Falling for the Sheriff

by Tanya Michaels

  Cupid’s Bow was a small town. She knew where to find him if she changed her mind.

  * * *

  LUKE WAS SURROUNDED by what felt like hundreds of happy people—and he hadn’t even thought Cupid’s Bow had hundreds of people. Maybe some of the people playing midway games, signing up for the watermelon-eating contest and buying giant turkey legs dripping in grease were out-of-towners. He didn’t care so much about their origins as he did their collective good mood. He was desperately hoping it would rub off on his mother.

  She was starting to scare him. He knew she was crying when no one was around to see; her puffy, red eyes were unmistakable. But she seemed determined to have fun at the festival with him. She’d been smiling all day, but not a real smile. It was like he’d gone to town with a creepy animatronic version of his mother.

  Even now, she was staring at him with that fixed smile and blank eyes. “What do you want to do now? There are some arts-and-crafts demonstrations. I know you might be a little old for some of those, but you’ve always had so much natural talent. Or we could try out some of the rides, although I’m not sure my dinner’s had enough time to settle,” she warned.

  “Or we could just go home,” he said. She seemed pretty sad there, but, somehow, out among all these happy-happy festivalgoers, it was even worse.

  “This early?” she asked. “Are you sure?”

  He shrugged. “You said it was a four-day thing. We should pace ourselves.”

  “All right.” Was it his imagination, or was there a hint of relief behind her plastic expression?

  They crossed between a snack shack and a small stage where regional choirs were performing patriotic songs, headed in the direction of the parking lot down the street. It wasn’t until they’d left some of the noise behind him that Luke realized someone was calling his name. He and his mom turned at the same time, and he felt a wave of surprise when he saw Sarah running down the sidewalk after him. They hadn’t really spoken since the night at the diner. Seeing her now, he felt a flash of joy—he’d missed her—tempered by wariness. He didn’t even know if he was allowed to talk to her, or if she’d joined Bobby Rowe on his mom’s forbidden list.

  “Hey,” he said noncommittally, darting a nervous look in his mom’s direction.

  It took him a second to realize there was an adult trailing Sarah at a much more sedate speed.

  “That’s my mom,” Sarah explained. “We tried to catch up with you earlier in the crowd, but lost you during the parade. Luke, I owe you an apology, and your mother one, too, for the trouble I caused. I’ve already told my parents about what happened. Mrs. Sullivan, Luke didn’t take that money.” She hung her head. “I did. It was stupid. My cousin Elliot more or less dared one of us to, and I should have just told him to shut up. Luke was only trying to put the money back.”

  Next to him, his mother shifted and he was relieved to see the freaky masklike expression disappear. She looked like herself again. “You were telling me the truth. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you more wholeheartedly.”

  “I’m sorry you’ve had so many reasons to doubt me,” he mumbled.

  Mrs. Pemberton was introducing herself to his mom and apologizing for Elliot’s role in everything. “My nephew hasn’t always been a troublemaker, but he’s not taking his parents’ divorce well. Rest assured, my children won’t be going anywhere unsupervised with him for a long while. In fact, they’re both currently grounded, although I have to make an exception for the Watermelon Festival.”

  Luke’s mom managed a small laugh. “Absolutely. After all, it’s in the town bylaws.”

  “Well, we won’t keep you,” Mrs. Pemberton said. “Sarah told me last night what really happened, and when we spotted you today...”

  “I wanted to fix things,” Sarah said shyly. “I hope we can be friends again.”

  Luke grinned. “You forgave me for being a jerk on the phone. I guess I can forgive you for being a notorious criminal. But...we should probably avoid the diner next time we go out for burgers.”

  “I’ll text you when I’m not grounded anymore.”

  “She’s a nice girl,” his mom said as they resumed their walk to the car. “I’m glad to see you making friends in Cupid’s Bow.”

  His mother had friends, too. She liked hanging out with Crystal and Jazz. But he wasn’t stupid. He knew the person who meant the most to her in this town was the sheriff.

  All week, Luke had been cringing at his mom’s secret crying jags, which reminded him of when his dad died. But in a way, these were worse. No power on earth could have brought his dad back. There was nothing they could do.

  But her relationship with Sheriff Trent? In theory, that was fixable. So maybe he should follow Sarah’s example and do something to fix it.

  Chapter Eleven

  On Saturday, Kate woke to a truly horrendous stench wafting into her room. It smelled as if someone was throwing old tires onto a bonfire nearby. Just as she was swinging her feet to the floor in order to go investigate, there was a knock on her bedroom door.

  Before she had a chance to answer, Luke peeked his head inside. “I brought you breakfast in bed,” he informed her.

  Oh, good Lord. He was the bearer of the stench. He came into her room with a tray that included a glob of purple she assumed was grape jelly with bread somewhere underneath it and charred eggs.

  She swallowed hard. “Wow. To what do I owe this...surprise?”

  “Mom, we need to talk about your love life.”

  “Uh...” It generally took her brain about an hour to start functioning properly. She was ill-equipped to take on a subject fraught with that many landmines.

  “Look, I know this is a heinous topic for both of us,” he said as he shoved the tray into her hands, “but sometimes people have to discuss things even when it’s not comfortable.”

  She blinked, relatively certain he was parroting back something she’d recently said to him. He listens! Who knew?

  “About Sheriff Trent—”

  “You don’t have to worry about that relationship anymore,” she assured him. “That’s over.”

  “But you love him. Don’t you?”

  There it was, the question she’d been trying not to ask herself. Fired at her from her thirteen-year-old with the precision of a sniper. “I...” Was it too late to pull the blankets over her head and pretend she was asleep?

  “I think you should go for it, Mom.”

  “You do? Who are you and what have you done with my son?”

  Shamefaced, Luke sat on the mattress next to her. “I guess I’ve been kind of obnoxious about the whole thing. When I miss Dad, I like to think about the three of us together. It’s comforting to remember you with him. Seeing you with someone else...well, it made me want to blow chunks.”

  “So why the change in her heart?” she asked. This week, she’d fielded well-meaning lectures from Gram, Crystal and even Brody Davenport when she’d run into him at the supermarket, although his had been far more subtle. But the very last person she’d expected to encourage a reconciliation with Cole was her son.

  “As much as I hate seeing you with the sheriff,” Cole said, “it turns out, seeing you without him is even worse.”

  She bit the inside of her cheek, feeling guilty. She’d made an attempt to act normal this week, not inflicting her misery on the rest of the household, but she’d obviously failed.

  He fidgeted, not meeting her gaze. “Do you remember when you told me we were moving to Cupid’s Bow and I complained all the time?”

  “All the time,” she agreed. “Twenty-four-seven.”

  “Every time I whined about coming here, you told me to think positive. So why aren’t you, Mom? It seems like you’re making decisions based on worst-case scenarios.”

  My God, he’s right. Was that really the exa
mple she wanted to set for him? Gram had pointed out rather pragmatically that everyone had limited time, and no one could foresee when that time might come to an end. So did Kate want to spend whatever years she had joyously embracing life—and love—and teaching her son to do the same? Or did she want to cower in fear, shying away from risks?

  A smile spread across her face, and she felt lighter than she had in days. “You know, kiddo, for a thirteen-year-old, you can be pretty wise.”

  He grinned, looking pleased with himself. “Does this mean you’ll get him back?”

  She prayed it wasn’t too late after she’d rejected Cole when he was wounded. “First, we need a real breakfast. Then we need a plan.”

  * * *

  WHEN THE AUCTIONEER called his name, Cole limped out onstage. He’d been on his feet for what felt like forty-eight hours straight and had spent so much time shifting his weight to compensate for the pain in his side that he’d made his leg sore. Plus, there was always the slim hope that if he looked like damaged goods, women wouldn’t bid on him. Let them save their money for guys like Jarrett and Will.

  Or not, he thought with an inward sigh as Becca Johnston belted out a bid. Cole scanned the assembled crowd, hoping this would end quickly so he could go grab a hamburger. His gaze snagged on one familiar face.

  Kate was here? He’d hoped she would stay away. Their last encounter had been awkward enough. But he supposed she was just doing her civic duty.

  He was so stunned to hear her declare, “Forty dollars!” in a voice that rang like a bell, he almost toppled over. Forty? The highest winning bid so far had been eighty-seven bucks. Cole was almost halfway there. Why would she bid on him? She had to know he wouldn’t hold her to their previous agreement, not now that she’d walked away from the possibility of a future with him.

  Another woman called out forty-five dollars, and Becca immediately countered with sixty. The auctioneer looked at Cole with blatant approval, then attempted to whip the women into a bidding frenzy. By the time they passed the hundred dollar mark, Cole’s heart was in his throat. His gaze was locked on Kate’s as he tried to decipher her motives, but he couldn’t tell anything from here. Except that her smile was the most beautiful sight in all of Cupid’s Bow.

  When Becca Johnston reached one hundred and twenty-five dollars, Cole wanted to slump in despair. Kate hadn’t wanted him when she could have him for free; surely she wouldn’t pay triple digits for the privilege.

  “One forty.”

  “One sixty!”

  “One sixty-five.” Kate’s eyes never left his.

  “One hundred and ninety dollars,” Becca said, studying her manicure as if she could do this all day.

  An expectant hush fell across the crowd. “Two hundred,” Kate said. But her voice trembled slightly. Piano teachers didn’t make tons of money. On either side of her, Jazz and Crystal were digging through their pockets and purses.

  “Two hundred and fifteen.” Becca sounded aggrieved now. Her hands were on her hips, and she was glaring in Kate’s direction.

  Kate squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “All I have to offer is two hundred and twenty-eight dollars...and faith. Faith in love and second chances and the courage to pursue happiness. I’m just sorry I hadn’t saved up enough of it before now.”

  Cole’s heart was bursting with pride in her—and joy over her words. If he weren’t worried about popping his stitches, he would have jumped down from the stage already to kiss her. A loud sniffle distracted him, and he glanced in surprise at Becca Johnston.

  “Oh, just give it to her,” Becca said, wiping at her eyes with the side of her hand. “I can’t top that.”

  As the audience broke into applause, Kate ran to the edge of the stage. Will was suddenly there to give her a boost up onto the platform.

  Then she was in Cole’s arms, and his leg didn’t hurt anymore. Neither did his side. Or his heart.

  He pulled her close for a kiss, murmuring, “I love you,” against her lips.

  “I love you, too. I thought it was too soon to say, but what am I waiting for? Life is precious. And I want to spend as much of it with you as I can.”

  “Even when it gets scary?” he asked.

  The specter of fear crossed her face, but she smiled anyway. “When it gets scary, you’ll just have to hold me and make it all better.”

  “Deal.”

  * * *

  AS LUKE JOINED the rest of them at the shaded picnic table, he saw the sheriff steal another kiss from his mom. Somehow, it didn’t seem as gross as it had before. Maybe because Luke was in such a good mood.

  “I never thought I’d win a trophy for anything besides video games,” he said, setting the gold cup on top of the table.

  His mom laughed. “I don’t know what they were thinking, letting a teenage boy participate in an eating contest. The rest of the competition didn’t stand a chance.”

  Gram grinned. “Lots of winners this weekend. Luke won the watermelon-eating trophy, you won a date with the sheriff...”

  “Ha,” Kate scoffed. “I didn’t win it. I paid for it.”

  Cole put his arm around her. “I promise to be worth every penny.”

  Okay, now they were getting too sappy. To distract himself, Luke turned to Aly on his other side. She was coloring on a sheet of paper. “Whatcha drawing?” he asked.

  “Us.” She pushed the paper toward him so that he could see the representation of him, the twins, Cole and his mom, all holding hands and smiling underneath a rainbow.

  “Hey, you only used the sparkly crayons on the adults,” he commented, noticing how the tallest of the two stick figures shimmered. “What about the rest of us?”

  She shrugged, then pointed to where his mom was whispering something to the sheriff. “Don’t they seem extra-sparkly?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, they do.” He grinned from ear to ear. If anyone had told him a month ago that his mom would look this happy—or that Luke would be having fun in Cupid’s Bow—Luke would have assumed it was some weird practical joke.

  “Daddy, can I go with Nana to get an ice cream?” Mandy asked suddenly, spotting her grandparents at the nearby frozen desserts vendor.

  “Sure,” Cole answered, barely taking his eyes off Luke’s mom.

  Aly frowned. “But she had a funnel cake a little while ago. And a popsicle! We’re never allowed to have that much junk food.”

  Luke laughed, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Want to know a secret about adults? Sometimes when they’re in a really good mood, they give permission for stuff they would normally say no to.”

  “Really?” Her face brightened, and she scampered off the bench, inserting herself between her dad and “Miss Kate” to show them her drawing. Once she had their full attention, she beamed up at them. “So, about my pony...”

  * * * * *

  Be sure to look for more stories in Tanya Michaels’s CUPID'S BOW, TEXAS series

  coming in 2016,

  wherever Harlequin books are sold!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE TEXAS RANGER’S BRIDE by Rebecca Winters.

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  The Texas Ranger’s Bride

  by Rebecca Winters

  Chapter One

  “This is Tammy White and you’re listening to Hill Country Cowboy Radio broadcasting from Bandera, Texas, the Cowboy Capital of the World!

  “Oh boy, have we got a lineup for you on this Labor Day weekend, including the star of the Bandera Rodeo, Kellie Parrish from Austin, Texas, our state’s hopeful to win the National Barrel Racing Championship in Las Vegas come December. She’ll be our guest in the second segment of our show.

  “Now hear this. All you cowgirls out there, listen up and hold on to your Stetsons because we have some jaw-dropping, gorgeous, bronco-busting, homegrown cowboys in studio. But that’s not the best part. They’re four of our famous, legendary Texas Rangers, the pride of the great state of Texas! I’ve asked my buddy Mel from the fire department to be on hand in case I go into cardiac arrest. It’s not every day I’m surrounded by such hunky men. They’re not only easy on the eyes, but they wear the star and put their lives on the line every day to protect us.

  “Welcome, gentlemen. How come we’re so lucky that four of you were willing to be interviewed? Judging by the way you were laughing when you came into the booth, does it mean you’re good friends both on and off duty?”

  The men all looked at Cy. Their captain in the Austin office had asked him to be the spokesman for this interview. None of them wanted to do it, but the boss insisted it was important for the Rangers to have a positive public presence. Cy had to cowboy up.

  “Yup. The four of us share a very unique bond.”

  “We want to hear all about it, but first why don’t you introduce yourselves and tell us where you’re from?”

  “Sure. I’m Cyril Vance and call Dripping Springs home.” Kit took his turn next. “Ranger Miles Saunders from Marble Falls.” Vic followed. “Ranger Stephen Malone. I grew up in Blanco.” Cy nodded to Luckey on the other side of Vic. “I’m Ranger James Davis from Austin.”