believe he wanted marriage. He had told her on the first date that he wasn’t looking to settle down and she had said all she wanted was to have fun. It didn’t take long for her to suggest getting married, and he told her no. After that it was one scene after another full of tears and drama because he wouldn’t marry her.
“Do you have news from Detective Garcia?” Lacy asked him anxiously when she answered the phone and heard Ryan’s deep voice. Why else would he be calling her? Lacy shivered and was mad at herself. How could she still react physically to him just by hearing his voice over the phone? She needed to forget all about the sexy sheriff, she reminded herself.
“Not yet. I…um…was wondering if you could have dinner with me?” he said, feeling like a high school kid asking his first girl out on a date. Thank God she didn’t see his sweaty palms.
“Ryan, we’ve been here before and it didn’t work out, so why try again?” she answered, sounding a little sad.
“It was all my fault. I had a great time on our date and I really like you but I let my fears and guilt get in the way. I regret that more than you’ll ever know,” he explained, hoping she’d understand where he was coming from. “I’d like to explain it all to you if you’ll give me a chance.”
“Look, Ryan, I thought we had a chance toward something good that night, but then you blew me off and hurt me. I don’t want to go through that again. I’m already stressing over this whole Chico situation and dealing with your mood swings is not a good idea. I’m sorry,” Lacy answered him and hung up the phone.
Ryan stared at the phone for a few seconds before hanging it up. He wasn’t angry with Lacy for rejecting him. He had hurt her but if she thought he was going to give up so easy she had another thing coming. Instead of being honest with Lacy and explaining what he was going through with Emma so she would understand his dilemma, he had just coldly rejected her without any explanation. He was ashamed of that. If he had gone with honesty maybe he wouldn’t be sitting here alone wishing there was a certain brunette with him.
Chapter Six
Lacy smiled at Mrs. Johnson’s description of her Halloween costume for the party. She explained to Lacy how the people looked forward to this party every year. It was a fun way for everyone in town to gather socially and mingle, and sometimes the costumes were elaborate or downright scary. Lacy had never celebrated holidays before but this party sounded like fun. Maybe she’d even ask Logan to be her date. I can do this, she encouraged herself. I can forget all about Ryan Clark. His phone call yesterday had unsettled her and now she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
“I can’t wait to see it, Mrs. Johnson. It sounds beautiful,” Lacy told her with a smile, enjoying her enthusiasm. Mrs. Johnson was wearing an original outfit from the fifties with a printed poodle on the skirt.
“What do you have planned dear?” Mrs. Johnson asked her, picking up her bill, getting ready to leave.
“I’m not sure yet.” Lacy shrugged. She hadn’t even thought about a costume yet. “But I guess I’d better make up my mind soon, huh?”
Lacy turned toward the door when she heard the bell ring and saw Ryan walking in. He had his serious ‘Sheriff’ look, and she got the feeling he wasn’t here to say hello. She took a deep breath and tried not to panic. This had to be about Chico and it didn’t look like good news. She put the coffee pot down before her shaky hands dropped it.
“See you tomorrow, Mrs. Johnson.” She waved to the elderly lady and waited for Ryan to walk toward her.
He stopped in front of her and leaned toward her and whispered in her ear so no one else could hear, “I cleared it with my mom. Let’s go upstairs and talk.”
She nodded and followed him upstairs and sat at the small kitchen table while he made coffee. He seemed very comfortable moving around the kitchen. Then she remembered Ally saying he used to stay here, and she wondered jealously if he brought Emma here. What a thing to think about when her life was in danger. He set a cup of hot coffee down in front of her but she only stared at it. Her hands were shaking and she wasn’t sure if she could pick it up without spilling it. She waited for him to say something.
“Detective Garcia called,” he began. “They finally caught all the gang members and they are in jail, but Chico got away from them.” He leaned against the kitchen sink with his arms folded. He looked tense. “They are plastering his picture all over the TV and the newspapers. They are following up a lot of leads they got from anonymous tips. It’s only a matter of time before he’s caught.”
Lacy said nothing for a moment while she processed the news. In a way she was glad to find out something instead of sitting around not knowing what was going on. She watched Ryan with a worried look. “Do you think he will somehow find out I’m here and come for me? I don’t want anyone in danger because of me,” she said, starting to panic, thinking of all the wonderful people she had met. Maybe she should leave town, but she didn’t want to run again. She loved Appledale and was happy here.
Ryan stood by the sink with a determined look on his face. “We have Chico’s pictures posted everywhere around town just in case he’s dumb enough to come here. Detective Garcia and the Detroit police are doing everything they can over there and so will we. I don’t want you to worry, Lacy, and don’t even think about running away. We can’t protect you if you’re on the run.” What Ryan really wanted to say to Lacy was “I” not “we,” but he knew he didn’t have the right since he had been the one to back away from her.
She stood up, ignoring the coffee. Her stomach had butterflies in it and she couldn’t sit still. “I know and I don’t want to go anywhere else. I just worry that if Chic
o does show up here someone might get hurt, and I don’t want that to happen. The people here have been so good to me.”
He admired her integrity and honesty. He had really messed up blowing her off because he felt guilty over Emma. It took him too long to finally face the truth. Emma was a manipulative bitch and a liar. She was not brokenhearted over their breakup. How could she be when she was partying up a storm at Thorn’s Bar every night picking up guys? She had even come on to Gabe Wilson, one of his deputies, but he refused her offer and told Ryan right away. Emma was playing games with him out of revenge and not heartache. Lacy had more honor than Emma. She would never play him that way. He had finally taken the blinders off when it was too late.
“Now that you and Logan are a couple, I’m sure he’ll help protect you, too.” He hated saying that out loud. His heart clenched with pain. Lacy belonged with him. He was coming to realize that more and more. Although they had only had one date, he missed her. He had even avoided going into the diner but his mom constantly brought up Lacy’s name in conversations. And if that wasn’t enough, Logan would tell his brother Gabe how pretty and funny Lacy was, knowing Ryan was listening.
Lacy shrugged her shoulders, going into the living room. The kitchen was so small, and standing two feet from Ryan was making her heart beat so loud she was afraid he’d hear it and see she was still attracted to him. “Logan is just a friend, Ryan. He took me out to have fun because he knew I was upset over your behavior toward me and this situation with Chico, but it’s not his responsibility to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”
Ryan followed her and felt a big sigh of relief coming out of him, and some of the tension he felt faded away. Maybe he still had a chance to make things right with her. He couldn’t keep thoughts about her out of his head and he had to give it his best try or he’d regret it forever.
“Lacy,” he said softly in his deep voice, standing in front of her so she would quit pacing and look at him. He put his hands on her shoulder. “You can’t know how sorry I am and how much I regret what I did. I am so attracted to you and our date was the best date I ever had. When I got home that night after taking you home, my ex-girlfriend called, drunk and crying, blaming me for ruining her life, so the next day I had cold feet and made the worst mistake of my life by sending you away so cruelly. I felt so guilty over her phone call that I felt like I had no right to feel so happy when she was so miserable.”
Lacy didn’t know what to say. She admired his honor in dealing with his ex-girlfriend. She’d heard from many people that Emma was mad Ryan dumped her. Emma had bragged to all her friends that she would get him to marry her and she didn’t take it well when he refused. Ryan needed to figure all that out by himself, though, so she kept quiet. She had feelings for Ryan that went deep already, and she couldn’t stop thinking about him no matter how busy she stayed. But she didn’t trust him anymore.
“Everyone in town, including Logan, Gabe, and my own mother, has told me what an idiot I am for letting you go and for thinking Emma was truly hurting when all this time she just hated me for not marrying her and I realized they are all right. She just wanted to pay me back for making her look foolish after she bragged to everyone we would be married soon. Emma saw me as a challenge. I let myself get duped. I wish I would have seen it sooner but I’m through with feeling guilty. I want a second chance with you. Can you forgive me and let me prove to you how much you mean to me?”
Lacy smiled at the comment about people telling him he was wrong. It warmed her heart that people defended her even though she was new in town and Ryan grew up here. “I want to but I’m scared, Ryan. What if she makes you feel bad again? Will you turn your back on me for her again?”
He walked up to her and hugged her tightly for a second and it felt so good to have her in his arms again, then he tilted her chin up so she could see the honesty in his eyes. “Never again, Lacy. I promise you that. I felt more for you after one date than I felt for her in the month we dated. I was bored and she pursued me relentlessly. Maybe it went to my head so I gave in to her, but I regret it.”
Lacy loved the feeling of Ryan’s arms around her. “Okay, I’ll forgive you. I really want to get to know you better, too, but I’m still worried about Chico.”
“It will be okay, darlin’. Strangers are noticed quickly in this town, and Logan and Gabe passed out pictures of him all over town, and Detective Garcia is also working hard to catch him,” he explained, kissing her head softly, glad to have another chance with her and determined not to mess up again. He had never felt this strongly for any woman before, and he had missed her so much in the short time they were apart. He dreamt about her when his eyes were closed and thought about her when they weren’t. Freedom sounded rather lonely these days.
She was biting her lip and looking worried and he wanted to distract her from thinking about any doubts she may have with him or with Chico.
“Want to go to my mom’s Halloween party with me?” he asked, knowing that would get her attention. He hated going to parties, but for her he would gladly do it.
She smiled and looked at him, her pretty brown eyes sparkling with happiness. “Really? Your mom told me you never go to her parties. She said you’re on duty every year making sure no one causes problems because you worry too much.”
He nodded but frowned deeply. “My mom says entirely too much to you. I know she encouraged you to accept dates from all the men that flirted with you,” he complained, remembering how angry and jealous he had been when his mom mentioned it to him. “But this year I want to go with you, so you can tell Logan no when he asks you.”
Lacy laughed; Ryan was cute when he was grouchy. She ran her fingers over his forehead that was scrunched up in anger, smoothing down his skin. “Who said he was going to ask me?”
“Just in case he does,” he grumbled.
Lacy could tell Ryan was still feeling jealous even though he knew the date had been innocent. She didn’t know what to say to relieve his mind that Logan was just a friend.
“Should we have matching costumes for this party? Logan says that’s the in thing with couples,” Ryan asked, interrupting her thoughts. He was going to show Lacy he trusted her by not questioning her about Logan.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked, ignoring his comment about couples. She didn’t want to get her hopes up again only to have them destroyed a second time. Trust would have to come slowly, but she was happy at this moment and she wasn’t letting her fears ruin it.
“A vampire, that way I have an excuse to bite your neck all night.” He bit her neck playfully to show her. Lacy giggled, trying to move away from him because it tickled. “What will I be then?”
He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “My sex slave of course.”
“Okay, I’ve always wanted to be someone’s sex slave.”
She winked playfully and he growled possessively, “Only mine,” and started biting her neck again until she was roaring with laughter, her fears forgotten.
* * * *
Chico waited impatiently for his police contact to meet him in this dark, cold alley. He was angry as hell. He’d been hiding from the cops for days now and he felt trapped. All his boys were in jail and he was determined to find that stupid bitch who ratted on them. Because of her, he was losing business and money and his picture was all over the city and the news, so now he couldn’t even stay in his own town. He had to get out of Detroit before he ended up in jail. That was one place he never wanted to go to, but before he disappeared for good he needed to get this girl. Nobody ratted on him and lived.
“Chico?”
“Over here,” he said in a low voice, hiding behind a dumpster with a gun in his hand. He trusted no one.
The young officer looked scared and nervous. “Here is everything I could find on the informant.” He held out a computer printout, his hands shaking from fear.
Chico took the paper and read it. Lacy Martinez—age 25, staying in Appledale, Missouri. “Where the hel
l is Appledale?”
The officer shrugged, not really caring where it was. He wanted to get out of this dark alley before someone discovered them and he lost his job or, worse, Chico killed him. “I kept my end of the bargain, so will you leave my sister alone now?”
Chico nodded. “Get out of here. Your sister is safe from me. I’ve got bigger fish to fry right now.” He started making plans with an evil grin. Revenge was sweet.
Chapter Seven
“We’ve been together for a week now and he comes over every evening. He kisses me good-night but that’s all. What if he’s just not that into me? Don’t all guys want sex?” Lacy told Stella, feeling very insecure about the way things were going between her and Ryan. Not that she minded his kisses. They were hot! Maybe she just needed to be more patient. Ryan was very considerate and she did like that about him. He was probably taking things slow with her but she was ready for the next step and she didn’t know how to tell him without sounding promiscuous.
The diner was closed, but Lacy and Stella had stayed behind to decorate the restaurant for Ally’s big Halloween party, and Lacy wanted advice from Stella. Liz had told her to just be bold and seduce him when she had asked Liz for advice, but she wanted Stella’s input now. Stella was such a romantic person, surely she had ideas.
She loved spending time with Ryan. He came over after his shift every evening and he was such a gentleman. They talked about everything and nothing. She cooked dinner for him and he teased her that his favorite dishes were the hot, spicy Mexican dishes because they reminded him of her and she’d laugh, loving his sense of humor.