Lawful Heart

by Amity Lassiter

  She flushed, and then he was turning the page again. She knew what was next and she couldn’t spend any more time enjoying the warm bloom in her stomach that his praise had created, because a sharp line of anxiety edged that feeling out. He might have mistaken the portrait of himself for someone else the first time he saw it but there would be no mistaking the handsome young sheriff this time, now that all the details were filled in. Biting her lower lip, Norah’s pulse quickened.

  He looked at the portrait, in silence, for a long time. Longer than was comfortable. He didn’t touch the paper as he had with the image of Sailor. When she dared to sneak a glimpse of his face, his expression was unreadable.

  She’d spent some time filling in the details after he’d kissed her in the barn, allowing herself the opportunity to wallow in the minute details of his face; what she’d seen up close and what she’d felt under her hands. It was probably the best work she’d done, and it more than likely had something to do with all the feelings she had about Banks. Even before he’d kissed her, the gratitude and relief from him having brought her to Nan, helped her find something solid to stand on; and then after the kiss, that white knight sentiment had only gotten stronger. The intensity of his eyes, the lines around the corners of his mouth, things she’d thought about in the quiet of her basement apartment, all alone, were now exposed in the sunlight. She felt silly, and his lack of response made it even worse. If he didn’t say something soon, she’d die. If he didn’t say anything at all, she’d die. Handing him her book had been a mistake.

  After a long moment, he looked over at her with a smirk tipping one corner of his lips.

  “I think this is the best one.”

  She blushed and laughed, looking away. Turns out I’ll live.

  And get giddy, like a schoolgirl.

  “I should have asked,” she said, apologetically. “It must be a bit shocking to find yourself in my sketchbook.”

  “I’m a little surprised, maybe,” he admitted. “But only because I didn’t know you could do this stuff, not because I don’t want to be in there. I’m flattered, really. I think you got my best angle.”

  He held the book up beside his face and she had to admit it was a pretty good approximation, but she was quite sure there was no bad angle when it came to his handsome features. Her style was realistic and her end goal when producing someone’s likeness was that the difference between that and a photograph be barely obvious. She couldn’t help but laugh—he was clearly working to set her at ease and she appreciated it more than words could express. He always seemed to know the right thing to say.

  “I also think we should address the elephant in the office, so to speak,” he continued, and that anxiety rose up again, louder and more insistent this time. At least he was likely to let her down easy. Banks was nothing if not kind to her—maybe kinder than she deserved. It was just a silly crush, something to distract her. It wasn’t supposed to come to light or warrant any serious conversation. The memory of their kiss was like a little secret gem she could hold onto, and discussing it more would shatter it.

  She swallowed hard.

  “The kiss,” she said, barely above a whisper.

  “You’ve been thinking about it, too.”

  She nodded, almost embarrassed to be found out.

  But how could she not think about that kiss? All she had to do was think about Sailor and then the line of thought moved quickly to his hands on her skin, his mouth on hers, the intensity and need and arousal…

  If she didn’t stop, she was going to kiss him right now. He was close, too close. He always was. It would take nothing to close the space between them and get back just an inkling of that euphoric feeling he’d produced. She was certainly chasing it, savoring it, as if it had been a proper high.

  But he might not have been thinking about that kiss the same way she’d been. Maybe his thoughts were full of regrets, maybe he was coming at this from a different angle altogether. After all, they were coworkers. He was her boss, essentially, even if the county signed her paychecks. He was a man of the law, so there was no way he was going to ignore the impropriety of carrying on a romantic relationship with someone who worked for him.

  “You said it was magic. I can’t get it off my mind,” he said, sounding as guilty as she felt. He rubbed the back of his neck, then met her gaze earnestly. “Tell me I’m not the only one, Norah.”

  The way his voice caressed her name was almost as potent as his actual touch. He had to be punking her. He’d gotten caught up in the moment in the barn, there was no way he’d meant it. Why on earth would this handsome, good man have meant to kiss her? He got swept up in the adrenaline of the successful birth of the foal, just like she had.

  She pressed her lips together, considering. Lay her hand on the table and make herself vulnerable or give him an out? An out was easier, she told herself it protected her heart, but she was kidding herself, it had already turned up tender and this was going to sting a little no matter how she tried to avoid it.

  He was waiting for her answer.

  “Banks, I…” He watched her expectantly. She clearly wasn’t an expert in this area or she would have been able to read him loud and clear, but he looked hopeful and it made her heart crumple a little. “Of course I think about it. Every other minute. Especially in the closed quarters of the office.”

  The drawing was proof. Her distraction was proof. The way her body listed toward him without her doing anything at all was proof.

  “But…I understand that was a moment that was full of emotions. They had to come out some way or another, and it ended up being a kiss.”

  A puzzled expression crossed Banks’ features.

  “You think I didn’t mean it.”

  She let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. And nodded.

  “Norah, I meant it.”

  “I know you want to protect me—it’s what you’ve been doing since you walked into that bar. But you’re not doing me any favors by pretending, Banks.”

  He looked utterly baffled for just a brief beat, but then his expression changed. Resolve, that was it. In one smooth movement, he slid across the bench until their thighs pressed against one another, slid his hand around her neck to cup the back of her head, and tipped it back for a better angle.

  “I’d like to kiss you again, Norah. Is that okay?”

  Her whole body went tingly.

  Yes.

  There was no room for thought, for argument, as he bent his head, his lips almost touching hers. She made a soft noise and he took that for his answer. This kiss was gentle, and slow. A glowing ember compared to the explosive heat of the last one, warm and good. It was easy to fall into, like it was the most natural thing to do, kissing him. His thumb rubbed back and forth across the nape of her neck, and goose bumps rose on her arms, a little frisson of goodness shivering her spine. He kissed her like she’d never been kissed before—this wasn’t a casual throwaway kiss, nor was it an I-want-in-your-pants kiss. It was a kiss for the purpose of leaving her thoroughly kissed, for signaling his intentions, for making her heart nearly explode.

  When she reached the point she thought she might drown, he stopped. That little smirk was a bit bigger now. He smoothed her hair back and then released her. She ached for him to touch her again. This would do nothing for the distraction she’d been complaining about.

  “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate. I know you’re still raw from that last shit head. But I’d like to spend more time with you. Take you on a date, if you’re willing.”

  Norah drew a breath to calm her pounding heart and nodded slowly, still half expecting there to be some punchline she wasn’t privy to. His brow raised at her nod.

  “Yeah?”

  She swallowed.

  “Yeah.”

  —SIXTEEN—

  Sheriff’s deputy Carter Collins was on thin ice.

  “I gotta say, Banks, I’ve never seen you so smitten.”

  So much for discretio
n.

  He had kissed her on the front lawn of the office, in full view of God and every car that passed by. But under the roof of his place of employment, he was doing his damndest to keep it professional, even if he did want to touch her every time she got close. He knew better than to indulge his distraction, but he couldn’t get enough. She’d agreed to a date, not an eternity.

  Banks frowned, checking over his shoulder as he pulled the patrol car out of the lot of the town’s dance hall. Crash would normally have been riding shot gun but they’d been called to a domestic disturbance, so he needed an extra body with opposable thumbs. It hadn’t turned out to be any big deal; just Dell Ray into the whiskey a little early for a Friday night, but it never hurt to exercise caution. Rarely did any real criminal activity happen in Three Rivers, but Banks wasn’t immune to the media reports of what was happening in all the other towns across America these days. He thanked the Lord every day for the generally quiet and kind spirits of the people in his town.

  “What do you mean smitten?”

  “I see the way you look at that girl. Like she’s the only one in the room, in the office, in the whole damn town.”

  “Well, she is the only girl in the office,” Banks deflected with humor. “You’re just sour.”

  Carter covered his heart with his palm like his friend had wounded him. He joked enough about his recent divorce that Banks figured it was fair game. If it wasn’t, Carter would tell him. They’d been coworkers for long enough, and friends even longer. Often, their work and personal relationships blurred until neither was distinguishable from the other.

  “It has been long enough; I’m just about ready to date again. Problem with a small town like this one is I’ve either already dated everyone or they know Leanne. So yeah…maybe I’m a little sour you saw her first,” Carter said with a chuckle. “So have you asked her out yet?”

  Banks didn’t answer, guiding the car out onto the highway back toward the office.

  “I’m telling you brother, you’ve got to seal that deal or someone else is going to move in. She seems like a nice girl, she’s pretty as a picture, and you know how things get with new blood in town—it’s so rare, there’s always a lineup.”

  Banks frowned, surprising himself with how protective he felt. He himself had engaged in this kind of teasing before—because it was true—newcomers to Three Rivers were rare, and seemed exotic, and not just in a romantic sense. People wanted to be them or be with them. But the idea of other men in town sniffing around Norah bothered him more than he would have expected for this early in the game. It was probably half that he didn’t like the idea of anyone but him thinking of her that way and half that it was the first time in quite some time that he’d taken an interest and he figured he shouldn’t have to compete on top of deal with his own shit—and there was enough of it.

  “I did ask her out. But Carter, I’m way the hell out of my element here, man. Last time I took a girl on a date…I don’t even remember.”

  “I think it was June Struthers.”

  Just thinking about June Struthers brought a flush to Banks’ cheeks. He hadn’t handled that one very well at all. It had all wound up to be a friends with benefits situation when she was lonely with an itch to scratch after she’d broken up with her common law husband. Banks knew better than to get tangled up with a woman with children and a fresh breakup, and here he was, fixing to do it all over again.

  So maybe he had a type. He liked being helpful.

  “I never took June Struthers on a date,” Banks admitted, embarrassed.

  “Yeah, I know. You keep saying you haven’t got time to take girls on dates,” Carter teased, but his aim was good, and it pinched more than Banks cared to admit. He didn’t have time for the distraction of dating, but taking Norah out on a date couldn’t be more distracting than having her waltzing around, getting his blood up every time she walked into the office.

  “I don’t.”

  “So what’s different now?”

  “I can’t concentrate with her in the office. And I can’t very well fire her because I can’t keep it in my pants. If I do something about it, I’ll be less distracted at the office. That’s my theory, anyway.”

  “You always were good at logic,” Carter laughed. “So you’d definitely better take this girl out, and lunch at Hinkley’s doesn’t count, you already did that one.”

  “You know there’s nothing else to do in this town.”

  “What about something off the beaten path? Girls love that shit. A picnic and…fishing?”

  “Fishing?”

  Banks glanced over at his friend, whose expression was stone-serious as he nodded.

  “I haven’t been fishing in a hundred years.”

  “I was fishing this morning.”

  “No shit?”

  “It’s what I do these days. Helps to calm the mind, keep things balanced in my soul,” Carter said, and Banks could see it. Carter had always been interested in the outdoors but he was shit with horses and cattle; animals didn’t seem to gel with him the way they did with Banks and Nate. But the outdoors had always seemed to soothe him and the man was industrious and interested in all kinds of survival stuff. So Banks supposed it made sense in the end. “And for what it’s worth, I think it would make a pretty good date. You can do up some sandwiches and stuff, backpack it out to some easy access brook, put your hooks in the water. Man, there’s a whole country song about fishing in the dark with a cute girl.”

  Banks chuckled. It was so simple and obvious, it might be just the thing to impress Norah after she’d been in the city for so long. Getting back in touch with her Three Rivers roots might be what it took to win her over.

  “Okay, okay…this doesn’t sound too bad, actually. And fishing’s gotta be like riding a bike, I can get back into it without missing too many beats.”

  Carter nodded along while Banks talked himself into it out loud.

  “One question, though, Collins.”

  Carter tipped his head, up, listening. He looked too damn proud of himself, and if it had been anyone besides Norah on the line, Banks might have defied him just to wipe that smug smirk off his friend’s face, but he was willing to accept any help he could get at this point.

  “Can I borrow a rod?”

  —SEVENTEEN—

  When she’d called Layla to ask for help, Norah hadn’t expected her to knock thirty minutes later with an armful of clothes that was almost as tall as she was, but yet, here she was, pulling the door open for her new friend.

  “I brought half my closet,” Layla admitted, laughing.

  “You got here fast,” Norah replied, standing back to make space for Layla to come in.

  “Honestly, any excuse for a baby-free night that doesn’t involve serving up alcohol, I’m on it,” Layla said, unloading her treasures onto the couch. “Plus, gossip. Spill it.”

  Norah laughed, closing the door behind Layla and following her into the apartment.

  “There’s nothing to spill, really. Banks asked me on a date. I said yes.”

  “Out of the blue? He just asked you out? You had no idea it was coming?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Norah said with a laugh. She pressed her lips together, taking in Layla’s eager expression. In the grand scheme of things, her crush’s sister-in-law probably wasn’t a wise first choice for gossiping about her upcoming date, but her other option was the woman who raised him, so she’d take her chances, because she was bursting with the need for girl talk.

  Layla relieved the pressure by pulling a white sun dress out of the pile.

  “You’re a bit smaller than I am, but most of this is pre-Mason stuff, so it’s too small for me. This should work out.” She held the garment up to Norah’s front and her whole face lit up. “Oh yeah.”

  “He kissed me. The night Dixie foaled.”

  Layla’s twittering came to an abrupt halt, and one of her brows shot up. She pressed her lips together in what appeared to be an attempt to stifle a smil
e.

  “Go on,” she said, carefully tempering her voice.

  “So we’ve been kind of dancing around one another in the office ever since. And so he finally asked me on a date, to put all of this to bed.”

  “Yeah, put yourselves to bed,” Layla said, laughing.

  Norah’s stomach did a flip flop that was entirely un-Jellybean related, and realized that while she hadn’t considered that possibility, that yes, she’d welcome it. Wholeheartedly. Banks took such great care in every other aspect of his life, she couldn’t imagine a world in which he was a less than thoroughly considerate and mind-blowing lover. She felt dirty thinking about it so earnestly, but wasn’t that what all of this ‘pregnancy hormones’ foolishness she’d been telling herself all along was about? Sex. The kind you want to have. The kind you go looking for, not just casually fall into in your complacent relationship because he’s been nagging for a week.

  She blushed.

  Layla laughed again.

  “Okay, let’s get you dressed. I’ll quit harassing you. Seriously, though, if you want to talk about this, or anything else, I’m pretty good at keeping private things private.”

  “That’d be why you’re a bartender,” Norah guessed.

  “That’s why I’m a good bartender,” Layla countered. “I’ve had my share of secrets, and keeping them to myself hurt. I just had nobody to tell them to. Now try this on.”

  Layla threw a powder blue dress with an empire waist at her and nodded toward the bedroom door. Norah complied, slipping out of her yoga pants and tank top and quickly into the dress. She took a quick gander at herself in the mirror above the dresser in the bedroom. It didn’t look bad at all—it was fancier than anything she’d bothered to own in some time, but by most counts was still pretty casual, if you were the dress wearing sort. But Norah liked how it looked on her, tucking in at the parts where it mattered and flowing loosely where it mattered, too. It skimmed over her hips, and when she turned the right way, it did show a little baby bump but that wasn’t a secret anymore where Banks was concerned, so it was okay in the long run.