Hard loving man

by Lorraine Heath

  “Got any coffee?”

  Unless the man was suffering from a severe case of allergies, he knew the answer, because the aroma still wafted through the house. She planted her hands on her hips. “I thought you were on a mission to retrieve doughnuts.”

  “I’ve got a few minutes.”

  “Okay. The trap is all set,” Madison said as she came back into the living room. She plopped onto the arm of a chair, where she was visible and could look into the hallway where Jack and Kelley still stood. “So, how come you’re doing so much for Kelley? I’d never go to this much trouble for one of my teachers.”

  Jack moved farther into the room as though an invitation had been issued. “You’ve never had a teacher you liked?”

  Liked? Kelley thought. He liked her? Well, she’d known that, hadn’t she? No, not really. She knew he’d been attracted to her physically back then—still was, apparently. But liked?

  “I liked Johnson,” Madison admitted.

  “There you go,” Jack said, stepping farther into the room.

  “But I wouldn’t haul furniture for her and bring her a dog dish.”

  “You might when you get older,” Jack said. “You’d be surprised how things change when you get older.”

  He has that right. Kelley moved past him. “Come on into the kitchen. I’ll get you some coffee.”

  “Nice view. I didn’t notice it yesterday,” he said as he took the mug she offered him and leaned against the counter. “How’s the unpacking coming along?”

  “We’re making progress.” No tiny island in the middle of the kitchen to sit at, no way for him to lean over and tempt her. “Did you want to sit at the table?” she asked.

  “No, I really can’t stay very long. I am the doughnut brigade.”

  “I miss Krispy Kreme,” she admitted.

  “You ought to try Karl’s Bakery. They have these doughnuts that still have the hole in the center, and they plop this glob of chocolate icing on top of it. Jason’s crazy about them.”

  “They sound sinful.”

  “Only a woman would associate food with sin.”

  She lowered her gaze, sipped her coffee, and tried not to think about what Jack would probably associate with sin. “You told Madison you liked your teacher…me?”

  “You doubt it?”

  She lifted her eyes to his. “I don’t know, Jack.” She bent forward so she could see through the doorway. Madison was nowhere to be seen. She looked back at Jack. “I just thought it was…hormones, I guess.”

  “A lot of it was,” he admitted.

  “On top of that, you’re sexy as hell, and you know it. I always felt out of my league around you. As though you had something to prove, and I was the prize.”

  “I did. You were.”

  She should have taken satisfaction in his answer, in knowing she was right, all those years ago, when she’d been falling in love with him, worrying the entire time that she would end up being nothing more than a notch on Jack Morgan’s bedpost. The only time she’d ever gotten drunk was the night he got married. Giving him up forever, thinking of him being in bed with another woman on his wedding night had hurt so damned much.

  He set the mug aside and crossed over to where Kelley stood. She held his gaze, strengthening her resolve not to fall for him again, to maintain her distance. With the palm of his hand, he cradled her cheek and touched his thumb to her lips.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” he asked quietly. “I’ve still got something to prove. And you’re still the prize.”

  Before she could stammer a protest, he’d walked out of her kitchen.

  “So long, kid,” he called out.

  “Hey!” Madison said. “I was thinking you should have brought a dog to go with that dish.”

  Kelley heard Jack’s laughter.

  “Thought you said pets weren’t allowed,” he challenged.

  “Yeah, but you’re the sheriff. You can break laws and get away with it.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  She heard the door close. What did Jack have to prove? And why did she suddenly feel twenty-two again, honored that Jack Morgan would deem her worthy of his attention?

  “Are you sure there’s nothing between you and the sheriff?” Madison asked from the doorway.

  Kelley picked Jack’s mug off the counter and dumped his coffee into the sink. “I’m sure.”

  With a sigh, she rinsed out his mug. Who was she kidding? There would always be something between her and Jack. A history, without a future.

  Chapter 11

  There was something enchanting about a Texas county fair. From the Longhorn cattle housed in paddocks on either side of the entryway gates to the people sporting their best cowboy hats and their polished snakeskin boots. It just seemed wholesome and, if not immaculate, at least fun, Kelley thought as she handed Madison and Ronda their entry tickets.

  “Are we going to split up?” Ronda asked.

  They’d picked her up at the airport yesterday evening. She and Madison were still laughing and talking when Kelley had gone to bed at midnight. They’d been laughing and talking most of the day. Kelley was so relieved to see Madison enjoying herself.

  “Let’s stay together until I get familiar with the layout of the fairgrounds, and we can figure out where to meet up later,” Kelley suggested.

  Following the crowd through the gates, they were immediately greeted with another ticket booth, this one selling individual tickets for the various games and rides. “Looks like we have to purchase tickets for the rides and games,” Kelley told them.

  “Just like the state fair,” Madison said.

  “My dad says they do that so you’ll spend more money,” Ronda announced. “You won’t hesitate to give the guy at the Tilt-a-Whirl six tickets, but you’d think twice about handing him a dollar fifty.”

  “Well, since this is Madison’s first county fair, I think we should go hog wild. Let’s start with twenty dollars’ worth.” While she stood in line to get the tickets, the girls moved a short distance away. She so enjoyed seeing the excitement on Madison’s face. She wished she knew how to keep it there, short of moving back to Dallas. The week had gone remarkably well, though: no tantrums, no late-night phone calls, no arguments. Maybe they were finally settling in; maybe Madison would be content now.

  After she bought the tickets, Kelley walked over to the girls and divided the tickets among them, keeping only a few for herself. She wasn’t into the games or the rides. For the most part, she simply enjoyed the atmosphere, being part of it, watching the people. “Where shall we start?”

  “The Midway,” Ronda said.

  “You don’t want to visit the livestock?” Kelley asked.

  “Why would we want to go through stinky buildings?” Ronda asked.

  “How about the crafts?” Kelley asked.

  Both girls shook their heads as though she were suggesting a fate worse than death. “The Midway it is,” she conceded.

  Maybe she was getting old, but going through the arts-and-crafts buildings really appealed to her. And she wouldn’t have minded looking at the livestock, either. Some of her students had entries there.

  Twilight was easing in. Madison had wanted to make sure that they’d be there when it got dark. Kelley had to agree that the lights of the Midway at night carried a special magic. She could hear the music of the carousel and the barking of the carnies as they neared the entrance to the Midway. The atmosphere was very different from the rest of the fair. Not nearly as relaxing. Unconsciously, she wrapped her fingers around the strap on her fanny pack. She always worried in crowds that someone could unsnap it and run off with it before she was aware of what was going on.

  The sheriff’s department was out in full force, along with many police officers from neighboring towns. Their presence was reassuring, and yet a part of her resented that people behaved in such a way that law-enforcement personnel were needed for what should have been nothing more than a night of fun. She wondered briefly if Ja
ck were working there, then decided if he was working anywhere, he’d be working in Hopeful.

  Besides, she really didn’t want to run into him there. It was her night with the girls—even though she had the impression that they wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible. She couldn’t blame them for wanting to be off by themselves—they were young, in tune with each other, obviously wanting to experience aspects of the fair that she wasn’t. Once they parted ways, she’d simply spoil herself with the crafts and the animals and the cotton candy until it was time to meet up again. The important thing was that Madison was enjoying herself, not that Kelley was feeling a little left out because she didn’t have a best friend nearby to share the night with.

  She didn’t think she’d developed a deep friendship since high school. Ever since Madison had been born when Kelley was fifteen, she’d wanted to spend whatever free time she had with her. She’d been a marvel to watch, discovering the world around her. Her parents had adored her. With everyone doting on Madison as much as they had, was it any wonder that she’d turned out to be a bit spoiled and accustomed to having her own way?

  “Oh, let’s do this!” Ronda cried. “I want one of those big bears.”

  Madison tugged Kelley toward one of the booths where the entertainment involved throwing baseballs at milk bottles. It looked so easy, but Kelley knew looks at a carnival were greatly misleading. She’d tried this particular game long ago and come away with nothing but a handful of cheap keychains.

  “Those things are somehow rigged,” she told the girls as they approached. “They’re impossible to knock over.”

  “So? Let’s try. Let’s all try,” Ronda said.

  Not wanting to be the spoilsport, Kelley reluctantly handed over four tickets for three balls, trying not to think about how easily she’d given up a dollar for what she knew would result in failure. After all, the object of the game wasn’t necessarily to win but to have fun trying.

  Madison squealed as she knocked over one bottle. The man set the bottle back on top, grinning at her with stained, crooked teeth. “You have to knock all three bottles over with one ball to get the big bear.”

  “That’s not fair,” Madison protested.

  He handed her a keychain and winked at her. “Don’t throw the ball so hard.”

  Two throws later, she had two more keychains. Ronda’s luck wasn’t any better. The girls were busy tearing off more tickets, getting more balls, when Kelley tossed her balls. One missed completely. The next caused a bottle to rock and settle back into place. The third one grazed the top bottle and made it topple. She took her keychain with grace.

  “You still throw like a girl,” a deep voice whispered near her ear as warm breath skimmed along the side of her neck.

  Jack. How long had he been watching her? She spun around, her heart pounding with the force of the adrenaline rush his nearness caused. “That’s because I am a girl, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “Oh, I noticed.”

  His eyes held a predatory gleam. Nothing subtle about Jack’s intentions. When he was interested, he made sure they were known. She could so quickly stumble out of her element with him—again.

  He was wearing jeans, a denim jacket over a cambric shirt, and a black hat. Not in uniform. Obviously, he wasn’t working, unless they had some officers working undercover, which she seriously doubted.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said.

  “I brought the boys.” He tipped his head to the side. “That’s them shooting BB guns at metal ducks and rabbits.”

  She looked toward the nearby shooting gallery. She saw two blond-haired boys who looked to be about eight. Like Jack, they both wore denim jackets. They were shooting, laughing, pointing at each other’s successes and misses. She’d expected Jack’s son to have hair as black as Jack’s, to resemble his father to such a degree that she’d spot him right off.

  “Which one is Jason?” she asked.

  “The one on the right.”

  She heard the pride and love reflected in his voice. The boy was the paler of the two, his blond hair almost white. He looked so incredibly happy. Why couldn’t Madison laugh with such abandon?

  “Oh, Jack, he’s precious.”

  “He’s a good kid.”

  Having apparently used up all their shots, the boys turned away from the booth at the same time. She couldn’t get over how cute Jack’s son was. But seeing him completely and not from a disadvantageous angle, she was surprised by how little he resembled Jack. Her memory of Stephanie was faulty, because she didn’t think she saw much of Stephanie in the boy, either.

  The boys rushed up to Jack.

  “We’re all out of tickets, Dad,” Jason said. “Can we get some more?”

  “Sure,” Jack said as he reached into his back hip pocket and brought out his wallet. “Jason, this is Spencer.”

  The boy’s dark eyes were alight with joy. It was silly, but she’d expected to see Jack’s startling blue eyes within that young face.

  “Hi,” Jason said without apparent discomfort, as though having his dad introduce him to women were par for the course.

  “Hello,” Kelley said.

  “This is Riker,” Jack said, pointing toward the other child. “I mentioned him before.”

  “Yes, I remember. Hello,” Kelley said.

  The boy nodded, bounced on the balls of his feet, nudged his friend.

  “Dad? Tickets?” Jason reminded Jack impatiently.

  Jack handed him a twenty. “Straight to the ticket booth and back, no detours.”

  “Yes, sir,” the boys said in unison before scampering away.

  Jack turned his intense blue gaze on her. “If I could bottle their energy, I’d be rich.”

  She was struck with the thought that he might be richer than he realized.

  “Hey, Sheriff,” Madison said.

  “Hey, kid, fixing to open up a keychain shop?” Jack teased.

  “Ha ha,” Madison said. “Don’t suppose you’d care to try and win us one of those big bears?”

  “Not on your life. I managed to do it once about nine years ago, and it cost me nearly a hundred dollars for something I could have bought in the store for less than twenty.”

  Madison jerked her attention to Kelley and then back to Jack. “It wasn’t a purple bear, was it?”

  “Don’t remember what color it was.”

  “Kelley has a big purple bear she keeps in the corner of her room. You didn’t see it when we were moving because she’d already packed it up.”

  “Doubt that was it. I gave my bear to a girl I was trying to impress.”

  But it was the same bear. He’d run across her at the fair. It was before she’d ever gone to his trailer, before she’d tried to get his mother involved. He’d had a girl nestled up against his side, his arm slung across her shoulders. Kelley had been trying to win a big bear at a bottle toss similar to this one. Her luck had been just as atrocious then as it was tonight. When she’d gone into her classroom the following Monday morning, the bear had been sitting in the chair at her desk. And she’d known who’d put it there—even though it came with no note, no message.

  The boys returned with their tickets, hopping from foot to foot, obviously anxious to move on to the next bit of entertainment.

  “Can Ronda and I go off by ourselves now?” Madison asked. “We can meet you at the entrance to the Midway when it’s time to go.”

  “Okay. Midnight,” Kelley said. “Meet me at the front ticket booth.”

  “No!” Both girls groaned and looked like twins as they did a similar body shrug.

  “We want to stay until it closes,” Madison said.

  “That’s two o’clock,” Kelley reminded her. “Way past your curfew. Meet me at the front ticket booth at midnight.”

  “But, Kell—”

  “Midnight, or we can leave now, Madison. We had an agreement.”

  Madison rolled her eyes. “You’re being unreasonable. Sheriff, what do you think?”


  “If you were with me, you’d be leaving at ten.”

  Madison groaned. “You never take my side. All right, Kelley, we’ll meet you at midnight.” Her voice left no doubt that she was being coerced into agreement.

  “We’ve got our cell phones, so call me if there’s any problem.”

  “Chill. There’s not going to be any problems.”

  Refraining from adding another caution to be careful, she watched the girls wander away. She didn’t want to be overprotective, but it was so hard not to worry.

  Turning, she found Jack still standing there. She thought she detected a spark of admiration in his eyes, probably because she’d stood her ground with Madison. She hated to admit to herself that if he hadn’t been standing there, she might have caved and allowed the two o’clock departure that Madison wanted.

  “Want to tag along with me and the boys?” he asked.

  Nodding distractedly, she looked back in the direction where Madison had disappeared. “It’s so hard to let them go.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Jack said quietly. He put his arm around her. “How’d you like for me to impress you by winning you a big bear?”

  As the night wore on, he did impress her. Not so much because of the big blue bear she carried—he’d won it throwing baseballs at milk bottles—or the enormous stuffed pink poodle nestled beneath his arm—he’d won that tossing darts and graciously offered to cart it around for her.

  He impressed her simply because he was a great deal of fun to be with. They’d never had an opportunity to date, and although they were trying to keep up with two boys who seemed to have boundless energy, Kelley couldn’t help but feel a little as though they were shifting away from the past and tonight she was seeing a side to Jack that had eluded her before.

  Jack insisted they try every game that was offered. He didn’t care if the games were rigged, if the chances of losing far exceeded the opportunities to win. “Just for the fun of it,” he’d say.

  And it was fun. They’d get competitive with the boys, competitive with each other. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed until her sides hurt or smiled until her jaw ached.

  When they weren’t throwing balls, tossing darts, or picking up floating ducks from the narrow pond, they were eating. Hot dogs, corn dogs, candied apples, caramel apples, cotton candy. She didn’t know where the boys and Jack put it all.