The Lawman's Promise

by Rhonda Lee Carver

  Smoothing his hand up her thigh, he nestled his fingers at the hem of her shorts, feeling her heat warming his knuckles. He slipped a finger inside, lifted the elastic of her panties and searched for silken, sweet juices. He found exactly what he wanted. “You’re on fire, baby,” he whispered.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs coming around his hips as she pulled him closer. Lifting her hips, she rubbed her V against his bulge and he sucked in a breath. “You do something crazy to me, Duff.”

  “Same here, sweetheart. I can’t keep my hands to myself. I want to sink deep in your body. Tell me, baby. Do you want me inside of your sweet pussy?” He kissed her cheek. Her jaw. Lower to the dip in her neckline. He swore he could feel her fast beating heartbeat.

  “Yes! I want nothing else,” she whimpered.

  “Uncle Duff!”

  She stiffened.

  He sighed.

  “You’re being summoned.” She laughed.

  “Maybe if we ignore them they’ll forget we’re up here,” he said against her shoulder.

  “They’re six. Not happening.”

  He took a short step back, catching a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. Every muscle in his face screamed torment. “Bad thing is, they’re not even my kids.” He shook his head and chuckled. “And here I was about to get lucky in my bedroom for the first time.”

  She slipped off the dresser and distanced herself from him. He swiped his hand down his face, then went to the door, opening it a few inches. “Yes?” he yelled.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Jasmine yelled up the stairs.

  “Then maybe we can talk another time.” She was closer to the door.

  “I have a better idea. Why don’t you stay for dinner? It’s not much, but it’ll fill your stomach.” The last thing he wanted was for her to walk away, not after what they’d just shared. He was afraid all of the good feelings would vanish once she left.

  Several expressions flittered across her face. “I don’t…”

  “Hey, I already know you used to come here for dinner before I came back. Are you going to stay away from the Tyler table because of me?”

  Her lips curved into a smile that could have knocked his boots clean off if he didn’t have his toes curled. “Okay, if you put it that way, how can I argue.”

  Ten minutes later, they were all sitting at the table, Duff in his usual end seat, Ross at the other end, the twins next to each other jabbering away about turtles and frogs, and a smiling Blake occupying the seat next to Duff. He watched her separate her biscuits into halves, then poured a heaping ladle full of gravy over them. He liked to see that she still ate as healthy as ever. A few women he’d taken on dates over the years ordered a salad and barely ate half. Hell, a rabbit would starve on that amount of food.

  He attempted to concentrate on his own food, but his gaze kept automatically shifting back to Blake. He’d had another dream about her last night that left him sweating and needier than ever. Then what happened upstairs had made his body as hard as a stick. But if he ever wanted to be her friend again, he had to slow down, not rush into things. Granted, she had a body that begged for a man’s touch, preferably a man who knew his way around rockin’ curves. One that could tame a lioness. He was pretty certain he was that man…hell, he knew he was that man. His palms ached to stroke her hair, her shoulders, her nice rounded thighs, then use his tongue on the sweeter parts.

  Nope. Slow down, bro.

  The fact that he wanted her had no bearing here. He needed to stay professional. Figure out who the hell killed her calf. If he had sex with her, it would only make things a helluva lot crazier. He could barely think clear enough now to bring a bite of food to his mouth.

  “Uncle Duff?”

  Jasmine’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. He lifted his chin. “Yes?”

  “Is Miss Blake your girlfriend?”

  Out of the mouths of babes. He smiled. “No, she’s not my girlfriend.”

  “You don’t like her?”

  “She’s okay.” He dug into his biscuit, bringing a crumble to his mouth, hoping there were no more questions.

  “Mark at school said his mom wrestles their dad in bed. What does that mean? Do you wrestle with a girl?”

  Duff dropped his fork to his plate. He caught a glimpse of Blake who had her head lowered, but he could see the smile she was attempting to hide. Duff looked to his dad for help, but the man continued to shovel food into his mouth. “How about we just eat. That’s a question you can ask your mom later.” He wasn’t about to embark on a conversation about the birds and bees, especially not with an audience.

  Thankfully, the twins did as he asked and they cleared their plates. When everyone was finished, Duff stacked the dirty dishes. Ross had already excused himself.

  “Uncle Duff, can we watch TV?” Justice asked.

  “No. It’s bedtime.”

  “Can’t we wait until mom gets home so she can read us a story?” Jasmine huffed, wrapping her arms over her tiny chest.

  “Don’t try that, little girl,” he warned. “It won’t work with me. However, if you go up and get your pajamas on, I’ll read you a story.”

  “No, we want Miss Blake to read to us.”

  “Now, you can’t just ask her to read to you. She probably has to get home.”

  Blake cleared her throat. “Well, actually, I’m in no hurry. If they’d like me to read to them, I don’t mind helping.”

  He swallowed. Damn, just what he needed. Not only had her scent wafted under his nose more times than he could count, he had to suffer the torment of having her in his house a while longer, and only feet from his bedroom. But what could he say? The twins would probably erupt into one of their meltdowns. He decided it wasn’t worth the battle. “Okay. But only one story. I’m loading the dishwasher and then I’ll be up to check on you.”

  He stood back and watched them walk out of the room, the twins on either side of her, holding her hands. She laughed at something one of them said, her head bent back and her melodic laughter filled the room. It was a sound that made him happy.

  For some reason, that made him stop and ponder the idea.

  He was in trouble.

  ****

  Blake finished tucking the twins into bed and went downstairs to find Duff who was finishing up in the kitchen. He was wiping down the counter and his arm muscles flexed and loosened with each movement. She remembered how good they’d felt around her earlier in his bedroom.

  “Blake?”

  His voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Sorry, I thought I’d let you finish up.” So I could watch you longer.

  “I’m done now. Twins okay?”

  “They’re asleep. They went out like lights,” she said.

  “If I was running around like a steam engine all day, I’d go out like that too.” He laughed.

  “They’re sweet kids, Duff. It’s sweet of you to help with them. I know Kelly has been through a lot lately.”

  He nodded. “I know, but they miss her.” He tossed the damp towel onto the counter.

  “At least they have you and Ross to take away some of the pain. They could use a good male role model.” She smiled.

  “Not sure how good a role model I am. I have no experience with kids.”

  “It seems you’re a natural. I saw you with them and they’ve taken to you. Preparing you for your own family down the road.”

  “How about you? You seem pretty good with kids too. I remember you used to talk about having a family, a lot of kids. Have any of your hopes changed?”

  “Let’s just say I took a detour and had to make myself another path.”

  “Do you believe in the saying, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’?”

  “Moderately. I also believe in the saying, ‘you can love someone, but no love is stronger than the pain of missing them’.”

  “Where do we go from here?”

  She leaned against the counter and gripped the edge. “The million-dollar que
stion.”

  “Is it really a hard one?”

  “Nothing has ever been easy between us, now has it?”

  “I want your forgiveness,” he said. “I want our friendship.”

  Was that all he wanted? Could she be just his friend? “That can be arranged.”

  “I hate to do this, but I have to run to the Five and Dime.”

  She wasn’t ready to call it a night. “Care if I tag along?”

  He hesitated as if he searched for reasons to say no, but finally he nodded. “If you don’t mind that I have to shop for my sister’s personal items.”

  While he went to tell Ross that they were leaving, Blake stood on the porch, her pulse thumping wildly. They would be alone again which always seemed trivial. Why couldn’t they just keep their hands to themselves? They were taught that simple task back in kindergarten.

  “All ready,” he said as he stepped out beside her.

  She wasn’t sure she was. They headed to his truck and she climbed into the passenger side. After they pulled out onto the main country road, they were stuck behind a slow moving vehicle. He cursed under his breath. “We’re going to be here for a while.”

  “I’m in no hurry. How about you?”

  That hypnotizing smile appeared on his lips. “As long as we’re there before nine. That’s when they close.”

  “Now that I have you alone…”

  He popped his chin around, his eyes shining in the reflection of the dashboard lighting. “That sounds interesting.”

  “I want to apologize.” There, the words were out. She felt immediate relief.

  “For?”

  “Being a witch.”

  “That’s a lot to apologize for.” He smiled.

  She playfully pinched him on the arm. “Hey, behave yourself. Make this easy on me. I know I haven’t been the nicest person, but I have a lot on my plate. A lot of stress.”

  “I know it’s not easy, but things will get better.” He wiped his palm down his cheek. “I want you to know that I spoke with Ethan.”

  “And?”

  “He denies having anything to do with killing the calf.”

  She turned her head and stared through the window at the sliver of sun setting on the horizon. “Neither of us were expecting him to admit to it, were we?”

  “Blake, I know you have your head set on the idea that Ethan is doing everything in his power to get your land. He’s been a jerk, but I can’t seem to fit the pieces together why he’d come onto your property, risk getting caught, and kill a calf. What does he have to gain?”

  “To scare me.”

  “Does he?”

  She laughed. “No.”

  “I’d guess he already knows that.”

  “So, do you have a theory then?”

  “Is there anyone else that you can think of that would gain from doing that? Do you have any enemies?”

  Blowing out a long breath, she shook her head. “No, Duff. No one else would gain from killing my calf. I have no enemies unless you can count Jonathon Wheeler. We had an encounter a few weeks back when he ran away with Emily’s underage daughter.”

  “Yeah, I was filled in on that situation.”

  Snapping her chin up, she narrowed her gaze. “Are you going to lecture me on how wrong it was that I took my shotgun in and scared him?”

  “Nope. If that was my sister, or niece, or heaven forbid my daughter, I wouldn’t have taken my gun. I wouldn’t have needed it.”

  “He’s in jail, right?”

  “Jonathon is in jail still. I have a feeling he won’t mess with you or anyone you know ever again.” He laughed.

  She looked at his profile. “At least one of us is confident that it’s not Ethan.”

  “I’m not completely taking him off my list of suspects and I plan to keep a close eye on his coming and goings.” He pulled into a parking space at the store. “I’ll accept your apology on one condition.” He smiled.

  “You have conditions?”

  “If you gather the things on the list, I’ll get the condoms.”

  “Condoms? You’re a little presumptuous, aren’t you?” She didn’t understand why the thought made her inner thighs throb.

  “It’s not my list, sweetheart. Not only am I my sister’s manny, but now it seems I’ve landed the position as her personal shopper too. I’ll be running out and getting tampons for her before you know it,” he grumbled.

  “I’ll even grab the condoms if you prefer.” She took the list from him.

  The area between his brows scrunched. “You don’t mind?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve bought them a few times. A woman has to be proactive in taking care of her body.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I’m insanely jealous and turned on at the same time. That’s crazy.”

  “Then by all means. Let’s pick them out together.”

  “Sorry, nothing makes my body limper than picking out condoms for my sister.”

  “I wasn’t referring to your sister’s needs. I thought it might be best if we were prepared for the unexpected. I prefer ‘ribbed for her pleasure’ myself.” She wagged her brows and slipped out of the truck. She heard his deep moan and she smiled. She should be ashamed that she got so much pleasure out of pestering Duff, but the point was, she wasn’t teasing him. She had every intention of eventually kissing him again.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  DUFF STOOD AT his office window, drinking his first coffee of the morning, watching the town come alive. The OPEN sign came on in the bookstore across the street, and a second later, the owner stepped out and swept the sidewalk. A few doors down, a young couple walked into the candle shop. He soaked in every detail, even as moot as it seemed.

  A flash of black on the sidewalk caught his attention. He leaned his forehead on the glass so he could get a better view. A black and white dog was sniffing at the cement. He was skinny and his fur matted. He wasn’t wearing a collar.

  He stepped to the open door and looked into the outer office. Sheila was pounding away at the keyboard. He waited for a pause. “Sheila, do you know who the black and white dog hanging out on our step belongs to?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve seen him a few times. He’s a stray.”

  Back at his desk, he grabbed his half-eaten muffin and stepped outside. He looked from left to right, and across the street, until he finally spotted the stray two doors down sniffing the outside of a trash can. Duff whistled. The dog’s ears popped up. He whistled again and this time the dog ambled over, it’s short spiky tail waving and his brown eyes watching Duff curiously. He lowered to his haunches and held out the offering of the muffin. The stray hesitated, wearily, and Duff guessed the dog had been shooed away by the shop owners in the past. Waiting patiently, the stray finally made his way closer and grabbed the muffin then quickly moved back. Duff shifted forward, leaning to rub the dog behind the ears, feeling how matted his fur was. When every last crumb had been cleaned, he was met with another hopeful expression.

  “That’s all I have, boy.” He held up his hands to show that they were empty. He continued to nuzzle the stray’s head and eventually he relaxed.

  The toes of worn boots came into his view. “Looks like you have a new friend.” The soft voice made his nerve endings tingle. He followed the long stretch of snug fitting jeans over feminine curves until he reached a violet gaze that could make a man weak.

  He stood, smiling, a feeling of joy passing through him at seeing her first thing this morning. “Blake, what do I owe the pleasure?”

  There were dark circles under her eyes and the thin line of her mouth told him something was off. “Can I speak to you a minute? Inside?”

  “Sure.” He motioned for her to step inside of the station and he followed. He led her to his office and started to close the door, but not before he caught Sheila craning her neck, watching. He gave her a narrowed expression and the woman smiled. Once they were in private, he went to sit on the corner of his desk. Blake had chosen the chair. �
�Is there something wrong?” he asked.

  She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a crumpled envelope, holding it out for him. He took it, staring at her name typed on the front. “What’s this?”

  “You should read it.”

  He opened the flap and took out the plain white paper, opening it to read…

  “Leave the farm, you stupid bitch!”

  The hairs on his arms stood. He slid off the corner of the desk and rounded it, taking a seat in the chair that squeaked under his weight. He never did get another chair. He’d been a little preoccupied the last few days. He dropped the letter and envelope, staring at the typewritten words. “When did you get this?”

  “I found it slid under my front door when I came downstairs this morning.”

  He gritted his teeth. His overly sized protective side came to the forefront. That part of him came on like the snap of a wet towel across his heart. This was dangerous. How could he concentrate to do his job when he couldn’t get his mind off the woman sitting across from him. She was as tough as nails, but he could see the worried lines around her eyes and the pale color of her skin. What he wouldn’t give to go to her, pull her into his arms and kiss the worry away and whisper, “It’ll all be okay, sweetheart.” That’s not what she needed from him. She needed his protection. His attention on finding out what sick bastard was toying with her. His first stop…Ethan Branson. “Will you be at the farm all day?”

  She nodded. “The vet’s coming out to check on the cattle so I’ll be around.”

  “You won’t be alone, will you?”

  “Should I not be?”

  “For now, no. Not until I find whoever is playing games.” He did his best to hide the worry in his tone. He believed he’d failed miserably.