by Linda Turner
In mother of a mood, he was air the polls the second they opened, loping to avoid both his supporters and Becca's.
He should have known better. The whole county had chosen , and he couldn't walk down the street without someone making a comment about the election.
Even at seven, thirty in the morning. Not lingering to chat, he made his way to his office as quickly as he could, where he silently dared anyone to comment that he wasn't supposed to be in until eleven.
No one did.
He sat most of the day the , filling the hours with paperwork and trying not to think about Becca. For a while it worked. Then Mark came in and dropped a bomb on him.
Stunned, Riley looked up from the report he was filling out t his desk and frowned, sure he'd misunderstood.
"You're what?"
"Quitting, sir," the rookie said stiffly, his face pale except for the uncomfortable flush firing his cheeks.
"I'm giving my two weeks notice as of today."
Setting down his pen, Riley sat back in his chair.
"You've only been on the payroll four months. I thought you loved the job."
"I didn't."
"Then what seems to be the problem? Whatever it is, I'm sure we can talk it out. You don't have to quit."
For a moment, he didn't think the younger man was going to answer.
Squirming from one foot to the other, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he swallowed, the young deputy looked like he'd rather eat live toads than admit what was really bothering him. Just when Riley thought he was going to have to drag it out of him, he blurted out, "I thought I could take it, but I can't, Riley. I'm sorry. I know I've disappointed you, but I'm just not cut out for law enforcement."
Considering he was one of the most enthusiastic deputies he'd ever had, Riley found that hard to believe.
"Is this a sudden decision or one you've been thinking about for a while?"
Jerkily twisting his hat in his hands, the younger man looked down at his boots.
"It, uh, sort of hit me the other night... at the Crossroads... when you were shot."
"I see," he said quietly. And suddenly he did.
"Mark, even the best men get shaken sometimes in a dangerous situation.
It's not a weakness. A little fear is healthy—it keeps you on your toes and safe. The worst thing you can do is brood on it, so you just have to learn to shake it off and get on with your job. You'll do fine."
It was good advice, but Mark still looked sick.
"I've tried, but I can't. And it really shook Cathy up," he added, referring to his wife.
"Every time I report to work, she's a nervous wreck, and I can't keep putting her through that, not in her condition. I don't want to lose her. So we've been talking it over, and I've decided to go to law school. I've always been interested in the law, and her parents are going to help us."
Studying him with narrowed eyes, Riley had to admit that the kid had his priorities straighter than he himself had had at that age. He'd been so wrapped up in his job that he hadn't been willing to give it up for anyone, not even for Genie, so he'd lost everything. And he hadn't had anyone to blame but himself.
"I think that's a smart move, Mark," he said.
He rose to his feet and held out his hand to the surprised deputy.
"Good luck to you."
Expecting more of an argument, Mark dazedly shook his hand.
"Thank you, sir. I'm glad you understand."
Long after the younger man went back to his duties, Riley sat staring after him, seeing nothing but the long, empty road that was his future stretched out before him. After the competition yesterday and Becca's impressive performance, there was a very good possibility he could lose the election.
He should have been worried, at the very least concerned. But it was just a job. One that he loved, granted, but hanging on to it wasn't nearly as important as hanging on to Becca.
He loved her. He'd known it for days now, but he hadn't let himself dwell on just how much she had come to mean to him. Now it-was staring him right in the face and he couldn't avoid the truth any longer.
Without her in his life, nothing was worth a damn.
He'd treated her just like he'd treated Genie. Beeca had tried to tell him how she felt, what she feared, what she needed, but he hadn't listened.
Thick-headed to the end, he'd had everything worked out in his mind, and his only thought had been to rush her into wanting what he wanted. The fact that she needed the security of knowing that she could support herself and Chloe hadn't even registered.
God, what a jackass he was! He must have sounded just like Tom. No wonder she'd turned him down flat.
Suddenly needing to see her, to take her in his arms and explain what a fool he'd been, he wanted to drop everything and go to her immediately.
But he'd promised her time, and that was what he was going to give her even if it killed him.
Unable to summon up much enthusiasm for the celebration party the grannies were planning for later that evening, Becca didn't object when an excited Chloe begged to go over to Clara's to help decorate. Too agitated to offer much help herself, Becca stayed home to wait for the closing of the polls. It was a torturous exercise.
Every time she glanced at the clock, her heart seemed to stop. In another half hour, it would all be over but the crying. One part of her was greatly relieved—win or lose, she had the satisfaction of knowing she'd campaigned hard and well. But in her heart, she knew she was running out of time.
Was Riley watching the clock the way she was? Did he feel, as she did, that if they let the polls close without seeing each other, without talking to each other and working through their differences, that a horrible mistake was going to be made? She had to do something!
Trust him. Her heart cried out to her, refusing to be ignored, and everything in her wanted to comply. She loved him. Deep down, she recognized the truth of that unshakable conviction. A year, ten years, a lifetime from now she would feel the same because she couldn't do anything else.
He'd taken her heart and she was never going to get it back. But was she willing to take a chance on him? Could she step into his arms and trust him not to take advantage of her love for him by turning into a tyrant who wanted to control her night and day? Did she love him, trust him, that much?
Yes.
The answer came to her like the flash of a comet in the night, stripping away the darkness that had clouded her vision. Riley wasn't a man to take advantage of his position-everyone in the county knew that no one was fairer than Riley Whitaker. He bent over backward with his staff and prisoners to make sure that no one was abused by the power of the sheriff's office. If he would protect total strangers, why wouldn't he do the same thing for the woman he claimed to love?
Dear God, how could she have been so blind?
She had to go to him, tell him. Grabbing her purse, she started t rush out, then whirled back to phone Clara.
"I don't know how long I'll be," she told the other woman hurriedly.
"I'm going over to Riley's. Oh, Clara, I love him.
Laughing, Clara said happily, "I know you do, honey. You stay as long as you need to. Chloe will be just fine."
Later, Becca didn't even remember locking the house or making the drive to Riley's. Suddenly, she was at his front door, her fingers shaking as she lifted her hand to the doorbell. She wasn't too late, she told herself fiercely. She couldn't be! Nervous, her heart pounding so loudly in her ears she could hardly hear herself think straight, she took her courage in hand and stepped through the door the minute he opened it.
On the radio in the corner, the early returns were already being given.
"I don't know which of us won, and I don't care," she said quickly, her words tumbling over themselves before he could do anything but lift a brow in surprise.
"I just know that I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me, not after what
I said the other night, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I was just so afraid" —
"I know, sweetheart. And I was a jackass for throwing an ultimatum at you. You should have grabbed me by the ears and shook me until I listened to you."
"I never should have accused you of being like Tom, ' she continued, so caught up in what she had to say that his words didn't register.
"I know you're not like that. You're not a control freak. You would never use your position or power to take advantage of anyone. You're not like" Stopping abruptly, she frowned.
"What did you say?"
His smile was slow and crooked and oh, so tender.
"I was a jackass.
Don't worry, it's only a temporary condition that flares up occasionally. I need a wife to keep me in line and make me listen. I hope you're going to accept the job. "
"But..." Confused, she looked dazedly around for a chair, afraid her knees were going to give out any moment.
"You were right. I wasn't ready to trust you .... "
"You trusted me, honey," he assured her, reaching for her.
"You would have never given yourself to me the way you did if you hadn't trusted me: You were just running a little scared. We both were."
Her eyes searched his, and she saw the love there, the trust that went as deep as her own.
"Oh, God, Riley, I thought I'd lost you. And all over a stupid job."
Laughing shakily, she hugged him fiercely.
"I don't care who wins- "
Neither do I," he muttered against her mouth, kissing her as if he couldn't get enough of her.
"Just as long as I have you."
Lost in the taste and feel and wonder of each other, it was a long, hot moment before either of them heard the radio announcement.
"And for everyone out there who has been holding his or her breath waiting for the returns on the sheriff's race," the newscaster said, "it looks like you ladies are doomed to disappointment. Early returns indicate that Sheriff Riley Whitaker should win re-election by a slim margin. But don't despair, ladies. Ms. Prescott ran a fine race and really shook things up for a while. "
"Boy, did she ever," Riley growled, nipping at her ear.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know how much you wanted to win."
Not the least bit disappointed, she laughed softly, her cheek nuzzling his as she wound her arms around his neck.
"I won you instead. I think I got the better deal."
"Oh, I don't know about that. I got you, a wife and possibly a new deputy all rolled into one. That definitely makes me the winner."
Surprised, she drew back slightly.
"New deputy? What are you talking about?"
"Mark gave his notice this afternoon—he's decided to go to law school.
Which means I'm going to need a new deputy. So what do you think? Are you interested in the job?"
"Are you kidding? Where do I sign up?" Chuckling, he grinned down at her.
"I sort of thought you would be. Of course, things are going to have to change a little.
I'll be your boss. Think you can handle me calling the shots? "
Her green eyes full of mischief, she pressed against him.
"I can handle anything you can dish out, Sheriff," she murmured sweetly, the heated promise in her seductive smile like something out of his dreams.
"And don't you forget it."
Copyright © 1995, Linda Turner
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Table of Contents
Title
Synopsis
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Copyright