But that’s all he got to say.
Gage lunged forward. He jerked Kari free, yelled at her to get down on the floor, then planted a booted foot firmly in the robber’s midsection.
The bad guy gave a yelp of dismay as all the air rushed out of his lungs and he fell flat on his ass. He scooted a couple of feet backward, but by the time he sucked in a breath, two armed tactical team members had guns on him.
But they weren’t as quick to capture the man by Ida Mae. A gunshot exploded.
Gage reacted without thinking. He turned and threw himself over Kari, covering her body with his. A half-dozen or so rounds were fired. He pulled out his sidearm, looking for targets, and kept his free arm over Kari’s face.
“Don’t move,” he growled in her ear.
“I can’t,” she gasped back.
After what felt like a lifetime, but was probably just seconds, a man called out. “I give, I give. You shot me.”
There were muffled sounds, then a steady voice yelled, “Clear.”
Five more “clear”s followed. Gage rolled off Kari and glanced around to check on the town folk. Everyone was fine—even Ida Mae, who had kicked the wounded gunman after she climbed to her feet. The leader of the tactical team walked over and stared down at Gage. He was covered in black from head to toe, with a visor over his face and enough firepower to take Cuba.
“I can’t figure out if you were a damn fool or especially brave for walking in on a bank robbery in progress,” the man said.
Gage sat up and grinned. “Someone had to do it, and I figured none of your boys was going to volunteer. Plus we know these were small-town criminals. They’re used to seeing someone like me around. One of you all dressed in the Darth Vader clothes would have scared ’em into acting like fools. Someone could have gotten killed.”
The man nodded. “If you ever get tired of small-town life, you’d be a fine addition to our team.”
Gage didn’t even consider his offer. “I’m flattered,” he said easily, “but I’m right where I want to be.”
The man nodded and walked off.
“You knew they were there.”
He turned and saw Kari staring at him. She still lay on the ground. Her once long blond hair had been cut short and stylish. Makeup accentuated her already big, beautiful blue eyes. Time had sculpted her face into something even more lovely than he remembered.
“The tactical team?” he asked. “Sure. They were circling the building.”
“So I wasn’t in danger?”
“Kari, a criminal was holding a gun to your head. I wouldn’t say that ever qualifies as safe.”
She smiled then. A slow, sexy smile that he still remembered. Lordy but she’d been a looker back then. Time hadn’t changed that.
He suddenly became aware of the adrenaline pouring through his body. And the fact that he hadn’t had sex in far too long. Eight years ago, he and Kari had never gotten around to that particular pleasure. He wondered if she would be more open to the experience now.
He got to his feet. If she was back in Possum Landing for any length of time, he would be sure to find out.
“Welcome back,” he said, and held out his hand to help her up.
She placed her fingers against his palm. “Jeez, Gage, if you wanted to find a unique way to welcome me home, couldn’t you just have held a parade?”
“You can go now, Ms. Asbury,” the wiry detective said nearly four hours later.
Kari sighed in relief. She’d given her statement, been questioned, been fed and watered, and now she was finally free to head home. As far as she could tell, there were only a couple of problems. The first was that her heart refused to return to normal. Every time she thought about what had happened in the bank, her chest felt as if it were filled with thundering horse hooves. The second problem was that she had walked to the bank, a scant mile or so from her house, but the sheriff’s station was clear on the other side of town. It was summer in the middle of Texas, which meant billion-degree heat and humidity to match.
“Do you think I could have a ride home?” she asked. “Or is Willy still running a cab around these parts?”
The detective gave her a once-over, then grinned. “Wish I could take you home myself. Unfortunately I have more work to do. I’ll get one of the deputies to take you.”
Kari smiled her thanks. When she was alone, she glanced out of the glass-enclosed office. Just looking around, she told herself. She wasn’t actually looking for someone specific. Certainly not Gage.
But like a bee heading for the sweetest flower, she found herself settling her gaze on him. He was across the large office, still in a glass room of his own, chatting with some members of the federal tactical team. Were they trying to talk him into leaving Possum Landing to join them? Kari shook her head. She might have been gone for eight years, but some things never changed. Gage Reynolds would no more leave Possum Landing than NASA would send Ida Mae up in the next space shuttle.
She watched as Gage spoke and the other men laughed. Time had honed him into a hard man, she thought. Hard in a good way—with thick muscles and a steady set to his face. Despite the fact that she’d been there when it happened, she couldn’t believe that he’d actually walked into a bank robbery. On purpose! He’d been calm and cool and he’d about made her crazy.
The detective strolled back into the office. “Ms. Asbury, if you’ll wait by the front desk, the deputy will be with you in a couple of minutes.”
She smiled her thanks and followed him out to the waiting area. Ida Mae sat there, her hands folded primly on her lap. When she saw Kari, her wrinkled face broke out into a welcoming smile.
“Kari.”
The older woman rose and held out her arms. Kari moved forward and accepted the hug. Everything about it was familiar—Ida Mae’s bony arms, her beehive hairdo with not a hair out of place, the scent of the gardenia perfume she always wore.
“You’re looking fine, child,” Ida Mae said as she released Kari and sank back onto the bench.
Kari settled next to her. “You haven’t changed a bit,” she said, then patted her hand. “Are you all right?”
Ida Mae touched her chest. “I thought I was gonna have a heart attack right there in the middle of the bank. I couldn’t believe my own eyes when those boys pulled guns on us. Then you walked in and it was like seeing a ghost. And then Gage strolled in. Wasn’t he brave?”
“Absolutely,” Kari agreed. She wasn’t sure she could have knowingly walked in on a bank robbery, regardless of who was at risk. But Gage had always believed in doing what was right.
Ida Mae gave her a knowing look. “He’s still a handsome devil, too, don’t you think? Is he taller than when you left?”
Kari wanted to roll her eyes, but figured she was getting a little old for that particular response. Fortunately, Ida Mae was on a tear and didn’t require an answer.
“No one knew you were coming back,” the older woman said. “Of course, we knew you’d have to eventually, what with you still owning your grandma’s house and all. I can tell you, tongues wagged when you left town all those years ago. Poor Gage. You about broke his heart. Of course, you were young and you had to follow your dreams. It’s just too bad that your dreams didn’t include him.”
Kari didn’t know what to say. Her heart had been broken, too, but she didn’t want to get into that. The past was the past. At least, that’s what she told herself, even though she didn’t actually believe it.
Ida Mae smiled. “It’s good that you’re back.”
Kari sighed softly. “Ida Mae, I’m not back. I’m just here for the summer.” Then she was going to shake the dust from this small town off her shoes and never look back.
“Uh-huh.” Ida Mae didn’t look convinced.
Fortunately the deputy arrived just then. Kari asked Ida Mae if she needed a ride home, as well.
“No, no. My Nelson is probably waiting out front for me. I called him just before you walked out.”
Led by the de
puty, they headed out the front door and down the three steps to the sidewalk. By the time she saw that Nelson was indeed waiting for his wife, Kari had broken out into a sweat and was having trouble breathing in the heat.
“Little Kari Asbury,” Nelson said as he approached. He grinned at her as he mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. “You’re all grown up.”
Kari smiled.
“Didn’t she turn out pretty?” Ida Mae said fondly. “But then, you were always a lovely girl. You should have entered the Miss Texas pageant. You could have gone far with a title like that.”
Kari smiled weakly. “It was very nice to see you both,” she said politely, then headed toward the squad car that the deputy had pulled around.
“Gage has had a couple of close calls,” Nelson called after her, “but no one’s gotten him down the aisle.”
Kari waved by way of response. She wasn’t going to touch that particular topic.
“Good to have you back,” Nelson yelled louder.
This one Kari couldn’t resist. She turned toward the older man and shook her head. “I’m not back.”
Nelson only waved.
“Just perfect,” she muttered as she climbed into the car with the deputy. He’d told her his name, but she’d already forgotten it. Probably because he looked so impossibly young. She was only twenty-six, but next to this guy she felt ancient.
She gave him her address and leaned back against the seat, breathing in the air-conditioned coolness. There were a thousand and one details to occupy her mind, yet instead of dealing with them, she found herself remembering the first time she’d met Gage. She’d been all of seventeen and he’d been twenty-three. At the time, he’d seemed so much older and more mature.
“I know this is a crazy question,” she said, glancing at the young man next to her. “But how old are you?”
He was blond, with blue eyes and pale cheeks. He gave her a startled glance. “Twenty-three.”
“Oh.”
The same age Gage had been eight years ago. That didn’t seem possible. If Gage had been as young as this guy, Kari shouldn’t have had any trouble standing up to him. Why had she found it so incredibly difficult to share her feelings while they’d been dating? Why had the thought of telling him the truth terrified her?
There wasn’t an easy answer to the question, and before she could come up with a hard one, they arrived at her house.
Kari thanked the deputy and stepped out into the late afternoon. In front of her stood the old house where she’d grown up. It had been built in the forties, and had a wide porch and gabled windows. Different colored versions of the same house sat all along the street, including the home next door. She glanced at it, wondering when she would have her next run-in with her neighbor. As if returning to Possum Landing for the summer wasn’t complicated enough, Gage Reynolds now lived next door.
Kari walked inside her grandmother’s house and stood in the main parlor. Never a living room, she thought with a smile. It was a parlor, where people “set” when it wasn’t nice enough to settle on the front porch. She remembered countless hours spent listening to her grandmother’s friends talking about everything from who was pregnant to who was cheating on whom.
She’d arrived after dark last night. She hadn’t turned on many lights after she’d come in, and somehow she’d convinced herself that the house was different. Only now, she saw it wasn’t.
The old sofas were the same, as was the horsehair chair her grandmother had inherited from her grandmother. Kari had always hated that piece—it was both slick and uncomfortable. Now she touched the antique and felt the memories wash over her.
Maybe it was the result of all the emotions from the robbery, maybe it was just the reality of being home. Either way, she suddenly sensed the ghosts in the house. At least they were friendly, she told herself as she moved into the old kitchen. Her grandmother had always loved her.
Kari looked at the pecan cabinets and the stove and oven unit that had to be at least thirty years old. If she expected to get a decent price for the old place, she would have to do some serious updating. That was the reason she’d come home for the summer, after all.
A restlessness filled her. She hurried upstairs and changed out of her clothes. After showering, she slipped on a cotton dress and padded back downstairs barefoot. She toured the house, almost as if she were waiting for something to happen.
And then it did.
There was a knock on the door. She didn’t have to answer it to know who had come calling. Her stomach lurched and her heart took up that thundering hoof dance again. She drew in a deep breath and reached for the handle.
Chapter Two
Gage stood on Kari’s front porch. She didn’t bother pretending to be surprised. Her time with him in the bank had been too rushed and too emotionally charged for her to notice much about his appearance…and how he might have changed. But now that they were in a more normal situation, she could take the time to appreciate how he’d filled out in the years she’d been away.
He looked taller than she remembered. Or maybe he was just bigger. Regardless, he was very much a man now. Still too good-looking for her peace of mind. He appealed to her, but, then, he always had.
“If you’re inviting me to attend another bank robbery,” she said with a smile, “I’m going to have to pass.”
Gage grinned and held up both hands. “No more crime…not if I can prevent it.” He leaned against the door frame. “The reason I stopped by was to make sure that you were all right after all the excitement today. Plus, I knew you’d want to thank me for saving your life by inviting me to dinner.”
She tilted her head as she considered him. “What if my husband objects?”
He didn’t even have the grace to look the least bit worried. “You’re not married. Ida Mae keeps track of these things, and she would have told me.”
“Figures.” She stepped back to allow him inside. Gage moved into the front room while she closed the door behind him. “What makes you think I’ve had time to go to the grocery store?” she asked.
“If you haven’t, I have a couple of steaks in the freezer. I could get those out.”
She shook her head. “Actually, I did my shopping this morning. That’s the reason I ran out of cash and had to go get more at the bank.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, I never did cash that check.”
“You can do it tomorrow.”
“I guess I’ll have to.”
She led the way into the kitchen. Having him here was strange, she thought. An odd blending of past and present. How many times had he come over for dinner eight years ago? Her grandmother had always welcomed him at their table. Kari had been so in love that she’d been thrilled he’d wanted to spend mealtimes with her. Of course, she’d been young enough to be excited even if all he wanted was for her to keep him company while he washed his car. All she’d needed to be happy was a few hours in Gage’s presence. Life had been a whole lot simpler in those days.
He leaned against a counter and sniffed. “That smells mighty good. And familiar.”
“Grandmother’s sauce recipe. I put it in the slow cooker this morning, right after I got back from the grocery store. I also got out the old bread maker, but as it’s been gathering dust forever, I can’t promise it’ll all work.”
His dark gaze settled on her. “It works just fine.”
His words made her break out in goose bumps, which was crazy. He was a smooth-talking good-ol’ boy from Possum Landing. She lived in New York City. No way Gage Reynolds should be able to get to her. And he didn’t. Not really.
“Did you get all the paperwork wrapped up, or whatever it was you had to do after the robbery?” she asked as she checked on the pasta sauce.
“Everything is tied up in a neat package.” He crossed to the kitchen table and picked up the bottle of wine she’d left there.
“Kari Asbury, is this liquor? Have you brought the devil’s brew into our saintly dry county?”
S
he glanced up and chuckled. “You know it. I remembered there weren’t any liquor sales allowed around here and figured I had better bring my own. I stopped on my way over from the airport.”
“I’m shocked. Completely shocked.”
She grinned. “So you probably don’t want to know that there’s beer in the refrigerator.”
“Not at all.” He opened the door and pulled out a bottle. When he offered it to her, she shook her head.
“I’ll wait for wine with dinner.”
He opened the drawer with the bottle opener in it on the first try. Gage moved around with the ease of someone familiar with the place. But then, he had been. He’d moved in next door, the spring before her senior year. She remembered watching him carry in boxes and pieces of furniture. Her grandmother had told her who he was—the new deputy. Gage Reynolds. He’d been in the army and had traveled the world. To her seventeen-year-old eyes, a young man of twenty-three had seemed impossibly grown-up and mature. When they’d started dating that fall, he’d seemed a man of the world and she’d been—
“Are we still neighbors?” she asked, turning back to face him.
“I’m still next door.”
She thought of Ida Mae’s comment that Gage had never made it to the altar. Somehow he’d managed to not get caught. Looking at him now, his khaki uniform emphasizing the breadth of his shoulders and the muscles in his legs, she wondered how the lovely ladies of Possum Landing had managed to keep from trapping him.
Not her business, she reminded herself. She checked the timer on the bread machine and saw there was still fifteen minutes to go, plus cooling time.
“Let’s go into the parlor,” she said. “We’ll be more comfortable.”
He nodded and led the way.
As she followed him, she found her gaze drifting lower, to his rear. She nearly stumbled in shock. What on earth was wrong with her? She didn’t ever stare at men’s butts. Nothing about them had ever seemed overly interesting. Until now.
She sighed. Obviously, living next door to Gage was going to be more complicated than she’d realized.
Good Husband Material Page 2