by Jodi Thomas
The chances were good he’d be stuck here for a while. He wasn’t going to apologize to Luther at the truck stop or give any statement.
Not till the guys who threatened to kill him at the trailer left town and Kristi got over hating him. Hell, the snow would be gone by then. With his luck, his youth would be gone, as well. He’d grow old up here on the third floor looking out a barred window as the town grew up around him.
Getting out seemed a long shot. Maybe he should just get used to prison food.
CHAPTER TEN
IN THE STILLNESS of night’s shadows, Cody sensed more than saw the woman who’d said she was a park ranger. She moved around him, touching his arm, his shoulder, the tourniquet she’d put on his leg, doing her best to make him comfortable. She’d set the lantern on a high point about ten feet away, but they were still in the circle of its pale yellow light.
He would have thought she was an expert, except she kept muttering her ABC’s as if remembering what to do in emergencies. The third time she leaned her ear down close to his face, he whispered, “Still breathing.”
“I always check everything at least twice,” she said as her hand reevaluated the damage to his ribs.
He thought of saying, still broken, but he kind of liked her touch.
“Lie very still, Mr. Winslow. If you do have broken ribs, there is a chance you also have damage to your spine, or have a floating bone that could stab right into your heart.”
“I don’t have a heart. My first love broke up with me when I joined the rangers, and the last one broke up when I left the rangers.”
“Of course you have a heart,” she said, sounding very much like she was talking to one of her tribe of little girls.
“Don’t bet on it.”
Then she did the strangest thing—she covered him with her coat and knelt above his head. It took him a minute to grasp what she was doing above him, then he realized she was holding his head steady with her knees. He had no intention of complaining about that. The inside of a woman’s thighs made a perfect neck brace. Too bad she had on jeans thick enough to stop a rattler’s bite.
“You’ll be cold without a coat,” he muttered, wishing he could see her more clearly.
“I’m all right. I was raised by wolverines.” She brushed his hair away from his forehead with her icy fingers. “Try not to move. You’re already past my level of skill with first aid. I’ve been a park ranger for five years and never had anything that couldn’t be doctored with a Band-Aid.”
He couldn’t see her face beneath the shadows of her floppy-brimmed hat. From her outline he’d guess she was tall, athletic build probably, and maybe a little top heavy, but it might just be the layering she wore. He hadn’t bothered to ask her name or what she was doing out here with a covey of little girls following her around. Maybe it was part of a park ranger’s job.
The loss of blood must have made him light-headed because the woman’s voice seemed more in his mind than real.
“Hang in there, cowboy,” she kept whispering. “They’re on the way.”
He raised his hand, as memories of pain in the past blended with reality. He needed to touch her, know that she was beside him, to keep the demons in the corners.
She wrapped her fingers around his and held on tight. “Can you hear me?” she asked when he’d been silent for a while.
It took him a few tries, but he finally found his voice. “What’s your name?”
“Tess Adams,” she said. “I’m glad you’re still with me. I was worried that you might have fallen asleep on our date tonight. We were going to count the stars, remember? They’re so bright here, this far from any man-made light.”
Cody smiled at her attempt to lighten the situation. “I haven’t had a date in years, honey.” Dating was something he’d never been good at even before the night he was hurt. After he finally got out of rehab, he figured no woman would want to go out with a man as messed up as he was. Who’d want to live with a man living with his past?
“Me neither.” Tess pulled him back from his thoughts. “The last guy I went out with got mad when he realized I was armed. He didn’t speak to me during the meal, then he went to the restroom before dessert arrived and left me to pick up the check.”
Cody would have laughed if he’d had the energy. “What’d you do?”
“I ate both desserts while I wished I’d broken the date and gone camping. I thought about it while I walked home. Probably should have. Wild animals are easier to understand than most men. That mistake cost me sixty-two dollars plus tip. I would have had more fun camping alone.”
He gripped her hand as hard as he could and hoped she felt it. “I got the feeling you’re my kind of woman, honey.”
“If you weren’t already looking like death warmed over, I’d slap you for calling me honey. I’m not the kind of girl who likes men who use pet names.”
“You’ll get over it, Tess, after we’re married.”
He liked the way she laughed.
“Oh, we’re getting married are we, Cody Winslow?” She patted his shoulder as if she thought he was crazy.
Cody knew what she was doing. Keeping him talking, thinking, awake, until help arrived. If she’d been the one bleeding, he probably would have been yelling, cussing, making her mad so she’d stay with him. Cody liked her method better.
“It’s meant to be, you and me.” Cody played along. “Otherwise why would you be on my land after midnight?”
“I’m on state land.” She didn’t sound sure of herself. “This is my office. I work the canyons all over this area. I’ve no time to be married to you.”
“We’ll argue about it in the morning, honey. I make a great cup of coffee, so you can have your first cup in bed.”
“I’ll hold you to that, Cody. I like mine strong and black. Since we’re getting married, do you think you could tell me how old you are and if you have any allergies? It’s dark, and you’re too bloody for me to even guess.”
“Thirty-four. I’m allergic to stupid people. You?”
“Twenty-seven. Almost past my prime childbearing years.” She brushed her fingers slowly through his hair as if she’d done so a hundred times.
“We’ll have to get started on the kids right away, then.” He liked her touch, and he loved the way the inside of her thighs held him snugly in place. Seemed as good a reason as any to settle down with a woman. “By next winter we could have one born and another on the way.”
“You plan ahead, Mr. Winslow.”
“I do,” he lied, “Mrs. Winslow. It’ll be the one thing that’ll drive you crazy over the next sixty years or so.”
The sound of an engine cut through the night. Moments later a star separated from heavens and headed toward them, growing brighter and louder.
“Promise you’ll be with me when I come out of this night.” He didn’t know if she heard him. There was too much noise to ask again.
The helicopter cut into the canyon and sat down near a van parked along an old Civilian Conservation Corps road that had been plowed out of the canyon floor almost a hundred years ago. Men were climbing out before the chopper settled, all running toward the lantern Tess had set up high.
She didn’t let go of his hand until the medics had him strapped on the backboard. She stayed beside him shouting details. Name, age, possible injuries, no allergies. Four men carried him along the uneven ground of the canyon floor.
Cody didn’t say a word; he just held tightly to her fingers. They passed a van with tiny faces staring out the windows at him. Cody waved slightly with his free hand and one girl with apple cheeks waved back, but she looked like she was crying.
When they reached the chopper, Tess tugged her hand away and leaned close enough to kiss him on the cheek. “Hang in there,” she whispered. “I’ll see you in the morning. I pro
mise.”
All at once he was circling in a tornado of care. He was strapped down, poked and surrounded by a team working on him. Now there was no questioning, no hesitation. Down to the last man on the team, each knew his job.
A few breaths later, he felt his body relax and whispered, “See you in the morning, honey,” even though he knew she was on the ground and the bird was already climbing.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Wednesday
WHEN DAN ROLLED OVER, watery-blue sunlight blinked through sheet-thin drapes on the motel window. The glass was covered with a layer of ice that looked like it had formed on the inside of the pane. As he shifted farther into the covers, his cheek brushed against soft hair and he closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath, thinking this was the best dream he’d had in years. It seemed so real he could feel the warmth of her body, smell the sweet way a woman smelled in the morning that no perfume could ever compare to.
He moved his hand over silk and cupped a rounded breast. The dream stepped into his reality.
“Morning, Sheriff.” Brandi giggled softly when his eyes shot open. “You always wake up like a bolt of lightning just hit you?”
He let go of her breast and fought the urge to slug himself. “Mornin’,” he managed to say before he cleared his throat and tried to get his brain working. “Tell me I didn’t fall asleep and miss last night.”
“Okay, you didn’t fall asleep and miss a great time. It was unbelievable, wasn’t it? Best night of my life.”
He buried his face against her hair. “I did fall asleep.”
She kissed his cheek as she moved her body closer, pressing that nicely rounded part against his side. “You didn’t miss the morning, though. I don’t have anyplace I have to be until tonight. We can stay right here for a while.”
He didn’t move, hating the words he knew he had to say. “But I do.” He glanced at his cell phone. “In about half an hour, I have to be at my office. In fact, I’ve probably got the two people I drafted into sitting up with my prisoner wondering where I am right now. I’m sorry, Brandi, I have to run.”
She leaned close to his ear. “Give me a few minutes to taste what I’ll be waiting for tonight. That is if there is going to be a tonight?”
“There will be if I have to lock up every breathing person in Crossroads.”
He knew it was a bad idea to touch her, but he was in bed beside a woman who turned him on simply by making tea. He’d probably self-combust if they ever did make love. A closer encounter with her might kill him if she got any sexier, and he’d die with a smile. One wild, passionate time would last him through eternity.
He couldn’t turn away from her now when she asked for only one thin slice of paradise. Five minutes, maybe ten.
Slowly, he pushed her onto her back and moved his hand down the front of her blouse. There was nothing but skin underneath the thin layer. She closed her eyes and arched toward him as he explored her body. He could feel her breath catch as he touched her. The sight of her smiling, as if having a perfect dream while she enjoyed his caresses, made him think he might go mad if he didn’t make it back to her bed tonight.
When he reached her legs, he slowly slid his fingers down so he could brush the soft place behind her knee. She moaned as he learned her curves. They were both lost in pleasure. He longed to know every part of this woman who craved his nearness almost as dearly as he wanted her.
He didn’t take off one stitch of clothing or unbutton one button, but he discovered how she liked to be touched. He made love to her with a light caress. With the promise of what would be.
When he finally kissed her cheek, he whispered, “Tonight?”
“Yes.” She laughed softly. “I think I’d like that.”
He moved away, but he couldn’t stop staring at her. He guessed she was like a wild creature no one should ever try to tame, but knowing she was in his world, even for a few nights, made his heart beat faster. “Go back to sleep, pretty lady.”
When he pulled on his boots, he watched her tongue move over her bottom lip. Sexiest woman he’d ever seen, he decided, and she was still lost in the way he’d begun making love to her. No woman had ever craved him. The idea that she wanted him as deeply as he wanted her was staggering, heady and a bit frightening.
“Don’t open your eyes, Brandi. Just lay still until you hear the door close. I have to go, but I want you to know something.” He brushed his open hand over her hip. “I’ll be thinking of you like this all day. I’ll want more, and tonight I want you just as hungry for me.”
She straightened and showed him the outline of her body beneath the thin layer of her crumpled blouse.
He slid his hand down her hip and brushed her bare leg. When she sighed, opening her mouth, he kissed her quick and hard before he ran from the room.
“Just call when you want me to take you back to the Nowhere,” he added just before he closed the door.
If he’d stayed one moment more, he wouldn’t have been able to leave.
The cold wind hit him as he ran for his Jeep, but the feel of her warm skin on his fingers lingered. For a moment, a beautiful, wild woman had been his. She might be again tonight. This kind of paradise didn’t happen to men like him.
Only it had. For once his logical mind didn’t want to think. Dan wanted only to feel.
He was already late, so he skipped the stop at his house for a shower and drove straight to the office. Each minute away from her moved him another step into the real world. By the time he parked, he’d managed to get a grip on his thoughts, his schedule for the day, his predictable life. He had duties, a job he loved and a kid named Thatcher up on the third floor he owed his life to.
Right now, he’d do what was needed, but tonight, he’d do nothing but what made the beautiful lady smile.
Pearly didn’t look up as he rushed in wearing his coat over his off-duty clothes. She appeared to be letting the phone ring while she got a knot out of her knitting.
“Morning,” he said as he passed.
She grabbed the phone and said, “Hello,” to both him and whoever was on the line.
Five minutes later he’d changed into a fresh uniform he kept in the back and looked almost presentable. In a few hours, when he went out for breakfast, he’d switch his cruiser for the Jeep now parked in his county spot. Maybe he’d take a few minutes to shower and shave while he was home. No one would know he’d been out all night.
It crossed his mind that he’d slept with her. They might have done little more than sleep, but he swore he could still feel her in his arms, still smell her perfume in the air around him. He’d slept with a woman for the first time in years. He took a deep breath. He’d forgotten just how good it felt to simply sleep next to someone.
Or maybe it wasn’t just someone; it was Brandi who made it perfect.
Dan opened the window an inch, letting cold air blow in. He needed to clear his head. He had a full day. There would be time to think about tonight while he listened to her sing at the bar. He planned to be there, making sure she was safe, and when she was finished, he’d be the one to take her home.
By the time he sat down at his desk, all was back to normal. The sheriff was on alert and preparing for a busy day.
Only the feel of Brandi still lingered on his fingers and the promise of tonight whispered deep in his lonely heart.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Wednesday morning
LAUREN BRIGMAN STOOD in the space between the two jail cells on the third floor of the county offices and watched the sun come up over her hometown, now covered in snow. She missed waking up in Crossroads. People seemed to think that everyone who grew up in a small town should fly away. She’d even bought into the idea for a while, but now, all she thought about was finding her way back home. Dallas wasn’t where she belonged.
Here was.
She watched Tim’s thin frame walk across the street to Dorothy’s Diner. His head always appeared to be a step ahead of his body. Maybe that was because he lived in fantasy so much. Invisible stories were probably circling around Tim O’Grady even when he wasn’t talking about them.
That’s the way of writers. Add one more reason she’d never be one. No stories circled around her. A famous writer who lived on the canyon’s edge once told her that she’d write, but Lauren had decided even sages sometimes made mistakes.
She tried. She’d taken classes. She’d read a dozen books. She could do the exercises, but she couldn’t put a story together. It wasn’t likely she’d complete a book when she couldn’t even think of a beginning.
After her pop had disappeared last night, she and Tim had stayed up most of the night watching movies and talking while Thatcher slept a cell away.
Tim had told her all about his new book, and she’d avoided his questions about how her writing was going. Finally, he’d slept a few hours on the cot in the open cell, and she’d played games on his computer until the battery ran down.
Thatcher was still asleep in his locked cage. He’d told them not to wake him until breakfast arrived at eight, as if he thought the place was a hotel.
Of course, Tim woke starving and insisted that he be the one to go after their breakfast. Lauren knew she was worrying about nothing, but she’d seen him wake sober and down a few drinks before breakfast, so it didn’t surprise her when he stopped at his car for a few minutes on his walk to the diner. Long enough for a drink, she thought.
He’d said once that he needed the alcohol to relax his mind so he could let his imagination roam, but Lauren knew him better than anyone. He was given to mood swings even when they were kids. The life of the party one minute, the one who thought his world was ending the next. Tim drank when he was down. Deep inside, she feared she might be part of his depression now. He’d wanted to be more than friends. He wanted commitment and she couldn’t give him that.