Authors: Calista Fox
“That’s another thing. If she’d keep her nightgowns off the
street, she wouldn’t invite that kind of trouble into her life.”
He had to keep a level head with that one. “It didn’t have
anything to do with her nightgowns. I witnessed the majority of the incident.
They got one look at her and liked what they saw. She did everything she could
to keep herself out of harm’s way, but they pursued her.”
“Well, I’m just saying,” his aunt huffed.
“By the way,” Ryan continued, ignoring her admonishment of
Ginger. “I’m not going to make dinner. Not while I’m working this case.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Lydia said, “I don’t
approve of where this is going, Ryan. Not with your new job or your association
with Ginger Monroe.”
“With all due respect, what I do with Ginger is my own
business. The only thing people should be talking about right now—including
you—is the robberies. Everyone needs to know what’s happened in town so they
can be prepared if these two criminals strike again. And hopefully protect
themselves against them.”
It was quite evident she didn’t take kindly to him shutting
her down. She bristled and her lips pressed together, but she couldn’t say
anything further because the timer on one of the dryers beeped.
“I’ve got to get back to work,” she said as she turned
sharply on her simple flats and stalked across the room to attend to Emelda
Grant, the mayor’s wife.
He left the salon, not particularly thrilled he was living
in a fishbowl, but at the same time, he didn’t have anything to hide when it
came to Ginger. There was nothing wrong with the townsfolk knowing how he felt
about her or how much time he spent with her. His intention was to be exclusive
with her, so he wasn’t making anyone else jealous or hurting other women’s
feelings. He suspected Ginger shared his viewpoint, so there wasn’t any reason
to let the talk in town affect them. Too bad it created such strife within his
family.
Continuing his sweep of the area, he caught a few exchanges
over the radio between Sheriff Johnson and Deputy Dan Baker, indicating their
searches hadn’t turned up any useful leads. The two thugs were obviously
keeping to themselves between their bouts of criminal activity. It made Ryan
nervous about where they’d strike next.
Sheriff Johnson told him to knock off at six so he could
follow Ginger home again. Reese continued to stay with Liza, and Dan
volunteered to add the B&B to his patrol, in the event the thieves decided
to use the keys that were in Reese’s purse. The sheriff and his seasoned
deputies had scoured the town and the outskirts with no sign of the suspects.
It was unfortunate neither the two-pump gas station, nor the grocery store, had
video surveillance equipment on the premises. There’d been no witnesses when
the suspects had filled their tank, and no one had taken note of them outside
the grocery store, so the make and model of the vehicle they drove was still a
mystery.
At the sheriff’s office, Ryan changed into the pair of jeans
and the white button-down shirt he’d worn to Austin that morning. He returned
to Ginger’s shop as she was packing a few items into one of her monogrammed
shopper’s bags.
“Interested in a police escort home, ma’am?” he asked in a
playful tone.
She smiled sweetly at him, making his gut clench and his
groin tightened. No two ways about it, he was crazy about her.
“I was hoping you’d offer,” she said. “I want to make dinner
for you, for all you’ve done for me.”
“You don’t have to do that, darlin’.” His hands clasped her
hips and he eased her toward him so he could give her a long, deep kiss.
When she finally pulled away, her chest rose and fell
quickly and she spoke in a breathless voice. “You curl my toes.”
Ryan grinned at her. “I can do better than that.”
He kissed her again, passionately, loving the feel of her
soft lips and her tongue tangling with his. Having her body pressed against him
as he slid his arms around her waist aroused him instantly.
They eventually came up for air, and Ryan said, “We should
take this somewhere else.”
“Gladly,” she said. “Follow me.”
They pulled into her drive twenty-five minutes later and
Ryan had her wait in the foyer again as he swept the house. This evening, he’d
paid extra attention to the cars around them as they drove out to the lake. But
there hadn’t been many people on the road, given that it was dinnertime. And no
one had come out this far, except for the two of them.
“So, did you learn anything else from the sheriff?” she
asked when he gave her the green light to enter her kitchen.
“Just that our perps are good at disappearing. They know
when, where and how to lay low, it seems. Ditto on making their moves.”
Which had caused Ryan to want to continue his downtown
patrol this evening, but the sheriff wanted to take over, apparently finding it
a personal slight someone had committed a crime in his town—two was worse. He
wasn’t going to let the robbers get away with the trouble they’d caused. Plus,
he’d told Ryan that since there was no Mrs. Johnson waiting at home for him, he
didn’t mind putting in the extra hours. He’d also let Ryan know he could log
the time he spent watching out for Ginger, but Ryan had immediately declined
the offer. Keeping an eye on Ginger while there were thieves afoot, who’d
already attacked her once, was something he would’ve done whether he was a
deputy or not.
“Maybe this time they really did leave town. A full tank of
gas could get them out of our hair,” she said.
“Yeah, well, we’d prefer to nab them before they become
someone else’s problem. They’re professional criminals. They’re also drinkers,”
Ryan added as he pulled the cork on the bottle of Chardonnay she’d handed over
before turning her attention to the refrigerator. “Max Lawton said they loaded
up on beer and whisky, along with other groceries and necessities, the latter
being the reason the sheriff hoped to find them in one of the campgrounds in
the area.”
“The one who tackled me reeked of alcohol,” she confirmed.
“But what does that have to do with anything?”
“They might be particularly dangerous because of impaired
judgment and an overinflated sense of power and agility. Or they could slip up
for the same reasons.”
“Huh. That makes sense.”
“We’re hoping the scale tips in our favor.”
She laid out several ingredients on the island he sat at and
asked, “Do you eat fish?”
“I’m good with it.”
“Try to curb your enthusiasm,” she said with a laugh.
“I’ve always been more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy,
but I’m game for anything. Just don’t go to too much trouble for me,
sweetheart.”
Setting a glass bowl on the counter, she told him, “I can
throw together a spectacular lobster-and-crab stuffed Swai in just a few
minutes. All I need to do is whip up the stuffing, roll the filets into
pinwheels and drop ’em on the grill. Piece of cake.”
He grinned at her. She was so natural to be with. Despite
the obvious tension their relationship created amongst his family and some of
the townsfolk, and the fact he’d eventually have to break it to her that the
sheriff wanted him armed with more than the baton, he thought they were
incredible together. Suspected she did too, though they were both cognizant of
the challenges they faced.
Lifting his wine glass to hers, they touched the rims and
then sipped. He thought of how easily he could get used to this, how much he’d
enjoy spending every evening with her. It had nothing to do with her cooking
for him or cleaning up after him—he’d been a neat and tidy bachelor since he
was eighteen. Rather, he liked being here with Ginger because he found her
fascinating and completely irresistible.
Setting his glass aside, Ryan asked, “What can I do?”
“Would you mind starting the risotto? It’s the packaged
variety, so it’s a breeze to make. But it takes about twenty minutes.”
“I’m on it.”
She pointed out the pantry and then he selected a heavy
skillet from the rack hanging over the large, stainless steel stove. He lit the
burner and followed the directions on the box until the parmesan-flavored rice
boiled. Turning down the heat, he stirred occasionally as the risotto reduced
to a simmer. Then he went back to the kitchen island and watched her roll the
Swai into fat circles, with layers of the stuffing inside.
“How about I light the grill for you?”
With a sassy smirk, she said, “Sure. Just push the button in
the middle.”
He whistled under his breath, teasing her. “Fancy.”
Ryan headed out to the back patio, illuminated by solar
lights all arranged at various heights on thin copper stands. She joined him as
the flames flickered around the rocks in the bottom of the grill after he’d
ignited it.
“Should we eat out here?” she asked as she placed the baking
sheet she’d brought with her on the sideboard.
“Absolutely. May as well enjoy the weather before the
humidity sets in. I’ve been spoiled with the dry heat in Arizona. This first
summer back is going to be a real bitch. In a uniform, no less.”
“You look damn good in it, though.”
He chuckled as she lifted the tin foil from the sheet, with
the two pinwheels arranged on top, and moved the fish to the grill.
After closing the lid, she said, “Those’ll need about twelve
or thirteen minutes. They’re kind of thick.”
“I can set the table while you clean up.”
“Deal.” She gave him a flirtatious smile that made him
groan.
Admittedly, it was hell keeping his hands off her. But he
followed her back into the kitchen anyway, instead of pulling her into his
arms, as he wanted to do.
They ate dinner under the stars, and he asked her what had
inspired her to go into the lingerie business.
“I really wanted to be a designer,” she told him. “I can
sketch decently enough, but I can’t sew worth a damn.”
“Can’t you hire someone to do that for you?”
“I suppose.” She took a sip from her wine glass, then said,
“I still have all these ideas in my head. I don’t know. I can’t even really say
what made me fall in love with lingerie to begin with, except that every time
I’d wander through that section at the department store in Austin, I was always
so taken by how delicate and pretty everything was. All the lace and the satin
and the silk. It’s more than sexy. It’s luxurious and sensual and…beautiful,
really.”
“And from what I’ve seen, you have exceptional taste.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I started saving up for inventory
and rent when I was in high school, and of course, there was life insurance
money from my mom’s death, but a lot of that went to my dad’s bills because his
insurance policy was null and void since he committed suicide. I knew I
wouldn’t be going to college, so I needed a career.”
“You’ve had some rough times,” he said as he covered her
hand with his while it rested on the table. “I’m glad the career of your choice
worked out for you.”
“This is more of a lifestyle than a job, which is why I love
going to work every day and I don’t mind being in the boutique all week long. I
just want to help women feel pretty and desirable.”
“And I’m sure the women in town appreciate you for it.”
With a frown, she said, “
Most
of the women. Some just
think lingerie is evil. That it promotes promiscuity. As if being naked doesn’t
have the same effect,” she scoffed. “If two people want to have sex, they’re
going to do it regardless of whether or not one of them made a purchase at my
store.”
“That is a true statement and I’m glad you’re standing your
ground, sweetheart.”
They finished dinner and did the dishes. Then they took a
stroll down to the lake and walked barefoot along the sandy edge. The near-full
moon cast glittery rays over the placid water that lapped languidly against the
shoreline. Ryan kept his eye out for anything suspicious, but this portion of
the lake was all private property, with patches of dense forest here and there.
It’d be difficult to get a car down this way without using Ginger or her
neighbors’ driveways and side yards. He’d have seen tire tracks if this was
where the robbers were hiding out.
It was past nine when they returned to the house, which
they’d locked up and had left the lights on. Ryan checked around anyway before
Ginger disappeared into the bedroom with her shopper’s bag, telling him to sit
tight in the living room. He sipped his wine as he waited for her to come out,
wondering what surprise she had up her sleeve this evening.
He hadn’t stopped into the drug store for condoms today. For
one thing, he and Ginger already had the rumor mill churning. They’d burn it to
the ground if someone started gossiping about him stocking up on prophylactics.
In addition, he truly did intend to take things slow. He didn’t want to rush
her into sex, despite the fact his body ached for her and his hands craved
touching her.
She was something special and he planned to treat her as
such. He respected and admired her forthrightness and her tenacity. She was
grounded and good-natured, but also had an appealing sense of style and grace.
A sweet disposition and a flirty sense of humor. No one in town, including his
aunt and uncle, could taint his image of her.
Especially when she strolled into the living room wearing a
short, red satin robe tied at the waist and a pair of matching slippers with a
two-inch heel.
Ryan’s pulse instantly shot into the stratosphere as he took
her in from head to toe. And back up. She’d loosely piled her long blonde curls
on top of her head, leaving a few strands to frame her beautiful face, which
was accented by just a hint of skillfully applied makeup. She’d removed the
sultry crimson she typically wore on her lips and her mouth was bare and
extremely kissable.
Joining him on the sofa, she said, “I forgot to ask what
your favorite color is.”