The Lawman's Honor

“You don’t have a choice. Go sit down and eat.” She smiled. “And enjoy.”

“Don’t argue with her, Heath. Trust me, she’ll get her money back from you.” Cassie took the lunch tray before he could and led the way to a table. There were only three and all had a sidewalk view.

“Chief called me a wimp today. I’m starting to feel like one.”

“How bad is your leg? I mean really. No bluffing. Any other injuries besides that?”

“Just the ankle. Sprained. And a couple of bruises here and there.” Bruises that ripped the air out of his lungs. “Annoying. But I still have all ten toes.” He bit into the thick, fragrant sandwich.

“I’m relieved to hear it. When do you want your mani-pedi?”

Heath choked, grabbed for the tea glass and managed to swallow. “My what?”

The thought of Cassie touching him again gave him a funny tingle. A nice tingle, come to think of it. Did she have any idea the thoughts that go through a man’s head at the most inappropriate times?

“You don’t remember our conversation?” she asked. “Is the concussion still bothering you?”

“Slight headache if I get tired. Nothing to worry about.”

“Are you following up with Dr. Ron? He’s a really good doctor.” She pinched a piece of lettuce from her plate, holding it between finger and thumb. “And the only one in town.”

“Next week.”

“He’s terrific. You’ll like him.” She nibbled the lettuce and then bit into the sandwich packed with vegetables and turkey. Between bites, she chattered about plans for a community storm cleanup, the Easter sunrise service at the Baptist Church—which she deemed “not to be missed” though Easter was several weeks past—and filled him in on the small, useful details of Whisper Falls.

“Some of this sounds familiar,” he said after a long, cool drink of sweet tea. “Did you tell me this in the car?”

“I thought you didn’t remember.”

He never said that. He remembered bits and pieces. Like her silky voice and dogged efforts to keep him awake. “It’s starting to come back to me.”

“I’ve talked enough about Whisper Falls anyway. No use repeating myself again. Tell me about you. You’re from Texas, not married, no kids. Any other family back in Texas?”

“Two brothers and a terrific mom.”

“No sisters? Your poor mother.”

“She had her hands full.”

“I imagine so! Tell me about the brothers. Older or younger? What do they do?”

“Holt and Heston. Both younger. Both in law enforcement. Sort of. Holt is a private investigator. Heston’s a street cop.”

She tilted her head in a cute way that bunched her hair on her shoulder. He spotted a small sparkly earring. “Did they follow big brother’s path or is law enforcement in the genes?”

“In the genes, I guess. My dad was a cop.” His hand went to his pocket, to Dad’s badge. “A great cop. He died in the line of duty.”

Her perky expression fell. “That’s awful, Heath. I’m sorry.”

“Long time ago. Now we Monroe boys do our best to keep the bad guys off the streets.” He faked a grin. Time to move this conversation to softer ground. “Tell me about you. Besides making the women of Whisper Falls beautiful, what do you do?”

She returned his grin, though hers said she knew he was changing the subject and empathized. She was a nice woman.

As he chewed his ham and provolone, Heath recognized that he was sharply drawn to Cassie Blackwell, to her bright mouth and alabaster skin. His reaction puzzled him. She was friendly to the max, but didn’t flirt, yet Heath found her astonishingly attractive. Pulse-bumping attractive. Not that he worried about it much. He was accustomed to fast, brief relationships that went nowhere. Whether from duty or boredom, his interest in Cassie would burn out like the rest.

* * *

Cassie dipped the paintbrush into a tray filled with baby-blue color while her sister-in-law, Annalisa, worked her way around the small bedroom with a roll of masking tape and a straight edge, making sure every vertical stripe on the nursery wall was perfect.

A slight breeze drifted in the open window, a natural ventilation source, though Cassie had set a box fan in the doorway to help extract the paint fumes. The fan also kept the pack of dogs, particularly her apricot poodle, out of the way—much to Tootsie’s annoyance. Even now, the spoiled mutt lay in the hallway, gazing in with a wounded expression.

Cassie had offered to paint the room alone, but Annalisa had insisted on helping. After all, this was her baby, her project, but working together was fun. Cassie was grateful to her sister-in-law for allowing her to be part of transforming the old guest room into an adorable nursery for her brother’s baby. It was something she’d never get to do otherwise. Like her marriage, the dream of babies had died with her husband.

“The walls are looking gorgeous, Cassie.” Annalisa sat back on her heels, blond ponytail dangling, to admire their handiwork. Latte-brown already covered the upper half of the nursery and now they were striping the bottom in latte and blue. White chair rail divided the upper from the lower, and white enamel trimmed the windows, doors and the bottom of the wall. “Everything looks so crisp and clean. I can’t wait to put up the moon and star decor. Won’t it be pretty?”

Cassie rolled her tired neck and smiled softly at her beautiful sister-in-law and dear friend. “No prettier than the stars in your eyes.”

“Your brother—” Annalisa pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and sighed, one of those romantic, madly-in-love sounds that said more than words. “Who could imagine I’d end up on a ranch with a cowboy where I’m so happy I pinch myself every day to be sure it’s real? I really love him, Cassie. More now than ever.”

Annalisa’s devotion to Austin never failed to warm Cassie. Her brother had been through a terrible time with his emotionally disturbed first wife, and she’d despaired of ever seeing him embrace life and love again. But a lost and abused woman in the woods and a whispered prayer had changed him.

“You make him happy, too, Annalisa.”

“I know. That’s the beauty of true love. We’re both blessed, but I think I am most of all.” She rubbed a palm over her basketball belly. “Finding Austin was the best thing that ever happened to me. And having our little cowboy pretty soon is a wonderful bonus.”

Annalisa was one of those pregnant women who glowed. Her skin was clearer, her blue eyes brighter, and other than an intermittent battle with her blood pressure, she was full of energy. The ranch house had never been this clean! Not that housework was ever Cassie’s gig. She’d rather have her toenails removed. Annalisa, on the other hand, thrived on making a house a home.

“Only a few more weeks and I’ll be an aunt.” Something odd twisted in her chest.