Natural Born Lawman

“Not without cream and lots of brown sugar,” he lamented. “No, I’ll stick with the toast today and some of that blackberry jam, if you have it.”

“I keep it back here just for you,” Sharon Lynn said.

Patsy noted where Sharon Lynn kept it, so she could supply it on request if she was here alone. She was about to gather up Billy and slip into the back room for a break, when the sheriff spoke directly to her.

“You’re new in town.”

She met his gaze evenly, fighting the sick sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Yes. My son and I got here yesterday.”

“Didn’t take you long to find work,” he observed.

“No. Sharon Lynn’s been very kind.”

He nodded. “Welcome to Los Piños, then. You run into any problems, let me know.”

The offer was made with such absolute sincerity that for a fleeting instant Patsy had the absurd desire to unburden herself to this man. Who knew, maybe she’d be lucky one more time and he would see what she’d been up against. Maybe he could protect her from Will. She sighed with regret. She couldn’t take a chance that it would go the other way.

Instead, she smiled noncommittally. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”

“You’re from Oklahoma,” he noted conversationally. “What part?”

She named her old hometown, rather than Oklahoma City. “I doubt you’ve ever heard of it. It’s tiny, not even as big as Los Piños.”

“Must be,” he said, his expression thoughtful. “I grew up around Oklahoma City myself and I never heard of it. Of course, my memory’s not what it used to be, either. Haven’t been home in years, not since my folks died about ten years back.”

When he’d mentioned Oklahoma City, Patsy’s heart had slammed against her ribs. It hadn’t eased back into a normal rhythm until he’d said how long it had been since he’d been back.

Ten years ago Will had been just starting law school. His face—and hers—hadn’t been on the front pages of the local papers until much more recently. She doubted that a mayor’s race in Oklahoma City would make the local paper here in Los Piños.

“Do you still stay in touch with old friends?” she asked carefully.

“Nope. My friends and family are here now. Haven’t heard from a soul back that way. Skipped my high school reunions. Couldn’t think of what I’d have to say to people I hadn’t seen in years.”

“Too bad,” she said, though the relief that washed over her said just the opposite. “It’s always sad when we lose touch with old friends.”

“What about you? You still have family there?”

“Some,” she said.

Thankfully, he let it go at that. Much more poking and prodding, no matter how innocently intended, and she was pretty sure she would have cracked. She just wasn’t cut out for this much deception. It was a habit that had started when she and Will were first dating and trying to keep it a secret from their co-workers. She’d been lousy at it then, too. Their relationship had been discovered in no time, which was one reason they’d married in such haste. Will had wanted to quiet the gossip.

Tate Owens drew her attention again. “We’ll have to compare notes sometime. It’s been my experience that it’s a mighty small world. Maybe we’ll know some folks in common.”

“I doubt that,” she said. “Like I said, the town where I grew up was really small.”

He nodded. “Okay. Well, I’d better get out of here. If I don’t stay on my toes, Justin’s going to steal my job right out from under me.”

“As if he would ever try,” Sharon Lynn chided. “You were his mentor, Tate. And everybody knows you’re the best sheriff ever. You’ll stay in the job as long as you want it. Besides, something tells me half the town is going to be mad as heck at him this morning.”

Tate Owens moaned. “What’s he done now?” he asked in a resigned tone.

“Last time I saw him, he was handing out parking tickets all up and down Main Street.”

“Damn, I thought I’d broke him of that. The town doesn’t need the money, and I don’t need the aggravation.” He slapped his Stetson on his head and walked out the door.

Patsy watched him go, then turned to Sharon Lynn. “What’s with the parking tickets?”

“Tate tends to ignore minor infractions like that. He thought the parking meters were a nuisance in the first place. Justin goes crazy every once in a while and starts handing out tickets. Tate spends the rest of the day soothing ruffled feathers.”

Patsy shook her head. “I don’t get it. If the people are breaking the law, shouldn’t they get tickets?”

“Technically, yes. And Justin is a by-the-book kind of man, especially after he’s done something that makes him worry whether he’s listening too much to his heart,” she said with a look in Patsy’s direction.

“Am I supposed to understand that?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she said, still confused.

“And not in a jail cell.”

“Oh.”

Sharon Lynn grinned, “Oh, indeed. Bottom line, it’s my guess that you’re the one behind today’s rampage with the parking tickets.”

Patsy would have chuckled if she hadn’t been able to imagine what everyone in town would have to say if they knew to blame her.

Sharon Lynn’s expression turned thoughtful. “Something tells me you’re going to be good for him,” she said quietly.

“Me? I don’t think so,” Patsy said at once. If Justin Adams knew the truth about her, he probably wouldn’t even blink before tossing her in that jail cell and throwing away the key.

Chapter Four (#ulink_abc5e05c-a915-5699-b14f-083bb55480a3)

While Justin had been thoroughly disconcerted by the sight of Patsy Gresham working at Sharon Lynn’s that morning, he told himself he’d merely found it troubling that she was becoming so intimately entwined with his family.

What really worried him more, was that quick little shiver of awareness he’d felt when he spotted her. He knew his hormones well enough to recognize a man-woman thing when he felt it, and it was the very last reaction he ought to be having to the woman, not with all those legitimate suspicions he couldn’t quite dismiss.

Except for a minor fender bender in midafternoon, the rest of the day had been uneventful. It had taken all of his willpower to keep from wandering into Dolan’s a few more times to make sure Patsy’s hand wasn’t in the till or anywhere else it didn’t belong. His conscience had reminded him that he’d promised her an honest chance.

By nightfall, though, he couldn’t battle his desire to see how she’d fared. The fact that he chose to get his answers from her, rather than from Sharon Lynn, meant nothing, he assured himself. After all, Patsy was right here in town, while Sharon Lynn was all the way out at the ranch. It was pure logic and convenience that sent him to her doorstep.

Yeah, right.

Dusk was falling by the time he’d showered and changed into jeans and a T-shirt. He strolled up the walkway at Dani’s with his mind on the excuse he was going to have to come up with for his visit.

He was about to knock on the front door, when he heard chaos erupt in the veterinary clinic. Muttering under his breath about the fact that he’d left his gun at home, he raced around to the clinic entrance and pounded on the door. It was opened by a frazzled Patsy, backed up by a snarling dog that looked perfectly capable of tearing both of them limb from limb.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said, and turned back toward the dog, which was straining on its leash. “Punk, hush up. You’ll get your food when it’s your turn.”