She had to be his. He couldn’t love her with such depth, such intensity if she weren’t. It was as if his heart recognized that she was an integral part of him.
“So, what happens now?” Sherry asked as she set a cup of coffee in front of Clint, then joined him at the table with a cup of her own.
He was grateful to see nothing in her eyes except curiosity. No need, no smoldering embers of the flare of passion that had momentarily flared between them.
“There isn’t much I can do to catch the person who tried to break in.” He took a sip of the hot brew, then looked back at her. “You didn’t see anyone at the window?”
Sherry shook her head. “Nobody. The only thing I can figure is that whoever was there saw me open the bedroom door and they ran.” She frowned. “Surely you don’t really think Candy is behind all this.”
“There’s nothing that makes me believe otherwise,” Clint replied. He sighed, thinking about the woman he’d once dated. “I must have been crazy to get involved with her at all.”
“You can’t always control who you fall in love with,” Sherry replied.
Clint attempted to swallow a burst of laughter. “Love? I didn’t love Candy. Not for a minute. I didn’t even like her that much.”
“But then why…?” Sherry’s gaze shot to Kathryn, then back to him.
“Why did I have sex with her if I didn’t love her?” Sherry nodded, a blush coloring her cheeks. Clint took another sip of his coffee before answering.
Because I wanted to see if I could forget you. Because for three years I waited to see if you’d change your mind, waited to see if you’d ever love me again, and when I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I was desperate to try to get on with my life.
So many replies danced through his head, answers he knew he wouldn’t say to her. Instead he grinned wryly. “It’s possible to indulge physical pleasure without involving the head or the heart,” he finally said.
“But why would she do something like this? Why would she leave the baby here, then manufacture an attempted kidnapping?” Sherry asked.
“Who knows?” Clint shrugged. “Maybe she’s trying to pay me back.”
“Pay you back for what?”
Again a wry smile leaped to his lips. “For being able to separate body from heart, for having sex with her and not being willing to commit to her.”
He stood, uncomfortable with the entire conversation. It felt wrong, talking about having sex with another woman. “I don’t know, Sherry. Candy is the woman who put laxative in her boss’s coffee when he refused to give her a raise. Who knows exactly how her mind works?”
Sherry stared at him. “She didn’t. In her boss’s coffee?”
He nodded. “She did. The night she told me she’d done it was the last night we went out. I didn’t call her anymore, and when she called me I made excuses about work and being busy. Eventually she quit calling, and I never heard from her again.”
Leaning against the refrigerator door, he sighed. “Candy had a mean streak in her. She played cruel practical jokes on people and thought they were amusing. She might be finding this whole thing with Kathryn as equally amusing.”
“I can’t imagine a mother finding anything remotely amusing about such a thing,” Sherry said with a vengeance. “Did you talk to Stan?”
He nodded. “This morning. Hopefully he’ll have something for me very soon.”
Sherry leaned forward and tickled Kathryn’s tummy. “Don’t you worry, sweet baby. We aren’t going to let anything bad happen to you,” she said.
Sherry’s features were softened with a lovely smile as she played with the baby. Clint watched the rise and fall of her breasts beneath her pale-pink blouse, remembered how those breasts had felt against his chest. The curve of her lips summoned her taste back to his memory, the sweet, honeyed taste of heat and desire.
Turning his back on the scene, Clint fought the rise of renewed passion. He poured himself more coffee, refusing to allow the emotion a foothold.
When he turned back again, he felt as if he’d regained his control.
“One thing is for certain,” he said. “We need to stay vigilant until we know what’s going on. One or the other of us needs to be with Kathryn at all times. We can’t afford to leave her alone for a second.”
Sherry nodded in agreement. “I’ll make certain all the doors and windows are locked whenever you’re not here, and she can take her naps on the floor in the living room.”
“Tomorrow is my day off. Maybe I should see about getting some sort of security system installed.” Anger swept through him at the very idea. How dare anyone attempt to breach the sanctity of his home…his family.
Before he could say anything more, the phone rang. He answered. “Boss…everything all right there?” Andy’s voice boomed across the line. “Etta Mae said you tore out of here like the hounds of hell were chasing you.”
“Somebody attempted a break-in through my bedroom window, but everything is fine,” Clint replied.
“A break-in? You want me to come right over with the fingerprint kit?” Andy’s voice rose in pitch, indicating the excitement of a normally bored deputy who suddenly had the prospect of a real crime to investigate.
“I’ve already boarded up the window,” Clint said, knowing Andy would be disappointed. “But, if you want to come over and take a look around, maybe you can see something that I missed.” With a hurried goodbye, Andy hung up. Clint did the same and turned back to Sherry.
“Andy is coming by to look over the scene,” he explained.
“You think he’ll find anything?” Sherry asked.
“Nah, but he was so excited I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it’s doubtful he’ll find anything.”
Sherry smiled at him, a full, generous smile that warmed him from head to toe. “You’re a nice man, Clint Graham.” Her eyes held a softness that tormented him…like lush green forests beckoning him inside.
“When I find who is responsible for all this, I won’t be such a nice guy,” he returned evenly. “I’m going outside to wait for Andy.” He turned and left, needing to escape the small confines of the kitchen and Sherry’s tempting green eyes.
Nearly two hours later Clint said goodbye to a disappointed Andy. Just as Clint had suspected, there had been no evidence for Andy to investigate.
Darkness was approaching fast. Night clouds raced across the sky to usurp the last glow of twilight. As Andy’s car lights disappeared down the road, Clint leaned against the garage door.
Night. And Sherry would be slipping into the nightgown he’d accidently seen her wearing…the burgundy silky one with tiny spaghetti straps and the teasing low neckline. He felt his body’s response as he envisioned her. His pulse quickened and his blood felt hot inside his veins.
Night. And Sherry would be sleeping in a bed beneath his roof, but not in his arms, not sharing the warmth of his bed.
He swiped a hand across his jaw thoughtfully. With one simple kiss his relationship with Sherry had suddenly become complicated and strained.
Hell, who was he fooling?
There had been nothing simple about the kiss they had shared. It had consumed him, had lit a fire in the pit of his stomach the likes of which he’d never known before.
It had been a big mistake. What bothered him more than anything was how badly he wanted to repeat the mistake.
Chapter Six
C lint was on the telephone when Sherry entered the kitchen the next morning. As she poured herself a cup of coffee, she tried not to notice how devastatingly handsome he looked.
His worn jeans fit him like a second skin, emphasizing his lean hips and taut buttocks. His short-sleeved pale-blue shirt displayed his biceps and complemented the darkness of his hair and the azure hue of his eyes.
She carried her cup to the table, where she whispered a good-morning greeting to Kathryn, who returned the greeting with a happy smile, then she left the kitchen so Clint could speak in privacy.
; In the living room she stood at the front window and stared out into the brilliant morning sunshine. She took a sip of her coffee, her thoughts drifting over the events of the day before.
It had been a day of roller-coaster emotions, first the fear and drama of the near break-in, then the joy and ensuing despair over the kiss she and Clint had shared.
She touched her lips, the memory of that kiss still lingering as if the imprint of his mouth had been burned forever into hers.
She’d thought she’d forgotten the utter pleasure of Clint’s lips against hers. She’d believed she’d long ago forgotten how easily his kisses had been able to stoke a deep desire inside her.
However, the moment his lips had touched hers, it had been like coming home after a long absence.
“Don’t fool yourself,” she whispered softly as she turned away from the window and sat down heavily on the sofa.
Clint’s kiss might have had the warmth of a homecoming welcome, but Sherry couldn’t forget that she could never be the woman Clint deserved. The homecoming, at best, would be temporary.
The evening before had been tense. She and Clint had watched television for a couple of hours, allowing the mundane sitcoms to take the place of any real conversation.
Sherry had sat on the floor next to Kathryn, while Clint sat on the sofa. Yet, even with the adequate physical distance between them, Sherry couldn’t mentally distance herself enough for comfort.
The kiss had altered things, destroyed the easy camaraderie they normally enjoyed. She was far too aware of him on a physical level, far too aware of her own want where he was concerned.
For the first time in her life she cursed her virginity, wished she could be the kind of woman who could separate heart and body. She wished she could just fall into bed with him, with no regrets the morning after. But she couldn’t.
When she finally gave herself completely and wholly to a man physically, she knew she would give her heart, as well. She wanted it to be a forever kind of giving, not just a temporary pleasure.
When the news had come on, Sherry had listened to the lead stories, one about a drug kingpin on trial in Kansas City, the second lead story about severe weather in western Kansas.
After those two stories had played, she’d excused herself and gone to bed. To her surprise she’d slept deeply, without interruption, without dreams.
She’d awakened refreshed, feeling as if she could face being with Clint for another day and not do anything foolish.
She heard him hang up, then a moment later he came into the living room carrying Kathryn. “How would you like to take a drive with us?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Where?”
He sat on the sofa next to her, Kathryn on his lap.
“That was Stan on the phone. He got me Candy’s new address. She still lives in Kansas City.” He held up a piece of paper where he’d written the address. “I thought we’d take a little ride, see what she has to say.”
“When do you want to go?” she asked.
“Right now. The sooner the better.”
“Shouldn’t you try to call her first?” Sherry asked.
Clint shook his head. “She should be home on a Saturday and I don’t want to give her any warning, and I don’t want to confront her over the phone. I want to do this in person.” He smiled at her. “If we leave now we can stop on the way and get breakfast. I figure breakfast out has got to be as good as the breakfasts you make.”
“I’ve never made you breakfast,” Sherry protested.
“Exactly,” he said with an easy laugh.
Sherry returned his laughter, grateful that somehow the morning had brought with it the easy friendship they normally shared. Apparently he’d forgotten about the kiss, and she intended to do the same. “Okay. I’m game.” She stood. “Just let me get my purse and check the diaper bag to make sure we have everything Kathryn might need.”
“While you do that, I’ll go get the car seat secured,” Clint replied. “We’ll be waiting in the car.”
Sherry grabbed her purse from her bedroom, pausing for a moment to check her reflection in the mirror. She ran a brush through her short, blond-streaked hair, then pulled from her purse a tube of lipstick.
“What are you doing?” she asked the woman in the mirror, lipstick poised in ready position.
Why was she putting on lipstick? To give her lips a dewy, kissable sheen? For whom?
Kissing Clint had been a mistake the day before, one she didn’t intend to repeat. She was going to forget all about it. With renewed resolution she put the lipstick back in her purse without using it, then turned away from the mirror and hurried out of the room.
A few minutes later she slid into the passenger side of Clint’s car. Clint was behind the wheel, and Kathryn was safely secured in her car seat in the back.
“All set?” he asked.
She nodded and he backed out of the driveway. By the time they reached the highway leading toward Kansas City, the movement of the car had lulled Kathryn to sleep.
Initially Clint seemed tense, and his gaze darted often to the rearview mirror. Sherry realized he was keeping an eye out to make sure they weren’t being followed, to make sure another kidnapping attempt wasn’t imminent.
“Everything all right?” she asked worriedly as he changed lanes for the fourth time.
“Fine. Just being cautious.”
He switched lanes several more times, his gaze constantly darting to the mirror, then after about twenty minutes of driving, he visibly relaxed.
Sherry did the same, settling against the seat and watching the scenery fly by. “There’s nothing prettier than spring in the midwest,” she observed.
“Unless it’s autumn,” Clint replied.
“You’re right, autumn is nice, too,” she agreed. “I love the crisp air and the scent of burning leaves.”
“And cool nights made just for snuggling,” Clint added. His gaze caught hers for a moment, then he jerked his attention back to the road. “Yeah, autumn is pretty nice.”
Sherry could imagine snuggling with Clint beneath the heavy, navy bedspread on his bed, the warmth of his body keeping the chill of the night away.
She cleared her throat and consciously shoved such thoughts away. “This is off the subject, but last night while you were outside with Andy, I called Walt and gave him my resignation.”
Clint jerked his head to stare at her in surprise. “You’re kidding! What are you going to do? Go back to teaching?”
“I don’t know…maybe. To be honest, I’m not sure what I want to do. I just realized it was time for a change.” She stared out the window thoughtfully.
In the three days with Kathryn, the little girl had taught Sherry a valuable lesson—that she could spend time with children, love children and not feel the torturous ache of her own infertility. “I’ve got a little money saved up. I can afford to take some time and decide exactly what I want to do.”
Clint flashed her a smile and reached out to lightly touch her hand. “I’m glad, Sherry. I never understood what made you quit teaching and go to work for Walt in the first place.”
She nodded, then gazed out the window once more. No, he’d never understood. Nobody had understood the depth of her pain when she’d discovered she couldn’t have children.
Her mother had cried with her, then in her own pragmatic way had told Sherry to get over it and move on with her life. Sherry’s sister had dealt with the issue by studiously avoiding any and all talk of children.
And Clint had said all the right words—that it didn’t matter, that he loved her anyway. But she’d seen the momentary flare of disappointment in his eyes and she couldn’t get past it.
She hadn’t broken off her engagement to him immediately upon learning she’d never have children. She’d waited a month, an agonizing month, then had told him her feelings for him had changed, that she didn’t love him anymore.
She hadn’t wanted his pity, hadn’t wanted him to know that it had been
her barrenness that had destroyed their plans. It had been easier to pretend she’d made a mistake about loving him.
“You’ve suddenly fallen terribly quiet,” Clint said, breaking into her thoughts.
She shrugged. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
She smiled at him. “Nothing important.”
He eased down his window a little, allowing in the fresh, fragrant spring air. “You know, this time of year always reminds me of when we first met. It was on a day just like this.”
Her smile deepened. “You were the new, handsome deputy in town and I had just finished college.”
“I wasn’t at all sure I was going to be able to adjust to a little town like Armordale after living in Kansas City, but the minute I saw you I knew I’d adjust fine.” He cast her another grin, one of warm friendship and teasing humor. “You were so sassy and full of energy.”
“And you were so full of yourself, strutting around in your uniform and eyeing everyone with that authoritative glare.”
“I did not strut,” Clint laughed in protest.
“Yes, you did,” she returned with a teasing grin. “You had that big-city strut that had every female in town half-crazy about you, and every male in town ready to punch you out.”
“Now that you bring it up, I did seem to have a lot of men swinging at my face that first year.” He frowned somberly. “I’ll admit I probably seemed a little arrogant, but it was really defensiveness.”
“Defensiveness? What were you defensive about?” She eyed him curiously. The idea that Clint would ever be insecure or vulnerable seemed alien. From the moment she’d met him, he’d always seemed in control, confident in himself and his abilities.
“I was only twenty-three, fresh out of the academy, when Sheriff Bodine hired me.
“He had misgivings about me because of my youth and inexperience. It was really important to me to prove that I could handle the job, not only to everyone in Armordale, but especially to myself.”
“Your parents died before you graduated from the police academy, didn’t they?” she asked softly. In all the years they had known each other, Clint had never said much about his parents, only telling Sherry that they’d died in a car accident just before he’d moved to Armordale.
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