Her answering smile punched him in the gut. He shook off the hunger eating at his concentration. Maybe Cain was right. The woman really was a menace. John set her away from him, trying to regain his composure. “If you’re going to keep her, you need to bring in extra help. It’s dangerous, you being here alone with all these animals.”
“I take precautions. I even have tranquilizer guns on hand for worst-case scenarios. They’re right over here.”
This, John had to see. She led him to a small office. Sure enough, she had two tranquilizer guns and a shotgun in a locked case. Having them seemed smart, but could she handle them? Calliope unlocked the case and lifted out the shotgun. Curious, he watched her as she hefted the large gun. Her face had gone pale and she had an unfocused look in her eyes.
“Hey, you okay?”
She jumped at the sound of his voice and backed away from him.
“Calliope, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Uhh…I think you should stay here for a short while.”
Belatedly, John realized she was backing straight out of the door. Stunned, he watched her slam the door shut. He heard what sounded like a crossbar falling into place—locking him inside.
~~~
Panicked, Calliope ran toward Tasha’s enclosure—the sound of John yelling through the office door still ringing in her ears. The man certainly knew his curse words. Standing in front of the gun case, she’d had a flash of premonition. She’d known instinctively the scene that had filled her thoughts wasn’t very far into the future. Heck Jones, her nearest neighbor, planned to let Tasha out of her cage. He hated the tiger and he probably hoped, free and unsupervised, she’d get into enough trouble to require her destruction. Unfortunately, chances were good she’d do just that. Tasha was a sweetheart, but she was, after all, a tiger. If she didn’t attack Heck, she’d be chasing down goats. That wouldn’t win her any friends.
Calliope slowed as the enclosure came into view. If Tasha had already been released, running past her wouldn’t be a good idea. Cautiously, Calliope scanned the enclosure and the surrounding area. She couldn’t see Tasha. The gate stood open—she was too late.
Where was Heck? Calliope crept from tree to tree like some great African hunter. Only her prey wasn’t the tiger. She stopped and scanned the pasture that lay between Tasha’s enclosure and Heck’s property. Nothing. She turned back to the enclosure and there he was, making his way around. But why? She’d just started toward the gate when a muscled arm closed around her waist, lifting her off the ground.
“Where do you think you’re going?” John’s voice was soft and menacing in her ear.
“Oh, no. John, you shouldn’t be here.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Tasha’s loose. It isn’t safe.”
She felt him tense behind her.
“Are you planning to shoot her?”
“Of course not!”
“Then why the gun?”
“For Heck…my neighbor. He let her out.” Calliope pointed to where the other man was still creeping around the enclosure. “See?”
“You planning to shoot him?”
She squirmed, tempted to kick his shins with her heels. “I had hoped to scare him off before he opened the cage.”
Still pressed against his chest, she felt him exhale with a sigh. “First things first. Let’s go get that gate closed.”
“But Tasha—”
“Is in her enclosure. I’m beginning to think she’s smarter than her keeper. At the very least, better behaved.”
Heck must’ve planed to get behind Tasha and use his gun to startle her out of the enclosure. Feeling like an idiot, which only served to make her furious, Calliope couldn’t speak. The moment John set her on the ground, she started toward the gate only to be caught up short as John snatched the gun out of her hand.
“I’ll take that.”
Calliope released the shotgun and set her sights on the gate. She had to get it closed before anything terrible happened.
The instant the gate clanged shut, John went into action. Heck ran, but he didn’t have the speed to outpace him. She didn’t even try to hide her grin as John cuffed him and marched him back to the city cruiser.
With Heck tucked neatly in the back, John returned his attention to Calliope. She shivered under the force of his scrutiny. Would he take retribution on her for locking him in the office?
“You want to explain how you knew what he was up to?”
She sighed. “You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
He’d have to know eventually. “Okay. I…sometimes I know things before they happen.”
“Women’s intuition?”
She could imagine instinct and intuition were something an experienced cop could understand. The easy answer tempted her. She could agree, but her future husband would have to deal with the reality sooner or later. She decided to offer the truth, hoping it wouldn’t take him too long to get over the shock.
“No,” she said. “More like…premonition.”
~~~
Two weeks later, John stood in the hot afternoon sunshine, checking over the last touches to the new fencing. He’d organized work crews to help and they’d finally finished. He’d spent his day off working side by side with Calliope’s helper, putting up the last stretch of fence. Squirting the last bottle of water across his face and chest to cool off and clean up, he turned toward the barn in time to see Calliope and Dolly headed across the field.
Woman and elephant appeared completely comfortable with each other. Calliope rode the elephant with the same earthy sensuality she did everything else. Her hair blew free in the breeze and a mischievous grin lit her face.
With the fence done, he’d no longer have an excuse to come out to the refuge. He’d been there, to work on the fence, as often as possible over the past weeks. In the evening, she always had lemonade waiting. When he managed to put in a whole day, she brought him a picnic lunch that they shared under the nearest tree. He’d come to look forward to spending time in her company.
She was sexy as hell, but he reluctantly acknowledged it was something more that drew him to her. He wanted her, but he couldn’t afford to get involved in a serious relationship with her. She had a tendency to ignore the law. They might’ve made a deal about her elephant riding, but as of that morning, she still hadn’t paid those tickets.
He could arrest her. He grinned. That would ensure he’d see her again, but it would be hell on their relationship. Oh hell, he was already thinking of her in terms of a relationship. He’d known all along, with her, it would take more than a brief affair to satisfy him. Acceptance settled over him as he watched her slip off Dolly’s back with surprising grace.
“The fence looks great. Dolly and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.”
John shrugged off her gratitude. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for girls with weird names.”
Calliope laughed and he felt it right down to his toes—and other more interesting parts of his anatomy. She stretched out her hand. A small slip of paper flapped in the breeze. “Here. I thought you’d like to see this.”
He didn’t need to take it. He recognized it instantly.
Calliope waved the paper in the air. “Here take it. It’s a receipt.”
John nodded and accepted the small slip—proof she’d paid the tickets, all of them. “You turning into a law abiding citizen?”
“Of course. I assure you all this lawlessness is not my usual style.”
He reached out and pulled her closer. “No, your style is more the free spirit-gypsy.” Despite his damp state, he tugged her into his arms. His intuition told him his earthy, free spirit wasn’t likely to complain. “Have any more premonitions lately?”
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “I…I have them fairly often, I’m afraid.”
“Any about us?”
She hesitated for a long minute. “Are you sure you want to know?”
John nod
ded.
“The day we met, I had a premonition that we would…be…um…married.”
John threaded his hand through her golden hair and tipped her head back so he could meet her eyes. “I had a feeling you were going to say that.”
John watched the smile light her face as she realized he wasn’t going to be scared off by her answer. Then he did what he’d wanted to do since he’d seen her riding her elephant out to meet him. He kissed his future wife with all the passion he could muster.
On her lips he tasted his future and knew…theirs was going to be a love to remember.
The silly law that inspired this tale is widely circulated on the Internet and attributed to my home state of Florida. We do have a surprising number of elephants here—the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Center for Elephant Conservation is located here—but I’d be very surprised to see an elephant tied to a parking meter in my home town. Of course, I’ve always loved surprises! If you’re ever lucky enough to see one in your town, be sure to let me know—[email protected].
Be sure to check out Cheryl Alldredge’s website
www.cherylalldredge.com
The Woman in the Window
Jeanne VanArsdall
• It’s against the law to dress/undress a mannequin without pulling the blinds
I fell under her spell while I stood watching her dress the blonde woman. She fluffed the scarf, and then adjusted the neckline of the dress—meticulously it seemed, in every detail. Her movements were magic, like a soft beautiful melody.
She removed the pins she’d held firmly between her lips, then glanced up and caught me staring at her. She was adorable, and I was smitten. We continued to stare, until she raised her brows questioningly.
“Cute, really cute,” I said.
“Sorry, she’s taken.” She laughed, and I could have drowned in that laugh.
Determined to be macho, I nodded slowly, pursing my lips. “I was referring to you.”
“Well then, thanks,” she said cheerfully. She stepped out of the window and extended her hand. “I’m Carli. Welcome to CJ’s.”
“Thanks,” I muttered. “I’m glad the store was still open. I saw the blinds pulled and thought you’d closed early.”
“Oh, no. We never close early.” She smiled again. “But it’s against the law to dress or undress a mannequin without pulling the blinds.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“Nope, absolutely true. It’s to keep all the men out there from stampeding the store.” She laughed and moved on quickly before I could respond. “I like to keep a fresh new window scene for my customers.”
She lost me there, so I just kept rambling…anything to keep her talking. I didn’t want to make my purchase and leave. “How often do you do this window dressing thing?”
“When the mood strikes, mostly. But I try to encourage the mood every week or so.”
Sometime during the conversation, I’d moved nearer to her to continue this magnetic exchange. “Looks like a tough job to me…stepping around and between all that stuff.”
“I’ve broken a few things, but eventually you get used to walking in tight spaces. You seem very interested. Are you in retail by any chance?”
“No, not even close,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m the new football coach at the university.”
“Oh, Jason Block.” She raised both hands in front of her. “I’m sorry. I should have recognized you. I read the article about the new super coach in our paper. Sounded very promising.”
“Yeah, your publisher was pretty flattering. I hope I can live up to all that praise he dished out.”
She propped both hands on her hips and looked sternly at me. “Well, you’d better or you might get tarred and feathered around here. We’re desperate for a winning season.” She shook her raven hair back and grinned. “Just kidding. Here,” she said, extending her hand, “let me ring that up for you.”
I surrendered the sweater I’d been clutching like a football. “That’d be great, and save my hide, too. We’re having a birthday dinner for my sister at my parents tonight. I just remembered on my way home that I hadn’t bought her a gift yet. And believe me, she’d never let me forget it. So I’m really glad you were still open.”
“Me, too. Did you find everything okay? I mean size, color, everything?” Now she was stammering.
“I know the color’s good and she’s just about your size. I think it’ll look great on you…er her. I mean, I don’t know what size you are, but it looks pretty close.”
Carli smiled, took the sweater and checked the size. “You’re good,” she said, walking toward the register.
Jason followed along, pulling out his wallet. “How much is this little beauty going to cost me?”
She removed the tag and folded the sweater. “I’ll go easy on you, since you’re new in town,” she said, looking up with green eyes sparkling. “I want to make a return customer out of you.”
It wasn’t what she’d said so much as the way she’d said it. Or at least the way I’d heard it. I drove on to my condo and lightheartedly bounded up the stairs. I stripped my clothes off and stepped into the shower. I tried to think of plays on the field this afternoon, but my mind kept leaping back to the raven-haired image that had burned into my mind at CJ’s. I finished showering, dressed and headed out to my parent’s home two and a half hours away.
I flipped on the radio, determined to get her off my mind. A Christmas song was ending and immediately led into a commercial. “Don’t forget to stop by CJ’s for all your Christmas gift needs. Carli says she has a nice sample of just a few of the beautiful gifts in the new window display she just finished today. Come by soon and let Carli or her helpers assist you with that perfect gift selection.”
Good grief, I couldn’t get away from her. What was it about her anyway? She wasn’t all that special. Oh no, she wasn’t special—how about wonderful? I slammed my fist down on the steering wheel. This wasn’t like me at all. I like pretty women, sure, but they don’t usually hang around in my head like this. I pressed search, located a ball game on the radio and listened until I pulled into my parent’s drive.
My sister, Ellie, came running down the sidewalk and jumped into my arms. “Hey, bud, I’m so glad to see you! Guess what? I’ve been accepted at Georgia. Now, we’ll be living in the same town. How great is that?” She was all excited and hyper as usual. An honor student, a cheerleader and a very pretty girl, I figured I’d probably be spending half my time keeping the boys away from her.
“That’s fabulous,” I said, grinning and detaching myself. “Just for that, I brought you something.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” she said, hands on her hips. “This is for my birthday. I want something really, really special for this big accomplishment!”
I put my arm around her and pulled her close. “What makes you think this isn’t really special?
“Oh, I didn’t mean that, Jason. Honestly, I didn’t. Can I open it now?”
“Don’t you think you should at least include Mom and Dad in this celebration?” I asked, tousling her hair.
We reached the door, walked in and everyone hugged. Ellie immediately began tearing into her package. “Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!” she squealed. “This is the most fabulous sweater I’ve ever seen. I love this, Jason. Wherever did you find it?”
“A little shop over in Athens, called CJ’s.”
Ellie held the sweater up, preening and dancing around. “Look, Mom, won’t this be divine with that new skirt you guys bought me?” Before they could answer, she rambled on. “Hey, Jason, I’ve been in that store before. A friend and I went over there a couple weeks ago looking around. The woman in there was a knockout. I think she owns it. Did she help you?”
“Well, Sister, I don’t know. What did she look like?”
“She had this really dark brunette hair, lots darker than mine, and longer, and sort of greenish, gold eyes. It sounds weird, but it was the coolest color of eyes I’ve ev
er seen. And, of course, she had this fabulous figure. I think she must work out or something. Was that the one?”
“Yeah,” I sighed, “I think that was the one.”
“Ohhhhh,” she teased. “You liked her, didn’t you?”
“Ellie, I just met the woman.”
Silence covered the room like fog. And it seemed like everyone was staring at me. “What’s not to like?” I commented, raising both hands in the air.
Mom quickly jumped in. “Okay, okay, who’s hungry? I’ve got roast beef and mashed potatoes to start with.”
I answered. “Mom, I’m always hungry when you’re cooking.”
“Me, too,” chimed the rest of the family, moving towards the dining room.
We sat at the table, said grace, and the food started making the rounds. “So, Jason, are you staying a few days with us?” Dad asked.
“I’m not sure about the whole weekend, Dad, but I’ll stick around for awhile tomorrow for sure. I’ve got to work on some strategy and plays for the team—see if I can pull out at least a few wins before the season ends.”
“I hope you can, Son. Seems to me that quarterback’s pretty good. Just can’t get any protection ‘til he can get the ball off. He’s got a hell of an arm if you ask me.”
“Yeah, I think he’s got a lot of potential. That’s one of the things I’m working on. I need to get some wins. I’d hate to get tarred and feathered.”
“Where’d that come from?” his mother asked. “It’s not that bad.”
“I was just kidding,” I laughed. “That’s what Carli told me the townspeople might do if I didn’t pull out a winning season.”
“Carli who?” they all asked together.
“Oh, uh, the woman at CJ’s,” I said quietly as I ran my hand through my hair.
“The hottie?” Ellie queried, smiling and cocking her head.
I inhaled deeply and blew out my breath. “Yeah, Ellie, the hottie.”
No Law Against Love Page 6