My Kind of Trouble

by Becky McGraw

  No, he hadn't lost it, he thought pleased. When he turned back to her with a smile, he saw her bottom lip was poking out and her arms were folded across her chest. "Show off," she said then her lips wobbled into a smile and she hooted. "Damn, Luke...that was amazing."

  "I went through the police academy sugar, and I've had seven years of practice since then. I thought I'd be rusty though, it's been a while."

  "Well if that's rusty, I don't wanna see sharp," she said and then asked him to reset the targets up so she could try again.

  Imelda was probably going to be pissed at him for using all of her pie tins, he thought. Regardless of that, he went and put up fresh targets for Cassie, reloaded the .38 and gave it to her.

  He'd buy more pie plates for Imelda, Cassie needed the practice. "Try leaning into your target, see if that helps." Luke showed her what he meant then stepped aside. "Start with the gun at your side this time, then take your shots."

  She lowered the gun down to side, then lifted it taking five shots at the pie dish, four of them were pretty close to dead center the other was just barely inside the circle. "My arms are tired," she laughed then shrugged. "Guess I'm a wimp."

  "No, you're just not used to holding your arms like that for so long, or the weight of the gun while you're doing it, even though it's a light one. That's why we're practicing, so you get used to it. You did good, honey."

  Luke told her he was going to take a couple more rounds at the targets and she stood back and watched him intently. He knew she was watching what he was doing and taking pointers from him. Cassie was a smart woman, a quick study, and exceptionally determined when she wanted to master something. And he was glad she wanted to master shooting the handgun he'd given her. Knowing she wouldn't be defenseless if he wasn't around made him feel better.

  ***

  Tommy Tucker delivered Titan and the mares on Saturday, and Cassie had been babying and loving them since they got there. She'd made him ride Titan for her and then she worked with him on some ground training. They all tried to bury themselves in getting the new horses settled, and the final wedding preparations made, so they didn't have to think about what was hanging over their heads. James Barton was still on the loose.

  As the week progressed though, and the chores with the horses dwindled, and all the wedding plans were in place, everyone at the Double B was edgier than rabbits in a foxhole.

  Cole had gotten the restraining order against Barton, not that a piece of paper would stop a bullet, but at least it let the world know that he was a threat to Cassie. And it gave Luke more justification if he had to wind up shooting him.

  They'd talked to Sabrina off and on all week and she was frustrated because she didn't have any leads on James yet, and Cole was frustrated because Sabrina wasn't in Bowie yet. Her flight was scheduled to arrive tomorrow at noon in Dallas, and Cole was going to pick her up at the airport.

  Luke laughed thinking of how strung out Cole was over Sabrina. It was great to sit back and watch his friend go through the same torture he'd endured with Cassie. Cole had given him hell over Cassie, and payback was a bitch.

  "Hey, darlin', hand me another biscuit, please," Luke asked staring over at Cassie who was pushing her eggs around in her plate, but not really eating them. She looked up and handed him the plate of biscuits, a worried frown pinching between her eyes.

  Luke grabbed one from the plate and put it on his plate, then wiped his hands on the napkin in his lap. "What's wrong, sugar?"

  "I'm just worried that weasel is gonna ruin our wedding..." she told him and then looked back down at her plate.

  "Honey there will be so much firepower at that wedding, I find it unlikely he has the balls to try it." Luke had arranged for seven armed uniformed deputies on security, as well as a few fed friends he'd made during his term as Sheriff, not to mention he planned to wear his own his own 9mm. But he wasn't going to tell his lovely bride that.

  "I just hate that it has to be that way. We're supposed to be happy and carefree, not on edge and armed to the teeth."

  Luke shrugged, "This is Texas, darlin' weddings always call for shotguns," he grinned at her. "I'm sure your daddy will have his handy."

  She threw back her head and laughed, and the sound eased some of his tension. God, he loved hearing her laugh. He planned to make sure she had plenty to laugh about for the next fifty or sixty years.

  "I'm sure he will...wants to make sure you don't run out on his pregnant daughter," she told him and laughed again.

  "Darlin', the only place I'll be running is down that aisle to meet you and our baby."

  Cassie smiled and pushed back her chair then came around to sit on his lap and wrap her arms around his neck. She tasted his mouth, licked a crumb from the corner, then traced that talented tongue of hers across the seam before she sealed her mouth to his and kissed the stuffing out of him. Pulling back from him, she whispered near his lips, "I love you, Luke Matthews. Thank you for making me laugh."

  Luke squeezed her to him, thanking God that she was going to be his after all these years. In two days, she'd be his wife, after ten years of waiting. All the wrong women he dated since she left Bowie had just been distractions, a way to bide his time until she came back to Bowie, and back to him. As mad as Luke had been at her, his heart knew what it wanted, and it had wanted only Cassie Bellamy--and always would.

  ***

  Cassie sat on the porch swing, waiting impatiently for the dust cloud on the driveway to clear so she could see how close Cole's SUV was to the house. Luke sat beside her with his arm slung negligently over the back of the swing behind her. It irritated Cassie that she was a ball of nerves today, and Cole was cool as a cucumber. He still had his gun strapped to his shoulder, but he acted like it was just another accessory, like the leather belt he wore daily. Her accessory was worry that James would somehow mess up the most important day of her life.

  Although the weapon and holster actually looked kind of hot on Luke, Cassie was more concerned with the reason he was wearing it than how it made him look. James Barton still had not been apprehended and her wedding was tomorrow.

  Sabrina had handed off the job of apprehending him and had caught the plane from Phoenix to Dallas early this morning, so she could be in the wedding. Cassie was grateful, but secretly wished she'd stayed in Phoenix and kept looking.

  Cole pulled up to the house and shut off the car, then Sabrina slid out of SUV and saw Cassie. Cassie stood up then ran down the steps and across the yard with her arms open and Sabrina flew into them and they danced around in circles, finally stopping to look at each other. Luke eventually sauntered up to stand right behind her. "I'm so glad you finally made it," Cassie grinned widely. "I have so much to tell you."

  "I wish I had more to tell you," Sabrina said then frowned.

  "It's not your fault, Bri...you did the best you could. If he shows up here, Luke will take care of him." She tossed a thumb over her shoulder at Luke pointing to his very visible holster and gun.

  Sabrina's eyes lit up and she leaned around Cassie to take a better look, "P228--nice!" she said and grinned at him.

  "Good eye detective," Luke said and gave her a wink and a big sexy grin.

  Cole grumbled under his breath, then walked up beside Sabrina and dropped an arm on her shoulders. "Don't you ladies have somewhere to be?" he asked gruffly and gave Luke a stare.

  "Oh yeah, we need to get to the bridal shop for our fitting. Let me go get my hat and boots, I'll be right back," Cassie said then took off running for the house. She ran up the stairs and grabbed the boxes and her purse, then at the last minute stopped to put the .38 sitting on the dresser in her purse. Luke wasn't going with them to the fitting, so she thought it was a good idea.

  She ran back outside and smiled at Luke, "Give me the keys, sugar," she said and held out her hand.

  He immediately shook his head, "Nope, I'm driving ya'll there."

  Anger surged up inside of Cassie and she stomped her foot. "No, you sure are not! It's
bad luck for you to see me in the dress before the wedding."

  His face reddened and he moved a little closer to her then said, "It would also be bad luck for the bride to get shot before the wedding. I'm going, end of story."

  Cassie looked at Sabrina and Cole for support, but neither of them stepped in. "Cole can drive us. He and Sabrina are armed, and I brought the .38," Cassie told him and gave him an I'm not budging stance.

  "I have to get back to the station for a little while," Cole said apologetically.

  "My weapon is in my suitcase. I had to check it, so I'll get it out," Sabrina said then walked to the back door of the SUV and opened it to lean inside. When she came back to them, she had a shoulder holster on like Luke's over her tight white scoop neck t-shirt. "We can take the truck, Luke. It'll be okay," she told him and set her suitcase on the ground beside her.

  He stared at her for a moment, then stared at Cassie, before he finally reached inside his pocket and tossed Cassie the keys. "You better be careful, cupcake," he told her in a low worried tone.

  "God, you'd think I was the only pregnant woman in the entire world," Cassie said and then walked up to him to stand on her tip toes and kiss his unsmiling mouth. "I'll be careful."

  "Park next to the store, and go right in, don't loiter outside," he ordered and jerked her roughly against him. "If you see someone following you, come back here or go to the Police station, don't stop. The truck is full of gas, so you don't even have to stop for that. Go there and come right home."

  "Jesus, Luke, you need to write all that down," she laughed then tweaked his nose. "We'll be fine, darlin' don't worry."

  "You got an extra magazine for your weapon, Bri?" He asked seriously then looked over at her friend.

  "In my purse," she laughed then said, "Never leave home without it."

  Cole kissed Sabrina's cheek then walked back to the SUV and left. Cassie and Sabrina finally got away from Luke and his instructions and went to the truck. Sabrina had a hard time getting up, because it was so high from the ground, so Luke came over and gave her a boost. Both of them were laughing when they got inside. "I need a step stool to get up in here."

  "Yeah, Luke has this thing jacked up. He's so tall, it doesn't bother him, but even I have a little trouble getting up here. Cowboys and their trucks...the taller the better, she winked at Bri then cranked up the monster machine and wrestled the shifter on the steering wheel into reverse.

  "I see you got your cast off, you must be relieved."

  "You have no idea," Cassie chuckled then told her, "My daddy's in a cast too and he's getting it off today. It was either that or he told his nurse he was gonna saw it off himself."

  Sabrina laughed then said, "I can't wait to meet him. He sounds like a character."

  "Oh, yeah...definitely," Cassie told her then proceeded to relate the story about him catching Luke climbing in her window when she was a teenager and threatening to fill him full of buck shot. Sabrina was doubled over in gales of mirth by the time Cassie pulled up in front of the bridal shop and turned off the truck.

  Her laughter finally reduced to chuckles then just a snicker now and again, and Cassie sat there smiling at her, enjoying seeing her new friend happy. "I'm glad you could come, Bri. Thank you for agreeing to be my maid of honor."

  "I can already tell I'm going to have a blast...it's been a long time since I've laughed like this," she admitted then looked down at her hand, her thumb rubbing against a fine white line on her wedding ring finger that Cassie hadn't noticed before.

  "What happened?" Cassie didn't want to come out and ask but the sudden switch in Bri's mood told her it must be bad, and she wanted to know.

  Silence filled the cab for a few moments then Bri cleared her throat and said, "My husband was a cop too...he got killed in the line of duty almost two years ago."

  Cassie gasped in horror then scooted over on the seat to hug Sabrina to her. "I'm so sorry, I brought it up."

  "No, it's okay. I need to talk about it...maybe sometime we can get a bottle of wine and I'll tell you all about it."

  "Sounds like a plan," Cassie told her and gave her another squeeze before she scooted back over and jumped down from the truck, then leaned back in to get her boxes. Sabrina managed to get down too without breaking a leg, and Cassie clicked the lock button on the key fob then they walked into the boutique.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The kind older woman she'd bought her dress from was happy to see them and led them straight to the dressing rooms, so they could put on their dresses. Cassie tugged at long-line strapless bra she had to wear under her dress to make it look right. Putting the darned thing on was like shimmying into a corset, and it was a little tighter than it had been last time. If she wasn't mistaken that could be because she had a helluva lot more cleavage bubbling over the top of the cups. It must be the baby making his or her presence known in her body, she thought and smiled.

  Once she had the undergarments in place, the woman helped her 'dive in' to her dress. It couldn't be called anything else, because she made Cassie put her hands up like she was going to make a swan dive in the lake and point them for a hole she made with the dress, then she eased all the fluffy, frou-frou fabric over her head smoothed it down.

  Cassie had to suck in so the woman could zip the zipper. The dress was very snug around the waist now, but she'd only have it on for a few hours, so she could tolerate it that long.

  "You look like a dream, Cassie. Your groom is gonna melt when he sees you."

  "I feel like a stuffed sausage," Cassie said and chuckled. "Hope I don't pass out before I get to him," she told the woman adjusting her breathing to avoid that right now.

  "Oh, is it too tight, sugar?"

  "Nah, it'll be fine. We don't have time for more alterations." Cassie looked in the mirror and saw someone she didn't even recognize. Her skin glowed and her eyes sparkled in the white confection of a dress. Her body looked like an hourglass, especially with the extra boobage caused by the baby.

  The dress had a sweetheart neckline edged in rhinestones that led down to a V waist, also edged in rhinestones, and a fluffy tulle princess skirt that stopped at her knees in the front, but cascaded to the floor in the back.

  She smiled at the woman then said in a dreamy voice, "It does look good doesn't it?"

  "That dress was made for you."

  Cassie held her breath then leaned over carefully to pick up her hat and the veil then handed them to the woman. "Can you help me attach this? And do you have a rhinestone hat band I could buy, or even a tiara to put at the crown of my hat?

  "Sure, stay here and I'll be right back." Cassie studied herself again in the mirror, her boots went perfectly with the dress just like she thought they would. Spinning around, she looked at the back of the dress in the mirror.

  It was perfect...just like the man she was going to marry tomorrow. Emotion clogged Cassie's throat and she fought back the tears burning her eyes.

  When the woman came back in Cassie gasped at the beautiful the double strand rhinestone hatband she'd attached. She'd also attached Cassie's veil and bunched up a portion of it in a knot at the back. The filmy lacy veil then flowed from the knot and would cascade down her back.

  "That's amazing...just right," Cassie said taking the hat from her to put it on and survey the final effect. Yep, Luke was going to swallow his tongue when he saw this for sure, she thought and chuckled. "How's Sabrina doing with her dress?"

  "Luckily her dress fit just right, she must be a true size 6. I'm working on something for her hair, and shoes to match that won't have to be dyed. Let's go see," the woman invited with a wave of her hand then held the door open for Cassie to go first, then fussed behind her lifting the back of the dress so it didn't drag on the floor, fluffing it as they walked.