Lissa felt her cheeks flush with heat. “Uh, you’re welcome.”
“Yes, indeed,” Melba said. “We are very thankful. Gage is the best sheriff we’ve ever had. We want him happy, and it looks like you help keep him that way.”
Lissa blinked. “I’m not sure...”
“No need to be sure about anything. We’re just glad you’re here, making our town better and making Gage happy. Anything I can get for you? I know it’s late for breakfast, but I’m happy to make something for you.”
“I’m good,” she said. “Thanks, Melba.”
Lissa scurried out the door into the cold air of near autumn in Montana and prayed the rest of Rust Creek Falls didn’t know about her and Gage. She could only hope.
Something told her to take it slow as she walked to the sheriff’s office. She entered with a light step. No need to stomp. Heading for her little corner desk, she waved at Vickie, but kept moving. She made it to her desk with no confrontation and took a deep breath.
Seconds later, Vickie stepped in front of her desk. “Hey there, sweetie. I hear you had a nice time last night.”
Lissa straightened in her chair. “What makes you say that?”
Vickie blinked. “Well, people are saying that you and Gage...”
“What people?” Lissa asked. “What are they saying? What do they really know?” she asked.
Vickie opened her mouth, but no sound came out. “Uh...”
“Exactly,” Lissa said. “Nobody knows anything. This is personal.”
Vickie’s eyes widened. “Uh...”
“Uh,” Lissa said. “Exactly. And I thank you so much for respecting that because you have been a friend to me ever since I arrived in Rust Creek Falls.”
Vickie stared at her for a long moment then gave a slow nod. “Okay. I got you, girl,” she said.
“Thanks,” Lissa said and turned back to her computer screen.
“Here ya go,” Vickie said, putting a cup of coffee in front of her. She lowered her voice. “Good luck with that whole privacy thing.”
Hours later, Lissa left the office and walked toward the rooming house.
An SUV slowed beside her. The window lowered. “Hey,” Gage said. “Want a ride?”
“Am I going away from the inquisitions?” she asked.
“No questions from me,” he said and she heard the sound of the doors unlocking.
Lissa opened the door and stepped inside the SUV. “This has been an interesting day.”
“Part of your decision to get involved with the local sheriff. Are you sure you want to continue?” he asked.
She reached up to kiss him and chuckled. “How can I resist the most fabulous man I’ve ever met?”
Chapter Six
They spent the night making love. The next morning, Lissa had to be up early so she could greet her next group of volunteers at the church. Her cell phone alarm went off and she had to drag herself out of a sexual coma. “Oh, please help me,” she murmured.
“I’m here for you, darlin’,” Gage said, wrapping his arms around her.
“Stop it,” she said, snuggling against him.
He chuckled and she loved that sound. It rippled inside her all the way to her heart. “You really want me to stop?” he asked.
She sighed. “Not really. I just need to get going so I can do my job. So I can help Rust Creek.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Gage said. “Although I’d like to keep you here with me all day and all night. I guess I have to kick your gorgeous butt out of bed.”
She smiled. “I guess you do.”
Lissa and Gage took another joint shower and he got ready before she did. Darn him. This time, at least, she had fresh clothes. She’d decided to pack a set after that first night. While she was getting dressed, he was doing some chores with the horses.
When Gage came back, he fixed some kind of frozen egg biscuit. It wasn’t nearly up to par with what Melba would have served, but after their busy night together, Lissa was grateful for anything. She made a mental note to fix breakfast next time.
He helped her into his SUV and they drove into town.
“You go into the office first,” he said. “I don’t want you taking heat because we’re coming in at the same time. It could hurt your reputation.”
She did a double take. “My reputation?” she echoed. “I would think it would improve my reputation if people knew you and I were involved.”
He gave a slow grin. “Okay, you flatter me. I’m trying to protect you,” he said.
“What are they going to say about me? That I’ve fallen under the sheriff’s spell and want to spend every spare minute with him?” she asked.
He groaned. “You’re just making it worse. I don’t want them to think you’re—”
“What? A wild, loose woman?” she asked.
“Well, I don’t want anyone calling you—” He broke off. “I don’t want to have to punch anyone.”
Lissa laughed. “If someone’s going to call me a loose woman because I’m involved with you, I’m okay with it. I’ll just tell them we’re lucky we’re together.”
He took a deep breath. “You’re something else, Lissa,” he said. “But go ahead into the office. I’ll park the car and come in soon.”
“Okay,” she said and clutched his coat and pulled him closer. Then she kissed him and she didn’t care who was looking.
She pulled back. “There I go, being a tramp. Heaven help me,” she said and got out of the car.
“Heaven help me,” Gage said just before she closed the door behind her.
Lissa walked out into the cold fresh air and took a long breath. She could face anything if she had Gage. Scary thought that he had such a huge effect on her, but she wasn’t going to question it. She was just going to go with it.
She walked into the office to find Vickie on the phone. Lissa waved and smiled then went to get some coffee. A few minutes later, Gage strode into the office. He also waved to Vickie and gave a nod to Lissa.
Lissa worked on her planned itinerary for the day, but she was distracted when still another visitor came through the door. Grand Central Station? she wondered.
“Hi, I’m Danielle Hawthorn here with my son Buddy,” the woman said. “School’s out today and I was hoping Buddy could volunteer with someone.”
Gage came out of his office and glanced at the woman. “Danielle,” he said.
“Yeah, you mentioned Buddy might be able to volunteer....”
“He can come with us,” Lissa said impulsively. “I’m sure we’ll have room. If that’s okay with you.”
“What are you doing?” Danielle asked.
“Flood relief,” Lissa said.
“Perfect.” She turned to her son. “I’ll pick you up at the end of the day. In the meantime, be a good man.”
Gage nodded. “We’ll see you then,” he said, then turned to the gangly teen who looked a bit awkward. “We’re glad to have you. Buddy. This is Miss Roarke. She’s been helping us repair some of the damage caused by the flood. Do you know anyone who got hit by the flood?”
Buddy nodded. “Lots of my friends. Some of them had to move into trailers.”
“Miss Roarke has a crew of volunteers that will be out working today. You just do whatever she tells you,” Gage said.
Buddy gave another nod. “Yes, sir.”
Lissa extended her hand to the teen. “Buddy, it’s nice to meet you and I’m so happy you’ll be helping us today. We’re leaving in a few minutes from the church parking lot, so we need to get over there right away.” She turned to Gage. “Headed out.”
“If you need me for anything...”
Lissa smiled. “I’ll call you,” she said and led Buddy out the door.
At the firs
t house, the team did quite a bit of hammering to replace wooden construction damaged by the flood. A drywall team would finish the job the following day and with any luck, the displaced family would be able to return to their home this week. The crew ate sandwiches in the van. There was enough for Buddy to eat two. In the second house, owned by the Claibornes, the young family had tried to make do despite the damage. Buddy jumped right in to help, removing curtains and upholstered furniture.
Lissa updated the list of replacement items the home would need with the young mother while the children stayed with a neighbor.
“New sofa and at least one upholstered chair. New curtains. How are the curtains in the rest of the house?” she asked the woman.
“I think the ones upstairs are fine. I’m more concerned about the kitchen floor,” Mrs. Claiborne said.
“We can take care of that, but it may not be until next week. How are your appliances?”
“My husband, John, saved those by putting them up on some blocks.”
“Good for you,” Lissa said.
Buddy stepped toward her, holding a musty, moldy, stuffed long-eared bunny. “Miss Roarke, I found this under the sofa,” he said, lifting the animal toward her. “What should I do with it?”
“Oh, no,” the young mother said. “That’s Sara’s bunny. We thought the flood washed it away. She’s missed it so much. I wish there was some way to save it. I can’t tell you how many times she has cried for that bunny.”
Buddy looked at the bunny. “Could we wash it?”
“I think it’s past saving, unfortunately. Maybe we should add a long-eared bunny to the list?” Lissa asked.
Buddy nodded. “My sister has a little stuffed dog and she screams whenever she can’t find it.”
Lissa gave him a commiserating smile and squeezed his shoulder. “Sounds like you have a lot of experience with this kind of thing. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”
An hour later, Lissa drove the van back to town. She thanked the crew members for their hard work and promised more tomorrow. They laughed in return. She was glad the townspeople had been so generous about helping with meals. She could rest easy knowing the volunteers would be well fed with a potluck dinner at the church tonight.
“I bet you’re tired,” she said to Buddy. “We can head back to the sheriff’s office. Your mother should be there soon.”
“Miss Roarke, would it be okay if we go to Crawford’s General Store first? There’s something I want to look at,” Buddy said.
His request took her by surprise, but she couldn’t see anything wrong with it, especially if she went with him. “Of course. I haven’t been in the store very much myself except to buy yogurt, so I wouldn’t mind a chance to look around in there a little bit.”
Walking toward the store, Lissa made conversation with Buddy, asking him about his favorite classes and favorite things to do.
“I like math, but I hate English. I hate writing papers. It’s so boring,” he said.
“It’s good that you like math. Trust me, you’ll use it your whole life. But you need to do well in English, too. You’ll be writing your whole life, too, one way or another. Even if you’re just texting or sending emails. When you grow up and get a job you can’t use all those abbreviations like LOL with your coworkers.”
“Yeah, that’s what my mother says,” he said in a glum voice.
Lissa chuckled and opened the door of the General Store. “I’ll meet you up front in about five minutes. Okay?”
Buddy nodded and headed toward the back of the store as if he were looking for something specific. Lissa felt as if she were taking a step back in time as she perused the store. Bags of feed and hardware lined shelves and bins, and groceries took the next aisle. Personal care items were arranged on an end cap. Beer and a very few varieties of wine sat in the refrigerated cases. She thought about grabbing a couple cartons of yogurt even though Melba fed her enough breakfast for three people. Recalling the greasy mystery biscuit Gage had offered her this morning, she decided to buy a few cartons along with some fruit.
As she approached the checkout, she saw that Buddy was holding a bag. “What did you buy?” she asked after the clerk rang her purchase.
“A bunny,” he said proudly, pulling the stuffed animal from the bag. “It was marked down and I still didn’t have enough money, but Mr. Morris said he would cover it for me when I told him why I was buying it.”
Lissa’s heart swelled with emotion. “Well, if that isn’t the nicest thing... I think you should be the one to give the bunny to that little girl.”
Buddy shrugged. “I don’t know if I can. I’ve got to go to school tomorrow,” he said.
“Maybe we can find someone to give you a ride out there,” she said.
“I don’t know. I know my mom can’t do it. She’s working two jobs,” he said.
“We’ll see,” she said as she pushed open the door and walked down the street to the sheriff’s office.
She and Buddy walked inside. His mother and Gage looked up as they entered.
“There you are,” Danielle said. “I was getting a little worried.”
Gage lifted his eyebrows in silent inquiry.
“We did a little shopping. Buddy purchased a stuffed bunny for a little girl whose toy was destroyed in the flood. How’s that for being a good man?” she asked.
Danielle dropped her jaw and her eyes grew shiny with tears. “I don’t know what to say.” She stepped forward and drew her son into her arms. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Aw, Mom,” he said with a combination of embarrassment and pleasure.
Lissa felt herself tearing up at the sight of the mother and the teen boy. “I think it would be great if he could deliver the bunny personally. Maybe we can work out a time,” she said hopefully.
Danielle pulled back and gave a big nod. “We can do that. I’d like to bring Buddy’s brother and sister along, too, if you don’t mind.”
“Mom,” Buddy protested.
“This will be a good example for both of them,” Danielle insisted. She looked from Gage to Lissa. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“I need to thank you,” Lissa said. “Buddy was a hard worker today.”
“I can help again sometime if you need me,” he said.
“You just said the magic words,” Gage said. “I’m sure Miss Roarke will be calling on you.” He patted the teen on his shoulder. “Good job today.”
“Thanks,” Buddy muttered.
Lissa watched them leave with a smile on her face.
Gage led her back to his office. “And for your next miracle, what are you going to do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” she said. “He really worked hard.”
“I’m sure your enthusiasm and praise had nothing to do with it,” he said.
She hesitated. “Not that much. He just already had a good heart.”
“One step away from detention or forced community service,” he said.
“Oh, you’re exaggerating,” she said. “He’s a good kid. You know it. Everyone gets into a little trouble sometime,” she said.
“When did you?” he asked.
Lissa gave a sheepish smile. “Well, there was this one time I landed a borrowed car in a snowy ditch.”
“Sounds like an accident,” he said.
“And another time there was this little incident in a bar,” she said.
“That resulted in multiple arrests,” he said sourly. “What about your misspent youth?”
“I skipped school once,” she said. “Got caught. I always get caught.”
“Get caught doing what?” he returned, sliding his hand down to take hers.
“Got caught drinking a beer in my neighbor’s backyard. We lived in a suburb just outside the city. I really could
n’t get away with anything,” she said, liking the way his fingers felt laced around hers.
“It’s a wonder you didn’t go wild when you had the chance,” he said.
“By then, I didn’t want to disappoint them. I wanted them to believe in me.” She thought about how her parents had always seemed more proud of her brothers. One was a lawyer, the other worked for a big financial institution. “I guess I still want them to believe in me.”
“Don’t they?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure they’re all that impressed with my career. I’ve done some writing along the way and they’ve always told me not to count on that to make a living.”
“You should let me read some of your writing. I bet you’re good,” he said.
“How would you know that if you haven’t read anything I’ve written?” she asked.
“Because I’ve watched you. And you’re very good at everything you put your energy toward,” he said in a sexy voice just before he kissed her. “Shh,” he said and kissed her again.
Lissa sighed at the sensation of his lips on hers. It was all she could do not to fling herself at him. Pulling back, she sighed again. “I have some work I have to do tonight.”
“Well, damn. I was hoping you would work on me,” he said with a wicked grin.
She playfully punched his chest.
“You can stay and have dinner here, can’t you?” he suggested.
“Dinner?” she echoed with surprise. “What are we going to eat? Breakfast muffins?”
Gage shook his head. “No. Mrs. Little brought in some lasagna. She said she baked enough for the potluck and had some left over.”
“Oh, lasagna,” Lissa said, her mouth watering. “I can’t remember the last time I ate lasagna.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Can’t offer you any wine in the sheriff’s office, though,” he said.
“No problem,” she said. “The sheriff already makes me feel a little dizzy.”
“Is that so?” he said more than asked and pulled her against him again for another kiss.
Lissa and Gage ate their dinner in his office. He cleared off a corner of his desk and talked about the day. She was amazed by the variety of his tasks throughout the day, let alone each week. She glanced at her watch and saw that an hour had passed. She wondered how it had gone by so quickly.
The Maverick & the Manhattanite (Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys) Page 8