He tickled her, dragging her on top of him, making her giggle—giggle, for God’s sake!—and also giving her the perfect out to a situation that had started as sexual and somehow turned serious. As serious as it gets.
But he’d risked a lot by being honest. It was only fair that she do the same. So she snagged his teasing hands and waited until he was looking directly at her. “Okay. You got yourself a deal.”
“Orgasm pusher?”
She shook her head. “Relationship instigator.”
He stilled, then his face split wide in a grin like she’d never seen. But hoped to see again. He rolled her to her back. “I promise I’ll go more slowly from now on.”
“And ruin everything?” she joked, only her throat had somehow gone tight. His eyes were all dark and serious, and he looked like a man who was about to—
“Okay, then I love you. There. How’s that for fast?”
She couldn’t breathe. “A minute ago you were falling in love with me.”
“I landed.”
She swallowed. Hard. “Oh.”
“Yeah, I know. Scary doesn’t even come close to describing it. But what’s a guy to do?” His smile faded and he pushed the tangle of curls from her face. “It’s just how I feel. You take your own time, do this your own way.” Then he grinned and this time it was purely sexual. “But be warned, I don’t play fair.”
“Why Sheriff, whatever would the citizens of your fair land think?”
“That I do whatever I have to to get the job done.”
“So now I’m a job?”
He laughed. “Oh no, you’re pure adventure.” And then he was kissing her, teasing her, proving to her exactly how he intended to wage his campaign of winning her heart.
What he didn’t know—and she didn’t intend to tell him, not just yet, anyway—was that he was closer to succeeding than he knew.
But she could save that little announcement for later.
He slid down her body, kissing her navel on the way.
Much, much later.
18
“NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT.” Dylan felt like a broken record. “Because I said so.” He sighed and held the phone away from his ear for a moment. “I know she went with you to get the rescue birds, and it went fine. And I know she’s become fond of them and I’m glad she’s helping you out, even though I’m not fond of her putting you in jeopardy.” He clenched his jaw as his mother continued fighting her case. “I don’t care if the agents are there, it’s not the same as keeping her safe, and you safe by default. Just because the—” He widened his eyes and looked at the phone.
“Hang up on you again, did she?” Liza asked.
He just glared at her and replaced the receiver with a sharp click. “None of you seem to grasp the importance of keeping Pearl close at hand where we can best control her surroundings. Maybe we should all drive by what’s left of Mims Motel on a daily basis as a reminder.”
Liza stood and walked around his desk to knead Dylan’s shoulders. He tried to remain stiff and unyielding, but, damn, she knew just where to—
He stood up, making her hop backward. “Oh no, you’re not going to get around me so easily this time.”
She smiled sweetly. “Why? It’s worked so well all the other times.”
Dylan didn’t even bother to argue. Mainly because she was right. “When did I lose control of this relationship, anyway?”
Liza laughed in shock. “Exactly who carried me upstairs last night and deposited me in a tubful of warm water and made me sit and sip a glass of wine—slowly—before forcing me to submit to being tortuously washed with an incredibly soft washcloth?”
Dylan tried not to smile, really he did. “I’m such a cad, I know. You had a screaming headache after that town council meeting, which, by the way, I tried to tell you would be a nightmare. But would you listen to me?”
“No,” she agreed readily, “I didn’t listen. But I got my way in the end, didn’t I? Avis and her friends will be able to have that salsa-eating contest and the board of health is okay with the booth setup. Everyone happy. So what if I had to endure four hours of mind-numbing debate over the color of the table swathing and who will give the first speech of the day? It was worth it.”
“Because you got your way in the end.”
Liza smiled. “You know me so well.”
It had been only a week since the first time he’d carried her to his bedroom…and she’d never exactly left. With the agents in place, Pearl hadn’t seemed to mind, and Liza still spent a good deal of time with her every day. God knows Dylan wasn’t complaining. At least not when Liza and he were both home. Away from home? Well… “That’s what scares me,” he grumbled. Because the more he knew her, the more he couldn’t stand to be away from her.
She wove her arms around him from behind and toyed with his badge. “You didn’t seem too scared when you pulled me out of that tub and took me up against the wall of your bathroom.” Her hands drifted downward. “And I surely enjoyed the way you sipped your wine off of me.”
Jesus. His entire body stiffened, some parts more painfully than others. He carefully removed her clever little hands and stepped away. Before he ended up risking his badge and taking her right on his desk. “Don’t you have some part of this town you haven’t run roughshod over?”
She gave him a wide-eyed, innocent look, then laughed and reached up on her impossibly high heels and kissed him on the cheek. “I only stopped by to say hi on the way to getting my nails done.”
“Didn’t you just have them done last week?”
“And your point is?”
He shook his head. “None, apparently. Except to be thankful I was born a man.”
She stepped closer. “I’m thankful, too.”
He laughed, but held her away. “You can show me your appreciation—with those shiny red nails, if you want—but later. I know you’re already running half the town, but I have to keep the rest of it safe.”
“And don’t think we don’t appreciate that. In fact, I plan to show you just how appreciative I can be. But only after I get these cuticles attended to. You know, Minnie is a dream find for a manicurist. She does makeup, too. She could be raking in a fortune in Hollywood. I even offered to help her out.”
“No kidding.”
Liza just looked at him. “But she’s happy here. Go figure.”
Dylan knew she was tweaking, but it wasn’t the first time he’d wondered if someone like Liza, who was used to moving in distinctly faster circles, could ever truly be happy in Canyon Springs.
“Anyway, Minnie was saying last week that she’d really like to expand to the space next door, but the guy who owns the place, Dick Harbert, was giving her a hard time about paying for the repairs herself. I spoke to Tom Connelly about it and he’s going to meet me at Minnie’s later to see if he can help her out.”
“Tom is an estate attorney. How is he going to help…?” Dylan held up his hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. Can’t you even get your nails done without taking over something?”
Liza stepped closer, straightened his badge, gave him that look that made his already hardened body jerk a little harder. “I like helping people. Can I help it if I’m good at it?”
He couldn’t deny she was right. It was almost terrifying how embedded in town matters she’d become.
“Not bad for a former showgirl from Vegas, huh?”
Dylan did smile then. Ever since Avis had let it slip that Liza used to work with Very Famous People, she’d been the buzz of the community. It had only made it easier for her to insinuate herself into just about anything she wanted to insinuate herself into. Which seemed to be every damn thing.
And yet the energy she’d created, just by, well, being herself, was undeniably affecting everyone in a favorable way. Himself included, no matter how much he grouched. He did that mostly for effect, anyway. Someone had to keep her balanced. “By the time Pearl gives her testimony, they’ll be erecting a statue in the town square in yo
ur honor.”
She laughed. “Don’t be silly.” She ran her hands down over his belt buckle and stroked him swiftly with those perfectly fine looking nails of hers. “Your town square’s not nearly big enough.”
She left him as she usually did—speechless and hard as a rock. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to rectify that little injustice before dinner,” he muttered, then found himself smiling as he sat down behind his desk. She really was something else. And she was his. At least for now. Just thinking about what came after dinner, when it was his turn to make her crazy…well, suddenly he didn’t mind so much how she filled her days.
He snatched up the phone and punched in a number. But that didn’t mean he was going to roll over and play dead regarding all of her little schemes. “Patterson? Sheriff Jackson here. Any chance we can move Ms. Halliday and your two agents closer to your home base in Tucson? We’re slated for a number of festivities here shortly and I’d appreciate it if— What? Oh. Yeah, I see. No, no, I understand. I’ll find the additional security necessary.” Dylan swore under his breath as he hung up, then lifted the receiver again. He wasn’t the only one with troubleshooting capabilities.
“Quin? Hey, it’s D.J. Any word yet on trial date? I’ve got my manpower stretched to the limits here and—”
“Actually, I’m glad you called,” his former colleague answered. “Things are going crazy up here. I should have something for you shortly.”
“Crazy how?”
“Good crazy, man. Listen, I don’t have time to explain everything at the moment. We’ve still got eyes on Dugan’s usual suspects, and there doesn’t look to be anything headed your way from our end.” He laughed. “Right now, he’s got a number of other problems to attend to.”
“Such as?”
“Well, we had hoped some of Pearl’s dates and names would give us a bit of ammo, but it’s been the start of an avalanche. We turned Morty.”
“No shit.” Mortimer was Dugan’s right-and left-hand man. “How in the hell—”
“Later, I really have to roll. But the rats are jumping ship in droves now. The way things are going, there might not even be a trial. If we’re lucky, he’ll be begging us to deal by the end of the week.”
“That’s the best news I’ve had in what feels like a decade.”
Quin laughed. “Liza making things interesting for you down there?”
Dylan started to make some smart-ass remark, but what came out was, “Yeah. In fact, she is. But I’ll be a lot happier if this thing gets tied up.”
“Well, keep Pearl close and tight for at least a few more days. Right now, I’m betting we bring her up here early and her part will be over with. I’ll call as soon as I hear.”
Dylan hung up, feeling as if he’d just lost a two-ton weight off his shoulders. The festival was set to launch Friday, and Avis wanted Pearl to stay at her house and bird-sit for her so she could be more involved in the various booths and activities she’d set up with her ladies group. Dylan just wanted to take Liza out, eat some good food. Mingle with the townsfolk while he kept an eye out for his deputies, who were in charge of the event. Maybe do a bit of dancing, then drag her home when things began to slow down.
He did not want to worry about Pearl and his mother.
But that wasn’t what was really bugging him. The reality was things were coming to an end where Pearl was concerned, and far more swiftly than he’d expected. Every day that passed with Liza only left him wanting more, craziness and all. He’d already figured that at the right moment, he was going to ask her to stay. Permanently. He’d just thought he’d have a whole lot more time to pick that moment from. In fact, he had sort of hoped that if he waited long enough, Liza would come to that conclusion on her own.
Whether or not she realized it, Liza was definitely finding her place in Canyon Springs. Headaches and all, he was all for her involvement in the community. She’d also definitely made a place in his heart. He was all for that, too. The burning question was, had he made a place in hers?
LIZA TWIRLED and looked at the way the flared skirt skimmed the backs of her thighs. “It is kind of cute.” She smiled at Kendra, the shop owner and designer of a number of the fashions displayed therein. “You really have a good eye. Ever thought about heading to New York?”
Kendra blushed, but laughed. “I thought about going to school there, many moons ago, but decided I’d rather run my own modestly successful place and be my own boss.”
Liza nodded. “Smart girl.” She stepped back into the dressing room and slipped the soft red fabric over her head. “I’ll take this and the other two outfits hanging on the door. You going to the festival opening tomorrow night?”
Kendra took the dress as she handed it over the curtain. “As soon as I close up. I’m supposed to help the fire marshal with their safety booth. I’m handing out those stickers you put in bedroom windows so they know where people are sleeping in case of a fire.”
Liza smiled to herself. Kendra sounded awfully dreamy about handing out stickers. “Have you known Tucker long?” She slipped out of the dressing room in time to watch Kendra’s face register surprise.
“I guess you would know him, since you’re living with Sheriff Jackson.”
Liza didn’t bother to blush. She was technically still living in the apartment with Pearl, Mulder and Scully, but she had been spending her nights up in that A-frame. It didn’t surprise her that word had gotten around. “You know, I used to think there were no secrets in Hollywood, but they could learn a thing or two observing how small towns operate.”
Kendra laughed. “I don’t know anything about Hollywood, but I’m guessing it’s probably like a small town of its own, in a way.” She bagged Liza’s purchases. “And no, to answer your question, I don’t know Tucker Greywolf personally.” She fluttered her lashes. “I’ve lusted from afar, however.” She shrugged and blushed a little. “Then I decided it was silly to sit and watch him flirt with all the other women in town and not do something about going after getting his attention focused where I want it. Which is on me.”
“Smart and talented. I’m liking you better all the time,” Liza said.
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure if I can parlay handing out stickers into a date.” She grinned and winked. “But I’m sure going to give it my best shot.”
Liza handed her a credit card. “My money’s on you.”
Kendra finalized the sale, then handed her the garment bag, a considering look in her own pretty brown eyes. “I’m thinking the same about you. You know, the whole town is wondering about you and the sheriff. You’ve really stirred things up around here.”
Liza smiled, unoffended by the frank comment. “I guess I haven’t exactly been hiding my light under a basket, huh?”
“Hardly,” Kendra said wryly, then they both laughed. “Not that anyone’s complaining. We’re enjoying watching Sheriff Jackson go down for the count. I was beginning to think the man was a monk.”
It was all Liza could do to keep a straight face. Boy, does he have all of you fooled, she thought. But wisely said nothing, happy enough to be the one who’d “defrocked” him.
“So,” Kendra added, more boldly now, “are you going to stay? Give our hunk of a sheriff a run for his money?”
Despite her growing daily schedule, Liza had been thinking about little else lately. She slid the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “It’s beginning to look that way, isn’t it?”
Kendra beamed a smile and shot a thumbs-up as Liza let herself out of the shop. She paused outside the door. What have you just gone and done?
But she knew exactly what she’d done. And she was pretty sure Kendra was already on the phone telling someone about it, who’d tell someone else. By the time she and Dylan showed up at the festival together tomorrow, the town would have a pool going on the names of their first children.
She laughed and swung the bag over her shoulder as she strolled down the street toward her car. Funny, but she didn’t feel the least bit concern
ed about that.
Not that she was planning on having kids anytime soon. She was still coming to terms with the idea of having a man in her life on a permanent basis. But no amount of rational analysis about what she should do, or should feel, based on the short time she’d been here, refuted the basic fact. And that was that Dylan Jackson was perfect for her.
He didn’t let her push him around…or he did, but in the right ways. And he pushed back…in the right ways. She smiled and squirmed a little in the leather seat of her car, just thinking about how right his ways were.
But even more than that, she’d found herself here in this little town. It amazed her on an hourly basis, but she was thriving here, in ways she hadn’t expected to. She’d meant what she’d said earlier. She was good at helping people, but here it felt more…specific. Worthwhile. She supposed because she was around to see the direct benefit of her assistance, and to enjoy the real friendships that were already developing because of them. What she did mattered here, because she mattered here. Or she was starting to.
She looked around as she pulled out and headed toward the apartment. “Liza Sanguinetti from Canyon Springs, New Mexico,” she murmured, testing it out. Yeah, it even sounded like home.
19
DYLAN CHECKED IN with his deputies one last time, then went off to find Liza. His visions of spending a lovely evening enjoying the festivities hadn’t exactly panned out as he’d hoped. He hadn’t even seen her, though he had spoken to her via Tucker’s radio at one point, hours earlier. At the time she was manning a booth for Tucker on the festival grounds so he could go dancing with someone named Kendra. Whatever. Liza was in her element, and Dylan was glad she was having a good time.
But he also hadn’t minded when she stipulated that she would be making up later for their lack of alone time. In fact, he was looking forward to it.
He was exhausted. It had been a long, fourteen hour shift. After putting in a day behind his desk, he’d been off and running in ten different directions once the festival had begun. He’d been on and off the radio all evening with one minor thing after another, culminating in a call from Quin thirty minutes ago, which had dragged him back to the station. But that particular distraction had been well worth it.
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