The Sheriff's Son

by Barbara White Daille

  “You didn’t mind it a minute ago.”

  “Yeah.” He leered. “Neither did you.”

  Her cheeks burned. “Well, turn around. And don’t turn back.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” After a smart salute, he faced forward.

  Fortunately, she favored dresses that buttoned all down the front, so she wouldn’t have to go into any great gyrations in getting this one off.

  “Where’s your car?” he asked.

  “It stalled out along the road. I was walking to Charlie’s ranch. It’s nearest.”

  “He’s at the meeting tonight.”

  Keeping one eye on Tanner, she worked open the row of buttons and slid the wet fabric from her shoulders. “Well, his son or one of the ranch hands would be around.”

  With one hand, she braced herself long enough to lift her hips from the seat and slide the dress free. She let it fall into a sodden heap on the floorboard.

  “No sense trying to check out your car in this downpour.”

  “No. I’ll come take a look at it when the rain stops.”

  Her bra was just as wet as the dress. Should she…? The lacy fabric clung damply to her body. Just recalling Tanner’s hands touching her there made her flush again.

  She shot a quick, suspicious look up front. He sat staring straight ahead at the rain running down the windshield.

  “You need to get a professional out here to look it over.”

  Yes, and professionals cost money. She’d have enough of a bill if the local gas station had to bring it in. “That’s not necessary. The wagon breaks down all the time in bad weather. It’s old. And temperamental. It will be fine once it dries out.”

  If she had to have a tow, maybe she could ask Charlie—

  “It just worries me that you don’t have a dependable vehicle. I mean, it’s not safe for a woman to be out on a dark road, wandering in the rain…”

  Tanner rambled on as she struggled with the bra clasp, her hands shaking from embarrassment. Nerves. Cold. Haste. Oh, from whatever. What did the cause matter? The result was the same. Her fingers refused to work. Finally, just as a groan of frustration escaped her, the two pieces of plastic popped free of each other.

  She looked up to see Tanner’s eyes glued to the rearview mirror.

  “Tanner!” She grabbed the folded sweatshirt and held it up in front of her.

  “You made a noise. I thought you needed help.”

  “I’ll just bet.” She huffed in irritation. “You’re not supposed to look.”

  In the mirror, crinkle lines formed around his eyes as he started to chuckle, then to laugh outright. “Sorry, Sarah.”

  He threw his arm over the seat and looked at her. She clutched the sweatshirt to her chest.

  “That’s the same thing you said to me after Mrs. G caught a bunch of us boys peeking into the girls locker room. Remember?”

  “Tanner,” she forced out through clenched teeth, “would you kindly turn around? And close your eyes? And stay that way?”

  “Oh. Forgot.” He turned around again. This time, he settled back against the seat, crossed his arms, closed his eyes and gave every appearance of going to sleep.

  “Where’d you leave Kevin tonight?”

  She looked up. Tanner’s eyes were still closed.

  “With Billy’s mom.”

  She quickly finished dressing, pulling on the oversized sweatpants. Reluctantly, she slipped her feet into the cold, wet flats again.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  Tanner’s eyes popped open. He looked over his shoulder. “Don’t you want to ride up front?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  “You’ll feel the heat better up here.”

  That was the problem.

  “C’mon, jump over.”

  Sarah tumbled over the front seat—a fairly awkward move—hoping this would be the final indignity of the night.

  She had barely fastened her seatbelt when Tanner took off, swinging the car in a wide U-turn that bumped into the soft, sucking mud at the roadside. The wheels spun.

  Wonderful.

  What a perfect ending to the evening this would be. Accepting Tanner’s rescue. Living through the…the humiliation of that tryst in the rain. And finally, getting stranded out here in the dark, damp, intimate closeness of his car.

  He would never let her live it down.

  The tires found traction again. She sighed with relief, then glared at him. “Could you stay on the road, hotshot?”

  “Don’t you like living dangerously?”

  “No, thank you.” What they’d done tonight had been enough of a walk on the wild side for her.

  He reached for the handset of his car radio.

  She stiffened. “What are you doing?”

  “Patching through a call to Town Hall. Told Doc and Mrs. G I’d let them know when I found you.”

  “Oh.”

  Her turn to sit back with her arms crossed and her eyes closed. It helped to shut out the sight of him. If only she could erase the taste of him. Could forget what it felt like to have him touch her.

  Could deny how much she’d wanted him when he’d come striding through the rain toward her…

  She’d walked for at least a mile before she saw the car approaching. Blinded by the headlamps, she couldn’t tell who had exited the front seat until he stepped into the glare. When he’d taken her into his arms, she couldn’t resist him. Didn’t want to.

  The gentle pressure of his hands on her breasts had sent sensations rocketing through her. Sensations she hadn’t felt since—

  At the thought, blood had drained from her damp face.

  Oh, Lord. What had she done?

  “You asleep?”

  She jolted, opening her eyes to see that Tanner had pulled up outside her house.

  “Just resting.” Ha. Hurriedly, she released her seatbelt, opened the door and scurried out. “Good night.”

  “Sure was.”

  Clamping her mouth shut, she slammed the door and stomped over to the front walk. He tooted the horn. She rushed down the steps, refusing to turn around, not wanting to see his grinning face.

  She’d be darned if she’d let Tanner Jones get the best of her.

  He’d already gotten enough tonight.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lily Gannett knew she would find Doc waiting for her in his corner booth, having staked his claim for Thursday night barbecue.

  And sure enough, that’s where she found him. She slipped into the seat across from him. “Delia’s on her way, Doc. Pull up another chair, please.”

  When Delia arrived, Lily got right down to business. “If ever we doubted ourselves, we saw proof last night.” Lily sat forward and nodded emphatically. “Tanner cares about Sarah just as much as he ever did. You should have seen him at Town Hall, frantic when she didn’t appear.” Catching sight of Doc’s expression, she added hastily, “As we all were, of course.”

  Doc grunted.

  “And as for Sarah,” she continued, “she’s head over heels, no matter how the poor child tries to hide it.”

  “Always was,” Doc put in.

  “True. I talked to her this afternoon, and she seemed so distracted, she could barely keep her mind on the conversation.”

  “You said he went out looking for her.” Delia slapped the table. “Bet you last night’s receipts, something went on between them when he found her.”

  Lily found herself blushing, but nodded.

  “And he drove her home, too?” Delia asked.

  “Yes. And that reminds me.” She turned to Doc. “Did you get hold of Charlie Kemper?”

  “All taken care of.” He pushed his coffee mug forward.

  Delia filled it to the brim and turned back to Lily. “So, what now? Another talking-to like the one you gave her last week? Do you think that one made any impression?”

  “To be truthful, I don’t know. But I will tell you this—” she narrowed her eyes “—if it didn’t work, we’ll try something else.”r />
  “We’d better,” Doc said. He pointed to the window across from them.

  A brown County Sheriff’s car moved slowly down Main Street.

  Delia chuckled. “We know where he’s headed. But I still don’t think he’s getting it.”

  “She’s right, Lily. If he’d figured things out, he’d have said something to us last night.”

  “Maybe he needs a little help in the proper direction, too.”

  “Right again, Delia.” Lily folded her hands together, leaned toward them and smiled. “We should have no trouble arranging that.”

  TANNER SHOOK HIS head as he drove slowly along Main Street.

  He’d spent one hell of a night after dropping Sarah off in front of the bookstore. Hadn’t gone a minute without her on his mind. Had a hard time getting to sleep when he finally hit the bed.

  And hard was the operative word.

  Luckily, he’d had a busy day, keeping his mind occupied and off Sarah. But now he looked forward to seeing her.

  At the sight of the Closed sign on the bookstore, he decided to try again later. After some of Delia’s barbecue. Cures what ails you, Doc would say.

  He doubted it.

  In his defense, it wasn’t just sex that had his mind focused on Sarah. He’d had other kinds of thoughts before he’d put his hands and his mouth and his body on her last evening, hadn’t he?

  Damn straight, he had.

  But now his guilt and worry about her financial problems, his real concern about her welfare, had gone up against some feelings of—be honest about it—pure and undiluted lust.

  Adolescent lust.

  Hell, he hadn’t felt like this since the night of graduation.

  Maybe that’s why he’d thought of her last night as his girl.

  The idea had left him nearly speechless on the ride back to her house. Something that didn’t happen often. Good thing Sarah had fallen asleep.

  As he pulled into Delia’s parking lot, he shook his head again. He’d have to start watching how he acted around Sarah. Didn’t want to give himself away.

  Inside Delia’s the air was warm and spicy with the smell of barbecue. She was deep in conversation with someone at the counter, but when he held the fingers of one hand in a V, she acknowledged his double order with a nod.

  No sign of Sarah and Kevin. But the place was crowded, forcing him to make a few stops along the way to Doc’s corner. When he finally reached it, he found Doc on one side of the table, Mrs. G and Logan Kincaid on the other.

  “Howdy.” He slid a chair over to the end of the booth. “Guess I don’t need to ask what’s cooking.”

  “No need at all,” Doc agreed, gesturing toward the aisle. “And here comes Delia now.” Then he frowned.

  She had arrived empty-handed, except for the mug of coffee she set in front of Tanner. “I’ll have your orders out in a few minutes. Just had to come and share the news first. Y’all won’t believe it.” No stranger to dramatic effect, she paused, even though she already had their undivided attention. Finally, she took a deep breath and announced, “Gabe Miller went off and got himself a bride.”

  “What?”

  “No kidding?”

  “Never thought I’d see the day.” Grinning, Doc slapped the tabletop.

  “Goodness, Delia.” Mrs. G leaned forward. “Details!”

  “He brought home a girl from Vegas.”

  Tanner raised his eyebrows. “A showgirl?” That would shake up this town.

  “Don’t think so. But I can’t really say as I know much about her.” She sounded ashamed at having to admit this.

  “Well, what else do you know?” Mrs. G demanded.

  “That’s about it. I imagine we’ll hear more soon.”

  And they would. The Dillon grapevine wouldn’t let news like this sit idle.

  “I’ll go finish up your order.”

  Doc sat shaking his head. “Still can’t believe it. That boy swore to me he’d never marry.”

  “What about you, Logan?” Mrs. G smiled. “We didn’t have much chance to chat at last night’s meeting. Are you married? Do you have children?”

  “No way. I’m not the marrying kind.”

  Seeing the speculative look she had trained in Logan’s direction, Tanner grinned down at his coffee mug. The poor fool. Making a statement about marriage like that one to Mrs. G was the equivalent of flashing a red flag in front of a bull. She’d charge right straight toward it.

  And she did.

  “Nonsense, Logan. Every man is the marrying kind. Some just need a great deal more convincing.”

  Doc near choked on a mouthful of coffee. Tanner reached over and pounded his back.

  “’Scuse me.” Doc scraped his napkin across his mouth.

  “How about you, Tanner?”

  He swallowed his grin. “Uh-uh, Mrs. G.” Last night had gotten him all fired up about wanting to get closer to Sarah—hell, even to sleep with her. No doubt about that. But, marriage? Used to think about it, but not anymore, not since he’d tied up a good chunk of his life in the military. Time to enjoy his freedom for a while. Shaking his head, he added, “Like Logan says, no way.”

  “Nonsense,” she said again. “You boys just need to find the right women. It worked for Gabe Miller, obviously.”

  He and Logan looked at each other. Tanner wondered if his face wore the same panic-stricken expression the other man’s did.

  Doc leaned sideways to see past Logan. “Well, look, there’s Sarah and Kevin.”

  Mrs. G turned her head and waved.

  Doc gestured to the area beside the booth. “Boys, let’s pull that other table and a couple more chairs over here.”

  “Sure thing.” Logan stood.

  “You bet.” Tanner followed suit.

  They swapped another look that showed they’d come to the same conclusion: all three of them would jump at anything to distract Mrs. G from the dangerous subject at hand.

  HALF A BLOCK ahead of her, Kevin bounded up the stairs to Delia’s Diner.

  Sarah lagged behind, knowing she shouldn’t have allowed him to come for barbecue night.

  Yesterday afternoon, after Tanner had left and she had gone upstairs, she had put her foot down with her son about his backtalk and told him no sweets for the rest of the week. A few days without sugar wouldn’t hurt him. He could console himself playing catch with his new baseball mitt. And he was already confined to the house for his pranks.

  Before all that happened, though, they had made plans to go to Delia’s. She had worked hard teaching her son to keep his word. She couldn’t back out on hers.

  Seeing the County car in Delia’s parking lot made her want to break her promise.

  She had spent all day trying to pull herself together. Last evening, that kiss and…everything else she had shared with Tanner had left her mind whirling, her body uncommonly sensitive, her emotions even more confused than before.

  Yet Tanner didn’t seem affected at all.

  Well, physically…yes, she’d felt his undeniable reaction. But afterward, he’d teased her, ignored her, left her alone to walk—all right, run—to her door.

  Worse, last night had forced her to admit a truth she had kept hidden, even from herself it seemed, until now.

  In all the years Tanner had been gone, she had never stopped wanting him, never stopped dreaming of a life with him. The realization had devastated her.

  How could she ever face him again?

  Yet, to her dismay, there he stood, beside the table he and Logan had just pulled up to Doc’s booth.

  And she had no choice but to join their group.

  Tanner, darn him, slipped into the middle chair at the extra table, leaving one empty seat on either side of him for her and Kevin.

  Somehow, she made it through supper and managed to keep up with conversations at the table. But even the announcement about Gabe Miller’s marriage hadn’t taken her mind from Tanner for very long.

  “Sarah?”

  She looked up. Mr
s. Gannett’s puzzled look told her she had missed something. “Yes?”

  “I said, it’s such a shame about your station wagon.” She’d heard the news when she stopped in at the bookstore that afternoon. She turned to Doc. “You said you’d taken care of things with Charlie Kemper?”

  “Yep, caught him right after I closed the office today. He’d already seen the wagon this morning and said no problem, he’d get his boys to haul it into town tonight.”

  Sarah sighed in relief. No towing fee, thank heaven. Trust Mrs. Gannett and Doc to look out for her and Kevin.

  “Too late,” Tanner said.

  She tried not to glare at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I called County, had the vehicle brought in to the gas station this afternoon.”

  She frowned. Doc and Mrs. Gannett offered their help out of kindness, she knew. Tanner’s heavy-handed involvement smacked of pure interference. Again. By now, she expected it. But that didn’t mean she had to accept it.

  Doc clapped him on the shoulder. “Good thinking, boy.”

  “Tanner, how nice of you,” Mrs. Gannett put in.

  At that moment, Delia came to collect their platters. Under cover of the noise, Sarah muttered to Tanner, “We’ll talk about this later.”

  “Will we, Sarah?” he murmured with a smile. “Don’t go making idle threats, now.”

  When Delia asked for dessert orders, Kevin leaned past Tanner and turned pleading eyes toward her.

  She shook her head. “You remember our talk at home?”

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot.” He sighed, but didn’t push her.

  By the time those who ordered dessert had finished eating it, Sarah felt more than ready to leave.

  “So,” Doc said, as they waited for Delia to bring their tickets, “what’s all the news about a party at the school this weekend?”

  Kevin gave a gulp loud enough for Sarah to hear. She glanced over in time to see him slump back against his chair, then begin to slide downward.

  “A baseball game at the high school,” Tanner said, “and potluck after.”

  She frowned at him. He’d conveniently skipped a few critical details.

  He winked at her, then turned to the others. “Y’all should plan to join us for supper.”

  Slowly, Kevin slid up into his seat again. “You gonna let me pitch?”