A Word With The Bachelor

“He died. Whether it happens in a war zone or the home front, death is not pretty. It’s raw and painful. I think that qualifies as life experience.”

He studied her and realized his mission, real or invented, had been successful. He’d managed to put clouds in her eyes and make the sunshine disappear.

Damned if he didn’t want to undo what he’d just done.

Chapter Two (#ulink_b6bb9fb5-d013-5e50-bbc8-e66d81e9833f)

Erin sat in the passenger seat of Jack’s rugged jeep trying to figure him out. First he’d said he had no use for her, then later in the afternoon offered to take her into town. She had a long-term rental car from the airport and was prepared to shop on her own, but he’d insisted on driving. His excuse was that they might as well buy supplies together, but she had a sneaking suspicion there was another reason. One that would tarnish his tough-guy image.

“So, Jack,” she began, “I think your ogre act is just that. An act.”

He turned right onto Lakeview Drive, then gave her a quick, questioning look. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You were all gruff and abrupt earlier. Patronizing me about a ring, a proposal and a broken engagement being the equivalent of a hangnail in the action-adventure world.”

“It is.” His profile could have been carved in stone on Mt. Rushmore. It was all sharp angles and hard lines.

“But when I corrected your assumption that I was shallow and typical by revealing that I lost someone close to me, I think you felt bad about jumping to conclusions and invited me to go shopping to make up for it.”

There was another glance in her direction before he returned his gaze to the road. “In the army I operated on gut instinct and never second-guessed my actions.”

“That was training for combat situations. In the regular world you replay a conversation and sometimes regret responses. It’s normal. You asked me to go shopping because you can’t take back what you said and are trying to be nice.”

“Are you serious?”

“Completely.” She adjusted her sunglasses. It was a beautiful day in late September and this road to town went around the lake. The surface of the water sparkled like diamonds as the sun sank lower in the cloudless blue sky. “The problem is that your nice muscles haven’t been stretched in a while.”

“You know what I think?”

“Not a clue,” she said, wishing she could see his eyes behind those too-sexy-for-words aviator sunglasses. “But I bet you’re going to tell me.”

“Damn straight.” He looked over, his mouth pulled into a straight line. “I think you’re a fugitive from fantasyland.”

That would be a step up for her after nursing Garrett through cancer and watching him take his last breath. “Oh?”

“I’m not a nice man. If you were smart, you’d ditch this job and get the hell out of here. Away from me.”

“Hmm.”

“What does that mean?”

“You think I’m fragile and I think you’re a fraud. So what we have here is a standoff.”

“Guess so,” he said. “Sooner or later one of us is going to blink and it won’t be me.”

“Sounds like a challenge or a treaty to me. Maybe both.” It was going to take a lot of convincing to make her believe he was as unfeeling as he wanted her to think he was.

“For the record, it makes good sense to coordinate shopping since you’ll be doing the cooking and don’t know what Harley likes.”

That made her smile. Big bad warrior was hiding behind the world’s most unattractive dog. But she just said, “Understood.”

“You hungry?” The words were unexpected, but they were nearing the Blackwater Lake city limits.

“Starving.”

“Me, too. Let’s get something to eat.” He glanced over quickly as if checking to see whether or not she’d noticed him being nice. “Grocery shopping will go easier that way.”

“I think so, too.” And that’s the first time they’d agreed on anything in the last twenty-four hours.

He stopped the jeep at a stand-alone building near the end of Main Street, not far from city hall. There was a sign on the outside that read Bar None, with crossed cocktail glasses on it.

“Don’t tell me,” she said. “I’m driving you to drink.”

“You said it, not me.” But his teeth flashed in a fleeting smile before he got out of the car.

Erin opened her door and slid to the ground, then met him on the sidewalk. The wooden exterior was reminiscent of a miner’s shack and the heavy oak door had a vertical brass handle. Jack grabbed it and pulled the door open for her.

The pulse in her neck jumped as she passed him and walked inside. Heat from his body was enough to sizzle her senses and short them out. That was probably the reason it seemed to take longer than usual for her eyes to grow accustomed to the dim interior after being outside.

“This looks nice,” she finally said.

“It’s okay.”

Lining the walls were booths with leather seats and lantern-shaped lights. Dark beams ran the length of the ceiling and old wooden planks covered the floor. An oak bar with a brass footrail commanded the center of the room.

“Table or booth?”

She scanned the bistro tables scattered over the floor. “Where do you usually sit?”

“At the bar.”

She should have guessed and would have if she wasn’t standing so close to Jack. Worn jeans, gray hoodie over tight black T-shirt, scuffed boots. This was as much a uniform for him as the camouflage he’d no doubt worn in the military. He’d been so right about what she was thinking yesterday. Not so much about sleeping with him, although she’d gotten as far as wondering what he looked like naked. But she found him incredibly hot and was mortified that he’d been able to see that.

Now she needed to conceal the fact that her instantaneous attraction had not yet run its course, or she’d be risking losing this job.

“The bar it is.” She followed him across the room.

It was closing in on five o’clock and there were only a handful of people in the place. Jack headed for the bar and took a seat on one of the stools beside a tall, broad-shouldered, handsome man in a khaki uniform.

“Hey, Sheriff,” he said. “I see you changed your mind about leaving town.”

The man smiled and held out his hand. “Good to see you. Been a while, Jack. If you came around more, you’d know that my dad retired and I’m now the head lawman in town.”

“I’ve been busy.”

Erin managed to haul herself up on the stool next to him. Her legs were short; the chairs were high. It wasn’t graceful. Jack looked at her then at the sheriff, but said nothing.

“Hi,” the man said to her. “Haven’t seen you around before.”