Читать книгу The Deputy Gets Her Man - Stella Bagwell - Страница 9

“Rosa, you look so pretty tonight!” Loretta, a longtime Blue Mesa waitress, stepped back from the booth and gave Rosalinda a full-length inspection. “I can’t ever remember seeing you in a skirt. Must be something special going on.”

Loretta’s remark brought a sting of heat to Rosalinda’s face. She’d donned the turquoise tank top and white tiered skirt because it was a warm summer evening. Not because there was anything special about tonight, other than the idea that Tyler Pickens might walk through the door and sit across from her.

Ever since she’d driven from the Pine Ridge Ranch this morning, she’d been asking herself exactly what she was doing. Cozying up to the enemy or simply wanting to be a woman again? No matter which way she answered, it would be wrong. Outside of an official interview, she had no business conversing in any form or fashion with Tyler Pickens. And why would she want to? He wasn’t the most charming or sociable guy she’d met in the past few years, though he was probably the sexiest. He was also a mystery. One that she wanted to unravel.

“Nothing special, Loretta. I do wear skirts and dresses, you just always happen to see me whenever I’m working.”

The young woman with a long red ponytail pulled out her order pad. “That’s for sure. You’re always working. Especially at this time of night.”

“I worked overtime last night investigating the fire out on the Chaparral Ranch. So I got off early this evening.”

Loretta tapped the end of her pencil against her chin. “Oh, yeah, I heard about the fire. Have you caught the person who set it?”

She gave the waitress a sidelong glance. “How did you know that someone set it? It could’ve been a wildfire.”

Loretta chuckled. “Rosa, you know how word gets around. Lawmen are in here for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Besides, if it had been a simple wildfire you wouldn’t have been working overtime.”

“You’re a smart girl,” Rosalinda said wryly. “What are you doing wasting away here in this restaurant?”

A furtive look came over the waitress’s face. “Waiting for a man to walk through that door and sweep me off my aching feet.”

She might as well keep waiting, Rosalinda could’ve told her. Gallant knights didn’t ride up to restaurants and save damsels in distress. A few years ago Rosalinda had worked as a waitress, too, at the Brown Bear Cantina, a dingy little diner down on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. During that time she’d fallen in love with a regular customer, but her feelings had all been one-sided. Johnny Chino had loved someone else and was now happily married to the woman. Thankfully, he’d never really guessed her flirting meant anything serious. Otherwise, it would be awkward working as his fellow deputy now.

“Good luck,” Rosalinda told her.

A customer at another table called out to Loretta and she said to Rosalinda, “I’d better go check on that table. I’ll get your coffee on the way back.”

The waitress swished away from the corner booth and because she was nervous, Rosalinda picked up the menu that Loretta had left behind. The Blue Mesa wasn’t a fancy place. But the simple, home-cooked food was so good that patrons ignored the scruffy seating and worn tile. The old establishment had been a focal point on Mechem Drive for more than five decades, and during all those years the city police and county law officers had used it as a gathering place.

Moments later, Loretta returned with her coffee and as Rosalinda stirred a huge dollop of half-and-half into the cup, she heard the bell over the front door jingle.

Glancing up, her heart immediately gave a hard jerk as she watched Tyler Pickens emerge from a small entryway at the front of the room. Except for replacing the cream-colored shirt with a pale blue one, he was wearing the same cowboy gear he’d worn this morning. And like it had this morning, the sight of him struck her hard.

He paused at the entryway long enough to allow his gaze to sweep the room. When it finally landed on her, he acknowledged the recognition by a faint incline of his head, then quickly made his way through the busy eating place until he reached the far back wall where she was sitting.

“Hello, Mr. Pickens,” she greeted him.

“What a surprise to find you here, Ms. Lightfoot.” The wry slant to his lips made the glint in his eye seem even more suggestive. “Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?”

Because she didn’t know whether to groan or laugh, she ended up doing neither. And since she was off duty at the moment, it hardly seemed appropriate to remind him once again that she was Deputy Lightfoot to him, not a Miss or Ms.

She said, “Ridiculous is more like it.”

He took a seat on the opposite side of the table and eased off his gray hat. As he placed the headgear next to him on the bench seat, her gaze traveled over his black hair. It was thick with a slight wave bending the ends. Her mother would say the man needed a haircut. The wayward strands curving around his ears and onto the back of his neck gave him a reckless, bad-boy look. Add that to the day-old growth of beard shadowing his jaws and chin and the image was downright lethal, she decided.

He looked across the table at her. “Why? Because you told me where you’d be? Or because I’m here?”

“Both.”

“You’re out of uniform,” he stated the obvious as his gaze swept over her. “I got the impression you’d be stopping by here on your work break.”

“Since I worked through most of the night last night, another deputy offered to take over my shift. Once I leave here, I’m going to go home and crash.”

“Well, you look very pretty.”

From everything Undersheriff Donovan had told her about Tyler Pickens, she’d not expected him to be a flirt or anything close to it. Apparently, the man had a side to him that others hadn’t seen before. So why was he showing it to her?

Deciding she might not want to know the answer to that question, she picked up her coffee cup and gazed into the brown liquid. “Thanks.”

He was about to make some sort of reply when Loretta arrived. As the young woman took their orders, Rosalinda could see the waitress was bursting with curiosity, but thankfully she didn’t ask to be introduced.

Once she’d left, Tyler picked up the glass of ice water that Loretta had served him and took a hefty drink. Rosalinda was momentarily distracted by the long, brown fingers wrapped around the slender glass. This morning as he’d clasped her hands, she’d been struck by his calloused skin, the roughness that told her he used his hands for more productive things than signing paychecks.

“Do you live here in Ruidoso?” he asked.

“At Ruidoso Downs,” she answered. “I used to live down on the res, but that made the drive to Carrizozo even longer. In case you didn’t know, that’s where the sheriff’s department, courthouse and county jail are located.”

“I know where it is,” he told her. “But this is a huge county. If you arrest someone in the Ruidoso area do you have to drive them all the way to Carrizozo to lock them up?”

Shaking her head, she said, “No. We can use the local lockup here as a preliminary holding cell. Then later we transport the suspect to the county jail. And you’re right about this county being huge. The sheriff’s department has jurisdiction over 4,859 square miles. That’s why Sheriff Hamilton likes for his deputies to live all over the county. Makes it easier for us to keep up with what’s going on in our area and to better deal with local problems.”

“I see.”

He rested his shoulders against the back of the padded seat, and Rosalinda was drawn to their width and the slow, sensual movements of his body. The man was more than enough to take a woman’s breath away. So why wasn’t he married? Or at the very least, playing the field? She could only presume he wasn’t interested in having a relationship with a woman. And yet there were moments he looked at her with something like hunger in his eyes. Not necessarily for her, but for something that was missing in his life. The whole notion unsettled her.

“So you lived down on the reservation,” he remarked. “Are you Native American?”

“Half. My dad is from the Zuni tribe and my mom is white. They have a little farm south of Gallop—near the river.”

“Hmm. How did you end up all the way down here?”

“How did you?” she countered.

A clever smile lifted the corners of his lips, and Rosalinda was suddenly wondering what it would feel like to be kissed by this man. It had been so long since she’d had a man’s lips pressed to hers, she wasn’t sure how her body would react. Maybe her mind would freeze everything inside of her and she wouldn’t be able to feel a thing. Or maybe she’d want to run and never stop running.

Oh, God, why was she thinking these things now? Tyler Pickens wasn’t here as her date! He wasn’t here because he found her attractive, intriguing or anything else. He was simply showing his gratitude for not hauling his wrangler to jail.

“All right,” he conceded, “I ended up here because I didn’t like where I was.”

“Hmm. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard that come out of a Texan’s mouth.”

His lips twitched with sour humor. “It was the circumstances, not the place, that pushed me to move here.”

“Ah, yes, circumstances,” she repeated softly. “We all have them, don’t we?”

“Some more than others,” he said.

Rosalinda felt something inside pushing and prodding her to confide in him, to relate exactly why she’d come to this southern part of the state. The realization startled her. No one, except for Sheriff Hamilton and Undersheriff Donovan, knew about her past and the traumatic experience she’d been through. She’d never really wanted anyone to know about the strange and dangerous situation she’d gotten herself swept up in. But the moment this man had set his cool green eyes on hers, she’d felt a connection. The guarded walls inside her had started trembling and cracking. It was the most reckless feeling she’d ever experienced in her life.

Clearing her throat, she sipped her coffee and told her heart there was no reason for it to bump along at such a high speed. Until last night, when Brady Donovan had briefed her, she’d not even known Tyler Pickens existed. She wasn’t going to confess her personal life to this man, she promised herself. She wasn’t going to do anything with him, except eat a meal.

“So how is Mr. Garza?” she asked. “Still angry with me?”

“Since this morning, I’ve not talked to him. I’ll give him a chance to lick his wounded ego before I light into him. As for being angry with you, Santo isn’t the sort to simmer and carry a grudge.” It was a trait that Tyler admired and wished he could apply to himself. But try as he might he’d never been able to forgive his family for hurting and ostracizing him. And why should that matter? he glumly asked himself. Neither his twin brother nor father needed or wanted his forgiveness.

Hell, it had been over nine years since he’d spoken directly to either of them. That’s how much they cared. As for his sister, Connie, she’d always avoided controversies in the family just so she wouldn’t have to face Warren Pickens’s wrath. And Edie, his mother, had tried to stand up for him, but her opinion had never held much weight for a man who didn’t respect women. Now his mother was the only one who still loved him enough stay in touch. Even though her calls and letters were few and far between.

“Well, I thank you for explaining about his wife. It makes me feel a bit better to know it wasn’t entirely me that made him fly off the handle.” Shaking her head with self-recrimination, she said, “I should have realized what he was doing. But to be honest, I’m still green at my job. Sheriff Hamilton says it takes years of experience and learning to catch all the nuances needed to make a great lawman. It’s clear that I have a ways to go.”

One of his brows arched upward. “Does he know what happened this morning with you and Santo?”

She tried to laugh, but the sound came out more like a strangled cough. “Of course he knows. Everyone in the department heard me call in the arrest. I’ll be the butt of their jokes for months.”

“I wouldn’t let that bother me. People have talked about me for years and it hasn’t killed me yet.”

His green eyes appeared to soften, and Rosalinda found herself drawn into their depths. Whenever he looked at her it was like he understood she’d been to hell and back, that she had her secrets just like he had his. Perhaps that was why she kept getting the urge to tell him private things about herself.

Glancing furtively at him, she asked, “You think people around here gossip about you?”

Before she could answer, Loretta arrived with their food. She placed a Reuben sandwich in front of Rosalinda and served Tyler a chicken-fried streak smothered in gravy. After the waitress had refilled their drinks and left the table, Tyler answered Rosalinda’s question.

“I know for a fact they gossip about me. Once my foreman was asked if I was an extremist and kept my house stockpiled with rifles and weapons.”

Frowning, Rosalinda picked up her sandwich. “Do you have a stockpile of weapons?”

His chuckle conveyed how ridiculous he considered the idea. “The only weapon I possess is a hunting rifle and I keep it locked away because I quit hunting years ago. I think—well, when people don’t know about something or someone, it sparks their imagination and they start making up things.” He sprinkled pepper over his food and reached for his fork. “And I suppose I make matters worse because I don’t mix and mingle with the folks around here.”

“Why don’t you mix and mingle?”

He shrugged. “I don’t dislike people, Ms. Lightfoot, but integrating into the community is for other folks. Not me. If someone wants to be my friend, that’s good. But I don’t go out searching for them.”

What about searching for women? she wanted to ask, but stopped the words before they could pop from her mouth. The last thing she wanted was to give Tyler Pickens the idea that she was interested in him in a personal way.

What kind of idea do you think you’re giving him by inviting him to meet you here tonight? You are interested in him, Rosa. You just don’t want to admit it.

Kicking back the incriminating voice in her head, she turned another question on him. “What about the folks back in Texas? Do you still keep in touch with them?”

His gaze quickly dropped to his food and several awkward moments passed before he eventually answered, “No. That part of my life is over.”

There was a tone of finality to his voice that spoke of loss and pain. The sound sent questions about him and his family spinning through her mind. “Oh. So you’ve lost your parents?”

Looking up, he cast her an empty smile. “No. They’re quite alive and well.”

That stunned her and she suddenly realized he was like a mystery box wrapped in layers and layers of richly textured paper. She wanted to peel them away, to peek inside at this rancher, who was unlike any man she’d ever met. But that wasn’t a part of her job. Not when her motives for the questions were completely personal.

After forcing down several bites of sandwich, she said, “There are times I really miss my family. I have three brothers and one sister, but I don’t see them or my parents very often. I rarely get enough free time to make the trip up to Gallop.”

“Then why don’t you live up there? Near them?”

Because the pleasure of being in her old hometown had been ruined by a man and the obsessed woman who’d refused to relinquish her hold on him.

“I like it better down here,” she told him flatly. “My job—the people—it’s all home to me now.”

His eyes narrowed as his gaze swept a perceptive path over her face, and Rosalinda felt her cheeks warming, her breaths coming just a bit faster. Could he actually see the haunting memories on her face? Even more, could he see exactly how much he was affecting her?

“When you say home, I take it you don’t share it with anyone. A husband or boyfriend?”

His question filled her with a sense of fear. Which was ridiculous. Since her ordeal with Dale, she’d not written men totally out of her life. She wanted to be normal. She wanted to be loved. And yet the idea of being intimate with a man again was like venturing a walk through a bear-infested forest. Even though Dale had been a gentle, loving man, he’d been carrying problems that she’d not known about. Problems that had eventually exploded onto her. And the more she’d tried to stand by her man, the more dangerous everything had gotten.

“I’m single and unattached,” she finally answered. “But I’m only twenty-six. I’ll have plenty of time later on to think about marriage.”

Across the booth from her, Tyler tried to focus on his food, but it was hard to do when the pull of the sexy deputy kept urging his gaze back to her side of the table. She wasn’t married or living with a boyfriend. The fact had him smiling inside.

Damn it! He must have breathed in too much smoke last night. Something had clearly messed up his thinking. Otherwise, he would have never suggested meeting this woman for dinner. True, he was grateful that she’d not caused real trouble for Santo, but he could’ve shown his appreciation in some other way. Like a simple thank you.

But she’d sparked something in him that had shaken him out of a long, cold sleep. He’d not been able to resist the urge to spend more time with her and let her warmness thaw him back to life.

“You’re very young,” he commented. “How long have you worked in law enforcement?”

“I worked for the Ruidoso Police Department for a year and a half before I applied for the job of county deputy. I’ve worked for Sheriff Hamilton for about seven or eight months now.”

“Hmm. How did you decide you wanted to be a law officer? Was that something you’d always planned to be?”

“No. When I first got out of high school I always had intentions of becoming a schoolteacher. I love children and Mom always said I had a way with my younger brothers.” She placed what was left of her sandwich back onto her plate and toyed with the pile of potato chips lying next to it. “But all of those plans got forgotten for a while. And then I became friends with Johnny Chino. Do you know him?”

Tyler rolled the name through his memory bank. “Not personally. I’ve heard the name. He’s some sort of famous tracker, isn’t he?”

“Used to be. He’s a deputy now. Anyway, he and his wife—she’s a medical doctor here in Ruidoso—both urged me to go to police academy. They thought I’d be good at it. And once I started considering their idea, it began to appeal to me. Now I like to think that I’m helping people be safe.”

She smiled at him and Tyler felt something inside him go soft and helpless. Her white teeth against her creamy tan skin, the impish curl at the corners of her plush lips was an intoxicating sight. Especially since he rarely received a genuine smile from anyone.

“What’s been the most rewarding thing about your job so far?”

“Finding a lost little boy. The mother feared he’d been kidnapped from their front yard. But I have brothers so I understand how adventurous boys can be. So I followed my hunch and found him at the nearest baseball park. He’d climbed down in the dugout and fallen asleep.”

“Wow. That must have made you feel like a true heroine,” he said.

Her smile turned modest. “I don’t know about that. But the look on the mother’s face when I handed her son back to her is something I’ll never forget. And since then I’ve had a few more proud moments. Especially when Sheriff Hamilton praised me for busting a local theft ring. But that’s enough about me. What about you? What made you decide to be a rancher?” she asked.

“I grew up with horses and cattle.”

The smile lingered on her lips. “Well, no one in my family ever worked in law enforcement. But I didn’t let that stop me. My family and friends say I’m stubborn, but I like to think of myself as determined.”

Since he’d only just met her, he didn’t know those things about her. But he did know she was very beautiful. After his divorce, he’d never imagined himself looking at another woman and feeling a strong desire. For the past ten years he’d never been tempted to spend more than five minutes with one. But here he was doing just that.

“I’m sure you’re a very good deputy. Sheriff Hamilton wouldn’t have any other kind. But don’t you ever worry that you might find yourself in a dangerous situation?” he asked.

Something flickered in her eyes just before they dropped to her plate, but the glimpse was too quick to determine what she was thinking or feeling.

“I’ve been in dangerous situations before and I’ve learned how to handle them. As a matter of fact, I teach a self-defense course to women one night a week at the community center. The way I see it, the stronger a woman is both mentally and physically, the safer she’ll be.”

She was not a petite woman. Her height was probably taller than average and there was nothing fragile about her generous curves. No doubt she would be physically strong. But were her defensive skills enough to wield off a gun or a knife? It was an image he didn’t like to contemplate.

DeeDee hadn’t been physically strong. She’d been a tiny little thing that thought lifting a hair brush was enough of a morning workout. But mentally, she’d been as wily as a cat. She’d known exactly what buttons to push and what cards to play to get what she wanted. In the beginning her wants had been Tyler. But that had quickly changed once Trent stepped in and began working his charm on her.

“Your family doesn’t worry about you having a dangerous job?” he asked.

“My family understands that I don’t have to be a deputy to be threatened.”

He was trying to figure out that odd statement when a shadow loomed up beside their table and he looked up to see a stocky, auburn-haired man dressed in a deputy’s shirt and jeans. He was squinting at the two of them as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. For some reason, the idea irked Tyler.

“Rosa, is that you in a dress?” he asked incredulously.

The moment she glanced away from Tyler and up to the other man, instant recognition hit her face and she smiled as though she was seeing an old friend.

“Hank! I thought you were off duty tonight, too!”

He shook his head. “I had to go back out to the Chaparral.”

She scowled faintly. “Why didn’t you let me know? I could have joined you.”

The deputy, who appeared to be in his early thirties, shrugged one shoulder. “You needed the rest. And it was a matter I could deal with myself.”

She let out a long breath as her eyes darted awkwardly from Hank to Tyler, then back to Hank. “Well, thanks. Mr. Pickens and I just happened to be having supper at the same time tonight and decided to have our meal together,” she explained. “Have you two met before?”

“I don’t believe so,” Tyler said as he glanced to the other man.

“Hank and I usually work as partners,” she told him.

Tyler extended his hand to the lawman. “I’m Tyler Pickens. Nice to meet you.”

Hank shook his hand. “Deputy Hank Harrigan. Same here,” he said. “I think I remember seeing you at the Chaparral several years ago. When the rustling ring was busted.”

“You probably did,” Tyler replied. “I was there to help hunt for Alexa. Thankfully, Jonas found her before anything terrible happened.”

Hank nodded. “Yeah. A real Texas Ranger to the rescue. All of us around here were impressed by him.” He glanced over his shoulder to a table across the room, then back to Rosalinda. “Well, I’d better get over to my table. My buddies are waiting. See you in the morning, Rosa. And you take care, Mr. Pickens.”

Tyler nodded at Hank’s parting words before he turned his attention to Rosalinda. Now that her coworker had left, her expression had become strained.

“What’s the matter?” he asked her. “Are you worried about him seeing you having dinner with a suspect?”

“You’re not a suspect. Not exactly,” she corrected, with a grimace. “I just wish—well, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, one way or the other, he would’ve probably heard about you and me having dinner together.”

Tyler put down his fork. “Are you interested in him? I mean romantically?”

She grimaced. “No. But he’s sort of interested in me. And I’ve always put him off by telling him I’m not interested in dating. Now he’s going to think I was lying to him.”

Tyler glanced across the room to where the deputy had taken a seat at a table with two more law officers. From the corner of his eye, he noticed all three men were glancing surreptitiously in their direction. He didn’t know whether to be amused or irritated by the attention.

“Your partner is going to believe we’re dating just because we’re having a meal together? That’s being pretty presumptuous, isn’t it?”

She didn’t answer immediately and he glanced across the table to see a faint blush had painted her cheeks a soft pink. The color made her features even lovelier.

“I’m sorry. That was silly of me to say. It’s just that … well, I don’t do this sort of thing for any reason. And Hank knows that.” She quickly dabbed her lips with a napkin, then changed the subject completely. “If you’re finished, I’d like to leave now.”

Clearly, she was flustered. But whether he was the reason for this change in her, or if it was the sudden appearance of Deputy Harrigan, he had no way of knowing. Something Tyler was certain of, though, was that he was far from ready for his time with this woman to end.

“Sure. I’ll signal the waitress and we’ll get out of here.”

Five minutes later, Tyler had settled the bill and the two of them left the restaurant by way of a side door. The exit led onto a large deck where patrons could take their meals outdoors. Since it was dark, only a handful of people were sitting around the wooden tables partaking of drinks.

Beside him, Rosalinda lifted her face skyward and let out a long sigh. “It’s good to be away from prying eyes. Besides, the night is beautiful. It’s much nicer out here, anyway.”

Not wanting her to make a quick dash to her vehicle, he curled a hand around her elbow. “Let’s walk over to the back of the deck and look at the creek,” he suggested.

She hesitated, but only for a moment. “All right.”

Since the restaurant and adjoining deck were built at the base of a mountain, the property behind it consisted of thick forest. Directly beneath the back side of the deck, a small creek tumbled its way down the hillside toward a larger branch of water. In the light of day, trout could be spotted swimming in the crystal clear stream. Tonight, the only things visible were shiny dapples created by moonbeams slanting through the pine boughs.

As they stood side by side, staring down at the moving water, Tyler told himself he should drop his hold on her arm, yet he couldn’t bring himself to lose the contact. Her skin was warm and soft and her nearness made him feel like a man again. A man strong enough to love and protect a woman. It was a sensation he’d believed he would never experience again and it filled him with immense pleasure.

He said, “I’m sorry if my being here tonight will cause you trouble at work.”

“It won’t. I’ll simply explain to Hank that you and I had a few more things we wanted to discuss.”

“You mean about the arson? Or each other?”

Her attention on the creek, she let out another long breath. “We’re not supposed to be discussing each other.”

Releasing his hold on her arm, he eased his hand onto her shoulder. The moment his fingers pressed into her bare skin, her face twisted around to his, her lips parted and Tyler’s heartbeat quickened.

“There are other ways for a man and woman to learn about each other besides talking,” he murmured.

“Mr. Pickens, I—”

“It’s Tyler to you.” Lowering his voice, he added, “Ty, if you’d like.”

Her dark eyes widened just a fraction as they settled on his mouth. “Ty.”

The whisper of his name was all that passed her lips before he decided to cover them with a kiss.