Natural Born Lawman

by Sherryl Woods

  She felt laughter bubbling up. “It’s been that kind of day.”

  “Come here then,” he suggested, stealing away the last scraps of clothes she was wearing and hoisting her onto the counter. The tiles were cold, a startling contrast to the fire burning inside her.

  When he lowered his head to take her breast in his mouth, she rocked back, stunned by the sheer magic of it. He shucked off his jeans and briefs, guided her legs around his waist and then he paused. Anticipation had her ready to plead with him, but then she saw that he was only reaching for a foil packet in his pocket.

  And then, before the heat had cooled even so much as a degree, he was inside her and it was building again. So much heat, so much urgency. Patsy was trembling from the inside out, straining toward an elusive goal that promised release. She kept thinking about the magic of it, the wonder of being touched by a man who was totally, thoroughly dedicated to her pleasure.

  And then she wasn’t thinking at all, just feeling as Justin’s thrusts went deeper, as tension coiled in her belly, then sent shock waves ricocheting wildly through her. The intensity of it shattered her, leaving her panting and sated and awed by the wonder that was Justin.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was morning before Justin was finally able to force himself to leave Patsy’s bed. They had finally made their way into it long after midnight. In the meantime, they had used Patsy’s newfound daring to make love in several spots along the way.

  Gazing at her with the morning sun splashed across her body, he was struck anew by what a remarkable woman she was. Definitely full of surprises, that was for sure.

  He dressed quickly and paused beside the bed for one last, lingering look. She stirred as if she’d felt his gaze. She came awake slowly, stretching like a sinuous cat and setting his blood to roaring through his veins all over again. When her eyes finally focused on him, she blinked.

  “You’re already dressed.”

  “I need to get to work and I have to stop by the house first to change into my uniform.”

  She glanced at the clock. “Oh my gosh, I’m going to be late, too.”

  “Take your time. I’ve got an in with your boss.”

  She scowled. “Which you are not to use. Getting there on time is my responsibility. I’m supposed to open up. Sharon Lynn’s not ready to be back full-time yet.” She yawned.

  “The impression I got is that she’s anxious to be busy.”

  “I’m going in,” she repeated emphatically.

  Justin decided he’d better not argue with her. He’d seen evidence of this stubborn streak before, and after growing up with a whole clan of control freaks, he knew better than to take her on over the inconsequential stuff.

  “Just don’t burn the coffee.”

  “You can’t burn coffee.”

  “You can if you forget to put any water in the pot. Ask Sharon Lynn. She has firsthand experience.”

  “When she was distracted by the wedding preparations?”

  “Oh, yeah. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Suffice it to say, you will always be regarded as something of a savior of the public health in this town.”

  She tilted her head. “Is that how you think of me?”

  “No way, darlin’.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, chuckling when her cheeks turned bright red. “That’s how I will think of you from now on.”

  “Well, I certainly hope you’re the only one who feels that way.”

  “I’d better be,” he concurred. He leaned down and delivered a hard, quick kiss that made up in intent what it lacked in passion. It was meant as a final reminder that she was his now. The dazed look in her eyes suggested he’d gotten his message across.

  “See you in a while,” he said.

  “Justin, we are going to keep quiet about this, aren’t we? For now, at least?”

  He grinned, knowing the futility of it. “We can try.”

  She sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

  * * *

  The whole blasted town was jumping to conclusions. Patsy realized it when half a dozen people asked very pointed questions that morning about her dinner with Justin and none of them had even witnessed the warm, personal greeting he gave her when he stopped by for a quick cup of coffee just before nine. Nor had most of them seen the way she’d brightened at his entrance. No, indeed, their probing had been sparked by something else entirely.

  Thoroughly embarrassed at having her private life made public, she mumbled evasive answers to the prying questions and retreated to the back room at Dolan’s every chance she got. Obviously Justin had known what he was talking about. There hadn’t been a chance in hell of keeping anything secret in this town. It was all too reminiscent of being the wife of a promising political candidate.

  “Hiding out again?” Sharon Lynn inquired, peeking through the partially opened door.

  “I am not hiding out.”

  “Sure you are. Can’t say I blame you. The folks in Los Piños do like their breakfast served up with gossip.”

  Patsy sighed. “What I can’t figure out is how they even knew Justin and I were having dinner last night.”

  “That’s a no-brainer.”

  “Explain.”

  “Did you shop at the grocery store?”

  “Of course.”

  “Enough food for two, maybe something a little special, like thick steaks?”

  She began to see where this was heading. “Yes.”

  “Did he bring you flowers?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Did I cover for you in here yesterday afternoon?”

  She got the picture. “Oh, good grief,” she muttered impatiently. “Am I going to have to buy food in the next town before I invite him over again?”

  Sharon Lynn grinned. “It won’t help. We have sources there, too.” She sat down on a stack of boxes. “So, tell me, how did it go?”

  “We had a great time.”

  “Did you sleep with him?”

  “Sharon Lynn!”

  Her friend—and his cousin, she must never forget that—grinned impudently. “Never mind. I think you’ve just answered that question.”

  “I did not.”

  “That bright pink color in your cheeks did.”

  “Maybe I was just embarrassed that you would even think such a thing.”

  “If you’re trying to persuade me I’m wrong, it’s not working. Justin couldn’t look me in the eye and give me a straight answer, either.”

  “You asked him, too?”

  “Well, of course I did. I love both of you. I want this to work out.”

  “Then maybe you should just leave us alone. Knowing there’s a fascinated audience panting for a play-by-play won’t help.”

  “If you think I’m nosy, wait until you run into Grandpa Harlan.”

  “Did I hear somebody mention my name?” the very man in question called out. “Where the dickens are you, girl? You hiding in the broom closet like your mama and Cody used to do?”

  Patsy sent a panicked glance toward the door. “I am absolutely not going out there.”

  “Of course you are,” Sharon Lynn said, clearly eager to throw her to the wolves—or one wolf in particular, at least. “Your break’s over. Mine’s just beginning.”

  Before Patsy could argue that point, the door pushed open and Harlan Adams poked his head in. He was evidently tired of waiting for either of them to appear.

  “I knew it,” he gloated. “What is it about this room that lures everybody back here?”

  “Maybe they’re hoping for a little privacy,” Sharon Lynn teased, going over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

  He seemed fascinated by the explanation. “You two indulging in a little girl talk? Mind if an old man sits in?” He glanced at Patsy. “I have a few questions about you and my grandson.”

  “Sorry, sir. You’ll have to get those answers from Justin,” Patsy said, slipping past him with the finesse and speed of a very crafty running back.<
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  “Dadgumit, he wouldn’t tell me a blasted thing, either,” he grumbled irritably.

  “Bless his heart,” Patsy murmured.

  “What was that?” Harlan Adams asked.

  “She said he’s a wise man, Grandpa. What she had the good grace not to say was that you’re being a nosy old man.”

  He scowled at her. “Like you haven’t been poking at her all morning long.”

  Sharon Lynn shrugged. “I’m her friend. I’m entitled.”

  His gaze narrowed. “Did she tell you anything?”

  “No, I did not,” Patsy said, giving Sharon Lynn a warning look. “Some people just enjoy making assumptions.”

  “How the devil is a man supposed to plan a wedding, if nobody will tell him anything.”

  Patsy halted in her tracks. A wedding? Who the hell had said anything about a wedding? Sharon Lynn shot her a sympathetic albeit an I-told-you-so look.

  “Maybe you should let the people involved make their own wedding plans, Grandpa, if there are any to be made.”

  He stared hard at Patsy. “That what you want?”

  “I think it would be best,” she agreed, then relented just a little at his look of disappointment. “I will tell you one thing, though. If and when Justin and I talk about getting married, you will be the first to know.”

  He gave a little nod of satisfaction. “Good enough.” He bent down and kissed Sharon Lynn’s cheek, then Patsy’s. “I’d best be getting back to White Pines. Janet’s been moping around out there this morning because she doesn’t have a case to work on. I’ve got to come up with something to keep her occupied or she’ll be back here in town practicing law full-time before I can blink. That case of yours sparked her hunger to work again.”

  Sharon Lynn winked at Patsy. “Maybe you should compromise, Grandpa. Let her take on a case now and then.”

  “She is a very good lawyer,” Patsy offered. “It’s a shame not to take advantage of all that legal knowledge.”

  “You two are just too danged liberated for your own good. Her place is home with me. It’s taken me too darn long to get her there as it is.”

  “She’ll be happier if she’s feeling fulfilled professionally,” Sharon Lynn said.

  “Which means she will be very, very grateful to you for suggesting that she go back to work part-time,” Patsy said slyly. She did not mention just what form that gratitude might take, even though she had some very recent experience with it.

  He regarded Patsy with a twinkle in his eyes. “I do like the way you think, girl. I hope you and my grandson hurry up and get this show on the road.”

  “Why don’t you forget about Justin and Patsy and pester Harlan Patrick,” Sharon Lynn suggested. “Now there is a man just ripe for matrimony.”

  “Never you mind your brother. He’s right on track with Laurie Jensen, as far as I can tell.”

  “And you would know, I’m sure,” Sharon Lynn teased.

  He scowled at her. “I have to see to it that all my babies are settled, don’t I?”

  “You think you do, anyway,” she agreed.

  Harlan Adams’s expression sobered. “What about you, darlin’ girl? You doing okay?”

  The smile on Sharon Lynn’s face faded faster than the sun dipping below the horizon. Patsy gave her hand a squeeze.

  “She’s doing fine,” Patsy said, trying to bring a quick end to the subject. She was all too aware that Sharon Lynn’s tears were too close to the surface and that the slightest reminder of Kyle could bring them coursing down her cheeks again. She’d dashed into this back room a few times herself today, when a customer’s sincere expression of sympathy had gotten to be too much for her.

  Thankfully, Harlan Adams glanced at Sharon Lynn and took Patsy’s hint. He rose to his feet, again kissed his granddaughter on the cheek, then pressed another kiss on Patsy’s cheek.

  “I’ll be getting on home now. As for you two, you might want to come out of this broom closet every now and again. It looks to me like there are some impatient folks sitting out here wondering what happened to the help.”

  “I’ll go,” Patsy said at once, brushing past him to discover that the only impatient person in the store was Justin. Her heartbeat accelerated. She forced herself to walk slowly back to the counter, pausing to grab a cup and the coffeepot on her way to where he sat.

  “Back so soon?” she asked.

  “Had to get my hourly fix of the prettiest woman in Los Piños,” he teased.

  “Sharon Lynn, get out here,” Patsy called. “Justin’s looking for you.”

  He grinned. “Very funny.”

  He looked past her just then and spotted his grandfather. To Patsy’s amusement, he regarded him suspiciously.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Do you think you’re the only one in the world who appreciates a beautiful woman?” his grandfather asked.

  “Go find your own. This one’s mine,” Justin said.

  “Says who?” Patsy inquired.

  “Whooee,” his grandfather said, grinning. “I like this girl.”

  Justin turned his gaze from his grandfather to Patsy. His expression sobered. “So do I, Grandpa. So do I.”

  “Then I’ll just run along and leave you to see what you can do about getting her to change her mind about you.”

  After he’d gone, Justin focused on Patsy. “So, what about it? Can I change your mind?”

  “About?”

  “Being mine.”

  Something in his tone told her the question wasn’t being asked in jest. And as desperately as one part of her wanted to say yes, another part reminded her that once before she’d been too eager to jump into a relationship. She hadn’t even fully extricated herself from that mistake yet.

  “Maybe one of these days,” she said. She glanced around to make sure they were unobserved, then leaned across the counter to brush a kiss across his lips. “You are awfully cute.”

  When she would have drawn away, Justin tucked his hand around the back of her neck and held her still long enough to deepen the kiss into something wild and sweet.

  “Have dinner with me tonight,” he suggested when he released her.

  “Two nights running. People will talk,” she teased.

  “Darlin’, I’m beginning to think it’s our civic duty to give them something fascinating to talk about.”

  “That sounds a little too self-serving to me.”

  He grinned. “I was going for noble. What about it, though? Will you have dinner with me? We’ll go someplace quiet and romantic.”

  Patsy had been to most of the restaurants in town. None she knew qualified. “Where?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “Justin, I really think you ought to tell me. I have a son to consider.”

  “Taken care of. He’s going out to the ranch to spend the night. Janet says she can’t wait.”

  Once again, he was taking over, smoothing things out to get his own way. Maybe under other circumstances she would have found the gesture touching. Instead, it rankled.

  “Don’t you think you should have consulted me before making arrangements for my son?” she asked testily.

  “The plans aren’t cast in stone,” he replied, his tone reasonable. “If you have a problem with them, we’ll change them.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Then what is the point?” he asked patiently.

  “I don’t need somebody to run my life for me, Justin. I’ve been there, done that, and I didn’t like it.”

  He nodded slowly. “I see.”

  “Do you really?”

  “I think so. Will pretty much set the agenda for your lives and expected you to fall in line. How am I doing so far?”

  There was that perception of his kicking in again to surprise her. “On the money,” she admitted.

  “I’ll try to be more sensitive to that in the future,” he promised.

  She shrugged, not entirely trusting an easily made and easily broken
promise. The proof would have to come over time.

  He gave her one of his crooked, endearing smiles. “Can we start this conversation over again?”

  She hesitated, then grinned back, unable to resist him in the end. “What the heck, give it a try.”

  “Patsy, would you care to have dinner with me tonight?”

  “I’d be delighted,” she said, because she could recognize the stupidity of turning down a date with a man she loved just to make a point.

  “What about a baby-sitter for Billy? Need any help in making arrangements?”

  “I’ll volunteer,” Sharon Lynn offered, joining them.

  It was impossible to tell how much of the earlier conversation she’d overheard, but Patsy was grateful for the offer. “Are you sure you won’t mind?”

  “Heavens, no. It’ll be fun. I can even stay over at your place. That way I won’t have to have someone from the ranch come into town to pick me up tonight and you won’t have to rush back home.” She grinned. “In fact, you could stay out all night if you wanted to.”

  Patsy almost laughed at the hopeful expression on Justin’s face. “Okay, it’s a deal,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “No,” Sharon Lynn said softly. “You’re the one doing me a favor.”

  Her expression was so sad that Patsy was taken aback. She had seen firsthand how getting into a car had panicked Sharon Lynn. Now she realized just what a toll the trips into town and home again were taking. Suddenly she knew that if she weren’t staying in Dani’s old place, Sharon Lynn would have snatched it up for herself to rid herself of the frightening commute.

  Before she could second-guess herself, she said casually, “You know, Sharon Lynn, if you wanted to, you could stay with Billy and me for a while.”

  The suggestion startled both Justin and Sharon Lynn, but Sharon Lynn seized on it with such a look of relief that Patsy knew she’d done the right thing.

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? It would save me…” She hesitated, then sighed, not quite meeting Patsy’s gaze. “It would save a lot of time.”

  Patsy met her gaze evenly. “I understand, and it would be fine with me. And I have no intention of thinking of you as a built-in baby-sitter. I’ll enjoy the company.”

  “What about my company?” Justin demanded irritably.