Austin: Second Chance Cowboy
Shelley Galloway
Wild At HartNo man should look as good as Austin Wright. Especially when that man is a suspect in a string of burglaries. And Sheriff Dinah Hart can’t afford the distraction. Roundup’s thieves are growing bolder and Thunder Ranch’s prize stallion, Midnight, is still missing, putting the Harts’ entire livelihood at risk.Dinah needs to focus, because she’s worked too hard to earn the town’s respect just to throw it away on a fling. Austin knows he’s got a bad reputation. He’s been following his father’s self-destructive footsteps for far too long. Now he’s finally ready to take the first step toward fixing his life, and convincing people that he’s changed, especially Dinah.But when Austin discovers an unexpected connection to Midnight’s disappearance, will Dinah see him for the man he was, or the one he’s trying to become?
Wild At Hart
No man should look as good as Austin Wright. Especially when that man is a suspect in a string of burglaries. And, Sheriff Dinah Hart can’t afford the distraction. Roundup’s thieves are growing bolder and Thunder Ranch’s prize stallion, Midnight, is still missing, putting the Harts’ entire livelihood at risk. Dinah needs to focus, because she’s worked too hard to earn the town’s respect just to throw it away on a fling.
Austin knows he’s got a bad reputation. He’s been following his father’s self-destructive footsteps for far too long. Now he’s finally ready to take the first step toward fixing his life, and convincing people, especially Dinah, that he’s changed.
But when Austin discovers an unexpected connection to Midnight’s disappearance, will Dinah see him for the man he was, or the one he’s trying to become?
“See anything you like?” Austin drawled
Dinah turned on her heel and opened her mouth to tell him that she’d heard that line before. Why, maybe even a dozen times.
But Austin was standing much closer than she anticipated. Actually, they were standing so close that she could smell his cologne. And the starch on his shirt. And the worn leather of his old, scruffy boots. And, well, everything else about him that made him distinctly Austin Wright.
Reading her mind, he grinned slowly. “Brings back old memories, doesn’t it?”
Dinah’s chin snapped up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A fresh set of lines showed up at the corners of his eyes. “Sure you do…and I do, too.” Leaning so close that it was almost uncomfortable, he whispered, “Remember when we used to see each other at the honky tonks? When we used to flirt a little too much? Stand a little too close?”
Oh, she remembered a whole lot of things, all right. Maybe too many for her own good.
Dear Reader,
I don’t exactly recall when my father first got Jet, his beautiful palomino. I do recall that we all thought Jet was a wonderful horse, and though I was very allergic to him, I’d sometimes walk with my dad to the barn or one of the pastures and visit him.
Jet’s life with my dad was fairly sedate. My dad would ride him when he could. Otherwise Jet lived a life of semiretirement, grazing and resting. By the time I was a senior in high school, my father was fairly involved in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Because of that, he was invited to ride in the arena one evening. So off Jet went to the Astrodome! I was sitting in the stands (loaded up with Benadryl), camera in hand, and then, all of a sudden, there they were. My dad and Jet on the Astrodome’s big screen! It would be hard to say who looked prouder—my dad or that horse.
I thought a lot about that moment when I wrote this book. I think there’s a time in everyone’s life when he or she is ready to shine, to have a second chance for glory. I did my best to let Austin and Dinah have that moment in this novel.
I can’t tell you what an honor it’s been to be a part of this continuity. I’m grateful for the other authors for their advice, and to our amazing team of editors for their guidance.
I hope you enjoy the book! And I’m as anxious as you to read Beau: Cowboy Protector by Marin Thomas, the next installment of the Harts of the Rodeo series!
Shelley Galloway
Austin:
Second Chance Cowboy
Shelley Galloway
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shelley Galloway grew up in Houston, Texas, left for college in Colorado, then returned to Dallas for six years. After teaching lots and lots of sixth graders, she now lives with her husband, aging beagle and barking wiener dog in southern Ohio. She writes full-time. To date, Shelley has penned more than thirty novels for various publishers, both as Shelley Galloway for the Harlequin American Romance line, and as Shelley Shepard Gray for Avon Inspire.
Her novels have appeared on bestsellers lists. She won a Reviewers’ Choice Award in 2006 and a Holt Medallion in 2009. Currently, she writes all day, texts her college son too much and tries not to think about her daughter going to college next year, too. Please visit her online at www.Harlequin.com (http://www.Harlequin.com) or her website, www.shelleygalloway.com (http://www.shelleygalloway.com).
This book is dedicated to my fellow Harlequin Continuity Authors, Cathy, C.J., Roz, Marin, Linda. What a privilege it’s been!
Contents
Chapter One (#ubccbc894-3ce3-5988-83f4-e9a497b91007)
Chapter Two (#u8ed58bd7-5ff0-5fd6-a86d-8e315a1daac5)
Chapter Three (#u77dbef41-6be1-5270-9604-d8e6d529acfd)
Chapter Four (#u1cc52365-6da6-59ba-a38e-3eb3b9255209)
Chapter Five (#uf7f225c9-7110-5abe-979b-efc50d6496af)
Chapter Six (#udbd7fd7d-a40a-5f5f-8af0-6353488a427e)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Excerpt (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
The light streaming through the cheap metal miniblinds was blinding. Austin Wright discovered if he squinted his eyes and turned his head a little to the left, he could almost stand it. Now, if he could only find a way to deal with the sickly, sweet sensation of needing to vomit.
Why the hell hadn’t he stopped after those first three shots of Cuervo Gold?
Because you’re a drunk, a stinging, no-holds-barred voice whispered into his ear. Whispered being the key phrase. Anything louder was going to cause him to run—not walk—to the bathroom and divest himself of the remaining contents of his stomach.
He almost remembered the events of last night, but wasn’t quite sure. Most of those memories were forever lost in a blackout. Austin gingerly propped himself up on his elbows and began looking for evidence. He’d done this before.
Too many mornings, the voice declared, making him wince. Only the threat of spending the rest of his morning washing soiled sheets kept him from lying back down and praying for oblivion. He’d done that before, too.
Warily, he glanced to his left. His Wranglers lay in a wad on the floor. Both his ropers were there, too.
He was just about to test turning his head to the right when a Gary Allan song started blaring from his cell phone.
Shit.
Scooting to the edge of the bed, he carefully bent down and reached a shaky hand toward his jeans. In one carnival-contortionist move, he was able to inch the denim closer, pull his cell out of the back pocket and finally punch the phone. Blessed silence.
“Yeah?” he rasped.
“Austin?” The girl’s voice was as sweet as it was sinful. “Honey, you okay?”
“I’m okay,” he muttered, doing his best to recall the lady’s name on the other side of the phone. Sandra? Cindy?
Finally, the name clicked. Stacy.
“I’m okay, Stacy,” he said, emphasizing her name. As though it was a real special thing for him to remember.
“Oh, good,” she replied with a breathless sigh. “I was a little worried last night. After, you know…”
No, as a matter of fact, he had no idea what the “you know” referred to. Biting his lip, he turned to the other side of the bed, looking for any sign that a woman had slept there.
Luckily, all he saw was a Hanes T-shirt long faded to a dingy gray and a wrinkled button-down. Not a pair of panties or a lacy bra in sight.
By turns disgusted with his behavior and bolstered by the evidence that he hadn’t completely gone crazy, Austin cleared his throat and went about lying with the best of them. “Stacy, I’m fine. Real fine.” Suddenly worried, he added, “And you?”
A light laugh fluttered through the phone. In another time, it would have stirred up his blood pressure. “Oh, I’m fine, Austin. I enjoyed every moment of your company,” she purred.
He almost relaxed. Maybe he hadn’t been that big of a jackass?
“That is, I was just super—until you cashed it in all over my Ariats.”
Cashed it in? It took a half second, but he finally figured out what she was referring to. Ah. He’d vomited on her boots.
Way to connect the dots, Austin.
Damn. Sitting up straighter, he ignored his pounding head, his sour stomach, the dry feeling around his tongue. Ariats were nice boots. Easily over a hundred a pop. “Listen, Stacy, about your boots. I’ll pay—”
“They were just my old ropers. You and I know I’ve had worse than that on ’em,” she said with a laugh. “Nothing to worry about.”
He exhaled in relief. Because, well, he didn’t have a spare dime to pay for a new pair of boots.
Because you had to go buy the whole bar a round of tequila, the voice said nastily.
“Austin, I didn’t call to give you grief about my boots. I just wanted to check on you.”
“Check on me?”
“Well, yeah. I was worried. I just wanted to make sure that you were, you know…okay?”
Alive, she meant. His shame was reaching new levels. She’d called to make sure he’d made it through the rest of the night. “Don’t worry about me, sugar. I’m always fine.”
“You sure?” she said a little hesitantly. “Because by the time we got you cleaned up and the clock struck three…you were sounding a little blue…” Her phone clicked. “Oops. I gotta go. That’s Daddy. Church today, you know.”
She hung up before he could respond to his blue mood or Sunday services. After clicking off his cell, too, he gripped it hard in his hand. For a moment, he was tempted to toss it across the room, but all that would do was ruin a perfectly good phone.
And he’d already ruined plenty over the past year.
His cotton mouth got drier as memories flashed. The times he’d driven home drunk, the times he’d woken up beside women he didn’t remember meeting.
The time he’d lived on ramen noodles for two weeks because he’d had to borrow money for gas in his truck. Because he’d spent every last dime at a rowdy bar in Sheridan.
With a groan, he pulled off his sheets and made himself put both feet on the floor. It was time to greet his new day.
Padding to the bathroom, he looked in the mirror. Caught himself in all his naked glory. He paid no notice to the lean muscles of his arms or the light line of hair that ran from the middle of his pecs to his belly.
He ignored the scars on his side and hands and forearms from too many falls and a whole lot of idiocy.
Instead he concentrated on the greenish-gray pallor of his face. His dry, chapped lips.
Then he looked beyond the bloodshot eyes to what he saw in them—the complete look of hopelessness.
He’d hit rock bottom, at least as far down as he was willing to go. He knew all about living with a drunk and a disappointment. He had become his own worst nightmare, and he didn’t know how he was ever going to recover.
Wrapping a towel around his waist, he padded back into his bedroom, grabbed his jeans and pulled out his wallet from the back pocket.
And there, sure enough, was a business card of a tire distributor. But that wasn’t what was important. Flipping it over, Austin stared at the name and phone number scrawled in a black felt-tip marker. The guy, who’d only said his name was Jack, had been in Austin’s store shopping for gear, said he’d known Buddy, Austin’s dad.
Further conversation revealed that Jack was a family man. He’d shown off a photo of him, his wife and two young boys posed in front of a Christmas tree. Austin had been wondering what the heck Jack had in common with him until Jack relayed that he’d almost lost it all—his business, his wife…even his kids.
When he’d handed the number to Austin and told him about the weekly meetings held right in Roundup’s Congregational Church, Austin had been stunned. Never would he have guessed that this guy had ever had a drinking problem. Actually, the guy had looked as though he had more together than most folks.
Austin had copped an attitude when Jack had started talking about how the hour-long meetings had changed him. About how he’d meant every single word of that Serenity Prayer.
But long after Jack left, when no one was looking, Austin had put the card in his wallet. Just in case he was ever so weak to dial the number.
You mean brave, idiot, his conscience whispered.
“Yeah, I mean brave,” he said. He sat on the edge of his mattress, picked up the phone and made himself dial before he lost his nerve. Before he turned cowardly all over again.
Finally, it was time. Finally, he was ready to do what he’d been pussyfooting around for the past three years. He was going to get some help.
“Hello!”
“Hey, Jack—”
“I’m not available right now, but leave a message. I’ll call you back—I always do.”
Austin didn’t want to leave a message. But he wanted help more. Thinking of his father, and the way no one gave him a moment’s time, he forced himself to talk.
“Jack, it’s, uh… It’s Austin Wright. You gave me your number a couple of months ago when you stopped by my store. In case, you know, I ever wanted to talk to you. I guess I do. Call me back.” He left his cell-phone number and clicked off.
Then practically ran into the shower, needing to clean off last night’s trouble. And the doubts that were surfacing all over again.
Bracing himself for the pain, he stepped under the showerhead and turned on the water, taking the cold blast of H2O against his skin as rightful penance.
It was no less than he deserved.
* * *
“HEY, DINAH,” DUKE CALLED out. “What’s shaking?”
She laughed. It had taken a while, but she and her deputy, Duke Adams, finally had the sheriff’s office running smoothly. Actually, Duke was more than her deputy; he was also her cousin.
And her friend.
Truth was, Sheriff Dinah Hart needed Duke’s good humor to help her get through the days in Roundup. In their small town, they got all sorts of calls. Anything could happen—from letting people into their locked cars, to directing traffic on Sundays at noon when the folks got out of church, to their current project: figuring out who in the world was involved with the recent outbreak of thefts in the area.
“Not too much is shaking right now,” she said wearily. “I’m exhausted.”
“What kept you up this time?”
“Too much fun at the Open Range on the weekend.” She shared a look with Duke. And though there had been more than one man letting off too much steam at Roundup’s biggest bar, she let herself fixate on the one man she could never ignore. “I tell you what, sometimes I’m this close to wringing Austin Wright’s neck.”
Leaning against an old metal file cabinet, he crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s he done this time?”
“Nothing illegal, just made a mess of the place. Again.” Remembering her first call of the day, she shook her head. “Ted was fit to be tied when he called me bright and early this morning. Seems Austin puked his life out in the middle of the place on Saturday night.”
Duke cocked an eyebrow. As usual, his low-key way complemented her inclination toward drama. “Don’t see why he called you. Puking’s unpleasant, but last I heard, it wasn’t a crime.”
“It wasn’t just that. Two good old boys got in a fight about where a dart landed or some such nonsense. They broke a pair of chairs and seemed intent on getting their hands on those darts for darker reasons.”
Duke winced.
“Yeah. It got ugly.” She sighed. “But I think Ted would’ve dealt with it all on his own if I hadn’t just paid him a visit. Somehow I must have conveyed that truly no problem was too small for our department.”
“That sounds like something you’d do.”
“Actually, I think Ted just wanted someone to listen to him.”
Duke curved his lips up slightly. “And you did.”
Boy, had she. Shaking her head, she said, “Sorry, Duke. What you got?”
He slid a paper over her way. “Another missing bridle and saddle, this one a Silver Royal from the Neiman ranch.” Whistling low, he added, “Craig Neiman says it’s worth a grand. At least.”
Dinah knew the prices of some saddles. And though Silver Royal was a good brand, all saddles weren’t created the same.
A theft was always treated seriously, but she knew Craig Neiman had a propensity to exaggerate when he could.
She had an idea. “Look, how about I go visit with Austin and see if that estimate is correct? It’s a perfect excuse to pay him a call and give him a gentle reminder about behaving himself out in public.”
“While you do that, I’ll go visit with the Neimans. See how the rest of their tack looks.”
“Great. Call me if you need me to stop by, too.”
Duke nodded. “Sounds good.” Pausing on his way out, he looked back at her, his brown eyes full of brotherly concern. “You okay with seeing Austin? You’ve got some history there.”
“That history is as old as the dartboard at the Open Range. And as full of holes, too.”
Duke grinned at her reference, then sobered. “Just be careful you don’t get stuck with anything, D. Those darts can hurt like a son of a gun.”
So did a lot of things, she thought to herself as she grabbed her purse, her gun and a candy bar for good measure.
Experience had taught her that a bite from a Snickers bar could do a girl a world of good.
Even when seeing Austin Wright.
Chapter Two
No man should look as good as Austin Wright, Dinah decided.
Blessed with a dreamy pair of blue eyes, dark wavy hair and a striking resemblance to Blake Shelton, he’d stopped more than one girl in her tracks. A long time ago, she’d kissed him in the moonlight on the outskirts of town.
That kiss had been hot enough to make her step back in a hurry. And hot enough to make Austin smile just a little too darkly.
Though she’d surely kissed other men since—and Austin had done a whole lot more with a whole lot more girls—that kiss never failed to pop up in her memory whenever they crossed paths.
It was a real shame, too.
“Hey, Dinah,” he said as she stepped into his shop, Wright’s Western Wear and Tack. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. You need something?”
Oh, that drawl! She blinked, and before she knew it, she was smoothing her left hand down the front of her tan sheriff’s shirt.
“No. I’m not here to shop.”
“Oh?” Gone went that teasing glint in his eyes. “What do you need?”
His voice was low. Gravelly and cool. And it affected her like it always had—with a zing right to her middle.
With effort, she opened up her spiral notebook and pretended to study her notes so he wouldn’t see her expression.
And so she wouldn’t start thinking about his blue eyes. And the way he did love to wear those Wranglers of his just a little low and a little tight. “I did come in here for something.”
“What?”
Lifting her chin, she strived for confidence and equilibrium. “I came to see what you knew about Silver Royal saddles.”
“For riding or show?”
“Show.”
“Other than they cost the earth?”
“Are they that much? I mean, how much earth are we talking about?”
“Easily a grand.” He looked at her curiously. “Why? You gonna start showing horses or something?”
Sidestepping the questions, she edged farther into the store, her boots clicking softly on the wooden floor. Took a peek toward the back of the shop where the tack was organized. “Any chance you got one of them around? My family never believed in spending that much on a saddle.” Their money had always been marked for stock.
Austin shook his head. “I can’t help you there, Dinah. You’re looking at a one-man show here. I ain’t got a lot of cause to be showcasing expensive saddles. Most folks who come in are looking for something a little more practical—more like something from King.”
Looking around a little more closely, Dinah realized she’d never spent much time in the place. Not enough to really study his merchandise, anyway.
In the front of the store there was a decent selection of shirts and Carhartt coats. A couple of racks of socks and gloves and hats. In the back was the “tack” section. Hanging neatly on pegs were bridles and reins, bits and cinches. Some new, but mostly used.
There were also six saddles. Even from the front, she could tell they’d seen a lot of action. Kind of like the man in front of her, she thought wryly.
She walked on back. Austin followed. “You here on official business?” he asked. “Or do you suddenly have a yen for a fancy new saddle?”
She thought everyone and their brother knew her family was having financial difficulties—like the rest of Montana. Plus, with her job and all, she never had time to ride.
Correction, she’d never taken the time to ride. “Business.”
“I see.”
Did he?
Her brothers expected her to be tough. The folks who’d elected her counted on her to be that way. The city council certainly paid her to be. But Austin? He was looking as though it would make his day if she revealed she was just a woman. Just like the girl she’d used to be, before she got her act together and figured out what she really wanted in life—to be respected.
Her mouth went dry as she looked blankly at the merchandise surrounding them. When was the last time she’d even thought about being just a girl? Just Dinah?
“See anything you like?” he drawled from behind her back.
She turned on her heel, opened her mouth to give him what for, to tell him that she’d heard that line before. Why, maybe even a dozen times.
But he was standing a whole lot closer than she anticipated. Actually, they were standing so smack-dab close that she could smell his cologne. And the starch on his shirt. And the worn leather of his old, scruffy boots and belt. And, well, everything else about him that made him distinctly Austin Wright.
Reading her mind, he grinned slowly. “Brings back old memories, don’t it?”
Her chin snapped up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A fresh set of lines showed up at the corners of his eyes. “Sure you do…and I do, too.” Leaning so close that it was almost uncomfortable, he whispered, “Remember when we used to see each other at the honky-tonks? When we used to flirt a little too much? Stand a little too close?”
Oh, yes, she did. At any age, Austin Wright had held the right combination of heat and bad-boy charm that she’d always found next to irresistible.
Back when she’d been eighteen? She hadn’t even tried to deny a thing with him.
Lifting a hand, he curved a stray lock of hair around her ear. “D, remember when we danced to Bon Jovi and thought we were cool?”
Glad for the memory, she laughed. “I was an idiot. I used to wear ridiculous band T-shirts.”
His grin widened as he stepped back and gave them a bit more breathing room. “And tight jeans. No one could fill out those Levi’s like you could.”
Yes, she had worn them tight. But then, so had he. And he still did.
Still reminiscing, he murmured, “You had a lot of hair back then.”
It had fallen to the middle of her shoulder blades. She’d kept it curly and a little wild. Now she kept her dark hair tamer. Every morning, she ruthlessly transformed the out-of-control curls to gentle waves that rested on the tops of her shoulders.
Before she knew it, she was fingering the end of a wayward curl. She had loved her long hair. But it was best she didn’t look like that anymore. No one would have taken a woman like that seriously.
“You had quite a head of hair, too,” she countered.
He ran a hand along his neck. “I like mine short now.” He cracked a smile. “But we thought we were all that and a bag of chips back in those days. Remember?”
She did. Oh, she remembered a whole lot of things. The way they used to hang out together when they’d be off at some of the local rodeos. No matter how much she’d promised her mother she’d behave, before long, she and Austin would egg each other on. Next thing she knew, she was dodging her brothers’ watchful eyes and sneaking around to where the trailers were parked. There, they’d sit in the dark, smoke a little, drink a whole lot more. One time they finally had given in to their attraction and shared that one amazing kiss.
Damn! That was the second time she’d thought of that in two hours!
With effort, she pushed aside all those feelings of desire…and remembered also how she’d finally decided it was time to grow up and become respectable. And Austin?
He hadn’t made that choice yet. Maybe he wouldn’t ever want to stop his partying and his women and his idiocy. Which meant they had nothing in common now.
Which kind of made her sad, and that was more than a little distressing!
Turning away, she patted one of the saddles. “This is beautiful.”
“You’ve got an eye, and that’s a fact. Just got that one in.”
“Who from?”
He looked evasive. “A woman out near Miles City.”
Tenderly, she ran her finger along the initials etched in the leather. “Any special reason why she sold it?”
“Nah. Her family fell on hard times. Had to sell the horse…” He shrugged. “The saddle came next.”
She bit her lip. Bringing back memories of barrel racing, feeling the wind against her hair. Feeling sweat running down her back as she tried to beat the clock.
And how she’d given up riding but hadn’t ever asked her family to sell that saddle.
That shamed her. Who knows? The money might have come in real handy lately. Her brother Ace could’ve probably used the money to pay for some of Midnight’s feed. Or the ranch’s electric bill. But she’d been too intent on keeping her saddle to think about that. No, she’d been selfishly holding on to it, as if she couldn’t bear to completely forget all of her past.
“Want to go riding one day, Dinah?”
“No.”
“Sure? We could go to my dad’s.” His voice was bright now. Less suggestive, almost friendly. Almost cheerful. “I haven’t been out to see him lately, but I do know Dad’s still keeping a couple of horses. Some of ’em are top-notch. Riding for a few hours, forgetting our troubles? It would be fun.”
Mention of his dad made her think of the other little reason she’d come visiting.
“So, I heard you created quite a mess at the Open Range.”
His voice turned flat. “Bad news travels fast.”
“Always.”
He tilted his head to one side. “Is puking my brains out against the law these days?”
“No. But driving under the influence is,” she said quickly. Thinking of a reason for bringing it up.
“Your mole should’ve told you that I didn’t drive.”
Oops. She hadn’t even asked. “Who did?”
He shook a finger at her as though she was a naughty child. “Uh-uh, Dinah. No way am I going to tell you all my secrets. That ain’t no business of yours.”
“Look, Ted doesn’t care to be cleaning up those messes of yours.”
“I realize that.” His blue eyes narrowed. “And I hope when you spoke to old Ted that he also told you that I stopped by this morning and offered to pay for the cleaning.”
“He didn’t tell me that.” Irritation surged through her. If Ted had taken the time to whine to her, why the heck hadn’t he felt like telling her the whole story? “But you were drinking shots of tequila, weren’t you?”
“I do believe I was. Sheriff.”
Now she felt worse than a prude. Her job was to uphold the law, not become the moral majority. “I just wanted to make sure, you know, that you weren’t going to make overdoing it…a habit.”
“No, ma’am.”
A lot of men called women “ma’am,” but rarely in that tone of voice.
She backed up a step. His eyes were cool and hard now. Reminding her that she’d just crossed the line and hadn’t really played fair, either. Using friendship to get information wasn’t anything she was proud of.
Just as she was turning around, she glanced at the saddles again.
And happened to see a lightly tanned one, with roses hand tooled along the skirt.
She knew that saddle. And last time she heard, the owner had reported it missing.
She headed to the door before he noticed her staring at it. She needed to get more information before she asked him about its origins. One of the first things she’d learned at the police academy was to try not to ask questions you didn’t already know the answers to. “Look, thanks for the information about the Silver Royals. I’ll be seeing you, Austin,” she called out over her shoulder.
“Feel free to stop by anytime and give me grief.”
His words hit a nerve. She hoped he didn’t notice her stumble. Pushing open the glass door, she strode out and into her cruiser.
And as she drove down the main street through town, she grimaced with sad satisfaction. Suddenly, everything was starting to make sense. Austin Wright was a small-business owner and no doubt was struggling to keep a solid inventory. He was probably having money trouble—most everyone in the county was. Then, of course, there was the Wright name. It had practically become synonymous with sketchy practices. Why, everyone knew his daddy had spent time in jail.
Had Austin decided to start making money the easy way? If he had, and if he was now bound and determined to start following in his father’s footsteps…well, there was probably little he wouldn’t do.
She hated to think that way about him. But they weren’t really friends anymore. And she was far different from the girl she used to be when they were.
She needed to remember that.
Chapter Three
“I’m so glad you had time to meet with me, Flynn,” Dinah said as they took a seat in one of the booths at the Number 1 Diner. Though it hadn’t been in Roundup for all that long, every time Dinah entered the place she felt a burst of nostalgia. It probably had something to do with the old photos of miners decorating the walls.
Or maybe it was the bright cherry-red Formica tabletops. Or maybe seeing waitresses dressed in jeans and boots and those red-and-black aprons just made her smile. “I had a real need for girl time.”
“I’m always up for a cheeseburger, you know that. Carbs and saturated fat can do a world of good for a woman in the throes of pregnancy.”
Looking at her friend and sister-in-law with a real fondness, Dinah laughed. “One thing never changes, Flynn. Come hell or high water, you’re never afraid to tell it like it is. Even if it involves too much information.”
“It’s only TMI if people don’t care,” she said, rubbing her growing belly. “And I’m sure you do care.”
“I’m taking the Fifth on that one.” Grinning, she opened the plastic menu and skimmed over the choices, lingering on the idea of a burger and fries…then resolutely focusing on the salads and grilled chicken. She’d worked too hard at the police academy to ignore the physical regime and exams. No way was she going to slide down into a slippery slope of unhealthy choices.
By the time Karla stopped at their table, chomping her ever-present gum, Dinah had made her decision. “I’ll have the Cobb salad, dressing on the side, Karla.”
“Drink?”
“Diet.”
Flynn made gagging noises. “That’s what I love about you, Dinah. You’re nothing if not predictable. Karla, I’ll have a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake.”
Karla winked. “Gotcha. Sure you don’t want to change your mind and get something with a couple of more calories, Dinah?”
What she wanted and could have were two different things. And, well, there was that secret stash of Snickers bars she couldn’t seem to ignore. “I’m good. Thanks.” Looking around, Dinah tried to catch sight of Sierra Byrne, the owner of the diner. “Karla, where’s Sierra?”
Karla shifted uneasily. “I’m not sure. Maybe she’s with her aunt Jordan? Sometimes Sierra and Jordan take Molly out on walks together.”
Dinah vaguely recalled seeing Sierra’s aunt Jordan and her Seeing Eye dog, Molly, walking in the park. “Oh. Well, tell Sierra ‘hey’ next time you see her.”
“Will do.”
When they were alone, Flynn crossed her arms over her chest. “So, you want to tell me why you called?”
“I just wanted lunch. And I wanted to hear how things were going at the ranch. And with the veterinary practice, too.”
“I’m sure Ace’s been keeping you informed.” Raising a brow, she said, “Ace said he talked to you about everything a few days ago. Did he actually call you?”
All her brothers called her on a regular basis—well, all except Tuf, she realized with a sinking heart. Ever since he was discharged from the marines, all they knew about Tuf was that he was somewhere in America. And that he had no desire to come to Roundup, Montana.
However, when Colt or Ace did call to check in, it was a bare-bones thing. They checked up on her. They filled her in with ranch news, all the time giving her a subtle reminder that she should be stopping by the house a whole lot more than she did.
“Ace called,” Dinah said. “Ace always calls.”
Flynn tilted her head to the side. As she did so, her blond hair shimmered a bit. Reminding Dinah of how healthy and vibrant she looked in her pregnancy. “So you just decided to ask me to lunch? Out of the blue?”
Why was Flynn making such a big deal about this? “A girl’s got to eat.”
“That is true. But you? On a Monday? I don’t think so.”
What the heck?
“Flynn, you’re making it seem like I don’t eat.” Looking down at her jeans, she privately wished they were a little less loose. She’d been losing weight something awful with the way the case was going. Or not going. “I do.”
“That is true. But you always stay in your office and file during lunch on Mondays.”
With some surprise, Dinah realized her sister-in-law was exactly right. She’d regimented her life so well that even people she didn’t see very often knew her schedule. All in an attempt to always be in control.
Pushing that thought away, she decided to dive into the deep end and hope Flynn had enough strength of character to pull her out while she was still breathing. “I saw Austin Wright today,” she blurted.
“Austin, huh?” Flynn picked up the shake that had just been delivered and took a healthy sip. “And this means something because…”
“You know how we used to be friends.” When Flynn just kept staring, Dinah finished the thought. “Okay. Really good friends.”
“We live in a small town. Everybody here has been friends with each other at one time.”
Flynn had a point, but it also wasn’t exactly true. A lot of them had been friends. And a lot of them had hung around together. But not so much with Austin or his sister, Cheyenne. In fact, apart from a span of eight months when she’d decided to live on the wild side, she’d never had much to say to him.
Well, she’d never trusted herself to have much to say to him.
Her mother had never been a real big fan of her seeing Austin, and with good reason, too.
“You know how everyone is around Austin,” Dinah added, not so obliquely referring to Austin’s troubles with bottles of bourbon.
With a grin, Flynn fanned herself with her paper napkin. “I know he’s just about the finest thing I’ve ever seen. Except for Ace, of course. It’s hardly fair. No man should look so good.”
Flynn was so right. Austin had looked good. Even all worn-out and tired-looking, he’d looked really good.
But even noticing felt like a betrayal of what she believed in. What she stood for. She needed to think about her job and her reputation. Not the wicked urges she had whenever she was around him. “I went to his shop to ask him about some saddles and we started talking,” Dinah said. “Do you ever have much occasion to visit with him?”
“You mean besides when I go shopping at his store?”
To her embarrassment, Dinah had never imagined anyone actually shopping there. It had always seemed a poor substitute for someplace better.
But maybe that had been a mean excuse. Maybe she’d really just been avoiding Austin. The idea made her uncomfortable. “You’ve shopped in Wright’s Western Wear?”
“Uh, yeah,” Flynn said with a touch of sarcasm. “They sell clothes and Western wear. I like wearing clothes and Western wear. When I’m not about to have a baby.”
Dinah was saved from replying to that by the arrival of her salad and Flynn’s juicy cheeseburger.
As she carefully dipped a forkful of iceberg lettuce into a dab of ranch dressing, she covertly watched Flynn take a healthy bite out of that burger. As she chewed, swallowed and then chomped on a fry, Flynn’s expression turned to pure bliss. No doubt it was the exact opposite of her own.
After swallowing, Flynn continued. “To answer your question, I’ve talked to Austin a few times at his store. But a whole lot more at rodeos.” She paused, then added, “I talked to him the other day at church, too. Actually, last Sunday, we had a real nice chat.”
Church? Dinah didn’t know if she was more upset to discover her brother and Flynn and Austin were attending church together or that they all knew she hadn’t stepped foot in a church since Christmas. “What was he like there?”
“Friendly.”
“Was he acting all right?”
“We were sitting in a couple of pews during a Sunday service, Dinah. What do you think?” She scowled slightly, then took another bite of that burger. And dipped two thick French fries into a puddle of mustard and ketchup.
A little stung—probably because Flynn had a good reason for sounding so sarcastic—Dinah said, “You don’t need to get snippy with me. I’m just asking questions.”
“I’m getting the feeling that you’re looking for trouble where there isn’t any. I just told you I talked to him at church and you act like I said we met at some…some porn store.”
She was glad her fork was sitting on her plate. “Porn store?”
“Oh, you know what I mean. You’re looking for trouble, and frankly, it’s disturbing. Just because a man’s family might not be completely upstanding, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have redeeming qualities.”
“I know that,” she said quickly.
“Do you? Maybe you’ve gotten too used to only looking for the worst in people, now that you’re the sheriff and all.”
That hurt. And, with Austin, she feared it might be true. “Let’s talk about something else.”
Flynn popped two more fries in her mouth. “All right.”
“Tell me about everything at work. Have any puppies been brought into the clinic lately?” Even though Flynn and Ace specialized in equines, every so often someone would come in with a litter of puppies.
Flynn’s eyes narrowed, but after yet another sip of her chocolate shake, she smiled. “As a matter of fact, a family brought in a litter of eight beagle pups last week.” She chuckled. “Oh, Dinah, you should’ve seen Ace! He’s so used to working with horses and cows, he hardly knew what to do when those brown, black and white fur balls got loose.”
Dinah smiled at the idea of her confident, capable brother chasing wayward pups. “I bet they were cute.”
“Cute as all get-out!” Patting her swollen stomach, she said, “If we weren’t fixin’ to have our own bundle of joy, I swear I’d have been badgering Ace to let us keep one.”
Imagining a puppy of her own, something soft and sweet to cuddle, she asked, “Whose puppies were they?”
“The Morans. Do you know them?”
“I know of them, but we haven’t had much of an occasion to talk.”
“Are you thinking about getting a puppy? Because if you are, you should stop by Angie and Duke’s place, too. I hear someone left Angie a basket of mongrel pups that are adorable. The price is right, too. They’re free.”
Getting a puppy was a pretty bad idea. And if she got one, it should be something dignified and policeworthy, like a German shepherd or something. After all, Duke had Zorro, and he was a great dog. But beagles were sweethearts…and abandoned mixed-breeds? They needed someone to love them. She could do that. “Maybe.”
“I’ll text you Kim Moran’s phone number if you want. You could give her a call. Or get Duke to take you to his house and look at the free puppies. I’m sure Angie would love to visit with you a bit.”
Ouch. There was another not-too-subtle reminder that she wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping in touch with the family.
Smiling sweetly, Flynn said, “You know what, Dinah? I think a sweet little puppy might just be the thing for you.”
“Because?”
“Because everyone needs someone to love.” Looking like the loved woman she was, Flynn’s eyes sparkled. “Even you, Dinah. Even a tough-as-nails sheriff like you.”
Even her. Thinking about that, her heart sank. Somehow, along the way to being respectable and upstanding and respected…she’d lost a little bit of her softness.
Suddenly, she ached to get it back.
Chapter Four
“Hey, Duke?”
Her deputy spun toward her on the stool he’d just discovered in the back storage closet of their hole-in-the-wall office. “Yep?”
“Tell me the truth. Do you think Austin Wright is responsible for the string of burglaries?”
As was his nature, Duke pondered that one for a moment. “I don’t want him to be. But what we want and what actually is don’t do either of us a lot of good, does it?”
After crossing the room—which meant she took five steps to the left and scooted around a line of metal filing cabinets—she slumped down in her chair. “No, it doesn’t.” Drumming the tips of her fingers on her desk, she looked at him sideways. “How do you want to handle things?”
“I already took a picture of the saddle you saw at Wright’s and sent it to Kevin Johnson. It’s his wife’s. And it had been stolen.”
She was afraid of that. Before she thought the better of it, she blurted what was first and foremost on her mind. “For the life of me, I just can’t imagine Austin stealing that saddle and then sticking it in his store.”
Duke chuckled. “That does sound pretty gutsy, even for Austin.”
It sounded stupid, too. And though Austin might have a lot of problems, stupidity had never been one of them. But she felt honor bound to play devil’s advocate. “I guess there’s always a chance he could be working with the thieves…”
After giving Zorro a brief scratch behind his ears, Duke turned to Dinah. “Want to know what I think?”
“Of course.”
“I think Austin bought it off a guy like he said he did. The people selling the merchandise are smart, Dinah. They’re not stealing and selling it to the public directly.”
“I hear you.” But like a dog with a bone, she couldn’t seem to move from her train of thought. “However, Austin could be more involved than he’s letting on. It’s a possibility.”
“But doubtful.” He paused. “You don’t think he had anything to do with Midnight being stolen, do you?”
She shook her head in a kind of knee-jerk reaction of sorts. “Austin wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t steal our family’s prize stallion.” Her brother Ace had bid on Midnight at a horse auction a few months back, and nothing around Thunder Ranch had been the same ever since. Midnight had proven to be ornery and proud and wonderful.
Her brother Colt had shown them all that Midnight had a lot more rodeos left in him, too. And then the thieves had struck their ranch, stolen her dad’s beautiful saddle, some of Colt’s bridles…and Midnight had gone missing.
Duke relaxed. “Boy, I’m glad to hear you say you don’t suspect Austin of horse thieving. I can’t see him doing it, either, but I wanted to hear the words from your lips.”
She rolled her shoulders uncomfortably. Her feelings about Austin were knee-deep and confusing as all get-out. But there were some things she couldn’t bear to even imagine him doing.
Stealing Midnight was one of them.
“I’ll follow up on some of the leads we talked about before accusing Austin of anything.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me.”
Realizing that Duke didn’t sound all that interested in the conversation, she looked up from her notes. “Duke, you look pleased about something. I know it’s not saddles. What’s up?”
“Angie and me are going away this weekend.”
“What?”
To her amusement, her cousin’s cheeks flushed. “Remember, we discussed calendars a couple of weeks ago? Luke is going to stay the weekend with the family at the ranch. Beau wants to spend some time with him. While they’re bonding and such, I’m going to take Angie down to Casper, Wyoming.”
“What a great idea.” Both Duke’s trip with Angie and Beau spending time with Luke sounded nice. Since Beau and Duke were twins, Dinah was glad that the wilder of the two brothers was taking so much time to get to know his nephew.
“Oh, it’s not much, but it will be nice to get away. They’ve got a fall festival that’s real popular.”
“I’m sure anything you do will be fun.” Dinah knew Duke loved Angie’s little boy as completely as if he’d been his own son. But that didn’t mean he never craved a little alone time with his new wife. “Have a good time.”
“Oh, we will. And, Dinah?”
“Yeah?”
“I mean this in the best possible way… Don’t call me.”
She chuckled. “Don’t worry, Deputy. This sheriff should be able to handle things just fine for a few days on her own. Let’s just sit tight on this case for a couple of days.”
“Roger that. Besides, I don’t want you to deal with Austin on your own if we figure he is the man behind all our headaches.”
“That sounds good. There are plenty of other things going on.” Looking at the list of messages on her desk, Dinah knew that was practically an understatement.
There had been a rash of problems with some of the high school kids in the area. Nothing too serious—just some graffiti painted on the back of the bleachers of the football stadium, and a couple reports of underage parties in outlying areas.
Feeling vaguely like the pot calling the kettle black, she realized that the reports listed a lot of the same stuff she’d done during her junior year in high school. Only she might have been worse.
With a wince, she hoped Principal Marks didn’t bring it up during their scheduled meeting. Carol Marks had been a new teacher when Dinah graduated high school.
Dinah remembered her being slightly shocked at Dinah’s way of dressing and her behavior. Hopefully, though, Mrs. Marks would remember just how hard Dinah had worked her senior year to turn things around.
* * *
SHE WAS STUCK IN THE GROCERY store line behind a woman with way too many coupons when she spied Austin in the next checkout lane. As she was attempting to figure out how to say hi to him without making a big deal of it, he looked up and caught her eye.
While the lady’s grocery bill continued to slide, fifty cents at a time, she smiled his way.
He came over, a paper sack in his left arm. “Hey,” he said. “What’s shaking?”
She laughed that he’d used the same expression as Duke. “Just waiting my turn. What about you? This is the last place I’d expect to see you on a Saturday night.”
“I eat, too.” He tapped his bag. “I’ve got a chicken and some potatoes just calling my name.” Eyeing her groceries, displayed for all to see on the conveyor belt, he laughed. “If you eat any more of those diet dinners, you’re going to float away, Dinah.”
She felt her face heat. “Unlike you, I’m not much of a cook. And eating at the Number 1 all the time can get expensive.”
Finally the woman in front of her paid her bill and it was Dinah’s turn to check out. As the clerk started scanning and bagging, she turned to Austin again. “Hope you have a good evening.”
“You, too.” He turned, took two steps, then came back over to her side. “Want to come over?”
“For dinner?”
“Don’t act like I’m wining and dining you, D. It’s just chicken and potatoes.”
His idea sounded a whole lot better than a diet frozen dinner. And there was something brewing between them that was hard to deny. “I’ve got a salad in a bag. I could bring that.” Gosh, did she sound as lame as she felt?
“We’ll have three food groups covered right there. After you take your groceries home, come over.”
“All right. I will.”
After presenting her with a pleased-looking smile, he turned and walked away. Dinah’s eyes followed him, noticing that his jeans today were still awfully snug…and were faded and worn in all the right places.
“Thirty-eight twenty-five,” the cashier said.
As Dinah handed her two twenties, the cashier winked. “I thought I was going to have to bop you on the head, Sheriff.”
“And why’s that?”
“Austin Wright is just about the finest-looking man in these parts. Only a fool would turn down the chance for him to make her dinner.”
There was a flurry of replies on the tip of her tongue. But only one right answer. “I was kind of thinking the same thing,” she admitted.
And with that, she grabbed her bags and hurried out to her car, anxious to spend some time with Austin, just to see if her instincts had been right.
Chapter Five
Sitting across from her, Austin had to admit that spending the evening with Dinah Hart had been one of the most pleasant experiences he’d had in months. He’d asked her over partly to get a rise out of her—sure she’d come to his store for more reasons than to ask him about saddles.
Her saying yes had been a nice surprise, their camaraderie even more so. Dinah had set the table while he’d grilled the chicken. Then she’d opened her bag of lettuce while he microwaved potatoes.
And though she looked at him curiously when he pulled out a pitcher of iced tea, she poured them two glasses. She’d even looked relieved, saying she couldn’t drink anyway since Duke was away for the weekend and she was essentially running a one-woman show in the sheriff’s office.
They’d talked about Leah and Colt, and Flynn and Ace. He’d told her about Cheyenne, and how she was living with their dad and slowly pulling out of her grief from losing her husband way too young. She grinned with him when he spoke about her twin girls, Sadie and Sammie.
Next they talked about Duke and Beau, and Beau’s chances in the latest bull-riding competitions.
From there, it was only natural to talk about Tuf Hart, Dinah’s younger brother. Austin’s heart had gone out to her when she’d talked about how Tuf still hadn’t shown up after getting out of the marines.
Family talk had eased into work, and she’d seemed genuinely interested in his shop. That worked out real nice, because he was genuinely interested in pretty much everything about her.
All too soon, it was almost midnight and she was getting to her feet. “Thanks, Austin. I…I really enjoyed myself.”
“You’re welcome. I liked having you here.” For a moment, he let himself stare at her lips, remembering with sudden clarity what kissing her had been like.
Those lips parted, just as if she had read his mind.
Right there and then, he knew if he leaned forward she wouldn’t be offended if he kissed her.
And he wanted to.
But it wasn’t the right time. He was an emotionally toxic mess. Especially since he hadn’t had the nerve to go to an AA meeting yet. Lord, he was needier than a newborn foal.
“So…good night, Dinah.”
She blinked. “Oh. Sure. Good night.” She looked a little hurt, as though he’d rejected her. Obviously she’d thought he was going to shorten that space between them and finally renew what had been floating between them for months.
He was still reluctant to see her go. “Any chance you going to church tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. I don’t go all that often. Why?”
“I’ll be there. Thought if you were going to be there, too, maybe we could have lunch together after.”
“You want to share another meal?”
She’d spouted the question as if he’d just asked to get in her pants. He bit the inside of his lip so he wouldn’t smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not trying to ruin your stash of Lean Cuisine dinners. I was thinking maybe we could get lunch at the Number 1 after. My treat.”
After a fresh burst of interest, she looked more than a little hesitant. One of her hands flew to her hair, curling one of the wayward locks around her ear. “Maybe. I’ll see what’s going on in the office tomorrow.”
“Fair enough. If I see you in church, I’ll see you. Night, Dinah.”
He stood at the door and watched her walk to her car, unlock it and finally drive away. He told himself he was just being a gentleman. After all, the sheriff probably didn’t need a man looking after her.
He couldn’t help but think maybe Dinah needed a man looking out for her. It was a real shame he wasn’t the best candidate for the job.
* * *
DINAH HADN’T INTENDED to go to church. But when she called her mom, she sounded beyond pleased at the thought of Dinah sitting in the pew beside her. “We’ve had so many changes going on with the family lately, Dinah. It’s good to take some time to give thanks, don’t you think?”
There had only been one right answer. “Yes, ma’am.”
So that was how she ended up sitting in church on Sunday, and in a dress, no less. She fingered the cotton fabric of her loose-fitting chambray blue dress. She’d paired it with boots and a concho belt. As dresses went, it was fairly casual. But it was a whole different look from her usual jeans and tan sheriff’s shirt.
“You look so pretty, Dinah. So feminine! You should wear dresses more often, honey.”
Her mother’s voice had carried. A few seats over, Flynn chuckled. Ace winked. And then there was Austin, looking way too fine in pressed jeans and a white shirt so starched and bright it looked almost blinding.
But it didn’t match the almost dazzling smile that deepened when he caught her eye.
Oh! Resolutely, she turned back around and concentrated on listening to the pastor. And not fussing with the fabric of her dress.
But though the pastor’s message was a good one, Dinah felt her mind drift. She started thinking about work and filing and to-do lists. And about missing tack and one black stallion that was AWOL.
She began checking her watch every couple of minutes.
When the service ended and they were all filing out, her mother turned to her with a smile. “You coming back to the ranch, honey?”
“No, I should probably stay in town. Duke and Angie are away, you know.”
“I know, but Beau will be there. As will Ace and Flynn. Colt and Leah are coming over, too. He’s got news of Evan.”
Dinah knew her brother was doing everything he could to forge a bond with his twelve-year-old son. Until very recently, Colt had thought Evan’s mom had hoped he would keep his distance. But Colt marrying Leah had changed all that. Now he and the boy tried to spend time together every few weeks.
“I’ve got to work, Mom. The town elected me to be around.”
“But it’s Sunday.”
“That doesn’t matter.” She softened her words with a smile. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to come over later this week.”
“All right.”
Moments after waving off her mother, she practically ran into Austin. He was standing against the wall, with his arms crossed over his chest. Watching her.
Waiting for her.
Well, she certainly couldn’t take him up on lunch at the Number 1 when she’d refused her mother. “Hey,” she said.
“Dinah.” His grin widened. “You look as pretty as a picture today.”
This darn dress! “Thank you.”
“Ready to go to lunch?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t have lunch with you.”
“Because?”
“Because I need to work. And I already refused my mother’s invitation.” And starting up something with Austin was such a very bad idea. She waited pensively, half-afraid he was going to try to talk her out of her decision.
But instead, he pushed away from the wall. “No problem. But don’t forget to eat, okay?”
“I am sorry.”
“It’s no biggie. I’ll be seeing you, D.”
Now she was the one standing in the church’s courtyard watching him.
But that wouldn’t do. She needed to keep to herself and keep on alert. Just in case someone needed her.
Just in case.
* * *
WHEN JACK STILL HADN’T returned his call, Austin had decided to reach out to yet another person who’d tried to help him recently—Vanessa Anderson. Vanessa was now a nurse at the small family-practice doctor’s office. She was also one of Austin’s oldest friends. He’d taken a chance and called her just two hours ago. To his surprise, she’d answered right away and even coaxed him into coming in.
He’d readily agreed, though the knot in his stomach and the tremors in his hands revealed that it wasn’t easy for him. To his shame, he was still too chicken to go to an AA meeting. There was something about standing up and admitting his problems to a bunch of strangers that scared the shit out of him.
But he had now gone six whole days without a drop to drink. And that was about six days longer than he could remember ever abstaining in years. It hadn’t been easy. He’d felt a little shaky…and more than a little sick.
But he’d held firm.
So though he wasn’t quite man enough to tell strangers about his problems, he’d decided to take Vanessa up on her offer. He and Vanessa Anderson had known each other forever and had always been firm friends, not lovers.
In addition, he’d heard rumors that she, too, had had to deal with some demons in her past.
“Austin, you did the right thing,” Vanessa said as she sat down on the other vacant chair in the examining room of the doctor’s office. “Asking for help is never easy. Some would say it’s the most difficult thing to ever do.”
Though Vanessa’s heart was in the right place, Austin wasn’t the least bit reassured by her remarks. In his book, a man should be better than his addictions. And so far, he’d done nothing but give in to his weaknesses at every turn.
“I’m just trying to get on with my life,” he said through clenched teeth. “That’s all.”
“So…there’s a meeting tonight. At seven o’clock at church. You going?”
“I’m thinking about it.” Already his palms were sweating at the thought of going. What would they make him do? Tell his whole life story, which was nothing all that bad?
Make him admit over and over that he was an idiot?
And what if he saw people there he knew? His reputation as a Wright wasn’t all that great in the first place. What was going to happen once everyone got a load of his latest batch of problems?
She gripped his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “It’s going to be okay, Austin. Look, this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to give you a tetanus booster, and then I’m going to make sure you have my cell-phone number. It’s sheer luck that I picked up my home line yesterday afternoon. I want you to promise me that you’ll call my cell if you ever want to talk about the meetings. Or anything.”
She wasn’t making a pass at him. She wasn’t treating his problem like a personal failure or like he should have been tougher than a bottle of Jim Beam.
Instead, she was offering him a hand. And that hand was so tempting but also so hard to accept, he could hardly look at her. “I don’t know if I can actually go in that room, Van.”
“Then don’t think. Just go.” She paused. “And if you find you’re sitting in your truck, trying to find the will to open your door, call me. I’ll talk you through it.”
Offers like that didn’t come easily. “Wow. I appreciate it, Vanessa.”
“Hey, now. There’s no need to turn bashful on me, Austin. I’ve been where you are. I promise you that.”
“I still can’t believe you were hooked on painkillers. I never knew until you told me.”
“That’s because I got help. It wasn’t easy, but I did it.” Her eyes shone as she continued. “I promise, there’s a whole life for you on the other side, Austin. You’ve just got to make the choice to change. We both know that not everyone does.”
He blinked, wondering if she was referring to his father. But even if she was, he let it slide. It was what it was—and he kind of figured there was little he could do about his father anyway. Thirty-plus years of being a disappointment pretty much cemented a man’s reputation.
Putting on his hat, he nodded to Van. “Thanks for the shot and the ear. I was feeling like I had to move forward or I was never going to do a thing.”
“Like I said, I’ve been there.” Her gaze softened as she walked with him to the front door. The waiting room was vacant, and after he opened the glass door, she leaned into the opening slightly. The warm sun illuminated her skin just a little more, making her somewhat ordinary looks seem all of a sudden striking.
Before he thought how it might look, he wrapped her in a loose embrace and kissed her forehead. “I owe you, honey. Thank you.”
“You don’t owe me for this, Austin,” she said. Her smile widened, and then she looked thoughtful as she glanced beyond him. “I think I should let you be going,” she said cryptically as she went back inside.
Austin turned around to catch who’d caught her eye.
Then felt as if he’d just fallen over a cliff. “Hey, Dinah.”
She was looking him over as though he was no better than an old Coke can that someone had tossed out the back window of their Chevy.
“Making the rounds this morning?”
Her voice was as sweet as corn syrup left out on the counter too long. It was obvious she’d misread his hug with Vanessa. Well, if she had, he was glad of that. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to know that he’d been at the clinic for testing and rehab advice.
“I’m getting a couple of things done. You?”
“I’m doing the same.” Hazel eyes skimmed over him again as she tucked in her tan shirt a little more securely into the waistband of her jeans. “Just, you know…making the rounds, too.” She coughed. “But for me, it’s work.”
“It’s always work, right?”
She pursed her lips before answering. “Duke was out of town yesterday. I couldn’t go out to lunch.”
“You told me.” Austin smiled. He couldn’t help it. He liked putting her on the spot, just a little bit. Besides, she was cute. He knew to most people, Sheriff Hart was about the least “cute” woman in town.
A lot of the older men in Roundup didn’t really trust a woman sheriff. They kept waiting for her to mess up. Added to the fact that a number of ranches in the vicinity were on alert because of the recent thefts in the area, and the fact that the Harts’ fancy bucking horse was still missing? Well, a lot of people were just socking it all away as ammunition for the next election.
Others only saw Dinah as a Hart. Part of the rodeo royalty in the area. Though they didn’t have bunches of money, their reputation was as good as gold. They won buckles, they had honor and they were fearless.
They also stuck together like a school of fish. Their ranks were solid and next to impossible to break. So even though he was a Wright—which meant he had a snowball’s chance in hell to ever date her seriously—he couldn’t resist pretending he had a shot with her. “I’m about to go down to the market and grab a couple of sandwiches and eat on the park bench. Want to join me?”
“It’s kind of early for lunch.”
“I know. But I’ve been up for hours. And I’d rather eat outside instead of in the store.” Since she looked interested but just as skittish as a new foal…he kept talking. “Dinah, I know you’ve got to be prepared for just about anything…but I figure if you’re in the town square, you’ll be able to swoop down and stop any jaywalkers that might come upon us.”
“I do more than stop jaywalkers.”
“I know. I’m also starting to get the feeling you don’t eat all that much.”
“I have Snickers bars.”
“Maybe you should supplement your candy-bar diet with some turkey every now and then.” Her eyes widened with surprise. “Just saying.”
“Austin—”
“Yeah?” He braced himself as he waited for a perfect freeze-out.
But instead of that, she nodded. “Sure. I mean, why not?”
Deciding it would be best to not give her any more time to think about things, he said, “Listen, you go scope us out a seat. I’ll be right back.”
“Oh, no. I’m coming with you and ordering my own sandwich.”
“You, Dinah Hart, are a bit of a control freak.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
He smiled, but his heart softened. There really was so much more to the woman than most knew.
* * *
DINAH WOULD HAVE NEVER imagined Austin Wright as a tuna-salad type of guy. Roast beef would have been her pick. Turkey, maybe. But tuna salad on whole wheat? It kind of struck her as funny.
But maybe that had more to do with her choice, the Italian Stallion on a hoagie. And of course, barbecue potato chips and a Coke to wash it down.
Austin looked amused as he watched her take her first unhealthy bite. “You’re a regular heart attack waiting to happen, Dinah.”
“Not usually. Usually I watch every little thing.” Except for her stash of Snickers bars, of course. Those she kept on hand for easy access. And emergency purposes.
And whenever she got particularly stressed.
“I’ve got to keep in shape, you know. For the job.”
Frank appreciation appeared in his eyes before he tamped it down. “You’ve done a good job with that shape, too.”
Now she was embarrassed. “I wasn’t fishing for a compliment.”
“I would have given it to you no matter what.” He shrugged. “And I’m not complimenting you as much as stating a fact.” Looking mildly uncomfortable himself, he took a good-size bite of his tuna and chewed.
“So, do you do this often?”
He shrugged. “I like being outside. I like the diner, too, but sometimes this is easier. And cheaper.”
“More of a tuna guy.” She tried hard, but the smile she was fighting still slipped out.
“I like fish. And the deli uses low-fat mayonnaise for me.”
Because no one else was around, she let herself giggle. Just a little bit.
Austin’s gaze warmed. “So you do laugh. I’ve been wondering.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“About what you’d imagine it does. Usually, I only see you with your game face on.”
It was tempting to pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about, but she did. “I have to be serious when I’m on the job.”
“And other times?”
“And other times,” she agreed. “Getting reelected is important to me. Keeping everyone’s respect is important to me, too. I don’t want Duke to ever regret working with me. And I especially don’t want the citizens to change their mind.” Already full, she pushed the second half of her sandwich to one side.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. Everyone knows that Duke thinks you’re doing a good job. Other folks think so, too.”
“They might not think that way much longer,” Dinah admitted. “A lot of people are real upset about the string of robberies, and I don’t blame them. Money’s tight right now, and folks are having to put out more money for better security systems and lighting. Some outfits have even had to hire on extra hands to help with patrols. Though everyone knows we’ve got a police force of two and a big area to patrol, that doesn’t always count for much when the bills come in at the end of the month. Plus, people are still missing their tack.”
“I hear you.”
She lowered her voice. “Sometimes I worry that even my family is losing their faith in me.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
She appreciated the trust, but Dinah knew the truth of the matter. “Midnight’s disappearance has stressed out just about everyone, especially my mom. If we can’t track that horse down real soon, I worry that my mom is going to sell the ranch.”
Austin shook his head in that confident way of his. “Ace wouldn’t let that happen. Thunder Ranch is y’all’s legacy.” Eyeing her wrapped-up sandwich, he said, “Think you can eat another two bites?”
“You sound like my mother!”
“Naw, just trying to look out for you. Eat another bite, D.”
Before she knew it, she was unwrapping the sandwich and taking one more bite. Just to please him.
His eyes lit up, looking pleased with himself. And that made her more than a little uncomfortable.
Quickly, she swallowed and got back on track with their conversation. “I know that Ace’s judgment is good, and most times I don’t mind following his directives. But all of us agree that no home is worth our mother’s health.”
“Dinah, I hear what you’re saying, but I’ve got to tell you—you look like you’re almost causing the end of the earth. Surely your family isn’t blaming you for the flurry of thefts in the area. And what happened with Midnight is a crying shame. But if someone had really wanted that horse, then it stands to reason he took it far away. For all we know, that horse could be on the other side of the country by now.”
Though she didn’t like hearing his hypothesis, she appreciated his faith in her. It seemed she spent most of her life keeping up a Teflon front—pretending she was impervious to criticism. “No one in my family has come out to blame me. Not in so many words. But I do know that they’d hoped I’d be better at my job…” Her voice drifted off as she recalled their last meal together.
Sitting at the big oak table, surrounded by everyone who knew and loved her, she could feel their frustration as if it was a tangible thing. It had been that way for weeks, too. The tension was getting so intense she knew it was just a matter of time before one of her brothers or cousins snapped. And the thing of it was that she wasn’t even going to be able to blame them. Obviously she’d done a bad job with the investigation. Though she didn’t know what she would have done differently, she was sure there had to have been a better way to get the answers.
“You okay?”
She started, realizing Austin had been staring at her while she’d been gazing off into nothing. “Sorry, I got caught up remembering something. But that moment of silence was probably a nice break from all of my whining.”
His blue eyes sparkled. “You don’t whine, Dinah. All you’re doing is venting, and I promise, you don’t have the cornerstone on that. Everyone needs to let things out every now and then.”
“Maybe you’re right. But between the horse missing and saddles getting stolen and high school kids acting up…and Duke only working part-time, I’m feeling like I don’t have enough hours in the day to do it all.”
Of course, the moment she spouted off her laundry list of complaints, she wished she could take it all back. What was she thinking? Austin could be working with the thieves!
After swallowing another bite, Austin kicked his legs out. Looking her over, he asked, “Do you mind if we don’t talk about work for a bit?”
She jumped at his change in topic. “What do you want to talk about? Is something wrong? Do you need my help?”
His lips curved. “See, Dinah, that’s your problem. You hardly know what else to do besides work.”
Maybe he was right. Or maybe…she just wasn’t sure what else to talk to him about. Sitting next to Austin made her pulse race a little faster and the rest of her feel suddenly feminine, as if she was still a woman even though she was the sheriff.
And here she’d been talking nonstop about herself. How self-absorbed could one woman be? “So, how is your shop doing?”
“I’m not going to talk to you about my store. That’s work, too. You’re just going to have to think of something far more interesting.”
The jibe was given kindly, not mean-spirited at all. But it did serve to remind her that she had little else in her life besides her job.
Shoot, she couldn’t even seem to give up a Sunday.
In defense, she said, “Austin, I’m not like all the other women you date.”
The smiled vanished. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?”
She could have cursed her tongue. Now he was probably going to ask why she’d even brought up the other women. And then she was going to have to admit that she hadn’t been able to get the picture of Austin hugging Vanessa out of her mind.
But since she’d started, she continued on. “I’m just saying there’s more to me than just being a good-time girl with a lot of great hair.”
“Hey, now. Hair?”
“I’m just saying that Vanessa sure has a lot of hair for being a nurse in a medical practice.”
He sat up straighter. “Wait a minute. You’re talking about Vanessa Anderson?”
“Yes, though I bet you know plenty of Vanessas.” Now that it was all out in the open, she felt worse than catty. But how could she backtrack without seeming like more of a fool? “You know what I’m talking about, Austin,” she said with a whole lot of bravado. “Vanessa must have more hair spray in that head of hair of hers than Miss Texas.”
He scowled. “There’s nothing wrong with her hairdo. She’s got pretty hair.” She knew that. That was the problem. “And, she’s got a good brain and a good heart, too. She’s a nurse, Dinah. And she’s married!”
“She’s a real pretty nurse. So, did she check you out?”
Stuffing the remainder of his sandwich in his plastic grocery sack, he glared hard at her. “Jeez, Dinah. I never thought you were the type of person who went around stereotyping others. Especially not other women, and especially not on a whim, just to be mean.”
Did Austin Wright just say whim? “I don’t stereotype.”
He got to his feet. “I think you must. You’re talking about Van like she’s got nothing for nothing just because she’s a beautiful woman who’s embraced her share of the Walmart beauty aisle.”
“I saw you hugging her.” Even as the words spewed out of her mouth, she felt ten times as foolish. And suspiciously like a stalker.
“I was thanking her.”
“For giving you a shot?” The moment her question left her mouth, she ached to take it back.
“I was thanking her for a lot of things, not that it’s any of your business.”
Dinah folded her arms over her chest. “I bet everything between you two was all business, all right.”
“You don’t know a thing.” A muscle in his jaw twitched as he chose his words. “I think you’re a real fine policewoman, Dinah, but at the moment, I’m thinking you’ve got a real prejudice toward me. And for the record, I just want to say that I’m plumb tired of it.”
His words, and the unspoken hurt that lay behind them, made her cheeks flush. “I don’t—”
“I think you’ve gone out of your way to give me more than a wide berth because of who my father is. And because of our past.”
She felt more than a little sucker punched. “That’s not true. I went over to your place for dinner on Saturday night.”
“You know that was a fluke. Usually you avoid me like the plague.”
“I—I don’t…” she sputtered. It was a whole lot easier to call him a liar than to admit he was right.
“I think it might be truer than you want to admit.”
Because she had eagerly hoisted an empty brain on Vanessa so she wouldn’t have to look at her own insecurities, Dinah fended off his words by holding up her sandwich. “I don’t think there’s a reason in the world for us to continue this conversation. To make it easy for you, I’m going to stay right here and eat this while you move on.”
Looking down at her, his too-handsome features were marred as he scowled. “Don’t worry, Sheriff Hart. I won’t make a point of sharing a bench with you anytime soon.”
Wisely, she kept her mouth shut as he sauntered off. But boy, howdy! What was it with him and her reaction to him? All he had to do was be within breathing distance and she turned into some kind of high-strung, nagging witch who made petty comments about other girls in town.
That definitely wasn’t her.
Gazing at her sandwich, she did what she usually did best. She analyzed things. Maybe her problems with Austin stemmed from the memories he triggered?
His wild ways made her remember too much. The way she used to run around without half a care in the world and a chip on her shoulder. She’d made mistakes, some in an inebriated fog that had made it almost impossible to recall them in detail.
Now when she looked at Austin or heard about his escapades, it brought back all those memories. Including the way she’d once plastered herself to him in a kiss that was so hot it could have set their clothes on fire. Even the memory of it made her ache with embarrassment all over again.
Now so glad she hadn’t eaten more than she did, she wadded up her napkin and she tried that excuse on for size. Was that really the root of her problem? Austin merely brought back memories?
Chewing, she thought about it some more and tried to convince herself of that fact.
And then realized that while a person could fool a lot of people some of the time, it was near impossible to fool yourself.
Not more than once, anyway. Tossing the rest of her sandwich in the trash, she stomped to her office, checked her emails, then two hours later got into her cruiser and headed back over to the high school.
When they visited before, she’d been pleased to realize that Mrs. Marks had been willing to accept Dinah’s suggestions for getting some of the kids back on track. They’d both agreed that getting to know the kids better was key, so she was going to visit a couple of classrooms.
Dinah had a feeling getting the kids to trust her was going to be something of a challenge. After all, when she had been in high school, the last thing in the world she would’ve wanted to do was visit with a sheriff.
Suddenly, she remembered what Flynn had said about those puppies of Angie’s. Picking up her cell, she called Angie and asked if she could borrow a couple of the stray pups for a few hours.
She could use the puppies as a reason to talk to the kids. Talk to them about the dangers of dropping off stray animals.
A lot of people would go out of their way to avoid the sheriff. But a pair of cute, cuddly puppies?
Now, that was a whole other story.
Chapter Six
His first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was in a smallish Sunday school classroom in the back of the church. Austin strode in with five minutes to spare and feeling more nervous than the moment when the chute flew open and he was sitting bareback on a horse with an attitude.
Could he do this? Everything inside of him was screaming no, he could not. But his head seemed to be in control for once and kept him firmly in tow. The entrance area was empty. The only sign of recent life was a neat rectangular-shaped whiteboard. On it, the daily schedule listed a whole slew of meetings and coordinating rooms.
Nowhere could he find a listing for the AA meeting.
Flummoxed, he pulled the sheet of paper where he’d written the meeting’s date, time and place. Yep, he was in the right place at the right time on the right day.
Deciding to go another route, he glanced at the times. At seven o’clock, there was a meeting for Friends of Bill W. in Room 11. Vaguely he recalled hearing that was the code for the meeting.
Seeing shadows approaching on the sidewalk, he knew it was time to make a move. He could either walk down to the meeting, or he could make up a bunch of lies to the people who entered, and to himself. He’d definitely lied about his goals and intents before.
But then he remembered Dinah and the way she’d trotted off in a huff. He recalled the disdain he was sure he’d spotted in her holier-than-thou hazel eyes.
Finally he remembered that he’d woken up not too long ago with a phone call from a woman he didn’t recall talking about events he didn’t remember. If he didn’t change his ways soon, he knew there was a good chance that the next phone call he got wasn’t going to be as kind, and that the events were going to be a lot different than being rowdy and disgusting at a local bar.
That fear was enough to propel him down the hall. Door 11 was open and there were seven or eight men and women either talking or sitting quietly. He paused at the doorway, suddenly feeling as if he was back in Sunday school.
A man a good ten years older than him looked his way and paused. “Hi. I’m Alan. Are you here for our meeting?”
“I’m not entirely sure.” He lowered his voice. “I’m here for an AA meeting?” Oh, he hated how he sounded. Like a squeaky, nervous kid.
The way he sounded years ago when he and Cheyenne went to visit his dad in prison.
But if Alan thought he was a weak-willed wuss, he didn’t act like it. Instead he nodded in a relaxed, easygoing way. As though Austin had asked if he thought it might rain. “You’re in the right spot. First meeting?”
“Yep.” As if it wasn’t obvious.
“I’m glad you came. You made the right decision.”
Gathering more courage than it had ever taken him to climb on the back of a temperamental bronc, he said, “We’ll see about that.” Already he was thinking about exiting out of there quickly.
“No one’s going to make you say a word.” Alan smiled encouragingly. “But you can talk if you want to.”
“I think I’ll just do the watch-and-listen thing.”
“Good enough.” He stepped backward and let Austin walk on in.
He hesitated, then continued forward. Hoping all the while that he would learn the secret to sobriety. ’Cause he was already so nervous, his mouth was near parched. And the only thing that sounded as if it could quench his thirst involved Kentucky Bourbon.
There were chairs set up in a circle. Too ashamed to see anyone he knew, he took a chair in the middle of three empty ones, then immediately regretted his decision. Did sitting by himself make him stand out even more?
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