The Lawman's Christmas Proposal

by Barbara White Daille

  After brunch, when she had left the sitting room and hadn’t returned, Jed mentioned she had gone upstairs again. She was in the middle of wedding preparations. With Jane and Andi.

  After a final cup of coffee, he had wandered by the suite, where she’d made a point of indicating how busy they all were. His certainty she was avoiding him had been confirmed both by the look on her face when she’d seen him waiting in the Big Dipper and by the way she was attempting to ignore him now.

  And after what had happened between them the other night, maybe she had the right idea.

  So far, she’d given him only a glance, quick and colder than the double scoop of rocky road he planned to order.

  “Didn’t expect to see me here, did you?” he asked over her shoulder. Their eyes met in the mirrored panel on the wall behind the cash register. Hers still looked a frosty blue.

  “I’ll bet you didn’t expect to be here,” she countered.

  He laughed. “You win. Cole must have told you. At first, when he called to get together here in town, I thought he meant the Cantina. Then he mentioned taking the kids to the Big Dipper.” And then he’d said Tina and Jane and Andi were also coming along. Suddenly, an afternoon at the ice cream parlor sounded even better than a night out with the boys. “I figured I’d take him up on the invitation.”

  “Why?”

  “Why?” He sure couldn’t tell her the truth, that despite all the warnings he’d given himself, he’d wanted to see her again. “Because I like ice cream.”

  When it was her turn to order at the counter, he said, “I’ve got this.” Once he’d ordered, he reached around her to take his cone from Shay, the clerk. His arm brushed Andi’s shoulder, and he thought again of the way he had held her that night. He handed Shay a twenty. “Keep the change.”

  “Better check to make sure it’s not counterfeit,” Andi said.

  He leaned around her to meet her eyes. “Hey, I work on the right side of the law, remember?”

  “How could I ever forget?”

  She grabbed a handful of napkins from the dispenser, and they moved away from the counter.

  The folks of Cowboy Creek had turned out in force tonight. The place was packed. Cole and the rest of their group sat around a couple of tables.

  “No seats in our corner,” he said, attempting to hide a smile. Much as he liked Jed’s clan, he didn’t at all mind this chance to get Andi to himself. Maybe to finally get her to open up to him.

  “It looks like there aren’t any seats anywhere,” she said, scanning the room.

  “Guess we’ll have to go out front.”

  She waved to the group in the corner and pointed to the door. They all smiled and waved back.

  He trailed her outside to a table. Fortunately, it was on the sidewalk opposite the side of the shop where her family sat. At least he wouldn’t have the Garland clan sharing a play-by-play of the action.

  He took a seat beside her and gestured at her cone. “What is that, anyway, plain old vanilla?”

  She nodded.

  “A poor choice compared to mine.”

  “You think so?” She shrugged. “I don’t much care for that bumpy stuff you’re eating.”

  “You mean rocky road.”

  “‘Bumpy stuff,’” she repeated. “That’s what Robbie calls it, so of course Trey calls it that, too.”

  “Nice kids,” he said. “I’ll bet you’re happy they’re getting so much time together now you’ve come for a visit. Trey’s happy, I can tell you that. He definitely looks up to Robbie.”

  She froze with her ice cream halfway to her mouth. Slowly, she lowered her hand again and began fiddling with the paper wrapped around the cone.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked quietly.

  She shrugged again. “Just thinking.”

  He thought, too, back to what he had said. Maybe this would be the opening he’d been waiting for. “I’ll bet your son looked up to his dad. Most boys do. How is he dealing with what happened to your husband?”

  “He’s fine.” The chill he’d heard in her voice earlier had returned. “He’s too young to be aware of things.”

  “What will you tell him when he asks where his dad is?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll face that when it happens.”

  “Well, you’re right. He is young.” Young enough to forget, something he wished he could say about himself. “That’s a point in his favor.”

  “Favor?” She shot a glance at him, then looked past him into the distance.

  Her level stare told him she wasn’t noticing the sun-drenched sidewalk, the strolling pedestrians or the Sunday drivers coasting along Canyon Road.

  He could feel her shutting down. Slipping away. He wanted her back. “Kids Trey’s age can easily mix up reality with what they see on the cartoons. Plus they’re resilient. They bounce back from things that hit adults like a ton of bricks. That’s all I meant. Sorry for sounding too blunt.”

  “That comes with being a cop, doesn’t it? Because you’re used to dealing with tragedy.”

  “Not as much as people think. For sure, not as much as they see on TV.”

  “But you face it more than most people do.”

  He gripped the cone in his hand. How had she managed to spin the questions back his way? “Yeah, we all see our share of life’s worst moments.”

  “How bad was yours?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing we need to discuss. Let’s just stick to the first topic. We were talking about your boy.”

  “No, you were leading up to talking about my husband, and I was avoiding falling into your trap.”

  “Trap?”

  “Another one of your interrogations.”

  “I wasn’t interrogating you, Andi.”

  “It felt that way,” she said sadly. “Tonight and the other times you’ve asked questions. You want to find out what happened in my past. What happened with Grant. But when I ask about your past, about how you got hurt, you change the subject.”

  She had kept her voice pitched low, and still he felt uneasy. He wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of a grilling. He wasn’t ready to talk about what had gone down in LA.

  He spotted a trash can a few feet from them. Leaning over, he sent his ice cream cone into the kill zone. “This isn’t the place or time to get into that.”

  “Then where is the place? And when will it be time?”

  He shrugged and said simply, “I don’t know.” Because nowhere and never wouldn’t satisfy her.

  Chapter Nine

  Mitch tipped back his bottle and took what should have been a cold, refreshing slug of beer. Cold, yeah, the Cantina had that covered. He couldn’t blame them for the drink not measuring up to the rest.

  At this point, nothing could refresh him. He was as worn-out as the oily rag he used to clean his firearms.

  To hell with the dangerous job Andi liked to throw up to him. To hell and back with the bullet he’d taken in his knee. His relationship with her was going to do him in.

  From just a few yards away, a jukebox blared. In the booth opposite him, Pete Brannigan looked at his watch. They were waiting for Cole and a couple of their other friends to show up. “They ought to be getting here soon. I bet it’ll be good to see some of the guys from school. Cole said you might even make it out to the ranch for Jed’s party.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Who knew where he’d be a couple of weeks down the road. Between now and then, he had the follow-up appointments with the surgeon and the department shrink. He had a lot riding on those appointments. Too much. Right now, he couldn’t risk thinking about the outcome.

  He didn’t want to think about where things might stand with Andi by that time, either.

  He took another slug of beer and thought again about his lack of progress with Andi. He’d tried to talk with her—despite her accusation about his questions. Half the time he’d said anything remotely personal about her, she had switched the conversation to something else. The othe
r half of the time, she’d tried to get him to open up.

  Talk about interrogation. She had a damned good technique herself.

  He looked up to find Pete frowning at him. “You’re not drinking tequila,” Pete said, “so I don’t guess you’ve swallowed a worm. But you sure look like it. What’s up?”

  He shrugged. “Thinking about some things I’ve been working on. I’ve hit a brick wall.”

  The other man shook his head sympathetically. “That’s rough.”

  “Yeah.” He sat back, ready for some diversion from his thoughts. He had seen the front door open and Cole enter the bar. If anyone could distract him, his best friend could. He lifted his bottle in greeting.

  Pete rose. “My shout.”

  As he walked away, Cole slid into the vacant seat and said, “I’m late. Got out of the shower and found Robbie sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for a heart-to-heart. Maybe you need one, too. You’ve been walking around lately looking like a bear with a thorn in his butt. Pete will be back with the beers soon, so let’s not waste time. What’s up?”

  “Nothing.” He scowled. First Pete picking up on his mood, and now Cole. He could kiss his undercover work goodbye if he didn’t do a better job at hiding his thoughts.

  Another problem he could attribute to Andi.

  “You ought to settle down, have a kid or two.” Cole grinned. “It could help your disposition.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my disposition. But, what—you’ve been a daddy less than a year, and already you’ve found it’s the cure for everything?”

  “Close to it.” Cole suddenly sobered. “Being a family man gives you a new perspective.”

  So does watching your partner die.

  “And,” Cole went on, “I know where you can find a ready-made family.”

  Andi and her kids.

  “She’s leaving tomorrow, going home for a couple of days, but then she’ll be back. You couldn’t do any better, Mitch. Andi’s one in a million. And those kids of hers would only sweeten the deal.”

  At the thought of Trey and his “Bi-i-ig horse, Mitch!” he had trouble holding back a smile. He gulped his beer to ease the sudden tightness in his throat. A family didn’t fit his lifestyle. Besides, Andi wouldn’t smile at him two days in a row. She would hardly settle down with him. “Not interested, thanks. Why would I want a wife and kids when I’d never be around to spend time with them?”

  “My thought, too. But I finally saw the light.”

  He shrugged. “The only thing I see is Pete coming back with our beers.”

  * * *

  AT GARLAND RANCH the next morning, Mitch parked his truck near the corral in the spot he’d begun to think of as his.

  Across the yard, he saw Cole sitting on the Hitching Post’s porch rail, more than likely watching for him.

  Later on last evening, he had turned over what Cole had said to him about Andi. Especially the part about her leaving town. In a phone call afterward, he had asked a few pointed questions. With luck, by now his best friend had gotten some answers.

  Now he walked up to the other man, who clapped him on the shoulder. “About time. C’mon, let’s go inside. I told Tina you called last night because you wanted to stop in for breakfast.”

  “Breakfast? That’s the best reason you could come up with?”

  “What’s wrong with it? You’ve been around here for almost every meal lately, anyhow.” Cole laughed and headed up to the porch. “Tina and Jane think you and Andi ought to get together.”

  Mitch stumbled, almost missing the next step.

  For a split second, he thought his leg would let him down—literally. But he managed to grab the rail and continue up the steps a couple of beats behind Cole, who appeared not to have noticed.

  “Did they volunteer that all on their own, or did you ask them?”

  On the porch, Cole came to a halt and hung his head in mock shame. “They grilled Pete and me about what went on at the Cantina last night.”

  “And you coughed up.”

  “I didn’t say anything about whipping your butt at the pool table.”

  “Well, thanks for that.”

  “You ought to be thankful, old friend. I could have ruined your reputation.”

  Got that taken care of.

  “And I didn’t say anything about our heart-to-heart or the way you blasted my suggestion. But I’ve got a feeling you didn’t mind the idea as much as you tried to let on.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I don’t think you’re completely rejecting the idea of getting together with Andi. How could I, after your phone call?”

  “And you’ve coughed that up to the women and Pete?”

  “Not a single word. But I still managed to get the info you wanted.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Right here.” From his pocket, Cole pulled out a slip of paper and handed it over.

  He nodded his thanks. “Save me a seat in the dining room. I’ll be there in a few minutes. First, I’ve got to make a call.”

  “I’ll bet you do.” Laughing, Cole walked away.

  Mitch he took a deep breath and went over to the porch swing.

  He had no delusions about a relationship with Andi. But he still had a goal to reach. Wasn’t that why he’d called Cole last night and why he’d come here to have things out with Andi this morning?

  He thumbed open the folded sheet of paper and stared down at the details of her flights to and from Phoenix.

  Then he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He was taking a risk—a big one—but what did that matter? This might be the only chance he would ever have to be completely alone with Andi.

  * * *

  “I’LL BE LEAVING soon for the airport.”

  Andi laughed. “Not too soon,” she said into her cell phone. Cara, her best friend forever—and now also her kids’ babysitter—would pick the three of them up in Phoenix for the drive to her mother-in-law’s in Fountain Hills. She was looking forward to staying with Cara tonight, sharing girl talk and catching up. “I know it’s a short flight, but we haven’t even left the Hitching Post yet.”

  “I just can’t wait to see you and the kids again. It’s been a long couple of weeks.”

  That was an understatement.

  “Are you done packing yet?”

  She looked down at the small pile of clothing on the bed and laughed again. “Almost. It’s just for one night. It’s not like I have that much to bring with me. Two bags and the kids’ car seats, that’s it.”

  “You’ll have a lot more with you after Trey’s party, I’ll bet.”

  “I’m sure I will. Ginnie and the rest of Grant’s family have always been so generous with gifts for the kids.” Her mother-in-law had asked especially to have Trey’s party at her house on his actual birthday. “I won’t bring my package for Trey, since I’d just have to carry it back here again. I’ll give it to him at my family’s party tomorrow night.”

  “You’re still okay with leaving the kids at her house and coming to stay with me?”

  Cara knew all her worries about Grant’s family, but they both also knew Ginnie was a wonderful grandmother. “Of course I’m okay with it. We’re overdue for some BFF time. And I’m glad Ginnie wants to keep Trey and Missy overnight.”

  When they finished the call, she dropped the cell phone onto the bed near her purse.

  At the time Ginnie had asked to keep the kids the night of Trey’s birthday, Andi had been grateful for the chance to work some overtime at the dress shop.

  Now, here she was staying in Cowboy Creek and grateful for the opportunity to leave, even if only for a day. It would give her some breathing space, some time to be on her own without worrying about running into Mitch.

  A knock sounded on the door. “Come on in,” she called, folding up the sweatshirt Trey might need for the airplane.

  She heard the door open and close again immediately. Frowning, she turned.

  Mitch stood leani
ng against the door.

  She clutched the sweatshirt in an automatic reflex triggered half by happiness at seeing him and half by apprehension. “What are you doing here so early?”

  “I came for breakfast—”

  “The dining room’s downstairs.” When he grinned and headed toward her, her heart gave an extra little beat.

  “Very funny. As I was saying, I came for breakfast and was surprised you weren’t there.”

  “I’m packing.”

  He looked past her. “Yeah, I can see that.”

  “How did you know where I was?”

  “You were the only one not at the breakfast table, so I deduced I might find you here. Trey told me the other day which room he was staying in.”

  She turned back to the bed. “Well, I don’t know that entertaining you in our hotel room is such a good idea.”

  “Did you plan to entertain me?”

  “Oh, you’re very amusing, too, aren’t you?”

  “Believe it or not, I can be, in the right circumstances.” He stood behind her just as he had at the ice cream parlor. Now, just as then, a tingling awareness ran through her. “But we haven’t had the right circumstances for much of anything.”

  “We managed,” she said drily, crossing her arms and turning to face him. She hadn’t realized he had taken another step toward her. Her forearms brushed his chest, and she would have sworn an electrical charge passed through her.

  She didn’t lose her balance. She wasn’t a bit unsteady on her feet. And still, instinct or memory or familiarity made her reach out to him just as he reached for her.

  Every sense seemed heightened, more alert. The warmth of his hands on her shoulders made her melt like a scoop of softened ice cream. The heat of his mouth on hers made her hot all over. She tugged on his T-shirt, wanting him closer. Wanting more. This was no boy-and-girl kiss, no revival of old memories. This was forging new memories. This was taking a risk.

  This was crazy.

  She backed away, or as far away as she could with the bed planted behind her. “Mitch, we can’t—”

  “I know. We can’t do this here. We can’t talk in the suite upstairs. We can’t avoid all the hotel guests and we can’t get any space from your family. But I know where we can do all that.”