by Mara Jacobs
“Sue, I know it’s last minute, but I’m going to take the afternoon off as vacation time.”
“Oh, tell me you had a three-martini lunch and are in no shape to come back to the office. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Deni laughed, her throat aching from the crying jag. “Nope, though that sounds tempting. Maybe I’ll have a three-martini Friday afternoon.”
“Okay, Deni, you enjoy it. We’ll see you Monday.”
“Thanks, Sue.”
She thought about calling Charlie and having him meet her for lunch somewhere, but decided against it, preferring to just go home.
When she pulled onto her street, she saw Sawyer’s truck parked in front of her house. She couldn’t imagine what he was doing there; he knew she spent her lunch hour on Fridays at Alison’s. There was no way he could know she wasn’t at the office.
Why would he be at her house when he thought she was at the office? Damn. She should have listened to Twain and changed the hiding place of her spare key.
She didn’t bother with the garage, just pulled to the curb behind his truck. She peeked inside looking for Lucy, thinking that if perhaps Sawyer was just running in to her house for a moment—like, maybe he remembered something he’d left at her place?—he’d leave Lucy in the truck. No Lucy.
Uncertainty filled her as she made her way down the steps. She opened the door, and as she stepped into the foyer, Lucy bounded around the corner from the kitchen to greet her. She knelt down to pet the dog, and that was when she saw Sawyer. Or, more accurately, Sawyer’s legs. He was balanced on some kind of portable scaffolding three quarters of the way up her stairs.
She stayed kneeling by Lucy, watching Sawyer’s jeans until he slowly crouched and looked at her. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Um…isn’t that my line?”
She rose from her knees, took off her coat, hung it up, and walked past the entryway and fully into the foyer, where she could see the entire staircase. “What are you…” The words trailed off as she took in the display Sawyer was completing.
It was her sketches, framed and staggered up the tall wall of the staircase—just as she had imagined them. Except not.
“Those frames? They’re…” She stood on the second step, able to get up close to one of the sketches at the bottom. “Are those…?” She looked up at him. He’d moved from a squat to sitting on the base of the scaffolding, his legs hanging over the side. “No. Really?”
He rubbed his hands up and down his denim-clad thighs. “Do you like them? ’Cause I can take them down if you don’t. I didn’t cut the sketches. They can easily come out.”
“I love it. I love them.” Her sketches, the ones she’d done of unique views of interesting bits of architecture, had been placed in glass frames that were hollow on the sides and filled with stones. Hundreds of beautiful stones. They were subtle and didn’t overpower the sketches. Instead, they added just a touch of warmth and texture, offsetting her black and white drawings all the more.
“I knew you didn’t come home for lunch on Fridays. I wanted to have it all done and be gone by the time you got home. Although it’s nice to see that you like them.”
She just nodded, taking another step up and looking at the designs he’d created with the stones, different on each frame. “You must have used that whole container.”
He chuckled. “Yep. In fact, I ran out on the last one. The one I want to put right there.” He pointed to a spot high on the wall, almost to the wall of the landing. “I thought the stained glass would really play off the glass of the frames.” Then he held up the drawing that was to go in that coveted spot. It was the one she’d done of her imagined hermit’s hut.
A lump rose in her throat and she had to wait a moment before she could say “This is amazing, Sawyer. Thank you.”
He swung down from the scaffolding, landing on the stair above her. He took two steps down so that their eyes were level. “You’re welcome. I thought a lot about what I could do. Take you to back to the glass house. Something at Tootie’s. Find a miniature of the stained-glass canopy. But then I thought of this. It was a lot simpler than I wanted, but I thought you’d appreciate it just as much.”
“I don’t understand. Why were you trying to think of things to do for me?”
He shrugged and looked away, embarrassed. “You know, some kind of grand gesture. Something that would get your attention so you’d…I don’t know…stick around long enough to hear me out.”
“Grand gesture?”
“Yeah, I know. Stupid, right? Because then I thought, ‘Deni’s not the grand-gesture kind of girl,’ and it all seemed hokey.”
She didn’t know whether to be insulted or proud. “Oh, I don’t know. I think every girl appreciates a grand gesture…” She almost finished with “from the man they love,” but didn’t. The frames, and the thoughtfulness—and practicality—of them touched her. Deeply. But that didn’t negate anything she’d said to him on Monday.
“Yes, but Deni, while you might appreciate a grand gesture, you don’t need one. There’s a difference. And that’s one of the many reasons why I love you.”
“You do? Love me?”
“Yes, Deni. I love you.”
God, she wanted to wrap her arms around him, tell him she loved him back, and ride off into the sunset. But she didn’t.
“Here’s the thing,” he said before she could. “I was happy to use up the stones on these frames. And if you want more, I would love to go stone hunting with you next summer.”
She started to break in, but he gently put a finger on her mouth. His eyes dropped there for a moment before returning his intense gaze to hers. “But I won’t be collecting anymore. At least not alone. Or, at least, not in the semi-conscious trance I’d be in before.” His finger moved from her mouth, his hand cupping her face. “No more long walks that I don’t remember. If I’m hurting, I’ll hurt. I won’t hide anymore.”
“Sawyer, what exactly are you saying?” she whispered. She laid her hands on his chest. His other hand moved to her face, gently cradling it as he moved even closer.
“I’m saying you were right. I’m not worth fighting for. At least not in the state I’ve lived in the past ten years.
“But, Deni, you’re worth fighting for. We’re worth fighting for. And I think I can be the kind of man that is worth fighting for. And if you give me the chance, I won’t let you down again.”
Her mind buzzed, but it wasn’t the fog that enveloped her. It was hope. And love.
“I love you,” she said, and he kissed her lips tenderly, just the tiniest whisper of a touch.
“I love you, too, Deni. And I’m not saying you might not have to kick me in the ass from time to time and let me know what you need from me—even if it’s to leave you alone…”
“I can do that,” she said, her voice raw and those damn tears starting to fall again.
He swiped at them with his thumbs, then kissed her eyelids. “Oh, baby, don’t cry. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure it out as we go along.”
She was nodding, unable to speak.
“But I have to tell you,” he added, stepping back. He dropped his hands and instead took her in his arms and pulled her close. “I’m a pretty old dog. It might take you a while to teach me some new tricks.”
“How long?” she asked, nuzzling into him. The smell of outdoors wafted over her, making her hug him all the tighter.
“Oh, I’m thinking forever.” He kissed her, then looked at her with a smile. “Yeah. Definitely forever.”
~*~
Author’s Note
Okay, I took MAJOR creative license with the whole indoor driving project. I did some research, and it would pose some problems in an area with as much snowfall as the Copper Country. I can’t say that wind power would be feasible, but I’d like to think that whatever the solution would be, my engineering masterminds—the crew as Summers and Beck—would figure it out.
To all my Michigan Tech engineeri
ng friends who are surely rolling their eyes, I say this…it was all in the name of romance!
The Worth Series will continue with Twain Beck’s story in
Worth The Price
Coming in early 2014
While you’re waiting for the next Worth book, try
Good Cop
The Heroes of Henderson ~ Book 1
By Liz Kelly
Liz writes contemporary romance set in a small town. Good Cop is funny, light and sexy. Read on for an excerpt.
What happens when best friends fall for the same girl?
A Bromance, A Romance & A Love Triangle
Local sports heroes Brooks Bennett and Vance Evans are used to being part of a winning team. But when it comes to romance their good cop, bad cop images have them handcuffed. They want a woman’s point of view to help unshackle their reputations, and they’ve picked out one pretty, pony-tailed firecracker to do it.
Lolly DuVal longs for a summer fling that can set off all her bells and whistles. So she agrees to tutor Henderson’s hunkiest heroes on what women really want. Now she finds herself caught between two cops and a hard place. And those bells and whistles? They are starting to sound a whole lot more like alarms.
Excerpt:
“Let’s face it, bro," Vance said. "You and I have covered a lot of female territory over the years without much to show for it. And unfortunately I think our reputations have been cemented. We have become the epitome of good cop, bad cop.”
“Me being the good cop,” Brooks stated.
“Yeah. So somehow I need to become more like you.”
“Whatever. It’s gonna be a cold day in hell when I start treating women the way you do.”
“Fine. Not crazy about the good cop, bad cop analogy? Substitute safe versus sexy.”
“Really? Sexy?”
“Well,” Vance said, lifting an eyebrow, “I’m certainly not milquetoast.”
Brooks planted his ass on the training table Lolly had vacated, shaking himself all over. “Brrr! Just saying the word ‘sexy’ makes me feel ridiculous.”
“Yeah, and like I wanna be this town’s Golden Boy.” Vance broke into his best Brooks Bennett imitation. “Hey, Mrs. Devine! How’s your golf game? Really? Well, you hang in there,” Vance mimicked.
“That is not how I sound.”
“That is exactly how you sound to me.”
“Well, you can’t be me and I refuse to be you.”
“Yes, but we can gain a better understanding of where we’re lacking and improve in those areas. I need to figure out how to lighten up and get women to wave at me when I walk through town like they do to you.”
“And I need to learn how to make their eyes go dark and misty like Lolly’s did when she told you that you had very, very good hands. What the hell was going on in here, you goddamn son of a bitch?”
“Brooks, buddy. That crap is so easy.”
“Not for me.”
“Which is why, if you go along with my plan, I will reveal to you the secret of my success. Which I learned at the age of fifteen, by the way. It’s certainly not rocket science.”
“What plan?”
“We help Lolly with her research and she helps us with ours.”
“I don’t follow.”
“She’s the tutor.”
“No. She’s my date.”
“Tonight she’s your date. Tomorrow she’s our tutor.”
“Our tutor, how?”
“Man, I don’t know. But what I do know is that she was willing to talk about what she didn’t want. So maybe she’d be willing to talk about what she does want. It certainly can’t hurt to ask. Who else are we gonna get?”
Brooks shrugged. “I don’t know. And I see your point, I really do. But I’m hoping this date isn’t going to be a one and done.”
“Well then….” Vance spread his arms wide. “What could be better than learning about what women want from the woman you actually want?”
“Huh?”
“Trust me. There’s no downside here. Let’s just talk to her tonight and see if she’d be willing to help us.”
“I don’t know.”
“All right. How ’bout this? I give you one piece of bad cop advice to use on your date tonight. If it works out well for you, and it will, you go along with me on this.”
Brooks looked skeptical. “What’s the advice?”
“Do we have a deal? Because this is good stuff and frankly, right now, in this town, you are my stiffest competition. I don’t want to be giving you pointers and getting nothing in return.”
“Jesus, will you just tell me already?”
“Okay.” Vance took a breath before speaking in a conspiratorial tone. “Tonight, when you take the Lollypop home, the moment you hit that top step of her momma’s porch you shove that lean body of hers right up against the wall and kiss her like you mean it.”
Vance let that sink in before he added, “You can thank me in the morning.”
~*~
Purchase Good Cop for Kindle
Mara Jacobs books available for Kindle
The Worth Series:
Worth The Weight
Worth The Drive
Worth The Fall
Worth The Effort
Anna Dawson’s Vegas Romantic Mystery Series:
Against The Odds
Against The Spread
Blackbird & Confessor Romantic Mystery Series:
Broken Wings
Anthology:
Countdown To A Kiss
After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in advertising, Mara spent several years working at daily newspapers in advertising sales and production. This certainly prepared her for the world of deadlines!
Most authors say they’ve been writing forever. Not so with Mara. She always had the stories, but they played like movies in her head. A few years ago she began transferring the movies to pages. She writes mysteries with romance, thrillers with romance, and romances with…well, you get it.
Forever a Yooper (someone who hails from Michigan's glorious Upper Peninsula), Mara now resides in the East Lansing, Michigan, area where she is better able to root on her beloved Spartans.
Mara loves to hear from readers. Contact her at [email protected]
You can find out more about Mara’s books at
www.marajacobs.com
Table of Contents
Story Description
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Author’s Note
Excerpt From Liz Kelly’s Good Cop
Mara Jacobs books available for Kindle
Author information
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