to calm her hammering pulse as she escorted Colt across the empty fields to the parking lot. She shut off her car and gave him a light frisking backed up against it. Touching him had been hard...difficult. No, hard was the perfect word to describe coming into contact with his body during the pat down. She did everything in her power to do the job right. Though really, it never occurred to her that he might be lying about having a weapon.
Colt had been her dearest friend and her only regret once upon a time. He never lied about anything. But she needed to maintain her professionalism here. Being a good cop was all she had to fall back on.
She let him lead the way to the sheriff’s office across the deserted parking lot. The beam coming from the flashlight she carried winked up and down, catching weeds and then sky while she fought to stem her trembling hands.
Her shakes and breathless condition came from encountering the one person who’d meant the most to her in this small town. Her savior. Her hero. The boy who, at the age of ten, had taken the new girl in town under his wing and protected her from the bullies who’d been dying to get the best of the sheriff’s stepdaughter. Much later, Colt had even tried to take on her stepfather all by himself. Standing up to him and always getting in his face.
He’d taken the pressure off her at a time when she’d needed it the most. And she’d idolized him for it.
All these years later, she didn’t know how to remain steady and outwardly in control while in his presence.
Colt didn’t appear to take notice. Or if he did, he never said a word. He looked calm and collected. Not much different from the boy she’d left behind ten years ago. As a teen, he’d been sure of who he was and what he wanted. Then as now, he’d always seemed so cool.
And still the handsomest male she’d ever laid eyes on. Broad shoulders. Trim hips above a mighty fine, tight butt covered in denim. The nights of her senior year came to mind as she remembered how his lips had sent chills down her spine with her first real kiss. She’d never forgotten.
Stumbling slightly, she came to the conclusion that she’d better stop ogling the man before breaking her neck and embarrassing herself beyond hope.
She touched the radio control at her shoulder. “Louanna? I’m coming inside. Bringing a man with me. Buzz us in, please.”
“Sure thing, Lacie. Are you okay?” The dispatcher answered with many more questions brimming over in her voice.
Lacie wavered, wishing she had someplace else to question Colt. But it was well past midnight in a town that buttoned up at 10:00 p.m.
Luckily, Louanna knew the value of keeping her mouth shut and staying out of other people’s business. The middle-aged woman made a terrific night dispatcher because she only asked the questions she was paid to ask. Still, Lacie would have to come up with a good reason for bringing Colt into the station at this late hour.
The front and back doors were kept locked and alarmed after hours. As Louanna buzzed them inside the front, Lacie thought about seeing that light wink off inside the back room right before she spotted Colt. He did have some explaining to do.
Instead of introducing Colt to the dispatcher, Lacie said, “I spotted this man on foot outside and I thought we’d have us a chat. We’ll use the break room. Is there any coffee?”
“Just made some.” Louanna squinted up at Colt’s face. “Do you know him? He looks like one of the Chance family. You’re related to the Bar-C Chances, aren’t you, son?”
Before Lacie could stop him, Colt nodded and took off his Stetson.
“We won’t be too long, Louanna,” Lacie hurriedly mumbled. Grabbing Colt by the elbow, she dragged him down the hall, turning on lights as she went.
“You need me to notify the sheriff?” Louanna called after them.
“No need to wake anyone. But thanks. This is not a big deal.”
Once inside the break room with the door firmly shut behind them, Lacie took a deep breath and tilted her head toward the small table and chairs. “Sit down. Want coffee?”
“Nope.” Colt propped his hat on the back of a chair and tucked his tall lean frame into another one. “You always offer coffee to suspects?”
“You are not a suspect.” She poured herself a mug and sat across the plastic tabletop from him. “Well, on second thought, you do need to explain yourself. What were you doing hanging around outside the sheriff’s offices in the middle of the night?”
Under the harsh break room fluorescents, Colt’s features were razor-edged, more adult than the teenager she remembered. But his stormy blue eyes were still as clear and intense as when she’d left town. He studied her with a piercing gaze. It made her squirm, wondering what he was thinking.
Straightening her shoulders to give herself a lift, she tried to regain control. But soon she found herself thinking that the creases at the edges of his eyes and the darker stubble on his jaw made him much more interesting and appealing than he’d been as a kid.
Stop, she cautioned herself. She needed to stop noticing now.
He didn’t answer her directly, but linked his fingers together on the tabletop, stared down at them and asked his own questions without looking up. “How long have you been back in town, Lace? And what made you become a deputy?”
“You’re answering a question with more questions. That doesn’t bode well for this conversation.”
“Is that what we’re having? You sure this is a conversation and not an interrogation?”
Sighing, she rolled her eyes and prayed for patience. “All right. Fine. We’ll get reacquainted first.”
After gulping down a slug of hot coffee to give herself a jolt of backbone, she gave in and answered his questions. “I’ve been back in Chance for about six months. And being a deputy is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I spent a couple of years as a rookie on the force in Harris County and then came here when the sheriff advertised for help.”
“Houston. You came back to this half-baked town from the big city? Why?”
She held her tongue and stared at him. Oh, how she would love to tell him everything. To go back to being close, the way they used to be. But though he’d once taught her the meaning of justice, she hadn’t told him everything then, and she wasn’t about to spill her heart to him now. Not when she didn’t even know who he was anymore.
“I finally realized I liked living here,” she answered truthfully. “I spent most of my childhood in this town and missed it.”
“Seriously? You like Chance, Texas? Why?”
The complete truth was that she’d missed him. She’d been more than a little disappointed after arriving in Chance to find out he’d been gone from town almost as long as she had.
“It’s a nice place,” she finally answered. “Small enough that everybody knows everybody else. Puts me at ease. The town is laid-back and friendly.” Well, almost everyone was friendly, with the one big exception of her boss and stepfather. But she didn’t want to talk about him right now.
“You can have the whole damned place,” Colt said with a shake of
