She’d given no indication that she might be up for a short, reckless affair to pass the time until she got on the bus out of town. And the last thing he wanted was any kind of an emotional entanglement with any woman. She’d be gone soon, and that was that.
It was just after three when George finally got up from the table. “It’s been a real pleasure,” he said and smiled at Jane. “There’s nothing nicer than spending a snowy afternoon in the company of a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, at my age, a good nap is also a pleasant way to spend the afternoon, and I’m past due mine.”
She offered him a sunny smile. “Thank you for the pie, George. Your wife was right. It was the best I’ve ever eaten,” she replied.
George beamed as if kissed by an angel.
“George, have you mentioned to anyone that I’m here?” Jane asked.
“Can’t say I have.” George scratched the top of his head. “Haven’t talked to anyone except Dalton since this storm moved in.”
“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention it to anyone.” She flashed him a bright smile. “I’m kind of hiding out from somebody.”
George’s eyes lit up. “Ah, a woman of mystery. Your secret is safe with me.” He started to turn to head out the way he had come, but paused and pointed to the window. “Would you look at that?”
Both Dalton and Jane looked through the window where the snow had finally stopped and the sun peeked out from behind the last lingering gray clouds.
Chapter 4
“You think the bus will run tomorrow?” Janette asked Dalton. The three of them were in the living room, having just eaten supper. He was seated in the chair and she was on the sofa. Sammy was gurgling happily from a blanket on the floor.
“Doubtful,” he replied.
For the past hour they’d heard the sounds of plows starting the storm cleanup and each grind of gears had been like music to her ears. She just hoped and prayed she got out of there before Sheriff Brandon Sinclair somehow discovered where she was.
“Although most of the locals who have plows will be out and have our streets cleaned, it will probably be at least another day or so before the highways are completely cleared and the bus can show up.” He gazed at her curiously. “Surely you can’t be afraid that your boyfriend will find you here. You didn’t know you were going to be here, so how could he know?”
“Logically, I know that, but emotionally, I just have this terrible need to get out of town, to get as far away as possible,” she replied. “I just want to stay safe.”
“I told you that you’d be safe here,” he said. “When that bus comes, I’ll personally see you safely aboard and in the meantime nobody is going to harm you while you’re in my home.”
A new burst of gratitude filled her. She’d taken a terrible chance coming into the home of a stranger, but Dalton had proved himself to be nothing other than a good, honorable man. She leaned back on the sofa. “So, what do you do when you aren’t bodyguarding?” she asked. She’d been in his home for twenty-four hours but didn’t really know anything about him.
“I mentioned before I like to read, and when the weather’s nice I do a little work at the family ranch.”
“Family ranch?” She could easily imagine him, long legs astride a powerful horse, a cowboy hat pulled down low over his brow.
“My dad has a huge ranch north of town. It’s become something of a family compound. My brother Tanner has a house on the property, and Clay and his wife, Libby, have been talking about building there.”
“Hmm, that sounds nice. It must be wonderful to have such a close, loving family unit. I used to wonder what it would be like to have a whole mess of siblings.”
He laughed, a deep low sound that warmed her. “Believe me, it’s not as wonderful as it sounds. You wait in line for the bathroom, you wait to be served at the table, you share everything you’re given and there’s incessant noise.”
She searched his features. “But there must have been something wonderful in it.”
He frowned, the gesture doing nothing to detract from his handsomeness. His gaze drifted to the window and he stared out for a long moment before answering. When he looked back at her the deep lines in his face had softened.
“I suppose there was something wonderful about it,” he said as if conceding a huge point. “I definitely never felt lonely and I knew my family always had my back when I got into trouble.”
“And did you do that often?” she asked. “Get into trouble?”
His eyes gleamed with a hint of mischief. “Probably more than my share, although nothing serious. What about you? Were you a wild child or one of those Goody Two-shoes who always played by the rules?”
It was the first conversation they’d had where she didn’t feel on edge, wasn’t afraid of screwing up the lies she’d already told with new lies. Maybe she was feeling more relaxed because the snowplows sounded like imminent escape.
“I was in-between,” she said. “I’m sure my grandmother would tell you that I had some wild moments, and like your Smokey, she didn’t hesitate to burn my butt if I needed it. But I never broke any laws or anything like that.”
“That’s a relief. I wouldn’t want to be harboring a criminal in my house,” he said, his green eyes teasing.
She returned his smile. In different circumstances she had a feeling it would have been easy to like Dalton…really like him. Although he seemed reserved, when he smiled at her she wanted to break through that reserve and get to the heart of the man.
But she couldn’t afford to be attracted to him. As soon as the streets were cleared she’d be out of his apartment and as far away from Cotter Creek as she could get.
This was nothing more than a temporary respite from the drama that her life had become on the afternoon that Sheriff Brandon Sinclair had walked into the café.
“I’ll bet you spend a lot of time with your family,” she said.
“Not really. Oh, we get together for the usual holidays, but most of the time I’m perfectly satisfied alone.”
“Still, I imagine it’s a good feeling to know that they’re there if you need them,” she replied.
Sammy cooed like a dove as he found his own fingers, his legs kicking with happiness. She watched Dalton as his gaze went to her son. Dalton looked back at her. “You’ve got a tough road ahead of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“A single mother, no father in the picture and you mentioned that you don’t have your GED yet. You’ve got an uphill battle ahead of you.”
“I know,” she agreed, suddenly sober as she gazed down at Sammy. “I might have grown up poor in a trailer park, but I’m going to make something of myself so that Sammy has everything he needs.” She heard the angry resolve in her own voice, a resolve that had strengthened when Sinclair had told her that she was nothing but trailer trash and nobody would believe her if she told what he’d done.
“There’s nothing wrong with being poor, or growing up in a trailer park,” Dalton said softly.
She smiled. “Spoken like a man who has never known what it’s like to be poor.”
“You’re right,” he conceded. “I was lucky never to have to worry about finances. The bodyguard business pays well and we all share in the profits of both the business and the ranch.”
“Did you always want to be a bodyguard?”
“When I was ten I wanted to be a rodeo clown,” he said. “When I was twelve I wanted to be an astronaut, then a treasure hunter and a gold miner.”
She laughed. “For me it was a movie star, a ballerina then a princess.” She sobered. “It never entered my mind that in reality I’d be an abused woman on the run with a small baby.”
“Your sister will take you in?”
“Of course,” she replied around the lump of fear that swelled in her throat. She had no idea where she was going, no idea what she’d find when she arrived. Her only support system was a sixty-eight-year-old woman with a bad heart.
Dalton ran a h
and through his thick dark hair, not breaking eye contact with her. “Why do I get the feeling that you aren’t telling me everything?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said and looked down at Sammy, who had begun to fuss. “I’d better get him a bottle,” she said as she got up from the sofa.
It was a relief to escape those piercing, intelligent eyes of his. She didn’t know what he saw that made him think she was keeping secrets, but there was no way she could tell him the truth. And in any case, it didn’t matter. She would be gone soon enough.
She fixed Sammy his bottle, then picked him up off the floor. “I think I’m going to go ahead and call it a night,” she said.
He nodded. “Unless it will freak you out entirely, I’m planning on sleeping here on the sofa tonight. I like George a lot, but his sofa is small and last night he kept me up until long after midnight telling me stories I’d heard a dozen times before.”
She was surprised to realize the idea didn’t freak her out. She trusted him to remain the perfect gentleman he’d already been. “Would you rather stay in your own bed? Sammy and I could bunk in here,” she offered.
“No, I’ll be just fine. Good night, Jane,” he said.
She wished she could hear her real name on his lips, but fear still ruled her decisions, including the decision to tell him little white lies, as much as she hated it. “Good night, Dalton.”
Even though it was relatively early, Janette breathed a sigh of exhaustion as she got ready for bed. It was hard work watching every word that fell from her mouth and being careful not to say too much or too little.
When she was in her nightgown she moved to the window and stared outside. The street in front of Dalton’s had been plowed, leaving piles of snow on either side that glistened in the streetlights.
The sooner she got on the bus the better she’d feel, but escaping this part of the country certainly didn’t ease the fear that was a constant inside her.
She might escape Sinclair but then she’d have to face settling into a new place, finding work and taking care of Sammy and earning enough money to send for Nana. Dalton was right. She had a tough road ahead of her.
Sammy finished his bottle, and she sang softly to him until he fell asleep. It took her longer to sleep and when she finally succumbed, the dream began almost immediately.
“Well, well, don’t we look all sexy in that little skirt,” Sinclair said, and there was something in his eyes that made her suddenly afraid.
Janette held out her driver’s license, but he didn’t take it from her. Instead those cold, blue eyes of his swept leisurely down her body. “You were going awfully fast. You doing drugs?”
“I don’t do drugs, Sheriff,” she exclaimed.
“I’m going to have to frisk you to make sure you have nothing illegal on you.” He stepped closer to her and she smelled the scent of him, a stale sweat odor mingling with an overly sweet cologne.
Unconsciously she took a step backward, heart pounding painfully hard. He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you fight me, girl. I’ll have you in handcuffs so fast your pretty little head will spin.” He grinned. “Or maybe I’ll just have to shoot you for resisting.” And then he put his hands on her.
Hands. Everywhere on her. And hot breath on her face. And in her dream she did something she hadn’t been able to do that night.
She screamed.
*
The scream pulled Dalton from a dream of a naked Jane in his bed. He shot upright on the sofa, for a moment not knowing what it was that had awakened him. Then it came again, a scream of such terror it raised the hairs on his arms, on the nape of his neck.
Jane!
He stumbled from the sofa and into the bedroom, adrenaline surging and heart pounding. He flipped on the overhead light and instantly realized Jane was in the middle of a nightmare. She thrashed on the bed, flailing her arms and legs as if fighting for her life.
Sammy cried out, too, and his eyes fluttered open, but he settled back to sleep, as if accustomed to his mother having bad dreams. “Jane,” Dalton called softly.
She moaned, whipping her head from side to side, but she didn’t open her eyes. He approached her, trying not to notice that the sheets had slipped down to her waist and the pale-blue silk nightgown she wore did little to hide her full breasts.
The fight-or-flight adrenaline that had filled him at the sound of her scream now transformed to another kind of energy as a surge of desire struck his midsection.
“Jane,” he said again as he moved closer to the edge of the bed. Still she didn’t respond. He was going to have to touch that soft-looking pale skin and he knew he was going to find it far too pleasant.
“Jane, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.” He leaned over and took her by the shoulders.
Her eyelids snapped open and she looked at him, wildness in the depths of her eyes. She stared at him and the wildness left as recognition struck. She released a little gasp and to his surprise launched herself out of the bed and into his embrace.
She trembled in his arms and sobbed silently into the crook of his neck. He tentatively slid a hand down the cool material that covered her back. “Shh, it was just a dream,” he said softly.
It would be easier to comfort her if he wasn’t bare-chested, if he wasn’t so intensely aware of every point where her bare skin made contact with his.
She raised her face to look at him. Her eyes were misty with tears but her full lips parted as if in invitation or some kind of strange desperation.
He didn’t think about kissing her ahead of time. He didn’t consciously plan to. It just happened. One minute he was gazing at her face and the next minute his mouth covered hers. He didn’t just kiss her, she kissed him back, her mouth opening against his as he pulled her closer to him.
The kiss lasted only a second or two, then she pulled away from him, a horrified look on her face. “I’m sorry,” she said, her cheeks blossoming with high color.
“No…I’m sorry,” he replied stiffly. “You were screaming and obviously having a nightmare and I…I just meant to wake you.”
She released a breathless, embarrassed laugh. “I’m definitely awake.”
“Then I’ll just…uh…let you go back to sleep.” Dalton backed out of the room, afraid that if he remained another minute longer he’d want to kiss her again.
What was he doing? he wondered as he threw himself back onto the sofa. Every nerve in his body was electrified, every muscle tense. His response to that kiss stunned him. He knew virtually nothing about Jane Craig except that her skin had been soft as silk and her lips had been hot and willing.
It was possible by tomorrow she’d be gone. It was even more certain that he didn’t want to be involved with her. He didn’t want to know what she dreamed about, he didn’t want to share his life with her in any way, shape or form. It had been wrong to kiss her, because all he could think about now was how much he wanted to kiss her again.
He fell asleep dreaming of the sweet heat of her mouth and awakened the next morning stiff and sore from the night on the sofa. He got up, nearly tripping over Sammy’s diaper bag on the floor. He swallowed a curse.
By the time he’d made coffee, some of the stiffness of his muscles had begun to ease, as had his foul mood. He sat at the table, his hands wrapped around a mug of fresh brew. Even though it wasn’t quite seven o’clock he could hear the sounds of plows already at work.
Maybe the bus would come this afternoon, he thought. That would be a good thing. He could see Jane and Sammy to the bus stop, wish them well on their way, then return to his solitary life without temptation. And Jane Craig had become a definite temptation.
He still sat at the table with thoughts of Jane when a knock sounded on his door. He jumped up from the table and hurried to answer. He pulled open the door to see his brother Zack standing on his landing, his gloved hands holding a shovel.
“Hey, bro, just thought I’d check in to see if you survived the storm. I just finis
hed clearing off the driveway and your car and thought you might have a hot cup of coffee for me.”
Dalton held the door tightly. Please, please don’t tell anyone I’m here. Jane’s words pounded in his head as he stared at his brother. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said. “And you don’t want to come in here, Zack,” he finally said. “I’ve got the flu, been throwing up off and on all night.”
Zack frowned and took a step backward as if to avoid any germs floating in the air between them. “You need anything? We’ve about got all the major roads cleared in town and some of the stores are opening this morning.”
“Nah, I’m fine. I just think I might be contagious so it wouldn’t be a good idea for you to come inside, but I really appreciate you cleaning off the driveway. I’m sure George appreciates it, too. I’d love for you to come in, but I’m really not feeling well.” Dalton couldn’t tell if Zack believed him or not but he breathed a sigh of relief as Zack backed down the stairs, promising to check in on him later.
Dalton closed the door, hating the fact that he’d lied to his brother for reasons he didn’t quite understand. If Jane’s abusive ex-boyfriend had somehow tracked her to Cotter Creek, then why on earth would it matter if the local sheriff knew about it?
He turned to see Jane standing in the bedroom doorway, Sammy in her arms. “Thank you,” she said.
“Don’t thank me. I’m not happy about lying to my family.” He walked back into the kitchen, aware of her following just behind him.
When he saw that she was about to prepare a bottle for Sammy, he held out his hands to take the kid from her arms. As always, Sammy looked delighted to see him. He launched himself into Dalton’s arms with a big grin that lit up his entire little face.
“Is this kid ever in a bad mood?” Dalton asked as he sat in a chair. Sammy smelled like baby powder and lotion, a pleasant scent that reminded Dalton of dreams half-forgotten and abandoned.
Glory, Glory: Snowbound with the Bodyguard Page 21