“Not mine.”
“So it’s hard all the time?”
He ate a chip slowly so he wouldn’t have to answer her.
“You realize that your ears turn the cutest bright red when you get shy?”
Hank cleared his throat, pretty sure that his ears were probably turning redder. “You’re really forward, aren’t you?”
“Being a shy, retiring flower gets me nowhere. Being forward got me a date with a hot cop, so I can’t complain.”
Neither could he.
* * *
After the initial awkwardness, they had a great time at dinner, or so Luanne thought. Hank was just like he seemed—easygoing and laid-back, with a country boy charm to him. She suspected he really was as nice as he appeared to be. Sort of like the Southern version of Dudley Do-Right. And she loved that little blush of his. She was crazy attracted to him.
He was funny, too. Rather quiet, she noticed, but it seemed to be because of a habit of people-watching rather than any shyness. He was extremely observant, remembering small details about their run-ins that she thought he would have missed. And he told her all about the town, the history, the gossip, the scandals (such as they were). Each story was told with that same dry humor and clever observation that made him so attractive. And when he told her a story about the first “cat” he’d been called out to rescue out of a tree, only to find out it was a possum? She thought she’d never stop laughing.
A laid-back, incredibly tall, sexy cop who had a good heart. Good lord, they grew them well here in Bluebonnet, didn’t they.
The date went by almost too fast. She’d drank only two Coronas and switched to water, not wanting to miss a moment of conversation because of a beer buzz. She’d noticed that he’d only drank one beer and done the same. Not much of a drinker, then, her officer. And that was okay, too. He didn’t seem like the party boy type. More like the responsible one who swooped in and rescued the party boy from himself.
When the check arrived, he swiped it without even asking and paid. And then he’d walked her back to the Peppermint House, keeping carefully at her side but not reaching for her arm or draping one over her shoulders. Instead, his hands were stuffed in his jean pockets. Did that mean he didn’t even want to try to get a little more cozy with her?
It had been a nice date. But was it just that? Nice? Or was he interested in more? She wasn’t sure she could tell. Most guys sent signals that were easily read, but not Hank. He was a closed book, and it was driving her crazy.
As they walked up the steps of the oversized front porch of the Peppermint House, Luanne stole another peek at him. He looked different out of his cop uniform. Not in a bad way, either. Despite the warm summer weather, the shirt he’d chosen to wear was a clean-pressed black shirt with long sleeves. One or two buttons were open at the neck, revealing a dark undershirt. He didn’t seem to mind the heat, either. He wore long jeans that were tight across the ass (in a fabulous way) and boots. She was pleased there was no chewing tobacco circle imprinted on the back pocket of his jeans, either. His close-cropped hair looked just as appealing now as it did with his cop uniform on.
In sum, he was Officer Hotness even out of the uniform. She totally wanted him. Her fingers were practically curling to dig into the front of his shirt and pull his face down to her, but she didn’t want this to be one-sided. She didn’t want to be that crazy out of town woman who threw herself at the local cops.
They paused in front of the door and she gave him an expectant look.
His hands remained stuffed inside his front pockets, and he gave her a faint smile. “Had a nice time tonight, Luanne.”
This was good. This was leading up to something, hopefully. “I had a great time, too.”
Hank smiled. “Well, all right, then.” And he turned to leave.
What the hell?
He was just going to turn around and leave? What was this, grade school? Would they have to pass notes for a year before she got a kiss or something? Ridiculous. Luanne frowned at his retreating shoulders as he hopped down a step. “Can I ask you something?”
Hank turned to look at her. Moved back up a step. “Yes, ma’am.”
Yes, ma’am? That sounded overly formal and polite. Like they hadn’t had a cozy dinner together. “Is there something wrong?”
“Wrong?”
“Yeah. I’m standing here on the porch staring at you and you didn’t even try to kiss me or get grabby. Do you not find me sexy?”
His mouth thinned and he took another step toward her, looking almost irritated at her confrontational tone. “Why would you think that?”
She put her hands under her breasts and bounced them. “Because I’ve been jiggling in this top all night and you haven’t looked at the girls once. And I’m wearing jeans that make my ass look fabulous. And fuck-me pumps. And you’re treating me like a nun. So I’m just curious. Is it me? Is it my height? Is it Jane? Because if so—”
He crossed the last foot or two of the porch, silencing her rambling. His hot, hard mouth pressed over her own, and she felt the prickle of a five-o’clock shadow rasp against her chin. He moved his lips until they parted slightly, and he began to ever so lightly suck on her upper lip.
Luanne’s knees went weak. Such a simple caress and she was melting like an ice cream sundae. His arms went to hers and he was bracing her while still continuing that soft, slow sucking on her upper lip. It was the most sensual kiss she’d ever received, and her lips parted from the pleasure of it. He must have taken that as a sign to continue, because his lips parted over hers even more and she felt his tongue skate between her lips and into her mouth. A soft moan escaped her throat, and when his hands slid to her ass and tugged her against him, she went easily, wrapping her arms around his neck.
His height was…perfect. For the first time, she was kissing a man who was built just for her. There was no awkward leaning or hunching to kiss him. No jokes about how she towered over him in her heels. Instead, they fit as if they were made for each other, and her breasts pressed against his chest even as his big hands kneaded her backside and his tongue continued to sweep against hers in a deliciously intoxicating kiss.
When he finally broke away, she stared up at him, dazed. His mouth was gleaming from kissing her, and that made her want to lick him and start the kiss all over again.
“If I didn’t look at your jiggling, Luanne, it’s because I didn’t want to rush things on a first date,” he said in a low voice. “But I noticed your ass. And your fuck-me pumps. And your breasts. I noticed all of you. I stared so hard at you at dinner that I thought I might scare you away. But I’m not the kind of guy to maul a woman, no matter how incredibly sexy she looks. I have self-control. I was raised that you don’t do that to a woman you want to date. You move slow.”
“Well, Officer Self-Control,” she said in a breathy voice, smoothing his collar. She might have rumpled it a little. “There’s a difference between moving slow and moving glacially. We’re adults. And from now on, if you want to kiss me, you just up and kiss me—”
His mouth swooped over hers again, the kiss harder and more demanding now. No more politeness this time, she guessed with an inward sigh of delight. This kiss lasted so long that her toes were curling, and when he broke free from the kiss, she wobbled in place.
“That was better,” she gasped.
A smile curved his mouth. “Yes, it was. When can I see you again?”
Her fingers toyed with the nape of his neck. “I’m free tomorrow.”
“I’m working overnight.” He leaned in and pressed another light kiss to her mouth. “Early dinner?”
* * *
It turned out that she saw him again the next morning on the way to the post office. She was walking down to the town square to buy a book of stamps when a patrol car pulled up alongside her.
“Morning, ma’am,” a familiar voice drawled.
She looked over and grinned at the sight of Hank in his patrol car, mirrored sunglasses on over his eyes
. With a little hop in her step, she moved to stand next to the car and glanced down at him admiringly. “Nice outfit. Those glasses part of the uniform or do all cops shop at the same place?”
“We all shop at the same place,” he said easily.
She grinned. “I knew it.”
“What are you up to this morning?”
She waved a hand at the central building that was Bluebonnet’s post office slash police station slash city hall. “Heading to get some stamps. You off to arrest some perps somewhere? Living a life of danger?”
“Not at nine in the morning. I was going to go set up behind a sign and see if I can catch some people speeding through a school zone.”
“How naughty of you.”
“How naughty of them.”
Ooh, he was flirting back with her. Her stuffy cop had a sense of fun after all. She liked that. “So from what I’m hearing, you’re going to stop people from being wicked? That’s no fun.”
“Why, are you planning on being wicked?” There was definitely a flirty look in his eyes.
“I might. There’s a field or two out there just dying for a crop circle.”
She said it in a playful way, but his face immediately changed. Gone was the frisky look. In its place was a grim, disapproving smile. She’d apparently said the wrong thing.
He glanced down the street, then back at her. “Luanne, you can’t be pulling those stunts around town.”
“Well, I wouldn’t do it in town,” she said lightly. “I’d have to do it in a field.”
“You know what I mean. If I catch you, I’d have to arrest you. These Jane stunts are dangerous and you shouldn’t be doing them.”
She rolled her eyes. They were not dangerous. “Remind me not to tell you about them, then.”
He looked like he wanted to protest, but bit it back.
They stared at each other for a long minute, and Luanne felt awkward. Man, mention one crop circle around a guy and he got all stiff and unhappy. It was like he hated her job. But if that was the case, then why was he going out with her? Did he even want to go out with her?
She had to know. “I had fun last night,” she said, drawing the conversation back to safer topics.
The smile returned to his mouth. “Me, too. We still on for dinner?”
“I thought you were working tonight?” She trailed a finger along the door of the squad car. “How come you’re working now?”
“Picking up an extra shift. I didn’t lie to you.”
She laughed. “Of course you didn’t lie to me, silly. I was just curious.”
His ears flushed a little, and her heart melted just a tiny bit. “Of course. I’m sorry. In my line of work it’s just…well, honesty is really important. That’s all.”
She winked at him. “I’ll keep that in mind. And I’ll see you tonight?”
“I’ll be there.”
One week later
As was her habit, Luanne woke up early, grabbed a coffee, and then opened her laptop. She went immediately to her web page to check her page hits. She scanned her traffic statistics—up from last week. That was good. She’d uploaded the first cow tipping video last night, and she scrolled through the comments. No surprise, it was a hit. It seemed the more ridiculous the situation she put herself into, the more popular the video was.
Check out the hottie in the uniform, one of the commenters said. What city is this in and can I get myself some of that man meat?
Sorry, ladies, she thought. Officer Man Meat is claimed. She sipped her coffee and then clicked on the video, fast-forwarding until Hank came into frame. She paused it and studied his intense frown and his big body for a long moment with pleasure.
They’d seen each other every day this past week. He’d moved a few shifts around so he could take her out for dinner, and when he hadn’t been able to do that, they’d met for breakfast instead. He had the day off today, so they were going fishing. Which sounded absurd to think about—one didn’t go fishing on a date, after all—but she was looking forward to it a bit too much for her own good. There was just something about Hank and his good-natured country boy attitude that appealed to the city girl in her.
Plus, she was pretty sure she could come up with some sort of fishing stunt to use for her video blog. Just what, she wasn’t exactly sure yet, but given time, she’d come up with a good concept that was sure to bring hits. She was good at that.
She hadn’t had much time to work on her blog this week, she realized with surprise. She set aside her coffee mug and picked up her favorite jeans from the floor, scrutinizing them for a moment. With a shrug, she slipped them on and reached for her favorite tank top. There hadn’t been one single call about chupacabra—which was unusual, given the small-town nature of this place and the two-hundred-dollar reward she was offering to talk to an eyewitness. Surely there had to be a town drunk somewhere who was willing to make up a good, credible story. She’d put out more flyers last night on a few telephone poles just in case. She could always hire an actor or pay someone, but she preferred “real” eyewitnesses. Mostly because they were much better liars on camera than a buddy who was reading woodenly from a script.
Luanne tugged her hair into a ponytail and checked her face. No makeup. Ah well. It was just fishing, and last night he’d kissed off all of her makeup when they’d made out in his truck, so this would do. Just thinking about kissing Hank made her flush with pleasure. For a tall, lanky country boy who modestly claimed he hadn’t dated much, the man could kiss like a fiend.
She really couldn’t object to a talent like that, especially when she benefited from it.
Sliding on a pair of sandals, she tucked her ID and a few bucks into her jeans pocket, along with her cellphone. As soon as she picked up her phone, however, it buzzed with an incoming text.
Gonna be late, Hank sent. Dad can’t figure out how to work one of the new computer programs again. I’m heading there first and I’ll be over in about a half hour.
A smile curved her mouth. Another station computer emergency? They seemed to have one daily. Luanne thought it was ironic that the police station employed five men, and not a single one seemed to know how to do a thing with a computer.
I’ll meet you there, she sent back, and headed down the stairs of the house.
Emily glanced up at her from a chair in the living room, still wearing her robe and fuzzy slippers. A large wallpaper sample book was perched in her lap, and she glanced at the clock when Luanne headed for the front door. “Where are you going so early?”
“Hank’s taking me fishing.”
Em snorted and flipped a page. “You sure have been seeing him a lot. Aren’t you supposed to be blogging? Doesn’t that take up all your spare time?”
Luanne looked at her sister guiltily. Okay, she might have mentioned that editing the video blogs was time-consuming (a lie) so she could get out of going tile shopping with her sister. But really, tile shopping? Boring. “I still have two weeks’ worth of videos to post before I run out. There’s plenty of time to edit up the next video.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Really. Plenty of time. I’m rounding up witnesses for my chupacabra segment as we speak.”
“Uh huh.”
She lifted her chin. “And if you know of someone that’s willing to shave his poodle and have it guest star on a grainy video as a chupacabra, you let me know. Tell him I’ll pay well.”
Em rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”
Luanne grinned at her sister. “What? It’s good money.”
“It sounds crazy. Your entire job is crazy, Luanne,” Emily said, an argument that Luanne had heard a jillion times before. “I’m surprised that police officer you’ve been dating approves of your stunts.”
She shrugged. “Hank hasn’t said that he minds them,” she lied. He just had an enormous, silent scowl on his face every time her job was brought up. That wasn’t exactly saying that he minded.
“Ha. Likely. Sharps are law-abiding citizen
s, through and through. That man probably goes the speed limit in school zones and has never met a red light he didn’t come to a complete stop at. I’m surprised he hasn’t taken it upon himself to keep you busy just so you can’t stir up the locals.” Emily waved her fingers at Luanne in a shooing motion. “Have fun and try to catch dinner.”
“Hope you’re hungry for minnow,” Luanne called as she opened the front door.
“Yum yum,” her sister called back before the door shut.
Luanne bounded down the porch, smiling at her sister’s teasing. Em came across as a cranky older sister, but the teasing was simply affection. Em was a motherer, and since she’d gotten divorced a while back, Luanne figured that she didn’t have anyone to mother but her. She began to walk to the police station.
And frowned to herself, just a little.
It seemed ludicrous that Hank would insist on taking her out every night just to keep her busy and out of trouble…didn’t it?
* * *
“Lord ’a mercy,” one of the cops drawled as she walked through the door. “It’s the Legend of Jane.”
Hank’s head shot up over one of the computers in the back, a scowl on his face.
Luanne sighed. So not a good sign. But she pasted a bright smile to her face and greeted the cop at the front desk who was staring at her with obvious delight. “That’s me.”
“My kids love your blog!” The man took off his baseball cap, wiped his forehead, and then replaced his hat with a grin. “That time you went cliff diving to try and get a bald eagle egg? We all laughed our asses off. It was terrific. You’re one wild girl. Where’s your glitter makeup today?”
She smiled at him, feeling a bit weary of the attention. “I don’t wear it unless I’m filming.” Like she normally trotted around town in glittery pink eye makeup?
He looked crestfallen. “Oh. I’d love to get a picture with you for my kids, but I don’t know if they’ll recognize you without your getup. You’re a tall one, though.” He whistled and stared up at her. “Don’t look nearly so tall on camera.”
“Maybe we can do pictures some other time,” she said, still smiling, though it was a bit more forced now. “I’m here to see Hank.”
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