A Cowboy To Keep: A Contemporary Western Romance Collection

by Hebby Roman

  "Hmm." She settled into her pillows. "Is that how our conversations are going to go when you're doing police work? ‘Some stuff,’ ‘some things.’"

  "Probably. Does it bug you?"

  "I don't think so. It's probably best I don't know most of whatever you do."

  It sounded like he chuckled. "Well good night. What time do you get off tomorrow?"

  "Two. Don't worry about picking me up. I'll get someone to walk me home."

  "I'll see you at two."

  She waited a couple beats. "Goodnight, Mark."

  "G'night."

  The phone felt heavy in her hand. One thing Mark was going learn about her was that she wasn't the type to coddle. He'd have to back down on his protectiveness. Once the investigation was over, she'd make sure he understood. Her eyes drooped and she wondered what "stuff" he'd picked up from Knoxville.

  * * *

  Ding. Ding.

  Eliza opened one eye and looked at the clock on her nightstand. "Who the hell visits at seven o'clock," she mumbled shuffling to the front door. She peered into the peephole and Mark winked at her.

  "Oh, God." She looked down at what she wore. Just an oversized t-shirt over her panties.

  She opened the door just a bit and tried hard not to glare. "Count to five and then come in." Eliza sprinted to her bedroom.

  Once she yanked on sweatpants and ran a comb through her tangled waves. She splashed water on her face and went back to the front room. Her heart skipped a beat when he met her gaze.

  Dressed in uniform that accentuated his hazel eyes and dark blond hair, he made for a handsome sight.

  She crossed her arms over her chest remembering she wasn't wearing a bra. "What are you doing here so early?"

  With two strides he was directly in front of her. "I couldn't sleep last night thinking about this." Mark took her in his arms and his mouth instantly fell over hers. Although he took her by surprise, she couldn't find any reason to complain as she wrapped her arms around his waist allowing him to take the lead.

  Eliza allowed her lips to part when his tongue prodded. The invasion brought a moan.

  She couldn’t complain, it felt amazing to be kissed so thoroughly first thing in the morning. His hand slid down her back and he cupped her butt pulling her snugly against him. No doubt was left in her mind how much he wanted her by the bulge against her stomach.

  He traced kisses from her mouth to her ear. "I better go. Scott and I have things to do. He had to make a couple calls so I took advantage and came to see you."

  How easy it would be to get used to him being part of her life and just as easy to get her heart broken when he moved on. In truth she'd not seen him with anyone, but heard here and there that the deputy dated a few women around town. Most of his assignations short, no strings attached. She pushed away from him and looked into his darkened eyes.

  "You should go."

  He brows creased and he cupped her chin. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours? It is Jay? His treatment of you making you skittish?"

  She shook her head. "No, I am just not sure what this is between us? We haven't really discussed it." Eliza hated how her voice pitched almost like a whine.

  "I see." His lips curved. "I'd like the opportunity to explore what can happen between us. If you'd let me."

  "As in sleeping together?"

  "No." He kissed the tip of her nose. "More than that."

  It was apparent he wasn't going to be specific. Like most men the word "relationship" made them want to grab a bat and beat themselves with it until they passed out.

  "I see." Eliza decided to let him off the hook, especially when she noticed he'd brought a bag from Krispy Kreme donuts for her. "You get a pass on replying, mostly because you have great taste in donuts." She kissed him initiating what ended up with her up on the counter, her legs wrapped around him and both of them panting.

  "I better go." Mark backed away, his chest heaving. "Or else I won't make it down the stairs until you're naked beneath me."

  The floor was cool under her feet when he lowered her to it, and Eliza leaned against him. "Be safe."

  "Are you kidding, I could get shot five times and stabbed four and I'd still make it back here to you." He laughed at her shocked expression. "Sorry, didn't mean to be so graphic."

  After he left, Eliza sank into the couch with her donuts and coffee. What would happen once the investigation was over. These quick visits were great, but they'd not gotten to know each other yet.

  Mark came from money. His family owned tons of land in a nearby county. His cousin Chad Hunter, was a country music superstar.

  She wasn't sure what all his family did, other than when she drove past the huge ranch, there were plenty of cows and horses grazing on the land. A metal archway over the main road leading to the huge white ranch house had the word's "Los Cerros," The Hills, artfully made with twisted ironwork.

  The night before, Mrs. Miller told her his family came from generations of cattle ranchers. She always wondered why he chose to be a cop in tiny Lovely instead of working with whatever his family did.

  Unlike him, she came from an average American home. Her father was a construction worker who'd died on the job when she was twelve. After that her mother married again three times, never seeming to find another man she could love as much as she did her father. It must've been hard for the men, having to live up to a dead man.

  At twenty-eight years, Eliza had yet to fully discover what she wanted out of life and that made her angry.

  With a business degree and love of cooking, one thing that did appeal was opening a restaurant. A small bistro with an intimate setting and simple menus. Something with a relaxing atmosphere would be perfect. And although she'd been saving for it, she'd yet to decide where the location would be.

  Probably not in Lovely. It would be hard to compete with the diner. Then again, there was the younger set of townspeople who would probably like something different. She took a deep breath. If she kept dawdling, she’d be late for work. No time to think about all that at the moment.

  Chapter Nine

  "I don't think that wide grin will be good when we go in," Scott told Mark as they pulled up to Malone's house.

  Truth be told, he couldn't believe he'd allowed his personal life so much leeway in the middle of a murder investigation. Mark scowled.

  It felt as if he was living two lives simultaneously. One as a cop and the other as a lovesick puppy sniffing after the beautiful Eliza Brock.

  Mark pulled over and parked. "This place doesn't look like Malone. His ex-wife must have chosen it." They looked to the cottage style home in the neighboring town of Newton. Malone drove about forty-five minutes to get to the garage every morning. The old tree lined street with sidewalks and immaculate landscaping, spoke of understated wealth.

  Malone's large Dodge truck stood out starkly amongst the Volvos and Mercedes in the other driveways.

  "I never thought of Malone as having money." Scott scanned the area.

  "He's not hurting, that's for sure. Having money doesn't give him a motive. He may not have anything to do with Eddie's death," Mark said not sure why his gut told him to take a second look at Malone.

  "You know," Scott's brow pinched, "he's more like someone I'd expect to live in a trailer park or over at King Street, where the Masons live. No offense to people in trailer parks, or King Street, but I can picture him in a lawn chair with beer cans and a coon dog more than here."

  Mark looked at Scott and opened the door. "You just hit the nail on the head." He didn't wait for Scott to get out, instead hurried to the front door and rang the doorbell.

  "What the hell?" Malone didn't hide his annoyance at finding two cops on his doorstep. "I'm headed to town, you two could have waited to talk to me there."

  He didn't invite them in, but instead moved out to the doorstep and looked toward his truck. "What is this all about?"

  Dressed in his usual dark pants and dress shirt that looked about to burst a
t the seams around his belly, Malone glared from Scott to him. "Well?"

  "Need to ask you a couple questions." Mark kept his expression blank. "How well do you know Shelly Mason?"

  It was interesting to see anger simmer beneath the surface of the man's eyes. "I don't know her at all."

  "But you went to see her the day after Eddie died."

  Since it was not formed as a question Malone didn't reply. Instead he took his keys out of his pocket.

  Mark took a step over to block his path. "Did Shelly Mason come to you about Eddie's paycheck, or did you take it upon yourself to drop it by?"

  "It was a nice thing to do. It's not everyday an employee dies, so I thought I'd give my condolences and drop off his last paycheck."

  "I find that interesting, Malone," Mark told him cocking his head to the side and shifting his gaze to Scott ensuring the deputy was ready in case Malone became violent. "You see I found out from the company that manages your payroll in Knoxville that all your employees get their paycheck directly deposited. You would have had to inform them of Eddie's passing and asked for a check to be cut and mailed. They would not mail it directly to you, but to Eddie's address on record."

  Malone visibly swallowed, but did not lose any of his bravado. "I took her money. I didn't say I took his last paycheck."

  "Yes, you did," Scott interjected looking at his pad. "You stated, I thought I'd give my condolences and drop off his last paycheck."

  Mark lifted a brow and frowned. What the hell? Did Scott take shorthand at the police academy?

  "Whatever, that's not what I meant." Malone clenched his fists. "Unless you're going to arrest me, get off my property. If you have any more questions contact my attorney." He shoved his way past Mark to his truck.

  "He's guilty of something." Scott watched Malone get in his truck and speed away.

  "Let's hope he leads us in the right direction." Mark was already heading to the cruiser. "He has forty-five minutes to make phone calls and think over any implications of this conversation."

  * * *

  They followed Malone at a safe distance, keeping the truck in sight. He drove straight to his garage and went directly through the side entrance to his office. Just before entering the building he looked over his shoulder towards them and flipped them the middle finger.

  "Not very mature," Scott said with a chuckle. "I think we'll have to take our cars out of town for any repairs from now on."

  "I already do," Mark replied.

  His cell phone buzzed and he answered it. It was the crime scene unit from Newton. "Took their sweet time," Mark said hanging up. “Let's head back to the office. They're faxing some stuff and you can catch some zzz's in the interrogation room while we wait for arrest warrants."

  "Warrants?" Scott's eyebrows lifted. "As in plural?"

  * * *

  An hour later, they went back to the garage. Mark pounded on the side door. When no one opened, he tried the doorknob. It was locked.

  Scott had already circled through the open bay to enter Malone's office. When a large bang sounded, Mark pulled his service weapon and shouldered the door. Being it was metal, it didn't give way. Mark ran to the front and found Scott kicking in the door to Malone's office.

  Malone was slumped over his desk. Blood and brain matter splattered on the wall behind him. A gun lay on the floor beneath his hand.

  The other men who worked at the garage, including Jay, gathered at the door with a chorus of "fucks" and "oh shits."

  "Stay here and call the coroner. I'll head over to serve the other warrant," Mark instructed Scott. He then looked to the doorway. "If any of them step over the threshold, arrest them."

  The men were already dispersing when he walked through the doorway. Jay Garrett was in the bay getting sick into a bucket. So much for all the bravado.

  * * *

  Shelly Mason gave him a bored look when she finally opened the door. "Unless you have fifty bucks for a blow job go away." She started to close the door but Mark put his foot in the way and pushed against it.

  "Not today or ever for that matter." He held up the cuffs. "Shelly Mason you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder."

  She shrieked and ran straight through the house and out a side door. For a skinny woman who smoked two packs a day, Mark was shocked how fast she moved. Mumbling a curse, he took off after her.

  Almost half a block later, he finally caught her and they tumbled to the ground. She scratched and bit at him screaming.

  "Help me! He's trying to hurt me. Help!"

  Just as he cuffed her, someone ran over and she shrieked as if Mark were cutting her arm off. "Get him off me! Don't you see what he's doing?" Shelly whimpered and pounded her head on the dirt. "Let me go you, fucking asshole."

  An older man helped Mark get Shelly to her feet only to be kicked by her as she attempted to wiggle away. Somehow they managed to hang onto the thrashing woman.

  With her shrieking and kicking the entire time, they finally managed to shove her into the back of the cruiser. Afterwards, both leaned on the car panting.

  "Thank you," Mark held his hand out to the man who shook it.

  "You're welcome. That's the most excitement I've had in a long time." His broad smile made Mark smile in return.

  "Here to serve." Mark dusted his pant leg and realized the pants were torn.

  "Name's Travis Nixon," the man told him, looking toward the cruiser where Shelly continued ranting.

  He recognized the large man as the local High School football coach.

  "Thank you again, Coach Nixon, you enjoy the rest of your day." Mark cringed at the thought of getting into the car with Shelly who screamed something about suing him. "I've got an interesting drive ahead of me."

  Coach Nixon looked toward Shelly’s house. “I’ll lock the door. Have to head that way. Here to check on a student of mine.”

  * * *

  Back to the station, he was relieved to see Sheriff Clark and a couple deputies from Newton County standing in front of the station, one a female. He got out not bothering with Shelly for the moment. "Glad to see you guys. You're back early, Sheriff?"

  "The ship docked and my phone wouldn't stop dinging. So we skipped Disney so I could come help.” Clark gave him a once over. "She put up a fight, huh?"

  "Yep.” He knew his face and neck were scratched up and his clothes were covered in dirt. "How about someone else get her out of the car."

  "Did she talk?" Sherriff Clark asked.

  "The whole way here," Mark replied shaking his head. "Mostly fuck you asshole, nothing about the case."

  The deputies got Shelly out of the car and once again she began kicking and attempted to bite them. "You're all going to lose your jobs over this when I get through suing your asses!" she yelled, then called for help several more times.

  Chapter Ten

  Two days had passed since Eliza had seen Mark, other than catching glimpses of him here and there in the midst of other deputies and even on camera when a local news station interviewed him about the arrest of two locals for the murder of Eddie Mason. Leroy Malone and Shelly Mason were having an affair. She shook her head at the picture. She'd certainly not expected that.

  What shocked her most was that Malone had broken into her apartment to leave a note. For a heavy guy, he'd been pretty stealthy to get away without the deputies catching sight of him. Then again, there were only two of them for the town and it was hard to keep the long hours needed to conduct the investigation. At least now she slept better.

  The five o'clock news was on and the reporter from Newton interviewed Mark On the diner's television big screen, Mark's good looks were hard to ignore even with the dark circles under his eyes. She knew it was selfish of her to want some of his time, but she found herself missing him.

  He'd not even called to wish her a good night in two days and she couldn't help but wonder if something had changed his mind about her.

  She sat at a booth by the window at the diner drinking swe
et tea and playing with the fries on her plate feeling deflated.

  The mayor and sheriff came into view and she tensed wondering if Mark would be with them. Seconds later Mark and a female deputy joined the men, followed by Deputy Scott and another male deputy.

  The woman was striking, with her blond hair pulled back into a serviceable bun. Her eyes were light and pinned to Mark's face. He said something and she laughed reaching out and touching his bicep.

  Eliza jumped up and rushed to the kitchen when they moved toward the diner door.

  Phil looked up and motioned for her to take over. "I see the sheriff and Mayor Brown brought the visiting deputies in. You cook, and I'll make sure to send Mildred over to their table." He took his apron off and headed out of the kitchen.

  Good thing Phil didn't suspect her reason for not taking a full break being something other than the visiting guests. She cleaned off the grill and waited for the order. A part of her wanted to peek out and see if the female deputy sat next to Mark. Who was she kidding? The way the woman was ogling him that was exactly where she'd planted her butt.

  With a huff she moved to salad bar and began chopping vegetables, ignoring the assistant cook's questioning gaze.

  The orders came in. Four burgers, a salad, and a steak platter. Everyone ordered a side of the hash brown casserole. Eliza became lost for a few minutes, putting extra effort into the cooking. She was glad not to handle the salad since it was probably for the woman.

  Once the food was ready, she banged on the bell with more force than necessary. Once again her counterpart looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. She shrugged. "PMS."

  That had him moving away, rushing to the sink to wash imaginary dishes.

  After the group cleared out, she finished tidying up and removed her apron. She neared Phil. "Thank you for giving me the time off. I hope it doesn't get too busy around here with the fuss of the arrest and all."

  "We're good. Manny is a great cook. He'll be able to handle it. He always does good on the evening shift, filling in when I can't be here." The man patted her shoulder. "You need to take some time for yourself. Where you going?"