“Ms. Monroe, this is Ron Blake at Taylor’s Department Store in New York.”
He was the man who had offered her the job. She hoped he hadn’t changed his mind. “Yes, hi, Mr. Blake.”
They exchanged pleasantries before he got to the point.
“I had originally told you your first day on the job would be January third but we need you to report much sooner.”
Uh, oh, this doesn’t sound good. “How much sooner?”
“We need you in New York tomorrow.”
Her eyes widened. Any remnants of sleep were swept away. “Tomorrow!”
“Yes. You see the woman you’re replacing had to leave before the end of her notice due to a family emergency. Even though the store windows are done for the season and on display, there are always unexpected problems that come up and we need someone to cover for her. Most of our staff has taken time off for the holidays and we need you here a.s.a.p. The company will of course put you in a hotel until your living arrangements are settled. There’s a ticket waiting for you at the Seattle airport.”
Disappointment and regret flowed with equal measure through Delaney. Her new, exciting life in New York was within her reach. All she had to do was say yes. But what about her promise to the town? She looked at Rick. What about her relationship with Rick. If she left now it would be over before it had barely begun. “I’m no longer in Seattle. I left early to drive to New York, but on the way I got stranded by a snowstorm in Avery, Montana.”
“No problem. I’ll order you a ticket for the first flight out of Billings. You’ll probably have to change planes in Chicago because I doubt I’ll be able to get a direct flight this close to Christmas.”
“What I’m trying to say, Mr. Blake, is that even though the storm has left Avery it’s moving east, O’Hare already has flight delays and the brunt of the storm hasn’t even arrived yet.”
He huffed out a breath. “Ms. Monroe, I hired you because you impressed me as a woman who was capable, took the bull by the horns, someone Taylor’s could depend on to get the job done. It’s crunch time and our presence here is desperately needed. If you can’t be here tomorrow I’ll have to give the job to my second choice.” He paused for a moment as if letting his words sink in. Now which will it be?”
Delaney’s back stiffened and she pressed her lips firmly together. She hated ultimatums. Besides there was definitely something between her and Rick besides amazing sex and she wanted to continue to explore not just his delectable body joined with hers but Rick as a man. She needed money no doubt about it. She had just enough to put a deposit on an apartment, pay a couple of months rent. The mayor would be paying for her help with the town. After she finished the project she should have no trouble finding another one, especially if one of the top stores in the country had already offered her a job. “Is there any way this could wait for at least two or three more days?”
“No, it can’t wait. Now what’s your answer?”
“I’m in the middle of a project here in Avery.” A delicious male project standing just a few feet away and another she had given her word to complete. “Thank you for your time and your offer but I can’t be in New York by tomorrow.”
Rick turned from where he stood at the stove with a frown creasing his forehead.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Ms. Monroe. Good luck.” He rang off. Delaney hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment. So much for the bright lights of the Big Apple.
“What’s going on, Delaney? Who was that on the phone?”
Delaney looked at Rick and told him about the call.
A range of indefinable emotions flickered over Rick’s face. “Does this mean you’re staying?”
“At least until I can find another job and the project is completed.”
Rick put down the spatula and walked over to Delaney with a look of profound admiration on his face. He held her face between his hands and lightly kissed her on the lips. Just a brush of lips. Then he looked at her and smiled. “That was a very honorable thing you just did. I really respect you for that.”
His words touched a deep place inside her heart but when she tried to speak she couldn’t talk. Instead she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. She listened to the thump of his heart until she was able to speak. “Thank you but my actions weren’t totally honorable. If the mayor wasn’t paying me I would have no choice but to leave.”
Rick brushed a hand over her hair. “The important thing is that you’re staying.”
* * * * *
After a particularly long, cold day, Rick sat at the kitchen table with Delaney as they ate a late supper he’d picked up from the diner on his way home. She told him about her day. She met with the committee members at the awning company in Billings to approve a sample before the rest were made.
The kitchen grew quiet. He listened to the wind whistle around the eaves of the house. He wanted this he realized more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life. Time spent after a long day with a woman he cared about, someone he could talk to about his day. He wanted to know more about Delaney, about her family, where she came from. He closed his fingers over her hand. “You grew up in Seattle didn’t you?”
She smiled briefly. “Yeah, my parents are good people but we were never that close. No sibs. I went to design school and after graduation I was planning to stay there but when I was offered the job in New York I jumped at the chance. I intended to stay in Seattle through the holidays but when everything went south with my boyfriend I decided to leave early and drive.” She glanced away and looked toward the window over the kitchen sink and toyed with her food without really eating any of it.
He placed two fingers beneath her chin and turned her face toward his. “What happened with your boyfriend? I can’t believe any guy would willingly walk away from you.”
She chuckled without humor. “Believe it. He found a skinny model type who probably lives on nothing but breath mints and cigarettes.”
Rick brought her hand up and held it between his. “He was a fool to walk away from a gorgeous woman like you.”
Delaney shrugged. “Thanks.”
He leaned forward and lightly kissed her. “I mean it.”
She took a sip of wine. “I caught him in bed with someone else who weighed a lot less than I do.” She paused for a moment then looked at him. “So what about you? How did you find your way here to Avery from Chicago? Why leave the big city for a small town?”
He slumped back in his chair but kept his hand resting lightly on Delaney’s. He rubbed the tip of his index finger absently over the top of her hand. “My mother is Peruvian and my dad is from Cuba. I have one sister. We’re a loud bunch but a loving family. It’s too bad you weren’t closer to your parents or had siblings. Dad drove a cab. He’s retired now, stays home and drives mom nuts.” He smiled and Delaney smiled back.
“I was a cop for 12 years in Chicago. Growing up my best friend Jake and I were a bit wild.”
Delaney threw him a teasing smile. “I can’t imagine you being wild.”
Her tone was sarcastic, the glint in her eyes sexy. “Better not tease me or I’ll never finish telling you my life story. Mom did the best she could. Dad was in the cab all the time trying to make ends meet and keep a roof over our heads. He worked double shifts. My sister was a bit spoiled, just a typical girl always wanting new clothes, new shoes, new everything. Anyway, and I used to hang out a few blocks from our apartment house on the corner in front of a drug store. Old man, Cavanaugh was the owner. When we first started hanging out there he would walk out with his pork pie hat, his hands stuck into the pockets of his slacks, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had a twinkle in his eyes. Mr. C, we used to call him. He’d had a hard life, came over an orphan from Ireland. But he was always happy, always smiling. He loved to talk to people especially kids. He would always show up when he saw bad kids hanging with us and run them off. He talked to us constantly about staying away from drugs and urged us not to drink.”
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A memory washed through him like a warm breeze on a summer day. He couldn’t help but smile as the images unfolded in his mind like the pages of a book. “One day, we must have been about twelve, he caught us smoking in the alley behind the store. He promptly march us inside, sat us down and made us smoke an entire pack of cigarettes each in one sitting.” He laughed. “I’ve never been so sick in my life I thought I was going to die.” He exhaled a deep breath.
“I never smoked again. He was a mentor to us. My dad was a good man but he was working all the time, mom waited tables at a diner. Jake and I didn’t become thugs mainly because of Mr. C, but also because I knew it would break my mother’s heart. One day some cops came to our school and talked about the police force. Since college wasn’t an option, we decide to go to the Police Academy. After the academy, Jake and I joined the Chicago PD. He was my partner, my best friend. We’d been working a case for a few months trying to nail a drug dealer.
Over time I noticed Jake always had extra money in his pockets. He bought himself an expensive car, on his off hours he dressed like a fashion plate, silk ties, and cashmere coats. I couldn’t figure out how he could buy those things on a cop’s salary. When I asked him about it he joked and reminded me about Mr. C always telling us to put some money aside for a rainy day. Since he didn’t know when or if that rainy day was coming he thought he’d enjoy it right now”
Rick sipped his beer. “I believed him. But what’s more, I trusted him. One day, Mr. C had closed up the store and was walking home. He lived only a couple of blocks from the store, but I guess he was in a hurry that day because he cut through an alley on his way home.” The memory of that horrible day felt cold and hard. “When he entered the alley, he walked into the middle of a drug deal between Jake and this goon. Jake was selling him a kilo of crack cocaine. Mr. C yelled at Jake asking him what the hell he was doing. Then he grabbed a pipe lying on the ground and came at them to break them apart. The goon pulled a gun and shot Mr. C clear through the head. Jake and the guy ran leaving him to bleed to death.”
Tears burned Rick’s eyes and a lump of old grief pushed into his throat. He inhaled and exhaled a ragged breath trying to grasp hold of his emotions. Delaney stood up from her chair and sat in Rick’s lap. She laid her head on his shoulder, put her arms around him. He closed his eyes and let the warm comfort of her body ease away the pain of the past.
“I’m so sorry, Rick. You must have been devastated.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Yeah, to this day I still can’t believe what Jake did. You think you know someone and then you discover you don’t know them at all.”
“I guess that’s why you left. It would have been hard to stay.”
“I stayed until the guy Jake was doing business with was caught.”
Delaney laid her palm on his chest over his heart. “How did you find out what really happened?”
Anger replaced his grief and sadness over the loss of his friend. He felt the emotion burn through him once more. “Jake banged on my door that night so scared he puked. He was wild eyed, shaking all over. Put on quite a show with tears streaming down his face. He confessed the whole thing. He said he just couldn’t resist all that money. Cop’s salary isn’t much. I knew that. Most of the guys on the force worked another job to support their families. A beat cop makes next to nothing. Then he told me Mr. C was dead. He begged me not to rat on him. He had a wife and a little boy. His wife, Gail was pregnant with their second child. He swore the whole thing was an accident.
When internal affairs questioned me I told them nothing. I wanted to for Mr. C’s sake for that sweet old man who never hurt anybody. I had to be satisfied with getting the other guy instead. I A was relentless. They really did a number making everybody suspicious of me. They never believed Jake acted on his own. I don’t think he did either but I could never convince them I wasn’t involved and knew nothing about it. I got suspended for a while then they took me off the street and stuck me on desk duty. I pushed paper for two months until I couldn’t take it any more. Then I put out some feelers and heard about this job in Avery. I’d rather be respected rather than branded a dirty cop. I gave Jake my friendship and my loyalty. Taught me a hard lesson. Loyalty to a friend got me in big trouble. I was guilty by association.”
Rick looked into her eyes. “Delaney, I’ve never told anyone this story not even my family. All the mayor knows is that I wanted a break from being a big city cop. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t--”
She pressed two fingers against his lips. “I’ll never tell anyone.”
He wasn’t so sure he’d done the right thing but then he thought about Jake behind bars and he shuddered. A cop going to jail was a death sentence. He didn’t even know if Jake was still alive.
“Rick, loyalty is important, it’s a virtue. Don’t give up on it just because of the actions of one person. What you did was right. Not ratting on a friend is commendable.”
“You’re an incredible woman, Delaney Moore.” He lowered his head and kissed her. Her lips parted beneath his and he slid his tongue inside her mouth. Her taste, her scent clouded his brain. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever known but more important she made him want to believe in the value of loyalty again and allow himself to trust again. But he knew once the town’s project was complete she would get another job and leave town. Unable to stop it from happening, he felt another piece of his heart surrender to her.
Chapter Six
Lenore drove her SUV down the highway just outside of Avery. She tapped a freshly manicured nail against the steering wheel and hummed along to Santa Baby blaring from the radio. She was on her way home from Christmas shopping and a beauty salon appointment in Billings. Some gaily wrapped packages were piled in the back but a special one she’d purchased just for Rick sat next to her on the passenger seat.
As she neared the turn off for Rick’s house, she flipped on the turn signal and slowed a bit intending to stop and place the gift on his front porch. Afterward, she’d go by the sheriff’s office and drop a few hints about her gift waiting for him at home. Lenore smiled to herself. She fully expected him to give her a nice present as well despite what he said about ending their relationship. He didn’t mean it. He’d grow tired of Delaney Moore and her rather earthy inelegance, she was sure of it.
Just as she turned onto the unpaved road leading up to Rick’s house, a wave of shock hit her in the chest squeezing her heart in a cruel vice as she watched Rick and Delaney step out of his house arm in arm and head toward the squad car.
Lenore slammed on the breaks, hard, sending packages into the rear floorboard of the car. Her mouth opened and her eyes widened as jealousy oozed in a green flood through her veins. She couldn’t see Rick’s face because he had his head turned toward Delaney who smiled up at him. Lenore’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. She stared in hurt and anger as Rick leaned toward Delaney and gave her a lingering kiss.
Unable to bear watching them another moment, she checked for oncoming traffic on the highway before slamming the gear into reverse and pointing the front of her vehicle toward Avery. Anger and jealousy melded together making her blood boil. Furious tears stung her eyes and a sob burned the back of her throat making it feel tight and sore. She swiped at her tears with the back of her right hand and heaved a ragged breath determined not to allow Delaney Moore, a woman not worthy to wipe the dust from her shoes, to humiliate her.
She slammed her palm against the steering wheel. “Damn Delaney,” she said aloud. Damn her for coming to Avery. Lenore had just gotten Rick where she wanted him. It had taken her some time, but she was certain if Delaney hadn’t waltzed into town they would have been sleeping together by now. She had let Rick know she was definitely interested in sex, but for some odd reason he kept holding her off.
He told her it was because he wasn’t sure if she was truly over her husband’s death and he didn’t want to take advantage of her or the situation. She did her
best to assure him she was ready, but he never gave her more than a kiss or two. Finally, just as she was certain she’d convinced him to take their relationship to the next level, Delaney arrived in town blowing a big hole in her well conceived plan.
When Lenore reached Avery, she followed the main road through the middle of town until she pulled up in front of the diner. With a snap, she shoved the gear into park and cut the engine.
“Time to teach Delaney a lesson,” she murmured to herself as she checked her hair and makeup in the vanity mirror on the back of the driver’s side visor. She’d had her hair done and made a special trip to the cosmetic counter at Dillard’s to pick up a new eye shadow. Her eyes appeared sultry and sexy, not to mention the new outfit she wore. How could Rick even want to look at Delaney?
She climbed from the truck, slammed the door and headed inside the diner. It was high time little miss thunder thighs lost favor in Rick’s eyes and the best way to do that was with the citizens of Avery. Lenore smiled as a satisfying thought filled her head. She had a distinct advantage over Delaney because she had lived in Avery since she was four. Everyone knew her and respected her. Delaney was a stranger and it wouldn’t take much to discredit her reputation.
Lenore had coffee in a corner booth and dropped a few derogatory statements about Delaney. She made absolutely sure everyone believed Delaney considered Avery a hick town, unworthy of living here and the only reason she was helping the town was for the money and temporary itch for Rick. By the time Lenore headed back to the B&B there was a big smile on her face and a lilt of satisfaction in her heart. Yes, Delaney Moore’s days in Avery were numbered. Everyone had been properly shocked, appalled and even hurt which Lenore of course soothed as best she could.
* * * * *
The next morning, Delaney rose early, stretched and winced at the slight tenderness between her legs. Rick was an ardent lover. She had never been so well loved in her life. After taking a shower, she dressed and made a bee line for the diner. A brilliant blue sky soared overhead while the sun drenched the town in golden rays. The temperature at risen into the low fifties bringing much needed relief from the bitter cold of the last few days. Everyone had better enjoy it because tomorrow more snow was expected.
Sheriff in Her Stocking Page 8